Studio Notes Pt. 2- Arirang (3/20)

Part 2 of their Weverse/YouTube Live

My commentary in green.

Please find PART 1 here.

SUGA: then let's listen to the first track and talk about it - and i think as we do, there will be more to talk about
Jimin: let's gooo.. i feel like we'll stay up all night talking about this
🎶Body to Body

hobi: okay the first song
RM: it is very intense, a lot of people told me that this is their favorite track
BTS: true true
RM: cuz it was so strong
SUGA: it's good from the intro
JK: 🎶ddoongddoong🎶
SUGA: i mean for me personally with 'ARIRANG' I..
hobi: oh thisss also comes with a backstory

SUGA: cuz I..
RM: cuz that's going to come out too
SUGA: cuz I also used a lot of 'traditional Korean music' in my personal album too (re: Haegeum/Daechwita being the most popular to use Korean traditional instruments)
RM: hyung, you did do a lot ..like Haegeum and..
Jimin: Hoseokie hyung and I were pretty much fans [of this sound] from the get
hobi: like the feel in the first half...
JK: but but but Jiminie hyung was SO friggng funny remember?
hobi: oh that's right - he was super funny
JK: i learned about it after the fact but
hobi: well it'll come out in our documentary, the making of the album documentary, there are a lot of fun episodes that came out
RM: wait I watched it.. why don't I remember it?
V: no this is too big of a spoiler
RM: okay okay
Jin: wait what is it?? i'm sooo curious..

LOL Jin is so real for this

j-hope: Body to Body is literally like..
RM: body - holding - body ::holding hands::
SUGA: kinda like 2026 'hand in hand'
j-hope: yeah, it's like 2026 'hand in hand'

[as boba tries to fly away, carrying Jin & Jimin]

*Body to Body, was apparently written to evoke the same feelings as 'Hand in Hand' - the official theme song of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

This song is inseparable from the feeling of 'national triumph' for Korea/Koreans and literally translates to '[Holding] Hand in Hand' - emphasizing unity. The 1988 Olympics marked the country overcoming decades of war, poverty, and authoritarian rule in bright celebration, a "WE HAVE ARRIVED" moment/vibe for South Korea.

From the official Olympics YouTube channel, Hand in Hand

j-hope: this is a song i really like from the album
RM: really like it
SUGA: i don't get tired of it
j-hope: right from the start - there's this.. .like a feeling in my chest..
Jin: almost get choked up..
j-hope: something that resonates
RM: i mean it's ARIRANG right? it's like ARIRANG and pop.. and like a fusion of that, like kimchi on top of a pastry or something
j-hope: HAHAHAHA
JK: oh you said that beforeee like..
Jimin: hyung, you're giving spoilers right now!!
RM: oh i am??

RM: kinda like pizza.. and kimpitang?

*김피탕 (kim pi tang)=kimchi pizza tangsuyuk

some may call it an abomination, some may call it a genius collab lol - it's a combination of kimchi and tangsuyook (lightly battered and fried and then tossed in a sweet and sour sauce glaze pork), and then somehow 'pizzafied' (essentially, i think they only melted cheese on top.. and placed the entire thing on top of a tortilla??? idr exactly but here is the chaotic episode - note, this is NOT how professionals make this food LOL)

RM: kimpitang style~ kimpitang vibes~ if you do fusion really well, it's really good
Jin: i think the fusion came out really well~ like a very feel good end result

j-hope: all the audiences may be able to enjoy it together i think
RM: if all the audiences, like ARIRANG and even the foreign fans, all sing along, it would be really grand~
V: but then that would be really..
Jin: this is also part of our song right? this part is actually easy to memorize and sing along to,
SUGA: so when we perform it, even the foreign fans who are probably very familiar with the song would be able to sing along
JK: right

j-hope: i think it's a really good song for the opening, and also for the ending, and also for the encore, i think it's a really good song that came out
Jimin: i think the feelings of the members who really want to perform right now are really well reflected in this song
Jin: that's right

[shenanigans.]

