Seriously, when
you think about it, is any kind of Pop music what you would think of as “Greatest
Song of All Time” material. In defense of K-Pop, it gets a bad rap because it’s
Korean and no other reason. It’s no different than the cookie-cutter pop-stars
and “their” formulaic “music” back home. Pop is pop. K-pop just saturates the
culture here because of the ingrained sense of nationalistic pride. The world
knows it better because it’s just so catchy. Korea note the popularity, so they
mass produce it, giving it more reach across the world, and the vicious cycle
continues...
All
the while, the music written by the actual performers, the “real” music, if you
will, gets buried in a sea of pastels, glitter, and awkwardly sexy dance
routines. But it does exist!
Rock
is solid, rock will never die. When you think of Korean rock, though, you think
of CNBlue, but they are a Trojan Horse, my friend. They are the Monkees. They
are fabricated, auditioned, conceptualized, trained, and pushed out there with
songs written by other people, played on instruments they barely know how to
use. There are also the rock balladeers, but they only know how to do ballads,
and that’s just depressing. Real Korean rock can be heard most readily by YB,
or Yoon Do Hyun Band. This is Korea’s premiere rock band and they most
definitely do rock. They even do some English songs. I remember sitting in one
of their concerts being the only one who knew the words to those ones. Ahh,
memories… Recommended songs include “No Regrets”, “Stay Alive”, “Flying
Butterfly”, and “I Will Forget”. They also do some pretty solid covers that are
harder to find, including “Dash” and “Hae-yah”.
For
a lighter, more innovative feel, Jaurim is your best bet. The female vocalist
is small but powerful, and the songs they write are like an intense study in
composition. Also good with covers, they have a whole album dedicated to them.
Their take on “Even Flow” is something to experience, though you may have to
filter out the Kongglish in your head.
Psy
isn’t real hip-hop. He’s straight up entertainment and goes way beyond “Gangnam
Style”, nobody ever gives it a chance though. Try looking it up. That being
said, if you want REAL rap and REAL hip hop, look no further than the Movement
Crew. This is a collection of like minded artists of the genre who have
embraced the roots of rapture. Drunken Tiger, Tiger JK, is the YB of this
realm. Listen to any of his stuff and you’ll get it. His wife, Yoon Mirae, is
another great option, and common collaborator. If you want something a little funkier,
try LeeSSang. If you watch any variety shows, you’d recognize the two of them
(Gil and Gary) from doing the circuit, “Infinity Challenge” and “Running Man”,
specifically. For something a little more technical and intelligent, try Epik
High, or anything by their front man, Tablo.
For
a solid piece of Jazz, the best thing to do is go live. Jazz festivals crop up
like weeds in University Neighborhoods and anytime you feel like going to one
of these neighborhoods, just look for a stereotypically dank and shady coffee
house or bar, and you’re there. If you’re in Busan, you can find it along the
street on Friday or Saturday nights in Gwangalli.
In
summation, I hate K-Pop, but I love Korean Music. Check out the links below for
a taste.
(Thanks to memegenerator for the pic)
Very interesting -- how bout a list of either top Korean musician songs or albums? I would appreciate it. :) Especially the rock!
ReplyDeleteYB's album "Why be?" is both a commercial and artistic success, however, my favorite is "Coexistence", especially the English track, Stay Alive. No Regrets is also solid.
ReplyDeleteAnother band that has gotten recent attention is Guckkasten, for their work on "I am a Singer", especially their cover of Alone by K-Pop group Sistar. They quickly became known for their art and creativity.
One thing that "I am a Singer" did as it dwindled out, was give this non-K-Pop scene a huge spotlight. It made many Koreans realize that there are too many K-Pop groups and they all sound the same, while everyone on that show (non-k-pop) sounded different.
-Jon and Sunny