50 Shades of Gangnam Style

That would be an awesome book. Please understand that I am heavily drunk in caffeine and am bored out of my mind, while my superior is still late to work and I have nothing left to do.

So I went and looked for all the original covers of Gangnam Style. Not dance covers. Those don't count in my books. Anyone with two legs and two arms working can do that, and I've been seeing it everywhere so frequently, that I'm simply not amused by the horse dancing anymore, at all. Christ I'm sure I can teach a monkey to dance like that and put it on Youtube for a quick one million views.

After a plenty of listening, I think I've got it down to a handful of instrumental covers that are worth checking out as much as the original one. Like I said, I only listen to the ones that don't have the original song playing in the background, or have electronic playback accompaniment.

This one's a pretty cozy one. I like the acoustic transition they made. A completely different feeling from the original song, but it's a very pleasant spin on the original electronic madness that is Gangnam Style. In fact, it would be safe to say that it is almost a separate song, with a slower jazzy coffeehouse-esque guitar instrumental, and calm, mellow vocals. It's not something to dance to, and yes Gangnam Style is a dance song. In my opinion though, this is a cover version that has more merit in listening to. So for the moment, calm your horses.

This version doesn't quite use instrumentals, but they sure know how to use their voices like instruments. Behold, the Pentatonix, and their five-piee acapella version of Gangnam Style. I have to admit, this one's pretty creative. Throughout the song I was constantly caught by surprise from the unpredictable use of their vocal skills. Thumbs up. Listen away.

And now we have the famous Korean guitarist, Sungha Jung's version of it. Like every other guitar covers that he does, it's just full of acoustic awesomeness.

Anyways, I'm going to stop there, partly because I have to get back to work and partly because I'm running out of great covers to post, but do let me know in the comments if you find one!

For the shits and giggles, here's Psy's Gangnam Style, all in its glory. Happy ridin' folks.

Lovin' The Koxx

If your mind is in the gutter and have heard it wrong, then I'm going to say again. I like The Koxx, a five piece Korean band that's sweeping over the live indie rock scene in Korea. I recently found them out by digging through Youtube, and boy, was I simply SHOCKED to hear them.

Seriously. Where did these guys come from? That song blew me out of the waters, because it was just something I've never heard from a Korean band before. Certainly from the North American rock scene, primarily comparable to Franz Ferdinand, but holy damn they are simply one of the most bad ass bands I've heard to come from Korea.

The Koxx, formed back in 2009 as three art school friends wanting to play electro-fueld rock. Ever since then, they've been gaining fame as a band that puts up the wildest, the most energetic shows the underground indie scene has seen in the recent years.

With their first EP named Enter, The Koxx made an electric debut, bringing out explosive songs like this one below.

It's so indie. I know. It's actually really, really indie. But Koxx doesn't stop there. With their second album, Access OK released in 2011, The Koxx took up a heavier electro profile, radiating traces of MGMT and Daft Punk in their wake.

For Korean bands, you don't get one as colorful and multi-dimensional as The Koxx. There are so few that dare to cross boundaries and experiment more and more in the Korean music scene, and The Koxx is certainly at the forefront of it all. They're unafraid to take a step that pushes it only further, and they do it in a graceful way that comes out as a sweet surge of mega-voltage music.

I've gone around some indie concerts and when they try anything unconventional it just comes off as weird. With The Koxx however, everything is musically sound. Their dissonance all comes together in harmony at the end. Every line of melody has a purpose, every layer of vocal with a firm position.

They flow like a storm, seemingly uncontrollable, but it's so tight, and sharp. The edgy feeling mixes with the musical mellowness and even maturity.

Keep your eyes on The Koxx. This is really one of those bands that you won't find another of in the Korean indie-scene. So strap on. It's going to be a hurricane ride of music. All you can do is surrender your ears.

Take me to Neverland, Peter Pan.

That almost rhymed. Anyways, the point is that I want to stay young. Of course, I'm young now, and I'm quite happy at the level of youth I'm at right now. I can drink with enjoyment, I can eat to my heart's content, I can think fast and learn many things, and my physique is probably near its peak at the moment. Nevertheless life must go on, and with each year added we all cross our fingers for that inch of maturity to be gained on top of whatever we have. Then we disappoint ourselves, by making the same mistakes yet again. At least that's the story for some of us, including myself. To me that's mostly the reason why I'm afraid of growing old, since I won't be able to say 'hey, I'm young,' when I make those mistakes.

But who can fight against the tide of time? Surely I know I cannot, so I try to learn well from my mistakes at least. At least I'll be able to save face. And hey, as the years go by, I discover more and more great bands to listen to, like this one.

