Music, music, music
I’ll be updating this page periodically to include music that’s piquing my interest at the moment. Song of the day: “Pretty Baby” by Blondie.
Tag: BTS
IU’s Evocative “Love Wins All” Music Video (featuring V) is Thought-Provoking
Itโs not easy for two well-known celebrities to immerse themselves in their roles so well that we donโt seeย them, but rather their characters. But watching IU’s music video for “Love Wins All,” I didnโt see pop stars IU and V, but rather a pair of anguished characters who were trying desperately to survive in this post-apocalyptic inferno.
They Call Us K-Culture
I was the first guest of 2024 on Phil Yu and Jeff Yang’s podcast, “They Call Us Bruce.” We discussed K-dramas, BTS, Lee Sun-kyun’s tragic death and how annoying it is when non-Asian members of the media co-opt our stories.
“BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star”
“BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star” isn’t always easy to watch. Very real issues are discussed, including severe depression that hints at suicidal ideation. But what comes through is that itโs the groupโs hope, friendship, humor and love that binds them together.
Part 2: That Podcast & BTS’ Relevance to Korean Diaspora
A reminder that itโs really gross to tell people that their identity is determined by what language they speak โ or what language they choose to sing in. Part 2 of my coverage of that problematic NYT K-pop podcast.
NYT’s Podcast Questioned Whether K-pop Should Only Be Sung in Korean
The thesis of the New York Times’ podcast questions whether K-pop is still K-pop if sung in English. It also questions whether Korean artists should even be singing in English, since there are so many Western artists who already sing in, you know, Englishโฆ
The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music
What follows is not only the story of Korean popular music, and how it birthed the K-pop business, but also how a small peninsula nation learned how to make art in the face of colonialism and political change, culled sonics from all corners of the globe, and keeps striving to find new ways of distilling the purest, most thrilling aspects of the human experience into four-minute packages of pop revelation.
As BTS Celebrates 10th Anniversary, Their Impact and Legacy Is Undeniable
In this essay, writer Jae-Ha Kim celebrates BTSโs 10th anniversary as a group by looking at the dreams they achieved on behalf of the Korean diaspora. They rose to the top and took us with them.
Sugaโs D-Day Concert Review: Agust D, Yoongi, and BTS Suga in One Glorious Fusion
In the final moments of the concert, the cameras seem to multiply, his cadence intensifies, the lights flash like paparazzi light bulbs. On the giant screen, surveillance-style footage captures him at a dozen different angles. Itโs all fury and flame and breathless swagger; Suga can dance, Agust D prefers to stalk. And the last image we see is Min Yoongi, his retreating back, the house lights already up, a person at the very end of it all.
“Suga: Road to D-Day”
“It’s my dream to travel around the world and play with local musicians playing their traditional instruments,” Suga says in his documentary Suga: Road to D-Day. “It’s my dream to record them and make music based on that.” But he has trepidation, too. “I worry that I won’t have anything to talk about,” Suga says. “I have fears that I have no more dreams to follow.”