'loonatic; a short analysis'

loonatic; loona odd eye circle

[analysis]

it's a loona day today and i'm here to talk about of the most unique songs in kpop, 'loonatic'. this track is dream-pop and it's not often we hear it in kpop. if you're not sure what dream-pop is, i suggest clicking the album cover above, the mv for loonatic is linked. if you're not bothered, essentially its a sub-genre of rock that's psychedelic and dream-like. other dream-pop songs you may know are f(x)'s 'butterfly' (well the chorus anyway, it's not f(x) unless they're adding their own spin on it) and txt's 'ghosting'.

but the music is not what we're here for today. i talk minimally about how the song sounds and it's primarily in connection with the lyrics. lyrics are very important to LOONA because they link to the broader story of the LOONAVERSE. howver, the reason why i'm doing this is because loonatic has both a korean and english version. this means it's the perfect song to discuss how a listener's experience of a song varies depending on whether or not they understand the lyrics. let's dissect.

part 1: pacing and tone

the english version of loonatic is enticing. as it's dream-pop song, this is entirely surprising. however the lyricism further entrench the hypnotic effect (i will discuss that later). in addition, to the tone of the song, the delivery is very fast paced. odd eye circle asks the listener to follow them...

"give me your hand, don't let me down (or we're running out of time)"

"we're getting closer"

"don't you run away now"

...and let go of everything to follow them into something unknown, something mystical

"come, play in ocean of mind"

"i can take you to another world"

"aren't you getting excited now?"

they're pushing whoever the object of their affection is in these lyrics. i'm going to call that person "A".

part 2: split personalities?

there is a hint towards dual personalities in the english version. when the girls tell A "i am not insane", it acts as reassurance to both A and themselves in regards to their own sanity. this may sooth or scare the listener. who is going to trust someone that says "i am not insane"?

compare this to the repetition of the line "i don't really care now". we stand at a point where on one hand the girls want A badly. on the other, they persist that they don't care about A. (note: that line may also be in reference to really going insane and ignoring the repercussions of their actions).

part 3: the listener's experience

the first experience is for the english listener for the english version. a lot of people disliked the mixing of loonatic because you can't hear the lyrics clearly. i think this was done on purpose. why? because the music is hypnotic. if you notice the lyrics and process what is being said, you'll snap out of it. especially with the lyrics of the english version, where the lyrics aim to convince you or A to trust them. if we comprehend the lyrics, an alternate experience occurs. we become aware of the persuasive lines and it might make you feel a little uneasy. that is not a bad thing!

music should make you feel something, whether it's happy, sad, uneasy, terrified, nostalgic etc. here we have the first experience of loonatic.

the second experience is for the korean listener listening to the korean version. the lyrics to both versions are completely different and are in no way similar. where the english version has direct links to the persuasion of A, the korean version is clearly rooted in the lore of the LOONAVERSE. that does not mean the english version does not have lore, it's only less obvious. the korean version has abstract lyrics:

"the shower of stars is unstoppable"

"harmony, deep in my head"

"the milky way wraps around me"

"the familiar de ja vu of a night i don't remember"

the lyrics are also explicit to each member of odd eye circle. they're not speaking to the listener at all, which increases the complexity of the song. we can have a korean listener slowly becoming aware of the lyrics and deepen their trance through the abstract lyrics.

the third experience is for people listening to the opposite language version. many of us don't understand the lyrics when we listen to kpop. as a result, we really depend on the music to communicate the lyrics. how the music sounds is the focus of our listening experience as an outsider. it places us in a position to have a more intense listening experience.

a song like loonatic with hypnotic elements, gives us that intense experience that we wouldn't get from a song like yeojin's 'kiss later'. the beauty of that is an english speaker listening to the korean version can thoroughly immerse themselves in the hypnotism. vice versa for korean listeners.

the next time you listen to loonatic, listen to both versions. what's your experience with both?