Summer's coming close to an end, with late September marking the beginning of the fall equinox. However, this is not a science class to reminisce about the changing leaf colors of fall. This is the GTG music list after all. This week, the GTG staff would like to reminisce about the summer songs in Asian pop. So what defines a "summer" song? Namely, any song that was released in the summer songs - June to August, a song that symbolizes the hot summer months (such as fireworks in Japan), or any title that has the title "summer" in it. Let's get to the songs!

Raymaru brings the heat with the Exile song "Fireworks." Debuting in July 2009, this song quickly shot up in the Japanese Oricon, with its peak position at the prestigious number 1 spot. Featuring a Japanese festival as a backdrop, some scorching flames, a car racing video game simulation, and slick dance moves, this 14 man band shows us that summer never gets old in Japan. Fireworks symbolizes summer in Japan and Raymaru echoes this statement. As he puts it:

"Summer is all about festivals in Japan, and with that comes fireworks."

We couldn't have said it any better ourselves.

Raymaru's other song - "Karada to Karada" by Fumido - is a catchy blend of jazz and funk. These three crooners hail from the Japanese island of Kyushu, as two are them call Fukuoka their hometown and the other Nagasaki. In "Karada to Karada" they sing about beach intimacy. As Raymaru describes:

"The song name means "Body and Body"; it's basically a song about bikinis, the beach, and intimacy. Summer brings on the heat that allows to gaze at hot bodies and get down with that hot bikini-clad girl you spy across the sand"

Sounds like an intersting fantasy to many. Now it's time to hit up the beach!

Quick: what's better than KARA's "Mister" in Korea? The answer: KARA's "Mister" in both Korea and now Japan!

Kira goes with the popular remade 2009 Korean dance hit, "Mister." Wildly popular in Korea last year, the five ladies of KARA bring their butt dance, red suspenders, and everything else across the Sea of Japan. The Japanese version of KARA is currently being heavily promoted in Japan. Travelers in Akihabara, Shinjuku, and Adachi are constantly bombarded with the butt dance video on huge TVs across Tokyo. And we couldn't be more happy with the butt shaking revival taking place in Japan.

Deshi chooses "Fox Rain" from the currently ongoing 2010 Korean drama, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. Debuting on August 11th, the drama follows Cha Dae-woong. When he releases a gumiho, or legendary female fox with nine tails, Dae-woong has to find a way for this fox not to eat his liver for a snack. Aside from the interesting plot (thus far) that is wooing in the viewers, the original soundtrack (OST) is also getting new fans of the drama. And the slow, catchy ballad of "Fox Rain" is one reason why.

Jangta goes to an old-school Korean band, Koyote, for his 2010 summer fix. A long time staple of Korean music since the late 90s, Koyote's newest song, "Lovely", is a blend of ballad, pop, and dance. This song is about relaxing, getting away from all the stresses of life, and just having fun. After all, isn't that what life should be about: enjoying it to its fullest?

Note: To listen to a song, click on the song title next to its play button and a new window with the YouTube music video of the song will appear.

Featured in the Flash intro are EXILE's Fireworks.