K-pop (2015)

lmao

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

Preferred to title track... also Zion.T has a similar sad/lurching song out outta nowhere "Zero Gravity" https://youtu.be/P6smRvfNDL4

updating my sad-christmas playlist as I type this

Laboum's mini is quite good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=771a_-0NlUY&list=PL6zGSUU4Cv9cmFq4no9TOi_Zlj83OmckG&index=3

Saving a space for when the Sugar Sugar video comes out... but all three tracks are pleasant

Whoops didn't think that would post as a video. You'll want to go to the first track in the playlist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tna90t2je-4

Woah they have a budget! The teasers for the MV made it seem like they were gonna go the charmingly low-budget route.

EXO's album is out. Liking the third track ("What if...") and the last track ("Beautiful") so far. "Hurt" and "El Dorado" are pretty strong too.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS2NlIc8M7S0aAFm76Ub_nB89luQ0C3hs

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS2NlIc8M7S1A4BqZ925Fsf4cWOM5gvRB

Title track "Call Me Baby" sounds better in Chinese

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3q2KXABpq0&index=10&list=PLS2NlIc8M7S1A4BqZ925Fsf4cWOM5gvRB

halfway through it right now. definitely the retrenchment that "call me baby" suggested -- these songs are way more conservative than any of their previous material -- but it has its moments. i'll agree that "what if" is a highlight, and for some reason i find myself liking "call me" way more than i first thought i would. still hoping there's something as weird as "love love love" or "wolf" on here, but guessing that won't be the case.

"playboy" pretty sick, as well -- the persistent falsetto backing lines are a really nice touch.

*yes* to the breakdown in "hurt"

breakdown in "lady luck," as well

man, why do i keep coming back to "call me baby?" :B

haven't been here for a bit but yeah so this new EXO album is sooo good. and the new Miss A mini is sooo disappointing.

It's not very adventurous but it is a solid recap of their vocalists' strengths.

EXO-M (sans Luhan) sound better than expected though the Mandarin lyrics are reportedly as terrible as always.

"Playboy" was written by Jonghyun!

I keep wondering why "EXODUS" isn't the title track.

I mean, Call Me Baby is a stronger song, but EXODUS is the title of their album and has a hella sticky chorus.

The tracklisting is really good on this album.

"El Dorado" and "Playboy" moving up the ranks.

the new Miss A single has nothing to do with why i'm here for k-pop -- it's super conservative, almost stale-sounding as a production -- but the melodies are just so strong that it keeps reeling me back. very 2007/2008 chorus with a 2009 verse, but the topline seals it.

N.Sonic's "Black Out" is decent for a hook song... I know I mentioned it before but here it is again with an MV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO2yiJzSqYU

And here's the MV for Zion.T's "Zero Gravity" which is his strongest song in a while:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6smRvfNDL4

LE doing eeerrything on the new Exid album

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBrGuKeW8AAiwFK.jpg

http://cache.clien.net/cs2/data/file/park/20150403232614_6BpTHwxr_exid6.jpg

Indeed, indeed

Okay, so I've made a sort of effort to try to keep up here but Spotify is terrible for hunting this stuff unless you're familiar with the crews / labels / bands / language.

I'm going to pass off K-Pop but the list is live and collaborative if anyone is willing to pick up the mantle? Here's where she be:

Rolling K-Pop 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

Lee Moonsae gently nudging you to get off your computer/phone and clean your room:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=210&v=smVvQVCtka4

The first track on his new album ("New Direction") is excellent as well.

EXID's mini album preview is out, sounds amazing so far:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bznhU0vPVk

Ten tracks - including Up&Down and Every Night! - makes it p. much a regular album, am excite.

There's also Bastarz (Block B's P.O. with B-Bomb and U-Kwon thrown in for "service")'s mini album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjWURdzzqs0

Doesn't compare with EXID, but might (surprisingly) be the strongest of all the Block B solo things so far. (but #justiceforparkkyung)

new snsd :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b09U0KLv6I4

Sounds like a BoA B-side... which is another way of saying it sounds like something could have come out in 2011.

I always get the feeling when I watch SNSD's Japanese PVs that the videos were edited frame by frame to make their arms thinner.

I actually like the b-side "Girls" tho https://youtu.be/58PhZhzX55I

i really liked the sound of "ah yeah" from the teaser video. the original album preview that had a female voice (LE's?) doing the whisper part was more to my liking, i hope that's in the final version...but either way, it seems like they're going to hit it out of the park on the charts. looking forward to them cementing their status, since between their two power vocalists, hani's...presence, and LE's composition skills (plus the best rap voice in k-pop) they're definitely a stronger team than any household girl group in a long time.

not able to watch/hear the new SNSD but from what i've read i'm pretty sure i won't care for it. a jaoanese comeback is a japanese comeback, though -- never counts in my book, and if one winds up being good it's just a nice bonus.

SNSD are being outclassed by groups you've never heard of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=17&v=LsnlHYn12K4

(Not in dance skills, obviously.)

