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Music I like or awesome videos I’ve come across online

INFINITE – “Be Mine” (내꺼하자): These guys just keep getting better!

I only write a post on K-pop when there’s something good out and it deserves the attention. Rest assured, rookie (are they still?) boy band INFINITE are one of those acts that always deliver something good, and a group I truly feel deserves the attention!

There have been quite a lot of new entrants in the Korean boy band scene the last two years. Like the (many, many) girl groups, some are good, and many of them… you’ll never hear of again after their debut single.

Infinite Over the Top album cover Korean boyband — The fashion? No comments

Woolim Entertainment‘s INFINITE falls under the category of ‘debuted well, and then kept growing stronger with every new release’. The boys hit the music scene last year with “Come Back Again,” a funky guitar-tinged single that was good enough to draw me in. The one thing that really struck me about INFINITE was how in-sync they are with their dancing! Just watch their live performances and you’ll know what I mean.

“She’s Back” came next and then earlier this year, INFINITE made a comeback with their second mini album Evolution. Though the title song “Before the Dawn” did well, the song from the album that I liked more was “Hysterie,” mostly because it was such a classic Michael Jackson inspired jam.

Two months later, INFINITE released “Nothing’s Over” (though, to me it sounded more like “Nothing Sober” :)). Regardless of their ‘Engrish,’ it was still a good fresh single accompanied by a unique music video. Their live performances of “Nothing’s Over” was a joy to watch. The release also included a remake of the song “Can U Smile”– and this song remains to me one of INFINITE’s best songs to date!

Inspirits (what INFINITE fans are officially called) didn’t have to wait too long for their idols to return to the K-pop charts. They’re back with another great track!

“Be Mine” is from INFINITE’s first full length album ‘Over the Top‘. The track is in my opinion their best single to date! Very hard edged with the guitar hooks (the group’s signature style) and yet, clearly influenced by dance pop from the 1980s. Whoever their producer is surely deserves a lot of the credit. Of course, the boys are the ones who do justice to the song by bringing to life. Can’t wait to see them perform “Be Mine” on the music shows!

Here’s a mini-review of the album ‘Over The Top’:

1. (Intro) – A 54 second teaser of what to expect from the new few tracks

2. “Be Mine” – Already wrote about it above. Definitely the best track on the album! – 4.5/5

3. “1/3” – Smooth track, but lacking in some ways. ~~Should have pushed this down in the track list~~ This track has grown on me in the last few days, and I like it a bit now – ~~2.5~~3/5 (I did say a ‘bit’ :))

4. “Tic Toc” – Mediocre and the chorus has bits of “Before the Dawn” – 2/5

5. “Julia” – The song sounds a lot like this song and I don’t know what the “A, I, O, I, A…” in the beginning is supposed to signify. – 3/5

6. “Because” – A solo track by Sungkyu. The English is a tad distracting and to be honest, it’s not a very good song. – 2/5

7. “Time” – Another solo track but this time Woohyun fully in charge of lead vocals. Sounds like one of those ballads that end up on the OST of a drama. Good voice though! – 3/5

8. “Amazing” – Decent track. One in which the rap, despite being brief, really stands out. Should have moved this higher up the album order. – 3/5

9. “Crying” feat. Baby soul – The song kicks off with a woman singing, while the boys slow rap the rest. Boring. – 1.5/5

10. “Real Story” – Take the beats out of of Chris Brown’s “With You” and overlay it with Korean lyrics and a slightly different tune, you get this song. – 1/5

Sadly, most of the songs sound very unoriginal and lacking any real inspiration. Had they replaced some of the songs I rated with a 1 or 2, with “Nothing’s Over” and “Can U Smile” (Remake), I would have easily bought the album. But instead, INFINITE’s ‘Over The Top‘ just feels like an album with an extremely good lead single, while the rest of tracks can be best described as album fillers.

My rating: 2 out of 5 (Poor)

Inspirits will cry foul and dismiss this review saying things like: “You are SO wrong!” “What’s wrong with you?!” and what not. So please note: this is my take on the album. It’s okay if you don’t agree with me. Trust me, I know good music when I hear it. And it’s not the first time this year I’ve been disappointed by a group that I like.

———-

I’m not the kind of fan who will support or praise an artist “no matter what”. Especially when they release mediocre songs. I’ve noticed K-pop fans (especially in S. Korea itself) who will outright defend their favourite group, ask for mass collective purchases of an album, all in the name of ‘support’. But you have to understand how damaging that can be for creativity. Fans like that only make producers of content lazy, and in the end, it’s those fans themselves who are being betrayed.

