K-pop 2013

A continuation of this thread. Welcome everyone into the brand new year.

So far we have been discussing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq7ftOZBy0E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9yYkpFZ0II

And I am still looking forward to Gayoon and Jiyoon's "country dance pop" album Harvest Moon.

Man I'm terrible at this. The old thread is here.

K-pop

Finally.

In an attempt to recover:

I've been really enjoying the live performances of I Got a Boy. They're performing a shorter version without the rock bridge and "let's take it back to 140" voiceover. Maybe it's a less interesting song without that flash of uncertainty and darkness, but it's also a more cohesive song and I think it's a good move for the stage.

About that interview you linked, abcfsk, there was an earlier one where they talked a bit more about being "burdened" and Sunny mentioned that she'd rather not try new things that don't fit - ah, here. So I'd guess that not everyone is equally as gung ho about the new direction, though they sure are selling it.

Also, about the Chuli and Mirae sample on I Like That - I just realized that Chuli and Mirae were actually on one of the year-end shows, performing their song with the sample that GLAM also sample: here. So I suppose this is a really popular and well-known song.

At 2h 0m and 53s, since my timestamped Ytube link did not survive the conversion from HTML to BBcode.

And now I'm retiring for the night.

Oh yes, and also in GDragon's Crayon (at 0:51): "Today's DJ, I'm Chuli and you're Mirae".

OK yes good night.

Sunny was just talking about indidividually trying different things in response to the others wanting to do acting, hosting, etc.

We were talking a little about Korean country in the last thread, so I thought I'd link the little bit I've written about Korean country. A place to start is Han Myeong Suk's excellent "The Boy In The Yellow Shirt" (1961), which uses a self-consciously old-timey string band arrangement, though with a more aggressive '60s rhythm. Don't know if it signified as "country" to its Asian audience, however.

The Jiyoon "country-pop" single isn't very country, and is just too weak for my taste, which is disappointing given that she's my first or second favorite singer in 4minute, one of my favorite groups.

I definitely need to hear more "hitman" Bang. I'd consigned him to the status of One Great T-ara Track ("Like The First Time") Plus A Lot Of Ballad Sap I Don't Like. But with GLAM's "I Like That," and with the astonishingly good demo track "I=Fantasy" that he did* in 2011 for the Vocaloid SeeU, I'm now thinking the guy may be major. Any recommendations?

*He's the producer but seems to be only one among four writers. As subdee and David Fraser have been telling me, the sampled voice used for SeeU is that of Dahee, of GLAM.

2yoon teaser 1, teaser 2. I really am excited, it looks like they're gonna go the full-on surreal and hilarious appropriation of country tropes route.

Fair enough about Sunny, I was reading into her personality but that's a dangerous route to go down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY72v6YmAms

Composed by the artist, ALi, whom wikipedia says was previously a professor in applied musical arts at Seoul Technical Arts College. Pop!gasa has the lyrics; supposedly the song criticizes people who don't commit. Critics are also adding "in our modern world of shallow relationships" - I assume because this is a kind of throwback rock song and the lyrics mention "texts, SNS, Internet" - but I kind of think that's a red herring.

The way I see it, ALi getting older is the main issue and the modern world of shallow relationships benefits her as well, as she's free to leave this guy who won't commit and find someone else who will.

new (or old?) CNBLUE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p3cKsDCA0Y

Yeah, that's from their new album. I like the "sorry"s on the chorus but otherwise I'm not really sold. There's another one on the album ("Coffee Shop") that sounds a bit like B2ST Beautiful Night XD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwELJVZwM_A#!

wasn't too hot on the B.A.P. single :\

Yeah, and we were promised the return of "tough" BAP too ;_; RIP

The sad thing is that if "Rain Sound" had been an album track, I probably would have liked it okay. The song and especially the chorus are too lightweight to support the emotion they are supposed to be carrying, though. BYG is talking mostly in cliches and the basic chorus is a waste of Daehyun aka their greatest asset. OTOH, Zelo and Himchan are surprisingly good in this.

Speaking of things you don't quite feel, this started out so well... and then...

I am all aboard the first great k-pop single of 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Btct7ITEXY

(actually that wonder girls came out in 2013 didn't i? poo)

Girls Generation you mean?

I will say that the great releases this year are I Got A Boy,
GLAM-Like That,
Kim Sori - Dual Life (grown a lot on me, but no closer to giving her the first hit. That she doesn't make use of her dancing skills on stage doesn't help)
Infinite H - Special Girl

and Yoari going rock works pretty well http://youtu.be/vChxog7WZFY

yeah :(

I agree with abcfsk, though I'm still kinda disappointed by Infinite H.

2yoon so-called country dance pop is a mess, sigh.

On the other hand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUUiYF1kzWw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_06KQ1y0zc

Okay, so the VIXX song is not that amazing and borrows a lot from other current songs, but I'm predisposed to like them because I remember their debut single fondly and liked the concept of their follow-up single, even if the song itself was missing something melodic.

Here's the b-side to On and On. After all the MVs and variety show talks about the surreal and hermetically-sealed world of Kpop idols, finally someone has written a song about it.

Okay, forget the VIXX track, and pretend I put up another Phantom track instead:

Phantom - Nail (ft. HJ)

The sample at the beginning is from Fellini's La Dolce Vita

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-MXLmNnarQ

Still holding Tiny-G's swaggerjacking and racist debut video against them, but I honestly really like this. Kpop is going pop-punk - see also - but this feels more unique and exciting, with Kpopish sparse verses, sparse drums, little cutesy sound effects, and group shout-raps making up the frame on which the sledgehammer pop-punk harmonies are hung.

/practice music criticism

Rain Sound (BAP) is growing on me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D20bTiJNQpQ

Speaking of bonkers mashups

haha I love that tiny-G song

Chinese K-pop fans love it too! It's 4th on the Chinese K-pop charts (behind two Super Junior songs and ahead of I Got a Boy. Kim Jaejoong "Mine" is in first place).

horns on the new 9MUSES really fantastic but dunno if the actual song/chorus is strong enough to support it

resolved: for this year's ILM tracks ballot, we'll all choose one k-pop single to place in the top 5 of our ballots to propel it to ILM fame

should be easy, just have to agree which one first

Well at least to some degree. I'm not sure 'Crayon' would've been the one people would go for if told they got one Big Bang chance at the top 77. Disappointed Lovey Dovey was just one vote away from the 77, though.

I had to put strategy aside and vote BoA as my #1 and didn't expect it to chart, 3 votes isn't bad.

9Muses song is not as amazing an exploration of melodic maximalist pop as their three previous ones - but like Infinite it seems like sticking with a sound, quality and Sweetune is veeery slowly paying off - they used to be nowhere on the chart, now top 10 on Melon and 13 on Instiz realtime.

I'm going to BoA's concert tomorrow here in Seoul. In 13 years it's her first solo concert in Korea - completely baffling, but kinda explained away by a bigger focus on Japan - she's done yearly shows and several tours there.

Anyway it's a historic concert and I can't believe my luck while I'm here. She'll debut her new single as well.

I've been listening quite extensively to all her albums lately and was planning to write some sort of summary on her discography, but I guess that will have to wait until after the show. I'll probably find some more to talk about hearing her what she's picked out from such a long career.

looking forward!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzXJ0tuRuNY

digging this

enjoyed that

+ persepolis!

haha yeah that was a nice touch

digging this (fan made?) remix of lonely

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjTKggiIgi0

haha all the remixes are pretty nice, lounge-y but gorgeous http://www.youtube.com/user/LoveSupremeMusic?feature=watch

some of these are hilarious, I wonder how big the underground k-pop fan remix scene is

Lol dayo have you not been introduced to the warped genius of tzechar yet? http://www.youtube.com/user/tzechar

I can't watch Infinite videos any more because of remixes like these:

http://youtu.be/AGSAJETf8BU
http://youtu.be/TuzPcUBMhVY

And this is way prettier than it has any right to be: http://youtu.be/xGoCiYfOE4k

very nice!

digging GD and TOP on loop, lol. yeah that's like ... idk a m83 remix of BIGBANG

think my fav love supreme remix so far is of 'can't nobody' but that's because I love love love the sound of clean synths (c.f. my adoration for 'shampoo')

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNF6pWb3W24

oh god, fan-made remix comps http://thinhe1.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/2ne1-big-bang-yg-in-da-mix-part-8/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4e7PRl_Ec

is that really taemin? when did he get so... square-jawed? :S

I quite like that, otherwise.

boa kinda gives me the creeps in that vid

DMTN - safety zone is nice: http://youtu.be/oIoSMdjNqdw

beginning gave me some serious 'promise' vibes - nice solid drums throughout

I got to see that BoA song premiered ;D

Yeah so the concert was so good. There are fancams out there but it was filmed professionally so I'd rather link that footage whenever it arrives. She's seriously unbelievable at singing live while dancing, moving around, breath control. Stunning performances. Also did my favorite album track ballad of hers, Implode, for the first time. And most of the songs I wanted. Five tracks from the English album, some Japanese tracks, new and old Korean hits.

After her little Japanese section she said "Truthfully I'm the only one who can do this, right?" with a cheesy grin. I'm not sure exactly what she meant, only that yes, I can't remember any other Korean pop stars doing Japanese version of their JP songs live in Korea.

The audience was mostly people in their 20s, maybe 70% female. The venue was the Olympic Hall, in the Olympic Park. The same two nights Big Bang also had shows in Olympic Park, in another venue. The park was crowded by younger fangirls, and the lines to toilets were unbelievable. Should've seen the subway station!

I liked the size of the hall, solid but not too big, I got a ticket that was resold after being cancelled (since itw as sold out immediately) and I still enjoyed a decent view. The demand is obv bigger though and she's spoken of doing a tour.

http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/319838_560623883950347_506351079_n.jpg

awesome, so lucky! sounds like it was a great show.

keep forgetting how young BoA actually is, I feel like she's been around forever and ever (before about two years ago, she and Rain were the only two Korean stars I could name lol).

That's so cool. Sounds like a very special event.

liking this much more than Special Girl:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsoEF4ojw-8

love the infinite h song. perfect mid-'00s r&b production on that thing imo

STUNNING new single from Sistar http://youtu.be/JtVhwsACgTw

Instantly impressive on first listen anyway, the most glaringly obvious HIT of 2013 so far. From the group who had two singles among the top 10 best-selling of 2012, that Sista reign just won't let up.

I don't know if its appeal will fade away, maybe, but the "issda, eobda" refrain echoing through the song is pretty damn catchy.

yeah that is really nice!

horns making a big showing in current kpop trends

apropos of the nevermind EP, waiting the full blown third wave ska kpop revival

I see we've moved on from fanremixes but since I'm somewhere where I can't watch youtube videos, I'll just say that yes Kpop remixes/mashups are a huge thing. Besides tzechar, I like Areia (areiacreations) and Ely (PuNk3Ly182 -- incidentally her channel is a good way to stay updated on remixes since she "likes" tons of them). Where Have You Been + I Love You mashup by I don't remember is better than either song.

Part of it I think is that some labels just the instrumental track, where when you buy the instrumental you also buy the right to use it in remixes. I know YG does this.

I really want to listen to all this new stuff... especially the Sistar and Nine Muses tracks :(

That Sistar song is great!

*ahem* SiSTAR19 *ahem*

With Sistar I keep getting distracted by the little things, like their glass-cleaning butt dance, the instrumental bridge that could have been a second Bora verse and continued the Sistar tradition of songs that are all hook, or the fact that this might as well be Hyorin ft. Bora for all the time Bora gets... not that I mind, exactly, because Hyorin has one of the best voices in Kpop, but it still seems like a wasted opportunity. Really good song but it feels like it could have been even better - like the seams are showing.

On the other hand, I love everything about Nine Muses - Dolls.

Sistar19 is reminding me of a Patsy Cline song. I think it's Walking After Midnight but I'm not sure.

Yeah, the verses of Walking After Midnight - "about to see a weeping willow" - sound a bit like the verses to Gone Not Around Any Longer. Alone sounded a bit like the Rolling Stones' Missing You so this is continuing the trend of nostalgic songs for Sistar, I guess.

No one else has mentioned it so here's Myname - Just that Little Thing. I mostly like it for the contrast with VIXX - On and On.

i've been listening to that MR.MR song upthread and kept thinking there was something unsatisfying about it, like it needed to be a minute longer or an extra bridge or something.

And then I realised what was missing - no rap verse! apparently, they don't even have a designated rapper?

It's not even remotely good, but it is mesmerizing: Team H (Jang Geun Seok & Big Brother) - What is Your Name.

JSG is an actor who's been building a second career as a singer in Japan, and was previously the star of a documentary titled: "I Am the Hallyu Wave". He's the same age as Big Bang's GDragon (24) and has been in the entertainment industry for about the same length of time (20 years). I bring this up because the video has some One of a Kind vibes :p And also because I'd never heard of the dude before this, since I don't follow actors or Japanese music releases.

As far as what's in the video, stalking women and harassing them at work is uncool, but the overall vibe is less disturbing than - although also not nearly as good as - Crispi Crunch Menboong Time, where the film itself is covered in a druggy haze and you worry about someone's neck being broken every time they push a woman into that tiny pool.

And since I feel like I have to atone after posting that, here's a really good single from 2012 I forgot to put on my year-end list and didn't see on anyone else's, either: Dal Shabat - Have Don't Have.

