The Rest of my Birthday and a Review of Yeolbong, Se7en's Chicken Restaurant

Well, my birthday was last Friday, and I'm finally all caught up on my sleep/work/activities/promises, so here is the recap of my birthday.

In my last post I wrote about my birthday morning, and here's the conclusion:

At school I got a package from my parents: birthday gifts. A cute Betsey Johnson bracelet and hair pins, and such. Really cute things. I put those in my Nike bag with that big ol' card Hoon gave me. ^_^

After school, I went off to Baskin Robbins, not knowing what to expect. When i arrived at Baskin Robbins, I walked in and approached the girl at the counter. I simply said, Hi, I'm Allison... and she said, "아~ 케이크~!" Cake??? What cake?? Jong Hoon got an ice cream cake for me (last time we went to BR I had said ice cream cakes are my favorite... he must have remembered). On top of the ice cream cake box was another note.

The note said, go to the 아디다스 store. (Adidas Store). !!!!! The Adidas Store was across the street so off I went with the ice cream cake box and the Nike bag (with a balloon a student gave me tied to it lol) over to the Adidas Store. I walked in and the worker immediately looked at me and said "아! 옷~!" Clothing??? What clothing? And he walked to the back and gave me an adidas bag with some soccer pants I've been wanting for a while. Inside the bag was also a letter which was from him. SO CUTE.

I went home, changed and got ready for our date.

We met at Noryangjin and went to Sinsa station, to Garo-su-gil to eat dinner at 열봉찜닭. This restaurant is owned by musician Se7en, who is someone I really admire. I've been hoping to go to his restaurant for a long time. It's really easy to get to, which is good because I had never been to Garo-su-gil before, and it wasn't too hard for us to find it. ^^

The restaurant is located on the second floor just off the main road. We walked up the stairs and of course you are greeted by a cardboard cutout of Se7en님. We took pictures before we left to commemorate our time there.

The restaurant is quite small, smaller than I had thought, but it was tidy, and well-decorated. Dark wood tables, white light fixtures and semi-private nooks for some parties. Most seating is open, however, and they do try to fit as many tables in as they can. Even though it was tight, it didn't feel particularly cramped, but I did notice that even without all the seats filled, it was still quite loud. There are several fake trees adorned with chili peppers and pictures of celebrities, which are fun additions to the decor. On the left wall as you enter, they have posted numerous pictures and autographs of celebrities including members of Miss A, Big Bang, Park Han Byul, 2AM, as well as other actors and singers I don't remember or didn't recognize.

All of the dishes are branded with the cute chicken mascot of Yeolbong or with the chili pepper that also is used to represent the restaurant. The menu is divided into two sections. The left side is the traditional spicy jjim dalk (열봉 means really spicy, or something along those lines, that's my boyfriend's explanation) and the right side is Se7en's specialy chicken. Supposedly that's really spicy. We decided to go with the traditional spicy side.

On the spicy side you can choose your spiciness level 1-3 peppers. We got one, because we didn't know how spicy it would be. Boy were we glad we ordered level one spicy. IT WAS LIKE EATING FIRE. It was really spicy. I mean, I like spicy food, and so does Hoon, and this was quite spicy. Not unpleasantly spicy, but I can't fathom ever eating any level higher than that. I think I'd die.

We were sucking in air through our teeth and gulping 쿨피스 (Coolpis -- a fruit juice that is amazingly effective in countering extreme spice) after just two bites.

Even though it was spicy, it was really delicious. The chicken was cooked perfectly. It was not difficult to get off the bone (although if you are not adept at chopsticks use, I would recommend asking for a fork), and the carrots and potatoes were cooked like a dream. The noodles were probably the most spicy (the soak up all the sauce which makes them extra intense) but they were also SO delicious.

Afterwards, we added rice (which also had dried seaweed laver and tofu mixed in) and mixed it up. If you do go, I recommend ordering the rice at the end, after you finish your meal. It comes out really quickly, and that way its still piping hot when you add it to your slightly cooled sauce. We didn't do that, and it's a shame. IT was still good, but we imagine it'd be much much better if we had eaten it still hot...

On the whole, I would definitely recommend this to any spicy food lover traveling to Seoul. Also, I recommend it for anyone who is a big kpop/kdrama fan (just order the mild... it's listed under the main section on the left. It is less than one pepper, lol. The Right side is more spicy!!!) and is interested in looking at the pictures and even have a chance to glimpse a celebrity while you eat.

