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Category: Korean Entertainment (page 3 of 5)

Red Velvet conquers the summer mini-album with Summer Magic

2018-08-06 / / 0 Comments

Gosh, you guys. I was already a Red Velvet fan but this mini-album takes the cake.

“Power Up” is the best iteration of the Red Velvet summer sound so far.

With the exception of “Ice Cream Cake” and “Dumb Dumb,” I’ve never been overly fond of Red Velvet’s red tracks (the pop-influenced ones typically released in the summer). I find “Red Flavor” to be a cringey, “Rookie” is unfinished (but somewhat redeemed in “Cookie Jar“), “Happiness” is meh, and “Russian Roulette” doesn’t do their vocals justice.

That stops with “Power Up.” The video features their typical bright, pop-art aesthetic mixed with weird, disquieting effects (another reason I love RV). It’s supposed to be a video game, but I’m intrigued by the decision to go with claymation-style augmentation instead of 8-bit.

I like how RV often builds and expands on their own concepts, especially with the continuation of weird fruits from the “Red Flavor” video last summer.

But what I really appreciate about “Power Up” is the chord progression and the harmonies. Red Velvet always brings it with the vocals, but the chord progression on this one goes to such unexpected places that I can’t help but love it. A little bit frantic and melancholic, yet with great energy and optimism.  My kind of girls.

The rest of the mini-album is also quite lovely.

“Mr. E” is an expanded version of “Zoo” that I like much better. It’s a more complex, subtle song. (Which, when I put it like that, OF COURSE I like it better. I’m not a huge fan of blatant and bold.)

“Mosquito” is really fun, and the vocals on “Blue Lemonade” are fantastic.

I’m not a huge fan of the English version of “Bad Boy,” although I can appreciate why they recorded one. The rhythm of the lyrics worked so well in Korean that I hate to see that change. But so it goes, and SM is feeling out the American market.

Overall it’s a fun album to listen to. It’s upbeat without being overly peppy. Red Velvet’s creepy and/or dangerous side prevents the summer pop from listing over into anything to saccharine. That’s where last summer’s release failed, in my ears, so I’m glad that they’ve corrected to a happy balance this summer.

 

Edit: I listened to the English version of “Bad Boy” a few more times today, and I’ve revised my opinion. What the English version lacks in rhythm, it makes up for in wordplay.

2NE1 Appreciation Post

2018-07-26 / / 0 Comments

2NE1 is dead, long live 2NE1.

This is one of my favorite videos from 2NE1. It’s a dance practice, so it’s not especially polished or produced. But the melody from “Come Back Home” is so haunting and the choreo flows so well with the song structure that I can’t help but to love it.

Looking back at 2NE1’s debut song, “Fire,” they debuted right out of the gate as a non-sexy girl group with attitude. It isn’t like they want to snuff out their femininity–because they don’t–but I appreciate how these girls don’t play the “cute” or “coy” or “sexy” roles that have built-in body language. They are not pre-packaged like Girls Generation or many of the girl groups in the current year.

If Twice is the girl group that I go back to for a “cheerleader in my pocket,” 2NE1 is the girl group I tap into when I need to skip past cheerleader to unleashing my inner badass. (Naturally 2NE1 gave us the girl anthem of the century.) Check out CL’s swagger in the dance practice above–she’s legit.

2NE1’s distinctive swagger always makes me wonder if they contributed to the rise of toxic feminism, when women try to imitate men to their own detriment. Masculine influence is definitely an issue–many of my influences are men–especially with ambitious or low-agreeability women because those traits are so rare in the female community.

But if you look at 2NE1’s members, the masculine swagger is balanced out by distinctively feminine traits. CL is elegant. Minzy has a maternal vibe. Bom is basically an anime girl. Dara is too delicate for the blunt edges of pop music. Bom and Dara would be completely out of place in a masculine song, except as the feminine foil, and they hold their own in “I am the Best.”

