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Engaging in ever more desperate — but just as futile — attempts to find Canadian popular recording artists who aren't boring, the Singles Jukebox reviews G.NA's "Banana."

Which brings me to the topic: when crows travel from city to city, do they fly in a straight line? Wikipedia has no opinion on this issue.



(Thinking about G.NA, I wanted to know the distance from Denver to Edmonton, and wanted it as the crow flies (as opposed to as the car drives, presumably on roads), but eliciting this information from the Web I made do with as the plane flies.)

In other Jukebox/K-pop news, the Jukebox reviewed X-Cross's much better "Crazy" last week, and many Jukeboxers were just as bored. They've heard it all before.



I assume the song title is a reference to the given name of a member of the family Frog, though I may be mistaken, name order working differently in Korea from how it works here. Perhaps the family name was what was being referenced, and Frog is the given name.

How come shuffle dances are never done to shuffle rhythms?

When the man in red goes "dadda-dadda dat-dat DAT GIRL," he's quoting Nassun in Lee Hyori's "U-Go-Girl" (but that doesn't mean we've heard this before; there's a difference between drawing on traditions and tropes, doing variations on a hot template, etc., as X-Cross are doing, and merely recapitulating it all).

EDIT: Btw, I don't know enough about Canadian music to know how much it is/isn't boring; was just referring back to a convo where Anthony was saying that at the Jukebox we seem to review the worst of Canadian music, and Alex explained that there's plenty of great stuff from Canada but it's not charting, and to weigh our Canadian choices too much away from the charts would be to do things differently for Canada from how we do it for anywhere else. (I didn't actually feel that the song in question, Kay's "My Name Is Kay," was that bad. Might have given it a 6; it tried too hard but I liked what it was trying.)

Just wanted to mention that some economists — Krugman, Eichengreen — think that Europe is only days away from a falling-to-pieces financial catastrophe. They also think the catastrophe is easily avoidable, but Krugman believes (or believed a couple of days ago) that the people in position to act lack the sense or, where they do have the sense, the collective cohesion to do so. I, who lack the expertise to have any kind of informed opinion on any of this, nonetheless think Krugman is/was being too pessimistic, that Europe will ease up rather than forcing Greece to the point where it has to default, that the European governments will back up their at-risk banks (France has pledged to do so), and that the European Central Bank won't let the interest on Spanish and Italian debt explode. I'm presuming the ECB has the ability to do this. As I said, I'm hardly someone who knows.



Reason for posting is that this story is not gaining traction as news in the U.S., nor does it seem to be affecting anyone on my flist or my RSS. So just wanted to yell, for your benefit, SKY MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT BE FALLING!

P.S. Haven't been posting much about economics over the last several years. Probably won't in the near future, either. The reason is triage. It can be fun to post ignorantly and exploringly about a subject and to then get in a discussion that might make me less ignorant. But other stuff needs to take priority. So I've been confining most of my ignorant posting to K-pop.

It's a couple months too late to note this, but the one country single that's touched me this summer is Keith Urban's "Long Hot Summer." The lyrics aren't particularly evocative (or evocatively particular, either) of the yearning and anticipation the song means to convey. But the roll-along-rhythm and the laid-back but aching vocals give a sense that desire is there all right, except it's only just barely able to lift its head above the essential lassitude of the season.



Co-written by Richard Marx, whom I used to underrate, back in the day.

SNSD's "Bad Girl" reviewed over on the Singles Jukebox; I love the song, but most others don't consider it bad enough.

Strangely, no version I could find of the official vid had adequate sound, including the one uploaded by SM Entertainment, so I decided if the fidelity wasn't going to be high I might as well use a "live" performance.



