Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 6:25 pm Post subject: Ladies' Code: "Bad Girls", SiStar: "I Swear&a
With Ladies' Code's accident on my mind I took another look at some of their music over the last week. I was aware of some of it, but I have not been watching their progress closely, so I have a different perspective than before the accident.
[2015-03-19 minor stylistic changes]
After I posted "Pretty Pretty" I looked back at their two earlier songs "Hate You" and "Bad Girls". Both these songs qualified for posting because they had trumpets, but I did not like the music videos and decided to wait to find live performances of them instead. But I really do not have a lot of time to listen to music and prepare these postings, so at some point, I just forgot about them. So I am late with this, but frankly, with no apology, here is a live performance of "Bad Girls":
[2015-03-19 minor stylistic changes]
"130315 Music Bank Ladies' Code 레이디스 코드 - 나쁜 여자 Bad Girl [1080p HD]"
I am going to leave "Ladies' Code" for now. There is a lot of new interest in the group anyway. If you look for it, you will find it. . . .
But the whole situation got me looking at the past. So that is a theme for today.
SiStar: "I Swear"
Looking back, the first group I posted in this topic was SiStar ("Loving You"). I am not sure how I decided to create this topic. The idea of putting new pop and rock songs with trumpet had been in my head for a while before that. But I felt that it would take a lot of time and work tracking down enough songs to make it worthwhile, and in all honesty, I knew that I had just gotten interested in K-Pop and that I would really rather just find a new clip or two every now and then when I felt like it than make a special effort to look for anything in particular. The SiStar number was a strong motivation because the use of the horns was unique. I think it might well have been the first time anywhere that a serious attempt was made to use a drum corp style back track in a pop song. Usually it is the other way around where a drum corp takes up some pop songs and plays them drum corp style. Think of all the pop music coming out of North America -- where a lot of pop music styles originated, and also, what is really the home of Drum Corp music. All these years! And yet, the first time somebody does this it happens in South Korea? Maybe I am wrong about this, but if so, then show me.
Anyway, SiStar has been busy, and their latest number also has brass in their backtrack:
"[HOT] SISTAR - I Swear, 시스타 - 아이 스웨어 1위, Show Music core 20140906"
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:30 pm Post subject: TaeTiSeo: "Holler"; Super Junior: "Mamacita&a
Girls' Generation: "Holler"
"Girls' Generation" (aka "GG", aka "So Nyeo Shi Dae", aka "SNSD", ...) has been the generally accepted "most popular" girls' group for a number of years. It is a 9 girl group. This song is by their sub-unit "TaeTiSeo" which are the first syllables of the first names of the 3 girls in the group. This sub-unit group has already proven popular and it is now into the release of its 2nd album.
You will notice that generally, the English is quite good. Yup, another American expatriate. Tiffany comes from California. A second member of SNSD, Jessica, who is not in this sub-unit is also an American. In fact, though they had not met before, the two are famous for having been born in the same hospital.
With 9 members, the group has a few "specialists". Taeyeon, who is the oldest and thus, the leader of the group, is considered the lead singer and generally considered the best singer.
Seohyun is the youngest of both the whole group and the sub-unit. Born in 1991, she is 23 years old as I write this.
The last time I almost posted a song by SNSD, I heard one performance and thought there was some brass in it, but upon hearing another performance it was clear that it was a synth, so I have taken my time and listened carefully to this song. And it is not an easy call. If you hear it, you will notice that it is in short bursts which makes it hard to tell. But I think this time it is brass.
"[Comeback Stage] Girls' Generation-TTS - Holler, 태티서 - 할라, Show Music core 20140920"
I have a similar problem with this new cut by Super Junior. The problem is that the sound is so thick that it becomes hard to tell real brass from synth. But again, I am taking this as real brass.
Kara came out with "Mama Mia", and now Super Junior answers with "Mamacita":
"Super Junior - MAMACITA, 슈퍼주니어 - 아야야, Music Core 20140913"
Why the third link? Well, in this clip, a couple of the guys actually hold trumpets. Considering how big the group is, and that they are all "musical" people, it is possible that they might actually have a couple of trumpet players. I don't know. _________________ I am NOT a Contrarian!
MySpace: Search for "Mobile Writer"
Entertainment: Iron Chef America, BBC Radio 2: Listen To The Band. Making strange noises on brass instruments. Other stuff.