It’s definitely “too far” in terms of the overt message, but sometimes you need to go “too far” internally so that you get to “far enough” externally. Like negotiating with yourself–you set the anchor so far out that even if you get halfway, you’ve accomplished much more than you would have anyway.

2NE1 is no longer with us, but I’m glad that we had them for a little while.

Sometimes I get so frustrated with the laissez faire attitude of YG Entertainment, for not providing the structure and discipline of SM Ent to capitalize on the talent of their artists. You sign good people–let them sing!

 

Twice vs Red Velvet

2018-07-10 / / 0 Comments

The song was stuck in my head all day after I listened to Twice’s new single once the morning of its release. Only once.

That is what I call a catchy song.

As usual, Twice puts out music that’s a lot of fun. Twice isn’t the group that I’ll listen to for b-sides, but their title tracks are always A++ in terms of personality and danceability.

My willingness to suspend disbelief is stretched to the absolute max in the video, which is the story of what happens when party girls are stranded on a desert island, but it’s cute and fits the theme. I appreciate how the concept is stretched to its limits, with the girls wearing outfits that were cobbled together with shipwreck leftovers.

JYP is a personality-driven agency, and it shows in the way that they allow ‘impure’ aesthetics to exist when the motivation is right. (Not that the girls’ nighttime party scene costumes weren’t perfectly calculated.)

Jiyho and Jungyeon stole this video. Jihyo looks stunning, especially in that asymmetrical white party dress, and I’m so glad that Jungyeon is finally center for a chorus. Jungyeon stans, unite.

Anyway, this is a fun song that is Twice-level sticky that’ll be good to have around for summer. Sometimes that’s all you need–one little pick-me-up in your back pocket.

I took a minute to listen to the rest of this album at work today, and honestly it just made me want to listen to ‘Dumb Dumb’ by Red Velvet.

Red Velvet is the rare girl group that I enjoy beyond title tracks. (I’m not that into female vocals; it is what it is.) I think it’s because there’s usually a dark edge to offset the optimism that usually accompanies pop music.

That dark theme carries over to the concept of their newest Japan single, ‘#Cookie Jar.’

I’m a sucker for people who say “hashtag” out loud because I do it to.

Red Velvet always has such a good aesthetic vision in their videos. They’re the only girl group that I want to steal clothes from (especially ‘Ice Cream Cake’ and ‘Peek a Boo‘ eras).

#CookieJar is fun, with a nice funk groove. Nothing too groundbreaking but I wouldn’t turn it off. The reverb on the spoken ‘hashtag cookiejar’ is before the chorus is probably the catchiest part of the song, which isn’t saying much for it.

Japan comebacks are always a little beyond me, tbh. I never quite understand what’s going on. Part of it, I think, is that the market is quite a bit younger in Japan. For instance, Twice does cartoon anime versions of themselves, while Red Velvet is doing this. It’s more simplistic across the board.

Anyhow, ‘#Cookie Jar’ is nice, but forgettable.

It’s not really a battle, but Twice wins it anyway.

A very personal review of EXO’s The War

2018-05-21 / / 0 Comments

It’s almost summer.

And even though I’m stuck in an office most of the day, summer is still a time for brighter and lighter things. Breezy, even.

That is why I finally purchased EXO’s The War last week. This is an album that came out last August, but that so perfectly encapsulates a summer vibe that it’s still worth it.

Despite the fact that most of my favorite EXO songs are from other albums, The War is by far my favorite EXO album.

Why is this?

Because this is the first EXO album that actually sounds like an album.

One of my biggest issues with k-pop, and most current artists, is how single-oriented everything is. Maybe it’s because I came of age when artists still put out full albums, albums that took you on a journey and told a story, but I really like the exploration of themes that you can pull out of a collection of songs.

