MV of the Month: SHINee's 'Married to the Music'

The month of August was filled with potential contenders for the title, Music Video of the Month. Girls' Generation, Big Bang, maybe even HyunA? All of them were good. But nothing stood out for us quite like SHINee's "Married to the Music." Released one month ago yesterday, let's ask Timothy Moore and Zander Stachniak to give us a rundown of just why SHINee takes the prize!

Tim: When I heard that SHINee released a "horror video" for "Married to the Music," my expectations were definitely not high. And, really, this isn't a "horror" video per se, as the video is essentially very silly as opposed to horrifying. And that's really where I was blown away, how far these guys go in looking ridiculous or awful...or decapitated.

Yes, there's moments where they can flex their idol-charisma, but there's also time for Taemin to lose his eyes, Key to lose his head, Jonghyun to throw up confetti (and lose his mouth), Onew to lose his nose, and Minho to get his head all burnt! It's all rather refreshing to see your favorite idols in the midst of unflattering, gruesome imagery and it shows the confidence SHINee has that they can go all out. The whole time I'm watching this video, I couldn't help but think, is this really an SM video? And that's awesome to have my expectations checked.

Zander: That's a really good point, Tim. Not only is this unexpected for an SM video, but it's unexpected for any idol to purposefully allow himself to look anything less than perfect. What I love about this video is that SHINee took a risk in going the zany route. Instead of horror, I'd describe this video as akin to walking through a Halloween funhouse. There's gruesome bits, like eyeballs rolling on the floor. But it's also obviously fake, like Key's glowing green entrails, which makes it fun more than anything. This might be the first music video that has made me laugh out loud. When the sink sprouted a hand and grabbed Onew's nose, that was it for me! 

And even though the lyrics are clearly about a love interest, I can't help but want to read something else into it. I see SHINee here as celebrating their (often crazy) lifestyle as Kpop idols, as being "married to the music" you might say. When we hear and read about so many idol groups disbanding, struggling with depression and burnout, or complaining about slave contracts, it's hard not to look at SHINee as an exception, as at least one group that is in love with what they are doing. Or maybe this is just really great marketing by SM.

Tim: I think they definitely love what they're doing - and it shows in the video! This marriage has definitely stood the test of time! And if you're loving the official video, why not check out the performance version?

Then tell me they don't love the music, with all their hearts!