An Advertisement of Services | “This & That” by Stray Kids
It’s sort of a self fulfilling prophecy, an advertisement of services. With Stray Kids, you get this and that – fast and slow, loud and soft.
I rewatched the album trailer in preparation for this post, and…well, honestly, I still don’t completely understand it, but it was just as entertaining this time around.
The coffee and semi truck make more sense. (Not a lot of sense but more, at least.) Who would’ve thought that a concept involving cars, a semi truck, and coffee would somehow come together?
Anyway, let’s get into the lyrics, shall we?
Couple disclaimers: I don’t speak Korean. I am using my limited SKZ knowledge and the English translations from Genius. These are my own thoughts based on those translations and not meant to be a definitive interpretation.
Here is the music video to listen to while you read the lyrics:
Chan tells the origin of this song in both the album intro and the music video behind the scenes. 3RACHA went to a songwriting camp where “This & That,” “After You,” and “Run It” were born. While working on “After You,” Chan brought in a bag of snacks for a snack break, and someone asked what was in the bag. Chan responded, “Oh, this and that.” And they kind of stopped and went, “Huh, that would be a cool theme for a song.”
I love this story. Even Chan in the music video behind the scenes was like, “It’s a simple reason.” And it is. That’s why I love it so much. Of course, I love hearing the longer stories, the sort of winding trails that they take to get to songs or deeper meanings behind things. But I also love knowing that sometimes it’s just simple, maybe a little silly. Just one line – three words! – and they pulled together a whole title track that has morphed into this huge concept.
I wonder how that feels, to see your words, your work, evolve. To see others take it on and transform something that started so small.
Anyway, there were actually some differing opinions between the members in the album intro video about whether this was a “Stray Kids” song or not. I.N found it a bit more mainstream, something different than what they usually do. But Hyunjin thought it was pretty on brand for them. When Changbin pointed out the difference, Hyunjin said it was unexpected and fresh, but the lyrics and overall vibe are still Stray Kids.
And I think that really sums up Stray Kids songs in general. Many, if not most, of their songs sound pretty different from each other. Within albums, they usually have a similar vibe, which makes sense. But album to album, they always do something new.
But! It always feels like a Stray Kids song! There are themes and lyrics and beats and song components that are common across most, if not all, of their songs. Even the SKZ-Records I’ve covered, while being very different than much of their main discography, still have so many things in common. A perk to having a consistent producing team.
Which is so fascinating to me. Because with a lot of the artists I love, they have very specific genre and feel. An Olivia Rodrigo song feels like an Olivia Rodrigo song. A Noah Kahan song feels like a Noah Kahan song. But with Stray Kids, it has been hard for me to put my finger on what makes them…them. They are experimental, and they tend to genre jump or genre mix. But it’s their unique sound.
And a side effect of diving into the lyrics of their songs is that I also pay attention to the music and beats and the choreography. And I’ve started to form sort of a list – mostly in my head – of what makes a Stray Kids song a Stray Kids song.
And “This & That” feels like a Stray Kids song to me. It’s different. But so was “Do It.” So was “CEREMONY.” And I could list few other title tracks that were “different” than what they’d done in the past. And yet…
So let’s look at what makes this a Stray Kids song. First up is the lyrics.
They felt a little superficial at first, to be honest. And to be fair, there’s not a lot of substance here. And I don’t say that in a bad way, at all. This is very straightforward, and it’s meant to be. It’s confident. It’s them laying out how confident they are. There are a few metaphors here and there and some deeper couplets that we’ll get to in a minute. But this is Stray Kids being cocky.
It feels so much like “Do It.” That same lazy confidence. Even the way they’re singing and rapping. I mentioned in my “Do It” post that even the way they pronounced the “do its” – lazy and laid back, annoyed, Chan had said in the recording booth – added to the feel. And it’s the same here. The way they sing the “this and thats” is…bored, almost.
“Yeah, I do this and that. What about it?” That sort of feel to it.
And so many of the lines have this obvious cockiness to them. I pointed out a few in my annotations:
[Chorus] Everything I do, multiply it by two I’ma rip a show and then hit the studio
[Verse 1] Already proved it, wrapped it up in two words Stop denying, even with your eyes closed, the vibe’s still thriving Leave us be, we’ll find what we want, our own way Hold the extra two cents, I already wrote that in the notes
[Pre-Chorus] Yeah, we (All this and that)
[Verse 2] I’ll show you the way, I got no shame and I’m— My rap is the meat patty, it could never be left out
[Pre-Chorus] I collect the scent left in my tracks and sketch my dream Let’s get it, catch the chance, matching with success
And that’s just some of them. I had to stop myself from just copying all of both verses. And this confidence can be interpreted in a couple different ways.
