Tuesday, January 31, 2017

[MV] Red Velvet - Rookie



Bit of a surrealist fever dream
It's not bad, but I'm not particularly feeling it myself.

[MV] Zion.T - THE SONG



Good ol' Zion.T never disappoints.

[MV] Rubber Soul - Freedom



1theK has a lyric video, which may or may not be subbed in the future?
Glad to see Rubber Soul back. They had a strong debut. And I just noticed their old videos had been taken down, so I'll replace those old posts.

[MV] Street Guns - You Girl



Don't often get to post something with a rockabilly feel.

Monday, January 30, 2017

[MV] Shin Ji Hoon - You Are A Star Already



Very inactive Kpop through the weekend due to the Lunar New Year.
Welcome to the Year of the Rooster!

[MV] Huh Gak - Miss You



Official channel link

[MEDIA] Without Music Parody

Without Music (formerly House of Halo) has a fun series on their YouTube channel called #WITHOUTMUSIC.
They remove the original audio from popular videos and replace it with a new track created entirely using Foley techniques and their own vocal recording, imitating what the raw audio on set might sound like during shooting.
Pretty brilliant and hilarious.

I'll update any Kpop-related videos in this post.

BTS - IDOL NEW



BlackPink - Ddu-Du Ddu-Du NEW



In the full post:
  • PSY - Daddy
  • CL - Hello Bitches
  • Big Bang - Fantastic Baby
  • BTS - Fire
  • BlackPink - Boombayah
  • BTS - Blood Sweat & Tears

Friday, January 20, 2017

[MV] 2NE1 - GOODBYE



Oof. Right in the feels.
Things fall apart. Certainly the case with YG and 2NE1. Would've been ideal if Minzy had recorded with them for this final track. Nice that she's in the video at least.
It was a thrill to watch them debut so strong and sad to see the group come to an end.

Gotta wish them all well. Thank you, ladies!

[MV] Burningsoda - Cutie Puppet



Kinda love the sound of this. She has a cool voice.

[PROMO/CF] Flowsik - GO HARD



Promo MV for Overwatch!

[MV] HiNi - Just So

[MV] Joo Chan, So Yoon - No One Like You



Official channel link

Woollim is starting something called 'W Project' to feature rookie artists coming up in the company.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

[DEBUT] Kang Sira - Don't Wanna Forget



Official channel link

Sira placed 22nd in Produce101.

[MV] Ailee (A.Leean) - Fall Back


Uh... so Ailee just 'officially debuted' in the US with this thing. Aka, how not to break into the American market. I was already really bothered by the terrible name change, total disconnect from her Korean career, and general lack of professionalism.
But her marketing team is trying. Not enough to make her official VEVO Youtube channel actually look official or show any effort whatsoever. But still, they're trying.
Be prepared, guys! It's totally gonna go #viral. Hold on to your butts!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

[MV] I.O.I - Downpour



Downpour of tears! Nice little retrospective of IOI's incredible year.
Even if you're someone who typically dislikes 'survival audition' types of shows, I'd recommend Produce101. It's an emotional roller-coaster, but it truly focuses on the hard work and cooperation of all the women who participated. Pretty amazing and unexpected that it turned into such a huge thing, but I think that has a lot to do with the grit and humor of the trainees through the whole process and the promotions of the final 11.
It's a shame to dissolve the group at this point, but...

Better to have IOI'd and lost IOI than never to have IOI'd at all.

[MV] Park Kyung (feat. Brother Su) - When I'm With You

[MV] LOOΠΔ / Haseul & YeoJin - My Melody



The 3rd and 4th members of Loona this time.

[DEBUT] KASPER - Lean On Me



Official channel link

[MV] Jooheon (MONSTA X) - Rhythm

Monday, January 16, 2017

[MV] Seohyun - Don't Say No



The audio isn't great on Youtube. Melon and Spotify sound better.
Particularly that high jangly percussion in the chorus is like... flicking me in the forehead repeatedly. Lol. Balanced a little better on the actual record.

[MV] CLC - Hobgoblin



Another big concept shift. HyunA had a hand in this one.
I'm concerned it's not the best choice as it feels a lot like late-stage 4Minute, which didn't work well for them in Korea.

Performance version:

[MV] LOOΠΔ / HeeJin & HyunJin - My Sunday



The 1st and 2nd members of Loona with another duet.

[MV] Dasom X 40 - You & I



Official channel link

[MV] LAYSHA - Party Tonight

[LIVE] Suzy - Pretend



This probably won't have an MV, but I'll post it.
It's hitting the roof on charts because... Suzy.

Friday, January 13, 2017

[DEBUT] Dreamcatcher - Chase Me



Dreamcatcher is actually a re-debut of MINX.
Since they have two new members and are re-branding everything. I'll say it's a debut.

A girl group concept that isn't strictly sexy or cutesy?!?!
Frankly, pretty exciting!

Dance Video:



Super fun choreo, too.

