By Han Sang-hee
Staff reporter
Singer Shin Hae-chul may be famous for his music, but he's also famous for having some forceful opinions. A lot of them.
The 42-year-old was chosen as the most honest celebrity in the Korean entertainment industry early this year through a survey by cable channel QTV. He has appeared on numerous debate programs alongside politicians and is not afraid to write provocative comments on his Website and on Twitter. While his fans cheered when he made headlines for his opinions, others berated him for having too many.
Being in the spotlight for more than 20 years, Shin made a name for himself as a lead singer of the rock group N.EX.T., a music producer, composer and radio host and this time he's trying out being a lecturer. He started the music institute Siren Academy in 2009 and as head of the a professional academy, he decided to roll up his sleeves to share his experiences and insight to music lovers and aspiring artists for the time being.
He was himself at the first lecture last Friday held at the White Wave Hall in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul: whimsical, opinionated, not afraid to speak his mind and most of all, ready to discuss his passion for music.
Dressed in a black top and sporting short hair that showed off his snake tattoo on the side of his head, Shin expressed his biggest concern these days: ``People don't know how to listen to music.''
``(Korea) is in a unique situation. The radio has died,'' he said to some 100 students and fans.
In the past, the radio was the easiest way to listen to music. It offered various genres from the past and present, enabling the public to be exposed to numerous songs and eventually a much wider spectrum of music.
Nowadays, it's hard to listen to other music besides K-pop, and this has led to a serious situation for both music lovers and songwriters.
``The music we listen to in Korea, K-pop, stems from Western music. Now, with such Western pop songs disappearing, professional composers and songwriters make their songs by listening only to K-pop. There is no originality. It's like listening to a copy of a copy of a copy,'' Shin pointed out.
The lack of professional DJs has also resulted in this ``madness.''
The people the public listen to on the radio today are not DJs. They are hosts. Their job is to read letters, talk about current issues and introduce new songs. They don't choose the songs aired on the radio. That was in the past, when professional DJs, experts in music, roamed the radio booths.
The DJs knew what they were talking about and this, Shin says, was important in listening and actually learning something about music.
``Music these days is consumption. It gets (consumed) faster and faster. If you want to know the music of the '70s, you have to know the '70s. If you don't even try to understand the '70s, you cannot breathe with the music. To understand the music of an era you did not exist in, you need a guide, and that was what professional radio DJs did,'' he added.
Music in Korea is more, or less, just a CD. It's everywhere and easy to acquire, but this, according to Shin, has crushed the ``myth of music.'' Music was something not everyone could do, and many music lovers would wait for the album of their favorite singers, purchase it on the release day in the morning, go back home, carefully unwrap the plastic wrapper and follow the lyrics as they listen to the tracks.
``Modern music now doesn't even have a plastic wrapping. It's a digital file and people think it's easy to make music. Listening to music is no big deal now,'' Shin said.
Frustrated by ignorant musician-to-be youngsters here who had no idea who the Beatles were, Shin opened the academy to hopefully educate aspiring artists who were lost and offer them true knowledge and know-how about becoming one.
``Music doesn't restrict you. As soon as you turn away from the television, you are forever lost until you go back and watch. But music is different. The stronger the media, the more it restricts you in some way. The biggest advantage of music is that it doesn't restrict the imagination. That's why music is still with us.''
The lecture went on for over three hours, and when one staff member signaled Shin that time was up and they had to leave, Shin concluded with some advice.
``Lower the volume. Some people think `the louder the music, the bigger the pleasure,' but when you continue to pump up the volume, you are listening to the volume itself, not music. Don't listen to the noise. Listen to the music,'' he said.
Making notorious comments on numerous subjects often put Shin in the hot spot over the years, but for him, he was just doing his job and believed that it was his right and an obligation.
``Artists are public properties,'' he said.
``Their values are manipulated by many people. If the public restrains them and tries to make them fit their preferences, they cannot do what they do best. This is a downfall for the public in the long run, trust me.''
For more information about Shin's lectures and the academy, visit www.sirenacademy.co.kr.