MH FEATURED POLL #23: What is your opinion on K-pop?

[beni 2149]

MH POLL OF THE WEEK #23: What is your opinion on K-pop?

 

Are you a closet fan, is it your guilty peasure? Or do you just pretend it doesn't exist? Or are you more like:

 

 

To submit a poll for the MH POLL OF THE WEEK, P.M. either @CAT5 or @beni with your poll question, choices, and state whether it's multiple choice or not.

[beni 2149]

I've always been strickly Japanese for the longest time now, but I do enjoy some Chinese as well as Korean music at times though. I mainly listen to K-pop within Korean music just because I'm more used to that area. I guess if my interests in Korean music expanded more, I'd dive deeper into other genres. But for now, it's a now and again phase I'm going through. I went for 'I do enjoy it from time to time' for this reason.

[JukaForever 758]

Been a fan for a while now. Granted it is never just the music that keeps me hooked.

[togz 2004]

I chose that I can understand why people appreciate it and it's not for me. I actually had a small kpop phase back in highschool, it lasted for a few months. But I realized i was only doing it because my close friend at the time was getting in to it, and I didn't want to lose what we had in common. 

 

I can respect and understand why people like Kpop, but it's simply not for me. 

I won't go in to reasons why it's not simply for the fact that it's only opinion and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.

[Des 289]

It's a plague.

 

There are zero artistic intentions from these laughable look at me I'm so cool and dangerous Korean Kens and insecure slutty Korean girls in tight outfits singing those uninspired melodies on fruity loops level tunes. There have been several movements in music where the performers can be described as mere products rolling out of a factory and this can certainly be called a K-Pop factory and it's among the ugliest factories in history. No appeal, low quality.

[Kaleidoscope 195]

Not the main type of music I listen to, but I do enjoy quite a few K-pop artists. What a lot of people hate about it (ridiculous visuals, pretty boys trying to be thugs, blatant melodies and so on) are the fun things about it, I enjoy it exactly because it is so ridiculous and over the top. I wouldn't necessarily say there is no talent in K-pop though, some bands have amazing singers (SHINee for example) and some groups like Big Bang do have some more creative tracks with decent songwriting. It also comes down to what you define as K-pop, since if you go more into Hip Hop, there is some high quality stuff like Epik High or Outsider. 

I can understand why a lot of people hate the whole thing though

[yakihiko 1480]

Is a good genre of music.

I like from time to time.

There was a period, a very long period(almost 2years). I only listened to VIXX, SHINee, Super Juniors, 2NE1, GDragon and... Hyuna (she is my love)... No Jrock xDD

I learned how to dance BONAMANA and Everybody.

http://youtu.be/Rxt4_NCPj7Y

I still have songs with me, but rarely hear.

This one is amazing too...

[CAT5 9075]

I can understand it's appeal.

 

Having been exposed to a ton of it over the past 3 or so years thanks to sites like plug.dj and turntable.fm, I can say that a lot of it is fun and catchy. I think it's interesting that they've taken that whole pop-group aesthetic and managed to keep it appealing, since it's become mostly passé in the west. I also think it's cool that kpop producers seem to keep up with all the pop-music trends while drawing from several, older eras of pop music at the same time. It's a very, subtly unique blend of sounds, but I think it gives them a bit of edge up over a few other mainstream pop scenes.
 
With that said, I don't feel like there's enough substance in it for me to incorporate into my regular musical diet. I've also never been able to establish any significant emotional connections with the music. It can certainly be fun to indulge in at times, and the music videos are usually pretty entertaining, though.

[Bear 1817]

I enjoy plenty k-pop, and play some tunes every now and then. Most albums and EPs are ruined by a poor ballad or five, though, so I tend to just listen to some tracks on youtube whenver I feel like k-poppin'.

[doombox 4421]

"I do enjoy it from time to time"

 

I originally fell into the Kpop pit of doom trying to find Korean rock groups. As Kpop tends to bombard anyone new to Korean music, but I ended up being really intrigued by it. I was a huge fan of the boy band / girl group concept in American music growing up, so Kpop plays to my nostalgia and I love seeing how it folds current music trends into the mix. 

