Friday, December 29, 2017

Cat Reviews: EXO: Universe - Winter Special Album 2017

Aloha Friends!!!  The day you've all been waiting for it FINALLY here!  Today I'm going to be reviewing EXO's Winter Special album, Universe!!!

 STOP!! CICK HERE TO LISTEN TO UNIVERSE -WINTER SPECIAL ALBUM 2017 BEFORE YOU CONTINUE READING!

If you're a return reader, you already know how much I love EXO's winter albums, so you can only imagine how excited I was to finally hear their newest winter album, Universe. Universe has a completely different vibe than the past winter albums.  This album has mostly rock ballads that make you long for a warm blanket, a hot chocolate, and an even hotter EXO member to cuddle with.  This album seems more emotional than the ones before it, but it's perfectly fitting for the winter season.

An Overview and Album Artwork:
Universe includes 8 new songs, three of which are just different versions of the title track, Universe.  Like I mentioned above, the overall vibe of this album is pretty bleak(???) for lack of a better word.  It doesn't have any songs that have that fun, cutesy vibe, like "Falling For You" from For Life, or "불공평해 Unfair" from Sing For You.  I think the new vibe shows a more mature side of EXO and I'm honestly really feeling it.  This album had a barista concept which is cool I guess?  I don't really get how it goes with the songs, but I mean I'm still and EXO-L aka I love whatever EXO does.  They want to be baristas for this album?  I'll have an iced latte.  (Sorry I wanted to make a joke I just didn't have anything to work with...)  Their concept photos for this album were great.  Chanyeol looked great, no complaints.  I'll include the photos at the end of this post!  As for the album artwork, the digital version of the album features a piping hot cup of idk what in what seems like space, so that's cool.  It fits the vibe of the album so I'm not mad at it.  Interestingly enough, there isn't a Chinese version of all the songs on this album, but just a Chinese version of the title track, Universe.  I don't mind though, because I don't usually listen to the Chinese versions (sorry to my own heritage lol).  I honestly don't know what comes in the physical version, but mine is on the way (I think...) and once it comes, I'll be sharing it with you, as always!

The Songs:
1. Universe
How many times have I said that Universe is the title track in this post?  Well... It is and it's pretty damn good.  It has a really great rock ballad melody.  It's a really great song to fall asleep to, not that it's boring but it's super soothing and relaxing.  Not to spoil it for anyone, but spoiler alert, Sehun actually sings and he sounds so good!!!  The music video is honestly kinda strange.  It's coffee/barista themed and I honestly just don't get it.  It's not strange in a bad way at all though, like I actually really like it, I just don't frickin get it lol.

2. Universe - Chinese Version
Since this is the only Chinese version of any of the songs on this album, I'm forced to listen to it when I put the album on shuffle but I'm honestly not mad at it.  For me, the Chinese versions of the songs kinda ruin them for me, but the Chinese version of Universe is really good and preserves the really great rock ballad feel.

 3. 지나갈 테니 Been Through
I read a lot of comments about this song before I listened to it and everyone was like "omg so good!!! I love it so much!!! Everyone's going to love it!!!!" so imagine my expectations when I finally heard it...  Well, they were met and I fricking love this song.  I'm really impressed with the direction that EXO went with this album.  It's SO different, and this song really puts that on display.  I honestly would've loved this song as the title track too.

4. Stay
Like 지나갈 테니 Been Through, I read a lot of really good feedback about Stay before I listened to it so I had high expectations and once again, EXO came through.  It's another example of a song that really displays how different this album is than any of their other albums.  When I hear this song, I imagine a really dramatic K-drama scene where a couple is standing on a path lined by cherry blossom trees, one of them just told the other that they needed to break up and walks away, the other stands there alone, sad.  If you can't picture it, lay down, close your eyes are really listen to the song lol.

5. Fall
Uhm so I love this song sooooo much guys.  For some reason, it reminds me of Justin Timberlake and I really love JT so...  Baekhyun oppa's "oh" and "hey" in the later chorus KILL ME.  I've honestly never been a huge fan of Baekhyun's voice, like he's a great singer, but he really impressed me in this song for some reason.  His voice really stood out.  Not to forget to mention that I really really REALLY love Chanyeol's rap in this song like it's so smooth and makes me melt (even though everything he does makes me melt).

