wakesidevision

After listening to this three song single, I have decided that money can push anything into the music business. 고고스타’s vocals are among the worst that I have heard, and there’s no attempt to even create catchy music.

It sounds like the songs were recorded in front of a computer with a microphone and Garageband or a Pro-Tools rip-off. I would say that there was at least some worth listening to 성난 인형극 for fun, but it sounds like a battle of the bands type recording.

The attempt to create electronic beats is a difficult one, but 고고스타 need to find a producer who knows how to properly mix an album.

It seems that all the Kpop girl groups took a quick break during January and are making their comebacks in February and March. 카라 are no different with their new mini-album/EP 루팡.

The amusing thing about the marketing for this album is that they’re pushing the track “루팡” even through the rest of the album is sugar pop. Not to say the song isn’t catchy, because it is and a good change from “Mister” especially with the half-step change in vocals.

From an album breakdown, it’s five tracks with one harder track, an attempted R&B track “Rollin’” who should have used a better beat, at least more low decibels and three general Kpop songs in “Tasty Love,” “Umbrella,” and “Lonely.”

Having five tracks like “루팡” would have been more interesting, but that one song is good enough for their comeback.

It would be easy to proclaim that 소녀시대 is the reigning Kpop girl group out right now. With each mini-album and subsequent media blitz, along with individual members other work; 소녀시대 is a money maker.

Their second full-length album, Oh!, is a bit different from their mini-albums, Gee and 소원을 말해봐 (Genie) carrying a much more electronica sound that is oh so popular right now. The first single “Oh!” is a certified cash cow right now, and their music show appearances are making a lot of noise.

The album itself is actually a lot more impressive than I thought it would be. Members are showing their vocal abilities, not so masked by synth or Pro-Tooled background noise. Oh! does have the natural mixture of fast upbeat tracks along with ballads. Oh! is a bit faster than their first full-length and that makes it a much more dynamic listen. While the group is following the electronica trend, it’s not so enforced on the ablum.

It’s guaranteed that 소녀시대’s Oh! is going to be heavily marketed and for good reason is that it reinforces the group’s ability.

Group names are very important for Kpop girl groups. The perfect group name can bring a lot of attention to groups or individual members, and along with the necessity of internet marketing, a strong individualistic group name can bring a lot of hits through search engines, portal sites, and news blog sites.

Most people know of the big names in Kpop girl idol groups.

Girls’ Generation is a strong contender for a group name for a couple reasons. They were named after the Lee Seung Chul song of the same name. Their group name is broken down into a few different abbreviations.

소녀시대
Girl’s Generation
SNSD
So Nyuh Shi Dae

That’s four different searches that will pull traffic.

Also the member count of the group works for them, but that’s not important for this editorial.

Others include:

Brown Eyed Girls
Kara
T-ara/티아라
2NE1
H.A.M.
f(x)
4minute
After School
Jewelry
Rainbow

And while these are good names, they are to me, not strong enough for the group that I would be designing. The issue with the group name is that it sticks after the debut. Changing the group name would only disable the ability for fans to connect with the group.

Along with multiple editions of merchandise could anger the public and cause a possible backlash.

Another reason is that the group name is pushed towards the more cute or feminine area, rather than the strong female type that is missing. Using acronyms is fine, but most of the time when I hear what the name is supposed to mean, it sounds more like Engrish than a good acronym.

For the group that I create, I would want a stronger image from the beginning, pushing away from the ageyo feel of a lot of debuts and make something more pervasive rather than using the appearance to draw attention.

My idea is to use the pantheon of Greek mythological figures to find a name that would fit the group and make an interesting diversion from the group names currently present.

The name that I fell to is Alectrona, Goddess of the Morning.

Alectrona could be changed from that Romanized spelling to Alektrona if it was necessary as well to create a sub-group or a more aggressive image.

The name Alectrona has its own purposes as well. With the connection to the sun, the members could be considered to have a brighter outlook, depending on the PR pictures that would be released or “leaked” on the internet. Also, the name isn’t like anything else on the Korean Kpop market right now. The ancient historical connection would help with the searches online because only a few keywords would be needed.

