The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 422

The sound of a voice that is authoritative, abrupt and cold begins to flood his heart with the memory of a deep and painful loss. His mind is transported back to when she left. His heart is reminded of the void he is still suffering. He longs to hear her comforting voice and not his abusive tone. Dong Ho is devastated. Lost. Heartbroken. The intensely emotional 소리기억 [I Remember The Sound] in 서편제 [Seopyeonje] is a flashback moment from the mind of Dong Ho who relives the tragedy surrounding the death of his mother. A death he squarely blames on his stepfather, Yoo Bong. Continuing on my spring Seopyeonje revival, the heart-wrenching 소리기억 [I Remember The Sound] is the subject of our Fan-Camming Friday today.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 421

I would like to continue with our little Road to Seopyeonje retrospective as we look back at G.O’s preparation for his role as the fractured and fragile Dong Ho. The role of Dong Ho required a versatile musical actor. He had to act, sing and believably play the 소리북 [sori buk], a traditional drum used to accompany pansori. G.O accomplished it all and deserved all of the praise, accolades and the musical award he received for his tender and honest portrayal of the complex Dong Ho. Putting the serious aside for a moment, let’s revisit the rehearsal studio where G.O, along with his fellow actors he shared the role with (Michael Lee and Song Yong Jin) learned the way of the sori buk.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 419

Ok, I think I am back on schedule with the G.O One Shots. I decided that with just a little over 300 days left (312, to be exact), I am going to be less stringent with some of the parameters I have set for myself here on the Countdown. Much like our serene music man, I am going to relax and let things effortlessly flow. Today’s flow is all about the 14 January 2012 Music Core performance of the powerful 전쟁이야 [This Is War]. I cannot help but turn this one shot .gif day into a multi-shot .gif day. See, I am happily stepping outside of the One Shot boundaries, it and feels good.~^^

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 417

The road to Seopyeonje was so long ago and yet it seems like only yesterday. Since spring was the season of Seopyeonje (in 2014), I have been feeling very, very nostalgic. I thought revisiting a couple of the early rehearsal videos would be nice for a Sunday. G.O’s voice on a spring Sunday in April? Absolutely.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 416

I know that any time we are particularly missing the sounds of G.O’s beautiful voice, we only need open up our music apps (or pop a CD into the player) and choose from one of the many MBLAQ, Tykeys and/or his solo songs in our libraries to soothe that yearning. But every so often it is nice to detour from those libraries to get lost in an old impromptu radio broadcast performance, a cover song that perhaps holds deep meaning for him, or one he simply loves to sing. Kim Kwang Seok’s 사랑했지만 [Though I Loved You] might be one of those songs. A lovely melody. The poetic lyrics. The big notes. Yes, a perfect match for our tender main vocal.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 415

There is just something about 열쇠 [Key]. It seems to be one of those songs that digs deep into G.O and takes ahold of every fiber of emotion welling inside of him. From the Broken promotions to the final performances of the song into late 2014, you see it in his eyes when he sings it and without question, hear it in his voice. 열쇠 [Key] is a somber song filled with pleas to help ease the pain of a broken or closed heart and probably has one of the most poetic and touching choruses of any of MBLAQ’s songs. And yes, G.O is the commander of that chorus. Today’s Fan-Camming Friday moment is a G.O- focused cam taken during the performance of  the lyrically beautiful 열쇠 [Key] at MBLAQ’s July 2014 Summer Vacation in Tokyo.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 412

I don’t believe I am exaggerating when I say that from 2009 through 2013, the men of MBLAQ (collectively and individually) were the undisputed kings of variety. I think you will find truth and subsequent proof in this bold statement by watching (or re-watching) some of their show appearances and specifically those shows that were built around them. Idol Manager was one of those very shows. I have not yet shared any IM moments here on the Countdown ~ gasp! Today, I have a particular yearning to reminisce. My usual M.O here with episodic shows has been to choose a random episode and hope that it held a good many G.O memorable moments to share. For my first visit to Idol Manager during this countdown series, I am choosing Episode 5. It is ripe with so much goodness, I almost don’t know where to begin.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 411

The Pure Love feels were reignited recently when a picture popped up on Instagram (compliments of goldentime_company) featuring G.O with two of his co-stars from the 2013 drama, 일말의 순정 [Pure/Remaining Love]. It is fortunate for us that we will soon get an opportunity to see G.O back on the screen (in his film debut this month!!) but as we (im)patiently wait for that moment, it is always nice to revisit his work in past dramas. Oh nostalgia is so very sweet in the form of the lovable Choi Min Soo.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 404

I cannot possibly be the only one who routinely loses my emotional balance when I listen to G.O sing the songs of the musical, 광화문 연가 [Gwanghwamun Sonata]. While writing an original musical (story, music composition and lyrical content) is an amazing creative feat, there is something equally as magical as picking and choosing well-established songs of a composer and building a story around those songs. This fascinates me. I admit that my imagination runs wild with the thought of examining the songs G.O has penned to see if a story can be set to those songs. But, I am getting way ahead of myself here. So let me pull the reins a bit and get back to the focus of this post: Lee Young Hoon’s beautiful and haunting ballad 슬픈 사랑의 노래 [Sad Love Song] from Gwanghwamun Sonata. Continue reading “The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 404”