Reason #3 for moving to Seoul:

I started taking janggu (장구) lessons this weekend.  It wasn’t my first choice (I wanted to learn the gayageum), but I was pleasantly surprised after my first lesson.  It was a little harder than I expected, but hopefully not too difficult.

From Wikipedia:

The janggu… is the most widely used drum used in the traditional music of Korea. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from animal skin. The two heads produce sounds of different pitch and timbre, which when played together are believed to represent the harmony of man and woman.

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My new favorite song is DJ Doc’s I’m This Kind of Person.

I especially love that they make fun of other Kpop idol groups… and I especially especially love that they make fun of the boy bands who fake-play instruments while doing silly dance moves.

==

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As you may or may not know, I LOVE the Wonder Girls.

In Korea there’s no shortage of girl groups (or boy groups), but in my opinion, the Wonder Girls are a step ahead of everyone else.  I still think So Hot and Nobody are the best pop songs (and videos) to come out of Korea (along with some Hyori and Son Dambi).

That being said, I was (like all of my 13 year old girl students) so incredibly disheartened when Sun Mi decided to unexpectedly quit the group earlier this year… Of course, what I didn’t account for was that my favorite Wonder Girl, Ye Eun, would step up and fill the void (just try to not love the dimples and mis-matched tights!).

So, I don’t really love this song, but it’s worth it for the video… and seriously, how could you not fall in love with them with these pictures?

Here’s their new song, 2 Different Tears.

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I often complain about the quality of music in my adopted home of Korea.  It tends to be a distant cousin of Hilary Duff-style pop.  However (and perhaps I’ve been here too long), I’m embarrassed to admit that I kind of like Girls Generation’s new song, “Oh!”.

[I have always been brutal to Girls Generation... even when my ex kind of liked them I would start yelling.]

BUT!  The main thing you should do right now is sit down and watch the video.  It’s kind of impossible to describe, and/but it’s so bad I can’t stop watching it.

When I play it on YouTube while the class is working on an assignment I slyly stand behind the computer so I can sneak glimpses of it.

The iMac (circa 1999)… the Western hairstyles… the 438 hands-to-the-face gestures… the whole American football theme… it’s all just so overwhelming.

Just watch it…

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While I highly doubt that NPR will consider my pick for the 50 Greatest Voices… after writing my email nomi

nation, I figured I should at least post it here. by Annie Leibovitz

My vote went to Lucinda Williams.

She’s mostly known as a superb songwriter (which she is… TIME said she was the greatest living American songwriter), but her singing… it makes me speechless.  And try seeing her live… it’ll bring you to tears.

Here’s a few of my favorites (in chronological order)… sorry there are so many, but it is incredibly hard to reduce her career into three or four songs.

***I must also mention that Emily (of bedazzling denim fame) is a bonafide Lucinda expert, so I expect her to have many more (and better) recommendations.

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I’ve been a fan of Scarlett Johansson for quite a while (most definitely since Lost in Translation)… actually, to say I’m a fan is a bit of an understatement.

In 2008, she released an album.  But, unlike many of her peers, she didn’t do a bad pop album… instead, she did covers of Tom Waits’ songs (see Tom Waits here).  So, while the album didn’t push any musical boundaries, she at least had the smarts to know that her first foray into music would be on solid ground.

She’s recently released a new album with Pete Yorn, and I am obsessed.

To be sure, this is clearly Pete Yorn’s album, and it is never in doubt who’s in charge.  Which is fine, because Scarlett’s supporting role is almost perfect casting.  She never overdoes it and never tries to be something she is not.  Instead, she simply provides some great performances to some great little songs.

Here are some of my favorite tracks, but you can check out the entire album on Lala.

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When you live in Korea, you become completely inundated with Kpop.  This basically means that in any given month there will be several popular songs that you hear ALL THE TIME!

I know we think this happens in America when pop groups gain fleeting popularity, but please understand, IT IN NO WAY COMPARES TO KOREA.

One artist, named G-Dragon (also a member of Big Bang), has recently caught my attention because he is being barraged with claims of plagiarism.

Regardless of what you think about G-Dragon’s plagiarizing, this song has a great beat.  Also, I love the video.

I am becoming increasingly disappointed with MTV’s VMA’s… Beyonce won this year for a video that was ridiculously bad… the year before that, Britney won out of sympathy… and before that, Rihanna won for one of the worst pieces of video ever put to music.

So, in comparison to Beyonce, Britney, and Rihanna, I think G-Dragon’s video hold’s up very, very well.

Check it out:

ps, I should mention that Britney did win a Best Pop VMA for Womanizer, which she completely deserved (in my opinion)

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One Korean pop band I really like is the Wonder Girls.  They just finished touring with the Jonas Brothers in America and are evidently working on an English language album to be released this year.

Their first single “Tell Me” sparked a national dance craze, thereby prompting me to post a video of cops doing the Tell Me Dance.  Now, my friend just sent me this video of cops doing the Nobody Dance from the Wonder Girls’ newest single.

Be sure to watch the guys on the side…

And here’s the Wonder Girls English version video (skip to 1:57… the beginning’s awful):

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