Aside from yesterday which was extremely sad and cold and rainy (it actually snowed in Gangwon-do, which is RIDICULOUS) the weather has been getting nicer and nicer. It's been sunny and warm and bordering on hot. Sunday I work shorts AND a tee-shirt and was perfectly comfortable. AMAZING.
Aside from my ankle (doctor tells me I tore two of the lateral ligaments in my ankle... level 2 ankle sprain), which is still a bit bothersome, everything is looking up.
I saw Big Bang on Sunday in a stroke of pure luck thanks to two co-teachers and some fast ticket buying at the last minute. To make it even better, due to an unfortunate incident involving SNSD's Taeyeon, everyone got full refunds for their tickets. This means I went to LotteWorld Amusement Park and saw Big Bang for FREE!! Gotta love it. Oh, and Park Bom of 2ne1 waved. TO ME!
Anyways, my birthday is soon, and I'm gearing up for that, but more importantly, this weekend I am going to Jeju for a frisbee tournament that I'm not supposed to play in because of my ankle. I'm playing anyways.
Also, my baby sister, Melly officially got accepted to graduate school, and put in her deposit at Indiana University and she is going to get her master's degree in Water Resource Mangement and I couldn't be more proud of her if I wanted to. She is growing up and she is becoming a lovely, intelligent, well-spoken, beautiful woman. It's so exciting. I miss her so much. Like more than anyone. I just want her in Korea with me. Korea needs to work on all Resource Management, including water, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll come here one day. lol. not likely.
I also got my Dream Concert ticket/invitation. It's really complicated because it's not really a ticket. A student gave it to me, then I had to go to this random website to register my number and then there is a random drawing for 25,000 people to go the concert. I also had to use Hoon's name, not my own because evidently only Korean people can sign up, which is dumb.
That's it for now, I think. I have to make exam questions for my mid-terms today!! I can't wait for midterms. It's the start of a nice little mini vacation for me, and I'm very much looking forward to it. ^^
Showing posts with label kpop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kpop. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
One little kpop spam
Okay, so I've been pretty good at keeping this mostly k-pop free because, well, I started that tumblr account of mine that is pretty much strictly dedicated to all things k-culture (pop, drama, culture) and this is going to mostly anecdotes and stuff from life in Korea, food, school, activities, events, etc. If you are interested in that stuff, I recommend you head over to tumblr and subscribe/rss feed/read religiously/ask questions/etc!
But, tonight at 12 a.m. marks a major moment for me personally here in Korea. It's BigBang's comeback (after 2 years and 3 months... but who's counting?) and as lame as that may be, I am anticipating this and hyped for this more than perhaps anything in my whole life. This, to me, is more exciting than making the varsity basketball team, getting into college, starting university, turning 21, getting a bid to college nationals for ultimate frisbee, getting a job right out of uni, leaving America to teach English in another country, traveling to 3 continents in less than 12 months, and any other major life moment I can remember.
It's just that this group has really defined my experiences here. If it weren't for bigbang, I think a lot of my life he would just be lived in a state of: "this is just temporary, so don't bother getting attached" but via my love of bigbang I have been able to engage my students and initiate deep and meaningful relationships with them, have opportunities to meet people (both famous and not) that I'd never have met before, and learn a tremendous amount about the culture I am living in first hand.
Thanks big bang for 2 years of memories and amazing experiences, and hopefully to many many more years filled with your music and concerts!!
Anyhow, here's the last teaser before bigbang has their comeback at midnight tonight. I hope you can see in it some little sparkle of love that I have huge quantities of.
But, tonight at 12 a.m. marks a major moment for me personally here in Korea. It's BigBang's comeback (after 2 years and 3 months... but who's counting?) and as lame as that may be, I am anticipating this and hyped for this more than perhaps anything in my whole life. This, to me, is more exciting than making the varsity basketball team, getting into college, starting university, turning 21, getting a bid to college nationals for ultimate frisbee, getting a job right out of uni, leaving America to teach English in another country, traveling to 3 continents in less than 12 months, and any other major life moment I can remember.
It's just that this group has really defined my experiences here. If it weren't for bigbang, I think a lot of my life he would just be lived in a state of: "this is just temporary, so don't bother getting attached" but via my love of bigbang I have been able to engage my students and initiate deep and meaningful relationships with them, have opportunities to meet people (both famous and not) that I'd never have met before, and learn a tremendous amount about the culture I am living in first hand.
