Showing posts with label my playlist fridays. Show all posts
My Playlist Fridays: The Rookie Edition
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When a rookie group debuts, it will always be either hit or miss (but mostly miss) when it comes to whether or not they'll manage to garner some attention for themselves. Whether or not they manage to squeeze their way through the sea of other groups to get a chance at the limelight, some groups actually release some good songs. Throughout the year, I've been paying attention to new groups in the hopes of finding something new and interesting, Some have scarred me for life while others give me hope for the future of Kpop and this My Playlist Friday features those groups.
Ladies Code - Bad Girl
Ladies Code is possibly one of the most successful rookies to debut this year with their hit debut song Bad Girl causing them to skyrocket in popularity. Later, when they released Hate You, they almost lost their groove but when they came back with Pretty Pretty, they not only redeemed themselves but managed to shoot their popularity up even further.
Bangtan Boys - No More Dream
Bangtan Boys have proven to be not only talented rappers and singers, but they've also been involved in composing and writing their songs. Perhaps this is why nearly all of their songs have some type of meaningful message to it, specifically pertaining to kids being forced to follow the dreams of their parents rather than their own. No More Dream is not only catchy but meaningful. Their song N.O. isn't as good but it's still worth a listen as well.
LC9 - Mama Beat
Who doesn't love some gruesome senseless violence with an insanely catchy song playing in the background? LC9 can provide you with just that with their music video for Mama Beat. This particular group comes from Nega Network, home of groups such as Sunny Hill and Brown Eyed Girls which gives me high hopes for this group in the future.
History - Dreamer
History is another group that seems to be on their way to becoming a successful group with their song Dreamer being a tiny little blip on the Kpop radar but their more recent song Tell Me Love (which isn't that great in my opinion) was a bigger success than their debut song. Honestly, I think Dreamer is the better song with it's smooth vocals and harmonies that are extremely pleasing to the ear.
Global Icon - Beatles
I'm not going to expect Global Icon to be one of the groups of the year that will survive. Their debut song Beatles was a success and is actually quite catchy, though it could do without the massive amounts of auto tune. I was wondering if they were going to release another song or if they already have and today I discovered their second song under the title of Booshit.... booshit... which is probably why I hadn't heard of it (censorship and all that jazz).
Honorable Mentions
There are none. I've made sure to watch every music video debut for the first half of the year and only these five really stood out. I went through this pain for you guys because I love you.
But if you really want to see something horrid, watch Heart Rabbit Girls' Round and Round and Delight's Mega Yak.
Do you think there was a group that debuted in the first half of the year that I might have missed? Who has shown to be your favorite so far? Comment below!
My Playlist Fridays: The Non-Kpop Fan Edition
1. Tarantallegra - Xia Junsu (2012)
I didn’t quite expect my roommate to fall in love with this song the way she did when I first played the music video on my TV, she immediately fell in love. I sometimes make a playlist of YouTube videos to leave on my TV when I’m cleaning around the house which means those around me will be subjected to my musical tastes while I tidy up. While I was busy she caught sight of the video and grew obsessed with the song, so much so that she even went as far as to try and learn the dance (which I agree is absolutely amazing).
2. Hate You - Ladies Code (2013)
I know it sounds weird. Hate You wasn't one of the big hitters Ladies' Code released like Bad Girl and Pretty Pretty but something about this song clearly stood out (but everyone agrees that Rise's autotuned part is terrible). Ever since Bad Girl, I’ve kept my eye on anything and everything Ladies Code. When Hate You came out, I was all over it and my best friend happened to be with me at the time when I was first listening to it. At first, I thought he didn’t much care for it but later he would ask me to play that “I hate you but I love you” song quite often. He’s even asked me to give him the file so that he could listen to it on his own without having to ask me all the time.
3. Sherlock (Clue + Note) - SHINee (2012)
Sherlock, in my opinion, was perhaps one of the best songs of 2012 (which was a good year for Kpop in general) which makes it understandable that it would catch on with a friend of mine and her sister who love to sing together. They may not have been able to understand the language but they went to great lengths to try to sing along to the best of their abilities and I have to say, they do a decent job at getting the syllables down.
4. 1234 - Lee Hi (2012)
This is yet another song listed on my list of top songs of 2012. When the song first came out, I wanted to show it to my sister because she's a fan of Adele (and everyone always compares Lee Hi to Adele, don't even deny it) and she fell in love. She thought Lee Hi was the cutest little thing and found her song insanely catchy. Even my mom liked the song and she said that it reminded her of Moulin Rouge (which is a little odd). My mom is generally one of those types of people who doesn't like to listen to music if she can't understand it but something about this song must have spoken to her because the language barrier no longer mattered when hearing the song. Me and my sister are suckers for almost any type of "independent lady" type of song which is why I thought it would be perfect to share I Don't Need a Man with her. It only took her one listen while she read the subtitles of the song and she immediately thought it was one of the best Kpop songs ever. She loved how sassy it was and she loved how, even with the Korean cultural differences, a lot of the same ideals about relationships still applied to Americans which made the song relatable to us too. Even now, she still finds ways to incorporate the English hook to the chorus into her conversations whenever possible.
5. I Don't Need a Man - Miss A (2012)
Me and my sister are suckers for almost any type of "independent lady" type of song which is why I thought it would be perfect to share I Don't Need a Man with her. It only took her one listen while she read the subtitles of the song and she immediately thought it was one of the best Kpop songs ever. She loved how sassy it was and she loved how, even with the Korean cultural differences, a lot of the same ideals about relationships still applied to Americans which made the song relatable to us too. Even now, she still finds ways to incorporate the English hook to the chorus into her conversations whenever possible.
