K-pop (2015)

oh and forgot to respond, yes ITNW was their debut song but "girls generation" is the opening track of their debut as well as their literal name lol. this is mostly semantic though, i think we're just defining what's meaningful here in totally diff ways

Yeah what their songs are about is an interesting topic of discussion, and so is looking at what their image is in the eyes of the mainstream Korean observer. And I don't think you can say that this identity is carefully developed and executed when it is, at best, an odd contrast to their general aesthetics. And even if I can't speak on behalf on anyone else I'm guessing that it's not an identity people actually identify SNSD with, at least anymore.

Like you say A Pink has stuck with it and developed it 'better' (and even though I think it's kind of an icky image to go with, in some ways it is actually better for A Pink because they've managed to find a sound of their own). What this started out with was basically my claim that they've suffered from not having an identity to anchor their songs to.

well to sum up, i guess we've heard different things from "the mainstream korean observer" (though again, i don't think the stuff you're quoting in any way contradicts this central purpose of their image: same deal w/r/t looking occasionally kinda hip-hop or generally beautiful). as for whether this is the impression anymore, i'd actually say if they've ever grown out of that at all it's been recently and deliberately ("you think," alcohol references in "party," etc). but that's a function of their age, as ridiculous as that sounds (the idol fantasy enters a weird and terminal limbo when the members start hitting the mid-20s, at least for girl groups – the reasons for which being a whole other discussion).

granted, i'm not trying to blow up anyone's spot but i do have this much on pretty good authority...

as for apink, i did not say they do it "better!" those are not my quotation marks, friend. i actually find the whole ordeal tiresome and regressive, a symptom of the knotty oppa/aegyo superstructure that is one thing about korean culture i'm not uncomfortable saying kinda grosses me out.

My quotation marks of course! We can go back and forth on that. But fundamentally this was not so much me trying to say that SNSD don't connote a certain ideal as saying their aesthetics lack that coherence which guides them towards a musical identity. Which is why I suggested, in one way, A Pink have done better.

well i def see you on that. as in my original post, i was talking musical identity and conceptual identity as two different things. the twain only ever really meets in the lyrics, for SM anyway. f(x) has done tons of stuff that musically doesn't coincide with their image in any obvious way for ex

and yes apink have done a nice job of bringing those two together, even if some of that is by virtue of rewriting the same single so many times

not complaining either, they're typically really good and just-different-enough rewrites

Stoked to see how f(x) will 'answer' next month

i'm a bit worried tbh but it'll be interesting to see how SM might reposition them in light of luna's public success as a serious singer, her and amber's EDM moment at ultra, sulli peacing, etc

should add that amber's also become a much bigger star in korea since their last promo cycle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5OWy_FGpQA

hot dang

Seventeen continue to do fun things with funk and unique things with their 13-member choreography. beginning to feel like love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M7k9ZV67c0

fuck yeah! is this RV's first instiz #1? a low score for that (170) but i'm willing to take whatever might help SM feel this direction is a success for them

more good news for that: http://www.allkpop.com/article/2015/09/red-velvet-tops-itunes-chinas-yinyuetai-and-korean-album-charts-with-the-red

Ice Cream Cake peaked at #2 on instiz.

is that just total recall or is this data stored anywhere? would love to have access to that kind of thing

Former. Ofc you can go back to any point in time and view that ichart, but doesn't seem like they have pages for specific artists and their records.

wonder what the number was on that. happy for RV but so far this is what koreans call "robbing an empty house"

Just looked up the lyrics for "Dumb Dumb" & it looks like RV are alternating between trying to build a teen-girl fanbase by being relatable - weird on the surface but conventional deep down (although "Happiness" was a misstep in that dept. 'cos the line between 'relating' to fans and 'condescending' to them is fine); and pedo-baiting and older male audience. They may end up with a broad fanbase like Morning Musume or Lana Del Ray.

Or at least that would appear to be the goal for them...

Seventeen <3

If they don't get the Rookie of the Year Award, YG's clout will be confirmed... (iKon are debuting just before the deadline for consideration for the award).