If it weren't for big bang, I think I'd probably still believe that my living in Korea is 2-5 year commitment and just a break from a "real" life beckoning from America. However, this "temporary" Korean life has become so much more than that, and I can frankly say that this 2-5 year commitment has suddenly developed into a love that will last my whole life for a culture that I was turned on to at age 21 when I first saw the video for 거짖말 on youtube.
Thanks big bang for 2 years of memories and amazing experiences, and hopefully to many many more years filled with your music and concerts!!
Anyhow, here's the last teaser before bigbang has their comeback at midnight tonight. I hope you can see in it some little sparkle of love that I have huge quantities of.
p.s. In another life update, I'll add that I got my first kitten, Casanova, last friday, and am picking up my other lovely baby tonight. He doesn't have a name yet, but I will post pictures tomorrow. I promise.
p.p.s. OMG BIGBANG BIG SHOW IS FRIDAY. I'm dying.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The Best Performance I've seen
So Thursday's MNet M Countdown, GD/TOP performed 뻑이가요 and High High. High High was pretty standard, but 뻑이가요 was hands down the best music show performance I've seen perhaps ever by any artist. Their styling was impeccable. Their attitude was perfect. It was impeccable. Just perfect.
Here it is:
Here it is:
Monday, December 27, 2010
GD T.O.P. High High CD review
Well, as many of you know, I purchased GD & TOP's full length album on Christmas Day here in Korea. I didn't listen to it until the 26th, but have been listening to it practically nonstop yesterday and today in order to prepare this review for you, the fans. In fact, I'm listening to it right now to make sure I don't miss anything.
The album overall
The album is really nice looking. I think it's much more sophisticated and expensive looking than the 2ne1 album, which was pretty but super flashy. This album manages to combine bling and sophistication. I actually really like the pseudo playboy bunny and the paisley print that was incorporated into the bunny design and the cd itself. But I just really like paisley in general. The pictures are generally pretty good although some of the styling is questionable in my personal opinion (I like animal prints and furs, but the headscarf gd wears, and the ladies fur coat TOP dons in two of the pictures are horrible). I really like the backgrounds of the pictures. Either really really super simple or really really eccentric. Just like GD and TOP. What I hate about the cd itself? Two things. First, there are two separate pages which both contain identical track lists. Why? I mean, the pictures are different, but why put the tracks listed twice? It's weird. Second, the album jacket which contains all the lyrics is glued into the cd case. I HATE THAT. 2ne1's album was the same and it makes me effing crazy.
Track List & Analysis:
1. Intro: The intro, which samples 70s legend Freda Payne's It's Yours to Have, is just enough of a borrowing from the past without copying, and still super super forward thinking. I feel like wearing some big ass earrings and a headscarf and some rollerskates, but at the same time, heading to a club and bouncing around. I also like how the last verse introduces all the songs. It's like an actualy introduction, not just some jibber jabber that starts the cd.
2. High High: We've all heard this song (unless you've been living under a kpop rock for the last month) but it's still awesome. It definitely sounds like something I would hear in a club in Seoul (although unfortunately not in most American university area clubs, with which I'm much familiar with). The hook is SUPER catchy. And the video, well, it's super American. It feels like something I'd watch on t.v. in America, except that some of the western girls aren't video girls at all (which is a true statement, this was just like a big party at the filming and lots of people who are not actually dancers or models attended). There are a couple moments I'd replace in the video to make it look more professional, but otherwise, I like the video a lot too. Also, I don't agree with Eat Your Kimchi's 5 out of 5 for English rating. Ghetto Electro isn't a real word, and their joke wasn't even that funny (don't get me wrong, I'm totally a fan of eatyourkimchi.com but that joke wasn't funny and I think their bias got in the way of the fact that the English in this song was not perfect and maybe deserves a 3.5 or 4 out of 5)
3. Oh Yeah (feat. Park Bom): Into is funky and fun. GD opening the first verse really screams of Heartbreaker to me for some reason. But when TOP steps in, he changes it up a bit. However, I'd say his first verse sounds a little forced and too clean. Part of the beauty of TOP's voice is it's roughness. But Bom KILLS this track. I get chills listening to her sing in this song. Also, you can tell TOP didn't have a part in the production of this video. It's a great song, and it fits GD's style perfect, but it's something TOP seems to need to conform to a bit. He does a good job of it, but it's not his best performance. But, I'm gonna repeat this because it's so true: Park Bom KILLED it.
