
In the world of K-Pop, there is one band to rule them all. BigBang released the best Korean album of last year, and now that their leader G-Dragon is back with a new single, I thought it was a good time to look back on the band's discography. 10. Gara Gara Go! (2009) - Most of the group's English singles suck. This is only partially English (it's mostly Japanese), and it's pretty corny, but there's something about that beat. It's really difficult not to like, even [...]
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5. Studio Killers - Eros & Apollo I didn't think Studio Killers could trump their last effort, but with this sly, lushly electronic warning about guys who seem to good to be true, they did it. Now bring on the album! 4. Darin - Nobody Knows [...]
4. Bigbang - Alive The K-Pop album to rule them all in 2012. There are so many iterations of this particular release, but when you take all eleven tracks from the various re-releases, you end up with an album that's impressive in its scope and sheer consistency. The number of genres these guys tackle--and master--is amazing. If executives are looking to forge a new pop group, this is exactly the template they [...]
Wow! It's been a while AWmusic. To be honest, I'm not as up-to-date as I'd like to be when composing a year-end list, but I tried my best. Here are my picks for Top Music Videos of 2012, in no particular order. Enjoy! Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools good kid, m.A.A.d city - what an album! I'm not one that really enjoys hip-hop, but I knew this was an album that cannot be ignored. Frank Ocean - Pyramids [...]

15. Mika - Celebrate The most celebratory (obviously) single of Mika's career. It's him at his simple, melody-driven best. 14. EXO-K - History One of the funkiest beats of the year, and a melody written by the always reliable Thomas Troelsen. [...]

25. Bigbang - Blue A melancholic, melody-driven single with some definite earworm production. Signaled the return of a band who would go on to have their best year yet. 24. Fun. - We Are Young Single-handedly revived anthemic, theatrical pomp rock. [...]
Summing up a year listening to music is kind of like trying to talk about all the times you tied your shoelaces. Still, six editors at the FADER tried. Read what associate editor Naomi Zeichner ... read more

"Finally I realized that I'm nothing without you" 2012 will definitely end up as the year that I fell in love with K-Pop. Because I'm a little bit behind, there's a lot to catch up on. My favorite group (and I'm sure I'm not alone, here) is Bigbang, and I've been having a lot of fun going through their back catalogue. Haru Haru is only a few years old, but it's going to qualify as a Flashback Friday anyway. It was one of their biggest hits and it's easy to see why. Some choruses [...]

As huge K-pop (Korean pop music) fans, my co-host Irene and I were STOKED when we found out Big Bang would not only be playing in the states, but at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, nonetheless. I think within about 10 minutes of opening ticket sales, it was pretty much a sold out show, but Irene and I got our seats. While getting to and from NJ was a hassle, the concert was well worth the effort. A little background on Big Bang. A K-pop group comprised of five guys, kind [...]

K-Pop. It’s not a local radio code. It’s not a company that produces albums featuring child session musicians singing pop tunes from the Hot 100 list on billboard.com. It’s instead, the increasingly popular dance/electronic/hip-hop/pop/r ock music produced in South Korea - and it’s here, coming in synchronized sets of winks and factory-bred teenage idols. Korean music and TV Dramas have flooded in on the so-called “Korean Wave,” satisfying our generation, which grew up on ‘N Sync and Spice Girls, and our nostalgic need for schematically-choreographed boy bands and girl groups. My first exposure [...]

Check out my photos of Big Bang at the Honda Center over at OC Weekly .
¿Qué hacíamos los mexicanos a finales de los 90? Ernesto Zedillo terminaba su mandato como presidente de la república, entra en vigor el TLC Chile-México, la política en México estaba apunto de sufrir un cambio muy drástico, la UNAM estaba en huelga, los pobres se hacían más pobres y los ricos más ricos y en sí, eso era todo lo que pasaba.

"I love you, baby I'm not a monster" I told myself that I wouldn't let this blog be overrun by K-pop, but I just have to post this track because it's become an intense obsession for me over the past few weeks. For those who don't know, Bigbang and pretty much the most successful group in South Korea (and, honestly, they're big around the world). Initially, they sounded and were styled like pretty much every other boy band, but with this most recent album they've really evolved artistically and experimented with many different genres. Monster [...]
BIGBANG ALIVE GALAXY TOUR 2012 BIGBANG initially kicked-off their global tour, "BIGBANG ALIVE GALAXY TOUR 2012," in Korea in March, where they played for more than 30,000 fans, with three shows selling out instantly. They stormed Japan playing 13 sold out shows for more than 210,000 fans. They made history in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing with 3 shows and more [...]
Promo Mix: Dj Rob G - Big Bang Sesion 2012. Genre: Tribal Tech House.
Como habitual, fica por cá o resumo do que de mais importante se passou na minha página alternativa do Facebook. A semana, apesar de ter sempre o mesmo número de dias, só despertou em termos musicais, praticamente no fim da mesma. Começou com o belíssimo tema dos Beach House, "Lazuli", que já teve direito a vídeo oficial e que já havia sido mencionado nesta página. Também mencionado e
This week for videos just fucking absolutely ruled , so before we get into what made this list, let's take a moment for all the videos that missed the cut. Among the casualties: Two eye-grabbing clips for A-list indie anthems, a mind-warping and visually sumptuous CocoRosie clip , a great bare-bones performance video , a legitimately funny minute-long sketch , a fun-to-watch fantasy/empowerment thing , a typically-engrossing ASAP Rocky video , a visually gorgeous and kinda-racist treatment of a massive pop-star duet, and a Willie Nelson video [...]
Stereogum This week for videos just fucking absolutely ruled , so before we get into what made this list, let's take a moment for all the videos that missed the cut. Among the casualties: Two eye-grabbing clips for A-list indie anthems, a mind-warping and visually sumptuous CocoRosie clip , a great bare-bones performance video , a legitimately funny minute-long sketch , a fun-to-watch fantasy/empowerment thing , a typically-engrossing ASAP Rocky video , a visually gorgeous and kinda-racist [...]