Rapid Review.. PSY - 'Gangnam Style'

As one of those people obsessed with manga, anime and all things Japanese in my early teens, I have maintained what I can only call a 'soft spot' for Asian music. I recall listening to (and still have on my iPod) Visual Kei bands such as the Gazette, Alice Nine, pop artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Aya Kamiki and epic punk/metal/funk bands such as Maximum the Hormone (CHECK THEM OUT!).

Somehow, at some point, I discovered Korean pop, or as it appears to be known on the global stage - K-Pop!

The first K-Pop songs that I can remember finding randomly on YouTube were by a boyband named BIG BANG. It was catchy, fun to listen to - despite the language barrier! - and visually grabbed my attention, a factor in common with all of the K-Pop acts that I've encountered.

In early 2011, I chanced a search of Taeyang's (BIG BANG member) solo album on iTunes, and to my great surprise, found it sitting there ready for purchase. In the past year, Korean music labels have been making their music more and more accessible for the western market, and this has - finally! - culminated in the worldwide craze that is 'GANGNAM STYLE'!

Perhaps it's been hinted at before with O-Zone's 'Dragostea din tei', but 'Gangnam Style' has swept the media and continues to snowball, help largely due to its funny and easy-to-learn dance moves!

The rapper responsible for the craze, PSY, is labelmates with BIG BANG on YG Entertainment (one of the 3 main labels, S.M. Entertainment and JYP Entertainment being the other 2), and the song, due to its funny and easy to replicate dance, has been parodied (Gandalf Style - LOL!) and much covered by the Western media. Who knows, this in turn may mean that you may be seeing and hearing more K-Pop music on our screens and airwaves in the near future!

http://www.facebook.com/officialpsy
https://twitter.com/psy_oppa
http://www.ygfamily.com/

New Waves.. Charli XCX - 'You're The One' (Odd Future's The Internet feat. Mike G Remix)

This first appeared on her mixtape HEARTBREAKS AND EARTHQUAKES (review here!), as a mini contribution and the very very end, and here is the full version, unveiled as a birthday gift early on Aug 2nd and a treat for the fans on which appears to be Charli's birthday (Happy birthday!).

Many fans have stated on Youtube that they prefer this remix by Odd Future's The Internet and Mike G to the original single. I don't really have a preference in this instance, as I tend to love the different interpretations of remixes and covers anyway, and this one is above average.

Check it out!

http://charlixcxmusic.com/

http://www.facebook.com/charlixcxmusic

http://soundcloud.com/charlixcx

Flashback Friday's.. The Maccabees - 'Can You Give It'

Not quite sure what made me choose this song as this week's Friday Flashback (apologies for the lack of features these past few weeks!), especially as I haven't been listening to The Maccabees much recently at all.

'Can You Give It' is the song the first alerted me to The Maccabees, albeit, unintentionally. I recall, circa 2009, this song being plastered over many an advert, as it is an undeniably uplifting song, as seen when played to a live crowd, as seen below at their performance of Glastonbury 2009.

I didn't realise that this was, in fact, The Maccabees, until I Youtube'd them following their release of Give It To the Wild in 2012, having been enraptured by a session performance of 'Child' on late night Channel 4. I must say, there's nothing as exciting as rediscovering a song that you'd deemed lost!

If you've never listened to The Maccabees, I can't reccommend them highly enough! Although I do suggest that you consider Give It To the Wild and their previous albums separately, as even though Give It To the Wild seems an almost natural and inevitable progression for the band, the sounds are markedly different.

Give It To the Wild is out now.

'Can You Give It' live at Glastonbury 2009