4. 집에 가지마: This song is practically perfect, in my opinion. Bom was gonna feature on this as well, but as much as I love her voice, I'm glad she didn't. I like GD doing those vocals on the chorus. Also, I really like when GD echoes TOP during the first verse. Their voices sound so nice together, deep with the high. TOP is also back to his more voice. Even though this song is really smooth, they don't over auto-tone his voice, which was I think the problem I have on Oh Yeah. Also, I love when GD sings and raps on the same track. His singing voice and rapping voice are totally different, but they blend so nicely on a single track.
5. Baby Good Night: Besides 뻑이가요 this is my favorite song on the album (I think I may like it more than 뻑이가요 but they are so completely different it's hard to compare). When I heard this song on the world premiere, I though I wanna make love to this song. Not make love while this song is playing, but I want to make love with this song. It's so subtly sexy and juxtaposes GD's almost feminine voice with TOP whispering breathy raps. I've heard TOP speak live plenty of times, but I still kind of imagine that the way he raps in this song is the cadence and tone of his real voice. And it makes me love him a little. I don't wanna say goodbye to this song when it ends. Also, the french? HELLO SEX.
6.뻑이가요: The best live song I've perhaps ever seen performed in Korea (at least overally acoustic performance wise). The bass is so intense and hard in live performances and you see TOP shine really bright with his hardness and GD matches the hardness punch for punch with his own quirky version of street. TOP sounds natural here. This isn't exactly the standard GD we're used to, but GD stepped his game up like crazy on this song. My complaint is that this song falls a little flat on the production. No matter how I changed the EQ on my ipod touch, the bass wasn't what it could be. I feel like I have plenty of bass heavy tracks on my ipod (I listen to a lot of American hip hop as well as kpop) but this song is too studio on the album. I wanna record the audio off the YG family concert footage or from the T Social Party minus the audience noise, and I'd bump this song nonstop. Even Turn It Up has better bass than this song and it's on the same album. I don't get it.
7. Oh Mom (TOP Solo): This song is a little strange to me. The transition between 뻑이가요 and this song seems awkward (I feel like it should be place together with GD's 어쩌란 말이냐? which also has the rock influence. That being said, I don't normally like TOP's singing voice, but I'll listen to this song. It's not my favorite on the track, but it's decent. It's a bit depressing, with the rando feedback between the chorus and the second verse, and it's not Big Bang sounding or TOP sounding. Also, I don't understand the title. As far as I can tell preliminary, the song doesn't really directly relate to his mom at all. It's about letters and his fans and telling his fans that they aren't alone. I'm not sure. I'm gonna have to work hard on that translation and I'll get back to you. It reminds me of that Eminem song, Stan. hahahahaha.
8. 악몽 (GD Solo): Dark and intense. GD goes hard on this song. It's super American in the currently popular vain of that Eminem and Rihana song, Love the Way you Lie. It's got enough of GD using what he's comfortable enough (the chorus is super Heartbreaker to me) but the verses push him a little bit outside of what I'd call his comfort zone. This song is the perfect thing for me to push through something when I'm in a bad mood or feeling like I can't endure something. This song also pumps me up in a way I can't explain. I feel like I can work harder and more intensely with this song in the background.
9. 오늘따라 (TOP Solo): I love the sound of this song. It's so intense, but it doesn't have quite the over-the-top swagger of TOP's other really famous solo, Turn It Up. The hook makes me crazy. I could lose my head in a club to this song. It has just the right amount and degree of tempo changes and drums and percussion come in in an epic manner really just adding to the production value of this song. I really enjoy this song and it's kind of just a song that I can play anytime and feel good about it. I love this song.
10. 어쩌란 말이냐 (GD Solo): This song is probably my least favorite on the album. I would maybe like it more if it was put together with TOP's rockish song, because then I could feel the cohesion of the two songs, but they are separate, and I think that hurts the flow of the album. Also, GD's voice is a little fake/forced sounding. Maybe it's just not my style, but I don't like this song. I don't hate it, but I probably skip over it more than not. I pretty much just listen to it when I have my earbuds in and its too cold to take my gloves off to operate my ipod touch... Just not for me.
