Hollyday said:
I'm happy.
It's not the best music video I've ever seen. It's not the best song. It's not the funniest video. However, it knows it. It's entertainment in it's purest form - catchy, pointless, ridiculous and fully aware of itself. I absolutely love it.
It's silly and catchy, and doesn't take itself too seriously, yes. But it's not completely pointless. It's a satire of people that try to appear rich and stylish (Gangnam Style, Gangam is one of the richest neighborhoods in Seoul), hence the ridiculousness.
Tony said:
wombat_of_war said:
k pop goes world wide. funny how its a video and song dissing fake people when alot of them are blindly bopping to it not having a clue what it means
Really? The song isn't about dissing fake people, it's about the type of girl PSY wants in his life (Wild but elegant) and how great Korea is. (Particularly, the Gangnam district)
On a literal level, yes, that's what the lyrics say: about the kind of man he is and the kind of woman he likes and so on. But it's probably not intended to be read only in this superficial level. As someone else said it, the lines about coffee are probably a reference for korean jokes about people (especially women) who eat cheap in order to afford expensive coffees in stylish coffeehouses. It's very subtle, indeed, but considering PSY has run into problems with government censorship before, it's probably wise of him to be subtle. The biggest evidences we have that the song is intended as satire is the video.
bluepotatosack said:
Vault101 said:
Tony said:
Really? The song isn't about dissing fake people, it's about the type of girl PSY wants in his life (Wild but elegant) and how great Korea is. (Particularly, the Gangnam district)
actually its about how F****ed the gangnam district is in terms of everyone trying to live the rich and famous lifestyle without actually being able to afford it
like I heard the line about coffee is how people aparently spend rediculous amounts on expensive expressos ans stuff for image (or somthing)
The idea that the song is about people trying to maintain an image based lifestyle they can't afford is shown by some of the imagery in the video, too. For example, the opening scene starts with Psy lounging on what looks like a beach. Then the camera pulls out to show that it's actually a playground sandbox.
Actually, a lot of the imagery in the video shows PSY trying to appear richer and/or more stylish than he is. The opening scene in the beach that is actually a sandbox sets the tone, but there are many others:
- his "nighclub" is actually a tour bus for middle-aged women
- he's in a sauna but sharing it with gangsters (note the tattoos) instead of executives or businessmen
- he emerges from water like he's swimming in a pool, but it's actually a public bath
- he finds his girl not in an expensive bar or nightclub, but in the metro
- he's singing from a "throne" like in a P. Diddy video but he's actually in the bathroom
Even the dance gives this idea: he never appears actually riding a horse, only mimicking it with the silly dance (he also rides a toy horse in a merry-go-round).