greywing

( Love is making that special someone feel miserable? )

HyoYoung alert in the Inifinitely Yours, Seoul CF BTS. Some HyoTae too? And HyoSica--Hyo made Sica crack up again and Sica smacked her for her efforts. As usual. Aw, and some SeoSica at the end . . . and YuRi being random. =D While I think the CF is slick--I thought so when I first saw it--as an international commercial . . . will viewers really know who DBSK, SuJu, and SNSD are?

I keep forgetting to link this: MasaMIXES' K-BOOTIE vol. 1. Mash ups galore. Lots of East meets West . . . although I've gotten the impression that K-pop market is heavily influenced by what's going on the Western market, re: hip-hop. Also, apparently Euro dance with SNSD's "Genie." Also check out the huge K-pop mash up, Hot K-Pop 2009 pt. 1 vs. Danity Kane's "Damaged."

At Open Concert, the shorties let us know that they're way too cool for salutes. (LOL, TaeSunHyo.)

America’s Best Dance Crew Season 4 - premier August 9th at 9:00 pm on MTV

YAY! New crews better bring it.

Project Runway Premieres August 20th on Lifetime.

Recently finished reading Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse-Five for the first time. Apparently I was in the mood for discombobulated war tales. Only I didn't know that at the time. There was one part/quote I particularly was amused by in Catch-22 that ends with:

     "Stop it! Stop it!" Leiutenant Scheisskopf's wife screamed suddenly, and began beating him ineffectually about the head with both fists. "Stop it!"
     Yossarian ducked behind his arm for protection while she slammed away at him in feminine fury for a few seconds, and then he caught her determinedly by the wrists and forced her gently back down on the bed. "What the hell are you getting so upset about?" He asked her bewilderedly in a tone of contrite amusement. "I thought you didn't believe in God."
     "I don't," she sobbed, bursting violently into tears. "But the God I don't believe in is a good God, a just God, a merciful God. He's not the mean and stupid God you make Him out to be."
     Yossarian laughed and turned her arms loose. "Let's have a little more religious freedom between us," he proposed obligingly. "You don't believe in the God you want to, and I won't believe in the God I want to. Is that a deal?"

( Links for MuBank, MuCore, Inki, plus commentary and some other vids )

SNSD at Music Bank 07/10/09, waiting to see the results:


I love this picture. The eagerness and anticipation. The grouping by height: tallies → shorties → in-betweenies XD

Today's random thoughts:

( Read more... )

Not exactly an SNSD post today--I'll do a weekend round up again (but congrats to the girls for their first MuBank win for TMYW! [and because I'm me, I was actually happier to see the Hyo fan-sign in the crowd! YAY!])--but a 2NE1 post. I can't believe how new this group is because their stage performances show the poise and practice of more experienced groups. Good vocals. High energy. Good engagement with the crowd.

But really what I wanted to post was this: 090711 2NE1 Minzy Dance Cut (Sketchbook).

THIS. This is what I want to see Hyo doing and promoted as--though not necessarily dancing like this. Hyo doesn't need to do so many chest pops or anything like that. She can do it but it might look a little odd. My favorite part of Minzy/Minji's (?) dance was at 1:04-1:05, where it's all in her legs and then moves up through her torso. Actually, one of my favorite little dance snippets is the one she did on SNSD's first PKL appearance where she was robot-ing it up. Hyo, I just wanna see you dance. =(

I forgot to post this, as well: Michael Jackson Tribute Dance (class) by Rino and Maryss. I almost LOL'd when I realized Lil' Mama was there but the woman can dance! Surprise! There's a photo and video montage of this tribute class, too. I love that people brought their sparkly gloves. =D

( P.S. )

One of the reasons ShimShimTaPa is awesome--besides the fact that the girls' friendship with DJ Kim ShinYoung creates a really candid and fun atmosphere--is that the staff records the girls singing without the background audio, i.e. what you would hear were you there in the studio with them (they did this with "Gee" and "Himnae!" too):