11. Bonus Track: Turn It Up (TOP): I don't need to review this I think. You've all heard it. You all know it's dope. So yeah.
Last note: props to the boys for writing the lyrics on all the songs (Teddy assisted on High High and Oh Yeah, which you can tell) and participating in production or arranging of all the songs except High High and Oh Yeah (also Teddy... duh).
That's it for me. Comment and lemme know what you think about the album. I'll be posting a video review sometime in the next week hopefully... ^_^
xoxo
A
The album overall
The album is really nice looking. I think it's much more sophisticated and expensive looking than the 2ne1 album, which was pretty but super flashy. This album manages to combine bling and sophistication. I actually really like the pseudo playboy bunny and the paisley print that was incorporated into the bunny design and the cd itself. But I just really like paisley in general. The pictures are generally pretty good although some of the styling is questionable in my personal opinion (I like animal prints and furs, but the headscarf gd wears, and the ladies fur coat TOP dons in two of the pictures are horrible). I really like the backgrounds of the pictures. Either really really super simple or really really eccentric. Just like GD and TOP. What I hate about the cd itself? Two things. First, there are two separate pages which both contain identical track lists. Why? I mean, the pictures are different, but why put the tracks listed twice? It's weird. Second, the album jacket which contains all the lyrics is glued into the cd case. I HATE THAT. 2ne1's album was the same and it makes me effing crazy.
Track List & Analysis:
1. Intro: The intro, which samples 70s legend Freda Payne's It's Yours to Have, is just enough of a borrowing from the past without copying, and still super super forward thinking. I feel like wearing some big ass earrings and a headscarf and some rollerskates, but at the same time, heading to a club and bouncing around. I also like how the last verse introduces all the songs. It's like an actualy introduction, not just some jibber jabber that starts the cd.
2. High High: We've all heard this song (unless you've been living under a kpop rock for the last month) but it's still awesome. It definitely sounds like something I would hear in a club in Seoul (although unfortunately not in most American university area clubs, with which I'm much familiar with). The hook is SUPER catchy. And the video, well, it's super American. It feels like something I'd watch on t.v. in America, except that some of the western girls aren't video girls at all (which is a true statement, this was just like a big party at the filming and lots of people who are not actually dancers or models attended). There are a couple moments I'd replace in the video to make it look more professional, but otherwise, I like the video a lot too. Also, I don't agree with Eat Your Kimchi's 5 out of 5 for English rating. Ghetto Electro isn't a real word, and their joke wasn't even that funny (don't get me wrong, I'm totally a fan of eatyourkimchi.com but that joke wasn't funny and I think their bias got in the way of the fact that the English in this song was not perfect and maybe deserves a 3.5 or 4 out of 5)
3. Oh Yeah (feat. Park Bom): Into is funky and fun. GD opening the first verse really screams of Heartbreaker to me for some reason. But when TOP steps in, he changes it up a bit. However, I'd say his first verse sounds a little forced and too clean. Part of the beauty of TOP's voice is it's roughness. But Bom KILLS this track. I get chills listening to her sing in this song. Also, you can tell TOP didn't have a part in the production of this video. It's a great song, and it fits GD's style perfect, but it's something TOP seems to need to conform to a bit. He does a good job of it, but it's not his best performance. But, I'm gonna repeat this because it's so true: Park Bom KILLED it.
4. 집에 가지마: This song is practically perfect, in my opinion. Bom was gonna feature on this as well, but as much as I love her voice, I'm glad she didn't. I like GD doing those vocals on the chorus. Also, I really like when GD echoes TOP during the first verse. Their voices sound so nice together, deep with the high. TOP is also back to his more voice. Even though this song is really smooth, they don't over auto-tone his voice, which was I think the problem I have on Oh Yeah. Also, I love when GD sings and raps on the same track. His singing voice and rapping voice are totally different, but they blend so nicely on a single track.
