As we speak, in another planet called Asia BigBang leader G-Dragon is setting off on a solo tour and turning K-Pop back on its heels again. And still no word as to whether he will be making an appearance in the States though after BigBang sold out two nights at the Prudential it feels like a distinct possibility.
On the other hand, last years brilliant One Of A Kind EP, including a best song of the year contender "Crayon" failed to make an impression. It is one of the the more puzzling developments in the world that K-Pop, which if not breaking pop, should break dance, is simply a novelty track by PSY in the States.
G-Dragon will be performing at the PSY gig in Seoul April 13th, the return of the world conqueror while North Korea starves (let that be a lesson in Nation building for all of us) . Meanwhile, G-Dragon has released his newest song "MichiGo" ("Go crazy") as a phone app via LINE and is the most popular app in 42 countries. None of them in the West. Which is one time where we are seriously lagging.
As Billboard noted in their review, "MichiGo" sounds similar to Rihanna's "Phresh Out The Runway" only much more so. Every sound here explodes outward in a frenetic rush to party. "Dance dance dance" is the extollation as G-Dragon dashes through the night till the break of day and beyond: every synth and beat is high pitched, smacking twacks of sound. As an agnostic when it comes to dubstep, G-Dragon uses it to great effect here and the sense of a song about rhythm and time being an extended metaphor for the end of cyouth is barely bubbling beneath the surface.
The Tik Tok of the night in G_D's world is also the drag of time beaten by dance steps.
It isn't quite as good as the best of the One Of A Kind EP, it isn't the shocker of "G-Dragon" or the high pitched ballad cum rap "Today", it is still unlike anything else you are listening to.
Grade: B+