from MUSIC ROOM:
New Songs On The Charts
Finally, some new songs are making it onto the charts and the airwaves. It seems to me that the radio playlists ossified during the late winter.
Some of the same groups are still in the top ten, of course. Take g.o.d., for instance. For weeks, their single Aesoo [RealAudio] was being played to death. Now, quite suddenly, they've got a new hit, Friday Night [ASX]. This ballad has a rather mellow disco sound to it.
In a head-to-head comparison of Turbo's recent chart-topping hits, I give the premier ranking to Tonight [ASX]. It's climbing up while Cyber Lover [RealAudio] is slipping down. Tonight is lighter and purer than Cyber Lover and I think the understated flow sections are tight.
The twins are also enjoying prolonged popularity. One can only have fun when Ryanghyun and Ryangha start performing?they are so cute it hurts. They climbed right to the top ten with their first hit and turn around the next week and produce another hit with Hakgyoreul Ahn Gassuh [ASX]. It's adorable in its innocence?Mickey Mouse Club goes to Beijing.
Lee Soo Young's I Believe [ASX] is still holding strong, and my friends tell me the rest of the CD is just as good. I still think the song sounds a bit derivative (it's supposed to, of course) but her voice is so pretty that she could carry even a bland score with ease.
Blue Sky [ASX] by Park Kyoung is another one of those pop songs that bounces along in Korean, then is abruptly interrupted by a completely useless English phrase. Is there any reason "Blue Sky" has to be sung in English? It seems to really interrupts the flow of an otherwise very decent tune.
Lee Kichan has a pretty song on his hands with Choom Chooneun Namoo [ASX]. The synthesized descant is a bit distracting, and replacing the keyboard with a full orchestra would have been perfect. As is often the case, the singer is not the weakness, it's the arrangement of the piece.
The funky Ggok [ASX] by Kim Gun Mo may appeal to those who like to dance. IHis voice in this one is not spectacular, but overall it's got a good beat and you can clean the house to it.
Perhaps the most popular song title of the 1999-2000 recording cycle is Gobaek (Confession) [ASX]. Everyone has some confession to make, it seems. This particular song is performed by Park Hae Kyung, and it has a tasty opening the foreshadows the chorus.
And finally, to Shin Seung Hun I give my own number one spot this month (and maybe this season). Its nice to see musicians looking around and trying new things. With Junsulsokae Noogoongachuhrum [ASX], Shin Seung Hun proves he's been listening to what's been happening in other nations. The African underbeat of this piece is evocative of Hans Zimmer and Johnny Clegg, and he should be proud of this recording.
By Denise Ahn
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