![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
As you've probably noticed, I've recently become quite enamoured with Korean pop culture. A lot of this piggy backs on my ~life decision~ to learn another language, but there is a fair amount of LOLZ involved as well. Natch.
Korean pop music - kpop if you're nasty - is. How do I say this...manufactured. Cheesy. Sweet. Amazingly produced. Different. On the curve. Off the curve. A million other adjectives that all lead to one acronym - and say it with me - LOL. It doesn't take its self seriously, which I like. And it's really, really pretty.
A good majority of kpop is shit, but under the crap are great examples of the Hallyu Wave, a cultural phenomenon that helps to highlight Korean pop culture as something more than just that stuff tweens buy. Genuinely interesting production and bubblepop-electric styling help kpop to stand out from the crowd - and I thought I'd make a little mixtape to showcase some of the music that is contributing to the Wave.
Some of it are the idols - miss A, TVXQ!, the YG Family, Brown Eyed Girls et al - some is K(orean)indie, some is undefinable. But these are the tracks that made me sit up and take notice of an industry that has its faults (and how!), but is trying to push the envelope in its own brightly coloured way.
You're not going to find a helluva lot of depth here. But you're sure going to have fun.
A BRAND NEW SCENE | Kpop For Discerning Adults
DOWNLOAD
(MegaUpload, 143mb, MP3, zip)
COVERS
600x600
Front | Back
--
{1.}
MY AUNT MARY | Sweet
I love My Aunt Mary. Like, a lot. They're hard to explain - they've grown a lot since their first album, from middle-of-the-road to melodic pop-rock masters. This is from their third album, Drift, where you really began to see the band they've become. Just ace.
{2.}
MISS A | Breathe
The song equivalent of a lava lamp. Just watch the video.
I told you so.
{3.}
W&WHALE | Marilyn Monroe
Originally on the soundtrack for kdrama Que Sera Sera, 'Marilyn Monroe' is a cute, poppy, walkin' through Seoul track.
{4.}
TVXQ! | Keep Your Head Down
The new track from DBSK/TVXQ and the first after they (controversially) lost three of their five members due to contract disputes. The other three are doing songs with Kanye West while the other two have released one of the most elaborately packaged CDs EVER, with this as the lead single. It's one of those tracks that simultaneously makes you laugh in hysteria and want to kick people in the head with attitude. The filmclip's worth the price of admission alone. Dig those couch cover suits!
{5.}
PLAYGIRL/MOONSHINERS | 얘얘
So cute. Separately, these two bands hold up the Mod and Rockabilly flag for KIndie, and together they're magical.
{6.}
G-DRAGON/KUSH | She's Gone
G-Dragon. I love him and his hilarious hair. The filmclip was banned in the SK. What more can I say?
{7.}
EPIK HIGH | Daydream
The darlings of KHop (everything can be made into a word with 'K' in the front of it, life lesson), I chose this track over some of their more heavy hip-hop just to show how varied they are. Excellent stuff, and perfect for a bike ride with your honey bunny in the warm sunshine.
{8.}
BULNABANG STAR SAUSAGE CLUB | 싸이보그 여중생 Z
It's a song about a cyborg girl. Yes.
{9.}
NARSHA/SUNNY HILL | Mamma Mia
My obsession with this particular track is well known. Narsha is a member of Brown Eyed Girls, who'll you'll meet later on, and this was her second solo track, featuring label mates Sunny Hill. It's just a fucking awesome example of the legitimately good pop music that is coming out of Korea - and the filmclip is amazing.
I'm embedding this shit, it's so good:
I can't even. My favourite song of last year, hands down.
{10.}
AVOID TALE | 못다 핀 꽃들은 내 안에서 시들며
Pretty, pretty, pretty.
{11.}
GD & TOP | 뻑이가요 (Knock Out)
You may remember GD as G-Dragon from up above, and TOP is his band mate from Big Bang, a idol group you'll meet further down. Confused? Don't be. Why not have the two rappers of a boy band have their own album? Why not have a song about obsession and a filmclip where they pop bubble wrap and ride Segways? And why not have Diplo produce it? Why the fuck not.
{12.}
NO REPLY | Road
Pretty, pretty, pretty. I'm sensing a theme.
{13.}
BROWN EYED GIRLS | Abracadabra
Brown Eyed Girls are a part of the Nega Network - one of the few production houses that allows their idols to do things that perhaps could be viewed as "naughty" or "salacious". This song is a great example of tight production working with four talented singers/rappers - the filmclip is enough to make me doubt my sexual orientation and the whole package is just damn sexy. The unedited version of the clip is below - the original was banned as two of the members (Narsha, from above, and G.Na) shared a kiss that was possibly not fluffy and BFFy. SCANDAL.
The hip thing gets me every time. *swoon* (If you want to see the whole song with just the dancing, click here. Best.)