"Tell Me Your Wish" (Genie) - no bg music

SeoHyun does a lot of the harmonizing in this song. YuRi sounds like she's pitched too high in the falsetto to maintain it until the end of her line and Fany does sound tired here. I like hearing Jessica's adlibs coming out here without background music to drown it out. YoonA might get more lines than I think she deserves on the strength of her voice--she's also pitched too high for it to sound comfortable. Wow, Hyo comes on much stronger than I thought in relation to what this camcorder's mic seemed to be picking up from SeoHyun--she did overpower SeoHyun's backing vocals in their MuBank comeback performance and have to correct for it (Hyo and Seo were also out of sync a bit in that performance, probably because of the lyrics change wherein they replaced "Harley" with "bike"--it was actually one of the little things that assured me that that was a live performance). I can't decide if Hyo is having trouble singing all those words, i.e. if it sounds too choppy or not. Some of the live adlibs crack me up: the "ohs" and "ahs." OMG, TaeYeon blew out my right ear as she started to do her adlibs at the end--the vocals are kind of soft right up until that point where everyone seems determined to outdo each other in volume. OMG, why so much louder, Tete, than when you start the song? She is literally shouting into that mic. *wincing forever*

Someone is singing in a really high pitch in the chorus--who is that? Sica? Tete? Seo?

See also the SSTP UCC of Tiffany covering "Bleeding Love." Wow. I'm much more impressed now. She did crack on the one note, but overall she sounds really great here.

Dear ShimShimTaPa cameraman/men, I hate you like I hate the MuBank cameramen, only more because I was cursing you in real time (first time streaming bora and it was surprisingly unlaggy except for a little freezing up in the beginning). Is it so hard, really, to pan out from the camera focused on YoonA and SooYoung to include HyoYeon and SeoHyun on the left side of the table like you did with the right side of the table? Is it so hard to try and catch Hyo when she's talking and/or being a complete dork with YoonA and SooYoung? When you finally set up a camera to focus on SeoHyun in the corner, you couldn't have panned out to capture Hyo too? They even managed to show Taeng on camera more and she was sitting at the freakin' end of the table, across from the MCs. Why no love for Hyo, cameramen?!

That bit with all the girls dorking out to "Sorry, Sorry" at the end almost made up for it. (How in the world does prot upload these vids so quickly?)

( More SSTP and HYOYOUNG SPAZZING )

Some less linked everywhere goodies:
-MuBank rehearsal fancam - yay for casual outfits! boo for not being able to get all of them in the shot =(
-"Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" (DJ Newoob Remix)
-"Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" (J.S. Bach TranGeester Mix) - these two'll put you in a clubbing mood. mmm, trance
-"Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" Remix Arabic Dance Mix - this is interesting b/c he kept the original track . . . but added Arabic instruments to go with the "genie" theme

Hyoooooooo, we'll go to all the convenience stores that you want to! ( Hyo-randomness, Hello Baby ep. 3 )

Check it:

Do you have a Rita's Italian Ice "Chill'n Custard" temporary tatt? I do. Unfortunately, SoCal doesn't have a Rita's Italian Ice! D: Though, to be honest, it's not nearly hot enough here to want it all the time like I would in PA or did in NC. But that custard . . . so good! My bro ate his gelati (custard + italian ice confection, baby!) and exclaimed, "This is better than I remember it being!"

If you are in San Diego, though, and like your ice cream, I suggest trying out Niederfrank's Ice Cream. I like it 'cause they have random flavors and it's good: they supply some of the local restaurants, booya! (Cash only at the ice cream parlor, though!) I had some green tea ice cream from there this weekend (mmmm, I wish I had some right now!). Mariposa, farther north in Normal Heights if you don't want to go as far south as National City, is also a good bet in terms of mom & pop ice cream shop goodness. OR! Stop by the the Daily Scoop in South Park to pick up some Niederfrank ice cream AND delicious cupcakes (red velvet!)!

