Who Goes Out On Mondays? (Mid Year Singles, 2014 [and a couple albums])

[koganbot]

Even with S. Korea having canceled spring on account of the ferry disaster (as Subdee says), I'm woefully behind on K-pop, and my listening elsewhere has been too random and intermittent even to be called scattershot. But anyway, int'l dance cheese goes strong at its most opportunist (Chainsmokers, Orange Caramel, Badkiz [the "Party Rock Anthem" influence still potent in Seoul], PungDeng-E, Arcade Fire, Mia Martina), whereas the boring int'l amalgamated danceR&Bglaze&crud that's been weighing down charts worldwide since 2009 somehow manages to sound touching in the hands of a Shakira and a Rihanna who've had all their distinctive characteristics removed. Danity Kane go retro, referencing Teena Marie; equally retro Dal★shabet, who still can't sing for shit, nonetheless find themselves immersed in great freestyle riffs. Ole punk manages not to be dead in the hands of poignantly desperate and angry Kate Nash and Courtney Love. T-ara, Jiyeon, and Puer Kim veer smoove and After School master smoove. Few boys' mouths, as is usual on my lists these days; fewer still who sing. And as the biz still invests almost nothing in us oldsters, funky fresh young Crayon Pop represent on our behalf.

SINGLES:

1. Wa$$up "Jingle Bell"
2. The Chainsmokers "#Selfie"
3. BiS "STUPiG"
4. Kate Nash "Sister"
5. Courtney Love "Wedding Day"

Watch on YouTube

6. Orange Caramel "So Sorry"
7. Tinashe ft. Schoolboy Q "2 On"
8. Nicki Minaj "Lookin' Ass Nigga"
9. Crayon Pop "Uh-ee"
10. After School "Shh"
11. Future ft. Pharrell, Pusha T & Casino "Move That Dope"

Watch on YouTube

12. Shakira ft. Rihanna "Can't Remember To Forget You"
13. Puer Kim "Manyo Maash"
14. Danity Kane "Bye Baby"
15. T-ara "First Love"
16. Badkiz "Ear Attack"
17. PungDeng-E "잘탕 (잘 시간이 어딨어)"

Watch on YouTube

18. Dal★shabet "B.B.B (Big Baby Baby)"
19. Arcade Fire "We Exist"
20. Shakira "Empire"
21. Bass Drum Of Death "Black Don't Glow"
22. Neon Jungle "Braveheart"
23. Lady Gaga "G.U.Y."
24. Mia Martina ft. Dev "Danse"

Watch on YouTube

25. Jiyeon "Never Ever"
26. SNSD "Mr.Mr."
27. Louie ft. Boy Wonder "Twilight"
28. Low Pros ft. Young Thug & PeeWee Longway "Jack Tripper"
29. After School "Rock It"
30. Kach "Tension"
31. T-ara "LA'booN"
32. Brantley Gilbert "Bottoms Up"
33. Rascal Flatts "Rewind"

ALBUMS

1. After School Dress To Kill [Avex Trax]
2. Kali Mutsa Souvenance [Shock Music]

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Comments

[askbask.livejournal.com]

Shades of the Austral-Romanian empire or maybe just Ga-In's tango flirt

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[koganbot]

This is very good. And indeed, the shimmer that decorates her verses sounds similar to the flourish in "Tu Es Foutu," though the main beat here keeps the "Tu Es Foutu"–like squiggle from dominating enough to genuinely put this on my Austral-Romanian continuum.

Is still hard to come up with an explanation for why I think some squiggles get you on the continuum and others don't: I'd say for now it's that "Tu Es Foutu" and "We No Speak Americano" build themselves around the squiggle, whereas in "Goodbye My Love" the squiggle is more decorative than defining.

There's a similar example from the Romanian side, "Tu" by Oanu Radu & Dr. Mako featuring Eli. Radu's skitter-scat is wonderful and would get us on the continuum except that the arrangement goes reggae rather than clip-cloppity, so loses the particular feel. (Also makes the track vastly more mundane than if the skitter-scat had had a clip-cloppity to dance with à la Delia's "D-D-Down," which by the way I'm about to embed questioningly on my bohemia-from-nowhere-near-bohemia thread.)

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(Meanwhile in actual Australia, Yolanda Be Cool seem to be going out of their way to no longer resemble "We No Speak Americano," e.g., their very housey "Cause I Like It," though their Mayra Veronica mashup goes the other direction, pushing the "No Speak Americano" freneticism to ever more frantic levels, almost feeling punk.)

[askbask.livejournal.com]

That's pretty good, I should get up to date on the summer's Romanian pop

[koganbot]

I meant Celia's (not "Delia's") "D-D-Down."