[Duwang 676]

I liked 90's Kpop when I was growing up and the occasional song in the past 6 or so years but I just can't take it seriously musically.

Sure some of it is fun, but it's low quality and substanceless and it's way over hyped.

So I avoid it like the plague

[Gaz 1097]

disgusting piece of garbage that makes me want to puke everytime i hear/see it. can't say more accurately about it.

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

I hate it as an ironic shtick for my own personal amusement lolol. I enjoy quite a few singles and stay away from the more often than not filler stacked albums as is customary with a standard pop affair, however I do personally eye roll real hard at the downright silly criticism directed at the quote on quote manufactured music (ooh aah the horror! ).

 

As an anthropological curiosity its interesting. There's a reason why Kpop became the cultural force and wonder that it is and there are at least things to learn from the experience; there's a reason why there is not a country in Asia that's not taking cues from the aesthetic and music of what the Koreans are doing. They've really tapped into the zeitgeist good & proper and bulldozed themselves into the minds and markets the way others aren't now able to, and that speaks of its relevancy and importance. 

Take a ferry ride over however where the old lion in the jungle that is the Japanese idol pop has really bit the proverbial dust so to speak, and is considerably lagging behind in aesthetic and musical innovation. It is a one AKB48 listen away to realise how dire the situation is when the sound is so fucking outdated it gives Finnish pop music a run for its money. 

 

All that said I practically never listen to this stuff and once in a blue moon I may get a recommendation from a reliable source that I'll give a casual listen 2, and that'd be the extent of it. I do prefer American pop music by a wide margin and I cannot wait for all those tools posting hangul charts and Seoul vacation plans on the tombrls and twatters to get bored and move on to face the same fate all of us weeaboos did who took up Japanese in middle school ten years ago. 

[peffy 3568]

Before I got all visual kei, I was all J-pop, and would occasionally decide to check out a solo K-pop artist. Mostly R&B types, such as BoA, K, TaeBin, G-Dragon, Lexy, Lee Hyori. I very rarely listen to them now.

 

But I really really REEEEEEEAAAAALLLLYYYYYYY can't stand the big groups. It just looks like the ultimate trash to me. (same goes for the equivalent J-pop groups like AKB48). I guess it could be mostly due to my personal dislike of group vocals. Also, I personally don't like the way the Korean language looks and sounds. No offense to any Koreans who may be reading this, sorry.

 

..also I really don't like the makeup some K-pop guys use. The typical short hairstyle with the heavy black eyeliner/eyeshadow.. ehhhh it doesn't do anything for me. They look like a weird half-step between boyish and lesbian. If you're gonna put on makeup you gotta go all the way with different colours, extravagant hairstyles and maybe costumes. Like visual kei. 

 

 

..so I voted "I do enjoy it from time to time." although those times are all in the past.

[Pretsy 1343]

The third choice.

 

There are actually moments where I find myself enjoying certain k-pop acts every now and then, but compared to the past when these *cough* "reliable ones" (minus ex) made me indulge to almost everything that was all the rage in post-2010s k-pawp (BB, SNSD, 2NE1, Suju, Shinee...) - I grew rather critic about anything that comes out of the said scene lately. Frankly speaking I do still have a habit in taking an artist or two from older k-pop heydays (Clazziquai, perhaps a bit of Epik High...if they count as "k-pop", and Humming Urban Stereo) and turn them on when I am about to drive or do something a bit "energetic". 

 

Not to mention the nostalgia factor that ender brought up above

 

K-pop recs are still welcome if someone still bothers to bug me with that department but mind you: I am very skeptic/critic

 

PS. if the whole scene's gonna get infected with latest CL x Diplo/Skrillex-isms, then okay - expect me to drop it for good. Such trends are fun to watch but not to the point where you have to experience them on heavy rotation...

[JukaForever 758]

That CL song with Diplo is made for the american music scene, she wants to make a career in the US.

[Pretsy 1343]

That CL song with Diplo is made for the american music scene, she wants to make a career in the US.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that talking about "Making music for the US scene" does not compute with k-pop as we see and hear it now.  Say, take a few "teen" k-pop acts that are "the big thing" in their home country now and you will notice that they do sport a wide "palette" of heavy EDM/trap influences as well (which happen to be the main (unfortunate but eventually something you'd succumb to) thing in the Western world too). "Trends", you know?

