What's getting me is how much they're posing *exactly* like a girl-group would.
― hurricane weather (forapper), Tuesday, 10 June 2014 00:43 (ten years ago) link
Really dig this song and it was filmed in my city!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUCIzn0mRHc
― ∞, Thursday, 12 June 2014 03:07 (ten years ago) link
AKMU!!! They're known for their deeper-than-pop-generally-is lyrics so this fits right in. That kid is a really good actor too.
I'm kind of feeling the girl-group songs out right now, Tahiti 'Oops You're Mine' http://youtu.be/SK3q9C4lAmg (maybe I'm just relieved they're not all scary-thin anymore) and Bob Girls 'No Way' http://youtu.be/Ty8co3ttizQ (paging Osamu Tezuka, Osamu Tezuka come in).
― hurricane weather (forapper), Thursday, 12 June 2014 18:35 (ten years ago) link
The real news from the week, though, is that Taeyang's set designers deserve a raise:
http://youtu.be/QVk85qm_d9chttp://youtu.be/7kWBgBx_x5w
― hurricane weather (forapper), Thursday, 12 June 2014 18:38 (ten years ago) link
AKMU!!! They're known for their deeper-than-pop-generally-is lyrics so this fits right in. That kid is a really good actor too.I'm kind of feeling the girl-group songs out right now, Tahiti 'Oops You're Mine' http://youtu.be/SK3q9C4lAmg (maybe I'm just relieved they're not all scary-thin anymore) and Bob Girls 'No Way' http://youtu.be/Ty8co3ttizQ (paging Osamu Tezuka, Osamu Tezuka come in).― hurricane weather (forapper), Thursday, June 12, 2014 7:35 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― hurricane weather (forapper), Thursday, June 12, 2014 7:35 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I'm all into the deep/philosophical songs/lyrics if given an option, though
― ∞, Thursday, 12 June 2014 19:39 (ten years ago) link
@forapper, by the way, isn't it super late/early in Korea? What are you doing awake?
― ∞, Thursday, 12 June 2014 19:40 (ten years ago) link
I'm not in Korea, nor am I Korean, LOL. I live outside NYC!
I'll be in Hong Kong visiting friends in late June/early July, though, and I'm thinking of swinging by Korea or SE Asia... either Seoul or Singapore or MKuala Lumpur, I haven't decided yet.
I'm sorry ∞... Akdong Musician get a lot of coverage on other websites though. I like their OST song I Love You.
― hurricane weather (forapper), Friday, 13 June 2014 02:17 (ten years ago) link
^Just pulling your chain, forapper
And oh, sorry. I didn't know why I thought you were Korean and lived there.
― ∞, Friday, 13 June 2014 02:27 (ten years ago) link
don't*
AKMU are a little too twee for me but yeah that's their best song, and the video's beautiful.
Taeyang's stages for "Eyes, Nose, Lips" are gorgeous, and he sounds good too. someone on omona said YGE overhauled their creative department this year which might explain why their recent releases have been on point + barely any delays! way to step up.
― Roz, Friday, 13 June 2014 04:11 (ten years ago) link
btw are we not into Crush around here? What rhymes with...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNkinODwdqk
― Roz, Friday, 13 June 2014 04:12 (ten years ago) link
What other people call a teaser, History call a "pre-listening release":
http://youtu.be/1gndhS771A0
I love how Kpop companies assume you'll want to buy an album based on who composed the tracks and their degree of sophistication in genre-borrowing.
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 18 June 2014 02:59 (ten years ago) link
J4kob D0r0f is an ilxor, no? Dude, if you're still around... thanks for this sweet interview with Winner!
― Roz, Thursday, 19 June 2014 07:39 (ten years ago) link
Anyone else following the drama with EXO and SNSD? Fans are approaching Changmin-in-a-spoon levels of detection... they figured out that EXO Baekhyun posted a photo of himself at Taeyeon's house based on the wallpaper, and that a picture Taeyeon posted of two oreos was a coded message to BH because his name means "white black" and the oreos were stacked the same way as the ones on his birthday cake. Apparently.
