Worry vs. Donuts

Artist: Kirinji

Genre: Alt. rock

Video ratings: Silly (1/5) • Artsy (3/5) • Meaningful (0/5) • Eye-candy (4/5)

Synopsis: Out of all the videos I could have selected from my favorite band of all time (a title which I do not assign to Kirinji lightly!), I chose this one simply because it comes from an era where the group was in transition and decided to get a tad experimental. While Kirinji is best known for an almost folk rock sound, this track is more electronic in nature. It’s not territory that the band is uncomfortable with; I’m assuming it’s just something that they had more time to explore since their long time producer Keiichi Tomita (who the band still works with all the time) wasn’t handling the production of this album - the band was.

The lyrics of the song deal with a secret love, but you couldn’t tell from the video, which looks like a stage from Marble Madness (with the occasional inclusion of a dancing mime). It’s pretty fun to watch the two balls bounce through the video as the beat bumps in the background though, so just forget about any deeper meaning the lyrics might have and enjoy.

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Artist: Peppertones

Genre: Alt. rock, pop

Video ratings: Silly (3/5) • Artsy (3/5) • Meaningful (0/5) • Eye-candy (0/5)

Synopsis: If there’s one thing that bugs me about Korean pop stars, it’s how fashionable the guys are. With their “bounce this quarter off my pecs, baby” looks and their funky dance moves, watching Korean MVs can drive normal guys like myself into fits of self image-related depression. That’s why the Peppertones are so freaking awesome. In this video, which is drowning in pseudo black and white images of modern Korea, we meet the duo known as the Peppertones when they show up in bright, loud, “I should be jogging in this shit” style clothes and bowl cuts. They set up some lawn chairs, don some awful looking shades, and chill.

YES.

The song ain’t bad either; the Peppertones have woven a very interesting path through their short career, with various female vocalists contributing to tracks and their albums shifting from alt rock to electronica-influenced beats on instrumental tracks. It’s cool stuff; quite relaxing in a spastic sort of way. This track seems to capture their flavor nicely.

Added bonus: the album this track comes from, New Standard, also features a track called “We are Mad about Flumerides.” If that doesn’t define cool, I don’t know what does.

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It’s funny how one’s musical tastes change through time. All of us can probably name an album or two that we bought that we were younger that we have since discarded or hidden out of shame (the skeletons in my closet: Milli Vanilli and countless anime character song CDs). Despite that, it’s common for many of us to smile or take a liking to modern music that incorporates elements from our favorite songs of an era gone by. That’s kind of how I feel about the genre (or mini-genre?) known as Korean Electronica. (Read the article)

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