Wednesday, January 31, 2018

[MV] LOOΠΔ / Go Won - One&Only



Go Won is the 11th member of LOONA!
There will be just one more introduced, a final sub-unit with her, Yves, Chuu, and Go Won, and then a full group debut?! We'll see!

This track has some 3D effects with parts of the instrumental pulsating between your ears if you use headphones.

[MV] DEAN - instagram



Subtitles are available on the video.
DEAN got an all-kill on the charts with this at the end of December.
Lots of folks were hoping for an MV.

[MV] Knave - Leave

[MV] Kate Kim - So Long, Baby



Pretty tight.
She was using simply KATE before, so I think I'll change her tag to Kate Kim for her older stuff, too.

[MV] PENOMECO - L.I.E

[MV] LAYBRICKS - Island of Memory



Jamming.

[MV] Paul Kim - Premonition

[MV] Risso - Allergy

Friday, January 26, 2018

[MV] Yuri X DJ Raiden - Always Find You



Station2 #41

#40 was a Michael Jackson tribute with BoA and Siedah Garrett, covering Man in the Mirror.

There's also an English version of Yuri's track. I'll put it after the cut.

[MV] Ryan - Hometown



I was quite enjoying this and then the bridge happened...
Wut.

[MV] Cho Jung Chi (feat. FROMM) - Perks of break up



Cho Jung Chi composed (along with his wife, Jung-In) and I think he's the guitarist.
FROMM singing.
Love the video. The dancer is fabulous.

[MV] CHEEZE - In a Long Dream

[MV] iKON - LOVE SCENARIO

[MV] Davichi - Days without you



Daniel is everywhere. XD

[MV] Junho - Winter Sleep

[MV] O3ohn - Thoms Piano



So soothing.

[MV] SBGB - Radio 199.3 (+Shall We Dance)



Shall We Dance b-side through the jump.

[MV] AOORA (feat. $milli) - Blue Ocean

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

[MV] fromis_9 - To Heart



Pure catchy girl group fun at its best, imo. Excellent follow-up to their debut/pre-debut.

[MV] Jeong Sewoon - BABY IT'S U



Official channel link

This sounds pretty great.

[DEBUT] Celeb Five - I Wanna Be a Celeb



I have no idea if they'll do more than this or if it's just a one-off thing for fun. Celeb Five is a group of comedians: Song Eun Yi, Shin Bong Sun, Ahn Young Mi, Kim Young Hee, and Kim Shin Young. Super Junior's Shindong directed it.

This video/dance is a parody(?) or tribute(?) to Tomioka Dance Club, which is a Japanese performance team who had an 80s inspired piece go viral. They've appeared on a ton of Japanese shows since then. They're absolutely worth a watch if you've never seen them perform before.

[MV] RAINZ - Turn It Up

[MV] Nick & Sammy - O.o.O (On or Off)



Official channel link

[DEBUT] TARGET - Awake

[MV] Jonghyun - Before Our Spring

This one is a tribute from the company. It's a compilation of little clips from throughout his career. The song is the final track on the album and is the most emotionally resonant to the circumstances, so I wouldn't recommend watching/listening if that would be too overwhelming for you.



I'll put a translation of the lyrics in the full post.

Monday, January 22, 2018

[MV] Jonghyun - Shinin'

*deep breaths*
SM Entertainment announced that all earnings from Jonghyun's album will go to his mother and a foundation for people seeking help. His family gave their full support for its release as it seems that was his intention.

Many fans are choosing to purchase the album now, but will refrain from watching the music video or listening to the album until they are emotionally ready to do so. Please, do what is best for your own feelings. You are under no obligation to experience Jonghyun's final work the way anyone else is. Honor your own needs.



I have listened to the album. I did that first before watching the video. It's very beautiful. Mostly upbeat and playful. It's quite on-trend with lots of house/tropical influence, but with that underlying jazzy/bluesy sound that feels characteristic of his overall work. Jonghyun's stunning voice is the star of the whole show, as it should be. The vocal production is absolutely gorgeous.

For me, it was a cathartic and relieving experience, which I'm grateful for.
Thank you, Jonghyun.

[MV] Ravi (feat. Jimin Park) - NIRVANA



A little bit of another track 'ALCOHOL' at the end.

[MV] Suzy - In Love With Someone Else

Sunday, January 21, 2018

[DEBUT] Holland - Neverland



I believe Holland is completely independent. No label. He funded his debut with crowd-sourcing.
His vocals seem a little weak along with the production. But it's super important to have representation for openly gay artists and same-sex relationships in Kpop, so I'm here for that!
The video is very sweet.

[MV] Allzwell (feat. Hickee) - Red



Allzwell is the producer. Hickee, the singer.

[MV] MiSOxJiSU - Benjamin Button

[MV] EOS - A luminous cat



Had to look them up. It's a three-man production team that debuted in like '92 or '93.
But the last thing they did was in '95? That's a bit of a gap! Kinda fun.

