Thursday, December 31, 2015

Overdue Best of 2014: 30 Best Korean Songs

Top 30 Korean Songs of 2014

Ok, as I've promised earlier in the top albums of 2014 post - here's the extremely overdue best of 2014 list (day before 2016! Or for some of you ahead, it's already 2016). Some of you may have already heard the list on 8tracks because I posted it as a playlist on 8tracks months back - this is more to have it down in writing, and I will keep things brief.

Hopefully I'll be more on time with the 2015 lists?

As always, subjective list, musical and extra-musical elements both considered, etc. List covers December 2013 - November 2014.

Check under the cut for the list.


Sunday, December 6, 2015

Overdue Best of 2014: Top 20 Korean Albums

It's been a while! So, this is extremely late, obviously... 2015 is almost over as I write this, and people are busy posting their best of 2015 lists. But before diving into my best of 2015 posts, I wanted to get 2014 out of the way. I've had these lists sitting in my drafts for almost a year now, and I'm one of those people who have to do things in order - in other words, I needed to get this out before I can finally move onto (hopefully) posting my best of 2015 lists, which I've been finessing quite a bit for the past few weeks.

Anyway, the only reason why I never got around to publishing these lists for 2014 was because I was simply too lazy (tired?) to write them - I spent almost all of 2015 writing myself to death for a different site and my personal writing naturally took a backseat. I've had these lists for ages (since December of 2014), but I just didn't have the energy to write anything. And now, a year later, I don't even know what I was thinking when I ranked or picked these albums. So I'm going to post this list without any write-up's. Terrible, I know. But I just have to get this out of my system to move the fuck on.

If you have any questions about why I picked any of the albums on the list, let me know in a comment and I'll probably explain there! I did actually get through half of my top 30 song of 2014 list few months back, so I will publish that list with the write-up's. (In the meanwhile, you can check out the playlist here.)

As usual, this list is ranked and consists of albums released any time between December 2013 and November 2014.

Check under the cut for the full list.


Thursday, April 16, 2015

[mixtape liner notes] 기억하는 봄. Remembering Spring.



Remembering Spring. Second Sewol Tribute Mixtape.
Listen to it here.
The first tribute mix is here.

Click the song title for the full lyrics in English.

01) "LOST" - 국카스텐 (Guckkasten)
Something we could not grasp in our dreams
Something even dreams did not show us
Not ever again in a dream
Our voyage, that will never begin…

02) "잔인한 사월 (Cruel April)" - 브로콜리 너마저 (Broccoli You Too)
The cruel season only gets deeper

03) "남서풍 (Southwestern Wind)" - 피아 (PIA)
Wishing the warm air finds home in you / So the fog on the tightly closed windowsill can disappear / Hoping that the southwestern wind comes and comforts you / So you can unfold your wings and fly through those tiny cracks
The unforgettable day, and at the center of it all / We all lost our way  

04) "Time" - Loro's feat. 이승열 (Yi Sung Yol)
On the quiet night ocean
The long moonlight that silently shakes
The lone path in this darkness
The tears I scatter on that path
 
Between the seasons that fall
A flower in bloom for eternity
The depth of time in this cold
And… life. And… life.

05) "Giant" - Yozoh
I can’t find you anywhere in my desperate dreams
When I open my eyes I am already inside your universe
fly away, fly away

06) "We Are Not Dead Yet" - 로로스 (Loro's)
High up, you were there / See the end is far, far away

07) "다시, 봄 (Again, Spring)" - Various Artists (Kang Seung Won, Kim Mokin, Malo, Park Hye Ri, Sai, Yozoh, Oh Jong Dae, Jung Min Ah, Cha Hyun, Hi Mister Memory)
Will spring be forgotten when fall and winter come / Will spring be the same next year / By then it should’ve been changed / There are people who remember

08) "There Must Be" - Joo Hyo & HA:TFELT
I hope people who are in love won’t lose each other anymore and smile / I pray that this song will be a small light for the hurting hearts / There must be something I can do



____

Disclaimer - the only songs on this playlist that are explicitly about Sewol are "다시, 봄" (part of a one year anniversary project by a group of indie artists) and the track by Pia. Track by Joo Hyo and HA:TFELT and the song by Loro's feat. Yi Sung Yol were undoubtedly influenced by the tragedy. The other songs are simply what I've found fitting to how I personally feel - grief, but still hoping for justice.

Here's a quick read regarding the developments since the incident.

My last published playlist seems to be the first tribute mix, almost a year ago... It's been a difficult year.