Taeyang counts down.

Taeyang needs a girl like me?! I can deal. 5 days until Big Bang's special release album. Kid's got short fingers. That's okay.

Ne-Yo + K-Pop collab?

 

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Ne-Yo says he wants to collaborate with some K-Poppers. Fan-tastic. So who's first on the list? One would assume the guy everyone calls 'Korean Ne-Yo' (aka Taeyang), right? Wrong. Via his recent Korean concert visit and Twitter feed, he expressed an interest in working with KYP artists only. Okay, obviously this news is to be taken with tubs of salt. We're assuming he's a newbie to the genre and has yet to be confronted with the amazingness that is Taeyang and the YG Family. Plus, Ne-Yo and Junsu from 2PM would be killer. And 'Taeyang' and 'Big Bang' and 'YG' might have pushed him over the 140 character limit. But really, Ne-Yo, get in touch with Papa YG. Good things will happen to you.

(For the record, Blogspot sucks fuck. So much for making this site user friendly for computer illiterate posters. How the hell do you post pictures next to each other instead in one fucking column?)

K-Pop anniversary!

Cause for celebration! Exactly a year ago today, I stumbled upon a video. YouTube recommended one Wedding Dress by some Korean bloke named Taeyang. And well, you know how it goes. Taeyang and the YG family have accompanied me through one difficult but exciting year, difficult because I was still treading water with my thesis but exciting because I finally finished the damn thing and managed to get a job soon thereafter. One year and many CDs and DVDs later, I am an avowed Big Bang and YG fan. Yes, my life is enriched by the fruits of their creative labor. Since I am too tired to celebrate in any spectacular way, let me just repost the video that started it all. And it should be noted that 0'57" was what sent me over the edge. So thug.

Taeyang + Solar, revisited.

Doing a little bit of housekeeping and found some images on my desk. Yes, a bit old but still worth sharing.

Exhibit A - allkpop generating controversy by claiming that Taeyang's summer album release performed below expectations. Countered by stubborn facts, such as Solar's iTunes ranking. How many Korean artists have debuted near the top of the RnB chart, sans promotions? Oh, none. Can't hold us down, haters.

Exhibit B -allkpop readers showing Taeyang some love. Yup!

Taeyang performs 'I'll Be There' on Inkigayo.

Fucking hot.

Thoughts on teaser tracks for Taeyang's new album, 'Solar'.

Alright, I feel compelled to write something about Taeyang's upcoming album, Solar (not to be confused with my favorite Hong Kong band Soler). Really though, it's not an easy thing as Taeyang and his music defy words. But it's 4 days remaining and we have been teased left and right - and I-just-can't-take-it-anymore!!

So, thoughts first on the track listing. There are 13 for the deluxe edition, I believe 11 for the regular one, and a total of 9 new tracks. Wedding Dress and Where U At appear on both albums, and Look Only At Me and Prayer are bonus tracks of the deluxe set. Excluding these, Taeyang contributed to 3 songs. YG standbys Teddy and Kush also contribute as does YB's bestie, G-Dragon. Additional writers, composers, and producers appear as well, so it'll be interesting to hear the diversity but also the unique Taeyang sound that pulls the album together.

On to the music...for some reason, YG thought it was a good idea to give the fangirls a mini-heart attack for the week leading up to Solar's release on July 1 by unleashing 1+ minute snippets everyday.

[Track 1] Intro - Taeyang's "just got a question for y'all. ARE YOU READY FOR SOLAR?" Honey, do you even need to ask? He strips it down in this intro (no, he does not strip down) and teases with only a drum line and a few scattered sound effects. The result is something completely fresh and deliberately evocative of a late spring or summer dawn. Just you, the birdies, and Taeyang.



[Track 2] Superstar - This song opens with an almost sporting arena drumbeat, like our boy Taeyang is getting ready to go a few rounds - which matches the lyrics, or the English parts that I understand. He's telling a girl to get with him and to give him her love because, after all, she's his superstar. It's not aggressive but supremely confident. Interesting because one wonders if this matches his approach to dating, though if his interviews are any indication, he's nowhere near this forward.



[Track 4] Just a Feeling - So how awesome are Taeyang's songwriting skills? VERY. This collaborative effort (with the ubiquitous Teddy) has a steady dance beat but is not overrun with electronica. Producer Teddy is starting to lay off on all that interference and delivers a controlled song that let's Taeyang's voice do the leading. "It's just a feeling..." but I think this album is going to kill. Yeah, all the k-pop kiddies better be scared.



[Track 5] You're My - "You're my chocolate, my sweetest chocolate. I really wanna have you.....You're my ice cream, my sweetest ice cream. I really wanna have you....." Right. Not the coolest lyrics, but maybe the Korean parts are awesome! But random food references aside, this is a super mellow track, perfect for displaying Taeyang's sweet, soulful voice. Just a few sparse piano strains and Mr. Dong to the Yongbae. It's not something you'll put on when making out with your other half, but it's perfect if he's lying next to you, caressing your face as you slowly drift to sleep...wishing he was Taeyang.

Dong to the Youngbae interview series starts now.

Heaven will either be filled with angels and fluffy marshmallow clouds - or copious amounts of pop music and entertainment. I'm kind of aching for the latter now, though there is the whole issue of getting to heaven. In any case, there have been a series of interviews with the men of Big Bang - and yes, their latest video clearly requires them to be characterized as such. Retrospectives on G-Dragon, Daesung, and most recently Seungri have been read and re-read, and re-read again. But at long last, it's dear Youngbae's turn! I can't wait for this 10 part series to come out. Check out any of the BB fan sites to get the latest. I recommend Always Taeyang this time around - because if you're going to spazz about the TY, you might as well spazz with someone even crazier than you.

