Korean Music Discussion - Page 1559

I just want to share a thought: it is not a good idea to take KPOP seriously. Everything about it is incoherent and nonsensical: the lyrics are most often written as a 5 years old kid would (the recurrent engrish lines and the interjections -such as oh, ah, lalala, UH!- should let you have a hint their complexity and deepness, even if you don't understand Korean at all); the music is nothing but a regurgitated mix of bass samples, a melodic line played over and over in the background (check some instrumentals and you'll probably notice it), and a bland melodic progression of notes with a very narrow scale to which vocals are given; aside from some exceptions (the most obvious of them being Hyorin), none of your beloved idols has any vocal talent at all; any average person who's given 6 months of intensive training would sing as well as 99% of the kpop artists; while most choreographies are cute and/or fun, they don't require skill and express absolutely nothing.

Many people insist on calling them artists, but they don't make any art at all: they're just performers, executors, an image. It's undeniable that they, as human beings, are truly dedicate and work extremely hard to do well their job and give the viewers/fans a good time, but that doesn't make them artists; they're just admirable employees. They have another role aside from entertaining: they serve as role models for teenagers, which is the reason why KCC keeps banning over-suggesting content or the reason why every time one of the idols does something out of the ordinary so much drama and controversy is created. This is also the reason why most fanclubs behave in such a bizarre manner: because its majority is comprised by teenagers, who have passional and narrow minds, and who never should be taken seriously.

The only adults who should care at all about KPOP are the people who work in the business, a business that is fueled (afaik) by the money of the parents of the teenagers who consume its products en masse. KPOP has no morale or message to extract from it; it exists only for leisure purposes, to chill out from daily life stress. Even if you said that those hard working idols could teach you a lesson about effort and discipline, you should be aware that the vast majority of them were recluted in their teens, and that they chose to sacrifice their teens and undergo severe practice lessons and hard work with the dream of becoming famous and worshipped, which is a very questionable choice.

I thought all of this was obvious, but watching the general response in this thread and some of the posts made me reconsider my assumption. When I see people getting butthurt because someone else said something negative (often in a disregarding, offensive way) about her favourite idol/band, when I see someone trying to do an extensive review/critique of a KPOP release, when I see people demanding respect and attention for mere images (at least to them) as idols are, when I see people complaining about others behaving in an unclassy way towards some female idols (did you know the main criterion under which those idols are chosen is their looks?), when I see people discussing about sales (sales are nothing but the factual expression of a band's fanbase, and quality has nothing to do about it except in the case of the small/unpopular bands), and, in general, when I see people demanding a coherent, mature, respectful discussion with proper sources and/or related material over KPOP, something inside me hurts, a pain that only my irredeemable cynicism can calm. Asking for a serious, respectful discussion over something as sordid and meaningless as KPOP (which at the end is nothing but a bunch of underpaid and exploited youngsters whose major asset is their looks and whose only purpose is to entertain -in a banal way- the masses) seems as pointless and out of place as discussing the viability of the early 20th century's political movemements in today's world or discussing what literary genre is the best.

By this I don't mean that we need to behave like 4chan users and start to shamelessly flame everything and everyone who shows up, but that everything related to KPOP should be taken light-heartedly, with no involvement at all. If Han Seung Yeon slips and eats the floor or if a crazy fan jumps to stage and gropes Taeyeon, it is legit to feel sorry for them, but it is also legit to laugh at it, as a uncommon incident that implies some inconvenience to our most often beloved and impeccable idols. If some idol happens to look particularly bad (at least to some people) in a concrete MV or picture, it is legit to blatantly claim that and make fun of it, as no harm is intended to her/his fans, and it is rather a light-hearted, meaningless comment of one of the idols who are there to entertain us all. And obviously, it is even more appropriate to praise them when they please us for whatever reason.

