MUSIC RATING: 8.8/10 | MV RATING: 9.5/10
A week ago, k-pop group Stray Kids released the MV of their title track, God’s Menu. I don’t know anything about the group so I came into this MV without any expectations.
MUSIC 8.8/10
I give them props for the music. I’m not familiar with this group but I can see a brand identity in this song which is very important for a group in an oversaturated market. The song composition itself isn’t that special but the members really elevate it with their voice and tones. The little ad-libs sprinkled around gives it character and makes it much more engaging.
This song is an analogy between the song writing and cooking i.e ingredients to lyrics, etc.. They can serve (write/create) any kind of music. The tracklists are the menus and the listeners are the guests. The heavy beats in parts like “DU DU DU” and “TANG TANG TANG (soup)” brings it life and sets it apart from other idol music with similar kinds of styles.The highlight of all this is that Stray Kids wrote the song themselves. Whether or not I like the song, I always give bonus points to idols who take part in their own music. It definitely feels more genuine as they can say they own it.
MUSIC VIDEO 9.5/10
keyword: BADASS
PERFORMANCE
They are a relatively newer group but seem to have adjusted well to the camera and stage. They are very natural, oozing confidence, and seem to have conquered facial expressions at least for music videos. The choreography is very creative as well, they stuck to the theme and created dance moves that mimics cooking throughout the video..
CREATIVE DIRECTION & ART DIRECTION
I loved the concepts in this MV and how they twisted it. There’s a mismatch of the people you see versus the environment they’re in like the marching band in the kitchen and the school girls on the racetrack. That goes into the song concept where they can serve all sorts of flavors.
The first set is the kitchen and restaurant concept which is the most obvious considering the story of the song. The stylist and art department did a good job with the waiter/cook outfits here.
Then you have a lab, which is a reference to creation. The hazmat suits are very relevant to the current state of society. The excavator concept wise is random but visually, it grounds the set and gives it a nice pop of color.
At first I didn’t understand the relevance of the third set, the racetrack/garage set. While visually it was creative and cool, matching the tone of the music, it wasn’t making sense with the rest of the sets. As someone who is a car racing fanatic, it gets a little tiring when I see idol groups using that as a stage without an actual purpose. However, knowing the backstory of the song, I can see why it’s okay to have a seemingly more random production set. This once again goes into the idea of being able to serve all kinds of dishes.
DIRECTING
The directing was really good in that they knew how to great variety without making it chaotic. There are three main sets and they alternated between each with tweaks each time so the viewer sees something new but not entirely random. The choice to bring in the background dancers in hazmat suits, school uniforms, and marching band costume took the video to another level.
CINEMATOGRAPHY & CAMERA WORK 10/10
They had very precise camera work in this MV. It is very apparent in these scenes here where every angle was measured meticulously to have such a smooth movement.
Nice shots:
EDITING 10/10
The editor needs a pay raise. They kept up with the energy of the song from beginning to end. There’s a very clear rhythm and logic they follow while still matching the music.
CONCLUSION
While I don’t listen to Stray Kids’s music, I will definitely be alert for new MVs as I feel like their management is hiring good creative teams to support them. They are definitely talented and have their own group identity that really stands out amongst the others so it will be cool to see what else they bring to the table in the future.
MISOE MUSIC HOUSE 