BlaQKout

Remember Dj Quik? He was one of the originators of the G-Funk era sound and godfathers of Gangsta Rap along side Dr.Dre in the early 90s.

Remember Kurupt? He was always guesting on Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and 2Pac song in the early 90s. He's the guy in Snoop Dogg's "Ain't no fun" that said

"if Kurupt gave a fuck about a bitch/ I'd always be broke/ I'd never have mutha fuckin indo to smoke."

Well, after years of no one caring about them they collaborated together and made a new record. It's actually good. It was a lot of laid back jams and club anthems, which is what you'd expect from the two together. I recomend it. Damn good to put on and nod your head to.

I hope this is the top down jam of '09

The Black Ghosts are good, don't get me wrong. Until now I really haven't had the desire to listen to them or cared. I got turned on to this last week via the twitter. Can't recall who posted it.

I love the pseudo-southern slow jam drums and the melody is pretty ill. I currently with out a car, I do live in Korea, but if I did this would be my top down jam of this summer. This is a nice cruising around song. I long for a car with some factory speakers to pump this on. If not, this is definitely a song to put on getting ready to go out. Helps put your swagger in focus.

The video is good, I like the mix of Legos and live performance video but the audio is off, which is a bummer.

Blood:The Last Vampire

I just got back from seeing the new American remake of the anime film, Blood:The Last Vampire. The movie stars Jun Ji Hyun (전지현) or Gianna Jun as she is known in America as the vampire, Saya, who's only goal is to rid the world of the demons plaguing Japan.

I always think it's odd and vaguely racist to cast people of the wrong nationality in roles. Ji Hyun in this film is playing the role of a Japanese person, when in real life she is Korean. What, they couldn't find a Japanese actress? I guess any Asian will do, they all look alike, right? *extreme sarcasm*

I also think it's strange that Korean people are willing to over look this because she is starring in an American movie.

A little background, Koreans have an innate hatred of the Japanese because of the atrocities that occurred during WWII. They are culturally conditioned with this hatred. If a friend says they are going to Japan on vacation, that friend is ridiculed. My students (ages 10-13) feel the need to yell "I hate Japan" any time anything quasi-Japanese is said or even eluded to. This week in a speech one of my students gave about the Japanese economy began with a disclaimer apologizing for speaking positively about Japan. Yet no cares Jun Ji Hyun is playing a Japanese. This is how the students say, "strangey."

As I digress, I became a fan of Jun Ji Hyun when she starred as the sassy knock-out(literally) main character in the melodrama "My Sassy Girl" or 엽기적인 그녀. She shows such a great range of acting in the film. She is mostly for lack of a better term, a bitch. Later in the film we see a tenderness and insecurity that is truly remarkable. It was the role that made her a break out star in the Korean Hallyu. It is an actually good Rom-Com also. Check the clip


Now this brings me to Blood. She is.....well....boring as fuck seems to be the only way I can say it. Her acting is reminiscent of a stick being told to swing around a katana and act heart broken. Every time there is a fight scene all we get are extreme close ups of her moving really fast, slow motion shots were she does something right, or camera is hand held and frantically trying not to capture the action. All this smoke and mirrors is obvious. My girlfriend, who is a fan of Ji Hyun and has no film background, asked "why aren't they showing her doing anything? It's all shots of blood flying around?" I had no answer other than, "I guess she sucks at action."

It's not that Ji Hyun is awful. She's just not good. Her English is really good. She sounds like a really forced copy of one of my advanced students. That was a compliment. The actress who played Onigen, the main demon, on the other hand....really needed a language tutor. I think Ji Hyun should either try my Korean action film before trying to hit America or if she really wants to act in America, stick to rom-com or drama.

Overall, if you are looking for a fun popcorn flick, this is a good Saturday matinee or late Sunday night. I liked it. I felt I got my 6,000won worth. If you are looking for something intellectual and with depth, you are a moron if you see this. If you don't really care about plot and just want to see some what cool stylization of anime, a cute girl with a sword, and gallons of CG flying blood, this is the movie for you. I said I liked it.

If it were a breakfast cereal, it'd be Sugar Smack.


btw...the demons look like something a fifth graded made with After Effects. But I can't say anything because I can't even make something that looks any where near what a fifth grader would make.

Big Bang and 2ne1

So Big Bang is the biggest thing since sliced bread here in Korea. In fact, they were created on the same day in case you didn't know. Big Bang is what happens when you mix 'Nsync with G-Unit. They are renown for their Hip Hop and Techno sensibilities and flawless good looks. They comprised of:
G-Dragon (권지용) the leader and "cutest" member. He is known mostly for his singing, rapping, and dancing. Also, little known fact, he is the Timbaland of Korea

Tae Yang (동영배) is the co-leader. He is known for his amazing dancing, really he's good. He is also a really good singer with an Usher like quality.

T.O.P. (최승현) is the power rapper of the group. He is the James Dean of the group. Girls want to be with him and Dudes want to be him, myself included. He isn't much of a dancer but his vocals are awesome. His deep Korean rap and lyrics ressonate together and get the party hype.

Dae Sung (강대성) the only member to not take a stage name is the guy next door in the group. He is like 90% of Korean men and has got pipes on him like a plumber. This guy can sing. He is also on the variety show Family Outling with Lee Hyori (이효리)Korea's #1 sex symbol and Yu Jae Seok(유재석)Korea's #1 comedian.

Victory aka SeungRi (이승현) is the youngest of the group. He also didn't make it into Big Bang. He was the last to join in the TV series that created the group, much like "Making the Band". He is an ok singer both I think he tries too much to be Justin Timberlake.

Next is 2ne1, pronounced "to anyone" or "twenty-one". Koreans are creative with typography and names. They are a new girl group on the Korean scene designed to be the girl version of Big Bang. Their debut was with Big Bang on the promotion campaign for CYON's Lollipop phone. Yes, the whole song was made to sell cell phones. Their next song is "Fire". It's a nice Electro, Hip Hop, Reggaeton jam that is all the rage from 10 year old students to 20 something club goers.

Check the videos. First is my introduction to Big Bang and in my opinion their best song 'Haru Haru" or "Day by Day" in English. It's a classic Korean melodramtic song and video. Then we have "Lollipop", the song featuring 2ne1 that was made to sell cell phones (and oh boy did it ever), and lastly we have "Fire" by 2ne1.

You cannot live in Korea without knowing these groups. It is more crucial than knowing what Kim Chi is.







Have a good day kids!

An actual restart

Hello! This is Andrew Hart. Back from the dead and actually blogging and vlogging again. I'm currently living in Suwon, South Korea. I'm about 45 minutes by bus from Seoul. Not far at all. I'll be posting videos I've made, Interesting thing from the internetz, stories of life in Korea, and various other things.

Now the question. Why have I been away so long? Well, I was "busy" doing other things. Also, I've been growing accustomed to living in Korea and honestly, "couldn't be bothered" doing internet related activity other than talking to family and friends and looking for porn. Just being honest.

I'm entering year two of living in Korea. I'm teaching English for a prominant Academy in Korea and I'm DJing in various clubs in Seoul. I decided to start chronicling my life via vlogs, posts about my day to day life, and things I like.

I hope people read/watch this stuff and enjoy this blog.

Actually coming soon (no false promises):
vids about Korea and the lifestyle
links to cool things
mp3s of what music I'm spinning and digging
twitter stuff
torrent links to awesomeness
reviews
blah blah blah

Have a good day kids!