Last edited by QuietLoud on Fri Nov 28, 2014 6:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 11:58 pm Post subject: BESTie: "Hot Baby"
BESTie debuted in 2013. Three members of this group had originally been part of EXID, but had quit for various reasons. It looks to me that because EXID had brought in replacements, upon deciding to return to group music, the three formed a new group. I have heard two tracks that sound like they have brass, but one was really hard to tell, so I am posting this one.
Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 11:38 am Post subject: Mizrock: "Hello Me!"
The word "plagiarism" is being thrown around again lately in the K-Pop world. The problem is that in the orient, there are a lot of "re-made" songs. These are not just "covers" but songs that are substantially re-written (usually the lyrics) and re-arranged. Usually, this is done quite legally with full credits to any original work. That is, if the tune is the same, then the writer of the music is appropriately named, and royalties are paid. All this is usually done with full approval and contracts. Note that sometimes the actual writers' "approval" is NOT a part of it. It is NOT required because the song is usually licensed for all this to be done by an independent publishing company.
[2015-03-19 minor stylistic changes]
Before the Internet, it was possible for people who listened to "short wave" radio to keep up with it, but such people tended to know what was going on and did not make a big deal about it. But with today's Internet connectivity, large numbers of people who are not knowledgeable are running across these "re-made" songs and making noises about "plagiarism".
What annoys me is that real plagiarism, can and probably does occasionally happen. So a lot of the misplaced noise just makes it harder to see the real issue when it arises, and embarrasses a lot of people who do not deserve to be embarrassed.
According to SM Entertainment, TTS' "Holler" is a fully licensed version of a song recorded by Japan's "Mizrock" called "Hello Me!" It is actually unusual to see that the whole arrangement was substantially kept, but the words were re-written. It is not necessary for me to like either to post links to them "here". In the original post I wrote that it did not matter if the song is good or bad, as long as it has trumpets. Well, ok, any brass will do. But actually, this is a pretty good song.
Still, it is interesting to see that this song has NO real vids posted. Japan is FAR BEHIND Korea in this regard. _________________ I am NOT a Contrarian!
MySpace: Search for "Mobile Writer"
Entertainment: Iron Chef America, BBC Radio 2: Listen To The Band. Making strange noises on brass instruments. Other stuff.
Last edited by QuietLoud on Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:34 pm Post subject: Block B: jackpot
"Block B" ("Blockbuster") is a group that has had a run of bad luck starting as far back as 2011. Basically, they did not get paid. And just when they were about to re-boot their careers, the Sewol Ferry disaster happened. This does not appear to be a group that I expect will work much with brass, but this song has some.
"[HOT] Block B - Jackpot 블락비 - 잭팟, Show Music core 20140719"
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:57 am Post subject: BESTie: "I Need You"
This is the other song by BESTie. The problem I have with this song is that the back track is mixed so low that just about the only thing I hear is the drummer. But there is some brass down there. Really. Actually, if they just re-balanced it, you would find about as much brass as some of the more brass-heavy back tracks. But I guess the producer wanted to hear the girls sing.
Actually, having seen a number of their clips lately, I would compare them to SiStar. Their dance quality is quite good. Their singing is actually quite good too. They do not have the variety of voices that SiStar has, nor do they have a really outstanding voice like Hyorin's, but they can blend better than SiStar.
"140828 BESTie - I Need You (니가 필요해) @ M! Countdown Comeback Stage [1080P]"
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 9:12 pm Post subject: EXID: "Up & Down"
After looking into BESTie lately I decided to take a closer look at EXID. It is interesting to see the similarities and differences between the groups.
I think EXID seems to be more satirical or sarcastic. BESTie seemed to start off similarly, but their songs seem to have become more "direct" lately.
Brass-wise, it looks like EXID only has 1 song with any and it is not much, and it is covered over by a sax. This is it:
"EXID - UP & DOWN, 이엑스아이디 - 위아래, Show Champion 20140910"
Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 6:23 pm Post subject: Red Velvet: "Be Natural"
I have been busy lately, and away from music in general. So I spent a lot of time today listening to stuff I had not heard before. It was not a good day for trumpet, but I would not take that as necessarily representative. I actually spent a long time listening to "boy groups" and I think we have established that for some reason, the brass use has tended to be in the girls' side. When I gave up on the guys and checked some of the girls' stuff, yes, I found one. . . .
"Red Velvet" is a new group and is promoting their second song "Be Natural". Apparently, this is an old SES hit. I have not looked into that yet.
