Congratulations! You're a winner!

It has already been three weeks since KCON, but for some reason, to me, it seems like it happened forever ago! Maybe it's because I'm back in Utah so I am totally removed from all California things and people, who knows.

Before KCON Becca and Autumn wanted to do a contest (then why am I writing this? Good question) and today is the final day and we had two commenters, which to be perfectly honest is two more than I thought we would get. Those commenters are the sausage truck Ahjummas that we met on the last day of KCON, yay! And that name is given with the utmost love.

Since there were only two of you, I am making an executive decision to let you choose what you want (within reason, of course)! So if you would be so kind as to e-mail us at f4plus1@gmail.com if you want anything with the place to send things and reference pictures if you want a doll, that would be much appreciated!

Have a lovely day and keep k-poping!

~ Alora 

G-Dragon Crooked

How's the song? 

So, I was going to write about "Coup D'Etat" this week, but I was given another choice and I went with this one. After writing this, I also realized that there are a lot of words, but not a lot of pictures. There is just so much to say though my English majorness is coming out and it is telling me to put bells and whistles aside and just write! 

This song has a completely different feel from "Coup D'Etat" and that is one thing that I really like about G-Dragon, and really K-pop in general. These artists don't really confine themselves to one genre of music, sure they might be known for a certain sound, but that doesn't mean that they have to stay there forever. GD has put out things that have made us say what the crap are you on (Crayon, Michi Go) more traditional rap (One of a Kind) and everyone accepts that without batting an eyelash. Then he puts out these two songs and they are just so emotionally charged and wonderful which just shows how diverse GD is and I absolutely love it.

When you first listen to this song, and just listen, no video, it is deceptively happy. It does start out with a mournful sound, but then when that bouncing chorus starts, you forget that it isn't completely happy and that is portrayed in the lyrics as well. This is someone that is pretending to not care and act happy, but if you pay attention, you will realize that they are dying on the inside, but all anyone wants to see is the happy front that is being put forth.

I think that is also one of the overreaching themes of this video, pretending to be something that you aren't and the destructive consequences that it brings. GD also talks about "taking away sugar coated comfort" but at the same time he is so lonely and he is crying out for help, but he feels that maybe he doesn't deserve it because it could just end up hurting him again.

I think that a lot of people can connect to these lyrics of feeling alone or abandoned and maybe see their own crookedness. I can see myself in these lyrics and I know that I have been crooked for a while, maybe not the same type of crooked that GD portrays in the video, but I definitely am a little crooked and because of that when I meet new people, they are not quite sure what to do with me. It is a vicious cycle of wanting to be accepted, but not being able straighten out because being crooked is a heavy defense mechanism that takes a special person to get through.

Am I over sharing? Quite possibly, let's move on.

How's the video? 

I don't know what it is like in Korea, but in America we see a lot of child celebrities become these horrible broken adults that we all find fascinating and want to fix or stop others from becoming like them. I've never read a story like that before about a Korean person, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen; that is what I see from this video. Someone who is at their wits end and decides that it is easier to become crooked than it is to try to fit into that cookie cutter mold that the world is trying to fit them into.

In a way I can see this being even harder for a Korean idol because they are placed on this pedestal where if they do anything wrong, the world is automatically against them. It doesn't even have to be about anything important either, one little slip up and you become this terrible person and you have to apologize because it is expected of you; it is kind of ridiculous. The philosophy that I have had about famous people for a while is there are just people with a cool adjective attached to their name. They are still people and the general public forgets that and it hurts everyone involved.  

GD acted this out very well all throughout the video. He is expected to be happy, but every time that you see him acting "happy" there is always a bitterness or anger behind the smile. I also liked the scenes when he was alone in the room with the couch and he was in his boxers (that doesn't sound weird at all). The reason is, I thought that it looked like he was trying to convince himself that he was happy, but in the end, he gave up on that.

As we progress through the video, GD slowly becomes more and more crooked and his actions become more unmanageable and you can see him spiraling out of control. In the beginning of the video, he is pretty harmless, he is more of a brat than anything picking a fight with that guy on the street and getting barred from entering the club.

After this, it starts to get a little interesting because GD goes and destroys public property and disturbs the peace by messing with those peoples' lunch and then laying down on the table just to be extra annoying.

The last few scenes that we are shown are of GD and he looks like he is super drunk and/or tripping some major balls. Everything is just out of control and no one notices and instead of helping him, they push him away.

