Da Mouth

There's just something very empowering about mixed-gender groups, isn't there? We like have Black Eyed Peas, Evanescence, Flyleaf... bu there's not too much of them in the Asian music scene, so hallelujah for Da Mouth :)

Here's the MV for their song Rock It:

There's clearly this big resemblance to BEP's "Boom Boom Pow"...which isn't a surprise, I guess, since they have been time and time again dubbed as C-Pop's very own "Black Eyed Peas"...

The awesome thing about them though is their multi-cultural makeup:
- MC 40 is Canadian-Taiwanese,
- Harry, the male vocals, is Korean-Taiwanese-American,
- DJ Chung Hua is Japanese-Taiwanese, and
- Aisa, the female vocals, is Japanese (who sings in Taiwanese -- pretty darn cool, huh?)

If you guys are wondering, MC 40 (the one holding the hat in the above picture) was raised in Vancouver, and is the one who writes most of the band's lyrics. Another FYI about him: he's apparently considered the best and fastest rapper in Taiwan :O

Tokyo Jihen

Hey guys! We ended last week's show with a crazy unique track by Tokyo Jihen (otherwise known as Tokyo Incidents), a Japanese band whose style is characterized by a fusion of jazz and rock (and some freaky squeaky vocals). The front[wo]man is Ringo Shiina, who created the band after she decided to quit her solo career.

The song we featured for you, Osca, actually grows on you after the few million times you play it... I could not tell whether she was speaking Japanese, or English, or any other human language for that matter, but the fact that it's so weird makes it soooo cool :)

Anyways, here's the randomly peculiar music video for the song:

I also have to admit, their lyrics (English translated LOL) don't make any sense whatsoever...here:

That deep red Osca Alfa wins us over running the whole distance

I partook of true charisma – that’s a surface wave

With sorrow blazing down in Obli, I’ll hurry on

Pretending to be straight through divine Providence, I’ll stir things up again...

... Now the unmasking as the sign is peeled away; don’t cry out

Maybe a partner, sista OSCA

Now crossbreeding if heterogeneous – that presence

Um, yeah. What do you guys make out from that?!?

Anyways, a HUGE thanks to my friend KY for introducing them to me... and after I got over the whole bizarre-ness of their image they're now a hot fave of mine x] they've got quite a few other good ones out there -- check out Dynamite below:

Okie dokie, that's it for now :) Have a good one people xoxo

Lee Hyori's new MV

As promised, here is Lee Hyori's new single Swing, with rapper duo Leessang.

...freaky, isn't it?! Especially that clown!!!!!!! It's so un-Hyori... nevertheless we think she really manages to pull off this emo and eerie vibe... what do you guys think?

(PS you can read the meaning behind the video here on Allkpop)

Big Bang: The best thing out of Asia since tofu and Pokémon

Good evening, guys, it's Bianca again. HAHAHA I think I have waaay too much time on my hands but it's Big Bang, so it really REEEEEALLY couldn't wait :D :D :D

We played tonight an English song off one of their older Japanese albums; here is Number 1:

btw, that chick dancing with Taeyang (guy in the shades) is [an American-born] Filipino... ohhhh yeahh, representttt... xD

My introduction of them on air was a complete FAIL... I was foaming at the mouth due to terminal fangirlgitis, making it hard for me to talk properly. So just let me try again:

They're 5 talented, award-winning guys from South Korea, and like I said about 248894594 times earlier, they're the top idols not only nationally, but all over Asia as well: Thailand, China, the Philippines, and Japan especially, where they've recently won numerous awards (and if you don't believe me, see for yourself here). AND, they've also won the heart of the notorious Hollywood blogger himself, Perez Hilton, who has been on a rave about their newest hits, which is pretty darn cool, since this means exposure to a much bigger, international audience :] They're famous as a group, but as individuals too... as a matter of fact, Big Bang as a band has been on a long hiatus until today, since each member has been pursuing their own projects: acting, solo albums, collaborations, mc-ing, theatre, reality/variety shows...

... and they're among the original Asian pop culture trend setters as well. They were some of the ones who started the whole hip-hop image during the first few years of their career, donning labels like Bape, Nike and Phenomenom. Later they helped foster the preppy-punk trend, with skinny jeans and converse sneakers... and now they've adopted a more "mature" style, sporting high-end names like Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Balmain, Dior, McQueen... and ALOT of John Galliano & Jeremy Scott.

I also want to add that they're the ones who started the whole "colorful", "electric", "quirky" concept among mainstream Kpop artists... which is not a surprise, since their front man is basically Lady Gaga in a grown Asian man's body >< (but more about him later). It's pretty evident in this video, which is actually a newer hit than the previous one. Gara Gara Go is a Japanese single they released last year, and I guess was a kinda transition from their toned down image to a more vibrant & flashy one. Check out the MV below:

They are said to return to South Korea this summer with their newest album, which is BOUND to be an amazingly awesome comeback. It's been a long time since they've last appeared in the Kpop music scene together as a group, mainly due to their activities in Japan, but they've slowly disappeared from the limelight there as well.

I'm trying my very hardest to restrain myself from blabbing on... but this definitely won't be the last time you'll hear about them. They've got a lot of good mellow songs as well; and as solo artists they've also got a lot of awesome stuff. All this next time, I promise :]

BUT, since we featured him on our show today, I guess I might as well just extend my Big Bang spiel a tad more xD ... we played for you a mind-blowing collabo between the East and West... BB's frontman G-Dragon and the man Flo-Rida himself in a remix version of Heartbreaker. There's no music video for it, but I'm giving you the track nonetheless, just because it's so fricking awesome:

The original song without Flo-Rida does have a music video though, where GD's very bold and unique style really shines... he's known as one of South Korea's top fashion idols, and has been both commended AND criticized numerous times for his rather outrageous originality (well, original in the context of Asia, since many parts of it are still so conservative... G-Dragon's image, in my opinion, is basically one of the first attempts to break through those traditional barriers, which is why he has been the center of some really bad controversies this past year. You can read some articles from Korea Times that provide more details here and here.)

But anyways, here is his Heartbreaker MV:

It's so weird for me to see him all extreme like this... during BB's earlier years he had SUCH an innocent look going on because of his baby face:

... and now, 3-4 years later, it's like...

And if that isn't enough, check out the many hairstyles he's adopted throughout 2009... he's gone from grease monkey to Goku to Shirley Temple to Spock in a single year HAHA ^^

His style I guess is certainly shocking, but more appalling especially to Asian society... Nevertheless he really is a musical genius, and one of those very few Asian pop stars nowadays who actually have the guts to go against mainstream expectations and pursue what he pleases. And apparently even Nick Carter thinks so :) :)

(and OH YEAH, before I forget, he's also a record producer himself, and the original songwriter for most of BB's tracks. He was also the producer/songwriter for 2NE1, personal mentor, and personal stylist as well. (Scroll down to see our earlier post on 2NE1.) Both Big Bang and 2NE1 are under the same agency, YG Entertainment, which is why they are very closely affiliated. So I guess it's no wonder leader CL gives off a very G-Dragon-esque vibe...)

Arrighty, I know this was a fairly long post, but I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did :] we'll be posting up more stuff later on... or at least, we'll TRY to, considering the upcoming exams. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, guys xoxo