― hurricane weather (forapper), Saturday, 21 June 2014 05:59 (ten years ago) link
Crayon Pop!
http://youtu.be/dlg6DkJF3sE
It's for the soundtrack of a show called "Trot Lovers" and it sounds like an Orange Caramel song <-- everything you need to know
― hurricane weather (forapper), Saturday, 21 June 2014 22:47 (ten years ago) link
Haven't liked Beast's recent singles but this new one is pretty good. chorus keeps getting stuck in my head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs8QGv2VqJA
― Roz, Sunday, 22 June 2014 07:09 (ten years ago) link
gotta admit, I don't fully grasp what 'trot' music really is but I've really enjoyed the last two crayon pop singles and am curious. I've dug around and the history about how it evolved from enka is really interesting but I haven't found any modern examples that have really done it for me and that's more what I'm after (dance beats, keyboard presets, good stuff like that - basically looking for more songs that sound like "uh-ee").
a little help? recommended comps, mixes, etc. would be greatly appreciated!
― original bgm, Monday, 23 June 2014 05:04 (ten years ago) link
f(x) continue to release amazing teasers
https://31.media.tumblr.com/939e40db107cff95a480554044006ad4/tumblr_inline_n7xpvk23iv1qdjb7q.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhrgQdEgL-g
― Roz, Sunday, 29 June 2014 15:47 (ten years ago) link
http://www.southflorida.com/music/sf-kpop-korean-culture-south-florida-20140627,0,1290145.story
― 龜, Monday, 30 June 2014 23:26 (ten years ago) link
f(x)! http://youtu.be/iv-8-EgPEY0
― abcfsk, Thursday, 3 July 2014 07:31 (ten years ago) link
They look amazing! Shame about the song though - some great sounds in there, but overall a bit of a mess.
― Roz, Thursday, 3 July 2014 18:26 (ten years ago) link
I'm into it. I loved IGAB. I even dug 'Wolf'. Disjointed SM singles get a big 'yes' from me in general.
The other song they've performed, Milk, is also classic f(x) and great https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAo87xaFJAw
― abcfsk, Thursday, 3 July 2014 21:51 (ten years ago) link
lol i hate "IGAB", and can only barely tolerate "Wolf" (the "awwwwoooooooo...."s amuse me).
"Milk" is good though. :D I'm still looking forward to the rest of the album.
― Roz, Friday, 4 July 2014 12:31 (ten years ago) link
f(x) album is out and it delivers for anyone who liked pink tape
― abcfsk, Monday, 7 July 2014 07:31 (ten years ago) link
Looks like f(x) went ahead and made the indie MV they teased in front of Pink Tape, lol.
Have you guys heard the demo track SM turned into Red Light? It's kind of a better song (http://youtu.be/xJo3DN0Nrzs)
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 9 July 2014 14:41 (ten years ago) link
But I also like Milk
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 9 July 2014 14:44 (ten years ago) link
Had to double-check to make sure these girls weren't a Jpop group: http://youtu.be/8b9TWbkN0K8
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 9 July 2014 14:47 (ten years ago) link
SHINee Jonghyun sharing some self-composed songs on his radio show, of which this is the prettiest
― hurricane weather (forapper), Saturday, 12 July 2014 17:51 (ten years ago) link
I mean it's clear why SM aren't falling all over themselves to put this out as an album, but they're serviceable... B2ST's Good Luck is growing on me btw.
― hurricane weather (forapper), Saturday, 12 July 2014 17:57 (ten years ago) link
ummmm B2ST's new mini, Jonghyun's new songs, and all of Red Light fucking kill it. plus the finalized "Red Light" is miles beyond the boring, straightup trap demo.
I can't say which just yet, but I just successfully pitched an article at a HUGE (and hugely influential) publication that stands to be the biggest and most detailed musical discussion of K-pop to date. The idea is to talk about K-pop not as MV countdown, cultural curio, or fashion talking point, but as actual, fantastic music (for once!). I'm substantiating the claim that K-pop has produced some of the most intelligent, adventurous, and challenging pop music in recent times.