5. Baby Good Night: Besides 뻑이가요 this is my favorite song on the album (I think I may like it more than 뻑이가요 but they are so completely different it's hard to compare). When I heard this song on the world premiere, I though I wanna make love to this song. Not make love while this song is playing, but I want to make love with this song. It's so subtly sexy and juxtaposes GD's almost feminine voice with TOP whispering breathy raps. I've heard TOP speak live plenty of times, but I still kind of imagine that the way he raps in this song is the cadence and tone of his real voice. And it makes me love him a little. I don't wanna say goodbye to this song when it ends. Also, the french? HELLO SEX.
6.뻑이가요: The best live song I've perhaps ever seen performed in Korea (at least overally acoustic performance wise). The bass is so intense and hard in live performances and you see TOP shine really bright with his hardness and GD matches the hardness punch for punch with his own quirky version of street. TOP sounds natural here. This isn't exactly the standard GD we're used to, but GD stepped his game up like crazy on this song. My complaint is that this song falls a little flat on the production. No matter how I changed the EQ on my ipod touch, the bass wasn't what it could be. I feel like I have plenty of bass heavy tracks on my ipod (I listen to a lot of American hip hop as well as kpop) but this song is too studio on the album. I wanna record the audio off the YG family concert footage or from the T Social Party minus the audience noise, and I'd bump this song nonstop. Even Turn It Up has better bass than this song and it's on the same album. I don't get it.
7. Oh Mom (TOP Solo): This song is a little strange to me. The transition between 뻑이가요 and this song seems awkward (I feel like it should be place together with GD's 어쩌란 말이냐? which also has the rock influence. That being said, I don't normally like TOP's singing voice, but I'll listen to this song. It's not my favorite on the track, but it's decent. It's a bit depressing, with the rando feedback between the chorus and the second verse, and it's not Big Bang sounding or TOP sounding. Also, I don't understand the title. As far as I can tell preliminary, the song doesn't really directly relate to his mom at all. It's about letters and his fans and telling his fans that they aren't alone. I'm not sure. I'm gonna have to work hard on that translation and I'll get back to you. It reminds me of that Eminem song, Stan. hahahahaha.
8. 악몽 (GD Solo): Dark and intense. GD goes hard on this song. It's super American in the currently popular vain of that Eminem and Rihana song, Love the Way you Lie. It's got enough of GD using what he's comfortable enough (the chorus is super Heartbreaker to me) but the verses push him a little bit outside of what I'd call his comfort zone. This song is the perfect thing for me to push through something when I'm in a bad mood or feeling like I can't endure something. This song also pumps me up in a way I can't explain. I feel like I can work harder and more intensely with this song in the background.
9. 오늘따라 (TOP Solo): I love the sound of this song. It's so intense, but it doesn't have quite the over-the-top swagger of TOP's other really famous solo, Turn It Up. The hook makes me crazy. I could lose my head in a club to this song. It has just the right amount and degree of tempo changes and drums and percussion come in in an epic manner really just adding to the production value of this song. I really enjoy this song and it's kind of just a song that I can play anytime and feel good about it. I love this song.
10. 어쩌란 말이냐 (GD Solo): This song is probably my least favorite on the album. I would maybe like it more if it was put together with TOP's rockish song, because then I could feel the cohesion of the two songs, but they are separate, and I think that hurts the flow of the album. Also, GD's voice is a little fake/forced sounding. Maybe it's just not my style, but I don't like this song. I don't hate it, but I probably skip over it more than not. I pretty much just listen to it when I have my earbuds in and its too cold to take my gloves off to operate my ipod touch... Just not for me.
11. Bonus Track: Turn It Up (TOP): I don't need to review this I think. You've all heard it. You all know it's dope. So yeah.
Last note: props to the boys for writing the lyrics on all the songs (Teddy assisted on High High and Oh Yeah, which you can tell) and participating in production or arranging of all the songs except High High and Oh Yeah (also Teddy... duh).
That's it for me. Comment and lemme know what you think about the album. I'll be posting a video review sometime in the next week hopefully... ^_^
xoxo
A
Sunday, December 26, 2010
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)
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!
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!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
G-Dragon and T.O.P. High High CD Giveaway!!
Hey, in an attempt to capitalize on my semi-popularity due to the YG Family Concert Fan Cams, I plan to do a special giveaway for my subscribers. I will be giving away one copy of GD-TOP's High High full-length cd to a lucky subscriber.