{14.}
2NE1 | 난 바빠
These mah gurls. I chose this over some of their more known tracks, mainly because it proves my point about interesting production mixing with genuine talent. 2NE1 and Big Bang are members of the YG Family, and are working their way towards debuting in America (with help from Will.i.am, randomly). I have no doubt they'll do well, mainly because YG seem to be more interested in pushing the envelope towards something different. They're a big part of why I'm into KPop and Korean pop culture, because they're just so damn cool.
And pretty. So pretty.
{15.}
MY AUNT MARY | 원
HAY GUYS I LOVE MY AUNT MARY CAN YOU TELL
Here, have them with other KIndie darlings, covering 'Beat It' on an iPhone.
Awesome.
{16.}
PEPPERTONES | 공원여행
Gorgeous, fun pop. One of my favourites for a sunny day on the tram.
{17.}
LEE HYORI | Scandal
Hyori's a good example of adultdols (yes, adult and idol smushed together) - she gets a lot of attention for being sexy, but she has the talent to back it up. This is from her latest album, H.Logic, which was the subject of great controversy when it was discovered the main songwriter was a big ol' plagiarist. He's in jail, natch, but "Scandal" is a nice, ass-shakin' pop song from a nice, ass-shakin' pop star. See also: 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and 'U Go Girl'.
{18.}
NELL | It's Okay
Nell haven't grown on me, much, but I love this track. Simple, easy pop.
{19.}
BIG BANG/NO BRAIN | Oh My Friend
How could I not include the boy band versus the punk band? The LOLZ, they are strong. I kind of love the film clip for that reason alone:
Like, what. I can't even. The best.
{20. BONUS SO BAD IT'S GOOD}
SNSD | Genie
THE BIGGEST EARWORM ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET. Just go with it. It can't be helped.
---
DOWNLOAD
(MegaUpload, 143mb, MP3, zip)
---
Not deep, and probably not for discerning adults, but that's pop at its finest, right? Put it on your stereo, turn it up and have fun.
Korean pop music - kpop if you're nasty - is. How do I say this...manufactured. Cheesy. Sweet. Amazingly produced. Different. On the curve. Off the curve. A million other adjectives that all lead to one acronym - and say it with me - LOL. It doesn't take its self seriously, which I like. And it's really, really pretty.
A good majority of kpop is shit, but under the crap are great examples of the Hallyu Wave, a cultural phenomenon that helps to highlight Korean pop culture as something more than just that stuff tweens buy. Genuinely interesting production and bubblepop-electric styling help kpop to stand out from the crowd - and I thought I'd make a little mixtape to showcase some of the music that is contributing to the Wave.
Some of it are the idols - miss A, TVXQ!, the YG Family, Brown Eyed Girls et al - some is K(orean)indie, some is undefinable. But these are the tracks that made me sit up and take notice of an industry that has its faults (and how!), but is trying to push the envelope in its own brightly coloured way.
You're not going to find a helluva lot of depth here. But you're sure going to have fun.
A BRAND NEW SCENE | Kpop For Discerning Adults
DOWNLOAD
(MegaUpload, 143mb, MP3, zip)
COVERS
600x600
Front | Back
--
{1.}
MY AUNT MARY | Sweet
I love My Aunt Mary. Like, a lot. They're hard to explain - they've grown a lot since their first album, from middle-of-the-road to melodic pop-rock masters. This is from their third album, Drift, where you really began to see the band they've become. Just ace.
{2.}
MISS A | Breathe
The song equivalent of a lava lamp. Just watch the video.
I told you so.
{3.}
W&WHALE | Marilyn Monroe
Originally on the soundtrack for kdrama Que Sera Sera, 'Marilyn Monroe' is a cute, poppy, walkin' through Seoul track.
{4.}
TVXQ! | Keep Your Head Down
The new track from DBSK/TVXQ and the first after they (controversially) lost three of their five members due to contract disputes. The other three are doing songs with Kanye West while the other two have released one of the most elaborately packaged CDs EVER, with this as the lead single. It's one of those tracks that simultaneously makes you laugh in hysteria and want to kick people in the head with attitude. The filmclip's worth the price of admission alone. Dig those couch cover suits!
{5.}
PLAYGIRL/MOONSHINERS | 얘얘
So cute. Separately, these two bands hold up the Mod and Rockabilly flag for KIndie, and together they're magical.
{6.}
G-DRAGON/KUSH | She's Gone
G-Dragon. I love him and his hilarious hair. The filmclip was banned in the SK. What more can I say?
{7.}
EPIK HIGH | Daydream
The darlings of KHop (everything can be made into a word with 'K' in the front of it, life lesson), I chose this track over some of their more heavy hip-hop just to show how varied they are. Excellent stuff, and perfect for a bike ride with your honey bunny in the warm sunshine.
