YouTube Music doesn’t provide a Fall Recap. Like last year, however, the service *did* give me a playlist of the songs I played the most during that period (along with my 2023 Recap) at the end of November. Here’s a screenshot of my top five tracks from YouTube:
All five songs are from NCT and its associated units. Yay! I wouldn’t have it any other way. Since I’ve already discussed “ISTJ” and “Black On Black” in the past, I’m only going to focus on the other three songs here.
Note: I’m making more of an effort to understand the song lyrics now. Obviously, I don’t speak Korean, so I have to rely on various online English translations. If I don’t specify the source, the translation comes from the music video’s subtitles. Also, an italicized lyric indicates that the line is a translation of the Korean one.
#1 – “Fact Check” (NCT 127)
October was that magical time of year when the Ilichils release a new album. This time, it was called Fact Check. As usual, it was excellent. My favorite tracks are “Je Ne Sais Quoi,” “Misty,” “Parade,” and, of course, the title track “Fact Check.”
Before the album dropped, I previewed every track through a special website their label set up. I immediately liked the “Fact Check” snippet, which is rare for me with NCT songs. It’s very high octane, with a healthy dash of a Latin flavor. My interpretation of the lyrics is that the guys are telling their haters that the group’s success is irrefutable. The proof is in the stadiums they’ve packed, the albums they’ve sold, and the trends they’ve set. Regardless of what anyone thinks of them, the facts and stats don’t lie. It’s a fitting anthem for a unit that gets so much unwarranted criticism from all corners.
You can tell I really like a song when I watch every video and performance of it. That happened with “Fact Check.” I watched it all—from the performance version of the music video to the 1theKILLPO performance to all of the music show appearances. In every version, the guys put both feet into that choreography. Their costumes for this era continued to be fabulous. The best outfits in my opinion were the white, cowboy-inspired ones that they wear in the performance video. Countless hours of Project Runway have taught me a teeny bit about fashion, like how the fringe, buckles, and straps on their clothes accentuate their movements when they dance.
I’m so sad that Taeil couldn’t fully participate. He makes brief appearances in the music video, and his voice is on the album version of the track, but in subsequent videos and performances, some of his lines are covered by other members or his vocals play while someone else is front and center. While it’s a testament to their talent that they were able to compensate for Taeil’s absence as smoothly as they did—check the facts!—it still felt weird every time I counted eight on stage instead of nine. I missed him.
#3 – “The BAT” (NCT U)
Two months before NCT 127 released Fact Check, NCT as a whole released its latest album, Golden Age. As I’ve said before, the full group albums are a big reason why I enjoy NCT so much. I was pleased with the album. We got an awesome batch of new songs, like “The BAT” (which I’ll talk about here), “Call D” (which I’ll talk about next), “Baggy Jeans,” and “Not Your Fault.” Although I wanted a slightly different lineup on some of the songs, it worked out fine because more members got a chance to shine for a change. Fair is fair.
So, “The BAT” features Taeil, Johnny, Yuta, Jungwoo, Hendery, Jeno, and Jisung. Even with translations, I’m not exactly sure what this song is about. Doesn’t matter. It sounds cool, especially that futuristic track-skipping effect that happens during the chorus. The opening is catchy too: “Call me Mr. Wayne/Bat’s on the Bat/Bat’s on the Bat.” These lines are expertly delivered by Hendery, who just might be the Golden Age MVP given his equally impressive bars on “Alley Oop,” “Golden Age,” and “PADO.” Likewise, Yuta shows off some of the best vocals I’ve ever heard from him.
The archiving video, as it’s called, really puts the bow on this gift. In its mere two minutes and eleven seconds—the second verse and second chorus are omitted—it serves visuals like you wouldn’t believe. The guys look like hot secret agents, dressed in head-to-toe black while they lounge, drive fancy vehicles, and dance. The most memorable moment is when Johnny and Jeno are rapping at each other across a table. What an unexpected yet not-unwelcome pair! I damn near fainted at the top of the scene when Jeno is sitting there with his huge biceps behind his head. The video needed to be longer.
#5 – “Call D” (NCT U)
Taeyong, the Head Neo, and Ten, Neo Dancer Extraordinaire, are very dangerous men separately. Together, their combined skills and sexiness make them off-the-charts lethal. NCTzens found that out when the two released their song “Baby Don’t Stop” a few years ago. I wasn’t a fan at the time, so I could only imagine the utter chaos they left in their wake…until they came back to ruin more czennie lives with “Call D” on Golden Age. I wasn’t ready, y’all!
As I understand from Genius’s English translation, the song is about a guy who’s waiting for a woman to call him for a hookup (and getting excited thinking about it). He promises that he will make it worth her while. Hence the lines, “Anything you need/Any fantasy/Acts that will ruin you.” And the way they hold the note at the end of that last part gives you a moment to fill in the blanks of what those acts could be. The catch is that his offer has a timer on it.
As iconic as “Baby Don’t Stop” is, I prefer “Call D.” Tae and Ten take turns singing and rapping against this dope, bass-filled beat. Plenty of phone-related sound effects like button noises, dial tones, a ticking clock, and an operator’s disconnect message (which signifies that she waits too long to call) further set the scene. It’s all very creative storytelling.
Alas, there’s no official music video. There is footage out there of them performing the song live during the NCT Nation concerts, though. Google it now. Seriously.