See my video for information, and don't forget to subscribe to my channel, rate, and comment on my video!! GOOD LUCK!
xoxo
A
See my video for information, and don't forget to subscribe to my channel, rate, and comment on my video!! GOOD LUCK!
xoxo
A
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
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. *^____^*
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. *^____^*
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
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
Monday, November 29, 2010
OH MY JESUS.
The YG countdown revealed everything! OMG OMG OMFG IM FUCKING DYING.
G-Dragon and T.O.P. are releasing a double album. First digital single released Dec 14. Album out dec. 24th. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME.
Also, BIG BANG COMBACK FEBRUARY 1 2011! OH MY GOD COMEBACK NOW.
Also also, Seung-ri is gonna have a single out January 3rd (happy birthday to my brother!)
No word on a 2ne1 international release. But aside from that, my life is complete. Everything will be entered into my calendars soon, and I will be counting down the moments till my happiness reaches its most ultimate point.
G-Dragon and T.O.P. are releasing a double album. First digital single released Dec 14. Album out dec. 24th. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME.
Also, BIG BANG COMBACK FEBRUARY 1 2011! OH MY GOD COMEBACK NOW.
Also also, Seung-ri is gonna have a single out January 3rd (happy birthday to my brother!)
No word on a 2ne1 international release. But aside from that, my life is complete. Everything will be entered into my calendars soon, and I will be counting down the moments till my happiness reaches its most ultimate point.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
America meets Korea: music
So I just found this video from the past summer of 2ne1. They are doing tributes to artists they admire or look up to. CL did Lauryn Hill's DooWop (That Thing) which was pretty awesome and the songs were all in English. It's worth watching for both my k-pop fans and my friends who don't give a damn about k-pop because it's interesting to see these singers sing these songs. Plus at the end they sing Fire, which is easily still one of my favorite Korean songs of all time.
Also, holy shit, Minzy's dance is naughty. She was 15 at the time.
Lastly, uh, what's with the rain at the end when they are performing Fire? Bizarre.
Also, holy shit, Minzy's dance is naughty. She was 15 at the time.
Lastly, uh, what's with the rain at the end when they are performing Fire? Bizarre.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Will.I.Am
So everyone who isn't living under a k-pop rock (which means only people in Korea or people who are weirdly obsessed with kpop) already knows that Will.I.Am worked with 2ne1 on their upcoming international release. What most people didn't know was that Will.i.am is completely fucking crazy about Korean stuff. Basically anything, it seems, about Korea, is intriguing to him.
He has a new release with Nicki Minaj (you know, that crazy huge-assed Lil Kim 2.0) which is gonna be a total radio killer, as Billboard reports it.
It's tough to find a quality copy of the music video, which is unfortunate. On youtube there is only a low quality mirrored video...ㅠ
Luckily, being the psycho I am, I searched the Korean engines on which this video is spreading like wildfire. Unfortunately, Korea sucks about using weird ass video encoding, so I can't embed it here, but here's a link to the first site I stumbled upon that had it: CHECK IT OUT
He has a new release with Nicki Minaj (you know, that crazy huge-assed Lil Kim 2.0) which is gonna be a total radio killer, as Billboard reports it.
It's tough to find a quality copy of the music video, which is unfortunate. On youtube there is only a low quality mirrored video...ㅠ
Luckily, being the psycho I am, I searched the Korean engines on which this video is spreading like wildfire. Unfortunately, Korea sucks about using weird ass video encoding, so I can't embed it here, but here's a link to the first site I stumbled upon that had it: CHECK IT OUT
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Naughty Taeyang
Taeyang posted this picture on his twitter. Obviously the capturing on the background was intentional. They could have shot this picture anywhere. I was pretty surprised. First Taeyang's songs get a 18+ label slapped on (well, just a few... but still). Then he wears that shirt that says Fuck you on it. And now this:
damn boy. Go get your sex on.
