Today it was Hoseok’s turn with his Notes on Dis-ease, which means we got two members with Notes on this song, something I saw people theorize we’d get but everyone wasn’t quite certain about though it makes sense. And yet, even though we have two Notes, Hoseok’s is quite different from Jimin’s, though both are interesting in their own ways.
Compared to all the previous Notes that had the members sing part of the lyrics, Hoseok hummed for his, the melody everyone quickly recognized as the chorus. It was an interesting choice, especially since I’ve always found the step from finding a melody and creating a song out of it or around is very fascinating (I’d love to hear the members talk about it, and generally share more insight into their process but alas I doubt that’ll ever happen due to obvious reasons...). There’s also some stomping (?) in a few places as though underlining a particular moment or beat that adds dimension to the overall sound, especially since we didn’t have anything like it with previous Notes. Also, I love how even while humming Hoseok’s positivity/signature upbeat sound still shines through, which honestly has to be a skill only he possesses.
As for the video, it’s mostly in black and white with a couple of shots in color. Interesting to note is that the colors are quite pale/washed out, and the entire video itself has this old quality to it like it wasn’t filmed on a new DSLR but rather on something much older, or a filter was placed on it to give that illusion. It’s all filmed on a simple white background with Hoseok just playing around and taking a few notes (ha ha) on his notepad, meaning we are back to those. It could actually connect with the whole old film aesthetic, writing on a notepad instead of a phone like Taehyung. That, in a way, could be tying the visuals in with the song which is about this lack of ease (dis-ease) that we feel in this pandemic due to the uncertainty of it all and how time continues to pass nonetheless, though it might be a stretch to claim that’s what they were trying to portray through the use of an old camera, this grainy quality of a time long passed which reminds us of how much time has gone by, how now that we can’t participate in life the same way we used to, we are so painfully aware of time, of missing out on things, of how much things have changed.
We’re stuck at home, stuck social distancing, stuck unsure of what will be and if normal will even ever be achieved again or how normal will look like, so we can’t use our shiny modern technology full of color, perfect pixels and certainty, but instead it’s the old camera with its flaws and washed out colors (perhaps representing the glimpses of hope we still have, that we hold on to, that offer at least a little ease) or simple black and white film, a visualization of uncertainty, of the passage of time.
There’s probably a much simpler explanation for it, or none at all and I’m just looking for meaning in a place where there is none, but hey, I tried and I guess that should count for something. After all art is meant to be engaged with.
(One thing I’m a little confused by is how no one has done Fly To My Room yet, and all the subunit members already had their turn, generally Seokjin being the only one left to go most likely with his Notes on Dynamite. I wonder why that song was skipped, or rather if it’ll really get skipped. Seokjin isn’t on the track so it wouldn’t make sense for him to be the one with the Notes on it. Very interesting and odd.)
Notes commentary masterlist.
