Bad Boy MV Review

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

Judging by the growing alignment of American big media forces around K-pop—within the last two months, The Wonder Girls starred in a Teen Nick TV-movie, Interscope signees Girls Generation performed on Letterman and Swizz Beatz signed a broad production deal with a South Korean television company—2012 seems predestined to be the year the ever-growing genre breaks into the Western mainstream. Big Bang have been twice name-checked by Swizz as potential Chris Brown collaborators, and on “Bad Boy,” the newest music video from their Alive mini-album, they make the most compelling case yet for why a rising K-pop profile in America is a well-deserved and wonderful thing.

The song opens with a very Slick Rick-sounding, A-yo, Choice, drop it on me, spoken by the group’s leader, G-Dragon, an androgynous man with a delicate, Skrillex-inspired hairpiece and a patched motorcycle jacket with a teal muppet-fur back. Despite spending 6 years being trained for stardom by his record label before debuting with Big Bang, G-Dragon was found out by Seoul police last October for having smoking marijuana. Either way, he’s totally seamless here. “Bad Boy” is exquisite, with roots in the airiest of hip-hop/R&B summer crossover. Though it’s sung 90 percent in subtly processed Korean, carefully placed English phrases explain the song succinctly—Sorry, I’m a bad boy… you’re a good girl—and provide crucial hooks for at-home singalong. “Bad Boy” floats the way your hand does riding currents outside the car window, in and out of the sun without seemingly any effort.

But perhaps most importantly—and definitely most surprisingly—the music video for “Bad Boy” was filmed in Williamsburg, down by the Marcy Ave JMZ subway entrance. Half the charm of K-pop is that it’s preciously and unabashedly manufactured, but there’s something seriously compelling and refreshingly unforced about weaving dances around Brooklyn subway steps. In our interview last week, Swizz Beatz said, “It feels like Korea is in your backyard, the way the internet makes things.” It’s already past that point. Big Bang really is in our backyard. They’re on the ground and they’re walking the turf, and for four breezy minutes they’re absolutely killing it.

Source:BBupdate
The fader

Comments

[tees2mai.livejournal.com]

Big Bang have been twice name-checked by Swizz as potential Chris Brown collaborators
N O

[monster-mutt.livejournal.com]

+1

[dangaodekuazi.livejournal.com]

as a female i have no choice but to disapprove

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

I know! I was like DONT DO THIS TO ME BABY.

[goldenrosalie.livejournal.com]

G-Dragon, an androgynous man with a delicate, Skrillex-inspired hairpiece and a patched motorcycle jacket with a teal muppet-fur back
BEST PART

[swrighteous.livejournal.com]

it's like ~poetry~

[monster-mutt.livejournal.com]

My white hillbilly friend who usually makes fun of my kpop posts on FB, but really likes Tonight, watched the Bad Boy mv and said she liked it, "but what the hell was that on the dragon guy's back?" I lolled so hard.

[paopuremix.livejournal.com]

I snorted when I read that hahah

[nellygea.livejournal.com]

UNF! This part.

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

I laughed so hard at this. Oh Gdragon you and your cute girly face confusing the westerners.

[akaich0u.livejournal.com]

ikr, that was beautiful.

[uglypricetag.livejournal.com]

~street cred~ duh

[aaalove.livejournal.com]

LOL! right? I'm gonna say that's what seemless means

[tokidoki-sama.livejournal.com]

Half the charm of K-pop is that it’s preciously and unabashedly manufactured,

What even makes something manufactured? The fact that they didn't make every single bit of this all by themselves? I'm not arguing whether it is or isn't manufactured, I'm just confused as to what makes something manufactured.

Is it because of the entertainment companies that train them and shape them into an idol? How is that being manufactured? They have to learn these skills somewhere. An American artist that does all the same things, like say Usher, I'm sure he didn't teach himself everything he knows about singing, dancing, and writing music. He had to go and learn from others as well I'm sure. Is he even considered manufactured? I wouldn't know, I'm so far out of the western music loop...

Anyway, I'm just confused and curious as to where this point of view comes from.

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

I think it's because the band was put together by YG as opposed to being a band already formed looking for a producer.

[sballet06.livejournal.com]

The process tends to be a bit more organic when compared to the Kpop training method imo
Friends coming together to form a band, entering talent shows and doing small performances locally before being discovered and signed, things like that. Whereas with Kpop idoldom it's more entering these agencies and training for a certain amount of hours per day on certain skill sets(dancing, singing, languages, media training etc.) that are dictated by the heads of the companies. Then performing songs/concepts picked out by people other than themselves that they might not even like. There are people breaking out of this mold but it's pretty obvious Kpop idol land is a slick machine.

Nope Usher wouldn't be considered manufactured. He started out singing in church, entering local talent shows and ended up being signed after singing in front of a label head. All that was self motivated and while throughout his career he's obviously gone to vocal trainers/choreographers he never went through the years of training that idols do. Not to put down K-idols because a lot of these kids are passionate about what they do.

[walkingparadoxx.livejournal.com]

i lol'd at "refreshingly unforced" because all I could think of were those 5 similar looking white chicks with acting chops as brilliant as kristen stewart.

[mspopstar.livejournal.com]

Walking out of fandom if they do a Chris Brown collab tbh

[monster-mutt.livejournal.com]

IA. I am still not thrilled they did Knock Out with Diplo because he's such a racist sexist piece of shit.

[annhh.livejournal.com]

I kind of like this article, even without much knowledge from the writer, this overview doesn't sound condescending... :D it's true that GTOP take/borrow many many words, sayings and "voices" from old hip-hop, and I see the writer calls on it. not that it's a bad thing. and it isn't, let's be clear. well, debatable. but nothing's original anyway

[88keyz2nun.livejournal.com]

a CB collab i wont be shocked i mean wasnt teddy in the look at me now video for .3 seconds

[deeinanutshell.livejournal.com]

Chris Brown collab would be weird. lol
I like this article.

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

I like what this post has chosen to become tbh.
It's much more interesting than the actual article

[cherrypop.livejournal.com]

1. Skrillex did not invent that hairstyle.
2. Chris Brown's era is over. Unless they want to kill their career early.
3. What does Marijuana have to do with your review?