RM: i think i warmed up to it in gradations like.. when i first heard it, i was like.. this is not it..but then i was like.. then second listen - okay, it's good, let me listen to it one more time.. and i was like.. okay, i acknowledge it's good
j-hope: had like a 2 step process kinda
SUGA: the song 'ARIRANG' is something that we have heard a lot since we were young, and there have been a lot of remixes of it for various anniversaries and special occasions and
JK: like festivals
SUGA: yea so I was like.. I wanted to do something different with it, but then when I heard the final version, I was like.. oh it's good we included it - i mean Koreans might be like huh?? but outside of Korea
RM: there will be WAY more people hearing it for the first time, right?
JK: it's the first track
SUGA: and also lots of people sample their own country's music so I think it's really good
Jin: it's good
j-hope: it's really good

V: k~ now next
j-hope: let's listen to the next track
jk: damn
j-hope: hooligannnnn
RM: hooligannn
Jin: hooligannn

SUGA: the room we worked on this.. Guincho's room .. tell them the story
RM: it was these two right? (pointing to JK)
j-hope: when i arrived in LA, JK was working on this - and JK all of a sudden was like "hobi hyung, come here come here you have to listen to this"
RM to JK: you wrote the chorus for this right?

*サビ (sabi)- this one actually took me a whileee to figure out because this word "사비 or 싸비" kinda SOUNDS Koreanish?? but is not Korean, but gleaned from context, I could tell it referred to the 'chorus' many times - so I just looked it up for confirmation and it is a loan word that most often refers to the 'chorus or hook' - the most climactic part of the song, and a core term from J-pop production vocabular!

j-hope: JK did a lot of work/had a lot of say for this song
JK: but okay for this song ..I don't even know why but I kept thinking of "hooligan"
(my theory: tis because boba is a tiny hooligan and it called out from his dna and demanded to be written)

RM: did you watch soccer the day before?
JK: no i didn't - i just ::snaps vibes:: and thought of 'hooOligann' just over and over again outta nowhere
j-hope: oh just outta nowhere~ (spoken in a familiar/knowing tone - as artists and lyricists, they must all share some similar experiences where inspiration comes specifically but also very randomly and unexpectedly)
JK: yea outta nowhere/suddenly~ so I expressed that
SUGA: it's always like that when you're writing~
JK: oh and i didn't realize that would become the [song] title
j-hope: oh hooligan?
RM: but it's because Hooligan came out that this song came out the way it did, right?
SUGA: in the earlier days though wasn't this not the melody??
JK: right.. we revised it a lot.. and changed the melody at the end
RM: i mean this part 'watch this, watch this, be going, hooligan' really grounds the song..

SUGA: El Guincho really.. like.. i listened to the sound and was like wowww
j-hope: El Guincho really
JK: that's right.. the song ??? (i can't tell what he says here)
j-hope: this albun, i really felt like El Guincho is going to be a key part of it
V: this album, El Guincho was so..
JK: like if he wasn't there - what would we have done..
SUGA: he did SO well
RM: El Guincho normally works really closely with Rosalia - basically her right hand man - they've been working together for SO much of her their career...truly.. watching the way he comes up with beats was fascinating
SUGA: likeee .. i was so surprised
JK: it's different
Jimin: the method/technique itself is so different
RM: THAT'S EXACTLY IT! the method/technique itself is so different
V: we kepttt being like 'should we try this? should we try that' with Guincho
Jimin: we did that SO much

SUGA: from the pov of someone who also makes tracks i was like 'oh, you can do it like that???
Jimin: an entirely different method/technique
SUGA: but the one guy in that room was making tracks with a game pad
JK: right, right, right - but that itself was a method/technique too
SUGA: i'm sayingg.. so like he made a '*DAW' and incorporated the game track pads to make sounds and used the pad to make the sounds

(DAW = Digital Audio Workstation, essentially the software used to record/edit/arrange/mix/and produce music on a computer - before DAWs, producers needed A LOT of different equipment - but DAWs made it possible to put 'a studio' in a laptop~)

V: it isn't out yet but ..

JK: i don't think you can use it with comemrcial licensing but..
Jimin: oh really?
JK: yea he was testing stuff with it

RM: anyway JK really played a major role and it's that kind of song
j-hope: so good
JK: thank you so much 😊
Jimin (making fun of RM because he added ZERO new information about the song or about JK): "JK played a big role and it was that kind of song.." ??
j-hope:HAHAHA
JK::bobasmiles::

LOOK AT HIS LITTLE FACE OF HAPPY TINYBOBAHAPPYCAKES SMILES JKL:GJ:LDJ:GLDJG:LJFDG I ALL THE WAY CANNOT.

