So...what's your thoughts on Gangnam style?

[Little2Raph]

Interesting you should say so. I first saw Gangnam Style via an article a friend linked me to in The Atlantic:Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea's Music Video Sensation [http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/gangnam-style-dissected-the-subversive-message-within-south-koreas-music-video-sensation/261462/]. Long story short: PSY is basically asking the same question Lugbzurg is by parodying the "crap" even South Korean music is full of. The artist has been around for a long time and is one of the few to "get away with" implying such things publicly. (Social commentary in music is a lot less common in South Korea than it is in, say, the US.)

That was an interesting article. I'm no expert on modern Korean culture; I only know what a good Korean friend of mine has told me. But my first reaction to this video was "is he taking the piss out of his own culture?" Which I thought was awesome since he'd have to be the first Korean I've met or heard of that can do that.

 

[Dangit2019]

Someone just showed me this thing either today or yesterday. Honestly? I hate it.

It's stupid, it's repetitive, and it's rather demeaning. Out-of-context sex content just thrown in there for "good measure"? Really? Do we seriously need more of this crap?

Plus, what's so great here, anyway? It comes off as an advertizement where some guy is demanding that we all walk like him. And on top of that, he pretty much doesn't walk at all, when he says to walk in his style. Oh, and he changes his motions every time. So much for any specific style that he wants us to mimick like mindless sheep. Inconsistent, idiotic, and just frivolous garglemesh. Nothing good can come out of this.

He actually wrote the song to make fun of both American and K-pop stars by by having a ridiculous video, needlessly sexual lyrics, and a catchy, but very simple beat. What happened is that people unexpectedly took it as a straight pop song and the popularity ran away from there.

I like to compare it to "Springtime for Hitler" in The Producers. They worked so hard to make it a complete failure, and at the end, it was a hit because of a completely different perspective from the audience than they had expected.

 

[MammothBlade]

Gangnam Style hypnotises its audience to lose all sense and good taste in music for its duration. It's popular not because it's good, but because it's hypnotically ca--- ALL GLORY TO THE PSYTOAD!!!!

I kind of really like this song. KPop is just kind of good by default. Better than American pop, at any rate.

(Though... I'm also one of the few who genuinely liked Double Take's "Hot Problems [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__HeE6NWmDE]," so take my opinion as you will.)

Plus, with the creation of a popular song comes awesome mashups. Like this:

Oh lord. That hot problems video might as well be a parody of the entire pop music genre. Yet it's still awful.

The other video, though, freaking brilliant...

 

[Jezzascmezza]

I used to find it really annoying, but over time I've begrudgingly accepted the fact that I find it kind of catchy; but please don't tell anyone I said that

 

[Dr. Thrax]

I will agree it's catchy, but I don't exactly like the song.

However I'm tired of hearing the damn thing or people going "AAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY SEXAY LAYDAY" on the internet.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

You know what? It's catchy. The video is hilariously random. I agree with the intention of the song, which is to be a parody of both the American and Korean music industries. However, I'm pretty tired of everyone throwing it around like candy.

It was funny for a time, but now it's just getting old.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

I'll admit, when I first heard the song I thought he was shouting out "Gundam Style". Thankfully, I wasn't the only one... [http://vimeo.com/48100473]

Now all we need is Amuro in his Gundam dance fighting Char in his Zaku II to this song.

 

[eternal-chaplain]

It's annoying, senseless, trashy, and merits no reason of being, and in those regards, the fans seem to mirror it through more than just the dance. I wish people would give it a rest; looking like a sub-human idiot on purpose doesn't mean you don't look like a sub-human idiot. It's gotten to the point where it hinders my productivity as a stage manager because there is always someone behind me dancing to this crap, and I have to constantly get up and go get a new pencil after it disintegrates in my wrathful hands.

 

[Dawns Gate]

I thinks it's kinda catchy, like the "I'm really bored and want to kill time but Gangnam Style is the only thing in my head at the moment so I'm going to jump around like an idiot while everyone laughs at me but eventually joins in for a few minutes" kinda way.

 

[CleverCover]

It's just another club song. A song about who the hell knows what with crazy random wacky exploits and some supposedly hot chicks. I wondered when I would find the Korean version.

There was a lot of "WTF am I watching?" and then "OMG why is this video so long?"

It's just like LMFAO, except I can only understand about 5% of what he's saying.

Are there going to be a bunch of remixes with this song too?

 

[Fijiman]

I love it.

And for your entertainment.

Spoiler

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Plus, with the creation of a popular song comes awesome mashups. Like this:

Mother of god...

PASWG + Gangnam Style = Major arousement.

OT: I like it.


I really need to get it on my Ipod at some point in time.

 

[likalaruku]

It annoys me, because America has had access to Kpop on both TV & Youtube for over a decade & only NOW one goes viral? I stopped listening to Kpop in 2002 after about 20 of my favorite bands split up & the music started sounding more like the shitty American pop of the time.

For every song there is always a better parody, especially if it's THE KEY OF AWESOME:

 

[Brainpaint]

I heard te instrumental backing tune on XFactor UK. I had to explain it to my parents where it came from.

Doubt it would make (Korean)waves over here like it has in America because we rarely EVER have foreign language songs in our public consciousness from EUROPE so poor K-pop will probably fail even harder.


In fact, I think only 2 foreign language songs made it into our charts for the WHOLE 00's. "The Ketchup Song" and "Dragostea Din Tei".

It's a common complaint of mine that the UK is xenophobic when it comes to music.

"Either sing it in English regardless of whether you have to change the whole meaning of the song and make it bland and generic as a result or GET OFF MY LAAAAAAND!!!"

(Edit Now that Gangnam as reached UK number 1: "Unless you've already made it in the US, then it's okay apparently...")

 

[itsausernamewhatofit]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GivkxpAVVC4


J-pop beats K-pop

OH YEAH, IT JUST WENT THERE

COME
AT
ME
BRO

Spoiler: And J-rock beats J-pop

 

[StBishop]

I first saw it within the week of it's release. I found the video unbelievably awesome at first, but like with many internet fads it quickly became overused.

Now I patiently wait for the hype of it to die down whilst I hear the song shoehorned into unrelated things for the thousandth time.

See I was smart enough to post it to facebook after I listened to it about a billion times, thus I have proof that I was in on the ground floor.

My hipster cred is intact.

I still love it even though it's on a Big Brother advert in Australia.

 

[bat32391]

The damn tune is stuck in my head, at least it isn't a bad one

 

[emeraldrafael]

I personally dont care for it, especially since it sounds too much like party rock in that its just club music.

 

[Catfood220]

Utter crap. Genuinely talented musical artists would kill for this sort of exposure and yet airwaves that could be given to them are filled with this generic pop shite.

Some times I wonder if I'm the only one who can see past a "whacky" Youtube video and see the one hit wonder for what it is.

Ugghhh, its The Midnight Beast all over again.