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Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jin's Rock-Star Dreams Are Big and Bold on ‘Echo'
Jin has always been his own kind of romantic within the BTS universe, with his own style. This is the guy you go to for epic swoon-worthy love songs about space travel through the cosmos of the heart, in classics like 'Epiphany' and 'Moon.' (Especially 'Moon.') He summed up his sound with his official solo debut single 'The Astronaut,' his 2022 duet with Coldplay, where he kept hitting high notes from outer space. (But still — especially 'Moon.' What a song, right?) Jin pushes his signature style even further with Echo, his new 7-song EP, with emotional ballads and glossy rock moves that give him a chance to shine bright on his own, all open-hearted charm. Jin is heavily into ripped jeans, leather jackets, long hair, and black nail polish these days, playing up his rock & roll flash, even sporting a Tom Petty t-shirt. It's a change from his previous clean-cut look, but he's obviously embracing his newfound freedom, after two years of mandatory military service. No star has made such a flamboyant celebration out of taking off the solider's uniform since Elvis Presley escaped the Army and returned with the rowdy sex stomp of Elvis Is Back!, the album where Elvis invented the Stones and the Doors. More from Rolling Stone J-Hope Previews 'Hope on the Stage' Grand Finale in Concert Film Trailer Tablo on His Revealing New Collaboration With BTS' RM: 'It Felt Like a Diary' Here's Where to Buy BTS Member Jin's '#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR' Tour Tickets Online But for Jin, it's just a fresh way of flexing his beloved 'Worldwide Handsome' person. 'The Astronaut' was his temporary farewell to the pop scene, as he and his BTS bandmates went on their hiatus to fulfill their military duties. But as soon as he got out of the service last year, he jumped back into music with his solo debut Happy. He's also stepped out as a budding TV star, on the weirder-than-weird hit Kian's Bizarre B&B, where he manages a bed-and-breakfast on a remote South Korean island, helping a string of wacky guests learn some life lessons. It says a lot about Jin that he'd pick such an unusual project for his big return. (Among other things, he gets to live up to his reputation as as one of the music world's supreme chefs.) All the BTS men have stretched out in different musical directions on their solo projects since the hiatus—his fellow rocker Jimin went for a psychedelic Sgt. Pepper concept on Muse, with 'Smeraldo Garden Marching Band,' while Jungkook threw down with Jack Harlow on Golden and RM duetted with Erykah Badu on Indigo. For Jin, Echo is expansively romantic, full of Eighties-style synth-pop, led by the single 'Don't Say You Love Me,' the ballad of a fragile relationship coming to a messy end. 'Don't tell me that you're gonna miss me,' he sings. 'Just tell me that you wanna kill me.' He tries out some new tricks on Echo, most smashingly on 'Rope It,' his first country song. It begins with horses neighing over a Wild West motif from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, breaking into a boot-scootin' line dance with guitar twang and harmonica. Jin struts with pure cowboy swagger, and it's safe to say we're all here for his Yeehaw Era. It proves that 'Seoul Town Road' was just the beginning. 'Rope It' has to be the best BTS-related country moment since J-Hope learned to say 'Howdy, y'all!' for his Texas gig in March. Another highlight is 'Loser,' a high-energy slice of glam-metal that sounds like Jin is gunning to join Def Leppard. He plays half of a bickering couple in a hilarious duet with Yena, formerly of the girl group Iz*One. (She also did the awesome 2023 single 'Hate Rodrigo,' the affectionately cheeky tribute to idolizing a certain so-American pop megastar, which would make a great mash-up with Olivia's 'Obsessed.') 'With the Clouds' has a Bon Jovi-style guitar break. All over Echo, Jin sounds refreshed to be throwing himself back into music, but with the confidence of a star who'd never been away. As his boy Tom Petty would say, may he stay the wild one forever. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Monopoly Reinvents Its Board Game Without Paper Money
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Earlier this week, Hasbro announced its newest version of the classic board game Monopoly but with a big change—the role of the banker is gone. In its place is Monopoly App Banking, a concept designed to speed up play and make the game more enjoyable. When it lands in stores this August for $25, smartphones will serve as the bankers, and each player will manage their money using the accompanying free mobile app. (Players must each have their own phone.) With the new version, you start by downloading the Mobile Banking App, which handles all the transactions with money and properties for you. Just select a token and a matching bank card and scan it to the mobile app. With purchases and rent now automated, it may be an effort to appeal to younger players who might also find the updated board more relatable. Also gone are the two most expensive properties—Boardwalk and Park Place. In their place are Rocket Launch Pad and Moon.$19.99 at Not to date myself, but this isn't the game that I grew up playing for hours with friends and family. Yes, marathon Monopoly sessions could drag on for days where we would have to leave the board and come back to it. But who didn't love the colorful cash—pink $5 bills and blue $50s? Of course, the goldenrod yellow $500s were special. You only got two of those, and it was always a tough decision to break one to purchase a property or, worse yet, pay rent to someone else. What about that huge pot of money in the center that was constantly accumulating, and that you could scoop up if you were lucky enough to land on the Free Parking spot? Remember feeling flush every time you passed Go and collected your $200? How can an app replace that, I wonder. If you're not a numbers person, I guess it's a win. You can focus on your entrepreneurial skills without fumbling around to make change when you have a big picture concept for a block of properties. Transactions are easier, no one gets stuck in the thankless role of the banker, and cheaters will be out of luck. At its core, Monopoly remains a game of economic lessons, real estate gambles, and chance that teaches negotiation, interpersonal skills, and business judgement regardless of physical money or not. And this is not the first reinvention of the game. Other digital versions exist including Monopoly Go, a single-player mobile board game, and The Monopoly Super Electronic Banking board game with an all-in-one electronic banking unit. Each player gets a bank card instead of paper money. On the other end of the spectrum, Monopoly Deal, has no electronics. It's a card game perfect for family game nights that is also suitable for younger kids—ages 8 and up—and offers fast play for up to five players. Yeah, but traditional Monopoly had an educational benefit for kids and families. It was an opportunity to add, subtract, and weigh consequences of a purchase or a debt. With a digital banker, there's no creative math or slipping some emergency cash under the board for when you land on an expensive property like Park Place with a hotel. Somehow the paper money adds a reality check. And what about the value of this being a screen-free family board game? There are so few of those today. 'I understand that the market is changing and that this is Hasbro's response to the way kids play, but I will admit I'm disappointed that kids who play this version of the game are going to be missing out on the tangible learning that the paper money system provided,' says Cat Bowen, our Senior Editor who reviews (among other products) parenting gear and gadgets. 'The old school Monopoly could be played anywhere and anytime, but this new version requires a smartphone and internet connection, which means either the kids need a phone, or they need to use their parent's phone. In a time when parents are increasingly concerned about their kids' screen time, this feels like a push towards more of that, not less.' Sure, we'll likely try out the new Monopoly. Younger kids won't know any better since many have smartphones now and may not use much cash since seemingly everyone has Zelle, Venmo, and Apple Pay. Still, having a thick stack of hundreds in your hand is a feeling that will be hard to replace with the digital banker in this new version of Monopoly. But thankfully, the traditional one is still available if you want to count your cash and hold onto your properties, like I do. Shop Now You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