Our video ends with two different scenes, of one GD crying alone in the bathroom and the final cut is of him passing out in a club. This is also where the sound of the song changes a little and he sing about wanting that person to be with him and how much he misses them. He also pulls a line from the beginning saying "Unlike my heart, the weather is so damn nice" and in the end he says "On this good day, this beautiful day, this day where I miss you/Tonight, I'll be crooked." I guess this is the feeling of everything is so nice it feels like it is mocking me so I'm going to do the exact opposite and be crooked. It is say, but it is a very human thing and think that this is a very human video which is something that is not always seen from the "perfect" world of K-pop.

How's the styling? 

The styling is all over the place and it definitely adds something to the video. The clothes that are being worn bring emotions forward and they are not just being worn because they "look cool". The outfits all embody that famous person persona, something that you would expect someone who has more money that they know what to do with and they are either using that money to show other people how much money they have or how much they just don't care. 

Was the dance super amazing?  

The only dancing in the video is the club bouncing which, let's be honest, isn't dancing.  

Who owned it? 

Obviously this is a solo song so, of course, GD. There isn't even anyone else to try to steal the lime light like that girl in Roy Kim's "Love Love Love" or Abs McGee in Xia's "Incredible" this is all GD and he is amazing. 

Did the English make you ears bleed?

There isn't really any English in the song. There are a few random words, but they don't detract from the song and they are pronounced really well. 

What else is happening? 

Piggy Dolls "Ordinary Girl" - So apparently, the line up of this trio is completely different and there are a lot of unhappy people. I looked up the original members, and they were awesome and these new girls are kind of forgettable, even if I did like the lyrics of this song.

BTOB "Thriller" - I really liked this song and the video was fin to watch as well. Also, that one member who was in the manacles with the blonde hair was super cute!

Navi "I Ain't Going Home Tonight" - This isn't really my type of song and the lyrics are exactly what you think they are about from the title of the song.

GI "Don't Lie" - I don't like this song as much as I liked "Beatles" or their other new song "G", hopefully that one gets a video too.

JY Park "I've Partied Enough" I think that this song had a good message, but it is hard for me to take JYP seriously sometimes because I think of him either as a whisper or as Mr. Yang from Dream High.

Lim Kim "Voice" - Lim Kim is an exception for me in two ways, she is a woman that sings ballads, it confuses me because I really like them. Her voice is just so unique and beautiful!

BTS "N.O" - These are at the top of my rookie of the year award list. They are so talented and they also do a really good job in combining their raps and vocals in a way that shows everyone's talents. 

~ Alora 

Who Are You vs The Master's Sun

I am watching these two dramas at the moment and while they have have same basic premise - girl sees ghosts and meets a guy who doesn't believe but eventually does - they are very different stories. One is a cop drama (Who Are You) and one is a basic poor girl meets chaebol drama (The Master's Sun). I am going to take today to compare the different aspects of the dramas and see who does better in the different categories, just for fun. I know which one I am liking better at the moment, but what about you?

Reason to get into the shows

The main reason why I began watching these two dramas is because I loved the movie Spellbound. This movie is about a woman who sees ghosts because of a horrible near death experience and is afraid to get near to anyone because she is being haunted by her dead friend. She meets a man who finds her interesting and they eventually fall in love and the man has to be brave enough to stay by her side.

These two dramas are almost the same. The woman was in an accident and almost dies: Who Are You  - female lead is shot and goes into a coma for six years and wakes up seeing ghosts; The Master's Sun - female lead was in a yet unknown accident that granted (or cursed) her with these abilities. After this general plot line though, the males start to deviate because they are nothing alike, but the whole seeing ghosts schtick was enough for me!

Winner: Tie

First male lead 

In one corner we have the handsome Kim Jae Wook playing the ghost Lee Hyung Joon and in the other corner we have the equally handsome So Ji Sub playing Joo Joong Won playing the CEO of the company Kingdom. Both are very talented and very nice to look at so I'm thinking that this is going to be a win-win.

Kim Jae Wook plays a detective who was shot and former boyfriend of our female lead. He doesn't talk a lot, but he is good at acting with his eyes and conveying his ghostly emotions in that way instead. I am also very upset that he is a ghost because the two of them have some serious chemistry.

