K-pop (2014)

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.

Oh I'd also add 'Crayon Pop - Bar Bar Bar' and 'MBLAQ - Smoky Girl' from last year to my list of accomplished tracks.

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.

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

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/

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

^yeah that track is so good, even though really not here for yet another k-boyband song about stalking.

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

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

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

hahahahaha ok there's nothing euphemistic about that Beenzino track.

guess not, lol.

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

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, 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.

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

^I really love Last Romeo and it says something about Infinite's run of quality singles that that's actually considered one of their weakest tracks.

Also, they're already on their -next- comeback! The music is a little buried here, but it seems the new single is some kind of unholy alliance between piano ballad, "I Will Survive", and squelchy French electro.

"Back": http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21ox0t_140718-kbs-music-bank-infinite-back_music

And what's more remarkable is that that song was produced by the same guys who did this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZn72SqGljU

(^count as one of the songs that blew my mind musically btw, though not exactly K-pop.)

I can't believe Infinite are ALREADY returning. If we count Woohyun's thing with Key and their instrumental album repackage, did they ever leave? Are they going to be this year's SHINee?

Should be working on something else, but soyrev's question captured me, even if I have time for only minimal answers:

2NE1 "I Am The Best," 2NE1 "I Am The Best," 2NE1 "I Am The Best," 2NE1 "I Am The Best."

CL going beyond effervescent into total incandescence while she and the others prance about in the vicinity of towering, bruising electrodoodles. There's a live version caught on fancam in Singapore that captures the emotional rush.

But I wouldn't say that "mindblowing" is what attaches me to K-pop. I like how disco and Michael Jackson and freestyle and Italopop and Scandopop and Bell Biv DeVoe are living presences, with hip-hop incorporated in ways that seem less forced (or less tough, or something) than in America. Everything in play and seemingly used as easily as fingerpaint. But I can't safely generalize about K-pop any more than I can generalize about American pop. One thing I like about Miss A's "Bad Girl Good Girl" is that you can see the effort, which I find touching and inspiring. And then they followed up their basic R&B with "Breathe," which sounds like half R&B and half comic operetta. Hilarious live performance here (bad transfer, but the best version).

E.via/Tymee, the angriest rapper, is also the most vulnerable and funny. "Shake" and "Pick Up! U!."

My favorite K-pop track is T-ara's slavish (so to speak) Britney rip, "I Go Crazy Because Of You." T-ara are a whole world, one that I don't really understand, but I'm consistently drawn to it. For instance, in the "Roly-Poly" vid, Jiyeon is effervescent without once cracking a smile, an engaging disengagement she kept up in the initial live promotions. And here's a compilation live performance of "Lovey-Dovey" with its poignantly simplified shuffle dance, many outfits, and excited crowd (and maybe T-ara ripping themselves up internally, but you don't see it).

Speaking of Britney, here's BoA doing one of the great dances ever on a Britney discard that fell to her.

My favorite SNSD is a mobile phone commercial for which Bloodshy & Avant simply lifted the chords from their Rachel Stevens song "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex."

Lee Hyori's mobile phone commercial.

UI covers SNSD and Super Junior.

SHINee cover Corbin Bleu and Jay Sean.

Here's Fat Cat going robo-tush on "My Love Bad Boy" (another of my low-fidelity specials).

What's grabbing me now:

Wa$$up "Jingle Bell," which forapper already mentioned.

After School "Shh," funky bottom, smoove top (in Japanese).

Crayon Pop dress like aunties and go Crayon Trot. The young-uns in the audience tap their toes. "Uh-ee."

Badkiz "Ear Attack." Koreans continue to be endlessly inventive on the "Party Rock Anthem" template.

PungDeng-E "잘탕 (잘 시간이 어딨어)." Kiddie-rap being endlessly inventive on the "Party Rock Anthem" template.

(Actually, Jiyeon does giggle along with her mates during the break-free-from-summer-camp bit at the start of the "Roly-Poly" video, but she's absolutely smile-free in the dance.)

A co-ed group! This song has major shades of 'Umbrella' though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qlrFGzvP8Q

I wanna know who did this video, it's pretty great

further adventures in teal & orange.xls

omg thank you for linking to that thread, it's like a whole new world

could probably come up with a long list of t&o kpop mvs, probably none of them would be as outrageous as 'taxi's t&o garbage bags tho

OMG is this why they're called Orange Caramel?

http://youtu.be/0Z9R57maGvc
http://youtu.be/RjXXSsVNncQ
http://youtu.be/jxxoq7uqnbU (think this one is supposed to mirror early two-tone photography as mentioned in the other thread)

Actually this doesn't seem to be a big thing, Kpop MVs in general are more into the desaturated-->pastel-->FULL BLEEDING COLOR spectrum than any particular color palette.

Except for the MVs that are shot like Hollywood movies (Block B Nalina, Nalili Mambo) or in California (B2ST Midnight, Beautiful Night) or like an old two-tone film (5dolls This and That, AKMU 200%)- those are more teal and orangey.

Petition for f(x) to always perform in fatigues http://youtu.be/nir_6Biz4iA

While I'm on Inkigayo performances, Mamamoo were also a lot of fun this week http://youtu.be/u4ZuiTg38LY

Re T&O: "Taxi" really stood out to me because it was so blatant - I mean, LMW has one backup dancer with blue hair and another with orange hair dancing on opposite sides of the screen! It's actually quite an inventive use of teal and orange - less digital manipulation and more an active choice of colour scheme. plus, you know, Shinhwa orange.

btw, the makers of that video, Digital Pedicure, did most of my favourite MVs of the year: "Catallena", Wings' "Hair Short", B1A4's "What's Happening?", and Kim Yeon Woo's "Move".

And many of last year's too: "Dream Girl", "Babay", "Hate You", "Goodbye 20" (Plus History's hilarious debut teasers XD)

I remember being anti those debut teasers at the time... for the same reason I can't watch BTOB's 'Cool Guys' and feel nervous about the upcoming <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qL9XisVv2s";>Block B</a> I think, XD.

Lee Michelle!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD64ri3DL9E

:(

Upcoming block b: http://youtu.be/2qL9XisVv2s

those History teasers are poking fun at rather than endorsing the whole PUA/NiceGuy thing - they're pretty great imo.

Block B though, jesus.

I know, I hope the actual MV will be better :(

Like maybe they're really after the ice cream or something

Infinite 'Back' is good but somehow not Infinite-like

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

Maybe it's all the time L, Sunggong, Hoya and Dongwoo(!) spend singing on it that makes it not sound like Infinite

Song starts at 1:38

And speaking of Infinite... http://youtu.be/Ndlz2S47jAk

I dunno, that sounds pretty Infinite-like to me. Certainly looks Infinite, too.

I like how it drops into a dance break -before- the chorus.

Infinite = Sunggyu to me, I guess

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q33SoblaZbU

No comments on the jam of the summer???

I like it more than Girls Day "Darling", which I have seen compared to a Christmas jingle in various places around the web. I dunno how I feel about the theme, tho, knowing that Hyorin and company have said in interviews that they don't like doing 'the sexy concept' (but maybe they had to say that (and on the third hand they sell it like they're having fun for real)).

But - maybe misplaced - scruples aside, over I think this song is rly rly fun, like if Loving U had some of the pop of Bubble Pop

Sistar mini is good too! http://youtu.be/kQPCAJdhnIE?list=PL5X8SgiTKfg_XVs9OB4DY-M2b-CIPFHqU

REALLY good, even - at this moment it's my favorite thing they've ever put out, and that's including last year's great Sistar19 mini and Hyolyn's solo CD too