One of their members, "Son Seung-Wan" aka "Wendy". has a long and varied North American background, having bounced around both Canada and the US. Apparently, she even spent some time in Richmond Hill (north of Toronto). I have visited music shops in that area. For all I know, I might have crossed her path.
If Wendy reads this, let me first wish her good fortune. Just being where she is career-wise means, I think, she has had some of that already. I hope it continues. Beyond that, I would like to ask her a favour: Please use your seatbelt, regardless of how others may regard this. Thank you.
[2014-11-25]
I am thinking about replacing the Music Video clip with this live performance. As I have mentioned, I prefer live performances, but I have to admit that the music video was much better than usual.
As for this performance, it shows that they absolutely can do the dance and sing at the same time. They had mic problems near the beginning, but their overall performance showed they could get it done.
"[HIT] 아시아 송 페스티벌-레드벨벳(Red Velvet) - Be Natural .20141107"
Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 8:06 pm Post subject: S.E.S "Be Natural"
I have not had much time to check out new stuff but this clip of S.E.S performing the original version of "Be Natural" deserves attention. It shows how little "Red Velvet" changed from that original arrangement.
Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 5:47 pm Post subject: MAMAMOO: "Piano Man"
Lately I have not had time to do much research, so I have been posting the links without much info. This time, I actually tried to find something. Guess what? There is little info around about this group. So, . . . .
[2015-03-05 New Link: The previous link has been disabled.]
"MAMAMOO - Piano Man, 마마무 - 피아노맨, Show Champion 20141119"
Joined: 19 Dec 2013 Posts: 614 Location: Oakville, CT
Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 4:10 am Post subject:
There's a band called St. Paul and the Broken Bones out of Birmingham, Ala. that's making a lot of "best of" lists in 2014. Classic southern soul with one trumpet, one trombone. Sometimes with a keyboard, sometimes with a sax, but the trumpet/'bone is a constant.
Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 1:08 pm Post subject: Super Junior: "SPY"
How did I miss this one? Well, it was 2012. . . . Actually, I am always busy, so a lot slips by me. But occasionally I run across them later. This James Bond themed song was not the only one of its kind during that period, so maybe I just skipped it. Anyway, I have posted about "Super Junior" before, so I will just say that it is no surprise that they have a somewhat humorous and excellently performed MV. I have not looked for a live performance yet, but if I find one, I expect their quality level will be about as high.
[2015-03-19 minor stylistic changes]
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2015 1:39 pm Post subject: Eric Nam: "Ooh Ooh", Mamamoo: "Mr. Ambiguous&
Eric Nam: "Ooh, Ooh"
Eric Nam (Nam Yoon-do) was born and raised in Atlanta. When I think of K-Pop, even if I think of the North American connections, Atlanta is not a place that I picture in my mind. This multilingual talent broke into the K-Pop world through YouTubing his covers of various songs, both from the K-Pop and English charts. He is signed with B2M Management in 2012 and is currently one of the host of Arirang TV's "After School Club". Because he was around roughly when I was starting to listen to K-Pop, I think of him as an old, established talent, but really, he is still fairly new:
[2015-08-28 correction]
"[Comeback Stage] Eric Nam - Ooh Ooh, 에릭남 - 우우, Show Music core 20140412"
Again, I spent time looking for information about Mamamoo, and I found, little more than I did the first time. Either this is a group that wants to make it on the reputation of their output -- which I can respect, or they have a very lazy publicist.
In 2014, the Gaon charts show that for girl groups, 2NE1 made the most money from their songs. Sistar was the next most successful. I do not know who came after that, but I know that it was a good year "Girls Day", "A-Pink", "Orange Caramel" and "AOA". Of these latter groups, "Orange Caramel" might be called an instant hit, though really it is a subgroup of the well established "After School". The other three took a long time reaching the top. Comparably, "Mamamoo", like "Ladies Code" and "Red Velvet" enjoyed fairly quick success. I think that if you look at these latter three groups, you find that they struck similar balances in their presentations. They were not "kids stuff" groups, but neither were they trying to be "x-rated". It would seem that talent, and hard work are still a good basic approach for success.
