2NE1

As promised, I'm here to deliver a 2NE1 music review.

I first stumbled across the Korean girl-group when browsing Rinmaru's Games for a new dress-up game to play. The idiosyncratic hairstyle of the doll in the icon was what caught my attention - she wore her hair like a pole on the top of her head. I later learned that this was inspired by Dara's hairstyle in the music video for their pre-debut single, a collaboration with Big Bang. The track, titled Lollipop, was created to advertise a range of mobile phones by LG, though stands brilliantly on its own musical two feet, marking the beginning of a successful career for the four girls who together form 2NE1.

Lollipop was followed up with the girl's official debut single, Fire. The track is a delicious piece of main-stream pop, and ridiculously addictive. From the translations that I've seen, the song is an up beat, girl power take on a break up song. It's about doing things your own way, and not being prepared to stop just because your boyfriend wants you to. Of course, the dance beat and undeniably sexy video go some way to hide the meaning, but it's still a powerful, uplifting message being delivered to teenage girls worldwide. They released two versions of the music video, themed Street and Space, both of which I can say are fantastic. Both videos focus largely on dancing, Street more so than Space, and both feature the girls wearing beautifully idiosyncratic outfits that are subtly sexy, whilst still looking as though each girl is dressed entirely for herself, and nobody else. Normally I wouldn't give this type of song more than half a listen, but I have to admit, I'm hooked.

The brilliant Fire was followed up with the equally delectable pop fluff entitled I Don't Care. As is obvious from the lines of English (and, indeed, the title) this is an empowering break-up sing, following the hip-hop style of it's predecessor. It follows a gentle pace, but can't really be called a ballad. The lyrics and music video follow a story that's upsettingly easy to relate to; having a boyfriend who's always spending time with other girls. Thankfully, the chorus provides the song with the positive little lift that it requires, in the form of the refrain "I don't care". It's saying "Fine. Go ahead and cheat. I don't care about you anymore, and I was always too good for you anyway." It's a wonderful song to have on repeat if you're recovering from a nasty breakup, and a lovely song to listen to if you aren't. In my opinion, it's another pop masterpiece from the 2NE1 team.

I've yet to find a music video for what Wikipedia lists as their third single, the ballad In The Club. It's a heart-rending song about trying to move on from a relationship with someone who turned out to be a player - maybe it was the same guy as in I Don't Care, and the girls cared more than they let on... you never know. Though not one of my favourites, this is still a great song, more in the vein of I Don't Care than Fire, and a perfect hit for fans of pop ballads.

In The Club was followed up by the more up beat Pretty Boy. It seems to me to be sending a rather confused message, somewhere between 'man up!', 'I'm not just a pretty face' and 'I'm desperate, date me!'. Lyrically, it's not the girl's best offering, though I have to confess, it's one of my favourite tracks. I think the bit that really wins my heart is the man-bashing; as a feminist at heart, I found it all rather amusing. Sadly, there's no official music video for it; a shame, as the song has the potential for hilarity.

The next offering from the 2NE1 girls is the amusingly crazy Try To Follow Me. In the video, the girls are back in full force, sporting outfits tele-ported forwards in time from the 1980s, and, amongst other things, shooting at Stormtroopers - yes, the ones from Star Wars. The video, yet again, focuses heavily on their seductive dancing, which I have to admit, they pull off so much better than a lot of other groups I've seen. I'm still trying to work out the meaning of the lyrics; I'm not sure if they mean 'try to follow my style' or 'try to follow me in a chase'. There’s definite innuendo visible in the line "I got that thang thang if you know what I mean", which is always followed up with a cheeky wink from whichever girl happens to be singing at the time. I have to say, I prefer this to the girls more innocent first few singles - it has a more up beat sound than their previous few singles - but I can see where my friend was coming from when she dismissed them as 'too sexy'. This song is a wonderful pop song, but not one for those who like their K-pop to be sweet and innocent.