For example, G-Dragon is phenomenal at packing an entire relationship’s worth of feeling into a 4-minute song, but even the MADE album is a disconnected collection of emotions. Each song is nearly perfect, but the whole is pretty discombobulated.

So when I listened to The War, and heard that all the songs share a semi-cohesive sound, I was over the moon. Some songs are sexy, some are hype, and others are melancholy, but they all work together to create an atmosphere that really works.

This is especially different from EXO’s past albums, which were the musical equivalent of “throw the spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.”

I, for one, am glad that they stuck it out and combined a reggae-inspired feel (tested in “24”) with a dangerous feel (confirmed with “Monster”). Because as we know, SM Ent is always A/B testing.

And that’s fine with me, because the end result is something that I love to listen to.

Okay, let’s talk favorites
My absolutely most best favorite song on this album is “Forever.”

It’s a lot of people’s faces, and for good reason. The declarative horn samples and those inside out harmonies get to me every single time.

My other favorite is “Going Crazy,” and not only because it features a REVERB FLUTE ARPEGGIO, but because it combines so many different styles in a very rhythmically satisfying way.

I also enjoy “The Eve” and “What U Do,” and regard “Kokobop” with great fondness.

There are 3 tiny changes I would make on this album:

  • Move the cool bass run in “What U Do” from beat 1 to beat 2 for some premium counterpoint action
  • Change the intro to “Kokobop” so it’s a little more assertive and sounds less like a metronome
  • Continue the REVERB FLUTE ARPEGGIO in “Going Crazy” – or rather have it morph into a descant – until the end of the section. It disappears too quickly in its current form.

Overall, though, it’s a great listen. Good variety within a cohesive sound, and all the songs are quality even when they’re not my favorites.

There’s a reason it’s been on repeat in my car this week.

Plus, this is the comeback that blessed us with Mullet Baekhyun, so really. No downside.

Dahyun appreciation post

2018-04-30 / / 0 Comments

Is this a blog post in praise of one particular member of the K-pop group Twice?

Yes, yes it is.

Dahyun is the kind of girl I wish we had more of in the United States. A celebrity with a really offbeat sense of humor, who is allowed to use her offbeat sense of humor as part of her brand. In fact, Dahyun first gained notoriety by going viral (in Korea). This girl is a literal meme.

(Thank God she signed with JYP, the personality-focused Korean entertainment company, which lets her be herself.)

I mean, in Twice’s recent comeback, where they all played both male and female leads of famous movies, Dahyun not only dressed as the titular assassin-for-hire in Leon: The Professional, but she went all-out with the beard and everything.

This is not an Elle Fanning type who is afraid to get her hands dirty and thinks of her image above all. This is someone who genuinely puts her heart into what she’s doing.

There isn’t enough of that in the world, so Dahyun needs appreciating.

(She even dressed as Leon in a livestage of “What is Love?” even though she could have dressed as her elegant infomercial character.)

 

And in addition to singing and rapping, she plays the piano.

 

More Dahyuns, please.

In praise of the k-pop dance practice video

2018-04-23 / / 0 Comments

My favorite genre of k-pop videos is the dance practice.

“Why is this?” I can hear you asking. “Why would you watch the practice video when you could watch the polished video?”

Well, my friend, I am glad you asked. There are so many reasons.

  1. Since it’s a practice, everyone’s wearing casual clothes and I don’t get distracted looking at the styling. Since k-pop costumes have a lot going on, it can take a lot of focus to sort out the individual and group dynamics going on in any given stage.
  2. The camera may zoom in and out, but in general it keeps to the same angle, with no cuts. This lets me see the choreography as it was intended by God, nature, and Kasper. I can see the full formation changes that you cannot in the frenetic jumpcuts that plague the live music shows.
  3. Since it’s a dance-focused video, there’s a better chance of watching the group dance full-out. K-pop groups don’t always dance full-out in performances because they have to sing, too, so if you want to truly appreciate their dance abilities, watch the dance practice.