#caught. LOLLL

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SUGA: ?? (SUGA says something that kinda sounds like 'it's flavorful/yummy though' but ...i doubt that's what he said... BUT THEN)
JK: so it's yummy? (...that is 400% not what RM said LMAOOO so idk what this is - if this is some meme or quote?? i have no idea or maybe it's just boba crushing on honeythighs who knows lol and who could blame him.. because as SUGA/JK have expressed what i hear as 마시가 있어/마시가 있잖아~ if this is NOT a meme/quote, at best, this is spoken incorrectly..)
like if i said "that has yummy" instead of "that is yummy" for like no reason..?? randomly... it's 'wrong' and not 'wrong enough' to be funny.. so i'm guessing this is a meme or my mishearing it -___-?? lol
Jimin (to RM): your explanation is yummy.. (i truly don't know what is happening.)
RM: Jung Kook and El Guincho..
JK: it's yummy???

V: but the theme of this song is so good ...Hooligan
SUGA: I had a lot of fun working too

RM: *이상 무!

*이상 무 (eesang mu) = "all clear/nothing unusual" - this is the military term/response that everything is "all good/there's nothing to report" - soldiers commonly reply with this "eesangmu!" - and outside of the military, or post-military rather, many Korean men have sorta meme-ified it a little bit too among men who've served to mean the same

You'll notice when RM says it, he also salutes - to the deadpan nonresponse of his members LMAO hahaha hobi, faintly repeats it staring off in the distance lmao lmao lmao~ what a dorkberry

This is a lyric at the end of SUGA's verse in Hooligan so you'll hear SUGA's SINGULAR 'heh' in tiny after RM shouts this HAHAHA

Also, I had to look this up but El Cucuy is the Latin American/Spanish equivalent to the 'boogeyman' a mythical monster made up to ..strike fear into the hearts of kids for disobeying or not going to bed - but here, referenced because it's a ubiquitously known lore/story/entity - so "Like El Cucuy, I don't have to explicitly name it for you to know" is how that line translates~

RM/SUGA: shall we move on to the next song?
SUGA/j-hope: ALIENS
::members start to sing aliens::

JK: so this song..
Jin: who did this one?
JK: hobi hyung and...
j-hope: is it me and Jung Kook?
JK: ..Jung Kook Taehyung?
SUGA: Mike WiLL Made-It right? (American record producer, rapper, singer)
j-hope: is it me and Jung Kook?
JK: i mean well the two of us for sure..
Jimin: !!Taehyungie was also in the [production] room (love how the 95s always have each others' back 🥰) and ..so hyung, when you were nearly finished with this song i was able to go in and listen to it
V: i helped with a few thigns in the later stages (or "second half/latter half") for this song
j-hope: so with this one.. the song form was ..there was like no structure/composition/arrangement ... at all
JK: right right
j-hope: we were like 'for this let's just go with the flow~' feel like that'd be cool
JK: yea instead of a feeling of 'spinning around' let's just go straight for it
V: what was the working title for this?
RM: it was 'Endless' in the beginning
V::clappies:: oh right!! it was ENDLESS!
RM: but the song felt like it had no actual point/plot and since the pronunciation is so similar - so we changed it to 'Aliens' and then we were able to imbue a lot more meaning into it ..talking about Korea and stuff
j-hope: that's right.. the lyrics are like
SUGA: and while we were working [on the album] ..within like just one year's time.. Kpop Demon Hunters would come out... and then so many Korean-related elements would come out so..
V: oh yea that's right that's right..
SUGA: yea.. so we were able to speak on so many MORE things..

I can only imagine what it must feel like to leave for the military when they did and then to return on scene with things changing so rapidly - not just re: exposure to Korean culture on a global scale... seemingly outta nowhere?? - but to shorter form content ruling the world, ever dwindling attention spans that have only gotten worse, AI generated atrocities ...that are becoming harder and harder to distinguish from real life.. and then having to recalibrate and create something you feel will be authentic and impactful.

RM: did squid games come out while we were on break too?
Jin: 3 probably...
j-hope: that's right 3..
SUGA: 1 came out..
Jin: 1.. came out around the corona..
SUGA: like 2021.. 2022? (for the record, I looked it up - came out September 2021) ..and in that time.. Korea's 'status/prestige' skyrocketed..
RM: yea that's so cool
SUGA: like ..Korean food is also ..so well liked
Jin: they say they like it..

RM: yea, like they really don't ask us if we're from "North or South Korea" anymore - I was so touched by that/that made me so emotional (this was filmed before the Seth Herzog incident)
SUGA: yea - like rather now anyone asking that is seen as weird

watch this all go down
V: Jung Kook cried even...
Jin: when?!