{8.}
BULNABANG STAR SAUSAGE CLUB | 싸이보그 여중생 Z
It's a song about a cyborg girl. Yes.
{9.}
NARSHA/SUNNY HILL | Mamma Mia
My obsession with this particular track is well known. Narsha is a member of Brown Eyed Girls, who'll you'll meet later on, and this was her second solo track, featuring label mates Sunny Hill. It's just a fucking awesome example of the legitimately good pop music that is coming out of Korea - and the filmclip is amazing.
I'm embedding this shit, it's so good:
I can't even. My favourite song of last year, hands down.
{10.}
AVOID TALE | 못다 핀 꽃들은 내 안에서 시들며
Pretty, pretty, pretty.
{11.}
GD & TOP | 뻑이가요 (Knock Out)
You may remember GD as G-Dragon from up above, and TOP is his band mate from Big Bang, a idol group you'll meet further down. Confused? Don't be. Why not have the two rappers of a boy band have their own album? Why not have a song about obsession and a filmclip where they pop bubble wrap and ride Segways? And why not have Diplo produce it? Why the fuck not.
{12.}
NO REPLY | Road
Pretty, pretty, pretty. I'm sensing a theme.
{13.}
BROWN EYED GIRLS | Abracadabra
Brown Eyed Girls are a part of the Nega Network - one of the few production houses that allows their idols to do things that perhaps could be viewed as "naughty" or "salacious". This song is a great example of tight production working with four talented singers/rappers - the filmclip is enough to make me doubt my sexual orientation and the whole package is just damn sexy. The unedited version of the clip is below - the original was banned as two of the members (Narsha, from above, and G.Na) shared a kiss that was possibly not fluffy and BFFy. SCANDAL.
The hip thing gets me every time. *swoon* (If you want to see the whole song with just the dancing, click here. Best.)
{14.}
2NE1 | 난 바빠
These mah gurls. I chose this over some of their more known tracks, mainly because it proves my point about interesting production mixing with genuine talent. 2NE1 and Big Bang are members of the YG Family, and are working their way towards debuting in America (with help from Will.i.am, randomly). I have no doubt they'll do well, mainly because YG seem to be more interested in pushing the envelope towards something different. They're a big part of why I'm into KPop and Korean pop culture, because they're just so damn cool.
And pretty. So pretty.
{15.}
MY AUNT MARY | 원
HAY GUYS I LOVE MY AUNT MARY CAN YOU TELL
Here, have them with other KIndie darlings, covering 'Beat It' on an iPhone.
Awesome.
{16.}
PEPPERTONES | 공원여행
Gorgeous, fun pop. One of my favourites for a sunny day on the tram.
{17.}
LEE HYORI | Scandal
Hyori's a good example of adultdols (yes, adult and idol smushed together) - she gets a lot of attention for being sexy, but she has the talent to back it up. This is from her latest album, H.Logic, which was the subject of great controversy when it was discovered the main songwriter was a big ol' plagiarist. He's in jail, natch, but "Scandal" is a nice, ass-shakin' pop song from a nice, ass-shakin' pop star. See also: 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and 'U Go Girl'.
{18.}
NELL | It's Okay
Nell haven't grown on me, much, but I love this track. Simple, easy pop.
{19.}
BIG BANG/NO BRAIN | Oh My Friend
How could I not include the boy band versus the punk band? The LOLZ, they are strong. I kind of love the film clip for that reason alone:
Like, what. I can't even. The best.
{20. BONUS SO BAD IT'S GOOD}
SNSD | Genie
THE BIGGEST EARWORM ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET. Just go with it. It can't be helped.
---
DOWNLOAD
(MegaUpload, 143mb, MP3, zip)
---
Not deep, and probably not for discerning adults, but that's pop at its finest, right? Put it on your stereo, turn it up and have fun.
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
NOW I'M YOUTUBING LIKE YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE
IN CAPS
She's amazing!
From:
no subject
Seriously, why she isn't HUGE in the US, I do not know.
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
DO YOU WANT MORE, PRETTY LADY *leers*
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
Also, North Korea totally has all the hotties, right? I will be making myself a Seon Hwa icon asap.
From:
no subject
...what an odd thing to type.
They're both so attractive, you can't help but root for the NK. Has Hyun Joon done is favourite thing of sitting in corners all the time yet? And you best be shippin' Sun Hwa/Everyone.
*explodes*
From:
no subject
And no turtlenecks yet, thank GOD.
From:
no subject
He just has a lot of feelings, Plummie. Angsty feelings.
From:
no subject
Uhhh
From:
no subject
I LOVE the Brown Eyed Girls vid. Holy crap. And the guy in it...for a second looks like the Action School director from SG, but y'know, less hot like burning. Well, maybe it is him, but he's still actually hotter in SG.