Other 2012 songs I missed last year but have been enjoying this year thanks to other people's year-end lists are Rania - Style; Nine Muses - Ticket & Nine Muses - News; SPICA - Russian Roulette; and Verbal Jint ft Miss $ - Good Day.

Oh and Hello Venus - What Are You Doing Today!

BAP One Shot is nothing special to listeners already familiar with gangsta rap, but truly epic - and bloody! - music video, TS Entertainment continuing to splash out on these guys.

I am really looking forward to Rainbow next week: album teaser & recent trot performance.

omg that BAP video is glorious - irl lol when the blood spattered on the camera towards the end.

looking forward to possible Azealia Banks vs K-pop beef also.

'ring ma bell' heralds the arrival of the clapper trend to k-pop (though I feel like there must be earlier examples of clappers in k-pop right?)

2NE1 "Clap Your Hands"? lol jk I can't think of any, actually...

Does anyone remember Going Crazy (Song JiEun ft. Bang YongGuk)? Because BYG sure does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy_sgB4EJB8

Those of us who were fans of Rainbow and especially the two Daishi Dance produced singles last time they promoted waited two years for this - arguably one of the least memorable / worst singles from any major k-pop act in the past 12 months.

I feel pretty much the opposite of you about this

i like the athletic strings on it but yeah it's pretty nothing otherwise

y'all are crazy

compared to "to me" it's like they were drained of all personality

god there was a bobbins track from last year that i think samples the "just wanna be with you!" from "to me" and i can't at all remember what it is

to me it's like yeah, production is a little dAted or at least not what's fashion rn but the melody is really strong and it's still a tune

re-listening to 'to me' yeah I can see how you might be disappointed by this - none of the swagger

maybe they should have given this song as a debut for some other group, or given it to orange caramel or something? idk

still find it enjoyable tho

I'm with abcfsk and Brad but am holding out hope for the second half of the EP which is supposed to be "different in style" from the first half.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzNaAY2yn6g

I assume everybody else loves this?

First time hearing this.

Oh Yes!!

yes indeed.

Absolutely. Video proper is great too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vhxjEXDAy6s

haha I didn't know they released two vers. thought they were dangerously close to dancing with broomsticks

they could prob get away with dancing with broomsticks though

shinee song is a certified jam

disco guitar forever

yeah and it sounds very distinctively 'shineee'

haha speaking of throwbacks check out this straight rip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lieFdkYA-Q

What's it a straight rip of?

Dream Girl is awesome.

weirdly enough what comes to mind is 'ghostbusters,' haha

feel like I like this new speed single but maybe i just like the synth warble idk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQUwJxKkhNo

Actually releasing a Sistar single is a decent strategy to getting your first hit, I guess, but I don't think there's any place in the music industry for SPEEd or the other Co-Ed leftovers. Just realized today that one of their members is Zico's brother, though.

I like the warble. The rest of it doesn't do much for me.

^ yeah I think that's how I'm gonna come out on this one

It's too bad, there's one pretty good rapper in SPEED and those LED glove things they used in "It's All Over" were cool. I still really like their remake of Lovey-Dovey.

乒乓 and EZ, if you like the synth warble in "Pain the Love of Heart" and haven't listened to Myname - Just the Little Thing yet, you should.

Verbal Jint ft. Ailee - If It Ain't Love

I think this is the first Ailee song I really like. The key point here is the lyrics.

Soompi has a compilation of all the debut songs of all of 2012's debut groups: boys and girls. The song that stood out the most to me (because I'd never heard of the group and the label couldn't even afford a video or a grammar-checker for the title) was Jackpot - Catch It Me. Also Kboys - Kboys was surprisingly catchy in parts, for such a terribly named group.

Honestly there a lot of strong songs on here, though, and not all from the groups you'd expect either...

This is both strangely impressive and absolutely bananas.

http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/75764816.html

Speaking of impressive and bananas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaGCTbqJKO0

<33333333

Oh but on the spoon thing you gotta check the top-rated "netizen" (Korean anonymous forum posters exercising their right to free speech in a democratic country) comments (because hilarious) + additional evidence (because impressive and scary).

loool I've said this elsewhere but I honestly thought I had seen all the ~crazy~ in the heady days of Harry Potter and Twilight fandom. And then I came across K-pop fans.

somewhat related: this is impressive both on the part of the fans AND the group, because I swear I watched this performance the other day and didn't notice ANY of this happening: http://byuntaenoona.tumblr.com/post/43701700946/shinee-youre-so-professional

What's funny about that performance is that the TV studio seems to have filmed the performance twice (mic stand is apart then together then apart again) but decided to go with the shots where Shinee deals with the broken mic over shots where the performance goes smoothly. Either because they couldn't be bothered to film a third time or because they were also impressed, lol.

This track from Sistar19's album is good too!

Pretty sure this does not count as K-pop but check out these hilarious stoners XD.

New Lee Hi single http://youtu.be/UJKOFMUGq2E

PR pitch: it's got a big bear

I prefer this album track though, featuring a future YG girl group star http://youtu.be/KwY2NgW56Og

The intro is great too, <3 Kush and his 1.5 minute teaser tracks.

The "It's Over" video is something, though.

Crush is really good too! Title track is like the weakest on the album, odd.

Speculation on omona that It's Over is not the "real" title track and that's she'll probably promote Rose, a 100% Teddy track on the second half of the album to be released later this month, instead.

Debut song from Ladies Code. It sounds like a medley of Miss A songs, especially "Goodbye Baby" and "Bad Girl, Good Girl" - which, you know, steal from the best? Those are better songs but LC appear to be stronger singers.

Are we sure that's not deej in the bear suit with the complex product placement?

Forapper's description of Ladies' Code is accurate: "Bad Girl" has too much jammed into it so the arrangement trips over itself but the singing is fierce and precise. "SuperGirl" on the EP works better, gives the singers more space, yet is deliberately grating in its use of AutoTune. More fierceness. "Stronger singers" is right though strong is not always better: one of the touching things about Miss A is the struggle that Min et al. put into their singing. Not to say that Miss A wouldn't be just as good if we didn't feel them struggle. But they avoid sounding slick. Style with sweat. Whereas Ladies' Code may have trouble creating their own identity. We'll see.

Thanks Frank! I really like SuperGirl, it's like... at the crossroads of Beyonce, Rihanna and 2NE1.

One nice thing about the stronger vocals is that they can be less processed. This is making me realize that the processing on the vocals is what was dragging "Goodbye Baby" down for me, although listening to it now I can hear the touching vulnerability, too.

And when Ladies' Code do process it (as on "SuperGirl"), they do so to screw with the sound, not to correct it.

Anybody know anything about Polaris Entertainment, Ladies' Code's agency? I didn't find much in a Web search; they seem to be distributed by LOEN (as are many other labels).

Also, know anything about Windmill Media, who have promising acts Miss S (stylized as Miss $) and D-Unit? Both of those are girl groups with an r&b/hip-hop tilt.

For the record, Miss A had the most stunning Korean TV debut I've come across in my several years of trawling online for K-pop. (I think they'd already performed in China as a threesome, but afaik this was their introduction to Korea.) But then I'm hardly rational on the subject of Miss A, especially Min. Also love her dog.

there's a miss s & some other guy duet that I really like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5pI7-QXOIc

It now appears that SHINee "Dream Girl" might be plagiarized: http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/10757112.html

Much lols over leaked EXO-K track "Wolf" (though really it doesn't sound that much different from their album track "Two Moons" from last year): http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/10720360.html

I think this shows the weakness of the "EXO-K and EXO-M are the same group, really!" model, because the two groups have different strengths (ie EXO-M can actually rap). Also, between the cringe-worthy lyrics of Wolf and the almost-as-cringe-worthy lyrics of What Is Love, and the robots/aliens/superpowers concept, I suspect SM is gunning for the SFF-loving, fanfiction-writing, aspie fangirl demographic with this group.

Speaking of the cheesy-80s aesthetic, from the compilation of 2012 rookie group debut songs posted above I found this awesome (intentional?) nod to bad karaoke videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsnsUpwH_9Y

Really liking Sistar19's Gone Not Around Any Longer EP and the first half of Lee Hi's Turn It Up album. I think those are my "album" picks for 2013 so far - sorry Teen Top, SHINee, SNSD, Suju-M!

Though speaking of Teen Top, the second single off No. 1 is decent and the bonus track is kind of funny - uncomfortably balanced between their older scumbag-player image ("No More Perfume On You") and their newer pure-and-innocent-schoolboys image ("Be My Girl"). They could probably do something interesting with their weird reverse-career-trajectory, actually, but they never do, and it drags the album down (well, that and the fact that the album tracks are not very good drags the album down).

Translation of the lyrics to Lee Hi "Special", and note from Tablo who wrote the lyrics, for those of you who have also been following along with Tablo's career and marriage from home.

(I wonder if Windmill Media is fundamentally a distributor; there seems to be a relationship to NH Media (U-Kiss), to D-Business Entertainment (D-Unit), and to Brand New Music (Miss $).)

New Rania:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=bNZGrYK-fek

Goodbye's the new hello is really true, lol. Once again I wonder whether all these Goodbye Player songs about many different players or just a few, super-players.

The album looks like some kind of best-of repackage, with two other new songs that aren't grabbing me, English versions of this and and Dr. Feelgood and Masquerade, and their previous hits Style, Dr Feelgood, Masquerade and Pop Pop Pop. Someone in the US apparently thinks their Lady Gaga style will work over here, because they're set to "debut" with a documentary on American MTV.

I actually did mean to embed that! Oh well consider your browsers spared XD

lovin that ladies code

I like Goodbye Is The New Hello as an album title. But I'm uncertain that it is the title, even though that's Wikip's opinion. Soompi and a couple other sites say the title of the mini-album is Just Go. I'm meh on the new tracks. "Style" and "Masquerade" are the two songs I like a lot in their catalog, maybe 'cause they sound like cheesy American dance tracks from twenty years ago. KNS, the writers/producers of the single "Just Go," have written for Britney (e.g., the pretty good "Brave New Girl") and Gaga and Nick Carter, though haven't created any hits, or much that's sticking in my memory. Their own "Thug Love," on their MySpace page, has a nice low-key early-'00s r&b feel, as if they wanted to resurrect the aura of a Mya B-side.

I like both the two new Rania songs. They're simple enough in a good straightforward pop way. I take to the girls voices in the verses, especially the one who opens the song.

D-Unit song produced by Block B's Zico. I have that exact same alarm clock. Otherwise, meh.

Meanwhile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=O0QNZklmJB0

Sorry to post so much non-Kpop (non Idol pop) to the Kpop thread. This is visual like a Kpop song though.

New GLAM. It sounds like a throwback to Kpop from 2011 kind of. Parts of it sound like Dara's "Kiss" and I can hear Hyuna and Hyeran (Brave Girls) in the rap. Feels a bit patched together, but I like it.

At first glance these lyrics don't offer the wit of previous GLAM songs.

Yeah, they're pretty straightforward. The video is unimaginative too - and cheap - they must have blown the budget on "I Like That".

G.NA ft. Illhoon - Oops. I'm a sucker for this kind of You Are My Pet older-woman-younger-guy team up, and I think the rap parts keep it from being overly cutesy. But I really wonder why those "oops"es are in there - why not some less-coy "oh"s instead?

new girl's day album!? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUtGJtyoIfg

aaaand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok9MLMd7ccE

super bummed I won't be able to see 2NE1 (with the Backstreet Boys! lol) play a free concert in my city this week - have a flight to catch the following morning :( :( :(

one listen through the girl's day album and I really like it... then again 1. i'm a girls day stan and 2.) i'm love ott bubblegum pop

pull an all nighter and sleep on the plane imo xp

really enjoying that girl's dayo

it made the will.i.am/2ne1 thing sound especially anemic

yeah the 2ne1/will.i.am sounds more like a proof of concept than anything

pull an all nighter and sleep on the plane imo xp

i would but it's just a one hour flight, and then straight to a conference after arrival. :/

I'm still trying to pretend will.i.am doesn't exist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=rAUwimJaZKU

Short n sweet

i really like the elite gymnastics k-pop mix and want to hear more. what are the albums to hear? is it more of a singles genre?

In some ways. "Mini-albums" / is a popular format, though. What did you particularly like on the mix?

Mini albums / EPs

this is the tracklisting to that elite gymnastics mix I think?

kahi* – 돌아와나쁜너
4MINUTE – 거울아거울아
after school – SHAMPOO
girl's day – 잘해줘봐야
IU – 미리 메리 크리스마스 (Featuring 천둥 Of MBLAQ)

*of after school fame

it's a lot of heavy k-pop hitters, you could probably spend a few hours on each of their wikipedia discographies and find lots of good stuff

yeah for me it's mostly a singles/EP/mini-albums genre

i cut out all the j-pop from the listing btw

currently re-obsessed with this after they included it on their lp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWpl2CaCnVA

@clouds, it's an EPs & mini-albums genre, but there are some strong albums too. It's very visual, so maybe the best place to look is on Youtube.

Some stuff that sounds like the elite gymnastics list:

2NE1 - To Anyone: happy-sad anthemic exercise music. Late-90s stadium rock / will.i.am / Bangladeshi beats (e.g. "Follow Me").
Sistar - So Cool. If you absolutely must have more 2NE1.
Big Bang - Still Alive: like 2NE1 but more clubby, hedonistic, electronic, trend-chasing (LMFAOish), and insane.
4minute - their singles (Hot Issue, HuH, I My Me Mine, Love Tension, Mirror Mirror, Ready Go, Volume Up, Why): Japanese Italodisco / freestyle / poppy pop (but 4minute are style chameleons, really)
B2ST - Fact or Fiction: like 4minute, but more introspective and sad-energized and rock-y
After School - Playgirlz: melodies borrowed from stadium anthems ("Ya'll Ready for This?") and rewritten to sound more indie. They buy a lot of songs off Norwegian producers. This is a Japanese best-of album, so it's not technically K-pop.

