Here I flaunt my Asian pop culture fandom, ramble about Japanese anime, films and TV shows, share artworks, and sometimes I write for a bit o' cheese (read: moolah).
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As much as I admire BEAST, I never really grew attached(?) to any of their songs before. It's not that their songs are terrible, they're pretty much likable actually, but what annoys me is that, despite having completely different melodies and moods, their songs always used the same old beats/percussion thing that came across as too teeny-boppy for me. I think the composers wanted to give the songs a stronger, energetic vibe, but it sounded so awkwardly out of place in Shock and Breath that it frustrated me to hell.
But thank God they didn't stop at Breath last year, and released Lights Go On Again soon afterward. The songs were beautiful and it was their best album to date, in my opinion. Until they took me aback and returned this week with their first full album, wonderfully titled FICTION OR FACT.
Oh. My. God. I love the mature, Western-like, emotive yet easygoing feel of The Fact, which is the intro song (Why are their best songs always the short intro ones?!). I love the emotions in the unplugged version of Lightless. I love the '90s-boy-band vibe of You. The title track, Fiction, is my favorite, unsurprisingly, and is about someone who wants to cling on to a lost love by writing a novel, thus the title. The piano melody is melancholic and very beautiful, which is even more emphasized in the orchestra version (why can't SME let SHINee do something like that?).
They obviously went all out on their first album, and it shows. I love all the songs to bits after the first listen, which rarely happens to me. This album tops all their old ones for sure.
FICTION (MUSIC VIDEO)
The choreography looks pretty slick and great by the way.
It's sad to know that many people speak of desiring freedom and exercising free will, yet many still cast out gays and homosexuals from society, like most Koreans do. What is it about homosexuality that oh so disgusts them? Is freedom exclusive to straight people?
I think there's nothing wrong if one chooses to be gay or lesbian. Who am I to interfere with their choice, their happiness? We need to respect and be respected, and that applies to every one of us regardless of our race, religion, or gender. I really despise people who treat these homosexuals as second-class, like they're some kind of aliens pretending to be human. It's good to know that there are bloggers who try to voice out their sexuality and gay culture (like gay Romania), with no fear of being ostracized. If people only learn to care a little more for each other, it would've made such a big difference not only to society but to the world.
One time I accompanied my father, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, to a chemotherapy room for his monthly dose of some bone-strengthening medicine, and I was surprised to see that his fellow cancer patients lounging in the room were women with breast cancer. Most of them wore turbans and loose clothing, and I could see how often they shifted to adjust their clothes.
I had a teacher once who survived breast cancer and now struggles to "feel" normal again. She tries to find the right Breast Cancer Clothes and Breast Cancer Bras for her new self. Red Thread is one of the more reliable fashion sites that sells special tops and Breast Cancer Clothes And Accessories, founded by a breast cancer survivor who wanted other patients to "be comfortable, and feel confident" once again.
Brendon always amazes me. From the hot, vampirish ghost in The Ballad of Mona Lisa he goes on to become this dancing sort of hippie surrounded by nippled mannequins in Ready To Go, his new song along with Spencer as the two-man Panic! At the Disco. It's just adorable how he pulls off any character he acts. (I love him more when he plays the gothic type of guys though. ♥)
These two girl groups made their comebacks recently with Virgin *giggle* and Pinocchio (Danger) *more giggle* respectively. Since I haven't found the time to listen much to either albums I'll save my cents for later. I did, however, watch a couple of their other music/dance videos.
With the chanting and the drum beats, this song to me is like a cross between their previous single Bang! and Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl, and I actually like it! Combined with the smexy red shoes, the chic black and white dresses, the tap-dance-slash-ice-skating choreography, AND 8 statuesque women, the song's so much more badass. I like how they stuck to a simple concept for the oufits, although I can't seem to understand the sash-like ribbons across their torsos. But hey it makes the dresses stand out even more so, I'm good.
To be honest I'm not a die-hard fan of After School but I keep track of their album concepts because they usually emerge with something new and more innovative than what most girl groups come up with. I like how they did Because of You in black and white with contrasting monochrome oufits. Bang!'s marching band concept was a BIG breath of fresh air, and was one of the most original in the kpop industry. I admire the girls' patience and determination to learn even the drumming for another song in the album.
In other words, After School's image, or concept, is neither too cute nor too sexy, too badass nor too dance-y. That's why I like After School. (But to me SNSD's sailor concept for Tell Me Your Wish is still the best, maybe because it was backed by a good song, which is where Bang! poof-ed).
GANGSTA BOY - F(X) (rehearsal video)
Err.