WHATEVER.
I am on to ep 12 of Iris, and excited because Boring is about to get beaten up. I'm assured that Sun Hwa and Teeth were totally doing it in lovely and angsty ways, because both are sad and yet still awesome...while only Sun Hwa's true love is actually fantabulous, while Boring is, well, BORING.
Um, so yes. Hopefully I'll get to that email tomorrow. Stupid midterms are eating my braaaain.
From:
no subject
Yes. When Boring is beaten up. I have a lot of issues with that particular scene, what with being a woman and all, but. Yes. Shit is totally getting real now, especially since Teeth has basically defected to North Korea (who the fuck does that OH TEETH DOES). Fierce will continue to be fierce and hers and Teeth's love is so OMG that they had to delete it from the film althogether. SPOILER, but I'm cranky about it and I'm gonna cut a bitch.
Geez, I'm rambling. I'm at the same email (nouveaufille at gmail) so I look forward to your email and YOU'RE WATCHING IRIS I LOVE IT. <3
From:
no subject
Okay, so we have nicknames for Teeth, Boring and Fierce. Anything for NK Badass Boyfriend or Sa Woo (who, omg, HATE. how'd he turn evil so fast? one min. buying dopey necklaces for Boring and then killing *everyone*).
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
I mean, I have to be ready for the KPopsplosion that will occur on my meeting you, amirite?
From:
no subject
There's a boy band called SHINee. Not "shin-eeeeeee" like the body part, but "shiny" like their luscious locks and clothing (I still call them "shin-eee"). I watched a show they did called Hello Baby (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khytKQBfjb0), where essentially idol groups are given a kid to raise (I've linked it because I know you won't be able to stop yourself, like me, and watch the whole damn thing), and they kept singing this song:
LINK AS IT WON'T EMBED (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roughtzsCDI)
This song makes me cry with laughter. I just have to hear the first bars and I'm off. The wings! The ring ding dongs! It was my ringtone for a while, just to make me laugh everytime I heard my phone ring. Epic.
This was followed by My Power Animal Song:
LINK BECAUSE IT WON'T EMBED (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dww9UjJ4Dt8) (eighteen MILLION VIEWS)
It makes me want to punch them in the face and run around the block. I can't explain it to you without sounding vaguely insane, but I hate them and I love them. And that, is your warning about Pieces and Shinee.
Great story, me.
LOVEAHOLIC LOVEATRONIC
From:
no subject
WHAT IS THIS I CAN'T EVEN. I JUST. WHAT IS AIR.
SMOULDERING LOOKS AT THE CAMERA. ~*~EARNEST~*~ APPRECIATION OF BUTTERFLIES AND FEATHERS. ONE OF THEM HAS AN EPIC MULLET.
OKAY NEXT.
... OKAY "LUCIFER" IS FUCKING AWESOME. IN A WAY THAT MAKES ME SORT OF WANT TO THROW THINGS. LOVEAHOLIC LOVEATRONIC = BEST LYRIC EVER.
I WAS GOING TO TURN CAPS OFF BUT THEY SEEM SORT OF APPROPRIATE. :D
From:
no subject
I seriously cannot stop laughing. I cannot wait for you to be here, you're going to try to escape through a window I can feel it. <3
From:
no subject
I am also very, very in love with this song from My Princess.
For the most part though I find the electric sound of k-pop a little tough on my ears. And I am not fond of the autotuned stuff. But I do love the ballads. And I love love LOVE how the music videos never have anything to do with the actual songs. Speaking of which, holy crap, Abracadabra! That was hot. I... probably need to check out more of their stuff.
Anywho, thank you muchly for providing us with new music! I'll give it a listen later.
From:
no subject
IU is super cute, I love her video for Marshmallow, and Boo is so cute and good to exercise to. (A lot of this stuff is good to exercise to, actually). I'm thinking of making a similar mix but for good songs from dramas. Any suggestions?
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
While I'm here... My grandma told me the other day that Goren and Eames would be back for the final (?) season of LOCI. I haven't watched an episode since they left, I haven't even thought about it... And honestly I didn't even have that much of a reaction when she told me (not incredibly happy or anything..just...whatever!) but...I would watch, of course. I didn't find much from googling it. Have you heard anything?
From:
no subject
I haven't heard anything about CI, to be honest - I had heard they are coming back for the final season, but there's not been a lot of information about it. Maybe soon? I think it should be back on the air soon. Fingers crossed, anyway.
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
Who am I kidding, you'll have to listen to this shit when you visit anyway. <3
From:
no subject
Certainly, they're all I need musically, but, you know. I will gladly listen to it here and there with you (and the kangaroos). ♥
From:
no subject
you livejournal is cool! keep up the spirit! greetings from europe!
if you're getting into kpop - check out CN Blue - best band ever! :D