Gangnam Style about to hit 1 billion views

[CitizenBBN]

For reasons I cannot explain I really like the song, but like it or hate it there's a significance to it that cannot be ignored.

One BILLION views. There are only 6 billion people on the planet. Youtube search for flashmobs for the song and they're all over the world. Indonesia, Bulgaria, the US, Europe, everywhere. Not months later as the song drifted around but the whole world experiencing a cultural event at the same time. Not through the news either like some big tragedy, but at an individual cultural level.


If we can keep the UN from repressing it, the internet may in the end bring the world together after all. Just need some dilithium and transparent aluminum and we're off to the races.

I just think it's beyond cool that the whole planet can now communicate instantaneously in vast numbers. That has to be good for individual liberty and for the species as a whole.

There is one downside -- apparently the species has very odd tastes. Gangnam is 940 million views, but Bieber is 811 million, Jennifer Lopes 630 million, Eminem 522 million. Gangnam blows them all away though b/c the Bieber video was uploaded in 2010. Gangnam was uploaded July 15th of this year. 1 billion views in 6 months.

[uklandrn]

The wild thing is - I am probably the only person with internet on earth that has never seen this. I guess this means I am totally uncool and out of the loop!

[CitizenBBN]

The wild thing is - I am probably the only person with internet on earth that has never seen this. I guess this means I am totally uncool and out of the loop!

We can rectify that situation:

[CitizenBBN]

FWIW I'm "un-trendy" defined. The 3 piece suit is coming back, I didn't know it left. Used to order my suits custom to get the vest (surprisingly costs very little more than off the rack). Ties? I wear the same style I wore in high school and college b/c I like the look.

This caught my eye for 2 reasons. First is the sociological impact. Sofia Bulgaria and Jakarta Indonesia having matching flash mobs? The internet has created instant global communication between individuals without filters, without limits. If we can keep it that way it will continue to redefine the human experience.

The second is frankly I enjoy the over the top (by US standards) of entertainment in Japan and South Korea in particular. Maybe thats' just b/c I'm used to ours (see Lady Gaga and in the 80s people like Culture Club) and find them annoying, but this guy isn't some made up Tom Cruise looking cookie cutter record company production and I do get a kick out of him.

I love the individual nature of it. The biggest key to an efficient and working free market is low barriers to entry and this is a great cultural measure of the internet doing that for everything worldwide. The internet, if the UN can be kept out of it, is a tremendous infrastructure for individual liberty. Which is why so many repressive nations want the UN to regulate it of course.

Anyway, back to PSY, he had a lot of stuff banned in South Korea prior to this album. He's controversial for his "obscene lyrics". In the US that gets you bad press, in South Korea it gets your records pulled off the shelves.

[CGWildcat]

I'm with Niki, I had never seen it till just now. It is catchy! Now, back to Moonshiners.

[CitizenBBN]

Fwiw it's added more than 2 million hits today.

[Catonahottinroof]

3 minutes I'll never get back....:/

[badrose]

Jay Leno had them on his show when the audience was 100% military and the guy went into the crowd and some of the senior officers were dancing with him. It was such a feel-good moment I saved the episode on my hard drive. Great stuff, and I had the same take on it as CBBN. If only radical Islam could catch on....

[badrose]

[dan_bgblue]

3 minutes I'll never get back....:/

Thanks. You saved me 3 minutes

[Darrell KSR]

Lyrics, for those that care (I do).

