I love CDs.

I got the three albums I ordered on YesAsia yesterday! First time ordering from there, and only 3 this time (as opposed to the 14 I ordered over the summer on Gmarket, and the 20 I ordered on Gmarket this semester that I had shipped home instead of my school address), but I was beyond ecstatic, because all three are very special albums. Let me show you with pictures!

The packaging! It was all very nicely done. A lot of bubble wrap, all that good stuff.

voila! From left to right:
9와 숫자들 (9 And The Numbers) - 9와 숫자들 
Various Artsts - 이야기해주세요 compilation
Ironic Hue - Into The Mirror 

The 9 And The Numbers album is a personal favourite of mine, and I've been meaning to buy it for a long time. Finally got the chance to! It's such a solid pop rock album, a must for anyone, really. And the album art is so pretty. And the booklet feels really nice, it's such a lovely material! They also released an EP recently. I haven't had the chance to check it out yet, but I definitely will.

So Ironic Hue's Into the Mirror isn't something that I really gave much attention to... until around two weeks ago. See: the day before I ordered this album. I don't know why I never properly listened to this album because I've had the audio files sitting in my library for ages. I'm serious, they're one of the first Korean bands I checked out when I was just getting into Korean rock/alternative music. I occasionally listened to "불" from time to time, but listening to the whole album for the first time in years, I realized that there were such fantastic songs on this album. The second half of the album is just phenomenal. I was so glad when the album was still in stock because I thought it could've been out of print, seeing that the album was released 5 years ago. And also very, very lovely packaging. Although the CD was difficult to take out of its flap. But I just adore digipaks, I would have digipak over jewel cases any day. ANY DAY. 

Anyway, really brilliant album, probably one of my top rediscoveries of the year. 

And... 이야기해주세요. Please Talk.
This has got to be the most meaningful and gratifying purchase this year. A compilation dedicated to comfort women, the 2-disc features 17 female singer-songwriters. A diverse range of genres and sounds, but all unifying with the overarching theme of the album. Extremely beautiful. Sad, but beautiful. I will definitely be writing more about this album in a separate post, so I won't say too much here.
But really, worth every penny.

to our grandmothers. 

[album review] Block B - BLOCKBUSTER

Block B | BLOCKBUSTER
October 17, 2012

1. 11:30
2. Interlude
3. 닐리리맘보*
4. Mental Breaker*
5. 장난없다 (No Joke)*
6. Movie's Over
7. 넌 어디에
8. 로맨틱하게*
9. 했어 안했어
10. Halo
11. 닐리리 맘보 (inst.)
12. Mental Breaker (inst.)

*recommended tracks

★★★☆






Yes, I normally don't listen to idol albums. With idol groups, I tend to just check out their singles and don't bother with their albums. But based on my limited familiarity with such albums, Block B's latest album BLOCKBUSTER is probably one of the best idol albums I've heard in recent times. Even when I just consider singles, the title track "Nillili Mambo" takes the cake. It's seriously one of the best idol songs to come out this year, and definitely tops when I narrow it down to male groups. But more on that later. There's lots to dig through in this album.

[album review] 꿈에 카메라를 가져올걸 (kumca) - 소실

꿈에 카메라를 가져올걸 (kumca) - 소실
released: april 18, 2012


1. 비상구 *
2. 오후 세 시 *
3. 476-20
4. 테러 *
5. 소실 (bonus track)
6. 냄새 (bonus track)

* recommended tracks

★★★★

"꿈을 꿨다. 꿈속에서도 이 꿈은 기록해야겠다는 생각이 들었다. 그래서 카메라를 찾기 시작했고, 그 동안 꿈은 조금씩 지워지고 있었다. 거실을 기어다니면서 카메라를 찾다가 꿈이 끝나버렸다. 결국 카메라도 찾지 못했고, 꿈도 꾸지 못했다."
"I dreamed. Even in my dream I knew I had to record this dream. So I started looking for my camera, while that dream was slowly fading away. The dream ended when I was on my knees in the living room, looking for the camera. In the end, I couldn't find my camera, and I couldn't dream." -- EBS Space introduction. 

꿈에 카메라를 가져올걸 literally translates to "I Should've Brought a Camera to My Dream". 꿈카 (Kumca) for short. In their debut EP 소실, they show us a glimpse of their dream world, a place where things are faded, lost, and all a bit strange.