I’m not calling out INFINITE for “betraying” their fans. They haven’t. All I’m saying is, this being their first full album, ‘Over The Top’ could have been so much better. It should have been.

If there’s a boy band that isn’t from a major label (SM, JYP, Cube, or YG), that I believe is going to be big, it’s INFINITE. They have the musical talents to be the “next big thing”. So I’m not losing faith in these guys and I do hope this album makes Woolim Entertainment enough money to give the boys a bigger dorm.

What, you Inspirits thought I didn’t know about that?

Edit (01/09/2011): INFINITE WON THEIR FIRST AWARD!

I’m so happy for them! I wrote this review on 27th July and on 1st September, more than a month after they released “Be Mine”, INFINITE finally won an award on Mnet’s MCountdown! They deserved this for all the hard work they put in to each of their performances. I knew Super Junior would steal the show(s) in August with “Mr. Simple” due to their immense popularity, but I’m so happy INFINITE finally got recognized! Edited this review with this news because… well, I felt like remembering the moment!

Journey – ‘Eclipse’ Album Review: Beautiful hard rock at its finest!

Awesome album!

I know it’s a dead giveaway to start a review like that but, it just had to be said. Ever since I heard some of the leaked tracks from a concert performance a few months back, even with the live recording, the songs sounded so damn good!

Journey band Eclipse promo photo — Journey's current line-up: (L-R) Jonathan Cain (keyboards, guitars), Arnel Pineda (lead vocals), Deen Castronovo (drums), Neal Schon (lead guitarist), Ross Valory (bass)

Journey’s ‘leader’ Neal Schon said in many interviews about this album that he wanted to make a more guitar-heavy record. Journey, despite their many strengths, are unfortunately known to the masses as the de facto ‘power ballad’ band. What started out as a Santana-esque rock band turned into a pop rock staple of early 1980s America.

Journey Eclipse album mp3 cd cover — Journey's 14th studio album and second with lead vocalist Arnel Pineda

On their latest album Eclipse, you still get a few ballads, the melody is very much there, but this album is stadium hard rock at its finest! Here’s my track-by-track review:

“City of Hope” – The opening track also happens to be band’s choice as a first single to promote ‘Eclipse’. It’s a good song with a hard-hitting opening, but honestly, I would have chose another track to best sell the sound Neal Schon wanted to promote Journey on this album. Good chorus and guitar riff, but it gets much better. – 3.5/5

“Edge of the Moment” – Now this would have been my choice for a first single. It sounds bad-ass! Melodic hard rock with a chorus only vocalists like Arnel could pull off. – 4.5/5

“Chain of Love” – One of the best songs on the album! A mystical opening that belongs to Jonathan Cain and Arnel Pineda, but then enters the territory of Neal Schon, Ross Valory & Deen Castronovo soon after. Love the chorus, it’s a sure-fire concert sing-along. – 5/5

“Tantra” – A power ballad with a very 80’s progressive sound. Arnel’s soaring vocals really makes this song what it is. Reminded me of Toto for some reason – 4/5

“Anything is Possible” – You want an uplifting Journey song? You got it. – 3/5

“Resonate” – Another ‘favourite track’ on Eclipse. Mysticism sure was a sound they were going for with this album. – 5/5

“She’s a Mystery” – The most pop-rock sounding track on the album — but just like “Tantra,” it doesn’t stay that way through the end. The heavy sound kicks the door down two-thirds of the way in. – 3/5

“Human Feel” – Thumping drum beats carry the verses leading to a great bridge and chorus. – 4/5

“Ritual” – Very reminiscent of their 80s hits like “Be Good to Yourself”. – 3/5

“To Whom it May Concern” – Treading on 80s power ballad territory again with this one. – 3.5/5

“Someone” – A classic Journey song structure, similar to the many songs you have heard on Arrival and Revelation. – 3/5

“Venus” – An instrumental follow-up of “To Whom it May Concern” in which guitarist Neal Schon & Deen Castronovo rock away to close out the epic album.

———-

My tryst with Journey began oddly enough with (just) Steve Perry — his 1994 solo album to be more specific. I was born in 1982, a time when Journey were at their career peak… but it’s not like I was listening to music at that age. As I began listening to radio (Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 to be more precise), I heard Steve Perry’s “You Better Wait” from his For the Love of Strange Medicine album. Loved that song and it that made me go: “Man, he’s got such an amazing voice!”

