A New f(x) Favorite!!

 As you may remember, my love for SM dance group f(x) has really been taking off, enough that I had to purchase all their  CDs, and in that short time, they have moved up to become my favorite group right now, I am just obsessed with them!
  I don’t know if it has to do with Sulli starring in the FIRST k-drama I’m watching with TO THE BEAUTIFUL YOU or the fact that I’ve been seeing so many fun and insightful variety show appearances by them, but I just cannot get them out of my mind!!!!

  My days are spent downloading and watching all of their reality shows (their older show KOALA is a personal fave, too bad Amber isn’t in it) and my nights are spent blasting their tunes out in the car. I love all of their music of course, but at the center of it all is what MUST be my FAVORITE album from them, the  amazing Pinocchio repackage album HOT SUMMER! How Do I Love Thee, let me count the ways…

PINOCCHIO
The first time I saw the MV for this song, the tune didn’t really grab me- sounded like your average electronic-pop song with repetitive lyrics looping, but once I began seeing them performing this on live shows like MCountdown , Music Core, etc, and seeing the girls in action, the song transformed into a dynamic, boppin’ groove that just makes you want to get down and dance!

SWEET WITCHES
An extremely “cutesy” song that sounded like the girls had lots of fun recording it, with their repeated cheers of “Fresh!” and “Drink It! Drink It!!” I can’t tell you how much times their refrain “Binggeureu! Binggeureu!” kept running through my head this past week! SO CATCHY!
JJOAHAEDO DOENAYO …IS IT OK?
The first time I heard this bright song, it reminded me a lot of KARA, but after  a few more listens, it sounded more in place with SNSD’s style of singing, and would be right at home among songs like “Snowy Wish” or “Etude”! I was to read later that this song was originally from the "Paradise Ranch" Soundtrack, but it sure fits in nicely here!
DANGEROUS
Another in the “James Bond” motif style of writing that I place along with SNSD’s Secret Agent Spy songs “Hoot” and “Top Secret”, this is a sleek, COOL song that I just LOVE blasting while I’m driving about at night!  Hard to believe this is a cover, this sounds just pure FX!!! Definitely one of my BIG faves from the album!

BEAUTIFUL GOODBYE
An awesome song in the early 90’s vein, beautiful, lush heartfelt vocals with atmospheric keyboard melodies, this is a real moody one, dark and melancholy with a real “Shoegazer” aura surrounding it!
GANGSTA BOY
An already catchy R&B song in the style of the 80’s girl vocal groups, my love for this tune was greatly enhanced by the extremely tight dance practice video that made the rounds on Youtube. Such fluid dance moves!!!

CHILD (LOVE)
This song sounded so much like KARA I couldn’t get their song “Rider” out of my mind! This sassy song could have been written for  Girls’ Talk, it was SO KARA-ish! And from ME, that’s a compliment! Also featuring some interesting Brian Setzer-ish guitars flavoring up the tune.
STAND UP!
A peppy song spiced up with some cool bassy synthesizers, this is an acoustic guitar fuled feel good summery tune to hum along to! Another that could fit comfortably on an SNSD album.
MY STYLE
All all out smorgasboard of sound, with Amber’s fun rapping introducing a mix of 70’s horns and a Brian Setzer flavored guitar accompaniment as the girls proclaim their style of music! The drum-regimented intro sounded quite like After School’s M.O., but before you knew it, it had turned into a distinctive FX style song!
SO INTO U
Another song that totally blew me away at how tender these girls could sing!
A gentle R&B  ballad that harkened back to the good old early 80’s, the refrain, “so tell me what’s up?” was so catchy and familiar that I had to go online to see if it was a cover of some song I already knew. Though results were inconclusive, it is such a sweet song, such a big, BIG fave of mine...I think it would have been perfect if they ended the album with this track.

