August 2021 Episode Guide

Music and Mythology: Countless times, K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop artists have drawn inspiration from Greek mythology. This episode features seventeen examples, and it tells the corresponding origin stories of the gods, goddesses, and symbols they reference in their work.

“STAY Tuned” Ep.10: The first-ever legislation that regulates the use of CGI social media stars, the company making medical equipment that replaces annoying beeping sounds with pleasant ones, a new reality show for Gen Z songwriters, and more of the latest headlines in the worlds of music and technology! 

Do Re Miyavi Fa Solia: The reasons behind the shortest debut-to-disbandment period ever, a new Netflix film worth checking out, some updates on romances, and more of the latest K-pop and J-pop news!

NCT Talk, Vol. 9: I decode the details in the first round of STICKER Era teasers!

Jolin Tsai’s Galaxy: From revenge-themed horror stories to adorable romances, mandopop icon Jolin Tsai’s music videos are as varied as they come. This variation applies to her sound as well, which ranges from gothic to upbeat, industrial to electronic. Yet there is a core element in Tsai’s work that remains consistent: each release is another testament to the power of storytelling. Beneath the colorful and elaborately detailed fiction stories, there are raw and powerful truths told about body image, equality, and other serious topics. Social commentary is paired with attention-grabbing visuals to make each of Tsai’s musical personas unforgettable.

This episode covers a timeline of Jolin Tsai’s career, takes a close look at the meanings of the lyrics in her most profound songs, summarizes the plots of her best music videos, and overall pays tribute to an artist whose work is endlessly entertaining and inspiring.

On Your Mark, Get Set, (We) Go: I predict the futures of (G)I-DLE and CLC members, share my VMAs dream scenarios, reveal the most interesting excerpts from a new set of Weverse magazine interviews, and much more! 

BTStudy Guide #7: Haruki Murakami: In Kafka on the Shore, a 15-year-old runs away from home and meets a cast of quirky characters, including Colonel Sanders, a man who talks to cats, and a woman who at one point reverts back into her younger self. In 1Q84, an assassin's life is forever linked to a ghostwriter's life, as they both run and hide from a common enemy. These stories might sound starkly different, but they have more themes in common than one would expect: a distortion of the concept of time and fears surrounding the breakdown of social norms, just to name a few. After comparing and contrasting the plots of and characters in these two stories, I compare and contrast their themes with those present in BTS's music video universe. Part book review and part philosophy lesson, this conclusion of the "BTStudy Guides" series of episodes explains what the works of both BTS and Haruki Murakami are ultimately trying to say.

BTStudy Guide #6: Louder Than Bombs: Louder Than Bombs is a film about grief, love, lies, and selective memory. The questions this movie provokes are also the ones provoked by the song “Louder Than Bombs” by BTS, as well as some BTS music videos. By understanding the many parallels in the ways this film and BTS’s work tell stories of life and loss, it becomes clear how BTS takes the heavy emotions communicated by movies and applies them to their own lives in powerful ways.

Back in the BLINK of an Eye: BABYMETAL's bizarre "disappearance," a K-pop company's response to plagiarism accusations, updates on legal cases, major changes to the Melon Charts, and more of the latest headlines. 

ASTROBOTS: Commentary on a cool new fan contest, the BTS ad for Boston Dynamics, and more of the latest K-pop news stories.

Best of July 2021: A ranking and review of the twenty best new K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop releases!

BTStudy Guide #5: The Owl Service: This episode summarizes both The Owl Service by Alan Garner and the Welsh myth on which it is based. By making sense of both versions of this story, the meaning of the “I Need U” chapter in BTS’s story becomes clearer.