It has been noted that Big Bang and 2NE1 (YG Entertainment) stand in contrast to the other idol groups. Their influences tend to be not just more modern, but also less European. (Definitely less Scandinavian.) So this might actually be a reflection on American R&B/Hip hop focus vs. European electronic/dance focus, although the lines have blurred with the influx of electro recently.
The bit about the "pentatonic string synths" and how they sound anachronistic in the new modern setting reminds me of how SNSD's "Gee" sounds purely Korean to me in composition, to where it just doesn't work in Japanese and they ended up leaving Korean in the Japanese version anyways. Set to those 80s style synths, and it's one of the most novel songs that can and has swayed many a pop skeptic into the world of bubblegum idols. I have yet to hear another upbeat song in Kpop that has sounded so Korean to me, instead of Western-derivative.
Tangent: What is it exactly that sets "Scream" and "Fantastic Baby" apart from "Sexy and I Know It" in quality/acclaim? The disdain for LMFAO seems to derive primarily from their lyrical content and the way they carry themselves as frat boys/assholes/trying to be funny. But then is it just that Big Bang aren't trying to be funny all that's need to excuse "Fantastic Baby?" "Scream" does has some additional elements going for it beyond the electro, mainly that 80s chorus, but is that and their straightforward/seemingly sincere attitude really all that's needed to go from a 2.75 to a 7.33? (I can understand it, though, as one of the reasons I listen to foreign pop music is so that I can enjoy music purely aesthetic, without pop's usually cringe-inducing lyrics ruining the experience.) Or is this another Boney Joan Rule moment?
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The bit about the "pentatonic string synths" and how they sound anachronistic in the new modern setting reminds me of how SNSD's "Gee" sounds purely Korean to me in composition, to where it just doesn't work in Japanese and they ended up leaving Korean in the Japanese version anyways. Set to those 80s style synths, and it's one of the most novel songs that can and has swayed many a pop skeptic into the world of bubblegum idols. I have yet to hear another upbeat song in Kpop that has sounded so Korean to me, instead of Western-derivative.
Tangent: What is it exactly that sets "Scream" and "Fantastic Baby" apart from "Sexy and I Know It" in quality/acclaim? The disdain for LMFAO seems to derive primarily from their lyrical content and the way they carry themselves as frat boys/assholes/trying to be funny. But then is it just that Big Bang aren't trying to be funny all that's need to excuse "Fantastic Baby?" "Scream" does has some additional elements going for it beyond the electro, mainly that 80s chorus, but is that and their straightforward/seemingly sincere attitude really all that's needed to go from a 2.75 to a 7.33? (I can understand it, though, as one of the reasons I listen to foreign pop music is so that I can enjoy music purely aesthetic, without pop's usually cringe-inducing lyrics ruining the experience.) Or is this another Boney Joan Rule moment?