 

I apologize afterwards for derailing but she could try harder if SHE REALLY HAD SUCH INTENTIONS Y'KNOW (since only K-netizens are talking about this garbage of a song, Diplo/Skrillex stans give 0% fucks about her anyway)

 

(sry.)

[JukaForever 758]

It doesn't take a genius to realize that talking about "Making music for the US scene" does not compute with k-pop as we see and hear it now.  Say, take a few "teen" k-pop acts that are "the big thing" in their home country now and you will notice that they do sport a wide "palette" of heavy EDM/trap influences as well (which happen to be the main (unfortunate but eventually something you'd succumb to) thing in the Western world too). "Trends", you know?

 

I apologize afterwards for derailing but she could try harder if SHE REALLY HAD SUCH INTENTIONS Y'KNOW (since only K-netizens are talking about this garbage of a song, Diplo/Skrillex stans give 0% fucks about her anyway)

 

(sry.)

 

Genuinely confused about your post. Her making music for american market just means it wont really affect how kpop overall will sound. Which is what I was trying to hint at => you don't have to let go of kpop.

 

No matter what the current trend is (apparently it currently is pumping out "hip-hop" groups) it will still be twisted to some dance variation. kpop isn't really complete unless there is some dance performance involved, unless it is a ballad of course. Then it is just some people standing around singing with dry-ice clouds all over the stage.

[Heroin 53]

in general I dont know that many Korean artists/bands.

 

but kpop. eh, I just really really really really really dont care

play a tune and I wouldn't give a rat's ass

[emmny 4139]

somewhere between avoiding it like the plague (i know it'll be a sugary mess) and i've never rlly given it a proper try (im sure there's some killer kpop out there)

 

i love wolf by exo does that count for anything

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

The only good kpoop song is I am the best 

 

sorry

[robkun 4184]

Hate it.... one of the few genres of music that I literally cannot handle lol.

[fitear1590 2414]

I'm somewhere in between "enjoy from time to time" and "avoid like the plague." I simply do not enjoy, at least what I perceive to be, "standard" k-pop: electro/beat-heavy, dancey pop with faux hip-hop "swag." This style will never be for me. (I realize a lot of these examples are getting outdated, but that's how out of touch with k-pop I am, haha.)

I'm extremely picky, but there are a handful of k-pop songs I do enjoy:
2ne1 - It Hurts

After school BLUE - Wonder Boy [guilty pleasure status! ]

BIGBANG - Monster

GD&TOP - Don't Go Home
SHINee - Sherlock

B.A.P. - Coffee Shop

With the exception of maybe "Sherlock" (which I somehow enjoy for the Michael Jackson-esque style), the songs listed above are pretty far from the "standard" k-pop style I described above, so I guess that has to do with why I enjoy them? Of the few full single/album k-pop releases I've checked out though, I don't think I've ever enjoyed the whole thing, making me think the songs I enjoy are mostly flukes. However, I think this has less to do with k-pop than with mainstream pop music in general.

[eiheartx 1310]

I had a Kpop phase (2009-2011), gladly it's done by now. I still enjoy some old songs tho but I'm not listening any new shit anymore, I'm done.
I defo have a problem with the netizens/agencies mentality "we-are-da-best-of-da-world-we-are-gonna-slay-the-US" (still waiting btw; aaah the SNSD failure was a great entertainment let me tell you x'D) and with these bling bling MV and garbage """fashion""" (surely a YG thing). I also have a problem with the pure image (y'know, the: "I'm 20 and I'm still pure" bullshit. Like, are you fucking kidding me???). Just be honest ffs! I'm still amused by the contrast "I sing songs for 5yo but I'm dressed like a pornstar" (=how to summarize Kpop). I also have a problem with the talentless shit being in upfront of the audience *cough cough* Hyun Ah *cough cough*.

So, nah. Like fitear above : " I'm somewhere in between "enjoy from time to time" and "avoid like the plague." "

[Incogneeto 23]

Never been able to enjoy that genre despite sister's efforts.

Every single recommendation made me cringe.

 

And the videos disgust me.