Personal website of Mithun Divakaran, a guy you may or may not know -- or like.
Here we go. It’s the return of one of the biggest names in Korean pop music: BIGBANG. The much anticipated comeback comes after, let’s face it, a pretty bad last year for the 5 member group. But whatever, I’m here to talk about the music, not their scandals. And when it comes to music, you just know Big Bang never disappoints!
Continue reading “BIGBANG – ‘Alive’ album review: Once again they prove why they are the best” »
Of the countless rookie groups that debuted last year, very few of them really stood out to me. While many of them churned out the formulaic K-pop sound and image, few groups could be defined ‘unique’. One of those boybands was B1A4, and the other was Block B.
While I really liked B1A4’s debut single “OK Go,” I wasn’t too impressed by Block B’s “Wanna B”. But Block B still got my attention – mainly because of their attitude. Right from the get go, they didn’t seem to (or want to) conform to the cutesy, ‘act all innocent in front of the cameras’ image the other groups were going for. Instead, they were a little zany, and didn’t mind having some fun at red carpet events.
Now Block B are back with their second mini-album – and what an improvement it is!
Comprised of 5 songs (the 6th track is just an instrumental of “Narnina”), here’s a track-by-track review:
1. “LOL” – Clever title, great song! The album kicks off with an all-rap track, which at 2:25 in length, is all too brief to contain its awesome-ness. It could have been longer, but what’s the point – South Korea’s conservative party-pooper MOGEF and SM Ent.’s slave KBS has already banned the song for “inappropriate lyrics”. Which sucks, because this song doesn’t deserve it given how good it sounds. I just hope the boys get to perform it on the other channels, because it has to be heard. – 4/5
2. “난리나 (NanrinA)” – The lead single (which I keep misreading as ‘Narnia’):
Who would have thought baby talk “goo-goo, ga-ga” would end up in a pop song! This song is such fun, and yet, manages to pack in the attitude that Block B wants to showcase with the band’s image. With random James Brown screams and a heavy Timbaland musical influence, “Go Crazy” is an uptempo song and one that should do really well for Block B on the charts. I’ll take this song any day over B.A.P’s pretentious “Warrior“.
As for the music video, it’s alright. They show off their swagger, how gang-like they are, and the dance choreography isn’t bad (though I’m not so sure about the gorilla arm wave during the chorus :)) – 4/5
3. “했어 안했어 (Did You or Did You Not)” – For a boy band that claims to be more hip-hop than pop, this track proves that they can still cater to the female audience. And although the rappers get most of the spotlight as far as lyrics go, the vocalists in the group get their chance and prove they have the vocal chops too. But sadly, this was another song that was banned by MOGEF and KBS. They suck, this song doesn’t! – 3.5/5
4. “싱크로율 100% (Synchronization 100%)” – The vocalists get to shine some more on this guitar-tinged track. No electronic hip-hop beat to this one, but instead you get more organic instrumentals. It’s well produced and yet another stellar track on the album. – 4/5
5. “Action” – The last song on the mini-album samples 70’s American funk, but the top-notch production makes it very uplifting and fresh. The chorus is great and the “ooh la la la” just makes you want to sing along! – 3.5/5
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Most of the album was produced by Block B’s leader Zico and I can’t help but draw comparisons to Big Bang’s G-Dragon. Both leaders have proven to be effective songwriters and composers — a talent very few groups in K-pop can claim to have. Block B is lucky to have Zico and he’s surely got a bright future in the Korean music industry.
Last year, Block B were hardly seen much after their debut and were even neglected in the year end shows. Maybe it’s their ‘in your face’ attitude, which for old guard, maybe too much to handle. But you know what? Screw them! K-pop needs a shot in the arm and a change of attitude. Block B should remain the way they are, because they are definitely on my radar now.
‘Welcome to the Block‘ is just Block B’s second mini-album and judging by just how good this album is, they’re are about to get a lot bigger in 2012 — and censorship or not, you can’t hold these boys back!
My final rating: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)
Sorry Cassies, Blackjacks, VIPs, ELFS, Kamilias, Sones (disclaimer: I’m one). You can argue all you want about how impressive a comeback all your favourite artists made this year — but 2011 belonged to INFINITE!
