'Gangnam Style' enters viral history books

It is all over the internet, has been on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show,” celebrities such as Britney Spears and Katy Perry have showed interest, and the video has reached over 100 million views on YouTube. It is “Gangnam Style,” and it has taken the world over in a unique fashion.

South Korean artist PSY busts out his "horse dance"
 at MTV's Video Music Awards.

“Gangnam Style” is South Korean rapper PSY’s (pronounced “sigh”) latest single. Released in July this year, it was another one of PSY’s jokester videos, merely poking fun at how ironic the character in the video is compared to the lyrics. The song is basically about a man calling himself Gangnam style when he is clearly not. Gagnam is a location in South Korea best compared to Beverly Hills, Calif. PSY is a far cry from other South Korean pop stars who have reached recent international success. He is barely on the Hallyu, or Korean, wave that includes artists such as Girls’ Generation who were in the United States earlier this year promoting their album on shows like David Letterman, Wonder Girls who are no strangers to the U.S. with a movie on Teen Nick and a new collaboration with Akon, and 2NE1 that currently have an Adidas commercial running in America.

But PSY has something different to bring to the table. Instead of a young, blond-haired guy with washboard abs, like most male artists in South Korea, he is a 34-year-old, chubby comic artist. Why does his video have so many views? Because humor is universal. Despite the language barrier, there is an offbeat zaniness that needs no translation. For this reason, he has become a success. Many Korean pop artists blend English throughout their songs to attract international listeners. PSY does this in the most important part of his song, the chorus. “Hey! Sexy lady!” is said multiple times throughout the song, drilling it into the viewer’s head. His video has a catchy beat as well and a dance that is a lot simpler than most dances in K-pop videos. He does not try to be artsy and theatric; instead, he is just PSY, and that is entertaining enough.

This is one of the main reasons he has done so well. The video itself has many hilarious and bizarre aspects to it. It begins with PSY daydreaming of a beautiful woman fanning him while in reality he is sitting in a lawn chair in the middle of a playground. Then he appears, nicely dressed, in the middle of a horse stable performing his “horse dance.” The video continues to follow him through different places including a sauna, tour bus and merry-go-round. One memorable scene takes place in an elevator. When the doors open, PSY is lying on the ground rapping while a man is standing over him pelvic thrusting. PSY had no idea his video would become so popular. When asked about it with in an interview with VH1, he said, “Not this far, I thought it would be like this in Korea, not over here.” Ascending into viral status has its perks. Now he has seen how much support he has all over the world. Many parodies have popped up on YouTube over the past couple of weeks from Singapore to Chicago.

The Chicago parody, titled “Gangnam Style Parody (Oppa Chicago Style)” has over 1 million views and was released three weeks ago. Along with the massive support PSY has even come to America. On the jumbotron at Dodgers Stadium, baseball fans are seen doing the “horse dance,” then eventually it lands on PSY. He shyly smiles and waves to the fans, then busts out into his dance jumping around and smiling.

 He has even been signed onto Schoolboy Records, a roster shared with the famous Justin Bieber along with making it onto the Video Music Awards this past week. “He is just so funny and that song is addictive,” says engineering student Becky Daniels. She had no idea what K-pop was before this video, and now she is open to giving it a shot, saying, “If this is how most K-pop sounds, then I’m on board.” Hopefully PSY fights off the viral curse and is able to keep producing knockout hits and prove that he truly has Gangnam style.

Obama's "daddy issues"

In author-turned-documentarian Dinesh D’Souza’s film “2016: Obama’s America,” many controversial issues, opinions and hypotheses are formed. When it comes to this type of documentary, one that is based solely on one-sided pseudo-facts and interviews with like-minded individuals, every aspect must be taken with a grain of salt. D’Souza takes a different approach to the “true nature” of President Barack Obama.

Director D'Souza interviews George Obama,
President Barack Obama's half brother, in "2016: Obama's America."

Instead of thinking he is a terrorist or Muslim, he thinks he is an anti-colonialist -- an accusation that could use some support. The film is spoken from D’Souza’s point-of-view and voice. He begins to speak about his life as a child in Mumbai, India, and how he used to read stories of empires around the world. He does not consider America an empire, he instead considers it something greater because almost all past empires have fallen. Eventually he mentions his life in college, and then finally speaks about why he is so interested in Obama. He claims his interest has to do with their similarities throughout life. They were born in the same year, married in the same year and even graduated in the same year.
As odd as this may be, he makes his point of how all previous presidents were known figures before they became presidents. Ronald Reagan was a movie star, whereas Obama was only a senator for two years. Where did he come from? To answer this question, D’Souza begins to search every possible aspect of Obama’s past to figure out what he is trying to do today and what will happen if he gets re-elected. D’Souza does bring up some odd behavior from Obama’s first term. Giving a bust of Winston Churchill back to Britain, cancelling the Keystone Pipeline construction which could have given tons of Americans jobs, siding with Argentina when it came to the Falkland Islands instead of siding with Britain as in the past, and even ignoring Syria are all used to support D’Souza’s claims. D’Souza does a decent job of backing up these allegations of mistakes Obama has made in his presidency by using actual clips from speeches he has made.