So Ji Sub is your usual corporate jerk who is realizing that he likes the poor female lead before she does which is always fun to watch. He also has a really cute hand motion that he does when he tells her to go away. 

Winner: Tie 

First female lead

The only reason that I pick a rather unflattering picture of So Ee Hyun is because she has had this face for most of the drama. By the time she had seen her third ghost and was still making this face I was so done; she knows they are there and I understand that it is scary, but can you just jump and get over it? It's not a novelty anymore, they are there, get over it. 

On the other hand, we have the lovely Gong Hyo Jin who I think is a much better actress and her character has figured out that to live normally you have a split second to be afraid, and then you have to try to move on. Granted, this does not always work when the ghosts are in your face and ugly, but I just like her better.

Winner: The Master's Sun 

Second male lead 

Seo In Guk is so much better than Taec, I'll just leave it at that so as not to embarrass anyone. 

Winner: The Master's Sun 

Second female lead 

Who Are You doesn't have a second female lead and I don't feel like the drama is lacking for it, but the reason I put this in here is so that I could mention The Master's Sun second female lead, because she is ridiculous, but in a good way.  

She is so fun to watch because she is trying to be this bad person and interfere with Gong Shil's life because of a high school inferiority complex she has, but normally she just gets majorly dissed by  Kang Woo (Seo In Guk) who she wants to go out with. She did make me mad in episode ten, but I felt bad for her pretty soon afterward. Her character is awesome. 

She isn't really the only second female lead though, she might actually be more of a third female lead because Joong Won has the ghost of his first love following him. As of episode ten though, there is a new girl, but she only get half a point right now. So I guess there are two and a half second female leads? 

Winner: None

Ghosts

I don't really feel that I can compare these two ghosts because they are so different. Who Are You isn't so much about the creepiness of ghosts as it is about the corrupt justice system where The Master's Sun, yes, it deals with how life is unfair (kids ghosts anyone?), but it is going for a more jump scare approach and a way to bring our main couple together. 

DO NOT WANT!!

As for which ghost I would rather encounter, definitely the Who Are You ghosts because they aren't as scary as The Master's Sun ghosts because I am a big sissy baby. 

Winner: Who Are You  

The twist

Of course I'm not going to say what the twist is, that would be wrong, but both shows threw their twist out this week and with The Master's Sun my head is still reeling a little and Who Are You kind of has me saying, well duh.

Winner: The Master's Sun

Reasons to keep watching

Who Are You hit episode twelve this week and while I don't hate it, it has let me down. I was expecting a really cool story with the whole ghost angle with the justice system thrown in, especially after the magic that was I Hear You Voice, but this is a little lack luster. We haven't seen a ghost other than Hyung Joon since the beginning, but the drama does move forward at a nice pace. I also live for the flash backs that we are given of Hyung Joon and Si On because, as I have said, their chemistry is amazing and the fact that he is dead sucks!

The only Hong Sister's drama that I have ever watched is You're Beautiful so I can see the parallels in the writing style and I am loving it. I am also glad that I never watched Big because I don't have the hesitancy that I see in some other people who are writing about this show. I really am loving everything about this show right now though; the characters are great and the actors are doing a wonderful job at making sure that they stay that way. I also like how the ghosts haven't disappeared, but they are taking a step back or simply becoming more of a plot device as our couple is getting closer together. I love you trash can ghost! 

Winner: The Master's Sun

Final score? 

The Master's Sun - 6
Who Are You - 3

So yeah, Who Are You isn't doing so well and it makes me sad. The acting just isn't that great and the story line isn't as wonderful as I would have hoped for. There is a lot of potential in this drama that is untapped and that is too bad.

Let's just hope that The Master's Sun can keep it together until the end and not decide to give us an ending that wants to make us flip tables.

~ Alora

Teen Top Rocking

 How was the song? 

Things that I know about Teen Top: there are members named L.Joe, Niel, Ricky, and CAP, but I can only identify Niel; I love the chorus of "Miss Right"; they sang a song telling a noona not to wear perfume so their girlfriend won't know they are cheating; one or more speak English; they performed this song at KCON.

Things I have learned since writing this post: the other members are Chunji and Changjo; Niel is not the leader (I don't know why I thought that) but he is a pink haired super saiyan; almost everyone in this group is a baby; CAP likes tattoos.

