Music Mondays: K-Pop, Carpenter, and Batz--Plus More!

The Segment Returns!

I said in March that this would be my newest randomly occurring segment and now that we're here with the second edition I've made good on my claim! Let's get into it.

Music & Musings

I've been listening to a chunk of what is known as K-Pop lately. It is a bit of a blanket term for pop music from South Korea. I quite like the song, "Cat & Dog," by Tomorrow X Together, "Easy," by Le Sserafim, and a variety of other tunes by popular artists (Stray Kids has some good hits). As I got into K-Pop I learned about how one aspect can be extremely controversial. Debates persist over K-Pop artists re-recording their songs exclusively in English. A lot of K-Pop incorporates English and Japanese, but fans have strong thoughts on when the artists only sing in English (there are versions of songs exclusively in Japanese to appeal to that market too, but the debate focuses more on the English-exclusive takes). I personally am fine with a musical artist doing whatever they want with their own music, as it is a bit like a remix. This isn't a case where some other random American artist is ripping off a K-Pop song, after all. As I continue to check out more K-Pop I'll share what I like.

Having loved Vince Staples' show, "The Vince Staples' Show," I've been listening to more of his music. Two songs I find on repeat in my playlist are, "THE BEACH," and, "Yo Love." which also features 6lack.

Beyonce's county album, "Cowboy Carter," continues to dominate the music charts. I enjoy a number of Beyonce's songs, but readers of the blog are aware that I don't listen to much country. That said, I love seeing artists who don't hesitate to dabble in a range of genres and I applaud Beyonce for trying something new and succeeding at it!

Sabrina Carpenter is another of those new young pop stars (she's only 24 and started making hits a smidgen ago). I often whine about today's new music but I like some songs I've heard by her. "Nonsense," and, "Feather," are both good fun. So you see, I don't hate all the new youth with their pop jams!

A number of OutKast's albums (and lots of other hits) were produced by Organized Noize. One member of that production outfit, Rico Wade, passed away recently at the age of 52 (the cause of death was not disclosed). A ton of amazing music artists expressed their sympathies to his family and I do the same.

J. Cole was part of a spat with Kendrick Lamar, but after releasing a song critical of Lamar, "7 Minute Drill," he apologized publically a couple days later to mixed reactions. The song has now been taken down from official music streaming sources at the request of Cole. Don't you think that Cole is done engaging in beef, however, with a new track apparently taking a swipe at Drake.

4batz is an artist I don't know much about, but their weird little song, "Act ii: date @ 8," was on the radio randomly and I really dug it. It's incredibly short, trippy, and catchy.

Coachella happened last weekend and was quite the event by all accounts. I feel a little bad for how Grimes's equipment had a technical meltdown, but at least we got to see a reunion of No Doubt (Gwen Stefani's Ska band from back in the day), and Olvia Rodrigo joined them on stage too!

Finally, Taylor Swift is one of the biggest names in music so her fans (who are known as Swifties) are pumped for the debut of her 11th studio album (15th overall), "The Tortured Poets Department." It drops this Friday, April 19th.

Television Tuesday: "The Vince Staples," Show is Short but Superb

"The Vince Staples Show," is a Netflix production starring a semi-fictionalized version of rapper/actor/entrepreneur, Vince Staples. At only five episodes which are as brief as 18 minutes or a little under a half hour, you can binge the whole show in the time it would take to watch most movies. That's okay, although some glowing reviews observed with a little disappointment how the show, "...feels like an appetizer that only scratches the surface." As for what, "The Vince Staples Show," could be categorized as, it features episodes that mostly stand-alone but with little callbacks as Vince navigates life as someone somewhat famous and somewhat wealthy in a vaguely absurdist and off-kilter Los Angeles.

"The Vince Staples Show," takes place in reality, but not. Things happen that are a bit surreal and just plain off. Whether its a theme park mascot taking offense to Vince bumping into him while he tries to find an open restaurant within the park or a bank robbery that takes a humorous turn when the robbers recognize Vince as a friend, weird shit just kind of happens around Vince and he does his best to attempt to roll with it. I've heard comparisons to, "Atlanta," and its sometimes fantastical elements, but I think a lot of folks are bringing that show up as both it and, "The Vince Staples Show," involve rappers who are also actors. If anything, "The Vince Staples Show," reminds me of, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," a comparison my wife, Samii, stated too when we were watching the show. Just like the characters on that show, Vince often has an idea or goal, and has to go through a bunch of people or obstacles in an attempt to achieve what he's after (Vince is at the aforementioned bank trying to get a loan for a cereal idea, for example). 

Vince ends up knowing the robbers at the bank he's trying to get a loan from.

On, "Sunny," it is often a scheme that the gang of characters is trying to enact to the detriment of others, but Vince is less of a malignant force than anyone on, "Sunny," even if he clearly is by no means a hero as his show makes clear. He's just kind of there, putting up with weird shit happening the best he can. Sometimes that means assisting his mother at a family reunion as she attempts to find out who else brought Mac & Cheese in an attempt to show her up. Sometimes that means running for his life when an old schoolmate with a relatively unexplained grudge tries to hunt him down around town. "The Vince Staples Show," and, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," share some formatting, and both are darkly hilarious, but Vince's show is also its own unique and weird beast.

You don't need to watch every episode of, "The Vince Staples Show," in one sitting. You can, but I watched it in pieces over a chunk of days and enjoyed it just as much as if I'd binged the program. It is a fantastic show with the third and fourth episodes being my favorite (the family reunion and trip to the theme park). The first episode is actually the weakest, in my opinion, meandering a bit with Vince locked up briefly with some odd characters after getting pulled over for speeding. It's not a bad start to the show by any means, it is just that everything else fires on all cylinders after that slightly awkward kick-off. Overall, however, this short debut season I'd rate 5 out of 5 stars. I hope we get more (and possibly longer) seasons!