A Touch of K-Pop: December '13

There's something about holidays - A time when I technically SHOULD have more time for fun things like writing and watching drama, and listening to concerts and Kpop, and... I don't. When by myself I sit around in more of a stupor, mindlessly browsing Tumblr or the internet, and when family and friends are around, I still sit around in a stupor, except I don't get anything done then.

Where am I going with this again?

Oh yes! So, in the past 2 weeks I've probably watched less than 5 hours of drama, and kept up with barely anything in Kpop. I don't know what happened. So let me recap the few things I do remember doing/watching/listening...

Sweet Flower, Deep Flower

My husband says that after everything Block B came out with, Junhyung's solo "Flower" is his favorite song of the year. That was, until I pointed out the Engrish. You know what, I'm not sure Beast is or ever will get their act together with the Engrish. It was bad in the past, it's still bad now, and Junhyung's solo endeavor is just as spotty. But so what because I love it. I'm ad-dic-ted to this song, and to the choreo of whatever fantastic backup dancers Cube had the brilliant idea to include. The MV for "Flower" is cool of course, but I can't stop rewatching the Practice version for its incredible CGJ-less imagery and amazing technicality.

I'll admit it - but I never expected this to be one of my favorite songs of the month. It's a little nice to be surprised though.

So you want to know my shallow thoughts on The Boss, Exo, December stuff, and a late as hell Christmas roundup? Read on, friend. Read on.

Something New

I made a new discovery this month. They are called The Boss. And while I vaguely followed the news that these to-me-unknowns were making a comeback, it surprised me that so many people commented on said articles, making a huge fuss. I ignored them for a while until a suggestions link on Youtube brought me to "Why Goodbye."

And something in the depths of my soul said suddenly, "I want to stan them." 

It shocked me because there are many well known groups to me that I notice, and occasionally listen to, and enjoy some of their music, and I see gifs and fun things about them all the time. And they never, ever, hit me on a personal level. I'm sorry to all you VIXX fans, B1A4, BTS, BAP, and even SHINee to a certain extent, but I have never Loved any of them, and honestly I don't have the time, energy, or enough feels to devote my love to every boy group out there. It's a fact of my fangirl life and I'm cool with that. But then a nugu group crosses my screen and time stops still for a moment. And I start desperately messaging to my sister, pestering her with fangirlish cries and a frenzy of music links. I need confirmation! Am I the only one? Is it just me?

I'm not at fandom level yet (I only know all their names and faces.. ahem), but it takes a lot of excellent music, and more than a general dose of feels for me to reach that level. However, something about The Boss made me sit up and take notice. I will be keeping my eye on these guys. Judging from their history they've had more than their fair share of bad company troubles, and being a BBC, that is something I can relate to with The Boss fans. Here's to hoping these boys keep it up. 

December Sadness
In other news, there is Exo. I'm sure no one has ever heard of them before - I certainly don't care about them one bit *coughsImlyingcoughs* But I'm crazy happy that after so many bad misses with promotional songs, "Miracles in December" was a change in the right direction, and certainly in a direction that promotes their talented vocalists.  So what that this miracle-inducing(?) Christmas(?) song was depressing as hell. It's rare for me to like a ballad these days, but this one I will take. Especially live.

Cute huh?

In line with the things that made me cry this winter:

• Discovery of a fantastic fancam of Winner's dance performance "Don't Stop the Music."
• Block B on the SBS Gayo Daejun performing a freakin' ROCK version of "Very Good." 
• YG promo for the new Big Bang lightsticks, which appear to dance along to "Haru Haru."
• Husband's present of official Teen Top merchandise including a towel, hot pack, pictures, BABY blanket with the members' drawings to their fans, and... an actual lavendar sparkling lightstick. I own very first light stick. Did I mention that I have died and this is all a dream? Oh wait it's not! I really do have a Teen Top lightstick! And the best husband in the world. :)

Christmas Roundup

I dislike most jingly Christmas music. In fact, even before I was a Christian, the only songs I liked were hymns. So it's no surprise to me that nearly every version of Kpop doing Christmas is bland and boring at best, or cringe-worthy at the worst.  Crayon Pop was cute, if a little harsh on the ears; the Cube Family song was laughably cheesy; Bom and Hi were... wow so odd; and Exo appeared with a bazillion elf looking promo shots which I absolutely refuse to post a picture of, because they make me gag. That's all I got out of this season. Here's to the end-ish of winter, with Spring looming bright and the return of pastel pants.


Forgive me for this short post. It's already 2 days late, and I have too many Tumblr gifs to catch up on this morning. Oh wait, I have family visiting. Hold that thought! :'(