There are just so many K-pop groups out there and it is hard to know all of them! There are a lot of groups I know of, but have never taken the time to look into, these guys being one of them, and that seems to be a large trend in the songs that I review. I just review what I like though, I don't care if I know the groups or not, so there.  

That being said, I really liked this song, especially that synth that was playing scales in the back ground. I also liked the chorus of this song. from the few Teen Top songs that I know, they always seem to have these really infectious choruses which is a good thing since that is what most people remember from a song.

How was the video?

The video, while it is very colorful and fun, doesn't make any sense when you put it up next to the actual lyrics of the song. Before we get too far into that, I want to make a mention that this room is back along with the mounted deer heads, these are not as weird as the one from the A-Jax video though, thank goodness.

I know that I have said this before, but why is this room so popular this year? I guess it's cool looking, but it is just so random that out of everything you could put in a video, they would choose these light colored rooms with the decorative squares and the occasional mounted deer head.

This video starts out with dramatic staring and shirt grabbing. Okay, I can deal with that, I assume it's setting me up for some rough lyrics or visuals, but no, it's not, they just want to have a random beach fight. I also read that one of the members actually punched another one on accident while filming this. Oops.

Then we move on to a dramatic and rather bromantic viewing of the city from a parking lot. Are you apologizing for punching your member in the face because this is a kind of weird place to do it.

After all of this strangeness that happens in the outside world, we get to go to strange interior rooms. While the rooms themselves are not that odd, minus the one mentioned above, it is the objects inside that make them interesting for example, why does Niel have so many freaking hats?

I know that caps are an essential item to being cool and all, and there are six members of Teen Top, but oh my gosh. I just can't imagine having that much of anything......well.....it just came to mind that I have about 350 books in my room in California (that's right I know how many books I have and where every one is!) but that's different! Books are forever!  

The video didn't end anywhere that made sense either. At the end, we were given individual shots of the boys in that cathedral looking area with flashlights. Why? Nothing in the song is about looking for anything. It's actually saying that the girl that you love to hate will probably call you the next morning after the break up so, what's the problem?

How was the styling?  

Like the video, there is also a lot going on clothes wise, weirdest thing? Niel's pants

I've already commented on the absurd amount of hats in this video, but those tinsel pants really bring everything about this scene together. Then to make it even better, as I watched the video and came to this shot, I realized that the pants were not tinseled in the back, but were made of baby blue fabric, question: does that make them better or worse?

Not all the outfits were covered in tinsel though, some of them were actually quiet nice, like the red and gold clothes that they wore in that cathedral-like area.

Was the dance super amazing? 

There was some majorly fancy footwork in this video and I'm surprised that their legs didn't just get tangled into a giant knot causing them to fall over, but that's why they're the professionals and I'm not, right?

The only thing that I didn't like about this dance was that they danced in a straight line a few times and I mentioned in my post on 2PM that I don't think that straight lines are visually pleasing. I feel even more assured about this because they did perform this song at KCON and, while it was cool, when Teen Top broke the line it was a lot more fun to watch. It just makes everything look more dynamic and interesting.  

Who owned it?  

I don't know if this person "owned" it, but the person that I payed the most attention to is Niel and that is because he is the only one that I can put a name to. Also, his mouth is really big. I don't have a problem with big mouths, I think that Dongwoo from Infinite has a wonderful mouth (that doesn't sound weird at all), but Niel's mouth looks like it is trying to consume his face, maybe it's because he's already so skinny, someone give that boy a sandwich!

The other member that I liked was CAP and he really just caught my attention toward the end of the video at about the 2:30 mark and he says "where are you?" but of course in Korean. It was kind of sexy and beautiful so I though that I would mention it.

Did the English make you ears bleed?  

I liked the opening part with L.Joe saying the "Teen Top we gon' rock it" lines, and since he speaks English, I always knew what was being said.

What else is happening?  

BLOCK B IS BACK!!! That's really all that matters to me right now, but I won't just end there. 

Royal Pirates "Shout Out" - So this is their Korean debut, but they have actually been around since 2004 based in LA under the name Fading From Dawn, but changed the name after the death of their bassist and brother. This song is really good and I am glad that there seem to be more bands popping up this year.

B2ST "How to Love"

Kim Ye Rim "Rain" - I am not a ballad person, but this song is fantastic. It has kind of a French sound and it sounds like something that you would listen to while drinking something hot at your window while listening to the rain.

