Kanye West, BTS and Josh Homme

By David Tizzard

I listened to three sets of music this week – Kayne West’s new Jesus is King album, Josh Homme’s latest adventures in the Desert Sessions Volume 11 and 12, and some of BTS’ performances from the closing of their world tour here in Seoul.

I also revisited Van Morrison’s marvelous Astral Weeks but we’ll save that for another time.

Having spent some time listening to these three very disparate sets of music, I set out to then read about them and see what the industry was saying.

People lauded and ridiculed Kayne’s latest album in equal measure. Personally, I thought it was really interesting.

Yes, it was on the short side – but it was different. Something unique. Personal. Honest.

It wasn’t, I don’t think, Kayne out to make money.

It was an artist exploring. Taking chances. Sticking a finger up to expectations and following his own path.

If you’ve ever watched the Blues Brothers, you’ll no doubt remember the scene in which Jake and Elwood visit a jiving preacher played by the incomparable James Brown.

While the people somersault and flip through the aisles singing the praises of a higher power, a raucous onslaught of gospel grips the viewer. Kayne’s latest effort, musically at least, is taking a seemingly similar path.

The lyrical content and delivery is, admittedly, different. Nevertheless, in an ever-atheistic world in which truth is as subjective as gender, it’s far riskier to profess a faith in an eternal than to recite Lennon’s famous Imagine.

Yet that’s what Kayne does. And to great effect, I must say.

It’s hard to deny the overall freshness of the sound and the ideas. And, most importantly, it’s weird.

Not in the kind of way where a band from Venezuela makes 12 minute songs using only wind instruments and the second half of the alphabet, but rather in that it’s actually hard to place.

It causes some cognitive dissonance. It challenges your ears and asks you to critically respond to what’s going on.

This is a very bold step from one of the world’s most successful and respected artists. It’s not a newbie taking risks – but instead someone at the top of the pile doing it.

Likewise, Josh Homme’s band Queens of the Stoneage have established themselves as one the planet’s biggest rock bands: headlining festivals, selling out stadiums, and topping charts for the last couple of decades.

Not content with this, however, Homme went back into the desert from which his Kyuss roots rose and took, among others, Billy Gibbons, the singer from the Scissor Sisters (Jake Shears), and the frontman of Royal Blood (Mike Kerr) with him.

What he produced out there was, again, some of the weirdest music you’re likely to hear. It transcends genres. And it’s not formulaic.

It’s not designed for success. It’s an act of necessity. A creative outpouring that an artist requires. Reckless abandon in all its forms.

And it sounds like that – moving from hypnotic electronic beats, to jazz-inflected breaks, bass-heavy pop, Scandinavian absurdity, and white knuckle punk.

The bass playing on the second track (Something You Can’t See) really is something else – it’s actually kinda reminiscent of McCartney’s playing in the Revolver era.

The song also combines echoes of Fleetwood Mac mixed with the modern radio stoners’ favourite Tame Impala.

Desert Sessions Volume 11 and 12 is a really interesting album in that you are never quite sure where it’s going or what it’s doing. It’s in control, not you.

And that’s likely because it’s not created to please you. It’s created to please the artist. It’s an honest exploration of a musician’s journey – warts and all, with peaks and troughs.

And then there’s BTS. A great bunch of lads. Sharing a positive message and inspiring millions.

They are apparently worth 4.1 trillion won annually to the Korean economy… Yep, read that again. Staggering figures.

Their world tour was to over two million people in 23 cities. And they are ambassadors for Coca Cola, Fila, and Hyundai Motors.

They have a game out, are in a drama next year, and their company – Big Hit Entertainment – posted profits of over 200 billion won last year.

All those numbers and figures were taken from a recent article in the press about the band. Very impressive. Their choreography, stage show, and outfits fill pages of web traffic.

And, once again, congratulations to them for making so many people happy. That’s a good thing and I do not wish to diminish their achievements or be accused of Eurocentrism by the regular cast of perhaps ill-intentioned cat callers – though I of course have little control over that.

But isn’t there something missing? What do I generally find missing in all the articles and reports I read about BTS?

Comments on their actual “music”.

I know they have extended beyond music to a certain extent and become a cultural phenomenon shaping the zeitgeist of both east and west. But they are, I think, first and foremost musicians. No?

So, my challenge to journalists such as Andrew Salmon, Oh Young-jin, and all the others that write about this idol group, is to sometimes focus on the actual music that the band produces.

Personally, I don’t get it. Or, should I say, I “do” get it. Rather too easily.

From their edgier leather-clad hip-hop days which made them a success, they seem to have reverted to Ed Sheeran-esque duets and pop songs for ultimate penetration and ease of access.

I basically hear pop music – rather formulaic. Designed for mass appeal. Hooky. Catchy. Shiny and lovely. But simple pop.

There’s nothing wrong with that. A good pop song is a dreadfully hard thing to write.

But if one were to write an article lauding BTS, and one wanted to focus only on the music rather than the numbers, the impact, or the fans, what would one say?

I don’t seem to be able to do it as easily as I could about Kayne and Josh – two stars equally as big – if not bigger – on the global “music” scene.

So my request to all those with a pen, keyboard, or smartphone is this: Can you explain BTS’ music to me?

And as anyone’s that seen my pictures will attest: I’m all ears.

David Tizzard (datizzard@swu.ac.kr) is an assistant professor at Seoul Women's University. He also presents economic and cultural issues on Business Now on TBS eFM (101.3FM) live every Wednesday evening from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.