Archive for the Review Category

My Favorites of 2008

Posted in Music, NYC, Review, Seoul with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 4, 2009 by illdielaughing

Taking a cue from Amy (whose other blog you should read!), I decided to compile my favorite albums and songs of 2008. Now the songs or albums didn’t all come out in 2008 but I discovered them in that year. 

With albums:
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• Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black (2006)
 Beautiful, intelligent, infectious, addictive, tragic, cohesive. This was one of the best albums of 2006 and maybe my favorite album of 2008. It made me so sad that Amy Winehouse was at the butt of every joke and it also made me understand why she is who she is, to a limited extent. It was a raw and honest album and it had mass market appeal to boot. Songs like Rehab aren’t my favorites anymore but I still enjoy them. Favorite song off of this album, hard to choose, but would have to say Wake Up Alone. Biggest surprise on this album, Some Unholy War, the lyrics are golden. Read more »

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Milk

Posted in Movies, NYC, Review, ^_^ with tags , , , , , on December 7, 2008 by illdielaughing

Great film.

milk-movie-poster

Milk tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected into a major public office. He was a leader and an inspirational figure but not without his flaws. In 1970’s San Francisco he was a pillar of hope for the gay community and for any minority whose rights were threatened. He was assassinated in 1978 by former city supervisor Dan White, Mayor George Moscone was assassinated as well. Read more »

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Attack the Gas Station! (1999)

Posted in Movies, Review, Seoul with tags , , , on August 3, 2008 by illdielaughing

I kept hearing about this movie a couple of weeks ago and then when I started watching Family Outing they mentioned Kim Soo Ro’s role in the film. I became curious.

So last night I was bored and I decided to go onto crunchyroll (which has been sucking lately), and I watched Attack the Gas Station! Directed by Kim Sang Jin and written by Ko Soo Bok & Park Jeong Woo, this film was nothing I was expecting. Read more »

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Lee Hyori’s “It’s Hyorish” [Review]

Posted in Music, Review, Seoul with tags , , on July 16, 2008 by illdielaughing

This is my review of Lee Hyori’s album, It’s Hyorish. Don’t worry, I do no bashing here. The album was produced by Park Geun Tae and Kim Do Hyun and composed by E-tribe.

 

  • Her album starts with, 천하무적 이효리, (Jeonhamu, Lee Hyori) and it was a pleasant surprise. I actually liked it if not for Hyori’s lack luster vocals. It was reminiscent of Tainted Love with interesting guitar thrown in there. Good song.
  • Lesson is track number two. Very poppy and absurd but in this song you hear Lee Hyori actually sing for about 5 seconds. I hung onto those 5 seconds haha. I think that Hyori sings at a higher range than is comfortable for her voice which is strange to listen to for me but it’s what other call “resonating”. 
  • U-Go-Girl – ft. 낯선 (nassun)  is third. I don’t like this song. Lee Hyori does singing/talking/rapping thing in the verses. But the choruses are pretty catchy. I think it’s crappy pop but that would not stop me from jamming out to this in a club, let’s be honest.  
  • 사진첩 (Sajibjeob) starts off with an 80’s rap beat but turns into a jazzy song with harmonies. Hyori also sings in a low voice which makes me happy because I think she’s sounds better like that. She has such a limited voice but it’s worked for her. I like the beats and background music in this track. 
  • 이발소 집 딸 (ipalso jimtol) starts off with kids saying something. Then these cat-like sounds start, I have no idea. Though this is a upbeat song with interesting melodies, it’s rather boring. (And the kid chorus does not sound too hot).
  • Don’t Cry is a simple hip-hop song but it’s not boring. It has some string instruments and horn instruments that carry the backing harmony and make the song flow well. I like this track too. I can look past the bad English grammar and enjoy it.
  • 괜찮아질까요? – with Bigtone is  bad, and not gloriously so. It’s not so bad that I can’t listen to it, but it’s like typical hip-hop, pop song with nothing interesting and with little inspiration. Skip it. I was just waiting for this song to end.
  • Sexy Boy – ft Wheesung is the worst song on the album. Not even Wheesung could save this. It’s like bad pop but with video games tones in the background. It sounds like a polyphonic ring tone. 
  • 빨간자동차 (palganja dongja)  - ft Kim Gun Mo is the equivalent of DBSK’s Box in the Ship because it’s West Indies inspired and all I can think is where the hell did this come from? 
  • Hey Mr. BiG should have been on Uhm Jung Hwa’s D.I.S.C.O. But it fits well here. It’s upbeat but pretty addictive and catchy. Once again, me + this song + club = ridiculously excited dancing. This is like techno and disco and pop all rolled together. 
  • P. P. P (Punky Punky Party) – ft. 낯선 (Nassun) it’s like I dunno, you have to listen to this song to garner you own opinion on it. It’s good bacground music to nod your head to but it’s merits end there.
  • My Life (외국곡) sounds like early J. Lo, so it’s not so hot. It’s boring and you can look past it, but it sounds lke other songs I’ve heard before. 
  • Unusual – with 서정환, the last song on the album, is pretty funny because it starts off with guys saying “She’s so sensual, she’s so sexual” haha I think they mean “She’s so sexy” but hey, whatever. The album ends on a dance note, which is good.

 

Overall, I find that Lee Hyori’s producers put together a good album for her style, I just don’t like it too much. There are some good songs on this album but nothing I would call great. But give it a listen; if you liked Lee Hyori in the past, you’ll like her a lot now too. 

6/10

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My Take on “Fruits Basket”

Posted in Manga, Review, Tokyo, ^_^ with tags , on June 12, 2008 by illdielaughing

First of all, that name is so inappropriate and doesn’t remotely match the tone of the series. 

