It's been so long since I've last posted; and what is the first thing I talk about? Exactly. Yes, sorry, I can't help it.

2PM, the wacky, funny and probably most non-pretentious ensemble in the current k-pop industry have revealed their latest song. Even though I didn't really like their previous songs (Heartbeat, Tired of Waiting), I am absolutely loving loving loving this song. It has a mellow, electronica sound. Anything that is soothing and of the electronica genre, is bound to be liked by me. I don't know why, but I love sounds that are dance/house-ish, as long as the beat is not too harsh or blunt. (Just like Clazziquai Project + me = everlasting adoration)

With this song I feel like 2PM is trying to show their vocal sides a bit more. Their strength has always been stage image and dancing, but it seems like the strategy now is to put voices first.

Today it was snowing again outside (it's been freezing cold over here for the past month). And when I was listening to this song, suddenly the image of the snow falling down came into my mind. And also how I walked around in the falling snow around Christmas (we were taking a walk in the fresh-fallen snow and my feet were about to freeze off), but I really like walking in the snow and looking up into the sky; it's fun seeing the snow coming down from above and then falling on your face <-- ok, so this can only be down when it's not snowing heavily - I've done this once when the snow flakes were pretty big, and, yeah.. xD got stingy face from it.

Anyway, everybody should hear this song. It's so soothing and just; for me, it brings up so much images; from the Hong Kong skyline, to late-night clubbing, to the snow falling down... I guess I just really adore songs that have the word 'ambience' written all over them?
Yes we know the song has the exact same title as that other popular (and very fun) song by Ke$ha.. and yes we also know that 2PM is not a very likely name for any music artist. But it's the sound and the music what it's about in the end, right? :)



As I mentioned in my comment on allkpop.com; if this sound is going to be part of their new concept; then I will definitely anticipate 2PM's upcoming album (due in April).

So this late afternoon, I sat at my desk at work and as a sort of break from an exhausting, non-stop working day, I randomly visisted allkpop.com (they have such marvelous brainless celebrity news; it's ideal when you need a small time-out at work). And what news they had today: turned out they had the first expert from an exclusive photoshoot Super Junior - M had done for Numero magazine. I have no idea what kind of magazine Numero is, but apparently they like to go for more artistic interpretations when styling featured celebrities for their photoshoots. What they've done for Super Junior - M though is just... well I'd like to share this very much, because this was LMAO-worthy for me personally.

I realize that for people who aren't into Super Junior - M, this may just seem awkward. So to not totally butcher their image in this post:



Super Junior - M is a music ensemble (or 'boyband', whichever you like), consisting of 7 members (in no particular order):
1. Siwon, this is what the guy looks like normally.
2. Donghae, this is what the guy looks like in a proper photoshoot.
3. Kyuhyun, this is what the guy looks like now (innocent much?).
4. Ryeowook,
5. Hankyung,
6. Henry, a shot of Henry in person.
7. Zhoumi.

Sooo, for a bunch of music artists, they appear pretty regular/normal, right? So far so good. But then, the Numero photoshoot....


The first reaction that went through my mind: woooow, what is this? ....... And then I went on to read the comments/reactions on the news article at Allkpop. I tell you, some of the readers' reactions/opinions on the photoshoot were (imo) hilarious. A few highlights:

" what kind of ‘art’ is this? "

" omg why :O i didn’t recognize kyuhyun at first. and siwon looks like a chef :/ " <--- This comment.. I almost fell off my chair laughing.

" are they wearing lip gloss????? "

" This is what i call a HOT TRANNY MESS ;D " - .... this may be a bit incorrect, but I LOLed at this.

" No offense to art but yeah, this shoot looks (like) crap. Period. " - hahahahahah

"... why do they all look so greasy and like…drags? someone pass them make up removers. GEEZ. "

" Hankyung’s face makeup makes him look anorexic and all of them have way too much eye makeup on. This isn’t artistic, this is weird. "

" ok, let’s fire the stylists and the make-up people "

" lol! their high fashion taste is too high for me…"

" Talk about drag transformation. XDD "

A close-up of the photoshoot (Donghae, Siwon, Hankyung, Ryeowook) for those who want to see the wrongness up close.