6. Good Night
I'm going to start by saying that this is my absolute favorite song on this entire album.  It reminds me of my favorite B2ST (RIP) song, also titled Good Night, and if any of the EXO members ever sang this to me, you'd best bet I'd pass out aka good frickin night for me.  But this song just has that little more upbeat, but still a little ballad-y vibe that I love so much.  And Chanyeol's chorus and his verse about how the a beautiful night without you finds him again UGJHHHHHHHHHH.  Omg and Umin oppa's "Baby good night" I'm already dead good night.

 7. Lights Out
A rock ballad?  THIS IS IT.  Lights Out is THE rock ballad of this album.  It's literally just vocals and piano which is amazing because it really showcases how great of vocalists EXO is.  Like with Fall, Baekhyun's voice really stood out to me, like be made this song his bitch and the song is totally fine with it.  Baekhyun's little "whoa whoa" in the background around 2:12 remind me of Frank Ocean, and idk if you guys know already but I love Frank Ocean so much so I have a deep appreciation for this "whoa whoas".

 8. Universe - CD Version
Don't bash me but I honestly cannot tell the difference between this version of Universe and the non-CD version of Universe.  They're the same length and everything like WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE???? If you know please tweet me @thecaitlynlee because ya girl does not have a clue.  Either way, it's still a great song, no matter what version you're listening to so I have no complaints.

Picking Favorites:
I didn't make my ranking so obvious in my reviews this time (right?).  Anyways, you guys know already that Good Night is my favorite, but here is my ranking of all the songs!
1. Good Night
2. Fall
3. 지나갈 테니 Been Through
4. Universe (Both CD and non-CD versions)
5. Stay
6. Lights Out
7. Universe - Chinese Version

Final Thoughts:
I think you guys can already tell that I love this album.  I really like the different direction that EXO went in for this album and none of the songs disappointed.  EXO's winter albums are always my favorite, like find me listening to them any time of the year honestly.  I'm really glad I can add this to my EXO winter albums playlist and jam out all year long!!!

As always, thanks so much for reading!!  What was your favorite song from Universe??  Let me know!!!

As promised, here are the concept photos for this album!! (Don't forget that you can click the photos to view them larger!)

















With Love,
Caitlyn (Park) <3

Buy EXO Universe - Winter Special Album 2017 (Physical)
Buy EXO Universe - Winter Special Album 2017 (Digital)
Listen to EXO Universe on Spotify
Watch EXO Universe Music Video

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Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Cat Reviews: EXO - THE WAR (The Power of Music) Repackaged + The Physical Album!

Aloha Friends!  Buckle up because this post is going to be far too biased and fangirl-y, but if you're a returning reader, you already know what to expect...  Because today I'm going to be reviewing... EXO's repackaged album, The Power of Music!!!!  (As well as show you guys what the physical album looks like!)  I know I'm suuuuuuuuper late, but I had a lot of this written a while ago, so I just thought I'd finish it before I have to review EXO's upcoming winter album lol.

I'm combining the review and physical album overview together because the repackaged album only has three new songs, and I since I already reviewed the other songs, I don't think it's necessary to separate the two posts out.  The bulk of this post will be about the physical album because there's A LOT.  Like A. LOT.  But you'll see that further down.

An Overview and Album Artwork:

So like I already mentioned, the repack of THE WAR is called The Power of Music.  It features the nine original songs from THE WAR and three new songs (four if you count the instrumental of one of the songs)!  Before I even get into the review, I just want to mention, as always, you guys know I'm the biggest EXO-L, therefore this review will be super biased and probably incredibly unhelpful for those looking for a legitimate review, but to each his own.  Moving on...  The main song of this repack is Power and boy oh boy is it good.  The music video is unlike anything EXO's ever done before and it's honestly one of my favorites.  It has a "hero" theme, where the members are fighting what seems to be robots, who are trying to take over EXO Planet.  They really bring their powers back for this repack and I'm living for it.  Check out the music video on the sidebar!  As for the album artwork, in typical EXO fashion, the digital album artwork is their hexagonal logo, this time, featuring NINE (YA NINE) flexed arms.  My friend doesn't like it, but I think it goes really well with this comeback.  I won't go into details about the physical album artwork just yet, you'll have to wait until I start talking about the album...  Originally, I wasn't going to include reviews of the songs that are part of the previous version of this album, but my opinions on certain songs have since changed, so I'll be including my updated feelings about each song.  But if you'd like to read my old reviews, CLICK HERE!

The Songs
1. 전야 (前夜) The Eve
I'm pretty sure I loved this song when the original version of this album came out, and I still love it so much.  It's super sexy, but like not your typical sexy EXO, but like SEXY EXO.  Does that make sense??  Anyways, this song still bangs, and those body rolls...