I expected too much from f(x) since their debut considering that they're promoted as more of a pop dance girl group by SM Entertainment itself, only to be let down with messy comeback songs like Chu~ and NU ABO. Until SME gives them a more polished song, I'm only keeping track of (1) their dancing, which is usually choreographed by no other than Rino Nakasone (from Beat Freaks), who also works on most of SHINee's dances, and (2) Victoria's dancing, because she's just as epic as Rino is. Mommy Vicky is lurve.
Gangsta Boy is no different from their other songs. I honestly don't know what to make of it, the rapping, the catchy yet annoying chorus coupled with Krystal's nasal voice, the awkward parts that sound like chanting and rapping combined, and Amber's "my gangsta, my gangsta" parts in the chorus are mindfucking. Everything sounds frustratingly wrong.
Actually I think a lot of f(x)'s songs have the, well, potential to be more polished-sounding if the composers thought more, listened more, tweaked it a little bit more, and experimented less. I feel like SME's using f(x) as a sort of medium for songs that they're "experimenting" with, and they're horribly failing.
So at the moment I've little care for their songs and just shift my focus on the moves. With all the footwork and sharp moves, Rino Nakasone goes all out on this one yet again.
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Once you get the hang of it, you can have a dedicated marketer to do the advertising for you, and you simply sit back and watch as your account grows and grows in just a short span of time!
I'm a bored person and I like to procrastinate by drawing, watching Asian dramas, listening to K-pop, and spazzing away.
Sometimes I also sleep and tweet.
I respond to the name JoKimiko. Cheers.
My top 5 dramas:
The World That They Live In (2008)
49 Days (2011)
Hana Yori Dango (2005)
Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang (2005)
My Girl (2006)
(Here's the list of dramas I've watched so far, in case you're even interested.)
Films: Inception, The Devil Wears Prada, Memoirs of a Geisha, Legally Blonde, Pirates of the Caribbean.
Actors: Hyun Bin, Jung Il-woo, Jae Hee, Gong Li, Alan Rickman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Reynolds, Johnny Depp
Music: SHINee, BEAST, Big Bang, Panic! At The Disco, Rihanna, Chris Brown
Art Influences: Ruben Toledo, Max Cabrera (Pyromaniac), Stanley Lau (Artgerm), Lois van Baarle
Contact
You can reach me through email at purple_city20@yahoo.com. Or you can send me a quick message through this box. Just be sure to include your name/contact/blog/whatever.
As much as I admire BEAST, I never really grew attached(?) to any of their songs before. It's not that their songs are terrible, they're pretty much likable actually, but what annoys me is that, despite having completely different melodies and moods, their songs always used the same old beats/percussion thing that came across as too teeny-boppy for me. I think the composers wanted to give the songs a stronger, energetic vibe, but it sounded so awkwardly out of place in Shock and Breath that it frustrated me to hell.
But thank God they didn't stop at Breath last year, and released Lights Go On Again soon afterward. The songs were beautiful and it was their best album to date, in my opinion. Until they took me aback and returned this week with their first full album, wonderfully titled FICTION OR FACT.
Oh. My. God. I love the mature, Western-like, emotive yet easygoing feel of The Fact, which is the intro song (Why are their best songs always the short intro ones?!). I love the emotions in the unplugged version of Lightless. I love the '90s-boy-band vibe of You. The title track, Fiction, is my favorite, unsurprisingly, and is about someone who wants to cling on to a lost love by writing a novel, thus the title. The piano melody is melancholic and very beautiful, which is even more emphasized in the orchestra version (why can't SME let SHINee do something like that?).
They obviously went all out on their first album, and it shows. I love all the songs to bits after the first listen, which rarely happens to me. This album tops all their old ones for sure.
FICTION (MUSIC VIDEO)
The choreography looks pretty slick and great by the way.
It's sad to know that many people speak of desiring freedom and exercising free will, yet many still cast out gays and homosexuals from society, like most Koreans do. What is it about homosexuality that oh so disgusts them? Is freedom exclusive to straight people?
I think there's nothing wrong if one chooses to be gay or lesbian. Who am I to interfere with their choice, their happiness? We need to respect and be respected, and that applies to every one of us regardless of our race, religion, or gender. I really despise people who treat these homosexuals as second-class, like they're some kind of aliens pretending to be human. It's good to know that there are bloggers who try to voice out their sexuality and gay culture (like gay Romania), with no fear of being ostracized. If people only learn to care a little more for each other, it would've made such a big difference not only to society but to the world.
