Mixtapes and Liner Notes

BREAKING NEWS: Black Woman Featured Prominently in K-Pop Video

2012-02-08T15:35:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Jay Park. The dancer, named Mauika Cole(?) has a nice 20-second feature in his new video, "Know Your Name" (starting at about 2:07):

Not a fan of the song or the video (cameraperson taking liberties with the tilt and zoom here) but finally! some inclusiveness in k-pop that includes black people as more than a 5 seconds or less cameo.

Curious to see how SK reacts to this. There was all sorts of fan hate when JYJ went on their first world tour and Yoochun was getting down with their dancer Telisha Shaw, and also when she and Junsu appeared to be close:

I don't think it'll be that big of a deal in this case though. While she's the only woman in this video, she's a dance partner, not a love interest, and the video of the acoustic version of "Know Your Name" shows that the sweet, demure girl is still the favored leading lady in k-pop.

Still - yay for brown women!

School's crazy at the mo, so I think this'll be the extent of my blogging for this week. If you're interested in reading more on race and k-pop here, check out these posts:

Video: Jin Akanishi, "Sun Burns Down"

2012-02-04T21:47:00.000-08:00

Adding to the ever-growing list of Asian musicians trying to make it big in the US is Japanese heartthrob/sex-symbol Jin Akanishi. I'm not as into J-pop as I'm into k-pop, so I don't know much about him except he used to be in a boy band and my j-dorama watching friends think he's the hottest guy in the world. I didn't even know he was trying to break into the US market until I saw him featured on the A-tunes blog. His first single, Test Drive ft. Jason DeRulo, was terrible, so I didn't have much hope for him, but this song is definitely better. I think because the last song was named "Test Drive", I can forgive him. "Sun Burns Down" is not the most innovative track, but it's catchy, dancey and everything that's hot in the US Top 40 right now. I dig it.

He's working with The Stereotypes, who were a major part of the creative team working on Far East Movement's breakout album, Free Wired. You could call it a safe choice or a smart one - by establishing himself using their signature sound, he's placing himself into a category - I'll call it "party Asians" - that the American mainstream has gotten used to. Far East Movement have essentially paved the way for him, so maybe he'll have less of an uphill climb to his desired place in the music scene. I like that he's taking it slow and not simply throwing himself out there and hoping for the best, a la SNSD's random TV appearances last week. (I haven't seen them, and I probably won't ever see them, simply because I don't think they'll show me anything I haven't seen before). He has a full album in the works which should come out in March, as well as a national tour, and I expect he'll release at least another single before that. I hope his album is good - from all I've heard along the lines of Asian pop in America, I think this is the best crossover track, and Jin is currently the most promising artist to make the break through to the American mainstream.

Fans have noticed that Jin has been covering his face up a lot in his videos. I can't help but speculate as to why that is, and I think stereotypes about the attractiveness of Asian men have a lot to do with it. I mean, he's good-looking, for sure, but in that bishounen/kkotminam way that's become ridiculously popular in Asia, but not so much Stateside. (Anyone curious as to why can read my post about attractiveness and race from a while back where I put in my two cents). Many a handsome Asian man has failed to capture the hearts of the American public with their looks (example: Daniel Henney). By covering himself up, he gives himself an aura of mystery (playing on ninja imagery?), and also shifts the focus away from his looks and onto his music. That's probably a good thing in the long run, but it's also an example of how much Asian artists have to shift their personas in order to fit into the American mainstream. I mean, the dude can sing, but let's not get it twisted - he's popular because he's hot. I think it's sad that artists have to lose a lot of their uniqueness just so that they can break into the top 40, and I'm beginning to wonder if it's even worth it.

Everyone seems excited about Asian pop in America, but I'm much more pessimistic. From what I'm reading in the blogs, it all just seems like one big fad, the same way indie music was about 5 years ago. All of a sudden the mainstream media discovered that people were making music that didn't sound like everything on the iTunes Top 40 and decided that that was the new cool. They lauded all these bands like MGMT as the next big thing, and yet nobody cares about them anymore. If you ask me, it's because they're not that great - saw them live and it was pretty awful). Now k-pop is the new media darling, and yet the songs they pick as representative of the genre are for the most part the least musically appealing songs that k-pop has to offer. If they were really interested in new, innovative music, you'd think they'd try harder and actually give credit to people making good music. I'm pretty sure that by the time I graduate law school, America will be on to the next fad. Pop music by nature is temporal anyway - it's not like it's music we'll be listening to years in the future. Or at least, we won't be listening to it because it's good music. And because nobody's making music for years to come, it's bound to fizzle out eventually. K-pop artists can ride this wave while it's still high, but they should be prepared for when the tide pulls them back to sea.

What do you guys think? Is Jin Akanishi the best contender for Asian breakout star? Or are Korea's girl groups (2NE1, SNSD, Wonder Girls) going to be the ones to do it? Sound off in the comments!

For more on Jin Akanishi and his US promotions, check out his Youtube page.

B.A.P's "Warrior": Ready for Battle

2012-01-29T12:19:00.000-08:00

So last year I wrote a lengthy post about boy bands and how the market for them is getting seriously crowded. I predicted that boy bands would have a harder time distinguishing them from the pack, and would really have to bring it both musically and performance-wise in order to make their mark on the music scene. After Block B's debut, I pretty much stopped following the new boy bands (and girl groups) because there were just too many of them, and I couldn't bring myself to care.

However, after hearing the buzz about B.A.P, the new boy band from Secret's management, TS Entertainment, I decided to check them out. I have to say, I was pretty impressed. I'd been keeping my eye on Bang Yong-guk ever since his duet with Song Ji-eun, and he and his crew basically came in ready to fight their way to the top. I promise not to make any more puns, but I can't help but find their debut song and concept really appropriate: k-pop has become a very serious competition for chart awards, sales and fans, and if you don't go in willing to give all you've got to make it, you get left. B.A.P knows it, and the song almost comes across as a message: watch out world, we're coming for ya.

"Warrior" is a great track, though it may not be obviously good or immediately appealing. It's not particularly new in terms of sound, though it does stand out from the myriad of electronic, four-on-the-floor tracks, with it's mid-tempo hip-hop beat. It also starts off fairly low-key, slowly building until the last chorus, by which time you're bobbing your head and singing along. It's surprisingly un-catchy, yet I find myself listening to it over and over again. The vocals are solid, the rapping is on point, with Zelo giving Block B's Zico a run for his money in the speed-rapping department, and even the sub-vocalists/rappers make the most of their eight-second appearances.

Their performances are also great and full of energy, despite not having a dancey beat or particularly complicated choreo. There's something about the controlled aggression they bring with their performance that really appeals to me. It's a nice change from the "beast" concept that has been popularized by 2PM and has pretty much dominated the boy band scene in terms of strong masculine imagery. They're not dressing in all black, rocking guyliner and ripping off their shirts, but they're showing their strength and skill and discipline in a very controlled way. They're definitely influenced by the performance tradition of African-American fraternities in the US - the stepping that they do at the dance break is an obvious example of that. The performance also reminds me of the haka that the New Zealand rugby team does at the beginning of their matches. Check out the videos below for examples of stepping and haka.

(Ignore the over-dramatics in this video - it's from a movie, Stomp The Yard. Couldn't find a real-life example with decent camerawork.)

I like that B.A.P plays to their strengths and doesn't try to be too poppy, but still show that they can do a diverse group of songs. "Secret Love" (below) is a fantastic track featuring Song Ji-eun, who sounds particularly good here, foregoing the belting for a softer sound. It's all acoustic low-key goodness, with mellow rapping and a hint of Spanish guitar in the chorus. I think it'll be a hit with people who aren't big fans of the typical k-pop sound. It's definitely the opposite side of the spectrum from "Warrior" and "Unbreakable" but somehow fits B.A.P like a glove.

All in all, this was a strong debut. I went back and watched all of the boy-band debuts of the past year out of boredom/curiosity, and few stood out (CHAOS and MYNAME seem the most promising). B.A.P has definitely knocked out most of the competition with this one, and I suspect they'll weather the storm and stick around for a minute longer than their peers. It's funny because while I'm still skeptical about EXO's upcoming debut, I think SM may be smarter than I originally thought - their latest teasers showcase some decent rapping, which to me is a sign that they're getting ready to duke it out with B.A.P and other hot up-and-comers for the top spot. You can always tell that a k-pop group is serious when their rappers aren't just pretty boys with deep voices. Could it be possible that the saturation of the k-pop market is actually forcing people to make better music? I'll remain hesitantly hopeful on that point.

Did the Piggy Dolls Ruin Their Credibility?

2012-01-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Question of the day: What do you guys think of the Piggy Dolls?

Of course, I'm supposed to be working. But this thought just occured to me, and I wanted to bring this to a public forum for discussion. So if you read and have an opinion on this, feel free to share it here.

Two weeks ago, the Piggy Dolls released a new digital single "What Is Love" featuring Simon D. I only listened to it about 10 minutes ago, and all I could think is: this is amazing - WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT IT?

On the real though: their voices have majorly improved and matured in the year and the half since they debuted with "Trend". Vocally, these girls slay, and this song is only more proof of that. And I mean, if the mid-tempo ballad isn't you're thing, watch them out kick Joss Stone to the curb with their cover of her track "Tell Me 'Bout It". (I miss Joss Stone, by the way. Haven't listened to her last two albums. I should get on that...)

I mean, completely live with a band on top of that??? Do I have to say they're amazing one more time, or is it obvious?

So why the hell are they not getting more coverage? I mean, they're probably suffering from the usual bias towards the more prominent entertainment companies in SK. But you'd think they'd have garnered at least some sort of following. But I can't see signs of it anywhere - at least, not in the international k-pop interwebs. But then I remembered their PR nightmare from last year, where they denied, then admitted to going on a diet program for an advertising campaign before they released their second CD, Hakuna Matata. Facepalm doesn't even begin to describe my reaction. I wasn't a fan of their "concept" in the first place, but to then undermine your whole "body image doesn't matter" slogan by making the girls lose weight was just stupid, plain and simple. They were obviously pressured into it by the industry, but if their management had the backbone that they seemed to have by debuting the girls in the first place, then they should have stuck up for them and found a way for them to make it work. I mean, it's not like everyone on the idol circuit is skinny.

Piggy Doll's Debut Single, "Trend" with English subtitles

So I'm now wondering if they have undermined their credibility by that stunt, and whether that's the cause of the lack of interest. Management companies claim all sorts of things about their idols, including that they're all-natural i.e. had no plastic surgery, and don't starve themselves to keep their figure (even though it's obvious that surgery is rampant and most of the idols are underweight). And it's not new for idols to go on drastic diets. However, if you go out hoping to capture the attention of the industry with your plus-sized girl group, and then make them normal size, you lose the support of people who would originally be interested in that sort of group. You also lose the connection that idols work so hard to establish with their fans - whether it's a romantic connection or a platonic, elder/younger sibling connection. And finally, you signal to everyone else that you don't have what it takes to be a rebel, and would rather fit in with everyone else. Unfortunately, that means you disappear into the swarm of young idol groups around today, all vying for the attention of the (still fairly small) k-pop audience at home and abroad.

On a related note though, the pressure to be thin in the k-pop scene is overwhelming and disturbing. It's old news, but every time I'm reminded of it I become really upset. I just read about Brown Eyed Soul's Yong Joon losing weight for his solo promotions. This isn't a tiny girl competing with other tiny girls - this is a grown-ass man we're talking about here. And he wasn't even significantly overweight. I mean, have you seen the people on The Biggest Loser? Those dudes are big. He was slim in comparison. And with a voice like this, why do you even need to lose weight in the first place? Kim Tae Woo's a bit pudgy, and he's doing just fine. (Then again, he was in g.o.d.)

What are your thoughts? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

I hope that more people start covering the Piggy Dolls, as well as other "underrateds". Shout out to McRoth's Residence, Indieful ROK/Korean Indie, Luminosity, and all other k-pop blogs who devote time and energy to showing the world that there are more artists with great music to share outside of the mainstream idol sphere. Visit them, comment on their blogs, show them some love. And buy an indie CD!

Now Approaching: EXO Planet

2012-01-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

Ah, finally - a relevant SM topic to write about. I've been itching to write about everyone's favorite entertainment company for the past two or three months, but I didn't want to bore you guys with old news about SNSD. So now I'm turning my attention to their newest group, EXO.

Right off the bat, these guys caught my attention. SM poured their money into their teasers, and for once, it was money well spent. The boys look good, sound good, and are singing, dancing, and staring meaningfully to some phat beats. It's clear that SM wants these guys to be a success, and I'm liking what they're doing with them so far. My favorite teaser is the first Kai one, for a few reasons: (a) he's kinda hot (new noona crush?); (b) I love his dance style; and (c) The song, "My Lady" slays me every time I hear it. I suspect that's Jino singing - I'm just waiting for his teaser so I can make him my bias and leave all these other dudes in the dust.

(People have been hating on Kai's many teasers - I guess he's the leader? It'd be annoying if he wasn't the leader, though, and just the chosen one, like Yoona.)

A big topic over at Seoulbeats has been the unique marketing strategy for this group: made up of twelve Chinese and Korean performers, they will be split into sub-groups, EXO-K and EXO-M to promote simultaneously in Korea and China. They will be singing the same songs, only on different languages. Some have called this strategy genius: I call it poorly thought out. The marketing that's been done so far seems to indicate that they're thinking more strategically about this debut - unlike f(x) who were kind of just thrown onto the scene with a smorgasbord concept that they haven't quite figured out yet, and no directed marketing beforehand. However, I've learned not to get my hopes up when it comes to this company. People have already pointed out the fact that k-pop hasn't gotten hold of the mainland Chinese market just yet, so EXO-M might not do as well as EXO-K. They've also been throwing SNSD onto every continent with mixes featuring a random mix of American talents, which just seems lazy to me. Without a good picture of the foreign market and what they're willing to pay for, they're unlikely to capture the market the way they want to. SM may say that they don't want world domination, but they're making moves that only support that assertion. Probably don't want to be embarrassed when they flop.

Regarding China though, I think there may be a chance for them. If EXO-M can market itself to the younger generations who listen to rock bands instead of the dreary pop ballad singers, and position themselves as a group that plans to change the status quo as opposed to fitting into it (which is what SM tried with no success in China and in the US) then maybe they have a chance. I wonder how they'll deal with censorship though - they probably don't have Chinese TV broadcasters in their back pocket like they do the Korean ones, so they have to be careful about content. Oh well, if it fails, at least Taiwan will take them.

Who'd reject these cuties though?

Anyway, this all looks good, but I'm not confident that SM can deliver the way they are suggesting they will. Here's why: they kind of just do stuff. They don't put much thought into their actions, but simply put out albums and flash their cash for the world to see. This is my main beef with SM, aside from their restrictive contracts and questionable marketing of SNSD. Occasionally you see growth in their artists, but in those cases I would give credit to the hard work of the individuals as opposed to the company's philosophy as a whole, which essentially boils down to "F**k bitches, get money." Release albums with lackluster songs, collect the profits from a rabid fanbase, and then turn around and do it again with the next group the next month. Cycle through the artists and simply wait for the cash to fall into your pocket.

Clearly this is working for them, so I won't knock it too much. However, apart from the possible human rights violations being committed in order to get these albums out so quickly, as a music fan it leaves me disappointed. SM is fantastic at picking out the most talented people the world has to offer. Yet they seem incapable of producing consistently good music. Huge amounts of talent are being wasted over there, shafted to occasional special performances, or the off chance that someone actually knows what good music is and works with the artists to help them get a glimpse of their full potential. So while it looks like someone actually cares about the music this time, I plan on remaining detached from this new group, because I will be let down, as usual.

Sad face.

To be honest, I think EXO is simply a replacement for Super Junior. Down to nine members, which will soon decrease to eight as Leeteuk approaches the age of army enlistment, SM needs another super boy band to keep the fangirls emptying their pockets for merchandise and concert tickets. So far, it seems like the k-pop world is ready to accept EXO as their new deities once they land on Earth. Maybe if we're lucky, they bring with them some awesome music from their planet.

... though if they don't, I suppose there's always the pretty.

Rainbow Pixie: Half-hearted Girl Group Mashup

2012-01-14T01:07:00.000-08:00

So I actually like Rainbow as a group. I think they're talented, and when they're given a decent song, they rock it like nobody's business. However, I am NOT a fan of this video and song:

The song had potential until the wtf-ery that was the middle eight a.k.a Rainbow's Achilles' heel. It wasn't terribly annoying, didn't sound like Orange Caramel, and Jisook and Hyunyoung have pretty good voices. The video however seriously jacked Orange Caramel's swag. There were also hints of Dal Shabet, A Pink and Girls' Day in there. Once you start imitating your dongsaengs, you should stop and think if this is a good choice. Usually, it won't be.

I've always liked Rainbow for not following trends, but it seems they think the cutesy sub-unit is the only way to be relevant these days. Dear DSP: there are other ways to keep making your money. The most obvious suggestion - MAKE GOOD MUSIC. Also try hiring a decent choregorapher - Rainbow always gets the short end of that stick, not unlike SS501 when they were still with you. I have other great ideas of how you could save this girl band, but I'm still trying to find someone to pay me for all the effort I put into my k-pop obsession. Till then, I'll be saving them for my own entertainment company (a.k.a Mellowyel's plan for world domination).

Sorry for not posting sooner guys - was going to wait until I came up with something brilliant before starting again. But I figured it was better if I just got to posting and forgot about being organized, since I clearly can't manage that. I'll try to post more frequently with short opinion pieces like this, but I'm working on some longer posts that will also go up... hopefully. *sigh. Happy New Year!

The Evolution of A Mad Soul Child

2011-10-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

[So I wrote this post waaaay back but completely forgot to publish it, and only realized it after the lead singer of this group collaborated with Tablo on his comeback track, "Bad". No time to blog about that awesomeness, but check out my Twitter for my thoughts on that, and enjoy this post about a little-known (in mainstream k-pop fandom) yet completely awesome group.]

Source: MTV Iggy

Today I'd like to share with you an awesome group that I've been listening to for a while, but never got around to writing about. Mad Soul Child are an electro-pop group made up of DJ Chanwoo, vocalist Jinsil, and music video director VJ Kwon. Their combined prowess in visual art, music production and singing makes then a serious triple threat, but what stood out about them to me was their versatility when it comes to their music.

The first single of theirs I heard was "Beautiful Day", a single released for a Calvin Klein Jeans campaign featuring three members of f(x). The song is a twangy acoustic track that I instantly fell in love with. I also like how this promo video was shot - I think the quirkiness of the shoot and the song match up pretty well.

You can find the full song on Grooveshark along with the English version, "Get Out".

After listening to this, I went back to see what else they had done. I found their OST track for the hit Won Bin movie, Ajusshi (The Man From Nowhere) which is very different from "Beautiful Day". Jinsil's voice is mournful and plaintive, very different from the more cynical tone she sang with in the last track. It starts out with a sad piano, and then gets accompanied by guitar and drums, making it a wonderfully melancholy rock ballad.

Finally, I came to their own album, Lalala, released in 2009. I was definitely not expecting them to be an electro pop group, but I was excited: I had been looking for more Korean electro groups since Clazziquai have been on hiatus. Their style is very different from Clazziquai's, but equally amazing and just as dancey. Check out the video for "VIP Girl" below, which showcases their visual and musical style:

I gotta say, I absolutely love Jinsil. Her voice is very distinctive, but she makes it work for every sound they throw at her. My favorite track of theirs is "Ask" which sees her taking on the more melancholy sound seen in "Dear" with an awesomely spacey instrumental:

They've made a name for themselves not only in the Korean indie scene, but also abroad: They were among the first Korean bands invited to play at New York's CMJ Music Festival, and toured the US with Seoulsonic in 2010. MTV Iggy even named them one of the 25 Best New Bands In The World for 2010. Now all we have to do is wait until they drop some more awesomeness on us - hopefully soon.

If you're looking for more electronic music from Korea outside of staples like Clazziquai, then I highly recommend Idiotape, who were part of this year's Seoulsonic tour (check out this awesome clip of them from the tour); EE, who are primarily audio-visual artists and have done some really cool work; and Telepathy, who are kind of electro-rock.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble! October Girl Group Comebacks Part 1

2011-10-14T12:47:00.001-07:00

Finally something to bring me out of the silence. I have been itching to write about SNSD's impending comeback for a while, so I figure I should get a headstart before the MV actually drops - I have a few things to say about it already, lol. Starting with the photos...

So Yoona is probably my least favorite member of this group, competing with Jessica for last place. Nothing about her is particularly bad, but nothing is particularly good either. She's good at being pretty... and that's kinda it. She also has decent dance skills, but that's hardly a claim to fame in an industry chock full of great dancers. This photo, however, is great. I love how she holds the foil like she's going to slice you open with it at any second. It actually reminds me of this photo of Kristen Stewart, for a number of reasons: the styling, the fact that I don't quite see why they're popular people, but liking the badassness on them anyway...

Though now that I look at it, Yoona's photo also reminds me of this photo of Charlize Theron, which gives her even more cool points.

It's kind of disappointing though, that hers was the only other photo I liked out of all the promo photographs. They're gorgeous, yes, but they're also boring. No life, no emotion. When Yoona's pwning the rest of the group at something, you know there's a problem. I was extremely confused at first - usually they're all on the same level of blandness or, occasionally, goodness. This was all explained, however when I found out that the comeback had a "princess" concept.

When I heard that, all my hopes for a fantastically bad-ass comeback went out the window. When I think "princess", I think "girl who is spoiled and babied and doesn't have any skill except being pretty and getting the men she's involved with into lots of trouble." It's the trope that's been presented to us time and time again in books, movies and television series. Princesses are a liability. They never assume the throne unless their older brothers die, and face constant opposition if they fail to marry, or worse, bear a male heir. Thus their value lies solely in how attractive and powerless they are. They're always getting into scrapes like being captured by giants or dragons, and then have to be rescued by valiant men who are only really doing it for the fame, glory and the hot chick's attention. There are, of course, notable exceptions - Princess Fiona from Shrek, for example, and the heroine of the latest Pixar awesomeness, Brave. But those are only two out of a few, compared to the vast canon of stereotypical princess fiction and non-fiction we have out there. Basically it's a ubiquitous trope that really doesn't endow SNSD with any good qualities other than being pretty. I thought we had ditched the passive women thing, girls. What gives?

If the latest video teaser showed anything even mildly different from what I just described, then I might be more excited. But it doesn't:

I'll admit, it's not like they're going back to their "Gee" days. They're clearly stepping into their big-girl heels and I'm extremely happy about that. But the girls in these teasers don't look like the girls who were singing about having power over the boys ("Bad Girl"), or that they would be the ones doing the rescuing ("The Great Escape"). The maturity that SM has finally deemed to give them seems more like a superficial sort of maturity to me, one in which old ideals of passivity in songs like "Gee" and "Oh!" can just be reinforced - sold once again to impressionable young girls only in a different package. Wearing black and looking mean doesn't mean you're strong.

I suppose my expectations, while considerably lowered, are still pretty high for the SM idol mill. Maybe that's why I'm mad. I can definitely say that I wouldn't be so critical of the whole thing if there was some sort of storyline in these videos. These days SM music videos have just been photo slideshows with music in the background - a glorified magazine spread. Where's the creativity? I mean, there was very little substance in k-pop to begin with, but that doesn't mean you can just throw all of it out. I want to like this comeback, but I'm just bored. And no amount of fancy set design or slow-mo camerawork is going to fix that.

As for the track itself, I'm not impressed. I actually find it kind of hilarious that Teddy Riley has become the new big-name producer in Korea when he hasn't had a hit single in the States since the early 90s. I mean, sure he created New Jack Swing, but calling him innovative nowadays would be taking it a bit far. In fact, it sounds like he's just taken the already over-recycled American top 40 radio sound and put it in a new market. Pure laziness, if you ask me. Producers all over the world are constantly working to put out new sounds, and he's just biting from people with a better idea of what's hot right now. If Britney Spears didn't want it, k-pop fans don't want it either, all right?

[Also, it's now clear that he ditched Rania for SM, which kinda bothers me. He defended them and their image from criticism like he really cared, and then left at the drop of a hat for what I'm assuming is a bigger paycheck. So much for loyalty.]

Anyway, all this aside, I'm looking forward to the So Nyu Shi Dae/SECRET Smackdown. SECRET is probably the female equivalent of B2ST in their near-astronomical rise to prominence in the k-pop scene over the last year. They originally caught my attention with their awesomely fierce single, Madonna, and then moved on to the cute to make sure they had a solid grip on the market. Now having made a splash in Japan and become the darlings of Korea while SNSD were away, they're bringing sexy back for their first full album. And when I say sexy, I mean sexy:

Dayum, girls! I thought only the Brown Eyed Girls could pull off that much hotness, but SECRET are making it known that they're going all out for this release. And this? This I can look forward to, because SECRET has done the sexy, and done it in a way that doesn't make me want to puke from the cuteness, or die of boredom. The song may be a little cliched music-wise, but then again Secret hardly ever uses their actual title track in teasers, so I'm still excited for what's to come. They've proven themselves to be dynamic performers and worthy rivals for the queens of military precision, so this is gonna be good. SM will probably win the chart awards, but who will win the crown of hottest girl group around? We'll have to wait and see.

Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen - who's your pick to win the So Nyu Shi Dae/SECRET Smackdown?

And We Now Have Twitter!

2011-10-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

I miss you guys! And I want to keep sharing my thoughts about k-pop and other musics even though I'm too busy to post. So Mixtapes and Liner Notes now has an official Twitter account! Follow me @mellowyel or check out my feed on the sidebar. Still working on the podcast - making sure that you're not breaking any laws is surprisingly difficult to do. But it will happen, I promise. Till then, see you on Twitter!

Dear Readers...

2011-09-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

It's been a while. I'm sorry for being AWOL for a whole month - I've been really busy and was only reminded by this lovely mention on McRoth's Residence, that I owed you guys a post at least to let you know what was going on with me. I especially want to thank and apologize all the people who've left lovely comments on the blog that I have not replied to - I really really really appreciate your thoughts and clicks!

So this summer, two big things happened that seriously affected my blog writing. The first thing was that Soribada shut down access to its Korean site for foreigners. So no more music cards, no more streaming of full-length tracks unless you have an Korean subscription. Soribada was until then my primary source of new music. I could listen to both k-pop and k-indie, and listen to the full discographies of pretty much any Korean artists. I had this plan to go into the archives and dig up some good classic k-pop from the people we consider legendary today, like Shinhwa and Brown Eyed Girls. Sadly, my rose-colored listening days were cut short, and I am now looking for an alternative to Soribada. Mnet is my next port of call, but downloading and streaming only works with Internet Explorer, and I have a Mac.... safe to say I have a decent amount of tech work to do before I can get the same access to Korean music that I had on Soribada. Because of that, I kinda fell off on the new music front. It's way too much hassle to go through Youtube and then look for bootleg download links. And finally, I've simply found that I find more good music when I look for it myself, as opposed to finding it through other blogs.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I started law school last month. And in order for me to come out of it after three years with a job that will pay for my trip around the world, and help me move this site to its own domain, I have to divest myself a bit from the world of k-pop and blogging for a while. It took me a while to come to grips with the fact that I can't blog like I used to now, since blogging has been so much fun, and a huge part of my life these past two years. But I gotta do what I gotta do!

So here's what's going to happen - I won't be doing review posts anymore (*wails*) at least until get my computer hooked up with Internet Explorer and figure out how to listen to music on Mnet. Secondly, my social commentary posts will also decrease in number. Basically I won't be writing unless there's something particularly catching my interest, or something massive happens. I hate to do it, but I just don't have the time. Thirdly (and here comes that silver lining), is that I will be launching a Mixtapes and Liner Notes podcast (!!!), hopefully by the end of the month, but definitely before the end of October. I'm thinking right now it'll be a monthly podcast, though that might go up to a fortnightly podcast if it turns out to take less time than I anticipate right now. Not sure exactly what form it'll take right now, but I'll try to keep it more music, less talk (as they say on the radio) and hopefully start expanding my scope past k-pop, because good music is global, y'all!

