Music Monday #8

Just like all good boys and girls of the 90's I was a grunge fan - it was a music that defined our teenage years.  I liked Nirvana just like everyone else, even had posters of Kurt Cobain and the band all over my walls.  When I look back now I realise that I did not like them as much as I liked Alice in Chains. I thought I did but really that was just peer pressure becuase everyone loved Nirvana.  Truth be told during my teenage years I only had one Nirvana album that I bought (had a few dubbed tapes) but I had three Alice in Chains albums. 

I recently re-watched their MTV unplugged gig and was reminded of how much I loved and still love their sound, their songs and their music.

Alice in Chains - Rooster

Music Monday #7

Back to New Zealand for Music Monday #7 and this one’s an oldie but a goodie.

They broke up in 1997 but did reform in 2007 and have done some touring over the years since. This was the first live band that I ever saw so has a special place in my heart. If you are in New Zealand and any of their most popular songs come on you can guarantee you will have most of the kiwis singing along.

Although I went on to develop different musical tastes as I got older I can still appreciate that Supergroove are a classic act. They had a great sound and some catchy tunes and are still considered one of the best bands from New Zealand.

Supergroove - Sitting Inside My Head

Learning Korean #1 - Counting (Sino-Korean)

One of the first things that I did when I got here was to learn how to count to 10, there are two ways of counting in Korea. Sino-Korean (because it came from Chinese) and Native (sometimes called Pure) Korean which are the traditional numbers.  Korean uses both so if you are learning Korean you will at some stage need to learn both however the reason that I wanted to learn was for money and money uses the Sino-Korean counting system. 

It's pretty easy to learn and I memorised it in an afternoon with the help of this video so I have shared it here for you to take advantage of too.  It's from Mahalo.com and they do lots of Korean Language Videos on You Tube so check them out.



The Korean system uses the same Arabic Numbers that English does but they have their own words for the numbers and so also have the Hangul (Korean Language) written word for each number.

Sino-Korean Numbers 1-10

1 = il/일

2 = ee/이

3 = sam/삼

4 = sa/사

5 = oh/오

6 = yuk/육 (륙 sometimes ryuk)

7 = chil/칠

8 = pal/팔

9 = gu/구

10 = ship/십

To make the higher numbers it's pretty easy, 11-19 you just say (10 + number) so for example to say 15 is ship-oh.

When you get to 20-99 you just switch it around (number + ship) so for example 20 is ee-ship and 60 is yuk-ship.  The in-between numbers you just add another number on the end for example 23 is ee-ship-sam and 79 is chil-ship-gu and so on.

When you get even higher each place marker has its own new word:

100 = baek/백

1000 = cheon/천

10,000 = man/만

The rules for forming the numbers remain the same so to say 312 you say Three + Hundred + Ten + Two sam-baek-ship-ee and to say 1475 you say cheon-sa-baek-chil-ship-oh.

Seoul Metro - Music Video by Michael Aronson

Michael Aronson is a guy who makes music videos about Korea - you can visit his website here at Time to Rock the World and you can also subscribe to his channel on You Tube here.

This video is a follow up to my earlier post about the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, it's a great way to see what the subway is like and is really well done.  Enjoy.

Funny Video - Trying To Get By in Yeosu

A funny music video made by some foreigners living in Yeosu, South Korea.  Learn some Korean and have fun doing it. Enjoy.

Korea in the News #1

An article from New Zealand news website - Stuff.

It's about a talk/talent TV show in South Korea that features both North and South Korean women.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/7148656/TV-show-blurs-Korean-border

Music Monday #6

I have to apologise because I actually almost forgot about Music Monday, that's why its a little bit late today.

So just quickly this one is by an independent artist that does all of his music through You Tube and iTunes - he does not have an agent or belong to any record labels yet he is doing unprecedentedly well. It's not really my kind of music but I can appreciate he has a nice voice and I'm really impressed with his work ethic and that he has done so well by himself.

Anyway the artist's name is Alex Day and his You Tube channel is under the name 'nerimon' and I would recommend it along with his friend 'charlieissocoollike' (which is where this video is as Charlie stars in it along with Alex).  Charlie is one of the top You Tube personalities on the web today with well over a million subscribers and Alex is not far behind.  They both do vlog type videos which are pretty funny.

Alex Day - Forever Yours



Also you can read about Alex Day in the articles below from 'Forbes' and if you like his music don't forget to check him out on You Tube and iTunes.

Forbes Articles:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanholiday/2012/06/12/is-youtube-and-chart-sensation-alex-day-the-future-of-music/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanholiday/2012/06/13/tracking-indie-musician-alex-days-next-big-move/