Going a bit further afield into Korean folk sounds:
T-ara - Absolute First Album: Britney Spears dirty club pop / trot (Korean traditional music genre that sounds like Eastern European folk music with a disco beat)
T-ara - John Travolta Wannabe : More disco and trot and Max Martin, less Britney.
Super Junior - the singles (Sorry Sorry, Rokkugo, Bonamana, Mr. Simple, Sexy Free & Single, Spy): trot / disco / wacky novelty songs
Lay.T - neo-trot (trot + disco). I'm not seeing their albums on wikipedia but they're a high-quality group.

Going more into Eurobeat/Japanese Italodisco sounds:
SHINee - Lucifer: futuristic RnB with funky polyrhythms and tightly-produced harmonies / boyband concept album about obsession
UKiss - Neverland: Eurotrash gutter-pop with pop-punk vocal harmonies / boyband self-loathing. Basically Emo Club Music, but filtered through Japan. Ukiss are a hit-and-miss but incredibly trashy even when they hit, so YMMV.
Sweetune - a songwriting team, not a band. Sounds like Japanese anime soundtracks from the mid-90s that reflect the excesses of music production of the late-80s. More manic: Kara singles (Wanna, Step Up, Pandora) & Rainbow singles (A, Mach); more cheesy: Infinite singles (Be Mine, BTD, Paradise, The Chaser) & Boyfriend singles (Love Style, I Yah); more grown-up: Nine Muses singles (Figaro, News, Ticket, Dolls)

Going more old-school RnB and rap and soul:
Big Bang - Remember: Justin Timberlake / K-rock / house beats / boyband concept album about group dysfunction
Primary - Primary and the Messengers: throwback to jazzy, funky, early-90s RnB guest-featuring some of SK's most popular rappers.
Lee Hi - First Love: more throwback jazzy RnB. Lee Hi is 16 but has a soulful, Adele-like voice. SK discovers audition shows and neo-soul.
Miss A - their singles (Bad Girl Good Girl, Goodbye Baby, Touch, I Don't Need a Man): old-school soul with modern production touches. Per Frank Kogan, they are not strong singers and this lends vulnerability to what would otherwise be highly-polished and professional music.

And here's some decent EPs and mini-albums, in no particular order:

2NE1 - 2NE1 and 2NE1 2nd mini album. Produced by Teddy who works a lot with Big Bang as well. Teddy leans hard toward electronic, club, stadium anthem sounds. while co-writer Kush injects rock, reggae, and sadness/vulnerabily
Sistar19 - Gone Not Around Any Longer. If you absolutely must have more first-EP-era 2NE1.
OneTwo - Walala lalale: I think this is Brave Brothers' (Sistar, Big Bang) most cohesive single release. Classic Kpop sounds + reggae + disco + aren't these guys too old to be idol singers?
EXID - Hippity Hop, and their singles. Managed by Shinsadong Tiger who also works a lot with 4minute and B2ST
Wonder Girls - Wonder Party. Bratty teen girl pop written by the Soulful JY Park (Miss A, Lee Hi)
SPICA - Painkiller. Strong RnB vocalists with advanced production.
EXO-K - Mama. More futuristic, experimental RnB with a debt to Michael Jackson and Rock from SM Entertainment (Super Junior, SHINee)
BAP - Warrior. These guys are into Linkin Park and Tupac. If that's your thing, this is a pretty strong EP.

Add in Girls Generation and this is close to being a physical-album best-seller list from the last couple years.

damn, that's a great post, thanks

np!

4minute - top 9 Japanese singles
Super Junior - top 10 songs as voted by fans
UKiss - top 10 songs. Sonically, they are more like a girl-group (dance music + vocals processed in service of the song)
Sweetune - introduction mix

And listening again, I think I'd rate After School Playgirlz, T-ara Absolute First Album, SHINee Lucifer, Sistar So Cool, Big Bang Still Alive, 2NE1 To Anyone, in that order, just in terms of album cohesiveness and flow.

Also Z:EA - Spectacular is an underrated but surprisingly strong album! (Here.)

yes! omg thank you!!

forapper and abcfsk, do you find there're any significant differences between what labels will release in japan as opposed to what they'll release in korea

A+ posts forapper, as always <3 <3

I think I like Sweetune the cheesier they get lol, hadn't realized they did "Ticket" and "Dolls" too though! amazing songs.

i'd say miss a's a class is a great album but it's mostly their first two years of singles anyway

Yeah, the Japanese releases tend to be either full albums or collaborations with Japanese/European producers.

New Infinite is a big ball of fun http://youtu.be/2C-dsCaFJzE

^ Speaking of Infinite and cheese-leaning songs

Speaking of SWEETUNE, sorry

haha yeah, that's super corny but so very Infinite/Sweetune.

As always, love the way they launch into the choruses - I can't always identify them as individual singers, but their vocals work incredibly well as a unit. kinda think it's why Sweetune saves the cheesiest songs for them too - they're the only group that wouldn't otherwise be overwhelmed by the opulent production.

:D

So BoA's great <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w7RJRMwN2E";>I Did For Love</a> was written by and featured Sean Garrett, who is now producing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w7RJRMwN2E";>his very own boyband</a>. Heh.

I did NOT mean to hit submit on that, sorry everyone ;_;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFny8iYc9L8

have seen some good press on the mindless behavior album

That's the one! Thanks 乒乓.

http://i.imgur.com/oHXGG9J.jpg

:D

The other good song on Infinite's EP is about not wanting your gf to wear short skirts: eng sub.

Oh but about Grimes, are there pictures of her with 2NE1 and SNSD too???

(http://actuallygrimes.tumblr.com/post/45979235032/i-was-about-to-cry-from-exhaustion-and-then-i)

love that pic so much. wish I liked Grimes' music more, she's basically my imaginary best friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKjjXCqVK5s

feels like an H.O.T. throwback ^_^

OFFROAD - 'head banging' much more anemic than the title would suggest

Oh god, we're officially in Spring. The pastel-colored flower boy stuff is going to continue for another three months.

;____;

(Said as someone who quite likes ZE:A)

The ZE:A5 mini EP is really solid. Or maybe I just think so because I'm an easy sell on all things Brave Brothers.

lol @ hyuna schilling for toyota

i'm gonna ask this from a position of ignorance, so please forgive me, but is there any ... consternation at all for hyuna repping for a japanese automaker?

No idea about Hyuna, but wasn't 4minute's last Japanese single used in an Audi commercial?

Lee Hi's best performance yet:

http://soundcloud.com/ipaaaul4s/04-1

Rose is just embarrassing though, I hope she promotes something else.

F(X) doing Funny or Die with Anna Kendrick - http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/78b1d27dab/anna-kendrick-goes-k-pop-with-f-x

It's more awkward than funny but they did manage to fit an impressive number of cliches into 4.5 minutes, haha.

But also is this supposed to be parodying the colonial "go abroad and acceptance will be handed to you if you only make a token effort" fantasy, or not?

lol @ cloud atlas joke

A round up of recent stuff:

EvoL - Get Up is still excellent</a>

Heo Young Saeng - The Art of Seduction is simultaneously a business-as-usual Kpop song commodifying mental illness for the entertainment of the audience (now the moonlight is hitting just right and I'm crazy in love with you, etc etc) and a song about himself, from the perspective of his stalker fan. So now Heo Young Saeng is riling up the fanbase and showing the terrifying obsessiveness that results from that at the same time. Poor guy.

GDragon is making trap music now, and we are waiting for the video before we decide whether we like it or not. Will it be as good as Leif? The video previews do look incredibly campy.

Also, here's an indie release:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT80FwW9XiE

This retro-80s sounds really is bubbling up from the bottom and SKorea shows no signs of tiring of it.

Whoops, messed up the link on the GDragon track. It's here.

??? Can I not link to Soundcloud?

https://soundcloud.com/reefanee/g-dragon-michigo-go

lol glad to know I'm not the only person reserving full judgement on "MichiGO" until the video comes out.

sounds more dubstep than trap to me idk

I was thinking about second definition of "trap" on urban dictionary, and about the transgender rap scene in NYC, when I wrote that, haha. It sounds like he's been listening to Le1f - Wut a lot. Also Roz can back me up that GD's a confirmed Le1f and Zebra Katz fan. So maybe not "trap music" but kind of coming from that place...

Oh, and here's the high-fashion connection: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/fashion/zebra-katz-you-have-to-know-the-context.html

I saw Zebra Katz and Njena Redd Foxx at SXSW and it was an amazing show. :D

oh okay you mean from the edm context - like this? http://www.edmsauce.com/trap-triphop/

i guess gdragon is trying to cash in on the harlem shake

Yup, exactly like that. And probably...

Can't believe I almost forgot this one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4JmhB65O2I

The description in Ytube's About tab is awesome.

Addictive chorus from 'tomboy' rookie girl group GI http://youtu.be/3j1E5DKVPr0

Like!!!

New Jay Park https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVE3qq9MCyc

I like Jay Park but that song is kinda lame.

BrandNewStardom (Block B's label) have a new rapper in the pipeline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkyFWHvhjNk

There we go.

jurassic 5? ;_;

Jurassic 5? *cocks head*

Forget about Infinite H and even Primary and the Messengers, this is where it's at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=84m-0uO39SY

<33333

And! A superior Jay Park!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMtCJC39SqU

MIB have a mini-album out, also. I'm not feeling the title track but Money in the Building is pretty great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e56l-8K3jU

Really nice song from C-Clown. I see a lot of GDragon - That XX in the video.

The C-Clown mini is great and everything I ever wanted from Infinite H - at this moment, my favorite EP of the year.

I'm actually on a self-imposed ban from ILX right now (work/life bs), but you gotta post a new GD video. OMGWAT<3, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrwnL62HObI

btw this and Daft Punk, I'm having a pretty good Friday

Dude...

It's a pair with Zion.T's Babay the same way CraYon was a pair with Epik High's Don't Hate Me...?

https://soundcloud.com/bubblefeetgravitych3/sets/ubeat-should-have-treated-you

This is being marketed as a rap duo sub-unit ala Infinite H, but is IN FACT an album of mostly remixes of previously released U-Kiss songs with only a couple new tracks ft. the English-fluent members. Everything is addictively (over)produced, as per Brave Brothers tradition. There's lots of triumphant horns and overwhelmed-by-happiness singing. As a Brave Brothers fangirl, I am here for this 100% even knowing it's all a trick of the light.

Aaaand I'm over it. Even for a Brave Brothers album I think this is some kind of new personal record.

YooJiAe - Delight is out and has a really Jpopish vibe. Actually, between the school uniform, the outdoor setting, the hazy lighting, the lack of crazy hair colors, and... the young age of the performer, >__>, this looks more like a Japanese MV (PV?) than a Korean one.

Loving this new 4minute
http://youtu.be/H-IJWqIHioA

SHINee goes metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgeAmF7bgoE

http://youtu.be/H-IJWqIHioA

Metal/mental.. here's a profile of the SM songwriter who made the song http://www.berklee.edu/news/4742/alumni-profile-kenzie-yeonjung-kim-99

4minute: Good beat, vocals lacking. Why? Because it apes some surface qualities of their first singles it misses the cruical points: The girls have to hit hard, not only the beat. They have to get the chance for some powerful belts, raps, shouts. Remember Huh? This should've been much better.

hahahah wait, is the chorus really from the dark knight

it's a shinee song alright, despite the metal guitars

It's sounds like a metallica song

Shinee's album is AWESOME. I have a theory Why So Serious was thrown together/thrown on the album at the last minute to cover for Jonghyun's absence after his car accident. It's a lulzy song, but what's with the (non) transition from the intro to the first chorus, huh?

The tortured RnB songs Jonghyun is on (holding down, honestly) on the other hand are just so great: Like a Fire, Medusa I, Nightmare (the dark side to Dream Girl), Evil, Danger, Orgel.

Maybe I'll change my mind later, but at the moment I'm so totally sold on this mini... it's my favorite release of the year, and my favorite SHINee album since Lucifer (which is my favorite Kpop album of all time, just so you all know).

On a final note, Jonghyun not promoting this album - which is finally dark, finally rock, and finally RnB - is like some cruel twist of fate. I really hope they do a second round promoting another track off the mini - Nightmare or Like a Fire, say - after the doctors let him out of the hospital.

Didn't mean to imply that this album is as good as Lucifer, by the way. It isn't, but then again, what is? Nothing, that's what.

That 4minute track is pretty great, though. Like an upgraded Beatles.

I do find it funny that 4minute are turning into T-ara just as T-ara are turning into 4minute.

Hmm on second listen some of these SHINee songs are bit too bland and slick. Still like SHINe, Evil, and the thematic reversal of Nightmare, though.

I promise to stop posting after this, but I must share with you Infinite's ballad stage at KBS Music Bank: it's hilarious.

Performance at 1:07.

Okay I lied, this is my last post:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLmpdPpT-cw

G'night, y'all.

