50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 50. Pipi Band/Pipi Longstocking

[Series Index]

Finally, the 50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists series kicks off in earnest. The series will progress by providing a fairly detailed look at each artist's music career, such that by the time this series is over the reader can have a workable knowledge of K-pop history and its major players. If you have have not already, the Korean high recommends reading the earlier parts of this series to place the ranked artists in proper context.

Just to remind everyone, this list is arbitrary and capricious to the Korean's whim, and reflects the Korean's many biases. But that does not mean it is completely off the reservation -- much thought went into trying to make this list as objective as possible. To help organize the ranking, the Korean divided the 50 artists into four tiers: Legends, Best of an Era, Strong Impact and Notables. As we start from the bottom, here is the first of the notable K-pop artists.

50. Pipi Band [삐삐밴드]/Pipi Longstocking [삐삐롱스타킹]

Years of Activity: 1995-1997

Members:
Lee Yoon-Jeong [이윤정] (Vocal - in Pipi Band)
Kwon Byeong-Joon/Goguma [권병준/고구마] (Vocal - in PiPi Longstocking)
Kang Gi-Yeong [강기영] (Bass)
Park Hyeon-Joon [박현준] (Guitar)

Discography:
Cultural Revolution [문화혁명] (1995)
Impossible Mission [불가능한 작전] (1996)
Red Bean Fish Buns [붕어빵] (1996)
One Way Ticket [원웨이 티켓] (1997)
Pipi Band Pipi Longstocking: The Complete Best [삐삐밴드 삐삐롱스타킹 The Complete Best] (2004)

In 15 Words or Less:  La Resistance of the Weird.

Representative Song:  Strawberry [딸기], from Cultural Revolution

딸기

Strawberry

설탕에 찍어 딸기를 먹었어

Had a strawberry dipped in sugar

딸기밭에서 하루종일 놀았어

Played all day at the strawberry field

한참을 놀다보니 하루가 다갔어

Played for a while and the whole day passed

하루는 왜 스물네 시간일까

Why is a day 24 hours

수박 아줌마는 얼룩무늬 치마

Lady watermelon wears a striped skirt

참외 할머니는 귀머거리 할머니

Grandma melon is a deaf grandma

사과 외숙모는 친절한가봐

Auntie apple seems nice

딸기 내 친구는 사랑스러워

Strawberry my friend is lovely

좋아 좋아 좋아 좋아

Like like like like

좋아 좋아 좋아 좋아

Like like like like

좋아 좋아 좋아 좋아

Like like like like

좋아 좋아 좋아 좋아

Like like like like

딸기가 좋아

I like strawberry

딸기를 사달라고 졸랐어

I asked someone to buy me strawberry

딸기를 먹지 않고 웃기만 했어

I didn't eat strawberry, just smiled

나는 왜 이렇게 너를 좋아하는걸까

Why do I like you so much so

나는 왜 니가 좋은지 몰라

I don't know why I like you

그건 정말 몰라 (예) 나도 몰라

I really don't know (yeah) I don't know either

새빨간 딸기는 너무 아름다워

Bright red strawberry is so beautiful

포도 아저씨는 꿈꾸는 사람

Uncle grape is a dreamer

설탕에 찍어 딸기를 먹었어

Had a strawberry dipped in sugar

좋아 좋아 좋아 딸기가 좋아

Like like like I like strawberry

좋아 좋아 좋아 딸기가 좋아

Like like like I like strawberry

딸기가 제일 좋아 

I like strawberry the best

맛있어 

It's good.

Maybe they should have been ranked higher because...  Arguably, they kicked off the indie scene in Korea.

Maybe they should have been ranked lower because... While their indirect influence lived on, their direct influence was for the most part limited to just one album. Does this make them more influential than, say, Jang Yoon-Jeong [장윤정]?

Why is this band important?
The year is 1995, when K-pop was nearing its decisive turning point in 1996/1997. The pop culture scene just exited the oppressive mood of the military dictatorship that lasted until 1993, and was on its way to the heavily commercialized form of today. The mainstream artists were mostly dance "musicians" who peddled soulless music accompanied with catchy tunes, plagiarism and plenty of lip synch, or talented singers selling out their abilities to saccharine "ballad" songs. The underground music scene, whose resistance to the contemporary politics fueled much of its creativity, was fading along with its nemesis. The famous indie music scene in front of Hong-Ik University was not yet to be.

Enter Pipi Band, who bucked the trend in every way. The band involved no dancing. The tunes were scratchy and strange. The lead (female!) singer was not terribly pretty, and could not sing. (There are unconfirmed rumors that she was brought into the band specifically because she was so bad at singing.) Their lyrics were at best nonsensical, at worst insane. They rarely appeared on TV. But they kicked and barged their way into public consciousness by the sheer force of their weirdness. Just one listen was all you needed to furrow your brow in confusion, and turn to your friend and ask, "Have you heard this song?"

This weird band became more famous. But the raised profile only appeared to goad the band into becoming even weirder and more resistant to the prevailing trend. On television, they would sing with a bullhorn instead of a microphone to mock other "singers" who resorted to lip synching. If a TV show compelled them to play canned music, they simply stood around and refused to play the instruments. Everything finally came to a head when Pipi Longstocking -- the changed name of the band after they replaced the vocal -- spat at the camera and raised their middle finger during a live telecast of a popular music program. Ban from television followed, and the members split up to go their own way.

Pipi Band is important because they kicked off two very significant trends in K-pop that live on today -- resistance to the new mainstream, and being weird. Although the corporatized, pre-packaged "bands" are currently the mainstream in K-pop, Korea still has a robust counterculture that involves true singer-song writers and artists who are willing to push the boundaries of normal. Although the band's direct influence was not much more than a flash, it did what every pioneer did -- pointing to the road less taken, although they themselves may have only taken a few steps toward it.

Interesting Trivia:
- Vocal Lee Yoon-Jeong is a daughter of Lee Gyeong-Jae, a prominent politician. She was a ballerina by training. Currently, she is a stylist for the recent crop of celebrities.
- The bassist Kang Gi-Yeong used to belong to Sinawi [시나위], probably the greatest heavy metal band in K-pop history. He has now taken the stage name of Dalparan ("Moon Blue") [달파란], and remains influential in Korea's indie music scene.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.