HALFWAY HERE | me

a late-night transcript of my musical ramblings

   [published 06.08.18]

ok so i stan nct now!!! this is wild for me bc i honestly haven't tried stanning a new group in like two years, i was really content with the groups i stanned and didn't feel like i needed to follow anyone else? and now here these lil shits are wooooooooooow.

   chain was the song that finally did it to me. i'd been casually paying attention to all the units since their debuts, and i followed mark a bit bc he's an incredible rapper? but no, chain finally did it to me. this song is so insane that it made me stan. y'know i'm still shook by this song. y'all are really trying to tell me that this isn't the strangest piece of music you've ever heard? i'm fully obsessed with this song and on june 2, 2018 i really couldn't sleep and i wrote the following down in a notebook (the actual transcript of what i wrote down will be in italics below and i tried to make it really accurate with what i crossed out and where i wrote above the margins and stuff like that so maybe you'll find that funny).

   if you don't stan nct or aren't shooketh by chain maybe this chapter isn't for you?? if you are gonna read this and haven't heard the song or aren't super familiar with it listen to it (i linked it in the multimedia for y'all you're welcome)!! anyway whatever here we go:

t r a n s c r i p t   b e g i n s   n o w

hey gang it's 1:41 in the morning and i graduate high school in like 8 hours so here is a comprehensive explanation (analysis?) of chain by nct 127

• aight so we open with CLING CLANG CLING CLANG and this itty bitty 2-note slidy synth line that you have to really focus in on to hear, pretty  much the only indication that the song is even in a key is the vocal part

• so during the intro the listener's just kinda in limbo like "i know a drop is coming but i have no fucking clue what it's gonna be" and then BAM

• the little synth line drops out in the drop and all you're left with is deep bass that swells and slides a bit and this cling clang industrial thing and i think the trap beat that's under it might actually be found sounds? like either it's mixed super well to fit in w/ the machine noises or it actually is machine noises. either is dope but we know this is lit now

• and like still the only hint at a key is the vocal line in the drop and then we open to the first verse w/ this big swelling vocal harmony at 0:26 and finally we get a chord and a semblance of knowledge as to where we are

• ok so over mark's part are c̶l̶a̶n̶g̶s̶ high-pitched clangs and the bassline, so mark's kinda occupying the middle of the space which is cool, but also like the clangs are percussion and the main instrumental like the trap beat isn't even there till he's halfway done so it's using its sounds efficiently

• ok there are backing vocals coming out of mark's part into the pre-chorus and we FINALLY have chords in the instrumental on the quarter notes, plus clangs and b̶a̶s̶s̶, ᵗʰᵉ ʷʰᶦⁿʸ ᵇᵃˢˢˡᶦⁿᵉ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵗʰᵉ ᶦⁿᵗʳᵒ but most of the melodic work is still being pulled by the backing vocals, drop bass drops out so things feel a little calmer, plus the clangs are quieter too so that helps.

• the trap beat comes back in and right before the next drop, pretty much everything else drops out and it's just vocal harmony, the trap, and this wind-wooshing kinda noise that swells into the drop

• and when you get there you think it'll be the same as it was but NOPE! you have everything you had before plus this high synth thing that's all scratchy and kinda reminds me of an electric sander but that actually ends up more prominent than the vocal line so the listener's kinda drowning and grasping for the vocals bc the rest is so overwhelming

• and then the rest of the chorus happens!!! the high synth carries you in since like everything else cuts for a beat or two and the vocals are the main segway again, they become more prominent so the listener latches on and doesn't let go

• so the bassline changes a little so it pulses more, there are more rests, and the high synth cuts out and you've got the simple melody line keeping you grounded while more kickass backing vocals provide like all the pitches and transitions from part to part, also clang cling clang

• big swelling ᵛᵒᶜᵃˡ chord and then bang we're into the second verse!— more swelly chords in the instrumental now w/ the whiny bass line and then transitions to pulsing quarter chords and then swells again

• ik this is all about the instrumental but the vocals here are insane js

• mark comes back in (with a very hot verse if i'm being honest i ❤︎ mark lee) and the notes drop, just clangs and whiny bass and backing vocals keepin ya steady

• then traptraptraptrap and its taeyong's time! whiny bass gets replaced with the chorus bass while taeyong goes   o f f

• lil punchy sound effects between taeyong and mark's parts woo

• so we're into the pre-chorus again but now pulsy instrumental has been replaced with these tiny airy little synth chords and WHAT? literally it's just those chords and this simple kickdrum line like there's no bass and no clangs for the first time since the song started (we're at 2:04 now like it's been 124 seconds of clang) and the listener finally gets a little break to appreciate these sick vocals

• just the vocal line for a sec at the end of the pre-chorus and then we're into the "drill drill" part again and the clangs are back woo!! it's the same as before but now since w̶e̶k̶r̶e̶ we're transitioning into the bridge the little whooshy sound turns into this swelling  m̶a̶c̶h̶i̶n̶e̶ computer startup kinda sound like it reminds me of the THX sound thingy

• big noticeable instrumental chords in the bridge, they're swelling and pushing and pulling all over the place and it's dope, the percussion and clangs are gone but now we've got this high-pitched sparkly synth line in the back? like it sounds like  sparkles but smoother it's wild

• drums kick back in in the second half of the bridge, slowly building the trap beat (as ya do) while my man moon taeil sings like he's never sung before i love raw power

• now we're into the final drop and we've got everything we had the second time we heard it plus the whinier bassline so it segways into the outro— also incredible vocals throughout the "drill drill" part but that's otherwise the same

• outro's the same as the intro w/ mark rapping(?) and soft adlibs w/ just the whiny bass line and clangs that are a little higher than the beginning, bass cuts out in the last two measures before ending w/ just clangs and vocals

• now it's 2:30am and this song still gets me lit like no other

• only sm entertainment can slay like this

• an industrial bop

• nct keep doing your thing i love you

t r a n s c r i p t   e n d s   n o w

   hope you guys enjoyed my nonsensical ramblings about vague music theory bullshit but hey maybe you found it entertaining? maybe not? idk man whenever i do kpop stuff i feel the need to share it on here just bc that's who i am and that's clearly why any of you pay attention to anything i do on this site hahAH

   keep doing what you're doing guys and i'll have more incandescence updates out soon, i'm sick right now so once i'm feeling a bit better i'll be 100% up for more writing!! bye and stan nct!!!