The more I see of him the more I have to believe that really he is tapping it with somebody and we just don't know who. Maybe that's vulgar of me, but jesus christ taeyang. Take It Slow? YOU wrote those lyrics? You been hitting with someone somewhere, that's all I'm sayin.
xoxo
A
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
I'll Be Back
Sorry, 2PM, but I really wish you weren't back yet. THIS????????? This is the concept you're coming back with? WHY? This has got to be one of the top 3 lamest music videos of 2010. I don't understand. The choreography is just modified running mans and that's it. Listen 2PM, MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice did that back in the late 80s before most of you were born so maybe you haven't seen it, but I assure you, you are NOT bringing it back. The song itself isn't bad (I listened to it in the gym today in fact) but good lord, the video. It's a hot mess. Add ridiculous eye make (it puts BoA's Hurricane Venus to shame; if girls wore it they'd be criticized for whoring it up it's that excessive) and really uninspiring clothing choices (uh, drab neutrals? They aren't even pleasant looking neutral colors. They are the color of a post-apocalyptic dying earth). Plus, the video has no point. The dancing, as I mentioned before is completely uninteresting, so I'm not captivated by that alone. The only minor upside is that point in which that one guy (Taec?) is wearing the open shit and we get to see some skin.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Goals
Tomorrow's goals:
1. Go to the bank. Transfer a bunch of money.
2. Go back to school. Pay off a good chunk of my student loans.
3. Buy my sister a gift for being awesome enough to do me a huuuuuuuge favor.
4. Make my lessons for next week.
5. Finish all of the Intro Sogang University Korean course. (Start level 2?)
6. Transcribe all of Big Bang Vol 1 onto www.reallykpop.com (So far only two songs are up)
7. Translate Digital Bounce by Se7en
8. Go to the gym at 6 a.m. and get in a short workout (cardio and abs only... no time for weights)
9. Make speaking exam questions.
10. Actually buy a desk for my damn apartment.
Let's see if I can even get half of that done. Thank god it's exam day. Hopefully that'll empower me. ^^
1. Go to the bank. Transfer a bunch of money.
2. Go back to school. Pay off a good chunk of my student loans.
3. Buy my sister a gift for being awesome enough to do me a huuuuuuuge favor.
4. Make my lessons for next week.
5. Finish all of the Intro Sogang University Korean course. (Start level 2?)
6. Transcribe all of Big Bang Vol 1 onto www.reallykpop.com (So far only two songs are up)
7. Translate Digital Bounce by Se7en
8. Go to the gym at 6 a.m. and get in a short workout (cardio and abs only... no time for weights)
9. Make speaking exam questions.
10. Actually buy a desk for my damn apartment.
Let's see if I can even get half of that done. Thank god it's exam day. Hopefully that'll empower me. ^^
Thursday, September 30, 2010
What's with the gas masks, y'all?
So, B2ST (pronounced beast, because 2 in korean is 이 which is pronounced like the hard e sound), just released their music video for 숨. I initially wasn't a huge B2ST fan, just because I always thought I could only like Big Bang, but now I've really been expanding my horizons and I've discovered that B2ST is actually pretty dope, in spite of the fact that some of them have really horrifyingly bad hair (see HyunSeung, who happens to be a former member of pre-debut Big Bang, and has always had really terrible hair-- you'll know who he is because he's the one with god-awful hair). Anyways, they're new video is posted below.
BUT, before we get to that, I'd like to point out that B2ST is a group under Cube Entertainment, which is an affiliate of JYP. JYP's newest girl group phenomenon, Miss A just released their new single, called Breathe.
I only mention this because 숨 (pronounced Soom) is the Korean word for breathing or respiration. So within one week of each other, two JYP-affiliated groups released songs called, essentially, 'Breathe'. I mean, coincidence, I guess, right? The songs really aren't about the same thing: Miss A's is about first love and someone 'taking your breath away' as the saying goes. B2ST's is about feeling suffocated by the losing your love. So clearly kind of opposite. However, in the chorus of both, they say (miss A): No, I can't breathe" and (B2ST) "I can't take my breath...I can't hold my breath" Okay, pretty similar. But the videos? They're totally different right? I mean Miss A is all spunky and bright and reggae, and B2ST has Prepix's characteristic choppy choreography and is really dark and sad. Well, they have more in common than I noticed at first. My first observation is that they both use gas masks. GAS MASKS? In both videos? That's a bit strange. Also, the choreography in both has kind of stop-action type moves (I'm not sure if it's actually stop-action film editing or if it's the choreography, or a combination there of). Anyways, the songs are obviously different, I just thought it was interesting to see the two songs have some similarities.
Watch both of them now! With English subs!
xoxo
A
BUT, before we get to that, I'd like to point out that B2ST is a group under Cube Entertainment, which is an affiliate of JYP. JYP's newest girl group phenomenon, Miss A just released their new single, called Breathe.
