Spooky Playlist for Spooky Days: My Top 10

Hello people! Sakura here. 

I'm back again with another blog . And this blog will be hella fun! 

So recently people celebrated Halloween all over the world. Even in my country Halloween is being celebrated now. The atmosphere is spooky so why not I add a playlist full of creepy and spooky songs for you to listen to and have fun?

Also in India we celebrate Deepawali or Diwali this time. In the Bengal region of India we worship Goddess Kali on the same day of Deepawali. 
Interesting Fact: We Bengali people have a day called Bhoot Chaturdashi or 14th day of Ghosts. On this day we too believe that the layer between this world and the other world gets thinner and the otherworldly residents can easily roam around among us. Such resemblance isn't it? That is the reason to light up Deep or Diya to drive darkness of life and bring light to it. It's also the day to pray and respect for the already deceased members of one's family. 

 I've been checking out songs with spooky theme or spooky vibe and making a YouTube playlist with them.

[NOTE: I have one link to my playlist that I'll be pasting at the end of the blog for you to watch them all together. And it'll have quite a few more songs that I couldn't add in this blog for the length of it.]

 Now let's delve into the songs. And the kings that emerged from it are known as VIXX.

1. Fantasy by VIXX

2. VOODOO DOLL by VIXX

Blood and gore! VIXX are truly kings of horror theme and dark concept.

3. Hyde by VIXX

 We are talking about VIXX and there will not be this mv it can't happen. So Leo and Ravi on a rescue

4. Beautiful Liar By VIXX(LR) 

Whoooo!!! So Now that we are down with emotional imbalance after watching the last mv how about we go back to something smooth yet spooky? So queens of horror theme are coming

5. Wonderland by Dreamcatcher

This song has something in it. If you guys read the lyrics and listen to it it's definitely one song that sends shivers through the spine. And now they even have a music video.

6. Chase Me by Dreamcatcher

Well wizard, wicca and witchcraft, dark forest ya spooky as heck!

7. Goodnight by Dreamcatcher

The name says everything. A must watch for everyone regardless of any time.

Okay after witchcraft let's go back to some vamps and werewolves shall we?

8. Witch by Boyfriend

One of my most favourite music video of all time. The vampires (or wolves? i believe they're vamps though) on the roof and that girl fighting is awesome.

After some spooky creatures and rituals let's go to...circus?? Wanna go to a topsy turvy world? Or wanna meet Pennywise? I have two mvs for you then.

9. Bounce by Boyfriend

Let's go the Wonderland and join the Mad Hatter on his tea party. We are all Alices there. 

And the next one is 

10. Jackpot by Block B

It's fun, it's cool and it's dark. very very dark. 

Honourable mentions:

Lie by Park Jimin(BTS)

Everyone will agree that Wings series is the masterpiece BTS has  produced till now. And also the darkest . Even though all the songs have a startling spooky vibe I feel like Lie is the best in the spooky category. And adding it with a phenomenal vocal and dance by Jimin. Something so captivating!!

Full Moon by Sunmi

We speak of spooky songs and this won't appear that can't happen. Full moon in the sky, a dying man in the house, Vampire twerking on rooftop!! Exquisite!

Thriller by BtoB

BtoB are a group that are extremely talented yet underrated. This is a great example of how you should shoot a spooky music video.

[Youtube Playlist link: Spooky Playlist ]

So these are among my favourites. Do you guys like these? Do you guys have some more recommendations? Do state in comments.
For now
Sakura out

Album Review: Alone in the City by Dreamcatcher

Hello guys! Sakura here! Today I'm here to have a take on an album review. And it's by Dreamcatcher. It took me some time because there weren't lyric videos, at least not with English translations, and I don't really like to run after any song with meaningless lyrics how much of a BOP song it is. But now that the lyric videos are made I'm ready to do a review. 

A small reminder: I'm no expert in music. This is just my own feelings that I'm conveying. You might agree or disagree with me. 

Alone in the City is Dreamcatcher's third mini album. Dreamcatcher is a group who are famous for their rock music and dark anime vibe. This album is no exception. There are not many groups who have this concept and that's why Dreamcatcher stand out. Their dances too are different which is why they are my second favorite girl group, first being THE ARK/KHAN. I loved most of the lyrics too.

Alone in the City has 5 tracks. And the physical album is available in two different versions as shown above. Left one is called Light and the right one is called Shade version.

Tracklist

Intro

What

Wonderland

Trap

July 7th (약속해 우리)

Intro

Dreamcatcher usually has a intro music when they make albums. It's just instrumental but basically it creates the mood before entering to the title track. So it's kind of mood music. At least for me. This also has that spooky vibe of something ominous to happen.And it's amazing in setting mood. This music is something to pit in action movies where you have to run from monsters and all. I loved this intro.

