Do you read this blog ?

I have a question to ask you readers..... Do you really read this blog? If so why do you? What do you like about it? comment away......

WTH!! -STELLAR "Rocket Girl"

 

I'm sure you can tell by the title I was most definitely dissapointed by this song and MV. Seeing that Eric was involved with the creation and promotion of this group I was a bit intrigued. He after all was involved in the creation of TEEN TOP and was in the "Supa love" MV  so this should be pretty good, right?! Not really..... while I love the bright colors and futuristic feel of the MV, I really don't understand story and all the "shooting" and "whacking" people with their guns was unnecessary. Then its the vocals... the autotune is really strong so strong it sounded like a digital voice except in the chorus which had a 90s euro pop sound to it (which seems to be a trend in kpop girl groups lately).

Its songs like this that make me miss the older days of the late 80's and 90's when autotune was novelty not a commonality.

Teen Top new Mini Album on itunes!

I believe in supporting artists by purchasing their music. I wanted to buy a few songs off of Teen Top's new mini album Roman. Sadly when I went online to itunes (a week ago) there was no new mini album available  for legal download. So contacted Teen Top's record company through their website asking them to please make Roman accessible for online purchase for international fans. A few days later the new mini album is on itunes!! So if you haven't yet (or haven't already bought the CD) buy the tracks on itunes!!

K-pop artists crossing into J-rock really working or not?

There seems to be a big boom in Kpop artists once again trying to cross over into the world of J-pop. Music and image wise it would smart to assume it is much easier for a K-pop artist to transfer over to another type of pop. Despite this there is a few artist who despite being pop artists in their homeland decide to take on a totally different image and genre when entering Japan's music scene. Sometimes changing a genre works sometimes it doesn't. The two artists recently entering the Jrock sphere are actor/singer Jang Geun Suk and and Duo M&D. Below are their PVs ( promotional videos,what music videos are called in Japan) and my reviews of the music and the video.

Jang Geun Suk- Let me Cry

When I first heard that Jang Geun Suk would be entering the Japanese music market as a rock artist I was happily shocked. Then I began to wonder how would this sound really? Would it sound like rock or pop with some guitars added into the background? Would the video fit the mold of this genre? I finally received the answer to my first question when I heard the audio of Let me cry, the harpsichord in the very beginning threw me off but my doubts were quickly quieted once the guitar riff started.

   No it was not pop music with a few guitars added in. The music was mostly devoid of synth which is really good in my book and I'm sure in the books of jrock fans. While it may not be "hard core" (which it surely isn't) I believe this a great attempt at breaking into the Jrock sphere. Jang Geun Suk's  slightly deep voice blended very well with guitars without being drowned out.In a small way he reminds me of Japanese rock artist Hyde ( check him out on youtube).
The music video was done very well  its grungy disjointed feel gave off the feeling of the young man (or woman?) in the song.

 M&D (Heecul and Jangmo)- Shut ur mouth

When I first heard about the duo M&D composed of Heechul from Super Junior and The Traxx Jungmo I was not as enthused as I was about Jang Geun Suk. I first raised my eyebrow at Heechul singing rock music. Second like with Jang Geun Suk I was concerned about the music, would it really be rock? Then I remembered it was a duo and Heechul's partner would be Jungmo from The Trax!! He has Xmas (his name from the trax) on his side!! Maybe this will be a real rock song! Sadly my hopes were dashed when I heard the audio for their song Shut ur mouth. In the first seconds I knew what I was in for.. the first thing you here is very loud synth accompanied by a guitar strike to reassure you that its a "Rock" song. However nothing can reassure me that this a rock song. Even though the melody of the song is  very catchy, Heechul's voice is extremely auto tuned in the chorus a major bad in my book for a rock song. Sadly with the exception of Jungmo's guitar break. This turned out to be a synth filled pop song with some guitars added in.
   Despite being let down by the song its self I hoped the video maybe would give them more of a rock image. Maybe they would wear some edgy clothes and Jungmo would wear his awesome Xmas eyeliner again (not really ) and rock out on his guitar . Only to be let down again the video is in a way acting out what is going on in the song a guy pretty much telling his girl to get lost. Heechul gets up picks up a camera and tries to leave his girl behind and while trolling the hallways bumps into different musical celebs. While not high budget I must admit it was kinda funny but I don't think it does the song justice. In my opinion its not a  real rock song to enter the jrock world they should call it a  techno pop song.

So I think you can see which songs I am going to say would work (Let me cry) and which one wouldn't (shut ur mouth).  In the grand scheme of things it doesnt matter as long as the fans love the songs.

Just for fun here's what Xmas used to look like in the Trax (too bad you can't really see his eyeliner)



wasn't he cool!











What do you think the concept is?

The group photo of the new Super Junior concept was released today.



Its very colorful and a bit unusual compared to the rest of the pop world. Like I stated in the post about Leetuk I hope the music is just as unusual as the concept photos. My question to you is what do you think the concept is?

TEEN TOP's comeback Roman bringing old skool back?

Nice!!

     It's no surprise that I like TEEN TOP to a degree. I featured them in the first segment of my ongoing series of K-pop that could make it in the U.S. for their song "Super Luv" it's also no secret that I'm a huge fan of old school K-pop. So I was happily surprised when I saw the teaser for their new single "Don't spray perfume" . The video that caught my ear was the R&B version of the song below

from the start I was taken back to the 90's with the tinny guitar chords with the smooth melody and old school drum beat (man the 90s were good times). This  song would be a welcome break from the extremely autotuned "electro" and "techno"  type of music that seems to be all the rage these last couple of years ( and still raging on).

     I had been secretly wishing that someone would bring out a old school type song ( * cough*Jang Woo Hyuk* cough) to no avail. Maybe the fact that Eric ( from old school band Shinhwa) who had a hand in forming TEEN TOP had an influence of this song's direction?

 Even the cover eludes back to the old school days when groups(both female and male) often wore the same outfit sometimes in different colors. Bold colors were also very prominent in the 90's (something the younger generation makes fun of).

    The next day they released another version  of the same song this  "cool" version  sounds very much like the electronic pop of today and I'm pretty sure (  and dissapointed) that this will be the version they will make their comeback with. I can only hope that they will perform the R&B version and bring old skool back!!!

what's this?! something different ? (for a change) - a rant

Leeteuk from Super Junior

What's wrong with this picture? How long have fans been complaining that there has been a lack of creativity in Idol's images and music, tired of the same old same old? So why are fans complaining? Wouldn't a unusual style like this make your beloved idol standout among the clones?
Or is it a double standard? Its ok for female Idols to dress in strange colors and costumes but wrong if a male attempts the same? What do you think? (no really what do you think?)
I personally like the photo it sure did attract my eye (which I'm pretty sure is it's purpose). I can only hope the album this photo is promoting is just as interesting.

p.s. oh yeah and here's Eunhyuk

he kinda reminds me of  like Ash Crimson