As for portions, 반마리 is half a chicken and it's enough for two-three people. There are two larger sizes, 한마리 and 한마리반 (one chicken, and 1 1/2 chicken respectively). For two-three people, you can order just one of the special rice dishes (남두 밥) and you'll be all set. Definitely add a 쿨피스 to cool you off if your feeling all spiced out!

Price: $$ for Korean food, it's a bit pricey. But for westerners, it's very reasonable for a dinner. 반마리 + 남두밥 + 쿨피스 came out to about 25,000 won, which is about 23.50usd, for two. A gut-bustingly filling meal for less than 12usd per person? Not too bad, I'd say. But, if you're pinching pennies, I'd say go for the bibimbap. lol

Food: *****/ 5 out of 5 - I don't have a lot to complain about with our food. The only complaint I'd have is that we foolishly ordered our rice too early (my fault). The flavor was excellent. Spicy but flavorful. Chicken was moist and tender. Vegetables thoroughly but not over-cooked. Noodles cooked perfectly.

Service: ****/ 4 out of 5 - There was nothing wrong with the service, but nothing to write home about. I think they are used to seeing celebrities and therefore treat their normal patrons with general indifference. Don't take that the wrong way. I just mean that some restaurants (not so many in Korea) treat their patrons with excellent service regardless. Here, in Korea in general, wait staff don't bend over backwards for their patrons. If you need them, call them. If you don't, don't expect them to check up on you because they won't.

Atmosphere: **** / 4 out of 5 - The decor was lovely. A nice mix of playful sophistication. The colors were good for the restaurant and the concept. The furniture was aesthetically pleasing. But it was a bit loud. I don't know if the acoustics of the restaurant need improving or if it's just a result of packing a few too many chairs into a restaurant. Some restaurants are meant to be loud an noisy. But the noise level didn't really fit the rest of what the restaurant, stylistically, seemed to be going for. In my opinion, they could stand to lose seating for maybe 5-8 patrons. I think that giving up that seating would make for a better atmosphere by far...

Overall: 4.5/5 I had a great time and it's definitely some place I'd recommend.

Korean Christmas 2

Last year I wrote a painfully uninteresting and undetailed account of my Christmas. But this year, don't fret my friends, I had a particularly interesting Christmas, so I'm in a gooooood mood, and I'm ready to share this all with you.

As I had mentioned before I got to attend a bunch of cool events last week, starting with Fever Seoul Live and ending with the T Social Party. I'll review these events and include some pictures and videos for all of you to enjoy.

Fever Seoul Live was interesting. It was much shorter than I anticipated, but it was pretty cool. It was definitely centered upon bboying, which I liked, but I would have liked to see more dumbfoundead and less Jay Park. Don't get my wrong, I like Jay Park, but he seems to me to be just pretty good at everything and not particularly awesome at any one thing. He's a pretty good bboy, he's a pretty good singer, he's an okay rapper, but nothing he does makes me want to jump out of my seat. Korean people like him because he's cute (but his ears are distractingly large) and he speaks Korean and English (wow). Dumbfoundead performed She Don't Care acoustic with David Choi on the guitar, and Manifest beatboxing. He also performed Liquor Store Blues with David Choi, which isn't my favorite but that's okay. And he did Bullets of Truth which is probably my favorite of his old songs (download it y'all! Support him... he's dope). And he did Clouds with Jay Park which has a dope verse by dfd, but Jay Park's verse is kind of lame compared to his other stuff (I actually really like Bestie, which he performed)

DFD (left) and Jay Park (Right)

I went there with my friend Dre, which was fun. I hadn't hung out with him in a long time.