English Translation:
Oppa is Gangnam style
Gangnam style
I love a lady who is warm and compassionate by day,
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist
I'm a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy
Beautiful, lovely
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, lovely[English Translation]
Oppa Gangnam style
Gangnam style

A girl who is warm and humanle during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist

I'm a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let's go until the end

Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Wup, wup, wup wup Wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensible girl like that

I'm a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let's go until the end

Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, wup, wup, wup wup wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two

You know what I'm saying
Wuppa Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, wup, wup, wup wup Wuppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Shall we go all the way from now on?
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, wup, wup, wup wup wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net -]
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all

A sensible girl like that
I'm a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let's go until the end
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two
You know what I'm saying
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, wup, wup, wup wup wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

Romanized:
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Naje-neun ttasaroun inkanjeo-gin yeoja
Keopi hanjanye yeoyureuraneun pumkyeok i-nneun yeoja
Bami omyeon shimjangi tteugeowojineun yeoja
Keureon banjeon i-nneun yeoja
Naneun sana-i
Naje-neun neomankeum ttasaroun geureon sana-i
Keopi shikgido jeone wonsyas ttaerineun sana-i
Bami omyeon shimjangi teojyeobeorineun sana-i
Keureon sana-i
Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Keurae neo hey keurae baro neo hey
Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Keurae neo hey keurae baro neo hey
Chigeumbu-teo kal dekkaji kabol-kka
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
O-oo-o
Jeongsu-khae boijiman nol ttaen noneun yeoja
Ittaeda shipeumyeon mukkeot-deon meori puneun yeoja
Karyeot-jiman wen-manhan nochulboda yahan yeoja
Keureon gamkakjeo-gin yeoja
Naneun sana-i
Jeomjanha boijiman nol ttaen noneun sana-i
Ttae-ga dwehmyeon wahnjeon michyeobeorineun sana-i
Keunyukboda sasangi ul-tungbul-tung-han sana-i
Keureon sana-i
Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Keurae neo hey keurae baro neo hey
Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Keurae neo hey keurae baro neo hey
Chigeumbu-teo kal dekkaji kabol-kka
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
O-oo-o
Ttwiineun nom keu wiie naneun nom
Baby baby
Naneun mwol jom aneun nom
Ttwiineun nom keu wiie naneun nom
Baby baby
Naneun mwol jom aneun nom
You know what i’m saying
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
Oppan gang-namseutayil

[CitizenBBN]

Thanks. You saved me 3 minutes

Big Baby.

I looked up the lyrics as well and thy made absolutely no sense to me. The song makes little sense, it's a long way from someone being able to play a musical instrument, so I'm not endorsing it.

I find it interesting on a purely sociological level. I don't like a thing Bieber has ever sung but I find it interesting he was found on youtube and effectively circumvented the corporate music industry, a group I wish would die quickly and painfully for their legal fight to turn copyright protections into nothing more than government sanctioned extortion.

i do also find the cultural differences interesting. Darrell's lyrics translation points to something else, Psy's controversial anti-american comments in 2004. Culturally ROK has a very strange relationship with the US. We're there in large numbers to prevent North Korea from invading, and we fought a war to prevent them from being overtaken but there's also a lot of anti-US military sentiment b/c we are inextricably tied to the North Korea situation and allied with a government not all that loved at times itself.

He's had a lot of stuff banned in South Korea that had nothing to do with the US. He's sung a lot of stuff with what they consider obscene lyrics, and his anti-US lyrics in fact include a slur that is almost untranslatable (and was done wrong as "Yankee" in the CNN translation). I find it interesting someone who, based on his past, would have a difficult time getting those corporate breaks managed to become a huge star without them.

FWIW I had some South Korean friends in college. My school was involved in the first education programs set up by the US at the end of the Korean War and has had a large population of Soth Korean students ever since. A lot of their phraseology and slang is very difficult to translate as are a lot of their cultural norms in general. Thin of it like a Native American language, many of which have particular words that capture a specific meaning that would take a sentence to explain in English. The slur used in his singing of a Metal band song (It wasn't his song, 3 guys sung the lyrics at a concert) is a specific Korean derogatory word for US servicemen in Korea. It's the equivalent of the N-word here in harshness but how do you translate that into a lyric in English?

Anyway, I find it interesting to observe. The virtual version of sitting in a bar people watching, one of my favorite vacation activities.

[CGWildcat]

fixed it for ya

Lyrics, from memory for those that care (I do).

