Crawled out from under my culture rock this morning to learn that the hottest band on the planet is a group of 7 Koreans ranging in age from 23 to 27 and whose name is pronounceable because it’s an acronym - BTS.
But let me back up before I start to tell you about why I wanted to write about BTS.
I love music. I don’t know how anybody, anywhere would say anything different. So my stating that is meant to mean, I pay attention to music. The particulars, the lyrics, sometimes the history. Like all things for me, I am not into the deep details but I can be conversational.
All of my siblings introduced me to music but none more so than my brother, Bill. He might have had one of the largest collections of actual albums - vinyl discs - in our hometown. He carried all of that vinyl with him around the country, from coast to coast, even after all the other modern technologies had replaced them.
Because of my brother I was familiar with Procol Harum, Jefferson Airplane, Ry Cooder, Richard Thompson and Bob Dylan. Lots and lots of Bob Dylan. Drove my father nuts mainly because his voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard but also because Dylan was a social justice warrior before anyone was called a “SJW”. And my brother played him often and not quietly. I think the ‘voice irritant’ was the largest issue.
I’m just throwing out some random, eclectic names that instantly came to mind. A real list would go so much deeper and lengthier.
So, before I left the home nest, I received an extensive education in Sixties music. But, you see, my brother was 5 years older. Therefore, I was on my own during high school and my tastes trended lighter, more acoustical, more mainstream. I was drawn toward alternative country, music I could sing to, music I could dance to and music that appealed to my romantic nature.
What was on the periphery of my awareness were bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and David Bowie and countless others who seemed a bit too edgy for me.
Then, in the 80s, I was trying to start and run a business and I really didn’t make much of an effort to expand my horizons. Musically, I narrowed my field of vision. And, due to the country trending conservative, I spent an exceptional amount of time listening to singers who reminded me of the Dylan of the 60s - Bruce Cockburn, Jackson Browne and Bob Marley.
I was sort of under a cultural rock throughout the 80s. I am one of those people who had no idea who Freddie Mercury was. I definitely didn’t know he was connected to Queen. And I wouldn’t have been able to name a Queen hit or a Mercury hit, but I am sure if the music rose into my consciousness during that time, I could be found mangling the words or tapping my feet to the beat.
I am also one of those people who thought you pronounced the band named INXS - ink-says. Fortunately, I don’t think anyone ever asked me about them and I am pretty sure I never stupidly tried to use it as pick-up line. INXS (In Excess) was another band I could not tell you the name of a single song, but I have no doubt I’d be familiar with it if I heard it.
For instance, I watched the movie Rock of Ages with Tom Cruise, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Alec Baldwin and Catherine Zeta-Jones not expecting to like it because it was almost entirely music I had ignored at the time. I was drawn to watch it because of the stellar cast. But, as it turns out, practically every song had lodged itself in my brain despite the cultural ‘rock’ looming overhead in my foxhole. It also turns out it’s another musical I love - much to the chagrin of everyone who knows me.
The movie Bohemian Rhapsody knocked me over in the same way. How could I have not loved Queen?
In any event, music shapes us.
I’m enraptured by the musical Hamilton because the tunes are catchy, the lyrics are memorable and you are bound to learn something by listening to it. In addition, it’s inspirational to want to look deeper into the subject matter. It makes you wonder if we shouldn’t have things we need to know taught to us via music. Perhaps the lessons would be more likely to stick with us.
Hell. . . catchy phrases, tunes and lyrics have stuck with me across decades. Like this Wolf Brand chili ad and the accompanying catch-phrase, “Neighbor, how long has it been since you’ve had a big, thick steaming bowl of Wolf Brand Chili? Heh, heh. Well, that’s too long.”
I wish I knew why this has been stuck in my head over all of these years.
There are plenty of other examples.
But I started with mentioning what I immediately labeled a “Korean Boy Band” when I saw them on the cover of Esquire magazine. They are young. They are Korean. And they are - presumably - males.
Apparently, if not for the pandemic, they would be taking the U.S. by storm with a nationwide tour as the Beatles did in the 60s. Not that it matters. They have already taken the world by storm and they have (or recently have had) the top two songs on the charts which is a feat that has only been done a handful of times in music history.
So, what? A Korean song and dance named Gangnam Style rocketed into our consciousness a while back to no lasting effect that I am aware of. (I only caught wind of it by visiting my niece and her kids in Austin. They were obsessed.)
From the Esquire article I read, BTS sounds like a group with a conscience. At least, at this stage of their careers, even though they are already each wealthier than 98% of the planet, they seek to do good, they seek to confront issues relevant to their fan base and they seek to put some of their money where their mouths are. It is rumored that their army of fans (known as ARMY) on TikTok had much to do with the failed presidential rally at Tulsa.
To my unrefined ears, they sound like a melange of hip hop, pop and rap with lyrics that are suitable for work. I am told their choreography and stage presence - as a group - takes their work to the next level.
They honored, and surprised, Paul McCartney with an a cappella rendition of Hey, Jude when he was on The Tonight Show. Which was very cool, but not all that much of a surprise. Today’s generation has easy access to music from every generation that came before them and they tend to pay attention to it and pay their respects to it.
In case you were wondering and hadn’t searched it by now, BTS stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan, which literally translates into the Bulletproof Boy Scouts.
Knowing how much music and lyrics shaped me, I’m encouraged to learn that a sizable swath of humanity loves these guys.
More power to them.
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I’ve probably recommended Rock of Ages previously, but I am going to repeat myself if so. When I first saw the trailer, I couldn’t wait to see Tom Cruise play the narcissistic rock and roll star. Then, it came out, and, to my knowledge, it got panned by critics. Or ignored. I eventually streamed it and, as has often been written, the rest is history. I’m a fan. If I were in a bad mood, it would be a good movie to pull me out of it.
Also, AAR Nancy Enz Lill sent along the link to the NYT article “The Social Life of Forests” which I highly recommend (along with Richard Powers’ book The Overstory which I have previously recommended) but, if you don’t want to read the article, The Daily podcast read it for you last Sunday.
That link is HERE. Or click the photo below. Or go to whatever app you use for podcasts.