Then on Friday after school I basically sprinted home (okay, so I didn't actually run anywhere, I took a taxi) to get ready for the T Social Christmas Party. The party began at 8 p.m. and was all the way in 강남 which is pretty far away. I thought I was really lucky because my co-teacher got invited as well and she would drive me. I got off work at 4:15 (yay sneaking out early!) and she was going to be at my apt at  5:20 so I had to book it home and get ready. I wore this gorgeous new Lanvin <3 H&M black one shoulder dress with exposed zipper and some new heels I got in 이태원. I unfortunately don't have a picture of the whole outfit, which is super unfortunate. I did my make-up blingbling-tastic (that was the dresscode... bling bling). I forgot to put on mascara in my run out the house a full 5 minutes late. I was supposed to meet my boyfriend in Gangnam at 6:45. Unfortunately, we got stuck in some really horrifyingly bad traffic. Basically, it would take about 50 minutes to 1 hour to get to Gangnam from where we live, but since it was rush-hour on a Friday which also just so happened to be Christmas Eve, after one hour, we were still in Incheon, barely to Bupyeong. I was really really upset, because I didn't want to be late, and it was really boring. I could have just taken the train and it would have been easier. We finally got moving only to get stuck in even worse traffic in Youngdeungpo, which is about 10 minutes driving (usually) from Gangnam. After sitting in that traffic until about 7:00, I was like fuck this. I told my co-teacher that I would find the subway and take the subway. I got out of the car in the middle of the street, and crossed through oncoming traffic in -15 degree Celsius weather, hailed a cab and had it take me to the closest subway station. It took me another 30 minutes on the subway (i had to transfer twice), but I still beat my co-teacher by something like 2 hours. She evidently took a wrong turn and got onto a highway headed to Busan (the southernmost point on South Korea basically... not good). I met my boyfriend and we walked to the club (after a minor detour where we got totally lost and I had to call Mina to get directions). Got to the club, with unusable fingers due to the cold, and was really snappy to my boyfriend (Sorry BOOOOO!) but then we were inside! We didn't miss anything except 360 Sounds' DJ set. We saw Leessang (리쌍) and Se7en (세븐) and GD&TOP. Our view wasn't the best, but since we are both really tall, we could see well enough, in spite of being a bit far from the stage. The performance was a little underwhelming, because there were too many people at the club and people were acting really stupid. But Se7en, GD & TOP were all really awesome. Se7en sang Digital Bounce, I'm Going Crazy, Better Together, LaLaLa, and 열정(Passion, my FAVORITE). And GD came out and sang Heartbreaker, and TOP sang Turn It Up and then they both came out and did High High, Oh Yeah and 뻑이가요 (Knock Out). OMG SO FUCKING AWESOME.

Then boo and I took a taxi back home and ate McDonalds.

I will tell you about my actual Christmas more specifically later!

Take It Slow Spanish

So I just found this:



Also, I want to add that OMG I'm going to a party Friday that will be me and in the same club as Se7en TOP and GD. And I get to wear my gorgeous new dress AND be with my BOYFRIEND!! Merry Christmas to me!

YG Family Concert Picture

OH. MY. GOD.

So at the concert, after the encore was finished, Se7en or G-D said, hey, we're gonna take a picture of YG family and the concert goers. I think they only did this for the last concert, but I can't really be sure since I wasn't at the other concerts. Anyways, the picture was just posted on the YG-life Blog, and I pulled up a bigger picture and OMG I am in it. My face is super washed out, but my hand is the one like a whole foot higher than everyone elses. And my boyfriend is next to me (hand also really high and making a peace sign) and you can see him too! It's soooooo cool! Anyways, here's the picture with a convenient circle around each of us. I'm on the left, my boyfriend is to the right. *^____^*

YouTube Videos

My youtube channel is currently ranked at the #46 most viewed South Korean channel of the day. This is a pretty awesome accomplishment. I'd like to thank GMarket for being amazing at finding me really close seats less than one week from the concert date, and YG Family for making an awesome concert.

Anyways, here are the videos from YG Family concert:









Share them with your friends, and get me even higher on the most viewed list!! And subscribe to my youtube channel!

YG Family Concert

I had a really great time at the YG Family Concert. Thanks to Miranda, I got a really awesome signed Taeyang cd (they went on sale at 10 a.m. and my concert wasnt till 7... so hells naw).

JH and I headed over to the concert at about 5:30. It was just enough time for us to exchange our tickets, pick up our wristbands, buy him a toast, let me guzzle my disgusting 한약, before we scramble to get in line just as our section was being let in. Thank GOD! It was JH's first concert ever, which is kind of shocking given we're both in our 20s and I've been to perhaps 30-40 concerts (my first being when I was maybe 11). I also had to give him lots of warnings about the crazy-ness of these fans (legit loco) and just before it started, I had to scold him into picking up his backpack off the ground. A good call because maybe 45 seconds later, the house lights dimmed and the intro to fire started playing and the crowd surged forward, pushing us a full 15-20 feet from our original position.

Anyways, the concert was pretty great. I'd have to say Se7en was the best in terms of overall quality of performance. His vocals were completely perfect, in my opinion. He looked amazing, and his voice matched impeccably. He and Gummy are obviously the really singers of the family, but Seven is an all-around performer. Plus, it seemed like his performance didn't have any tech errors, and the dancers he worked with were impeccable.