Writing some words about BoA now and just want to throw this out there, another argument for her being Best Pop Star Dancer in the world: http://youtu.be/Nde67MngaZ0?t=7m32s

Ridic stuff in the middle of a concert.

hahahah wait, is the chorus really from the dark knight

"CrayOn"? K-pop in general has been obsessed with Batman for a while - GLAM and Girls' Generation have been wearing the Bat-logo in their videos, and then there was Epik High as the villains of Arkham...

forapper, those SHINee songs you posted are seriously great, I think I might be sold on it too and I've never been completely convinced by them before. Those disco guitars on "Like a Fire"! <3 <3 "Orgel" is hot too (and Jonghyun wrote the lyrics, apparently).

Warning>Warning> Long, long post about BoA's discography coming up. Not something you're likely to read through but someone asked for an album reference sheet earlier and here it is.

Ok- long-planned quick summary of BoA's Korean and Japanese studio album discography. It's been 3 solid months of very heavy listening to all these albums - the hope was with this added motivation I would get a clearer idea of her highs and low.

It hasn't been entirely successful - I'm still not capable of absolute statements, because her discograph is one of minor ups and downs, hidden treasures and small disappointment and an overall solid output, not that one masterpiece you have to check out before the rest.

Anyway..debut album ID; Peace B(2000) is a strong start, and right away we're presented with a cohesive album and an artist with a sound of her own. Boa's low, guttural delivery, the in-your-face sound (stabbing strings on the title track give way to an authoritative choir bridge and rock guitars) broken up with melodramatic ballads. It's clearly noticable that she's still developing her skills- on some tracks she just sounds very young: "No Way" is an obvious Mariah Carey-nod, but she does not at this point quite have the chops for those acrobatics. Charming, though, as is the rest of the album. Here's the eerie music video for Sara

Her first Japanese album is Listen To My Heart(2002) and commercially they got it right from the start. This album is packed with hits, including maybe the Boa song most people not into k/j-pop know about, Every Heart ending theme to popular anime Inuyasha. Here's a live clip, one of those perfect pop moments when a star at her popularity peak performs a hugely beloved hit. It also marks the start of BoA the songwriter, she composed Nothing's Gonna Change My Heart and co-wrote the lyrics. Another highlight is the perfect harpsichord pop of Don't Start Now, Kimochi wa Tsutawaru and the early Utada-ish Amazing Kiss.

Her Korean debut peaked at #10 - in Japan Listen To My Heart went on to sell over a million copies.

2nd KR album No. 1 (2002) gave BoA her Korean smash hit in form of the title track, a mandatory encore when she finally held a solo concert here. To me the album sounds more dated than any of her others. It's often BoA at her most over-dramatic - shrill 90s style pop partly shouted out and melo ballads dripping in sentimentality. There are plenty of catchy melodies here, though. My Sweetie is easy to like and sports a very goof MV. She continued composing songs: Dear My Love and and the great Realize.

Valenti (2003), her best-selling album (615k in its first week), has a huge, if somewhat dated-sounding, title track, but I don't think it's one of her stronges Japanese albums. A bit lacking to be honest. Some tunes though, Kiseki is good in its original form and as 'Destiny' in Korea, andMoon & Sunrise, for which BoA wrote the lyrics thinking of her weird, emotional life traveling to Japan as a young kid, is a live fave and one of her most famous ballads.

Love & Honesty (2004, Japan again) is stronger. The singles are here- Rock With You is powerful (hype recent SM Town performance), Shine We Are is pure feel-good, SOME DAY ONE DAY marks the entrance of regular collaborator Verbal of m-flo - they released the classic 'Love Bug' single together later that year. On Be the One she continues to develop a more sophisticated, cool sound and image. "Expect", "Kokoro no Tegami", look, the whole album is solid.

According to an interview on Win Win last year Atlantis Princess (2003) is BoA's least favorite Korean release- "She hated the music video, song, concept, everything about it because it was too cutesy. That’s why from album four she added her own opinions and went with a really strong image." She may be a bit hard on the song, but the album is probably her most patchy. An interesting deep cut is The Show Must Go On.

She did as promised, though, and the next Korean album My Name is a pretty awesome statement. The title track opens the album in Marlo Stanfield style and then on track #2 "Spark" she basically spits out her contempt. Later there's one called "Don't Give a Damn". There's room for ballads and less heavy songs too of course, but overall the album just feels meatier than any of her Korean releases before.

Another Korean album, and another statement: Girls on Top (2005). The title track is worth watching with subs, even though the subber struggles tremendously with the non-standard and vaguely coherent sentences. I've read analysis asking for a more straightforward narrative and message to call this a feminist anthem, but the point here is the song is a series of slogans, demands, shouted out with great power. "All lady-like expectations are forced on me as a girl", "I won't be confined", "Everything my way", "My appearence is at is, dignified, like I want it", "I have dreams that will change this world", I was exstatic that this song existed when I first listened and read the lyrics.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_O3N5jyIr5es/SvSl1ntEvkI/AAAAAAAADFw/pRh33NOOCiQ/s200/boa+girls+on+top+cover.jpg

Of course this isn't just a 'concept' used and discarded. BoA is a pretty solid role model and the last year, with a stronger public presence, has become a candidate among media commentators for a future higher position in the entertainment industry. The Donga Ilbo last month named her one of 100 people who will lead Korea in 10 years, and in the interview she admitted she had gotten the taste of producing and leading other artists as well. Not only that, but in the question of equality she's one of very few in the k-pop business indeed to speak up in support of the LGBT community.

The album is damn strong otherwise as well. She often performed Girls on Top together with the huge "MOTO". Here's a performance from last year with awesome power and enthusiasm http://youtu.be/esF2Y2Kgu8A

Interestingly this was her last album in Korea for five years. In Japan she moved on with Outgrow (2006). She's released a lot of albums huh? But from her last album on the Japanese output is generally good. The sexy Do The Motion was a slight style shift, very popular on the charts and one of my many favorites. BoA has writing credits on five of the album's tracks. "Everlasting" is another one of those instantly recognisable big BoA ballads.

Made in Twenty (20) (2007) is a pretty nonsensical title but marks further growth towards a cooler, crisper sound, although it's sometimes just about the catchy, breezy, fun of tracks like brand new beat. Here's Key of Heart.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/41562361/THE+FACE++PNG.png

The Face (2008) is potentially/probably/judging by my ipod rotation at the time of writing BoA's best Japanese album. Let's just open the praise low-key with the light acoustic guitar-backed rnb of My Way, Your Way, live feat. Mr Wise here. The album does perhaps lack the huge defining hits of others. On the other hand every other track is a dark horse favorite. The heartbreaking be with you.. The funk of Lose Your Mind, which was released by Amerie as "Dangerous" later on, the earworm ecstacy of "Happy Birthday", the steady, elegant synth piano groove on "Diamond Heart" (reminiscent of Japanese producer Daishi Dance's work), one of her better ballads in "Love Letter", silly fun times with "Gyappy Ni Yarareta! Hit By The Gap!"), etc. etc.

By this time albums in general didn't sell as easily in Japan as they once did, and BoA specifically was not quite as top tier commercially as she once was, but every album including The Face topped the Oricon weeky album chart. Identity (2010) was the first not to (#4) and among fans it's highly divisive. For the first time BoA produced the album herself and composed many of the songs. With that album name and the first track being called "This Is Who I Am" it's hard not to view it as a milestone even so, BoA taking the reigns fully. And even though the album is flawed it's both interesting and frequently BoA at her most enjoyable.

It had great singles: Bump Bump! feat. Verbal is colorful, cool and fun and so is its video. That costume! The moves! Possibility with Daichi Miura, maybe my favorite nice guy rnb dude in Japan, is delicious, delicious synth rnb, all sweet melodies and tender wispers.

http://www.generasia.com/w/images/thumb/e/e7/Identity_(BoA)DVD.jpg/300px-Identity_(BoA)DVD.jpg

It's worth noticing that even though it's her weakest selling album one single off Identity, "Mamoritai: White Wishes" was her most successful single release in a few years and well known also in the west as the theme to "Tales of Graces".

Okay, we're back in Korea for the final stretch. After five years she released Hurricane Venus (2010) and yes, it's one of her strongest Korean albums, but it was still initially somewhat of a disappointment, all because of the lead single title track which is good, sure, pretty darn effective live when she opened the Seoul show with it and not a skip for me now, but at the time - as a comeback, I didn't feel it was about what BoA was/is about. A lot of artists could've done it, although maybe not live with the kind of sharpness she did. But the album behind it is full of more laid-back experiments, some of her most stunning slow jams and ballads, such as Stand By and Implode, to great surprise and happy tears performed live for the first time at her concert earlier this year.

It edges out her newest album Only One (2012), I'd say, if only because the latter, at 6 new songs is more like an EP. But Only One the single is in my BoA top 3 all-time and its promotion perhaps my most joyous time as a k-pop and BoA fan. It was perfect, she did it on her own accord, she'd found her voice in many ways making it her first self-composed lead single, she released a dance-focused MV, the mainstream response in Korea was good. Her take on the "sing about fame" concept in the Janet Jackson-ish "The Shadow" is a bit different and more interesting than you'd expect from that concept, the 'shadow' being both the fans support, their pressure, something that protects and punishes, something that drives a performance.

So yes, that was a lot of studio albums. Some of her biggest hits in Japan, and some of my favorites, of course, were not released on a studio album.

If I were to summarize I'd say, in Japan, Listen to My Heart represents her early period well and The Face her later period. In Korea Girls on Top and her latest albums are thoroughly solid. But there are so many great moments and important tunes elsewhere, so if you don't check out all the albums at least have a listen to some singles and stand-outs on each.

If you're getting a live dvd The Face Tour is super fun. Hopefully her Korean concert I attended this year will also be released.

"CrayOn"? K-pop in general has been obsessed with Batman for a while - GLAM and Girls' Generation have been wearing the Bat-logo in their videos, and then there was Epik High as the villains of Arkham...

― Roz, Saturday, April 27, 2013 5:56 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

ah i totally forgot about that part of crayon, also the batman earring at the beginning

that epik high performance is amazing, high school drama club with million dollar record label production values, love it

Batman is a kind of inside joke in Kpop world. In D-Unit's Talk to My Face, the guy is reading a book called "RIP Batman", while in HyunA's Ice Cream, there's a protester holding a sign that says "Batman He is Dead". Roz also pointed out that Zion.T's Babay MV is basically a scene out of the first Batman movie.

New T-Ara - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74_3c_5SVBM&feature=youtu.be

SPEED rapper guy is not bad! I guess I agree with what Frank wrote on his blog, that T-ara N4 are vocally anonymous on this, but the song's not too bad, really.

I mean, it's kind of forgettable except for that sax part, and I kept hearing parts that reminded me of other (better) songs, but aside from that.

I like the new Secret... is Very Cheesy but is fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0sVjn5DGrc&feature=youtu.be

like that a lot!

Are these aegyowaifs really Secret? ;_;

lol a week after i had just claimed that k-pop wasn't really influenced by kawaii culture

LOL, really? Where was this?

i'm not telling

:p

i was watching too many slinky, late-night danceclub lazer-filled k-pop videos for a while, that' smy excuse

Cute Secret is shit Secret! Although I've never cared much for the group they had a thing going with the hip hop pop thing and Poison was a pretty catchy song as well.

can we talk about DICKPUNKS and how they sound nothing at all like what their name implies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODnA8jGC0Q

I did not expect 70s pop complete with strings from a band with the name DICKPUNKS. Is it a case of weird translation?

I think they just like calling htemselves the DICKPUNKS. see the logo

What I was thinking but didn't even hint at in my comment (i blame phone typing): I was hoping that some seventies band like BREAD translated weirdly in Korean and so this was a spin on a prior translation error. The logo is pretty obvious as to their own intent.

omg @ DICKPUNKS

can't wait for their long play

I'm sure it'll be a banger

not feeling this new single but i'm sure it'll grow on me

hopefully they'll push all the right buttons

XD

Don't know wtf is this, but i love it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xF7ENo_utA

I hear "Kai Bai Bo" which is Korean for "Rock Paper Scissors"

Apart from that... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pretty funny though

The new Younha single is great. The lyrics are great http://youtu.be/JHPBT4yYzu0

Fireworks off that EP is great http://youtu.be/eKihko_ZipY

I've been the first to label Hello Venus a useless, anonymous, rubbish group, blandly cute and daft and nothingy, but their new single forces so much play out of the euphemism "Do you want some tea?" ('Do you want to have sex?') that I find myself charmed http://youtu.be/dyH2O_te-ss

The Hello Venus song is so adorably and hilariously subversive XD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqpStn7sioY

Controversially "Gee" at #3

Haaah. Well, it's hard to argue with Abracadabra, and it was clear 10 entries in that whoever made this list a huge BoA (and Big Bang) fan, so far enough, I suppose XD. Also, everyone says this, but 2009 really was a great year for Kpop, huh.

This is kinda old but it's been confirmed that San E is, indeed, leaving JYP. Dude sounds pretty relieved to be out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfkFoXa9F-Q

Twas the Popjustice (k-pop listening) users collectively.

Ahah San E. Well, I think it shows that even if the people on top mean well it's often not a good idea to join one of the three big labels. Dude didn't release anything for ages. I have to doubt how the companies are run at times. You see it at YG - they just don't seem to have the resources to nurture all their artists careers evenly. SM as well, look at someone like J-Min or The Grace. Except for those from K-pop Star (Lee Hi, Jimin) the talent show standouts seem to go to other labels and get to release stuff immediately - look at Roy Kim, Busker Busker, the new ballad stars. Half of them would probably nervously wait in the basement of YG JYP or SM. See Lee Michelle and her group signed to YG and then released. Immediately she has music out.

