K-pop (2015)

Yea I was legitimately surprised about that combination of artists (particulary OG Maco) and I'm genuinely interested in how it'll sound. It makes sense imo given the It G Ma success but even more, Maco /hates/ U Guessed It and is trying really hard to break free from the association he has with that single (which is understandable; he and the rest of Awful Records make a lot of great music and the majority of people are only interested in that song). He called the song garbage recently and even released a mixtape called "I Made This Shit Before U Guessed It" lmao. I mean, there is no way this is going to sound anything like what he's done on his previous mixtapes given the fact that he's collaborating with these people (both the rappers and Diplo) so this will be the nail in the coffin that solidifies his stance to his fans.

I'm generally a bigger fan of Diplo-produced tracks that have singing (be it with a rapper or not) but hopefully this turns out well. I'm assuming it'll sound like what we got on the Jack U album, which I found to be surprisingly decent, so I'm hoping for the best with this.

People get mad when k-pop fans bash CL's english lyrics but I honestly think her saying "i'm your girlfriend's lesbian crush" on Dirty Vibe sounds far more stilted and awkward than anything she's ever said in Korean (yes, even that 'bad meaning good' monologue). I'm all for CL trying to make it in the States but I'm a bit nervous :/

i'll prob never reach for it again, but Jack U record is awesome. it's like a Michael Bay production applied to generally weird, fun, interesting pop songs.

i do think CL's attempts to self-redefine for the US could be embarrassing (and so far she's yet to get her media game right), and i'm not a fan of the "dr. pepper" clip we've heard, but...i love every single thing about "dirty vibe." the tempo, production, harmonic emptiness, p much every last one of CL and g-dragon's lines (all the more impressive since apparently GD's english is not so good but his inflection is totally on point here), etc. CL is not yet the character she's chasing on "vibe" but it's proof that she can become her if she wants to.

'in Korean' --> 'in a Korean song' just to clarify.

And ugh I really hope CL really /proves/ that with this new song. I kind of also hope she doesn't abandon singing while in the US. "i've got 21 big brothers blehhh", for example, is one of those moments from CL where I think she nails her persona.

the short sample sort of dr pepper found her doing something halfway (which makes sense with the beat) and I think that might work better for her.

"I'm your girlfriend's lesbian crush" is awesome, I'm talking about stuff like "bad meaning good not bad meaning bad" and yeah, those horrendous Dr. Pepper lyrics

I personally find the "bad meaning good" bit to be endearingly bad but the "girlfriend's lesbian crush" bit sort of just makes me think of how far she is from sounding like Nicki or Beyonce on her last album or even Rihanna on BBHMM (though having Pour it Up come out 2 years prior helped). Just a personal/preference thing though I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCrCUv6rQ7I

definitely one of my favorite debuts of the year. trying to recall what else i've liked this year and while a good chunk of them were good to great (g.soul, gfriend, clc, 1punch, shin zisu), this Oh My Girl song probably has the most replay value for me at the moment along with the KIXS (at least when speaking strictly of the song itself).

also lmao at how they're called Oh My Girl so their name can be shortened to OMG

ok scratch that I like this way more than the kixs song too

the tuplet snare action is great, and the orchestration in the bridge is nice (though a bit buried). def the most musically compelling of the recent 'oppa pop' songs, though most of those have been good in their own predictable way (g-friend, "luv," lovelyz).

EXID still #2, they're officially established now and can to some extent coast on popularity and expect a decent level of success with each release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXPADwU05OQ

Surprised that Primary produced this. Digging it a good bit, though maybe not as much as the HIGH4 collab atm (loved the lyrics in that). Immediately thought of Purity Ring though I think I'm slightly misremembering what they actually sound like. But whatever, this has far better vocal melodies than anything I remember from their two albums.

after your description i was hoping that'd be the seo taiji/IU to purity ring's chvrches, but it's not that much better. the progression/bass does something a little unexpected at one turn, but as much as i don't care for purity ring i've definitely heard a song or two from them that's stronger.

not bad, though. interesting that lim kim is going more hip-hop/blog pop/blah blah after all that time being faux hongdae (heck, this is too come to think of it, but a very diff subscene of hongdae), although in this space i prefer her feature on "winter in haeundae"

don't mean faux hongdae as a diss btw, just re: overall sound/vibe/black skirts song credit

tao plz T_T

god being a father sounds scary

legitimately surprised that the new San E/Baek Yerin song was filmed in a 1:1 aspect ratio. definitely has to be the first kpop video to be filmed that way. presumably a result of Xavier Dolan's Mommy.

Considering all the rumors and whatnot, this note from tao's father seems like a pretty strong indication that tao is definitely going to leave.

Not sure how it works in the legal system there because tao isn't a minor but does it mean anything if tao's father signed a contract when he was a trainee (and minor)?

saw that giant post on omona on all of Tao's injuries... jesus. I mean I knew it was bad but I didn't realise how bad. those poor kids... EXO are seriously the saddest story in K-pop.