And, YOU get to be a part of this too! If there's a song or an album you want me to talk about or to feature in the podcast, let me know in the comments section. I'll probably put one of those question boxes in the side bar as well so that you can send requests that way as well. Mind you, I won't be able to put all of them in the podcasts at once, and for the first few ones I'll probably be working with what I have in my iTunes library right now, but I want to know what you guys are listening to and loving these days. It'll help me keep up with the latest music, and also make the podcats more interactive, which I would really like. So let me know, guys!

Alright ladies and gents, gotta get into to the kitchen and start cooking up some audio awesomeness for you all. Thank you so so so much for reading my blog, and please stick with me as I try to get a useful degree and still deliver some good music and good writing to you all :)

Love loads,
Mellowyel

Shoujo Jidai (少女時代) over So Nyu Shi Dae (소녀시대)

2011-08-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

I write a crap ton about 2NE1 on this blog, if you didn't know already. Today I'd like to switch gears and write about their anti-thesis, Girl's Generation (hereafter SNSD). I don't really want to talk about the negative aspects of their overly cutesy image, because that's a dead and buried horse that needn't be exhumed for beating. Rather, I'd like to examine their Japanese promotional material in light of their Korean material and see if I can't construct a more sympathetic view of Asia's most loved, and possibly the international k-pop audience's most maligned girl group.

So this post basically began when I saw SNSD's most recent Japanese music video, "Bad Girl" (embedded below). The video itself is nothing to write home about, but I was surprised at the return to the "dark" concept they used for "Run Devil Run". More than that though, I realized that the song was actually pretty good, and that I hadn't actually given their Japanese album a proper listen. And now I was curious - could this album actually contain more than one good track?

I listened to it, and two main things stuck out to me: firstly, the slightly dark, glitchy electro-pop vibe of the entire thing, save their previous hits recorded in Japanese. This is not a sound that I expected from Korea's golden girls. It's not even something I expect from any Korean artist - it was very, very j-pop, and very in keeping with material put out by artists like Crystal Kay and Namie Amuro - pop with an edge. I was surprised they even bothered to record new Japanese material. The Japanese versions of their megahits "Gee" and "Genie" seemed all that they needed to conquer the market at first, but maybe they really want to be seen as Japanese artists, like their predecessors DBSK and BoA. Secondly, the music was good! And consistent! I thought it was just me, but most other reviews I've read have said pretty much the same thing, so I know I'm not alone here (unlike in my weird affection for "Gee" despite hating the concept). They really stepped up their game music-wise - I guess we have Universal Japan to thank for that. (For a proper review of the album, check out these ones over at Random J Pop and Call Me Patricia.)

Delving further into their promotions, another thing I noticed was the clear image change that accompanied the album. "Run Devil Run" and "Hoot" seemed to be attempts to move the girls into a more mature image, but for the promotion of their Japanese material, it seems that they've embraced it fully. Less gimmick, more style. I recommend checking out the lyrics to the songs to see this fully, since I can't post every song here in the interest of brevity (here's a Youtube account with great videos and translations). A great example though is this performance of "The Great Escape" (my favorite track off the album) and "Mr Taxi" from MTV Video Music Aid Japan:

There I was thinking, oh it'll be all girly like "Show Show Show" but then I saw the wide leg spread dance (!), what I like to call the "bend and snap" move (thank you, Elle Woods), and not an "oppa", pout or wiggle in sight. They went for the sexy. Not the "we're so adorable" sexy that you see in "Oh", but a realer sort of sexy. While the moves I just described are the mechanical markers of sexiness (often over-exploited by Korean female performers in the name of concept) there's more to this performance. The choreography is looser, allowing them to interpret it for themselves and show their personalities a bit more. They're confident on the stage - they don't look like they've performed this song 50 times over and just want it to be done with. They smile and stare down their audience as the mood takes them, not because they have to in order to sell their concept. All of those things add another dimension to the performance - it gives it life, so to speak - and so few k-pop artists manage to achieve that. They own their performance - not in a "they killed it" way, but in a "this is our music and our selves on stage, not just something someone told us to perform". It makes me want to go up there and dance and sing along with them. I love this performance. I also love the stage, the outfits, the camera and camerawork. Like, can the Korean TV stations step up their game? Immediately?

So after recovering a bit from my utter shock, I began to ask questions: why is it that SNSD chose to debut their new, less gimmicky mature image in Japan and not in Korea, where the majority of their fanbase resides? Why is it that their best non-single release to date (in my opinion) has been released on foreign shores? With regards to their image, it could just be timing - they've been a group for about four years now, and with none of them in their teens anymore, maybe it was just time to grow up. It could also be the market - specifically one that doesn't amass as much revenue and attention by simply being adorable, and places more of an emphasis on the quality of the music as compared to the Korean market because of the longer promotion cycle in the Japanese music industry. I'm more at ease with this thought because as much as I'd like to think that SM is letting their girls be young women, I also know that the album's sound is exactly what's hot in j-pop right now, and could just be a smart business move as opposed to an attempt to push the SNSD out of the pre-teen/teen years. Cute gets them in the door, while mature makes them real competition for their Japanese counterparts. And then they return to the cute to keep their original fans happy.

For the girls themselves then, maybe there's an advantage to promoting in Japan. Not just the lack of constant variety appearances and music show schedules, and being able to make their money (fulfill their contracts) without completely burning out, but they don't have to keep to the uber-cute image, which two of the members have stated that they're uncomfortable with (here and here). They can be sexy, without hiding it under pink frills and baby voices to please the older male fans* and can worry less about conservative k-netizens kicking up a fuss.

So much of what they've done in Japan would never fly in Korea, especially with the Korean Cultural Commission banning songs and performances left and right. Not only the "wide leg-spread" dance and some other moves from the "Great Escape" choreo, but also the line "You're the gin inside my tonic" from "you-aholic", and the crop-tops and booty shorts from "Bad Girl". Granted, SM probably has the TV producers in their back pocket and could get away with nudity with only a slap on the wrist or a belated ban after they've raked in most of the money. But Korea want their idols to be role models, and won't let them even hint their sexuality in any way unless they lose potential revenue due to negative press. Public opinion means everything in Korean entertainment, while there seems to be more freedom, particularly on issues of sexuality, in Japan. So it makes sense that we would see more varied images of women in the foreign k-pop industry than in the local one.

This makes me wary for their Korean comeback. There's a possibility that SNSD might retain the improved songwriting and vocals (Seohyun and Jessica I see you!), but I don't see them bringing back the sexy to Korean shores. That may mean that they don't recycle Japanese songs into Korea, but considering the Japanese album came out in June, and they're releasing a full album in Korea in September, I'm not holding my breath. So while Girls' Generation, due to their popularity and exposure, are perfectly positioned to shake up the female images k-pop gives us, there's not a lot of chance that they actually will.

To be honest, I think that in a way I am actually a fan of Girls' Generation, despite their super-aegyo image, since I follow their work and choose to focus on only the material I like. I'm glad to see them tapping into the potential I suspected was there hidden behind the aegyo through their Japanese work. And, despite their image, their music is catchy and well produced, and the girls are fun to watch and listen to. However, in order for them to really resonate with me as artists and performers, they need to be more than paper dolls who fit any ideas - good or bad - that SM decides to slap onto them. And right now, SM just isn't giving them the room to do that. It'll be interesting to see if in the future they stick with SNSD and SM, or choose to move in a different direction.

What I'm most curious about, then, is YG's announcement that he's got a Girls Generation-esque group in the works. Will they also be simply a vehicle for endless rotating concepts, providing pretty faces and voices to make them marketable? Will they take on the cute as their mantra, as 2NE1 has taken on the fierce as theirs? Or will they be something else entirely? We can only wait and see.

*So every time someone mentions girl group's "ahjussi fans", I get suspicious. Not only is their little proof of it in any English-language source I've come across, or on music shows, I don't see why men in their 30s and 40s would spend considerable money on music or merchandise related to a young teen pop star, no matter how gorgeous. That's stuff for pre-teens mostly (and possibly young adults due to the slow growing process of Korea's youth). My current theory is that these "men in their 30s and 40s" aren't the people who are going to buy the albums, but the industry executives and television producers who will scout SNSD for CFs and music and variety show appearances. Because without that exposure, SNSD wouldn't have the huge fanbase they have right now, which seems to be more female than male, even with the deep-voiced fan chants on music shows. Either that, or they choose to market to the population that ostensibly has the most disposable income, thus reducing the value of the younger female consumers who seem to drive the k-pop industry. Thus they market to their ideal audience, and not the real audience, and thus preventing that audience from demanding/accessing content that actually appeals to them.( I prefer the first theory, but the second doesn't seem so far out to me.)

HyunA vs Hyun-ah: Deconstructing Korea's Sexy Idol

2011-08-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

I feel bad for this girl sometimes. I think that she's the single most-scrutinized girl group member in the whole of K-pop. And why? Because she can pop her butt like few can. Therefore you get people calling her a slut, a tramp, etc etc because her company decides to take advantage of this particular skill of hers. *sigh. Just another day in the world of female performance.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, check out this video of HyunA's latest single, "Bubble Pop", and if you care to, read the comments on the Youtube page:

EDIT: As of today, HyunA will no longer be promoting "Bubble Pop", as the choreography and costumes have been deemed too suggestive to air. The video will be pulled from the air too. Well, not like we didn't see this coming, but they sure took their time with it. The "wide-leg-spread dance" fiasco happened the very week Rania debuted with "Dr. Feel Good", and a week after 4minute came back with "Mirror Mirror".

While I don't particularly care for HyunA - what I like to think of as her "performer"side - I have a soft spot for Kim Hyun-ah, the real girl behind the image, because I see the vitriol that swims to the surface any time she does anything that's mildly suggestive, and I feel for her. Granted, most of the time she's being very suggestive, but she doesn't deserve to be called a "slut" or a "whore" or "dirty". Whether or not you think she is morally sound, you shouldn't attack her so viciously simply because she don't ascribe to your life standards.

Another reason why I hate the insults is that they're clearly confounding her stage persona and her real life persona. Most performers purposefully create fictional versions of themselves to present on stage, and from what I know of k-pop, this phenomenon is very present. The idols themselves even acknowledge it in a way, as they always want to show "a different side of themselves" to their audience either through variety shows or constantly changing "concepts". It's obvious to anyone that their images are manufactured in order to create the most appeal and therefore the most revenue. So it makes no sense to judge their character due to their performances when more often than not, they're not really like that in real life.

It's particularly silly to call Hyun-ah or HyunA a slut. The dictionary definition of slut is "[a woman] who is promiscuous, or has loose sexual morals". While her dancing is suggestive, her lyrics are decidedly not. "Change" was all about changing up your style and not worrying about other people's opinions, while "Bubble Pop" is about her deciding to do what she wants despite what her boyfriend might think. I don't see how this indicates that she sleeps around in any way. And we don't know what goes on in her personal life (frankly it's none of our business) so any judgement of her real self from her music and videos is based purely on speculation, and is therefore groundless.

What do we know about Hyun-ah though? From watching her appearances on variety shows, it would appear that she actually makes an effort to distance herself from her sexpot stage persona. If you look at her dance performances on variety shows, she often avoids doing the standard sexy dance (best exemplified in this video of Rainbow's Jaekyung) and tries to do dances involving more complicated choreography:

(She's not the only idol to do this: Kahi of After School also makes a point to do things differently when asked to perform on variety shows, taking on challenging choreography and playing acoustic guitar instead of simply wowing us with her "sexy aura" [lol].)

When she does do the standard choreography - particularly in the examples I've found, her "Change" dance - she's reluctant and embarrassed:

Notice how in the first and last video she goes all out for the performance itself, but turns into a shy, embarrassed girl right afterwards. Clearly, she's not just a "slut".

I'm inclined to construct a more complicated image of Hyun-ah the girl, based on what I know about the k-pop industry, and what I've seen of her from TV. She is definitely not afraid to be sexy, otherwise her sexy dances would look much less convincing or appealing. As I've said before, I believe a performer needs to connect on some level with whatever they're performing in order to be good. And despite what you think of her, you have to admit Hyun-ah is a sick performer. Her confidence and charisma is really what makes her stand out, not the booty-popping. After being reminded during the Rania debacle that the k-pop industry is more than willing to use sex in order to make money, I wouldn't be surprised if her constant booty-popping is encouraged by her management in order to maintain her popularity. Though her pelvic thrust dance from "Change" was a pelvic thrust dance, I find it to be much less provocative than Rania's version, as well as a lot of the ones you see the male idols doing. Yet that was what established her as a "sexy idol", and pretty much established how she would be perceived by the public and marketed by her agency - as a sexy girl existing purely for your entertainment. She does the sexy dance, but it's SBS's cameras that zoom in on her butt and crotch. And that's what gets them, her and her company paid.

If anything, that's the reason I'm not a fan of HyunA - I feel that she's selling herself short by sticking to the booty popping, and we're all keeping her from reaching her potential by constantly praising her for it and not challenging her to do more than that. Even if it was just working on her rapping, or getting proper vocal training or just doing more interesting choreo - either one of these things would elevate her as a performer. Yet she sticks to drawing in scandals galore instead. Whether she does it because she's bound by contract, or because she actually likes it, I just don't think it's a good choice for her on a professional level. It's all well and good to capitalize on your popularity, but you should at least show a desire to constantly improve and develop yourself regardless of what the public is buying right now.

Quoted from allkpop's review of her mini-album:

HyunA isn’t loved by everyone, but to her credit, at least she continues to be herself, whether we like it or not. She relishes the idea of acting in overly sexual ways, and while she was full of drive a year ago, now she’s teasing listeners and on-lookers with a sexy song masked by novelty gloss.

The album as a whole makes little sense as an entity, but it breaks up into the pieces that have come to define HyunA: it’s partly saucy, partly gimmicky and dubious, and above all, blatantly artificial.

Yet, that’s exactly what works for her and from the get-go, she’s owned it. She may lose street cred for sounding like a complete robot in her ‘raps’, and for groaning through most of her songs, but she at least wins some brownie points for not giving a crap about it and carrying on.

This conclusion presents us with four key points: (1) that Hyun-ah enjoys being an oversexed doll (2) that this image is pretty much how she is in real life; (3) that her persona is completely manufactured; and (4) that she carries on with it despite what people think. From the evidence I've already given, I think I've proved that #1 and #2 are at best assumption, and quite possibly false. #3 not only contradicts #1 and #2, but is also obvious and something that everyone who wants to discuss Hyun-ah as an artist or a person should keep in mind. And #4 is something we can never really know for sure. Does she continue to do it because she doesn't care about being called a slut? Or because she's contractually obligated to? Or because she actually is promiscuous and isn't ashamed to be who she is? I think the evidence given proves that the answers to all those questions are dubious at best, so we shouldn't try to put her in any box, but rather accept her complexity as we are presented it. This, of course, the goal of writing all this and other posts on women in k-pop: it's to allow for and encourage more positive and complex and less stereotypical representations of women in k-pop that are true to the experiences of real women and those of the women who perform these representations.

P.S. If this post is TL;DR for you, check out Ellie from Seoulbeats/AATheory's video review of "Bubble Pop" for a pretty good summary of what I said:

2NE1 Releases "Hate You" MV

2011-07-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

I've said a lot about the Miss A/2NE1 comparison, but this video basically threw that out. If both videos end with a guy at the feet of the girls he wronged, then they've gotta be on the same wavelength, right?

I think animation is a perfect choice for a 2NE1 video. Their regular videos are already set in this alternate universe where crazy stuff happens, so why not make it even more pop art? It's like this heightened sense of reality all the time, which works for them since they're all about being larger than life anyway.

I gotta say, Mari Kim did a great job on this. I like her evocative pop art style, and somehow that style, the video-game synths, forceful vocal delivery and the action-packed video mesh really well. I can't say if I'd have liked the song as much had it come out separate from the video, but regardless, I'm a fan. It's a huge step up for Teddy in my opinion: it's the first time I've gotten a completely new feeling out of his electro-pop stuff. Usually it's the same gangsta-vibe or crazy pop, but this is definitely different, and complex and great. There's something about the song that makes me glad they didn't leave it in the demo files. There's a realness to it, I guess - an organized chaos that matches that "Hate You" feeling. And, 2NE1's voices are only minimally processed, which is always a good thing.

The international pop community should get off "Bubble Pop"s train and start spreading the 2NE1 love, because this is fantastic and deserves to be noticed. Definitely one of the better k-pop videos of the year so far.

Edit: I only just noticed after hitting the replay button again that Bom is eating corn as she walks through the pub/saloon/bar at 0:53!!! Haha love it :)

Hey, Miss A: "Good Bye Baby" and Songs from A Class

2011-07-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit it, but I was actually excited for Miss A's comeback. I blame "Love Alone" for proving to me that someone is actually capable of making great music for these girls. Anyway, their first full album A Class came out last night - it contains all the songs off their previous EPs, as well as four new tracks and one remix. From a personal standpoint, only two of the new songs really stand out to me: Mr. Johnny, a brilliant dance pop track that had me grooving in my pyjamas from the get go, and the title track, "Good Bye Baby", but that's mainly because of the video:

The song on its own doesn't really go anywhere, which was a disappointment - it reminded me a lot of 2PM's "I'll Be Back" in arrangement and style : Half-chorus, short verse, bridge, chorus, short verse, bridge, chorus, rap, bridge (dude, again?) then chorus. It's so similar you could probably make it a 2PM song if you gave it a different beat. Speaking of which - the drums are great, and are probably the best feature of the whole track. The intro where it's just the drums is definitely my favorite part of the track. But despite glimpses of genius, the song isn't all that. Sorry, JYP - you need to let go of your formula and actually be creative for once. I know it's a stretch, but please try.

The video, however, I was impressed with. It's basically what "Run Devil Run" could have been, if SNSD didn't still need to capitalize on their golden girl image. You could of course argue that they decided to take higher ground and not resort to revenge to feel better, but - it is satisfying to see that dude squirm as Miss A takes over his set and terrorizes him for cheating on all of them at the same time. And then, just to drive the point home, that this dude is a complete bastard, he laughs when he realizes that he's been dating the whole group at once, and AGAIN at the end when he realizes that despite their obvious rage, they didn't end up ending him. Instead of him to be thankful for his life. Ugh. Somehow that got me emotionally invested in the whole thing, because it suggests that, unlike the guy who simply finds it amusing, the girls care more about the break-up than they're letting on in the lyrics of the song. It's good visually too, building up to a great climax while the song fails to give us one. As the song draws to its close, we begin to see everything in fast cuts: the water getting up to the guy's nose, lightning flashing, fire burning, and the girls kicking and punching the air as Suzy blows up the set. Nicely done.

Those two songs are my personal favorites, but from a critical standpoint, the new tracks are definitely a step up from their previous work. Most of their older material is forgettable, but the new tracks actually offer me something to come back to. "One to Ten" reminds me of 2NE1's "Love is Ouch" style-wise, and is upbeat and girly in a good way. "Help Me" is has a great 90's R&B vibe, that actually makes it kind of old school k-pop. Huge fan of the pre-chorus on that one. Hyorin should cover it - it would be ay-may-zing. And the intro to the "Good Bye Baby" remix is amazing. I was definitely disappointed to find it wasn't in the actual track.

All in all, despite not having the most amazing vocals, Miss A manages to deliver an enjoyable album. Wow. I was not expecting that. They killed the performance aspect of it, as usual, but this time it actually comes with a set of music that I will actually listen to.

Also, I have another guest post going up on Seoulbeats soon! Look out for it :)

f(x)'s Hot Summer - SM, You're Trying Too Hard

2011-06-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

... or as Nigerians would say, your thirst is showing.

Now, I'm not going to comment on the whole "young-girls-acting-sexy-yet-denial-abounds" thing. That's old news, and besides, considering the song and video for the original track that f(x) covered here, I'm really not surprised. However something didn't quite sit well with me as I watched this video, and it only clicked when I watched the live performances to get a good look at Rino Nakasone-Razalan and Maryss from Paris's choreography: Amber looked much too out of place. We know she's the tomboy of the group and consequently has many fans going gaga over her boyish looks and deeper voice. But this was the first time she had been clearly placed front and center, as opposed to her usual position as the boy-girl on the side. Not only that, but usually f(x) doesn't show so much skin, even when the other girls wear skirts, so Amber's usual shorts/pants and jacket stood out more. Finally, her individual choreography was completely different from the group choreography. She looked like she'd been taking dance lessons from DBSK, while the other four girls were clearly in SNSD territory. Despite all this, she joined them in the cute-face making when not front and center.

Here's why I'm conflicted: they're clearly playing to her strengths and what suits her (ostensibly) true character, but why the vast differences all of a sudden? Why single her out instead of letting her integrate seamlessly into the group, which I felt they did fairly well in previous videos? It feels like tokenism, and I don't like it one bit. It's like, "We're your typical girl group, but wait! We also have this androgynous chick! Doesn't this make us edgy and cool?!" Yet I don't want to knock it too much, because she's getting some well-deserved attention, and killing the choreo. However, if the other girls weren't wearing 5-inch heels, they would have killed it too! It feels like they chose appearances (i.e. typical girl group with a twist) over execution, and the whole thing just feels clumsy, as opposed to the seamlessness that usually characterizes SM videos.

I'm annoyed that they're capitalizing on Amber's popularity in such an obvious way. I'm not sure if it's only with f(x) that they're this lazy, but let's just hope they step up their game. Being SM doesn't guarantee chart awards anymore, and the girl group competition gets fiercer every day.

Thoughts?

Mid-week Music: B2ST's "Fiction and Fact"

2011-05-18T00:08:00.000-07:00

So I have been sitting on tenterhooks waiting for B2ST’s first full album, Fiction and Fact to come out. Mainly because I was super impressed with the last three mini-albums they released, and because they released two great teasers. I am trying and failing to contain my enthusiasm here, so let’s jump right into it!

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

The album opens with the intro track, “The Fact”. I’ve always said that I think B2ST are suited best for R&B songs, and this is just another example of them proving me right. I like that they give us a good two minutes of intro instead of cutting it short like with “Lights Go On Again”. It follows in that track’s footsteps as well, using a mellow R&B track to introduce their urban pop single. They all sound amazing, which is something I can say about every song on this album. It’s a good way of showing us what’s to come in the album.

B2ST has been on this urban pop tip for their lead singles, starting out slow, going explosive in the chorus and generally being angsty and whatnot. It’s worked for them, and Shinsadong Tigers seems to be refining the sound every time he tries it. I’m slightly annoyed that it took three singles to get to this point, but I think they’ve finally achieved what they were aiming for pursuing this particular sound and style. “Fiction” is a considerable step forward in comparison to “숨” and “Shock”. First of all, and most noticeably, the chorus, instead of being hard and in your face, soars into the clouds on these long, high notes and gives a completely different feeling from them belting out “I can’t hold my breath, breath, breath,” which actually sounds loud and annoying in comparison. It gives the whole thing not only a mature, contemplative feel, but also a sense of refinement: they’ve realized that the chorus doesn’t have to be in your face to be good. Secondly, the piano line paired with the synth is gorgeous, and makes for a much more melodic song overall. It does get repetitive after a while but thankfully it’s interrupted by the middle eight. Speaking of, the middle eight is finally getting good. It actually builds to a climax, and for once I don’t feel like Junhyung is interrupting the singers - he sounds like he actually belongs there. This is definitely one of the standout tracks on the album. I’m surprised to say this since usually k-pop lead singles sacrifice musical quality for mainstream appeal, but they came to a good compromise here.

"Back To You" sounds like a continuation of “Fiction” but it resembles their past lead singles a lot more with its punchy, angsty chorus. It’s not bad, but it’s more standard k-pop fare and is overshadowed by the previous track.

B2ST slows it down a bit for the mid-tempo, less electrified and comparably happier song “You”. Dongwoon singing the opening line “I”m gonna make you love me” puts a smile on my face that stays on for the entire track. The song actually reminds me a lot of Westlife, who are fond of those plunking piano chords. I like that it’s happy without being overly cute - it’s a more mature song than their previous ones in the same vein, and I appreciate that.

“Freeze” ups the tempo yet again, but we’re still on the happy train, with a Europop influenced dance track. It actually reminds me a lot of the Korean World Cup songs that came out last summer. Despite the Europop influence it actually sounds very American, though it’s much more complex than similar songs coming out of the US. Overall it’s a very fun listen.

As all k-pop idols use their sex appeal to push units, we are presented next with the obligatory sexy slow jam, “Virus”. Not the best song on the album, but it does its job and the boys sound good. Especially Dongwoon, who’s improved leaps and bounds since their debut. He’s getting spots in the chorus and middle eight and everything. His voice has a great quality, and he’s doing the most with it.

"불러보지만" is a more standard ballad, similar to “I’m Sorry” from their last album. I thought the pre-chorus was the chorus, and got bored, but was pleasantly surprised when the chorus actually hit. This is the kind of song that B2ST has mastered, so while nothing new, it's still a great performance. Here’s where I was particularly impressed by Yoseob. He’s been the vocal anchor of B2ST from the beginning, but on this track he shows how much he’s improved. His vocal control is so much better, such that he doesn’t just hit all the right notes, he holds them as well. He has the potential to be one of the best of the idol vocalists out there, and here he shows that that’s what he’s aiming for.

Finally we get to “비가 오는 날엔”, the teaser track released as a digital single a week before the album, and arguably the best song on the album. I don’t know who’s writing these R&B tracks for them, but whoever they are, they need to keep it up. It’s a melodic mid-tempo ballad which takes full advantage of the vocal talents of the group. I like that it doesn’t sound like any other k-pop ballad I’ve heard recently, which is no small feat considering k-pop’s tendency to plagiarize itself over and over again. It represents a new direction that B2ST could take in their music, becoming more of a vocal group than a dance group. All things considering, I think they picked just the right group of people to make that transition. I’d just give them a year between this album and their next release to work some more on vocals, and they’d be on their way to competing with their sunbaes. It’s nearly impossible for younger groups to compete with more seasoned groups, but if any boy band has the capability at this point in time to make it happen, it would be these guys.

Next we have the unplugged version of "Lightless", a track from the Lights Go On Again EP. This was one of my favorite tracks from that CD, but I hate to say that I’m not loving this version. I feel like they were trying too hard to make the vocal performances interesting, and added unnecessary flourishes everywhere. It’ll likely grow on me, but considering the fact that this album only has ten tracks on it, I think it could have been considerably better. Hyunseung sounds pretty awesome, though – he’s someone who isn’t noted all that much for his vocals, but he’s got great range and control, and really complements the other vocalists. He knows his own voice, and always gives 100% in his performances. Props.

Closing out the album is the orchestral version of “Fiction”. B2ST sure does love their orchestral versions. Stripped down instrumental-anchored versions of tracks can really expose the quality of the songwriting of a song, and here it’s no different. “Fiction” may not be the greatest pop song ever written, but it’s a damn good one, because it allows for you to take out the synths and pops and fill out the soundscape with a harp, violins and... I think, cellos and a clarinet (those more familiar with classical music, help me out here). These complement what’s already there in the structure and melody of the original, making the song sound wonderfully fairytale-like - which is, I’m sure, what they were going for - and a great closing track. I would have liked if they recorded new vocals to go with this version, but maybe we’ll get them if this is ever performed live (fingers crossed!).

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So, was this album the awesomeness I was expecting? Well, yes and no. Once again, the constraints of being in a demanding industry that isn’t very receptive of different musical styles means that B2ST can’t spread their wings as much as I’d like them to, and get stuck in recycled sounds. You really can’t blame Cube for sticking with what works instead of trying out new things, though – B2ST is enjoying their moment in the spotlight right now, and they have to milk it for all it’s worth before the next hot group comes and overshadows them. However, they delivered fantastic vocal performances, and gave me enough newness with “Fiction” and “비가 오는 날엔” that I was satisfied.