And while we're at it, here's an astonishing dance routine, SNSD's beginnings in 2007; Mat says: "This is the most impressive dance performance I've ever seen from a girl group. It almost beggars belief. The stuff around the 3 minute mark is just scary.... Helps that it's all lipsynced — it's noticeably less sharp on regular performances — and that the camera is fixed so we get the amazing sync work and units moving around the stage. I don't expect them to ever match this level again because it was their debut track and they exclusively practiced this choreography for such a long time."

Over on the Singles Jukebox, Dal★Shabet's "Bling Bling" scores high on the controversy index and not bad in the overall ratings. I marked it on the low end, and I might have been overpraising it at 6. Thing feels barren to me, even with hooks heaped high.



A better Dal★Shabet track is "매력덩어리" (title translates as "Very Charming" or "Charming Bomb" or "Hottie"); better E-Tribe–produced tracks than either of those are Lee Hyori's "U Go Girl," T-ara's "Ya Ya Ya," and of course SNSD's "Gee." And this summer's best neodisco track is T-ara's "Roly-Poly."

Yes, we have no "Banana."

MBC is refusing to let G.NA perform "Banana" on Music Core. According to CNN International: "'Goin' bananas,' is the problematic line flagged by MBC, who apparently think that the phrase is imbued with all sorts of innuendo. Co-lyricist Verbal Jint took to Twitter on Sunday to explain the phrase's meaning in English, but G.NA's agency Cube Entertainment says it will not be contesting the Friday MBC ruling."

This seems beyond ridiculous. Could CNN have gotten the reason wrong? I checked an English translation of the lyrics, and I don't find anything else bannable (else?) — unless mention of short skirts and rising heat is deemed to inherently place children at risk.

I suppose someone had to put the ban back in banana.

At the moment, South Korea is doing better than America at making hit music that's good, and maybe absurdities like this contribute, somehow, adding risk and meaning even where not needed. Still, imposing an insane world on people is always destructive, no matter how creative the ensuing struggle.

The Korean Copyright Association writers' credits website is a pain in the neck owing to its decision to print everything in Romanized lettering. I would say, for instance, that the syllables "MA I THI MA U SEU" are not actually a useful way of communicating that a group's name is Mighty Mouth. (That it was in fact Mighty Mouth took me ten minutes to figure out, by first using an online transliteration tool to get "마 이 ㅌ히 마 우 스," then going to Google translate and playing with the spacing to get "마이 ㅌ히 마우스," which Google translate guessed was "My ㅌhi mouse" and I went, "Oh, they probably mean Mighty Mouth." Btw, "마이 ㅌ 히 마우스" translates as "Hi My articles about the mouse." Google translate itself is in an early stage of emotional development, I think - somewhere between "autonomy vs. shame and doubt" and "initiative vs. guilt.") It also doesn't help that there are at least two systems of romanization, and the website is using the less common; so, e.g., I've gotten that Mighty Mouth's "E Neo Ji feat. Seon Ye" is probably Mighty Mouth's "Energy" feat. Sun Ye of the Wonder Girls, but this was not by going from roman to Hangul to English but just by running a Google search for "Mighty Mouth" "feat. Seon Ye." But "E Neo Ji" Hangulizes as "에 너 지," which when condensed to "에너지" does indeed register as "Energy" on Google translate, so that's relatively easy. Haven't gotten anywhere with "Deul Eo Bwa" by Jyu Eol Ri S yet, however.

All this during a search on Sinsadong Horangee a.k.a. Shinsadong Tiger, who seems to be having a Lieber-Stoller couple of years, what with "Mirror Mirror," "Roly-Poly," and "Bubble Pop!" just in the last few months. I'm trying to fill in the history.

HyunA's "Bubble Pop!" reviewed over on the Singles Jukebox. Particularly eloquent is Josh Langhoff:

The beat is hard and severe like a row of brick walls, and HyunA's job is either to squeeze between each pair of walls or, if she's on a roll, to soar over the top of the walls and contain them, as though she's being unfurled by Christo.

