RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Guys, I'm not saying that everyone has to love Prince. I'm just saying it's weird that in globalized society with an internet-savvy population, a group of four educated Korean people had never heard of a global pop star who was, commercially speaking, the most successful chart act of the 1980s, who sold over 100 million records worldwide, played in massive Japanese arenas dozens of times, and was the subject of enormous international media attention when he died a few years ago. 

Not judging them for it... Just expressing my surprise.

   Korean people had never heard of a global pop star who was, commercially speaking, the most successful chart act of the 19i80s

Michael jackson surely

Not judging them for it... Just expressing my surprise.

Exactly. There are many times where I think that people aren't STUPID, but I really can't believe that they simply aren't aware of some things.

My friend in Canada, smart guy, great guy, but he asked me what John Lennon was doing these days and he wasn't joking.

Like, you don't have to tell me about the making of Imagine. But to not know that he was shot? Like, Jesus.

commercially speaking, the most successful chart act of the 1980s,

I'd always give Koreans a pass on most things around the 80s considering until the Olympics in 1988, they didn't really have freedom of movement outside of the country.  That was when Korea started to open up.  The political and social climate around that time wasn't exactly global as there were military dictators.  I suppose even after Roh Tae Woo (1993) western cultural and music influence was increasing but it was still limited.   

John Lemon

John Lemon was shot in the pips and lost a lot of juice. 

   Korean people had never heard of a global pop star who was, commercially speaking, the most successful chart act of the 19i80s

Michael jackson surely

queen? although most people didn't know queen until 2 years ago....now queen are everyone's favourite band. sigh

   Korean people had never heard of a global pop star who was, commercially speaking, the most successful chart act of the 19i80s

Michael jackson surely

queen? although most people didn't know queen until 2 years ago....now queen are everyone's favourite band. sigh

Queen had their biggest hit in the seventies and we're doing separate projects in the latter half of the 80s. Jackson was going strong throughout the period.

Like, you don't have to tell me about the making of Imagine. But to not know that he was shot? Like, Jesus.

What are you talking about? He was crucified, not shot.

Not judging them for it... Just expressing my surprise.

Exactly. There are many times where I think that people aren't STUPID, but I really can't believe that they simply aren't aware of some things.

My friend in Canada, smart guy, great guy, but he asked me what John Lennon was doing these days and he wasn't joking.

Like, you don't have to tell me about the making of Imagine. But to not know that he was shot? Like, Jesus.

I think everyone has that "thing" that they don't know about and is assumed to be basic.

I imagine if you put one of us in a kitchen or told to fix a car or do some sort of math problem or some kind of farming or gardening or a bit of history or something with pop music in 2019 or world geography or whatever, sooner or later we'd miss something basic.

I've learned never to judge someone's intelligence or worth of a character based on stuff like that. Some people are just into different stuff. Some people aren't that into music and are more into crafts or film or sports or books or cooking or whatever.

Also, I don't think some of us grasp how irrelevant the Beatles have become over the past decade or so. They held strong through the 90s but I've noticed there's been a real drop off. Also, with some cultures, the Beatles just weren't that big of a deal.

Anyways ever since Lennon got taken out of Red Square, his star has waned.

Guys, I'm not saying that everyone has to love Prince. I'm just saying it's weird that in globalized society with an internet-savvy population, a group of four educated Korean people had never heard of a global pop star who was, commercially speaking, the most successful chart act of the 1980s, who sold over 100 million records worldwide, played in massive Japanese arenas dozens of times, and was the subject of enormous international media attention when he died a few years ago. 

Not judging them for it... Just expressing my surprise.

Times have moved on and things were more distant back then. It's a bit like someone in 1976 being mystified that people in Japan didn't know who Glenn Miller and Bennie Goodman were.

commercially speaking, the most successful chart act of the 1980s,

I'd always give Koreans a pass on most things around the 80s considering until the Olympics in 1988, they didn't really have freedom of movement outside of the country.  That was when Korea started to open up.  The political and social climate around that time wasn't exactly global as there were military dictators.  I suppose even after Roh Tae Woo (1993) western cultural and music influence was increasing but it was still limited.   