Then came “When You Love a Woman” from the re-grouped Journey album Trial By Fire. That is when I first heard about the band. Then came the internet and my exploration into music from various eras. I listened to Journey’s top hits and figured they ‘surely must have more’. I then bought Journey’s Greatest Hits album in 2001 and with that, I officially became a Journey fan. That album and Def Leppard’s Vault had the same impact on me — they turned me into huge fans. Def Leppard and Journey are still two of my favourite bands of all time. Two 80’s staples that get a lot of crap because they are known for their radio hits and because they were “popular”. But I have never judged a band based on their hits alone. A true testament of how good a band really is how they perform live, and both Def Leppard and Journey, even after these years are going strong in the concert circuit — and sound good doing so.

But unlike Def Leppard, Journey has seen band members come and go like there’s no tomorrow. The only member to have been with Journey since inception has been their guitarist, Neal Schon. Steve Perry, the band’s iconic lead vocalist was a hard one to replace when he left for good. Steve Augeri did a fine job for a while. After Trial By Fire, Journey released “Remember Me” from the Armageddon OST with Steve Augeri on vocals and it’s a track I still rank among my favourites from Journey. Arrival (2001), the first album with Steve Augeri was a good effort, but far from being considered a memorable record. Jeff Scott Soto, their short-lived touring vocalist was… “meh”.

But ever since Arnel Pineda’s remarkable discovery in the Philippines, and how he became the lead vocalist of one of America’s greatest selling rock bands, Journey got a new lease of life. They have never sounded better. Revelation, their first album with Arnel Pineda was a very good album — but Eclipse is even better!

Arnel Pineda performing singing concert — Clearly one of the best vocalists in the world right now

Journey unfortunately never made it that big outside of the US. Not that couldn’t, they just never tried. But now, millions of international fans know the band’s music thanks to their songs being featured on The Sopranos, Family Guy, many movie soundtracks and of course, Glee. And it’s only now the band seem to be making a conscious effort to reach out to their international fans.

Yes, Journey can be labeled ‘old,’ but their music still has an audience. Many of whom (like me) who miss melodic, beautiful, hard, guitar heavy rock!

Something Eclipse delivers in full force.

Overall album rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Disclaimer: This review was based on a album preview available on Radio.com and tracks uploaded to YouTube. I will support the band by purchasing the CD when its available in India. Eclipse hasn’t sold much as Revelations did in its first few weeks, which is sad… because I consider Eclipse a ‘classic’ compared to its predecessor. So if you loved the songs, please do buy the album.

Edit:

Journey Eclipse album cd — Finally got my copy! Had to ask my friend in the Philippines to buy it for me as no store in Bangalore stocked it.

Jay Park – ‘Take a Deeper Look’ album review: About time!

It’s finally here! Jay Park finally makes his solo debut!

2011 may only be into its fourth month, but with the deluge of idol groups hitting the Korean pop scene, the music has gotten pretty stale to me. Every time I heard the line “Check it out…” “…Brand new sound!” as the intro to some song from new idol groups, all I kept thinking was: “Nope, it’s the saaaame sound I heard yesterday from that other girl group who debuted!”.

There have been a few decent songs this year, but after being disappointed by the comeback offering from my second favourite girl group (first being SNSD), I had all my hopes pinned on Jay Park to actually bring something fresh to the K-pop scene.

I’ve been anticipating Jay Park’s solo debut for a while now. Ever since I heard “Demon” last year, I knew this dude was destined to be the next big star. Not a star like how Rain is popular as an ‘Asian star,’ but a star of Asian descent who will become a worldwide superstar!

For one, he has the advantage of being American (of Korean descent). Born in Seattle, Jay Park grew up dancing and performing, and his influences are deep in R&B and hip-hop — not cutesy idol pop. Not to mention his love for b-boying.

Since ~~leaving~~ getting kicked out of 2PM, Jay Park has been slowly whetting the appetite of his fans, a.k.a Jaywalkerz. A few YouTube covers later, he’s now out with his first album ‘Take a Deeper Look‘. He’s on his own now, so he has the freedom (I guess) to do the kind of music that he wants, not what ~~JYP~~ any labels wants him to do.

Which brings us to his first single “Abandoned”.

My review: “Abandoned,” if sung in English, would sound like a lot of the modern day R&B one would hear on radio. I love the chorus, the overall look of the sets, and the choreography by Andrew Baterina is slick! It’s not a ‘fresh new sound’ but a good track in the same vibe of many other good pop R&B tracks from artists such as Ne-Yo & Chris Brown. For a self-penned track, it’s a great effort — given how rare it is that K-pop stars make their own music. If I were to nit pick, it would be Jay looks so awkward from 0:05 to 0:07. Yeah he’s short, and quite shy in real life so I can imagine how awkward it may have been to do some of the scenes in this MV :). I hope he recorded an English version of the same. Or at least has a dance only version of the music video!

