Thursday, February 9, 2012

K-Pop



I am antipop in most realms of modern media.  I dislike most popular movies.  I have never seen Wedding Crashers.  Nor have I seen Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, or The Hangover.  With the exception of The Office, I dislike most popular TV shows.  I hate Friends.  I think it's extremely corny and trendy.  I've never gotten into Seinfeld, nor have I ever seen an episode of Lost.  Honestly, I don't regret having missed out.  I am a self-admitted elitist regarding modern media.

I can understand people's sentiments regarding my taste in movies.  Not everybody understands the genius behind Wes Anderson's work.  Not everybody can enjoy a good movie by the Cohen Brothers.  A lot of my friends found Lost in Translation to be boring.  Not everybody likes Lord of the Rings.  These movies are for a certain type of person, and not everybody gets it.  

The realm of media that I feel the most strongly about is music.  I realize that you can't get away from an extremely catchy song, no matter how moronic it is, but I do my best to shield myself from the everything associated with the mainstream popular music industry.  

I don't understand why people are so closed minded regarding their taste in music.  Most of my friends don't like music that isn't played on the radio.  They dislike anything that is heard for the first time via an avenue other than the radio, a movie, a tv show, or a tv commercial.  I especially don't understand people's closed mindedness in this modern age of the internet where everything is at our fingertips.  There are an uncountable amount of artists and bands out there who are more talented than those who are part of the mainstream.  There are all types to suit all tastes, so regarding music, people have no excuse in being so closed minded.  

It is such a good feeling to play something amazing for somebody who has never heard it before, and to hear them say, "I'm going to download his/her/their music when I get home."  It's even better when they begin to talk further about it in later conversations, and to have them later recommend good artists that they discovered, because their minds were opened, and they were exposed to something artistic and intelligent that opened their eyes.

Currently, I am feeling like such a hypocrite, because I have grown to kind of...  sort of...  (gasp)... enjoy K-pop.  And as I've stated in a previous post, it goes against everything I stand for musically.  I still fight it, but I can't help it.  The songs are so catchy, even though I don't understand most of the language.  I like it despite the fact that the music is corny, generic, manufactured, and overproduced.  I can't help it.  With some of it, I can't help but like it, despite fighting the feeling.  By "some," I mean the music sung by artists that are extremely attractive.  

I was hooked the moment I saw the music video for the song, "Gee" by Girls Generation.  That particular video is absolutely ridiculous in terms of how beautifully its extremely attractive members are portrayed.  It possesses the deadly combination of an extremely catchy melody matched with a group of femininely gorgeous women.  The melody in that song is uniquely Asian.  It is something that would be impossible for somebody from the west to create, and that contributes heavily to its likability.  There is no doubting the fact the the members of Girls Generation are all extremely alluring.  Any man with a pulse would agree with that.  But the addition of a catchy song makes them very likable, and I find myself singing their music more and more.  I really do hate myself sometimes...  


The funny thing is that in Korea, groups like Girls Generation are mostly popular with the men.  Men openly listen to this.  I've been in the cars of some of my male Korean friends while they blasted songs like "Gee."  On one such occasion, because I hear a lot of my female students talk about them, I asked my male Korean friend, "Do you have anything by Beast?"

He gave me the strangest look.  It was one that screamed, "Why would I have anything by them?!  What kind of man do you take me for?!"  And this was despite the fact that the song that he was blasting with his top of the line stereo system was a little less than masculine.

In America, men would never openly admit to enjoying music by girl groups, or feminine artists, no matter how beautiful they are.  Back home, females are the ones who openly listen to such music.  Men would only blast such music in their cars when they are alone.  They would only play such music on their ipods when the chances of somebody asking, "Hey, what are you listening to?" are as slim as possible.  When they play it on their computers, they would erase the history, so nobody would see that they were actively searching for such music.  They go to such lengths because they know, if caught, they would be made fun of by friends who share the same guilty pleasures, and do the same exact thing when nobody is around.  



In Korea, generally speaking through my experience, the men enjoy the girl groups, and the women enjoy the boy groups.  As with everything, there are exceptions, and correct me if I am wrong.  Men openly enjoy girl groups like Girls Generation, and the Wonder Girls.  Women enjoy boy groups such as Beast, Big Bang, and CNBlue.  An exception to the rule is the group, 2NE1 (pronounced 'twenty-one').  They have sort of a rebellious "bad girl" image that really appeals to Korean girls.  I like them too.  I find them to be the most unique, and artistic of all of the K-Pop artists.   

I'm really hating myself at the moment...  I need to blast some AC/DC to remind myself of my manhood...  like, now.

1 comment:

  1. I could be wrong but don't I remember you watching every episode of American Idol when it first came out. I am pretty sure you bet me twenty bucks that the Justin Guarini would win the competition.

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