I think ILX might have some good perspective here. What are the most MUSICALLY mindblowing K-pop songs you know? Does not have to be a single or have a video, but if it was a commercially successful song then that's a bonus. Examples of what I mean are things like "Rum Pum Pum Pum," "One Minute Back" (SHINee), the "Whatever They Say" a capella by DBSK, etc. "Catallena" stuff. Please rack your brains for me; maybe one of your favorite songs will wind up in a milestone K-pop article!
― soyrev, Tuesday, 15 July 2014 03:44 (ten years ago) link
(didn't want to risk opening a new thread since i'm pretty newb, but do you think this merits it? this is gonna be the most significant k-pop article in yearssss)
― soyrev, Tuesday, 15 July 2014 03:45 (ten years ago) link
I feel like I was just asked to help with someone's dissertation, lol. But OK!
SNSD - I Got a Boy (it's a musical in a single song), MR MR (it has two key changes)
B1A4 - What's Going On (sounds like it's made entirely out of bridges, has five key changes)
2PM - Hands Up (awesome backing instrumental that sounds busy and clean at the same time)
JJ Project - Bounce (shifts from trap to K-hip-hop to rock and back again, v. good and underrated song that was sadly released ahead of its time)
2NE1 - Gotta Be You (can't decide what genre it wants to be but pop-prettified all the way through), Come Back Home (although the genre-switching in this song sounds like a stunt)
EXO - Wolf (harsh-sounding electro-dupstep track promoting madness that's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Mountain-Three-Short-Sleeve/dp/B002HJ377A">3 Wolves</a> levels of cheesy), also some of the experimental RnB tracks on EXO's first mini like What is Love and Machine
SHINee - Why So Serious (to quote absfk, it's metal/mental, a homegrown version of the crazy tracks SMEnt likes to buy off foreign producers to keep up their rep of being futuristic and modern)
Infinite - The Chaser (has traditional instruments), Destiny (lacks modulation)
TOPDOGG - Arario (has traditional instruments AND lacks modulation!...I think these guys make unintentionally weird songs because they're ambitious while still learning how to write, like Double A and B1A4)
GDragon - CraYon (touched off the many-songs-in-one-song craze)
SISTAR - Alone (pop piano/disco/reggae hybrid)
MFBTY - Sweet Dream (wouldn't sound out of place on US pop radio except it mixes two totally different genres together)
Boyfriend - I'll Be There/Brave Girls - Nowadays You/ZE:A - Aftermath/C Clown - Shaking Heart (dunno if any of these are ground-breaking but Kpop certainly does set its sad/psychotic breakup songs to a faster beat you'd find in most other countries, also the C Clown song and many Shinsadong Tiger tracks surprisingly use traditional instruments for their dance tracks)
Tara - Roly Poly (it secretly speeds up from 126 to 130 beats per minute), Lovey Dovey (ditto but only speeds up during the chorus)
Wa$$up - Jingle Bell (like very few other Xmas songs you've ever heard)
Wonderboyz - Tarzan (I dunno that anyone else is going for the pop-radio-friendly-dancehall-lite sound this song has, for better or worse)
[this list needs more girlgroup songs!]
Overall I'd say it's not that Kpop is more experimental, but that Kpop producers make more of an attempt to incorporate newly popular sounds into songs that are then produced in a crowd-pleasingly approachable pop way, with sticky melodies/traditional instruments/lots of energy.
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 07:47 (ten years ago) link
Not wanting to pigeonhole one group here but I would personally add 'Oh', 'Gee' and 'Boys' by Girls' Generation in there.When 'Oh' was released I found myself listening to it about 10 times a day, and even now consider it one of my favourite tracks ever - when speaking with friends a lot of common SNSD respect seems to be for 'Gee', a 'mutually loved' track you could say :).I added 'Boys' too because of that sensational performance on Letterman.
― nxd, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 08:20 (ten years ago) link
soyrev, will you be covering the hit producers - Brave Brothers, Shinsadong Tiger, Teddy, Sweetune, Primary, Kenzie etc? Most of them have signature sounds which in turn have driven K-pop's big musical trends.
f(x) - Airplane Someone on here I think described it as sounding like a Max Tundra song, which was a connection I wouldn't have made on my own, but it's quite accurate (Max Tundra never sounded so pretty though). Actually the first time I heard it, I thought of Robyn - the melodies are very Swedish pop.
miss A - Bad Girl Good Girl I love those gurgling synths
GD&TOP - Knock OutDiplo samples Cajmere's "Percolator" for a basic af beat, sends it to YG where G-Dragon & TOP, both at peak charisma, turn it into an instant classic party jam. It might still be the best thing produced by everyone involved.