What

What is their title track. Usually they also have many theories in their title music videos. This mv is no exception. But I won't be discussing them here. Watch the video. It's cool. I personally love horror theme and it's beautifully portrayed. These girls are all good vocalists. JiU, SuA and Siyeon are exceptionally good. Rap is a little off but anyway Dami has a deep and nice voice too. I love the bass that is used. And the choreo is awesome. 

Wonderland

A very interesting song with a very interesting tune. Freely shows their vocal prowess. A bit muted instrumental than the previous song. The lyrics can be interpreted as love song or a...well...kinda spooky song. If you are acquainted with their Chase Me universe then you'll know what I mean. I like this song very much.

Trap

After taking a break from the rock vibe in the Wonderland we return to it through this song. Trap is my most favorite song of this whole album. Amazing music. Also the lyrics are cool. 

July 7th (약속해 우리/yaksokae uri/ We Promise)

The last song of the album and once again we come back to a soothing song with soothing music. The song has two names it seems. July 7th and We Promise which is the one written in Hangul.

The lyrics speaks about separation and the promise to return. This certainly is a metaphorical fan song. They are telling their fans that they'll have to go now but they promise to come back again. But I don't get why the July 7th though. Was the song written on that day or they are hinting to comeback on that day next year? Probably...not.  But this song is the outro and with a promise to comeback they are ending the album here.

So what do you think? Do you like Dreamcatcher? If you haven'y heard of them do give them a try. They are great. 

Do you like this review? Would you like to see more? Do you have any theories about their music?

Feel free t comment. Follow and subscribe to my blog. For now-

 Sakura out.

BTS X Harry Potter: Crossover Edits

Hello people! Sakura here! It's been quite a long time that I have posted in my blog. But with Jimin's birthday in tow and new theories regarding Harry Potter universe tumbling the world, I felt the urge to do something that I haven't done before. And that is well...making edits. I'm very very new to this and hopefully they look average but hey you have start from somewhere.



So today I made moodboards crossovering BTS and Harry Potter houses. Let's see what sorting hat had chosen for them-

Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You'll be taken to the Great Hall where you'll be sorted into your houses.  The school has four houses
Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Based on your traits you'll be chosen into your house. The sorting ceremony has been done. Enter-

...You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends...

We will start from the leader.

Kim Namjoon

• He is Wise
• He is Witty
• He is Imaginative
• Extremely Thoughtful which shows in his lyrics
• Philosophical attitude towards life
• He is in his 6th year of school
• He is the prefect of Ravenclaw
• Top student in school
• Most favourite subject is Arithmancy
• Pureblood wizard
• As extra curricular he chose Music and Muggle Music (because he's extremely open minded and respects any form of art). He loves to write and produce for any musicals in school. He doesn't sing.
• Secret rapper with the inspiration of Min Yoongi

Kim Namjoon is a Ravenclaw

Kim Seokjin

• Eldest brother
• Affectionate towards younger ones
• Funny upbeat personality
• Someone you can depend upon
• Extremely loyal
• Can be dangerous if triggered (typical Hufflepuff trait)
• Loves food and cooking
• He is in 7th year of his school
• He is the Head boy of the school
• And he is the commentator of their quidditch matches. With his funny jokes, upbeat moods and amusing puns he is the best commentator Hogwarts has  has in a while
• Halfblood wizard
• He took two optional subjects in his third year Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures. He aced in the latter.

Kim Seokjin is a Hufflepuff

Min Yoongi

• Ambitious
• Unconventionally smart
• Lazy but always scores 90% in exams
  
• Shrewd
• Savage
• 7th year in the school
• Chaser of Quidditch team
• A great observer of situations he is a man of few words
• His two most favourite subjects are Potions and Charms. 
• Pureblood wizard
• As extra curricular he chose Music and started writing & producing his own music. Namjoon also helped him to learn about muggle music. And he had fallen for hiphop. He writes & raps. But the conventional rules of school doesn't let him perform before other students so he went to Shrieking Shack to practice by himself. He also dragged Namjoon with him to practice. 

Min Yoongi is a Slytherin

Jung Hoseok

• Hard worker
• Bright and warm personality
• Happy to help others through his works
• Finds joy in everything
• Always smiling and hoping for the best
• No one never really saw him angry and to be honest no one really wants to see either because Puffs are notorious when they are angry.
  