SPICA "Tonight"

BTOB "When I was Your Man"

LYn "I Like this Song"

Airplane "Give Me a Chance"- I almost reviewed this song, because I was excited that Airplane finally put out another song and they did not disappoint, but there was a lot more to talk about with Teen Top.

G-Dragon "Coup D'etat" - Well that was super symbolic. I liked the song and I would like to dive more into what it means, maybe next week?

Kara "Damaged Lady" - Kara has never really done it for me. I feel like they have a very generic sound and now their image has been tarnished because of Nail Salon Paris, the two will be forever connected.

Yoon Jong Shin "Goodbye" - As soon as this song started I thought of a prince and a princess singing to each other over some long distance like in The Swan Princess.

NU'EST "Fine Girl" - The song was cute, but I was super distracted by the video and all of its raw adorableness to fully listen to it.

Apink "U You" - Aside from this awful title, I actually really liked this song and video. Shocking I know, since girl groups usually annoy me.

Ladies' Code "Pretty Pretty" - I've finally found another girl group that I like! These girls are rookies, but they have such powerful vocals and they also have a definite sound, I'm excited to hear more from them!

EXO "Growl" drama version - What the crap, SM? Also, Tao is beautiful and Kris is awkward.

~ Alora

The Hood

I was bored a while back and decided that I was going to look for all of the music videos that shot on the "ghetto" set that has become so prominent lately. After finding all of them, I thought that it might be fun to build a giant story around it. When I told Autumn about this, she said that if I were to actually write anything that I should call it "The Brohoho Diaries" after the character Mr. Brohoho from the videos from Eat Your Kimchi. I thought that that sounded like a pretty solid idea and I finally decided to post what I have written today.

Yay! Story time!

As many K-popers know, as much as idols like to pretend there is, there is no hood in Korea. That is not to say there is nothing bad in Korea, there is just nothing that equals to the hood that one might find in New York or California; that doesn’t stop these companies from pretending that there is one though. There is one specific area that many idols seem to frequent in their videos such as 2NE1, BAP, and now BTS. But what if this wasn’t a set, but an actual place that only idols knew about? They help create it and tear it down and make of it what they will.

2NE1 "Ugly" July 27, 2011

There once was a city that was put together by the broadcasting companies who were tired of overly sexual female K-pop idols. These companies were always receiving hate mail from fans for banning their favorite k-pop groups from TV, so they decided to do something about it. 

They created a city just for these pretty girls telling them that it would be a Utopia and that they could do whatever they wanted, all they had to do was come and live there. Little did these girls know that they were falling into a trap that would cost them their lives. 

2NE1 had heard about this massacre that had happened so many years before and they decided to go see what was left of the city in the hopes that maybe someone had survived. They went undercover, dressing in punk rock outfits with face masks to insure that they wouldn't be discovered by any enemies that might be in the area.
 

What they found was disaster. They didn't think that there was anyway that anyone could still be alive, but they continued onward, not wanting to miss anything by giving up.

As they continued in farther, they decided that it would be okay to reveal their identities and take their masks off. They also hoped that if anyone was following them, this would attract their attention and make them come out.

Unfortunately this plan didn't work so in a last attempt to attract attention, they held an impromptu concert on one of the stages that the broadcasting companies placed around the city for the pretty girls to perform on. 

With this also resulting in failure, the girls decided that it was time to head home. Maybe the horrific story of what the broadcasting companies did was really just a story and the area really was just a decrepit part of Korea. Something from the war maybe that had been forgotten. As they were leaving though, they found a large locked gate. CL was able to break the chain and then proceed in to see what was being locked up. 

When they entered the fenced off area, they found the surviving girls. They were all masked and standing at attention waiting for those who had enslaved them to come back. Luckily for them, 2NE1 were to ones to come for them.

After the celebration 2NE1 told all the girls that they should get some sleep so that they would be able to make it back to the YG studio where they would be able to find help. Everybody agreed to this and went to sleep anticipating the return to the city. While every was asleep though, 2NE1 crept out. 2NE1 had come in to the area to look for survivors, but their job was not to save but destroy anything that had been left.

The TV companies and 2NE1 thought that they had pulled off the mission seamlessly. No one on earth could have discovered what they had done. What they didn't anticipate was anyone from the outer reaches of the universe searching for some place they could land and call their home.

Thanks for reading my super corny story! Will there be more? Maybe, we'll see. 

~ Alora