Music Bank waiting room → Hyo's getting her party girl on. Sunny is getting blocked by logos, lol.
Music Bank: SNSD - "Tell Me Your Wish" → Brady Bunch intro. =D White marine uniforms.
Music Core: SNSD MC cut 1, 2 → Ok, it's like a law of nature: HyoYeon cannot wink (at the camera?). It's so awkward (and then she smiled at the end and it wasn't awkward!). Sica also whacked her in the eye and Taeng wilted under Sunny's aegyo powers. XD
Music Core: SNSD on a boat → LOL!
Music Core: SNSD - "Tell Me Your Wish" → MuCore seems to regularly have sound problems. White sailor tees with jean shorts. YuRi has WTF?! hair. The most random thing caught my eye, at around 1:50, because I saw hair flying everywhere at the corner of my vision: it's Hyo, "popping" into the hands-on-hips move. I think every Hyo fan is fascinated by how her hair has a life of its own b/c of all the force she puts into dancing. Pretty amazing leg shot here as they got all 9 when they were lined up in the diagonal.
Inkigayo: SNSD - "Tell Me Your Wish" → Um, AWESOME OUTFITS?! They were like civilian military casual. (Except Sica, Fany, where are your pants?! They're wearing little white shorts but . . . !) HYO! That outfit came out of nowhere and I don't care 'cause I love it--though the orange stripper heels were a shock (but so eye-catching!). YuRi was randomly in skinny jeans. Good God, they're dancing in stilletos. D: Aren't they worried about injuries?! This performance looks a lot busier b/c they're wearing individual outfits. I couldn't help but notice maknae in the bg as Taeng was doing her adlibs. I'm not digging the over-sized shirt dress that both Fany and Jess had to wear: it doesn't flatter their bodylines so while everyone else looks smokin', they looked like they rolled out of bed . . . which is probably a different kind of attractive but not one I want when I'm watching choreo.

( General comments, a little Hello Baby, Hyo has way too many piercings )

OMGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! LOL-ing FOREVER! OMG, I love you, Rino, Maryss! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! This totally explains that tweet Maryss made about animal pajamas and going to make a video dancing to SHINee's song. =D

Amigo Animals
Maryss from Paris as Wolf
Lee-J as Godzilla
Lockadelic as Kangaroo
Aja as Glider
Rino as Cow

Dancing in animal pajamas.
Song by SHINee "A.Mi.Go."
pajamas made in Japan

P.S.: Rino is definitely credited for choreography in SNSD's second mini-album booklet. Also, JaeWon! (And another group called NANA SCHOOL?)

After listening to Sunny and HyoYeon's radio appearance on YoonGun's Dream Radio (right after ChinChin), my Korean isn't good enough to understand if they divulged anything like having former boyfriends but I do know that the show seemed to be mostly about what they look for in men and relationships by discussing situations. HyoYeon and Sunny teased each other a lot and revealed a lot about each other's tastes in addition to their own (gosh, they are cute together) while the host seemed to really enjoy posing questions to the girls and commenting on their answers.

I wish I could understand because I doubt this appearance'll get any type of translation job, but from the amount of counter-commentary Sunny and HyoYeon seem to have quite different preferences and approaches to relationships. HyoYeon seemed oddly defensive when Sunny pointed out that she liked guys who have a hip-hop style and the host elaborated on that. There was lots of giggling but nothing like the hyper-activeness of ChinChin. The girls sounded polite (and at times shy and embarrassed) but didn't hesitate much to answer the questions. *sigh* No subs.

