More Than Just K-pop - Part VIII - Schizo

Part VIII – Schizo

 

I doubt this one is on anyone’s radar. They’re not even on Wikipedia! As I said, I’m trying for a little contrast, and Busker Busker needed to be balanced out with something loud and heavy.

The other reason for this selection is that, for a known band, they’re about as unpopular as a group can get. When I told Sunny I was doing this one, she gave me a look that can only be duplicated by filling a room with garbage and then trick her into going in with the promise of cheesecake. This is a music genre that you truly need to love to pursue in Korea, since the people want almost nothing to do with it. Yet, they strangely all know one piece of trivia about Schizo: The vocalist is a doctor! They value that more than the music. To be fair, so would my father, who would indeed refer to this as noise. Don’t get thrown off by the red herring at the beginning, and be warned of some language. (Bomb, Bomb, Bomb)

Seven years of premed and med school to sing in a cage. #worthit

I’m actually surprised that electronic industrial hasn’t caught on as much here, seeing how K-pop is littered with non-instruments. Maybe it’s the whole growly-voice thing…

The comparison has been made to Rob Zombie, Powerman 5000, and Rammstein, and with good cause as they have covered all in concert. You can barely notice the Korean accent.

The band formed in 2002 in Busan and released their first album “Dumbo $#!t”, a year later. It was widely unrecognized. Recognition came three years later with the their second album “Fight Against the World”. The title track, “Fight” was featured in the Korean film “Mutt Boy”, which is what really gave the album notoriety.

Since then, They have release numerous singles, and are working on an album that is long awaited.

Some more to make your ears bleed:

Untouchable:

 

Hed Up:

Another Man:

Deep Sigh:

For links to all the articles in the series so far, check out the list in the original post: http://sunnysmartshoppingkorea.blogspot.kr/2013/06/more-than-just-k-pop.html

More Than Just K-pop - Part VII - Epik High

Part VII – Epik High

 

This entry could be the most controversial in choice when certain things are considered: They have a style that is definitely more “Pop” than the others, they collaborate with numerous K-pop artists, and they were picked up by a K-pop label. However, those same things make Epik High an ideal selection.

Central to this trio, is the controversial Kyopo, Tablo. Though born in Seoul, Tablo (Lee Seon-woong, or Dan as his friends knew him) grew up everywhere. He went to several Foreign Schools around the world, spent a huge chunk of time in Canada (He is legally Canadian), and graduated from Seoul International School. There is a great deal of resentment towards people like Tablo among Korean men in that, though Korean, he is not required to do military service. Perhaps this was fuel for the fire that would follow him.

Dan Lee graduated from Stanford in the early 2000’s, obtaining a Bachelor’s and a Master’s. For some reason, people got really uppity about this and called him a liar. He presented all the documents to prove it publically and they still didn’t believe him. MBC followed him to Stanford, where he met his old friends, professors, and even went to the offices to produces first hand documents, on site. They still called him a liar. The police deemed Tablo’s education and degrees to be true, in Korea and internationally, and arrested the man who began it for criminal defamation and for (ironically) using falsified identification. Twenty other Korean citizens were issued summons on similar charges. The online communities dedicated to defaming him were shut down. Game over? Not quite, as a new one began and is still running with 33,000 members and counting, despite undeniable evidence.

Yes, I chose this group because its main member is a victim of Korean online hate, making them K-“UN”pop.

The group’s journey into hip hop began in Tablo’s younger years, listening to Tiger JK songs. The two would later become semi close and do small collaborations. Every kid’s dream…

They became noticed with their song “Fly”, from their third album “Swansong”, intended to be their final since their first two failed to reach recognition.

They followed this with a triumphant double album, “Remapping the Human Soul”, a play on the title of their first album, signaling a new beginning. This came with the popular single “Love Love Love”. It’s a little poppy, but also catchy… those clever mofos.

Then came “Pieces: Part One” (Part two never happened). It featured the less poppy, more badass, “Breakdown”.

The next album “(e)” was the last before Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz (NOT Canadian) went to military service. They had some fun with the video “Trot” on their way out.

They were dropped by their label and Tablo was picked up as a solo act by YG (ie: the lesser of three evils). Jin and Tukutz would sign after their discharge, two years later.