One time I accompanied my father, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, to a chemotherapy room for his monthly dose of some bone-strengthening medicine, and I was surprised to see that his fellow cancer patients lounging in the room were women with breast cancer. Most of them wore turbans and loose clothing, and I could see how often they shifted to adjust their clothes.
I had a teacher once who survived breast cancer and now struggles to "feel" normal again. She tries to find the right Breast Cancer Clothes and Breast Cancer Bras for her new self. Red Thread is one of the more reliable fashion sites that sells special tops and Breast Cancer Clothes And Accessories, founded by a breast cancer survivor who wanted other patients to "be comfortable, and feel confident" once again.
Brendon always amazes me. From the hot, vampirish ghost in The Ballad of Mona Lisa he goes on to become this dancing sort of hippie surrounded by nippled mannequins in Ready To Go, his new song along with Spencer as the two-man Panic! At the Disco. It's just adorable how he pulls off any character he acts. (I love him more when he plays the gothic type of guys though. ♥)
These two girl groups made their comebacks recently with Virgin *giggle* and Pinocchio (Danger) *more giggle* respectively. Since I haven't found the time to listen much to either albums I'll save my cents for later. I did, however, watch a couple of their other music/dance videos.
With the chanting and the drum beats, this song to me is like a cross between their previous single Bang! and Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl, and I actually like it! Combined with the smexy red shoes, the chic black and white dresses, the tap-dance-slash-ice-skating choreography, AND 8 statuesque women, the song's so much more badass. I like how they stuck to a simple concept for the oufits, although I can't seem to understand the sash-like ribbons across their torsos. But hey it makes the dresses stand out even more so, I'm good.
To be honest I'm not a die-hard fan of After School but I keep track of their album concepts because they usually emerge with something new and more innovative than what most girl groups come up with. I like how they did Because of You in black and white with contrasting monochrome oufits. Bang!'s marching band concept was a BIG breath of fresh air, and was one of the most original in the kpop industry. I admire the girls' patience and determination to learn even the drumming for another song in the album.
In other words, After School's image, or concept, is neither too cute nor too sexy, too badass nor too dance-y. That's why I like After School. (But to me SNSD's sailor concept for Tell Me Your Wish is still the best, maybe because it was backed by a good song, which is where Bang! poof-ed).
GANGSTA BOY - F(X) (rehearsal video)
Err.
I expected too much from f(x) since their debut considering that they're promoted as more of a pop dance girl group by SM Entertainment itself, only to be let down with messy comeback songs like Chu~ and NU ABO. Until SME gives them a more polished song, I'm only keeping track of (1) their dancing, which is usually choreographed by no other than Rino Nakasone (from Beat Freaks), who also works on most of SHINee's dances, and (2) Victoria's dancing, because she's just as epic as Rino is. Mommy Vicky is lurve.
Gangsta Boy is no different from their other songs. I honestly don't know what to make of it, the rapping, the catchy yet annoying chorus coupled with Krystal's nasal voice, the awkward parts that sound like chanting and rapping combined, and Amber's "my gangsta, my gangsta" parts in the chorus are mindfucking. Everything sounds frustratingly wrong.
Actually I think a lot of f(x)'s songs have the, well, potential to be more polished-sounding if the composers thought more, listened more, tweaked it a little bit more, and experimented less. I feel like SME's using f(x) as a sort of medium for songs that they're "experimenting" with, and they're horribly failing.
So at the moment I've little care for their songs and just shift my focus on the moves. With all the footwork and sharp moves, Rino Nakasone goes all out on this one yet again.
With today's technology and trends, investing on an online business is not unheard of; it's a growing opportunity. However, most people have limited knowledge on the tricks in online business and internet marketing, and that's where the reliable Global Success Club comes in, ready to help you and teach you how to realistically make $8,333/Mo. without fail… (FREE). Unlike other websites that usually end up as scams, Global Success Club includes a training program under trustworthy people who have been featured in magazines like Time and Vanity Fair, people like Tony Robbins, Bob Proctor, and Jack Canfield.
Once you get the hang of it, you can have a dedicated marketer to do the advertising for you, and you simply sit back and watch as your account grows and grows in just a short span of time!
RSS
With today's technology and trends, investing on an online business is not unheard of; it's a growing opportunity. However, most people have limited knowledge on the tricks in online business and internet marketing, and that's where the reliable Global Success Club comes in, ready to help you and teach you how to realistically make $8,333/Mo. without fail… (FREE). Unlike other websites that usually end up as scams, Global Success Club includes a training program under trustworthy people who have been featured in magazines like Time and Vanity Fair, people like Tony Robbins, Bob Proctor, and Jack Canfield.