This is their first release. There is a "reasonable amount" of brass -- not exceptional. But the overall performance was good:
"MAMAMOO - Mr. Ambiguous, 마마무 - 미스터 애매모호, Music Core 20140628"
If you are reading this in English you probably know more about Beyonce than I do. After all these years, this is still a good song. Glad it had some brass in it too.:
"Beyoncé - Crazy In Love (Live - A Night With Beyoncé)"
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:41 am Post subject: 9Muses: "Drama"
I have not been keeping up with 9Muses, but with recent changes in many of the groups, I decided to count the attendance. I see eight girls. If I find out something, I might add it later. For now, here is their new song:
"[Comeback stage] 9MUSES - DRAMA, 나인뮤지스 - 드라마, Show Music core 20150124"
NOTE: Apparently "9Muses" lost a girl early in 2014. I just did not notice. It appears that the company has decided not to bother changing the name of the group, but it is conceivable that they might add another girl later. They have done this before. [2015-03-19 Further Information added] _________________ I am NOT a Contrarian!
MySpace: Search for "Mobile Writer"
Entertainment: Iron Chef America, BBC Radio 2: Listen To The Band. Making strange noises on brass instruments. Other stuff.
Last edited by QuietLoud on Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:34 pm Post subject: Hello Venus: "Stick Stick", Ailee: "I Will Al
Hello Venus: "Sticky Sticky"
Hello Venus was a seven girl group formed in 2012 by Tricell Media which was a joint venture between Pledis Entertainment and Fantagio. One girl left before the groups debut, so the group became known as a six girl group. In 2014 the joint venture ended and two girls continued with Pledis and the remaining four continued as Hello Venus with two new girls. It was not a group that made a strong impression on me, so I will not say more than that about their past. This is the first release from the new lineup.
This is my big cheat for the month. There is a single trombone buried in the background. Not even a trumpet, and you will never notice it, even if you try, but I think I should give Ailee and some other North Americans a bit of slack occasionally.
[2015-02-20]
Actually, there is a trumpet in this clip. The trumpet player is standing beside the trombone player. They played about the same amount, which boiled down to something like a dozen bars near the end.
Think about this: These guys get to stand on the stage with some of the best singers in South Korea, and be seen by people all over the orient (these shows are seen by people in Japan and China among others). They play a few bars, while Ailee or Hyorin or some other major talent does "the heavy lifting", and they get to share the applause, and get paid for all this, and maybe shmooze over drinks after the show. Not bad work if you can get it. . . .
In case you have wondered what it is like for Korean people to hear North Americans speaking Korean, I generally cannot answer that. When many of them speak Korean, it seems to me that they sound Korean. But with Ailee, sometimes when she sings, even I can hear the "English accent".
Some people forget that this is a Dolly Parton song. Her version was actually delicate compared to Whitney Houston's. Actually, I like either version, and although I expect Ailee's version will generally be compared to Whitney's, and certainly shows Whitney's influence, it's just good. Ok Jersey Girl, sing it:
"[HIT] 에일리 - I will always love you 불후의 명곡2.20140412"
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:22 pm Post subject: Ailee: "Everyone"
First, about the show: This (and also the clip immediately above, of Ailee singing "I Will Always Love You") was a performance on a show called "Immortal Songs 2", which implies there was an "Immortal Songs" before it. And yes, there was. The show has gone through some changes, but in general, what you can count on is great performances.
It is a competition show, sort of like "Iron Chef" is for great restaurant chefs. It is a generally freindly competition, with nothing at stake except honor and reputation. Is that all?
This is not like "American Idol" where you have a bunch of wanna-bees trying to get their first contract. South Korea has those shows too. But this is different. All the performers are established talent. Some are newer "idol" singers, but nobody here is a "beginner". Think of a night in Vegas with Frank and Sammy and Tony, or maybe a night with Whitney Houston and Donna Summers, and Beyonce, just after she started soloing, all at their peak, singing for the "honour" of paying for the last round. They're here to have a good time, but they are going to show us the best they have, because, well, this is what they do.
There is usually a theme to each show. Sometimes a featured guest is the original singer of a song, or the writer. Apparently this was such a night. According to the comments "Yoon Bok Hee" was the original singer of this song, and she is shown enjoying the performance. The song had 2 versions. One only in Korean and another with some English. Yoon Bok Hee, was somewhat disappointed that she did not get to sing the version with the English lyrics. So this night Ailee performed that version.
Same deal regarding the trumpet player as last time. We really should have a show like this in North America. . . .
:-)
Is this thread mostly K-Pop? A quick skim suggests that's what's dominating here, but there has been plenty of trumpet in English-language pop the last 3 years.
Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 7:21 pm Post subject: Amber (F(x)): "Shake That Brass"
Amber and Luna are both members of "F(x)". F(x) is a very successful group created by "SM Town" and this is Amber's first solo effort. I am going to have to look this up later, but Amber was raised in California, but I think she was born -- somewhere else.
