Clazziquai (클래지콰이) are a fusion group, blending together aspects of acid jazz, electronic, house and groove to create something very unique and very catchy. They have the sort of sound that's very easy to love or hate, but whether you love it or hate it or are feeling pretty neutral about it it is still quite a breath of fresh air when compared to all the standard pop/dance/R&B styles floating around. I find that Clazziquai is pretty good "chill out music". It's the sort of stuff you can have on in the background while you're doing other things, and it won't be in your face and distracting you. That's not to say it'll put you to sleep - it won't, because it's definitely very upbeat music. Clazziquai was formed by DJ Clazzi, who... Show more

I mentioned pop-rock group FT 아일랜드 (FT Island) back in January (check out that post if you want to know a little bit more about them!), when it was announced that guitarist 원빈 (Wonbin) was leaving them and that his spot would be filled by 승현 (Seunghyun). I was curious to see how things would go with the new member, as well as being quite sad, since I'd followed FT Island since they were preparing to debut and 원빈 had always been there. It was definitely going to be a change. But it's turned out to be a change that I really, really like. 승현 fits in with the rest of the group really well, and he even looks like he belongs there. The change also didn't see FT Island's music changing in any ways that it wasn't already - I feel that it... Show more

Nine member SM Entertainment girl group 소녀시대 (So Nyeo Shi Dae, or Girls' Generation) released a new MV recently. You might remember the 'Gee Virus' they spread at the beginning of the year, with their super catchy song Gee. Even if you didn't like the song much, you probably had "gee gee gee gee baby baby baby~" stuck in your head for a while. (Did you live under a rock and never hear the song? Now's your chance!) I definitely don't think that they've necessarily done it again with 소원을 말해봐 (Genie), but the song is still cute, catchy, and I really enjoy it (and I love the outfits! Rawr~): The original album cover caused a bit of a stir, because netizens have hawk-like eyes (and maybe not much of a life). This is the original... Show more

Two excellent MVs and songs have been released since I last posted. The first is the latest from rocker 문희준. 문희준 used to be in an SM Entertainment boyband called H.O.T. Although they didn't last as long as labelmates 신화 and Fly To The Sky, they are considered one of the most well-known and influential Korean boybands of the time. After H.O.T split ways, the members enjoyed themselves some solo careers. Personally, while I love me some old school k-pop, I hated probably all but two or three of their songs. I much prefer the member's solo works. Their solo stuff ranges from ballads to hiphop to R&B, with 문희준 doing something a little different - rock. His stuff is a bit hit and miss with me. Some of it's incredibly cool, some of... Show more

SS501 (pronounced as Double S five oh one, or Double S 오공일), are one of the boybands that I think are pretty underated. Signed under DSP Entertainment (A'ST1, Kara, and previously 이효리), this five member boyband has been around since 2005. I've often wondered if perhaps the lack of the spotlight has been due in part to the fact that they debuted in the same year as Super Junior, who kind of sucked up all the fangirls into this big black hole and didn't let them back out for a long time. Consisting of 현중 (who played the role of 지후 in 꽃보다 남자 or Boys Over Flowers), 규종, 영생, 정민 and 형준, SS501 have had a fair amount of success in Japan as well as in Korea. Recently they've been getting more attention than usual, because of 현중's participation in... Show more