Awwwwww! Gwen and Blake are so cute together.
There’s a lot of reasons why this video works but really, it all comes down to charisma and chemistry. Gwen and Blake look like they should be celebrating Christmas together and, when you watch, you want to celebrate with them. This video was directed by Sophie Muller, who has directed over 230 videos since the late 80s!
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
For the most part all the K-pop I’ve shared have been on the more mature sounding side of the spectrum. As I mentioned before, for some this side of K-pop is more to their liking while others prefer the more cute and bouncy side of the genre.
Pantsukudasai56 has made it known that he is into K-pop and, for the most part, also J-pop (though from what I could gather it’s more the latter than the former). I can see why he’s more drawn to the cute and bouncy side of K-pop since J-pop has made that type of pop a cottage industry in Japan’s music scene.
So, just to show that K-pop is not just what I enjoy listening to, but what others have come to find entertaining and interesting, I give you Red Velvet’s “Ice Cream Cake” from the mini-album of the same name which came out right after their first debut singles, “Happiness” and “Be Natural.”
The song is a far cry from the R&B and jazzy sound of “Be Natural” but instead has a blend of drum and bass and dance pop that’s the staple of what non-fans think K-pop sound is all about. While the song does have that cute and bouncy sound, not to mention a video with visuals to match it, there’s also a subtle discordant layer to the proceedings. Whether it’s the group doing a haunting harmony that helps start off the song and returns throughout the song right up to some discordant chords.
Even the lyrics of the song could be mistaken for just your typical K-pop song about young love, or as some have mistaken just about ice cream cake. Yet, at further listening and understanding of the song’s translated lyrics there’s more than a hint and level of double entendre and innuendoes to the song’s wordplay.
So, for those who like their K-pop visually popping and bouncy with the vocals to match then Red Velvet’s “Ice Cream Cake” is a nice starter.
If Jean Rollin had ever directed a Christmas special, it would probably look a bit like this video for GALYA’s Winter Love.
Amusez-vous bien!
Darlene Love’s Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) is one of my favorite Christmas song but, unfortunately, there’s not an official music video for Love’s version.
However, there is a music video for Love’s 1992 Christmas song, All Alone on Christmas. As you can tell from watching the video, this song was actually a part of the Home Alone 2 soundtrack. The video is full of footage from the movie but it does not include the scenes with Donald Trump. However, it does feature Macaulay Culkin “producing” the song. I understand that the grown-up Culkin now performs song about pizza which …. well, I mean, I like pizza so hopefully it’s not as stupid as it sounds.
In the video, Darlene Love is backed up by members of the E Street Band, who all look happy to be freed (if only momentarily) from the tyranny of Bruce Springsteen.
Enjoy!
Let’s start this holiday weekend off with another music video from Lindsey Stirling!
In Celtic Carol, Lindsey is an elf who has been locked into Santa’s workshop. Apparently, Santa is a really demanding boss, which I always kind of suspected. I mean, if you’ve ever seen Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, you now what I’m talking about.
Anyway, Elf Lindsey manages to get in the Christmas spirit despite having to work.
Enjoy!
I’ve got snow on the mind.
To anyone who knows me, that should not come as a surprise. In fact, I put my friends and family through this every year. Once December rolls around, I start obsessively talking about how much I hope that it will snow. It always starts out as a cute but, around the 15th, I always start to curse the lack of snow in the forecast. By the time the 24th hits, I’m usually stamping my foot and making demands.
(Of course, I live in Texas so it’s rare that my snow wish is ever fulfilled. If it does snow here, it’ll probably be in late January or maybe Febuary. A few years ago, it did actually snow in Texas on Christmas Day but, even so, it was really more of a light dusting than a real blizzard.)
This year …. well, it’s not even supposed to get down to freeing on Christmas Day. That’s a shame because we are supposed to get hit by some rainstorms. So, we’ll get flooded but we wont get any ice or snow. Oh well. As long as the sun isn’t shining, I guess I’ll be happy.
Anyway, you may be wondering what all of this has to do with today’s music video of the day and the answer is not much. The song is called Snow but it’s not actually about snow. Instead, it uses snow as a metaphor for an intense relationship. The video itself doesn’t feature a blizzard, either. Still, I’ve got snow on the mind and this song and video may be as close as I’m going to get before this year ends.
Don’t get me wrong. Even if it’s not about real snow, I still like the video and the song because Adi Ulmansky is one of my favorite artists. (Again, I have to thank my BFF Evelyn for introducing me to her music.) This video was directed Shir Rosenthal, who is also credited with directing the video for Adi’s Dreamin‘.
Enjoy!
(And keep your hopes up for snow in Texas!)
Both this song and this video appeals to my sentimental side. I’m thinking about a lot of people this month. In fact, I sometimes feel as if I’ve got a thought bubble floating over my head and anyone could look inside of it and see exactly what I’m thinking about.
I guess that’s why I like this video. Everyone’s always thinking of someone.
This video was directed by Ace Norton, who has basically directed videos for everyone.
Enjoy!
We may be seeing a pattern now when it comes to the K-Pop Edition of the Song of the Day feature. While K-Pop has been typically known for the cutesy and bubblegum pop that has made them a worldwide sensation, it’s worth noting that K-Pop girl groups have been expressing their sexier and more mature side.
This side of the K-Pop scene has it’s own followers and fans just as the high-energy and cute side has it’s legions. I will even suggest that some contributors to this site have a personal preference for the latter. I, for one, prefer the sexier, sultry side of K-Pop though I’m not averse for some sugar-high once in awhile.
The group AOA, consisting of 8 members (Choa, Jimin, Chanmi, Youkyung, Yuna, Hyejeong, Seolhyun and Mina), and their 2016 release, “Miniskirt,” is today’s latest Song of the Day. It’s a good combination of sexiness and enough uptempo to the song’s melody that it should appeal to the dancepop crowd. While it doesn’t have that bubblegum pop energy it showcases a much more flirtatious mood with the theme of high-heels and thigh-high stockings.
Even my fellow co-founder, who is probably learning about K-Pop through these K-Pop postings, will enjoy this song and video if just for the sultry dance choreography, the fashion and, most especially, the surprise star of the video who appears in the end.
“There’s two types of persons in the world. The ones that entertain and the ones that observe.”
Ten years ago, this song helped me get through the most difficult December of my life and, for that reason, it is today’s music video of the day.
To be honest, despite the fact that this is one of my favorite Britney songs, I nearly didn’t pick Circus for music video of the day because the song was co-written and produced by the infamous Dr. Luke. But you know what? The song may have been written by him but Britney makes it her own and this video isn’t about him. Instead, it’s about the circus that is everyone’s life. When Britney emerges in control, it’s a reminder that we all have it in us to put on the top hat and take control of the circus. It’s a slightly silly video but that’s what makes it so great. It’s a fun video and Britney appears to be happy, which was a huge relief back in 2008.
This video was directed by Francis Lawrence, who is today best known for directing all of the Hunger Games film, with the exception of the first one. He also directed Red Sparrow but we’ll forgive him for that. (Speaking of circuses, he also directed Water For Elephants.)
Enjoy!
For today’s music video of the day, we have Public Service Broadcasting’s Night Mail.
Both the song and the video were inspired by a 1936 British documentary called Night Mail. The documentary (clips of which are seen in the video) was a 21-minute film about a night in the lives of the London to Glasgow nightly postal train and the people who staffed it.
All in all, it’s a nicely atmospheric video from one of my favorite groups.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens