Top 5 Recommended Music Videos

"For the Night" by As One
**NSFW**
I don't remember how I came across this video at all, but I'm glad that I did. It has a very sexy, sensual R&B beat and some very beautiful, soft vocals from the duo. It's always refreshing to hear really good sensual vocals from a female singer, since it's usually overly cutesy or sexy. It definitely has that throwback 90's sound. As for the video, it really matches the tone of the music and goes very well the lyrics. I love when Korea takes a risk with their sexuality without being too vulgar (or awkward) about it. It's very consensual, romantic, and enticing. I'm looking forward to delving further into this duo's discography and checking out more video releases. The vocals are too sweet to pass up!



"MISS ME OR DISS ME" by MC MONG feat Jinsil (Mad soul child)
I'm not that big of a fan of MC MONG, but I was curious by the thumbnail. It kinda reminds me of G-Dragon's "COUP D'ETAT" in the visuals. The song is kinda upbeat, mostly in the guitar section. It's borderline danceable, but the rap and vocal delivery contradict that feeling of good times to desperation and pain. The lyrics are really deep and worth turning on the subtitles for. The visuals are absolutely stunning and artistic. It kinda matches the tone of the lyrics by displaying that struggle, uncertainty, and frustration.



"U" by John Park
I've heard some really good things about John Park and I tried watching "Falling", but I really wasn't feeling it. It had a very airy indies sound and the visuals were interesting. In this song, it has more of a UK pop influence to it, which catches my attention a little more than "Falling". It has a great piano melody and his vocal delivery display a very confident strength and determination. He has a great range throughout the song and the chorus is memorable. The visuals have a great balance of disturbed and artistic as the actors interact with each other and John Park sings to us and partially observes the actors in his own scenes. I'm glad I gave this video a chance.



"NOnsenSe MARkeT" by MERRY
Like Dir en grey, I think MERRY's music releases are spaced out fairly well. It gives the fans some time to appreciate and reflect on their previous releases. I enjoy the gap. With this latest track, I was very happy to see them make something new and they always bring some pretty inventive and smart ideas to the table with their videos. I was pleased to see that an English caption option was available, which makes me enjoy the song even more. The song maintains the band's signature sound while still being fresh to the ears. The video concept is amusing and fits the content of the lyrics while at the same time having fun with it. Lastly, kudos to Tetsu for powering through the shooting of this PV with a neck injury. I hope he's doing better now.



"Aware and Awake" by coldrain
I know band centric videos can be kinda basic, but some can be fairly interesting. This is one of them. There's really not much to it, but the cinematography and editing are top notch. The blue hues, lighting, and water effects are just enough to elevate the band's performance and they occasionally interact with these elements which makes it all the more interesting to watch. The song is very energized! It's everything I expect from coldrain and more. They always keep their sound, but make that sound refreshing and addictive.

Top 5 Recommended Music Videos

"How Do I Look?" by Beenzino
I like Beenzino. He's probably not in the top of my favorite Korean rappers list, but I think he's alright. So, I heard this song through a friend's KCON 2014 video and thought it was pretty smooth. I guess this was a supplementary or promotional song for Korea's Next Top Model: Guys & Girls. For some reason, I find it amusing they're following this silly decision from the American version. Anyway, it has a very simplistic beat with Beenzino casually rapping over it while he somewhat interacts with the models and scenery. I'm not sure if these people are actual contestants or just there for this video, but I like the bold choices of having them interact with each other both playfully and flirtatious no matter the gender, then letting Beenzino somewhat react to it. It's pretty simple track to nod along to and the video is kinda amusing.



"Can You Hear Me?" by Lucky J
Honestly, I thought that Lucky J was some male duo featuring Ailee, but upon closer look (and some research) that that is not the case. Similar to hip-hop trios CLOVER and MFBTY, we have two males and a female in a group delivering some flaw free music to break up the monotony of kpop. This is a beautiful balance of beauty and sorrow. Between Jessi and J-Yo's vocals, they present a great deal of tone and emotion to emphasis the message and dreary setting of the video and song. It's very impressive and definitely draws me in to listen more. J'Kyun's portions don't take away from that at all. It just adds a little more spice to a song that could seem like any other song of its kind. I like the simple environment of the group is in with a few special effects and more dependence on lighting and subtle dramatic acting with the singers. I look forward to hearing more from Lucky J in the future and hope they don't fade away any time soon.