Their comeback album, “99”, features some K-pop singers, but still remains true to who the group has been from the beginning. I hate Bom, but I like the song “Up”. This is music that belongs in a club.

And that is the more defining thing about Epik High; they’re club music, something between the soulessness of K-pop, and the underground grittiness of Drunken Tiger.

Enjoy a few more:

Wannabe:

Run:

One Minute, One Second:

It's Cold:

For links to all the articles in the series so far, check out the list in the original post: http://sunnysmartshoppingkorea.blogspot.kr/2013/06/more-than-just-k-pop.html

More Than Just K-pop - Part VI - Sinawe

Part VI – Sinawe

 

One thing about K-pop; at least it’s a safe bet that annoying song will be gone by the end of the month, two tops. Rock, on the other hand, will NEVER DIE! Sinawe, often considered Korea’s first heavy metal band, has a history in rock that goes back further than the band itself. In fact, to talk about it, you need to go back to the beginning of the history of rock in Korea.

After the Korean War, South Korea was in ruins. The land was ravaged, the economy was non-existent, and the government was led by a military dictator. Needless to say there was an underlying frustration in the populous and they had Korean tradition holding it all in. Music became the outlet.

The American Army needed entertainment and the music of the day was rock, so that’s what the Korean musicians learned to make a living. They copied the sounds and styles of popular rock songs of the day, but one man took it to the next level. Shin Jung-hyeon took rock, added Korean history and culture, put them in a container and shook it all up. He used Korean modes and Gayagum melodies and put them to a rock beat, with lyrics that spoke to the people. He saw the greatness in his country and how the people were held back, and his music echoed that sentiment. His song, “The Beauty” (미인), became blacklisted for this, but it only made it stronger, the public using it as a protest song.

Here it is Live in 2006:

Shin was targeted by the government to be an example and was arrested on multiple charges. The anger passed from father to son, and Shin Daechul, learning from his father, built on the foundation that was given to him. From rock, rose heavy metal.

 

Turn up the Radio (1986) (Sorry, no MV, but you can still enjoy the music):

 

 

Sinawe quickly became a training ground for musicians as the revolving door of its members continuously turned, breeding other bands and solo acts, as is the fate of many bands where the guitar player, and not the vocalist is the frontman.

Vocalist Im Jaebeom left to become a solo performer. He is known as the premier rock ballad vocalist and the most Noraebanged male vocalist by guys trying to impress the girl they’re dating.

 

"For You" (And for the record, I don't like this song at all, but I'm not out to please myself here)

 

 

Bass player Seo Taeji pulled a major bass player and became the frontman of hiphop / dance group “Seo Taeji and the Boys”. This good intention paved a road to K-pop, as one of the Boys, Yang Hyeon-seok, would go on to become the CEO and founder of YG Entertainment. Seo would later try to redeem himself by going back to his metal roots.

 

"I Know" w/ ".. the boys" (They had better songs, but I needed a chuckle)

 

 

"Ultramania" (solo album) ... I heart juxtaposition...

 

 

 

The long list of past members exceeds 15 at last count. It’s impossible to document them all.

Sinawe is still around and kicking, training younger people to go out into the world and make it on their own. Keeping younger blood has worked to Shin’s advantage in some ways, as he has always stayed current enough to get a loud cheer whenever he takes the stage.

 

More samples:

 

"Small Wing"

 "Mask" (Starts around 1:10)

"The Beauty" (Cover of his dad's greatest)

Song that must not be named (Cover of something they had to do for a show)

For links to all the articles in the series so far, check out the list in the original post: http://sunnysmartshoppingkorea.blogspot.kr/2013/06/more-than-just-k-pop.html

More Than Just K-pop - Part V - Busker Busker

Part V – Busker Busker

 

This one is a little near and dear to my heart as the only way I could have rooted for these guys more, is if I were from Cheonan. The real hallmark of Busker Busker is that they exposed the K-pop world to something that wasn’t K-pop and nearly beat them at their own game.

It all began with frontman Beom-jun’s vision of a collective of street artists, amply named… “Pinky Pinky”? Wait, what? The Sangmyung University students grew in numbers until they were joined by their English Professor, Brad, who then said “I got a better name for this” and they were henceforth known as “Busker Busker”.