2. Power
Power is really the main song of this album and I LOVE IT.  It's super happy and upbeat; it's the kind of song that makes you feel like you can do anything.  

3. Sweet Lies
Sweet Lies is another new song from the repack and IT'S MY FAVORITE.  It has that SEXY EXO vibe that 전야 (前夜) The Eve has and I looooooove it.  Chanyeol's rap literally kills me.  It's like bad boi EXO and I frickin love it so much you guys don't understand.  Sweet Lies also fills that ballad void that missing from the first version of the album, although it isn't realllyyyyy a ballad, it's good enought for me.

 4. Ko Ko Bop
Ko Ko Bop was the main track of the first version, and I can't remember what I wrote about it, but it's still great, not my favorite, but still a bop.

 5. What U do?
I think this was my favorite song from the first version, and I still love What U do?.  My feelings about this song haven't changed.

 6. Forever
Honestly guys, I kinda didn't like Forever and it's not that don't like it, but like it isn't my fave.  I goes hard like dang EXO okay, but I think you guys already know that I love ballads like For Life, or cute songs like Girl x Friend.  I feel better about this song now, like it definitely grew on me and I like it more than I did before!!!

 7. 부메랑 Boomerang
OH MY GOOODDDDD GUYYYYSSSS I LOVE BOOMERANG.  It's one of those cute songs and I love it so much.  I honestly can't even put into words what about it I love, but I just looooooove it.  You'll have to listen to understand.

 8. 다이아본드 Diamond
Like Forever, Diamond is one of those songs that I just feel ehhhhh about.  It's not that I don't like it, it's just not my speed and I still feel the same way about it as I did when I first reviewed this album.  It's not bad!!! It's just not my fave.

 9. 너의 손짓 Touch It
I think this was another one of my favorite songs last time, and still is, ESPECIALLY AFTER SEEING THE SEXY CHOREO.  God I love EXO's sexy time dances.

 10. 소름 Chill
ANOTHER FAVE!  I still can't get over Kyungsoo oppa's lil rap.  It still kills me every time I hear it.  Despite it's title, Chill is not a song that you can just chill out to, but it's still so good and I will continue to listen to Kyungsoo oppa's rap on repeat.

 11. 기억을 걷는 밤  Walk On Memories
Walk On Memories is a song that I still have conflicting feelings with.  I do really like it, like it's one of my favorite songs, but its almost that ballad that this album needed during the first release, ALMOST, but it isn't, which is disappointing.  I still love it, don't get my wrong, there's just something about it that's missing.

 12. 내가 미쳐 Going Crazy
My feelings about Going Crazy have not changed.  I still don't like it all that much because like with Forever and Diamond, it's not up my alley.  Sorry EXO oppas.

 Picking Favorites:
My song ranking is definitely different than the first time I ranked the first version of this album, so here are my new faves!

 1. Sweet Lies
2. 부메랑 Boomerang
3. 전야 (前夜) The Eve
4. What U do?
5. 소름 Chill
6. 너의 손짓 Touch It
7. 기억을 걷는 밤  Walk On Memories
8. Ko Ko Bop
9. Power
10. Forever
11. 내가 미쳐 Going Crazy
12. 다이아본드 Diamond

 The Physical Album:

GUYS this album comes with SO MUCH.  From photo pages to comic pages, it literally comes with so much stuff, I think this is one of the best physical albums I've ever purchased.  There's literally so much stuff that my backdrop wasn't even big enough.


 Every album comes with five large photo pages with the members paired up, ChanBaek, SuSoo, XuiChen, SeKai, and then a group photo.  


 It also comes with two versions of larger photocards, with photos of individual members, so there are eight per stack.  I personally really like the version the black border (top) better than the colorful version (bottom).  These photos are also the concept photos for this comeback.


 It also comes with a page of the comic book that this album is sort of based off of.  If you collect all the pages, you could make a full comic book, but I don't got the time or the money to do that lol.  


 The album comes with a photocard.  I got Xiumin!!  


 My pre-order also came with a poster!  It's the same group photo as the large photo card above.

Of course, it comes with the actual CD, but that's not the important part lol.  