LOLLIPOP
They didn’t of course, and the FX album Pinocchio officially ends with the duet Lollipop, and it is pretty catchy once you get around the sheer blasphemy of them speeding-up James Brown’s intro to “Make It Funky” and turning him into the chipmunk of soul!  This is the Korean version featuring SHINee, as opposed to the Chinese single version with MIC.
  They rounded up this repackage  with the singles Hot Summer, Chu! And La Cha Ta, making ti easily one of the sweetest K-pop deals of 2011! Listening to theis makes me realize, I’ve GOT to get a copy of the original “Pinocchio” release, I just LOVE it SO MUCH!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

K-pop Fan Woes

Gahhh, with Girls Generation releasing not only their Complete Video Collection on DVD and new single release Oh! and with KARA releasing their new Concert DVD AND new single Electric Boy with THREE different version AND still needing to get the new T-ARA release Sexy Love, there's one thought on my mind, and I decided to use my "Sad Krystal" meme to properly communicate my concerns!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

K-Pop Expansion

Back in April of this year when I first really got into K-pop in a big way, the unusual sizes and shapes of the korean CD releases didn't fit on my regular jewel-cased sized CD shelves, but I was able to turn an old wine crate into a case perfect for not only storing the CDs, but displaying them as well!

My K-pop Collection in April-May

 As I only had a few K-pop CDs at the time (beginnings of my KARA and SNSD Collections as well as CDs from both Rainbow and T-ara), there was lots of room for creativity, and every time I acquired a new CD, it was a joy to move them all around all over again! In a month I found that I had enough CDs to expand it to three tiers (with some J-pop on the fourth shelf), and I moved the "tower" over to stand next to my Japanese music area. This worked out well enough for awhile...

ABove and below: My K -pop Collection in June

...however, by the time September rolled around those k-pop shelves were starting to look rather stuffed, and I was finding myself having to stack newer albums on top of or behind other artists and turn a lot of my facings spine-out. Then when I got those (wonderful) VITA500 SNSD drinks, which I thought would looks soooo cool on my shelf, my K-pop section was beginning to look less like a display case than an unkempt snack pantry! 

My Collection circa July-Aug

By the time  the new KARA and f(x) albums came in, there was really no space left for me to put them in any orderly fashion, and I first planned on getting a couple more wine crates to alleviate the situation, but then it struck me- why didn't I just buy some wood and make proper shelving myself?! An' that's 'xactly what I did-A few trips to the Hardware store and about $45 worth of pine wood gave me enough material to hammer together a decent new bookcase for my growing K-pop Library!

Putting up new shelving

Once I got that sucker all properly mounted up on the wall it was time to start figuring out what was going where so I could adjust the height of the shelving appropriately. By the time night came around and I'd finished putting all of those CDS and collectibles back on the shelves, I have to say I was quite satisfied with the results- not only has it regained its display trophy case aura, but more importantly, there was lots of room for all those wonderful new k-pop CDS still to be discovered and loved!!

Above and Below: My K-Pop Collection Today!

Top Shelf: J-Pop: Arashi, Kuroki Meisa, Shakalabbits, etc.

Second Shelf: My KARA Collection.

Third Shelf: My SNSD Collection and f(x). 

Fourth Shelf: T-ARA, Brown Eyed Girls, 2NE1, Rainbow and Secret CDs

Fifth Shelf: More J-pop: Yamaguchi Momoe,  my Utada Hikaru and AAA collections.

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Kara's COLLECTION Rocks!

KARA Collection CD/DVD cover

Hot Damn, I just received my Japan KARA CD/DVD and it is SO FRICKING BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!! The Girls look just GORGEOUS on the cover, after the PANDORA cover (which, though nice, featured only fancy embossed lettering), I would have accepted anything, seeing them looking so Babelicious was a treat indeed!

KARA Collection CD/DVDBAck Cover

If the cover was any indication, I was in for an awesome album- and that’s EXACTLY what I Got! I have to say I really love the Japan KARA Collection, it's such a smooth production- how much do I like it? So much that it's even made me like PANDORA album more! Because putting those two mini albums back to back gives you one full-length album’s worth of jazzy R&B, Hot Techno Dance and a few poppy tunes thrown worthy of ANY full-release record they’ve made!!
     The album is a collection of solo songs by the girls, 5 songs, one tune for each girl, and there isn’t a boring one in the bunch- I love them all! And if that wasn’t enough, also included with this set is a bonus DVD featuring the VIDEOS for each of the songs and a fun “Making Of” clip to boot!

Jiyoung "Wanna Do" PV

Jiyoung's song Wanna Do is such a great album-opener. Sets it up nicely, though I sheepishly admit that in my haste I read the Japanese Katakana of the title as “Window”-Imagine my surprise when Jing began singing  “All I Wanna Do! Wanna Do!”
I was like, “Hmmm, maybe it ISN’T window!” Jiyoung’ video opens with her playing a very out-of-tune guitar segueing into  her tragic romance of girl-meets-boy-girl-loses-boy story. It also features her looking extremely cute in a flowery baby-doll dress, so WIN for that!

