October Break Part I: Bangkok Music Marathon

On our first day of vacation, we headed down to Bangkok for Bangkok Music Marathon. Like I said before, I hadn't really gotten into Thai rock yet. What I had heard, I found really repetitive and borderline cheesy at times. However, this is how I initially felt about K-pop, a genre which is now very near and dear to my heart :)

The concert was a blast, and although it's still cheesy and repetitive, I'm developing more of an appreciation for Thai rock. It's much better live, for one thing, and we also got to hang out with a few of the musicians milling about near the stage, which always helps. Also, did I mention that Thai rock bands have awesomely ridiculous names, like "Body Slam," "Sweet Mullet," Big Ass," and "Potato"?

Here are my favorite acts of the night:

"Da" of Da Endorphine

This chick rocks. While a lot of Da Endorphine's songs are of the cheesy, sappy persuasion, 'Da' has an amazing voice and great stage presence. She was very fun to watch.

Thaitanium



Thaitanium, a Thai-American hip hop group, was hands down the best act of the night. One of the members was born in New York City, so they have a lot more street cred. than some of the other "rappers" here in Asia (Big Bang, I love you, but you are SO not gangster!)

Da + Thaitanium - even better!


Hanging out with a Thai rock star:

(Me & the guitarist from 'Jetseter')

A good time was had by all :)

After traveling in Asia for a month, I wasn't exactly looking forward to coming back to Minnesota. Don't get me wrong, I love Minnesota, and someday I plan to move back here for good, but life is just a lot more exciting when you live abroad. I'll put it this way; a few weeks ago I was climbing the Great Wall of China. Now I spend my days job hunting and hanging out with a bunch of screaming toddlers fighting over which Scooby Doo movie to watch. (My mom is a daycare provider)

But things are looking up: summer in Minnesota means outdoor concert season, and I have three on the agenda already.

Rock the Garden
Rock the Garden is sponsored by the best radio station in the entire world, 89.3 The Current. (Not even exaggerating) The lineup has yet to be announced, but there are rumors that MGMT will be on the bill, which would make my summer.



Jack Johnson
I found out today that Jack Johnson, my all-time favorite musician, is touring to promote his new album 'To the Sea.' I've seen him twice already at Floatrite Park in Somerset, and I'll be buying tickets for his July 25th concert as soon as they go on sale this Saturday.



Lollapalooza
And finally, there's Lollapalooza in the beginning of August in Chicago's Grant Park. I'm not going to lie, Lady Gaga on the lineup cinched it for me, but I'm also a big fan of the The Strokes and The Black Keys.

She's crazy, but I love her!

I also begin my foray into the world of substitute teaching tomorrow. Thankfully, because I'm really, really tired of Scooby Doo.

Perfectly Lonely

My favorite track off the new John Mayer album:

K-Pop vs. Old Pop, Halloween

I saw this sign last year when I visited Busan, and I took a picture because it cracked me up. Old Pop? Sounds like a very appealing genre.

I've heard the term come up several times this past year. Like in Summer Camp, when I was playing Jack Johnson during work time, and one of my students asked, "Teacher, this is Old Pop?" Uh...no.

I'm still not really sure what this Konglish term refers to, but I'm going to just guess and then go ahead and make another generalization. It seems there are three types of Korean music: "Old Pop," Sappy Love Ballads, and K-pop. There is a very distinct difference between Old Pop and the K-pop videos I've shared with you on this blog.

To demonstrate what Old Pop sounds like, I bring you (dubbed) Beyonce.

You will hear this type of music blasting from little radios in street markets or at the rest stops on bus trips. It always makes me giggle.

Fast forward to 2009, where K-pop groups are made up of good-looking, fashion forward kids with killer dance moves. I bring you the most requested video in my classes as of late, Shinee's "Ring ding dong." (Or "Ling ding dong," as one of my students scribbled on the assignment he was supposed to be working on last week)

Korean pop music has come a long way. Be sure to watch until the end when the boys sprout angel wings :)

Speaking of K-pop...

Last weekend was Halloween, and my two favorite costumes were K-pop stars. Much to Vicky and my delight, we spotted a pretty authentic-looking G-Dragon in Itaewon Saturday night.

Real G-Dragon:

Fake G-Dragon:


Also, a fellow S.M.O.E. Teacher made a very convincing Sandara Park from 2ne1.
Real Sandara: (She's the chick with the ponytail)

Fake Sandara:


I dressed as a Pop star as well, but an American one. I couldn't believe my luck in finding the perfect blonde wig with ridiculous hairbow attachment, but I did. Now I'm pretty sure you can find anything in Dongdaemun Market.
Real Gaga:

Fake Gaga:


I had a blast being a fake celebrity, with people calling out "Lady Gaga!" all night and asking for pictures with me. However, when my friend Chris showed up in his Waldo costume, I was totally upstaged. Everyone loves Waldo, apparently. I'm not bitter though...

Chris as Waldo/Wally

P.S. Did you know they call Waldo "Wally" in England? Crazy Brits.

Details in the Fabric

Because sometimes Jason Mraz can say it better than I can.

9-22-09

I wish I could channel my energies into something more productive or lucrative or good for humanity or something, but I like spending a lot of time on useless things.

Lately it's learning and translating songs from Korean and Portuguese to English so I can sing a long with them (and know what the words mean). I guess it's not completely useless, and it's actually been a really good way to study the two languages, but there are a lot of other things I could be doing with my life (i.e. Taking care of things before I go home again for my sister's wedding next weekend, finshing my TEFL paper...yes, I'm still procrastinating on that, and preparing for my upcoming S.M.O.E. presentation). But being able to sing along to the chorus of 2NE1's "I don't care" is a lot more fun.

Here's the Korean song I'm working on:



Chorus in Korean:

I don’t care 그만할래 니가 어디에서 뭘 하던
이제 정말 상관 안할게 비켜줄래
이제와 울고불고 매달리지마
cause don’t care e e e e e e
cause don’t care e e e e e e
Boy, I don't care

Chorus in English:

I don’t care, I’ll stop caring about what you’re doing wherever you are
From now on I really don’t care, I’ll get out of the way
From now on don’t come to me and cry, and cling on
cause I don’t care e e e e e e
cause I don’t care e e e e e e
Boy, I don't care


As for Portuguese, I've been listening to Ana Carolina a lot lately, and I'm trying to learn two of her songs; "Mais que isso" ("More than that") and "É isso aí" (Not sure how to translate that one) I thought it was a man singing at first, but she just has a very deep, husky voice. Even if I don't end up moving to Brazil, speaking/singing in Portuguese is super fun; lots of crazy vowel sounds.

"Mais que Isso"

Lyrics:
Eu não vou gostar de você porque sua cara é bonita
O amor é mais que isso
O amor talvez seja uma música que eu gostei e botei numa fita
Eu não vou gostar de você porque você acredita
O amor é mais que isso
O amor talvez seja uma coisa que até nem sei se precisa ser dita

Deixa de tolice, veja que eu estou aqui agora
inteiro, intenso, eterno, pronto pro momento e você cobra
Deixa de bobagem, é claro, certo e belo como eu quero
O corpo, a alma, a calma, o sonho, o gozo, a dor e agora pára

Será que é tão difícil aceitar o amor como é
E deixar que ele vá e nos leve pra todo lugar
Como aqui

Será melhor deixar essa nuvem passar
E você vai saber de onde vim, aonde vou
E que eu estou aqui


I've only just started studying Portuguese, but basically the singer is reassuring her 'amor' that her love is true.

É isso aí is a really pretty song too. She sings this one with Seu Jorge, another big name in Brazilian music.