Taeyang's live performance of 'Where U At'.

The man is a beast.

So I was watching videos of Rain, who I like because who doesn't like Rain? The man is fit as hell, he sings, he dances, he acts, and he even eye smiles. But he's never made me want to do anything immoral. So what is it about li'l Taeyang that makes me feel like a bad Catholic girl? This......

Ab-solutely fabulous!

So it's been about a month since I posted. Blame that on my inability to close my old internet account and sign up for a new one. Also, I'm in the process of jumping ship over to Wordpress but as with everything in my life, the task will only get accomplished after much procrastinating. The good news is that I submitted my thesis. The better news is that I'm still in love with this:

The even better news is that I have also acquired another obsession in the form of this:

Now, before we crap ourselves because I just posted a picture of Vanness Wu, consistently my least favorite member of F4 (well, I didn't realize he looked like that), the qualifier comes in the form of a hit Taiwanese drama, 下一站，辛福 (Autumn's Concerto or Next Stop, Happiness) starring him and Ady An. 'Hit' is kind of an understatement; it killed the ratings and surpassed even mega-hit The Prince Turns into a Frog which previously knocked out Meteor Garden, which incidentally launched Vanness's hitherto questionable career. Being no fan of this transplanted American, I approached the show with a healthy dose of skepticism - and was subsequently blown away. I'll save the gushing for a post not written at 3a, but let's just say Mr. Wu, and really the entire cast and crew, impressed me like none other in film or television recently. It had all the ingredients for a disaster in my Asian drama recipe book - unusually attractive, and tall, idols; orphans; single mothers, bitchy mothers; kidnapping; brain tumors; amnesia; and bloody Vanness Wu. Yet somehow, it held itself together and even managed to push forward an actual message about the nature of love, one that overcame the contrived trappings of the genre and managed an affecting honesty. Expect plenty more obsessive posts, and hopefully a review, in the near future. In the meantime, the closing credits song sung by Della and Emil Chow, still sporting a mullet after all these years. I found a series preview but it wouldn't allow embedding. In any case, this song is a treat!

6 hot guys, 1 phone call.

From a (slightly abbreviated) conversation I had last night - with my mum. Leave it to me to find a way to weave 6 uncommonly attractive men into one phone call.

"Mom, I'm crazy about a Korean singer."
"Your brother told me. I told him that's not possible because you were just obsessing over Soler last night."
"Don't worry, I'm still crazy about Soler. In fact, when I went out today, I was looking for their studio again." (It's hidden somewhere in my neighborhood.)
"So who is this new guy?"
"He's from a Korean boy band. You said Korean guys are cute so you should be happy with my choice. He can sing, he can dance, he's quiet, sweet. His English is okay too. Much better than Hong Kong pop stars these days. They're not like the older generation. Tony Leung has good English."
"Really?"
"Yeah! I'll send you a YouTube clip. I wanted to buy Duke of Mount Deer today when I went past the bookstore."
"What is that?"
"It's a wuxia novel."
"I don't read."
"I know, Mom. I'm not sure how you have a double English major daughter. Anyway, it's been made into a tv show many times. Tony Leung was in a TVB version in the 1980s. Even Huang Xiaoming was in the most recent one. Did you know he's also going to be in a new movie with my other crush, Donnie Yen."
"Who?"
"I didn't tell you about my crush on Donnie Yen?"
"Who's Donnie Yen? I've never even heard of him."
"Oh my goodness. Don't you watch Hong Kong movies? He's the top martial artist right now. Among Hong Kong martial arts legends, there's Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen."
"I've never heard of him."
"Ai! His mom's a wushu sifu who helped bring martial arts to America. They moved to Boston when he was young. Then he started getting into trouble -"
"Like Bruce Lee."
"- so his mom sent him to Beijing. After his studies, he took a detour in Hong Kong on his way back to America and ended up working with Yuen Woo-Ping."
"Who?"
"Mom! He's one of the most famous action directors in Hong Kong!"
"Oh, wasn't he in a Danny Chan movie?"
"Yes! He played the goofy suitor to Paula Tsui in Merry Christmas. Anyway, they started working together and the rest is history. I'll send you a link so you can see who Donnie Yen is."
"Okay, whatever."
"Do you want me to send you the link to a music video of this Korean guy?"
"No."

Your loss, Mum, your loss. But credit to her for listening to me spout nonsense, which I've been doing since I first laid eyes on Joey McIntyre. My birthday's coming up, a reminder I need to grow up. But I'll do what I'm best at and procrastinate.

Team Taeyang!

Yes, I'm obsessed with Taeyang. As a treat, to myself, I was going to post a picture of him in all his 6 pack glory, but I'm willing to admit the amount of man meat I've been throwing around lately is quite excessive. So I'll try something I've no talent in - moderation. Here's a picture of Taeyang looking properly Asian. He's caught in soft focus, decked in white, sporting a goofy grin, and cuddling a life-sized teddy bear. The only thing missing is glitter. (This picture, by the way, hardly does justice to Taeyang's adorableness. He almost looks underage, which is an entirely different type of innocence than the sweet and single twentysomething he portrays in his interviews.)

"I dare you to say the bear's cuter."

Taeyang + 'Wedding Dress'.

Taeyang, you are too much for my little heart to handle.