GANGNAM STYLE

[humnumb]

But I have to agree that from my sampling of K-pop, other than language there's absolutely nothing that makes it uniquely Korean.

I think the fact that it's made by Koreans who sing in Korean about subject matters and cultural references and nuances that are distinctly Korean in itself creates enough of a differentiation to be considered uniquely Korean. While it does seem like much of "kpop", as in mostly manufactured glossy pop idol groups, comes across as very similar to western pop stylistically, that obviously doesn't represent the rest of the music scene in Korea or the rich history of traditional Korean music. There are plenty of examples, easily found on youtube, that shows uniquely Korean musical aspects of their popular music such as melody, rhythm, and singing styles:

Epaksa (Korean Techno-trot):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWysylUytjk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qCXFcUeg4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LMrIufq5xQ

Dokyoon Kim Group:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-X7wUK756I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvXBy6_GgqM

Psy's cheer song for the London Olympics mixing rock with traditional Korean music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpYq1lSce1U

[LoopStationZebra]

FFS.

I'm not talking about the fucking SOUND or cultural sonic references or whatever.

I just think it's great that someone who's not white or black or latino is fucking on top.

Would be great to see someone from Somalia or Bangladesh or Mumbai - regardless of what they are playing.

If they throw in a couple of their indigenous instruments/scales/etc, then cool. If not, whatever.

[glenn303]

http://youtu.be/XiBYM6g8Tck

[beats me]

But I have to agree that from my sampling of K-pop, other than language there's absolutely nothing that makes it uniquely Korean.

I think the fact that it's made by Koreans who sing in Korean about subject matters and cultural references and nuances that are distinctly Korean in itself creates enough of a differentiation to be considered uniquely Korean. While it does seem like much of "kpop", as in mostly manufactured glossy pop idol groups, comes across as very similar to western pop stylistically, that obviously doesn't represent the rest of the music scene in Korea or the rich history of traditional Korean music. There are plenty of examples, easily found on youtube, that shows uniquely Korean musical aspects of their popular music such as melody, rhythm, and singing styles:

Epaksa (Korean Techno-trot):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWysylUytjk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qCXFcUeg4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LMrIufq5xQ

Dokyoon Kim Group:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-X7wUK756I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvXBy6_GgqM

Psy's cheer song for the London Olympics mixing rock with traditional Korean music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpYq1lSce1U

For me personally when I listen to music I don’t care about lyrical content or the video. Vocals are just another instrument to my brain. This is probably one of the reasons I can like pop music. I don’t care if the lyrics are stupid or cliché if the melody and delivery is hooky. Having said that, to me there is nothing unique about most K-pop.

Those examples are different from what I checked out. There is some uniqueness. I also didn’t like them much. Ironically the Psy song gets my vote in that lot.

[beats me]

FFS.

I'm not talking about the fucking SOUND or cultural sonic references or whatever.

I just think it's great that someone who's not white or black or latino is fucking on top.

Would be great to see someone from Somalia or Bangladesh or Mumbai - regardless of what they are playing.

If they throw in a couple of their indigenous instruments/scales/etc, then cool. If not, whatever.

UGANDAN STYLE!

[volx757]

idk its been a week now and I just don't see the issue with the OP. Which was something like

"Gangnam style is the most liked video on youtube. awesome."

I considered it noteworthy and while cruising around in The Lounge I posted it for all to see. IT doesn't matter who broke that world record, I probably
would've posted anyway. I guess before I got sidetracked on this cultural diffusion/lack of culture discussion, I was more aiming to share the breaking of the record.

But, wait,

[LoopStationZebra]

YOUR SPIDERMAN JPGS ARE FUCKING AWESOME.

[LoopStationZebra]

too much of this face here:

I guess you haven't spent much time in the Lounge or something so I'm going to let that comment slip by this one time. But...I don't ever want to hear that kind of blasphemy again.

[simmerdown]

wait, a thread in the lounge went ot? did not go as planned? thats fekkin outrageous, shocking!

[volx757]

wait, a thread in the lounge went ot? did not go as planned? thats fekkin outrageous, shocking!

[simmerdown]

pfff, no.. all yours, keep it, own it

[beats me]

Gangnam Style wong needs no editing.

[humnumb]

Spider-Man vs. Gangnam Style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNG4NB1ccVE

[delicioso]

But I have to agree that from my sampling of K-pop, other than language there's absolutely nothing that makes it uniquely Korean.

I think the fact that it's made by Koreans who sing in Korean about subject matters and cultural references and nuances that are distinctly Korean in itself creates enough of a differentiation to be considered uniquely Korean. While it does seem like much of "kpop", as in mostly manufactured glossy pop idol groups, comes across as very similar to western pop stylistically, that obviously doesn't represent the rest of the music scene in Korea or the rich history of traditional Korean music. There are plenty of examples, easily found on youtube, that shows uniquely Korean musical aspects of their popular music such as melody, rhythm, and singing styles:

Epaksa (Korean Techno-trot):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWysylUytjk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qCXFcUeg4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LMrIufq5xQ

Dokyoon Kim Group:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-X7wUK756I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvXBy6_GgqM

Psy's cheer song for the London Olympics mixing rock with traditional Korean music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpYq1lSce1U

good answer

Some people confuse the term kpop with all music that comes out of Korea but "kpop" almost always refers to uber-produced boy/girl groups catered to the global pop market. Psy doesn't necessarily fit in that category at all as he was an independent artist most of his career and only signed with YG a few years ago. He didn't even intend on Gangnam Style being known outside of Korea.

[humnumb]

Rolling Stone asks Psy for a scene-by-scene break down of the music video:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/video ... e-20120914