Other than that, the film is pure speculation and based off of words White House officials allegedly said. A lot of the ideas in the film stem from Obama’s book “Dreams from My Father.” D’Souza speculates that the main reason Obama acts the way he does is because of his father leaving him when he was a child. D’Souza even speaks to a psychologist about this, and he says that most children who are missing a parental figure in their life want to make it seem like they have a purpose. He goes on to speak to more politicians and speculates that Obama knows he is able to get people on his side very easily.
According to D’Sourza, people always want to help him, which is why he got into the business in the first place. D’Souza then begins to predict why Obama did certain things in his first term. He believes that, like his father, he wants to give to the poor and take from the rich, which is why he sides with the Occupy movement. He also wants the world to have fewer nuclear weapons so that the playing field can be equal. But he wants this to be done while all other countries feel the complete opposite. D’Souza predicts that in 2016, the Middle East will be united (with the title of the United States of Iran), and the United States’ defenses will have reached an all-time low while debt will continue to grow past the trillion dollar mark. These remarks seem a bit outlandish and are presented without evidence, fueled only by the filmmaker’s speculation. Attempting to sway public opinion with a poorly-developed documentary based on a book written by the director almost seems like an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” It just does not make sense.

Even when asked to state the basis of his opinions in an interview, he said he would but no reason is given except for the fact that Obama did not have his biological father while growing up and that he had a few socialist colleagues on his way up to the top. Associating every individual who has worked among a socialist, communist or otherwise “un-American” thinker with the movements that they represent is not an accurate judgment of a person’s political affiliation. Apparently a socialist and a republican are not allowed to be colleagues in America.
 “2016: Obama’s America” receives 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Hugh Laurie brings New Orleans to Chicago

Best known for his role as the infamous Dr. House in “House M.D.,” Hugh Laurie has a his passion for music, especially New Orleans jazz. Along with The Copper Bottom Band, he played at the sold out Chicago’s Park West theatre on Aug. 21 and proceeded to groove into the late hours of the night.
Laurie displayed his acclaimed piano and guitar skills while playing covers of many well-known jazz songs such as “Mellow Down Easy” by Little Walter and “Unchain My Heart” by Ray Charles, to name a few. Laurie’s singing sounds much better live – an unexpected treat. Blues, jazz and soul can be hard for some to sing since so much passion and soul has to be behind it.

Hugh Laurie and Copper Bottom Band member Sister Jean McClain pay
homage to true New Orleans jazz at Park West in Chicago on Aug. 21.

 It may be even harder for a British actor to get into that mindset, but Laurie was able to accomplish this beautifully. Every word he sung was felt throughout the audience. The audience swayed, and a couple even got up and slow danced during his performance. The show was not merely a performance; it was a history lesson and a comedy show as well.
As odd as it sounds for a British actor to know anything about the blues, let alone New Orleans blues, Laurie proved he knew it well. Between each song Laurie would stop and explain either why he choose the song or the story behind it. He was also very intimate with the audience, happily responding to anything yelled at him, which is rare with most musical artists. Many audience members would not let him live down his role as House shouting, “We love you, House!” to which he would respond with, “I have no limp, I’m talking funny, and she still believes I’m a fictional character, strange….” He even offered his band a shot of whiskey midway through the show, which they very much deserved. The Cotton Bottom Band received high levels of praise from Laurie as the show progressed. After the first song of the night, “Mellow Down Easy,” the audience could easily see this was not the band’s first show. The band, originally from Tennessee, swung right alongside Laurie, sometimes surpassing him, and took the audience on a ride through the South.

Each member was given their own solo or song to could shine on, which no one in the band or audience seemed to mind. “I don’t think you understand how much it means to me to stand here, in Chicago, in front of you all and play,” Laurie spoke in between sets, “I’ve dreamed of this ever since I was a little boy.” He began to get choked up and the entire crowd cheered in an uproar. After almost every song there was someone out of their seat giving Laurie or the band a standing ovation. Laurie and the band even came back and did two encores for the house, after which, he kindly bowed and pointed straight towards the band behind him.

The tour started in 2011 and showcases Laurie’s first album “Let Them Talk,” which is a cover album. He has traveled all over the world showing off his jazzy repertoire. The tour will be in the Midwest for a few more shows, travelling to Carmel, Indiana; Lexington, Kentucky; and Middletown, Ohio. To purchase Hugh Laurie’s album or search for tour dates, visit www.hughlaurieblues.com.