K-pop 2013

i don't know about you guys but k-pop has been dead lately. good thing we have a heap of comebacks next month. I'm looking forward to Miss A, T-ara, SNSD, 2NE1, curious about IU.

yeah, I've been watching WIN, the YG boy group competition show. That's some emotionally manipulative shit right there. :/

MISS A COMEBACK???

It's been so dead, for real. The other day I found myself thinking 'this Piggy Dolls song isn't too bad...' and then I realized there was a reason I'd been playing the local Indian subcontinent radio station 24/7 (http://tunein.com/radio/HumDesi-NY-1047-s89699/, their 3-8pm EST drive-home show is excellent).

GDragon's album was reviewed by Pitchfork and MTV Iggy, btw. I haven't been watching WINNER (the Big Bang documentary was bad enough), but I've been watching VIXX TV, which has a lot of meta-level talk about redoing takes, avoiding standard idol answers, and being edited out.

Speaking of GDragon, I blame him for the dearth of notable new music... other big companies are clearly trying to avoid scheduling their major releases during his promotions. On the music shows, he's been competing with himself for the top spot. KARA did manage to snatch a music show win last week, though (in a week when the competition wasn't aired due to the Thanksgiving holidays).

new T-ara track will be by Shinsadong Tiger... teaser's starting tomorrow!

i read that Shinsadong Tiger is now running a label under LOEN entertainment. So I guess EXID are completely gone now?

RIP EXID ;_; NEVER FORGET!

Don't think they're gone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26_F392ir7Q

I wish they'd put Saturday Night on the mini (with Bing Bing 2.0 and Bar Bar Bar Internatl Ver), though that song is perfect and doesn't need a remix. But that would have been an awesome tracklist.

I wanna reiterate my love for "G" (aiming high with a reference to "Gee"): http://youtu.be/aRQ1rrZu1so

http://i.minus.com/iKdBSrhcm1mPP.gif

it feels like you could make a pretty extensive playlist of kpop songs where someone says "leggo"

i haven't been in here for a while but i really like damaged lady

Working on an article and queueing up full Kpop albums I like this year, I came up with this list:

SHINee - Why So Serious? The Misconceptions of Me
Seungri - Let's Talk about Love (first half)
Sistar19 - Gone Not Around Any Longer
Zion.T - Red Light
Gaeko - Rhythm is Life (single) (I know, I know, but it's that good)
4minute - Name is 4Minute

And in the flawed and lulzy but I love them anyway pile... AA - Come Back

Also wanna give shout-outs to VIXX - hyde and Teen Top - Teen Top Class, which have too many standard boyband songs on them to make the list but which are elevated by strong vocals (from Ken and Niel, respectively) and interesting production choices.

Also wanna give a shout-out to Sistar's album tracks Up and Down and Bad Boy, both of which are stronger than the title track Give It to Me.

What about you guys - do you have favorite albums or album tracks this year?

I think the only full album I've listened to this year was Hyori's Monochrome but I really, really liked it

Actually enjoyed GD's album in the end, just not any of the songs with outside collaborators lol. Sick of seeing him win on the music shows, but otoh good stage performances like "Who You?" helped - hadn't seen him that laidback and loose in years.

Love "Signal" and "Airplane" off the f(x) album, and other songs like "Pretty Girl", "Kick" and "Step" really grew on me - so relentless.

I'm not against all the wins because... the competition isn't all the great right now, haha. He actually lost one this week, though, to Soyou x Mad Clown. I was surprised because (overhyped or not) any track off Coup d'Etat is better than their duet. But SKorea loves them as a couple, I guess... and more importantly GD wasn't on that show to promote.

That Who You? performance was good, and I also liked the most recent Crooked performance, which was done in one take without so many props and costumes. Whether it's that it's easier to perform with fewer things to worry about, or GD was feeling more confident so he wasn't overcompensating as much, sometimes you just want the performance without all the flash.

This one: http://youtu.be/0VfFRRNDgVs Though I take it back, seems like they did build a special stage just for this performance, lol.

Yeah, I just heard Airplane by f(x), and it's amazing. Max Tundra'ish in the chorus. Haven't at all heard k-pop this year, will have to catch up.

I realize this is old news, but I scanned some old posts and didn't see sunmi '24hrs':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UmDrsMlXXg

still playing this one all the time.

"airplane" is cool but doesn't quite hang together for me. "step" is the pink tape track I've listened to like 50 times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3080m4Z7d-s

!

WOWW @ this high-heeled wearing rookie boyband with glorious abs, N.O.M.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmlYkbcVeA

Influenced by the amazing Ukrainian boyband Kazaky:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhN5yv8lvdc

I love this concept!! If only the song wasn't a Sexyback ripoff, sigh... fingers crossed they'll stick around and work on better music.

Listening to IU's new album. The teasers were stylish but so far this is leaving zero impression. Right now the only tracks I even sort of like are "Wait" and - actually - the one composed by SHINee's Jonghyun.

Disappointed with the first of the big-name October comebacks, hopefully the next one (9muses? T-ara?) will be better.

I was eagerly awaiting IU's album during the long wait but when the teasers and tracklist hit I lost all hope that it would be what I wanted. So I came to it with low expectations and little enthusiasm. From that perspective I think the album sound decent on first listen. It's not as awkwardly pastiche-y as I feared from teasers. Some songs sound like ones I'll stay with.

