I Love K-pop: Pathway to Alternative Notes
Continuing with our ‘I Love K-pop‘ series, what I’m bringing to the
table has to do with all that other music Korea has to offer and how
that relates to K-pop and enjoyment of the genre. Over the years that
K-pop has been around, the definition has grown a bit to encompass more
than just the idol groups, usually lax enough to cover some solo artists
but not so many bands or musicians. K-pop is definitely still geared
towards the bubbly, manufactured sounds touted by young persons on
stage, but as awareness of the genre and interest increases — through
whatever medium — awareness of other aspects of music on Korean stages
similarly increases.
Taking a personal interest in the personalities of idol group
members, paying attention to interviews, or even following news sites
helps to foster the understanding that Korean music isn’t just about the
glitz and dolled up images that the young groups bring. No, there’s a
foundation and build-up of music behind all of that, and it’s promising
to eventually see what else there is offered. We try to bring more of
that exposure here with some of the music we review or our K-pop Indie
Gem segment, but the largest vehicles for this widening of perspective
are either shows — music shows, variety shows involving music — or
simply idol groups involving themselves with some more experienced and
just non-idol musicians.
The weekly music shows that we regularly recap have a heavy idol
lineup, but that doesn’t stop it from having those breaks when musicians
like Dynamic Duo or Geeks drop in for a performance, or if a legend
like Cho Yong-pil makes a comeback. For fans that are willing to sit
through the show or happen to pass by the video when searching for their
favorite idol groups, that’s a current introduction to someone that may
be major in the Korean music scene. A good example of this is when some
of the shows allow OST performances; not only are they frequently sung
by a very talented vocalist, they’re good introductions to other voices
like
Navi or
Lyn that are more popular than they’re given credit for.
Furthermore, television shows that highly encourage discovery of non-idols like
1000 Song Challenge and
Immortal Song 2 promote different
styles of music through the variety of guests that appear and with the
songs that get chosen. Since the songs sung are selected at random,
there’s a high probability that whatever song the members are going to
sing is something that you haven’t heard before. It’s probably through
means like this that a lot of fans are aware of songs like
Park Hyun-bin‘s trot hit “Shabang Shabang” or perhaps have an inkling who a number of other previous groups or older vocalists are.
Immortal Song 2 is a personal favorite because it’s
developed into a show that combines the talents of idols with mature
singers and performers, all while covering classics from
Boowhal to songs from
Kim Wan-sun or
DJ DOC.
As a show, it forces idols to step it up to give respect to the song
they’ve chosen and essentially not embarrass themselves in front of the
originals. From a discovery perspective, it brings to the forefront
groups like
No Brain or
Cherry Filter along with vocalists like
Sonya or Boowhal’s current vocalist,
Jung Dong-ha,
as they all bring their own interpretations to the table. Regardless of
the reason you check out the performances, there likely will be someone
to listen to, especially as the performers often change. It provides a
depth to the immediately available music that contrasts sharply with
some of the hits we see today.
And perhaps that’s why looking further into what Korean music has to
offer can be so attractive. K-pop is good fun even though I sometimes
wonder why I’m jamming to a song with lyrics like “I’ll take you in one
mouthful like cheese.” But there’s this contrast between the
dance/electronic and sometimes overworked songs that K-pop can put out
to sell and the idea of a musician making music that they like for the
sake of doing music their way. Each has their own objectives with music,
and I’ll be the first to admit that I can’t get enough aspects of
K-pop: the performances, the variety shows, and the idea of a group
working to bring a total package to the stage. But there are times when
it’s equally good to sit back and listen to genres that don’t so easily
fall under the title of ‘popular music,’ and some of those times are
great for alternative notes.
Probably more than ever, we’re seeing more interactions between idols
and more invested musicians, through collaborations for singles or at
concerts, working together to make music, or making some noise while
exploring new genres. We’re seeing things like
B.A.P‘s rock collaboration with band
Frozen Flower for their Seoul
Live on Earth concerts,
SHINee with
Beatburger for
UMF Korea 2013, Dynamic Duo teaming up with
Sistar‘s
Hyorin, or Amoeba Culture getting behind
Infinite H‘s debut album. There’s
SM Entertainment working with
10 Corso Como for their ‘Seoul Melody’ project, the dual nature of
Jay Park‘s work as something for K-hip-hop yet still idol material, and
f(x) making it to
SXSW alongside other mainstays in the alternative rock scene like Galaxy Express or 3rd Line Butterfly. There’s
Infinite‘s
Sung-gyu and his continuous appreciation of
Nell shown through his solo mini-album, tracks on
G-Dragon‘s last album involving singers from groups like
Jaurim,
Jungle Entertainment dabbling in idoldom with
M.I.B.,and the
Dokkun Project that puts together people like
Juniel and
Phantom‘s
Hanhae
for their latest release. All these works, for one, show the different
ways K-pop is open to different interpretations. But some of them, ones
directly involved with idols, show possibilities when the idols are
given different material, taken away from some stricter limitations,
often to the delight of listeners.
These slowly developing connections lend Korean artists a helping
hand at getting the attention from the other’s fanbase. It’s an
opportunity to look at more than idol groups for idol fans and a chance
to give idol groups a look for the other party’s audience. For a K-pop
fan, it’s not easy to suddenly run into music from someone like
Outsider or
Donawhale or hear of Cherry Filter or
Daybreak.
It takes quite a bit of looking to find a decent number of songs. While
K-hip-hop has been making leaps and bounds towards mainstream
consciousness, the Korean indie scene is one that still hasn’t been
tapped, largely due to a lack of promotions in areas most easily
accessed by K-pop fans (i.e. music and variety shows). And there’s no
real reason for them to go on there when the chance of playing live and
to perform the type of eager audiences that idols draw is slim.
The division becomes especially prominent when noticing the lack of
translations of lyrics or performances under English titles on video
sharing sites. The music is all there, and more accessible than you
might think due to the less powerful arms of the entertainment companies
that house indie groups, but it takes a nudge in that direction that
isn’t easy to motivate. And similarly, a lot of the less mainstream
options don’t have that major personality factor added onto the music.
While K-pop is focused on music but requires supplemental aspects to
continue the draw, these other options rely firmly on their music and
entertaining through sound, not on their dazzling personalities. It’s a
different way to sell that has less of a chance of being wildly popular
because it’s generally less about selling the group and more about
selling the music.
While the exposure is clearly guaranteed to add fans to all people
contingent to K-pop idols, it’s just that exposure is something all
groups could always use. It doesn’t guarantee anything about all
non-idols becoming more mainstream in the eyes of international fans; if
we’re being real, like Patricia mentioned in her piece, we’re all here
not just for the music, and the access to non-idols just isn’t as open.
But K-pop has left the door ajar with regard to opening up the more
major music of Korea, and as the two continue to meet, they may create
wider openings to bring out more of what there is to offer.
ohkpop