(love protective mamabird Jin mode)
JK: O_O when'd I cry..
V: watching Kpop Demon Hunters..
JK: oh yes I did

ajkdfl;gjaldfjg;alkdfjgsl;djglsjdlgjslk.

Jimin: I saw the video!! ::imitates boba bawling::

Jin: !!why why why'd he cry?? (mama Jin is so concerned 😭💜)
V: cuz he was sad (HAHAHAHAHA V saying the funniest things with a straight face or deadpan tone always kills me lmao)
JK: oh when the main male character died.. when he blocked her from..
Jin: (recalibrating because he thought it may have been more serious but turns out it's just cuz boba was in his feels about the animated movie so he relaxes a bit but still asks JK for confirmation) oh.. cuz that made you sad?
JK: hehyea
Jin: aishh lolll

j-hope: for this one.. the song is the song but the lyrics are also so fun ~ yea Mr. RM wrote us a lot of really great lyrics so..
Jimin: ah, yes this song.. this song is so good
JK: 🎶only hyung [RM] can speak english (an actual lyric from Aliens, check here LOL)
RM: 영어는 또 나밖에 못 해 "it's how we kill" ~ but one of the reasons I'm proud of that is ..that anyway despite the fact that only one member can speak English, we still receive the love of ARMYs all over the world
j-hope: that's right
RM: i'm actually so *pleased with/proud of that

*뿌듯하다 (ppudeuthada) = to feel proud/satisfied in a way that leaves you feeling pleased with [the whatever]
So in a lot of RUN BTS eps or prob in K-entertainment shows of all kinds, you'll see those little floaty on-screen text graphics with "뿌듯" when someone is expressing that they're proud of a thingy they just made, proud of one of their other members for doing something well, proud of winning at one of the games, etc.

this clip is cut off but you can see "박뿌듯" essentially saying he's "Pleasedwithhimself/Proud Park" - this is shown on the special episodes of Run BTS collab with Na PD where Jimin is tasked with planting a coin on all the other members without their knowledge and he does (although by the end JK has wiggled free from his) none of the members had discovered Jimin had done this so he 'accomplishes' his mission

Jimin: ...i mean you are proud but at the same time you're not though right??
j-hope: HAHAHAHA
RM: - speechless -
JK re: RM: he gets so stressed hehehe
Jimin: no because we've been active in America for like ~10 years and yet..

Jimin: we're still not able to speak English
j-hope: that's right that's right hahahaha
RM:

poor bb

j-hope: hahahaha he's always Namjoon's always like "how are you all STILL like this.." hahahaha

PLEASE the difference in the 94s facial expressions HAHAHAH al;kdjfg;lajdfg

Jimin imitating RM: "you guys are so *annoying/irritating/frustrating"
*징하다 (Jinghada) - slang that can also mean 'gross/disgusting/repulsive' in SOME contexts but here means like.. infuriating LOL
JK imitating RM: "like please even just ONE MORE member just ONEEE"
j-hope: i mean each of us are studying on our own but like..

RM::BREAKING THE SILENCE LMAO:: I WANNA *??? TOO! I WANNA BANTER TOO!

*so the Korean subs say "나도 침대 축구하고 싶어" which literally translates to "I also want to play bed (침대) soccer (축구)" and I learned, via threads, that this is a SOCCER term.

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*티키타카 (tikkitakka) = slang that functions sometimes as a noun and sometimes as a verb - here, a verb to have a back and forth with/banter with; also can be used to describe 'conversational chemistry' like if i have 'good tikki takka (noun) with someone' that would mean we banter well, our conversational chemistry is on point~

j-hope: of course of course
RM yelling into the void: I just babble on by myself.. I interpret by myself...
JK: let's just have one more person do it.. loll
RM: and this hyung, now, he barely interprets~/ interprets super loosely~
j-hope: but then! we still understand!

SUGA: but i mean when we had to work .. I mean everyone pulled out their English though it seemed..
j-hope: i mean that's sorta true we can do what we need to do~
(I'm convinced SUGA can lock in and speak it at whim when/if he feels like it - it's just that he oft doesn't feel like it LOL)

V: but hyung, honestly no matter how much we study - it's a whole different thing to actually 'USE' it in real life
j-hope: true true
JK: hyung hyunggg just wait maybe like 5 more years .. (AWW jkadl;fgjalf)

SUGA: but just wait.. the tech has evolved so much that there's gonna be like glasses that interpret for you coming out..
j-hope: but okay so like recently though, i've been getting better at listening!