Ah okay, in that case I'm surprised the list came out as evenly as it did! It is however missing one of my favorite songs from 2009, which is One Two's Starry Night.

And, agreed, the big three idol agencies often seem to have more talent than they know how to manage. SM at least sometimes allows talented members of overlooked groups to write music or produce, but YG and JYP... forget it. Half of Cube are former JYP trainees. (Though I believe there is some kind of business relationship between JYP and Cube.)

I really like Roy Kim's Spring Spring Spring, btw. He has a lot of charisma as a performer, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3-BDy55tq4

lol 2009 was when I first moved back to Southeast Asia - K-pop was just starting to blow up here but "Gee", which was inescapable (along with Super Junior), made me actively not want to explore it further. Unpopular opinion I know, but I really don't like that song, even though I've come around to SNSD (still kinda hate SuJu though, haha).

2NE1 was my gateway to K-pop a couple of years later (a friend of mine was visiting from the Philippines and played me a bunch of their songs) but I didn't get heavily into it until early last year I guess.

I missed this as well as all-girl Korean group Miji's Saturday free performance at the Korean embassy. Just discovered this after the fact

http://usa.mofa.go.kr/english/am/usa/mission/notice/index.jsp?sp=/webmodule/htsboard/template/read/engreadboard.jsp%3FtypeID=16%26boardid=13910%26seqno=694279%26tableName=TYPE_ENGLEGATIO

What: K-Style DC
When: May 1-3, 2013
Where: Washington Dulles International Airport (2nd floor lobby)

The Korean Cultural Center Washington DC is taking the local Korean Wave to new heights with K-Style DC, a 3-day event featuring traditional-modern fusion music, Hanbok fashion shows, Taekwondo exhibitions, and interactive K-Pop dance performances at Washington Dulles International Airport, May 1-3.

Sure to delight guests are a lively rendition of Psy’s Gangnam Style on centuries-old instruments by performance group MIJI, and the designer fashions of Joo Young-sook, whose clothing has appeared in several Korean dramas. Both will be visiting from Korea for the event.

so I finally checked out SHINee's Lucifer album and... i really like it! where else can i hear this mid-2000s era high-production R&B (The-Dream, Cassie, Kelis) sound in K-pop? I haven't really checked out guy groups much at all.

A pre-2010 Kpop fan could probably answer this better, because I think this was *the* Kpop style from 2006-2009 (just when it was starting to break internationally).

Off the top of my head, though, I'd say 2PM (Still 2PM era), also other SM groups like EXO; TVXQ (one, two, three); early SNSD (one, two); and probably a bunch of BoA songs absfck could tell you about. Or if you want less processed vocals, anything by Taeyang but especially his (great) album Solar; and Chocolat; and SPICA (one, two).

Whoops, wrong link for Taeyang. Here's Solar. Big Bang - Remember is the most Taeyangish of the Big Bang albums, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqxHy4G9FMI

This kind of pop-rock isn't my thing, but always admire B1A4 for handling their own production & songwriting and being unafraid of putting 6-7 melodies in a single song (because there's always more where they came from).

Also maddie links to these songwriter notes and omona points out the similarity of the video to this.

Nine Muses 'Wild' MV http://youtu.be/fwN_Axs7pL4

It's missing the burning anger that fueled their previous singles with Sweetune, I think. Not bad but the beat just kind of sits there.

LC9 debut with a dramatization of the selection process for idols: http://youtu.be/gaxwMw2Qctc

This must have been pretty dangerous to film, I'd surprised if there weren't some injuries. I know BAP had some when they their car-smashing MV for Warrior.

I'd BE surprised if there weren't injuries, I know BAP had some when the FILMED their car-smashing MV...

First SALTNPAPER album has some very nice Goo Goo Dolls/Third Eye Blind late-90s alt-rock vibes: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh1FnrV6pZe-tFqKZjq7Xq7qXAb9CeX_M

Nine Muses plagiarism accusation: http://onehallyu.com/index.php?/topic/1518-nine-muses-under-fire-for-plagiarism-allegations/

It's smarter as a more-work-than-you-can-handle hot Korean producer to do it the Brave Brothers way, and just borrow from yourself.

Lee Hyori on living without regrets even when you aren't happy with your plastic surgery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLlD9HYWeRo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=gaT8j1yIbCg

Not quite sure where to put this, but on balance it's more in line with Kpop trends than Jpop trends, even though it's in Japanese.

Anyway: !!!

Aw, no preview. You should click, though! Certified jam!

i don't know if someboy has posted Crayon Pop already but they are hands down the best thing i've seen all year... and possibly ever?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0yii3pPNKw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2M5eTEmwaI

it's like they took everything unintentionally awesome about how cheesy T-ARA can be and just went with it. i've never seen a girl group so cheeky and confident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LP4foN3Xs4

cant watch dances in high heels without thinking of beyonce. also detect a lil ciara in the part w/ the black tracksuit

i dig this tho

That CL track is great.

Crayon Pop <3 They're returning with a new song in, I think, the third week of June. Chocolat are also coming back!

As for the CL track, I like like the beat a lot, but I don't think she's a good enough rapper to really carry the slow tempo. I also think she's a better singer than rapper, so to me it seems like a case of not knowing your strengths as an artist.

Maybe this is a good place to ask, though - does CL "The Baddest Female" sound a like Exo "Wolf" to anyone else???

Crayon Pop had a reality show last year in which, according to allkpop, "Crayon Pop Reveal They Aren't Afraid To Confront Agency," making them heroes of cultural studies departments around the world.

Says my lj buddy David Frazer, "Episode 1 is where they criticise their manager and he criticises them. In episode 2, Way and Soyeul get separated from the others after a concert at a mall and sneak off to eat churros at a snack stall, so the managers punish them by making all the members go home by bus."

The wearing of ski clothing indoors was pioneered in K-pop by Seo Taiji & Boys, though note that YG abandons the heavy garb at 2:00.

My favorite track Crayon Pop track is "Saturday Night."

My favorite track Crayon Pop track is "Saturday Night."

Er, that sentence has one more "track" than it needs. "Saturday Night" is merely my favorite Crayon Pop track. My favorite track period is probably Spoonie Gee's "Spoonin' Rap." My favorite K-pop track is T-ara's "I Go Crazy Because Of You."

Where is Spoonie Gee today? Loved that track too. K-pop I don't know that well.

did anything else amazing happen in the lower rungs of k-pop i don't know about? i haven't been keeping track

As far as documentary-things go, the Nine Muses documentary that aired on the BBC last year was a pretty amazing, frank, horrifying, etc. look at company mismanagement.

BTOB routinely get up to questionable stuff on their reality show, though always(?) with their managers' permission.

There was another one, but it's slipped my mind.

LOL @ super-literal editing of VIXX "Hyde" on Show Champion: http://youtu.be/rv_V9rQqmWM

Meanwhile, B2ST at the top of the charts with a familiar-sounding, emotional ballad that is getting to me anyway, because I know exactly what they mean: http://youtu.be/TZRKg-qJpZk

MBLAQ return with a song that's super-effective at capturing that feeling of something bubbling up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTDmIiGLFEw

VIXX "Hyde" and Shinwha "This Love" have been growing on me, despite what I initially heard as cheap/cheesy beat-based production. Speaking of beats, "Mama Beat" has grown on me as well. Rainbow "Sunshine" is an acceptable type of quirky aegyo, better than the bland aegyo of "Tell Me", although so far the song seems like it's just okay. The terrifying methamphetamine weirdness of EXO "Wolf" has been toned down for the official release, leaving something that's an odd mix of aggressive and declawed, highly processed music that's cheesy, experimental and utterly joyless all at the same time. San.E "Rap Circus" is the opposite, minimal production but giddy, pressurized, shit-talking rap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=farP2g0ZPes

^San-E

mblaq song is basically an incredible feat of production

thing is both pristine and woozy

Brad, the producers of "Smoky Girl" are Primary, Zion. T, and Simon D, all of whom are involved in urban and hip-hop. The way the song starts reminds me of The-Dream, the way the rhythm is half-suspended to create suspense.

Primary and Zion.T and Simon D, really? ...that would explain why the video was up at the amoebarecords youtube account, huh. That's pretty awesome, definitely a better demonstration of Primary's talents than Infinite H was.

I'm so excited for Chocolat, you have no idea.

One more for the "bad girl" pile, from Bumkey:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=FFDD_3IV7fU

And if I can rep one more SM summer jam, again in Japanese... na na na na na, na na na LOVE AND GIRLS.

Truth speak from Hyori http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/11252565.html

Dash, so far it's been a glorious year on the lower rungs. I'll do a roundup when I get the chance. In the meantime, there's a fancam of the new Crayon Pop song, "Bar Bar Bar." CRAYON POP DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! I had to get out of my chair: I was laughing so hard I was afraid I'd hurt myself. I think those are toboggan helmets they're wearing.

H/t David Fraser on Crayon Pop, as usual.

that routine is amazing !

ChoColat perform (or perform to, at any rate) a minute of "Black Tinkerbell" on After School Club (an English-language interview show; ChoColat's Tia was guest host this week; I haven't watched the entire episode, but it features good new boyband Vixx). (H/t David Frazer again.) "Black Tinkerbell" sounds good, similar to ChoColat's previous three in that there's a touch of mid-Eastern quasi-freestyle mournfulness, and all four singers get time in the spotlight. Today is Min Soa's birthday; tomorrow is "Black Tinkerbell"'s release.

And the "Black Tinkerbell" video is out now. Sounds like the teasers, but longer.

love and girls!

Na, na na na na na, na na na love and girls :D

I really like Black Tinkerbell, it's just really pretty, and seems to drop hints of deep emotion without indulging in it too much. The writer is an indie rock dude? Does that mean it's a song about being in The Friend Zone(TM)?

Sistar celebrate their promotion to the ranks of the top-tier girl groups with a glitzy video in the Sistar tradition of working-girls-aiming-for-classy-and-endearingly-just-missing. Song is just okay, I think.

My favorite of the "One of a Kind" bandwagon songs (that includes CL, too) to date: http://youtu.be/H4F4m8nlfXw

i11evn was an original member of "rapper" idol group Bangtang - just debuted - and was previously best known for a mixtape song wherein he bragged about being bisexual (and the guest rapper chimed in, "I’m open to all men and women/But no homo").

Pop group comprised of three classical music majors, awesome video: http://youtu.be/ey3H9l-SX8M

Hmm Odd Eye video seems to have been made private, how odd. It's this: http://youtu.be/SpkHGcyy3No

And an interview with Will Simms, songwriter for "Wolf" and "I Got a Boy":

http://seoulbeats.com/2013/06/speaking-with-will-simms-composer-of-exos-wolf-and-snsds-i-got-a-boy/

SB: When you work with these companies, do you feel like there is something they’re looking for in terms of crafting a strong hook or a repetitive chorus that makes K-pop, for the lack of a better phrase, K-pop?

WS: I do. They’re quite specific when they ask for hooks. They say, "We want a hook that’s a little bit rap-y," or "We want a hook that’s chant-y," or "a hook that’s really melodic." In any kind of music that you do, you have to aim for the strongest hook that you can, but what’s good with K-pop especially is that the songs can almost only have hooks. The verse can be a hook, and then the pre-chorus can be a hook, and then you can have the chorus that’s the hook as well!

There you go, the essence of Kpop.

really loving After School's latest

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVl2h70p_BRduVm7AKgAPlODZKghgd8OF

I can't get into the After School album. It's too slow, or the beats are too generic, or something... I am however digging Jun Areia's sped-up remix of First Love, which appeared less than 24 hours after the original went up because dude is a maniac like that.

[Although, once you speed up After School (as produced by Brave Brothers), the difference between them and Sistar (as produced by Brave Brothers) disappears, pretty much.]

i like AS lately because they don't ask you for anything with their music, it's just good dance music. i can see why that's a reason to pass on them but it's a relief sometimes when the music does the talking - kind of like Perfume too.

http://youtu.be/OvIyGdIF504

still not feelin it hurricane?

This is one of the more out there debuts of the year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpkHGcyy3No

The Tracks Of My Tiers

Dash, as promised, here's a roundup of my favorite tracks from K-pop's lower commercial tiers.

Except for the artist formerly known as E.via, I'm steering away from hip-hop as such, where moderate sales are considered pretty good (though obv. the hip-hop influence is all over this list). And I'm not counting trot, otherwise LPG would definitely be here. Or a jazz-blues singer like Woo Hye Mi ("Maria"), whom I discovered shooting flames on The Voice, or a jazzy balladeer like Barbara ("꿈..그보다 아픈 사랑"). And I don't know if we should consider middling sellers like Nine Muses ("Figaro") or Block B ("Halo") or RaNia ("Masquerade") as lower tier or not, but I left them off, and left off Jewelry ("Look At Me" [inst.]), who once had a number one hit.

Other than guest rapper Vasco, we don't get a male voice until the honorable mentions. It's not that women singers have more talent than men, but the zeitgeist and arrangements seem to be working to their advantage, while guys struggle to find a voice that fits.

In ascending order. As you can see, I like both it and that:

Leader'S "Hope" (2011). The song is called "Hope" but the sound is heartache 24/7. I left NYC several years before Hot 97 or whatever it was came in with a Latin freestyle format, but I can imagine this humid emotion emanating daily from car radios and bodegas on my block (I lived on the northern end of Mott Street, which was nominally still part of Little Italy, but the Italians had mostly moved to more well-to-do neighborhoods, being replaced by immigrants from the Dominican Republic).

