Boys in music... 'too many boys, too little time', or is it?
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by PAM
Alright, I am on the last stretch of my Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship (HHH). The reason why I know this for sure is because I already received my e-ticket for my journey home - back to the Philippines, from the Institute of International Education (IIE).
I do have mixed feelings. On one hand, I am excited to go home... nine months of being away from home is simply too long especially when the living condition where you temporarily live is very different from the lifestyle that you're so used to at home. Too many adjustments to make... most of which are extremely humbling, and sometimes, it's almost demeaning. Indeed, 'there is no place like home'! And yet, for the HHH Fellowship, there are so many very positive things - the most important of which are the new people we meet, and the opportunity to reconnect with old colleagues and friends, and, on personal level, get-together with family members, too. And so, I carry on with HHH Fellow's life as usual, taking things as they come - more rationally than emotionally.
For a positive distraction, I, of course, rely on my 'go-to' company - music. There are so many new music to listen to, but I decided to listen to old favorites and the new favorites. Duran Duran and BTS, respectively, of course. They have two things in common: (1) they look good, and (2) they made/make good music, at least, good enough for their respective generations. Time will tell if their music will stand the test of time. But one older song by BTS reminds me of a 'counterpart' song by Duran Duran... probably because of the similar appeal of the music videos (MVs) for the songs. This BTS song is "Run", which was released in 2015 - two years after their debut.
I do believe that that the MV is very well done, and the members seem to have a knack for acting, too. They gave their roles justice. It might be too 'angsty' for the song, which talked about unreciprocated love, while the video is more of the complicated friendship among boys. Either way, love is involved, indeed... and the boys made that come across the screen.
The 'counterpart' song from Duran Duran is "New Moon on Monday" (NMM), released in 1983 from their "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" album - their third studio album. I must add that this was my favorite album of theirs... although the first album of theirs that I ever bought - in cassette tape format, shared with my sister - was "Arena". It was a compilation of the live versions of their songs from the first three albums: their debut album, Duran Duran; Rio; and Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Like "Run" by BTS, "NMM" was released two years after Duran Duran's debut in 1981.
🎜 "New moon on Monday and a fire dance through the night. I stayed the cold days on a lonely satellite." 🎜
While there is some difference in terms of theme - angsty teenage boys' issues for "Run", and organizing a rebellion for "NMM" - both are effective visual accompaniment for the songs. It should be pointed out though that the MV of NMM was released almost two decades prior to the launch of YouTube in 2005. I remember waiting for days and hours just to watch the video on MTv and/or other video channels in the '80s. And, we can only watch it once each time! It was a test of patience... and yes, passion for the song, Duran Duran, and music as a whole. Duran Duran were the early innovators on the use of MVs - they turned MV into a "mini movie". This made music fans more engaged... it's like making a movie out of a book... book readers are usually excited, or at the very least, curious, to see how the book is interpreted by the movie makers. And part of the success on an MV is how well the singers look and acted in the video... putting pressure on music artists to become 'total performers'... hence, BTS's rigid training in dancing, and acting, too, and their adherence to attractive visuals when performing - whether live on TV or in concert, or on MVs.
These days, it is very common to have a MV viewed more than one million times worldwide within minutes after launch on YouTube. And one can now watch the videos a hundred times on the first day of release, thanks to YouTube.
It is amazing that people of my age can still have something new to be passionate about in the music scene these days. In my case, its BTS and their music, more than three decades when I first became a "Durannie". Not a bad thing at all!
Alright, time to return to my HHH stuff!
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Video credits: The owners of the videos are indicated on the video themselves. Thanks, YouTube, for the video links.
References: Bighit's and Duran Duran's official websites.
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