Oppa Gangnam Style

A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.
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Ammianus
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Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Ammianus »

In the interest of levity and contemporary issues, let us have the mandatory Gangnam Style thread. We have all tried to avoid this, but no longer !

9bZkp7q19f0

Currently approaching 600 million views, and the most viewed YouTube video. Extra credit to you if you discovered this before August 1st.

Laughter aside, I think this can, potentially, be a cultural watershed within not just America, but the Anglosphere as well. For the first time in half a century, a certifiable East Asian artist have not only caused such a tidal shock with his own output, but could arguably paved a way for his peers to do so as well.

And lest old foggy memories forget:



XiBYM6g8Tck

so neither should we neglect the sacrifices of the past generation :

mvuO0BsEEss
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Juggernaut Nihilism
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Re: Opa Gangnam Style

Post by Juggernaut Nihilism »

I just sort of ignored it for awhile, thinking it was just some cheesy video like that Friday song awhile back. Finally I watched it, realized it was genuflecting awesome, and I've seen it about 37 times in the last few days.
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Typhoon
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Typhoon »

Ammianus wrote:In the interest of levity and contemporary issues, let us have the mandatory Gangnam Style thread. We have all tried to avoid this, but no longer !

9bZkp7q19f0

Currently approaching 600 million views, and the most viewed YouTube video. Extra credit to you if you discovered this before August 1st.

Laughter aside, I think this can, potentially, be a cultural watershed within not just America, but the Anglosphere as well. For the first time in half a century, a certifiable East Asian artist have not only caused such a tidal shock with his own output, but could arguably paved a way for his peers to do so as well.
I don't know it one can read that much into it, although it would be a welcome development.

It's interesting that Psy succeeded where the K-girl pop groups and Japanese singers such as Utada Hikaru have failed: even singing in English

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[Lovely girls, but I find the music completely bland.]

From the Asia thread:

Atlantic | Growing Up Gangnam-Style: What the Seoul Neighborhood Was Really Like
The South Korea of yore had none of PSY's irony.
I grew up in Gangnam, the affluent Seoul neighborhood featured in South Korean rapper Psy's video (which has over 253 million hits as of this posting, more than the population of Indonesia. It has also entered the Guinness Book of World Records for most-liked YouTube video). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I witnessed Seoul's transformation from a grim, dangerously crowded place where all designer garments were counterfeit into a glamorous and rich global mega-city where -- as Psy shows -- people are fabulously well-dressed, but they still have to hang out in parking garages.
Ammianus wrote:
And lest old foggy memories forget:

XiBYM6g8Tck
Was is the Simpson's show that lampooned this with the Penetrada?
Ammianus wrote:
so neither should we neglect the sacrifices of the past generation :

mvuO0BsEEss
Apparently the name "Sukiyaki" [a Japanese dish] was coined by a British jazz group.
A Newsweek Magazine columnist noted that the re-titling was like issuing "Moon River" in Japan under the title "Beef Stew"
.

上を向いて歩こう | Ue o Muite Arukō | Will Walk Looking Up

bbH754gScuk
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Typhoon
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Typhoon »

Oppa Gangnam Style: English lyrics

A girl who is warm and human during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist

I'm a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let's go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensable girl like that

I'm a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let's go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two

You know what I'm saying
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

sSNzk99QarE

The influence of Confucianism.
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Azrael
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Azrael »

It sounds like "Oppa" is the equivalent of the American "hey big boy."

Some guys would like it and others would find it a bit odd, creepy or inane. Perhaps, in the video, the use of the term "oppa" was intended to be funny.

Edit: Also some similarities to the British "hey sis" or "hey little girl".
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Miss_Faucie_Fishtits
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Miss_Faucie_Fishtits »

tpKCqp9CALQ
She irons her jeans, she's evil.........
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Typhoon
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Typhoon »

Azrael wrote:It sounds like "Oppa" is the equivalent of the American "hey big boy."

Some guys would like it and others would find it a bit odd, creepy or inane. Perhaps, in the video, the use of the term "oppa" was intended to be funny.

Edit: Also some similarities to the British "hey sis" or "hey little girl".
Well, it's use in the video was satire.