D-Unit ft. Vasco "Stay Alive" (2013). Produced by Zico of Block B, this is a lot more natural than his own group ever was at creating a hip-hop idol sound, emphatic rapping with a backdrop that's half dreamy and half disorienting.

Chi Chi "Sexy Doll" (2012). A come-on that sounds at least as ominous as it is salacious.

Z.Hera "Peacock" (2013). Haven't yet discovered who wrote this, but it's someone with a far better understanding than I of Chopin or whoever, the track moving along towards inevitable bliss, while the singer uses the strain in her voice to suggest struggle and uneasiness. She just debuted, and I'm hoping for great things.

Clinah "So What If" (2011). Fractured power pop. It feels Japanese.

Tiny G "Minimanimo" (2013). I wonder if Bo Diddley had the least inkling in 1955 that he was setting the beat not just for buckets 'n' guts, but for sprites and nymphs.

Miss $ "Physical Or Emotional" (2012). Back to the dark Bodega wail. Miss $ had been a so-what r&b act for several years until they suddenly blossomed into passion.

Evol "Get Up" (2013). Get ur twisty little freak on, and take it to the disco.

GLAM "I Like That" (2013). Samples New York City sorrow, then pushes towards a joy most complicated.

Flashe "Drop It" (2012). A lot like "Bo Peep Bo Peep" in the way it teases and nags you.

New.F.O "Bounce" (2011). While the video apes 2NE1-style imperiousness, the band bubbles and bounces.

ChoColat "I Like It" (2011). Young Melanie wants it all, with a massive voice of promise and pain.

Crayon Pop "Bar Bar Bar" (2013). Perhaps they're lucky not to be stars. They get to spray everyone in their audience with water pistols.

E.via (now calling herself Tymee) "Pick Up! U!" (2010). The queen of the lower reaches, she can be anything from a severe art bitch to the cutest and quickest of the wild spirits. Here she gives us fractured power pop, fractured dance pop, fractured Poképop.

Fat Cat "My Love Bad Boy" (2011). Putatively cute and catchy, our heroine breaks her voice into scrapes, sparks, and splatters, and the sort of hooks that rip flesh.

I've made a YouTube playlist out of this, though the Fat Cat performance I wanted was deleted from YouTube (fortunately not before someone ripped it for Youku), so for that playlist I had to go with a different performance from Fat Cat, better recorded sound but not as immediately vibrant, shot several weeks after the camera people became afraid to close in on her ticking tush.

Honorable mentions: Gangkiz "Honey Honey," A-Jax "Hot Game," MYNAME "Just That Little Thing," Blady "Spark Spark," Delight "Mega Yak," X-Cross "Crazy."

Supplemental reading: In early 2012 I started a "No Tiers For The Creatures Of The Night" tag on my lj - though you can see that some of this goes back earlier. I only chose one track per group; but I urge you to listen further, especially to D-Unit, Chi Chi, Miss $, ChoColat, and of course Tymee, the artist formerly known as E.via.

An interesting story surfacing at SM Entertainment where in-house producer Kenzie is establishing herself as a lead songwriter, being responsible for the latest singles of two of their boybands. There's a lack of female producers in pop anywhere, and in Korea despite the many lyricists and songwriters, and a lead role in SM is a leading role in K-pop.

In later years she's increasingly taken on more executive roles on albums or giving purchased songs the 'SM gloss', a role SM's musical director Yoo Young-jin has held in the past, in addition to composing and producing. Of course Kenzie has a long history with SM since 2002, with older highlights like BoA's "My Name" and SNSD's "Into the New World", but two title tracks in a row and shaping the musical direction of the new boyband EXO is a new kind of responsibility.

Of course her latest two singles, Shinee's "Why So Serious" and EXO's "Wolf" are hugely divisive. I particularly like the latter, even though some western fans have been harping over how bad and weird it is since a version was leaked long time ago, but I can see how some think the 'SM style' is taken too far. She's composed both super melodic and sweet bubblegum such as the aforementioned SNSD (also "Oh!") and tough, dramatic maximalist stuff. The latter is perhaps closer to a signature sound.

The weird, ambigious and underrated / largerly ignored 'One More Chance' written for the comeback of one half of 'The Grace' is a personal favorite. Hard to pin down in many ways: http://youtu.be/q2Hmiu5m-v4

Wikip's got an (incomplete) list of songs by Kenzie. SNSD's "Oscar" jumps out at me. A lot of the others don't, though, so I I've got some exploring to do. (You mentioned her when the Dana & Sunday track first came out, but other than that, the only real attention I paid to her was when the Wikip entry on SNSD's/f(x)'s "Chocolate Love" listed her (and still lists her) as sole songwriter, which just wasn't credible. (Song is actually by Bloodshy, Avant, Jonback, and Poole, and is a reworking of Rachel Stevens' "Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex" (by Bloodshy, Avant, Jonback, Dennis); Kenzie probably only wrote the lyrics.)

"Wolf," like a lot of EXO tracks, strikes me as interesting and audacious, but doesn't fall into the category "I'm pulled to listen to this a lot." I kinda go with forapper on the "joyless" comment.

Brilliant, thank you Frank! No EXID though?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSCvDINAcLM

also can't help but post this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T33CRYSk2SQ

i've always wondered what kind of incarnation of hip-hop the intro is meant to be evoking. to me, it looks like late 90s/early 00s rnb - like Brandy, Aaliyah or when Jennifer Lopez turned J-Lo. I wonder if it's intentional or if both styles just happen to have parallel motivations/manifestations. i've always been a fan of the early-00s rnb sound and i know i've been searching for it in k-pop. i wonder if i'm just reading into k-pop with my own Western reference point or if this stuff just still has a life over there.

The Wiki for Kenzie (and most songwriters I guess) is indeed incomplete, even on recent stuff.

Wolf is up at TSJ today, with what I guess will be my 'final' thoughts on the matter. I stole Frank's "audacious" descriptor and used it as my own, thank you very much koganbot.

'8 Hot Girls' and 'First Love' are growing on me. I know I like them better than Sistar's 'Give It to Me' has all of the flash and none of the dreaminess. After School's live performance is hypnotic in a good way.

And on a totally different note: http://youtu.be/qWxtVysaiSA

I like LEDApple to much to be objective about this song, but it's more of the somehow-very-Korean Big Band sound they've been pursuing for a while. Besides their covers, Young-hee is another LEDApple original I enjoy (their covers are where it's at, though: Go Away, Sherlock, Mr. Taxi, Gentleman. And they're Crayon Pop fans, too!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2wHqCVhtxA

Lee Hyori, sometimes known as Korea's sexiest woman, turns out to be a sexy man as well

You know the world can see us in a way that's different from who we are

Also, Crayon Pop are on Music Core this Saturday (h/t warthoginrome).

More 2eyes, with an interesting Poker Face ish song (and I can hear Mr. Taxi in there, too): http://youtu.be/Livyqlxvypk

Also SHINee have a Japanese single that sounds like a mashup of Dream Girl and Why So Serious: short MV and radio rip.

Has a slight edge on Why So Serious because Jonghyun is on it, not sure yet how it compares to Dream Girl. I know I, personally, might like it better, but that's really only because Dream Girl makes me nervous.

For you guys on crayonpopwatch, they have a practice video up for "Bar Bar Bar" that's totally hysterical. Crayon Pop <3 <3 <3

...a practice video up for "Bar Bar Bar" that's totally hysterical...

Dash, I've always felt at a distance from Exid, felt something wasn't quite being delivered; I don't know why: songs are good, writer/producer Shinsadong Tiger is great and he's the boss, not answering to an agency. Have the same problem with Dal★shabet, another group where brilliant producers (E-Tribe) are in charge, get to do what they want, and what they do isn't up to the best of their work-for-hire.

(Btw, there's a new Dal★shabet album out just now that I haven't listened to yet, 'cept I'm watching the feature vid right now.)

I'm really so disappointed by Be Ambitious - like really - and I'm not going to change my mind this time, like I did for First Love. It sounds so basic, like someone took the autotuned vocals of a Tahiti single and mixed them with a second-rate attempt at a B1A4 single.

(Also, since "Tonight" and "What's Going On" did both grow on me... augh ;_;)

"Bar Bar Bar" on Music Core.

Lotsa YouTube comments, but Google Translate is hopeless; e.g., "What woman dancing since I feel sorry for my" and "Full gwiyeom rate Potentiometer pop curse. Why"

Korean music I've linked on Rolling Country this year:

2Yoon "24/7"
Lee Hyori "Holly Jolly Bus" (which I'd describe as "Nancy Sinatra-country")
Lee Hyori "Bounced Checks Of Love (stylish western swing that edges into rockabilly)
Sunny Hill ft. Hareem Darling Of All My Hearts (Irish folk-country flight-attendant pop)

I also posted, for background and context, 4minute's "Hot Issue" and a brief live set from blues guy Kim Tae Chun, the composer of "Bounced Checks Of Love."

Sunny Hill track is actually "Darling Of All Hearts," not limiting itself to all my hearts.

Irish maybe, although I was immediately reminded of more local Scandinavian sounds. 'Featuring' star Harim also plays the swedish instrument Nyckelharpa (which produces similar sounds to the Norwegian Hardinger fiddle), but even the vocals during the 'lalala' part sound very, very Swedish 'trad' in my head. The dance supports the connection.

In LOEN's description of the track on YouTube:

"The song has a Bohemian polka-rhythm along with Jungle and Rock feelings with it as well.... the musician 'Hareem' joined as a session to make the music even more fun. The greek bouzouki, nyckelharpa, Drehleier, and the Irish Whistle is personally owned by Hareem himself. These instruments are rarely found in Korea, and in this song they make the polka even much more fun to listen to."

I claim over on Rolling Country that the polka element makes it country, and the Bohemian element makes it folkie. (I'm joking about the latter, but only partly joking about the former.)

Song credited to Kim Yena (I'm guessing this is not a spelling variant on frequent LOEN songwriter Kim Eana, though obv I think the latter is a possibility) and LOEN in-house producer KZ. Neither name seems Swedish, or Greek, or Bohemian. Or Irish.

Unfortunately it is Kim Eana spelled in yet another way.

Well, it's an interesting song, so I'm not unhappy that Eana had a hand in it (the lyrics about being the shoulder everyone else cries on while not having a romance of one's own to cry about are likely her contribution). Do you know if Hwang Soo-ah did the vid?

Are you saying we should all be crossposting to other threads, Frank? Because I've had a hankering to put Smoky Girl in the RnB thread for a while...

Appreciated the twist and noted together with some youtubers theme similarities to GLAM's I Like That.

Directed by Hwang Soo-Ah, yes.

I think of Girl's Day as one of the more flavourless and dull groups in k-pop (who only found real success with their last single), but they deliver the weird with the lyrics for their new single 'Female President'. It's a love song, but it gets to its point via this chorus:

"Even our president is a woman
why is it such a big deal
is it a crime if a girl steals the first kiss?"

(1) Girl's Day do seem kinda workaday and generic and not distinctive. But this just goes to show how great K-pop is at the moment, since Girl's Day to my mind have had two great and one very good single, which is a lot (as much as Sistar/Sistar19 including wondrously talented singer Hyorin): "Nothing Lasts Forever," just a bit of knock-it-out-in-a-(girl's)-day dance r&b that yanks an emotive pang out of their ordinary voices; "Oh! My God," a switch in concept to cartoon kiddie martial arts that's got even more bubble than "Bubble Pop!"; and "Expectation," kinda splits the difference between the two; sparks and yet another emotive melody that reminds me of the bodega pop I left NYC too early to experience first hand.

(2) I don't really have time for ilX at the moment, so I'm not actually here; this post is just a mirage. Anyhow, I'm too busy to attend to yet another thread. But as a matter of fact this week I had the exact same thought as forapper, that "Smoky Girl" needs to be on the R&B thread as Terius and Tricky goin' to the disco. Damn intense song, even if the singing barely gets by. Go to it, Sonya. Also, someone should post Lee Hi's two Kpopstar audition tracks there, which are still the best things I've heard from her: "Bust Your Windows," the incongruity of centuries of dark pain coming from the mouth of that hopeful cute girl; I really think her version is a better approach than Jazmine Sullivan's; Hi doesn't overpower the song, she just sits in it; and then is even better several weeks hence on "For You"; she fleeces and dissects what should have been an impossible ballad, is too strained on the high notes but returns immediately to controlled passion. I don't think K-pop knows what to do with her. She should be in America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yMqL1iWfku4

yessssssssss

http://www.whereisgirlsgeneration.com/

xpost: done! I didn't bring up Lee Hi, for one because her audition was last year and for two because I'm not as into the nuances of vocal performances as you, Frank. But Gummy's All for Love is another contender for that thread.

that 2pm song you posted in the rolling r&B thread is great, forapper

:D

I usually post stuff here that was omonatheydidnt first, but here's a great thing they missed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJMWhJdjlpg

Also on Lim Kim's excellent mini-album are Number 1, Colorring and Alice!

Seems like an indie song, but looking into it a bit more Lim Kim is Kim Ye Rim is one half Two Months (also known as two gaewol), third place finalists of the same Superstar K season that gave us Busker Busker and Ulala Session.

Also! This! Is awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCoyBAXAtEk

Beating out MYNAME for the boyband-falsetto-of-emotional-turmoil spot in my heart.