 
Neither does this cover -_-;

On the surface, Takaya Natsuki’s, Fruits Basket, is the story of Tohru Honda, a girl that realizes that one of her classmates, Yuki Sohma, turns into a rat when people of the opposite sex hug him. From this startling revelation she realizes that Yuki and 12 others in the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of the zodiac and that they transform into these animals when embraced by members of the opposite sex. She meets Kyo Sohma, possessed by the cat that, according to the story, was left out of the zodiac because of a trick the rat played on him. Sounds like light, fun soujo stuff, right? Well, it is, at times, and at other times it isn’t. Takaya does a great job of mixing humor and angst, campy characters and deep moments. Read more »

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Alex’s Solo Album Leaked

Posted in Music, Review, Seoul, ^_^ with tags , , on June 10, 2008 by illdielaughing

Review of My Vintage Romance Coming SOON!! (Aka after I get back from work -_- ) I’m Here with my review!

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• The first track is Suddenly or in the original Korean 어느새. I I really enjoyed the acoustic and raw feel to this song. It was pretty and simple and Alex’s voice was allowed to shine throughout.  
• The next track If You (그대라면) is just made for one of those drama scenes in which all the characters are walking around reflecting on the romance in their day. 
• The third song on the album, 넌 언제나 or You Always, is really guitar focused, really chill and very folk rock. Thomas Cooke of Lucid Fall (or is he Lucid Fall?) is featured on this song and I’m guessing wrote and composed it.
• Oh my god the fourth song, I’m Sorry to Keep You Waiting (기다리게 해서 미안해) started with some Disney-esqu, early-Mariah Carey chime shit and I freaked out. This song is so nineties it’s ridiculous but also so lovable. I am now convinced that Alex’s voice can help anything but this song’s melody is really uninteresting…the nineties ended the way it did for a reason. (This should go back in time and play at someone’s prom)
• Next was the sappy poppy love song that might accompany Jo In Sung crying ferociously in a drama. But it was nice because Alex’s voice is so nice and smooth and the melody works well. However, it’s not a strike out hit, especially because it has the ripping guitar solo at the end. Bah. Humbug.
• The next song started and I knew I would love it. It’s called Feel Like Making Sunshine and it’s sort of like funk crossed with early Stevie Wonder…except with string instruments where the piano would be (Yes, I’m aware that the piano is a string instrument but you know what I mean.) I like this one a lot.
• Oh My, another funk-y song but this time with a bit of R&B and an slight motown feel (confused yet?). By the time I got to this track (깍지껴요) The song starts with another singer (I think this song is partially sampled) and there’s a rap from Gaeko from Dynamic Duo. The chorus is partially “Come with me, my darling/Come with me, please baby” I love it, it’s catchy and it may be one of my faves.
• The next song starts off as if it could be on the soundtrack for Amelie but then moves into a slow, well-paced Waltz song, which is why it’s called Waltz Lesson. It features Whale (though her contribution is kind of unnecessary) and is really a great song to space out to. 
• 연인 or Lovers, starts off so annoying with a harmony of people singing “eh”. It get past this and starts with a light tempo: just light drums and a few guitar plucks. Still this song is pretty boring and I don’t like the harmonies or angsty violin that come up in chorus. 
• I Love You (사랑하오) starts with good violin, in a way that reminds me of Bitter Sweet Symphony (but this song is no Bitter Sweet Symphony). The song is folk-rocky once again, I feel like the song wants to be more interesting but just didn’t achieve it. 
• Wonderful Day (기분 좋은 날) This song is so happy, (it WAS a wonderful day!) Once again, this song is alright, could be more interesting but Alex’s voice can not be foiled by an average melody. Guitar, the triangle and the occasional whistle and chime. 
• Daydreaming  starts with just jazzy piano and Alex singing in English. Such a sweet simple song. The jazz elements stay throughout and it’s such a nice smooth song. I Like this song a lot but this song seems to come out of nowhere. 
• Miss. Understand (feat. Simon Dominic) ”Stay up all night/to see my, to know how…” Might be one of my favorite songs, Alex’s voice mixes so well with the soft rock/Jazz funk fusion that is this song. So nice, it’s too short in my opinion.
• Daisy (데이지) boring ballad, to be frank.
• Flowerpot (화분) (Bonus Track) Alex’s rendition of Loveholic’s song of the same name. I actually find my self liking this better than the original because of Alex’s voice. Well, I like the verses better with Ji Sun’s voice but the hook and  chorus is more enjoyable for me with Alex’s voice. I LOVE this song anyway so this should count in my overall review of the album. 

 

This album has so much variety on it and I wish it was mixed better and that there was some more continuity. Despite that you can hear that Alex has a sophisticated sound which is something that Korean pop music REALLY needs right now. Because some of this stuff isn’t working. I both like and dislike that Alex has various genres on this album. I like it because it shows how versatile his voice is. I don’t like it because the album seems to be all over the place.
Alex worked with a lo of great people on this album and you can see him experimenting a lot with acoustic sets and instrumental music. (Very non Clazziquai). I think it’s funny that both of the Clazziquai singers went solo with the exact opposite of what DJ Clazzi spins.

Overall, I’m a tad disappointed in this album, I wanted it to be great but it’s just good. I think Alex’s second album (I hope there’s a second one next year) will be great once he figures out what his own sound is. My favorites off of this album are, Feel Like Making Sunshine, Kkyakjikyeoyo (깍지껴요), Waltz Lesson, Miss. Understand, and, of course, Flowerpot.
Album overall: 7/10  

 

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