Jin: Namjoon will be like conversing with the other party and then burst into laughter and then 'reality hits' and then he'll have to ::calms down and imitates whispering to the members:: 'oh this is what was just said/how things went down' - when you have to relay that type of information to us, I really felt that you probably have those moments (as in he has to quickly switch gears from like 'being in the conversation w/ whoever' to then settling down to breakdown what's happening for the members and then switch back)

ALL CHILDREN OF NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING IMMIGRANT PARENTS know this life. It doesn't matter if YOU are good at speaking English or emotionally prepared to be a translator LOLL you just hit the ground running and troubleshoot on the way down loll

JK: I'm thankful everyday ((softie boba #biggestfanofhoneythighs))
j-hope: thankful for Namjoon seriously..
Jin: thank you so much Namjoon
RM: I love you all

j-hope::speaking Aliens lyrics:: 'so take off your shoes'
RM: so i've taken off my shoes

SUGA: okay next song
::FYA::

j-hope: ahhhhhh
Jin: oh this is suchh a good song
SUGA: such an exciting song
j-hope: this song was chosen at the veryyy end right?
RM: this is a song I realllyyy pushed for and I really really like this song
Jimin: there were 2 songs you really pushed for, hyung~
RM: there were 2 songs I really pushed for
Jimin: but this was one of them

RM: this is a song called FYA - so the way this began was.. okay so I REALLY like JPEGMAFIA right so I asked them to be invited and
SUGA: omg they were so impressive/cool - walking in with their leather jackets like thatt..
RM: yea they were SO impressive/cool
j-hope: all wearing glasses
JK: their presence itself was so ...wow
RM: i mean it was SUMMER and they walked in wearing leather jackets like wowww
SUGA: that's what i mean!!
RM: i was like wow that's epic.. fashionable people tend to wear things even if it gets hot in the summer - and so they arrived and we worked with Flume, Harley Streten in credits
SUGA: a very unique/odd pairing came together
j-hope: Flume and
SUGA: cuz I really liked Flume
j-hope: it was truly a unique ..getting used to~

RM: but actually - we DEFINITIVELY learned a new expression in the production room this time right? - "that's fire"
JK: ahh
RM: they said this ALLLLL the time, if they liked something they'd be like "that's fire bro, that's fireee" - they did this every day all the timee
JK: that's right alllll the time
RM: so we were just listening to the beat and then ::nods head to the rhythm:: "that's fire" - what if we just went with this? and then all of a sudden JPEGMAFIA.. i was like JPEGMAFIA, if there's anything that comes to mind, could you do it for us? and then he grabbed the mic and was like "EVERYTHING LIT, IT'S FIRE" he just connected it that way and started on it right away - and we heard it and were like "that's it, right there!"
JK: this is it!
RM: it's done!
JK: that's right!
RM: that's how that went down ~ so I think that even on stage, this will be one of the most fun songs as well
SUGA: i mean for me too, even just writing the verse was super fun (awwwjakldfjglag sugicakes having all the fun writing the lyrics - rapper poet kitty bias wrecker for the global fandom lol) and I kinda purposely leaned into the ..like mid-to-late 2000s sound
RM: kinda like 1tym
SUGA: yea i wanted to do a bit of sentimental/nostalgic rap kinda - so even when i was writing the lyrics.. i mean like normally i would never use words like "*엉뜨" but I kinda felt like I'd really like it if people sorta listened and laughed when they heard the lyrics.. and the lyrics just kept flowing out~
JK: it's so fun it's so fun

*엉뜨 (ung-ddeu) = a slang abbreviation for seat warmers in cars LOL lemme break it down
엉덩이 (ungdungee) → butt
뜨겁다 (ddeugeopda) → hot / warm
this is a lyric in FYA
The verse essentially says "it's hot, it's hot, vibin, totally it's ho-hottt" // "scary scary in the dead of winter we don't need a *seat warmer" // "we raging, turn around and dance" // "trembling/quivering is suffering" // "what are you worried about? just break into it/wedge into it/bunjee throw yourself into it"

so OBVIOUSLY, compared to some of their other songs that feature double...triple entendres in multiple languages, articulate heartache or longing or suffering or conquering through absolute poetry - some may be disappointed at the lyrical treatment in FYA

but here's my take that no one asked for - YOU are not the artist.

they've more than demonstrated what they're capable when THEIR goal is to create a poetic vessel for the listener/themselves to pour their own heartache or chaos or joy into the song. They're ABLE to do that, masterfully I might add - IF - that's what they wanted to do.