There are three different ways they preface “this and that” in the choruses – I got, I’ll take, and I do. I see two kinds of confidence in those.
“I have or will have this AND that” – Coupe or truck. Cappuccino and americano.
It feels more like possessions, things. I have. I’ll take. ‘I have the means to get a coupe and a truck, a cappuccino and an americano.’ That’s a flex. (And a bit of a flirt, which is no surprise in a Stray Kids song either.)
Versus “I can do this AND that” – Doing a show and then going to the studio. On to the next stage. Never dodge a challenge.
It feels more like actions. They know how much they can handle. They know what they’ve accomplished. And they want to – and can – do it all.
But! There is a reason for this confidence.
[Verse 1] Already proved it, wrapped it up in two words
[Verse 2] I’ll show you the way, I got no shame and I’m— I’ve been ready for this and that for a long time already
[Pre-Chorus] I collect the scent left in my tracks and sketch my dream Let’s get it, catch the chance, matching with success
This was a huge theme in “Run It” – and has been in many of their songs in the past. They aren’t confident for no reason. They have worked hard to get to where they are. They’ve gone through trials and hard times and they’ve seen success. This isn’t a desperate attempt to seem relevant or successful or cool. This is them saying, “No, we’ve done the work. We know how it is. Fake it ’til you make it? We’ve made it.”
I noted a lot of lyric overlap in this album, even just in these first two songs. And I thought it was interesting that “Run It” has the line “all my life, I’ve been fighting this and fighting that.” Not a direct quote of “this and that,” but close. And they’re “fighting” this and that. It adds another layer of meaning to “this and that” for me, a more serious one.
“I have this and that, and I can do this and that. Because I’ve fought this and that.” They know where they’ve come from. They know what’s taken to get here.
And! What has bolstered their success? Being themselves. Doing their own thing.
[Verse 1] Leave us be, we’ll find what we want, our own way Hold the extra two cents, I already wrote that in the notes
[Pre-Chorus] Flowing the way I choose, with what I picked The way I’ve always wanted to go, I run it, run it, run it
[Pre-Chorus] I collect the scent left in my tracks and sketch my dream Let’s get it, catch the chance, matching with success
Another tie to “Do It” and “Divine.” Those two songs are chockful of this. “We did it our own way, and it worked. Just be yourself.” A huge part of Stray Kids as a group. They’ve built their brand on being different, being unique, being authentic. Is some of that actual branding, image training, intentional marketing? Absolutely.
Do I think it’s actually true to who they are as human beings most of the time? Also yes.
And you can’t deny that that has been a big part of their success. Something they were so criticized for at the beginning – being experimental and different – is a huge advantage for them now. They’ve cultivated the fanbase that likes that they’re different and experimental AND still make good music. It’s a part of them.
That leads me into the last theme that feels like it really makes this a Stray Kids song, lyrics-wise.
This and that. Such a simple concept. But it sums up Stray Kids so well. They have a bit of this and a bit of that. Their music (of course). Their personalities. Their content. There’s kind of something for everyone.
I have whole song playlists for different moods. Sometimes I need something loud to drown everything out or to scream to in the car. Sometimes I need something to bop along to, upbeat but mellow enough. Sometimes I need something soft, something calm. And between their albums and their SKZ-Records, I am covered.
I have folders in my Instagram and TikTok accounts of things I’ve saved, organized by member. Sometimes I want Felix’s sweetness or sassiness. Sometimes I want Chan to be soothing or goofy. Sometimes I want to zone out watching Hyunjin paint or draw. Sometimes I want to see Han Jisung smile.
And their content is the same way. Sometimes I want to giggle at SKZ Codes. Sometimes I want to hear them talk one on one. Sometimes I want to see them do the most mundane things like get their nails done or try Pilates.
Honestly, it’s a big reason why what started as a hyper fixation almost a year ago has stuck around and turned into this.
Am I aware that some of that – the endless amounts and types of content, especially – is marketing, is me being led into the perfectly curated parasocial relationship machine that is the K-Pop industry? Yes. And I am careful about how far into it I fall and how much of my life it consumes.
But it works, doesn’t it? This AND that.
And moving into the music and choreography, wow, do we have a lot of this and that. I often have a hard time putting into words things relating to the music, choreo, and music video, as those are not my areas of expertise, but I do like pointing out when they overlap with the themes in the lyrics as much as I can.
For music, as I noted in my annotations, Seungmin’s part in the bridge is so perfect.
[Bridge] We can go fast, we can go slow If you can’t choose, you can have both Can’t stop us now (Go)
The bridge has a very dramatic tempo change and drops a lot of the background sounds that are part of the track up to this point. Fast and slow. “You can have both” in the same song. This isn’t the only place the song does this, either, it’s just the most obvious. Both verses coming off of the choruses start either slower, softer, or both.