Final Thoughts:
I think you can probably already tell that overall, I really enjoyed the repackaged version of The War.  The new songs are all really great, especially Sweet Lies and Boomerang!!!  I'm so in love with the repack's superhero/comic book concept and I'm glad SM decided that it was time that EXO go back to their superhuman, EXO Planet roots.  If you don't have either versions of the album yet, which would I recommend?  Well, as beautiful as the concept was for the first version of this album, I honestly would recommend getting the repackaged version because it comes with A LOT OF stuff, and you get the same songs plus three more, but we all know we don't buy these albums for the actual music lol.  Though the first version of this album is more my aesthetic... which I why I have both versions!!!  Overall, I'm glad EXO did this really cool repack and I can't wait for their new winter album (which are always my favorites) on December 26th!!! (Which means I'll see you then for another review lol)

As always, thank you so much for reading!!!  What did you think about The Power of Music??  What was your favorite song between the three new additions?  Let me know in the comments or tweet me @thecaitlynlee!  I can't wait to hear from you!

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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

12 Days of Catmas :(

Aloha Friends!  I'm sure you already figured this, but sadly, I won't be continuing on with the 12 Days of Catmas this year.  With the unfortunate passing of SHINee's Jonghyun, who was my very first bias EVER, it's just not really the most wonderful time of the year anymore.  After Christmas, I will continue to post as I normally would, every Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 AM PST.

To my fellow SHAWOLS, to the members of Jonghyun's family, to the members of SHINee, to the rest of the SMTown family, and to anyone who has been affected by this great loss, my thoughts are with you.  If you need someone to talk to about this, please feel free to message me on Twitter, Insta, wherever!  Stay strong everyone!

To Jonghyun Oppa ~ YOU DID WELL.  Thank you for everything.  Heaven is so lucky to have an angel like you.

With Love,
Caitlyn <3

12 Days of Catmas 2015
12 Days of Catmas 2016

Caitlyn's Links:
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Friday, December 15, 2017

12 Days of Catmas - Day 2: The Christmas Tag!

Aloha Friends and welcome to DAY TWO of the 12 Days of Catmas!!!

I've set a precedent, where I do a Christmas related tag each 12 Days of Catmas, buuuut there are only two variations of the tag, so I'm kind of at a loss lol.  I decided though, that since it has been two years since I did the first version of the Christmas tag, I'd do it again and to see if my answers are any different!  That being said, I have not read my post from two years ago, and I probably haven't read it since I posted it two years ago lol, so these answers are completely from 2017 Caitlyn, with no influence from 2015 Caitlyn!  So without further ado... let's get started!

1. What's your favorite Christmas movie?
My favorite Christmas movie is the live action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!  I don't know why but I love it so much, but of course I still love classics like ELF and the Santa Clause trilogy.

2. Have you ever had a White Christmas?
Nope!  I doesn't snow in San Francisco, and it probably never will (@/climate change)

3. Where do you usually spend your holiday?
My family and I spend it in a variety of places.  Some years we spend it at home, some years we stay at a hotel, sometimes we go to Hawaii.  It's different ever year!

4. What is your favorite Christmas song?
R. Kelly's "A Love Letter Christmas" cause I'm just a snowgirl looking for a snowman.

5. Do you open any present on Christmas Eve?
From what I remember, my brother and I used to beg my parents to let us open presents on Christmas Eve, and they'd let us as long as we saved on for Christmas Day.  That has changed though.  I don't know why...

6.  Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Rudolph, Blitzen, Dancer, Prancer... that's all I remember, but male reindeer shed their antlers in the winter so Santa's reindeer are all female!!! Ya go girl!!!

7. What holiday traditions are you looking forward to most this year?
I always look forward to the holiday high tea I go to with my mom!!  We get all dressed up and go to a fancy tea.  It's my favorite part of Christmas tbh.

8. Is your Christmas tree real or fake?
Every single Christmas tree I have is fake (yeah I have more than one lol).

9. What is your all-time favorite holiday food/sweet treat?
I've probably said the exact same thing every year I've answered this question, but my favorite holiday treat is this Christmas bread that my aunt makes every year.  It's so frickin good I'm drooling right now.

10. Be honest: do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts better?
When I was younger, aka when I didn't have to give gifts, of course I liked receiving more, but now that I'm older, I really like giving gifts more because not to toot my own horn, but I think I'm a pretty darn good gift-giver.

11. What is the best Christmas gift you've ever received?
Honestly, there isn't one specific gift that really stands out to me, but I appreciate ever gift I get during Christmas.  Maybe if someone got my Chanyeol for Christmas... that'd be it.