Before I listened to the album, I had a feeling that this would be B2ST’s peak – after this they couldn’t get any better. But now, I think they still have some awesomeness up their sleeves. If they would push boundaries more, and continue to develop vocally - currently, Dongwoon, Hyunseung and Yoseob are leaving the others in the dust - they could really blow it out of the water. They have the potential to be the next Big Bang, i.e. the group that sets the bar for quality of songwriting and the pushing of pop boundaries. I think that if they become more actively involved in their music and begin to create music more reflective of their personalities and personal musical styles, like they did on their My Story EP, this will happen.

But forget all that - B2ST has gone from your average mediocre k-pop group to a consistently great group in the span of two short years, and have zeroed in on a great blend of pop, electro and R&B which showcases their talents to the fullest. If nothing else, this album is a testament to their drive, talent and potential to make even better music. Fiction and Fact firmly establishes B2ST as a force to be reckoned with in the k-pop industry - and that's more than most groups can say for their first full albums.

Midweek Music List - What I've Been Listening This Spring

2011-05-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Back again (and on time this time) with another Midweek Music List. I plan to start rolling these out on a fairly regular basis from now on, so these posts will be shorter and more to the point. Also, they'll soon include a wider range of music than the usual Korean fare. Here's the playlist, and my general thoughts on last month's releases after the jump. The songs are not in order, and do not represent everyone I mention on here, but there are a few links scattered here and there to make sure everyone's covered. Enjoy!

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Okay, I'd like to start off with Big Bang's repackaged album. In my boy band post, I expressed that their comeback track "Tonight" was a great way to slay all the other electrokpop out there, but not what I was hoping for from the band that has such a good track record of pop hip-hop goodness. I had to change my opinion once I listened to "Love Song" - it is the amazing pop song I was hoping for, but it's also a step ahead of that. All members have their awesome moments, the instrumental is a great rock-pop mix with an electronic touch that feels very timely, and the video is beautifully evocative. It's also restrained, in that it doesn't blow your mind, but stays subdued, as you would be after a breakup. In sum, it's a maturing of their original sound, incorporating all the new things they explored through their individual work, but also taking them in a new direction where it's more about the musicianship and artistry than attempting to recreate the hits we grew to love them for or simply beat out the competition. And that, I can get with 100%. This song convinced me of what people have been saying for a while now - Big Bang are the most promising musicians in k-pop at the moment. Hands down.

Rainbow also returned with their first mini-album. I was a fan of "A" and "Mach" already. And I like "To Me" as well - the Daishi Dance instrumental was great, the vocals were great, and the rap was great too. I think the group is finally hitting a groove in terms of what sounds and song structures work for them, so I think they'll keep getting better. I also loved the verses on "So Cool", but wished they took it further instead of devolving into shouts and repetitive phrases in the pre-chorus and then leaving the chorus as boring as well. Oh well.

Brian Joo returns! Unveiled is a really nice pop CD. Brian Joo is a talented vocalist, and carries both the more serious ballads like the lead single, "Love Is Over Now" (which has an awesome video, by the way) and the uptempos, like "Song 4 U", my personal favorite. Nothing mindblowing, but it features some pretty nice songwriting, which harder to find in k-pop these days.

Now, male vocalists are a dime a dozen, but few of them really evoke emotions out of you or sing like they actually feel what they're saying. Newcomer Taeha is one of these few. His EP, Come Back To Me is one heck of a first release not necessarily because of unique songs or sounds, but because he sings his heart out every single time. He reminds me a lot of Brian McKnight, actually. The EP features "Stay With Me," the duet with Hwayobi I featured a few months back, and the beautiful track, "Come Back".

I absolutely love Supreme Team's new track "I Was Arrogant" - fast becoming one of my favorite Korean hip-hop acts - in tribute to Quincy Jones. I definitely feel his influence in the instrumental, so it's a great tribute IMHO. Supreme Team are fast becoming one of my favorite Korean hip-hop acts.

The 1llionare brand has acquired a number of great new collaborators in the past year - Crucial Star, Rado, and now, the newsmaker of 2009/2010, Jay Park. His solo debut album, Take A Deeper Look, features many 1llionare rappers, as well as the sleek production style that characterizes many of Dok2 and associates' releases. "Abandoned" is the song I can't stop listening to - the first verse is a little long, but once the bass kicks in at the chorus, I'm in for the rest of it. It feels very Usher/Omarion-esque, and that sound, along with his association with the 1llionares, positions him slightly left of the mainstream, which in my opinion is a good move. He can develop his own sound and while still appealing to the pop preferences of the fans that have been with him during his JYP days (see, "Tonight"). This way, he can truly become a standout solo artist, as opposed to "ex-2PM member Park Jaebeom". It'll be a while before he shakes that ignominious title off, but this album is a huge step in the right direction.

We also had a slew of boy band and girl band debuts in the past month. Seriously, my head was reeling from all the new young faces. I liked B1A4, who had a great energetic live stage, and A Pink, who did cute tastefully and with great vocals - not a girlish squeal in sight. They have some nice electropop stuff on their album that reminds me of Owl City, so if that's your thing, check it out. Brave Brothers put his best efforts of the year into his girl group, Brave Girls - while the songwriting is a little dull, the production is sick and the girls have vocal and performance potential. Definitely a group to watch.

Some female veterans return - Park Bom's gorgeous solo track, "Please Don't Cry" is a great listen. f(x) returned with a menagerie of an album, but one that matches their concept, which is equally a smorgasbord of influences. The songs are all catchy, and well-produced, but not crazy good, which is really what I was hoping for with this album. However, a couple stood out for me - "Beautiful Goodbye" (currently under suspicion of plagiarism *sigh) and "Love". "Danger" works in conjunction with the awesomely futuristic and colorful video (with choreography from Jillian Meyers!) but on it's own it can be a little dull, since it's pretty one note. I get what they were going for though, and it seems to be working - f(x) are pulling chart awards left and right.

Then of course, we have After School with their first full album Virgin. This CD has been on repeat for the past two weeks. I love it as a whole, and the individual tracks are great too. It shows just enough range to keep a 12-track album interesting, yet doesn't go haywire and lose the essence of who these ladies are. In other words, it's near perfect. I would have put the whole thing on the playlist, but I stuck with a few choice selections instead, including my only slightly guilty pleasure, Nana and Lizzy's "Funky Man". Miss A drop their first English single, "Love Alone" weirdly with no fanfare whatsoever. It's clearly not their lead single, but it's a hot dance track. I'm now much more curious about their actual comeback. Then, the Sistar sub-unit Sistar19 (Hyorin and Bora) come out with their track "Ma Boy". A Brave Brothers single, it's nothing mind-blowing, but I've always liked the simplistic mid-tempo R&B track. And Hyorin sounds awesome on this. Sadly, apart from the sound, this doesn't sound much different from an actual Sistar track. It makes it look like the other members don't contribute as much to the group, which is not the point of a sub-unit. If anything, it shows that musically, there's still much to be desired from this group. They do well on charts - often in the top 10 or 20 for at least a month after release, which is better than a lot of the newer groups do - but musically and concept wise, they don't stand out. I like them though, so I hope their comeback kicks ass.

Lastly, some indie music for you guys - Sentimental Scenery, a Pastel Music artist, gave us his latest CD, Soundscape, which is all piano-driven electro-indie-pop amazingness. Fans of Pastel artists get to hear Hee Young and Taru on this album as well. Yoon Jong Shin's project song this month is a Luther Vandross-esque 80s ballad type track featuring Lee Jung. It's called "Two Breakups" and is pretty much two songs in one 8 minute package. I love Lee Jung, but Yoon Jong Shin's track is the one that does it for me.

... I think that's it? Oh wait, no - CNBlue released as a thank you to fans an EP featuring reworked songs from the album arranged by the boys themselves. These tracks sound much more genuine to what I feel to be their style, and I prefer them miles over most of the songs in First Step. Particularly of Jonghyun's track "그래요". Hoping they keep this sound for their next release. Then we have Rude Paper - taking dub reggae into the 21st century and creating an amazing track with "Radio". And finally, Handsome People dropping their second single, "Crazy". Tei is an amazing vocalist - range and control and quality are all up there at the highest level. He just won an opera singing TV competition too. Somebody get him on "I Am A Singer" stat.

And we're done. Have a Happy Wednesday everyone :)

Thoughts on Rania, New Sexy Girl Group on the Block

2011-04-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

I debated for a long time about writing about this girl group, but as the month comes to a close, I figured I'd add my voice to the slowly fading banter surrounding this girl group on the interwebz.

For those of you not familiar with the group or the media frenzy surrounding their debut, check out their posts on allkpop. To summarize: Rania, an international girl group who have been buzzed about for about a year and had worked with Teddy Riley on their debut single, finally stepped onto the scene with their song, "Dr. Feel Good". Check out the video and live performance below:

The noise on the internet has mainly been about their sexy stage performances and lyrics. The Korean entertainment industry has not taken kindly to this bold expression of female sexuality, and the group has encountered numerous roadblocks in their live TV promotions: they've been forced to change their choreography, lyrics and stage outfits, and have also been lambasted by audiences for being too raunchy. There also have been strong voices on the other side of the argument supporting the girl's expression of their sexuality, most notably this great op-ed on allkpop.

So after viewing all the evidence and hearing both sides, I've finally come to a place where I feel like I can adequately express my opinions of this group. I tried before but ended up saying more than I meant and possibly giving the wrong impression of where I stand. To be very clear, I support this group. I think they are very talented women with great stage presence and fantastic voices. And I support their choice to express their sexuality any way they see fit in their music. However, I'm not a fan of their music (yet) because it's a little dull for me. The production is great, especially in the Korean version of Dr. Feel Good, but the instrumental leaves a little to be desired. Also, I'm not particularly a fan of the song's lyrics. Frankly, I'd like a little more substance than that in my pop music, thank you very much. Lust as a stand-alone concept doesn't do much for me.

That's my opinion on them, but there's still a lot more to talk about with this group. First of all, let's make one thing clear: these women are performing sexual liberation - that is, this is the image we see on stage, but it's not the real image of the women themselves. Why do I say this? Well, this is a Korean pop group. As a group within that system, especially a rookie group, they lack autonomy over the material and image they put out. I've talked about this before, and recent studies have shown that young female pop stars are often forced by their management to wear revealing clothes and perform suggestive dances. Some girls own it, but not all of them do. It's the same for guys too - notice how Joon from MBLAQ started out as the ab-bearer - taking after his hyung, Rain, no doubt - but has recently become a lot less keen to show some skin. But we, as viewers, can't really tell, because they do a good job of convincing us that they are all naturally sex symbols.

Their sexy image is then in conflict with the image they put out in interviews: according to this interview, they don't think their promotions are sexually suggestive at all. I have only one reaction for that - O_O. One would think that for all their CEO's ranting and Teddy Riley's disappointment, he'd have them be like "Yeah, we're sexy - so what?" - have them own it like After School or Brown Eyed Girls. But no, they're like "How is it suggestive?" Garter belts and hip-thrusts? Really? You'd need to be from a different planet to not connect those things with sex. It reminds me of So Nyu Shi Dae insisting that there's nothing sexy about them, while parading around in hot pants and high heels. *sigh.

Taking all this into perspective, I'd be naive to think that Rania's sexy concept is put out there to empower women. It's obvious to anyone familiar with k-pop that DR Media is simply taking advantage of k-pop audience's fandom of sexy men and women - whether or not they are explicitly sexy, or admit that their performances or songs have sexual undertones - and just pushing the envelope a teensy bit. They're selling sex just like everyone else. The fact that they're being maligned for it exposes double standards at work, but it's not like they're feminists or anything. They're just like any other pop group trying to make it in the industry, giving the people what they want - whether either side admits it or not.

More dangerous than the existence of double standards, though, is the reluctance to talk frankly about the use of sexual imagery in Korean pop music frankly in any context. Without those conversations, men and women will continue to be put in positions they're not comfortable in, and won't be able to say anything about it because their management will outrightly deny that there's anything sexual about it, and the public will malign them if they do. So in the words of Salt N Pepa - let's talk about sex, Korea! Get it out there and deal with it. It will make things better in the long run.

Block B: The View From the Stoop

2011-04-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

While catching up on all the k-pop news, releases and gossip today, I realized that about six new idol groups have debuted this year alone, and what's more, there are at least three more on the way. People have already complained that market for idol groups is saturated - soon they'll be leaking out the ears with groups to perform. I'm interested to see the economic repercussions this influx of new groups will have on the idol industry, and what the companies (and possibly KEPA) will do to change it, but more on that later. I'm up late typing tonight because one rookie group has finally made an impression on me, and that's hip-hop boyband Block B.

Composed of seven members - two rappers, three vocalists and two sub-vocalists - this group came onto the k-pop scene with a ridiculous amount of hype surrounding them. They make their own music, they're going to be a real hip-hop group (for k-pop this is a big deal), they have experience as underground rappers, they're sick dancers, etc etc etc. All of this along with the association with Cho PD, a huge name in the Korean hip-hop scene, meant expectations were high when this group's debut EP, do u wanna B? finally dropped this week. Here's their lead single, "Freeze" or "그대로 멈춰라!":

The video has the music mixed weirdly for some reason, so you can give the track a proper listen here:

Now, when they said hip-hop, I was not expecting this electro-pop on my speakers. When you say, hip-hop, it has to be hip-hop. Not k-pop with rapping. That being said, dayum, these rappers are good. Zico, the one with the afro-puff mohawk, immediately stood out to me (I think he's the leader) - he's got MAD flow. The other rapper, Park Kyung is pretty good too. This song feels weird because it's obvious that their strength lies in those two and Tae-il, the one who sings the pre-chorus bridge, but they give up a lot of time to the other vocalists and the subs, who are good but not mind-blowing. They're built to be a group whose music centers on rapping, but they have to use their vocals more because the market currently favors pop over hip-hop - and by extension vocalists over rappers.

Good thing for us hip-hop heads, they provide us with two other tracks on the album that tell us, yes, we're actually a hip-hop group. If you want to introduce an under-appreciated genre of music into the k-pop scene, this is how you do it - put out a poppy single, with additional songs more true to your style attached. (CN Blue, FT Island: take note). "Wanna B" ditches the synths for a grittier sound, and rap takes over. This is more the kind of song you'd expect from a hip-hop group, and from what I've read in blog comments, people seem to prefer this over "Freeze":

They then tone it down and throw in a dash of soul for "나만 이런거야?". I grew up in the golden age of rap-sung collabos, so this hits all the right notes for me:

I actually really like this EP. It's unusual for a k-pop boy band to have such a strong hip-hop influence, so this stands out for me among the fifty million k-pop tracks being released every month. Most other bands are either more pop than hip-hop, or they leave the real hip-hop for solo releases or sub-units. Here, however, hip-hop defines them. In that sense, they're most similar to Dalmatian and Big Bang in terms of musical style: Hip-hop is an essential part of their identity as a group, and even when it's pop-ified, it's still very present in their music.

Another reason why I like this EP - the production is NICE. When I heard that two of the group members basically singlehandedly produced it, I was pretty impressed. "Freeze" starts out basic, but as it progresses it gets really good. It has this gloss which just makes it a fantastic listen, especially on the right headphones/speakers. That smooth production also makes the hip-hop tracks an easier listen for ears unaccustomed to the style.

Their stage performance on Music Bank pretty good too. They have good stage presence and definitely give their all in their performances, which is all you can really ask of for a rookie group. It may not be as amazing as one might have expected, given the hype surrounding their debut, but in reality that hype was completely blown out of proportion. I can think of only a couple of veteran k-pop groups who could live up to that kind of hype, and even then the pressure would be on. Even with stupidly high expectations, though, these boys manage to impress. I give Block B two big thumbs up - solid debut, possibly the best of the new idol groups this year.

Non-Asians in Korean Music Videos: A Response

2011-04-07T01:26:00.000-07:00

So MrCKDexter, a.k.a Fangirl, co-authored this awesome post on non-Asians in k-pop music videos a few weeks ago (thanks for the mention!). I wanted to respond sooner, but I had so much to say, that it took forever for me to collect my thoughts in a coherent fashion, lol. I posted this as a long comment on their blog, but decided to post it here so others could join in the conversation. Before their post, I hadn't thought about the casting of non-Asians in general as much as I thought about the High High MV in particular, but I can offer a few (or many) thoughts. Read on after the jump...

My stance is kinda similar to Fangirl's: what stands out to me when non-Asians are cast in Asian pop videos, is that they've been cast as opposed to an actual Asian. That is, a Asian girl/guy is much easier to find than a non-Asian girl/guy, just due to the sheer number of Asians present in Asia as opposed to people of other races - so when non-Asians are cast, there has to be a particular reason for it, right?

A common reason stated by fans about the reason behind non-Asian appearances is the desire to appeal to a global audience. I think that appealing to a global audience could be a reason, but not in every case. For example, the music video for HOT's "Candy" is one of the earliest examples of a non-Asian in a k-pop video. It's also first example I've seen of a non-Asian woman being the main love interest in an Asian music video. I find it interesting because it back then, k-pop was just getting off the ground. I doubt they had aspirations of appealing to a global audience back then. Instead I think they simply wanted to bring Western-style music and visuals to Korean audiences. So they decided to make it as American as possible, which meant including a white girl as the love interest. I was more convinced of this when I saw the video for their first single "Warrior Descendants", which looks (and sounds) like it was made by a 90s LA hip hop group. HOT was really the beginning of k-pop - it hadn't yet developed into what we know it to be today, so I think I can safely say that then, it wasn't aimed at attracting American audiences, but rather, wanting to appear more global to a local audience.

You see this attitude in most Korean entertainment today: it's constantly updating itself, trying to be more current than whatever came out last week. As more non-Asians arrive in Korea, more of them are appearing in popular culture because they're becoming a part of the society there. And also, as Korean entertainment expands abroad, there are more opportunities to cast non-Asians in videos. If I was to attempt to give a catch-all answer as to "why" you see this phenomenon, I'd probably just say that there are enough non-Asians in Korea (or enough non-Asians that can be accessed by the Korean entertainment industry, as some of these videos were shot abroad) that directors are beginning to use them in their videos.

Another problem with some explanations that support the "global appeal" theory is that they read as if non-Asians will only watch Asian music videos if there's a white person in it. Not only does that totally ignore the existence of people of other races who are interested in k-pop and spend money on it (example: the huge k-pop fandom in South America), but it ignores the fact that the global k-pop audience already watches plenty of videos with no non-Asians in it whatsoever. And, as we've seen from the numerous attempts to break into the US market by Korean artists, there's a lot more that needs to be done to get people to watch your video than putting someone of another race in it. It can't be as simple as that, surely, or else they'd have no trouble succeeding in the US.

Now, as a standalone concept, I don't think there's anything wrong with non-Asians appearing in k-pop videos. However, such appearances always hint at existing social issues regarding race and gender in Korea. If the world was all kumbaya and colorblind, I wouldn't bat an eyelid at them. But it's not, and so I question the motives behind that creative choice because i'm interested in finding out what they hoped to achieve by putting a non-Asian into the video, and what they may be saying, inadvertently, about the Korean social dynamic by putting a non-Asian person in a particular role.

Each appearance of non-Asians in a k-pop video that I've seen has had different dynamics at play. The most common example I've seen is a white female as either an antagonist/negative influence (U-Kiss, "Shut Up"; Winterplay," Touche Mon Amour"; Big Bang, "Beautiful Hangover", and kind of in this Cass Beer CF MV with Lee Minho and Jessica Gomes) or a party prop/sex object/just someone to flirt with (High High). I've already discussed the conceptions of white women in Korea that might play into this, but just to reiterate: white women are often seen as "bad girls" - promiscuous and easy. Therefore, Koreans don't regard them as good long-time partners, and rather as women to just mess around with, or who will mess around with you. At least, that's what the scenarios in these music videos imply.

Warning: Dating foreign women comes with risk of strangulation (from Winterplay's video, link above)

I've also seen a similar dynamic between Korean women and Caucasian men in k-pop videos. Another example of non-Asians in a music video that I've seen from the early days of k-pop is S.E.S's "U". The video centers around the girls of S.E.S getting back at rude American men who have disrespected them in some way by humiliating them pretty badly. I seriously doubt this video was intended to draw in a foreign audience. Matt of Gusts of Popular Feeling wrote a great post that breaks down the video, and touches on social issues that may have been at play in the creation of the video, including anti-American sentiment and the state of working women in Korea. Definitely worth a read. He mentions a couple other videos which also include white men, but they're hardly portrayed in a positive light. There does seem to be an underlying sentiment in Korea that discourages romantic pairings of Korean women and Western men, so that may have something to do with the frequency of this particular image - for more information, definitely check out The Grand Narrative's posts on interracial relationships in Korea - this post is a good place to start.

Finally, coming to the most recent example of non-Asians in a Korean music video - CNBlue's video for "Intuition". First of all, it's weird that the entire security force for the building they "break into" was non-Asian - somehow I find it hard to believe that a white man in Korea would be working anything other than a white collar job. Also, how come the black man is the only one they seem to do any physical harm to? In the MV teaser below, at about 0:26 they spray him in the eyes with their spray paint. In the video, it's re-edited to have them simply overcome him to get to the elevator. Still, he's the only person they actually put hands on. Why does he have to be the one downed by kids? Why is the black man in this particular role? (And then, notably, never seen again, while the other non-black, non-Asian men have an epic run up the stairs scene) It does seem like it's just to make them seem badass, so he's technically just a prop. But he may also stereotyped - i.e. all black men are big and strong (and, according to Western media, more violent than men of other races), therefore downing one with an aerosol is a big deal. It's also possible that they cast him and the other non-Asians because it would be disrespectful to disregard the authority of, and cause harm to an elder Korean man (respect for elders is a HUGE deal in Korea) so they cast "foreigners" so that they wouldn't offend any viewers or sully the image of their idols. We'll never know for sure unless the director of the video gets asked, but - intentionally or not - these are the issues that the video touches upon.

To touch on the BoA video mentioned in Fanboy vs, Fangirl's post, it seems like the white dude there is just a novelty - whatever romantic connection they attempted to establish between BoA and the white dude is completely vague since all he's doing is watching her through his creepy CCTV eyeball. Also, he's watching other people for the same amount of time, so it's not like she's particularly special or anything (to him) - she's the star of our video, but not his main interest.

So, you don't see a lot of explicitly positive portrayals of non-Asians in music videos. If they're not just there as eye candy/ props, they tend to be portrayed in a negative light. Counter-examples do exist though: the aforementioned HOT video, and also Narsha's "Mamma Mia" video. Knowing that Korean woman/Caucasian man relations aren't exactly encouraged in Korea, I was shocked when the video came out and she was tonguing a white guy in close up HD glory. I was like, whoa girl! Even though it seemed like it was just there for shock factor, I couldn't help but wonder about what else might be going on - is she objectifying the white dude? Is the white dude objectifying her? Are we, the viewers, objectifying them all as we get close ups of Narsha's butt and the guys' abs? *brain fart* Then we get into the whole "What do Koreans think about white dudes (and also, specifically white dudes dating Korean women) and do we see evidence of that attitude reflected in this video? Why was he cast in the first place? Would Korean men react badly to seeing a Korean woman having multiple Korean lovers and not being ashamed of it?" *sigh. It's analyzing these kinds of things that make me wish that people just got along and we didn't have to deal with complicated issues of race and gender: it can ruin your enjoyment of a lot of entertainment if you're constantly thinking about it.

This is just music videos, but there are also many examples of non-Asians popping up in Korean dramas and movies as well. Again, you have to wonder - what audience is this intended for? Why specifically choose a non-Asian for this role? Would it be different if it was an Asian person instead? We just have to keep asking I guess - until the world has homogenized enough that we don't notice these kinds of things anymore.

Thoughts on this issue? Sound off in the comments!

K-Pop Round up: March Madness

2011-03-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

No IU in this post, but this is the only k-pop & basketball photo I could find

As the end of the month arrives, I realize that I have written very little about k-pop this month. Not a lot caught my attention this month, to be honest. I did have a few releases I wanted to talk about, so here we go! This month's post features Handsome People, Kim Hyung Joon, Girls' Day, 4minute, Geeks, CNBlue, Infinite, ZE:A, U-Kiss, Orange Caramel and more. Only one link per artist this time, so the playlist will be short(er).

Here's a playlist with my favorite songs off these releases if you want to listen as you read, or just have a soundtrack for your day:

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I've mentioned this in a previous post, but SS501's maknae Kim Hyung Jun released his solo effort and I really liked it. Well, I really liked "Girl" and "oH! aH!" . "Girl" is standard electro k-pop fare, but goes slightly harder as it's a little more fast-paced. "oH! aH!" is slower and more R&B, but still uptempo, and my favorite off the mini-album. I love like the bubbly synths which match the quirky, dreamlike style of the video, and the heavy bass that reminds us that you're supposed to dance to this one, in case Hyung Jun's mellow voice cause you to float away. It's an interesting mesh of effects that works well to produce a unique pop track that makes him stand out as a solo artist and a (relative) veteran in the industry. It challenges the boundaries of what a k-pop song can be, which is exactly what the industry needs. Also, he's great live - a lot of natural charm and charisma, he owns his stages.

Fluxus also dropped some magic in the form of Handsome People's single, "Shall We Dance". The group is a collaboration between Tei, a ballad singer, keyboardist/DJ/producer Choi Young-ho and guitarist Tato a.k.a Choi Jae-young. This is probably the first time I have liked a tempo switch in a song: it starts out mellow and romantic, then quickly turns to "PARTAY!" all while keeping a nice R&B vibe that I love. The effort and mastery that went into this song is undeniable: everything felt like it was carefully thought out and then put in, and I love listening to a different thing every time I play it over - which is a lot. What can I say? I love this song, and I love Fluxus. If I could, I'd marry them and my children could be beautifully crafted songs :)

(Bonus: Handsome people just released a joint single with W & Whale, who drop a haunting ballad, "사랑한 후에". It will somber up a clown. (can't find a video link, sorry)

CNBlue's latest effort - their first full album, First Step - was also on my listening list for the month. I would be lying if I said I didn't like it - I've loved everything CNBlue has done since their debut. While I wish their lead single wasn't a replica of their last two, it's still a good listen. It's also slightly disappointing that half the album is Korean versions of previous Japanese releases. Some songs sound better in Korean than in awkward English though, like "I Don't Know Why". "Lie" is amazing in both iterations, though. Other favorites for me are Jong-hyun's solo "사랑은 비를 타고" and "Love Girl" which is more in the style of their last album. With this album they've tried to add harder guitars to make it seem more rock, but it's still very much a pop album. I think FnC Music is enjoying the success that their idols are giving them, and thus are reluctant to truly try to promote rock music to the mainstream, as they always claim is their goal. Even FT Island is more a ballad band than a rock band. I love both bands, but always wish they'd just loose the chains of the mainstream and go all out with the rock. They'd be amazing, for sure. Barring that though, I'm happy with what CNBlue gives me right now - great vocals and good pop music.

I also stumbled across a new band, Geeks, who released an EP, Officially Missing You. The EP title is also the name of their lead single, a cover of the Tamia original. While I still prefer the Dalmatian version, this one is cool as well. They're a rapper-singer duo with a nice R&B style which occasionally leans into hip-hop. Both are fairly skilled, and the EP comes out mature and well thought out, which is impressive as they're both (I think) in their early twenties. My favorite track off the EP is "Suffocating".