That's one factor, but I'd put my money on a fair bit of it being the language barrier, homogeneous and extremely insular culture.

I was having a discussion about video games with my 5th grade class. None of them (25 students) could name a single gaming console other than the Switch. Yes, I asked them if they'd heard of Playstation or XBox, nope. I tried PC games and nobody had heard of Starcraft, 1 or 2 (FYI, Starcraft was probably more popular than Overwatch, Battlegrounds and LOL combined, during the late 90s and early 2000s) . I've come across students who've never heard of Harry Potter, The Matrix or Lord of the Rings.

I understand they're kids and might not focus on the past, but Playstation and XBox? Come on! Contemporary Korean culture focuses on the now and many people tend to live in a tiny little bubble, which they rarely venture out of.

1. all i'm saying is that compared to people who like other genres, kpop fans are next level. i'm 99% sure everyone agrees about this. at this point i don't even think it's debatable

Similar but different. I say this because of your comment below-

2. i have literally never heard of Bobby Brown, New Edition, The Supremes, Delfonics. i only know kylie from your list

You've never heard of The Supremes?  Diana frickin Ross?

Okay, this is a delicate matter because it deals with generalities, but I think it's something you are unaware of: What's considered the "greatest" and "most significant" music is NOT the same for black people as white people. A lot of black people might like a couple of Beatles songs, but they aren't anywhere in the conversations for greatest musicians ever. And Nirvana? Please.

And one thing a lot of black people have to deal with when it comes to music is they get questioned and often dismissed when they mention that they don't really know much about the Beatles or don't care about them or have never heard of Smashing Pumpkins or Sublime or whatever. And this isn't just black folks, but can even apply to other POC communities and even to country music fans or classical music fans.

And yes, to a lot of people this gets aggravating. If you've ever worked in a mixed-race workplace setting with a stereo, the battles that ensue and the racial divide that happens highlight this divide. The whole rock-centric view has got the same kind of entitlement and ignorance as some of the worst Kpopstans. You're just blind to it because you assume your taste is normal and that they're weird, just as they assume they're the normal ones and your music is "weird".

I'm not saying you need to change your tastes or anything, but if you don't even know who The Supremes are, maybe you should hold off on calling Kpop fans uninformed. And try and be aware that music is diverse.

I understand they're kids and might not focus on the past, but Playstation and XBox? Come on! Contemporary Korean culture focuses on the now and many people tend to live in a tiny little bubble, which they rarely venture out of.

I think many of us forget what it's like to be a kid and how insular our worlds can be. When AppleIIGS and NES were all the rage, none of us had heard of ColecoVision or Telstar.

Also, parents might buy their kids a portable to shut them up in the car, but a whole system in front of the TV?

You do realize there are millions of Americans, many of them adults, who don't give a flying F about video game consoles and wouldn't have the vaguest idea what you were talking about as well?

This idea that someone is stupid and insular because they aren't knowledgeable about the things one deems as important is an attitude that quite frankly, seems stupid and insular.

I think people who have this attitude need to be dropped into the middle of a situation where things outside their comfort zone are deemed "common knowledge" and have to put up with the same kind of condescension.

Stop focusing so much on what your kids don't know, focus more on what they do know and encourage that some more. Who cares if they don't know much about the XBox but know a lot about the Switch? What damn difference does that make? Go out and have fun with your games. "You're hardcore into Switch? That's awesome, have fun! Why don't you tell me about your favorite game? (But don't forget your homework, and go play some soccer and get outside)"

1. all i'm saying is that compared to people who like other genres, kpop fans are next level. i'm 99% sure everyone agrees about this. at this point i don't even think it's debatable

Similar but different. I say this because of your comment below-

2. i have literally never heard of Bobby Brown, New Edition, The Supremes, Delfonics. i only know kylie from your list

You've never heard of The Supremes?  Diana frickin Ross?