However, my understanding is that the use of oppa is common in Korea.
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Enki
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Enki »

Ixsn81SqU6E

I love the sound of the crowd in this video when they sing.
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Enki
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Enki »

Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea's Music Video Sensation

http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... on/261462/

Image
Park Jaesang is an unlikely poster boy for South Korea's youth-obsessed, highly lucrative, and famously vacuous pop music. Park, who performs as Psy (short for psycho), is a relatively ancient 34, has been busted for marijuana and for avoiding the country's mandatory military service, and is not particularly good-looking. His first album got him fined for "inappropriate content" and the second was banned. He's mainstream in the way that South Korea's monolithically corporate media demands of its stars, who typically appear regularly on TV variety and even game shows, but as a harlequin, a performer known for his parodies, outrageous costumes, and jokey concerts. Still, there's a long history of fools and court jesters as society's most cutting social critics, and he might be one of them.

Now, Park has succeeded where the K-Pop entertainment-industrial-complex and its superstars have failed so many times before: he's made it in America. The opening track on his sixth album, "Gangnam Style" (watch it at right), has earned 49 million hits on YouTube since its mid-July release, but the viral spread was just the start.

The American rapper T-Pain was retweeted 2,400 times when he wrote "Words cannot even describe how amazing this video is." Pop stars expressed admiration. Billboard is extolling his commercial viability; Justin Bieber's manager is allegedly interested. The Wall Street Journal posted "5 Must-See" response videos. On Monday, a worker at L.A.'s Dodger stadium noticed Park in the stands and played "Gangnam Style" over the stadium P.A. system as excited baseball fans spontaneously reproduced Park's distinct dance in the video. "I have to admit I've watched it about 15 times," said a CNN anchor. "Of course, no one here in the U.S. has any idea what Psy is rapping about."
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Ibrahim
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Ibrahim »

It all boils down to the part where he's silently screaming at the ass of a woman doing yoga. Its something all humans (and primates generally) can relate to.


I have no idea how the monetization of music videos works, but I hope he gets rich over this one.
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Enki
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Enki »

Ibrahim wrote:It all boils down to the part where he's silently screaming at the ass of a woman doing yoga. Its something all humans (and primates generally) can relate to.


I have no idea how the monetization of music videos works, but I hope he gets rich over this one.
Don't see how he cannot. Possibly the most successful song in history.
Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.
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Ammianus
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Ammianus »

As of 1321 PST, 901,946,453 viewsa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

only 3 weeks till 1 billion
Ammianus
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Opa.....Racist Style?

Post by Ammianus »

http://www.mediaite.com/online/gangnam- ... ge-ensues/
He has the most-watched YouTube video of all-time, an international phenomenon of a mega-hit in “Gangnam Style,” has made appearances on nearly every American morning talk show under the sun from Today to Ellen, and is scheduled to appear at a D.C. charity concert later this month with President Obama in attendance. It’s safe to say that Korean pop star PSY is now the “most-liked” entertainer on the planet.

It has recently been unearthed in the states, however, that eight years ago, long before achieving this massive stardom, the mega-star rapped about “slowly and painfully” killing American military members and their families.

Some context: since becoming a democracy in the late 80s, South Korea has developed a rich, sometimes over-the-top, tradition of protest. Swarms of Koreans hit the streets to protest everything from free trade agreements to North Korea to Muslim extremism to American troops stationed on their peninsula.

During a 2002 protest concert against the presence of 37,000 American troops in Korea, PSY took the stage in gold face-paint and, with the crowd egging him on, lifted a miniature “American tank” and smashed it on the ground to massive applause. UPDATE: The performance was inspired by the recent death of two Korean school girls who were run over by an American tank in South Korea. The soldiers driving the tank were acquitted by a US military court.

And then in 2004, a Korean missionary was captured in Iraq by Islamists who demanded that South Korea not send troops to aid America in the war in Iraq. Seoul refused to negotiate and the missionary was beheaded. The result: massive protests throughout Korea against both Muslim extremism and the U.S. military for indirectly bringing this fate upon a Korean missionary.

As part of the protests, PSY and several other popular Korean musicians put on a live performance of a Korean rock band’s song “Dear American.” When PSY’s turn came, he rapped:

Kill those genuflecting Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives
Kill those genuflecting Yankees who ordered them to torture
Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers
Kill them all slowly and painfully

As this particularly incendiary verse made its way to American news outlets, the outrage has grown. Conservative Twitter aggregator Twitchy sums up some of the anti-PSY anger, pondering why his anti-American military past was not discussed during his appearance on Ellen.