My guess is that the censors have never forgiven HyunA for this:

Live version of "Just Follow," with Zico in place of DOK2; HyunA's relative stillness makes her as steamy as ever, and Zico just kills. His rap in the middle is entirely new, and he improves on the original.

Rapping, and this slow tempo, suit HyunA well. She's digging in, sounding hard and wounded; meanwhile, her sensuousness operates on its own accord, drifts along with the music, a force field that saturates the room.



Don't know if the ban on the "Bubble Pop!" video and on its live dance routine influenced this performance. She's in pants this time, not panties or minis, and she doesn't thrust her pelvis a lot. And this works fine.

( Questions about South Korean censorship )

( Zico and Block B )

Some mumbling in the bleachers to the effect that Pitchfork's list of their 60 favorite music books won't direct you to the work by T.W. Adorno you'll most need, or to the bio of Jimmy Durante you'll most want (the only one I've read is Schnozzola by Gene Fowler, which I found quite entertaining, though fundamentally anecdotal). But youff must be served! In any event, many books on the list I've yet to read myself, and some are by people I've never heard of, so it surely serves a purpose.

Tom's been posting cover pics of some of his own faves that didn't make the list, and Tal tossed in a gem of his own; I'm joining in, will add several over the next days or months, favorite authors as yet unpictured.

Ken Emerson was my first rock critic hero, before Nelson, before Meltzer, before Christgau. Wrote about the Dead, about the Yardbirds, about the Stones, about Bowie, but also about one shots, nobodies, and ex-somebodies I'd never heard of. "Without the Zombies, rock would be no different, just poorer." Emerson uncovered the artistry of entertainers and craftsmen who didn't officially matter in the counterculture '60s: pros in cubicles and scruffy kids imitating the previous big thing. So he brought me a world that was way more populated than I'd realized.

( Hats old and new )

You know that uncut version of Stroheim's Greed that you somehow possess and that you finally managed to set time aside to watch this week, vowing that you would let nothing stand in the way? Well this is what stands in the way: Chuck Eddy talks to eight of his friends, it's on podcast, three podcasts, three hours, it's over on rockcritics.com, I'm one of the talking friends, the others are Phil Dellio, Ned Raggett, Alfred Soto, Edd Hurt, Amy Phillips, Kevin John Bozelka, and Christopher Weingarten. Scott Woods oversees it all. As for a preview of what was said, I don't know yet, I haven't listened, it was by phone and we didn't all talk to him at once*: but Randy Montana is good, this year's U.S. Top 40 isn't, and what's so new about mixing electro with r&b; and hip-hop anyway?



The occasion for this gathering was the impending publication of Chuck's Rock And Roll Always Forgets by Duke University Press.

*Chuck and I tried to talk at once, however.

...is CL of 2NE1 (and this is the best fancam I've ever seen):



(YouTube page for neeeeds, the person who recorded this, who has more from the same multi-band concert.)

New Miss A vid, with song and album attached. Miss A are natural dancers, while their singing often feels like a struggle. This struggle imparts charm, puts me on their side. I hope there's a true payoff, an evolution into total awesomeness before they're eased out of the pop world as happens to all idol groups.



[If there are no English subtitles, click CC.]

This single, "Good-bye Baby," is a light breeze atop a nice little swing rhythm (what those of you who are still wet behind the ears call "schaffel"), even if their voices have to huff and puff a bit to catch up. Jia's rapping is excellently precise. The thing will be a grower, though its immediate merit is in how its light bounce helps propel their feet. Overall I'm disappointed: their digital single "Love Alone" from earlier this year was simultaneously warmer and more glistening, and "Breathe" last year was astonishing, r&b; jammed into Gilbert & Sullivan, exuberant and adorable and hilarious with a live dance to match.

Although Miss A's YouTube site describes the "Good-bye Baby" vid as suspenseful, the only real suspense is wondering when they're going to start the song already. The dancing is terrific, of course, not trying to overimpress us this time, just playing natural movement against stops and poses. Min especially - the short one with dark hair - seems to have a brain in every muscle, movement her fundamental state, a good round flow that even feels present when she stands stock still.

