We asked singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn, who is currently recording her sophomore release for Blue Note Records, to share her five favorite albums of the moment. Her own album, A Good Day (2008), is available at www.priscillaahn.com.
Prince Of Cool: The Pacific Jazz Years 1952-1957 (2004) by Chet Baker
I’m madly in love with his voice, and his trumpet playing is so soft and warm. Every note is just right. And this album has all the classics on it. One of my favorites is “Come Rain or Come Shine.” I listen to this album almost every single day.
Good Morning, Spider (1998) by Sparklehorse
I was turned on to Sparklehorse after reading that Radiohead was a fan. Once I got this album, I was hooked. The songs spoke of things that I thought only I saw and dreamed about. This album inspired me with hope when I thought there was none left.
Songs of Freedom (1992) by Bob Marley
This album always cheers me up. The songs are so sweet and fun. Bob Marley’s voice sounds so young. These are some of his earliest songs and recordings, including his very first song, “Judge Not.” It’s a 4-disc compilation album, which means a lot of Marley to go around.
Catacombs (2009) by Cass McCombs
I just discovered Cass’ music, and I am a huge fan now. I’m addicted to this album. If you wrote out his lyrics, it’d almost be as if you were just recording someone’s dialogue. The song that really kills me is “The Executioner’s Song.” I love the way this album was recorded, too. You can really hear everything that was played.
Sugar Mountain–Live at Canterbury House 1968 (2008) by Neil Young
This record is special because it was simply recorded with two inputs: guitar and voice. The real treat is hearing Neil banter in between songs. He’s so quirky and honest and present. And Sugar Mountain is one of those very special songs; even as a little girl, I knew this magical place existed for me somewhere.
A new solo exhibit of ballpoint drawings by Il Lee
Images courtesy of the artist and Art Projects International, New York
Il Lee is a New York artist who for over 30 years has been exploring contemporary possibilities in drawing and painting in his chosen medium of ballpoint pen. In recent years, his massings of looping, energetic lines have given way to more angular, more interrupted, even more urgent, styles of mark making. His work is far-ranging. He has created massive monolithic forms on equally large canvases, and has continually experimented with countless smaller drawings and with various grounds and integrations of line work and color. Lee’s rigorous approach allows the viewer to be sensitive to nuances created through the smallest of deliberate changes—a thicker line, a more compact swirl, a smoother ground.
In a new solo exhibit that opens this month, the Korea-born Lee will feature his dramatic ballpoint pen works at the Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, Texas. All pieces shown on these pages will appear in the exhibition, titled “New Vision: Ballpoint Drawings by Il Lee.” Organized in collaboration with Art Projects International, New York, the showcase will include eight large-scale works and 50 small works on paper created from 1997 to 2010.
For more information, visit www.artprojects.com or www.crowcollection.org. Continue Reading »
The first critical mass of third-generation Korean Americans is here, with more being born each day. Now what? This mother of two explores the complexities parents face and choices they make in raising this new crop of Korean America.
By Nina Moon
“Give me a bpo-bpo!” I call out before my 4-year-old son runs off to play with his friends at preschool.
“Bap jeom mugeoyo,” I tell my 2-year-old as I hold a waiting spoon of rice toward his defiantly closed mouth.
“Hajima!” I shout after finding them both illicitly drawing on their toys.
My hard-won, toddler-level Korean vocabulary is embarrassingly sub-par—so much so that my Korean friends laugh when they overhear me. But I persist. I learned Korean in college to claim a part of myself that I felt I had been previously denied, but frankly, I might have given it up a long time ago had it not been for my children.
They are part of the first critical mass of third-generation Korean Americans, the grandchildren of the original post-1965 wave of Korean immigrants. Their generation is in so many ways more removed from the motherland than my own immigrant-reared generation. They are growing up with largely acculturated American parents and sans the linguistic ties that gave most of my generation at least a working familiarity of Korean. They are more and more likely to be the product of mixed-race or inter-ethnic relationships and must subsequently navigate multiple cultural legacies. Continue Reading »
By Emil Guillermo
May Day! May Day! Are you ready for Lost Sock Memorial Day? How about Pack Rat Day? They are among the one-day celebrations embedded in May, but you’ve got all 31 days for National Salad Month, National Hamburger Month, as well as National Fungal Infection Awareness Month. (Just add mushrooms to the salad and burger).
Oh, and did I mention, May is also Asian Pacific American Heritage Month? Have you hugged all the immigrants at your local ramen joint this morning?
No?
Well, have you greeted your fellow APAs with hearty salutations delivered in different languages just to show off the great ethnic diversity within our big rice bowl of a community?
No?
Celebratory chest bump, anyone? Continue Reading »
His lawless Manchurian terrain makes its way to American theaters
By Jaeki Cho
Nearly two years after Kim Ji-woon’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird became a hit at the Korean box office, the multi-genre-weaving director’s kimchi western has earned a United States release. An homage to Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone’s classic, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Kim’s action flick follows the quest of three resolute gunslingers on the hunt for hidden treasure in the lawless terrains of 1930s Manchuria. Starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun and Jung Woo-sung, it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008. At the moment, director Kim is busy with two new projects: a thriller starring Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-hun called I Saw a Devil (to be released in the summer) and his American debut, Max, a French noir-influenced crime picture that will begin shooting in Philadelphia this winter. While on set for I Saw a Devil in Korea, Kim spoke to KoreAm (in Korean) about his past and present works.
Your 2003 film, A Tale of Two Sisters, is both the highest-grossing Korean horror film and the first to be screened in American theaters. What were your thoughts on its 2009 American remake?
Uninvited was made in a very American way. It still attempted to achieve some sort of a twist, making it stand out compared to other teen horror films. The only problem I had was how the portrayal of ghosts was interpreted. I don’t think that’s the production’s fault, but there’s just a difference in the general public’s perceptions on a subject. Continue Reading »
FOR ONLY $28!
Featured Event
It’s the new year, and Yim Jae Beum is coming to town! After a sold-out show in Los Angeles last October, he is coming back to hold two U.S. concerts for the 2012 Lunar New Year. Everyone already knows this man can sing! He’s got an impressive resume, debuting as a rock singer back in 1986, releasing Korean classics, such as “For You,” and most recently, joining and winning first place twice on the MBC show, “I am a Singer.”
Seattle and New Jersey, get ready! We are happy to announce that we will be giving away TWO (2) pairs of tickets! read more
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