The collective decided to audition for the Korean version of American Idol, Superstart K. That season, the producer had decided to audition pre-existing groups as well as soloists and they jumped at the chance to give their group a national stage to perform on. Only three managed to make the audition.

The group caught the country’s attention and admiration with their rendition of SHINee’s “Juliette”, with the group Two-gye Wol. Despite the large part Busker Busker played in the arrangement and performance, and the out and out screwing up of the male half of the other group, Busker Busker was eliminated off of this performance, which had nothing to with Two-gye Wol having the only pretty girl in the competition. Sorry, the live version is unavailable to post here. 

Another band broke the cone of silence and saw that they were being trashed by online groups and quit the competition, allowing the re-entrance of two groups, including them and Haze. It quickly became a race for second place as Ulala Session had everything going for them, other than looks. They were fun, wrote their own music, did their own choreography, had a sad backstory and were only held back by their lack of hotness. One of the four was often away during the competition for chemotherapy and he’d still come back and rock the stage with the others. He has since passed away, but leaves this legacy behind: they used the show to prove talent will rise. Two samples of their work: Swing  (Skip to 2:00) and Western Sky (The second with subs, and you can get the preamble as to why they chose it, and then get why it made people cry when they sang it)

Back to Busker Busker, they were constantly dogged by the judges, specifically the two male judges, who refused to take them seriously as musicians, as they were neither pretty or flashy. They proved them all wrong with several solid performances, including “Makeolina”, "Dream Girl" and the self written “Seoul People”.

The competition was over, but the head judge, Lee Seungcheol continued to bad-mouth them in the press, saying they were turning their backs on their fans by writing music instead of touring the rehashed songs they performed with the other Superstar K Top 11. They wrote their album, recorded it, and topped the charts for over a month with each and every track from the album. Not just a couple of singles, Every. Damn. Song.

First Love:

 

The Flowers:

Cherry Blossom Ending (Actual video, no subs; win some, lose some)

With the rise of Busker Busker, and to a certain extent Ulala Session, the cookie-cutter convention had been kicked to the curb. Koreans had suddenly decided that originality was worthy of recognition and that looks didn’t trump talent.

Then “Gangnam Style” happened.

Oh well…

For links to all the articles in the series so far, check out the list in the original post: http://sunnysmartshoppingkorea.blogspot.kr/2013/06/more-than-just-k-pop.html

More Than Just K-pop - Part IV - LeeSsang

Part IV – LeeSsang

 

I’ve looked forward to writing about these guys since I saw them live over 6 months ago. It was a split set between them and YB, and as a huge YB fan, that’s why I was going.

Holy crap, did I ever not see that coming.

Even Sunny, who knew who they were even more than me, had no clue how awesome they were on stage.

Unlike many non-k-pop musicians, they are very well known, even if it isn’t for their music. Kang Hee-gun, or Gary, is best known for his lovably goofy antics on SBS’s “Running Man”. Gil Sung-june, or Gil, is known as the hapless lowest man on the totem pole on “Infinity Challenge”.

They first came to popularity in 2002 with the single “Rush” with frequent collaborator, Jung-in. They followed it with “LeeSsang Blues” the next year.

Still they weren’t widely recognized as Gary states they once were barred entrance to an awards show they were meant to accept at. Cue sad trombone.

They hit the mainstream scene in the next few years with more public appearances and eventually signed with Jungle Entertainment, Tiger JK’s Label. Their single “Let’s Meet Now”, feat. Jang Gi-ha and Faces became a common theme in Korean entertainment programs (and my ringtone).

It seems they now have made it to the peak of their career. For a time in 2012, the number one spot in the Korean charts was being fought over by 3 of their own songs, including “Hard to Be Humble” and “Someday”, feat. Yoon Do-hyun.

I’d expect more in the future, as they define showmanship the second they take the stage, and live shows is truly where they shine. This is one I’d have to recommend you to experience for yourself.

                                                                 

A few more to keep you interested:

 

Turned off the TV (Slightly dirty if you get the unedited version and translate it):

Tears:

Kyuksantawoo:

Clown; feat. BMK (Creepy video; catchy song):

 

 

For links to all the articles in the series so far, check out the list in the original post: http://sunnysmartshoppingkorea.blogspot.kr/2013/06/more-than-just-k-pop.html