Am waiting for the live dance routine, though, which I hope does try to impress.

( Min's training-days vid )

( A Class )

In the Philippines, the fans of 2NE1 call themselves blackjacks. It took me two hours of Web surfing to find out why ('cause I'm stupid):

21 is the high number in Blackjack.



Dara had moved to the Philippines at age 8 or so, and was already an established figure there - finished 2nd on a TV talent show and acted and sang, though if what's said at Celebrity Info is correct, her career was sputtering - when she moved back to Korea to join 2NE1. Here's her Star Circle Quest audition:

Hate you!

That's not directed at anyone on my flist, it's just the name of the new 2NE1 single - which, despite its sentiments, and the violent video (where they merely save the world rather than blowing it up), is a nice little half-trance thing: late-night calm, early morning amble.



Also, Mat points me to the new video shoot for "Ugly," where Dara's hair sprouts wings and a tail of beads:



And points me to Sunny transforming into Sandara:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4DEPIogwD0

2NE1's "I Am The Best" reviewed over on the Singles Jukebox. Oddly enough, several people were disturbed by the supposed lack of a chorus. I'd say Nae Ga Je Il Jal Na Ga clearly IS the chorus, while the Bum ra ta ta-ta ta ta-ta-ta ta me-and-my-gun section acts as a separate refrain; these constitute a lot more chorus/refrain than you get on "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues," to name two of any number of examples. And this song doesn't need any more chorus than those do. It's basically hip-hop. [EDIT: Actually "Papa" and "Subterranean" aren't the best examples, since they're both in blues form anyway (albeit idiosyncratic blues) and you don't expect blues to have choruses*; but "I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)" and "When I Hear Music" and "Spoonin Rap" and "Anarchy In The UK" (to name four songs in my all-time top ten) aren't in blues form and have far less chorus/refrain than "I Am The Best" does.]

Don't see how anyone can resist it. It's like "Whole Lotta Love"; even if you're determined to hate it, you can't stop it from rolling in and rolling you over.

Here's a dance cover:

Strong little dance-pop track from Mina, a Korean singer who's more popular in China, former Miss World Cup, two versions (and two titles), one in Chinese and the other in Korean:

Chinese version:

http://www.nhaccuatui.com/mv4u/xem-clip/vqNR3tsNqNS2/single-party.html

Korean version:


There's something slightly goth I like in her voice, an icy touch. Think I prefer the Chinese, though I can't say why. Maybe 'cause it's the first track on her EP and the Korean is the fourth track, and by the time I got there I'd already grown comfortable with the first. According to a YouTube commenter, the rapper, Nikita, is Mina's sister, though I have no idea if that's true. Don't know Mina's history, 'cept a few things I scarfed up on YouTube in the last few minutes. Tended to like what I heard, esp. "Answer The Phone," which is a cover of this, but Mina's version has bits of Cypress Hill squiggle-squeaks. Also, I root for her 'cause she's closer in age to me than to the younger members of Orange Caramel.

EDIT: Hmmmm, Mina's voice sounds more anono and blah the more I listen, and has less sparkle, though I stand by those bits of ice. She does seem to have gotten a number of real good tracks (here's another).

Super Junior's "Bijin" is reviewed today at the Singles Jukebox. I wouldn't say I get Super Junior; I was one of the low scorers. Here's the Korean-language original, which I'd have given an extra point, raising it to 7:

Mat embedded this BoA rehearsal in one of the K-pop threads, and I don't want it to go unnoticed, since BoA's got something amazing as a dancer: her whole demeanor, a completely flexible confidence, a casual command of space and an elastic joy that's capable of owning every cubic centimeter in a room, should she find her way to it.



( Waiting for their Britney )

( Our Britney arriving? )