It’s not as explosive or loud of a song as, say “CEREMONY,” but the change is still there and is still noticeable. It’s sort of a self fulfilling prophecy, an advertisement of services. With Stray Kids, you get this and that – fast and slow, loud and soft. And because this is a Stray Kids song, well, you get both. See?
The choreography is the same way. There are really intense moves contrasted with really smooth, fluid ones. The easiest place to point this out is in the outro. The “this” is drawn out – both the vocals and the backing track – and the choreo matches with a sort of slow motion feel. And then the “and that” is faster and brings in the more intense backing track components, and the choreo, again, matches with a much more intense series of moves. Twice. It’s very satisfying to watch.
And along with some of the moves being very on point for the lyrics – like drinking coffee or revving an engine – there’s also a sort of contrast in more masculine and more feminine movements as well. There are a few sequences that feel like girl group choreography. In the best way.
During the second and third choruses, they have this sequence where they mime drinking a cup of coffee and then throw it over their shoulder. And I’ve watched Chan do it a million times now. I’m always drawn to him, because he does it so sassily, if that makes sense.
Same thing with the same lines in the first and fourth choruses. They mime stirring a coffee cup and then do a little…pointing move. I don’t know how to explain it well. But I.N is front and center for that part in the last chorus, and again, it’s very sassy.
And that’s not to say that girl groups are all girly and boy groups are all manly. But there is a slight difference in feel in the way that girl group and boy group choreography is. And this seemed to be bringing some of that more feminine feel in. Which I loved.
The last thing I’ll say about the choreography is the little incorporations of “record scratch” moments. I pointed this out in the lyrics, and it shows up in the music video a lot. This whole concept is retro. The clothes. The music video. Even the album versions – vinyls and cassette tapes. And while a “record scratch” or a similar effect is not inherently indicative of an actual vinyl record, they have done a great job at making it stand out that way.
This gets into the music video, which has so much going on, I don’t even know where to start. But there are several little “record scratch” moments throughout that make it really visually interesting to watch.
And besides that, the biggest thing that stood out to me was the clocks. It all starts with a clock turning backwards. And there are about a million different clocks throughout – digital and analog. It really does feel like stepping back in time.
A few of the members mentioned how it felt like bringing Korean history in but not in the way they usually do. It’s more recent history – 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s. The house set, especially, had them comparing it to going to grandma’s house. I always felt that a little when I would go to my grandma’s house, like I was stepping back in time a little. Not a hundred or a thousand years, but maybe twenty or thirty. There were items and interior décor that didn’t quite fit what I knew to be “in” at the time.
Also, Hyunjin at one point has a flip phone as a prop, and in the behind the scenes, he starts listing off the types of phones he’s had over the years. Reminiscing. Nostalgia. That’s what it feels like. Han mentioned in the album intro video that there’s a phenomenon of bringing back things that were once cool and becoming cool again.
It’s a cycle that happens every decade or so, right? Something that was cool in 2006 or 2016 is cool again in 2026. Maybe updated a little fit technology or culture. The marriage of past and present.
And what I thought was interesting is that there’s old school fashion, of course. But there’s also some “futuristic” stuff, the kind of stuff you’d see in an 80’s sci-fi movie, where they’re trying to show how people dress in the future and it’s all chrome or silver to make everyone look like robots or cyborgs. There’s some of that, too, and some special effects that bring in that same theme. Another little nod to the past while also pulling in the future.
There are also some visual references to past music videos, similar to what they did with the choreography in “Run It.” The red background from “Chk Chk Boom,” the head tilt from “S-Class,” the reflection in a shard of glass from “Megaverse,” the marching band in a commercial kitchen from “God’s Menu.” There are others, too, shown in the video above. A little bit of “this and that,” some of the “proof” of what they can do, and another look to the past to go along with the “turning the clock back” theme.
All of this made me think about time, which was probably the point, right? But the song doesn’t explicitly talk about time, other than mentions of the past. But there are allusions to it. And this feeling of running out of time or chasing time or trying to fill time. Doing this AND that. Another show. More work at the studio. Can’t stop us.
It’s not as blatant as “Run It” literally saying they’re “running day and night,” but it’s there. A little bit of desperation, a little bit of “give it all to me, I want to give it my all, to prove myself even though I’m telling you that I’ve already proved it.” And on the other hand, there’s a sense of having all the time in the world. “We can do it. We can do it all.”
And that’s what makes it a Stray Kids song in my eyes. It’s this AND that. The music is fast and slow. The track is loud and soft. The choreography is explosive and smooth, masculine and feminine. The music video is old and new. The lyrics are simple and deep, confident and humble (at least a little), grand and rooted in truth.
I am always impressed with how much I can find in what appears to be a very simple song.
Find the posts about the other songs in this album here:
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