Music Video: Stromae - Papaoutai

I absolutely adore the music coming out of Belgium these days.  I don't know what it is about that small country of just 11 million people, but they create some spectacular music out of all proportion to their size.  Unfortunately - at least from the standpoint of this blog - much of the awesome artists from Belgium perform in English.  Selah Sue, Customs, The Van Jets, Hooverphonic, and many others are artists who would pull in crowds anywhere.  But they all perform mostly or exclusively in English.  While that is fine from a marketing perspective, from my selfishly and jealously nativistic (in a nationally agnostic sort of way) perspective, this is too bad.  However, while I was perusing YouTube this afternoon, I was stunned to find a Belgian artist with hits in the tens of millions (and one with over 111 million hits!!!!!!!!), not just for one song - that could be considered a fluke - but for multiple songs.  How is an artist with this many hits not climbing to the top of the American charts and winning multiple Grammys?

Well, for one thing, Stromae only sings in French.

Born of a Belgian mother and a Rwandan father who was killed in the Rwandan genocide, Stromae produces an incredible blend of hip hop, electronica, dance, chanteur, and Caribbean.   His recent song Papaoutai perfectly encapsulates this uniquely infectious sound.   Stromae is everything I started this blog to find.  I hope you enjoy him too.

Music Video: 2NE1 - I Am the Best

Let's just get this out in the open:  I generally don't like corporately manufactured music.  In my mind, music should have elements of spontaneity and should represent an emotional connection between the musician and the listener, not be seamlessly prepared by committees and manipulated to sell "product".  Unfortunately, much of what is coming out of east Asia falls under the corporate music umbrella, which is generally why I don't profile much of it here.  There are, of course, massive exceptions like Joyside from China, or ZukunaSisters from Japan.  But unfortunately acts like those are seldom ever heard outside of their home countries, while female Korean versions of NSync pack Madison Square Garden (true story).

That brings us to today's band, 2NE1 and their song I Am the Best.  They are typical of the current crop of Korean (aka "K-Pop") groups.  The group consists of several young attractive women, who are flawless dancers, and who have probably never even met the musicians (well, programmers) who play the music to which they sing along.  It's all so commercial. . . and soulless. . . and empty. . .

. . . and. . .

. . . well, dammit, so catchy!  I want to hate I Am the Best and everything that it represents.  And I will - I promise - as soon as I stop dancing along.

Music Video: Mexican Institute of Sound - Yo Digo Baila

Back when I was attending college, and working for the "Special Events" department, it always seemed to me that the school was constantly putting on bands that appealed to an older crowd but that had limited appeal to the actual student body.  Now that I am officially part of the older crowd, invitations to see bands at my old college are looking better and better.  This week, for example, they're hosting Mexico's Mexican Institute of Sound.  This exciting mix of traditional Mexican music, electronica, and dance music, as demonstrated in their track Yo Digo Baila, appeals to me on multiple levels.  I really wish I could go to the show!  In addition to being a great show to see, I probably wouldn't have to share the audience with too many students.

Blast from the Past: t.A.T.u. - Nas ne dogonyat

What seems like a lifetime ago, my wife was at the gym when she first heard this catchy little dance number being played repeatedly over the sound system.  After a little research, she discovered that it was Russian group t.A.T.u., and the English version of their massive hit song Nas ne dogonyat.  Fast forward a decade, and my young daughter finds this song buried among our old CDs.  Now it's her favorite song to sing on the way to school, even though she still struggles a little with the Russian lyrics.