I'd argue that SOME of the songs on this album absolutely aspire to and accomplish that. But FYA wasn't meant to be that kind of vessel. I believe ALL good art becomes some kind of vessel of engagement. It doesn't only declare. It also creates new space - enlarges the margins so you can find bits of your story there. FYA seems to be a song meant to create space for pure adrenaline-fueled fun and energy. It becomes a vessel for your kinetic good time. You may find yourself jumping, dancing, head banging, swaying to this song. THAT is not by accident.

When SUGA says he wanted to bring back a kind of 'sentimental/nostalgic' rap - he didn't mean poetically but a call back to, as he'd mentioned and RM expanded on, mid-to-late 2000s vibes - 1tym was huge back then and known for music that made people 'feel' like partying.

This song, as evidenced by RM/SUGA's back and forth on the matter, was born of 'vibes' and observation and collaboration. Unlikely musical collaborators (BTS, JPEGMAFIA, Flume) bridging many different worlds together and finding common ground on expressing encouragement re: each others' work "that's fire!" - BTS feeling some type of way about this entirely-foreign-turned-familiar-turned-beloved expression amongst them and celebrating the energy they shared through this song. I'd say FYA accomplishes everything it's meant to accomplish.

j-hope: the song's so fast
RM: very fast cuz it's hyper jersey (i had to look this up but it's a mix of the genres 'hyperpop' and 'jersey club' - fast-paced, high-energy dance music)

Jimin: and actually the two songs Namjoonie hyung really pushed for both made it onto the album and to be honest - I opposed both of them hehe

SUGA to Jimin: oh yea you opposed them like really hard

(see sugi's kitty paw on Jimin)
JK to Jimin: why did you do that?? 😠 (#honeythighfan4lyfe)
RM: truly -till the very end, he didn't yield loll
JK: oh but I really liked it (no one's beating boba for #1 RM fan spot)
V: and I said it was a MUST-INCLUDE
RM: that's a relief.. huh so it was 3 vs. 4 huh
Jimin: well i mean by now I totally understand and see how it'd be a catastrophe not to have included it but..
Jin to RM quietly: I liked it too
RM correcting himself: oh so it was 4 vs. 3..

Jimin continuing: well cuz the version I'd heard wasn't the version the members recorded [yet, at the time] - it was the rough version - and so my initial and main thought was if ARMY heard it, wouldn't they think this was difficult?? but now that it's been completed, my thinking is "ah, thank you so much [for pushing for it to be on the album]"

(i'm not sure what he means by difficult here, as in difficult to dance to?? accept as BTS' song?? understand cuz it's fast?? idk but in any case, as always, Jimin's concerns are out of consideration for ARMY 🥺🤗

j-hope: it's true.. like during the process of working on everytihng.. listening to the rough version.. and then listening to it and picturing it is kinda difficult..
RM: i think it's difficult too
j-hope: i felt that even more working on this album
Jin: our voices have to be in it..
j-hope: yea yea..
Jimin: i think we have to record it to know how it really sounds

V: but for sure the difference between the demo version, the mastered version, and then the final version are SO noticeably huge
Jimin: of course
RM: and like with our members' voices - it changes a lot from there too
j-hope: that's right that's right
RM: cuz usually only one person sings it [for the demo - to get the gist of the song across] but when 7 people split it up and sing it, it sounds so much more colorful/varied
j-hope: what's funny is that there are things that we really liked in demo form but then when we recorded it we were like oh this is just meh
SUGA: there's so many songs we killed on those grounds
V: there are lot we didn't include
j-hope: and there are others we thought were like 'oh this isn't it' when we heard the demo but then when our voices are put in - it's SO good
RM: also there are key (like musical keys) differences too ..i guess there really are a lot of songs that we didn't include...

JK: SO MANY! we had over 100 songs..
V: i have a few that I saved from there and listen to them from time to time
JK: me too like 2?
Jimin: i grabbed 4 also..
SUGA: i snagged a few as well
RM: i should've done that too (oh koala bb)
j-hope: i also have 2~

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RM: when did you all claim these songs??
JK: let's do rock paper scissors
V: yea if we have any overlapping songs, we should rock paper scissors for them
j-hope: like 'heyy lmk before you take one [of mine]' okay should we go next song?