Well indie flavored artists have been dominating the Korean talent shows for a while now. "All Right" has done very well on the charts.

Ha, that's true

Tymee gets down and angry (I definitely recommend the angry, though it's nsfw) (h/t David Frazer, yet again).

so you guys... is it poppin'??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRSRpXPZVdM

Not sure yet if it's poppin'. Don't think so. Is bright and summery, and the beats push but clumsily. That's often my opinion of Brave Brothers, that his tracks are blatant in a way that only sometimes works. Except...

You'll prob'ly be pleased that After School's Brave Brothers-produced "First Love" has been a beautiful grower for me. Is a crème brûlée kinda sound, which I usually pass over, but this one just seeps in (appropriate enough, for crème). Mr. Brothers has had a lot of la-la-la in his mood recently.

Two other tracks on the Maxi Single I like almost as much, "Love Beat" which snatches every hook and technique it can find; remember that Hi Tack remix of "Say Say Say" that builds off of a repeating riff and vocal? This repeats like that but then shifts into surprising chords; adds processed vocals that manage to combine wailing and chirping. Crowded, but I like that crowd. Also like "Dressing Room"; the writing credits include Linda Sundblad, whose "Lose You" made my top ten back in 2007.

"First Love" fanchant code.

I think that I shall never see a poem ugly as a twee, and Togeworl's "Number 1" makes me reach for my hatchet. But Lim Kim's "All Right" is better than all right, is more matter-of-fact, has a steady uninflected "Girl From Ipanema" thing going on.

respect to the guy w the SATAN 13 shirt in that 4minute video

Is It Poppin' has been a big grower for me, at first I thought it was too light and breezy to pop but now I like it a lot.

wow at 'birthday cake' popping up in the middle of dressing room

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEVd9pSG85Q

Minzy <3

Minzy <3 x2

Lovely! Maybe a bit slight for a comeback single, but they look so relaxed and gorgeous that I can't complain. Didn't realise how much I've missed Bom's voice too.

I like it a lot. Nice hot summer night tune.

this song is amazing

incredible beat + white reggae vibes + extremely slight chorus = idk

great video though

minzy <3 x3

would love a solid gold soda fountain cup

BEG meet Primary on new single. Killer! http://youtu.be/oAzppvv6xjw

that's great

awesome song, Primary has been on fire this year.

"There's a new update. It looks like I'll be seeing you all as a solo artist. Don't forget T-ara's Ahreum. Thank you for giving me so much love. I felt so much love at the fan meeting and while promoting with T-ara. In the future, I'll be meeting you all with an image that's a few thousand times better than the Ahreum you saw in 'Countryside Life'. The time I had with the unnis will be a fond memory, but Ahreum will most likely be returning solo. Still, the unnis will continue to be active, so don't forget them and don't forget Ahreum either. Ahreum fighting and T-ara fighting. Thank you so much for loving Ahreum until now. Please don't ever forget the songs or performance I had with T-ara. I miss you. I love you." (allkpop)(h/t David Frazer yet again.)

I'm not even gonna comment, except that I'll mention that - finally - I actually like a rap by Ahreum, on "Target," and I like that her remit now includes wit as well as wails. Oh yeah, and over on my lj I made a callout to Subdee to comment on the blatantly obsessive predatory love-seeking in the lyrics.

(By "wit" I mean the way Ahreum delivered her rap; the farewell statement seems straightforward enough, though not exhaustively informative.)

You mean the predatory love-seeking on Target? There are suddenly a whole bunch of girl-takes-the-lead songs out, but Target does go a step further into being more blatantly about manic love than most. But then T-ara have always come on pretty strong. I like the little dig at Apink's Hush, a song where the lyric about not wanting to approach the guy first has always seemed disingenuous to me, at odds with the full-steam-ahead backing music.

Once upon a time, a pretty witch came to the town. One day, she pushed(?) back, to bring out the...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_MeX2_dAu8#at=15

Turan!!!

I also kind of like Rania Up, an advertisement for a water park. But mostly Shinhwa This Love is growing on me, more and more.

One day she put a spell to bring out the...

Double!!

Oh, put a spell. That makes so much more sense...

BESTie, containing three ex-members of EXID, debuts with the most stereotypically Kpop song ever made: http://youtu.be/gtyi5LQdfBE

It's not a bad song, actually it's fairly decent. But next to the dictionary definition of late aughts/early teens Kpop, you will find this song used as an accompanying illustration.

Speaking of songs that play it safe, A Pink's NoNoNo is decent as well!

BESTie are way more interesting in their interview than they are in their song. I especially like Dahye responding to the question about who plays what role in the group with "I'm in charge of waist-hip-pelvis line." Also love their playing with the cute-vs.-sexy concept thing, since obviously they don't buy into the dichotomy. A thought I've been working on: you can't possibly understand K-pop if you actually believe that "cute" and "sexy" are opposite to one another. Sunny* of SNSD would be completely beyond your comprehension, as would E.via/Tymee. As would T-ara, as would the video-to-video image shifts by Girl's Day, as would the Orange Caramel/After School shenanigans. Even HyunA as sex princess / haughty moll / lovable dork / pikachu cutie-cake / bubble-pop pie would be pretty disorienting. Nonetheless, the idea of cute vs. sexy is obviously a common reference, the idea having force even though no one can possibly believe it. And since it has force, performers can play with it.

BESTie are with YNB Entertainment so I'm guessing have no ties left with AB Entertainment or Shinsadong Tiger, the producer/writer whose baby EXID is. YNB also seems to share control of the hip-hop-leaning girl group D-Unit with D-Business Entertainment. Someone'll have to diagram it all for me.

*The cutie-pie hottie who'll show leg on a lark and will pout for fun and make no bones about the fact that she's the smartest person in the room.

*The cutie-pie hottie who'll show leg on a lark and will pout for fun and make no bones about the fact that she's the smartest person in the room.

^^my eyes jumped to this and i thought it was like an engrish press release

Meaning what?

Distressingly, I've been spending a couple hours unable to find any remaining Eng Sub versions on the web of SNSD And The Dangerous Boys Ep 8, for which I apparently wrote the (imo) dead-on accurate press release. The available clips of the leg-showing, jammed together and out of context, come off as just wanton and ridiculous, rather than the short diversions they actually were (but here they are if you want to see), but there is a decent excerpt of the Cross Examination Of Yoona. What strikes me about that second bit of business is how incredibly humane Sunny and Yoona are being to the boys. It's a reality show, and the idea is that the members of SNSD are mentoring some teenage boys who've been in trouble in school. (Pause for a moment to think of the equivalent on American TV: Britney Spears and Rihanna take in hand troubled teenagers, gently demonstrating to them how to negotiate the difficulties of adolescence. Nine episodes. Edifying.) While the boys were trying to sleep, one of them kept getting on the nerves of another, wouldn't let up, so the other threw a small desk lamp at him, hard, but (says the perpetrator) deliberately missing. So SNSD concoct a mock trial, Sunny as Clarence Darrow for the defense. So what Sunny and Yoona are doing, in effect, is coming up with a way to tell the kids, Look, it's human, you get tired, you screw up and you spin out, we're like that too. But my feeling is that if you say that directly to a kid, with warmth, you're actually making him feel weak, as if he needs your reassurance (and who are you, adult superstar, to tell me you understand me and that you're like me?). Whereas if you show it, in a mock trial, with hilarity rather than "sympathy," they maybe are able to receive the (genuinely sympathetic) message.

(Too bad the clip cuts off when it does; right afterwards, Yoona is saying what she'd have done in the boy's situation, rather than what the boy actually did, and Sunny immediately tries to get her ruled out of order for going beyond the scope of the question.)

Ah, found it. Here's Eng Sub of the final two segments (last half) of episode 8. Court starts at 3:43 of the second-to-the-last segment, Sunny's examination of Yoona starts at 4:02 of the final segment. Sunny does leg stuff at 11:25, 11:56, 16:31, and 17:29 of the second-to-the-last segment.

GGDB8 3-4
GGDB8 4-4

Sunny is the best

On a slightly different note, EXO's Let Out the Beast!

Emotional-manly-man/flowery-cutie-boy is the boyband equivalent of the cute/sexy divide, and it doesn't really work either. Though in general boybands have more leeway outside of that binary.

Also, the insistence that girls can either be cute and innocent, or sexual and deviant, makes a bit more sense when you consider how huge the sex trade is in South Korea.

Let Out the Beast, take 2: http://youtu.be/0x51LEcRVT4

Tymee tweeted on June 22nd: "다같이 원! 빠빠 빠~빠~ 빠빠빠빠" (Google Translate gives us "Won together! Bar-Bar-ppappa ppappa ppappa"). Also likes "Dancing Queen."

Infinite Destiny: http://youtu.be/BDbpE6qHDSA

Not sure the huge MV budget improves the final product - why build a huge set if you're just going to dance in it in formation like always? - but am pleasantly surprised by the song. Normally teasers have the best 5 seconds and the full version disappoints, this but this is much better than the "you're my destiny" hook parts. I think the song loses some momentum at the 2:30 mark when they try to shoehorn in more time for Infinite's weaker singers/rapper, though. Should have skipped all of that and kept it under 3:30.

Get hyped, my favorite k-pop group f(x) is coming back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4u3BzM0rqo

I am hype! They're rockin the indie aesthetic, too.

I love that they're sticking with that approach, no doubt the single will sound like f(x) and only f(x) again as well.

Omonatheydidnt demographics 2013 http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/11467637.html

http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/turdferguson/9674166/38618/38618_original.png

http://25.media.tumblr.com/cd76bd7c123c2dc79b519db618d50c0c/tumblr_mpxhbd9yZJ1rb6p8oo1_1280.png

Bar Bar Bar is having a bit of a second life on the charts

http://i.imgur.com/cXlwlav.gif

The Loof Loof is on fire!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfOtieDrDkA

OMG that song is terribad, I'm tempted to put it on the "worst pop songs of 2013" thread. On the plus side, it's a better big-budget video than Infinite's.

And there's no way that "the loof is on fire" is NOT an intentional mispronunciation - especially on a song that uses "we are hurricane" as the hook. I enjoy bad English as much as anyone but this just fees like pandering.

OK OK, so the song is not really that bad. Except for the chorus coming out of the dance break, that part is inexcusable. The rest is bombastic and oversung, but produced at a high level.

Nah the song is pretty terrible except for the post-chorus bits. How sloppy is that bridge :(

What's the best K-Pop song of 2013 so far?

I don't actually think of songs that way, but

I Like That (GLAM)
I Got a Boy (SNSD)
On and On (VIXX)
Get Up (EvoL)
Sweet Dream (MFBTY)
Rhythm is Life (Gaeko)
This Love (Shinhwa)
Lie (NSONIC)
Mama Beat (Lc9)

are all pretty high up there for me right now. Also really like both 4minute summer jams, and 2NE1 Falling in Love, Psy's Gentleman (which is also a summer jam, tragically released too early the year), and VIXX's hyde, and Shinee's Dream Girl/Why So Serious, and Jay Park's Joah, and G.NA ft Illhoon's Oops, and MBLAQ's Smokey Girl, and 2pm's ADTOY, and B1A4's What's Going On, and Lim Kim's All Right, and Sistar19's Gone Not Around Any Longer, and Teen Top Miss Right, and Tara N4 Jeon Won Diary, and Delight MegaYak, and C-Clown Shaking Heart, and Lee Hi Special/Turn it Up, and Zion.T Babbay, and MIB Money in the Building, and AA Come Back, and Kim Sori Dual Life, and Chocolat Black Tinkerbell, and Crayon Pop Bar Bar Bar.

This is also an awesome song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G52NcdrLO_A#at=51

Apart from how much they love BAP, Germany has pretty good taste, actually: Top 20 Kpop Songs in Germany for July 2013

If I had to pick one... toss-up between Get Up and This Love.

Here're ten:

Crayon Pop "Bar Bar Bar"
Gaeko & Choiza & Simon D & Primary "난리good!!! (AIR)"
GLAM "I Like That"
MBLAQ "Smoky Girl"
Evol "Get Up"
Tiny-G "Minimanimo"
ChoColat "Black Tinkerbell"
Z.Hera "Peacock"
2YOON "24/7"
Baek Ji Young "떠올라"

If you want to count Koreans singing in Japanese, Qri's "Do We Do We" would be in there too.

I endorse most of those I haven't listed that are on forapper's list, especially VIXX's very Rick Jamesish "On And On" and Gaeko's "Rhythm Is Life."

forapper's full list covered most of what I would have listed. Some other songs I really liked are:

SPEED - Pain the Love of Heart
MR.MR - Highway
Two X - Ring Ma Bell
Ladies' Code - Bad Girl
Rania - Just Go
GI - Beatles
Jewelry - Hot&Cold
Both Infinite H tracks
SNSD - Love&Girls
After School - First Love (Reminds me a lot of Bardeux's When We Kiss)

I dunno about -best- but the ones I've played the most this year are Get Up, Gone Not Around Any Longer, Smoky Girl and Highway. Special mention to that weird debut by ODD EYE posted somewhere upthread - the one that sounds like Korean Planningtorock.

Infinite's recent song is better when they do (an abridged version of) it live.

About the video, the company says:

"INFINITE returned with their "Destiny" MV which was marked "ver. B" in the title, indicating that there is perhaps a "ver. A" waiting for us, and Woollim Entertainment confirmed that there is a "ver. A" heading our way.

