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.
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Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the cohost of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, event curator and producer of gigs, parties & events.