And that brings us to today's band. Peterpan Complex is a Korean indie band consisting of four members, with Lee Chi Won (Guitar), Kim Kyoung In (Drums), Jun Ji Han (Vocal), and Jun Ji Il (Bass) currently forming the band. This indie giant is a apparently extremely well known in the Korean Indie scene, and has garnered much fame throughout their 5 albums long career since 2001. Also the girl is the drummer. I thought I'd mention that because that's just so damn cool in a very rare way. Let's check them out in action.

Officially, they're a modern-rock band, but often times they become something much more than that. For their sound, I have one word to summarize it: daring. This is one band that is not afraid to explore with different styles. Here's one of their songs incorporating electronica, from their fifth album, O[ou].

And here's another one of them, coming from their 4th album, Love, with a little more melo and jazzy sounds mixed in.

Have to admit though, despite the great instrumentals and the creative melodies, the vocal is a bit off when he goes off into his falsettos. It's simply lacking, he needs to work on it, and I'm going to stop there since there's so much about this band that is good. Maybe it's that shakiness in the vocals that adds to the effect that Peterpan Complex has.

I don't know about the band members themselves, but in their music, Peterpan Complex indeed lives up to their name: they always manage to keep it fresh. Throughout their 11 year career, they've been exploring different genres, different styles, but never losing that musical hitch. So you better keep a keen eye on this band, because no one knows where they are going to jump to, and because wherever they go, it's surely a place that your ears to be. Cheers!

What I listen to when I get No Replies on Facebook

To calm myself that is. Because when I receive no replies after I leave a message or a post on Facebook, I get antsy. To my defense, I reply very promptly on Facebook. So whenever my heart goes racing beyond the horizons in anxiety, I listen to something like this.

Introducing, No Reply, an indie duo consisting of two childhood friends. Ever since their official debut in 2008, No Reply has been touching people's hearts in a way that no other musician can. Their meteoric rise started when they achieved second prize in a major singer-songwriter competition back in 2006, from which they gained the courage to truly step into the world of Indie music. Ever since then, they've sold out shows after shows, their albums receiving critical acclaim and achieving commercial success. Two friends who met in a piano school, now an Indie band with a name and talent to back it up.

It's a pretty basic set up if you take a closer look at the band: our main vocalist on his piano, and the guitarist strumming along. Add whatever else that's needed to the song, like a double bass or a cello as shown above. The result is smooth vocals, and a gentle melody that all come together in soothing harmony. This is the kind that make you want to sit back, relax, and enjoy a cup of coffee while watching raindrops fall outside the window. I'll have a cup of green tea instead actually thank you very much. Let me actually just sit back and enjoy a song for a while. Of course you can all join in. 

With slow songs, I find that it's often easy to be bogged down by plain melodies that bore the hell out of listeners. I've heard a countless number of them and my verdict is that while it's relatively easy to pick up a guitar or a piano and write out a simple, calm melody, it's that simplicity that makes it so hard for an artist to get it right. Too many times I'll find a line of notes that has been used over and over again in other songs, and I can literally guess which note will come next. It's prevalent in all forms of music, but I feel this even more prominently in slow acoustic songs.

No Reply, literally gives no reply for such inquiries into their music, because No Reply is a band that satisfies it all. Not a single part is extraneous in their songs. Every instrumental line has a purpose, and a clear role in the overall sound they make. In a way, they remind me of Urban Zakapa, in their precision and accuracy in coordinating their musical parts, all the while never losing sight of the essence of the music itself. The kind of acoustic harmony they create in their songs, is something I consider rare even within the circle of Korean indie scene.


With them, each line of lyrics, each procession of notes, is a slow, ethereal stroll that never ceases to pleasantly surprise the listener. The end effect that they have is mesmerizing, in a very elliptic way that couldn't be described with words.Well, that's what I've been trying to do all this time, but as you can see, all to no avail. It's simpler when you just listen and feel it yourself.

Simply said, there's no reason to not like No Reply (too many negations I know). Planning a quiet day of reading, studying, or ruminating about the meaning of life? Here's a band to go with it, like how coffee goes with milk, unless you like it dark. Nevertheless, enjoy!

Sweet Salty Loves Songs

It's raining. I'm trapped in my girlfriend's apartment, and I have chores to do at home. Pity, that my umbrella is nowhere to be seen. That's all right though. She's gone to class for the time being, and I'm just cozying up under the blankets, past noon, with the cat. Yes, it's a lazy Tuesday.

Rainy days like this need something soothing. Something to softly pet the sorrowful mind, and whisper into its ears that the rain is only here for shortly, that sunny days are coming.

