I’ll admit, I haven’t liked any other 2PM singles as much as I liked “Again & Again”. Not only was that song the boyband’s breakthrough single, but since Jay Park left the group in 2009, no single since has been as good as “Again & Again”. “Heartbeat” and “Without U” were just okay, “I’ll Be Back” and “Hands Up” were pretty lame in my opinion.
It’s been nearly two years since 2PM made a Korean comeback, so needless to say the anticipation was pretty high. Five years old and now for a group of their stature, 2PM – and their mentor *whispers*JYP*whispers* – have a lot of catching up to do!
My favourite solo K-pop artist is back with new music! I always look forward to new releases from Jay Park as rarely has the dude disappointed. Jay put out an awesome English-Korean rap track (appropriately titled) “Appetizer” in February, produced by fellow Art Of Movement crew member and good friend Cha Cha Malone. Needless to say, that was just a teaser to what Jay Park has on the way.
Titled ‘JOAH,’ this is yet another set of releases before Jay Park comes out with his second full-length album. He employed a similar strategy last year before the release of the stellar ‘New Breed’.
“JOAH”
Going by the teaser, I figured “Joah” was going to be in the same vein as “Girlfriend” was. And with a title that means “like” in Korean, it was sure to be a sweet tribute to a girl crush. “Joah” is a mid-tempo track with subtle piano keys that keep you swinging in melancholy, or simply bopping your head to the thumping beats. The song isn’t groundbreaking in anyway, and is a reminder the production talents of Jay Park’s friends can be a bit limiting (to some extent). It does feel familiar — but I still ended up liking it after two or three listens.
What I liked more was the music video, filmed in Jay Park’s hometown of Seattle. It’s a refreshing change of scene and literally “out of the box,” if you K-pop MV addicts know what I mean. There isn’t any choreographed dancing either, but no worries, we Jaywalkerz know he has moves in store for his next release 😉
“Joah” is a good listen none the less. Proof that Jay Park, despite his image of body tattoos and overall badass-ery, is just a sweet homeboy at heart. – 3.5/5
The other tracks on this EP include “Welcome” – a sexy bedroom track. Jay just seems to love making slow ballads like this, or it’s just his love for R&B contemporaries like Treyz Songz and the like. Finally we have “1HUNNIT” featuring frequent collaborator Dok2. This sounds like Snoog Dogg track I can’t seem put my finger on (or was it Busta Rhymes?).
Still, with four songs out already, I can’t wait to see what Jay Park has in store for the rest of the year. His contract with SidusHQ ends this year and he’s already stated his crew are filming several music videos for his upcoming album. This could also be Jay Park’s last Korean album for a while as he attempt to crack America next.
Rest assured, 2013 sounds like it could be an exciting year for us fans!
Here I go again. My third official trip to Thailand (fourth according to my passport). This time though, I wasn’t going to be alone. Ramesh, a friend I have travelled extensively with, was going to join me this time. But since he is working, he could only take a week off. Whereas I would be in Thailand for nearly two weeks.
I’ve been meaning to return to Thailand ever since my disappointment of 2010, when I first tried to capture the Yi Peng Lanna festival. I was still bitter about missing the big lantern release and vowed I would go back to do it right.
So it was good fortune when I landed a return ticket from Bangalore to Bangkok on Thai Airways for just Rs.14,558 ($266/€204)! How? Well, Cleartrip to the rescue again! I have been keeping a check on prices since January. For the first few months of 2012, the price was around Rs. 25k! Same airline and about the same travel period. Which was quite shocking, considering I paid Rs. 15k and Rs. 16k in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Then in early September, I was served an ad banner from Cleartrip promoting a discount coupon where by I could save some money on international flights.
This time the same Thai Airways flight cost Rs. 16k, a far more reasonable fare. I used the coupon code and got a further Rs.1600 discount. At Rs.14,558, this was the lowest I had ever paid for a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok. I immediately told Ramesh and he booked his ticket as well.
My flight left Bangalore without delayThai Airways chicken curry meal – 4/5
