7th Issue

7th Issue
Studio album by Seo Taiji
Released January 27, 2004
Recorded Sound City Studios
Genre Pop punk, alternative rock, post-hardcore
Length 33:35
Label Seo Taiji Company
Producer Seo Taiji
Seo Taiji chronology
Ultramania
(2000)		 7th Issue
(2004)		 Atomos
(2009)

7th Issue is the third studio album by Korean musician Seo Taiji. Although it is the third solo album by Seo, some refer to it as his seventh counting the four albums released by Seo Taiji and Boys. Instead of performing every instrument himself like he did on his previous two albums, Seo enlisted several well-known Japanese musicians among others. Although the album was a commercial success as the best-selling album of the year with 482,066 copies sold, it did not match the heights of his previous two. "Live Wire" won the 2004 Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Rock Performance.

Background

Seo Taiji explained that because he is curious and wants to try many styles of music, the style on 7th Issue is "sensitive-core, which is hardcore that stresses the melodies. I wanted to bring out the sensitive side, and in particular, I expressed people's pain." The songs touch on social issues, such as sexual discrimination, the music industry, and stalkers.[1]

Instead of performing every instrument himself like he did on his previous two albums, Seo enlisted Japanese musicians J (Luna Sea), K.A.Z and I.N.A (both from hide with Spread Beaver) to contribute to the album among others. Guitarist Top and drummer Heff Holter would continue as part of his backing band for several years. Strings on the song "0 (Zero)" were arranged and conducted by Takayuki Hattori (Face Music). Many of Seo's fans have noted that the whole CD sounds like one very long song. This is because most of the songs are written in dropped C tuning with similar chord structures.

Songs

"Heffy End" is perhaps the most loved song from the album. It is essentially a sad love song where a woman obsessively stalks and confines her lover. Although the title "Heffy End" might indicate a bit of irony, and Taiji justifies their deviated love from the norm by using purposely misspelled "Heffy." Also of note is that the name of the album's drummer is Heff Holter.

"Nothing" begins with a man's voice mocking about women's rights in Korea. The voice comments that sexism is becoming an issue because of such things as women rights campaigns, but he disagrees with the efforts that women put it that women are placed at higher level than men in (Korean) society. However, one should note that Taiji has put this as sarcasm, or to reflect what most men are thinking in South Korea.

"Victim" is a song about female discrimination. The song caused controversy, being banned by the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.[2]

"Live Wire" is a song celebrating musical freedom. Taiji hails to his fans "You feel me? Here I come to show you love", referring to his steadfast devotion to music. The lyrics contain lots of poetic devices; the overall motif is the feeling of rock.

"Robot" tells a story about a boy, or Taiji himself, who is destroyed by the cruelty that exists in the current overly digitalized society. After he has stopped checking his height on the doorway with his mom, he feels that his emotions are gone and can only think "illogically"; where the metaphor "logical" Taiji's view is things that are emotional and analogical, as his fans can easily catch from his previous works.

"October 4th" represents a shift in his usual heavy metal style. Also, if expressed in numerical form, October 4 would be 1004, which is read "천사"(chun-sa, where chun is thousand and sa), and that reading of 1004 spells the same to mean "angel". The song is lightly driven by two guitars, one playing chords at complex rhythms and the other plays a repetitive (yet catchy) melody line. It later makes a transition into a full ensemble with heavy percussion and a bass guitar. The pensive lyrics tell the story of a man whose mind is flooded with memories of a lost love. He still regrets having lost her but acknowledges that she is "like a fox" (in the Korean culture, someone who is like a fox is sly and deceitful). In the end, he enjoys holding on to the memories and watches his former lover from afar, commenting how she's more beautiful than ever.

The title "F.M Business" stands for "Fucked up Music Business" as the lyric suggests. The song "lampoons Korea's highly commercial music industry" and Seo's "frustration with having to return to a dirty business that he left because of his doubts about it."[1]

Taiji makes various accusations regarding the current direction Korean pop music is heading. In early 90's, Taiji introduced the concept of "American" music, such as hip-hop and rock. His ideology makes him detest the current trend in the Korean music scene. According to Taiji, idol groups (aka "boybands") were born for the sole purpose of making profit out of music. While he admits making the same mistake in the past, he is more concerned with asking musicians to take a look at themselves ("You and me... why are we face to face here? For the selling my soul & music? For the making of money?").

"0" is a symphonic rock piece that spans five minutes and thirty seconds, the longest song on the album. Unlike the other songs, which follow a simple formula with guitar chords and a memorable melody line, 0 (Zero) consists of a noticeably more complex composition. A demanding song that showcases Taiji's mastery of music-writing as well as endurance when performed live, it features distortion guitars as well as clean guitar riffs during the vocals and harmonizing part. Strings were arranged by Takayuki Hattori of Face Music.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link

7th Issue was a commercial success, selling 482,066 copies.[3] Although South Korea's best-selling album of the year,[4] it did not match the heights of Seo's previous two.

"Live Wire" won the 2004 Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Rock Performance.[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by Seo Taiji.

No.TitleLength
1."Intro"1:01
2."Heffy End"3:22
3."Nothing"0:17
4."Victim"3:30
5."DB"0:36
6."Live Wire"3:53
7."Robot" (로보트)5:01
8."Down"0:24
9."October 4" (10월 4일)3:43
10."F.M Business"4:02
11."0 (Zero)"5:31
12."Outro"2:09

Personnel

  • Seo Taiji − vocals, guitar, bass, arrangement, computer programming, digital editing, mixing, producing, executive producing
  • Top − guitar, arrangement
  • K.A.Z − guitar
  • J − bass
  • Heff Holter − drums
  • I.N.A − arrangement, computer programming, digital editing
  • Takayuki Hattori − string arrangement and conducting on track 11
  • Josh Wilbur − recording, mixing
  • Teruaki Kitagawa − string recording
  • Eric Westfall − guitar reamped

References

  1. 1 2 "Seo Tai-ji Returns to Korea". The Chosun Ilbo. 2004-01-26. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  2. ↑ "Sweet Melody but a Sharp". The Dong-a Ilbo. 2004-01-29. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  3. ↑ "2004년 최다 판매 음반은 서태지". IZM (in Korean). 2005-01-01. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  4. ↑ "2004 K-pop Album Sales Volume". Recording Industry Association of Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2017-10-14. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Mnet Asian Music Awards - 2004 Winners & Nominees". Mnet Asian Music Awards. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
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