Clap Your hands is refreshingly different. Whilst both the sound of the song and the look of the video seem to show a more grown-up side of 2NE1, the lyrics are the sort you would have expected from the when they were younger. The lyrics are a well-needed break from hip hop's main source of inspiration; sex and money. Instead, the chorus encourages everyone to "clap your hands", whilst the verses inspire a desire to rebel, to break free from the constraints of society. The video, following the lead set by Try To Follow Me, has no real story, but shows the girls doing a deceptively complex dance in various surroundings. It's a formula that works though, as it encapsulates their dance skills wonderfully. Yet another track that's somewhere between up beat and ballad, this song is definitely a grower, but worth every moment.

The video to Go Away made me cry. It features the beautiful CL going through a nasty break-up, and at the point where her boyfriend hits her, my tears start flowing. Fortunately, the other girls come along to help her up, and she ends up much better off than she was with her boyfriend. The lyrics fit the story of the video perfectly (well they should do, that's the whole point) and also managed to reduce me almost to tears, as I've been in the same situation myself. Why is it that they always do such relatable break-up songs? It's incredibly catchy, but as a fan of their more happy stuff, I have to say that it's not a personal favourite. However, I strongly recommend it to people who liked I Don't Care and In The Club.

Can't Nobody reminds me so strongly of a Western pop song that came out a few years ago, but I can't think what it's called. It’s an up beat hip hop track, with a great independent message in the lyric "can't nobody hold us down". Some of the costumes that they wear seem Lady Gaga-inspired, but that's where the comparison ends. They're certainly dressed in a more risqué manner than in any of their previous videos, but they're grown women - and undeniably gorgeous. Added to which, we see British and American pop stars dressed in far more revealing outfits on a day-to-day basis. I think this song has beaten Pretty Boy to become my favourite.

In addition to their songs as a group, the girls from 2NE1 released their own solo songs in 2009. Dara's single Kiss is a great dance track, though the lyrics are repetitive and more mainstream than their group singles. Park Bom's single You And I moves me to tears every time I see the video; it's such a sad song, about a boyfriend who is 'the one' but is terminally ill. I know it sounds like a cheesy premise, but it's one of the best ballads that I've heard for years. To be honest, CL and Minzy's duet Please Don't go just sounds a little bit desperate. I'm sure it's great played deafeningly loud in a club - it has a similar dance beat to Kiss - but listening to it here at home, it's just a disappointment.

So there you have it - my two cents on ever single released by 2NE1. I hope that anyone reading this will be persuaded to go out and listen to their music, as they are truly a masterful girl group.

First time blogging ^^

Wow... who'd have thought that writing a first blog post would be so scary? I know I didn't. Well, there has to be a first post, so this may as well be it. But as for what to put here... I guess I'll just have to start at teh begining and go from there.

I first got the idea for this a few days ago, whilst looking through my profile on RinmaruGames (in my opinion, but best dress-up games site there is, but hey, that's just me). I'd got a rather unkind comment from someone, basicly saying that they didn't like the way I'd dressed my doll. I was heartend by the support I'd recieved from other members, but still, it got me thinking. That girl hadn't understood that the style I was following wasn't mainstream American fashion, but actually a fusion of the cute style of Momoko Tsugunaga from the J-pop group Berryz Kobo - in who's honour that account was named) and the charmingly OTT Japanese style of decora. That was when I had the idea of creating this blog - creating a place where I could explain the reasoning behind the outfits I dress my Rinmaru dolls in (I have two, Ichibankawaii, who I dress in a style very close to my own, and Momokosweet, who's style I have already explained), whilst also 'Kawaii' music that fits the general feel of Rinmaru's dress-up site, and offering reviews of other dress-up games on the internet and the odd bit of travel writing - reviews of camp-sites and resorts, and recomendations of where to go.

Well, that's about it really. If I think of anything more to add,  I'll include it in a later post. Please come back soon - there should be a review of the Korean pop group 2NE1 appearing here soon.