I particularly like EXO-CBX’s “Blooming Day” dance practice, mostly because the choreo is so good. The formations trade off between three sets of three and many variations of the dancers flanking Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin. The chreo is a mix of legit dancing and jokey dance moves that suit the song and the group.

Unlike some of EXO’s choreography that runs counterpoint to the main melody of the song (see the “Monster” dance practice below), this choreo reinforces all the main sections and rhythms of the song – but it works with the theme.

Another dance practice I particularly enjoy is EXO’s “Monster.” If I’m being honest, I prefer the dance practice to the actual m/v, although I do like the dance performance video as well.

This one is a little more produced, with the heavy backlighting and the camerawork, but it’s still pretty simple. What makes it special is that it lets the choreography shine.

To finish this post off, we’ll turn to something cute: Twice. The “TT” dance practice is how I learned all of their names, so it has a special place in my heart. And if we’re going to go for girlgroup choreography, Twice is one of the better groups. They’re the least self-conscious.

And the “TT” choreography is just as catchy as the song.

Tuesday is a Blooming Day

2018-04-16 / / 0 Comments

Ah, EXO-CBX. So good to see you again.

One of the things that I like most about Korean entertainment is that quite often they pull off tropes that would be tacky, cheesy, or otherwise embarrassing in a Western context. This happens in a variety of media – dramas, movies, music.

In this case, the hook for “Blooming Day,” the title track of EXO-CBX’s new mini-album, sounds AWFUL on paper.

Can I be your boyfriend, can I?

And yet, CBX make it work with their smooth vocals. The “ask” is over-the-top, but the presentation is low-key enough in the vocals and music (even the video isn’t overtly sexy) that the question sounds matter-of-fact rather than desperate.

My favorite part of this song is the bridge, which reminds me a little of “Forever” from The War album, the way that it goes full minor key and feels a bit inside-out.

As expected from SM and EXO, CBX’s second mini-album is full of complex pop songs. This album is built for grooving. Chill, but built on a layer of that 70s funk bass that permeated CBX’s first mini-album. Some of the music is super-nostalgic to me – really nice 80s synths – but coupled with modern beats so nothing feels like a retro throwback. It’s a really easy album to listen to. I’m especially fond of “Monday Blues,” “Blooming Day,” “Thursday” and “Vroom Vroom.”

As with their previous album, this one is tailor-made for working, single women – so much this time that there’s a track for every day of the week, from “Monday Blues” to a “Lazy” Sunday. SM continues its full-court press with the “virtual boyfriend” trope.*

This only works because of Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin – the most flirty and shameless members of EXO. CBX are energetic and playful, so their subunit appropriately explores happier types of music that regular EXO would never try out. Regular EXO has a mysterious image to maintain, after all. (Can you imagine DO trying to pull this off? Never gonna happen.)

Anyhow, I enjoy this mini-album a lot. The aesthetics are great, and I’m probably going to do a post soon breaking down one specific set of outfits because I like them so much. The music is good. Most of the songs are good (and none of them are bad.)

It is impossible to be sad while listening to EXO-CBX.

And that is a good thing.

 

*I have a theory that SM is feeling a tad threatened by BTS aka the internet’s preferred virtual boyfriend. There’s been a lot more overt fanservice and fantasy-building in regular promotions, which was usually reserved for fans only in concerts and fan events. Specific examples include the choreography for EXO’s “The Eve” and the cringefest that is NCT 127’s “Touch.”

Drop everything and watch TWICE’s new video

2018-04-09 / / 0 Comments

Today has not been the greatest day on the MAGA-news front, on the — you know what? I won’t even make a list. In three months someone might find this post and not care about whatever things are worrisome today (if that’s you, hi!). That’s okay, because three-months-from-now reader will have yet another set of problems.

Problems never stop.

