[AKR’s Playlist] You Had One Job

As a blogger, I am tasked with one job and one job only – to write about what I am passionate about. I had one job. Many apologies to my readers; I have been drowning in this sea of college life and it seems that I haven’t been able to secure an island of reprieve until now. It’s a small island but I’ll take it.

Of course, this is another catch up playlist where I will update you on what has been reaching my ears from the K-pop realm since I went MIA around August. All of these great tracks have kept me relatively undeterred by the doom and gloom atmosphere of K-pop recently. Hopefully, you all have been holding up well despite all of the drama that has happened in the industry. Regardless of all the scandals and lineup changes, the K-pop machine is still churning out some great music and I hope to highlight some of the standout tracks of this summer/fall.

[AKR’s Playlist] Midyear Roundup – Dark Version

Finally, a post to absolve myself from the guilt of not posting anything for months! Behold, my dear readers, this is what college life does to a poor writer. I apologize profusely for my absence but, as this school year is winding down, I thought this would my last chance to squeeze in a post before I drown in finals. Instead of having to go through the agonizing process of choosing one K-pop release to review, I decided that there were too many standouts in the first half of this year so I would write small blurb-like reviews for standout tracks.

[AKR’s Playlist] Midyear Roundup – Light Version

Finally, a post to absolve myself from the guilt of not posting anything for months! Behold, my dear readers, this is what college life does to a poor writer. I apologize profusely for my absence but, as this school year is winding down, I thought this would my last chance to squeeze in a post before I drown in finals. Instead of having to go through the agonizing process of choosing one K-pop release to review, I decided that there were too many standouts in the first half of this year so I would write small blurb-like reviews for standout tracks.

[AKR’s Playlist] The Sounds of 2013: Defrosting a Frozen Heart

“Defrosting a Frozen Heart” encompasses songs that were either released or that I had discovered before July. These songs shaped the second half of my first year of college and the first half of a pretty awesome year. These are the tracks that helped me get through the cold winter and that last push until summer. Some of these songs even rekindled my desire to be in love again, thus the title.

Love is a very fickle force and I’ve had to learn that the hard way in the past. One moment, it will entice you to cross the country on foot to confess your love to someone you barely know. The next moment, it will stab you in the back and leave you with a heart that is poisoned by disillusionment, frozen by betrayal. However, I think what I realized during this part of the year is that, yes, love is fickle, yes, love ain’t kind, but that’s what makes the chase so damn viable. The risks are so great, the challenge seemingly so insurmountable, but once you find that special someone, once you come out of the chase victorious, the reward is greater than anything the lottery can offer.

[AKR’s Playlist] The Sounds of 2013: Homebound

“Homebound” encompasses songs that were either released or that I had discovered between July and September. This playlist is entitled as such because it was the first time I longed to be home for the summer break. After spending a school year at college, I realized how connected I was to my home, how comforting the familiar can be, how nice it feels to truly to know where you are. I’ve certainly been lost many times and across many contexts during the year and I felt like summer was when I could finally be found again. K-pop songs have decorated my life since I heard my very first k-pop single and, in a way, it has become a roaming piece of home. When I listen to k-pop, I feel that sense of familiarity and, regardless of where I am, I know that I’ll always be at least homebound, constantly searching for what I feel is home.

[AKR’s Playlist] The Sounds of 2013: The Fight

Click here to read the premise for this playlist. 

“The Fight” encompasses my favorite tracks that were either released or that I had discovered after September. This first quarter of my second year of college was a tough one both academically and personally. I had a lot on my plate and I had a lot to juggle. I think the main message that I took from this period of time of my life is that, in any given fight, there will be a winner and there will be a loser, and sometimes, you can work your ass off and still lose and you can not lift a finger and still win. Life is a constant struggle because it is never as expected. K-pop really helped me remain grounded during this stressful quarter and reminded me that I don’t have to grieve over my losses alone. I do have friends, contrary to my constant loner jokes, and these friends really do listen and really do care. And, if anything, I always have the option of belting out my favorite k-pop tracks or dancing to some k-pop bangers when I’m down. Though k-pop lyrics are usually vapid, they sometimes are like my friends. Some give me candied answers, some give me bitter truths – both of which I will graciously accept.

[AKR’s Playlist] The Sounds of 2013

Songs have a tendency to become markers of time for me. Memories and emotions that have been since packed away in the dark recesses of my mind are resuscitated through songs that I had listened to a lot during particular periods of my life. Every song will evoke something different for me – a memory, a prevailing thought, an emotion – but that something will always be associated with a certain epoch in my life. For instance, I will always remember the summer before my freshman year of college as the summer of “I Love You” by 2NE1 as that song was essentially my summer’s anthem. Now that this year is drawing to a close, which releases from 2013 have defined this year? These are the songs that have resonated with me as being indexical of my memories from this year.

[AKR’s Playlist] All The Single Ladies

I am proud to present to you all my latest new segment – AKR’s Playlist! This is the segment in which I bombard you with k-pop songs that I have squirreled away in my iTunes library over the years. Each playlist will consist of songs that (hopefully) stick to its titular theme. Of course, I am merely disseminating a list of songs that I have grown fond of and that I would like to share with you all in the hopes that you will find something new or rediscover old jams. In no way is this list definitive for anything; it is merely a collection of k-pop goodies that I have found over the years. As always, skip around if you would like. The tracks are ordered in a way that I feel is best but it may not resonate with you so by all means skip around and explore. 

To start things off properly with my new segment, I’d like to call upon the divalicious powers of the divas themselves. That’s right, I am talking about the ladies who are bold enough to tread through the treacherous waters of k-pop alone. With no other girl group members to back them up, these ladies generate hits on their own to prove that you can go solo and can still make it big in the k-pop industry or, at the very least, give a valiant effort.