Girls' Day made a return to the music scene with "Twinkle Twinkle" which is basically another cute, girly pop song. It's a 180-degree turn from their badass single, "Nothing Lasts Forever" and almost sickeningly adorable... but I don't hate it. It's actually pretty catchy. It's apparently doing well in Korea. Also, remixers seem to like it: Rexrowdee already has a mix out, and DJ Areia is producing... wait for it... a total of five different remixes to this song - one for each girl O_o. I've been trying to figure out what it is about the song and video that make it so appealing. It's not a particularly amazing pop song - there are places where the melody goes in a direction that kinda confuses me. But I like the chorus. Maybe that "mamamama" thing simultaneously amuses people and makes them go "aww, that's so cute" (that was my reaction, lol). Maybe it's because they pair it with a hilarious music video that almost makes it seem as if they're making fun of themselves and their over-cutesyness (and will eventually bring back the awesome - please?). I came to the conclusion, though, that it's just that they're winning (#NoCharlieSheen) as a group. Their debut single failed not only because it was a bad song, but because it erased their personalities and attempted to sell them on gimmick alone. But since then, it's been about the girls themselves, and it's made a huge difference. I like them as people, and that's a huge part of Korean pop fandom and getting people to support you. In the midst of the cutesyness, they remain individuals, and that makes them stand out as a group, and also makes them believable, whether they do sexy, cute or fierce. Anyway, this is my guilty pleasure this month. Don't judge me.

The other young girl group release this month, 4minute, was somewhat disappointing. While I'd never really been a fan, I'd decided to give them a chance, since "Hit Ur Heart" wasn't as awful as I once thought (I actually started singing it out loud once - so weird...). The lead single is "Heart To Heart". I like the instrumental, though it's nothing special to be honest. What bothered me was that the vocals sounded badly engineered. Like, instead of using minimal processing, they stripped them completely, and it did not serve them all that well. Now I get why the rest of their songs were so overly autotuned - the engineers don't know what to do with their voices. Also, the songwriting is very stock, and the chorus feels off. What surprised me the most about this song was that it was cute! Well, it's not like infantile, look-how-adorable-these-girls-are cute, but for a group that was always about the sexy, the colorful, toned-down image doesn't seem right. I've complained about the overly sexual nature of the band's promotions, but I'd come to accept that that's who they were and they'd eventually grow into it. So now, in a way, it does feel like they've been infantilized. Their fierce image is pretty much gone. And it makes me wonder - is this what Cube Entertaiment considers to be the image of a twenty year-old woman? I was twenty not too long ago, and I'm pretty sure the very last thing I wanted to be was cute. I was trying too hard to be an adult. But then maybe that's just me. You can do upbeat and girly without sacrificing fierceness, as 4minute ultimately proves with "You Know" another track on the EP. And they also deliver a nice ballad as well - "모르는 척" which in my opinion is the best proof of their maturity as women and as a group. So 2 out of 4 songs work for me - not bad. *sigh. Everyone's dropping the fierce to sell records. I would say people will eventually get tired of it, but so far, everyone's eating up.

Speaking of the cute... I've been meaning to get into 70s and 80s Thai popular music: mainly because I keep seeing compilation CDs in museums and world music sections in record stores. Anyway, it seems that I can get a little idea of what it's like by listening to Orange Caramel's latest digital single, "Bangkok City", purported to be an updated version of 70s Thai disco as part of their "One of Asia" project - a compilation of songs, each dedicated to a different Asian city. I'm actually low-key excited for it. Now, there's no love lost between me and this After School sub-unit - their brand of cute bothers me because it's got a lot of thinly veiled sexuality that just makes me uncomfortable in a lot of ways. Anyway, they've dropped the cute for a sexier concept, and also gone disco, both of which make this so much better than their first two singles. It's catchy, upbeat, fun, and I can easily forget the disaster that was "Aing!". My only beef is that due to the style, Raina can't completely show off her vocals, but it's still their best single to date. And that's disregarding the ridiculous styling in their video. I've always liked Pledis for being individuals... but I'm not too sure about this:

Guess who else dropped their fiercer image? None other than U-KISS - along with their member change, they changed up their image from bad boys to a softer, good-er(?) image. It makes sense, as adding two new vocalists allows them to tackle a wider range of music than their usual intense dance music. But I can't help but feel sad, because I actually liked Alexander - he gave the group personality. They don't stand out as much as a boy band anymore in my eyes (this is w/o seeing them live), but maybe they'll get some of that mainstream success they're aiming for. (If you ask me, had they capitalized on the club appeal of their music they would have hit it big.) Anyway, to the music. The lead single, "0330" (if that's the lead at all) isn't bad, but it emphasizes the image change: it's slow to mid tempo, and a sad love song, apparently. They also take on mid-tempo tracks, and do pretty well, like on "I Don't Understand", and still deliver good dance tracks (yay!) such as "Miracle" which is a Euro-pop/Euro dance track. The album does show the benefits of the new members: the vocals are now nicely rounded out on songs like on "내게 아픈 말은…" so Kevin and Soohyun don't have to do all the work. They still have a bit of work to do on songwriting for their new style - a couple of the songs aim high but don't manage to stand out as pop songs to me - but this does seem to be is a step towards being the kind of pop group they aspire to be. I will miss the dancey U-Kiss a lot, but I'm okay with these guys.

ZE:A recently released their first full album! Lead single "Here I Am" is pretty good. The production is on point - I particularly like the bubbly synths in the chorus and the pre-middle eight breakdown. Also, the vocalists of the group are developing their skills, which helps them pull off this melodic pop song. I'm particularly happy because Hyungsik, who I'd originally liked for his looks alone, can actually sing! This totally justifies my stanning of him, same way it justified my stanning of Dongwoon from B2ST before he graced us with his awesome voice. Their album only has two new songs, but they point them in a new direction of better production and vocals, so I hope to see them keep improving.

Infinite, still my favorite rookie band, came out with Inspirit, the follow-up single to their 2nd mini-album Evolution. "Nothing's Over" is uplifting and fun, yet grounded in the signature style that's been found to favor them - uptempo beats and a strong guitar line. "Shot" is great too, but my favorite track has to be the "Can U Smile" reboot, which is a softer, R&B version. I didn't like the original version, but I love this version. It shows that Sunggyu and Woohyun aren't the only ones with voices, and that as a whole they can pull off slower songs. It opens them up to more musical styles, which is an exciting thing to think about. They're slowly growing in popularity and skill, and I can actually see them being as big as DBSK in the future. I hope they make it there: it would make this noona fan proud :)

Those are all my complicated thoughts, but here are some honorable mentions:

The ballad-lovers should go check out K.Will's latest EP, which even I - dance music head - loved
If you're into classic R&B from the 90s/early 2000s, you will L.O.V.E. Boni, Korea's R&B diva - check out her Youtube page for acoustic versions of her songs, and buy the originals on iTunes.
Mate released their last single before they start going through the army mill (*sob!* just as I discovered them!) - "Yeah" is an amazing, amazing song. Search for "Mate M! Soundplex" if you want to see them perform it live.
MBLAQ's follow-up song, "Again" is their most popular track to date. I didn't think much of it on first listen, but it's actually pretty good!
Wheesung's solo comeback is applaudable - still has some growing to do as an artist, but is heading in the right direction.
Brian Joo of Fly To The Sky is back with "Shine (On Your Heart)" - I just love his voice.
Swings remixed "Instinctively" with Tae-yang and Yoon Jong-shin - pure win.
Lucite Tokki have a new EP!!! :D
Kim Bo Kyung has a follow-up song: distinctively happier than her debut EP and she gets to show off her guitar skills. Lovely stuff. Actually reminds me of Yozoh a bit.
Navi sings for the 49 Days OST - love her, and love this song.
Eun Ji Won, Gilme and Typhoon have come together to release a collaborative EP under the name Clover. I've only listened to the first two tracks, but I'm already loving it. It's got an old school hip-hop style mixed in with other sounds, as well as great rapping and vocals. You want to listen to this - trust me.
Seo In Gook, whom I love, releases his digital single, "Broken", a great pop-R&B ballad. Here's another person who could sing the dictionary and I'd still swoon. I don't know if this is a preview for an upcoming album, but I really hope it is.
And finally, just to put it out there: DBSK's "Before You Go" needs more soul. Someone get 4Men or Brown Eyed Soul to sing this for them, man.

Done! Leave thoughts in the comments!

Siji Wants You To "Ijo"

2011-03-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

And at long last, I'm bringing back some Nigerian music to this blog. For those of you who don't know, I am Nigerian - and I have seriously been sleeping on the music scene of my homeland. Granted, it hasn't suited my tastes as of late, but every now and then I find a track I enjoy. Here's one of them: New York-based soul/indie artist Siji just dropped the video for his new song, "Ijo" which means "dance" in Yoruba, his native language (one of the three most widely-spoken indigenous languages in Nigeria, though there are up to 150 languages and dialects native to our country. Oh, and our official language is English.) The video depicts a casting call for dancers, featuring some Nigerian celebrity cameos and some hot dance moves. If you ever wondered how we get down in Africa, here's your chance to see it, coming to you straight from Lagos:

SIJI - 'Ijo'(Official Video) from SIJI on Vimeo.

The song is a departure for Siji's usual mellow, acoustic soul sound - it's uptempo, funky and electro, almost like a fuji-house mashup. I've recently become a dance music head, so I'm definitely feeling it. One thing I love about Nigerian music is the simplistic approach that they take to production: you don't need to have a packed soundscape or throw in a crapton of effects and instruments, as we often see in American and Korean-style pop production - sometimes the music just needs breathing space so that it can really get down.

I'm gonnat try to diversify my posts from now on, and bring you more music from other countries to make this a truly global pop culture blog. Stay tuned!

(via MTV Iggy)

The Mimi Sisters Rock Out on Their Debut EP

2011-03-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

I found a new group!!! Usually new music discoveries aren’t that exciting because I always get them on the recommendation of other people, e.g. McRoth, but this time I found one on my own! And they are all kinds of awesome! Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you... The Mimi Sisters!

If you're familiar with the indie band Jang Kiha and Faces (a band I’ve been meaning to check out), you'll recognize them as the band’s back up dancers/ singers. They have an interesting concept that centers around them dressing in 60s-style clothes, wearing matching wigs and dark shades and being completely expressionless. They do this even when they’re not performing, which apparently got them in trouble with Korean diva Insooni a while back (link via Indieful ROK). It’s an interesting concept exemplary of the quirks the band seems to hide under an unassuming indie surface – check out this performance below to see what I mean:

Anyway, so it seems the girls have gone solo (duo?) and are starting to put out their own music. I probably wouldn’t have come across this EP if I hadn’t seen the album cover on Soribada’s front page and been intrigued by the artwork and the name of the band. Rarely ever does good cover art correspond to good music, so I got lucky this time. I’m Sorry… But It’ll Be A Legend is very different from the lo-fi indie stylings of Jang Kiha and Faces. They come at you hard with crazy hazy rock music that makes them sound like a cross between The Raveonettes and The Donnas with touches of 60s rock and pop. Anyway, here’s their debut MV for the song "다이너마이트 소녀 (Dynamite Girl)" - you can see the Sisters Midori and Miyeok rocking out on guitar and bass with Du Seon-hwa (I think?) on drums.

After doing some digging, I found out that the album was a collaboration between the sisters and a bunch of indie music vets. In particular, the producer on the album is Yohei Hasegawa of the Kim Chang-wan Band. He used to play for Gopjang Jeonggol, a Korean band that does covers of Korean rock songs from the 60s and 70s, - basically he's a connosieur of classic rock. According to this article (and what I understand of it through Google Translate *facepalm*), he worked with the Sisters to embed sounds from different time periods into the album - mid-70's soul, psychedelic rock from the late 60s, 60s surf rock and mid-90s grunge/punk rock. They've done a great job of it if you ask me: every track is a new, fun experience. My personal favorite is “우주여행 (Space Travel)”, – it’s actually sounds like you’re taking a ride back in time to the 60s and then into outer space. It’s 16 minutes long (!) but totally worth the time, especially as they perform it with Seoul Electric Band, another awesome indie band I only recently came across.

The Mimi Sisters are followable on Twitter, and you can also check out their Cyworld page. And if you like what you hear, buy the album!!!

Let's Hear It For the Boy( Band)s! Big Bang's Comeback and Related Thoughts

2011-03-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you're all aware of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan late last night US Eastern Time. Please keep the victims of the disaster in your thoughts and prayers. I hope any readers in Japan are staying safe and that everyone has managed to locate family and friends affected by the quake. For ways you can help, click here.

Greetings from beyond the void, and Happy March! I'm going to start off this month's blog posts with some thoughts about Korean boy bands. I talk a lot about girl groups because I'm interested in representations of women in pop culture, but I'm actually a huge fan of the boy bands. So much so that I can't really pick a favorite - each have their own appeal for me. I'll get into that later, but for now, let's start off with my thoughts on Big Bang's comeback.

I discovered Big Bang in late 2008 after some aimless internet browsing led me to the video of Taeyang's "Where You At". Slowly but surely, I came around to them. The pop with R&B and hip-hop influences really appealed to me - and as any Big Bang fan will tell you, their best tracks (as a five-member unit) are the ones that lean closer to pop - "My Heaven", "Lies", "Haru Haru". Truth be told, save those tracks, I'm not super hyped up on Big Bang's repertoire - it took me a while to warm up to Number 1, their English-language album featuring pretty much all their major tracks. But, I know what their capable of. The slew of solo and sub-unit releases that they've delivered in the past year or so are proof that this group is super talented and also pretty well developed artists. They know their style and what works, and stick with it for the most part. So after loving GD&TOP Vol. 1 and VVIP, I was ready for another "replay until it scratches" type CD.

Unfortunately, I didn't love this album all that much. Don't get me wrong - the songs are good, the production is stellar and they all sound awesome, but it wasn't mind-blowing. And I was hoping for mindblowing. Maybe it's because it's a mini-album and so they decided to lean electronic instead of pop, and saved the awesome pop songs for the other mini coming out in the fall - I don't know. But I was hoping for a song similar to their Japanese release, "Let Me Hear Your Voice" - midtempo, melodic pop gold. I do like what I have though - "Tonight" is made for the clubs, and is a nice development of the electronic sound they've been promoting in Japan. "Hands Up" has been my jam since the Japanese version, and somehow, "Somebody To Love" appeals to me more as a part of this album than it did as a B-side to "Beautiful Hangover", which I wasn't particularly a fan of. "What Is Right" is okay. "Cafe" is my favorite track off the album - melodic, smooth, and awesomely complemented by the trumpets, which found their way from Seungri's "V.V.I.P" to a much more comfortable position. It's also my favorite because it's evenly distributed among the members - I felt there was a dearth of Daesung in this album, and it's a damn shame - that man's voice is amazing.

This I felt was closer to the Big Bang I was familiar with - the other songs are very obviously G-Dragon's doing, and while not a bad thing in principle, it makes the album sound more like a "Heartbreaker Vol. 2" as opposed to "Big Bang's 4th Mini Album". I suspect that with the myriad of solo releases in a bunch of different styles, they decided to go with only GD's songs for this mini to make it cohesive.

Now, as McRoth said as a part of his Allkpop review, Big Bang is known to be the trendsetting innovative boy band. So to see them simply step in and pwn the rest of k-pop at their own game, instead of taking k-pop in a new direction, or their old direction which was unique in k-pop from the start, is a little disappointing. Watching their live stages, it becomes obvious that as a group, they're at the peak of their success and ability - they dominate the stage with only five members, while other groups need seven or nine people simply to be a presence on stage. And fans go wild, even if all they do is raise an arm or shuffle a leg. They no longer need to work to sell albums - they only need to maintain the same level of greatness that they're at. And I think that, if they are aware of that, then this is why this album fell short of expectations, because they're no longer trying to reach the top - they're already there, and it seems like they can't go any higher, so they're chilling. I'm not singing their death paean yet, but unless they come hard with their next mini, I'll be lowering my expectations for any future releases from this group. It's no fun if you can't expect bigger and better things from a group.

All this talk of the height of success makes me think back to TVXQ. I try to stay out of discussions of the drama with the departure of Jaejoong, Junsu and Yoochun, but I have to acknowledge something: that when the trio left, Yunho and Changmin had a very difficult task ahead of them. They had to continue to promote TVXQ without three members, and still maintain the level of quality they had established for themselves over the years. I'm sure they felt abandoned and let down, as if the trio had simply dropped the group that they had worked so hard to promote together for so long. I have to give HoMin credit for still being successful despite how they might be feeling, and all the drama going on. It's really never going to be the same, as the way things are looking, no matter what the outcome of the lawsuit is, a reunion would be long in coming if at all. However, because of the success that they've already achieved, not unlike Big Bang, there's not too much work to do. An established fanbase means a steady flow of income, so long as you keep releasing albums at least once a year, you're good. Even if the music falls short of expectations, fans will still buy the music because they feel the need to support their "oppas", and feel bad if, you know, they can't buy their designer clothes as usual.

I did a bit of research into the history of boy bands in S. Korea - it seems that they didn't have the same lull in debuts as girl groups did, but, I can definitely say that TVXQ and Big Bang are the most popular of the boy bands that debuted in the 2000s (distinguishing them from the legendary H.O.T, g.o.d, and Shinhwa, who started out in the 90's when k-pop was just taking off) and are still active as groups and not as solo artists. Hot on their heels is SS501 - a band that doesn't really appeal to me, but again, has a faithful fanbase that keeps them at the top of the charts. They all debuted around the same time (2005-2006). After them came Super Junior and a little later, 2PM, who also found spots at the top of the roster. So you now have five bands - each with their own distinctive style, and all crazy popular. But of course, because everyone wants a piece of the pie, you get even MORE bands - SHINee, 2AM, B2ST, MBLAQ, Infinite, U-Kiss The Boss, Dalmatian, Teen Top, Supernova, CNBlue, FT Island, F.Cuz, SHU-I, ZE:A.... anyone tired yet? While with girl groups you only really have three top groups - Wonder Girls, 2NE1 and SNSD, who have been active for at most, three years - with boybands you have FIVE, all who have been active for at least three years, most for five, and everyone wants to compete with and surpass them. The playing field is much smaller, and there's only so much success to go around. (I can't help but think that if they had only debuted a couple of years earlier, they might have been better off, as popularity seems directionally proportional to how early you debuted.)

How do they distinguish themselves, then? Well, apart from using a bunch of different (read: ridiculous) concept to keep things fresh, they also put a lot more effort into the quality of their music. Both girl groups and boy bands depend on the sexy or the cute to push CD units, but for girls it's a lot easier. Just compare SNSD's last album to SHINee's album. All SNSD needs to do is flash some leg and they sell CDs. But SHINee had to come with killer tracks, killer choreo, AND a unique concept. I'm not saying that girl groups don't work as hard; I'm saying that gaining interest in a new release is comparably easy for them. Get the boys drooling and the girls envious (apologies for the heteronormative examples, but these are the terms in which marketing executives think these days) and poof, you have sales. But for guys, it's not that easy. Just look at B2ST: they're currently the latest boy band on the rise, and they only managed that after seriously upping their game in the musical department (Mastermind + Lights Go On Again > Shock Of the New Era > B2ST is the BEST). In comparison, Secret gave up musical uniqueness (and a "confident diva" concept) to appeal to the masses, and have only now managed to break the glass ceiling and taste the popularity enjoyed by YG, SM and JYP girl groups.

Promotional photo for B2ST's very successful "Welcome To B2ST Airline" Concert

[I think this says something about society and how we think, or how we're trained to think by marketing execs - hot girls mean a worthy purchase, but hot boys don't, because beautiful women are more marketable, to both men and women. I don't know why this is the case, but I can come up with a theory or two: women in the past had less money to spend on music, so it was marketed primarily to men who wouldn't take interest in male performers if it wasn't quality music. Thus when women began to have more purchasing power, old standards remained so things were marketed to women as if they were men, and products marketed directly to women were done in a way that implies that the purpose of this product is to make them more attractive to men. I can't think of any examples of this off the top of my head, but I'm sure you can find some if you take a gander at websites like Sociological Images and The Grand Narrative (South Korean examples). To bring it back to the topic then, it will be interesting to look at the breakdown of pop group fandoms and consumers of pop music by gender and see if my theory pans out. Not sure how I'm gonna do this, but it sounds like a fun project :) ]

It's interesting then to see how boy bands without serious musical skill try to keep themselves in the fray. Super Junior have their subunits, SS501 sent most of their members to the drama Boys Over Flowers, which has a fandom all its own, and now that they're no longer all under the same management, they're releasing solo material - a great move, if you ask me. I wouldn't have given them the time of day if Kim Hyung Joon and Park Jung Min didn't put out pretty decent solo single[s/albums] recently. Big Bang does the solo thing, since it's a YG thing, apparently. Most other bands stick to variety appearances and acting roles. Another big thing is concept: not just a different concept for each release, but also an overarching concept for each group. I don't know exactly what each band's overall concept is, but I can guess most of them: Big Bang - Trendy Hip Hop. Super Junior - the cool guys at your high school, who are also quirky. SS501 - F5 aka Flower Boys. DBSK - hotter than your oppars*. Dalmatian - doggy dog hip-hop/vocal swag. CNBlue - Korean Beatles cover band (though that might change with their new album). FT Island - idol ballad rockers. Infinite - awesome dancers. SHINee - trendy noona killers. Teen Top - trendy agasshi killers. 2PM - beast idols. B2ST - the new cool kids. I could go on, but from here on out they tend to overlap, so I'll stop here, lol. But notice how the boy bands tend to stick to these concepts, while the girls for the most part switch in and out of them as it suits their needs.

After thinking through this all, then, I realize that one of the reasons I can't pick a favorite boy band is they all offer me different things that I enjoy. I like Super Junior mainly because of their music videos, and Kyuhyun's awesome voice. I like 2PM for their dance pop songs. I like Dalmatian, B2ST (as of recently) and Big Bang for the music. I like Infinite for their dance skills. I like DBSK/JYJ for their overall talent. CNBlue for their potential to grow into a really great (pop-)rock band. And I like SHINee for the vocal talent. While none of these on their own is enough to rate any one group as a top group (for me, that would mean great music, vocal talent, dance skills and looks/personality all combined), save a few, they're enough to keep me interested in each of the groups, and hopefully enough to at least put food on the tables of these hardworking idols. The idol world is tough for both men and women, so one only hopes that they all get through it and come out at the end well-rounded and happy individuals, with no suicides or bankruptcies.

*I've been reading too much Omona! They Didn't. Forgive me for any weird expressions.

Sound off in the comments! Who's your favorite boy band and why? (No fan wars or bashing, please)

Kang Seung-yoon's Adorable Standing Egg Cover

2011-02-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I just posted this song, but this video is too cute for words:

Kang Seung-yoon was a Superstar K2 finalist who did an awesome cover of Yoon Jong-shin's "본능적으로" (Instinctively) (posted below) which was released as a single after he left the show. He's probably one of the most popular finalists after Huh Gak, John Park and Kim Bo-Kyung, as that cover remained high on the charts long after he left the show, beaten out only by John Park and Huh Gak's own singles. He recently signed on to YG Entertainment as a trainee. I'd hate to see his indie rocker style pop-ified in YG, but at least he'll be working with a successful company and thus have more opportunities and great connections.

Another thing that's noteworthy about this video is that it was shot by Indie2Go, a Korean production company that shoots one-take, one-shot live performances by indie artists in everyday settings like in parks, bookstores, art galleries etc. I love their visual style, and will definitely be posting more of their work on the blog soon! If you can't wait, then by all means check out their website and their Youtube page, and follow them on Twitter for updates.

Seeing Spots: Dalmatian's 1st Mini-Album

2011-02-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

Stylish spots

If you had told me in September after Dalmatian's debut, that I would be raving about the mini-album they released six months later, I probably would have laughed in your face. Yet here I am, about to tell you just how much I enjoyed listening to the first EP put out by a group named after the dogs that got famous from a Disney film. .... I can't really believe it, but clearly the creative minds behind the name of this group were not involved in the music. And for that, we can all be extremely grateful.

Even though I make jest of their name and concept, I like the fact that Dalmatian as a group really owns their identity. They went all out with the dog gang sign and the woofs with their debut track, "Round 1" with no shame whatsoever. They also have this weird hip-hop copy-cat swag that always looks so awkward to me, yet they seem completely at ease with it on stage. They're a pleasure to watch on stage, really - dynamic and engaging, such that you have as much fun watching them perform as they seem to have performing.

Anyway, with the establishment of their "doggy dogg" persona over with, and with a full album, the group really gets down to the business of showing us what they can do. And man, I was blown away. With three (!) rappers and three vocalists, they face the difficult task of combining their individual styles in a cohesive way, and THEN making that gel with a mainstream k-pop audience. Yet they succeed amazingly at finding a good common ground. A commenter compared one of the tracks to Big Bang's sound, and I have to agree - both groups straddle the pop/R&B/hip-hop spectrum very comfortably, though these days BB's sound is much more electronic.

Dalmatian take a fun, playful approach to their lead single, "The Man Opposed" and skillfully weave in rapping with the vocals while maintaining the confession-style vibe of the song. I like that it's not overly simple or cute because it's a love song by a boyband - it's got a decent amount of complexity, but is still catchy and appealing. Plus the video (linked above) is pretty funny as well. They cross-promote that with the obligatory autotune single, "Lover Cop", which I'm not particularly a fan of, but Jisu sounds great on it.

After the lead singles, they get into my favorite track of the album, "Lost In Love". They abandoned the playfulness to take on a more serious topic of getting back the girl they lost, and what comes out of that is a great pop song - no frills, nothing particularly innovative, just great rapping, great vocals, all tied together with a good instrumental and a much-appreciated reduction of vocal processing. It's the kind of song that used to be very common in k-pop, but has been abandoned for more processed, gimmicky stuff. Jisu's falsetto in the chorus just manages to not be annoying, which is a feat. It helps that he's harmonizing with Daniel and Yeongwoon, who have lower registers, but still, that could have gone really wrong. He's got great voice control for a rookie. I wish they had taken a chance and promoted this as their lead single - I think it would have been well-received.

>

On "Really Really", the rappers take center stage with a sweet mid-tempo R&B/hip-hop track which any young rapper in the US right now would snatch up in a heartbeat. It's catchy, with good verses from the rappers and an instrumental that really could make any rapper sound good. Not to discredit the rappers though - Dari, Inati and Day Day know what their doing, and deliver appealing verses that I can see myself singing along to in the near future. The featured singers, Jisu and Sohyun, complete the package nicely. This song could easily be put together with all those rap-sung collabos that were all over the place in the early 2000s. They're less common nowadays, but it's always a pleasure to find a good one like this one.

The vocalists get their turn next with the R&B track, "Real Eyes" which is really, really nice. It actually reminds me of a OneWay track with its classic soul/R&B vibe, and that is a good thing - we need more variety in k-pop! The three vocalists each get their chance to shine, and then come together with some lovely harmonies (Yeongwoon sounds particularly good here). Again, it's not reaching new frontiers in music, but it is a great interpretation of an already established musical style.

Finally, there's "Home Run" which reminds me a lot of "Round 1" (the bonus track) - the playfulness is back, with some autotune, and a chill beat which doesn't particularly capture my ear. The singing is really the only think that keeps me going with this one, particularly Daniel - his voice is one of those that you just have to pay attention to, because it's got a lot of depth to it. I could do without the song, to be honest, but I do like the little 80's ballad-esque intro at the beginning - I was expecting a completely different song to follow when I heard that, lol. I'd love to hear them do a ballad in the future, though - I could see it working out really well, even with rapping.

I've been listening to this album all week, and it just doesn't get old. I know I've gone on and on about originality and doing something new, but to be honest, I really appreciate songs and albums that aren't particularly innovative, but are just executed really really well. And this album has most definitely been carefully put together and executed perfectly. Most importantly, however, it stays true to the character that Dalmatian have established for themselves as a group. Being able to capture the identity of a group musically can give a song and an album a sense of individuality that you can't get from a new sound, out-there instrumental or new-fangled special effect. And it's that individuality that, in my opinion, helps groups stay on in a music industry where boybands are a dime-a-dozen. I predict (and hope for) a long successful career for these guys if they keep up the quality of work in this album. In sum, I'm a fan. But you won't catch me dead singing any "bow wow wows" or wearing spots. There's only so much I will do in the name of fandom, and that is a line that I shall not cross.

