FAME - Hugh Keice "Dancing in the Rain"

Welcome to the 7th episode of FAME! It seems that our schedules keep getting crazier every week, so for this week’s post I (Vic) will be the only one writing yet again. College/Uni (for our lovely international fans – apparently there’s a big difference between saying “college” and “uni”) is crazy!

For this week’s FAME, I will be reviewing “Dancing in the Rain (Off The Record)”by Hugh Keice [aka 오프더레코드 휴 키이쓰]. 

I was actually rather surprised by this week’s pole! I just threw Hugh Keice in there this week because it was a song I had heard a while ago that I like to unwind to, and apparently you all really like it too. I thought for sure that Shinhwa’s “Venus” would dominate, since both Dillon and I loved it on the first listen, but apparently I was wrong. Should we start incorporating more indie style songs instead of pop songs in our poll? Please let us know in the comments! ^_^

Anyways, I really liked “Dancing in the Rain” the first time I heard it, but it took me a minute to realize that the whole song was going to be in English. Usually when I see a music video (MV) on YouTube that has a load of Hangul around it, I automatically think the song will predominantly be in Korean. So, I was extremely surprised (in a good way) to hear a lovely British accent. I was rather taken aback at first – then I criticized myself for being so racist hahaha. There are some stereotypes that I’m still working to get over, but I think this was reasonably understandable. Did I mention that, for some reason, most Americans are obsessed with a proper British accent? – We (at least Dillon and I) think it sounds so cool – Seriously!  … That really has nothing to do with the review of the song, but oh well. I’ll try to stay on track from now on.  

I love the tone of the song – how they’re so relaxed and get along so well. I think whoever had the idea to film them performing live on the steps of a bridge was brilliant. The tone of the music matches the tone of the video perfectly. The lyrics are calm and talk about dancing in the rain (obviously), and the video background is a calming grey color with the water flowing softly in the river below.

You guys already know, from Episode 6, that I love it when live music performances are just as good as the studio recordings. And, this song “takes the cake”. I actually like the live recording of “Dancing in the Rain (Off The Record)” more than the studio recorded version. I also adore the fact that, as an appreciation for all of the lovely comments Hugh Keice received on the YouTube video, he released the live recording for free on soundcloud. He isn’t a really well known artist yet, so make his recordings available for free is a huge deal. I really appreciate how much he cares about his fans; it seems as though we’re featuring a real gentleman this week.

There isn’t really a movie type plot for this MV either. It’s just Hugh Keice and his buddy performing live – simple and sweet. The live recording made me feel like I was sitting just a few feet away watching him perform – a feeling I don’t often get from music videos these days.

Hugh Keice is a UK based singer/songwriter who launched his career in South Korea but challenged himself in 2010 to branch out to the UK market. He now goes on tour in both countries. With that being said, I give the English in this song a 5 out of 5. I mean, really, it sounds like he’s been reared in the UK – how am I going to argue with his English? hahaha

And that’s all for FAME this week. Please head on over to our Facebook page and look for the pole to vote for next week’s Friday Awesome Music & Entertainment, or just look for the pole in the top left area of this blog to cast your votes there as well. Also, feel free to leave us any comments or suggestions you may have in the comments section, through email, our Facebook page, or on Twitter. Thanks! 

FAME - Luis Lauro (Feat Danna Paola) "'Crushin' Muero Por Ti "

Hello and welcome to this week’s F.A.M.E!  I, Dilón, will be writing the review today, though Victoria may add her opinion.  She is busy with some intense homework.  Okay, so I am just going to jump into this one.

For this week’s FAME, I will be reviewing  "'Crushin' Muero Por Ti " by  Luis Lauro (Feat Danna Paola). (<-- click me to watch the music video).

Check out the English version too ^_^

 

I go crazy at the beginning of this song.  The start is definitely a big fan moment for me, assuming that I understand the term correctly.  It is awesome from minute one.  I am not so sure it is noticeable to other audiences, though I hope we are helping with that!  The video on YouTube says, “No statistics available,” on the stats. section, so it is hard to tell where it is most popular.  The English version is popular in Mexico and many other places around the globe, but I really think the Spanish version is more fun.  The English, when they use it, is VERY good.  They sound native when they say, “crushin’.”  That may sound like no big deal, but the short ih and uh sound for i’s and u’s does not really exist in Spanish.  In the translated video, one can tell that they are probably not American, but they hardly have an accent and they sing English very well.  Also, I must say that that is the closest to a literal translation I have ever heard in a song. Sure some things are different, but hardly, and when they are the meaning is the same.  5 stars on that score!

The style of music is right up my alley.  I love Spanish Pop.  Luis Lauro and Danna Paola are not a group though; they are just singing a duet.  I prefer the verses and “crushin’” section to the refrain though.  Not sure why, I just think it is more cute. 

