Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Cross-posting.
Linking this because I like how it turned out, and would be interested in hearing others' thoughts on the subject: I Hate The J-Pop Industry

EDIT: To illustrate my point, this is the very first video that was listed when I searched for Koda Kumi: Gentle Words

Whereas this was the first video that appeared when I searched for Aya Matsuura: Nee.

...Yeah. Fucking J-Pop. Anyway.

I really love how this collage was set up. I think I want to do something similar with Remy, perhaps after he gets his new faceup. Which, at the moment, is a secret. :)
Comments (2) | Permalink

Sunday, September 23, 2007

I love when fandom becomes academic.
A discussion began on why Korean CD sales figures are so poor, particularly in comparison to Japan, despite K-Pop becoming so popular around the world. And the flow of the conversation moved from the music industry to the Korean justice system, cultural differences, and even outsourcing and nationalism. kingmiyoung had the most insightful input, IMO: that South Korea is "a third-world country with a first-world veneer," and that Korean musical artists "aren't really meant for Korea anymore... they're for the additional revenue generated by releasing in HK, Taiwan, mainland China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc."

Food for thought, I suppose. It really opened up my eyes as to how genuinely important it is to buy CDs and other official merch, especially for those who live in countries that don't have self-sustaining music industries. Korean fans are pretty much screwed at the moment, since all the record companies want their top artists exported to Japan. Just look at BoA; she hasn't been active in Korea for years, primarily because her fans in Japan can actually afford/bother to buy her CDs.

On a vaguely related note, I just finished watching Tae Guk Gi, and man. That was intense. I cried at the end. :(
Comments (6) | Permalink

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

SPAZZING.




JAEJOONG. SINGING A J-ROCK SONG. That is hilariously set to clips from X/1999. (And it's a surprisingly good fit!)

I've never considered if his voice would suit this type of music, but it seriously works. GUH. I'm so impressed. The full version is going to just sound incredible. WHY SO AMAZING, JOONGIE? <333

Also, the stickers from China mentioned in the last post:

The best part of it is, upon seeing these, the knee-jerk reaction of a friend of mine who isn't terribly familiar with DBSK was, "That is SEXY."
Comments (0) | Permalink

School Supplies Part Duex

A dear friend of mine requested that I make a DBSK cover for her calculator too, which is shown freshly printed above. In return, she's giving me some DBSK stickers she received from her cousin. <3~

FYI, that's the assignment notebook from last post in the background. I covered it with mailing tape to make it permanent. XD



I think the boys here aptly depict how WINNAR my life is at the moment.
Comments (0) | Permalink

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Depending on the type of person you are, you will either find the contents of this post impressive or scary.
Item 1) Calculator cover

Item 2) Assignment notebook




Fuck. I will not be able to pay attention in math class ever again.

On a notfandom note, it seems I can now tolerate green tea ice cream. Miracles CAN happen!
Comments (5) | Permalink

Thursday, September 13, 2007

The story of my life.
Me: I got Mrs. Park and Mr. Snow to write teacher recommendations for me!
AJ: Really? :D
Me: Yes. But more importantly, DBSK is in PARIS!!11!1
AJ: ....-_-;;

Parisian fangirls kick ass, by the way. They're a wonderful lot; just obsessive enough for it to be cute rather than scary. <3

Lastly: EPIK HIGH AD;ADFASDASthey're so good zomg. *in love*
Comments (0) | Permalink

Monday, September 10, 2007

Epik High
...Is a group I've often heard of since I became a K-Pop fan, but I never got around to checking them out until recently.

Their brilliant FAN music video. This is easily one of the best executed, most wonderfully creepy music videos I've seen, Korean or elsewhere. And I love how they don't spell out the whole story--if there's any confusion as to what's going on, just reread the song title. I can only hope the rest of their stuff is as great as this. <333

Tablo, the leader of the group, is one awesome dude. A Korean rapper who's fluent in Japanese and English and has a Master's in English Lit. & Creative Writing?

Yeah, I'd definitely hit that. *o*~
Comments (0) | Permalink

Sunday, September 9, 2007

I currently have the strongest urge to watch A Clockwork Orange. Somebody help.
The boys have been releasing quite a variety of songs as of late:

There's the typical J-Pop song.


The other Japanese release that surprisingly turned out to be an R&B song. (And I guess R&B these days is pretty much grinding music? Somehow I can stand to listen to this song, though.)


The Joe Hisaishi composed song. Is it just me being ignorant or is the title in Chinese? o_O


The gorgeous Korean ballad. I prefer this to the Hisaishi composition, to be honest.
Oh, and just for kicks, I'm interested in knowing whether any of the non-Japanese speakers out there can detect any distinct differences between the way Korean and Japanese sound? Just wondering, since I had a little trouble distinguishing between Chinese and Korean for the longest time, which is just embarrassing since the differences seem so obvious to me now.


I got weirded out by the lack of pictures. So there's Junsu.
Comments (3) | Permalink

Friday, September 7, 2007

My past fandom.


I really, really like L'Arc~en~Ciel's new single. It's just so them in a way many songs on SMILE definitely were not. I think it reminds me of why I got so crazy over them in the first place--because I never did understand whatever the hell it was they were trying to do with their SMILE singles nor Hyde's preference for penning mediocre English lyrics over his much more meaningful Japanese.

I can understand why Hyde killed off his prior "prettyboy" image now that he's getting too old for it, but part of me wishes he hadn't. He's so extraordinary looking; even at the height of my JE fangirling, I distinctly remember thinking to myself that no one in all of JE is even close to being as flat-out pretty as Hyde was in his prime. (Although I find it highly amusing that he was recently voted #2 on a Japanese poll asking, "Which male celebrity would you most like to marry?" beating out hordes of JE boys in the process, despite being "old" and married.)

I think what I really want to say is, despite what ever flaws they had and might still have, I want to start liking Laruku again. I've never re-entered a fandom after effectively leaving it, but if I'm ever going to start, I think it's best to start with this fandom.

...Now to get away from current fandoms long enough to revisit old ones.
Comments (2) | Permalink

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Guess who.

Posing with a pic of my five future boyfriends HAHAHAHA.


What I spent my summer doing. Poor Junsu got his face blocked. *bad fangirl*


I'll stick to my Dong Bang pics. :(
Let's hope Jaejoong's camwhore tendencies aren't contagious, lest Rem and I start competing for camera time. :3

Also, the song I mentioned last post, the one Joe Hisaishi composed feat. DBSK, has already been ripped into an mp3. You can listen to it here. (Wait for the play button to load on the pic at the top left.)
Comments (0) | Permalink