BALANCE of CULTURE

Bad Girls like Middle Finger Malfunctions

M.I.A.'s latest video "Bad Girls" is a much better thing to watch than yesterday's rather tepid Superbowl halftime performance with Madonna, Nicki, M.I.A., LMFAO, and Cee lo (let's face it, Madge needs all the youthful help she can get at this point) -- the music video has lots of cool scenery in Ouarzazate, Morocco with creative choreography and car stunts.

To her credit though, at least M.I.A. stuck with her new video's theme and flipped the bird (aka middle finger malfunction) to the primetime cameras yesterday, effectively riling up the usual suspects like Parents Television Council and of course Fox News.

It's "big news" today but I doubt too many people noticed at the time, though -- most were staring longingly at either Madonna reinventing herself again or the hordes of dark, ripped young guys she brought with her…I guess some things never change!

K-pop Behind the Scenes/Soft Power Impact

"If you want to be cute, you have to be very cute. If you want to be sexy, you have to be very sexy." (Typical Korean approach to pretty much everything, isn't it?)

Perhaps (not so) coincidentally this week, I met a couple of women -- one Thai, one Vietnamese -- who were keenly interested in my Korean background, especially when they found out my love for Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese gal even gave insisted on giving me her banker sister's contact info in Ho Chi Minh for my next trip to Vietnam, saying that her sister is obsessed with Korean culture (she's currently learning her 4th language: Korean) and would love to show me around the city.

I was surprised because we had literally just met, but if that isn't a simple and direct result of Korea's growing soft power, please show me what is! I'm far from your typical K-pop fanatic but I'd be straight up lying if I denied seeing the influence that this divisive music genre has had on my interactions with people lately -- which is why this video of the darker K-pop reality is worth a look:



Grueling schedules and tricky contracts, allegations of prostitution and corruption…Al Jazeera goes behind the scenes of the K-pop world, interviewing artists (both well known as well as anonymous) and their "people," a plastic surgeon, "Dr. Music," and others heavily involved backstage. South Korea's soft power push for foreign fans around the world and the seedier parts of the industry are discussed.

SIlverlake Music Festival…in Thailand!

Looks like "Silverlake" for some reason always has some sort of music connotation, even if we're talking about Silverlake in Pattaya, Thailand instead of my neighborhood of Silver Lake in Los Angeles!  I did a double-take when I saw this flyer for the "Silver Lake Music Festival" the other day:

Not to be confused with Silver Lake Jubilee or the dormant Sunset Junction! :-)

Known Pleasure: Disney Rips Joy Division

Looks like Disney's Mickey Mouse shirt "inspired" by Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures album cover (1979) has been pulled once it was revealed the mega-company may not have had all their permissions in order after all.

Even Joy Division's bass player Peter Hook had some stinging words -- albeit gift wrapped in sugarcoat -- for Disney:

"...in a funny way, it's quite a compliment for a huge conglomerate like Disney to pick up on a poor little Manchester band that only existed for a couple of years, it's quite startling. I'm amazed they're that hard up that they need to prey on little indie bands, but I get the feeling that someone may have done it as a tongue in cheek compliment."

Well, Mr. Hook, obviously they are that "hard up"…aren't all predators these days?

Faux Bling: fox fur headphones

Not being ignorant is the true luxury in life. I can't believe how many first world citizens are so pathetically blind when it comes to something so heinous like wearing fur in 2012. While one may think that worldwide success, experience, and millions of dollars would afford some folks the knowledge that animal fur goods are hardly something to brag about, obviously this is not the case.

Take a look at what these parochial heads (fashion designer Oscar de la Renta and music mogul Dr. Dre) came up with for their collaborative project for the Beats by Dre headphone line:

The "limited edition" (no, really?) design is covered in a plum-colored layer of fox fur and retails for $695 USD. (Of course, a letter from PETA to Dr. Dre has been unanswered.)

Geez, is this straight from the annals of illbred.com or what?! Maybe this is the perfect tacky gift for those poor, provincial souls who also think that covering their waxed bikini areas with fox fur will help them feel more sexy, no?

What's really ironic about all this fox fur nonsense (remember J.Lo's famous fox fur eyelashes?) is that its ubiquity is based upon its relative "cheapness" (above rabbit fur), yet is marketed as some sort of "luxury" product to those who don't know nor care about the gross reality behind the scenes.