Nicole "Lost" PV

 Then Nicole's song cool song LOST, For some reason in my mind HARA’s song was second, so I spent a good two minutes listening to this thinking it was her! Then Jinwoon (of 2PM) started singing and I went "O crap, this is the Nicole song, she was duetting with a guy!" You can see that I don't know the girls voices too well. D’oh.
 Nicole’s video is a more mature clip than Jiyoung’s, but more or less the same story of the aforementioned girl-meets-boy-girl-loses-boy… KARA girls lead such dismal love lives! Oooh, and my gosh does she look SMOKIN’ in that tight gold dress! MMMM!

Hara "Secret Love" PV

Hara was the one I was looking forward to hearing the most in a solo capacity, and her song Secret Love is pure Hara, lightweight, groovy and fun! The song is so brightly bubblegummy poppy, even the accompanying video clip reminded me not just a little of the Brady Bunch singing “Sunshine Day!” They really went for the 70’s kitsch with her, which is fine, but gads, she’s sporting the most abominable wig in some scenes, gahhh, just say NOOO! 

Gyuri "Daydream" PV

Gyuri's Daydream is very classily produced, with its violin intro it instantly gave me a soundtrack-ky feel…it helped that as I was listening to it in my car for the first time, I was driving by Ward Warehouse at 10 at night, the Christmas lights and empty lots gave it a bohemian atmosphere…then I saw the MV for it, and another gothic dimension was added to it! Truly, it looked like the director  put Gyuri right in the middle of the “Snow White and the Huntsman” set! Dramatic Gyuri!!!

Seungyeon "Guilty" PV

And then we have Seungyeon's Guilty. WOW! This is my favorite song out of them all. Such a strong song, with powerful vocals and haunting melody.  As soon as I heard it, I instantly connected with it, and I felt like I’d already known it all my life! In what seems to be some dual battle between the innocent and chaste “White” Seungyeon and the darker “Black” Hammie, this is the most visually stunning MV of them all (or at least, in MY opinion), featuring gothic draping for the “White” Princess’s melancholy verses, and huge pyrotechnics for the explosive choruses belted out by the “Dark” Queen! It Rocks!
HECK, this whole album is awesome! A Fine Addition to my ongoing KARA Collection!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Okada Yukiko / Kuchibiru Network

Okada Yukiko Kuchibiru Network

Back in the early 90’s Pony Canyon released these wonderful collections of 80’s hits, and through them I was introduced to a whole bunch of terrific J-pop Idols like Chiemi Hori, Yuki Saito, and a particular favorite of mine, a sweet and innocent-looking idol named Yukiko Okada.

The single of hers on that compilation was a genki tune called “Kuchibiru NETWORK”, and as I was at the time really getting into Seiko Matsuda, the similar sound of Seiko’s style and this girl’s really grabbed me, and I loved the song so much I ended up using it to close one of my J-pop mixes so I could listen to it every day! I would later find out that the Seiko overtones were more than just coincidence, as Yukiko was not only from the same company as her, but Seiko had actually written the tune! But at the time, all I knew was that it was a feel-good song that always put me in a good mood whenever I heard it!

This past week I’ve been getting into a nostalgic mood about the older j-pop hits in my collection (thanks in part to the Chisato Moritaka CD set!), and at some point, I really felt like listening to Yukiko Okada again! Earlier in the past year, I’d acquired a nice Yuuko Collection called ALL SONGS REQUEST from the awesome OLDIES BUT GOODIES site, and decided to bring it up and listen to it as I worked on my computer one night.

So I’m listening to her wonderful Greatest Hits collection, and basking in her sweet J-pop idol goodness and how awesome she is, when it hit me that I actually didn’t know too much about her, so I decided to go online and see what she was all about, and what she was up to nowadays; If I was lucky, I might even find a few good live performances of my favorite songs from her!

Well, I was to come upon some very, very sad news. I was to find that not only was Yukiko Okada no longer with us, she’d tragically committed suicide, just months after hitting Number One on the Oricon charts with my favorite song of hers, Kuchibiru Network. She'd been in the business for only a few years and her career was just starting to peak when she abruptly left us.