I was really impressed with Gummy, who displayed a lovely range of songs. Even though I'm not particularly familiar with her (I have maybe 2 Gummy songs), I enjoyed her performance (even though I thought it was too long...)

2ne1 was full of energy and really brought the fun. I used to really really like minji while bom and cl vied for second and dara was way behind. But seeing them perform, I thought they were just so perfect all together. It's hard for me to pick a clear favorite. CL is such a badass, and bom is just so fun, and dara is cute (at first I didn't like her cuteness, but in the show it was engaging), and minji is just this little spitfire. It was really cool to see them perform live.

Psy was fucking awesome. He's by far the oldest YG family member (born in 1977, he's nearly 5 years older than Gummy, the next oldest, and a full 17 years older than Minji, the youngest in YG), but he's also by far the most eccentric and engaging stage performer. His voice, his excitement, his crazy ass dance moves brought every single person in the crowd to a complete, standing roar of excitement. Through all of the songs he sang (4 in total), every single person was singing and screaming and jumping like some extra-human thing entered their bodies and took control. It was awesome. Psy had everyone hanging on his every word, his every movement. It was cool.

Big Bang was, shockingly, not my favorite. I already said Se7en was my favorite, so I guess you know that. But what I mean to say by that is I was a tiny bit disappointed by Big Bang's performance. Some things from Big Bang were really awesome: GD and TOP: 전화본호 in fur coats, 뻑이가요 (holy jesus this song is absolute fucking FIRE), GD/TOP/Taeyang: Hot 뜨거, 마지막인사, but the Daesung solo had a major mic error, which Daesung desperately tried to make funny, but without too much success, and the 승리 solo was way too much talking. Plus the boys looked a little tired. At the end of the encore, Taeyang wipe his face and breathed what seemed to be a sigh of relief that the concert's exhausting preparations and execution were finally over. Also, it seemed like a lot of Taeyang's solo vocal belts seemed out of place or strange.

I don't mean to say that the Big Bang performances weren't great, because they were. There just seemed to be an air of tiredness and a sense of rushed organization that usually isn't present in YG performances, especially from Big Bang.

I just hope our boys can get a tiny bit of rest in (especially Taeyang... he's been promoting for Solar since July and now is preparing for the Big Bang comeback) before they come back in February. I know TOP and GD are going to be doing promotions in December, but those guys (esp GD) have been pretty off the map for a while. I just hope that my taeyang can get his rest and charge up for a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE comeback.

Other stuff not kpop related coming soon!

A

My addiction to buying shit.

So, this weekend my phone broke. And by that I mean the scan completely got fucked up and I couldn't read anything on the screen and so I couldn't really receive texts (or read them at least) and I couldn't tell who was calling me. So anyways, I went with the bf to the cell phone store Friday night to try to acquire a new phone. I have been saying I really wanted the Galaxy S phone really really badly, but I didn't have a reason to buy it. But, now was the perfect opportunity. But, to my dismay, E-2 visa holders cannot purchase a Galaxy S smartphone because it requires a two-year contract and there isn't a two-year E-2 visa. So I was looking at some other phones (iphone 4 still has a two week reservation wait, which wouldn't have worked, and also no-go for E-2 visa holders). But, then, my boyfriend proposed that he sign the contract for me in order for me to avoid the prohibition on my smartphone purchase. But, I was a little hesitant to accept right away because, god forbid, something terrible happened (either in my life or in our relationship or in my job) and I have to leave Korea (or we break up *shudder*) he could get totally screwed over. I would never intentionally do that, but sometimes crazy shit comes up. I just don't want things to be too complicated or pressured because he did this for me. But he insisted that it was okay. And he called his parents and made sure they thought it was an okay idea and they said yes (I also briefly talked to his mom to say hello and she said she missed me. I miss her too^^) He seemed to really be in favor of me getting the galaxy s (living vicariously through me maybe?) and so I finally caved. And he signed the contract (all the bills go directly to me, it's just his name on the contract, not mine). So I'm really thankful for that. I find it really sweet because he anticipates us (probably) staying together for at least a significant amount of time, and because he obviously trusts me enough to do that for me.

Actually, the store we went to didn't actually have the phone on hand, so they had to get it delivered from another place. And so they were gonna call my boyfriend and have us come pick it up again. He had to go to the library to study, and I was meeting up with some friends to hang out at the Soongsil University festival. Basically lots of drinking and a music performance and playing. So we parted and he said he'd bring me the phone when he could. I went off with my friends, and he hit the stacks, and I got my eat and drink on. About an hour and a half later he came back with the phone store bag and I got super excited. And to make it even better, he wrapped it up in Hello Kitty wrapping paper like it was a special gift. And he wrote me a note too. It was adorably cute. He's freaking wonderful. Unfortunately he had to go back to studying.

