Unboxing #10 - JeA's Just JeA

Whew, it's certainly getting quite hot isn't it...at least it was when I started this post...^^"

Finally, the resident leader and powerhouse of Brown Eyed Girls, JeA, makes her long-awaited foray as a solo artist.  Well, to be precise, prior to this mini-album, she HAS released a track apart from her group (aside from her contribution to various soundtracks)...but this time around we get a physical release and proper promotion.  Yay!

Just JeA was released on January 4th, 2013.  Here's a quick tracklist.  As always, if there is an official video for a song, I will link it!  I believe there are two of them this time around.

1. Days & Nights ft. Eric Benét
2. 길고양이, (Street Cat)
3. 그대가 잠든 사이, (While You're Sleeping)
4. 안아보자, (Let's Hug) ft. 정엽 (Jung Yeob) of Brown Eyed Soul
5. Silent Stalker ft. Double K

Now onto the visuals!

\o/

Bubble wrapppp.

JeA, looking gorgeous.

Side panel.

Topmost view.

In which the CD makes the back cover its home.

Unobstructed view of the CD.

Back cover and another track list.

I love the visual concept JeA was going for.  I believe she stated that she wanted the packaging to be reminiscent of a personal diary/scrapbook/book.  I think the execution of that idea was spot on.  There's even a table of contents-like page included in the first few pages.  She has a few pages dedicated to every song on the album and an intro and an outro.  I think it's absolutely adorable that the font has a handwritten look and that there are a bunch of doodles and underlines and little side notes written in and around the main texts and pictures of each page.

After the intro and the pages about the songs, she dedicates two pages for each member of the Brown Eyed Girls.  So very sweet.  Now all I need is a translator to explain to me what it is that she wrote exactly... Anywho, after the pages about the members, comes the lyrics, outro, and the credits.  That's a total of 48 numbered pages, not including the "dedication page" (which is the first page that lists the distributors and the copyrights) and the credit page (the last page).

I like the attention to detail on the packaging.  The dedication page and the credit page have a typical book-like type paper.  You know, the not exactly smooth texture, thin paper, etc.  The rest of the album's pages are of a cardstock-type of material: very smooth, sort of thick, and so on.  This is just something I found super interesting.

Okay, enough about the pages.  The album itself is very sturdy (\o/).  Heh.  That looks like an angel or something with the parenthesis instead of a person raising their arms.  Er, anyways, yes.  Very sturdy.  Definitely appreciate that as I like the keep the corners sharp and pointy!  The booklet is fused into the binding, much like how a book and its pages are.  So...take what you will from that.  The texture of the album is also interesting.  It has almost a woven quality, if you noticed from the pictures above.  Be careful of getting any scratches on the album because they will show.

One bone to pick though...I'm not a huge fan of the CD just being slipped into the sleeve in the back cover.  Although if you are gentle with your albums and don't shift them around and turn them upside down often, you should be fine.  It's just a personal preference. *shrugs*

As for the music itself, well.  It's JeA.  A Brown Eyed Girl.  I don't think I need to say much on this front eh?  I think she delivered what everyone expected of her and did it well.

I hope this post helps y'all decide to support JeA and her endeavors and purchase her album!^^b

Also, as an aside, I've received the GazettE's newest single, FADELESS, so my next unboxing post will be on that.  Hopefully that post will be out before their new 7th studio album BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY releases.  WHICH IS ON OCTOBER 23!!!!  I'm excited.  I think I'm going to get the ridiculously expensive limited edition version.  I can't wait to do an unboxing post on that baby.  Also, I NEED A JOB.  Hire me? :D?

Unboxing #9 - Miryo's MIRYO aka JOHONEY

Ahem.  I've literally had this post as a draft since late May...meow.

Anywho, Miryo, of Brown Eyed Girls fame, released her first solo mini-album, titled MIRYO aka JOHONEY on February 1st, 2012.