• Currently 6th year student in school
• he aces in Herbology
• His optional subject is Muggle studies and extra curricular subjects are Muggle Music. He's also a good freestyle dancer but none other than his friends know that.
• Muggleborn Wizard
• Also one of the Chaser of the quidditch team.

Jung Hoseok is a Hufflepuff

Kim Taehyung

• Genius (He gives off Luna Lovegood vibe) 
• Thinks outside the box
• Extremely creative and original
• True artist
• He is in his 5th year of school
• His favourite subjects are Astronomy and Divination
• As extra curricular he took up Art and Muggle art. He has the best scores in these two subjects in whole school.
• Muggleborn wizard
• Namjoon and Yoongi's no. 1 rap enthusiast. 

Kim Taehyung is a Ravenclaw

Jeon Jungkook

• Bravest one
• Adventurous
• Strong
• He is in his 4th year of school
• He is the Keeper in his quidditch team and also the captain. This is special because only Oliver Wood is known to become Captain at that young age before him.
  
• His favourite subject is Defence Against Dark Arts 
• His extra curricular favourite is Ghoul Studies for some reason. He likes to know about them
• He is also passionate for Arts and Music subjects and loves to be inspired by his hyungs.
• Golden boy in class. He's good in everything.
• He wants to pursue the career of a quidditch player in future.
• Half Blood wizard

Jeon Jungkook is a Gryffindor

Park Jimin

Now this one I think is the most different one. Because Jimin is  a perfect blend of two different personalities. On one side his cheerful, cute and cherubic side as shown in Serendipity, on the other side his dark, sexy, serious personality as in Lie and Blood Sweat & Tears. So considering his angel & Devil persona he can be sorted into two houses. Interestingly these two houses are sometimes complete opposite, however known to be best friends if found match. 

• He is an angel
  
• Charming, caring towards his friends, loyal
• Extremely hard worker (During BT21 making Suga said that Jimin's superpower is hardwork & that's the typical Hufflepuff trait)
• He is in his 5th year of school
• His favourite subject is Potions
• His optional subjects are Arithmancy & Ancient Runes
• He chose Music as extra curricular. His voice is Min Yoongi's favourite. 
• He is also the Seeker of his house's Quidditch team. Everyone says that he is the most graceful Seeker anyone has ever seen.
• Pureblood wizard

Park Jimin can be a Hufflepuff

• Dark prince aura surrounds him
• Godlike presence 
• Sultry, flirty, teasing and confident attitude
• Graceful smooth gaits
  
• Ambitious and shrewd
• His most favourite subject is Potions
• His optional subjects are Arithmancy & Ancient Runes
• He chose Music as extra curricular. His voice is Min Yoongi's favourite. 
• He is also the Seeker of his house's Quidditch team. Everyone says that he is the most graceful Seeker anyone has ever seen.
• Pureblood wizard

Park Jimin  can be a Slytherin

That's it for now. Feel free to download these edits. However if you use them anywhere please do give me credits. And also did you see the header images above every moodbard ? Those can be used as Facebook profile cover images. Feel free to use them too.

PS. All pictures used in the mood boards are taken from Pinterest & WHI. Some of them are edited by me.

So what do you think? Is this nice? Are they all in their right houses? Or you might have a different opinion?  Also I'm thinking about write some scenarios or fanfictions on the BTSXHP AU. What do you think? Feel free to share in comments.

For the time being

Sakura Out

Newly Bloomed Friendship Between South Korea and India & Kpop

Well hello friends. Sakura here. Today in this blog we are going to discuss a different topic, Newly Bloomed Friendship between South Korea and India & Kpop's role in it.

So recently in the month of July quite a few interesting events had occurred in India which is important not only in international politics and diplomacy between the two countries namely India and South Korea but also important in the socio-economic plain.

On the 8th of July Moon Jae In, the President and Kim Jung Sook the First Lady of South Korea visited India. he stayed here for  4 days starting from July 8-July 11. The President participated in summits, signed business deals, gave speeches and visited some places with his wife.

Now whenever two country's, be it any, politicians and diplomats meet usually they both have one or more agenda in mind. Usually South Korea doesn't have many affairs with India per say. So what happened suddenly? 

In this regard I would like to mention this post of Times of India blog Why Korea Courts India: India gains importance for Moon as Korea’s ‘miracle economy’ starts to face new challenges. In fact this post is great one and speaks from a very neutral point of view. I'll quote-

There isn’t much room to expand Seoul’s already well-developed relations with China, Japan and the US. In fact, with new issues cropping up in ties with China and America, export-driven South Korea must find new markets to cut reliance on its top two trade partners. Moreover, despite increasing exports of semiconductors and electronics, South Korea’s economic growth has slowed, presenting it with important challenges.

