5 – EXO - Monster

In light of the massive protests going on in the USA at the time of releasing this episode, we open this episode with a message of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Stan Ontology supports the efforts of Black and indigenous activists in America and across the world, fighting for justice against a state that has long treated Black and brown lives with cruelty and indifference for too long. We applaud this and other similar movements fighting against police brutality.

Criticism and analysis of all culture is impoverished if it doesn't reckon with pervasive anti-black racism. We also want to critically engage with the ways in which race and racism shapes K-pop as a cultural phenomenon and industry. We remain committed to highlighting the work of Black artists in K-pop, as well as the debts that K-pop owes to Black musical traditions.

It's not widely publicized, but one of Monster's songwriters is Chikk, and she has a video about the songwriting process, featuring her demo vocals.

You should know that the music video and the Mandarin music video both contain (abstract and aesthetified/"prettied-up") scenes of police violence against the group members. You can also choose from the performance music video, the dance practice video, or the song release live stage performance. Off to the bullet points:

• This is also the episode where we crack all of K-pop. Chromatic basslines! Modal interchange! Mixolydian ♭6!
• Sidenote: The mixolydian ♭6 is also called the mixolydian ♭13, Aeolian dominant, or the one I (Claudia) knew it as, the melodic major.
• LOONA is part of Polaris Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of the Ilkwang Group.
• Once more with vigour: "simple" isn't bad, and especially not for pop!
• The example of Arabic music using the phrygian major mode is 'Hijaz Improvisation', by oud player Jaber Fayad. Arabic modes come from a distinct tradition to Western harmony, so there isn't a perfect correspondence between maqam hijaz used here and phyrgian major, but they share the distinctive interval of an augmented second between the second and third degrees of the scale.
• Here's a playlist with all the Western pop songs we mention!
• Some day I'll get to talk at length about the dance practice video as an earlier form of constructed intimacy and authenticity on platforms orthogonal to social media for a full hour. Some day.
• Return of the stripy shirt (AKA Taemin's practice video for MOVE).

As always, remember to follow @StanOntology on Twitter for the latest episode updates. Stay safe everyone.