<aside> 💡 Before we get this underway, I wanted to make an intro post to lay out the plans for this discography exploration. I first wanted to do this before MOTS 7 came out, way back when and even held off on the album for awhile thinking I'd get around to it. My friend played a few songs for me though so I got a little taste. That's how it's been with BTS for me from the beginning.
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Speaking of the beginning, let's go back to their debut and lay out my history with them a bit...
I was a fan right at debut and was confused why they were so criminally underrated back in the day. I loved that their messages and concepts were so strong and their lyrics gave something almost nobody else was really doing. Then I got a little less interested as they did more love songs, since I didn't follow everything that closely and I wanted more stuff like N.O. I still liked Danger and Boy in Luv for example a lot even if it was cringy to me. Sometimes I'd forget how young they really were. But War of Hormone put me off from their stuff for awhile. Not super long because DOPE was everything. I casually checked back in a little. And then, I can't remember what made me check it out but I listened to Bapsae and read the lyrics and this was like the BTS I liked in the beginning! I was more invested in catching up then, listening a little more regularly. There were some misses for me (like FIRE - which I came to like eventually). And then all the theories happened and I was like, please just give me the music, thanks. Blood Sweat and Tears though...it could have its own post, because honestly that was a cultural reset. What a time in KPop, music and the world that was. I was much more invested in KPop as a whole in 2017 since I had an ult group again (NCT). From then on, I was much more regularly listening and paying attention to BTS. Then came all the American stuff. As an American who doesn't love the American music scene, these kinds of accomplishments and acknowledgements can mean little to me and feel...strange and mixed. The first time I heard Boy With Luv, I was in a Lyft car and it was on local radio. I didn't even know it was them and I just thought it was a catchy bop and then I heard Halsey's voice and knew it must be them. In my opinion, BWL is the song of 2019. It encapsulates so much of what that year felt like and it's even more apparent being where we are in 2020. Oof. Regardless of ALL OF THAT, it became a little normalized as odd as that is to say, that BTS was everywhere here. So, it became easier again for me to just appreciate the music. There was definitely still a lot of ignorance, but I really did like seeing random people enjoy the music or get curious in general. Whether BTS broke through here or not, I'd share my love of KPop with friends and coworkers regardless, but this surely has been an interesting journey (PART 1?). And as a MOA, I know without all that BTS has accomplished and carved out, I may not even have the TXT I know and love today. There was a sense getting into TXT that I wanted to give some dues there to BTS and learn more about all they've gone through, even just musically/conceptually.
<aside> 💡 TL;DR - It's been an actual rollercoaster of interest, bops, not so much bopping and hopping off the BTS train to now where if someone calls this a journey to becoming ARMY, I don't know how much evidence I have against them.
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I've been watching Landon Mark's BTS series, where he starts chronologically (mostly) and I honestly just found him through a TXT reaction but loved his personality and review style so I binged. And watching his series (most of it) on BTS made me feel types of ways. I love seeing people's wholesome love for Their Thing and I love that he really respects, inquires and also fanboys all in one. He made, with the help of many ARMY, a BTS Road Map that he is following. I'll be referring to this at times but I won't be going as in depth as him, reading all the lyrics and analyzing things. I might do some of that, though, for the albums from HYYH and onward for universe purposes. I just don't plan to post about every individual song. I did like four nights of BTS Universe research last month and so I'm invested in that at least. So maybe I'll make some summaries about the influence the album has on the storyline - what I think, anyways. I want to keep the album reviews short, picking fave songs and giving other general impressions. But I'm not always great at sticking to my formulas so I may get bored and dive into other things too! I do want to include the cute little blurbs of the albums given on BigHit's BTS site for context about what the album is bringing to the table.
The main goal of this is to catch up with BTS albums and minis (plus Agust D releases, I promise this at the very least) in time for their next release, simple as that. Everything else that happens along this journey is a magical accident and if it's fun and brings me joy, so be it, you might be witness to it. I hope this can be fun for more than just me, but nothing is lost if not.
Album reviews will feature info on the album, fave tracks, perhaps how I feel about them overall, what I have to say about what they offer to the universe (HYYH and on), and anything else I feel like! I'm not doing track by track or first impressions, because for half of this that's long gone.