Indeed. South Korea now wants to expand it's stagnant market to India and who doesn't know that India is an alluring market for most companies. Samsung and LG already have a dedicated market here. Now it is creating a new factory in India that is supposed to be  the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturing plant.

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But you might ask me, WHAT DOES KPOP HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT?
And it truly is a legitimate question. Let us check out this post Kpop Contest India 2018. Kpop contest India started in 2012. From that time Indian kpop fans have particiapted in Changwon Kpop World Festival.

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This year Korean boy group SNUPER was the judge on the festival which took place in Siri fort Auditoriam. New Delhi on 9.07.2018. Usually it's a great festival to enjoy and meet kpop lovers all over India. This year though turned a bit more special When South Korea's first lady attended the kpop event in India. Yes first lady Kim Jung Sook personally visited the festival and she was seen enjoying with the music. At the end of the performances she went to the stage and took photos with SNUPER and the participants. 

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Let us see it from neutral point of view. Yes kpop festival is an important event and coincidentally (or not?) the president and the first lady both were present in India. But surely the lady wasn't only present for enjoying the event although it is one important factor. She was also present there to see the interest about Kpop in India. 

For some years Kpop is rising in India and fans here want many groups to hold concert here. However simply speaking Kpop is an industry. They sell music, albums and merchandise. So not until the entertainment companies see the country as a coveted market to sell all these and make profit any groups will not visit.

But this visit cleared their mind about the interest of Kpop in Indian fans. What is more important, I'll quote-

"...What really caught our eye and ear (basically we hadn’t been this alert ever) was when the Director of Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI), Kim Kum-Pyoung made a statement about recognising the power of Indian K-Pop fans and that he wishes to bring BTS and EXO group to India."

Source:When South Korea’s First Lady attended the K-Pop event in India

Indeed as the most famous groups are BTS and EXO in India at this moment. So it is obvious that Kpop sensation of India will pave the way for various artists to set foot in India and will also open up the closed coveted market for selling goodies and merches. And needless to say THIS WILL LED TO A POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOUTH KOREA'S CLOGGED ECONOMIC CONDITION. 

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But the question is What Will India Gain? 
Well the answer is complicated as only thing I can see is that there will be many artists to perform in India and the exchange between the two cultures. And if we take the Samsung hub in count some employment. Other than that ...hm...guess time will tell.

I will be eagerly waiting for future to unfold the answers. 
Until then Sakura out.


Edit:- Economic Times has published this article after two days of my post. BTS tops Billboard 100 list: How K-pop helped Korea improve its economy

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Song of the Week: On Rainy Days

Hello friends!! It's been quite a few days that I have posted anything. But yes The series of Song of the Week is starting again.

It's raining in India. Monsoon has arrived. And all of us surely has a specific playlist for rainy days . We stream them in Spotify or Saavn(in case of India) while sitting on a cozy sofa or on the balcony with a cup of warm coffee.

Today I have one recommendation for you to add one more song to your rainy day playlist. 

On Rainy Days by BEAST

What a beautiful song! I'm sure most of the older kpop lovers know this song. 

Beast/B2ST is now known as HIGHLIGHT but this song is when they were in CUBE Entertainment. If you hav not listened to it yet you must now.

BONUS

KHAN recently covered this song too with their own style with acoustic guitar. Give it a listen too. They nailed it with the vocals.

That's for today. If you like this song make sure to comment. If you like my posts make sure to follow. 

Bye Bye

Sakura Out

Song of the Week: Goodbye by NIA

Welcome to Lyrical Sakura.

Today I bring one more song for you to listen. 

Goodbye by NIA

Who are NIA?

NIA  is a four member Korean pop/rock female band that debuted under RuntoAsia Ent in 2009.

Members

Sseo Ji - Leader, Drums

Choi Yeong Shin  - Bass

Jeon So Yeon  - Vocal

Hwang Bo Nare - Guitar

They debuted with the digital single My Everything. 

Their third and probably last single Gieoguisup (Forest of memories)

Goodbye is the second single digital by NIA and probably the best song according to me. The song is a soulful melody for people hurt in love and can't forget the one who caused the pain. The song says it is difficult to forget but just say Goodbye and move on. The music video also does justice to the theme.

Read the lyrics for Goodbye Here. The voice of the vocal is just beautiful.

NIA hasn't disbanded yet or we have no official statement of them being disbanded but the girls are in long hiatus. I wish the best for the girls and I hope they will comeback someday.

So did you like this blog? Do you like the song? Did you know the artists already or just got to know about them? What are your opinions about them? State in the comments below.

Sakura Out