The SB Mixtape, 3/21/2024, 9 to 5, K-pop Style
As Dolly Parton once said: Working nine to five; what a way to make a living. And yet, like most adults, I have one. Bills need paying, food needs buying, and the self needs caring, so five days a...
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“Yuq1” Highlights Yuqi’s Weaknesses
While G(i)-dle has often been associated with Soyeon’s firebrand songwriting, it’s not much of a secret that Minnie and Yuqi’s softer, more introspective songwriting has given the group’s discography...
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Jaejoong’s “Flower Garden” Never Quite Reaches Great
In a musical landscape where reinvention and sound changes are taken as intrinsically good, I’ve always felt there’s something to be said for when an artist knows where their strengths are and how to...
View ArticleThe SB Mixtape, 7/11/2024: Not Dead Yet
In January, I wasn’t doing fabulously. “Perpetually on fire” might be an accurate description. And I made it clear that I was going to make it through that rough patch if it killed me. Well, 6 months...
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(G)I-dle Deconstruct the Summer EP with ‘I Sway’
2024 has been a big year for (G)I-dle. Their second full-length album was released to a fourth perfect all-kill in a row, a new tour was announced, and solo projects were undertaken. Now, with their...
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Kara are Classic but Far From Boring in “I Do I Do”
It seems faintly surreal that in the year of our Lord 2024, Kara are releasing a new summer single. After all, they disbanded over eight years ago, and while they did a special reunion for their 15th...
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Key Deconstructs Sexual Escapism In “Pleasure Shop'”
Key has always been an artist that seems out of place in the current musical landscape. He just feels too… big for the world of smartphones and streaming. His music has a grandiose energy that is...
View ArticleThe SB Mixtape, 10/31/2024: A Bittersweet Symphony
Every change of season brings with it the feeling of new beginnings and fresh starts. Every one, that is, except autumn. While winter brings coziness and snow, spring the rebirth of nature, and summer...
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Taeyeon’s “Letter To Myself” Addresses the Impact Of Teen Angst
Is there anything more universal than looking back at your teenage self and being filled with regrets? Bad outfits and cringy ideas, yes, but also things you did or didn’t do due to the suffocating,...
View ArticleThe SB Mixtape, 12/26: K-pop, Actually
When I get gloomy over the state of the world, I think about Love, Actually. Not because it’s a feel-good holiday classic—though it is—but because of how it is that. Love, Actually captures the messy,...
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