Bonus clip: Dalmatian performing their remix of Tamia's "Officially Missing You" on M! Rookies - this was the performance that really made me take them seriously as a group. No gimmicks, no concepts - just music.

From Esperanza, With Love

2011-02-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

Because there's way too much (undeserved) hate out there for this amazing, talented woman today, I'm putting two amazing performances of hers up here as my Valentine to the world. Be happy this Valentine's Day, and share the love :)

More New Music - The Sounds of Mid-February

2011-02-13T22:49:00.000-08:00

10cm's album cover... so weird.

Hey everyone! More reviews for you all! I made them a little shorter this time - I think there are more here than in the last post? Anyway, this week features Humming Urban Stereo, 10cm, Lee Jung, Hwayobi & Taeha and more OST tracks, among others.

EDIT: I'd like to thank bxbisf for compiling the many tracks into this post into a Youtube playlist, which I really should have done when I first posted it. Enjoy listening to it here as you read or go about your day!

First up is Humming Urban Stereo's digital single, 그날 (That Day). Humming Urban Stereo - mainly consisting of Lee Ji-lin and featured female vocalists - is a staple in the Korean indie scene, from what I know without having done any major research on him. His songs that I’m familiar with are very bubbly indie-electro-poppy (Hawaiian Couple, Banana Shake), but this single, "넌 그날" is mellower, almost melancholy. I credit it to the gorgeous, soulful instrumental - it somehow evokes the image of a lazy Friday evening in a city apartment, sitting on the window/fire escape with red wine. It comes in two versions - the official single with actress Yoo In Na on the vocals, who does a pretty decent job, and one with Lee Ji-lin himself on it, which seems darker due to his lower octave voice. There's also a remix of the Yoo In Na version, and a bossa nova intro track which I love. Definitely one of my favorite releases of the week.

The OST for the sitcom Real School featuring U-Kiss members also got released. It’s got two tracks by the boys - "Always" and "Kiss Me" - that take them back to their debut days when they were cute teenagers and not angsty man-boys. It’s nice to hear them without the autotune. I would suggest, however, that if you’re looking for peppy feel-good pop tunes sung by cute boys, you pick up SHU-I’s Japanese EP Starlight instead. It’s got a very Japanese flavor, and while I can't see this working out in Korea, I will say that it's pretty good pop music performed by pretty good performers. "陽のあたる場所" has a really great chorus that really makes the song in my opinion - my favorite track from the EP. In case you didn't know, SHU-I actually debuted in Korea in 2009 with "Bomb Bomb Bomb" but didn't make a huge splash (not much of a surprise - the song's pretty bad). They then moved to Japan and seem to have amassed somewhat of a following. Good for them.

Lee Jung is back with his first physical release since returning from the army towards the end of last year. I tend to think of him as the Korean D’Angelo, and he definitely proves it with this album, which is soulful, skillful and everything you’d expect from a veteran of his standing. “Let’s Dance” is the club/youth track - super-electro and autotuned, but not that bad. I like the verses, and though I’m not in love with the chorus, I think Lee Jung pulls the whole electro thing off (especially with the kick-ass video and awesome live performance below). “들어봐” sounds like it could have been on Taeyang’s HOT album. I love that album and this track is equally awesome. The best track, however has got to be “기쁜날” which I’m specifically recommending to McRoth and all lovers of classic ballads, because this is a good one – even I think it’s awesome. The album also includes “Breaking Up”, Lee Jung's first post-army single featuring Leessang - a great R&B track. And can we get a Leessang comeback, please? Need more of these guys.

Of course, one of the stars of last week's releases is the highly anticipated debut album 1.0 from indie band 10cm, who created a buzz last year with their debut EP First and numerous live performances. If I was to summarize this album, I would call it a collection of well-written songs that represent the band's own quirky take on indie music as a genre. Those familiar with their previous work will notice that they've added more instruments to their instrumentals, but still revert back to their original guitar and bongos for about half the tracks. I love the bongos, personally, so I hope they don't ever toss them out :) They explore a number of different sounds too - bluesy, upbeat, soulful and melancholy - yet retain their individuality all the way through. Listening to the album feels like experiencing the world through another person’s eyes - things seem familiar, but you get to see sides of it you hadn’t seen before. In that aspect, the album reminds me a lot of Clara Chung's music - I get the same vibe from both artists. Their fresh take on indie music is really what sets this band apart, and they'll definitely be the band to watch in the coming year. I won't link to individual tracks because I think the album is worth listening to all the way through - so go find it! Here's a live performance of one of my favorite tracks off the album:

Junsu of 2PM makes his official foray into the songwriting world this week: firstly with Kan Miyoun's comeback single, "Sunshine". It's a pretty, laid-back R&B number that I think suits Kan Miyoun's sweeheart image. I like the contrast it makes between her sexy image from her last single, "Crazy". Junsu raps on the track, which I cringed at at first, but his flow isn’t terrible and actually keeps the song from being too boring. Junsu and Miyoun switch off frequently and actually harmonize pretty well, both keeping the vocals light. It’s not too ambitious, and achieves what it sets out to do, which is really all you can ask for on a track, especially by a rookie music maker.

Junsu a.ka. JunK seems to be establishing his writing/producing style as a pop-R&B, as his second track, "Don't Leave" with Lim Jeong-Hee for the Dream High OST, could easily have come from the same album as "Sunshine". I absolutely LOVE this track. I'm not too surprised, as One Way's Chance was actively involved in the production process, as well as Lim Jeong-Hee herself and guitarist Sam Lee. They definitely are a great team: the instrumental is great R&B stuff, which you don't see often in either drama OSTs or idol star material (hopefully that'll change from now on?). Also, Junsu and Lim Jeong-Hee are a pleasure to listen to, and sound amazing together. I'm tentatively jumping on the J.Lim bandwagon, after this track and her awesome collabo with Younha and K.Will for the end year-shows this past New Year (here, here, here, and here for the full performance).

Also from the Dream High OST we have half of 2AM – Changmin and Jinwoon – with 사랑하면 안될까", a sweet mid-tempo ballad of their own. Nothing amazing, but I’m Jinwoon-biased, so I love that he gets a whole half of a song to sing. 2AM rarely do anything too innovative or exciting, but always deliver at vocals-wise. I would love to see them do something completely crazy and out-of-the-box, because I can see it working out very well for them.

Part 2 of My Princess's OST was also released this week. Let’s be honest – most of this OST tracks are shamefully underutilized in the drama itself, with the music director preferring to include cheesy and ill-timed instrumental tracks as opposed to the gems in the actual OST. But hey, at least the songs are being released, and the indie bands are getting exposure. The vibe of this half of the OST is more upbeat and playful, as opposed to the dreamy mellow vibe of the first half. It's perfectly suited to the drama, though, as Kim Tae Hee and Song Seung Heon manage to pile on the cute while dealing with the drama surrounding them. Two more Every Single Day tracks on this one, which are a treat – one of them is their original version of “Falling” from the first half of the OST, which was sung by Lee TschzeI can see why they went for a female voice for the first OST bundle, but I find myself liking this version just a teeny bit more – the vocalist has more character. Their other song is a sweet, fun track, "마음". We also get great tracks from 옥상달빛 (Dalmoon or Moon Roof according to Google Translate) and Yohan. Then we get our mandatory idol tracks – this time 4minute’s Jiyoon with a cute track (?!), and a ballad from B2ST’s Yoseob, which isn’t amazing on its own, but sound good because he sings it.

SO. CUTE. (Source)

Now onto the ballad singles! Lee Hyun takes on a slightly unconventional ballad, "악담" and sounds amazing as usual. The drums are really the interesting element here, as they seem to belong in a rock ballad, but then is overlaid by violins and piano to create a very different vibe than you'd expect. As much as I like this though, I’m more excited for the midtempo ballad he’s releasing next week, complete with hilarious video which seems to be channeling the movie Shallow Hal. See the teaser below:

Everyone's favorite vocalist, Alex of Clazziquai puts down a gorgeous jazz-tinged ballad, 되돌릴 수 있다면 (If I Could Turn Back) for the soundtrack of Hyun Bin's movie, Late Autumn, currently playing the film festival circuit. The film is about a man on the run who falls in love with a woman who’s on a ten-day break from jail, and the melancholy vibe of the song is perfect for a romance with a timeline. Alex is joined by a singer named Jane whose light voice complements his very well, and both manage to convey the strength of the emotion without overwhelming the mellow instrumental. Alex has a voice that blends into almost any genre, but I think he really shines here. I don't know if I have to say it, but I love this track :)

Hwayobi and Taeha released a collabo track, 같이 있어줘 (Stay With Me)" which I also love. These two are a great vocal pair, and I love how the drama in the song is built solely by violin and piano until the drums kick in at the middle eight - which is really nice, by the way, and brings the song to a great climax without doing your typical key change. Overall, I think the song is very well done, and I think I'm officially a Hwayobi fan now :)

Jang Hye Jin, Monday Kiz, and Simon also released a collaborative track, as Voice One, 눈물을 움켜쥐고". Despite featuring talented singers, who sound amazing, this is one of those ballads that just comes off as stock to me. Basic chord progression and song structure, essentially your typical OST ballad with nothing to set it a part. A shame really, considering the people involved.

On to less familiar names: I have no idea who Bae Da Hae is but I love her voice! It's not particularly unique, but I find it very emotive, such that every song I’ve heard from her so far captures my attention in ways that most ballads don’t. Her most recent track, "어떻게 니가" is no different. She had a song “My All” for the Doctor Champ soundtrack which was also really nice. Hope she releases an album soon.

Brave Brothers released another collabo track, "Beautiful Girl", this time with T-ara's Hyomin. I had been wondering why everyone - most obviously, After School and U-Kiss - had jumped off the Brave Brothers bandwagon recently, and now I know why: when it comes to electro, he's really stuck in last year’s sounds, and is still heavy handed with the autotune. The song comes off as trite, even slightly indulgent, as if now that he has his own entertainment company he's just doing whatever he wants without paying attention to the direction k-pop is heading in music-wise. I was hoping Hyomin would have a better feature because I think she could pull off whatever you throw at her, but no luck. Brave Brothers may have lost his electro touch, but his hip-hop/R&B production skills are still there. He should just stick with that, in my opinion.

Finally, we have the Co.ed School subunit, 5dolls debuting with their track "Lip Stain". Despite not liking Co.ed School at ALL, I was surprised to find myself actually enjoying this song. It reminds a lot of Sistar’s “How Dare You” in it’s instrumental style, only it has a slightly different beat progression, which makes it more of a dancey song than an anthem song. Chanmi sounds great, and you can tell she’s the vocal anchor of both the sub-unit and Co.Ed. The video was cute, bonus points for many Jay Park dancing shots. But I was most intrigued by the songs or (songs?) featured at the end of the video – they sound really good! Hoping for a release of those sometime soon.

Phew! And we’re done. Now that I’m all caught up, I’m looking forward to listening to (and possibly reviewing) this week’s releases – Dalmatian, who’ve thankfully ditched the barking and are attempting to break into the human market with some tracks that sound super-appealing; After School’s Kahi and Lee Hyun. So until then, enjoy your week!

Songs You May Have Missed (and that I Should Have Blogged about Last Week)

2011-02-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

What The Hare Looked Like When He Finally Finished What He Was Supposed to Do and Was No Longer Late (Source)

Yup, that's me at the moment - I've finally finished all those reviews you guys requested, and some others I've been meaning to get to. Just one in a series of backlogged posts I'm finally getting to. Hope you enjoy them as much now as you would have... two weeks ago? :S

Anyway, today’s post features songs that are a little old, but still making the rounds on the charts: Yoon Sang-hyun, Kim Bo Kyung, Park Jung-min, Jewelry, Dream High OST, JQT, JYJ, some trot, SNSD, Walrus, TVXQ, G.Na, K.Will, and Navi. Onwards!

Yoon Sang-hyun (Oska) for Secret Garden OST: “Tears” is a really lovely song. It’s equal parts melancholy and pretty, and thus makes for a much more interesting ballad than you’d usually expect for a k-drama. I’ve said good things about the OST for Secret Garden before, so I won’t say much more about that, except to mention that at the end of this particular release, there’s a beautiful instrumental piece by Yiruma which just takes my breath away. Worth a listen if the ballads don’t do it for you.

Kim Bo Kyung – Haru Haru (watch) : So I happened to catch M! Countdown live two weekends ago, and was confused as to who this girl was. Halfway through her performance I realized she was the same girl who was at the time sitting pretty atop the Soribada Real-Time Chart. A Superstar K2 competitor, she’s one of those who clearly didn’t need to win to be noticed. Funnily enough, she reminded me of Kelly Clarkson, and it turns out she did a pretty good cover of "Because of You" while on the show (there's a studio version too if you're interested). "Haru Haru" is a great song, and Kim pulls it off with her amazing vocals. Hope this is the start of bigger things for her. I haven’t listened to her whole EP but I’m sure it’s just as good.

Park Jungmin – Not Alone (EP): I’m not a SS501 fan, so I wasn’t really excited for this release. . The "Not Alone" is a decent track – I like the message, and the orchestral instrumental is pretty awesome. But I was hoping for a little more vocal-wise. He sounds pretty good - in fact, better than I expected, but doesn't do anything special with his voice. He doesn't need to in order to make this a radio-friendly, fun to listen to single, but it does need to if he wants to stand out as a solo artist. The live stages were a little dull as well, though I'm a fan of the music video. The ballad "Do You Know" was forgettable. I did like the indie-style track "Everyday Is Christmas" at the end of the EP – I thought his voice suited it better than it did "Not Alone. Overall, I wasn't too impressed, but it's not bad.

I really like this image for some reason. It's like the glasses and the writing are supposed to hide his emotions, but they come right through regardless.

Jewelry – “Back It Up” (watch): I feel like this song would have had more impact if Secret’s “Shy Boy” hadn’t come out first. It has that same sixties feel and cutesyness, only with a little more sass. It’s fun to sing along to, but instrumental is a little all over the place. As for the new members: Kim Hye-won has a great voice, and is a good addition to the group, but I feel that Park Se-mi is mostly eye-candy . In the end, the song is kinda forgettable for me. It’s their first time out with the new group, though, so I suspect it’ll take some time before they figure out what works for their new configuration.

(I just want to add that I absolutely love Jooyeon (Baby-J) and want her to go solo at some point. I loved her verse on 2Nise’s "She Said".)

Dream High OST: I was not expecting much from this drama, but here we are, a month into its run and I’m hooked. Not amazing acting, but well-written characters and great pacing. The OST is pretty good too. JYP doesn’t always write stuff I like, but recently he’s been on a hot streak. I LOVE IU’s “Someday”, and also really liked “If”, his own track. Also, “어떤이의 꿈” a cover of an older song for the OST is AWESOME. Love the electro-house influence, San-E does his thing, and the female vocalist (Sohyang from POS) is fire.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

My favorite track so far, though, is Suzy’s “Winter Child”. Not only was the context of her singing it adorable, but it’s also just a simple beautiful song that Suzy sings with just the right amount of emotion to make it appealing. I never thought highly of her vocal skills, but I have to admit she’s doing a pretty good job singing like the prodigy she’s supposed to be in the drama. I guess Miss A doesn’t make the kind of music that shows off her skills. Aside from the official OST tracks, there are a bunch of good covers thrown around in each episode. If you’re curious, you can find most of these songs in the drama’s recaps over at Dramabeans. Here's a fancam of the drama version of "어떤이의 꿈" performed by IU, 2PM's Wooyoung, 2PM's Taecyeon and T-ara's Eunjung:

JQT – Peekaboo (EP): So everyone was going gaga over “Peekaboo” a month ago. I wasn’t a fan, but I decided to check out the full EP anyway. Verdict? Not to be mean, but they’re pretty much basic bitches. That is to say, they tick off all the right boxes - looks, dance, adequate vocal skills - but don’t bring anything new or fresh to the table. Every girl is like a clone from another girl group. They’re boring. THEN they go and drown their voices in autotune as if that’ll help. smh. I did think that “One by One” was cute – it reminds me of the kind of music Jojo used to make. Also, their song "놀란걸" is fun and dancey. Again, autotuned, but not too bad. However, unless they do something a bit different, I don’t think they’ll last long, not when they’re competing with more distinctive girl groups such as Girl’s Day, Miss A and Sistar.

Leetuk and Shindong – “해주세요” (listen): Okay, don’t judge me, but I find this song adorable. It’s probably the only trot song I will ever like. Leetuk and Shindong aren’t the vocal mainstays of Super Junior, but they definitely help fill out and balance the more distinct voices of Kyuhyun, Yesung and Ryeowook. It’s nice to hear them on their own: they sound pretty good! This song is really catchy and I can’t help but smile and sing along when it comes on. These guys are as fun in song as they are on stage as the resident comedy duo on Strong Heart, so good times all around :)

SNSD – “Visual Dreams” (watch): SNSD pours on the cute again, but I seem to dislike it less this time. I suspect the culprit is the producer – the song sounds like it was done by the same producer who did “Show! Show! Show!” and BoA’s “Game” both of which I really like. There’s something about the electro-glitter vibe that does it for me, I don’t know. Overall it isn’t anything amazing, but there are some good moments: Sunny sounding like she actually has a voice for five seconds? Priceless. The bridge and the part after the second chorus to the end are great too - you can thank Taeyeon for that, who’s awesome as usual. The stuttering beat in the middle eight is great too, as it breaks up the monotony of the rest of the song. Honestly, I’m just waiting for the Robotaki remix of this to come out so that I can hear how it’s supposed to sound (EDIT: Just came out!!! and it's epic, of course. See video below:). Trance fans can check out DJ Areia’s remix, which is pretty good too.

Walrus – To Be (EP): Lee Jae Wook, up–and-coming actor, basically becomes the real-life version of his on-screen rival, Jang geun-seok from Marry Me Mary/ Mary Stayed Out All Night, and releases a three-track EP with his band Walrus (named after the Beatles song). He’s not exactly a world-class singer, but he really doesn’t need to be, seeing as their music is very angtsy, full-on rock. It’s a nice change from the norm, as most actor-musicians do pop music. Of the three tracks, my favorite is probably “Mozaic” - it’s got a Red Hot Chili Peppers vibe that I like a lot. The video of “To Be” is pretty cool, though. “서울마녀 (Seoul Witch)” is lighter than both tracks, and reminds me of summer – a good one for those not into the whole heavy rock stuff.

G.Na – Black and White (album): Sigh. G.Na. I want so much to like her, but she never does anything interesting. She’s cute, and she can sing, but she just blends into the background. I don’t think she’s cut out to be a solo singer. She’d do great as part of a girl group, but she doesn’t stand out enough to compete against more talented female solo singers, and it's mostly because of her music. Her album is nothing to write home about - dull, dull, dull all the way through. I do like “When I Have a Boyfriend”, which she released as a single last year, but I vastly prefer the Gayoon/Yoseob version to the G.Na/Rain version. Why? They’re simply better vocalists. I really don't have a low opinion of her as an artist though - I want her to do well, but somebody give this girl an interesting song to sing, please!

K.Will ft. Hyorin and Simon D – “Amazed” (listen): Okay, so I am a big fan of the Supreme Team. While their songs don’t always do it for me, I love watching them perform. Simon D’s verse on this is NICE. Skillful, yet understated enough to match the feel of the song. Hyorin and K.Will are a great vocal pair (see this performance of Mariah Carey’s "Whenever You Call") and both deliver. I love the pace changes, the violins and what I think is a sax. It reminds me of something, but I can’t place my finger on it right now… If I remember, I’ll edit.

TVXQ – “Journey” for Paradise Ranch OST (listen): I’m not watching the drama, but this song makes me happy. It’s got energy, it’s feel-good, and it’s Homin – what’s there to complain about? They sound amazing as usual. Seohyun complements them really well too. The quality of her voice is similar to Taeyeon’s, though she’s not yet as skilful. She’ll get there, though, I’m sure.

JYJ – Music Essay: Their Rooms, Out Story (album): I haven’t managed to find any high quality MP3s for this album (a sign I should purchase it, perhaps?) so I don’t feel qualified to write about this album for that reason. I’ll give you my overall impression, though – I like it! A lot! JYJ are pretty good songwriters for their first real try at it, and use their great voices to make up for whatever’s missing instrumentally. “Nine” is my favorite track, mainly because of the chorus, which is just beautiful. “Fallen Leaves” reminds me of a drama OST track instrumental wise, but with JYJ’s amazing vocals, it becomes something that really shouldn’t be relegated to the background of a film clip. You have the tell-all track, "Song Without A Name", which I like because Yoochun actually has a pretty decent flow. Then you have the more upbeat tracks like “Mission”, which I would love to see performed live; “Pierrot”, and “I.D.S” which I like despite its uneven feel. It’s the only song that reminds me that they’re very much rookies to this whole songwriting business. But while they could use some work technically, they’ve nailed the emotional part of songwriting, and that alone sets them apart and sets them up for future success. Barring a reunion with Yunho and Changmin, I see a bright future for these three on their own.

Finally, I don’t really have much to say about Navi’s album, Hello except that I really liked it! My favorite tracks are “다시 돌아가”with B2ST’s Junhyung, and “놀라워라”. It’s also got a bunch of her previously released singles, including the lovely “We Really Did Love Each Other” with K.Will. One of the best ballads and best duets of last year, as far as I’m concerned.

The end! Recent releases coming up soon.

Girl Groups Again: All Wonder Girl Everything (?)

2011-02-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

*EDIT: Feb 11, 12:09AM - changed the last paragraph so it would be slightly more relevant to the topic. Hopefully it makes more sense now.

(Composed primarily from 1:38am to 3:25am this morning. Apologies for lapses in logic.)

Hello, world. It's 1:38am and I really should be asleep, but I always think of fun stuff right before I go to bed. So here I am, with a theory to propose to you: Most South Korean girl group concepts since 2007 have been determined by the Wonder Girls. I know this is a huge stretch, but hey, no use coming up with a theory that won't be contested, right? So read on and see if you agree or think I'm making it all up. Here we go! (Bud Light. Ha.)

So here's the story: I was randomly watching 4minute videos, and slowly accepting that they don't suck all that much (though they could still make MUCH better music). I watched live performances of "Muzik" and "HUH", and noted how much more confident and interesting the girls have become since their debut days. I still have issues with their largely oversexed image, but it would seem that they're slowly growing into it, which leads to me taking less issue with the whole thing. Granted, it's still highly questionable whether they identify at all with the image that they project on stage, but it's a lot more believable to me now. Either that, or I've drank too much of the 4minute Kool-Aid. Who knows.

ANYWAY, during these musings I thought to myself, back in the day, Hyuna stood out a lot more on stage. It was essentially the Jiyoon and Hyuna show, since Jihyun wasn't doing many sexy waves, Sohyun was kinda awkward and Gayoon couldn't control her voice. I guessed that Hyuna's confidence on stage was because of her time with the Wonder Girls before joining 4minute. I then looked up Hyuna-WG performances and noted that in those days, the Wonder Girls killed it on stage. They looked like they were having fun, they put all their energy into their choreo, they OWNED their performances. I'm specifically referring to their debut hip-hop-flavored single, "Irony." It was weird to see a performance where Hyuna didn't draw all the attention, but blended in with the rest of the group. Also, her raps were so much more appealing in WG! Cube Ent. seems insistent on having her yell out every line, and it's really not fun to listen to. She should take some tips from her replacement, Yubin, and tone it the hell down. Dang.

Sadly I realized that this was the beginning of what I consider a downward spiral for the Wonder Girls. While I felt "Tell Me" despite being cute still had some of the sass and energy of "Irony", everything else felt so much less interesting to me. Even "Nobody", which was my introduction to WG, didn't hold my attention as much as "Irony", especially in the live performances. In fact, today's Hyuna would pretty much kill the rest of WG on stage, even if they were doing the same choreo.

It was then that I had my epiphany. My moment of genius is largely attributed to my comment conversation with compliant on McRoth's blog over the significance of Girls' Generation's "Gee' in the k-pop world.* They managed to convince me that "Gee" was basically SM's version of "Tell Me". So, building on this, I checked out Wikipedia's account of the histories of k-pop groups, and discovered that basically whatever any girl group did from 2007 onwards, Wonder Girls did first. They brought sexy back, or made it more palatable for sensors. Their cute hit spawned the cute wave that choked k-pop in the late 2000's. I'm willing to bet that they were one of the first of the late 2000-era kpop girl groups to have a female rapper included. You can look at the histories of all your favorite girl groups: whatever trend was there, Wonder Girls did it first. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule - 2NE1, After School, Brown Eyed Girls and 4minute - but notice that these groups are always the exception. No matter what's going on in k-pop at the moment, they're doing something different, which is what makes them stand out from the myriad girl groups that exist. It's the other groups that try to do what has been tried and tested that end up becoming copycats (more on this later).

Check out the style this performance of SNSD's "Into the New World" - look familiar?

Now, by no means do I think that this is some sort of all-encompassing theory. The "dark concept" which was all the rage last year didn't come from WG. If anything, it was more likely an idol rendering of the already present tendency towards less-happy storylines and ideas in music videos. Also, Girls Generation were doing cute stuff before "Gee", though it's important to remember that their first two singles had a distinctly different brand of cute - it was energetic and lively, as opposed to bubblegum and toned down (and uber-colorful). But the Wonder Girls seem to have set a lot of the trends. I think this is one of the reasons why they're still so popular, despite barely promoting their music in Korea in the last year and a half, and despite their music and performances taking a dive into the "average" realm. In fact, girl group performances as a whole have a lot less energy than they used to. You only need to look at CSJH The Grace or S.E.S and then compare them to basically any current girl group to see the difference in the feeling that's projected onstage. The choreo became simpler, the high heels got higher, and the vocals weren't as strong or interesting. (I suspect the weight requirements got lower too.) I know I'm an incurable 2NE1 stan, but you gotta admit the girls bring the energy every time: the choreo and the vocals are pumped up, and that makes their live stages that much more enjoyable. KARA too - it's one of the reasons I like them as much as I do, and dislike the toned down/ girlified Japanese version of them.

As to why we see this particular trend, it's probably because at the time the Wonder Girls came on the scene, there were few pop girl groups promoting their music on live stages and TV. The Brown Eyed Girls and CSJH the Grace were the only other mainstream pop girl groups that were active around the time they debuted, and CSJH left Korea to promote in Japan not long after "Tell Me" came out. All the old school girl-groups like Fin-K.L, Baby Vox, Chakra, and S.E.S had long since disbanded. Jewelry was on hiatus, and didn't return till 2008, by which time the Wonder Girls had already established their grip on the k-pop scene. JYP is great at finding formulas that work. Songwriting skills aside, this is the main reason why JYP is as successful and as renowned as he is, and why his entertainment company continues to rule the k-pop world (at least, the part that doesn't belong to YG or SM).

"Just in case you missed the memo - I'm the shit."

In the end, the killer of good pop music is formula. Granted, formula is what pop music is built on, because at the end, you need to figure out the baseline qualities that make songs appeal to the masses. But when it becomes too formulaic, it loses its appeal: every song that comes out now seems like a revamped version of an earlier one. And I think this is the source of all the complaints aimed at k-pop that have been floating around recently.. Granted, the comfort of formula makes buying music less of a struggle for consumers as it's easy to find something they like. It also saves music companies money in production, and earns them more money in sales. But, for someone like me, it removes from the music the very aspect that draws me to it, and it stops artists from evolving, innovating and creating those mega-hits they're all aiming for. To me, part of the beauty of music is in the experience of listening to a song you've never heard before, or watching a performance or music video you haven't seen, and the unique enjoyment you take away from it in that moment because it's new to you.