As far as the music video goes, it is certainly unique!  ¡Me encanta muchísimo!  It has superb contrast and fits the cute yet sophisticated feel of the song.  The video is very relevant to the song, which is obvious when Paola is answering the phone and when butterflies chase Lauro across the screen, both of which refer to or are in the lyrics.  The line where Paola says, “He visto tantos chicos, pero todos son igual,” is awesome!!!!  (I just think it is a cool intro for her.)  It means, “I have seen so many guys, but they are all the same.)  The song just has a good meaning and it is shown through the music video’s cute style.  ¡Felicidades al director!  Happiness/congratulations/Kudos to the director of the music video! 

The attitude and expressions in the video are solid and believable- the singers were obviously having a good time.  Got to love Spanish music!  ;D

Ok, Vic here! Well, I’m sort of giving my opinion this week. I don’t really have a whole lot of spare time to write right now because I’m teaching an ESL (English as a Second Language) conversation class to a bunch of 16 year old Japanese students from Kanto International Senior High School.

I do like this song, but it doesn’t really inspire me to write much. It does sound like a great song to drive down the interstate to on a nice summer day though. I agree with Dil on everything too :) However, I’ll take some Spanish rock over Spanish Pop any day. Are there any Moderatto fans out there with me?

But, I must return to writing out my lesson plans! My students need me :) Actually, they’re so smart that they could probably teach themselves everything but proper pronunciation – those are the lesson plans I’m working on right now (How to say L’s and R’s correctly). Sayonara!

That’s all for this week’s F.A.M.E!  Thanks for reading and VOTE NEXT WEEK!!!!!  I want to see crazy numbers!  -Dilón!          

Please head on over to our Facebook page and look for the pole to vote for next week’s Friday Awesome Music & Entertainment, or just look for the pole in the top left area of this blog to cast your votes there as well. Also, feel free to leave us any comments or suggestions you may have in the comments section, through email, our Facebook page, or on Twitter. Thanks!

FAME - 10cm "Tonight, I'm Afraid of the Dark"

Welcome to the fifth episode of FAME! It seems that our schedules keep getting crazier every week, so for this week’s post I (Vic) will be the only one writing again. College homework is apparently usurping most of Dillon’s time lately (yay for being a good student!).

For this week’s FAME, I will be reviewing “Tonight, I’m Afraid of the Dark” by 10cm. (<-- click me to watch the music video).

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to finally listen to this group. I had actually known about 10cm for a little while, but I had never bothered to listen to any of their stuff before and -wow- are they good! The music is mellow and calming as is the lead singer’s voice. This song is so simplistic compared to a lot of other Korean music I’ve been listening too, and I absolutely adore it.

Thankfully I was able to find a copy of the song on YouTube with and English translation of the lyrics – which made me love the song even more. Not only can the duo make simple music sound so beautiful, but they also chose simple, sweet lyrics which really bring the song to life. My friends also instantly fell in love with the song for these same reasons.

I also have a lot of respect for people who can perform their music live just as well as the studio recorded version – which is something I think music these days is lacking. So I was really impressed when I looked up the live version of the song and found that it sounds just as beautiful as the studio recording.

The plot of the music video was a bit confusing at first, or at least I had to watch it several times to understand it. There’s a security guard wondering around what seems to be some sort of art museum. There’s a room filled with a bunch of picture frames everywhere in the background with 10cm is sitting in the middle of the room performing the song. And, then there’s that whole scene where it looks like a guy meets up with his girlfriend to have a discreet birthday party – or something that involves a cake with candles anyways. They did tie these three themes together a little bit, but there are still a few major flaws. It seems as though the couple have their little get together in a secluded outside balcony of the museum, and the security guard starts snooping around looking for the tings which aren’t quite in their place because he can hear something. The couple have a good time eating their cake, taking a nap, and making a wish on a paper hot air balloon, but are almost spotted by the security guard when he starts shining his flashlight everywhere. The guard then starts walking through a room filled with pictures of the couple doing the activities of that night – How did they develop those pictures so quickly, frame them, and hang them up already? Yes, it’s cute, but it totally messes up the timeline of the video. Then the security guard finds the one picture that is hung crookedly – the one of 10cm playing in that room with all the other frames – and fixes it and continues on his rounds. So, they did tie all three aspects of the music video together in a nice artistic way, but the timeline/plot still annoys me a little bit. I did think the plot line for the couple matched the feel of the song really well though. The couple also had great acting skills – they were a believable loving couple and their body language was great (instead of a male and female stuck in a room pretending to be nice to each other).

There is no English in this song, so I can’t give this song an English rating this week.

And that’s all for FAME this week. Please head on over to our Facebook page and look for the pole to vote for next week’s Friday Awesome Music & Entertainment, or just look for the pole in the top left area of this blog to cast your votes there as well. Also, feel free to leave us any comments or suggestions you may have in the comments section, through email, our Facebook page, or on Twitter. Thanks!