A rundown of the tracklist:

1. Party Rock ft. 개리 (Gary) of 리쌍 (LeeSsang) and THE KOXX
2. DIRTY --> Official music video linked!
3. 사랑해 사랑해, (I Love You, I Love You) ft. 써니 (Sunny) of 소녀시대 (Girl's Generation) --> Official music video linked!
4. Revenger ft. 루드페이퍼 (Rude Paper)
5. Leggo ft. Narsha of Brown Eyed Girls

And now for the goodies:

Poofy packages are so cute aren't they.

Now whose hint of a visage is that I see...

Miryo! ♥

View of the spine.

Top view of the album.  Notice how thick the photo booklet is.

A hint of the photo booklet and the design of the CD.  Photo booklet is glued to the cover.

Direct look at the front cover of the photo booklet.  Buy your own copy to see all the pictures for yourself!

Back cover with tracklisting.

I like how sturdy the album is.  The case is hard material that will bend if you purposely apply enough force, but the corners should stay sharp and pointy no matter how you store your CDs.  However, beware, because while sturdy, the casing has a matte finish, meaning that scratches (and the like) will show quite readily.

Also, more personal preference than anything else, I am not a fan of gluing photo booklets to CD casings.  I'm just not.  There are a myriad of reasons why.  Sometimes (read: most of the time) the glue isn't strong enough so the booklet peels from the casing even though it may be brand, spanking new.  You can't take the booklet out to fully enjoy it.  You can't protect the spine of your casing from wear and tear; you have to open the casing all the way to even get at the booklet in the first place.  Granted some CDs, (like this one) are made so you can open it all the way up without damaging the spine, but yeah.  Still.  Phooey.

As for the music itself, I can honestly say that I was definitely not expecting Miryo to come at her music in the pop rock / electronic sort of way.  Perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised at the latter.  Everyone and their mother has been jumping on the electronic train because of...well, I don't really need to say it right?  The majority of the type of music played on mainstream radio has this type of sound.  Anywho, I was gearing myself for hard-hitting, spitfire raps, and hopefully we will get to see that one day as one of her future endeavors.  What she gave us for her solo debut was certainly not what everyone expected of her, but it was well done.

One of my favorite tracks on this mini-album is "Leggo".  It bears some similarity stylistically to "Love is...", Miryo's duet track with fellow Brown Eyed Girls member, JeA, but it is still magic every time I hear it.  Hell, both songs are beautiful. ♥

Unboxing #8 - Ga-In's Talk About S.

Well, hey, I survived finals...*flops*

Just barely.

I slept for 14 hours when I came home.  Blissful oblivion!


Anyway, here is Ga-In's Talk About S., released October 5th, 2012.  The tracklist for the mini-album is as follows:

1. 팅커벨, (Tinkerbell)
2. 그녀를 만나, (Tiredness)
3. 피어나, (Bloom)  --> Official music video linked
4. 시선, (The Gaze)
5. Catch me if you can

Now for the visuals:

Ordered from a different Kpop seller this time around, so different outer packaging.  It's so cute!

A hint of the album cover...

Ga-In looking gorgeous, as per usual.  The title of the album is glossy, just so you know.

I have words to say about the CD packaging...

Side view

This packaging...;~;

Folds open like so.

A closer look at the left panel.

That's hot.

Right flap folds open once more to reveal the CD and album booklet cover!

I really like the dark colors for the album's innards.  Heh.  I mean to say, the album's contents.

The front cover to the album booklet.  Held in place due to the fact that the last page is glued to the flap.

Album tracklist

Alrighty, so where to begin...

First off, I prefer the packaging of step 2/4 to Talk About S.  The case came in a sturdy, solid cardboard-y material.  You pretty much had to drop it or purposefully bend it with your hands to dent it.  Talk About S. is...not sturdy.  Not by ANY means.  It's basically made of cardstock.  This is why the thing looks flattened in the above pictures.  It's because it is.  The case is impractical for selling in music stores let alone shipping it halfway across the world.  Even with all that bubble wrap.  The pictures are hot and tasteful, but I'd prefer hot and tasteful AND NOT SQUISHED, but hey, that's just me.  I am also not a huge fan of adhering album booklets to the cases...

