kpop: legit or guilty pleasure?
Okay. I sort of already answered this here. But to reiterate: Legit. Not because it's 'legit', in the same way that indie bands are 'legit', but legit because guilty pleasures aren't something I've had since high school. Going to art school will cause you, if made of the same stuff I am, to give up on feeling guilty about liking what you like pretty quickly. Because being cool is so uncool. And once the ones not following the herd become the herd.... well. I won't get into all of that. But I don't do song and dances trying to cover over what I genuinely enjoy anymore. That shit is for the young and unemployed, who have time and energy to worry about such things.I don't like all Kpop. In fact, I only like a very small portion of it. Some (maybe even most) of it annoys the shit out of me. The girl groups in particular tend to send me over the edge, because their shit tends to be so fucking saccharine (not their fault -- definitely a byproduct of the culture). I only really like Big Bang and 2pm, the former mostly because of T.O.P. and G Dragon (both of whom I think are legitimate cultural icons, who will change and affect Korean culture -- also, T.O.P. is hot as fuck), and the latter possibly because they are described as "the noonas' desire" (as opposed to SHINee, who I can't stand and are described as "the noonas' hope"). There are more than one of them who definitely fall into the category of this noona's desire.
That having been said, I am fucking fascinated with the way Korea basically enslaves these kids at a young age and controls every aspect of their lives for decades. I know the music is overproduced, definitely over packaged and mass marketed. And I know a lot of the members of these groups are only as good as they are, because anyone who trains at something all day every day for years basically should end up being good at it. But. You can't overlook what these kids have been willing to give up to accomplish their dreams. It's incredible to me. I don't think I could ever be that dedicated to anything. That aspect, at least, is completely legit, no matter how you look at it. And worthy of respect, in my opinion.
To finish you off....
Kpop I like:
2PM
T.O.P.
G Dragon
Seung Ri -- VI (Seung Ri means "victory" in Korean)
Brown Eyed Girls
2NE1
Kpop I hate:
SHINee
T-ara
Ask me anything.
7 comments:
Oh Shinee...I'm not sure if I like that particular song either, but the chorus is definitely going to be my ringtone once I figure out how to download it.
I had a mostly hate relationship with Kpop while I was in Korea, but then when I returned to the States and found myself listening to songs I completely understood, I decided I should give Kpop another try. The American stuff ain't better (at least for me), and at least with the Kpop I'd get to learn some Korean.
Yeah, but do you like K-Pop better than ER? cause nothing is better than ER. Except maybe rice on sandwiches and corn on pizza.
That depends -- by "ER", do you mean "porn"?
Wakka wakka.
Just regular ole ER.
Man. I haven't watched ER in nearly a year.
Wakka wakka.
Oh man. I'll be here all day.
I am boring.
I'd rather talk about K-pop than Lady Gaga though.
What's the new song blasting out everywhere on the streets?
that ringdingdong song is horrible. i know youre not a fan, but super junior has had quite a few bangers and i gotta say ss501 has their moments, especially if you watched boys over flowers, but i'm partial to the electronic side of things... happy hardcore even. in fact im going to remix every song i like to make this even more of a guilty pleasure. big bangs sunset glow trance remix???? instantaneous wtf... and if youre feeling a little down just listen to the original version. i dont know how anyone can escape a smile.
As a Korean-Australian I get both sides of the story, and that goes for kpop as well. I'm really against the companies for working them to the bone and how they're so restricted in every way possible but I must admit the music is pretty catchy. The first group I was introduced to four years ago was Big Bang and I was like ugh they sound like girls. Two weeks later, I was obsessed with them. 2PM came later. I hated the antifans, cried when Jaebeom left, but still believe they're awesome. 2ne1 was the first girl group I genuinely liked and I thought that’d be it.
So I thought I'd be in your boat forever ... and then four days ago, I fell in love with Shinee. I don't know how it happened - I really was quite against them since their debut. This obsession was so sudden and damnit I can't get enough of them now. I dunno, they're quite brilliant live, unlike a lot of other groups. And their harmonies are actually pretty complex. I think SM is changing the way they market them, and their songs are losing the cutesy vibe. I'll have to wait for their comeback to make a final decision though.
The 'dance history' battle they had with 2PM a year ago or something was pretty epic though. Showed how different the two groups are but now I love them both. *sigh*
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