[Seoul?] Elated by
band 1, on the way out, I asked elfin doorman for advice on which venue to go
to next. He asked what I was looking for and I said “hard? punk?” He thought
for a bit, nodded and pointed to his left: GogoS2. It looked/vibed similarly as
the last place but smelled of cigar smoke, pleasantly. This band, unlike the
last one, had a look—cool, depraved. The lead singer had Hunter S Thompson
glasses on. Everyone had Haircuts. Once the music started, it it was clear they
were Not Punk. It was fine! I was experiencing a music miracle! It’s possible I
was still jetlagged and high on my music miracle because my notes are all over
the place so I’m discounting ‘rockabilly,’ ‘Cadence Weapon,’ ‘undertones of
perversion,’ ‘grunge metal,’ ‘NY 70s punk,’ ‘Black Keys but hip-hop.’ It is
true, though, that they were four people of unclear gender—but I’m sort of
giving up on gender in general—they were a bass guitar, two guitars, and a
drummer. The lead singer talked a lot and I understood none of it. It’s also
true they were smooth slick jazz rock, French pop, lounge, jazz guitar, synth
pop, soul rock. So I thought Soul Decision (noboby but me liked this band … in
the 90s), The Weeknd. Then they did this song with lyrics that were vaguely
familiar, vaguely disturbing… “oh wye oh wye I love your body … I’m in love with
the shape of you.” Nooooooooo… I just googled and maybe worse than John Mayer,
it was very likely an Ed Sheeran cover. And now I’m pretty certain I actually
saw a K-pop band. Well I stand by my impression that this band was also stupid
good. And the music business is bullshit because it’s not quality that determines
whether you make it… and the global hierarchy in
art and business and life. Like language—the language you speak is such a
determinant of the power you have in the different spaces you might occupy across
the world. Wealthy Korean mothers work to ensure their children’s success by
enrolling them in “English kindergartens.” Inequality, persists. I got the name
of this band from a gaggle of three girls next to me—although only one of them
really qualified as a girl who might be in a gaggle. Korean girls wear good
perfume.
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