The original recording of this song had Wendy of "Red Velvet" singing the part that Luna is singing.
"[HIT] 뮤직뱅크-엠버(AMBER) - Shake That Brass (Feat. LUNA(f(x)).20150227"
[2015-03-06]
Hmm. Yesterday was a bad day. First, Amber Liu was born and raised in LA -- her parents were from Taiwan. As for this song, I have seen performances with Wendy of "Red Velvet", but apparently, the original recording was with Girls Generation's Taeyeon. The song is part of Amber's debut EP, Beautiful, which was released on February 13, 2015. Anyway, I should add that I posted this clip instead of one with Wendy was because this was the first time I posted anything from F(x) and I took the opportunity to show the two members of F(x). _________________ I am NOT a Contrarian!
MySpace: Search for "Mobile Writer"
Entertainment: Iron Chef America, BBC Radio 2: Listen To The Band. Making strange noises on brass instruments. Other stuff.
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:59 pm Post subject: Shannon Arrun Williams: "Why Why (왜Ǽ
Shannon:
Shannon Arrun Williams ("샤넌 아름 윌리엄스") has been on the verge a career since around 2011. Her father is Welsh and her mother is Korean. She actually started her training in Great Britain and showed promise doing "musical theatre" before her arrival in S. Korea. She was exclusively contracted with Core Content Media, which is the home of T-ara, and for a while, she was associated with "F-ve Dolls", but she withdrew from that group to establish a solo career. Lately she is working under "DAP Sound" which is part of "MBK Entertainment".
I think that her biggest recognition came when she appeared on "Hidden Singer 2" which is a show where amateur singers sing the parts of established talent and the audience tried to tell which singer is the real "original". Shannon took on the challenge of singing IU's "Good Day" along with a number of other contestants. I do not know the results, but I know that many people mistook Shannon's singing for for IU's. I did find a clip from the early part of the show, and it seemed to me that Shannon sounded more like IU on the record, whereas, on the day that the show was recorded, IU's voice sounded a bit fuller, and thus different from her record. During backstage comments, IU had doubts whether she would make it to the final round.
Her mini-album "EIGHTEEN" has recently been released.
Lately there has been a shift away from brass in the songs that I have heard. The K-Pop girls groups seem to be using a softer sound with more acoustic guitar and orchestral strings.
I have to wonder about this. I have read fairly authoritative comments that a big part of recent trends began with IU's "Good Day". Before that song was released, the movement was towards "hip-hop" and "electro-pop". I think I read in Soompi and maybe even in "Billboard", that IU's "Good Day", which used a highly orchestra back-track, and featured IU's singing voice, and dominated the music charts for months (yes months) seems to have single handedly changed the course of K-Pop. Actually, I think that is a bit exaggerated, but I have no doubt that she is closely watched in the K-Pop industry.
Since she released her "Modern Times" album near the end of 2013, she has said a few things about her up-coming album. She has said that she wanted to have an album with only her own songs on it. This appears to have been a struggle. From very early on, songs that she has written completely, or for which she has written the lyrics, have actually done well. But they have rarely been put onto her own albums. The other thing she has said was that she wanted to move to simpler arrangements. Her "Flower Bookmark" mini-album and "small concert series" have tended to be limited to a keyboard, a couple of guitars, a bass and percussion -- no brass.
This makes me wonder if the recent shift in styles has been a deliberate move by K-Pop arrangers to anticipate her coming album.
Anyway, I am expecting that I will not be posting as much this year, but we'll see. . . . _________________ I am NOT a Contrarian!
MySpace: Search for "Mobile Writer"
Entertainment: Iron Chef America, BBC Radio 2: Listen To The Band. Making strange noises on brass instruments. Other stuff.
Joined: 11 Dec 2014 Posts: 421 Location: Ontario, California
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:00 pm Post subject:
Frogg Cafe has great trumpet parts on most songs. Friendly Bears has an interesting trumpeter. Ide be interested in the Kpop band(japanese?) that former shred guitarist Marty Friedman plays for. _________________ F. Besson MEHA pocket cornet( practically stolen!)callet 17, schilke 15
Pan American tenorhorn 53'(Conn stencil), Jupiter standard mpc, Denis Wick heritage 1, wick heritage 1a mpc.
Vintage King tenor trombone, clunker mpc(?), wick 4.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