Yeah, so all of this was pretty amusing to me. Maybe it was because we were all pretty tired at work and everyone was overloaded with things to do; so in the afternoon we got into humour mode and we started joking around saying dorky/random stuff to laugh off our tiredness. When I found this article, it was a nice hilarious ending to a looong working day.

Lastly, I just wanted to say: this was in no way meant to put Super Junior - M in a negative light. So far I like them as an idol group and Super Junior as a whole, for that matter. It's just that the reactions of people towards this photoshoot have been brilliantly funny and entertaining. And it goes to show that some artistic directions work for certain people, and others might not work, at all. To make up for the awkward photoshoot:

Super Junior - M, artistic styling as it should be

So because I've already posted the teaser, thought it'd be decent if I'd post up the entire MV as well. So, today the MV for Super Girl was released in Korea, China, Taiwan and Thailand. It's funny because when you observe the entire Super Junior - M fandom from a distance, it truly is endearing to find out how supportive and positive the people in general are. Of course there will always be people who like to bash every single detail and that's not very encouraging I guess. But then again, the music industry by definition is not objective (nor is any other form of performing arts).

But anyway, the point is that I am very happy this new MV is out. I can already hear the fangirl screams from every corner of Asia. And it's understandable, because the MV is pretty good. I really like the house party scene - it's colourful, lively and uplifting. The extra dork-factor is a plus. There seemed to be some commotion around the girl that is featured in the MV (as in: some adore her, others absolutely despise her); I don't know anything about her so no comments on that part. I just think she may have looked prettier and less fake with darker hair and a dress which isn't that red.

As for the song. My first reaction? "... but but, in the teaser it sounded SO cool". Don't get me wrong, the song still sounds pretty OK, but somehow it sounds a bit less than expected. The beat is incredibly heavy as compared to the other components of the song and the melody is really quite simple. Simple down to the point that the melody sounds rather naked and monotonous (where's the harmony, for instance). The best (and therefore probably the most recurring) part of the melody is a combination of 8 notes (the oh oh - oh oh parts) and that's about it. I'm sorry to sound picky but I listen to music because I like music. And music in terms of 'pop' basically means a well-composed pop song. For me well-composed also means well-balanced with pretty much every sound and beat matched well together. Super Girl is really OK, but somehow it sounds to me the producers/composers were kind of in a rush in making this song. 'Let's take something from there, stick it in this place, add some auto-tuning, add a ear popping beat.. voila.' <-- that's what I'm hearing when I listen to the song. One thing though, Kyuhyun's voice sounds very good in this song (and no that's not thanks to the autotuning; its fine by itself already).

And the lyrics ... I put the volume up in order to try and comprehend some of it (I think my ears are bleeding now, haha). The pronounciation by the individual members has improved as compared to their songs from a year ago, but the lyrics themselves are somewhat cliche. You are my super girl, I am your super man??? =A= If so, what kind of world are we living in, then? Basically the lyrics are about a guy who is being pushy and tells the girl to leave the current guy she is with/in love with for him.. right. No comment.

... Man, maybe I AM getting too old for this stuff. LOL. My apologies for the what seems like overly critical views on this song, but I think pop music is fine as long as you let the music and its quality come first. Visuals second. In this case I think they got it the other way around. And that is always a let down for me personally. I still like SJ-M though, especially because I know how hard-working the members are and how much they are suffering and sacrificing for their music career - so absolutely no complaining from me about that aspect. ♥.

>> Watch the Super Girl MV

Fashion, anyone? Because a subgroup of Super Junior, the one sent out by SM Entertainment to take over the Mandarin music industry (therefore termed Super Junior - M), is making its comeback at the end of this month. Actually as of today, a teaser for their first comeback single is available online. When I saw it, I had the feeling I was looking at an ad for some fashion brand. If the entire MV for this song is going to be like this. Wow. Just, two words: clean-cut, STYLE (or is that three?). Since when did the visual image start to dominate over the sound and the actual music (sarcasm). I have the feeling that, even if the song was complete crap, people would have liked all of it just because of the high-quality dress code of these guys. In this case there's not much to complain about, because judging from the teaser, the song is going to be pretty catchy. It's like Super Junior's Sorry Sorry, but different.

