The start of each year get’s me excited in many ways. One of them is the naming of the BBCs Sound of 2013.
Each year in December, the BBC release a long list of artists they believe will be big the next year. The list is created by a group of critics, editors, broadcasters and bloggers. I’ve been following the list for many years and get really excited to see what new gems are on it. In the past it has helped me discover artists like Hurts, La Roux, Ellie Goulding, Florence + The Machine, Frankmusik, The Ting Tings and Corinne Bailey Rae, I could go on with more, but there are too many!
The BBC Sound of 2013 long list has been no exception and has introduced me to 2 great acts. They are:
This year HAIM took the crown, with AlunaGeorge coming in at number 2 and Chvrches () at number 5 in the list of the top 5 artists. If you want to hear more of these great acts and others on the list, check out this Spotify playlist - http://bit.ly/BBCSoundof2013SpotifyPlaylist or the BBC’s own YouTube playlist - http://bit.ly/BBCSoundof2013YouTubePlaylist
Away from the list though, one of my favourite K-Pop acts, Girls’ Generation released a new album. The lead single is the little number below. A little bit more random than some of their other hits such as The Boys but still good. You can’t help but notice the very 90’s/Shoreditch styling. Yes, it is random, but I really wanted to share it.
What are your top acts at the moment? Which artist do you think will make it big this year? Let me know in the comments below.
Showing posts with label Girls Generation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Girls Generation. Show all posts
Monday, 7 January 2013
Sunday, 1 July 2012
Joss Whedon and K-Pop
A couple of months ago I read an article about the global rise of Korean pop (or K-pop as it is known), with Facebook and Google+ creating special pages dedicated to the genre. So I decided to investigate. I was expecting some really bad Eurovision style pop, but instead I found something pretty good.
It’s not often that you find some good finally crafted pop music, with catchy choruses and music videos with very slick and precise dance moves. My best discovery was band called Girls Generation. A nine-person pop group from South Korea, who make Girls Aloud and The Saturdays look like those drunk girls you see stumbling down the streets of most towns on a Saturday night after too many Smirnoff Ices.
Here are a few of my favourite songs:
Each of their videos has seen millions of video views on YouTube and they have fans world wide! I enjoy them, even though they are are extremely manufactured. SM Entertianment who created the band make some of their artists train for 4 years before they can release a single, often learning new launguages. What I also find interesting is that their lyrics consist of both English and Korean lines. Making them easy for everyone around the globe to enjoy.
The cross pollination of music styles that have been around since the 30s and 40s. Pete was telling me about episodes of M*A*S*H, which was set in the Korean war of the 50s, where their tannoys would play Cole Porter songs in Korean, but the choruses would be in English.
Maybe Joss Whedon was right...
He is always right, well most of the time. He was with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) and The Avengers (Avengers Assemble). He did get a couple of things wrong...can I mention Alien 4 or even Dollhouse?
Anyway, he is good at predicting the future and showing the development of culture and language. I recently watched Firefly and Serenity with Pete. With the film and TV series set in the far future, in a universe of terraformed planets, Joss had a unique way of showcasing the development of language and culture.
In the series, he shows a multicultural universe where Occidental and Chinese culture has been meshed together. Language is made up of a mixture of of English and Chinese, with the characters swearing in Mandarin.
Did the creators of Girls Generation watch Firefly or are they taking influence from the past? Or was it their way of influencing the future. Who is to say...but you never thought I would get them both in a blog post right?
Any comments, thoughts or observations. Please leave a comment below!
Originalsteve
It’s not often that you find some good finally crafted pop music, with catchy choruses and music videos with very slick and precise dance moves. My best discovery was band called Girls Generation. A nine-person pop group from South Korea, who make Girls Aloud and The Saturdays look like those drunk girls you see stumbling down the streets of most towns on a Saturday night after too many Smirnoff Ices.
Here are a few of my favourite songs:
Each of their videos has seen millions of video views on YouTube and they have fans world wide! I enjoy them, even though they are are extremely manufactured. SM Entertianment who created the band make some of their artists train for 4 years before they can release a single, often learning new launguages. What I also find interesting is that their lyrics consist of both English and Korean lines. Making them easy for everyone around the globe to enjoy.
The cross pollination of music styles that have been around since the 30s and 40s. Pete was telling me about episodes of M*A*S*H, which was set in the Korean war of the 50s, where their tannoys would play Cole Porter songs in Korean, but the choruses would be in English.
Maybe Joss Whedon was right...
He is always right, well most of the time. He was with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) and The Avengers (Avengers Assemble). He did get a couple of things wrong...can I mention Alien 4 or even Dollhouse?
Anyway, he is good at predicting the future and showing the development of culture and language. I recently watched Firefly and Serenity with Pete. With the film and TV series set in the far future, in a universe of terraformed planets, Joss had a unique way of showcasing the development of language and culture.
In the series, he shows a multicultural universe where Occidental and Chinese culture has been meshed together. Language is made up of a mixture of of English and Chinese, with the characters swearing in Mandarin.
Did the creators of Girls Generation watch Firefly or are they taking influence from the past? Or was it their way of influencing the future. Who is to say...but you never thought I would get them both in a blog post right?
Any comments, thoughts or observations. Please leave a comment below!
Originalsteve
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