Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Musical Interlude

Thanks to an epic plumbing fail in my condo’s only bathroom, I’ve spent the past week with relatives who have spotty Internet access. This means no drama, no Tumblr, and no blog. My withdrawal symptoms, as you can imagine, have been nightmarish.

To tide us over until I can make a real post again, I thought I’d share some of the Korean music that I’ve been listening to lately. I’m no fan of the slick, rap-influenced K-pop mainstream, but K-indie is a good fit with the indie-folk and chill music I usually prefer. (Although if you asked me to define either K-pop or K-indie, I would literally have no idea how to go about it. Maybe K-pop = song with choreographed dance; K-indie = danceless song?)

My primary source for Korean music is the website 8tracks, a free streaming service full of user-created and curated playlists. It’s much more international than competing sites like Pandora, and it has a bigger, more varied library of songs.

Here are a few of the playlists I’ve loved lately.




My cafe in Seoul
Mellow and jazzy. An ideal soundtrack for reading on a rainy afternoon.



40 k-indie songs
There’s a lot of variety here, but it tends toward the up-tempo. Excellent background music for writing.


10cm
A collection of mostly gentle, low-key tracks from the band 10cm.


Intro to k-indie
Just what I always needed! This mix includes lots of lovely songs from the go-to artists in the genre, including Standing Egg, J Rabbit, and Urban Zakapa.



Mellow korean indie
Warm, cozy songs that are mostly acoustic. (Good luck deciphering their titles and artist information, though—most of them are actually in Korean.)


Sweet time
Delicate, gorgeous, and just a little sleepy.


Just a little bit
A playlist devoted to the band Urban Zakapa, a group I love for their fabulous, Backstreet Boys-esque harmonies and smooth production.

Yiruma
This prominent contributor to the Spring Waltz soundtrack is perfect for all your cheesy instrumental needs.


Check out the complete list of my liked mixes here.

5 comments:

  1. Oh, just what I needed! I do like Kpop, but when I'm painting, I prefer something just a bit more mellow. Not happy about your plumbing issues, but I am glad you were able to open up another musical avenue for me. May all your troubles go down the drain soon! ;)

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  2. Thanks Amanda, I will listen to them!

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  3. Ooo hoo, yay! I'm gonna check it out, thanks! The only music I listen to these last two years is Korean pop, rock and indie. Just like Korean movies and dramas - there is such a wealth of fabluousness out there that I have no time left over for anything in my own language. Bonus, I found that I learned even more Korean language from all the music I listen to and memorize. My three and a half year old son is getting to know almost as many songs in Korean as he does in English. :) I love it when he yells out "F...T... Island!" heeheehee

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  4. Hello Amanda, I recently came across your blog while looking for reviews of coffee prince. Loved your review, it is my favorite drama as well. Loved your collection of indie music, especially the first song miss flower and the last instrumental piece, it is beautiful. Hope your plumbing issues get resolved soon. :)

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  5. I had never heard of 8tracks. Thanks for the tip!!

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