You better watch you, you better not cry… no seriously, you better be on your best behavior!

Two more days until the great Hallow’s Eve officially begins. I’ve already tasted nostalgic candy corn, admired other people’s jack o’lanterns, and wolfed down the Halloween candy that will (hopefully) reach children’s bags on Halloween night. (I’m not making promises.)

Zombies and Witches and Voodoo Galore!

In honor of our approaching popular holiday, I listened to a couple songs in K-pop that have a spooky, gory, dark, or mysterious concept. Some songs and music videos include “Witch” by Boyfriend (October 18^th 2014), “Zombie Party” by SPEED (March 17^th 2014), “Thriller” by BTOB (September 4^th 2013), and probably one of the most popular, creepy, and intriguing songs/music videos: “Voodoo Doll” by VIXX (November 19^th 2013). All of these songs and music videos tell some kind of supernatural tale with spooks and thrills. The song for today is no exception and a perfect fit into the dark, chilling concept, and what other artist to give us an exceptional performance at his age and stage of life, the “Father” of K-pop himself: Seo Taiji.

Old School Legend

In 1992, Seo Taiji debuted with Lee Juno and Yang Hyunsuk as “Seo Taiji and the Boys”. Their fast rapping style similar to 90s music in North America caught everyone by surprise. Their music provided fans with something different from the traditional music they are used to hearing. It was the era of a new wave in the country, similar to how The Beatles changed many American’s lives. Seo Taiji and the Boys created the K-pop that floods social media today; we must acknowledge them for planting the seed that would eventually grow into a very large and still flourishing oak tree. Unfortunately in 1996, the group split apart and went in different directions; Lee Juno’s whereabouts as a performer of any kind are unknown to me, Yang Hyunsuk founded YG Entertainment, currently one of the top famous music companies in South Korea, and Seo Taiji continued to create his own music from 1996 to the present. With his new album Silent Night and his song combining Christmas-themed lyrics with a Halloween concept: “Christmalo.win” (pronounced “Christma-lloween”, the combination of Christmas and Halloween.)

Deceptive Christmas Carols?

If you grew up in North America, you probably grew up singing the Christmas carol, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. This is a sweet little jingle about Santa Claus: he rewards the good children with gifts and punishes the bad children with coal, but that part isn’t mentioned in the song. Isn’t that interesting? There is no mention about what Santa does to the bad children, just to be “good for goodness sake”. Thinking about the song now, honestly, it kind of sounds more like a warning. Think about it:

“You better watch out, you better not cry,

You better not pout, I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town.”

The song is instrumentally played like, “Yay! Santa’s coming to town! We love Santa!”, but now that I’m reading the lyrics in silence, I’m sensing another mood: nervousness. Santa is a powerful figure who can either gift you with the things you’ve always wanted, or, to use lyrics from Christmalo.win:

내가 값진걸 베풀지 너희에게 / I’ll give you all something valuable

아님 말지 뭐.. 싹 다 뺏겨 / Or not.. you might get everything taken away

This song is bathed in cautionary words to not get on Santa’s bad side or else he’ll do unspeakable things to you. Everyone should look their best and not show any inkling that they are unhappy in any way:

넌 이제 모두 조심해 보는 게 좋아 / Be careful of everything, you should look good

왜냐하면 산타가 곧 오거든 / Because Santa is coming soon

It’s amazing how the mood of a song can be changed when you alter the tone of the music associated with the lyrics. Imagine how different the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” would be if a beautiful piano was replaced with spooky Halloween noises and a little girl singing the song in a high-pitched, shrilly voice. I’d imagine your childhood nostalgia of the song would be turned into chilling uneasiness (and you'd probably be angry at me for putting that thought into your head), which brings me to another part of the song I really liked: the use of instruments to create a Halloween vibe.

Everyone on Stage is an Actor

Seo Taiji’s band has always been awesome and talented since the 2000s, even if some members have joined and left. The drummer, lead and bass guitarists, and keyboardist work hard to make the overall symphony ring in people’s ears. In Christmalo.win, the keyboardist is on fire, not only with the music, but the way he’s presenting himself in the music video. He’s well aware of the Halloween concept and takes advantage of it in every way possible. He curls his hands like witch’s hands while playing the keyboard and stares at the camera creepily. Me as the viewer is highly entertained. Some included instruments added for effect include a small bell, a cat yowling at the beginning of the song, creepy ghoulish laughter, a deep growling sound created by the bassist, and the last two lines of the song being sung by a young girl, leaving the viewer with a sense of uneasiness about the man they have looked up to all of these years. Instead of a jolly grandfather-like fellow they adore, there is a satanic overlord aiming to do unspeakable things to anyone that makes him mad, especially children. Sounds like the perfect Halloween-themed song to me!

Happy Christmaloween~

I’m glad Seo Taiji has made a great comeback this month. I personally love this man for all of the music he’s created and how humble he is about his fame. Although he’s performed a lot of hard-metal and rock songs in the mid-late 2000s, he’s a soft-spoken man with a playful heart, even at the age of 42 (which is, like, ancient in K-pop idol years.) His lyrics always have something for you to ponder and music videos that either leave you creeped out or endeared (but mostly creeped out.). So for this Halloween, let's bask in the creepiness and uncertainty of the night, and for goodness sake, don't try to do anything naughty. Because Santa won't be too pleased.

Happy Christmalloween!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmGsh4OId2U&t=