Super Junior - M - Comeback teaser


Two other remarks on the teaser video:

1. One of the reasons I like the Super Junior ensemble (be it in its base formation or as any of its extended subgroups) is, they can want to exude all the coolness they want, but it's the things like 'Shoopah Gulr / Shoopah Man' and whatnot that make them just a tadbit less pretentious and more likeable than some of the other pop stars in today's global music industry.

2. At the end: Super Junior - M... "Come Back~"

lol.

After well over four years, George finally got its first award. As of the end of July, his fanlisting reached 250 members. Of course then it took me another month to find time to apply for the actual award. But I'm very happy. I still need to put it up, but I'm very happy. It makes the years worth waiting for. Haha.

Also, ruayla and sixflowers. I still need to reply but I wanted to say this in a post; thank you so, so much for your replies on that previous post. It was really encouraging and full of understanding. You guys have no idea how great and lovely a person you are. Thank you so much for your kindness ♥

I know the layout is old but it's George. And he never gets old. or boring for that matter.

If I'm right, this is not the first (and definitely not the last) time that I mention that Clazziquai Project is one of my favorite electronica ensembles, and possibly one of my favorite music artists ...ever. I'm so happy they're back now with a new studio album. The release comes in a Japan-version, Mucho MUSICA, having debuted July 1st. And the Korean version, Mucho PUNK, will see its release upcoming July 14th(!!).


01 Kiss Kiss Kiss
02 Love Again
03 Tell Yourself - Original Mix -
04 Spinning the World
05 The Road
06 Affection
07 Take a Walk
08 Back in Time
09 Chocolate Truffles
10 The World of OZ
11 Back to Mind
12 Flea

The first thing about Mucho MUSICA is its cover art; it's really fresh, neat and abstract cute. The Japanese website for Clazziquai Project has a similar design and because I totally enjoyed browsing the site (even though I couldn't read much of the Japanese), I'm going to plug it:

http://www.clazziquai.jp. Aren't the colourful graphics amazing? It's so simple yet charming ♥

As for the music on this album; Clazziquai Project combines both its trademark electronic fusion sound with its recent branches into experimentalism. When I think of Clazziquai Project's 'trademark sound', I think back to their Instant Pig and Color Your Soul albums; with tracks such as You Never Know, Sweety, I Will Never Cry, or Fill This Night, Dance and Color Your Soul. Their elegant blend of electronica, jazz and bossa nova together with heart-felt melodies is truly lovely. And it makes me like their music, non-stop. In recent years Clazziquai Project has transcended from an underground ensemble into more mainstream pop music - I think Love Child of the Century, their third studio album, has had the most pop-infused tracks so far. That was also the time when I noticed that a significantly growing amount of people online were tagging Clazziquai Project as 'k-pop'. I still remember that I was somehow a bit disappointed when I realised these lovely underground musicians had been discovered by the mainstream masses. Then again, amazing sounds like these never remain undiscovered for long. As with the more experimental facets of their current music; it leans towards house music, with heavier beats and a mixed array of little electronic blips.

On the newest album, Mucho MUSICA, the songs that showcase their 'sound' the most are Tell Yourself, The Road, Take a Walk, Chocolate Truffles and The World of Oz. Tracks such as Love Again and Back To Mind find themselves with a more experimental tendency that Clazziquai Project has adopted lately. The last track, Flea, was actually taken from Metrotronics, an all-experimental album created for the DJ MAX Portable game series for the PlayStation Portable they released in November last year. (I think Flea served as the opening song for the Clazziquai-themed installment of the DJ Max game series.)

