Guess Who's Back....[KPop - Big Bang!]

Remember a few months back when I posted a good bit about K-Pop bands? [I can't decide exactly how 'K-Pop' should be written out...]

Big Bang always makes me happier!

Since then, Big Bang has remained my favorite....aaaaand, they released some new songs in the last week or so!

I'm not exactly the best at keeping up with music trends [or any trends, actually], but I somehow managed to learn about these new songs pretty much the day they were released...I think I read about it on my Instagram, of all places.

I ended up downloading all 5 of the released track that were available on iTunes...here are the music videos for the two new songs!

First is 'Loser'...

And then 'Bae Bae'....[ugh...spelling cringe]

At first, I thought I'd like 'Loser' better. Mostly because I can't get over the stupid 'word' bae. I hate it. 

But after listening to both a good number of times, I actually ended up liking the second track more. [Can I not type it out, please?]

Now, I've only watched the video for each song once, so I'm not sure if the tracks I bought are exactly the same as what's in the videos...but the ones I bought seem, well, incomplete.

There are several seconds in each song that there is accompaniment but no vocals...and I'm pretty sure it happens more than once in at least one of the songs...it gives the otherwise great songs a very unfinished sound...

But...it is new music from my favorite Korean pop band...which my daydream boyfriend happens to be a member of...sooooo, I love it! 

I've seen where Big Bang is going on tour again this year...so far, I've only found performances in Hong Kong and Singapore...I hope they decide to do a tour here in the states soon!

/swoon

Just gonna leave this picture here because...reasons.../swoon

Korean Food and Crafts...

I had quite the eventful weekend...

The kiddo and I went to pay my cousin a visit. She and her family moved to Alabama earlier this year, which is pretty awesome! My family on my Dad's side are all pretty nearby, nothing more than a two-hour drive or so...but, my family on my mom's side is very scattered. I've got aunts, uncles, and cousins spread out all the way from Oregon to Florida! That being said, I was glad to hear that they were moving to Alabama...makes planning a visit much easier when it's just a few hours rather than trying to plan a trip out to Colorado! [I'd have loved to have visited Colorado, but traveling that far can get very pricey...even more so when you factor in traveling with a child!]

Woohoo!!

It was a good visit...my cousin and I decided to get a little crafty...

Check it out!

My cousin had mentioned that she wanted to add some autumn-y stuff to the front of her house [she already had some autumn garland and cute scarecrows] so we stopped by her local Hobby Lobby to see what we could find.

After a few minutes of staring at the tons of autumn/Halloween/Thanksgiving stuff, we decided to make a wreath...

That's the result! [The 'V' is for her last name, just in case you were wondering]

I know I'm not a professional wreath maker [is that even a thing?] but I thought it turned out rather well...I'm considering making one for my own door!

Another awesome thing about visiting my cousin? Korean food!

Donkatsu

Donkatsu is the Korean version of Tonkatsu. It's a thin pork cutlet that is breaded in Panko and fried...served with rice, whatever veggies you like, and this amazing sauce...it's a barbecue sauce, but with an Asian twist. Its hard to describe the sauce, but it tastes amazing! Here's a link to a recipe, just in case you're curious...

Donkatsu Recipe

Galbi

I also made some Galbi. Whenever we make Korean food for friends/family, Galbi is the resounding favorite. Beef short ribs are marinated and then grilled...and then you have a plate full of awesomeness!

I just read that Galbi has been ranked as one of the "World's 50 Most Delicious Foods," so that's pretty cool...

[World's 50 Most Delicious Foods]

The food pictures are not mine, I didn't think to take pictures of the culinary awesomeness...bummer.

I've got to get back to work...more posts soon!

My Story - Yell.O.W.

Here's "My Story" by Yell.O.W. [I'm not entirely clear on how the group spells their name...I've seen it both as I'd just written as "Yellow"]

Some of the vocals get a little shakey, but it's a live performance so that sort of thing can be expected...I love the bits when all the girls are singing, I think they sound great!

Maybe I should actually learn to speak Korean one of these days...then I'd know what they're singing about without having to ask my mom or cousin!

Learning to Love K-Pop...

I've recently decided to make more of an effort to embrace my Korean heritage. [For those of you who were mentally playing the "guess the ethnicity" game, that's the answer! Half Korean, half Alabama-grade white...]

Now, I don't want to be misunderstood...I've never 'not liked' my Korean heritage. Going to middle school and high school in a backwoods, country town with an Asian population of 2.5 [that's counting my mother and siblings...], it's rather easy to lose sight of how awesome Korean culture is.

Of my siblings, I remember the most about the years that we lived in Korea, simply because I'm the oldest. My brother doesn't remember much at all, but he was 1-3 years old...at one point, he was actually fluent in both Korean and English! But of course, he doesn't remember any of it now, nor does he remember being able to speak Korean at all.../shrug oh well ^_^

So, taking baby steps into the whole ordeal...I've started to look into the musical phenomenon that is "K-Pop" music. [K-Pop music literally means "Korean pop music."]

This cat...I love him!!

It's huge. K-Pop can be to blame for bringing the annoying, albeit catchy, "Gangnam Style" to the radio waves.

No, worries...there are many, many other singers that you might like if PSY wasn't quite your fancy. It's a music movement that's been going on for years, so I'm playing catch up...but a few internet searches and BuzzFeed reads and I can already remember the names of at least half-a-dozen artists/bands...

Here's what I think I'm going to do...

I think I'm going to make it a goal of sorts to utilize this blog to become more familiar with the music that's being pumped out of...I don't know...what should I call Korea? My 'Motherland'? Bwahahahaha! That's awesome...it's literally my Mother's land...

Anyway...[I'm tired, you'll have to look over my goofy randomness...]

Here's the first song that I'm going to post as definitely listen-worthy: Unbreakable - Kim Hyun Joong. I love the incorporation of some traditional Korean elements in his music video! And, it is now a life goal to learn how to paint a dragon like the one in this video...

Whatcha guys think? Anyone have any K-Pop recommendations?