[MV] I'll (feat. Juniel) - Last Winter

[MV] JIMIN (AOA) - Hey



No noticeable difference in audio quality between the uploads this time.
[FNC upload]
[WKorea upload]

[MV] MIGYO - Nevertheless



Official channel link

MIGYO (DaHye) was in both Bob Girls and LoveUs, but both have disbanded.
This is her solo debut.

[MV/MEDIA] THE UNI+ (B and G videos)

I haven't continued to watch The Unit, but there are four new music videos for the B and G groups so I'll put them all together in one post.



The rest in the full post.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

[MV] JBJ - My Flower



Super fun!
Enjoying the low-end. Fantasy was strong there too.

[MV] Chung Ha - Roller Coaster



That pink outfit is so over-the-top.

Performance version:

[PROMO/CF] Jay Park (feat. Woo Won Jae, Jessi) - RUN IT



Nike's new Just Do It campaign with some Olympics flavor.
GRAY produced.

[DEBUT] GIRLKIND - FANCI

Warning for strobe light effects throughout.

[MV] Bizzy (feat. BIBI) - Ooh Ah

[MV] Double K, Flowsik, Killagramz - SWAY



Not my kind of  thing, but the drop made me perk up!

[MV] Biuret - STRANGER

[MV] Joonil Jung - Say Yes

[MV] Samuel - Winter Night

[MV] Sik-K (feat. Woodie GoChild, Herr Nayne) - YeLowS Gang



So many F-bombs.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

[MV] OH MY GIRL - Secret Garden



Official channel link

Just listened to the mini-album. This is probably my least favorite on it. Love O'clock, Sixteen, and Magic all have the kind of distinctive percussion I associate with Oh My Girl and I prefer them much more.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

[MV] JBJ - True Colors



Just the album trailer, but I think there's enough to it for a post.

[MV] Kriesha Chu - Like Paradise

[MV] Planetarium Records - Blah



Collaboration of Planetarium records artists: Kei.G, Jung Jinwoo, Villain, June, Gaho, and Moti.

[MV] HINT - Walkie-Talkie



This instrumental is kind of a cluttered mess, I feel. Imbalanced mix.

[MV] TRCNG - WOLF BABY

It's horror-themed, but very comedic/light-hearted.
Like a cute version of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'.



Official channel link

[MV] Drug Restaurant - Her



Official channel link

[MV] OOHYO - Honey Tea

[MV] Soyou - Grown-up

[MV] Soyeon X Parc Jae Jung - XOXO

[MV] SMTOWN - Dear My Family



Station #37

Oof. My heart.

[MV] Sway D - G-Shock

[MV] Yang Da Il - lie



Official channel link

Monday, January 1, 2018

[PLAYLIST] KPOPPY's Best Of 2017 : The Eclectic Mix


I'm looking back at 2017 with a heavy sigh. I think my playlist might reflect some of my mood. Fair warning. It was a tough year personally and I found myself more and more gravitating towards emotionally resonant or calming material.

Characteristics of Kpop for the year? I believe we're finally nearing the end of the Tropical House bonanza. The relentless 'Frankenstein' tracks, which were packed full of too many disparate ideas in the first half of the year, have mellowed out. Kpop has felt more coherent from track to track in the last few months. Still lots of trap percussion. Too much, probably. Moving more towards Future Bass as the tropical stuff fades. Things felt like they got kinda nuts in 2017, so I'm pondering if we'll move towards even more traditional structures and sounds (Despacito clones, for example) or we'll move in an entirely different direction.

I don't typically mention fashion, but there were distinct trends. The ladies traded in their high-waisted shorts for cheerleader skirts and skater dresses. That started in 2016, but it was pushed super hard this year. Flats and kitten heels are still pretty standard, which I continue to love. Stay out of the high heels as long as you can, girls! The gentlemen really fascinated me. There was almost a uniform that developed. Huge over-sized button-up dress shirts, half-tucked into slightly too-short pants, chokers, and dangly earrings. No complaints from me. Men with long, elaborate earrings is apparently something I'm into. Ahem. The more you know...
Mullets can disappear forever though. Please. PLEASE.

Kpop got very cosmic. Lots of big space themes. Star fields, celestial bodies, nebulae. Eclipse imagery was pervasive. Suns and moons. This really intrigued me considering the major eclipse story of the year was across the continental United States. Nothing in Korea. Kpop is absolutely serving a global marketplace, if there was still any doubt.

The rules, as always. Only songs with music videos. No OSTs. All Korean language. No repeating artists (tweaked this one a bit for one case -- sue me).
Okay, music! Let's go!

MY TOP 30 ECLECTIC MIX for 2017 in chronological order only:
[The full playlist link on Youtube]
I'll highlight a bunch, add in some more thoughts, and include honorable mentions in the full post. I have a bunch of b-side, English, and otherwise interesting tracks I want to mention this year.