I still have to get used to the somewhat new, experimental sound of Clazziquai Project; but what never fails to mesmerize me is the soothing and balanced melodies this band produces. The vocals are always very good and even though some of their songs tend towards a more sad, nostalgic tone, there is a substantial optimistic, feel-good sound to their music. That is probably the main reason why I like Clazziquai Project so much.
As for actual song plugging; the song The World of Oz was released last month as a digital single (you can listen to this lovely song on YouTube and it was used by LG to promote the OZ phone line in their so-called 'We Live in OZ' promotional campaigns. The song is light, upbeat and sprinkled with cuteness. I like it, period. As for the cute short CF (that was already released a while ago, but anyway), watch on YouTube.

Even though I like multiple songs on Mucho MUSICA, there is one song that really struck me when I heard it. It moves me like the songs Dance and Speechless did, it reminds me again of why I love Clazziquai Project's music, and it shows once again the versatility and sincerity in their music. Take a Walk is a very pretty track. If there was a scene to be shot of a boy and girl taking a walk in the rain along tall, green grass while softly talking to one another, I'd opt for the music of this track to be in the background. Because that's the image my mind summons when I hear this song. And it never fails to amaze me how extremely good Clazziquai Project is at evoking the most beautiful scenery in people's minds with their music. I wouldn't go as far as calling it therapeutic, but it sure is very comforting. I just love music that says 'it's going to be allright' to you when you listen to it, you know. It's what pulls one through the shitty times in life.

Places to purchase Clazziquai Project music: @YesAsia, @CDJapan.

2PM, again? Why yes. The dorky septet have started promotions last week for their new single, I Hate You, a track that can be found on their second mini-album. The song is alright - quite frankly, it's just another track emerging from the vast sea of already existing contemporary pop records. What amazes me though, is the amount of effort and energy this group puts in its live performances (which includes the promotions for their latest song release). Each live performance is an improvement from the last one.

Watch 2PM's Live performance of 'I Hate You'. See? There's some hard work going on there huh? I just have absolutely no idea what the face mask(wtf??) and sunglasses are about.. I know it's supposed to look cool/complement their outfit, but in my opinion it looks rather freaky (in the not-so-good way).


2PM does pretty ok as well on a larger (more concert-like) stage, even sans one member;

You'd have to excuse the first guy (Wooyoung) that starts singing in the first song, his timing is a bit off. What I like about these larger stages is that it goes to show that Yunho (the second guy that starts singing in the first song) has the best ability to combine both dancing and maintaining stable vocals at once on stage - go him.

Isn't it amazing how 2PM fans record each and every move that 2PM makes in medialand? And don't we all adore YouTube? ... at least I do. And let's see if I'm crazy enough to post again when the official MV for this song comes out.

Video credits: WONROG2, Symbelmyns.

Katy Perry - Waking up in Vegas
(Buy via iTunes or Amazon if you like her music)

Waking up in Vegas is your radio-friendly pop-rock song and the first by Katy Perry that I instantly like. Her previously released singles didn't persuade me to actually listen to her music. This one though, has such a free-spirited vibe, it's infectious. Before this song, the only way I knew about Katy Perry was through her much talked about wardrobe choice in the media.

The music video is equally nice. It's colorful, energetic and the couple in the video (=Katy Perry and some dude) is funny and slightly weird, which is good! I love the extravagant and somewhat eccentric touch to the whole setting (check out the bowling alley slide and subsequent parade at 1:40 and onwards - looks so happy, right?).

Waking up in Vegas MV on YouTube.

Lastly, something on the music video of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi song. For me, this new music video certainly has a high must-see factor. It's original, quirky, futuristic and just plain disturbing at the same time. It looks like the child of a Japanese manga scenario and avant-garde fashion brand ad. Special, that's for sure.
Go have a look on YouTube if you haven't seen it already.

It's ... 2PM.