"FALLEN iDOLS" by SiM
For some reason "GUNSHOTS" cannot be viewed in our country, although it is a pretty awesome PV. Perhaps I'll add it to the list later when I find an available version of it. Nonetheless, this music video is just as pleasing as "GUNSHOTS". A somewhat similar concept to Acid Black Cherry's dual badass and dorky personas, we have this video of the innocent, dorky newcomers SiM and the already established, dark badass SiM interacting and competing with each other. It's amusing and pretty entertaining. It fits the lyrics and stays with their established style of playful badassness, but somewhat laid back style of rock that can also make you move on your feet and flat out headbang to the roar of MAH. Really looking forward to listening to their new mini album!



"You Lie" by coldrain
Similar to SiM, I'm always pumped to hear and see new things from coldrain and hope that they come to America in the near future. It's surprising the approach they went with this video. It goes between a story with some western actors having a conflict among each other and the band performing the song to us. The story is interesting and is emphasized by the powerful music and shouts from Masato. The bass really hits the ear, the guitar keeps the pace going with some added emotion, and the drums are quick and complement the basslines. I'm greatly looking forward to their follow up from their last album, The Revelation.



"Alive" by The Dirty Youth
Hearing the news of some of my little known female fronted bands touring in my area has me extra pumped to see a couple of them updating their Facebook pages with new material, this is one of them, although they're not touring anywhere near me. It's a simple band centric video some creative uses for camera movements: pans, zooms, a bit of shakiness, and rocky motions. The song and Danni's delivery of the lyrics help keep the video from being too boring. This is a little different from their first album, but a great growth in an exciting potential direction to come in their new releases.

Top 5 Recommended Music Videos

"Crazy Girl" by BENI
I know I complained about the dance craze going everywhere, but this is an exception. I'm so happy to hear something fresh and new out of the beautiful BENI. The style suits her and it proves she can turn any sound to gold with her voice. The song's really catchy and the video is simple, yet entertaining.




"Cleansing Cream" by Brown Eyed Girls
When I first saw this video, I was truly impressed. It has a very deep meaning and a few ways to interpret it. With the lyrics, I found a better meaning to the song and the video. It's very beautiful and I think it's composed by the same people who did Sunny Hill's "Pray", but I could be wrong. Either way, both songs are similar sounding and share the same beautiful, thought provoking tone. Good choice, ladies.




"Rescue Me" by coldrain
The same time I discovered SiM, I saw the PV to this song. I've never seen it before, but according to iTunes I've listened to the song before. So, watching the video, I was reminded how awesome this band is and how underrated they are. Perhaps they're underrated because they have more an "American" sound than your typical jrock group. Nonetheless, the video is very interesting and similarly edited as the SiM PV. The song is very catchy and features some great guitar work and easy to understand vocals.




"Narcissistic Cannibal" by KoЯn feat. Skrillex & Kill The Noise
A friend of mine mentioned that KoЯn had some new material out there...and it fell under the lines of dubstep. I've avoided it and avoided it, but curiosity got the best of me and I checked this video out. I'm hooked. Check my last.fm! *guilty* KoЯn didn't lose themselves to dubstep. They just combined forces and made something awesome! Between the two KoЯn/Skrillex creations, this is the better one.




"Bad" by TABLO
Old news, but TABLO joined YG Entertainment. I was a little weary about this decision, but from what I've seen and heard from others, it didn't seem like a bad move. As long as Epik High comes back with something awesome in the near feature, I will accept TABLO's solo work with open arms. His debut solo vid under YG is pretty cool...literally. It has a great concept and the vocal combo with Jin Sil is flawless. I'm not touching "Tomorrow" MV unless asked.