Category: Music

Playlist Roulette ~ Long Flight [Taeyong]

~ Michele ~ 5 Comments

Journeys. Some feel that life in and of itself is one and sure, I can get on board with that. But break it down even further. Within this all-encompassing journey are probably some sub-journeys like education, career, love, and perhaps a more important one, the inner journey we take in discovering who we are and what our place is in the world. To me, all comprise the long flight we call life. This is what crossed my mind when musing on this week’s Playlist Roulette pull, NCT leader Taeyong’s digital single, Long Flight.

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Playlist Roulette ~ Cry [MBLAQ]

~ Michele ~ 2 Comments

I am going to need a moment. Maybe even several. I do not believe in coincidences; therefore, I am not going to say that it is coincidental that over the past week I have been musing over the fact that in addition to exploring newer groups as of late, many of those newer groups have been in fact older generation groups/artists that were new to me. Examples would include SHINee, Highlight (Beast), and B.A.P, to name a few. However, one of the older gen groups that has been a mainstay and significant part of my own personal K-pop journey has been MBLAQ. So as I mused, MBLAQ also crossed my mind and in true serendipitous fashion, Boom . . . the Strictly Korean playlist shuffled out as this week’s Playlist Roulette offering which is perhaps one of MBLAQ’s most iconic songs ever, Cry. I am somewhat overwhelmed and equally thrilled.

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Playlist Roulette ~ Miracle [GOT7]

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Oh my . . . how oddly fortuitous this pull while at the same time quite sentimental and timely given the recent turn of events regarding my beloved GOT7. If you are at all familiar with the extensive discography GOT7 has built over these past seven years, you can easily understand and surmise that the Strictly Korean playlist could have shuffled out any one of so many possible tracks (G7’s entire discography minus their Japanese albums is contained on that list) and yet it conspired with the K-pop gods to give me the gentle and very meaningful ballad, Miracle, the title track from the group’s repackaged third full studio album, Present: You> & Me. Sigh . . .

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On My Playlist ~ What I Said [Victon]

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Letting Victon marinate in all of their underrated talent and finesse was bound to result in an explosive comeback worth waiting for. Releasing their first full length album, Voice: The future is now a mere eleven days into the new year was, in my opinion, strategic and smart. Even though their adoring Alice (the fandom) were expecting a comeback this past December, I think it far better they ushered in a fresh new year with fresh new music, and lots of it. And forget about starting slow and easy. Nope, not with Victon. The title track, What I Said, is a powder keg of sound complete with silky vocals, rapid fire rap (is Hanse even human?), and a whole lot of swag.

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Playlist Roulette ~ Can You Feel It 감이 오지 [Pentagon]

~ Michele ~ 2 Comments

When I sat down and was ready to see what the pull for the week would be for this edition of Playlist Roulette, I thought to myself that I could really use a bit of a banger as it were to help burn off some of the anger, disbelief, and embarrassment of the events of last week here in the US. I also needed something to bring me back to my safe and happy place that is K-pop. Pentagon’s Can You Feel It [감이 오지] came to the rescue.

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Playlist Roulette ~ Breathe 한숨 [Lee Hi]

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I was wondering when the Strictly Korean playlist would shuffle out a song from a female artist because really, I do have quite a few contained on this playlist. I am rather pleased that the first pull for the new year is a female artist. Of course, I was not expecting to be hit in the feels this early after the year we have had, but in many ways, it is the perfect way to begin; and that is, to simply have Lee Hi tell us to Breathe.

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Playlist Roulette ~ PicassO [OnlyOneOf]

~ Michele ~ 1 Comment

I love it when the Strictly Korean playlist pushes a newer group to the forefront to get some exposure. OnlyOneOf arrived on the K-pop scene in May 2019 and are probably at the point now of shedding their rookie skin, finding their color and sound, and of course gaining momentum. The B-side track PicassO from their debut album, dot point jump, really jumped out at me and hit me point blank in the core of my R&B heart.

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Playlist Roulette ~ So Bad.. [Victon]

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The Strictly Korean playlist really dove deep this week and surfaced with a B-side from Victon’s second mini album, Ready, which was released four months after the group’s November 2016 debut. So Bad.. is a jazzy pop number that opens with a rap verse and eventually settles into a playful groove fortified by solid vocals and some pretty impressive ad libs by rapper/vocalist, Seungwoo.

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Playlist Roulette ~ Retro Future [Triple H]

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Here’s a K-pop quiz for you: Name a collaboration or subunit, past or present, that has the level of sexy, sparky,  and steamy chemistry as Triple H’s Hyuna, Hui and Dawn (formerly e’Dawn). I could not decide on just one adjective so I had to use them all. This week, the Strictly Korean playlist shuffled out the trio’s funkadelic old school track, Retro Future, from their second EP release, Retro Futurism, and I was immediately transported back to the early days of hip hop.

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On My Playlist ~ Breath and Last Piece [GOT7]

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With so much new music coming out at once, I admit that I have been unable to keep up. In anticipation of GOT7’s November 30th album release, Breath of Love: Last Piece, the group whet appetites with a pre-release track, Breath, on November 23rd. It was then that it truly sunk in how long they had been away, and how much I have missed them. On November 30th, along with the album release, they dropped a second title track, Last Piece, and with that, were officially back. Yes, they have been away, but I easily place this comeback in the worth the wait column.

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