I understand some people are still stuck in the increasingly embarrassing "bling-bling" (note the quotation marks) era of the late 90s/early 2000s -- abusing and killing animals in order to make these kinds of junky products will still make sense to them, sadly enough. A small price to pay to maintain the $30k-millionaire lifestyle, right?

What a lighting-fast way for older segments of the fashion and music industries to look utterly stupid. Please educate those around you and #GoFaux!

Taiwan's Classy Garbage Collection

When most people think of trash and garbage trucks, Beethoven and Bądarzewska are not who usually come to mind…unless you're in Taiwan! For the past few decades, the densely-populated island nation's environmental agency has administered official garbage trucks to play classical music in order to alert citizens to gather their rubbish and bring it all outside, directly to the collectors, so that the waste doesn't have to wait on the ground to be picked up. Nice and clean!

Apparently classical music isn't the only style of tunes the trucks play. Christmas music is the prime choice during the holiday season, and traditional Chinese songs at Chinese New Year. And this all seems to work just fine…most citizens seem to have no issue cooperating with this program.

I have my doubts this would be successful in Los Angeles, even in my ultra-environmental friendly neighborhood of Silver Lake. The concept of everyone obediently being available to go outside and dutifully wait in line to help the garbage men seems a bit optimistic -- not to mention the debates about which music to pick would probably go on forever! (Skrillex or Black Star? Darker My Love or Zola Jesus???! You get my drift…)

Still, a very cool look at how an extremely crowded little country is dealing with its high population vis-a-vis its growing environmental awareness overall.

Live Music as a Melting Pot

Music acts are touring the world more than ever, so it's always intriguing to hear how different audiences around the world react while watching live music performances. Glam rock band Scissor Sisters recently shared their experiences with different audiences and cultures throughout Asia:

On Hong Kong: "...people were just on the verge of being polite and subdued but having a great time. There’s no mistake people react differently culturally, and it doesn’t mean they’re enjoying it any less or more."

On Bali: "In Bali, I have to say it was half of a tourist crowd, so you get the classic, really drunk Westerner who has no social decorum at all next to the people who are traveling from within Indonesia who are just so thrilled that we’re even in their part of the word."

On Singapore: "This continent has been a little bit surprising to all of us. It’s almost, if not more of a melting pot than New York. I don’t get the sense that it’s oppressive."

Now I'd like to hear what Swedish death metal band Opeth thinks of the different audiences in China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Maldives after their Asia tour concludes! Wouldn't that be pretty interesting?

Ms. Jackson this is nasty...

[Photo by Eastsider LA]

While driving by the future PETA headquarters in Echo Park yesterday, I remembered reading about singer Janet Jackson's upcoming fur line with Blackglama.

I can't be alone in thinking that this is absolutely the most awkwardly offensive time for anybody to start a fur line, even for somebody from music royalty…don't get me wrong, I love her music and I remember her as very friendly when I met her at an event a few years back. It's just confusing and disappointing because there is so much high-quality faux alternatives now!!

Update: Check out EchoParkPatch's piece on this post!

Busan Opera House Proposal

"Like an iconic shell sound towards the sea..."

Portuguese architecture/design firm OODA has released their beautiful proposal for the Busan Opera House, a new opera performing arts center in the southern coastal city of Busan, Korea. The cavernous structure symbolizes a seashell by the ocean, emanating sound, cross ventilation, and natural light. Simply gorgeous, wouldn't you say?

The Next Episode in Asian Pop Music

Google isn't alone in paying attention to what's going down in Asian pop culture these days -- just last night, rap icons Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg performed at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards ("MAMA") in Singapore.

The "cornerstones" of West Coast hip hop performed their joint hit "The Next Episode," their first TV performance by the duo in 11 years! The audience was pretty much nuts over them, obviously!

Korean rapper Simon D excitedly tweeted the above photo with Snoop Dogg.

Watch the performance below, the two are definitely considered "old school" but they've still got it going on...

For what it's worth, during the red carpet interview Dr. Dre stated, "It's my first time in Singapore, but it won't be my last!" and when asked if he is listening to any Asian pop music, Snoop responded with K-pop/hip hop girl group "2NE1."

These regional and cultural crossovers are not only a sign of the times, but also an indication of the future. One thing's for sure: these guys are obviously more than welcome in Asia any time!