Jimin: ah, right onto the 2nd song that I opposed..
j-hope: hahahaha
RM: so Jimin really opposed this song.. and i mean if I say too much I'll spoil it but this song.. for this other thing, we definitely NEED this song ..if we want to do this, we definitely need this song
(i'm not sure if he's referencing the music video-to-be at the time or what)
Jimin knowingly: ah, yea
Jin: the song's out - what is there to spoil at this point though?
JK: of course there is! :pouts of bobaface:

Jin: ah okok

Jimin: oh I absolutely know what you're talking about - and the only reason I opposed it was because I felt my own... inability to digest this song..
SUGA remembering: oh that's right - the vocals for this were difficult huh
V: it was hard for everyone!! (supporting his fellow twin goober in solidarityy - so the tone here is not just you buddy! all of us struggled with it!)
Jin: it was hard
RM: everyone said it was hard - cuz it's hip hop but like... so cuz in Hooligan, there's at least a melody that comes out in the verses in the middle but for this song (2.0), for our vocal line friends, there's really only one thing to sing
Jimin: yea
RM: yea 'you know how we do do do do'
Jimin: this may seem like nothing/really simple but this was actually so difficult to nail to hit the vibe

for anyone that may be a little bit new to singing in general as a professional or serious art form, vocalists use their voice to sort of "act" out what they want the lyrics to feel like/emulate/embody for the listener as much as it is a vessel for their own self-expression.

if you've never seen this clip of billie eilish explain the journey of figuring out how her song for the Barbie Movie, it's a worthwhile tiny detour

the difference between someone who can technically sing a song well - even very well versus someone who masterfully USES their voice as a brush with which to paint the words of the story of a song is the difference, for the listener, between "oh what a lovely song" vs. "CRYINGFOR3DAYS/FINDING HEALING/FEELING INSPIRED/BEING RENEWED/MELTING THEIR RAGE/etc." - one is a job well done, the other is a transcendant experience of connection between the song and the listener

this is also why you may come across TONS of 'good singers' but feel NOTHING listening to them sing other than maybe like 'neat~'

not that they didn't before but after all of their solo projects, I feel each individual member has gotten even better at how to express themselves uniquely and potently with all their vocal work! it's so heartwarming to see 😭

SUGA: a funny behind the scenes moment is that I was in the room right next door - with like one table - and i was recording and like.. cuz you know how there was like a booth for recording... so i was in there by myself - strumming on the guitar working - and all i hear is do do do do do do do .. for like SIX HOURS.
Jimin: cuz i mean we had to practice it..

THIS is why I am so inspired by them. Like beyond their looks and polished charms - at the times in my life when I feel the most inadequate or stuck... sometimes questioning my whole existence .. DEEP imposter syndrome.. wondering if any of this will pan out. Like we have our epic days - HUGE conferences managed, EPIC pitches presented, STELLAR performance reviews, etc. - but then I also have days where I have to re-draw a bird (I'm illustrating a children's book) like eleventy times to fit the 'vibe' of the book correctly... WTF IS THAT. I will draw a bird. and then not use that bird drawing... and I grow numb and feel useless. Why couldn't I nail this motherfajfgkal;dfjng bird on the first try?!? but then I'll see things like this 'do do do' for six hours. SUGA swearing at his computer screen after getting frustrated with himself and the world. Jimin recorded 'fOOockk~ youU~' over and over again. j-hope practicing the same like 12-second choreography to internalize it into his muscle memory over and over again.. and be reminded of the fact that there's no shame in taking time to do something with everything you've got

wisdom and experience will tell you when to stop iterating, when to be bold and just push for it, when to 'kill your darlings' and go back to the drawing board to start over, etc. but the sheer power of will and resilience will keep you fighting to push forward in SOME way 10/10 times.

for anyone feeling stuck or frustrated with yourself - you're in GOOD company, so long as you keep trying. try ANYTHING. but keep at it - you're creating something out of nothing and that COMES with labor pains. don't underestimate or undervalue the procecss - you're doing just fine.