In my case, if it wasn't already stated by the thoughts I've expressed, I watch KPOP for fun. I enjoy the catchy, easy, sometimes trashy beats, the teenagers (and not so teenagers) who go on stage and do cute dances, singing retarded but cute songs, being all teasing and overacting. I do enjoy male artists too, most of the time for the hilarity that they ensue, and sometimes to blatantly rage at them and share some hate in a light-hearted and harmless way, and even sometimes for their good looks and cute behaviour (:3). I don't store any KPOP related content in my computer, nor do I listen to any KPOP song, but I can absolutely understand people who really likes it and is into it, as it is easy to listen, appealing to the general feelings such as love and sorrow, and catchy, not to mention it is lovely ladies/lads who are singing them. Still, I have my favourite idols, I hardly miss any weekly show, and on and on.

I'm not writing this to convice any hardcore fan to be more relaxed about their love for his idols or to convince people who enjoy constructive and coherent discussion to lower their standards for the sole purpose of enjoying KPOP to its fullest; I have the belief that every person is different and that people will only listen to what they want to hear. I'm writing all this just to express my point of view on the issue we're discussing and to justify the reason and the mindset behind my acts, which aren't just mindless spam or unjustified hate, but more of a satire and a critique of what I didn't approve of. Since I already explained it in this post, I will have no longer the need to express my disagreement to others in such a succinct way, and I will refrain myself from posting unless I have something to contribute with or unless we're again able to express simple, meaningless thoughts and opinions in a careless and unarticulated way.

I just want to share a thought: it is not a good idea to take KPOP seriously. Everything about it is incoherent and nonsensical: the lyrics are most often written as a 5 years old kid would (the recurrent engrish lines and the interjections -such as oh, ah, lalala, UH!- should let you have a hint their complexity and deepness, even if you don't understand Korean at all); the music is nothing but a regurgitated mix of bass samples, a melodic line played over and over in the background (check some instrumentals and you'll probably notice it), and a bland melodic progression of notes with a very narrow scale to which vocals are given; aside from some exceptions (the most obvious of them being Hyorin), none of your beloved idols has any vocal talent at all; any average person who's given 6 months of intensive training would sing as well as 99% of the kpop artists; while most choreographies are cute and/or fun, they don't require skill and express absolutely nothing.

Many people insist on calling them artists, but they don't make any art at all: they're just performers, executors, an image. It's undeniable that they, as human beings, are truly dedicate and work extremely hard to do well their job and give the viewers/fans a good time, but that doesn't make them artists; they're just admirable employees. They have another role aside from entertaining: they serve as role models for teenagers, which is the reason why KCC keeps banning over-suggesting content or the reason why every time one of the idols does something out of the ordinary so much drama and controversy is created. This is also the reason why most fanclubs behave in such a bizarre manner: because its majority is comprised by teenagers, who have passional and narrow minds, and who never should be taken seriously.

The only adults who should care at all about KPOP are the people who work in the business, a business that is fueled (afaik) by the money of the parents of the teenagers who consume its products en masse. KPOP has no morale or message to extract from it; it exists only for leisure purposes, to chill out from daily life stress. Even if you said that those hard working idols could teach you a lesson about effort and discipline, you should be aware that the vast majority of them were recluted in their teens, and that they chose to sacrifice their teens and undergo severe practice lessons and hard work with the dream of becoming famous and worshipped, which is a very questionable choice.

I thought all of this was obvious, but watching the general response in this thread and some of the posts made me reconsider my assumption. When I see people getting butthurt because someone else said something negative (often in a disregarding, offensive way) about her favourite idol/band, when I see someone trying to do an extensive review/critique of a KPOP release, when I see people demanding respect and attention for mere images (at least to them) as idols are, when I see people complaining about others behaving in an unclassy way towards some female idols (did you know the main criterion under which those idols are chosen is their looks?), when I see people discussing about sales (sales are nothing but the factual expression of a band's fanbase, and quality has nothing to do about it except in the case of the small/unpopular bands), and, in general, when I see people demanding a coherent, mature, respectful discussion with proper sources and/or related material over KPOP, something inside me hurts, a pain that only my irredeemable cynicism can calm. Asking for a serious, respectful discussion over something as sordid and meaningless as KPOP (which at the end is nothing but a bunch of underpaid and exploited youngsters whose major asset is their looks and whose only purpose is to entertain -in a banal way- the masses) seems as pointless and out of place as discussing the viability of the early 20th century's political movemements in today's world or discussing what literary genre is the best.

