Alanna Lane- Staff Writer
Throughout BTS’ career, their albums consistently break the charts, but will this one be different? Their late 2020 album “BE” was released November 20th, and it is rumored to be a start of a series that runs frequently in BTS songs and music videos. As an ARMY, (The name of BTS’ fanbase) it is only expected to enjoy the album no matter the meaning behind each song. The only main message I could think of for this album is to be uplifting and encouraging the youth to enjoy the days they have, even with COVID-19 being the next thing to watch out for everyday. Not only will the meaning be introduced and explained, the organization of the songs may also be a hint to pay attention towards.
The title track, “Life Goes On,” is the first song listed on the album. The song appears with references to the pandemic, phrasing how the streets are erased of footprints and transparently quoting, “One day the world stopped without any warning,” as the first line. Throughout the song, the members bring a new perspective on the sudden change in daily life. For an example, the leader and rapper, RM, speaks about how everyday is the same, suggesting quarantine and staying home. The views from each member make the song refreshing and gives a hopeful light towards many others. The hook expresses how the world stopped, so it feels as if the world is always going to stay that way. Describing how the listener’s feet refuse to move and there is no clear sight of a way out of the repeating cycle. The song strongly shows the struggles an individual or group has during the pandemic, but the chorus makes the listener feel at ease, telling them that life won’t end and the pandemic will not last forever. The steady beat and catchy melody gives the message a brighter light. It encourages the positive approach, which is the right way to make anyone feel better. Overall, the song is like that shoulder to cry on for the world, and I love the way the message was interpreted.
Off the bat on the next song, “Fly to My Room,” the sound gives the feeling of floating in space, almost like being placed in a dream. The whole group is not present in the song, two rappers (Min Yoongi and Jung Hoseok) and two vocals (Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung). These four give no time to waste, already giving a foreshadow of the meaning behind this song. The first couple of lines reveal speaking about the topic before, staying in the same room everyday and feeling like there is nothing new. Although, instead of encouraging advice, the lyrics feel more directed towards the listener. Realizing later, the vocals and the rappers contradict the opinions in a way. Jimin sings, “I still feel uncomfortable in my bed, it’s killin’ me slow,” whilst Yoongi raps, “Landing over the bed, this is the safest place.” Both members introduce different perspectives and that seems to be the reason the song is so influential.
The song “Blue and Grey,” begins with a smooth guitar. It reminds me of a song that is played to help children fall asleep at night. Once the base came in on Yoongi’s verse, it sounded similar to the lofi genre, which is relaxing to the ear. The lyrics in the hook caught my attention more than the lyrics before, the vocal line brought up a lot about the want for happiness and it came off as if it was bothersome or it was too much to ask for. I started to contrast the verses between Yoongi and RM. Yoongi discussed how there was always a blue shadow with him, or a blue question mark to represent his question of depression or anxiety. RM brought up the color grey, saying how it was convenient to have a large grey area. It’s like both colors contradict each other in the song and ironically when someone thinks of the color grey, sadness and emptiness would come to mind, but RM made it a whole different spectrum.
BTS purposely placed a skit after “Blue and Grey,” but it was not a song, so that won’t be analyzed. “Telepathy,” hits the listener in the face with the poppy beat. The members bounce back and forth about the beach, great weather and roller coasters, but most importantly, directly sing about how the song is specifically for the listener. The main message that I interpreted was in the hook as Jimin sang, “Even though we’re far away now, our minds are the same.” Telepathy is communication of thoughts or ideas by human sensory channels; the brain. BTS gives a loving tone in telling ARMY that even if we all aren’t physically together (through quarantine), we can still share what we can through our messages that will eventually impact mentally.
BTS has shown through past albums that they are very experimental in sound. When it comes to “Dis-ease,” I can tell they reached for the funky and foreign side of music. The beginning starts with a yawn and even a little adlibs to set the mood. Surprisingly, the first one to start the song was J-Hope. He raps about how he is living on his achievements and is happy. Once the chours hits, the course of the song becomes easier to enjoy. The chorus is very spunky, but the lyrics show how fear is compared to a disease. “Disease. Throw it away, fear,” is continously chanted in the chorus. RM’s verse rushes in after the first chorus, and he never stops to throw me off guard. In a good way of course! He brings up the amount of work needed to be done and how he has the “fear” to have rest because he is so worried about how much he needs to earn to finally deserve a break, “A friend named rest, oh I never liked him. How much do you have to earn to be happy?” It is relieving to hear RM speak about something everyone will go through, whether it’s school or a job. Everyone is going to be tired of working, but they are so worried about whether they receive a good grade or their monthly paycheck. Not so long after, Yoongi states, “Is it the world or me that’s sick?” He seems to point out to society how normalized it is to worry so much about money and to not stop working until the amount of money satisfied is reached. Let’s be honest, there is no satisfaction amount of money for someone.
Finally after listening to so many poppy and mellow based songs, an EDM track comes into play. “Stay,” only consists of RM (rapper), Kim Seokjin (vocal), and Jeon Jungkook (main vocal). I believe this song comes off to be much different from the song title. Overlooking the verses, it tries to connect the artist and the listener to imagine the future they have together. RM and the two vocal’s voices mesh well together, they bring both alto and soprano touches to the instrumental. They both physically and mentally change each other. As a theory, they both are going tos stay together to have an amazing future together. This is a good love song to jam to with your significant other in the car.
Lastly, to finish the album, the early released single, “Dynamite,” can be topped as the catchiest song on the album. The whole song is produced in English, which makes it widespread internationally. The instrumental is very disco pop and the lyrics just makes you want to dance and sing along. It is an instant replay and I don’t think I could ever become tired of the song, especially during the pandemic. Globally, everyone needs a smile and some hope since COVID-19 arrived and I think this song could really cheer many people up. Overall, BTS released a very touching and heartwarming album that touches base with many topics, yet all sum up to be there for each other and be positive through hard times.
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