Is it Vintage? Romantic? I think it's Alex Chu!

I decided to take some time out of my busy schedule to write a memento, seeing as it's been a almost a week since the last one.

"Feel like making sunshine, for you~"

"오늘은 정말 너무 기분 좋은 날~"

"I made up my mind, to say why, to know how~"

"There'll be flowers, there'll be sunshine."

Recognize any of those lyrics? If you've listened to the album My Vintage Romance by Alex Chu, then you probably do!

Alex is the male vocalist of the group Clazziquai (클래지콰이). He released his first solo album, My Vintage Romance, in late 2008. My Vintage Romance has a variety of songs, ranging from lovely ballads to songs with a more happy, upbeat feel. His album also includes a "bonus track", 화분 (hwah-boon / hwa-bun -- Flower Pot), originally sung by the group Loveholic.

I love every song on his album. They're all very catchy and, of course, his voice is amazing. Alex is one of my most favorite singers. His voice is so amazing! Some of my favorite songs are 기분 좋은 날, Daydreaming, 연인, Feel Like Making Sunshine, 데이지... Wait, I like them all too much! (Although, I admit, there are a couple of tracks I haven't really listened to much.)

I'm pretty sure that you can find the whole album on YouTube, with English subs. You can also find the music videos for his songs 그대라면 and 사랑하오 on YouTube.

I highly recommend this album, and suggest that you also check out Clazziquai's music.

Tracklist:
1. 어느새
2. 그대라면
3. 넌 언제나 (feat. Thomas Cook)
4. 기다리게 해서 미안해요
5. 발끝을 적시는 눈물
6. Feel Like Making Sunshine
7. 깍지껴요 (feat. Gaeko)
8. Waltz Lesson (feat. Whale)
9. 연인
10. 사랑하오
11. 기분 좋은 날
12. Daydreaming
13. Miss. Understand (feat. Simon Dominic)
14. 데이지
15. 화분 [Bonus Track]

His album is available on YesAsia. So please help support this awesome guy! :-)

DJ Tukutz, play that shieeet.

OK, so this post doesn't actually have anything to do with Epik High or DJ Tukutz. But, I thought that the title was appropriate for this post. Why? Well...

(DJ Tukutz, of the Korean hip hop group Epik High)

When you think of a song that's been "remixed", you probably think of a DJ, right?--such as DJ Tukutz of the group Epik High or [DJ] Pe2ny, or maybe just some average guy who works in a club. While there are those who are famous and those who work in the clubs, there are also people who just do it as a hobby. Can you imagine that?

One South Korean guy (known as aliks089 on YouTube) has been posting his remixes on YouTube for more than a year now. Some of the songs that he has remixed are: Mirotic (by Dong Bang Shin Gi/DBSK), D.I.S.C.O (by Uhm Jung Hwa, feat. TOP), I Love You (by Mighty Mouth, feat. Yoon Eun Hye), So Hot (by the Wonder Girls), Love Like Oxygen (by SHINee), and many other popular tunes. You should definitely check out his channel on YouTube. The remixes are great, and most of them are available for download.

There is another popular "YouTube DJ" who is known as mmixes on YouTube. While he is not Korean, he has an interest in Korean music and makes remixes for fun. Most of his songs are mash-ups--when you take two songs and basically layer them together (except, only the vocals from one song will play for the whole song, usually). Some of the songs that he has remixed are: Kissing You (by So Nyeo Shi Dae/SNSD), Mirotic (by Dong Bang Shin Gi/DBSK), and well... a lot of mash-ups that you should just check out! But there is one very notable work of his, which I highly recommend to anyone. Some parts sound kind of weird, since the pitches were distorted for some of them. Still, it's really good! He put together 19 of Korea's hit songs of 2008 in one video. (There is a list of the songs he included in the video in the description.)

So please, take a look at both of their channels! Thank you.

PS: The title of this post came from Epik High's song Open M.I.C. And the spelling, "shieeet" came from inMuz.com's lyrics for the song, ha ha.

Goodbye, Year of Death... Or Not?!

Lee Eon (Coffee Prince)

As I'm sure most people know, there were quite a few celebrity deaths (as well as accidents) that occurred last year. A couple of Korean celebrities who, sadly, passed away last year were:

• Lee Eon (1st Shop of Coffee Prince) - August 2008 - Motorcyle accident
• Kim Min Soo (Member of the group Monday Kiz) - April 2008 - Motorcyle accident

Not only have there been stars dying from accidents, but even more suicides:

• Lee Seo Hyun (Member of the group M.Street) - December 2008
• Choi Jin Shil (The Last Scandal of My Life) - October 2008
• Ahn Jae Hwan (Secret Lovers) - September 2008

There were also numerous accidents, which have continued into the year 2009:

• Kim Bum (Boys Over Flowers; Unstoppable High Kick) - February 2009 - Auto Accident
• Jang Geun Seok (Beethoven Virus) - November 2008 - Auto accident
• Lee Seung Gi (Singer; 1 Night 2 Days) - October 2008 - Auto accident
• Tablo & Tukutz (Members of the group Epik High) - May 2008 - Auto accident

Those are not even all of the names. Credits to Dramabeans for some of the above information.