As for the music itself, I think I liked step 2/4 better.  That doesn't mean Talk About S. is terrible or anything like that.  I just liked her first mini-album better.  I have a friend who prefers this one over her first.  *shrugs*  Chalk it up to personal preference.

...And LOEN Entertainment, I'm still waiting on that Tinkerbell music video.  It deserves so much more than this one teaser.

Coming next: Miryo's MIRYO aka JOHONEY!

Unboxing #4 - Ga-In's step 2/4

Hello, and happy Sunday! (Or it was when I started this post...)

Oops.  I meant for this post to be out a little sooner than now, but eh.  Good enough.  Today, as I stated in an earlier post, I will be doing a photo unveiling of Ga-In's first solo album, step 2/4!  An impressive solo debut, Ga-In takes a tango-esque approach to her six track mini-album.  Along with the CD, step 2/4 also includes the music video of her title track, "돌이킬 수 없는, (Irreversible)".  I love how different this collection of songs sounds in comparison to what's popular in Korean music now.

The album wasn't packaged in the most careful of ways when the seller shipped it, so you may notice that my album has a few funky corners.  Breaks my heart, that it does. D:  But at least everything else is okay.

The flimsy packaging.  Boo.

Am I the only one who keeps those little stickers they have on shrinkwrapped items?

The lovely cover!  The cover is matte and the title and her name are in glossy print.

The back cover and track list.  Track list for the DVD not written.

Side view.  I like how the album is a cream color.

The contents!

Closer look at the discs.  The brown one with "Hate" written on it is the DVD.  The cream one with "Love" written on it is the music CD.

The photo booklet is attached the to front cover.  Photos contain still shots of the music video with the song lyrics.

I loved the passionate/sensual concept for this album, especially since Ga-In pulls it off so well!  She's also a pretty decent actress, if her 11 minute music video is anything to go by.  The music video is incredibly long, but it didn't drag and was well executed.  Won't spoil it; you'll have to watch it to get the full effect.  Also included in the DVD is a making of the video, outtakes, uncut scenes, and such.  All in all, I think it totals to about 50 minutes worth of footage.  Pretty incredible.  The music video uses "Irreversible" (obviously) and her sixth track, "진실, (Truth)" as the themes.  What's interesting is that the instrumentals of "Truth" are almost exactly like "Irreversible".  It's kind of eerie how two songs with similar arrangements and all that could produce two songs that are so different.  The songs are sort of like twins.  Very similar, but each their own individual entity.  Hm.  Anyways, I think the only thing I'm not a fan of is the packaging of the album.  And I don't mean the shipping packaging.  The foamy bits that hold the discs in place are quite tall, so it's difficult to take out the discs without bending them. D:  Also, I wish the photo booklet wasn't attached to the cover.  The booklet pages are wonderfully high quality: large, thick paper and fantastically chosen still shots of the music video.  However, because the pages are so large and thick, (please, no yo' mama jokes, thanks) they are quite heavy.  The adhesive holding the booklet to the front cover is already coming off.  Also, the pages are hard to flip through, attached the way it is, especially if you want to keep the booklet nice and crisp.  Would have made it easier to look through if the booklet could be taken out, but it's all good.  Anyways, purchase step 2/4 quickly if you can!  It's getting harder and harder to find it at a reasonable price.  As I've mentioned before in a previous post, I bought my at Amazon.com, but you are able to purchase it at other online retailers such as KpopHeaven, etc.  So don't be shy! ~_^

As I've said before, I think the next unboxing post I'll be doing is Alexz Johnson's Skipping Stone, which should be arriving shortly.  Also, her second digital album, The Basement Recordings II, is coming out on the 30th of April, so if you can, please support her and her music!

And now, I'm going to get dinner to appease my stomach (read: THE BEAST).

Unboxing #3 - Brown Eyed Girls' Leave Ms. Kim and Narsha's NARSHA

WHEE!  So my order for Narsha's album and Brown Eyed Girls' second album arrived today!  Happy happy.