[MV] Yoon Do Hyun - Sparks Fly



Station #49

[MV] Choi Ye Geun - Adult



Rip-roarin' on that vocal!

[MV] Kang Hyun Min (feat. Kim Ye Ji) - Memory

[MV] Soran - I Study You

[MV] Year 7 Class 1 - Please Remember Me



Been a long time since I've seen anything from this group.
Supposedly this is a pre-release for a comeback?

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

[DEBUT] I (feat. Tiger JK) - I Wish



This is Cha Yoonji. She's the sister of Baro (B1A4).
Quite strong debut. Lots of folks saying she's similar to BoA from back-in-the-day. Agreed.

Unfortunate name though. 'I' is near impossible to look up. Even using the Hangul isn't very helpful.

[MV] Jun.K - No Shadow

[MV] Zizo - Dynamite Girl



Unofficial link to the full audio

[MV] Cheon Seokman & Blue Mangtto - I Don't Like It

[MV] Park Juhee - Why



Off her 5th album that was released in the summer last year.
But the MV is out now, so it's my first Trot post of 2017!
I love that Trot still declares itself so loudly with the nutty styling.
When it doesn't make any sense you know dis gon b gud.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

[MV] HELLO VENUS - Mysterious

[MV] Koh Nayoung - Cold night, You were warm



Ooo. Kicks in nicely.

[MV] EVE - Candle

[MV] LAYBACKSOUND (feat. Leebada) - 4hours

[MV] ZEEBOMB - Walking Last Night

[DEBUT] LIMZY - Repeatedly



So many new male R&B soloists.

[MV] Soulights - Crush

[OST] Ailee - I will go to you like the first snow



Figured I'd post this one from the Goblin OST.
Korea loves its OST ballads and this is chewing through the charts and will probably continue to for a while.

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Monday, January 2, 2017

[MV] Akdong Musician - LAST GOODBYE



You might want to watch the 'Musical Short Film' below first. It gives the backstory to the MV. Good subtitles. It's schmaltzy, but cute. Chanhyuk will be enlisting for his military service soon to get it out of the way, so these last promotions are a little bittersweet.

[DEBUT] INA - Rainbow



This is pretty nice. The digitized voice in the chorus is killing me though!

[MV] SEVENTEEN - HIGHLIGHT



Official channel link

Cool to have just the Performance Unit for this MV
I think this was my favorite track on their album.

[MV] S.E.S - Paradise

[MV] DAVII (feat. Heize) - Navigation

[MV] TANY - Always Remember



Mostly posting because I'm intrigued by the animation.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

[PLAYLIST] KPOPPY's Best Of 2016 : The Eclectic Mix


Tons of huge names, that I typically like very much, released songs that didn't quite hit the mark for me. Boy bands especially failed to really excite me even though many of them had great comebacks. Just not my thing in many cases. Ballads had a good showing this year! They typically don't make a splash in end-of-the-year playlists from Kpop fans. But they'll find a place in mine!

Trends. I don't listen to much American music these days, but I did listen to Justin Bieber's album in 2015 when there was enormous hype around it. I immediately began the countdown to when that particular EDM, tropical house, vaguely dance hall kind of sound would show up in Kpop. Major Lazer. Same thing. A bit hard to describe that sound, but when you hear it you know it. Sure enough, roughly mid-year, the 80s throwback trend of last year had blended into more of a house sound. I added to a playlist along the way that hopefully conveys this trend developing. It won't be strictly 2016 and I'll continue to add to it beyond this year.

KPOP meets house, tropical house, reggae, etc, playlist!

Indirectly related to the music, I noticed another trend. Medical in nature. More than ever there were celebrities being open about their psychological health and issues related to exhaustion and anxiety. Panic and eating disorders, fainting and extreme fatigue, gastric conditions and a variety of mental illnesses., Now it's likely that competition in the industry these days has become more difficult to manage. but it's also something that has probably always existed. The difference being that struggling artists and their companies are being more open, honest, and supportive instead of hiding these things to protect their image and the illusion of perfection. I see this as progress which will hopefully improve working conditions and mitigate some long-term harm into the future. One can hope! (But there will be no breath-holding from me)

Anywayyyy, we're here for music, right?! Let's get to it. My top 30, as always, only includes promoted songs with MVs, good synergy between the audio and visual components, aligns with my personal taste not with popularity or charts... and no OSTs!

MY TOP 30 ECLECTIC MIX for 2016 in chronological order only:
[The full playlist link on Youtube]
Highlighted tracks and my final thoughts for the year are in the full post!
I also have to shout out a few English-language tracks that were lovely.

[MV] AOA - Bing Bing



Official channel link

Dig this one.

[MV] AOA - Excuse Me



Official channel link

[DEBUT] BONUS baby - Urikiri



Very Jpop. Very AKB48.

[MV] S.E.S. - Remember

[DEBUT] PERC%NT - Weekend



I think this is a new artist?
Having trouble finding info.