MV Monday: BIGBANG “We Like 2 Party”
This past week, BIGBANG released the A to their MADE series with the songs “Bang Bang Bang” and “We Like 2 Party.” While “Bang Bang Bang” is more in your face, “We Like 2 Party” is softer and more summery. The MV features the fun, goofy sides of BIGBANG, making it an MV that’s more light-hearted than substance-filled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFmfi1vM7co
Like with “Bang Bang Bang,” (which is covered in Album Review Tuesday) the feeling of “I heard this song before” came to mind. Then it hit: Weezer’s 2005 song “Beverly Hills” has a similar beat and tempo. There are similarities, but not quite plagiarism as it is an easy term to throw around these days. BIGBANG adds a few more notes to the melody, but the bones are there. There’s another song heard but can’t be pinpointed even though there are some nuances of Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag.”
“We Like 2 Party” is nice and summery and connects well to their 2007-2008 eras with “Sunset Glow,” “Always,” and “Last Farewell,” so it was refreshing for those reasons alone. It’s great BIGBANG recalled their roots, but it brings about longing for the BIGBANG prior to the MADE series.
The song covers what the title suggests: Friends getting together, drinking, hanging out, and having a party. It has a reminiscent tone to it, like there’s a sense the party-goers don’t get to see each other much and they have to make the party memorable. This is where the MV, although it’s just BIGBANG having fun, plays a role.
The MV also has a sense of “let’s make this memorable. Let’s make this party fun.” It opens with BIGBANG getting on various forms of transportation and interacting with fans, these scenes matching the lyrics of “my friends came out again today/man, how you been? What’s up?” After their three-year hiatus, it is like the fans are long-lost friends coming to the party where BIGBANG are the hosts. Then the MV shifts to BIGBANG on Jeju Island playing on the beaches, enjoying each other, and creating havoc at a hotel and in the hotel pool to create the unforgettable party vibe while enhancing the summery feel.
The guerilla-style filming helps to create the fun party vibe. The scenes feel more authentic and candid instead of polished, and that’s part of the beauty. There are scenes, too, that aren’t so kosher such as Taeyang and GD flipping the bird at :43, and GD’s potty antics at 2:13. Sometimes things got a little too authentic. On the flip-side, we are seeing BIGBANG as they are right down to T.O.P wearing all his clothes in the pool (he’s said on multiple occasions that he doesn’t like exposing his body).
While it’s fun, “We Like 2 Party” is nothing special. It feels like a video that a rookie group would shoot to show they’re real people that do normal things. The MV just feels lazy and like YG and BIGBANG are focusing more on quantity (two MVs a month until September) than quality. Prior to hiatus, BIGBANG’s MVs were thought-provoking–this is not to say “Loser” and “Bae Bae” were not as the former definitely was while the latter was more innuendo-rich—but the A-Series set feels frivolous. There’s nothing special or particularly catching in the MVs, especially for “We Like 2 Party.”
However, even though there’s not much to “We Like 2 Party,” Seungri, T.O.P, and Daesung have definitely gotten better. Seungri and Daesung’s vocals are richer, and T.O.P’s rapping has more quality. Before, Seungri was more loveable goofball, while Daesung—although always having the strongest vocals in the group—was oft forgotten. T.O.P, while being a fast rapper with some interesting solo work, appeared wooden at times in MVs and in songs; this is no longer the case. These three prove that artists can get better with age.
As a whole, “We Like 2 Party” is an okay MV showing BIGBANG’s fun side, but it’s not that interesting or memorable for a group of their status.
“We Like 2 Party” earns a 2/5.
– Joelle Halon