“평화의 날/Peace Day” is from Epik High’s 2004 album High Society.
Category: What I’m Listening To
What I’m Listening To: “Come Back To My Life,” Shinhwa
Come Back to My Life is from Shinhwa’s 2002 album, Perfect Man
What I’m Listening To: 직감 (Jikgam)/Intuition, CN Blue
직감 (Jikgam)/Intuition is from CN Blue’s 2011 album, First Step.
What I’m Listening To: Hey Girl, TVXQ
“Hey Girl” is from TVXQ’s 2006 album O.
What I’m Listening To: “사랑의 미학 (Art of Love) Primary Remix,” Dynamic Duo
사랑의 미학 (Art of Love) is from Dynamic Duo’s 2012 album, Digilog 2/2.
What I’m Listening To: Wonder Girls, 두고두고/Dugodugo
What I’m Listening To: Fly To the Sky, 마지막 기도/Majimak Gido (Last Prayer)
What I’m Listening To: Inoo (Soldier/God of War OST), Kyuhyun,
I love a soundtrack, and OSTs for Kdramas are no exception. Lately, I’ve been listening to “Inoo” by Super Junior‘s Kyuhyun. Best known as one of the major vocalists for Super Junior and Super Junior K.R.Y, Kyuhyun lends his vocal talent to the soundtrack of the historical Kdrama, Soldier/God of War.
“Inoo” was frequently heard playing over the ending credits of episodes in roughly the first third of the Kdrama, and represents a departure from Kyuhyun’s usual style. “Inoo” sounds like standard soundtrack fare, quite different from Kyuhyun’s usual vocal talents on Super Junior’s R&B ballads like “Sorry Sorry The Answer” or Super Junior K.R.Y’s “Promise You.”
Image: “Kuhyun, Lotte Duty Free Magazine January 2014 (Super Junior ELF Forever),” Hallyu Harmony, accessed July 27, 2014, http://kpop.omeka.net/items/show/381.
Video: “[Official audio] 인우 Inoo – Kyuhyun OST for God of War (eng sub / 中字).” YouTube. 15 Mar 2012. Web. 27 Jul 2014.
What I’m Listening To: 담배가게 아가씨, Brown Eyed Soul
What I’m Listening To: “Monster,” Super Junior
Ever so often, I like to share what’s on heavy rotation on my iPod. It isn’t always the newest thing, or the most popular thing, but for some reason this is the stuff that I’m grooving to. I make no distinction between idol and non-idol Kpop, popular and obscure, mainstream and indie. It’s just what I like, and some info about it. Maybe you might like it too.
What I’m Listening To
Who Does It
Super Junior is better known for dance tracks like “Sorry, Sorry,” but “Monster” is a little different. A non-promotional track, it is an electronic song with a slower tempo that has a heavy but slow bass-line that is lightened by the use of synthesizers on the choruses. The lyrics reveal a sense of anguish.
Why I Like It
This song reminds me of some of my favorite 80s fare mixed with K-pop. It’s a nice break from the heavy dance and R&B tracks that Super Junior is known for.
Image: 1
Video: YouTube
What I’m Listening To: At That Time (그 때) (ft. Brian) by Supreme Team
Ever so often, I like to share what’s on heavy rotation on my iPod. It isn’t always the newest thing, or the most popular thing, but for some reason this is the stuff that I’m grooving to. I make no distinction between idol and non-idol K-pop, popular and obscure, mainstream and indie. It’s just what I like, and some info about it. Maybe you might like it too.
What Is It
Who Does It
“At That Time (그 때)” is from Supreme Team‘s 2010 album, Supremier, and features Brian Joo, vocalist from the legendary Korean R&B group, Fly To the Sky. The song introduces Brian by referring to his 2009 album, Manifold.
Why I Like It
This song represents a little change of pace from Supreme Team’s highly respected hip-hop fare. The tempo and tone of the song sounds matches the lyrics: it sounds like a throwback to more pop-inspired R&B, which goes to show that we all share the “back and the day” vibe. This is the kind of song that all generations could jam to, mixing Brian’s singing on the chorus with Supreme Team’s rapping on the verses. The combination illustrates the kind of frequent collaborations that occur in K-pop.
Image (1)
“Supreme Team – 그 때 (Feat. 브라이언).” YouTube. 18 Jan 2013. Web. 9 Feb 2014.
What I’m Listening To: “Paris (정재일’s Black Swan Remix) ft. Jisun of Loveholic,” Epik High
Ever so often, I like to share what’s on heavy rotation on my iPod. It isn’t always the newest thing, or the most popular thing, but for some reason this is the stuff that I’m grooving to. I make no distinction between idol and non-idol Kpop, popular and obscure, mainstream and indie. It’s just what I like, and some info about it. Maybe you might like it too.
What I’m Listening To
“Paris (정재일’s Black Swan Remix) ft. Jisun of Loveholic” by Epik High
Who Does It
Epik High is one of the most respected and eclectic K-pop groups. This song is from the 2006 Black Swan Song repackage. Fans familiar with K-pop learn to anticipate the repackage because you get a little something extra, and this repackage does not disappoint. Tablo, DJ Tukutz and Mithra Jin, the members of Epik High, join forces with Jisun, a member of the rock band Loveholic, for this track.
