Classic Korean Pop Music Archive: No Brain / Strenuous Marching Songs of Youth Rebels (2000)

No Brain 노브레인

Strenuous Marching Songs of Youth Rebels 청년폭도맹진가

2000. 07. 07

Disc A (난투편 / Scuffle Series)

1. 날이 저문다 / Getting Dark

2. 애국가 / The National Anthem

3. 청년폭도맹진가 / Strenuous Marching Songs of Youth Rebels

4. 티브이파티 / T.V. Party

5. 호로 자식들 / Assholes

6. 십대 정치 / Teenaged Politics

7. VIVA 대한민국 / VIVA the Republic of Korea

8. 잡놈 패거리 / Be the Ills

9. 98년 서울 / 98 Seoul

10. 정열의 펑크 라이더 / Punk Rider of Passion

Disk B (청춘예찬편 / Ode to Youth Series)

1. 성난 젊음 / Raged Youth

2. 제발나를 / Please Let me

3. 생기없는 모습 / Lifeless

4. 너 자신을 알라 / Know Yourself

5. 이땅 어디엔들 / Nowhere

6. 바다 사나이 / Man of Sea

7. 청춘은 불꽃이어라 / Youth is Aflame

8. 전자 펑크 리믹스 메들리 / Electro Punk Remix Medley

The late 90s was the dark age of Korean history due to the financial crisis in 1997. The exchange rates of Won (Korean currency) to dollar dropped from around 800 to 2000. As a result, GDP of the Republic of Korea continued to shrink quarterly at an average rate of -6.65% throughout 1998. Rampant inflation, high unemployment rates seemed to be too devastating for "youths" to find their futures. No Brain, who started their music career as an underground punk band in clubs near Hongik University, confronted these problems with their punk music armed with furies.

Thus, regarding the historical background, their punk music, aka "Joseon Punk" (Joseon is the name of the medieval Korean dynasty), was not just derived from the western punk genres. Started from 1997 with their collaboration album with Crying Nut, they have continuously kept producing their own Joseon punk music. In 1999, with other punk artists such as Tearbomb99(지랄탄99), Punk Killer, No Brain established the album label called "Cultural Deceptive Assembly" (문화사기단) to confront the Korean pop music which had become too commercial because of Seo Tae ji, according to them.

This album, Strenuous Marching Songs of Youth Rebels was perhaps the most influential punk album in the history of Korean pop music. With their 'rage' towards powerless youth (98 Seoul) and stupid politics (Be the Ills), No Brain represented their own true punk styles through this album successfully. One of the most interesting things featured in this album was the variety of genres. Punk, ska, rock-and-roll, even reggae, No Brain did not limit themselves as punk rockers. Beyond that, they have shown their own music styles which were not only creative but also experimental. In fact, this album signaled the boom of underground music, which has been passed by these days.