Think of all the musicians who’ve said unseemly things in their art: Ice-T rapped the perspective of killing a police officer years ago in “Cop Killer,” but he is now a star actor who portrays a police officer on NBC’s Law and Order: SVU. At the time, Ice-T said he was simply rapping from the perspective of another man — telling a story — and not calling for the actual murder of police officers.

On the other hand, Chris Brown and Eminem have rapped about violence against women… and have followed through on it in real life.

But as others have noted, PSY’s handling of his newfound global fame has been remarkably gracious. He hasn’t thrown up the middle finger and rejected his American popularity because of the Iraq War he rightfully found so deplorable (albeit with highly vitriolic rhetoric).

The question becomes: Would he have said the same thing today now that he has precious international stardom to preserve?
And now that those dollars are at stake:

http://www.mediaite.com/online/psy-apol ... eview=true
“As a proud South Korean who was educated in the United States and lived there for a very significant part of my life, I understand the sacrifices American servicemen and women have made to protect freedom and democracy in my country and around the world. The song I was featured in – eight years ago – was part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the killing of two Korean schoolgirls that was part of the overall antiwar sentiment shared by others around the world at that time. While I’m grateful for the freedom to express one’s self, I’ve learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I’m deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted. I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words.

“I have been honored to perform in front of American soldiers in recent months – including an appearance on the Jay Leno show specifically for them- and I hope they and all Americans can accept my apology. While it’s important that we express our opinions, I deeply regret the inflammatory and inappropriate language I used to do so. In my music, I try to give people a release, a reason to smile. I have learned that thru music, our universal language we can all come together as a culture of humanity and I hope that you will accept my apology.”
Alas, poor Psy. He had a good run.
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Enki
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Enki »

Not going to hinder his career one bit.
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Hoosiernorm
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Hoosiernorm »

A3CybCieHmY
Been busy doing stuff
noddy
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by noddy »

to me he looks like the working definition of one hit wonder and it would be a convenient excuse to blame lack of furthur success upon past anti americanism.

apparently in his tour he only did that song and the track record for artists who came to prominence for catchy novelty tunes isnt inpsiring.
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Enki
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Enki »

noddy wrote:to me he looks like the working definition of one hit wonder and it would be a convenient excuse to blame lack of furthur success upon past anti americanism.

apparently in his tour he only did that song and the track record for artists who came to prominence for catchy novelty tunes isnt inpsiring.
What does it matter if you make millions off of the one song?

Though he seems like he is already pretty big aside from that song in Korea.

If there is one country where anti-Americanism doesn't affect your popularity, it's America.
Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by noddy »

it matters not - it just means you only have one song and wont be popular when it gets boring eventually, as they all do.

it wont have anything todo with his politics or lack thereof.
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Ibrahim
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Ibrahim »

And I thought I liked this chubby little guy before....
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Enki
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Enki »

noddy wrote:it matters not - it just means you only have one song and wont be popular when it gets boring eventually, as they all do.

it wont have anything todo with his politics or lack thereof.

I think everyone was surprised at how well Gangnam Style did, don't expect it to be replicated, and I doubt that many more Korean language songs will make it huge worldwide like that.
Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.
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noddy
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by noddy »

Enki wrote:
noddy wrote:it matters not - it just means you only have one song and wont be popular when it gets boring eventually, as they all do.

it wont have anything todo with his politics or lack thereof.

I think everyone was surprised at how well Gangnam Style did, don't expect it to be replicated, and I doubt that many more Korean language songs will make it huge worldwide like that.
maybe some of the cutie pie girlie bands that can appeal to young girls and drooling boys.
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Ibrahim
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Ibrahim »

I'm pretty sure he actually said he knows he'll never do anything close to that big again.
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Enki
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Re: Oppa Gangnam Style

Post by Enki »

noddy wrote:
Enki wrote:
noddy wrote:it matters not - it just means you only have one song and wont be popular when it gets boring eventually, as they all do.

it wont have anything todo with his politics or lack thereof.

I think everyone was surprised at how well Gangnam Style did, don't expect it to be replicated, and I doubt that many more Korean language songs will make it huge worldwide like that.
maybe some of the cutie pie girlie bands that can appeal to young girls and drooling boys.
Well, he was sort of mentoring that one girl that was in the video. The one that he's going all gaga over. They did a song together. So she might get big again.
Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.
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