I know you're going to hate me for this, but throw back a drink of choice and let yourself enjoy this. It succeeds where other Gangnam parodies fail: by sticking to the basics. It doesn't rewrite any lyrics. Doesn't invent dance steps. It just says to PSY by way of tribute: you think you're zany with your horses and K-pop stars? We're going to give you cross-dressing chefs, ridiculous costumes, and the Na'vi. Meanwhile, everyone slowly loses their mind. Take it or leave it.
We're as sick of Gangnam Style parodies as everyone else, but this latest, "Nasty China Style," has a few redeeming factors. First, it's sung in Cantonese; I tend to think all Gangnam parodies are bad mostly because of the lyrics, but it helps when you don't know what they're saying. (There are subtitles though.) Second, file this one under "Red Army Orchestra meme" -- it'll help you get over the anti-Gangnam mental block so that you click play; other memes also make a cameo, such as "My dad is Li Gang." And third, it highlights the ongoing Hong Kong-mainland China rivalry, which transcends Gangnam.
If everyone who visited Beijing could produce a video like this one from Peter Laermans, the rest of us would be grateful. Sit back and see if you recognize, in these images, any of this wonderful city of ours. The song, of course, is Caliban’s Dream by Underworld. Youku video for those in China after the... Read more »
Beijing folk, do you hear the water filling your radiators as we speak? Central heating has arrived not a day too soon, considering the temperature on this rainy night is dipping toward freezing.
I’m not going to say this is good, but you know, modern rap has lowered our expectations. Anyway, here’s someone’s high school advanced placement project, subject: Chinese history. Explicit lyrics, of course, if you didn’t get that from the “gangsta rap” part of the title. Right, and it’s also racially charged — but you probably... Read more »
Led by Ben Ben, formerly of Freckle, BOYZ&GIRL and Carsick Cars (as its drummer), Beijing-based Skip Skip Benben will be playing at XP tomorrow starting at 9 pm. It's a good bet that some people will be in costume.
If there's anyone in China who might understand what it means to parody something -- actually, truly parody, and not just copy or co-opt -- it's Ai Weiwei. He's an artist, you know. Who better than he to skewer China's nouveau riche and be this country's answer to PSY? You think Gangnam, South Korea is a district of gross decadence and put-on fakery?
Jeremy Lin, you've truly made it. Following in the footsteps of Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, et al., Lin is the latest NBA player to film a Chinese commercial. How'd he do in his one-minute spot for KFC, featuring a lot of smiles, more than one spin move, and several dunks? Judge for yourself. I'm pretty upset they didn't fully recreate his game-winning three-pointer vs. the Raptors (he actually shot from the top of the arc!).
