Round 1… No, maybe I should call it Round 0. Whatever you call it, before the start of the infinite regressions, I was just an ordinary aspiring singer. I carried around playlists filled with blues classics from the 1940s–50s and rock band tracks from the 1980s–90s. I liked uniquely emotional Korean indie bands. I had…

Lately, the mood among Sedalbaekil’s members hadn’t been good. It was only natural—Choi Jaesung, who had been in an accident, still hadn’t regained consciousness. But if you looked at the emotional state of each individual, the situation was even more serious. On Saemiro believed that everything that happened to Choi Jaesung was entirely his fault.…

I’ve thought this many times before, but it’s still amazing that I’ve made it this far with the members of Sedalbaekil. Sedalbaekil wasn’t made up of people I picked—they were ones I met by chance. Though even that “chance” wasn’t truly chance. They were just people the reality show producers selected for the sake of…

Life is a series of uncertainties. Things you never imagined can suddenly happen, and things you were certain about can collapse in the blink of an eye. But people still vaguely believe that uncertainty won’t affect them. For example, in Korea, an average of 650 traffic accidents happen per day, yet everyone believes they won’t…

At that moment, Bonnie handed a guitar, propped up in the studio corner, to Zion. [Here.] [Why?] [It’s set up just like last time. So play us something. One of those unfinished songs you gave out—how it turned out.] [Hmm, with just one guitar… then I guess I’ll play the unfinished song I gave to…

Sound Fact is a podcast that fits the label “B-grade sensibility,” yet it’s been running for a solid five years. That longevity isn’t just thanks to Bonnie and Ronnie’s musical knowledge, hosting skills, or sharp wit. Equally important is the fact that they’re incredibly professional. In five years, Sound Fact has never once missed a…

Album 20. Unbending Heart -Are you out of your mind? You’re staying in the U.S. again this week? “I’ll be back soon.” -It’s true that the overseas market is important, but Sedalbaekil is still in the stage of needing to strengthen their domestic market share. “But we sold two million albums, didn’t we?” -Korea has…

It wasn’t always the case, but typically Sound Fact followed a three-part format in each podcast episode. Part 1 was a review-slash-chat about new releases from the past week (or month). The reason they mixed in chatting was because there weren’t always notable songs to talk about. Sure, hundreds—if not thousands—of songs were released every day in…

I might not care much about Sound Fact anymore, but back in the early days of my return—when I had just started working in the U.S.—this podcast was practically my textbook. You can’t learn the history of American pop music or understand their emotional sensibilities in just a day or two. The disconnect between hardcore fans and…

Bonnie and Ronnie gave me a rather ambiguous look after what I said. It was easy to tell what they were thinking. They were probably assuming Selfish was my magnum opus. The Billboard charts are full of one-hit wonders. There are countless songwriters who, after scoring one massive hit, fail to follow it up with anything notable.…