To counter this fact, I henceforth decree that you stop what you are doing and watch Twice’s music video, “What is Love?” If you focus on it, your troubles will disappear for 3:44, I promise.

Listening to Twice is like having a pocket-sized cheerleading squad that you can pull out at any moment to cheer you up. Their songs are always encouraging, never take themselves too seriously, and are guaranteed to put you in a better mood.

(Even if you’re one of those people who can’t listen to a song unless you’re in the mood for it, like me. You can’t deny the power of Twice.)

This video is a great one, too, because it showcases the gorgeous cinematography and personality-driven “plots” that are hallmarks of Twice MVs, but plugs in some nostalgia and cheeky irreverence.

Dahyun and Jungyeon are the winners of this MV, in my view. (Nevermind that I’m biased.)

Seriously. Even if you don’t love bubble-gum pop, give it a go.

Why I’m excited for the new EXO-CBX album

2018-04-03 / / 0 Comments

Guys, EXO-CBX is coming back. Soon. Yay!

For those of you who find my blog through other means than K-pop, sometimes groups that have many members will release an album (or video or mini-album) with a smaller subset of members. This is called a subunit. Because these subunits are typically members who work well together both musically and in personality, these subunits are often more defined and pronounced in mood and concept.

EXO-CBX is one of these subunits. EXO as a whole is currently 9 members, with 8 actively promoting in Korea. (One member, Lay, is promoting in China.) As one of the biggest k-pop groups promoting today, EXO’s music (moreso their title tracks – the ones with music videos) tends to be very “classic.” [Edit: Lies! I just remembered that Wolf exists.] Even when the concept pushes boundaries – like Kokobop’s reggae-influenced drug fantasy – the concept has to be big enough to fit every member’s style and personality, from Suho the Rich Dad to Chanyeol the Creative Dork.

But herein lies the brilliance of CBX. As the three-letter acronym might suggest, CBX consists of 3 members:

  • Chen, a superb vocalist and lyricist
  • Baekhyun, another fantastic vocalist
  • Xiumin, arguably one of the better dancers in the group and, as we discovered on EXO-CBX’s first mini-album, a pretty good rapper with a unique voice

All three are positive, goofy people who can handle a “cute” image well. Chen and Xiumin border on cartoon-character levels of caricaturability, and  Baekhyun is a complete chameleon when it comes to looks. They make a very good team that, while vocal-centric (not that anyone is disappointed with that), is quite balanced in terms of talent.

And – this is the part I like – their releases tend to mirror their personalities in being upbeat and a little bit funky.

I will not lie, I had their first mini-album, “Hey Mama!“, permanently on repeat in my car for entire month of November and again in February. You can’t not be in a better mood after listening to them sing at you, especially with SM’s fantastic musical arrangements in the background. SM is really great at funk-type music and sometimes they get a bass line going real good. I like that.

Anyway, EXO-CBX is in the teaser stage for their next comeback. If the music sounds anything like how the teasers look, this will be the perfect spring album.

I think we all need more fun in our lives.

Swishy pants layered under shorts, you in?

2018-03-22 / / 0 Comments

It’s one of those days, guys.

Friday on a Thursday.

PMS without the resolution.

A flurry of work that ends up being wrong wrong wrong.

And in the same way that I have to add a section to the agenda I make for my weekly meetings with my boss so that my boss doesn’t forget a plan she has for me, I’m going to inflict upon you a picture that doesn’t make any sense because I had an upside-down day.

Projection is fun like that. 🙂

Anyway, here’s Chanyeol from EXO shilling for Major League Baseball in Korea by wearing an insane amount of legwear.

I know the dude is tall and all, but c’mon, there’s a limit to how many times you can visually chop his body horizontally.

Also, as a diehard West Coaster, it bothers me that both the EXO and TWICE photosets for MLB have featured pretty much nothing but the New York Yankees.

Seattle, maybe? or LA?

Even Jay Park reps the Mariners.

Give ’em a little love.

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