My rating – 4/5

As for the other tracks:

“Touch The Sky (Feat. The Quiett)” – Kicking the album off with a smooth hip-hop track, Jay Park straight away reminds listeners he can rap too. Love the beat and the retro loop music. (This track also reminded me of the late Nujabes) – (4/5)

“Tonight” – I’m guessing this was supposed to be the first single, but after BIG BANG released their hit “Tonight” a few weeks back, Jay Park and SidusHQ may have had second thoughts on pushing back this track for a second single release. It’s more fast-paced and only the pop-sounding track on the album. Not bad, but I’ll probably like it better with the video.

Update (11/05/2011): The MV is out!

Here’s my review:

I’m kinda disappointed :-/ When I watched the behind-the-scenes from a news interview a few months back, the concept seemed cool: dance all the way to a party. But seeing the final result, to me it comes off as a half-assed effort. Stepping out of the house, I would have thought Jay and the ‘public’ would be pulling off slick dance moves continuously and pulled along more people on the way to ‘the club’. At least that is what I thought the concept was. But instead, the dancers seem restricted by the set. Maybe, they should have stepped out and filmed this in the real world and on the streets. Another thing, it’s as though the camera cuts away every time the director felt Jay’s facial expressions (or acting) wasn’t good enough. (Jay’s really got to improve on his facial expressions!) Also, did Andrew Baterina work on the choreography for “Tonight” as well? Because some of the moves look recycled from “Abandoned“. Overall, it’s a cute video which his younger female fans will appreciate, but it really doesn’t improve the song much for me.

My rating – 3/5

“I Can’t Be Without You” (너 없이 안돼) – A slow-tempo R&B ballad. I don’t know, Jay’s vocals sound a bit off to me on this track. (2/5)

“Don’t Let Go” – Keeping the tempo, another smooth R&B ballad. Listening to the track, it makes you wonder if Jay writes a song in English and then translates it into Korean. (3/5)

“Level 1000” (Feat. Dok2) – Essentially a rap track with a gangsta vibe. Jay Park raps pretty well and is joined by his buddy Dok2, who also appeared on “Abandoned”. (3/5)

Update (14/05/2011): Even this track got a music video! (Although on a much, much lower budget)

“Bestie” – Essentially the Korean version of “Bestie,” an English track Jay Park released last year and performed at his fan meets. The chorus is concert-friendly and a fun track Jay performs with his AOM posse.

Listening to the album, you know Jay Park is striving to be a R&B star, and not a pop star per se. All the tracks, with the exception of “Tonight,” have a strong R&B/hip-hop vibe and I wonder if they would have sounded better had they been sung in English.

Overall, for a first mini-album, ‘Take a Deeper Look‘ is a solid effort from Jay Park. It’s not a ‘classic’ by any means. The production could use some improvement but regardless, you have to give credit where its due. Jay Park worked on this album by himself and his friends, mostly Cha Cha. Not with any industry big shots — and for that, ‘Take a Deeper Look‘ gets an overall rating of 4 out of 5 from me.

(By the way Jay, when is “Demon” getting an official release?!) Edit (05/09/2011): Well that just came out of nowhere! The “Demon” MV is released!

Hmmm, doesn’t look…erm, very good. Very poorly produced in my opinion. I know it has 3D sequences but anyway, even Jay himself tweeted about the MV:

Jay Park Demon MV tweet — Even he didn't know the MV was going to be released!

I agree with him. The sound in the MV doesn’t do the song justice. They should have just released the single.

(/end Edit)

Last November, I delayed my return journey from Bangkok just so I could see Jay Park live (you can read about my fan meet experience here). It was money well spent to see Jay’s talents at that stage in his career. He’s only going to get bigger now.

There’s still some awkwardness in his appearance, but I guess its got to do with his shyness and humble nature. He’ll probably grow more comfortable in front of the camera in due time. (Actually, act all hip & cool in music videos, I really get annoyed when people act like that in real life… so I hope he stays the same in real life). ‘Take a Deeper Look‘ is Jay Park’s first solo Korean album, but with his recent meetings with Will.I.Am and getting to perform as Ne-Yo’s concert opener, Jay’s slowly gearing up for his US debut.

I can only wonder how good his first English album will be!

I Can’t Be Without You (너 없이 안돼)