Honorable Mentions
I took a poll just to see what other songs my friends and family may have liked. There aren't really interesting stories to tell with this list, plus I had to limit it to five songs. If you ever want to try to get your friends into Kpop or at least appreciate it without turning their nose up at it, try having them listen to any of these songs
Electric Shock - f(x) (2012)
Growl - EXO (2013)
Fantastic Baby - BigBang (2012)
Scarecrow - Lee Hi (2012)
Twinkle - Girls Generation TTS (2012)
Have any of you had any similar experiences? Share your stories about your non-Kpop friends below!
My Playlist Fridays: Brown Eyed Girls Edition
Brown Eyed Girls have always been my personal favorite when it comes to female groups. Over the years, they have released hits such as Abracadabra, Sixth Sense, and Cleansing Cream. Of course, their discography is quite extensive since they’ve been active since 2006. To help narrow down the options that I have to choose from, I’ve decided to exclude any solo songs and main singles released over the years. This means you may not have necessarily heard of any of these songs but I highly recommend you give them a quick listen. Keep in mind that these are in no particular order.
1. After Club - Black Box (2013)
This is actually my favorite song on their most recent album, Black Box, which I already wrote a review on shortly after it was released and my thoughts on the song remain the same:
It has a beautiful ebb and flow between a softer, more subtle tone into the energetic chorus.Miryo’s raps have this interesting rise and drop in intensity that reel you in and get you addicted to the distinctive sound of her voice. Narsha and JeA absolutely crush their vocal flourishes and the addition of Ga-In’s smooth breathy voice works perfectly with this type of song.
2. Glam Girl - Sound G. (2009)
Glam Girl is a soulful, upbeat kind of song. The beginning quickly builds up into something quite energetic after starting off rather low key. This is one of those types of songs I listen to when I'm looking for something to lift my mood (I actually have a whole playlist dedicated to that alone). It's not my favorite BEG song ever but it's still an excellent song.
3. Vandetta - Sixth Sense (2011)
Vandetta immediately starts off with a strong brass instrumental that lets you know that this is a high energy type of song that will get your blood pumping. There's even a break in the song where the tempo increases dramatically into something even more bombastic until it slows back down to the main tempo of the song. Other than Sixth Sense itself, this is one of my favorite songs on the album.
4. Bad Girls - Little Mom Scandal OST (2008)
I know, it seems a bit odd to add a song from a drama OST. Normally I despise most soundtracks to any drama because it’s so overtly melodramatic and dripping with that boring ballad tone. However, I somehow let this one slip through the cracks and after I heard it, I couldn’t believe it was from a drama. It’s sexy, catchy as hell, and almost makes me want to watch the drama it originated from because of how much I like this song.
5. Triangle - Leave Ms. Kim (2007)
Triangle is the song I chose to slow down this playlist a little bit with it’s calming melody. Interesting enough, I have a friend who is a non-Kpop fan that is in love with this song which is partly why I added this to the playlist. The song starts off with a flute melody that song builds on and it's actually quite beautiful.
Honorable Mentions
Good Fellas - Black Box
Mystery Survivor - Black Box
Candy Man - Sound G.
And many others.
If anyone else knows of any songs released by Brown Eyed Girls that they love and wasn't featured as one of their main singles, let me know below!
My Playlist Fridays: SHINee's Misconceptions of Everybody Edition
With all the drama concerning KARA this week, it's about time to take a break, sit down, relax, and listen to some good music with this week's My Playlist Friday's featuring SHINee.
Earlier in the year, SHINee released a big ass album separated into three different sections, each with their own theme to distinguish them from each other. Each were titled Misconceptions of You, Me, and Us, respectively. So apparently nobody can understand each other. Since there is a large number of songs to choose from, I decided to do a My Playlist Friday on this album alone, excluding Dream Girl and Why So Serious.
Earlier in the year, SHINee released a big ass album separated into three different sections, each with their own theme to distinguish them from each other. Each were titled Misconceptions of You, Me, and Us, respectively. So apparently nobody can understand each other. Since there is a large number of songs to choose from, I decided to do a My Playlist Friday on this album alone, excluding Dream Girl and Why So Serious.
1. Punch Drunk Love - You
This is by far my favorite song out of all three “albums”. It has that bouncy, swing your hips type of feel to it. It has an extremely smooth roller coaster vibe that goes up and down in such a fun way when you listen to it. If you don’t listen to any of the other songs, I highly recommend you at least listen to this one.
2. Beautiful - You
This was actually one of the songs that SHINee sung alongside their Dream Girl promotions during their concerts. I actually first heard the song when checking out one of their live performances. The song has one of those calming effects and the meaning of the song is like the title: beautiful.
3. Orgel - Me
The Misconceptions of Me album had a much more darker feel than the light and energetic feel of Misconceptions of You “album”. Orgel took some time to grow on me, but after a few listens, I began to fall in love with it’s dreamy, spin me around type of feel. This song is actually on the playlist I listen to when I go to sleep because of how calming it is.
4. Evil - Me
This song is actually quite unique compared to the other songs on the “album”. It starts off with a soft dreamy feel then builds up into something somewhat more energetic. It’s distorted and weird in a good way and I’ve listened to this particular song many times and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet.
5. Dynamite - You
Dynamite is the only bombastic and highly energetic song I have on the list so far. It’s not a type of song I would dance to, really, but it’s very pleasant to listen to and gets your blood pumping. If you’re looking for something to lift your mood, I recommend listening to this song.
Honorable Mentions
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| I mean. Look at it! |
So what were your favorite songs in the Misconceptions of Everybody albums? Comment below!
