Down the K-pop hole
It’s been well documented that Korean pop music has been having a bit of a moment for some time now, even before the whole Gangnam Style thing took off. K-Pop is a fascinating music to explore, that it’s primarily video-based means all it takes is a browse through Youtube to find something completely off the wall. I fell down a K-pop hole this past week and the tune and video from last year by 2NE1, ‘I Am The Best’ was the apex of my exploration. It’s a total earworm. The video is everything a great pop video should be: filled with great visuals shot on lavish looking sets, good choreography, cool-looking band members giving it lots of attitude, WTF imagery, chrome facades, lots of lighting and above all, a Xenomania-style catchy song.
It kinda reminds me of the first time I watch Japanese horror film The Ring, having had no experience of Japanese horror prior to that. The lexicon is familiar but the interpretation is different.
Further Reading:
The New Yorker on K-Pop.
Stereogum’s top 20 K-Pop videos.
