Published on MacGMagazine, March 16th 2020, 4:00:52 pm
As part of this new series, Rapid Review, I wanted to focus on older albums and EPs. I’ve noticed a lot of Hallyu fans joined the fandom during 2016-2019 and might have missed out on some lesser-known albums.
Today, I’m talking about the Korean producer, Primary and his 2012 album “Primary and the Messengers.” While he’s been on the Korean underground scene since 2006, this is the first album after he signed with Amoeba Culture.
Album Summary
It’s actually a double album, clocking in at about 71 minutes. This is one of the first albums my friend recommended to me as I was discovering K-pop. It’s honestly one of my favorites, but it’s been a while since I’ve really listened and examined it.
Most of the features are indie or underground artists such as E-Sens, Beenzino and Junggigo. This album is curious because it carries retro grooves like “Question Mark” and “Meet,” but it’s not afraid to shake things up. In “Far,” the instrumental is simple and mournful and then switches to sultry in “Mine Tonight.”
Primary has a distinct sound, but he still manages to diversify his style with his rotation of featured artists. “Poison,” for example, beautifully balances the simple instrumental paired with Zion.T’s ethereal vocals and E-Sens’s gruff rap.
Overall, it’s just a chill album that’s great to play in the background that has amazing bops. In 20 tracks, Primary manages to showcase a wide range that never left me bored or annoyed. Also, the bonus track, “거기서 거기읾” is a hidden gem.
High points:
Poison, I’m Back, Too Far and Playboy’s Diary
Low points:
Friendzone/Clean Entrance, High-End Girl,
In Conclusion
While there are some songs that I didn’t like, they didn’t drag the album down or the songs I loved. This album helped me find a lot of the artists I love today. It sounds as amazing as it did six years ago. I recommend this for someone who loves New Jack Swing or who wants to listen to more than standard K-pop fare.
Published on MacGMagazine, August 10th 2019, 10:00:26 pm
BewhYhas always been an interesting rapper in my eyes. He came across my radar after his “Show Me The Money” win. His skillful rapping and deep lyrics had different labels trying to sign him. Despite having the means to jump ship, BewhY stayed with his company,Lumin Entertainmentand continues to pursue his career his way.
Published on MacGMagazine on February 14th 2020, 6:00:45 pm
I love a great playlist. At the risk of sounding old, I feel like it’s becoming a dying art. The control of the flow and mood, the diversity of a shared thing. So in this article, I’ll be curating a list of songs around the theme of great live performances.
Now, before we get into this, I had three rules I wanted to (mostly) adhere to.
No end-of-year performances. Yes, the MAMAs alone could fill this list, but the camerawork and mic issues are frustrating and diminish a song.
No music show performances. Again, I could easily use a bunch of Inkigayo and Music Bank performances to do this. That’s exactly why I didn’t include them. I wanted to challenge myself.
I’m focusing more on vocal than dance performance, so no “Hit The Stage” or fancams. I want that good audio.
Now that we have that established, let’s go!!
Dynamic Duo — Dodoripyo
Dynamic Duo has been performing for over 15 years, and you can see how comfortable they are with their work. Even in this small and ridiculous setting, they bring this chaotic energy that hints at what their stage performances are like.
Park Bom — Hann
Yes, I realize this violates rule 2, but I had to add this one. Before this stage, I’m not sure if Park Bom has ever done something like this alone. She killed this stage! Much like Dynamic Duo, you can see her years of experience in how she just controls EVERYTHING. Park Bom showed up to remind you that she was in 2NE1 and she’s not here to play games with these kids. Then she did it with a cover of a junior group’s song! I had to break my rule for Bom.
SHINee — Excuse Me Miss
Listen, we all know that SHINee can just destroy a live stage. While doing this list, I was torn between this or the “Evil” performance from “SHINee World III.” I picked this because it is a perfect encapsulation of what makes SHINee spectacular. From Key‘s general fabulous and sultry existence to Minho‘s slinging his long limbs while Taemin is being extra. Onew is smooth and smoldering and the late, great Jonghyun being his tiny, disrespectful self.
So Hyang — Arirang
I don’t even know where to start with this one. The song “Arirang” is an honorary Korean national anthem, and So Hyang‘s delivery carries the majesty and emotions to even the least patriotic person. The background vocals perfectly compliment her, and the orchestra just launches this into another atmosphere. I typically don’t like songs like this because they often feel manipulative. This, however, feels sincere and uplifting. It’s a great example of how music can transcend language and culture.