"Pocket Girls" are so obviously trying to be the next Badkidz it's not even funny, but this song is genuinely pretty catchy. Apparently it was written by the "Gwiyomi Player" guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUGQ7Tz4os0

If only he was less detailed and obsessive... as-is I think JYP could have passed on the booty craze and no one would've cried over it

Anyway I think this is a nominee for Rolling Worst of 2015

haven't heard yet, but that's a shame. with the momentum Miss A has right now, it would've been nice to have a mini-JYPE renaissance this year. it'd be sad to see the label go after all this time.

speaking of Miss A, though, "Only You" is doing unreal numbers here. most #1 hits on Instiz seldom have more than points in the high 100s at any given moment. 200s, sometimes. Miss A has been well over 300 with this track ever since it came out. (in comparison, "Call Me Baby" by the mighty EXO -- despite all its success on youtube and the music shows -- has been hovering in the 130s pretty much since release, on the same day as Miss A.)

now that i mention its youtube numbers, though, this reminds me that their video is pretty pervy (Miss A looking hot in their apartment and around town is fine, but to do it all through the perspective of a peeping tom/stalker is pretty dicey) and from what i understand this JYP music video is just JYP ogling asses in the gym. i know JYPE's songs and videos are all really c. 2007, but...

but damn, EXO. nearly 20 million official youtube views in a week. (and millions more across different live uploads, CD rips, etc) i wonder how this compares to the typical youtube arc of a 1D or primetime Bieber video.

The song itself isn't bad, it's the lyrics the awkwardness of JYP's detailed personality combined with his topic (in otherwords the lyrics) that makes the song bad. Plus JYP's in a mentor role to teenagers so you don't want to see him acting like a teenage horndog.

I've been enjoying Miss A's Only You a lot, it's well-done in an understated way.

To be fair he's always acted the same way. You've got to laugh a little at JYP, he's fundamentally a well-meaning dude I think, but he's not totally in control of himself and ends up stumbling not infrequently.

I've been monitoring Miss A's chart success. I knew they're a very popular group but I'm a bit confused - the song is very anonymous to me.

TBF, I'm a little more harsh on JYP than I might have been in the past because I mentor high school kids also... there's a certain responsibility to not be ridiculous when you do that.

Looking back, JYP was a little premature with the old-person makeup in "Had Enough Parties" (he's not *that* old)... the song about butts was still a bad idea though. It's like watching your favorite uncle buy a new, red sports car so he can show off his new yoga instructor GF.

YG has the best "pretending to enjoy the song" expression on Kpop Star during JYP's performance though.

@abcfsk i thought i mentioned this here, but i guess it was on reddit..."only you" is like the single most korea-sounding pop song of the past long while. the melodies are the exact kind of winding-yet-simple lines always present in the sellingest songs here (see also: "gee," "cherry blossom ending"), it's dramatic and urgent in a musical way (suzy's chorus, before the title bridge hook) that is nevertheless carefully sanitized in the production, the lyrics are endearingly desperate ("no other guy, only you") and entirely unchallenging (socially speaking), and it came to light just before release that suzy banged some rich dude she only knew for a month in a hotel in europe (which, as a super salacious revelation in korea, was the scandal wildcard: could have totally sunk the comeback if the song had a different vibe, but it now seems like the verdict on that was essentially a positive one and has led to further sales).

they're definitely a recognizable name, but aside from suzy they'd largely fallen out of the public imagination, and reading netizen comments prior to release it seems most people had written them off/were expecting it to flop. its level of success is a complete surprise to just about everyone, but makes a lot of sense now after hearing the song.

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

pretty sick. things i like: three or four totally distinct genres/grooves/emotional centers; an extremely self-reflexive and clever video, at times ("good enough" towards the end!!!!); lots and lots of hooks, even if they don't connect nearly as well as those in "up and down" did. things i don't: things not connecting nearly as well as those in "up and down" did; occasionally unintentional silliness in the video (the verse scenes of LE being really aggro and bratty were hilarious, mostly because of the hapless dude's reaction shots). and for a song with so much going on, section-to-section, it does feel strangely repetitive.

Oh yeah it's really obviously made up of separate parts... it took a while for the discrete parts of Up & Down to gel, so maybe this will be the same.

The video makes the song seem even more modular by including so few group shots. I wonder if that was on purpose and why they went in that direction if it was. Some kind of commentary modern technological alienation or just wanting to make sure every member of EXID gets her chance at the spotlight?

^commentary ON modern technological alienation...

Soljin has such a good voice.

finally watched the JYP. i guess after korea's had its musical successor to "blurred lines" (ga-in's "truth or dare," which fucking rules), it's getting its spiritual successor too. i actually kind of worry what this is going to do to women's already laden-to-high-heaven body image issues over here...

anyway not my thing, but speaking of Miss A's remarkable 300+ instiz run, their drop down to the 200s today has given JYP the chance to take it to the top. regardless of content i'm surprised to find myself grinning at this development -- when was the last time JYPE had the top two songs in all of korea? maybe there's gas in the tank yet.

Wow, the way LE's rap verses punctuate each verse! Such a great idea, gives the song buoyancy. But it took a few listens to get how it works and I wonder if it will be too clever for Up&Down-y chart success. If I ran the label I'd release the brilliant, funky 토닥토닥 as a buzz single and get people to know different sides of EXID before hitting back strong with a banger like this. Great mini-album.

Ah Yea is basically an answer song to JYP's intrusive questions about waist and hip sizes, etc, so it'd be hilarious if they made it to the top of the charts together.

http://i.imgur.com/vhcEjO5.png