From Korea, middling sellers or out-and-out commercial failures that I like a lot. Alphabetical order.

A.Kor "But Go." On the 2NE1 template, being haughty and inviting at once.

Badkiz "Ear Attack." Shouts, whistles, social seriousness, and a squiggle from "Party Rock Anthem." (I wrote about the vid here.)

Choi Sam "Answer." Beat rumbles ( Read more... )

Just in time for my first quarter wrap, Crayon Pop show up in shtetl garb traditionalist clothing, playing old people's music as the young-un's in back discreetly tap their toes. Above them in the ten, Wa$$up ring my bell, BiS prove that Anti-Idol is Idol, Tinashe brushes my Cassie spot, Future gets together with a bunch of other dopes to move some ( Read more... )

Tracks that stand out as being less like most of the others on this list:

Wa$$up "Wa$$up" and "Jingle Bell": Like a lot of K-pop, this music draws on American hip-hop. But unlike a lot of K-pop this doesn't sound like K-pop, but rather like American jumprope pop.

Tren-D "Candy Boy": Like a lot of K-pop, this music draws on Italodisco. But unlike ( Read more... )

K-pop kills it for Christmas:

Click to view

UPDATE: The "Jingle Bell" vid is now inexplicably blocked in the U.S. (it's on Wa$$up's own VEVO, ffs); here's an audio stream: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9CfIPRc1Kg. RE-UPDATE: They posted another one, so I re-upped, but I'll keep the ( Read more... )

The surprisingly fierce battle for Silly Song Of The Year has a new, unexpected leader: Lee Jung Hyun's "V." People who've been following electronic dance music in Korea from the beginning (i.e., no one who reads this blog) know that Wikipedia has its head heading up buttward in saying that in 1999 Lee introduced techno to Korea and to Asia.* ( Read more... )