By this I don't mean that we need to behave like 4chan users and start to shamelessly flame everything and everyone who shows up, but that everything related to KPOP should be taken light-heartedly, with no involvement at all. If Han Seung Yeon slips and eats the floor or if a crazy fan jumps to stage and gropes Taeyeon, it is legit to feel sorry for them, but it is also legit to laugh at it, as a uncommon incident that implies some inconvenience to our most often beloved and impeccable idols. If some idol happens to look particularly bad (at least to some people) in a concrete MV or picture, it is legit to blatantly claim that and make fun of it, as no harm is intended to her/his fans, and it is rather a light-hearted, meaningless comment of one of the idols who are there to entertain us all. And obviously, it is even more appropriate to praise them when they please us for whatever reason.

In my case, if it wasn't already stated by the thoughts I've expressed, I watch KPOP for fun. I enjoy the catchy, easy, sometimes trashy beats, the teenagers (and not so teenagers) who go on stage and do cute dances, singing retarded but cute songs, being all teasing and overacting. I do enjoy male artists too, most of the time for the hilarity that they ensue, and sometimes to blatantly rage at them and share some hate in a light-hearted and harmless way, and even sometimes for their good looks and cute behaviour (:3). I don't store any KPOP related content in my computer, nor do I listen to any KPOP song, but I can absolutely understand people who really likes it and is into it, as it is easy to listen, appealing to the general feelings such as love and sorrow, and catchy, not to mention it is lovely ladies/lads who are singing them. Still, I have my favourite idols, I hardly miss any weekly show, and on and on.

I'm not writing this to convice any hardcore fan to be more relaxed about their love for his idols or to convince people who enjoy constructive and coherent discussion to lower their standards for the sole purpose of enjoying KPOP to its fullest; I have the belief that every person is different and that people will only listen to what they want to hear. I'm writing all this just to express my point of view on the issue we're discussing and to justify the reason and the mindset behind my acts, which aren't just mindless spam or unjustified hate, but more of a satire and a critique of what I didn't approve of. Since I already explained it in this post, I will have no longer the need to express my disagreement to others in such a succinct way, and I will refrain myself from posting unless I have something to contribute with or unless we're again able to express simple, meaningless thoughts and opinions in a careless and unarticulated way.

I just want to share a thought: it is not a good idea to take KPOP seriously. Everything about it is incoherent and nonsensical: the lyrics are most often written as a 5 years old kid would (the recurrent engrish lines and the interjections -such as oh, ah, lalala, UH!- should let you have a hint their complexity and deepness, even if you don't understand Korean at all); the music is nothing but a regurgitated mix of bass samples, a melodic line played over and over in the background (check some instrumentals and you'll probably notice it), and a bland melodic progression of notes with a very narrow scale to which vocals are given; aside from some exceptions (the most obvious of them being Hyorin), none of your beloved idols has any vocal talent at all; any average person who's given 6 months of intensive training would sing as well as 99% of the kpop artists; while most choreographies are cute and/or fun, they don't require skill and express absolutely nothing.

Many people insist on calling them artists, but they don't make any art at all: they're just performers, executors, an image. It's undeniable that they, as human beings, are truly dedicate and work extremely hard to do well their job and give the viewers/fans a good time, but that doesn't make them artists; they're just admirable employees. They have another role aside from entertaining: they serve as role models for teenagers, which is the reason why KCC keeps banning over-suggesting content or the reason why every time one of the idols does something out of the ordinary so much drama and controversy is created. This is also the reason why most fanclubs behave in such a bizarre manner: because its majority is comprised by teenagers, who have passional and narrow minds, and who never should be taken seriously.

The only adults who should care at all about KPOP are the people who work in the business, a business that is fueled (afaik) by the money of the parents of the teenagers who consume its products en masse. KPOP has no morale or message to extract from it; it exists only for leisure purposes, to chill out from daily life stress. Even if you said that those hard working idols could teach you a lesson about effort and discipline, you should be aware that the vast majority of them were recluted in their teens, and that they chose to sacrifice their teens and undergo severe practice lessons and hard work with the dream of becoming famous and worshipped, which is a very questionable choice.