Onew — Nessun Dorma
I want to give some backstory to this. In 2014, he had to have surgery to remove vocal polyps from his throat. While the typical recovery time for this procedure is a few weeks, Onew couldn’t talk for months. During that time, Jonghyun and Taemin made their solo debuts and not much news came from SM Entertainment about his recovery. This is actually the second time he’s sung this song, but this performance? With his vocals not only recovered but improved, this will always bring tears to my eyes.
Xia Junsu — 11am
So since we’re in our feelings, we might as well stay there for this one. Ugh, Xia Junsu! This makes me want to go to one of his musicals. This performance lives solely on the strength of his voice and emotions. He goes for nearly three minutes without any accompaniment. No background vocals, no guitar, nothing but a piano and some noisy birds that still work? He does so much with such a sparse setting and it’s perfect. The album version has more instrumentation, but to me, it pales in comparison to this.
There are so many other performances I nearly added to this list. When I first made my playlist of songs to consider, I forced myself to stop at 12 … And still added five more. But at the end of the day, these stood out to me and made me completely fangirl over.
Be sure to let us know what performances would make your list!
Published on MacGMagazine September 17th 2019, 2:00:46 pm
As a K-pop fan, I, of course, have my favorite artists, but I’ll also have groups that just fascinate me. Groups that are greater than the sum of their parts. Artists who were underdogs and persevered. Groups that when you really look at them, it’s kind of a miracle that they came together. So today, I’m going to talk about one such group the only way I know how: Using sci-fi references. Let’s begin!
Originally published on by MacGMaagazine, June 30th 2019, 4:00:07 pm
The latest iteration of Godzilla just hit theaters. Unsurprisingly, it’s another example of critics being unimpressed by a film while fans eagerly bought tickets. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Critics have been thumbing their noses at the masses for consuming cultural junk food for ages. But this time feels different.
Originally published
on by MacGMagazine April
13th 2019, 4:00:23 pm
As someone who loves K-Dramas, after a certain point, you can spot
the tropes and cliches pretty quickly. Poor, plucky girl meets rich
snobby guy (who is secretly misunderstood). There’s a rich girl who
wants to be with the lead guy for whatever reasons; there’s some
mysterious older figure who knows more than they’re letting on and
the mysterious new player who just arrived at the airport? Keep your
eye out for them, who knows what they’ll do…..
I say that
with no judgments. Every genre has their reliable list of tropes, and
these are some used in Korean dramas. But today, I want to talk about
how the drama “My ID is Gangnam Beauty” used some of these tropes
and made something greater than the sum of its parts.
Lauren woke up the next day. A dull pain coursed through her entire body. She groaned at the dryness in her throat and the too-bright light of the room.
"Back to the land of the living?" She turned her head to find Finch seated beside her, a small blanket covering his lap. She took in the sight of him in his crumpled suit, scratching the short beard he had grown in the past 24 hours.
Months later, Lauren walked into the O.R. on her own two feet. Her nurses urged her to use a wheelchair as per the hospital's protocol but after four nurses, two doctors, and a few calls, the staff found themselves a bit more flexible in their rules. Her steps slowed the further she walked, her hands never still in cleaning nonexistent debris from her gown and nails. No one was fond of the idea of going to the hospital and Lauren could be counted amongst those people. She forced herself to take deep breaths as she crossed the threshold.
He opened the door to his office for Lauren, walking in behind her. He pulled a chair for her and took his seat across the desk as she examined the room with amusement.
"I can't believe how far the Tank’s come. I remember when it was in a hidden side room in a bar. How Isaac kept everything clean and safe with shouting drunks in the next room is beyond me."
Despite the biting cold winds and fading light of the sun, despite having to cut through a neighborhood that has seen better days, and despite having five different forms of transportation (six, if the blasted teleports were ever repaired), James Finchner still walked to work. As a boy, he never understood his father's strange quirk of walking to work, calling him "Old-fashioned" as they strolled together but Finch slowly inherited the desire to feel and view his nearly daily commute up close, choosing to be part of the scenery while seeing it. Only on days where the weather or time wouldn't permit it did he ever use another means of transportation.
*Editor's note: This was posted on Observationdeck.kinja on 4/23/2020*
“I know what I have to do but I’m not sure if I’m strong enough to do it.” It’s a Kylo Ren quote but as I snuggled in my blanket pile, finally watching The Rise of Skywalker, I felt it.
I felt it because I didn’t want to actually watch this stupid movie but I did, to finish the journey I started March of 2019. Welcome back to Star Wars Greyscale.
