Music, music, music
I’ll be updating this page periodically to include music that’s piquing my interest at the moment. Song of the day: “Pretty Baby” by Blondie.
Category: Music
The Making of Jin’s Sweeping “Another Level”
Jin’s vocals on “Another Level” (from his debut EP “Happy”) blew away co-songwriter Ben Samama.
Big Ocean: Meet the Deaf K-Pop Group That’s Breaking Barriers
Big Ocean’s Hyunjin, Chanyeon, and Jiseok talk about their remarkable journey and what they want to do next. My latest exclusive for Rolling Stone.
K.Will’s “No Sad Song For My Broken Heart” explores a one-sided gay relationship
It is easier for a cisgender man than a gay man to survive in a cutthroat society where the latter is unwelcome. This is true in just about any society, but especially so in South Korea where LGBTQ rights are still sorely lacking.
Chung Ha Shares the Next Step in Her Evolution
“I knew that I had to have a comeback eventually, because I had promised my fans that I would,โ says the adventurous K-pop star Chung Ha. โThis is what I love to do.” My latest exclusive for Rolling Stone.
TWICE is determined to keep rising โ but theyโll never stop having fun
The K-pop sensations and TODAYโs latest cover stars open up about self-care, sisterhood, and their new project, โWith YOU-th.โ
IU’s Evocative “Love Wins All” Music Video (featuring V) is Thought-Provoking
Itโs not easy for two well-known celebrities to immerse themselves in their roles so well that we donโt seeย them, but rather their characters. But watching IU’s music video for “Love Wins All,” I didnโt see pop stars IU and V, but rather a pair of anguished characters who were trying desperately to survive in this post-apocalyptic inferno.
Sistar19: Inside the K-Pop Duo’s Comeback
Hyolyn and Bora talk about their first new music in seven years, how K-pop has changed over the years, and their dreams for the future. My latest article in Rolling Stone magazine.
The Rose, Lollapalooza & Rock ‘n’ Roll
“Our goal as artists is for everyone who comes to our shows โ no matter what age, what gender โ to feel included,” said The Rose frontman Woosung. “That’s the energy we want at our concerts. We want it to be this happy place, a garden of roses where you’re enjoying music together with all kinds of different people and everybody feels safe.”
The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music
What follows is not only the story of Korean popular music, and how it birthed the K-pop business, but also how a small peninsula nation learned how to make art in the face of colonialism and political change, culled sonics from all corners of the globe, and keeps striving to find new ways of distilling the purest, most thrilling aspects of the human experience into four-minute packages of pop revelation. For Rolling Stone.