Why I Like It
The “Paris” remix dramatically starts with the chorus of the song instead of Jisun’s melodic intro from the original. It then erupts into the vocals backed by a driving drum beat and a solid bass line, to which they add piano to Jisun’s vocals. I like the remix so much I hardly listen to the original anymore.
Image: 1
Video: YouTube
What I’m Listening To: “Maria,” Heo Young Saeng
Ever so often, I like to share what’s on heavy rotation on my iPod. It isn’t always the newest thing, or the most popular thing, but for some reason this is the stuff that I’m grooving to. I make no distinction between idol and non-idol Kpop, popular and obscure, mainstream and indie. It’s just what I like, and some info about it. Maybe you might like it too.
What I’m Listening To
Heo Young Saeng, of SS501 (because, as every Triple S knows, they are NOT disbanded), recently made his comeback with “The Art of Seduction,” from Life, his new mini-album. That’s great, but his comeback reminds me of my favorite song, “Maria,” from his last mini-album, Solo.
Who Does It
Young Saeng is a major vocalist in SS501, best known for ballads that show off his range, both in SS501 songs as well as his solo work. He’s best known for slow songs, like “Rainy Heart,” although he did switch it up by releasing “Let It Go,” a dance track, as the first single from his first mini-album of the name. Anyone who is familiar with his work knows that dude loves love.
Why I Like It
So, most people know that Young Saeng is my bias in SS501 (go Bad Boy Otter Prince!), and I’m not even going to try to hide how much I liked this song from the get-go. I like “Maria” because it allows Young Saeng to break from expectation and belt out a rock ballad. As the video shows, he has a live band behind him at this performance, and his voice is a great complement to the guitars. Idol groups are so often pigeon-holed and it’s really great to see Young Saeng show his vocal range. It also tickles me that this song is the longest (over 5 minutes!) on the album.
Image: Heo Young Saeng
What I’m Listening To: “Kkum (Dream),” Big Mama
Ever so often, I like to share what’s on heavy rotation on my iPod. It isn’t always the newest thing, or the most popular thing, but for some reason this is the stuff that I’m grooving to. I make no distinction between idol and non-idol Kpop, popular and obscure, mainstream and indie. It’s just what I like, and some info about it. Maybe you might like it too.
What I’m Listening To
Recently, Big Mama released their final single, “Cleaning Drawers,” but I’ve been listening to their debut album, Like the Bible, and “Kkum (Dream)” in particular.
Who Does It
Big Mama consisted of Shin Yeon Ah, Lee Young Hyun, Lee Ji Young and Park Min Hye. So named because they were curvier than other singers, Big Mama gained and maintained a reputation for being stellar and consistent R&B vocalists from 2003 to 2012. Most people remember their hit, “Breakaway,” with the slick video that places critiques about appearance in the forefront.
The female group consistently delivered powerful performances on the album with “Breakaway” and their cover of “His Eye Is On the Sparrow,” but my favorite is “Kkum (Dream).” All of the members of Big Mama are great singers in their own right, but they give you goosebumps when they join their voices together. This song gets even better when they perform it live here:
Why I Like It
I think I like “Kkum” because it is a song that really showcases their strong vocals. This live performances is especially great when they break it down at the end. It reminds me of old school R&B. It’s no wonder. Jangta reminds us: “Instead of finding inspiration from American pop stars – such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera – they’d rather pattern their music to Soul/R&B legends Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, and Whitney Houston.”
BONUS: Did you know that Solid does an acapella version of the same song on their album Solid? Go listen!
Image: BigMamaKr
Sources:
Big Mama, “Dream.” Uploaded by cho3515. YouTube. 2 Jun 2007. Web. 1 Mar 2013.
Jangta. “Seoul Singers.” Green Tea Graffiti. 9 Feb 2010. Web. 1 Mar 2013.
What I’m Listening To: Can’t Stop Loving You, Brown Eyed Soul
Ever so often, I like to share what’s on heavy rotation on my iPod. It isn’t always the newest thing, or the most popular thing, but for some reason this is the stuff that I’m grooving to. I make no distinction between idol and non-idol Kpop, popular and obscure, mainstream and indie. It’s just what I like, and some info about it. Maybe you might like it too.
What I’m Listening To
Who Does It
This time, it’s Brown Eyed Soul‘s Can’t Stop Loving You, a single released in 2010. The group, made up of Na Ul, Jung Yup, Sung Hoon, and Young Jun, debut in 2003. They are primarily known for being a Korean R&B group, and their other albums, Soul Free (2003) and Brown Eyed Soul (2010) testify to this. Brown Eyed Soul are serious students of soul. In an interview, one of the members explained: “Basically, we pursue soul – a genre of African-American roots.” While the group is inactive, individual members have been pursuing solo projects.
Why I Like It
In this song, Brown Eyed Soul brings back the old, ’60s type soul: horns, melodies. It’s a refreshing change. Some people assume that if K-pop groups emulate American soul, it’s the 1980s/1990s variety, but Can’t Stop Loving You shows the range of the genre in Korean popular music.
Photo Source: Union Press News
Source: Brown Eyed Soul Interview, Reika No Rakuen
High Yellow - Asian Popular Culture 