K-pop (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F32G-iOirbg

Listening to EXID's album now and it's totally the best

your wish has come true, hurricane. JYP and EXID are #1 and #2 on Instiz right now, respectively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_I1HXMcOoM

I figured Jinusean's return after 14 years was a stall tactic for BigBang - because YG fans all know that YG can only focus on one group at a time, and seniority is the only acceptable excuse for not putting BigBang first - but this is a jam in its own right. High production values and lots of familiar bits and pieces... I hear Cry Cry (T-ara) and Come Back (AA), among others.

:D re: JYP and EXID

okay, "ah yeah" is at the point where i kinda love it. "up & down" is the better song, i think, but it's honestly pretty close.

lol okay, "up & down" just came on and this is clearly so much better. but props to "ah yeah" for being good enough to fool me a sec. ("up" really shines in how it's at least as multi-genre as "ah yeah" is, but every transition goes down so smooth you hardly even notice the shifts.)

pretty good mini, though, for sure. groups need to evolve past the requisite ballad stage to reach that next level (like f(x) did), but this is not a bad place to start at all.

In spite of the requisite ballad I thought Pink Tape was a better album than Red Light.

New Dal Shabet is very bad!

@abcfsk ah, i don't even really consider "goodbye summer" a "ballad" in the korean sense. it feels like a functional song, for one. though i guess that's a fair point.

and yes, pink tape > red light, though red light would still be worse off with a ballad a la "1M" or what have you.

new dal shabet single is crap, i'll still listen to the mini but hopes low

I can't believe Dal*Shabet went with the Joker as the theme on their mini, that's so 2013.

http://www.thefader.com/2015/04/15/interview-cl-from-2ne1-the-k-pop-star-whos-actually-about-to-cross-over

Most recent CL articles have been terrible press junket stuff but this one's actually good

"good" in the sense that it's honest? i think as press CL's team must be pretty upset about it. it's a cool portrait of someone trying to figure out two cultures at once, and the challenges facing k-pop stars in making the transition...but ultimately, it's like a sustained critique of how she needs to actually start being the "boss ass bitch" scooter told her to be.

that's exactly what I meant! very different from the picture of CL we usually get in the press.

it also seems to imply that the change CL needs to make it in the States will close her off from success (as an idol) in Korea.

"it also seems to imply that the change CL needs to make it in the States will close her off from success (as an idol) in Korea."

that's exactly the conundrum that's faced every k-pop star who's ever tried to make it in america. there are two very different (seemingly contradictory) sets of expectations for pop stars in these markets, if there's a way to truly reconcile them, nobody's found it yet.

"joker" might suck but this dal shabet track from their mini is classy perfection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6QCjk8nW6Q

figured JYP's comeback song would be number one for a day then drop, but it's holding strong af. hitting the same numbers as miss A's recent high score. old dog must be over the moon

That song has grown on me a lot... JYP was pretty endearing in his hashtag interview about it https://youtu.be/VmjA6BoB1ng

In other news, Diplo reports that he has a track coming out with CL, Riff Raff and OG Maco on it o___O

I guess Maco was getting a lot of comments from Kpop/It G Ma fans and decided to hop on that train.

and never underestimate the power of diplo to get a bunch of different weirdos in a room together. personally, i'm most surprised to hear CL's second real track in america (after skrill) is going to have her next to fuckin' riff raff, of all people. YG probably didn't see that one coming, when they signed her with SB...

hopefully will be awesome. unclear as of yet whether this is a CL track or a diplo track.

I'm hoping Diplo... though considering how corny her English lyrics tend to be I don't have a lot of confidence in her English debut if she's writing.

Speaking of YG acts, I don't think the MV did justice to that Jinusean song. It sounds great at higher audio quality https://youtu.be/CWw9g_TMR-s

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...