Sweet Salt, is that kind of band.

An indie rock duo with a smooth female vocal and a simple instrumental section that fills up like orchestral music.

This song below, is titled 5 Minutes Before Breaking Up. 

There's nothing too complicated here. No fancy lyrical playing or musical banter going on. But simplicity is what makes Sweet Salt truly shine. Every note, every word hides an emotion, and not a thing about their music is extraneous. It's just enough, to make us feel it.

Before I speak in more ambiguities, here's more music!

Sweet Salt at first can come like one of those any other underground indie bands that are out there. I admit it. This isn't something new. But then again, it's never the originality nor the novelty that gets the job done. It's the delivery. Perhaps it's not intended, and these things usually aren't when they happen right, but Sweet Salt knows how to deliver their tunes, their music, just right.

Often in music, there's that, 'whoa' factor. It can't be explained, and it has barely anything to do with level of training, or the genre of the music. Practice has probably something to do with it, but that's a given. That's why so many bands, so many individuals rise out of the outskirts of mainstream music, the mainstream breeding ground of music. Sweet Salt, I feel like, has that 'whoa' factor.

Are you in need of love songs to soothe your troubled soul? Are you searching for that perfect band to fall in love with music again? Are you simply looking for good music to relax by? Here's where you can start. Enjoy.

Don't Ever Slip Away From Us Nell

After a long hiatus since their release of Separation Anxiety, the indie band giant Nell made a triumphant return, their years in military service hardly numbing their musical talent. With a brand new 5th album Slip Away, which was released last April, Nell's sound is now deeper, and as experimental as it ever was, incorporating many musical elements together to create this album that now possibly stands at the very frontline of Korean indie music.

From the surface, it's reminiscent of Separation Anxiety. And Nell certainly have retained that calm, yet heartfelt sound they often evoke in their more dramatic songs. Even the swearing in their song, Losing Control, sounds so beautiful with Kim Jong-Wan's soothing vocal.

But there's surely more. In this Album, there's a more extensive instrumental line. Shown here in Hopeless Valentine, with a string section arranged by Kim Jong-Wan. It's always a bit tricky to work strings into modern rock music, but Nell does this with uncanny harmony, even incorporating traces of what they had back in their 3rd album, Walk Through Me.

And then there's some new sounds appearing. Personally, the following song sounds more upbeat and folksy than their usual sound.

So there you have it. Nell's new album, and by god it's a dynamite album. When Nell was gone back in 2008, which was when I was just starting to discover the band, I was struck with disappointment, knowing that they wouldn't be back for many years.
Now, with this amazing return they've made, I would say the wait has been worth it. Don't ever leave us now Nell, and just keep on making music like this.

Coming back to you with a ROCKET PUNCH!

After four months, all I can say about writing on this blog again is that, damn, it's good to be back. These past several months that I haven't wrote anything on the Dreaming Jukebox have seen very eventful. Almost to a degree that it has changed me drastically, and to say that I've become a different person would not be an overstatement.

But then again, I'm still Alex.

Anyways, so I've been contemplating life after university. Yes, it's a great enigma that plagues the mind of every college student. The mysterious beyond. So I was grabbing everything I could get at, spinning the engines of head as fast as possible as my stress level shot through the ceiling, until when I couldn't take it anymore, and began to talk to some friends for some advice on this.
And among the advices I've gotten, this was probably the one that had the fastest effect on my mood:
Rocket Punch Generation.

I present to you, W & Whale: a K-indie band with a electronic rock sound. Originally the band's name was W, with three members, Young Joon Bae (Guitar, Lead), Jae Won Han (Keyboard), Sang Hoon Kim (Bass, Drums), founded in 2001. They released two albums by 2005. Then in 2006, they brought in Whale as the Lead vocal, and the band's name was changed to W & Whale.

Another thing is that they're under Fluxus Music, a label that manages some of the finest K-indie bands in Korea, including Clazziquai, Loveholics, and once before, My Aunt Mary. All of them my favorites.

Rarely does an electronic rock band has such rich vocals as Whale's, and that's what I love about this band. They have the sound, they have the musicians, and to top it off, they have Whale, whose strong, ringing voice is an unexpected, yet harmonious mix to W's unique electronic sound. Try this next song, Moon Madness

But that's not all. Turns out W is quite flexible as a band, not only capable of playing out the pop rock sound, but also ringing out something like this.

Seriously. Everyone should check this band out. This band's sound can appeal to almost anyone, and I haven't met a person yet who doesn't like this band. W & Whale. Keep your eyes on them. They are bound to be a force to reckon with in the future of Korean music.