I only mention this because 숨 (pronounced Soom) is the Korean word for breathing or respiration. So within one week of each other, two JYP-affiliated groups released songs called, essentially, 'Breathe'. I mean, coincidence, I guess, right? The songs really aren't about the same thing: Miss A's is about first love and someone 'taking your breath away' as the saying goes. B2ST's is about feeling suffocated by the losing your love. So clearly kind of opposite. However, in the chorus of both, they say (miss A): No, I can't breathe" and (B2ST) "I can't take my breath...I can't hold my breath" Okay, pretty similar. But the videos? They're totally different right? I mean Miss A is all spunky and bright and reggae, and B2ST has Prepix's characteristic choppy choreography and is really dark and sad. Well, they have more in common than I noticed at first. My first observation is that they both use gas masks. GAS MASKS? In both videos? That's a bit strange. Also, the choreography in both has kind of stop-action type moves (I'm not sure if it's actually stop-action film editing or if it's the choreography, or a combination there of). Anyways, the songs are obviously different, I just thought it was interesting to see the two songs have some similarities.
Watch both of them now! With English subs!
xoxo
A
LOL
I almost wet myself I was laughing so hard. My spasms of laughing induced a hip cramp and caused tears.
ENJOY!
ENJOY!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
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.
Also, I understood all the Korean in the acting sections. NICE.
Media overload
So perhaps I'm overwhelming you readers with shit these days, but HOLY CRAP! BoA's newest video for Copy and Paste is glorious.
October is gonna be a tight race between BoA and Miss A, I think. BoA is way more beautiful (read: perfect in every way), but the choreography on Breathe by Miss A is more innovative (just my opinion, I know some jumpingBoAs will not be happy with that analysis, sorry y'all). Let's see, staying power vs. rookie power.
October is gonna be a tight race between BoA and Miss A, I think. BoA is way more beautiful (read: perfect in every way), but the choreography on Breathe by Miss A is more innovative (just my opinion, I know some jumpingBoAs will not be happy with that analysis, sorry y'all). Let's see, staying power vs. rookie power.
아이돌스타 육상선수권대회: Idol Star Track and Field Championships
So I finally got around to watching 아이돌스타 육상선수권대회, or the Idol Star Track and Field Championships, which aired on MBC over Chuseok. I didn't watch in live for two reasons: 1) Taeyang Concert and 2) I don't actually watch t.v. But anyways, it was the funniest thing I've watched in at least a year. It was awesome.
For all my friends who read this blog, and don't give a shit about kpop or Korean idols, please, hear me out this one time.
Regardless of whether you know these people or not, this shit is funnnnnnnnny. Basically, they took a bunch of celebrities (over 100) and put them on 7 teams and had them compete in hurdles, 100 m sprint, 4x100 relay, high jump, and javelin for no real reason or purpose except winning these arbitrary medals. This would never, ever, in a million fucking years even be considered in America, but they are already planning a New Years' swimming pool event for the early Spring. Some of the idol athletes are quite impressive, while others are just fucking funny. Hurdles, 100m, and high jump were my favorite. GOD DAMN THAT SHIT WAS FUNNY. People were falling like crazy. It was awesome. It's like unscripted slapstick comedy.
Anyways, at least watch the first two videos because they are the best, and if you like them, watch em all!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA It slays me.
xoxo
A
For all my friends who read this blog, and don't give a shit about kpop or Korean idols, please, hear me out this one time.
Regardless of whether you know these people or not, this shit is funnnnnnnnny. Basically, they took a bunch of celebrities (over 100) and put them on 7 teams and had them compete in hurdles, 100 m sprint, 4x100 relay, high jump, and javelin for no real reason or purpose except winning these arbitrary medals. This would never, ever, in a million fucking years even be considered in America, but they are already planning a New Years' swimming pool event for the early Spring. Some of the idol athletes are quite impressive, while others are just fucking funny. Hurdles, 100m, and high jump were my favorite. GOD DAMN THAT SHIT WAS FUNNY. People were falling like crazy. It was awesome. It's like unscripted slapstick comedy.
Anyways, at least watch the first two videos because they are the best, and if you like them, watch em all!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA It slays me.
xoxo
A
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