So to conclude, here's a lesson everyone can take home from this: Nothing is original, as they say, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't experiment and try to be different. Experimentation brought Christina Aguilera to arguably her best album, "Back to Basics". It extended Madonna's career to about twice its predicted life-span. It brought Robert Plant back to the music scene at a time when Led Zeppelin was becoming an unfamiliar name in pop culture. And it continues to make people discover new things and reach more people. So don't be afraid to color outside the lines - the world will be better for it.

And we're done. Hate it or love it in the comments.

*I still think "Gee" is really good. Haters to the left.

Standing Egg asks, "Have You Ever Fallen In Love?"

2011-02-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

Is everywhere in Korea this beautiful, or is it just certain places? I keep seeing images like this taken in Korea, and am more and more convinced of the country's beauty. Koreans seem to have a unique ability to find the beauty in the most obscure corners, and seem to pay close attention to detail in their decoration and design. I can imagine myself going there and snapping pictures of every single thing I see.

This screenshot is taken from Standing Egg's video for their recent single, "Have You Ever Fallen In Love?". The single is the acoustic version of a song from their debut album, with (which I talked about in my 2010 Notables post) and features Ra.D, a slightly-lesser-known artist and songwriter whose repertoire I'm only just discovering. He's written for 2PM ("I Can't"), and Ga-In ("Esperando"), and had his song, "I'm In Love" covered by Narsha. Songwriting credits aside, he has a wonderfully smooth voice that perfectly complements the dreamy acoustic vibe of the song. Clover's emotive vocals melt into the guitar line, and the music video completes the package to create a lovely portrait of the blissful, dreamy days of love. I love the tilt-shift lens used at the beginning of the video to give the shots a miniature effect, and the color palette again. It actually makes winter look enjoyable, which is no small feat. And you have an adorable couple being adorable. Perfect for Valentine's Day. (Though as I have no Valentine this year, I probably be playing death metal out of spite. Or watching Love Actually. Hmm... both are equally appealing...) Safe to say, I absolutely adore this song, in both its acoustic and original forms. Enjoy the video below - I suggest fullscreen at 720p :)

Mixtapes and Liner Notes is Now Mobile-Friendly!

2011-02-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Sugabelly and an inspired Google search, I have finally made my blog mobile-friendly! Which means you don't have to zoom and scroll around on your phone to get to my posts - now it's easy to read. And it looks so pretty! Here's a screen-cap:

Once I get down to some designing for the blog itself, it'll look a lot cooler, but compared to the other options out there, it looks amazing. This is only a beta version of the Blogger mobile option, but hopefully it'll come through to regular Blogger soon. If you want this for your own Blogger/Blogspot blog, go to Blogger's beta site (http://draft.blogger.com), then click "Dashboard" > "Settings" > "E-mail & Mobile" and select the "Activate Mobile Template" (or something like that) option. And voila! Also, make sure to give them feedback so that they can improve on the app and bring it to regular Blogger sooner.

Sorry I've gone dark on you guys - I hope to get those posts I promised up soon. I would do newer music, but my Soribada music card has expired, and I'm debating whether or not I should get a new one, seeing as Soribada only carries 192k MP3s, which I just found out *facedesk*. I had deleted all my non-purchased k-pop MP3s and replaced them with legal ones from Soribada, but now it looks like I'll have to replace them AGAIN (and pay more for them, too. *sigh.). I mean, the sound quality isn't awful compared to 256/320k MP3s, but even my cheapo JVC headphones can pick up the difference, and that bothers me. I have dreams of guest DJing something in the future, and having LQ MP3s would be unacceptable. So, unless I buy the music card again, there will be a little less Korean music on the blog. Definitely less k-indie. But that allows me to blog about more non-Korean music, so that's good, right? Anyway, I've talked too long. Check out my blog on your mobile phone(!), and look forward to new posts soon. Also, how many of you have Twitter? Was thinking of getting an account for the blog - good idea, or bad idea?

*This blog post is not endorsed by Google or Blogger. I'm just sharing my excitement with the world.

Seungri's VVIP - Ear Candy of the Month

2011-01-20T23:30:00.000-08:00

And it's well deserved - that smile can come hang out with me anytime. Oh, wait, that's "eye candy", not "ear candy"....

lol Jokes aside, I am REALLY loving this CD. I always love it when this kind of R&B comes my way - smooth with a touch of electro-glitter and a dash of pop. (That sounds like a drink. I should invent a drink and call it the VIP - with edible glitter. They make that right?)

I will agree with McRoth's allkpop review (yes, he writes there now - how cool is that?) that the tracks have their flaws. But, as a package, this album wins so much for me right now that I can easily forget to pick it apart as is my tendency, and just enjoy it. It's just the right brand of R&B with both contemporary and classic elements, and the production is seamless, such that I don't notice it at all. I just listen, and when it's over think "Wow, that sounded amazing. The production is killer." What they say in film also applies here: you know something's good if you don't notice or think about how they did it.

I don't have a favorite track as of yet, but I suspect it will be "Open the Window (ft. G-Dragon)". I feel bad about that because that's the only song that Seung-ri didn't have a hand in writing, but it's just so gorgeous. To me it sounds like the guy that's polite, introduces himself first and then asks for your number, as opposed to just going "How you doin'? What's yo name, girl?" There's an earnestness in Seung-ri's voice that just pulls me in. Plus he nailed those high notes at the end. And the instrumental is fantastic.

Speaking of Seung-ri's voice: don't brick me, but I always thought that he sounded like he had an obstruction in his throat or something. He always sounded strained in Big Bang songs, and even in Strong Baby. But he sounds so much more comfortable here, and so much better than he used to. I don't know if they did some newfangled thing in post-production, or he's just gotten more vocal training, but if he keeps this up, he will considerably improve the state of Big Bang's vocals. He was always the weak link to me - that and there was always a dissonance between him, Taeyang and Daesung that could rarely be resolved, which is why they always just have them sing different parts. I hope to see some harmonizing from them in their new album (FEBRUARY!).

The duet with IU is amazing - I love it when IU does R&B. I mean, she's got a great ballad voice, but it's when she does indie and R&B that it really shines because the melodies are more interesting - to me, anyway. "Magic" is in the long tradition of flirtatious, dude-follows-girl-around-until-he-gets-her-number tracks, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a sucker for those. I like to imagine how that would play out in real life - like Seung-ri could get a drink in his face for the first verse, trip up and face plant after the second chorus, and finally get the girl at the end. lol. "White Love" is great - the whole thing is beautifully done and atypical of most k-pop tracks, so I'm a fan. "Outro (In My World)" is the second biggest tragedy of the album - not because it was bad, 'cos it was awesome, but because it was cut short. The first biggest tragedy is "VVIP" in which we see the return is the crazy YG genre mash that almost put me off 2NE1's "I'm Busy". Again, if you separate the R&B pop from the crazy trumpet tunes, it works, but together? Just... no. The video makes up for it quite a bit, though.

And finally, we have "What Do I Do". Essentially, this is Seung-ri Guettafied. And I love me some Guetta, so I'm loving this. It reminds me of why I gravitated to k-pop: it takes an epic electro instrumental and adds drama to it in a way that only Korean music can, making it to me a more appealing track than any Western song that sounds like this right now. Everyone else uses this kind of instrumental to either promote their hot mess way of life, (e.g. Ke$ha), or their constant trolling of clubs for chicks (Akon, Pitbull, Flo-Rida, the list goes on...). But Seungri takes it and makes it so that you really believe that he's breaking down (down, down, down) because his girl's leaving him. And that, my friends, is what k-pop has over other pop musics - Koreans know how to infuse their pop music with soul and emotion, something that has kinda gotten lost in the West as the current makers of pop culture (and those following in their footsteps) continue to test out different gimmicks to keep us interested. Forget crazy instrumentals or a cute kid with a good haircut - I just want heart.

(Sidenote: I love how the girl flickers in and out of focus. Nice imagery there. And is it just me, or are the YG dancers killing it? They very nearly steal the show every time they show up. Not to mention the Kwon twins are getting pimped out since the public seems to love them. They're in EVERY video and performance these days.)

The best thing about this album, though, is that YG haven't put any fillers or reject tracks on this album and have really let the Big Bang maknae shine. Hopefully, this will keep our group together, as the CEO claims, and they won't break up (as is becoming the trend in k-pop these days). I'm gonna end the love fest here, and let you guys chime in. Feel free to hate on the album if you want - I'll just put on my headphones so I don't hear you :P

Swedish & Icelandic Awesomeness

2011-01-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this is random and only slightly related, but I was watching an episode of "House Hunters International" yesterday, and this couple was moving to Reykjavik, Iceland. I never thought about visiting a place so close to the North Pole, but the city is gorgeous, and apparently really fun to live in. In my planning out the numerous places I will travel to when I finally have the time and the money, I never remember all these Northern European countries, but I have to start including them soon, especially if they still make awesome music like this 2008 dance single by Swedish singer, Medina:

Also, I only just found out that Emiliana Torrini is from Iceland. She's one of those quirky indie singers that kinda fly under the radar, but always pop up with amazing stuff, like Gollum's Song for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. My favorite track of hers is her cover of Tom Waits's "I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You":

Also another awesome thing about Northern Europe: IKEA! I know the furniture is cheap and not very durable, but the designs are still pretty cool. Plus I can have a stylish place without breaking the bank. If that's not a reason to love that place, I don't know what is.

MBLAQ's BLAQ Style - Hit Or Miss?

2011-01-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

MBLAQ has released their first full album!.... aaand that's about as much excitement as I can muster up for it now that I've listened to it. I do have enough energy to complete a review of it, though, so read on!

MBLAQ was my first real k-pop fandom. It started with Joon (yes, I'm shallow that way) and eventually expanded to all the members as I watched all their episodes of Idol Army, and started following fan blogs. I'm not as much of a fan as I was back then, but I still love their explosive performances, and I like the idea of their R&B/hip-hop take on k-pop, so I keep up with them to see if they'll come out with something awesome. Sadly, this album is not what I was hoping for.

"Stay" is their main title track. The first thing I noticed about this song were the crazy synths at the beginning - I just got a pair of kick-ass headphones for Christmas (thanks, fam! :D) and listening to the beginning on them felt like my ears were filling with water. It's an eerie but really cool feeling. Second thing I noticed were the gimmicks - pace changes, repetition, stock pop rhythm. But, as I got to the second verse, I found that I had been sucked into the melody and was singing along. The song is catchy, and very pop, yet manages to retain the slightly dark feel that the video and the instrumental try to convey. Joon and Seungho sound great in the lower octaves - they need to keep them down there and leave the high notes to G.O. I also liked the back and forth between Thunder and Mir towards the end. All in all, a decent title track, though I couldn't shake the feeling that it was missing something.

As I listened to the rest of the album, I began to notice a pattern: most of the songs start off interesting, but then just fall back into familiar melodies, and I check out very quickly. They set me up for some amazing chorus or middle eight and then fail to deliver. I may have actually fallen asleep while listening to the two ballad tracks in the middle. For a group that put out a decent EP that won them their first chart award last summer, it was really a step down as a whole. A few individual songs stood out: "버린다" has a nice, sexy electro vibe that's very "FutureSex/LoveSounds" (We miss you, JT! Come back!), and "Rolling U" has a really infectious beat - it's actually only a few steps away from a great title track. Their other title track, "Cry" stands out as well, but only because E-Tribe seriously overdid it with the production, so much so that I don't enjoy listening to it, and it's hard to pay attention to the performers at all. This explains why they decided to go overboard in the video and tried (and failed) to be super angsty and super sexy at the same time.

And another thing: they need to stop making Thunder sing. He's a decent rapper, and actually complements Mir in a GD/TOP kinda way, while he really doesn't add a lot to the vocals of the group.

What I did like about this album was that they fully embraced an electro-R&B sound which complements MBLAQ's style and vocals, and also differentiates them from BEAST, the other R&B-ish k-pop boyband and their pseudo-rivals since they debuted around the same time (though in my estimation BEAST has put out much better material overall). Straight R&B like "What You Want" might turn out to be better for them, but for now this works. I noticed a growth in Joon's vocal capabilities - more control, more range - which is also good as I think he has potential, and he rounds out the vocals a lot better now. Also, I really liked that Mir got more lines: I think he's one of the better idol group rappers, so I was happy to hear more of him here when he barely had any lines on their last EP.

I don't know if MBLAQ got new people for this album, but if they did, they need to go get new new people. Choreographers, stylists, songwriters - except for that JR dude, he can stay. These guys have already shown us what they can do with good material - someone just needs to give it to them!

So, Maybe That Wasn't Such A Good Idea...

2011-01-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

I think I need to issue an apology for that last post - it was a lot, and I doubt a lot of people had the time or energy to go through it all. I've decided to break it up and separate my major reviews into their own posts so that they're less painful to find/read/get through. This also means I get to go into a little more detail (but not too much, I promise!). So look for those in the coming week, as well as a review of MBLAQ's new album "BLAQ Style", and hopefully also a post on k-indie music. Happy Monday everyone! If the beginning of the week has got you down, get lifted with this lovely bubbly song courtesy of Jieun and The Wolves (recommended by McRoth in his "Top K-Pop Songs of 2010 Phase 3" post).

K-Pop New Music Roundup: New Year Snowstorm

2011-01-06T23:20:00.000-08:00

From MBC's My Princess. Snow is cold, but so pretty

So they're predicting a snowstorm this weekend in my area. Dislike, dislike, dislike. Interestingly, this is accompanying a ridiculous amount of new Korean music that came out this week. It's a problem when Soribada's home page is one of your top sites in Safari - I can't help but want to listen to everything! But I won't bore you with millions of detailed reviews, I'll keep it as short as possible, only waxing lyrical in a few instances. So put on your scarves and let's get going!

Since this is mad long, my advice is to look over the paragraphs and read the ones that seem interesting. My favorite releases this week are One Way, TVXQ, Infinite, 4men and the My Princess OST. Oh, and I rant about the Piggy Dolls, so make sure to check out that review too.

One Way - Rainy Days (album)
I'll keep this short - you want this album. You want the physical CD (with their autographs!), and you want to play this thing in your car's CD player or your old boombox or your computer until it scratches up, just like in the old days. It's absolutely fantastic, amazing, brilliant, etc. As I said before, One Way are some of the most talented songwriters in the Korean pop industry right now. I am not exaggerating - I sincerely believe that. And this album just proves that with every single track. I would write more, but I'm too busy dancing my ass off to "Flight 101 (feat. As One) blasting "The Forecast" on my brother's speakers, trying to get my family to listen to "New Drag", and learning the English and Korean lyrics to "Rainy Days". After which I'll learn to play guitar so I can play it as well. Yes, I'm hooked - you should be too.

Secret - Shy Boy (listen)
So Secret went and did the cute thing. I'll forgive them for it this once, because they're usually awesome, the song's kinda catchy, I so want all their outfits from the video, and the other track on the single is kinda bossy. But it still feels like they sold out. I think it's a k-pop rule that everyone must do the cute concept once they get even mildly successful. *sigh. Someone call me when they're fierce again.

TVXQ - 왜 (Keep Your Head Down) (album/EP)
So 2/5 of TVXQ returns with a new album. I'm going to ignore all the craziness currently going on between the two and the three and just talk music. This album is amazingly produced, but sadly doesn't capture my attention. Few of the songs on this album really made me jump or dance or even bob my head - most kinda just played out on my playlist and I barely registered them. Standouts for me were "Crazy", "Rumor" and "She". "Keep Your Head Down is epic of course, but as McRoth said, really not a song that I can listen to more than once a day. It's well done, and I love it, but it needs to be handled with care. The truth is, without Junsu and Jaejoong, HoMin have to rely more on production than on the strength of their vocals to deliver exceptional music, and sadly, it shows. It's still a good album, but falls below expectations for me.

Piggy Dolls - Piggy Style EP
Okay, lemme rant for a second. I want the world to stop pitying and parodying the big girl. I mean it. Because your group members happen to be plus-size, that is not an automatic excuse to call them "Piggy Dolls", and act like it's ironic: it's not - it's degrading. How dare you use a girl's weight as a sales gimmick? The same thing with that version of the Bachelor for plus-size women, "More To Love". Thank GOD that got cancelled, I was about to send hate mail to the network. IT'S. NOT. FUNNY. OR INTERESTING. STOP. Fat people don't need representation, they need acceptance - two different things. Why don't they go change the name of SNSD to "Skinny Dolls" if BMI as marketing tool is what's hot these days? Even the name of that other group ,Big Mama, gets on my nerves, especially since they're amazingly talented. It's like a caveat: "They're great, but they're fat." I think I need to buy a punching bag, label it "k-pop industry execs" and punch the stuffing out of it. UGH. The video for "Trend" only makes it worse - does Korea not make decent plus-size clothes? I feel like sending them gift cards to Torrid (plus size boutique in the US) - the styling is HORRIBLE, and just adds to the affront. And don't get me started on them literally "pigging out" in the beginning of the video. I can only hope that that news report was about young girls feeling alienated because of their weight, and the song is about them breaking stereotypes, because that's the kind of thing I'd applaud. Not pandering a woman's weight as your new gimmick so you can make money off of the novelty of big girls.

Awful name and marketing aside, these girls sound amazing. Hate the autotune on "Trend", but they still sound great and manage to add edge to otherwise dull tracks. They also are pretty engaging while performing. They actually remind me of KARA back when Sunghee was still in the group. Too bad their weight is being used as a marketing tool instead of their obvious talent. Hope they do well, and aren't just a flash in the pan.

Infinite - Evolution (EP)
Oh, I love these guys. Teen Top is hot on their heels this month and will be posing some fierce competition for ~~my affections~~ the public's attention with their own release, but I think Infinite have won me over for good with this EP. They are the perfect example of a group that take what they have and make the damn most of it. I do prefer their first EP material, but this is great follow-up stuff. They've kept the tight production and great instrumentation, which is a big plus as both are hard to come by in k-pop. It's a bit too much for me in "Can You Smile" but perfect in "몰라. "Before The Dawn" needed a middle eight - seriously, it doesn't have one at all - to really make it good, and thus fell short of expectaitions for me. But the video is gorgeously dark and gritty, and adds the artistry that was missing from the song. It's probably done by the same director who did Epik High's "Fan" and "Run" videos, which I also love. Infinite's whole sound really hearkens back to some of the early-to-late 2000s kpop music that I like (before the autotune boom). With this EP, they're continuing to build up an excellent body of work, from which I hope to see them jump off to bigger and better things.

Joo - "나쁜 남자 (Bad Guy)"(listen)
A lesser known JYP artist makes a comeback. Never heard of her until now, but decided to check her out. The EP is average at best, but this song got to me. It's in part the vocal melody, which is pretty unconventional for your standard k-pop track, and the video, which has a cool concept, though I do think it could have been executed better. Also, Chansung is in it. Here's my thing about Chansung - I think he's hot, but 99% of the time he's acting angsty or all beastly and oversexed and I'm turned off. Here, however, he's acting out real emotions, and I can kinda connect with him better. So, points for that. Overall, nice track by a talented singer.

Monday Kiz - "사랑해 그리고 기억 (Remember I Love You)"(listen)
B-side track on their latest digital single, "Nostalgia". This song is a good laid back pop R&B type track. Good for casual listening and good feelings. Also, if you didn't know already, these guys can sing!

My Princess OST
Okay, I'll admit: I only checked this release out because B2ST had a track on it. I was hopeful because I love their latest EP with the duo tracks and the full version of Lights Go On Again. Sadly, their song was kinda boring, though cute. But the rest of the OST took me by surprise: "Falling" by Lee Tszche has a more appealing cuteness, and a lovely indie vibe. Then there's "노을 (Sunset) by Every Single Day, which came out of NOWHERE and blew me away. Then Taru came on and I was like "Is this a real drama OST? Am I dreaming?" Taru's an indie artist with Pastel Music, a major indie music label. She also features on my favorite Epik High track ever, "1 Minute 1 Second". Add another lovely track by Lucite Tokki (my latest k-indie crush) and Mellowyel is scheduling time to watch this drama this weekend. The drama is touted as a bubbly rom-com, but the indie soundtrack makes me hope for something slightly less conventional than your usual k-drama. There's a competition between the writers over at Dramabeans to see which will tank and which will succeed between this drama and "Dream High", the idol drama about... idols in training. My bet's on this one: If nothing else, it has a much better soundtrack :) Bonus is a solo track by 4minute's Gayoon - nothing extraordinary, but she sounds lovely without 4minute's crazy-ass production.

Side-note: It would seem that only reason B2ST and Gayoon are on this OST is because Ki-kwang from B2ST has a supporting role in the drama. It's jarringly obvious that their tracks don't fit the indie vibe of the rest of the soundtrack, and I feel that takes away from the atmosphere that the OST tries to set. Cube is making the most of this acting gig, I suppose, but I wish they'd just kept their hands off the OST. Without the Cube songs, it's k-indie amazingness.

Shin Young-Jae (4men) - "독고다이" (listen)
4men track. Need I say more? :D I constantly get Young-jae and Sang-hyeon's voices mixed up because they're very similar, but Young-jae tends to focus on the quality of his delivery rather than the crazy adlibs, so for solo tracks, he's my pick. Great song - it just sweeps you up into itself with its amazing instrumentation and vocals. What's weird is that the instruments are the same as a cheesy Luther Vandross track, but the delivery is more Sade. Kinda weird, but I still love it.

Hyun Bin - "그 남자 (That Man)" (listen)
Attention k-drama fans everywhere - Hyun Bin can sing. He's hot, multi-talented and successful? Someone schedule me a matchmaking meeting STAT.

Okay, he's not crazy amazing, but he's surprisingly good - his voice sounds gorgeous in the lower octave verses. Only the strain in the higher notes of the chorus gives away his inexperienced singer status. I do prefer Baek Ji Young's version, though. I hate that they have multiple versions of the same songs on the OST - talk about overkill - but I still think it's an exceptionally good drama OST. Off to download some of the score right now.

THE END

Leave thoughts and opinions in the comment section, and treat yourself to a hot chocolate or a cookie if you've read through this whole thing - you're a trooper :)

Mellowyel's List of K-Pop Notables for 2010

2010-12-30T22:48:00.000-08:00

Party like it's 1999!!!

We're at the end of the year! I don't know if I'm happy or sad it's over - I've got mixed feelings here. Anyway, I did have one reader request/suggest an end-year post (thanks McRoth!) so here are Mellowyel's Asian Pop Notable Awards!

Worst News of 2010: DBSK breaking up
I think of all the sad things I heard this year, this was one that I felt was the most upsetting. Not because it was the worst thing that happened, but because it didn't have to happen. SM may have vocal supporters within and without its walls, but the fact that it decided to demonize JYJ in the media as opposed to dealing with them civilly ruins my perspective of them in my eyes. And also the fact that they simply do not come across as a company that cares about their artists' well-being: they work them to the bone with barely a break, but fly them around in private jets to make them (and us) feel better. I'm just not buying it. Had they simply done better, this whole thing could have been avoided, and SM would have been able to keep their hallyu wave cash cow. DBSK was a cohesive, talented, charismatic group - there was no one like them. The separate units will never reach the level of success that they could have had they stuck together, unless SM somehow makes peace with JYJ. The way things are looking, that won't happen soon, and that's a damn shame.
Honorable Mentions: Jay Park leaves 2PM, Park Yongha Commits Suicide, Utada Hikaru Leaves the Music Scene

Best Comeback: 2NE1
I find it interesting that 2NE1 is still technically a rookie group, since they only debuted a year ago. Unlike most new groups, they have a clear concept that they stick to as opposed to picking different concepts left and right, and this concept happens to be completely different from that of any other girl group. This is one of their most valuable assets, aside from their own talent and the advantage of a great production team behind them. Their first full album solidified their status as my favorite girl group, and showed us that these girls are here to stay and will continue to blow our minds and pwn the other girl groups. I wish only good things for them in the new year (including that they lose the autotune).
Honorable mentions: BoA, Gummy, Seven, Rain

Male Rookie of the Year: One Way
Of all the groups that debuted this year, One Way is for me the best of the bunch. Not only do they have a very developed hip-hop/R&B sound, but they also have amazing songwriting skills. Junsu has never sounded this good in anything that JYP has written for 2PM. Ever. And they do their own skills justice too. One Way isn't getting the attention they deserve right now, but I sincerely hope that changes because the pop world would be so much better off if they gave these guys more chances to show us what they can do.
Honorable Mention: ~~Code-V, Teen Top, Infinite~~ CNBlue! Totally thought they debuted late last year as opposed to early this year. I'm still giving it to One Way though, cos they pwn CNBlue in songwriting (and they write all their own stuff)

Female Rookie (Group) of the Year: Sistar
Miss A may have won all the awards, but Sistar is the group that I will be watching in 2011. They have a gem in Hyorin, but besides that, all the girls exude confidence and personality on stage that I really admire. Not only that, but unlike most girl groups these days, it's not all about the sex appeal. I think that they have a lot more to offer than what they're currently showing us, and I think people realize this: their last two singles, "Shady Girl", and "How Dare You", both maintained top ten positions on Soribada's singles chart for at least two or three weeks, which is really unprecedented for a rookie group (and surprising because I don't particularly care for either song). Granted, this isn't representative of overall success, but it shows that the girls have something that people like. And if this performance of CSJH The Grace's "One More Time, OK" is anything to go by, we can only expect bigger and better things from them in the future.
Honorable Mention: Miss A

Female Rookie (Solo) of the Year: Gil Hak-mi
Because this woman is amazing. Winner of Superstar K Season One, she broke onto the music scene with a killer EP that remains one of my favorite releases of the year. Her stage presence, her vocal ability, the awesome songwriting and production on her EP - what's not to like? She kind of came and went from the scene, unfortunately, but man, she is something. I'm just waiting for her to come back with a full album and pwn the rest of k-pop. If you don't know about her, better get familiar.

Most Improved Group: Beast
Beast and I have had an interesting relationship. I heard "Mystery" first and didn't like it. I heard "Bad Girl" and loved it, then hated it (now it's a guilty pleasure). "Shock" came along early this year and I saw the potential, but the execution failed me. Their last two mini-albums, however, completely won me over. Cube has finally tapped into these boys' talents, and worked on improving them, and can I say, I love it. They sound amazing, they complement each other more - and all of this with minimal processing. It's amazing that they managed to make such huge strides within the space of about six months. Whatever Cube are doing with Beast, they need to do with 4minute stat - those girls need saving. Anyway, Beast is probably my favorite boy band right now, besides Big Bang and a 5-member DBSK. Good on them. If they keep improving, they could just be as big as those guys some day.
Honorable Mention: Girl's Day, U-Kiss

Pleasant Surprise: Secret
Secret has had something of a breakout hit with their latest track, "Madonna". Suddenly they're on variety shows and at the end-year awards, and generally getting noticed. It's well deserved, as these girls are classy and talented. I would never have guessed that I would come to like them after hearing Magic earlier this year, but they had a great single and pulled it off well. Hoping they continue to impress me next year.

Indie Music Award: Standing Egg
So I discovered this band through Dramabeans, and though they had only released one EP, I had already shortlisted them as possibly my favorite k-indie band. Not only were did they have a lovely jazzy indie pop sound that really appealed to me, they were also versatile and able to switch up genres with ease. Their first full album with then showcased another side of them that I hadn't discovered yet - an exceptional talent for songwriting. The album is mostly made up of collaborations (as the title suggests) with a number of equally talented artists - including the lovely J.ae, a favorite of mine. Each song hits just the right notes, and honestly, there are few albums that I love in their entirety as much as this one. Often collaborations are either forced or full of songwriting tropes, but here they are so organic that you believe that the guest artists are members of the band. Whatever you do, don't sleep on this band - they're really special, and I can only hope 2011 brings more success and exposure for them and all other indie bands.
Honorable mention: 10cm, One More Chance

That's about it, ladies and gents! I just want to say a big thank you to all of you who visit, link to and comment on the blog - I really, really appreciate it. Please continue to support it, and have a very happy New Year - I'll be back in 2011 with a list of blog resolutions and more awesome music! Stay tuned!