ETA: I seem to generally like Brown Eyed Girls' songs ("Far Away" ft. MC Mong, "How Come?" [talk about a "hook"!]) and 2PM may be my K-pop boy band of choice based on music alone (particularly "10 out of 10," "Again & Again," "I Hate You"). Interestingly, I also like SHINee's hip-hop sound in "Replay" and "Ah.Mi.Go." 4minute's "Hot Issue" is fun, as is 2NE1's "Fire" but I'm not so much impressed by the songs as totally able to dance to them. I'm not that crazy about 2NE1's "I Don't Care"--it's more like easy listening you can put on in the background than "ZOMG, I need to rock out now!" Maybe I need to give it a few more listens. It actually sounds very Western in style and I'm trying to think what Western artist it reminds me of. What's with the "every group needs a rapper!" trend, though? Does every song really need a rap section?

TaeYeon & SeoHyun - "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion [live on ChinChin Radio 07-01-2009]

EPIC! SEOHYUUUUUUUUN! Her English pronunciation is very good and they sound so, so good together with some awesome harmonies. MAKNAEEEEE! <3

JeTi also covered Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" (of course =D), but Taeng and Seobaby at the end of the show just blew me away. JeTi actually looked at each other while they sang, though, lol, while TaeYeon threw her rendition at the wall. Taeng and Jess do have a habit of avoiding looking at the others when they sing their adlibs.

I loved how the other memebrs were rocking out to "Genie in a Bottle" but were listening to "Because You Loved Me" so seriously--YuRi and Hyo looked like they were giving SeoHyun positive and encouraging compliments. =D

Damn it, the Beat Freaks paid tribute to Michael Jackson while they were performing in Houston and no one has good video of it: only can tell that "Beat It" is playing =( and I want to say that that's Rino pulling off some crotch-grabbing and moonwalking.

Beat Freaks definitely had the Michael Jackson love. (Oh, Rino, pulling MJ poses! Wow, Rino and Maryss were invited to audition for MJ's comeback show--and were going to perform in the concert! They were set to rehearse with MJ the day he died. That would've been a life-long dream come true for both of them, having been so inspired by MJ in their separate paths toward dance. =()

Fun SNSD fact: HyoYeon has been taught by the Electric Boogaloos, the people who taught Michael Jackson:

Like a true dance whiz, Hyoyeon has learned dance from some of the world's greatest dance teachers. Whenever The Electric Boogaloos, the famous dance teachers for Michael Jackson, came to Korea, they taught Hyoyeon. Hyoyeon says "From them, I learned how to envision the movement in my head and then directly transfer that image onto my body. Whenever I can move like how I envisioned in my head, I always feel so tingly with happiness."
original: Song Hyejin and Choi Seunghyun@ chosun.com
translations: boxclub@ soshified.com/forums

Re: "Genie": I've only realized in the past day or so that Jessica is doing little adlibs during Hyo and Seo's duet line and into Tiffany's line. She does it live as well--which surprises me for no real reason--but I like the sound of her voice in the album track, kind of sultry and wistful, mmm, yeah. I like the little touches to "Genie" (it's the same with "Boyfriend" where a lot of voices are coming in and you're not sure who it'll be)--I've played it enough that I keep thinking that I don't want to hear it again when the track starts but as it goes along, I get into it all over again.

Hello Baby ep. 2 had some ridiculously cute parts.

"Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" - Inkigayo.

I'm concluding now that this choreography does not lend itself to multiple camera angles. Everyone keeps saying the choreography looks messy but I think it's because it's really meant to be seen from one stationary point, preferably a wide shot if there's a camera involved. There's enough going on that lots of cuts makes it hectic.