Some of those injuries seemed a bit played up for the media but the torn ligament looked way serious. And of course it's pure negligence when the concert stages aren't set up correctly and the artists aren't given time off to nurse old injuries.

While the world didn't need another asylum-themed MV, the chorus to this Cross Gene song is pretty fun https://youtu.be/XP7dMPSqtO0

Also, here's the Kpop innovation we were all waiting for... sax-hook trap https://youtu.be/96THVBRqJvY

"hopeless love" by jimin park kinda has that weeknd thing going on too. guess ariana put him on jyp's radar or sth

@forapper that UNIQ song is like p convincing b.i./bobby karaoke

wow expected nothing from Hotshot but "Rain On Me" is probably the best straightup r&b song out of korea so far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94fx_DLsQWA

also warming up more to that Lim Kim single, it's persistent

****best straightup r&b out of korea _this far_ so far, lol

this /year/. gonna take the rest of the weekend off, i think...

jk. big bang "loser" sounds like a winner song (so does "bae bae," kinda)

I really like Loser! Daesung nails the feeling, TOP's part is a highlight as always, overall the instrumental isn't as complex as Blue's but I'm more convinced that they really feel sad. It has a sing-song children's song part toward's the end that makes it sound like a Big Bang song.

GD's rap part is like "Black" 2.0.

Bae Bae I dunno, the melody is interesting but the instrumental seems a bit bare.

Hotshot are really consistent with their sound.

the angst in "blue" feels much realer to me. in any event, very curious that YG decided to break the 3-year silence with a two-sided ballad single

It worked in 2012 (with Blue)... maybe he's following the blueprint (excuse my pun)

Hotshot are such good vocalists. I really liked their recent single "Watch Out" too https://youtu.be/UeFq-g0uTEo

soyrev, what about Nu'est's "I'm Bad" (aka a top-10 single of 2015 according to Soompi)? https://youtu.be/fYyV6Gi4sJw

There's also Mr Mr's "Out" which just came out yesterday https://youtu.be/vGwZxPNb5uM

So many chill rnb boyband songs to choose from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGwZxPNb5uM

@forapper yes, though that wait had been less than a third the wait. didn't really feel that nu'est single when it came out

"Loser" does sound like a Winner song, haha. structure-wise, it's pretty much Blue 2.0 - Seungri leading the chorus, everyone else with their own verse, Taeyang on the bridge. it's kinda boring imo but Korea will prob love it.

The Hotshot track is much better.

Mr.Mr., as usual, elevating a so-so song with great vocals and terrible dancing. I think I root for them so much cause they try so hard even though they're a mess... those patterned suits are at least two seasons behind in K-pop trends.

#teamroz

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

GD bringing those "I do a lot of pills" vocals, and all five of them sounding a lot more alike than they do on record (which was true when I saw them live as well)

Maybe if we root for Bae Bae hard enough they'll make it the single and "Loser" the B-side

by the way, I have a theory that GD has style icon for each comeback that he models his looks and performance after... Michigo's was Zion T, Fantastic Baby's was Skrillex, High High's was Pete Wentz, Bae Bae's is Rihanna?

*waits for Roz to skillfully weigh in*

Woke up with this stuck in my head after only listening it to a couple times a few days ago, so here it is embedding for stickiness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96THVBRqJvY

Let the record state that the black-suit-jacket-over-patterned shirt is a look EXO recently rocked on Call Me Baby (in what was probably a deliberate nod to the Suju-ness of that song), while the red suits are a look VIXX recently rocked on Love Equation. The patterned suits, no comment, except that MRMR are tall so they look good in suits.

PROOF SHOT. My personal fav of all the looks VIXX tried out this comeback, increases the bonkers quotient of the song by at least 50%

imo "call me baby" wrecks like 99% of suju's discog, though true it's the most suju-sounding thing they've ever done.

@forapper GD definitely has clear and simple style references for his image(s), like all k-pop stars, for sure. musically, too – you can hear him swiping chance the rapper's adlib squawks on the stages that he did with taeyang on that Rise album duet of theirs

Oh yeah the magpie instinct is strong with that one.

By the by, since I'm just made of time these days (aha...), and since forksclovetofu said he was giving up on the spotify playlist for this thread, here's YT playlist of most all of what's been embedding so far, roughly from newest to oldest. (I swapped out some of my own - also took some liberties with the song order to put similar tracks next to each other.) If I missed anything crucial let me know!

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsh4Z5FNfPMBl9mgoSZewSdBiG3ZRS_d4

lol forapper. GD's current style inspiration is Beck, and not just because I keep singing "I'm a loser, bae bae" to myself (I can't be the only one right?). All those YSL suits with 70s silhouettes = Beck.