The best track is 'Bad Day' which was revealed live a long time ago. I really like the single but I never really doubted that. Fun MV http://youtu.be/Q0xvVgKJxfs

I mean the blabla mr chaplin type nods in 'Modern Times' (the song) is what I feared the whole album would be and luckily it's not. But as well-meaning as Loen Tree always come off I think they're still too caught on some superficial idea of finding the right 'concept' here instead of IU's strengths as performer and songwriter.

Yeah, that sounds right to me. The tracks themselves are just sort there - competantly executed but not particularly complex paint-by-numbers retro-jazz. And IU doesn't help matters when she approaches nearly every track with the same sighing delivery. It's a relaxing CD but the competent pastische combined with the delivery makes it boring. I like the Jonghyun track just because she's not sighong her way through that one. Will listen to 'Bad Day' again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk52ypnGs68

Is it their 9th hit single?

Here's the (superior?) second single: http://youtu.be/7IzezDJrHoU

And the club version: http://youtu.be/EbceZjBEhdQ

I'm into Number 9. OG T-ara still got it.

Here's a rather odd pairing of VIXX and indie duo Oksang Dalbit http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/11938812.html

Although I like it for the turning of tables of girls as band + songwriters and the boys as pretty singers in front.

I thought that song was kinda boring, but I liked their joint performance of "An Ideal Man" on YHY's Sketchbook: http://youtu.be/9QoJ_Hkg_EU <-- Super qt, both the girls and the boys.

Also, while we're sharing the VIXX love, here's an ace acapella arrangement of On and On: http://youtu.be/LcyZDjaiLTc?t=16m20s

And of course the infamous VIXXgirls: http://youtu.be/SeR2DYTOOEQ

Number 9 has a really great rising chorus.

Dialect rap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fuuyY2leb0

There are some really solid tracks on the Nine Muses album... besides the single, which is fun in a pleasantly-passing-the-time-until-we-can-hammer-the-chorus-into-your-head kind of way**, there's at least two or three other tracks that are sounding pretty good right now.

**The chorus of GUN is reminding me of Girl's Day - Twinkle... Not complaining, just observing XD.

Standout tracks right now would be:
A Few Good Man: http://youtu.be/q6fwQ0qkikg
Ping: http://youtu.be/PKAwl5vhBD0

And Whatever, Last Scene aren't too bad either!

Kind of disappointed that they went more for the kind of the Big Bang Showtunes sound a lot of girl groups are doing right now, but Nine Muses are good at this sound because they can belt it out XD and they also sound good singing in unison, which is perfect for this kind of cheese.

The single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7pXRdkdJxI

Also, you'll want to skip the first two tracks on SHINee's Everybody mini and just listen to the rest of the album:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLklPxocon-JIrQDOlIn15ahztI2ecUy8x&v=Cj6UaeUcWl8

One more and I'm done, I swear! This is off Block B's album, it's got Jo Hyun Ah from (very respected) indie dance outfit Urban Zakapa on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsRy1McJX8I

Generally Sweetune spread themselves too thin for album projects to work. Interested in listening to the 9m if it's not just the single + filler though.

Nice new Jaurim single http://youtu.be/LrB-fJn-3w4

Definitely not, unlike some of Sweetune's other albums you could argue which 9m track should have been the single.

Late with my album list, but here we go - counting mini-albums as albums ('cause this is rehearsal for my Pazz & Jop ballot and P&J doesn't have a separate EP category) and counting After School maxi-singles as albums too since they always have more distinct new songs (as opposed to remixes, alternate versions, etc.) than anyone else's mini-albs have.

1. After School First Love EP (Pledis Entertainment)
2. Orange Caramel Orange Caramel (Avex)
3. D-Unit Affirmative Chapter.1 EP (D-Business Entertainment/Windmill Media)
4. Delight Mega Yak EP (BrosMedia Entertainment)
5. 4minute Name Is 4minute EP (Cube Entertainment)
6. Lee Hyori Monochrome (B2M Entertainment)
7. SHINee Why So Serious? The Misconceptions Of Me (The 3rd Album, Chapter 2) (SM Entertainment)

Falling further behind on everything. IU albs have never been consistent but I like the new one for going for style rather than for schlock ballads but dislike it for being overstylized. There's just no pleasing me but my thumb's more up than down on it. On first listen Tahiti and GI mini-albs are surprisingly likable. Also finding that the first couple of Psy albums from 12 and 11 years ago respectively are strong. And liking Gavy NJ from 2008. And Shin Joong Hyun/Kim Jung Mi from 1973.

Can we add BoA's Message single to that list? The B-side is really good as well: http://youtu.be/SS8FvGgjMfI

I don't think Frank crowd-sources his lists and his BoA favorites tend to come far apart and not in sync with mine, but I am enjoying that single and particularly the b-side as well and the 'rolling advertisement' business in Japan is apparently still innovating

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BXRiTm7CIAECK_1.jpg:large

Oh I know, I just thought I should attach my comment vaguely to the one that came before so it'd look more like a conversation

Those busses are really pretty

all the ones around here just have Everybody Loves Raymond Weeknights at 9 on them :O

*:( hahaha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0kJx2M1wGI

Thank you for posting the Gavy NJ song, Frank. I love it. The beat and vocal melody, as well as the general mood, are delightfully reminiscent of The Seeya's "Be With You" from last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=778DeIRW92M
A (sadly truncated) live rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3hrkID5a74

That was one of my favourites. I hope with the winter looming it'll be time for CCM to roll out The Seeya for some heartbreak and lost-love-longing again.

Here's Gavy in better quality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBE8QXqVdrg

huh. That post shows up really funny, sorry! Didn't mean to embed all the videos either.

omg @ "messegi" rolling live instrumental