( Some wishes fulfilled? )

Sorea covers "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)." They did the cover of "Gee" using traditional instruments. (Erhuuuuuuuuuu~!) Um, can I LOL at the "club" atmosphere of this cover? LOL

Did anyone watch "Virtuality" on Fox last night? AfterEllen.com brought it to my attenion because, um, Clea DuVall! ( I want me some awesome virtual reality glasses! )

And because SNSD's comeback following the huge success of "Gee" makes me think of Morning Musume and their smash hit "Love Machine," the success of which was never matched, have some classic 1999 "Love Machine" PV (LOL! God, MM's Utaban appearance for this song was classic. Poor Kaori!) and even more awesome is the studio recording version! Then enjoy the 2009 rendition with nearly all the members (those that were still with H!P in 2009--no Goto Maki, though she was possibly one of the key elements to the huge popularity of "Love Machine"--though my heart hurts to see Kaori because of her great loss). Yaguchi got to reprise her "Love Machine" at the end. "Koi wa DYNAMITE!" baby! There might not be a performance like that for quite some time, since the Elder Club with the MM OG were graduated out of H!P. Korean girl group After School actually did a cover of "Love Machine," titled "Dream Girl." "Love is so wonderful~~~!"

Speaking of Yaguchi, she recently tried to take pictures with all the members of Morning Musume, former and current, doing "that" pose. What pose? SESHII BEAM~~~~~ Nipple lasers! Oh, the randomness of "Koi no Dance Site" and its even more random curry-themed update by the later Yossie-led gen.

Oh, and Music Core was better. Hyo, why so sexy?! Shawty is rockin' that hair. Although . . . sneakers? (I reserve the right to spazz overly much about Hyo because not enough people do. =()

( This is the hotness I'm talkin' about! )

King of Pop, King of Dance, I hope you've found some peace, Michael Jackson.

Since Rino, a huge fan of MJ (as you can see from above), did the choreo of "Genie," I thought I would do a little comparison between it and some of the Beat Freaks' choreography. As usual, SNSD's choreography can be better seen from the fancams since they're stationary. I was going to make gifs but . . . apparently all my tools are inadequate to work with .flvs or .mp4s! I FAIL!

( I feel like a Chicago reference wouldn't be out of place with the cabaret-like feel of the choreo . . . )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcD2ElZK1EI&fmt=22

F YOU, MUSIC BANK CAMERAMAN/DIRECTORS! I KNEW YOU WOULDN'T BOTHER FOCUSING ON HYOYEON DURING HER SOLO.

It makes me sad because it's so damn predictable. It's not like there's any reason at all that they would move her front and center of the formation. Of course, YuRi in the back is much more interesting. EFF YOU!

ANYWAY, I agree with comments that said they should have worn the white uniforms for this performance--too dark in there! And that little high-five moment is straight out of the Beat Freaks' current performance piece, LOL! I just keep thinking of that part in the BF's routine where they high five each other and then folllow that up with a hand-grasp, single-footed hop. If this isn't Rino's work, it's something remarkably similar!

I think the interesting thing about this choreography is that, unlike "Gee" which put every solo singer front and center, you have no idea where the next singer is coming from. You have the singer being emphasized from the edges, from out of nowhere in the middle of strange formations, etc. It makes it kind of exciting and you watch more for what the heck is going. (LOTS OF FORMATIONS! It really is like a marching drill exercise.) I really want a stationary camera very badly. Music Bank's camera job was a little shoddy and confusing with the cuts because so much is going on from different directions (dear director, was one rehearsal not enough to figure out appropriate camera angles?).

The girls sounded . . . tired. Mind you, they sang really well for the most part--I was really impressed because I was wondering how exhausting the routine might be with that much movement--but the adlibbers were breaking down a bit in spots. It's really noticeable when you're singing well and then lose it for a second. It would almost be easier if you couldn't sing live and everyone is just wincing throughout the entire thing because then going off-key for a second wouldn't be a surprise. And maknae! I think the ones really being showcased in this song are maknae and possibly YuRi (YuRi gets to be the face because YoonA is just not sexy enough?) AND they were harmonizing live! No tracing (keeping the background vocals in the track) as far as I could tell! That was the one thing about "Gee" that made me kind of sad, that they didn't harmonize live (i.e. SeoHyun not singing with Hyo in her line), but not the case here. I'm expecting an even better live for Music Core!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q64GS5-XFgs

( First reaction )
( After another viewing or two )

So in conclusion, SM is trying to tell fans of SNSD that what they really want to watch is porno.

