Not A Stoic But An Aficionado of RAIN/Rain/Bi- I'm Coming

 

 

Not A Stoic But An Aficionado of RAIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even a stoic cannot tolerate Jon Pareles's Pop Music Review, “Korean Superstar Who Smiles and Says, 'I'm Lonely,'”  published on Arts section in New York Times on Feb. 4, 2006. This article is about “RAINY DAY in New York,” the concert at the Madison Square Garden on Feb. 2 and 3, 2006. As an aficionado of RAIN, I have enthusiastic challenge to respond against his gauche review and to prove how great artist Rain is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RAIN (Bi), Korean pop singer who is a superstar in Asia, is an exuberant musician, who has an eager to learn cosmopolitanism by studying day and night, to entertain the audience as well as his dedicated international fans. He said on interview “That's why I'm studying the language, reading up on the culture and practicing every day to correct my weaknesses." He wants nothing less than to break down barriers, build cultural bridges and become the first Asian pop star in United States (Sontag). RAIN conveys fraternalism to the world through his world concert tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About RAIN, he is inspired by American pop music, but his interpretations provide his exclusive artistic world. He has such a unique voice tone that he thrives on any kind of music including R&B, Rock, and even various style of ballad. Furthermore, his adroit dance enabled him to be more vigorous entertainer. His choreography, influenced by classical dance and martial arts, blended together with his astuteness, is crisper and more precise in harmony. Thus, when he performs his music with capricious movements on stage, the audience cannot move their eyes but him.

 

 

Ever since he put his life into competitive entertainment business, he practiced self-denial and gave up on his personal pleasures. He disciplines himself with strongly demanded work out, ascetic diet, and didn’t go out for party. Nusrat Durrani, senior vice president and general manager of MTV World, said, "RAIN is a huge star in the making, but, at the same time, he is a very indigenous artist and a source of local pride" (Sontag). RAIN has emulative spirit with fatigueless propulsion that it made him all the way to the top star in Asia. Furthermore, RAIN knows that now is the time to introduce himself to the American audience. He is intrepid enough to show his confidence at “RAINY DAY in New York.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, Jon Pareles, the chief pop music critic for The New York Times, disdained RAIN, stated, “…like watching old MTV videos dubbed into Korean... Rain sounded like a nostalgia act.” He was frugal with compliments on RAIN’s cosmopolitanism, but revealed his gauche character with his dogmatic mind. It wasn’t a candid description, as a whole picture about RAIN’s global event. only gullible people believe his hypocritical opinion. New York is one of the largest cities in the world where various ethnic groups are living together, yet he was a renegade, alienated his diverse readers.

 

 

In a world so small that any events throughout the world can affect readers within seconds, daily newspapers like New York Times should broaden for their reader’s understanding in-depth analysis. According to Henry Jenkins, professor of comparative media studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in his essay "Globalization" (University of California Press, 2004), there is a “new pop cosmopolitanism,” where non-Asian-Americans are inevitably discovering such easily accessible foreign culture because of the "multidirectional flow of cultural goods around the world" (Sontag). Under our new global circumstances, he will not be a venerable critic if he keeps us from great foreign artists who have an aspiration to expose their culture to the United States. He ought to maintain an amicable relationship for the sake of multiculturalism.

 

 

Hope Pareles' review doesn’t denounce RAIN's ultimate goal but runs through his life affluent in spirit to inspire growth and offer guidance of altruism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work sited

 

 

 

Pareles, Jon. “Korean Superstar Who Smiles and Says, 'I'm Lonely.'” The New York Times on the Web 04 Feb. 2006. 04 Feb. 2006.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/arts/music/04rain.html>.

 

 

Sontag, Deborah. “The Ambassador.” The New York Times on the Web 29 Jan. 2006. 04 Feb. 2006. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/arts/music/29sont.html>.