Books, blog and other blather
Okay, this is strange. American rock group WEEZER has apparently covered a Boa song. The ballad MERI KURI (aka, MERRI CHRI) is supposed to appear on the Japanese version of Weezer’s newest record, THE RED ALBUM.
When I went to Amazon.co.jp, I could not find the song listed on any of the versions of THE RED ALBUM, however I found a download of Meri Kuri here. (Video of Boa’s Korean version is here. Japanese version is here).
The mind boggles.
I am a little late, but I just read a really interesting post at Ken’s Japan Live blog about the Tokyo underground scene. Ken’s blog is always a fun read and a good way to learn about Japanese music. I wish I had half his energy and dedication to the local live scene here in Seoul (not to mention half as many interesting bands). One of these days, I am going to put together a listing of the coming concerts in Seoul…
This post is a couple of days late (sorry)… But I just caught a surprise show by the Japanese band Marble Sheep at the club DGBD on Tuesday. I had never heard of the band before, but got an email from Sato Yukie and decided to check it out on a whim.
And what a great whim it was. Marble Sheep call themselves a “super psychedelic” band, but they are so much more than that. I gather they started 20 years ago, when they were much more of a psychedelic style group, but now they have much more of a modern rock sound (a lame description, I know, but I’m doing my best). With two drummers, they can really pound out the percussion — and do they ever pound it. Wow. The show was non-stop, wall-of-sound noise. Blew out my ears, but it was worth it. If you are interested, there is a much better description of the band here.
Anyhow, it is a pretty decent time for music in Korea. After years of sputtering and limping along, I think there are more good bands playing at more clubs in the Hongdae area than there have been for quite a few years. Take DGBD, for example. For the past couple of years, it has been a so-so merger of Drug Club and Blue Devil. But a couple of months ago, Drug Club solds its share in DGBD to Mac (Matt? Sorry, but I have forgotten his English name), a 48-year-old computer guy who suddenly quit his job and decided he wanted to run a rock club. Hell of a nice guy, and he seems to be working hard to improve the place. I’ll report more, about bands playing there and other plans, as I learn it.
Sorry this first post is kind of lame… but it is a first post. Takes some time to get into this. But I will try to talk more in the future about the cool things (and not-so-cool things) going on in Korea… or wherever I may happen to find them.
Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music and Internet Culture (2nd edition) is the only English-language book to examine the whole of Korea's entertainment industry and how it became such a powerhouse over the past 20 years. With profiles of many of Korea's top stars (including Lee Byung-hun and Rain), Pop Goes Korea features chapters on movies, music, television, comic books, the Internet, and more.
On sale now at:
Amazon.com
Kobo eBooks
And hopefully more ebooks stores very soon.
The original edition of Pop Goes Korea is now out of print.
K-Pop Now! takes a fun look at Korea’s high-energy pop music, and is written for its growing legions of fans. It features all the famous groups and singers, and takes an insider’s look at how they have made it to the top.
You can buy at:
Amazon.com
Chapters Indigo
Tuttle (my publisher)
Kyobo Books (in Korea)
Goodreads (not for buying, but still a good link)
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