BIGBANG - Sunset GlowSkittering synths, stunning production on this deceptively joyous breakup track.
BTOB - WOWNew Jack k-pop!
― Roz, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 13:15 (ten years ago) link
It might have been me calling Airplane Max Tundra. It's that little synth-melody at the end of every chorus (didelide du-diii-du) which sounds so Tundraish to me. And the amazing thing is how the Robyn/Max Tundra sounds are meshed with this blatant edm-drop structure, which is something you would probably never get in Sweden. There is a mix of the sophisticated and the low-brow, which to me underlines how arbitrary those distinctions are in western pop.
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 13:26 (ten years ago) link
Oh I'd also add 'Crayon Pop - Bar Bar Bar' and 'MBLAQ - Smoky Girl' from last year to my list of accomplished tracks.
― nxd, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 13:39 (ten years ago) link
You could add Duble Sidekick to that list of hitmakers, though some of their songs are misses (Tara N4's Countryside Life and Girls Day Something (which combines are hits, Hyomin's Goodnight Kiss (which is ENTIRELY made up of the chorus and prechorus, no verses) is a miss for me. Hyomin's You Don't Know Women is an excellent recent non-single track though.
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 14:55 (ten years ago) link
Also if you talk about Teddy plz mention his ex-YG cowriting buddy Kush (of S Korea's first reggae group Stony Skunk) as well
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 14:59 (ten years ago) link
here's a list of influential kpop producers that popped up while I was looking for info on History's 'Psycho' (which is dope BTW); http://beyondhallyu.com/k-pop/12-k-pop-producers-composers-know/
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 16:05 (ten years ago) link
History - Psycho (composed by Lee Min Soo and produced by the guy who's done all their releases so far):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJDc5vYw_UE
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 16:06 (ten years ago) link
^yeah that track is so good, even though really not here for yet another k-boyband song about stalking.
― Roz, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 17:03 (ten years ago) link
Stalking is like History's whole thing though, and they always make it sound creepy and unhinged so I kind of like them for that
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 17:12 (ten years ago) link
in other news, joining the euphemism train with Crush 'Hug Me' and Gary 'Shower Later', there's Beenzino 'Let Me Paint You Like How Jackson Pollack Did' http://youtu.be/Dn0anyrB2mg
Mini is solid and summery, I also like How Do I Look http://youtu.be/oHTQxuMfxaE and I Don't Have to Work http://youtu.be/vz5xwnAiIa8
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 17:13 (ten years ago) link
on the other hand GOT7's smirking 'you know you want me girl' thing irritates me way more, even though it's (supposed to be) more harmless. "A" is musically a nice chill track though http://youtu.be/eISomx-VMow
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 17:23 (ten years ago) link
hahahahaha ok there's nothing euphemistic about that Beenzino track.
― Roz, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 17:26 (ten years ago) link
guess not, lol.
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 17:46 (ten years ago) link
another producer list http://noonchi.us/article/show/best-kpop-producers
maybe if it was just the jackson pollack reference and didn't also talk about Brazilian waxes and 'in my bed, let me paint you...' etc
― hurricane weather (forapper), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 17:47 (ten years ago) link
― Frederik B, Wednesday, July 16, 2014 9:26 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
totally! It ties in with how a lot of K-pop (well Asian pop in general tbh) can come across as cheesy to Westerners - Korean idols aren't really afraid of coming across as campy or OTT, and this extends to the music as well. One of the primary appeals of K-pop, musically, for me, is that (melo)drama is not just embraced but encouraged.
― Roz, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 19:49 (ten years ago) link
Oh, man, the new INFINITE album! I only just realized it came out. Along with this, which for me is a fine one-song restatement of the greatness of K-Pop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7kaScuQ0KM
― glenn mcdonald, Friday, 18 July 2014 00:30 (ten years ago) link