Woollim Entertainment explained that the version we saw was actually an edited version of the original. The video was edited after the unfortunate Asiana plane crash in order to show respect for the tragic event. Thus, all the plane scenes that were included in the MV had been cut out.

The agency commented, "We are currently discussing our plans about whether to release [ver. A]. We are discussing towards the direction of releasing it, but the exact time period has not yet been decided."

Seems that the original version of the MV had scenes of a plane crash, moving Kpop forward from Big Bang's Love Song, which merely had a car falling from the sky and exploding. I guess it was supposed to be the follow-up to the rolling car in The Chaser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnku4o3tRB4&feature=youtu.be

it doesn't really stray from their usual stuff but i'm appreciating that it's a slow burner after the onslaught of electric shock

Pretty vocal layering. It's a little bit of a let down after their teasers but a solid song with high production values. I like the kind of "Eastern" melody.

Also this is the first Kpop song in a while where everything comes together in just the right way, and the whole thing feels experimental and interesting but also universally accessible and just undeniably good - like I could show this to any serious music fan and expect them to like it.

As of this week the Gaon Chart is no longer letting us freeloaders look at entries from 101 to 200. I'll have trouble tracking my low-tier darlings from now on. In any event, back on June 27, Crayon Pop's "Bar Bar Bar" entered the chart at an anemic 143, lifted a little to 90 on July 4 on the heels of a Music Core appearance, slipped back to 116 on July 11, seemingly prepared to join my faves GLAM, Evol, Tiny-G, ChoColat, Z.Hera, and D-Unit in the Land Of Flopperooni. But then on July 18 (w/ no single precipitate cause that I've been able to identify; I assume the catchiness and the dance were steadily building support) it hopped to 54, and today is at 18. This is the digital chart I've been tracking. Is also 18 on Gaon's Mobile chart, 20 on the Download chart, 22 on the Background Music chart, 26 on the Social chart, and 29 on the Streaming chart. Anyway, over the last few days it's been hovering between 10 and 15 on most of the daily and real-time charts (in top ten on Melon, in the 20s on Monkey3, and of course it hit number one on Melon's video chart the other day). So it might peak just outside the top ten, though appearances on the TV performance shows could give it another surge (Crayon Pop had only gotten to perform "Bar Bar Bar" once on Music Core and once on M! Countdown until today, when they were back on M! Countdown. Hope the other three of the Big 4'll will give 'em a full slate this weekend.

I doubt that the slow rise (as opposed to the usual flash-and-fade trajectory of most idol tracks) is as unprecedented as some online commenters are saying: with little-known groups on small labels it's really the only route up, and I'm guessing that when a hip-hop group breaks through it also follows that path, though I have no actual information. The dip down and back up is unusual; I suspect that "Bar Bar Bar" was losing airplay just as the dance and vid were gaining word-of-mouth support, and when the latter kicked in it got the airplay back.

In other chart news, Shinsadong Tiger, who'd had a relatively quiet year, now has two tracks in the top five, just as he did two summers ago. But those two (T-ara's "Roly-Poly" and HyunA's "Bubble Pop!") were wonderful, whereas our current prizes, Ailee's "U & I" and Apink's "NoNoNo" feel botched to me (though not to many fans, obviously). Ailee seems to have lost any sense of give-and-take in her bombast, while "NoNoNo" is yet another nice bit of summer breeze but has this strange bumblefunk accompaniment that makes the ride gusty and choppy. Last year, when Tiger created a similar mismatch on Jewelry's "Look At Me," it worked brilliantly, a fetching bit of high-style pleading thrown atop a rough-n-gritty accompaniment that could have been a B-side tossoff from King Records' blue-collar 1950s r&b catalog. So I'm glad the Tig is still up and interesting, just wish I enjoyed this year's version as much as previous models.

And speaking of unexpected surges (okay not really...), Tahiti's new track is surprisingly great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9-VHJtQEGU

I was expecting this group to sink into obscurity, so this is a pleasant surprise!

Also not sure if we talked about Female President yet but this week's performance was right on.

I posted 'Lovesick' to Omona and the thread turned into an Aly and AJ appreciation post:

http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/11515412.html?view=1113204756#t1113204756

Not quite ready to comment on fx yet.. meanwhile here's one hell of a rookie music video. North / South reunited at last!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkxa8C_6iS4

Holy bovini! It's been Armato & James week on the two ilX threads I pay any attention to anymore, what with me finally picking up on Chuck's cue on Rolling Country and listening to Kacey Musgraves' "See You Again" and learning that it really is "See You Again" and then following the link here to Subdee's Omonatheydidnt "Love Sick" thread and finding a controversy over whether Tahiti's ripping off "Potential Breakup Song."

It's kinda got the hook and chords but I don't think it's nearly close enough to constitute plagiarism. Don't think it's nearly as good as "Potential Breakup Song," either. And I'm flabbergasted that there's been a new 78Violet (Aly & AJ) song out for almost three weeks without my knowing about it.

Kpop is my favorite genre, though I am interested in European music..

omg abcfsk I think that might be my favourite video of the year. Amazing.

that video, wow

actually it's touching and kind of sad and bittersweet... when j.fla wakes up from her stupid story dream, both sides are still in detente

that video is... unbelievable. haha, wow.

For number junkies:

Until Apink's "NoNoNo" went to #3 last week, no idol group that had debuted in the last two-and-a-half years, since the beginning of 2011, had put a song in the Top 5. Not B1A4, not EXO (who apparently have in China, but haven't come close in Korea), not Block B, not B.A.P. And I don't mean that no idol groups have gone top 5 with their debuts, but that none of those 2011-and-on idol groups have gone top 5 at all. (With singles; albums and EPs are a different market.) Some "indie" groups from talent-show hell have hit, some successful ballad singers may be new (I haven't been tracking them), and solo acts Ailee and Lee Hi have gone #1 (though whether they're "idol" is somewhat iffy); but fame only has a limited number of slots, and among the K-pop idol groups, the relative veterans (Classes Of 2007-2010 more or less) have been holding them.

But if early-in-the-week numbers on the daily and real-time charts hold up over the next six days - we probably won't know for sure until the Thursday after next - there'll soon be another idol group to join Apink in breaking this barrier:

CRAYON POP!

Astonishing. Right now "Bar Bar Bar" is top 5 on all the real-time charts except Monkey3. Is number 2 on mnet.

f(x)' album sounds very solid on first listen. My impression is it does as an album what all of the group's singles have done so far, stay true to to their unique flavour and freshness.

what do you think of Airplane abc? seen a lot of people rave about it but it just sounds like k-pop making a mess of j-pop to me. that said it's an interesting mess...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6S9WNunDi8

The spoken-word parts on Airplane are terrible. Which is too bad, because it's a pretty song.

On the other hand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3dezFzsNss

<33333

Also LOL at this year's most hilarious sponsored remix: No drinks for me tonight... I'll just have some of that... GLACEAU vitamin water! ft. Tablo and Lee Hi.

I enjoyed that Niel, Kwanghee and Eunji Fanta CF quite a bit as well.

Don't love that f(x) song but I'll check out the whole album tomorrow.

wow that EXO video is incredible.

Isn't it? Looks computer-generated in parts.

Some songs I have been enjoying tonight that I don't think have been specifically mentioned in this thread:

VIXX - G.R.8.U. http://youtu.be/zIJaJjVOJfE
VIXX continue to be totally unsubtle in this video wanting to rewind time to before things got messed up. Follow-up to "hyde"

Henry - Trap http://youtu.be/prurE5jKrBg
Song has never blown me away but the piano and live vocals always sound refreshing after heavily autotuned and electronic songs; I'm always happy when it comes up in playlists.
Am breathlessly awaiting the English version, which is said to contain such immortal lyrics as "Like a kitty in a cage/Like a puppy in a box on a plane/I'm trapped"

f(x) Step http://youtu.be/QQvgvEf5DFE
My favorite song on the album, but man do I wish the lyrics weren't about putting other girls down for being too stereotypically girly.
I hope whichever Norwegian songwriter sold the demo retained the rights to this track and we get something better than this out it.

Say Yes - Feel Good http://youtu.be/cCj4E-UGxFY
LEDApple better watch themselves, a younger group with their same big-band sound is gunning for them.

BTS - We Are Bulletproof http://youtu.be/sdTyZcXFDfc
Speaking of younger groups, I have a friend who's obsessed with these guys. How old are they, like twelve? (The youngest is 15.)
Not here for raps about pulling all nighters in the practice room instead of going to school, but the backing track is solid.

Dynamix Duo ft. Muzie of UV - Baaam http://youtu.be/rPnpIsak0zU
For people who loved #Beautiful and Get Lucky. Amoeba records is having an amazing year this year, putting out tons of great tracks

Teen Top - Clap Encore http://youtu.be/XixRDbtEhbM
It's a remake of their first song, in celebration. Superior to the original version, and to most Teen Top songs, because they let Niel sing most of it. Niel has great voice...
Also of note, the life preserver staff throw to the member of Teen Top (C.A.P.?) who can't swim, but jumped into the pool with the rest of them anyway. Dedication!

BEAST - Shadow http://youtu.be/GBq4ojFm5IY
Not as good as "Will You Be All Right?" but a solid song. BEAST lyrics always irk me, though, for some reason. Maybe it's because they're supposed to be a "serious" group but they never self-reflect.

100% - Want You Back http://youtu.be/99YEL-UuBRc
This is actually a really good song! If you only listen to one song from this post, listen to this one.

MIB - Nod Along http://youtu.be/ZMi6h67T1MQ
And speaking of irksome lyrics... this is quite a good song though, too, damn them.

Finally:

Xia Junsu - Incredible http://youtu.be/XmYXjWO69-A
There's nothing specifically Kpopish or original about this one, but I found myself enjoying it quite a bit on this night, tonight, when I can't fall sleep. :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQvgvEf5DFE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XixRDbtEhbM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99YEL-UuBRc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMi6h67T1MQ

xp Airplane is pretty good, spoken word parts make it more than just a generically pretty and catchy tune- reminds me more of American pop in melody than Japanese, though, but I can sorta see where you come from. Not f(x)-y or special enough to be a single, like some fans want.

I don't see at all how 'Step' is meanly putting down anyone - it's about a girl who chooses differently that day, who acknowledges the choice is there, to go with sneakers, to run quickly past those who don't... a positive enough message, if the few words there can be said to have a message.

It's because women denigrating stereotypically feminine things and asserting their rights to choose differently is second-wave feminism, and we're in third-wave feminism right now, reclaiming the feminine and insisting that it be equally valued.

And f(x) are obviously saying their choice is better. f(x) are all about being superior to other people, that's a big part of their charm.

You are right that "Girls! You can wear sneakers! They're more practical than heels!" is a positive message, though.

When was that established as being part of their charm? Not sure I've caught that vibe.

There's no denigrating an alternative here imo. "Today I let go of those things and run with the wind" is all.

And in my opinion "you don't have to doll up all the time", if that's the point, is still worth reminding people of here in Korea. Not said enough in the media, that's for sure. Not that I would praise the lyrics for being particularly powerful stuff.

I was half-joking, but f(x) are best known for Nu ABO, aren't they?

If you're reading a lot of third-wave feminism stuff, you can see it in Step too, that's all. I'm not being totally serious, I know that the context in Korea is different.

What're the odds MIB (the Kpop group) got permission from Warner Brothers to use props from MIB (the movie) in Men In Black, do you think?

Boo URL reformatting. It's this: http://youtu.be/mAIG2G5TAV4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwVWMmcM7HQ

Video to San E's "Story Of Someone I Know" gives a reason for the breakup that the song lyrics don't seem to.

Spelling things out (D-O-Y-O-U-L-O-V-E-M-E) is an old and tired trick for Teddy, and the song as a whole is a lot safer and more generic than Falling in Love. I'm happy to see CL singing again, though - she's a better singer than rapper and she's still got it.

Korea's first "twerking"-themed idol group can't twerk or even shake their asses in time with the beat, but their debut song is surprisingly fun: http://youtu.be/lOdG3jctLtM

I mean, don't get me wrong, I think their whole enterprise is misguided - from the forced group concept to the fake tans. But the song is actually pretty decent.

Whoever it was on omona that predicted that this group would have a terrible "rapper" was OTM, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot_P_6c-3t8

"do you love me" as a song is kinda whatever but as a video it's unreal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRTb81FpWq0

The low-budgetness of this is shocking. I think they filmed the "club" scenes in Teddy's Twosome cafe. Sheesh.

Anyway it's hipster party-cam video with some Cassius thrown in, but the oddballs in 2NE1 are quite charming, it is true.

Maybe (probably) it's the Brave Brothers fangirl in me speaking, but Bigstar - Run and Run is a lot of fun.

That was a link to their live stage as the MV is pretty dire: http://youtu.be/RgnJOc0bkf8

Actually, why not, here's the Bigstar video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtN99rbBAlk

Also I assume we're all too embarrassed by BAP's Badman to post it. I will say that they almost, <i>almost</i>, manage to save it live: http://youtu.be/6ww0zdEsxsM

so far i feel like my favourite songs of the year aren't so much whole songs but the last minute of I Got a Boy or T-ARA N4's single or I Like That. When all the disparate hooks that have been stitched together throughout the songs are thrown together to bring home the whole song. It's like candy to my ears. It even redeems The Baddest Female towards the end, only just.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2013/08/11/K-Pop-phenomenon-brings-hope-for-peace-in-the-Mideast.html

Enjoying this more than Sunshine: Rainbow - Don't Touch.