2011년 8월 7일 일요일

Seo Taiji and Boys / Seo Taiji and Boys 1 (1992)

Seo Taiji and Boys 서태지와 아이들
Seo Taiji and Boys 1 서태지와 아이들 I
1992. 03. 23


Side A
1. Yo! Taiji!
2. 난 알아요 (Club Mix) / I Know
3. 환상속의 그대 / Thou in Fantasy
4. 너와 함께한 시간속에서 / In the Time When We Were Together
5. 이밤이 깊어가지만 / Though the Night Goes on

Side B
1. 내 모든 것 (Live Mix) / My Everything
2. 이제는 / Now
3. Blind Love (English Version)
4. Rock'N Roll Dance ('92 Heavy Mix)
5. Missing



Who is the most controversial artist in Korea? There would be various answers, but probably some might say it's Seo Taiji. 


Seo Taiji is an artist who started his music career as a bassist in the band called Sinawe from 1989. Sinawe is a traditional metal band formed by Shin Dae-cheol, who is the son of Shin Jung-hyeon whose album is introduced here. Due to the difference in their music styles, Seo Taiji soon quit and founded the group called Seo Taiji and Boys with his fellows such as Yang Hyun-Seok, who is now the owner of YG Entertainment.


This album, which is the debut album of Seo Taiji and Boys, introduced various genres of music in Korea. One of the most distinct features in this album is that he tried to combine rock music with hip hop which was a very odd genre in Korea at that time. Some people claim that Seo Taiji made it very banal, but anyway it is also true that this album was the first to make this experiment national-widely popular. Especially, the most famous track in this album, "I Know" made so-called "Seo Taiji syndrom" which prevailed in Korea until he abruptly announced the dissolution of Seo Taiji and Boys.  As a result, this album has been sold for 1.6 million copies. 


Regardless of the current criticisms on this album, it is evident that this album made enormous social influences. First, hip-hop, which was very unpopular genre in Korea at that time, became prevalent in the Korean music industry after the publication of this album; however, some people blame on him that he undermined the settlement of the traditional hip-hop genre in Korea. Also, dance became one of the most important features in Korean pop music as Seo Taiji and Boys led their popularity with their distinct dance and fashion styles. Soon, Seo Taiji and Boys became kind of cultural icon in early 90s which represented youth culture of Korea at that time. And that's why Kim Daejoong, who was the president of the Republic of Korea, called him "culture president"; besides a few others including No Brain (one of their albums was introduced here) also claim that he is a "culture tyranny".

  
(Seo Taiji and Boys - 난 알아요 / I Know)