There is also the possibility of the group moving out of Kpop with the name Alectrona and releasing albums that are not Kpop based, but more rock-infused.

Leaving open doors for the group who may debut on the Kpop scene but move out into other genres of music is important because it can bring more revenue in besides the usual media attention and variety show appearances.

So with the concept, members, and group name in place, the final ingredient is the debut song which will easily make or break the group along with the first MV.

Beast is another newer Kpop boy idol group that has exploded onto the Kpop scene. With numerous appearances on the music shows with their first single “Bad Girl” they have shown that they may have the lasting power to stay in the spotlight for some time.

Their first mini-album Beast is the Best contains the standard Kpop songs, upbeat and about girls. With four tracks, they move through different genres with each song. “Bad Girl” is a straight pop song that was the perfect first single.

Their followup “Mystery” is a little more aggressive and displays their ability to adapt. “Yet” is the R&B track that slows the tempo down and I assume is more of an emotional track. The final track “Oasis” feels like something that Big Bang would pull off.

Beast released a strong first debut and they may be around for some time.

With 2009 over, I thought I would chime in on my list of my favorite music of 2009. Granted this list is pretty much all the stuff that I enjoyed listening to over this past year that was actually released in 2009, but there is also a section of music that I discovered this year that was awesome. I wouldn’t say it’s from first to last or an order of favorites, but just a list of the best of this past year.

Top 10 Best Albums of 2009

1. Donawhale – Dive to Blue

By far the most surprising album I’ve ever heard and probably my introduction to Korean indie music. A perfect album from start to finish, I’m surprised that this album isn’t getting released in the United States.

2. 아폴로 18 – The Blue Album

I was given a chance to review this and it still continues to impress me with each listen.

3. 3호선 버터플라이 – Nine Days or a Million

Another one of those “chance” listens, 3rd Line Butterfly have magic behind their music.

4. 루네 (Lune) – 1집 압생트 (Absinthe)

Just a great release that doesn’t falter. 루네 just needs to be a little more dynamic on her next release.

5. 김태우 – T-Virus

It’s Kpop R&B, but one of the most impressive mini-albums that I’ve heard this year. Even better than G-Dragon’s Heartbreaker.

6. Pop Disaster – Take Action

One of the best Japanese pop punk bands released another great album.

7. the Hiatus – Trash We’d Love

Out of the end of Ellegarden came four different bands. the Hiatus was the strongest one with this debut release.

8. Drunken Tiger – Feel gHood Muzik

Out of nowhere came this classic rap album that wasn’t wholly Korean or American.

9. Brahman – Eternal Recurrence

One of the forefathers of Japanese punk, Brahman came back and showed why they still are better than a bunch of other bands.

10. 티아라 (T-ara) – 1집 Absolute First Album

In the land of Kpop, this album is a step above everything else. Even with the domination of Girls’ Generation, 티아라’s first album impressed.

Top 5 Kpop Singles

1. 소녀시대 – 소원을 말해봐 (Genie)

Moving away from their “Girl Next Door” image, 소원을 말해봐 showed that the group can pull of a different kind of song.

2. 태양 – 웨딩드레스 (Wedding Dress)

Even though “Where U At” released first, 웨딩드레스 is the better song.

3. G-Dragon – Heartbreaker

Besides the scandal and lawsuits, this is still one catchy song.

4. 2NE1 – I Don’t Care

Like 태양, the second single from the mini-album proved to be a lot better than the first, “Fire.”

5. 카라 (Kara) – 미스터 (Mister)

It was either this or Abracadabra from Brown Eyed Girls, but I like the butt dance more.

Bands I Found Out About in 2009 That I should Have Known About Before

toe
World’s End Girlfriend
The Ratios
MEG

Even though the lead single “Because of You” is proving to be really popular, I have to disagree and say that it’s a weak song that only barely covers the inability of the group to perform in the studio.

After School is to be said to be modeled after the Pussycat Dolls in America. That’s a really good comparison because only a few of the members can actually sing.

The single has two newer songs and “Diva” an older track that only proved that using synth effects could cover a lot of problems.

With some members do well in singing in an almost monotone voice, After School are easily more popular for the members than the music.