Slayer is so monolithic in the heavy metal world that it’s nearly impossible for contemporary audiences to imagine them in their infancy, as a bunch of guys learning to play music and deciding who they want to be. In the 40 years since their debut,… Read More »Slayer’s Debut “Show No Mercy” Turns 40
While I don’t really watch any Korean award shows anymore, this year’s Melon Music Awards had a more exciting line-up than MAMA so I had to at least check out the performances. As expected, there were a few real standouts. Apart from this list, I… Read More »My Top 5 Performances of the 2023 Melon Music Awards
TVXQ performed Down on this year’s MAMA Awards as the first taste of their upcoming album. It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since their last Korean comeback. I’m hopeful their new music will be an extension of their excellent catalog, but lately SM… Read More »Song Review: TVXQ – Down
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that… Read More »New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (December 3, 2023)
MAMA used to be such a big deal in K-pop, but I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t even know when it was happening this year! The hype definitely seemed underwhelming. So rather than slog through the entire show and its meaningless awards, I hopped on… Read More »My Top 3 Performances of the 2023 MAMA Awards