These Songs Are Rad: January 2015

Hey guys! Here’s a music post. Woo-hoo!

It’s been two weeks since I opened ITHYK, and I’ve already been requested to share music reviews and opinions and basically a lot of the same content you were used to seeing from me on McRoth’s Residence. That’s okay! Honestly, it doesn’t come as a shock, because let’s face it, that’s how you know me. That was my thing and my only thing for 4 years. And while I’m pretty okay not doing all of that anymore, at least not as severely formatted as before, I also don’t want to inhibit myself from leaving a digital trail of my musical interests altogether either. Of any of my interests. I still care about that shit and that was the whole point behind the decision to create this blog: to re-introduce myself into K-Pop and share the things I like as I go along, music included.

So here is what’s going to happen. At the end of every month, I’m going to gather a batch of songs I liked and listened to frequently (released in that month) and dump them in “These Songs Are Rad” posts, this being the first.

You benefit from it because zomg all of the music! I benefit by keeping myself fucking organized. Lord knows I can use all the help I can get to keep up with Korean music releases these days. It’ll be a great outlet to touch base on the things I’m listening to and also see what you’re interested in, too. You’re totally invited to share your monthly faves in the comments section here below.

Let’s get right to it, shall we?

*go ahead, hit the play button on the YouTube playlist. You know you want to.*

Eru – “유난히 아픈 봄”
let me just put it out there that I’m going through a bit of a ballad phase at the moment. So, uhhh, you might be hearing a few today. Sorrynotsorry. Anyway, I’m obsessed with the orchestration in this song. I mean, Eru sounds amazing and he’s really taking me back with his heart-wrenching vocals, but I can’t get over those strings and all of the swells, pizzicato and crescendossss! The orch-dork in me is very happy right now.

G.Soul – “You”
I’m finding it difficult to put into words how absolutely beautiful this song is. There have been very few songs in Korea that have given me spine-tingly vibes lately, but this did it for me. “You” is an automatic classic and I highly recommend giving G.Soul’s ‘Coming Home’ mini-album a listen. It’s amazing.

Mad Clown – “화(fire) (feat. 진실 Of Mad Soul Child)”
I’ll be honest, the rap here isn’t particularly intriguing. I’m really only here for the blues-y brass section and gorgeous chorus. Mad Clown’s ‘Piece of Mine’ is another mini-album worth a spin or two (or three).

ALi – “잘가요 Mr.Kim (With LE Of EXID)”
I’m not quite sure of the reason behind this release, but it’s from ALi, so I’ll take it.

Jonghyun – “할렐루야 (Hallelujah)”
I have to echo Melismatic’s thoughts here and say that it really, really, reaaaalllly sucks that I’m not into Jonghyun’s solo EP, because I really love the dude. Honestly, I should be shitting glitter out of excitement for ‘BASE’, because it’s super ballad-y and we’ve established I’m super into that. But I don’t know, man, something didn’t click for me. The only song that struck a chord with me was this one. I can get behind a weirdly sexual “Hallelujah” baby-making jam. :x

Eddy Kim – “조화 (造花) Artificial Flower”
This is another case of “I don’t love the EP, but here’s the one song I do love!” Just take a moment to appreciate the exceptional instrumental and arrangement of this, you guys. Eddy Kim may not be the strongest singer in the history of Korean singers, but I melted into a puddle of fanboy goo the first time I heard him belt (to the best of his ability) over this anthemic number.

If you’re looking for an incredibly climactic song to add to your library, this is it.

From The Airport – “Flying Walls”
I’m not very familiar with this band, but the spirit of their sound is somewhere between Glen Check and Justice with a sprinkle of Daft Punk. Pretty bulletproof combination, if you ask me.

HIGH4 – “Day By Day(비슷해)”
Let’s hear it for another slow song! lol Not much to say here other than that HIGH4 is one of a few rookie groups I really care to follow. They’re cute and have released nice singles so far (my favorite is their collaboration with IU).

The Barberettes – “Be My Baby”
Okay, so The Barberettes uploaded this cover on YouTube early last year, but since they officially released it last week, I cheated and added them in here anyway. If you haven’t heard of this trio yet, you’re really missing out. They’re performing at SXSW this year and I’m excited to see them live! It’s going to be the best thing ever.

What were your monthly faves of January?

If you like what you’re reading, remember to subscribe and follow Is This How You K-Pop? on Facebook for blog updates + daily links to my favorite things around the net!