. . . Of course, with that thought, I now have that "Birthday Sex" song stuck in my head and there was that whole thing with Seo popping out of a birthday cake (why, SM?) and SooYoung way too happy with that cake and, HAHAHAHA, these things should not be mixed! (Unless "mixing" means it being on one of the girls' iPods because I wouldn't be the least surprised to see it on Hyo's. In my defense, the radio keeps playing the "Birthday Sex" DJ Fellin remix. Um, I find it quite danceable. /shame Slightly related, but do your radio stations play the "Birthday Shhh" or "Birthday Sex" version? B/c I hear the "shhh" version on 93.3 but I definitely heard both in North Carolina.)

I am . . . going to reserve judgment on the choreo until I see it performed live. I knew the high heels were going to put a damper on some awesome moves ala "Replay" or anything Rino busts out with in the choreography she dances herself (no popping or locking for Hyo, goddammit--not that we would have actually seen it in the MV anyway @$#*&#*&*#$), but I totally didn't expect what we got. I burst out laughing it looked so odd the first time I watched it, but despite how odd and simple it seems, I'm guessing it's not simple to actually do and I can tell there's a whole lotta movement going on. With SM's propensity to literally cut to a different scene every second, it's kind of disorienting to see the girls in a new place almost every time we cut back to the dance shot. I can't imagine how much your feet would hurt after all that in high heels. *shudder* In other words, Rino, I want to still have faith in you! Don't tell me that SM wrongly hired on all fronts (MV director and editor, choreographer, stylists--the marine outfits were fine; the other ones were a bit incongruous with how simple and, uh, young they were)! We'll find out very soon. :S

"Etude" is out. It's your run-of-the-mill pop song, if you ask me, and I'm not sure if I like the thought of it being coupled with the extremely different beat of "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)." The members all sound great--Hyo actually belts it out a bit!--but I have a teensy complaint . . .

Why not let members other than TaeYeon and/or Jessica adlib (more)? No, seriously. After seeing Sunny's, SeoHyun's, and Tiffany's performance on La La La with their SuJu buddies, I do not doubt that Sunny and SeoHyun would be awesome at adlibbing. In fact, SeoHyun, from line distribution speculations, has an amazing "Whoooaaaa~~~~" in "Etude." Seobaby also was harmonizing like nobody's business on La La La. Let the girl belt it out!

SNSD's "Sorry Sorry" cover was awesome, btw, and I was so impressed with the English in their Abba cover.

Can I also put in a request that SNSD sing just one song that isn't pitched in high keys? I just want to hear the members growl it out because I have a sneaking suspicion it would be pretty damn sexy.

As much as I may be disinterested in Morning Musume currently, I pulled up old videos of Hello! Morning today (OMG, some of it is so hilarious!) and then I had to go listen to their songs 'cause I was feeling all nostalgic. As much as I think that Tsunku should probably really pass on the buck and let other people write lyrics and compose his groups' songs (he has pretty much said that he could probably never let anyone write for Morning Musume, his baby), he has written some awesome stuff. The range of genres and styles Tsunku has tried out with his army of girl groups is kind of amazing. Of course, the vocals of Morning Musume has never been perfect. They've had strong voices pass through the group, but they've had probably more weak voices. In fact, it wouldn't hurt to say that some cannot sing--I'm looking at you, Ishikawa, Michishige, Koharu!--but that doesn't keep me from enjoying the songs I do. A list of Morning Musume and Hello! Project songs (i.e. solo stuff and lots of random shuffle groups) that I like/love, which is by no means complete and which in no way suggests that these are quality songs, lol (I like a lot of crap music, ngl). I apologize for not being able to provide album versions for songs that don't have PVs, which usually feature better vocals and the original singers:

( All things considered, this is a short list . . . )