Kuwentong Bangtan: Strange by RM and Suga

When NamGi performed Strange for the very first time on D Day Final Day 3, I was flooded with emotions. NamGi started out as competitors, and in the process, they became friends; they shared dreams and fights; and they collaborated on numerous songs and albums that defined Bangtan into the artists they are today. There is a lot of history going on in that performance. A treat for fans, old and new. A nostalgic look back at what they were and an assertion of what they can be in the coming years.

As a spectator, I was in awe. As an army, I felt special.

In Strange, NamGi questions the illusions that society imposes upon us as accepted norms. They prompt us to reflect on the masks we all wear, either for protection or deception. Strange has the sarcasm of a twentysomething brave enough to ridicule the cliques, the "barkadahan," and challenge the hegemony along the way. It is an intelligent and nuanced commentary on a system that may prove efficient but is too controlling for creativity to flourish.

This is RM’s verse that hits close to home:

"You think you have taste?

Oh, babe, how do you know?

I mean for God's sake

Everything's under control.

The choices you’ve been given

Are all preferences controlled by the capital?"

I admit. Reading the lyrics, even to this day, is like taking a dose of my own medicine. I have been part of a system that aims to control. I have circles of friendships that may turn into cliques if we fail to examine ourselves constantly. I belong to a hegemony that NamGi sings about.

But I love Bangtan too much to take offense. NamGi are like my good friends who are decades younger but wiser than this ahjumma is still learning how to be. With their music, they are asking if I can have a second look at society in general and at my life in particular. And they do it in a caring and constructive manner. It is up to me now to decide what to do.

Just be, Joonie. Serve well, Yoongi! ApoBangPo!