I thought all of this was obvious, but watching the general response in this thread and some of the posts made me reconsider my assumption. When I see people getting butthurt because someone else said something negative (often in a disregarding, offensive way) about her favourite idol/band, when I see someone trying to do an extensive review/critique of a KPOP release, when I see people demanding respect and attention for mere images (at least to them) as idols are, when I see people complaining about others behaving in an unclassy way towards some female idols (did you know the main criterion under which those idols are chosen is their looks?), when I see people discussing about sales (sales are nothing but the factual expression of a band's fanbase, and quality has nothing to do about it except in the case of the small/unpopular bands), and, in general, when I see people demanding a coherent, mature, respectful discussion with proper sources and/or related material over KPOP, something inside me hurts, a pain that only my irredeemable cynicism can calm. Asking for a serious, respectful discussion over something as sordid and meaningless as KPOP (which at the end is nothing but a bunch of underpaid and exploited youngsters whose major asset is their looks and whose only purpose is to entertain -in a banal way- the masses) seems as pointless and out of place as discussing the viability of the early 20th century's political movemements in today's world or discussing what literary genre is the best.

By this I don't mean that we need to behave like 4chan users and start to shamelessly flame everything and everyone who shows up, but that everything related to KPOP should be taken light-heartedly, with no involvement at all. If Han Seung Yeon slips and eats the floor or if a crazy fan jumps to stage and gropes Taeyeon, it is legit to feel sorry for them, but it is also legit to laugh at it, as a uncommon incident that implies some inconvenience to our most often beloved and impeccable idols. If some idol happens to look particularly bad (at least to some people) in a concrete MV or picture, it is legit to blatantly claim that and make fun of it, as no harm is intended to her/his fans, and it is rather a light-hearted, meaningless comment of one of the idols who are there to entertain us all. And obviously, it is even more appropriate to praise them when they please us for whatever reason.

In my case, if it wasn't already stated by the thoughts I've expressed, I watch KPOP for fun. I enjoy the catchy, easy, sometimes trashy beats, the teenagers (and not so teenagers) who go on stage and do cute dances, singing retarded but cute songs, being all teasing and overacting. I do enjoy male artists too, most of the time for the hilarity that they ensue, and sometimes to blatantly rage at them and share some hate in a light-hearted and harmless way, and even sometimes for their good looks and cute behaviour (:3). I don't store any KPOP related content in my computer, nor do I listen to any KPOP song, but I can absolutely understand people who really likes it and is into it, as it is easy to listen, appealing to the general feelings such as love and sorrow, and catchy, not to mention it is lovely ladies/lads who are singing them. Still, I have my favourite idols, I hardly miss any weekly show, and on and on.

I'm not writing this to convice any hardcore fan to be more relaxed about their love for his idols or to convince people who enjoy constructive and coherent discussion to lower their standards for the sole purpose of enjoying KPOP to its fullest; I have the belief that every person is different and that people will only listen to what they want to hear. I'm writing all this just to express my point of view on the issue we're discussing and to justify the reason and the mindset behind my acts, which aren't just mindless spam or unjustified hate, but more of a satire and a critique of what I didn't approve of. Since I already explained it in this post, I will have no longer the need to express my disagreement to others in such a succinct way, and I will refrain myself from posting unless I have something to contribute with or unless we're again able to express simple, meaningless thoughts and opinions in a careless and unarticulated way.

If you're forced to deliver content (which you did not create yourself in most cases) in a fixed role you were trained to fit in prior to your career by the company that basically "owns" you, according to the concept that company has laid out for you, aren't you more of a performer that delivers the product the consumer base has demand for rather than an artist who creates content independently?

Yes of course kpop artists/performers deserve credit like any other hardworking person, whether or not you take pleasure in their work shouldn't be a factor (would you discredit a factory worker's hard work because you find it boring?).

Oh btw people, apparently Mnet is officially streaming M! Countdown on the 25th at facebook.com/mnetkr at 6:00pm KST.

and I'll be making my usual post anyways.