Yr periodic K-indie crosspost from Omona:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=96&v=XFgcbWJqhyk

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

And another... I dunno man, everything sounds good tonight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0siyZQ_bSE

This Jun Jin record is pretty great...

https://youtu.be/gJMKOuou4Vg

On a related not, Shinhwa's single from earlier this year ("Sniper") was also pretty great, though I don't think we talked about it here.

Hm and Up10Tion is a lot better than you'd expect a rookie group with a name like that to be, though not as good as the teaser (basically the last 30 seconds of the song) made it sound like they were gonna be: : https://youtu.be/UJ6hLS4OCfc

Of special interest, at least to me: the EXO Baekhyun soundalike who comes it @ 3:50.

oh ikon will win rookie of the year no doubt. that's not even a question.

"dubm dumb" cracks 200 on instiz – likely a first for them – and got nearly 2 million views in 24 hours, which is better than a lot of the older SM groups. bodes well i think!

I dunno, can they win a year after Winner won? Surely the gen public would rebel... maybe they could come in #2 like Mino did on SMTM4.

Up10Tion suffers from boyband vocals in a few parts, but the main vocals are CARRYING that bridge, man. Also the beat is simple but it's pretty good!

JYP's band group Day6 https://youtu.be/dBShLTlKm2A

Nothing special about them sonically or lyrically, but it's kinda interesting watching a band with no obvious frontman... there's been "idol" bands before but they still followed a band model - this is the most 'idol'-like of all those bands I think.

Honestly it doesn't really work, they all look like they're waiting for their turn to perform :p The lighting doesn't help either

Rapper is v. good by JYP standards tho

Yeah what you really want when debuting a kpoprock band is a sappy ballad.

Lion Heart is holding on well after initial chart disappointment. Impressive for what is arguably the worst SNSD single released so far.

Here to save us from the draught is another music competition show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtxDqunIi7g

Truedy (2:21, complete unknown to most) won the first ep ahead of Haze (first one out). Hyorin got last place.

Heize*

massive new k-pendium on the origins of japanese and korean popular music, basically a bunch of people die http://www.k-pendium.com/005

probably going to have to hop off ilm soon for k-related reasons, not sure when i'll be back but going to finally get into regular pendium updates soon. check it sometime (y)

Are you hoping off because you won't have the time or for some other reason, soyrev?

Checking it out now!

Korea has banned ilxor, I'm afraid. It's deemed damaging to the moral sensibilities of the nation's youth and possibly related to NK spying.

Quickly glancing at the text I'm happy to read more about the Japanese connection - love so many bits and pieces of retro JP pop, know so little about it. Will read.

Really?? That seems kinda... unnecessary... unless the idea is to protect native Korean music discovery portals.

That was a really enjoyable history lesson, soyrev. I think "Ressurection" has something to it outside of the narrative and if koganbot was still around he might have something to say about the connection with Eastern European popular music, which is still true for lots of Kpop songs today. Also I think we must be around the same age.

I am vindicated in my comment that Bang Bang is (actually) a Kpop song: https://youtu.be/m303B9gQ-SA

If CL stays in America, she's gonna lose her bad bitch title:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdZ3AzhY5Fo

One reason IU is so well liked, dropping in on a hyukoh mini indie cafe concert unannounced

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gjNKT5qAP0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8wGQ8e1UTw

they are dating y/n?

Shippers exist, at least.

No but indie IU is great, they're cute separately and together

I feel like this should go in the Jpop thread but here you go, new group VIVIDIVA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=120&v=5luXYG4ZiZE

Whoops, let's try again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5luXYG4ZiZE

They look jpop but they don't really sound it. For countries so close, and considering the many things Korean culture has inherited from Japan, it's weird to me I can't find a single example of a k-pop group doing the Japanese royal road chord progression or the J-pop chords in general.

Oh really? The vocals sounded kinda Jpop to me... that kind of vocal proccessing... but I don't know that much about Jpop chord progressions. What's an example?