Okay, this is a delicate matter because it deals with generalities, but I think it's something you are unaware of: What's considered the "greatest" and "most significant" music is NOT the same for black people as white people. A lot of black people might like a couple of Beatles songs, but they aren't anywhere in the conversations for greatest musicians ever. And Nirvana? Please.

And one thing a lot of black people have to deal with when it comes to music is they get questioned and often dismissed when they mention that they don't really know much about the Beatles or don't care about them or have never heard of Smashing Pumpkins or Sublime or whatever. And this isn't just black folks, but can even apply to other POC communities and even to country music fans or classical music fans.

And yes, to a lot of people this gets aggravating. If you've ever worked in a mixed-race workplace setting with a stereo, the battles that ensue and the racial divide that happens highlight this divide. The whole rock-centric view has got the same kind of entitlement and ignorance as some of the worst Kpopstans. You're just blind to it because you assume your taste is normal and that they're weird, just as they assume they're the normal ones and your music is "weird".

I'm not saying you need to change your tastes or anything, but if you don't even know who The Supremes are, maybe you should hold off on calling Kpop fans uninformed. And try and be aware that music is diverse.

have heard of diana ross, never listened. i'm not calling kpop fans uninformed, i'm calling them crazy
(not sure how this argument seems to have changed. this whole thing seems to have stemmed from someone calling nirvana a boyband, and refusing to admit bts are a boyband)

Martin has a preset form reply for all these kind of topics. Waiting for him to bring up someone playing Wonderwall on an acoustic guitar and how black people hate when that happens.

Guys, I'm not saying that everyone has to love Prince. I'm just saying it's weird that in globalized society with an internet-savvy population, a group of four educated Korean people had never heard of a global pop star who was, commercially speaking, the most successful chart act of the 1980s, who sold over 100 million records worldwide, played in massive Japanese arenas dozens of times, and was the subject of enormous international media attention when he died a few years ago. 

Not judging them for it... Just expressing my surprise.

Times have moved on and things were more distant back then. It's a bit like someone in 1976 being mystified that people in Japan didn't know who Glenn Miller and Bennie Goodman were.

I get what you're saying but a more accurate comparison would have those Japanese people growing up in the 1940s, being fans of contemporary Japanese and American jazz and able to easily identify Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Chet Baker. Then imagine Glenn Miller having died in 1974 (after releasing albums and touring sold out stadiums across the world until his death), prompting a huge outpouring of commentary from every significant figure in American jazz. In that situation, it might indeed be surprising that they didn't know who he was.

I tried PC games and nobody had heard of Starcraft, 1 or 2 (FYI, Starcraft was probably more popular than Overwatch, Battlegrounds and LOL combined, during the late 90s and early 2000s) .

this is upsetting me deeply. it may be because they know it as 스타. even some third graders i had last year at my elementary school knew it

have heard of diana ross, never listened. i'm not calling kpop fans uninformed, i'm calling them crazy
(not sure how this argument seems to have changed. this whole thing seems to have stemmed from someone calling nirvana a boyband, and refusing to admit bts are a boyband)

Bashes Koreans for being insular and ignorant of music...hasn't listened to Diana Ross & The Supremes 

I tried PC games and nobody had heard of Starcraft, 1 or 2 (FYI, Starcraft was probably more popular than Overwatch, Battlegrounds and LOL combined, during the late 90s and early 2000s) .

this is upsetting me deeply. it may be because they know it as 스타. even some third graders i had last year at my elementary school knew it

My CT knew it, even though she has no interest in gaming, and did repeat 'sutar' (no Hangul in this OS) to the students. Nope.

I tried PC games and nobody had heard of Starcraft, 1 or 2 (FYI, Starcraft was probably more popular than Overwatch, Battlegrounds and LOL combined, during the late 90s and early 2000s) .

this is upsetting me deeply. it may be because they know it as 스타. even some third graders i had last year at my elementary school knew it

My CT knew it, even though she has no interest in gaming, and did repeat 'sutar' (no Hangul in this OS) to the students. Nope.

this is truly upsetting