12. What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season?
I want to go somewhere that snows during Christmas or somewhere that really does Christmas BIG!!!

13. Are you a pro-present wrapper or do you fail miserably?
I'm definitely super pro.  I don't just wrap the gifts I'm giving, but I wrap every else's gifts for them too lol.

14. Most memorable holiday moment?
My most memorable holiday moment...  Probably when we went to Hawaii for Christmas and I was super disappointed because we wouldn't have a tree, but my parents surprised my brother and I by getting us this cute little tree that light up and played music in sync with the lights!!  We still have that tree and I love it so much.

15. Do you make New Years resolutions?  Do you stick to them?
I never make resolutions because I know I'll never stick to them.

16. What makes the holidays special for you?
The holidays are special to me because it's the one chance that I get to see my extended family all together in one place.  This year, I actually saw them a lot, but in the past, we only saw my cousins and other family during Thanksgiving and Christmas, so even if I did see them many times this year, it's always special during the holidays!

And there are my answers to the Christmas Tag!!  Feel free to take a look back at the old Christmas tags I did and tell me if my answers are any different!!

As always, thanks so much for reading!!  See you tomorrow!

With Love,
Caitlyn <3

12 Days of Catmas 2015
12 Days of Catmas 2016

Caitlyn's Links:
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SoundCloud

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Thursday, December 14, 2017

12 Days of Catmas: DAY 1 - Where Have I Been???

Aloha Friends!  HAPPY DAY ONE OF THE 12 DAYS OF CATMAS!!!  Literally long time no see!!!  I'm so so sooooo excited because I wasn't going to do the 12 Days of Catmas this year, but I finally had a free minute to write!!!!  So sorry for going MIA after saying that I was going to write more often, but in today's post, I'm going to be sharing what's been going on in my life, and where I've been!

Before we get into my update, for those of you who are new (HI!!!) and/or who don't know what the 12 Days of Catmas is, I will be posting every day for the next 12 days, until Christmas, and then I go back to the regular scheduled program starting in the new year (that's every Wednesday and Friday and 10:30AM PST for those who are REALLY new)!  Last year's 12 Days of Catmas included lots of Christmas related posts, but this year's is just going to be random posts every day about anything, though I will try to write a few Christmas related ones, but no promises!!

Okay... now onto the update!

Where have I been?  Well, I've honestly been no where.  No lie, every day I go back and forth between school, my house, and work, on repeat until I die.  This semester has been a lot more draining and busy than I had expected.  My classes weren't really that hard, but there was A LOT of work.  Pile actual work on top of schoolwork, and I'm surprised I'm still alive at the end of the semester.  I haven't seen most of my friends since school started.  I'm not even kidding.  I have a friend I used to see multiple times a week, and it's been two months and I haven't seen them at all lol.  Other than school, I've been working NONSTOP.  If I'm not at school, I'm a work.  I'm literally exhausted.

This semester however, has taught me a lot.  First and foremost, it's taught me how to balance school, work, and my social life (which basically doesn't exist because I'm always at school and work lol).  I haven't found that perfect balance yet, but I'm still working on it.  This semester has also taught me to love my major.  Up until now, I'd never taken any of my marketing courses, so I wasn't really feeling it anymore after I started really liking accounting, but after taking a marketing course this past semester, it really made me feel like I chose the right area to study and that I chose the right path for myself.

The craziest thing about this semester is me realizing how close I am to finishing school.  I'm two semesters away from graduating and GOD I CANNOT WAIT TO BE DONE.  This winter break is going to be my last EVER.  How freaky is that???  I still remember being so scared to start middle school and high school, and now I've almost finished college.  That's freakin nuts.

I've also successfully lived on my own for the past few months and thank god for it because if I had to share a tiny room with someone again I'd kms.  But living on my own is a lot different than living in a dorm room.  I don't have 24/7 access to a cafeteria where I have basically unlimited swipes, I have to grocery shop on my own, which I'm still not great at because grocery shopping is actually really hard.  I have to cook my own meals, which at first, was exciting because I love to cook, but now that I have to do it in order to survive, it's such a chore, and I find myself ordering delivery a lot.  But don't follow my example kids, I'm terrible at adulting.

And that was my life update!  I know it wasn't exciting or anything, but you can tell for sure now that I definitely don't have an exciting life lol.  As always, thanks so much for reading!!!  See you tomorrow!!!

With Love,
Caitlyn <3

12 Days of Catmas 2015
12 Days of Catmas 2016

Caitlyn's Links:
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