mono.

 'mono.' is an album made by RM or Kim Namjoon in 2018. He has been mentioned in my blog before, as the author of one of my favourite speeches and a commendable leader of the group who are one of my favourite musicians. He is also my mom's favourite in BTS for some reason? She just gets good vibes from him I guess, which is true for me too. He has an IQ of 148, is fluent in three languages, has shown considerable growth in his personal life, is thougthful and poetic and was in the top 0.1% in the Suneung exam, which is South Korea's College Entrance Examination. He is also called "God of Destruction" by his fans because of his well-known clumsiness.

He was active in the underground hip hop scene before being chosen as the first member of BTS. He started writing at lyrics at the age of 11, and has hid first concert at the age of 14. 

Enough about the musician, more about the album.

The general feel of this album is like a friend sitting beside you, whose shoulder you can rest on in times of distress. He wrote this album not as worldwide superstar RM, but as the poetic and thoughtful Kim Namjoon. As a person who often has reluctancy telling people my problems and issues, this album has consoled me more than most people have.

Now, to the songs.

Tokyo, the first song, expresses feelings about being lost, questioning and homesickness. With its soothing vocals and swift cars in the beginning, the song transitions into having traditional instruments and ends with a simple whistle.‘Tokyo’ in Japanese is 東京, and it has the same pronunciation as Korean 동경 (dong-gyung), which translates in English as ‘the state of longing.’

Life is a word that sometimes you cannot say
And ash is a thing that someday we all should be
When tomorrow comes
How different is it going to be?
Why do love and hate sound just the same to me?

 

Seoul describes the bittersweet relationship one has with a bustling metropolitan city they moved to. This song has clever wordplay and and a soothing yet addictive nature. I love this a song a lot. One time I listened to it everyday for a month. It even has mentions of a taxi driver he met in real life, a sweet and subtle tribute.

Buses with changing landscapes even when I'm sitting still
And similar buildings actually varying a little
Scent of life that could be disgusting or not
And the cold parks pretending to be warm
People who always have to wander
And the Han Rivers that bear too much Han
And the swings that can't look at the sky on their own
And the kids all grown up, and me who’s a little late

 

Moonchild with its unique style tells people facing person hardships to go on and face them. No matter why we are being made to be in sorrow, its important for us to not drown in it. With the pandemic, this song has become all the more significant for me. It's sound is unlike any other song I have heard before.

Come on ya'll Moonchild, Moonchild
That's how it's supposed to be
Yeah all these pain and all these sorrows
That's our destiny, see?
You and my life was like this
We gotta dance in the rain
Dance in the pain
Even though we crash down
We gon dance in the plane

 

Badbye, a collaboration with the musicians he grew up listening to, describes one's hopelessness in life. Instead of saying goodbye, RM says a harsher Badbye. With its instrumental that lingers in your mind, this song is like a person saying to you, "You're not alone". 

Bad badbye, no goodbye
Bad badbye, no goodbye
Bad badbye, don't say goodbye
Bad badbye, cuz it's a lie
Bad badbye

Uhgood, with the name involving korean-english wordplay, discusses how one's ideal version of themselves can be far from reality. We continue to be see the faults with ourselves, and continue to be better. It also says how it's crucial to enjoy one's own company, but one can't help but feel incomplete at times when we are alone. This song feels like a journey. From a negative outlook to a positive one, and ending on a quiet note.

To be out of place, it hurts so much
If you don't experience it, it cannot be known
My ideal and what is reality
They're so far, far away
But I still want to cross that two bridges
To reach myself
To the real me, yeah yeah
To the real me, yeah

Everythingoes consists of the most common philosophy we use to console ourselves in times of difficulty, that nothing is eternal. This song consists of common prayers and thoughts that we all have. Its lyrics also transport us to the next and last song of the album.

Just like the night leaves and the morning comes
The spring leaves and summer comes, but
Just like the flower wilts and the fruit grows ripe
Everything needs to go through pain
Embrace the world and suck in a breath
That prickling air that fills up your lungs says everything
Yeah, back when I wished to drink it in innumerable times
Underneath those old times when I, a fool, grew dull

 

 

Forever rain is a poetic song, although a sad one. Namjoon conveys his thoughts about the rain and even expresses thinking of rain like a friend. He says about how everything in his life feels like its going too fast, a statement relatable to a lot of us living, and especially growing up in this modern world.

Cuz the umbrella would cover the sad face
Cuz in the rain people are busy minding themselves
Gonna breathe a little slower
Cuz my life and my rap, they’re usually too fast

So there it is. mono.

Here it is on Spotify and YouTube.

Go ahead, give your eyes a rest. I know this post was a long one.