This was their year. The year that kicked off with “Before the Dawn,” continued with “Nothing’s Over” and then, their best single yet, the one that won them their first award – “Be Mine“! After that, INFINITE were on “Paradise” with a few more awards and now, they end their year thanking their fans (in)spirit of Christmas with a new single.
I didn’t think I’d write a post for this song because I expected nothing special, since, you know… it’s just a holiday single. They’re usually cheesy right?
Nope, not this one.
I guess the reason I really liked “White Confession” is because if you listen to the song, it doesn’t reek of ‘that time of the year’. Even if it wasn’t chilly outside I still would have listened to it non-stop. I mean, who listens to Mariah’s cheesy Chritsmas pop hits in the middle of June?! “White Confession” fortunately does not have any jingle bell sounds, and the only hint you get it’s a Christmas single is the “Merry Christmas” at 2:58 and the guitars and humming beginning at 3:33.
I love the song structure too, the build up, the chorus – which isn’t a proper chorus anyway. The rappers – Hoya and Dong Woo – get a lot of rapping time, while the rest of the members still get to shine with their vocals – in fine form as ever!
Of course, the MV is as Christmas-y as it gets. Shot on the clean streets of Japan (and what looks like a nice suburb of Tokyo), the video is simple yet very effective. I can tell it was shot using a video DSLR camera as supposed to a usual movie camera. The depth of field in some shots, the frame-rate and the close-ups — whoever filmed this video really did a good job of giving the music video and the boys a very natural feel. I enjoy listening to the song more watching the video, it’s definitely one of INFINITE’s best MVs. Proof that a good music video doesn’t have to be an expensive production. The simplicity of this MV works for the song.
“”White Confession” is yet another production by top music duo Sweetune — the guys behind KARA’s “Mister,” “Lupin,” “Jumping” and the bright “Step”. Sweetune’s “Figaro” gave Nine Muses another shot at success (I really liked that song!). They are also responsible for Rainbow’s two best tracks “A” and “Mach” (ugh, I wish Sweetune had worked on Rainbow’s disappointing comeback). And of course, Sweetune are responsible for many of INFINITE’s songs including “Be Mine”. In short, I really like Sweetune’s production style!
Five singles. That’s how many INFINITE put out this year – and all five of them were top-notch! No other K-pop group can claim to have done that (or did). Even though I feel INFINITE will be ignored at this year’s Golden Disk Awards, or for that matter, any of the big year-end award shows (due to rival fanbases, which are simply too big compared to Inspirits) — I’m sure INFINITE will still be content with their achievements this year.
This judge awards INFINITE: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)
You got to give credit where credit is due. Hats off to the people at Woolim Entertainment who work on INFINITE’s management! They really know how to set this group apart from the clutter of the zillion K-pop boy bands out there. Ever since their debut with “Come Back Again,” Woolim’s song selection for INFINITE’s singles have been good after good after good. Woolim’s not a big company, with hardly any money-making superstars on their roster. Their ‘low budgets’ showed in the MVs for “Come Back Again” and “She’s Back” — INFINITE’s first two singles. But as the money slowly rolled in, they invested in the right talent and managed to package INFINITE to stand out from the rest.
Woolim really pushed INFINITE to work their asses off to be the best in-synch group out there, and it’s paid off big time. INFINITE are in my opinion, simply the best performance group out there! I never tire of watching an INFINITE performance. Even it’s the same song every week on the usual music programs or the random concerts they perform at, the boys really work their muscles to deliver the best. Even SNSD, South Korea’s best girl group have admitted they genuinely love INFINITE. A lot of their peers do too.
2011 will surely be remembered by anybody who follows INFINITE as the year the boys ‘made it’. The members themselves will treasure this year too. The year they finally won their first award. The year they finally moved out of their dilapidated apartment and into a better one (with more toilets! ^_^). The year INFINITE debuted in Japan. And can you believe it’s not even been two complete years since they debuted in June 2010?
Imagine what INFINITE has in store in 2012!