So, 2PM is actually a boyband. Erm - cough. It's the latest wonder child of JYP Entertainment, one of the leading record labels in South-Korea's prolific music industry. This is also the company that brought forth demi-god Rain (Bi). Before I continue this media-filled post, I would like to say that I didn't think I'd ever write a post in which I recommend a song by a boyband. This comes from a person that has her old Bob Dylan tracks playing again since his latest album release; a person who turns up the volume whenever an AC/DC (♥!!) song plays on the radio... yeah, I'd like to keep an open mind when it comes to music - something. Anyway, let's cut to the chase.

2PM is a 7-member, all-male artist group that started in 2008. They made a comeback with their second mini-album release "Time for Change" last April. The lead single release called "Again & Again" seems to gradually claim smash hit status (if it isn't already by now). And "Again & Again" is exactly the highly recommended song of this post. The song has a perfect beat-melody combination. Due to its slightly sad undertone and agony-expressing lyrics, it has a surprisingly mellow and balanced atmosphere. A mellow pop song? It doesn't seem to be the most efficient formula for a meant-to-be pop hit, but this song manages to pull it off. It's catchy, trendy and its entire vibe feels right. I listen to the song, I end up humming along making (silly) head moves. I watch the MV, I end up wanting to learn the choreography of the entire dance routine.




01. What Time Is It Now - this is a short but nice interlude for the next track.
02. Again & Again

And here's where one has to mention that 2PM wasn't meant to be a regular vocal boyband. Each and every member went through extensive training in vocals, dance and acrobatics(wtf?!). I think JYPE wanted to produce all-round music performers, not just your classic vocalists. Hrm. Well they definitely did a good job, because from the music video performance to pretty much every live show, the 2PM guys dance with such a disciplined routine, it's almost creepy. (It's like, oh I don't know.. it's like watching musicians perform with the efficiency of the Chinese State Circus.) The result however is that 2PM knows how to give a good performance live on stage.

Again & Again MV:

@YouTube

• Watch one of the Again & Again Live performances in HQ, including 2PM doing the exact same dance moves as in the MV.

• Watch the dance-only version MV with only the choreography and without any scene edits. It looks like it was shot in one take. Impressive (if that was the case).

How does a person like me end up listening to a Korean boyband? XD It's because of the hilarious 3rd Season of Idol Show (or Idol Army) in which the 2PM members appear as show hosts. I accidently stumbled upon a random episode after some related YouTube video browsing. The episodes started airing in December last year and ran every week. The show basically follows the band members doing assignments every episode at a different location and with different (female) guest appearances. The assignments range from chicken fights and snow races to going out on the streets to test how long it takes before individual band members are recognized by random people. To anyone who is in for a good laugh and likes to watch hilarious variety shows: this is definitely worth the watch. Really. I laughed my face off during some episodes because of the huge amount of dork displayed by the 2PM guys. They make fun of each other during the show and don't take themselves too serious. It was only after watching some Idol Show that I watched the Again & Again MV (out of plain curiosity). The transformation from hilarious dork on TV show to cool dance dude in MV was a bit of a surprise XD But I guess that's where my sympathy for these guys comes from; they're just dorky people having fun in a laid-back TV show setting, but once they have to get on stage for a performance, they get to it and do the job right.

For anyone who is interested in a great laugh watching Idol Show and hasn't seen it already;
• This Youtube channel has two episodes you can watch, with incredibly well-done subs. It's obviously not the first, but Episode 11 is a good one to start with since it shows the band members goofing around in a winter holiday resort like college students. 2 members have to change into ridiculous outfits and relentless fun is made out of the whole scenario.
• Time2sub is also a good channel with a number of subbed episodes. They also have Episode 5, I ended up crying-laughing because of the hilarious hotdog game (the costumes!!) in this one. For a comprehensive list of episodes on YouTube, Soompi is the place to be.

If I hadn't seen 2PM in this variety show, I don't think I'd ever listen to any of their songs, since I'm just not, interested, period. in any of the boy or girl pop bands circulating nowadays. But this show; whoever came up with this concept, is brilliant. It's a great way to promote music artists and get high show ratings in one - it's a heck of a smart business move.

Wordpress?? Never mind.

And, this song is SO catchy, I love it! wheeee...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnTrZYHK_II (Kylie Minogue - Wow)