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Seo Taiji and Boys III (1994)

Where the lyrics of Seo Taiji and Boys III take you, and where it was really made.

The album's most controversial song was accused of hiding Satanic messages in its backmasking, but mainstream media later found that claim rested on very tenuous evidence.

Key places

Los Angeles recording sessions (1994)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — The album was partly recorded in Los Angeles with American session musicians. This point marks Conway Studios, the Los Angeles studio tied to the recording in the source. The point is shown at the building level, not as a confirmed exact room or session date. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Seo Taiji and Boys III: third studio album by the Korean group Seo Taiji and Boys
• Over 1.6 million copies sold; one of the best-selling albums in South Korea
• Switched the group's sound toward heavy metal and rock
• Danceable tunes nearly absent, with "Dreaming of Balhae" as the exception
• "Dreaming of Balhae" is an alternative rock song that expresses hope for reunification of North and South Korea
• "Classroom Idea" takes center stage with death growl vocals by Ahn Heung-chan of thrash metal band Crash
• The 15th anniversary box set version adds a remix of "Classroom Idea" and six live tracks
• The live tracks include a cover of "Farewell to Love," originally by Seo's previous band Sinawe

Background

• Seo Taiji's previous band was Sinawe
• The album's controversy centered on criticism of the older generation of Koreans and their education system
• "Classroom Idea," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," and "It's My Business" drew the sharpest criticism

Recording

• Partially recorded in Los Angeles using American session musicians
• Tim Pierce played guitar on tracks 2, 5 and 8, and acoustic guitar on tracks 2 and 8
• John Pierce played bass on tracks 2, 8 and 9
• Josh Freese played drums on tracks 4, 6 and 9; Denny Fongheiser played drums on tracks 2 and 8
• Gwon Seonmi played cello on tracks 2 and 8
• Choe Taewan played acoustic piano on track 3
• Japan King arranged orchestra strings on track 7
• DJ Qbert provided scratching on tracks 4 and 5
• Kim Seog-jung is credited with the remix of track 16
• Seo Taiji handled vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass, computer programming and drum machine parts

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Seo Taiji and Boys was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996.
• After the heavy metal band Sinawe broke up in 1991, Seo Taiji formed the group with dancers and backing vocalists Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno.
• Seo Taiji began experimenting with MIDI sounds in South Korea in the early 1990s to create a new kind of music.
• The trio debuted on MBC's talent show on April 11, 1992, with "Nan Arayo" ("I Know").

Members

• Seo Taiji: lead vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, main songwriter, leader.
• Yang Hyun-suk: backing vocals, rapper, choreography.
• Lee Juno: backing vocals, choreography.

Career

• The band won the Grand Prize at the Seoul Music Awards in 1992 and 1993.
• Their first three albums each sold over 1.6 million copies, and the fourth neared two million.
• Their second album became the first 'double million sellers' album in Korean history.
• The band pioneered rap in Korean popular music and used social critique, facing ethics and censorship pressure.
• They retired in January 1996 at the height of their popularity.
• Yang Hyun-suk later founded YG Entertainment, and Seo Taiji returned to music in 1998 with a successful solo career.
• The band was credited with providing the basis for modern K-pop and was pioneering in making dance a dominant feature of performance.

Reception

At release

• Critics targeted the older generation and the education system through "Classroom Idea," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "It's My Business"
• "Classroom Idea" was extremely critical of the education system and the pressure on youth to succeed academically
• Seo's status as a high school dropout added to the debate, and the group was labelled a negative influence on young people
• The song was banned from TV and radio even though the government-run Public Performance Ethics Committee had passed it
• Shortly after release, the group was accused of backmasking Satanic messages in its songs, specifically in "Classroom Idea"

Reappraisal

• Mainstream news media later proved the backmasking accusations rested on extremely tenuous evidence, but the moral panic was difficult to eliminate
• Kyunghyang Shinmun ranked the album number 57 on its 2007 list of the Top 100 Pop Albums

Records

• Billboard reported in April 1996 that the album had sold over 1.6 million copies
• Seo Taiji and Boys won a Golden Disc Award for "Dreaming of Balhae" in 1994

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The group's leader Seo is a high school dropout, which fed the public debate over the album's message.
• The song "Classroom Idea" was banned from TV and radio despite a pass from the government-run Public Performance Ethics Committee.
• The album's heavy sound brought in death growl vocals from Ahn Heung-chan of the thrash metal band Crash.
• The 15th anniversary box set added six live tracks, one of them a cover of "Farewell to Love" by Seo's earlier band Sinawe.
• Mainstream media later judged the backmasking accusations to rest on very thin evidence.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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