(you nice, keep going)

V: if i think about it.. me and hyung and jungkook..
j-hope: if we think back on it.. the session in the room was me, Jung Kook, and Taehyung and this beat KEPTTT playing..
V: i thought i was going to LOSE MY MIND because of the snare
SUGA: no yall fell asleeppp to it
V: Jung Kook .. on the sofa
JK: oh that's right.. I was like imma just pop out real quick and then i fell asleep outside and was DESTROYED by mosquitos
SUGA: ..there were a lot of mosquitos..
Jin: I have a memory about this too cuz I was recording for 'Like Animals' and the other guys were doing the test recordings [for 2.0] and while i finished 3sessions.. the two of them were STILL doing 'do do do do' .. for like HOURSSS

RM: [it sounded like..] like is the phone broken??
Jimin continuing his point: but yea so even PDogg hyung opposed this too
JK: it was really hard though
RM: he was like 'Namjoonah, I don't think the kids will be able to digest/handle this'
j-hope: even once back in Korea, we KEPT working on this
Jimin: each one of us would keep sighing.. so we'd sing and then like one after another in a row- but after singing it we'd be like ::sigh::
V: and we kept changing the key too
Jimin: right
RM: this way and that way
V: like sooo ways
JK: oh did we?? did we?
RM: you guys know when it comes to PDogg hyung - I usually take his words very seriously and listen to him very carefully but for this one, I was like 'hyung, we HAVE to make this work somehow'

j-hope: i was in Japan when I got a call from Jimin!
Jimin: i called (you, j-hope) hyung a lot - and (you, RM) hyung a lot too.. like this is truly not it
j-hope: [Jimin was like] 'hyung, can we even dance to this?'
RM: [Jimin was like] 'hyung - i don't think this is it..?' [and I was like] 'no.. this is the way'
Jimin: but anyway it was included~~~
j-hope: it was so
RM in a silly, but knowing tone: wouldn't you say that if it was included -it would've been SUCH a mistake??
Jimin: i wanna say a sincere apology and a sincere thank you ::full 90 degree bow::

SUGA: should we move onto the next song?

Jimin: truly if the song wasn't included, it would've been a mistake
j-hope: it's a fun song
Jimin: in a way it kinda represents us..

::No. 29:: plays
j-hope: how long is the meditation?
RM: it's 1 minute and 37 seconds
j-hope: let's sit still for a bit
RM: the reason we chose 1 minute and 37 seconds is because this Emille Bell is a really famous bell in like~ the bell world0
SUGA: bell expert
RM: no i'm def not a bell expert but it was recently rung after like some decades of not being rung - and it was in the National Gyeongju Museum and it's so heavy and big that you can't just ring it whenever you want to - so they were ringing it for the first time in like decades and I think they were taking reservations for people to come and ring it and they selected some important people to come and ring it for like 10-15 minutes or something like that - and I was contacted about it, like 'do you wanna come ring it?'
SUGA: you love that stuff though?
RM in tiny koala whiny voice: i wanted to goooo~ but we were practicing and it was in Gyeongju so I couldn't go
SUGA: oh you had no time
RM: anyway, now with the sound of the Emille Bell.. if we like did a skit like in the old days.. doing stuff like
"aren't you happy?"
"aren't you happy?"
"isn't this happiness"
or something like that.. like
"can we make it to billboard?"
instead of stuff like this -
V: like ::korean internet slang::
RM: yea instead of stuff like that.. let's just have this..
and the reason why it's 1minute 37 seconds is because when you look at the sound of the bell in terms of frequency, it goes on and on and on until it just completely dies out - so we wanted to capture that moment where the frequency just completely dies out and that's when we cut it off at 1 minute and 37 seconds

SUGA: for me this track - cuz we talked a lot about the whole.. at the end of the intro, the vibe of this album completely changes
Jimin: ahh yea that's right even regarding the ORDER of the tracks - just the seven of us talked about that a lottt
SUGA (recalling old conversation topics): like "oh if you want people to be able to listen to the FULL album in one go you have to include more mellow songs here and there"
RM: right soft ones..
j-hope: cuz in the second half all the STRONG songs...
RM: yea ALL of them come out
Jimin: worried that [because of this] people wouldn't listen to the whole thing

laughs maniacally at the fact that THE MOMENTTTT this album dropped I just sat there in silence and listened without talking to anyone or looking at anything like it was MY personal responsibility to listen for nuclear launch codes within each song

focused so hard for no one but myself LMAO/span>

RM: i'm sure there are people like that too
Jin: we talked about whether or not they'd get tired of it
SUGA: kinda feels like version 1 and version 2~
RM: but i mean it's a loss for whoever doesn't listen [to all the songs]
(that's RIGHTTT~~~)

V: it's just first half, second half
Jimin: i'm just grateful if they listen
j-hope: is it like CD 1/2?

SUGA: shall we move on to the next song?