Time to return to our latest Song of the Day: K-Pop Edition. While most of the entries, so far, has been K-Pop artists who fall under either the bubbly pop or the more mature sound, there are a bevy of K-Pop artists who we in the West would probably characterize as indie solo or group artists.
These are K-Pop performers whose music don’t easily fall under the well-known K-Pop music categories such as dancepop, bubble pop, R&B or Jazz fusion. Their songs are usually more indie pop or folk rock.
One such K-Pop artist is the duo Bolbbalgan4 or BOL4 for short. The group’s comprised of Ahn Ji-young and Woo Ji-yoon. The former handles the main vocals of the duo’s songs while the latter does everything else from being the group’s guitarist, bass player, rapper and back-up vocals.
The one song that’s gotten some major playtime and has become a favorite of K-Pop fans worldwide is their “Song” which talks about a girl at the cusp of puberty who is preparing to deal with her first love (or crush) and going through stages on how to prep, practice and go about dealing with it.
Decade of last.fm scrobbling countdown:
39. Camera Obscura (786 plays)
Top track (228 plays): Country Mile, from Let’s Get Out of This Country (2006)
Featured track: Razzle Dazzle Rose, from Let’s Get Out Of This Country (2006)
The presence of Camera Obscura on my decade-spanning last.fm charts might be the only fluke in this series. They basically got here because I listened to “Country Mile” on repeat for about 12 hours one day. Let’s Get Out of This Country is the only album I’ve really listened to extensively in their discography (they just released their fifth last month), and while I did get the pleasure of seeing them live once, I can’t say I know much about the band. But I do think this album is absolutely delightful–a little hidden ray of light in my mostly heavier music collection that warmed my heart the first time I heard it and still does today. Its retro vibe feels oddly more authentic than any of the actual classic pop sounds it replicates, made fresh by a heavy dose of 2000s indie aesthetics and Tracyanne Campbell’s angelic vocals. Let’s Get Out of This Country takes me back in time so vividly that I swear I remember growing up surrounded by the wallpaper on the album’s cover. It’s flooded with innocent ennui, played out in front of a kitchen window on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Its depression is refreshing and nostalgic, replaying some childhood memory in which boredom seemed to be the worst thing life had to offer.
April 1st is just right around the corner and that means the return of 2010’s breakout cable hit, Game of Thrones with a new season. The last couple weeks have seen numerous marketing and ad trailers hyping up this upcoming new season. Their latest trailer used a song that was quite memorable for how it sounded and how it fit in well with the mythology built during the first season.
The latest “Song of the Day” comes courtesy of the band Florence + The Machine and the song picked was from their latest album and is called “Seven Devils.”
I consider this song quite appropriate when it came to Game of Thrones since the song’s title takes a look at the opposite side of the show’s religion called The Seven. The song’s titles doesn’t just intimate that The Seven the people of Westeros worshipped may not be gods after all, but devils who have tempted many who pay lipservice to the faith and instead fall to temptation.
I wasn’t a major fan of Florence + The Machine when I was first introduced to them a couple years ago but time has since shown me the error of my ways.
Seven Devils
Holy water cannot help me A thousand armies couldn’t keep me out I don’t want your money, I don’t want your crown See I have come to burn your kingdom down
Holy water cannot help you now See I’ve got to burn your kingdom down And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I’m gonna raise the stakes, I’m gonna smoke you out
Seven devils all around me Seven devils in my house See they were there when I woke up this morning I’ll be dead before the day is done
Seven devils all around you Seven devils in your house See I was dead when I woke up this morning And I’ll be dead before the day is done Before the day is done
And now all your love will be exorcised And we will find you saints to be canonised And it’s an evensong It’s a melody It’s a final cry It’s a symphony
Seven devils all around me Seven devils in my house See they were there when I woke up this morning And I’ll be dead before the day is done
Seven devils all around you Seven devils in your house See I was dead when I woke up this morning And I’ll be dead before the day is done Before the day is done Before the day is done Before the day is done
You can keep me alive Till I tear the walls Till I save your heart And to take your soul What have we done? Can I be undone? In the evil’s heart In the evil’s soul
Seven devils all around you Seven devils in your house See I was dead when I woke up this morning And I’ll be dead before the day is done For the day is done
Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch is still resonating quite strong for me. It doesn’t help that I’ve fallen quite in love with the soundtrack. Last night I chose the first track in the soundtrack as song of the day. That one was sung by the film’s lead, Emily Browning. My next choice for song of the day was also sung by Emily Browning and is the third of three songs she covered for the film.
“Asleep” is the Emily Browning cover of the indie pop classic from indie-rock band The Smiths and their famous front man, Morrissey. I’m not what you would call a big fan of The Smiths or even of Morrissey. I will admit that this song as sung by Emily Browning is quite good and her ethereal voice lends a haunting quality to the music. The song itself marks a major turning point in the film and finally reveals just who the storyteller really is and who the subject of the story truely is.
Whatever may come of Ms. Browning’s acting career I definitely think she has one as a singer. “Asleep” is definite proof of the talent this young actor has not just in front of the camera but in a recording studio.
Asleep Sing me to sleep
Sing me to sleep
I’m tired and I
I want to go to bed
Sing me to sleep
Sing me to sleep
And then leave me alone
Don’t try to wake me in the morning
‘Cause I will be gone
Don’t feel bad for me
I want you to know
Deep in the cell of my heart
I will feel so glad to go
Sing me to sleep
Sing me to sleep
I don’t want to wake up
On my own anymore
Sing to me
Sing to me
I don’t want to wake up
On my own anymore
Don’t feel bad for me
I want you to know
Deep in the cell of my heart
I really want to go
There is another world
There is a better world
Well, there must be
Well, there must be
Well, there must be
Well, there must be
Well …
Through the Shattered Lens 