Got my phone. Had someone else who has a galaxy s help me get on the internet. Took some pictures. And then got down to the business of drinking more. Gotten pleasantly tipsy. Saw Beast (b2st, 비스트) perform three songs. Complained a bunch to my boyfriend about it being cold (via textmessage) and he surprised me by coming back. And then we went to one of the booths that was really awesome. At that booth, there was a dj and it was like a club but open air and all Soongsil students. And it was super awesome. And we danced a lot and took shots and it was ridiculous. Promptly proceeded from tipsy to drunk.

Went home.

Saturday morning met M & C in Myeongdong. I bought a new dress and a vest (hahahahahah PAIGEY) and they are both super cute (ESPECIALLY the dress, omg)

Went to the War Memorial for the Seoul Soul Festival. Was like 5 people away from Se7en and Taeyang and it was amazing (review in full coming later). Went to a chicken hof with the girls. The chicken hof place had the most amazing 모든감자튀김 (mixed french fries). There were regular crinkle cut fries, tater tots, sweet potato fries, waffle fries, onion rings, smiley face shaped fried potatoes, and the most awesomely delicious fried mashed potato dallops (there isn't a good way to explain them. Imagine mashed potatoes pushed through a frosting bag/tip to create a ridged mountain of fried mashed potato goodness). And the chicken was pretty good. But omg, the french fries. to die for.

Then we went to Hongdae and I got my tragus pierced. It didn't hurt very much then, and I hardly notice it now. Sometimes if I play with it, it tickles my ear, which is strange.

My league team won our Sunday game. I had mandoo and bulgogi with a friend for dinner. Things are looking up.

I finished my worksheets for this week already and there are no high school classes!!

NICE-UH.

xoxo
A

September/October is the best ever

NEW SE7EN MUSIC VIDEO. WITH PARK HAN BYEOL, HIS GIRLFRIEND. OMG OMG OMG OMG I LOVE THIS.

Also, I understood all the Korean in the acting sections. NICE.

My adoring fans and readers

My bad on not posting for a long time. It's just that I've been busy being in the United States and eating obscene quantities of food (mostly in the form of cupcakes or mexican tortilla-wrapped foodstuffs) and traipsing across New York City/Gainesville/Wellington. You know, it's a tough life, being a globe-trotter.

Here's a brief summary of my vacation. In numbers:


3 dresses I bought during vacation (thanks to Gap, that rando boutique in SoHo with the guy who said, "wear it with just a black bra, it's sexier that way," and Target)
4 sangrias I drank at Calle Ocho during the all you can drink brunch
5 meals I averaged per day on my vacation
9 planes I took in the course of my 2 week vacation
11 planes I had to purchases tickets for due to a big fuck up by Expedia.
14 dollars- the price of one bottle of soju in NYC's Koreatown
17 apps that I've downloaded for my brand-new ipod touch (any suggestions)
23 cupcakes (some mini, some regular and some jumbo sized) that me and my friends inhaled during my two-week vacation
24 dollars- price of my prix fixe lunch at Cafe Boulud on the Upper East Side. Thanks Restaurant Week.
40 hours I was actually in Wellington.
48 crazy bands purchased by me and sarah. They are in the shapes of "lil monsters" and "crazy pets"
86 floors ascended in the Empire State Building. It was cloudy so the 102nd floor didn't seem like a good idea, especially given the additional 20 bucks you had to pay to go there.
105 steps to the top of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, which I trekked up with my family in tow.

That's all I can come up with off the top. But, I guess I'll also add: Sarah and Matt have two doggies each of which are adorable and staying with them made me really really really really look forward to their wedding, and me helping Sarah in every way I can. Plus, omg, Diane is the best ever (along with her roommate) for letting all of us stay in her apartment and being such a gracious and fun host. Plus, I wrecked people at Ping-Pong. Plus I missed Korean food. Good Korean food. Oh. Plus, omg Moesssssssssssssss. And La Tienda. And Flacos. And the Top. gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Now, I'm back at school in Korea. A bunch of my students seemed almost surprised that I was back. I don't know where they thought I was, but it's like I had come back from the dark ages.

Evidently, while I was in America, I was on Korean t.v. A student showed me the video. It's really embarassing. I looked like a fool. It was during the Se7en fan signing. I was interviewed and said some stupid shit like oh my god oh my god oh my god, I met Se7en! I love Se7en! I love YG! Also, evidently a lot of people saw that shit. My students took videos on their phones of me on the t.v. gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. So terrible.

Also, I bought tickets to see Taeyang. I will go to both of his concerts, but my seats aren't very good for either day. So sad. T_T I'm not sure who I will go with yet. My co-teacher is trying to get tickets again on Sept. 2nd, but if she can't, she'll go with me on Sunday maybe. And then I'll go on Saturday with someone. idk who.

I'm signed up for Seoul ultimate fall league, plus a hat tournament in September for Soongshil University, which is the boo's team (but not uni, because he goes to Jung-Ang)

It's good to be back. Really good to be back.

xoxo
A

The most wonderful day ever.

So today might be one of my best days ever. Okay, so that's probably an exaggeration, but still, it's been a really really great day. Yesterday and today and tomorrow have all been great. Really really really great. Seriously.

This week I've been teaching at an English summer camp for the Nambu district of Incheon. It's maybe 15 schools or so, and the camp combines some of the highest level English students from each of the schools to attend an English camp led mostly by foreign English teachers such as myself. All classes have 12 students, 6 boys and 6 girls. This is probably the first time boys and girls have been in the same class since they started middle school, so that was strange. In my class, the boys and the girls will totally separate. They didn't talk to each other, they didn't work with each other unless we literally forced them to. It was awful.

But beside my classes stark gender segregation, everything in the camp was great. My students were all awesome, if a little shy at first. But, by Thursday, the boys especially, they could hardly be corralled into orderly groups. On Thursday we had a field trip to the Incheon Science Hall and Incheon International Airport. The boys basically ran wild in the museum and we (my korean co-teacher and I) had to go searching for them on more than one occasion. We also played faux-basketball at the station that had a fan underneath a ball that pushed the ball through a hoop. You know, that exhibit that every single science museum ever has. Well, we took the ball and played basketball. I hit the first shot I took, you know, since I'm a baller and all.

Then at the airport, I was in charge of the boys group and they were absolutely terrified to speak to any foreigners. I had to literally drag them to people in order to get them to start talking. Then trying to keep them away from the dunkin donuts and family marts was next to impossible. Luckily after that activity was over, they were seated for the rest of the time. That day, the boys also snooping and reading my text messages as I wrote them and discovered that I can speak some korean. They saw me write 영화가 재미없었어 and were like omg omg you speak korean, and then proceeded to speak a ton of korean to me. It was annoying, but funny because I wouldn't speak to them in Korean.

Then today was our last day of camp which was kind of sad because we had bonded over the week, but mostly I was just thrilled because camp was exhausting for me. It ruined my sleeping patterns completely as I had to take naps just to stay up past 9 p.m. But today, my students all said goodbye and my girls were sad (and my boys didn't care, obvi). But I gave my cyworld address to my students so hopefully they will add me on cyworld or whatever. So far one student already has. Weeney (that's her English name which she chose. It gets me every time).

Plus tonight I finally get to see my boo after a whole week.

Plus plus plus the best bit of news ever: I GET TO MEET SE7EN TOMORROW! OMG OMG OMG OMG. Yes, I mean the Se7en that I have been fawning over the last few blog posts. Same Seven. I got picked to attend a fan signing. Only 150 people will be there and my friend Coleen also got picked. OMG, I can't even express how effing thrilled I am to get to meet him. And he's gonna sign my new digital bounce cd. And I'm gonna write him a letter and hopefully he'll read it and show it to Taeyang and then Taeyang will fall in love with me via the letter. Ok, obviously this is just wishful thinking, but still. ^_____^ Tomorrow at 6:30 I will be in a line of people to talk to and (possibly) HUG Seven. gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. I screamed when I got the text message from Hottracks, the music store at Kyobo that said I was picked.

CD Review: Se7en- Digital Bounce

So I downloaded Se7en(also written Seven)'s newest album, Digital Bounce, the day that it came out. Then I bought the cd at my earliest convenience, when I went to Times Square Mall yesterday. Luckily I went there with Coleen, because this week when I buy his cd, I can enter a contest to see him at a fan signing on Saturday. So I did that, obviously, and I'm preparing the gift/letter that I will give him that professes my love and expresses my desire for him and Taeyang (they are both YG after all).