SMDH: Mellowyel Rants about Girl Groups

2010-12-29T17:46:00.000-08:00

So I was going to do a top ten things I liked in k-pop this year, but then I was watching the SBS Gayo Daejun and got mad for a number of reasons, so this is going to be an angry girl rant. Excuse my while I get my soapbox...

First of all: The SBS Gayo was a hot mess. In fact, one of the hottest messes of k-pop this year. Mic problems, dull performances, and the odd collab or two for the people who don't listen to pop music. I won't even bother with the other ones if this is all I'm going to see. I'm just thankful there was no cross-dressing this year - I would have busted a capillary.

I got into k-pop in the summer of 2009, but only really started following it in earnest this year. It's been a good year - the Korean music scene is filled with a lot of talent and quality tracks. But in terms of female performers, I have been sorely disappointed. I was super excited for BoA's comeback, but the pop songs weren't as awesome as I'd hoped and the amazing slower tracks barely got any attention. Girl groups continually promised to wow us with new concepts, but failed to deliver music for long term enjoyment or even anything mildly innovative. It was great when it was new, and we were just happy to see these groups back on the stage, but now at the end of the year, looking back, they really weren't all that great. Only 2NE1's material really stands out for me, and that might only be because they came back recently, and it hasn't gotten old yet.

Watching the girl groups on the Gayo was a painful experience for me. They all looked bored and tired and like they didn't ever want to perform that song EVER again. There was an uproar after Jiyeon looked particularly uninterested on a recent TV appearance. While I still think it was unprofessional, I am mirroring her sentiments right now. I am sick and tired of this veneer of what it means to be a woman/girl with no substance. In k-pop, the range of representations of women is limited to "sexy", "cute" and "lovelorn", with the occasional addition of "fierce" to mix it up and sell a few more CDs. At least, if you're going to dictate how these women are going to present themselves, and deprive them of any agency they have in their performance, at least try harder to SELL it to me. Convince me that they have simply chosen to express this side of themselves with that particular song, instead of making it blatantly obvious that it's just the new gimmick that their management came up with.

Girl groups like 2NE1 and After School are the only ones that seem somewhat genuine because on and off-stage, they come off as genuine. It's as if they manage somehow to connect with whatever they're performing, which is really the only way any performance will be convincing. I believe that 2NE1 are badass independent women who love and hurt but move on, despite their dating bans, and that After School are the hottest ish around, despite not having as much exposure as other groups. IU is another performer who is convincing; partly because her on-stage persona is close to the image she puts forth when she's not performing, but also because she's not always switching up gimmicks like Narsha switches wigs. These performers have established their character as a group and stuck to it, and that makes whatever they do considerably more believable. Speaking of Narsha, Brown Eyed Girls is another girl group I connect with, albeit on the other side of the spectrum: they are convincing even though their concepts vary widely. The members have the ability to blend into any role they're given - you'd think that that concept was always what they did, until you look at what they last put out.

Some girl groups sell decently enough, but I just don't like what they're selling. 4minute is a great example. They are fixed in my mind as little preteens playing dress-up: they play dress up very well, but I won't ever take them seriously. They need to age five or ten years. Or stop performing the fantasies of pervert ajhussis. SNSD, despite my earlier "I'm in their boat" comment, also don't go well with me. I'm on board whenever they're not selling me candy-coated girliness wrapped up in a pink ribbon. I react badly to over-cutesyness and large quantities of pink - I break out in hives and what not. When they're acting their age, I can get with them. Otherwise I won't touch them with a ten foot pole (except maybe "Gee" because it's amazingly produced).

As a girl who is decidedly not girly, and doesn't believe that sexiness only comes in hot pants and black glitter, I generally dislike the concept of womanhood that k-pop is trying to sell. And it bothers me even more that this idea of womanhood is dominant in a whole music industry and by extension a whole national media. Even though it's a small media compared with that of other developed countries like Japan, the US and the UK, it has the potential to showcase so much more variety than they do. Yet priority is given to the idols, because they're the easiest to market. At least Rihanna and Robyn both get performances on awards shows (though Rihanna would get more screen time). In Korea, talented women who aren't idols rarely get seen on TV, or even have their videos played. There are equal amounts of hours in a day all over the world - can't I have non-stereotypical women for one hour of that, Korea? Maybe give those jaded overworked girls a break for once? They do represent some aspects of real womanhood, yes - it's not like women can never be cute or girly, or that I get the urge to bitch-slap any girl who even mutters the word "oppa" within earshot. My problem is that this extremely limited view of womanhood is the only one presented in Korean pop music, and it's aggravating. So much potential for varied representations of women, and for amazing awards shows and performances, and all I get is recycled hits that maybe won one chart award, and lackluster performances by girls who simply can't be bothered anymore. And who can bloody blame them?

In the end, I'm just left drained and sad. Because groups like f(x) with so much talent are stuck with crappy songs and can't even be bothered to perform with any commitment. Because girl groups promoting songs that do present an image of female independence or agency are forced to perform them so often that that image is no longer enough to keep them committed to their performances. Because BoA will perform an average pop track over an amazing ballad because otherwise, she won't sell CDs. I will still listen to k-pop, if only to keep searching for those occasional diamonds in the rough. But in 2011 I will be spending considerably less money and time watching or supporting an image of women that I inherently have a problem with.

Who Are All These White Chicks? GD&TOP's “High High” MV

2010-12-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

The hype has set in, sleep has been lost, late night rants have been posted and VIPs have been waiting with bated breath – finally, the first stage of the Big Bang comeback cycle has arrived with GD&TOP’s “High High” MV. And there are a TON of white females in it. More after the jump.

For a general discussion of non-Asians in Asian music videos, check out my post on the topic here.

The first thought I had about this video was that it was one of the few k-pop videos I’d seen where people were just in the club having fun. If k-pop videos are anything to go by, nothing good happens at the club: people get dumped, people find their girl/guy with someone else, trifling boyfriends get their just desserts, etc. But here, they’re just getting crunk. I’m a fan of this shift in focus, especially since GD&TOP seem like the best people to go out with.

My second, and more pressing thought, however, was that there was an overwhelming presence of Caucasian women in the video. In a careful study of the clip (i.e. I watched it twice), I found that the ratio of shots of Asian women compared to those of Caucasian women, either alone or with G-Dragon and TOP, is about 1:6. While taking screencaps of the video, the Asian faces came out of the woodwork, but in a casual viewing of the video, which most people would do, only the Caucasians stand out. In fact, the “High High” video looks awfully similar to the ad below in terms of population:

Source: Somang Cosmetics via The Grand Narrative

To me, there is no difference

So the big question is: why?

It’s no news to anyone that there is an abundance of non-ethnic Koreans in South Korea, especially in places like Seoul, but what makes this video unusual is that they’re usually not all gathered at the same club on the same night. I’m not in Korea so I haven’t seen firsthand the clubbing crowd, but Jun Areia, (an awesome k-pop remixer) posted links on Facebook to some collections of photos from popular clubs in Seoul, and the population looks… well, very Asian. Also since this is a music video, people were cast/invited to be at this party and to participate in the shoot, meaning that a considerable number of Caucasian women were specifically cast for this video, as opposed to them showing up by chance. Even if the casting wasn't biased towards Caucasian women, the editing of the video favors them: Asian women appear far less often, and almost never in close up. If you still need to be convinced that this isn’t normal, then check out this Big Bang music video from 2008, where they are also in a club, but surrounded by mostly Asian women:

As I speculate about the reasons behind this creative choice, I can’t help but remember some of the writings by James Turnbull over at the Grand Narrative, indicating the hyper-sexualization of Caucasians in South Korean advertising. Until recently, you were more likely to see a Caucasian woman in skimpy clothing or in a sexually suggestive pose (often with a Caucasian man) as opposed to a Korean woman, which I witnessed myself while looking for a photoshoot on the Cosmopolitan Korea website: it's all Asians until you get to the Love and Relationships section, then suddenly some white people pop up - half-naked, as that section of Cosmo usually goes.

I'm guessing then that “Caucasians Are Sexy” was the casting concept for this video: Caucasian women are sexy, therefore if you have a ton of white women in your video, you must be the shit, or you must be in America/Europe, which makes you even cooler (Is it a coincidence that the invites to the party / video shoot were passports and plane tickets?). Not only does this reduce the white woman to a prop or a trophy simply put there to elevate the Asian man's status (especially when they’re all dressed in identical outfits as in the screencap below) but it also pushes her towards the “bad girl” category, which few Korean women would willingly associate with, and few Korean men would look upon favorably, if this translation of the lyrics for Miss A’s “Good Girl, Bad Girl” is anything to go by. A little more support for this idea would be the backlash against white women blogging about their dating experiences in Korea. It would seem that a lot of Koreans consider white women to be more sexual, i.e. sluttier, than Korean women. (link via The Grand Narrative)

This concept of the Caucasian woman as the "bad girl" makes more sense when you think of other Caucasian women featured in k-pop music videos: again, Big Bang’s video for "Beautiful Hangover" features a white woman who cheats on Taeyang with G-Dragon, and then ends up leaving G-Dragon too (ostensibly for TOP); then U-Kiss’s latest single, “Shut Up” – the lyrics indicate they’re tired of the girl’s games, though the music video is just one big ol’ tease. Another, slightly less relevant example is Winterplay’s video for “Touche Mon Amour” where an Asian husband and Caucasian wife get into a physical fight because she won’t stop watching Winterplay on TV. In sum, white women are hardly ever seen as a positive love interest in Korean music videos. So it’s not like Asian women have been replaced with a better alternative – it's more like they’ve been replaced with a less valuable, but possibly more visually appealing substitute. (If anyone has seen a counterexample in a Korean/Asian music video, please let me know!)

Posts like this often get dismissed as the ranting of a sore woman who feels ugly and unloved who is taking out her anger on the pretty people. But to be honest, I’m not upset at Caucasian women - I’m upset on their behalf, as well as the many gorgeous Asian women and women of other races that I’m sure got passed up in the casting and editing for this video. It may be a form of Western/white worship but it by no means puts white women in a better position than their Asian counterparts. Though I won't say white privilege is completely absent in this case - in the end Caucasian women are still considered prettier than girls of other races, or else they wouldn't be there in such high numbers. I spied only ONE black woman in that entire video (at around 2:01) - I'm surprised she was even there at all. So it's this weird combination of objectification of white women and bias against them - they're pretty, but they're only good for the club and not for the home or for a relationship. Whichever way you look at it, though, the director of this music video definitely deserves the side eye for this one.

Post your thoughts on the video in the comments!

EDIT- 11:57AM: So on Modest-Goddess's suggestion, I checked out noonablog.com, written by one of the white girls from video - her name's Paula (or 우리), she's Swedish, and she's the short haired girl in the photo at the top. If you want to read about her experience at the shoot, check it out here and here - there's an interesting little bit about bunny suits in there. Anyway, it turns out she got an invitation because she's friends with people from the Seoulcialite Agency, "a boutique marketing and event planning company which specializes in high profile and exclusive events within the music, fashion and entertainment industry". They planned the party and the shoot along with YG Ent. On their website, the have a bunch of photos from the shoot - still a ton of Caucasian women, but lots more Asian women. This indicates again, that the editing of the video was biased towards Caucasian women.

Thanks to Modest-Goddess for her suggestion, and James for all his awesome insights.

GD&TOP Premiere Event: Sleep-Deprived, But Intrigued

2010-12-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

Source: yg-life.com

So with a new boost in the time department (by a couple of hours), I decided to stay up and watch the GD&TOP premiere event last night. I couldn't live-blog it because my internet connection was just barely fast enough for the stream to not stutter and spit like crazy, but I made some notes on my phone that I'll now share with you. Pardon the random comments - it was 3am.

As you read, you can listen to the tracks here, kindly provided by the people at bigbangupdates.com - thanks a million!

GTOP!  Excitement! That hair though, GD. Really?

1. Intro 

The unknown track from the MAMA performance. Old school instrumental - I like! Produced by E.Knock. Great intro, full of swag  .

2. Oh Yeah

Electro track courtesy of Teddy. PARK BOM! Flawless as always :) ... but wait, only a preview??? Nooooooooooooooooooooo! Why did I stay up for this again? *sigh*  

*EDIT*: Full track out! It's electro, but it's not a club track (*jumps for joy*). It sounds like it's more closely related to the Japanese electro sound, which tends to be less club-driven and more melodic. I actually prefer this to "High High", but I understand that the k-pop audience will probably respond better to that track. Bom stays flawless, and I can see why they used her here instead of on "Jibe Kajima" - she really completes this song, even though most of the time she's just singing "Oh Yeah". I can't think of anyone else with vocals that can match the energy of GD&TOP and yet bring musicality to the track as well. Definitely in my top 3 tracks from this album.

3. Baby Good Night 

More old school! Cool soul groove instrumental this time. E-knock again. GD singing. Definitely appeals to my tastes. and it's got melody! My fave so far.... wait, is that French? Okay, I'm sold   :)

(Just as a note, all songs were co-composed by GD and TOP, so when I mention the producer it's only to give an idea of the sound of the track.. GD and TOP are listed first in the credits so I suspect they're the main creatives on the album)  

4. Ppeokkigayo 

They're playing YG Concert Footage! So epic - wish i could have been there. In the actual song the rap is a little more understated, which i kinda prefer - it gives it a more lean-back-in-the-car type vibe. Ooh full version - extra verse at the end. Loved it at the MAMAs, still love it here.

Random thought: this whole series of single releases and album releases are only going to make fan fervor more intense in anticipation for the Big Bang full album. It better be good. I will not tolerate Korean versions of Japanese tracks. They'll get a stake in the heart for that.  

5. Jibe Kajima (!)

GD, Teddy, E-Knock. GD wrote all the lyrics. Didn't end up using Bom - I'm bummed, but GD carries it. 80's light music and disco vibe according to the description. Pretty accurate - it sounds like it could have been released around the time MJ released "Rock With You". It's good, but Bom would have made it that much more awesome.

Source: allkpop.com

6. Oh Mom 

TOP track with E-Knock. Rock/hip-hop. He's singing! He's processed, but he's singing! And either him or GD is harmonizing. Not bad. Lyrics based on a true story about a friend's inner struggle. This one will be a grower  

7. Obsession 

GD solo with E-Knock. Oh NO - is that autotune? Why????? Like the beat, but he's getting docked for using the T-Pain app. These descriptions are hilarious though - "It creates the feeling of being in a nightmare and running in an empty sky." Really? I can't .

lolz   House? Did they say house? 

8. Of All Days 

TOP and Choice37.  Chill, understated, a little dull till the chorus kicks in. Probably one you let play but don't pay much attention to. House, eletronica and hip hop influences, a song about searching for freedom.  

Talking... YG... hot security dude  ...

9. Do what You Want

Got a bit a funk in here! Oh wait, is this Rockabilly? Lol. Described as rock 'n' roll, but not the Elvis kind, mind you. Something about being drunk. I have an amazing idea for a music video for this, haha.

High High next? Finally.  Club track? Oh well, at least they're honest.  LOL TOP's making a weird face  . Oh, MV? YES!!! 

...and now the stream f's up on me. Thanks. Oh well, it's only a preview anyway. The video is basically them partying in a club. Nothing special. Plenty of white and Asian chicks - and a random black dude...

10. High High

No description but I'm guessing Teddy/E-Knock on this one. Electrolicious, done with restraint, (i.e. they're not puking up effects on you. And minimal processing. It kinda sounds like a Far East Movement track actually. Nice track overall, but a lead single? Eh.

EDIT: Full track just came out. In HQ, I notice it has traces of 2NE1's "I'm Busy" (without the crazy tempo changes, thank goodness). Middle eight is fun, but the chorus is just so dull. A good chorus would have made this amazing.

And... we're coming to the end, I think. Press conference, now? Fan signing?  Wait, full video now? Yay! ...And again stream is stuttering... oh wait, they're just replaying the preview *fumes*. LOL at the girl holding on to TOP for dear life... Not gonna lie, though - I'd probably do that too.

Okay, press conference. I think I'll call it. I saw what I came to see.   

Well, hello... (Source: bigbangupdates.com)

My Thoughts

Of course, you cant get a good idea of an album from previews only - I learned this lesson with Taeyang and 2AM's albums earlier this year. I can see why they went with the GDTOP allbum first though: the songs are good, but they're not the pop hit we're expecting from Big Bang, which they need to have if they want to take back the chart crown from SNSD, which is what i hope they'll do. (No offense to the girls, but it would be nice if a group won a chart award for a good song, and not just for good marketing.) The songs are essentially the album rejects, but they're damn good rejects. So I'm actually happy they decided to release them anyway. Besides, GD and TOP have the presence and talent to make them appealing despite their reject status. I think I can say with confidence that I will enjoy GDTOP's album once it comes out in full. I'm currently loving the old school hiphop and electro tracks best, but I expect the rest to grow on me.   

I do have to give them props for the musical diversity exhibited in the album. They navigate each genre with ease, and I always appreciate that quality in an artist. I think here they benefit from starting out in an idol band because they're already used to puting rap onto non-hip-hop instrumentals, so adjusting to other genres becomes a little less of stretch.  

As for this event, as I get ready to sleep it's obvious to me that this is all purely promotional, not really for any reason other than to get us hyped for the actual release. And while I dont like getting owned (and having my sleep stolen) by publicity stunts, I cant say it didnt work. I might regret losing the sleep, but i'm a lot more inclined to listen to the album in full now. Here's hoping i'm still excited on Wednesday/next week. I won't be writing a new review when it comes out, but when you listen to it, let me know what you think in the comments!

You Ain't Never Heard One Way Like This Before

2010-12-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

One Way are newbies to the Korean music scene, debuting in March of this year, but they are already pwning most of the competition with their remarkable talent and smooth contemporary R&B sound that is for the most part missing from the K-music scene. They're finally releasing their first official album on the 22nd(!) but decided to grace us with early Christmas present - an acoustic, English version of the lead single, "Rainy Days", complete with video. Their English skills are great, making this one a song you can recommend to your friends who don't listen to Korean music.

I absolutely love this song, and it's been on repeat since the video dropped yesterday. It's a heartfelt song about heartbreak, and a testament to good songwriting that you can feel all of the emotions with just a guitar, voices and some rain sounds. One Way have surpassed their previously released material with this song, and I expect their album to do the same when it drops. Apart from Christmas, this is the thing I'm looking forward to the most this month. This and GD + TOP's album release :D

P.S. I might have a little awards ceremony for the end of the year - all the other bloggers do it, so I should do one too right? If I have time, and if at least one person who reads this blog says they want me to, I'll make it happen.

Some Utada for Your Week and Weekend

2010-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! This week won’t have a proper midweek music post because I’m in major study mode for the next two weeks. But, I will share with you one of a few great gifts I got this week – a friend of mine sent me Utada Hikaru’s Heart Station album from 2008. Let me tell you right now – this album is amazing. It was extremely successful at the time of its release, and rightfully so. It’s got a beautiful electro-pop-soul vibe throughout that perfectly complements Utada’s dreamy yet powerful vocals. I don’t even know if I’m making sense right now – today isn’t an eloquent day - so I’ll just let you listen to it yourself and hopefully you’ll hear what I’m trying to say about this.

Japanese music companies have a strict hold on video websites so I couldn’t find all the tracks from the album, but please enjoy what’s here (and ignore the anime/manga tributes if that’s not your thing). And if you are so inclined, buy the album! Amazon and YesAsia both have it for around $16-17, and there’s a digital iTunes version for $7.99. Expect more Japanese stuff to pop up on the blog – I’ve found the Japanese electro-pop group on Last.fm and I’m finding some amazing artists.

Thoughts on Kanye's Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2010-11-26T18:09:00.000-08:00

Wanted to say a few words about Kanye's new album, as I'm currently streaming it and deciding whether I want it in my music library. I feel like I should, since I have pretty much every other Kanye song in my iTunes, but if that's my first and only reason for wanting this album in its entirety, then Houston, we have a problem.

Firstly, when I listen to this album, my only thought is "Late Registration 2.0". It's a huge upgrade, no doubt, but it's not a new model, you know? I've noticed recently that as a music lover, I'm constantly looking for new sounds, and failing that, music that appeals to more than my ears. If I get the feeling that I've heard it before, it has less of an effect on me. This album would have had more impact had I not listened to (and bought! oy vey) Late Registration.

Also, when I listen to the album, I'm very aware of the dearth of emotion in it. I think Korean music has changed my musical tastes, because now I look for some sort of emotion in my music, and rap doesn't really give that to me anymore, save a few artists. My one critique of Kanye's music is that it could be so much more if he put more of himself in it. No one can think they're f-ing amazing all the time - people go through highs and lows. And it's when those highs and lows and the feelinsg between them gets put into a creative endeavor that great art comes about, because it speaks to the listener and attaches itself to a memory or a feeling and it becomes personal, and of so much more value to that person. Great art, in my opinion, has soul. Kanye has put together a technically astounding album - he took what he learned from his 808s and Heartbreaks sabbatical and made a new and improved version of his original style, and boy does it ever sound good. (If you don't have Koss Stereophones, you're missing out - hearing the sounds come in separately from the left and right channels might just change the way you think about these songs forever.) It's just the soul that's lacking. I do think Kanye has a soul - I just think he's afraid of really exploring it and exposing it to the world. Or doing it again, if you consider 808s his emo album.

Individually, there are some tracks that get to me, like "Blame Game" (save the ending... ugh) and certain parts of "Runaway", but everything else is just technically amazing, not on the whole amazing. There are also songs that offend me slightly, like "Lost In The World", which samples Bon Iver's "In the Woods". It's genius, but irreverent in some way, because I feel that the ghostlike, soul-baring essence of the original song is lost under a hot beat. The difference between the two songs is basically the reason I can't give this album a 10/10. I listen to it, and enjoy it, but when the song ends, I turn my Korean music back on and move on with my life, unchanged, without the brief moment of silence that comes after I've just listened to a really good song.

My opinion is only my opinion, in the end, but I felt like putting it out there because I feel that Kanye hasn't really earned the "greatest artist in the world" crown for me. I respect his talent, and I think I will add MBDTF to my library as a sign of that respect, to acknowledge how far he's come as a producer (and an artist in a sense) but I can't give him the props he's looking for. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy seems like it's trying to convince us (and itself) that it's a great piece of art, when it still has places to go. I give it a 9/10. Good job, Kanye.

Midweek Music List - Thanksgiving Edition

2010-11-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I've got another playlist for you guys. I've been busy, and will continue to be busy, so I won't be able to do much else than compile playlists for you once a week for a while, but I'll try to be consistent with this at least until I find more time. Happy Thanksgiving for those of you who live in the US! Today's playlist is what I consider to be a holiday playlist, as it's mostly mid-tempo R&B stuff (in Korean) that you can play in the background while you stuff your face with good food =) Enjoy!

I don't have much to say about the music on this playlist, because they're not songs that strike me because of any one feature, but are just good overall.

Gummy and Bobby Kim collaborate for the track "Love Recipe" and I can't help but think of it as really cute. Amazing voices, lovely song, adorable video from an upcoming Korean romantic comedy to match it. Also, the piano plinking makes it sound kind of holiday-like, doesn't it? Basically I'm saying this should have been on the Love Actually soundtrack.

Nassun & G.O collaborate again on "One" and it's got a little less swagger but a bit more soul than their first collab, "O-WI-O", and it's just as good. A great bump in your car track. I'm not a fan of Nassuns's feature work, but his solo stuff is pretty good. He and G.O are a winning combo.

2AM's new album Saint O'Clock wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, but a few tracks stood out. "사랑한단 말 못해 (I Can't Say I Love You)" is probably the best song off the album, and I only say that because it's the only one that evokes a deeper response than an "oh, this sounds nice" from me. "바로 나야 (Just Me)" featuring Glam and "Mirage" are good too, just kinda forgettable. Still, the vocal performances are on point, so yay for 2AM.

Finally, this week we see the return of Brown Eyed Soul with their self-titled third album. If you don't know who these guys are, better get familiar - they are extremely talented vocalists dedicated in schooling the world on how to make good soul and R&B music. Their album release was initially delayed due to the Yeonpyeong Island incident, but an online leak forced them to release it yesterday. It's an amazing album, rooted in old school R&B, but also featuring jazz, gospel and Korean-style ballad music, all tied together by a group of distinct yet complementary voices. I could wax lyrical about them and about this album for days, but I'll just leave you with my two favorite tracks off the album, "비켜줄께 (I'll Move)" and "Rainy".

As a bonus, I've added Psy's "Thank You" featuring ex-Jewelry member Seo In Young in honor of the holiday, so that you can dance off the calories / fight off the itis after Thanksgiving dinner :) Have a good weekend everyone! And please keep Koreans and the victims of the recent incident in your thoughts and prayers.

Midweek Music List!! Yay!!

2010-11-16T22:55:00.000-08:00

[Managed to get it out in time for the Wednesday lunch break! Yes!]

Hey everyone! I'm back again with a short music playlist for you guys. Last week was kinda dull music-wise, so I decided to wait until I found some good stuff before posting. So here it is! All Korean music this week - I only have a couple of songs to review, but each one has a related song which is equally awesome. So I've reviewed one track in each pair and posted the other track as a follow-up on the playlist. Enjoy!

1. Bye Bye Sea - 내 맘이 말을 해 (My Mind Talks/ My Heart Speaks)

This band is fast becoming my favorite k-indie band. I discovered the awesomeness that is "The Starlight Falls" on Dramabeans where they had a feature on the band (they've been in two k-dramas this year). That song comes from their first EP, Boy's Universe, which also features this song, "My Heart Speaks". With the release of their first ever album, City Complex, they decided to rework "My Heart Speaks" and re-release it as their lead single, complete with video. I didn't like the original version all that much, but the reworked version hits all the right notes. I get a Coldplay vibe from it, with the frantic piano and the wail of the electric guitar, and all the melodies layered on top of each other. The rest of City Complex> is equally good, and solidified my love for this band. Go support them by buying the album!

2. Baek Ji Young - "That Woman" from Secret Garden OST

Okay, so I didn't think I would like this new k-drama, but I was hooked on the first episode. The other thing that slayed me at first sight (listen?) was this track by Baek Ji Young. I'd always known that Baek Ji Young had been a good ballad singer, but I'd never bothered to listen to any of her stuff other than "My Ear's Candy" (kind of a guilty pleasure for me, but it never fails to make me dance). However, that is going to change. Even without Google Translate's awful translation of the lyrics, I could tell this was a sad love song - Baek puts all her emotion into her performance, and the melancholy strings and piano in the background help set the mood just so. It's a song that really fits the drama: it's evocative of the deep greens and blues that we see in so many shots (like the one in the header photo for this post), and that just adds to its appeal. It also reminds me as I watch that the story has deep emotional undercurrents despite being lighthearted at times. I can't wait to see how it goes.

Make sure you also check out these other OST tracks: 4men & Mi's gorgeous duet/collabo "Here I Am", and the surprisingly good "Watching" by Yoon Sang Hyun, who plays an older idol singer in the drama. Best drama (and OST) of the year? I wouldn't be surprised.

3. BEAST - Lights Go On Again

This song makes me swoon every time, but I then get so mad when it ends at barely two minutes long. I did say that BEAST should do R&B, and boy, did they ever kill it. Dongwoon is quickly surpassing Doojoon in the running for Mellowyel's Favorite BEAST Member, and he totally deserves it - I love his voice. Yoseob continues to expand his range, and while his falsetto is impressive, he's more appealling in lower octaves - Hyunseung as well. Also, AJ sounds like a little kid here. He's adorable though, so I can't hate on him. Junhyung's mellow rap really suits the song, for once. And all of these come together over a great instrumental to produce probably my favorite two minutes of k-pop this year that wasn't from 2NE1, Se7en or BoA. Good job, boys - keep up the good work.

