Posted on 05/04/2024 5:33:47 PM PDT by algore
When North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un released his latest song two weeks ago, surely he couldn’t have foreseen it becoming a hit on TikTok.
But the propaganda tune has gone viral online with Gen Z users bopping around to the synthy-electro pop.
“Let’s sing Kim Jong Un, the great leader/ Let’s brag about Kim Jong Un, our friendly father,” the song goes.
It’s just a really great tune, TikTokkers say.
“Taylor Swift was not expecting to get blown out of the water right after dropping her new album,” one fan joked online.
“Wait, this slaps”, “This song needs a Grammy”, “It’s so dystopian in the catchiest way” – they are just some of the enthused comments under TikTok videos.
But the sunny pop hides something more sinister, experts say. How to craft a propaganda hit
Friendly Father is just the latest in a line of propaganda pop songs churned out by the Communist state in the past 50 years.
It’s peppy, bright-tempoed and dangerously catchy – not that much different from Western pop hits.
But there is a certain Soviet-era tinge to it; Gen Z users describe it as “Abba-coded”, a reference to the Swedish superband.
“In this case, the song has Abba written all over it,“ says Peter Moody, a North Korea analyst at Korea University.
“It's upbeat, it could not be more catchy, and a rich set of orchestral-sounding sequences could not be more prominent,” he says.
But there’s more than just commercial considerations at play when writing a chart-topper in North Korea - authorities want an earworm that penetrates minds.
There’s no space for abstract phrasing or timing that’s overly complicated , says Alexandra Leonzini, a Cambridge University scholar who researches North Korean music.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Yeah it’s a MiG 19. Nice touch. 60 year old technology.
Trump almost saved them but the Deep State wouldn’t have it.
Its a terrible song. The melody is awful. It s sounds so old and “done before”.
Ha that’s the video I had in mind. Some super hot dancers in that video. But from I’ve heard from expats who live there South Korean women are way worse than even western woman to deal with.
It’s in great shape though probably no engine etc - just a stage prop now
Yeah
Needs agitators
I expected a little more western-style pop but of course it was what it was
A Fender Squire Bass I think. A Stratocaster, probably Squire model as well.
2 Mig-19’s like that swooped in and took out a significant F-4 Phantom II crew over Vietnam in 1972. They had 30mm cannon I believe which could do significant damage.
The back-seater ejected, survived and evaded capture for 23 days I believe (and was rescued).
The pilot did not make it out and rode the a/c into the ground. They had a guy watching their 6 but it did no good.
The loss of Bob Lodge and his F-4 @ 18:39
WSO bailed out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3dd90t1R6s
Exactly.
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