Anyways, Se7en is pretty darn famous in Korea. He's been around for a long time (this is his fifth Korean album), and he's had a huge amount of critical success in the country, in spite of a failed attempt to break into the Korean market. I have all of his other albums downloaded (except for some reason his next most recent Se7olution, which I plan to dl tonight). Like my Taeyang Solar Review, this review is gonna be biased because I love him so much. Also, I will definitely be translating this album on www.reallykpop.com as soon as I finish translating 2PM's Don't Stop Can't Stop mini-album (this week).

So, here's my play-by-play

1. Reset (Intro)- This is a pretty long intro at 55 seconds. And I really think it sets the tone for this album. In this album, Seven really experiments with more electronic-based music, and more dance music. This album also seems to have a lot of auto-tune, which is a drag, but his live-performances have been auto-tune free and really really impressive. In this intro, Seven says, "y'all ready for this?/Something y'all ain't used to" He's right. This is something that we Seven fans aren't used to. Sure, from his first album (Just Listen) to his next most recent (Se7olution), his sound changed tremendously from a lot and a lot of ballad singing to an edgier dancier vibe. But still, seven is a singer of the most pure breed. A real r&b singer. And this cd seems to depart from that. I get the impression that his time in the United States has really changed his music style. And, frankly, I'm not sure everyone is ready for this. But, even though it's different, I still really like it. Oh and did I mention that he totally says y'all, which I love.

2. Digital Bounce (featuring T.O.P.)- This song is quite possibly the most catchy song of the summer. I'm about to blow the minds of my faithful readers, but I like this song more than almost any song on Solar (taeyang's solar album), and I really really really love 영배 with every ounce of my body. But this song just gets in your head and reverberates with such intensity. The chorus is all in English and fairly simplistic. But it's simplicity is what makes it memorable. Seven really embraces the electronic nature of the album with this song, referencing supersonic waves, robo-cops, and a digital world. Also, T.O.P.s rap on this song is absolute fire. The more I listen to top, the more I really really like him. He went from my least favorite to a contender with Daesung for number 2 (Taeyang will always be my one and only). I mean, his voice is built for rapping. Like, there aren't many voices that are tonally naturally equipped to sound pleasing while rapping (that was part of the appeal of hip-hop at the roots, the gritty raw non-traditional-music sound), but his seems to fit perfectly. He's really talented. Oh, and the choreography is equallly easy and catchy, so I can dance along at will!

3. Better Together- This song is the official first song, although on his comeback stages, he is performing both this song and Digital Bounce. This song also embraces the electronic nature of the album. I really like the stuttering when Seven says, "They call me Se se se seven, 넌 나의(you're my) hea hea hea heaven" There are other stuttery parts that are just really catchy and fit with the beat really well. This song also displays Seven's range really well, especially towards the end when it slows down a bit and then gets back to the original tempo and Seven really turn it out vocally. My one complaint with this song is there is this annoying sound effect littering the background. It's kind of like an airhorn meets a shooting star (in my mind). It's a really popular sound for DJs to drop in clubs, and I find it super annoying. It's used too frequently in this song and it really irks me. Luckily during the chorus, it's not used at all because there is a tempo change that renders the sound effect unnecessary.

4. I'm Going Crazy- This song seems to be a bit out of place given the first three tracks. It's the "slow jam" of the album. It's still not nearly as slow as some of his old work. Plus, it still has a slightly electronic feel. It's heavy on the drum set and has some definitely space-agey keyboard work. The music itself (instrumentals) is kind of sub-par for me. The lyrics also, don't blow me out of the water. But, this song showcases his phenomenal vocals quite well. I just wish the the music was a little less like something Disney would produce for Miley Cyrus or whoever their next big name is, and a little more like his older slow songs, where the music was really quality and the vocals remained the same. Oh man, his voice really is beautiful in this song. The lyrics, by the way, for this song were written by Teddy.

5. Money Can't Buy me Love- This song seems like a Beatles throwback, but it's a totally different theme. Instead of saying, girl, you can buy my love, it's about spending all this money on a girl but discovering that she didn't want his money, she just wanted his attention and love. This song is really sad. It's kind of Justin Timberlake-y during the Cry me a River era. I really like the music for this song. I feel like if you took the vocals off, the music could hold its on. Then you add Seven's vocals and I'm sold. This song is not something you'll here at the club, and it's not really a ballad, but it's that perfect song that's right in the middle that you can listen to when you're happy or when you're sad. Also this song is in English, and his English really is phenomenal. He even says the word hoopty (regarding a broke down car) which is pretty tight.