The lead single off of this mini-album/part two album, "Beautiful", is actually my least favorite track off the EP, but it's cute, and the video's not bad either (though their outfits need to be burned immediately. Donated as firewood to the poor or something.) I particularly fell for the story of Junhyung's heartbreak. It would be awesome if "Lightless" was the follow-up track, with the video being an awesome abstraction of that dark place you go to when you have your heart broken. *Sigh. In another life, I was a music video director...

Apologies for the long reviews today - I won't be offended if you don't read them, so long as you like the music :) Happy Hump Day everyone!

P.S. Sorry if the layout is weird - working on fixing it, and learning some code so that I can make this site look less sucky.

JYJ's Mini Album "The..." - Lest We Forget

2010-11-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

So recently, the three now ex-members of Korean superstar boy band Dong Bang Shi Ki (DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki), Jaejoong, Junsu and Yoochun, released their international English EP, "The Beginning." The general consensus on it was, "Yay that the boys are back but the songs could have been better, especially the lead single." I decided then to go back to find their first real release as a trio, the Japanese EP titled The... to remind myself (and anyone who stumbles across this blog post) that our boys are still capable of making quality tracks. Check them out after the jump!

1. With You Always (Itsudatte Kimi Ni)

2. Get Ready

3. Long Way

4. W (This Isn't Goodbye)

As I listened to this, a few things came to mind:

- All the songs on this are pretty good. Definitely more Asian pop, and much less Western than The Beginning. I think it's a lot more interesting musically than The Beginning, which makes sense because my boredom with Western music was what sent me running to Asian pop in the first place. I'm now beginning to see why the two EPs are so different to me quality-wise.

- Were the creative teams on both albums the same? Why go for the sleek suited up look for the Japanese market, and the crazy yet oh-so-Asian fashion for the international CD? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

- Were they actually targeting the US market with The Beginning? Or were they looking at a more global audience - one that didn't necessarily have a Western sensibility? If so, can we really criticize them for not catering to a US audience, especially with the "Ayy Girl" video? Is it a bad thing to think that America <b>isn't</b> the center of the universe?

- Who exactly do we blame for The Beginning? I actually don't think it's that's bad, but if I had to pick a culprit, I'd blame Kanye West and Rodney Jerkins. I don't know whether it was because everyone was on a tight schedule, or whether they just didn't care enough, but from their own work and the work of other artists, it's obvious that both of them could have done a LOT better. Did they not care because the results had no effect on their careers which are solidly based in the American market? Was Kanye West more concerned about his upcoming album than people who came to him to help them get a foothold in the international market? Is Rodney Jerkins getting too old to make good music? Were they just unsure as to what to do with the talents JYJ presented them with? Why do I seem to be the only one blaming them and not JYJ or their management? If you asked Kanye to do a track for you, and it didn't come out all that good, would you turn it down? Or stick with it, because you hope that having Kanye's name attached to your project will drum up more interest and help you get your name out there? Seriously - what would you do?

- I wonder what JYJ and their management thought about the album; whether to them, having well known producers work on the album was worth more than having stellar tracks on it. That's what it seems like. And I can't really blame them - JYJ's still in court with SM, and the Korean music industry has banned them from promoting, making it an unfavorable environment. They're not really making a lot of money right now (and Korean entertainers don't make all that much to begin with). So putting out an album that people in the global music world will pay attention to due to the names attached to it trumps quality, because at least they won't be broke. Then again, I suppose they could always sell their nice cars if they're hungry.

- Is JYJ's management capable of taking on the task they've attempted to do? Their worldwide showcase

tour has been fraught with cancellations, rescheduling and general organizational trouble, and they're being railed on as fans are generally feeling let down by JYJ's comeback. Can they support these artists at this difficult time, and help them to remain respected artists in the Korean and global music spheres?

Lots of questions, not many answers. But I think questions are more helpful than answers anyway - they make people think.

This was a long, rambling, not very meaningful post. Apologies. I hope you at least enjoyed the music though!

Midweek Music List II

2010-11-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here again! More music from myself. A number of goodies this week - I've tried to keep the comments short so you can get back to doing whatever you're supposed to be doing, and included the songs as a playlist so you can listen as you work or over your lunch break or whatever. Let's go!

First up, we have a trio of Korean female vocalists - Navi, Ali and TomTom - performing "전설속의 누군가처럼 (The Unwritten Legend)" for Shin Seung Hun's 20th Anniversary album. I love these types of albums because they always contain amazing covers. I'm not really familiar with any of these artists except for Navi, but they can definitely sing. This song has an amazing gospel feel which I feel is a perfect uplifting track for a ~~Wednesday~~ Thursday, don't you? The weekend is almost here!!! (Update: the original video got taken down so I've replaced it with a live performance version - awesome but shortened to three minutes! If you like it, check out the full length song - totally worth it.)

Second up, we have Korean jazz band Winterplay with "Hey Bob". I have seriously been sleeping on this group, but I intend to rectify that soon. Shot in various locations in London, this is an amazing jazz track from their internationally released album, Touche Mon Amour. Haewon is quickly becoming my favorite Fluxus vocalist after Alex from Clazziquai.

Moving away from the Korean music, we have Nigerian indie singer, Siji with "Morenike". On the Youtube video, the song is tagged as "soul, afrobeat and highlife" but it has a house feel to it that I like (not house as in crazy thumping bass, but house as in smooth instrumental grooves.) I only just heard about this dude, but this is from his second album, so clearly I'm missing out.

Coming to the USA, we have Nina Sky with "You Ain't Got It". With a killer eighties sample, Nina Sky returns with an amazing make-you-dance-in-your-seat track, whose message reminds me of this necklace I wanted to buy which says "No, You Can't Have My Number" in bold letters. I would have gotten it, but it was too small. Needs to be a t-shirt or summat. Anyway, the song's awesome. It looks like they're now releasing their music independently, so you can find this track and the rest of their self-released EP The Other Side here.

Finally, last month, one of my favorite bands ever (really, they are), Indonesian indie band White Shoes and the Couples Company, released their newest album, Album Vakansi. I've been waiting for this since the beginning of this year, and have yet to get my hands on it (just ordered it from a small company based in NY - can't wait!). While "Vakansi" is not my favorite off the tracks that I have heard from the album, it's the only song with a Youtube video attached, so enjoy! The song features a famous Indonesian guitarist, Oele Pattiselanno, and his talented strumming halfway through the song is a treat.

Alright! Back to work, people! Or if you're having a long weekend, go play!

SNSD - Hoot MV

2010-10-28T01:07:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a short post. Basically, I disliked this song when I first heard it. Bored me to death. Then it started to grow on me as the week went on. Now, seeing the video, I understand why SM chose this as the lead song. And, I might even be happy about it. Basically, with this song, SNSD has matured, leaving the cute and saccharine behind, hopefully for good. If "Gee" was their cute pre-teen phase, "Oh!" was their teenage phase and "Hoot" is when they've finally become young women in their twenties, which is what they are (but you'd never know!). And that, I can get with. The video isn't amazing, but I love the choreography and I appreciate Choi Siwon's hot self making an appearance. The mini-album wasn't bad either; that is, I actually listened to more than one song all the way through, and liked one of them. This is a big step for me as I have severely disliked any song other than their lead single since they debuted. Dare I say, I might be becoming an actual SNSD fan? (gasp!?) Okay girls, I'm onboard. Just... no more cutesy Christmas songs. They make me puke. Thanks.

Random side note: I am older than every single member of this group. Does that weird me out? Yes. It also makes me feel bad that I earn less money than them despite having gone to college. What is my life?

Nicki Minaj - "Check It Out - We Speak Korean!" (edited)

2010-10-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, Nicki Minaj and Will.i.am. I love Nicki - she's extremely talented, and is probably one of the few quirky black women in the American music industry to have the amount of success she's had in her short career - I think she can open up doors for other black female performers with new ideas to move up in the industry. I find her constant quoting of Asian cultures interesting, but I was confused when everything in this video was in Korean. I thought, Isn't she a fan of Japanese, not Korean culture? This intrigued me enough to do some research on the video and the inspiration behind it, and I found some pretty cool stuff. Check it out after the jump.

Reading about the video on Omona! They Didn't, I got the impression that Nicki thought they were using Japanese in the video when it's actually Korean. But, what she actually said was, "We're doing an ode almost to Japanese anime and Japanese manga," which makes more sense to me. The styling and crazy visuals in the video are definitely anime-inspired - Nicki has always gone for a cartoony aesthetic that I love. Plus the hangul text popping up everywhere makes every frame look like a panel from a manga. The hangul popping up is all literal translations of what they're singing into Korean (and apparently, the effect is hilarious - I wouldn't know, unfortunately). In light of this, they probably chose the Korean language instead of Japanese because it requires less characters to write the words. (Also - I'm letting my inner design geek kick in for a second, but the typeface is AWESOME!) Not only that, but on Korean variety shows, reality and documentaries, you often have little comments from the PDs or sound effects popping up on the screen the same way the words pop up in this video. It's a pretty cool linkage of all of these different pop culture elements.

I snooped around, and after looking through countless blogs and music sites, finally found a video interview with the other creative minds who worked on the video. Check it out below (source: AOL via First Up)

(Fangirl moment: It's Baby (Mayuko Kitayama) from the Harajuku Girls! She's my favorite HG along with Rino [Nakasone-Razalan, k-pop choreographer and Pussycat Doll]. I've been wondering what she's been up to recently.)

They cite Korean TV shows, futuristic elements and anime and comic books as sources of inspiration. So I was right! I'm giving myself a gold star for calling the Korean TV shows. Maybe Will.I.Am working with 2NE1 did have something to do with it (at first I thought it was because Rich Lee was Asian, but he's white). I think all the elements (and the different cultural influences) come together quite nicely. They wanted a futuristic feel, and since Nicki has a very cartoony style, it made sense that they were inspired by anime and manga because that's one of the most prominent pop culture examples of where those two things meet. AND I wouldn't be surprised if Korean TV shows started doing those little speech bubble things because of the influence of Japanese manga and anime. That in itself could be "an ode to Japanese manga and anime" and therefore Nicki's statement is actually pretty accurate, and she's not just pulling whatever Asian country she can think of out of her ass. I will definitely say that the coverage of the video has made it difficult for people to realize that, as the most popular source, MTV, only features Nicki's Japanese quote and no information about the director's influences or vision.

I have a hard time finding anything wrong with it, personally; Nicki has always called back to Asian culture in her videos and raps, and I think it's just a part of who she is. She's an otaku like the rest of us :D This video is definitely the most interesting crossing of global pop cultures I've seen this year - and it's made for a mainly American audience! I wonder if it'll have any effect on US pop culture - will people be more knowledgeable about Asian cultures? Will they recognize the writing as they walk around Koreatown? Will they be less averse to listening to Asian pop music? We'll just have to wait and see.

Midweek Music List

2010-10-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

So my dear blogger friend Eccentric suggested I post some of the awesome music I've been listening to recently, so I figured I would :D I may make it a regular thing, I may not - Let me know! I listen to a ton of new music every week (too much, if you ask me) and occasionally I find some real gems. Here are the five top songs of mine that I discovered last week:

1. Sunwoo ft. 4Men - Eyes Nose Mouth

What can I say about this song apart from, it's amazing?!?! I absolutely love it. Pace changing in songs usually does not agree with me, but somehow it works in this one. It's got a lovely R&B/soul bent that really appeals to me. Plus all of the singers are killing it! This is the lead single from Sunwoo's debut EP, Harmony, and can I just say I love her voice? It's as beautiful as it is versatile - you have to listen to "Nella Fantasia" to really appreciate it. Her voice is unique among most k-pop singers in that she's a soprano (do you hear those Mariah Carey notes in the last chorus? damn.) as opposed to a tenor, and it blends perfectly well with the 4Men guys, who do well with the higher registers as well. I'm seriously falling in love with their voices, especially the guy who does the ad-libs in the last chorus (need to learn their names!) Epicness would be seeing all of them perform this live. If I saw that in person, I might die happy. Definitely my most-played track of the last week.

2. Psy - Right Now

Coming in a close second is veteran performer Psy's "Right Now". I absolutely love the music video for it's fun, I don't give a *bleep*, let's dance! feel and Psy's hilarious antics. Also, eagle-eyed YG fans will notice that it's chock full of YG dancers, who I have to say are an attractive and supremely talented bunch. Actress Seo Woo makes a cameo at the end, and has her own version of the MV where she basically looks sexy and makes me feel inferior, but it's still fun too. The song itself is infectiously catchy, and is accompanied by many more great tracks of the hip-hop, pop and dance variety on Psy's latest album PSYFIVE, released under YG Ent. in a new deal he signed with the music mega-company. Fans of his previous material shouldn't worry though - he has full creative control over his music and will still be bringing the awesome every time.

3. Crystal Kay - Flash

Crystal Kay - FLASH from xYao9x on Vimeo.

So I'm not really a J-pop fan, but I have to say that Japanese artists are coming out with some sick stuff these days. Crystal Kay is a Japanese artist of African-American and Korean descent who has been making music for the past eleven years (she's 24). This track is off her latest EP of the same name, and it's got a.t.t.i.t.u.d.e. This should be the theme song of every superheroine movie or TV show ever. This is really only the second release from Crystal Kay (or as the Japanese call her, Kuri-chan - how cute is that?) that I've listened to, aside from "Girl U Love" which a friend sent to me randomly, but I'm already hooked - this woman is talented. The rest of the mini-album is worth a listen too - my current favorite of the other tracks is "Happy", a self-composed tribute to Michael Jackson, which I think is so appropriate and so beautiful.
(Side-note: Notice the Rain doppelganger in the video - not the real thing, but hot nonetheless)

4. I Can't and 5. Even If You Leave Me - 2PM

My favorite tracks off their latest album. "I Can't" was written by Ra.D, who also composed "I'm In Love" which Narsha covered amazingly for her solo mini-album. It makes great use of 2PM's voices, better than any other song of theirs, and is such a chill vibe. Every time I listen to it I imagine sitting in a field in summer as someone strums the chords on their guitar. Lovely stuff. "Even If You Leave Me" was composed by the same dude who did "Maja" my fave track from their last mini-album. It's upbeat, yet heartfelt, which I like, and which I feel few songwriters manage to pull off without getting overly angsty and dramatic with it. It's not mind-blowingly awesome musically, but it's a really enjoyable listen, especially if, like me, you listen to it walking around in a big city, allowing the music to be the soundtrack to the hustle and bustle. Again, great use of their voices - I feel like in most tracks they try to stretch them past their vocal capacity and the result is just barely passable, but here, the song fits their abilities and they sound great. I like that in these tracks Taecyeon doesn't bark out his raps like he's a drill sergeant, but actually delivers his lines with style. It's actually kinda hot. As much as I appreciated the shirt-ripping antics of your Heartbeat days, Taec, this suits you better. Stick with it.

Done! What do you think? What were your favorite new tracks from the last week?

Willow vs. Rihanna... Fight?

2010-10-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, time for some non-Asian music! Ever since 9 year-old Willow Smith dropped her fly girl single, "Whip My Hair" the internet has been ablaze with comparisons between her and pop music's current queen of all things hip, Rihanna. I have my personal biases, but I'm wondering if there's really any competition between the two. Let's take a look, shall we?

Willow Smith - "Whip My Hair"

Rihanna - "Only Girl In The World"

Looking at the two videos, I understand the reasons why the comparisons are being made: they both tend towards unconventional hairstyles, bright colors and both are plenty confident and know how to work the camera. They're coming from a similar place visually - both are trying to appeal to young people today, who have gotten used to this kind of imagery as it's crept slowly into the mainstream in the past year or two. However, the songs themselves sound very different. Whip My Hair is absolutely hip-hop and R&B (urban music), while Rihanna is dance pop. I think that there will largely be two very different audiences listening to these songs. Willow Smith's music is aimed at an audience that listens more to urban music, while Rihanna's track is aimed at people who listen more to electro dance pop. So they're not really competing. These two audiences don't often mix - while plenty of urban artists have crossed over to the mainstream, they don't always take their fans with them. Rihanna may have been the queen of urban pop music back when she was still making urban pop music, but, she's slowly changing her image and music to appeal to a broader audience, leaving room for Willow Smith to come up and take her spot in the hearts of urban music fans.

So basically, I wouldn't say Willow Smith > Rihanna, but they're interesting artists to look at side by side - Rihanna who came into her current image as the fierce hipster queen after starting out as the island sweetheart, and Willow Smith who breaks out onto the scene with an avant-garde look that Grace Jones would be proud of. I won't lie, I find Willow Smith's brand of hip a little more convincing, not only because she's starting out with this image, but because to me she has more personality than Rihanna, who dulls me and seems to be coming into this image for the record sales. However, as I do not work with either of these artists to know what's genuine and what's not, I'll try to stay neutral and simply appreciate their artistry for what it is (...if it's even theirs to begin with. Sorry! I can't help but be skeptical, especially of Rihanna.)

What do you think? Should Rihanna be worried about Willow Smith stealing her thunder?

4Minute's "First"... erm, what exactly are they talking about???!

2010-10-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my first (and maybe only) 4minute post!

Okay, so I'll just come out and say it - to me, this sounds like they're inviting a guy to help them lose their virginity. At first I was like, "aww cute, a song about first love." But then I watched the choreography (which is pretty cool, by the way) and I was like "Oh, is THAT what they're singing about???" LOLz I'll need a translation of the lyrics to confirm, but this will forever be The Cherry-Popping Song in my head.

It's not just the choreo though, it's also the insertion of the cute in the video. 4minute are NEVER cutesy. They're like the other fierce girl group in k-pop, aside from 2NE1. So why the cuteness? They've finally found something to be coy about? Something that they're not precocious about? Maybe the Japanese fans wanted them to be cute (or sing about sex... either is possible). The entertainment companies always say "They wanted to show a different side of themselves," but usually it just means they're doing something different to see if it'll sell more albums. I won't knock them for it though: somehow, the combination of cute yet fierce works for me. They appeal to me more as a girl group in this video - all their other more hip-hoppy, "I'm a hot chick, you can't touch this" stuff seemed so fake to me. They go through the motions well enough, but I don't look at them and think, "Oh, that's hot! I wish I was as fierce as these chicks." I think 2NE1 sells it better (despite what they actually experience in real life) and so I prefer them. But this seems real. This I can get with. The song itself is also more musically appealing than their other material (Look Ma - it's a melody!), and the video isn't out to rob me of my eyesight with its crazy effects. I like to listen to the music of Korean artists crossing over into another market, because the change in country, language and audience presents challenging conditions that can make artists produce better material. In 4minute's case, I guess I was right.

As individuals, I really like these girls. They're talented and they work hard. I think Hyuna's a little overrated, but that's because I feel like she could be so much more than the sexy rapper with the hip-thrusts - it's just that no one gives her that chance. You ask her to dance, she wiggles her hips and everyone's happy. Granted, she wiggles her hips with more stage presence than half the girl groups out there, but still - someone give her some decent choreo, please! Gayoon's got a lovely voice which really adds quality to the groups vocals. And I love Jiyoon. She's the triple threat in the group (vocal, rap, dance) and she BRINGS it, every time, no matter what. I know Sohyun is supposed to be an awesome dancer, but again, where's the choreo? I have yet to see their Dance Battle from this summer, though, so maybe I'll see it there. And Jihyun does nothing for me, but she's got the attitude necessary for the group, and somewhat rounds them out, so I'm okay with her. I really hope they get new people (management, choreographers, songwriters) in the future, or else they'll continue to lose out to 2NE1 and Secret in the fierce girl group category. I wish they released this in Korea though - I am NOT looking forward to SNSD's comeback... I already hear too much about them and they're not even releasing any new material. Unless it's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, I'll pass. (P.S. Love how spell-check recognizes that word!!! I am an awesome speller :D)

... actually, I take that back. With all the recent announcement that new laws will be written to protect minors in the entertainment industry (FINALLY) and the crackdown on inappropriate material on network television in Korea, they'd probably just get banned with this song. lol.

Erm... it's my birthday?

2010-10-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to me, I guess, lol. I don't really have a huge reason to post, except to let everyone know it's my birthday (so that I can have more birthday wishes - I'm greedy that way, lol). I don't really have any deep thoughts about turning 22, but I do want thank God for bringing me this far in life, and ask for continued guidance and blessings as I go into my twenty-third (eep!) year in life. To all you young'uns (and older people, who are still young too!) - remind yourself everyday of the good things about you and your life, appreciate them, and constantly strive for bigger and better things. Don't let a day go by without working towards some goal or dream of yours. Trust me, you'll be much happier that way. And if you're religious or spiritual in any way, frequently check in with that greater power - it helps to be reminded that you're not alone, and that there is something out there bigger than yourself that you're a part of. If you live your life mindful of that, good things will come to you. And lastly, for everyone - religious, spiritual or neither - live a life that you can be proud of. It won't be without regrets, but at least live so that when you look back, you can say that you did your best to make yourself a better person, and to make life better for the people around you.

I can't think of anything else big to say, but I did want to spazz a little because Beast won their very first K-chart win today for "Breathe"! I predicted this would happen, so I'm doubly happy at being right, especially since I think they truly deserve it. Congratulations, Beast!

Time to party! Here's a playlist I made for McRoth's Residence's one-year anniversary, and I figured it could be my birthday playlist as well (though I'd throw in some African jams, and some more house music personally) so if you're looking for some dance music (mostly Korean, with some Latin and American music thrown in), click here and enjoy!!! Since I made this for McRoth, I'll leave the playlist as is for now, and in a week or so, convert it to "My Global Party Playlist" and astound you all with my amazing DJ skills - be prepared :)

As a birthday present to myself, I should really move my personal blog to Wordpress already... except I now want to move this blog to Wordpress too, because there you can reply to comments and get e-mail notifications and stuff, and I think that's a much better format for my music and culture blog because I want to foster discussion and debate over this stuff. Do you guys agree? Or should I just shut up and get on with it? This is a major problem for me in general, though - I plan, but never execute. I have to change - this will be my goal for my next year of life.

P.S: Just found out that it's also Shaun Evaristo's birthday! So I share my birthday with him and Matt Damon, as well as some other awesome peeps. I think this is a sign that I am inclined by birth to be a creative and successful person. Or at least, I like to think that way :) If you don't know who Shaun Evaristo is, you're missing out - he's an amazing choreographer and dancer who just launched his own choreography management company The Movement Lifestyle, but he's best known in the k-pop world as having choreographed for Taeyang!! Check him out dancing with Taeyang and Lyle Beniga in "Where U At":

Proof that you can sell music using a concept alone

2010-10-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Girls' Generation / So Nyu Shi Dae / Shoujo Jidai - Gee (Japanese Ver.)

SNSD is like the unicorn of the pop music industry - no matter what they do, everyone loves it because it's SNSD. They're giving Japanese fans an exact replica of their most popular song ever, except it's in Japanese. No other artist/company in their right mind would risk that, for fear that the fans would be expecting something new. But this is the power of So Nyu Shi Dae - nine pretty girls singing a cute pop song = money in the bank, even if we've already heard the song 50 million times (no, that is not an exaggeration). Only in Asia.

That being said, I really like the styling in this video, and they all sound a lot better than they do in the Korean version, so I can't hate. SM had better hire whoever produced/mastered this and get them to work on all SNSD songs in the future.

guess what just came in the mail??!!

2010-10-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

Clara Chung's debut album, that's what!!!

And if you can't tell, I am super super excited. It's signed by Clara herself!!! I think this means I got one of the first 100 copies, but I can't be sure. Anyway, I came across Clara through my perusing of Asian American blogs, and fell in love with her sound. It seems as if all indie newcomers these days are trying to pull the quirky singer-songwriter card, but Clara C's music definitely stood out for me because it had a distinct character to it - the best way I can describe it is bright pops of color on an indie music canvas. I loved her collabos with Dumbfounddead and Jay Park, and Sam Ock, and I have a soft spot for up-and-coming artists, so I took the plunge and bought the CD. I'm sure it'll be worth every penny. I'm off to listen to "The Art In My Heart," and I'll leave you with the first music video from the album, "Offbeat". If you like what you hear, hear on over to Clara's website and order a copy for yourself!

Review: Break Time EP by U-KISS

2010-10-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

Hey! So I have a ton of awesome posts lined up, but I'm really busy at the mo, so can't get to them right now. However, I did want to stop by and say a few things about U-KISS's new album, because I've never written about them, and I think there's something to be said about their new EP - I like it! If you had a "wut?"moment right there, don't worry - I did too. This is a first for me and U-KISS, so if you want to find out how this came to be, read on...

I'm not really a fan of U-KISS or their music, but I have always admired their live performances. I really hate their choreography, yet they put their all into it. Soohyun and Kevin have great voices, and the other members give their all, whether they have 5 lines or 1 line to sing. Their music is purely dance music, and I've always found it strange that they need a seven-member group to promote and sing dance music, but whatever, they're fun to watch. I vaguely remember listening to their last album, and not really feeling any of their songs, so I was surprised that I actually liked this EP, overall. They've parted with the Brave Brothers, which I'm kind of sad about since I like them as producers and their songs for U-KISS have been their most popular hits to date. But listening to the album, I can see why they did it. Brave Brothers music was very much the sound of 2009, but not so much of 2010. Now that the industry seems to be turning it's back on the electro-dance-pop that characterized the last year and a half in music, U-KISS have wisely decided to change their sound, or at least alter it so that they don't get left behind.

Their last three singles, "Man Man Hani", "Bingeul Bingeul" and "Mworago" were three very similar sounding songs, but their latest single "Shut Up" thankfully has a different feel to it. The best way I can describe it is that it's no longer just an assault on your eardrums with a catchy chorus to get you on the dancefloor - it's a carefully crafted assault on your eardrums that leans more towards a pop track than a dance track. I could see a group like T-Max or another boy band from an earlier time coming back with this track. It's more mature, is what I think I'm saying, and I like it a lot more than their previous singles.

"Avatar" just doesn't sound good to me. It's all attitude but no substance. Processed voices over an unimpressive instrumental, with a few tricks to make you more interested. But I just don't and can't like this song.

"Rock Ya Body" surprised me. I don't remember U-KISS ever having songs like this - the first thing I thought about this was, "Omarion would sing this song." Thing is, I like Omarion. It's got a very American R&b/pop sound to it, and I don't know if it suits U-KISS's established sound, but they pull it off. Could have done without the autotune, but I was bopping along to this song by the end of it. I doubt they'd perform it live though - U-KISS dancing to this song is not an image that I can form in my head and believe in. I'm too used to their dance-pop image. A cool music video might sell it to me, though.

Their last full song, "Light It Up" impressed me the most, because it's the first time U-KISS has ever given me a nice, slow build to a chorus. Kevin's smooth vocals at the beginning paired with the euro-pop-ish instrumental drew me in and then the hook prepared me for the hyped up chorus as opposed to slapping me with it. This has got to be the most appealing U-KISS song I've ever listened to. It reminds me a lot of some other R&B dance song, almost like Ne-Yo's "Closer", but I can't be bothered to sift through my massive music library to figure out exactly which one that is. My favorite song off the EP.

Lastly, their intro/outro song, "Before Yesterday". I heard this in their MV teaser, and was like, "Whaaaaat?? There's no way this is U-KISS's lead single, or even them singing." Kevin steals it in this one, but the group's harmonizing was a nice surprise. I'd have loved it to be longer than 51 seconds though. They could have given me a minute and a half, at least, if not a full song. I don't think they would be able to do R&B as well as BEAST, but they don't do that badly at all.

To sum up, Break Time sees U-KISS taking a step towards maturing their dance electropop sound, and dabbling a little in R&B. And they don't do half bad. It hasn't converted me into a fan just yet, but it has got me thinking that maybe there's more to this group than their live performances. I just hope they fired that choreographer...

P.S. Coincidentally, today I found a song that U-KISS did with Brave Brothers in December 2009 called "Finally". It's actually quite nice, though the video is a little disturbing. Behind all the processing and electrobeats, they actually have pretty nice voices.