I cannot begin to tell you how upsetting this was for me!  One moment I was listening to her music and in such a happy and nostalgic mood, and  the next I was so SAD and heartbroken! I’m telling you, it was hard listening to the rest of the CD!  To think of how long I’ve loved her music and never knew. Was this a well-known thing? Going  to the web, I found this to be the case. Page after page of news documenting her fate. By the end, I was such a wreck, and feeling so sad and lonely! 

Thankfully, my wish of seeing videos and live performances of hers DID exist on youtube, and so I took solace in that, immersing myself in watching Yukiko in the good times of her life. Videos of her in PVs and fun Live Performances on Music Shows, though it was admittedly bittersweet watching these clips, by the end of the night, I was able to shake the sadness and enjoy those beloved songs once again. As they say, her music will always be with us, and within those songs is the bright and happy girl I want to remember her as!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Executive Crush Status: Ishihara Satomi

Adorable Satomi Ishihara in Rich Man Poor Woman

After watching the latest episode of Rich Man, Poor Woman the other day, I cannot escape the fact how I am SO in love with Satomi Ishihara again. She’s so pretty, sweet and gentle in the show, my heart aches every time I watch her, and even DAYS after I’ve finished watching it, I find that I just CAN NOT get her out of my mind! Much as I was trying to avoid it, another “Crush Of The Day” write up was on its way for her!

There are certain actresses that I really love, and naturally whenever I see ‘em in anything new, I fall for them over and over again, and if you’ve noticed in blog entries past, when I’ve had a mad love-on for a recurring actress that I’d already made a “Crush Of The Day” write up for (such as Kitagawa Keiko, Toda Erika and Ayase Haruka), I’d field my gushing into other categories like the “Sexy As Hell” motif, the “J-Drama Femme Fatales” theme or the always applicable “Adventures In Cuteness” entries, but THIS time, “Crush Of The Day” seemed to be the only one that really “fit” my feelings!

For some reason, I really wanted to avoid duplicating “Crush Of The Day” honorees, and thought to myself, “I really need to make another category for actresses who are repeat “Crushes” since I have SO MANY of them! So in a moment of inspiration, I created the EXECUTIVE CRUSH STATUS award, and its very first recipient is Ms. Ishihara Satomi, for her, adorably cuddly, beautiful and innocent portrayal of Natsui Makoto in Rich Man, Poor Woman! She’s just to die for!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Familiar Faces on "Zettai Reido 2"

Nanase Natsumi

Been sort of trying to catch up on the ever-growing list of dramas I'd put aside to watch at some point, and so it was that I finally got started on the Aya Ueto Drama "Zettai Reido 2", the sequel to her successful crime drama from the other year, and was happily surprised to see appearing as one of the guests in the fourth episode was none of ther than Nanase Natsumi, our beloved Asami Tadokoro from the sweet "Pokka Poka" series.

Nanase Natsumi and Ueto Aya

  Like her TV husband Haba Yuichi before her, however, these actors and actresses have no problem playing darker characters outside of the warm and happy Pokka Poka realm, so I wasn't surprised when Nanase Natsumi (as Vice Prinicipal to an elite children's school) began looking like the prime candidate in a sinister student kidnapping case in Aya Ueto's eyes...

   In the end, I was kind of disappointed that Natsumi didn't have a bigger role, but what the heck, it was quite nice seeing her again- I haven't seen her since the 2006 show Attention Please (which was coincidentally another Aya Ueto drama) and here's hoping to see even more of her in the future!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Into The Great (K-Pop) Unknown

  Back when I was safe and content in the world of J-Pop, the Spokespeople around me warned me about an unholy disturbance in the force. The power was called “K-Pop”, and the naysayers warned me about getting tempted to enter into what they dubbed the “Dark Side”.

   Over Time, most of my other colleagues had left the roost and journeyed on to that unspeakable terrain, calling over to assure me that everything was just fine. But the skeptics about me kept me at bay, and it wasn’t until an aphrodisiac appeared on the horizon, beckoning me to come across and taste its sweet nectars. The Vision was called KARA, and lulled by their hypnotic beauty and lullabies, I blissfully crossed over into the great unknown.

  When I did eventually cross over to the other side, not only did I NOT find it to be “dark”, but when I looked back to where I was before, I saw a porch with a bunch of grouchy old geezers sitting in rocking chairs, grousing over all the annoyances they called CHANGE. All this time I had been afraid to step off that landing because I believed in their fears and prejudices!
Let's Blow this Thing and Go Home!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com