English Translation:
Oppa is Gangnam style
Gangnam style
I love a lady who is warm and compassionate by day,
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist
I'm a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy
Beautiful, lovely
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, lovely[English Translation]
Oppa Gangnam style
Gangnam style

A girl who is warm and humanle during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist

I'm a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let's go until the end

Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Wup, wup, wup wup Wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensible girl like that

I'm a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let's go until the end

Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, wup, wup, wup wup wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two

You know what I'm saying
Wuppa Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, wup, wup, wup wup Wuppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Shall we go all the way from now on?
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, wup, wup, wup wup wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net -]
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all

A sensible girl like that
I'm a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let's go until the end
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I'm a man who knows a thing or two
You know what I'm saying
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, wup, wup, wup wup wuppa Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

Romanized:
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Naje-neun ttasaroun inkanjeo-gin yeoja
Keopi hanjanye yeoyureuraneun pumkyeok i-nneun yeoja
Bami omyeon shimjangi tteugeowojineun yeoja
Keureon banjeon i-nneun yeoja
Naneun sana-i
Naje-neun neomankeum ttasaroun geureon sana-i
Keopi shikgido jeone wonsyas ttaerineun sana-i
Bami omyeon shimjangi teojyeobeorineun sana-i
Keureon sana-i
Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Keurae neo hey keurae baro neo hey
Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Keurae neo hey keurae baro neo hey
Chigeumbu-teo kal dekkaji kabol-kka
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
O-oo-o
Jeongsu-khae boijiman nol ttaen noneun yeoja
Ittaeda shipeumyeon mukkeot-deon meori puneun yeoja
Karyeot-jiman wen-manhan nochulboda yahan yeoja
Keureon gamkakjeo-gin yeoja
Naneun sana-i
Jeomjanha boijiman nol ttaen noneun sana-i
Ttae-ga dwehmyeon wahnjeon michyeobeorineun sana-i
Keunyukboda sasangi ul-tungbul-tung-han sana-i
Keureon sana-i
Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Keurae neo hey keurae baro neo hey
Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Keurae neo hey keurae baro neo hey
Chigeumbu-teo kal dekkaji kabol-kka
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Kang-namseutayil
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
O-oo-o
Ttwiineun nom keu wiie naneun nom
Baby baby
Naneun mwol jom aneun nom
Ttwiineun nom keu wiie naneun nom
Baby baby
Naneun mwol jom aneun nom
You know what i’m saying
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady
Oppan gang-namseutayil

[Darrell KSR]

lol--from memory?

[fastkat]

What gets me is that they played this at Commonwealth Stadium this year.

It usually takes 20-25 years for them to catch on to the latest trend.

[ShoesSwayedBlue]

I kind of like it. I thought the Tonight Show with the servicemen and women all dancing was seriously awesome.

[CitizenBBN]

Shocked to see the yes votes on the poll. This is a pretty typical "Southern" culture group, about the last I'd expect to like the song at all.

I like it not as a "wow he's better than Pink Floyd" way, just in a fun way like I like Afternoon Delight and even 1-2 disco songs (NOT YMCA, hate that flippin' song).

I even forgive his anti-american lyrics in 2004 b/c I can't find any other examples that make a consistent position, it was him singing in a group concert with another band's song, it was trendy then in ROK to be anti-American, and frankly I've liked a lot of songs with lyrics with which I completely disagree and often the bands themselves don't agree with the lyrics to the extreme they are written. I'm as tough on such things as anyone, and I do NOT forgive people easily about them, but I see this as a long way from Hanoi Jane sitting on an anti-aircraft gun used to kill Americans.

Now if he says such things again he's toast, otherwise I write it off to the typical musician getting attention thing. He had a number of albums pulled by the ROK government for "obscene lyrics". He was trying to be controversial, get attention with lots of over the top actions and songs.

Kinda like Ice-T to me. Has the song "Cop Killer" then is a cop on a long running TV show and is a strong supporter of stuff like gun rights. The music they sing is about the music, not an ideology.