The Korean entertainment industry seems like a rough place to be these days. There have been a number of celebrities that have been overworking themselves. Several people have passed out on stage during their concerts, while others are being forced to take time off--such as Jung Il-woo, who plays the lead role in a new drama, The Return of Iljimae.

It's really sad to see stories about people commiting suicide, being in accidents, or even dying. I hope that 2009 will be a better year for everyone, though. Stardom isn't as great as it's cracked up to be, huh?

What Have YOU Been Watching?

Some people say that Korean dramas typically consist of one or more of these criteria:

• A love triangle
• Love/Hate relationship between the two leads
• One of the main characters dies
• Life threatening illness (i.e.: Cancer)
• One of the leads must go to America
• The family won't accept the girl/guy
• Evil guy/girl (typically female) who is out to get the lead(s); usually out of jealousy

Et cetera, et cetera. A lot of Korean dramas have similar plots, it's true. But that doesn't stop people from watching them, now does it?

I really enjoy watching Korean dramas, but I don't really keep up with what's new and the like. But I do know that one Korean drama that is currently very popular is <꽃보다 男子 [남자] / ggot-bo-da nam-ja> or "Boys Over Flowers". Boys Over Flowers is based on the manga (Japanese comic) of the same name by Yoko Kamio. Before the Korean version of Boys Over Flowers was released, there was the Japanese drama Hana Yori Dango (花より男子) and the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden. I don't really know much about Boys Over Flowers of any type, so I can't say much about it. I hear it's really good, though, and am planning to check it out one of these days. By the way, Kim Bum (김범 ; from Unstoppable High Kick) is in Boys Over Flowers! I don't know any of the other actors, though... Haha.

Currently, I am watching You Are My Destiny (너는 내 운명 / neo-neun nae oon-myeong), On Air (온에어), and the Japanese drama Happy Boys (ハッピィボーイズ / ハッピィ★ボーイズ). I am also watching the Korean movie [The] Classic (클래식).

(On Air: Kim Ha-neul; Park Yong-ha; Lee Bum-soo, Song Yoon-a)

If you have any drama/movie recommendations for me, feel free to leave a comment on this post. :-)

Tablo's New Book

"I always make sure there's an opening in the room--an inch at the door, or maybe even at the window My grandmother taught me that if one dies during sleep, the soul needs an exit, or it will be forever trapped in the room." -- From Tablo/Daniel Armand Lee's Andante.

Just a little over a week ago, a collection of short stories written by Korean hip hop artist Tablo, titled Pieces of You (당신의 조각들 / dang-shin-e jo-gak-deul), was published in the US. In his book, Tablo shares ten short stories that were written by him from 1998 - 2001, while he was attending Stanford University in the United States. Prior to its US release, Pieces of You was published in Korea in November 2008. The book was originally written in English, however; so thankfully, they published it in English as well. The above quote is from Tablo's essay Andante (which is included in his book). According to some of Tablo's friends, Professor Tobias Wolff of Stanford University had great praise for Andante.

I have to agree with Professor Wolff--Tablo's book is amazing! (Albeit, I have yet to finish it.) Of course, it's undeniable that Tablo's books is not, in part, selling due to his status as a celebrity (Tablo himself has said so); however, his book is thought provoking and deep. On the back of the US version are quotes (translated into English) from singer Lee Juck (이적) and poet Lee Byung-ryul (이병률), who both applaud Tablo's work.

Hopefully you can snag a copy for yourself. I do warn you, however, that there is a bit of coarse language throughout (e.g.: f--k, b---h, etc.). It's still worth buying, though. As of now, you can only order it online (I doubt any stores will have it on their shelves ever). But you can get it for about $16 if you order it from HanBooks. The shipping rates vary, but I think it's the best deal currently. Do NOT buy Pieces of You from YesAsia, who is charging $24.99 for it! Although I really like their site, that is quite overpriced! (On the back of the book it says 10,000원 actually, which is less than $10 USD, haha. Oh well.)

Tablo's Pieces of You (English Version) comes in hardcover only. It has a nice black cover and on the front inside flap a short bio on Tablo. There's also a built-in bookmark. On the very first page there is a message from Tablo and his "signature". Not quite the same as getting it signed by him in person, but nice nonetheless.