6. Drips- I fucking love this song. Again, it's got the full on Electronic dance vibe, starting with the computerized woman's voice saying, "Push the button. High. Loud. Start." and then breaking into a beat I can definitely get down to in the club. Seven says, "just let it drip. Just let it drip. Just let it drip. Just let it drip." I'm not sure what I'm allowing to drip, but if Seven says so, I will just let it drip. Then, he breathily begins, "Can u feel feel 이 뜨거운 열기 꿈 속을  헤메이듯 feel so good" which translates roughly to "Can you feel feel the heat in this dream, This wondering feels so good." And honestly, just the way he says it makes me want to go to bed with him right now and feel the heat that ISN'T a dream. The breathy way he lays the chorus on you is so sexy and raw. Also, there is a "oooh" that is nearly orgasmic. LOVE IT. I will just pretend this song is being song by Seven just for me.

7. Roller Coaster- The beginning of this song seems like it was ripped off from song American song that I can remember the title of. Like, it seems virtually plagarized because I'm almost certain I've heard the beginning before. Then he says something like "다다다른 걸" which is find, but it sounds like something from a girls kpop group, if it wasnt about another girl. Plus, the roller coaster metaphor is a bit played out. Plus, this song is a little auto-tuney for me. But still, when he's not on the auto-tune, he still sounds really good. I do think it's a bit unfortunate that the album ends with this song which I think is a bit mediocre. It's not terrible, it's just not a hit.

If I was grading by the standards that I grade by at school, I'd give this album a "Very Good! ^_^" But it wouldn't get a "Perfect!" or a Hello Kitty sticker. But it would be a situation where I look at the paper and say, man, I really want to give this a hello kitty sticker because it's so good, but it's not quite perfect, and I can't do that.

So, I won't. Sorry, Seven. No Hello Kitty sticker for you.

Unless you are actually reading this, in which case, you can have as many hello kitty stickers as you want, plus my body, to do with it as you wish.

You can buy his album at www.yesasia.com or, if you live in Korea, at any major retailer selling music cds. I recommend 신나라 in the 신세계 department store only because they have lots of events with the stars. Also, check out his official website at www.hello7.com

xoxo
A

Not Hot List

1. SHINee. Seriously, I really really really don't like them. I'm pretty loving towards all the kpop groups, male and female alike. I don't judge the girls for getting plastic surgery or wearing skanky clothes or not being able to sing well. Granted I like some (2ne1, f(x), Boa) better than others (T-ara, 4minute), but I don't hate on any of them. And I don't judge the boys for being too skinny, or having a million people in their group (uh, Super Junior), or lip-syncing, or being too damn sexy (uh, Big Bang). I'm pretty open-minded. But, I just can't get behind SHINee. They are not very attractive (imho), they are mediocre singers, they are mediocre dancers, and their entertainment company/stylists make them wear hella ugly clothing and give them hella ugly haircuts. Plus, whoever is producing and writing their music sucks. The English lyrics on both of their major releases (Ring Ding Dong and now Lucifer) are freaking ridiculous. "Fantastic, fantastic, elastic, elastic" and "loverholic robotronic" WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? I hate them. That's all there is to it.

I'm sorry, Onew, you look fucking stupid. Unfortunately no pic of another haircut which is half head fully shaved, other half, long hair.

Photo Credit: AllKpop, taken from Inkigayo performance video 7/26

2. Se7en's tattoo. God it's just freaking ugly. Luckily I can overlook it due to his sexy bod and his hot dancing. But still. Fix that shit YG. Y'all can afford the laser removal.

Why Se7en, why? I still love you though. Even though I hate your tattoo.

3. A perfect day wasted. Today, the weather is gorgeous. And by gorgeous I mean swelteringly hot, with sunshine. i.e. a gorgeous beach day. Where am I? Inside my apartment. There is no beach reasonably nearby (or reasonably accessible) and there are no outdoor pools nearby either. On a day like today, I really hate Korea for not letting me take advantage of such nice weather. Hopefully it'll be nice again tomorrow so Beks and I can tan on her roof after brunch!

4. Bugs. In my apartment. They are tiny. Not ants. I'm not entirely sure what (sorry ENT2042, I forgot all the lessons you taught me, except not to be afraid of bugs). It's not really an infestation (yet), but I've seen maybe 3 in the last two or three days. They are so small and can't really hurt me, it's just annoying. I haven't had any bugs before. Maybe it's just because things got a little dirty at my apartment. But, everything is thoroughly cleaned now (even the wasteland that was my shower) so hopefully that will ward them off a bit.

Finished.

xoxo
A

p.s. THIS is my 200th post? sheesh.