First up is Brown Eyed Girls' second album, titled 떠나라 미스김 (Leave Ms. Kim).  Their second album was released in 2007.  The songs on the album are primarily slower paced songs with lots of vocal pyrotechnics.  The title track for this album is "너에게 속았다, (I Got Fooled By You)".  A really powerful song with impressive harmonies and vocals.  As per usual.  The packaging for this album isn't too fancy, but puts a little spin on a typical jewel case/booklet/CD format.  The case isn't a typical clear plastic case...at least not on the outside.  Instead of describing it poorly, just take a looksie at the pictures below!  Like I've said before, this baby has been out of print for a few years, so I'm really impressed that I could get my hands on it.  Yay for quirks of fate.

All the way from South Korea!

Side view

Lots of bubble wrap.  I love it.

Top view

Wasn't kidding about the bubble wrap.  That's two long strips.

The lovelies!

NEW and all shrink wrapped.  Apparently this version of the album is a second press print or reissue.  The first press of the album comes in a plastic case and is twice as long with the booklet on one side and the CD on the other.  At least, that's what I've heard.

Shrink wrapped removed.  This is what I meant about it not being a typical plastic jewel case.

The back of the album.  As good of a shot as I could take.  Because of the material, flash makes it all glare-y and closer shots make it blurry.

Side view

The booklet is attached to the CD case, so it flips open like a book.  Listening to the CD as I'm typing this up! :D

That concludes this album!  Next up is Narsha's mini-album and first solo project...NARSHA.  Fantastically quirky music and interesting packaging.  Bought it for a friend as a Christmas gift maybe two years ago.  Glad to finally get my hands on my own copy! :D

Shrink wrap has never looked so good.

I love the slipcover.  That's so clever.

The back of the album and track list.  Loving the green feathers.

Side view

The slipcover removed.  Gorgeous cover art.

A snapshot of the slipcover alone.

You would not believe the odd contorting I had to do to get this picture.

I love how the title NARSHA is raised on the slipcover.  Neat.

I love how it folds out.  Under the CD is the lyrics sheet (gold) and photo booklet (black outline).  Then the credits are printed on the case underneath the photo booklet.

Kinda wish the CD wasn't held in by those flaps.  They make the CD kind of hard to remove and put back in.  A little tricky, but it just takes a little caution to put the CD back in the flaps without damaging them.  I also wish the DVD of the music video was included in this mini-album.  The photos are gorgeous.  I know that Narsha said that her makeup and costume for EACH live stage ran about $3,000.  I wonder how much it cost to make a single copy of her mini-album, considering all the bells and whistles.

Anywho, her title track is "삐리빠빠, (BBI RI BBA BBA)".  A quirky, fantastic song.  The first time I heard it, I was like...huh.  That's different.  Interesting.  And REALLY different.  Then after, I thought,  huh.  That's AWESOME.  This mini-album revealed what we all already know: Narsha. Is. Such. A. Badass.  She's in your face and makes no apologies for it.  The songs are well executed, all laced with essence of Narsha.  I hope that didn't sound too weird.  I only wish the mini-album included the DVD for the music video.  But oh well.

Narsha  has such a lilting, girly, sweet voice in comparison to JeA, the resident diva belt-er of the group and Ga-In, the one with the sexy, husky vocals.  I love how all three vocalists of the band have their own unique, distinguishable sound.  I think that's what makes them able to approach such a wide variety of genres and what enables them to do it so well.  Even Miryo, the fantastically awesome rapper, can hold her own.  Check it out.

Overall, I'm quite happy with my purchase.  Expected to get Ga-In's step 2/4, but got Leave Ms. Kim in its place.  Ecstatic.  It's not like this CD is being produced anymore.  I do plan on buying step 2/4 though.  Maybe if I perform well on my midterms, I will. :P

While you're praying for a copy of Leave Ms. Kim to fall on your lap like it did mine, please know that NARSHA is still in print.  You can grab your own copy at KpopHeaven/whatever your preferred retailer is.

Anywho, I'm expecting Alexz Johnson's Skipping Stone EP soon, so I'll probably post an unboxing for that when it arrives.  Yay!