Sunday, September 12, 2010

50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 47. Solid

[Series Index]

47.  Solid [솔리드]

Years of Activity:  1993-1997

Members: 

Lee Joon [이준] - Rap
Kim Johan [김조한] - Vocal
Jeong Jae-Yoon [정재윤] - Vocal

Discography:

Regular Albums

Solid Vol. 1 (1993)
Dream [꿈] (1995)
Light Camera Action! (1996)
Solidate (1997)

Special Albums

Solid Live (1996)
Solid to be Unlimited Solid (1999) - compilation

In 15 Words or Less:  The herald of R&B in Korea.

Representative Song:  Holding the End of This Night [이 밤의 끝을 잡고], from Dream


이 밤의 끝을 잡고
Holding onto the End of This Night

다신 널 볼 수 없겠지
I will never be able to see you again


나의 입술이 너의 하얀 어깨를 감싸 안으며
My lips hugged your white shoulders
그렇게 우린 이 밤의 끝을 잡고 사랑했지만
Although we loved like this, holding onto the end of this night
마지막 입맞춤이 아쉬움에 떨려도
The last kiss might tremble in longing
빈손으로 온 내게 세상이 준 선물은
To me, who arrived with empty hands, the gift the world gave me
너란 걸 알기에 참아야겠지
Was you, I know, so I must endure

내 맘 아프지 않게
So my heart does not break
그 누구보다 더 행복하게 살아야 해
You must live happier than anyone else
모든 걸 잊고
Forgetting everything
이 밤의 끝을 잡고 있는 나의 사랑이 더 이상 초라하지 않게
So my love holding onto the end of this night does not become more pathetic than it is now
나를 위해 울지마 난 괜찮아
Don't cry for me, I am ok.

[Narration]
그래 어쩌면
Yes, perhaps
우린 오랜전부터 우리의 사랑에 어쩔수 없는 이별이 찾아 올지도 모른다고 생각했어
We since long ago have thought the inevitable separation will come to our love
하지만 울지마
But don't cry
이밤의 끝은 내가 잡고 있을테니
I will hold onto the end of this night
넌 그렇게 언제나 웃으면서 살아야 돼
You must live on, always smiling like that
제발 울지말고 나를 위해 웃어줘
Please don't cry, smile for me
제발
Please

마지막 입맞춤이 아쉬움에 떨려도
The last kiss might tremble in longing
빈손으로 온 내게 세상이 준 선물은
To me, who arrived with empty hands, the gift the world gave me
너란 걸 알기에 참아야겠지
Was you, I know, so I must endure

내 맘 아프지 않게
So my heart does not break
그 누구보다 더 행복하게 살아야 해
You must live happier than anyone else
모든 걸 잊고
Forgetting everything
이 밤의 끝을 잡고 있는 나의 사랑이 더 이상 초라하지 않게
So my love holding onto the end of this night does not become more pathetic than it is now
나를 위해 울지마 난 괜찮아
Don't cry for me, I am okay.

나의 가슴으로 너와 함께 나누었던 이 밤을 간직한 채
Keeping this night that my heart shared with you
잠시 널 묻어야 하겠지
I must bury you for the moment
나의 눈물이 널 붙잡고 있지만
My tears are holding you now but
니가 힘들지 않게 웃으며 보내야 겠지
I must send you away with a smile so that you no longer feel pain


내 맘 아프지 않게 그 누구보다 더 행복하게
So my heart does not break, be happier than everyone
모든 걸 잊고
Forgetting everything
 이밤의 끝을 잡고 있는 나의 사랑이 더 이상 초라하지 않게
So my love holding onto the end of this night does not become more pathetic than it is now
나를 위해 울지마 난 괜찮아
Don't cry for me, I am okay.

Translation Note:  Does anyone have a better suggestion for 아쉬움 and 초라하다? Also, the sentence construction in English became decidedly inelegant and unpoetic -- the Korean welcomes suggestions.

Maybe they should have been ranked higher because...  Being the granddaddy of a major style like R&B could count for more.

Maybe they should have been ranked lower because...  They had a relatively short run.

Why is this band important?
American pop music always had a strong influence over Korean pop music from the very beginning. Most major trends in K-pop -- the advent of rock n'roll in Korea, for example -- had a precursor trend in the United States that occurred a few years earlier, which was later trickled into Korea and adjusted to fit the local sensibilities. But beginning in mid-1990s, the flow became much, much more accelerated. Solid was riding the beginning of that wave. The three members of Solid were Korean Americans from California, and arguably the ones who started off the steady stream of Korean Americans who hit it big in Korean pop music scene -- a major trend in K-pop in its own right.

A few K-pop artists tried out R&B prior to Solid's appearance, but none was as committed to the genre as Solid was. With good voice and considerable (albeit not necessarily overwhelming) talent, Solid managed to popularize R&B as a genre in Korea. Strictly speaking, Solid's music was OK, but not exactly earth-shattering. But they had enough talent and the "it" factor to popularize a wholly new kind of music in Korea -- the kind will go on to forming a major branch (or perhaps sub-branch) of K-pop, paving the way for more talented musicians to pursue the genre and transform it to reflect Korean sensibilities. (For example, Brown Eyes.) While no R&B artist in Korea may properly be called "world-class" at this time, the day when a world-class Korean R&B artist emerges does not seem to be too far off, considering the globally increasing popularity and likewise increasing quality of K-pop. And when that day does come, that artist will have Solid to thank.

Interesting Trivia:
Both Kim Johan and Jeong Jae-Yoon married women three years older around the same time.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

11 comments:

  1. OMG I LOVED LOVED Solid.

    anyway, one suggestion:

    그렇게 우린 이 밤의 끝을 잡고 사랑했지만
    Although we loved like this, holding the end of this night

    Perhaps it would work better translated as:
    holding on to the end of this night.

    마지막 입맞춤이 아쉬움에 떨려도The last kiss might trembling in longing

    how about:
    The last kiss might tremble with longing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks mary, your suggestions are reflected.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My Korean is undoubtedly inferior to either of yours, but I always thought 아쉬움 meant like a sense of frustration and regret from something that should be there but isn't...

    So like the last kiss felt empty... but perhaps i'm reading too much into the lyrics.

    SOLID is a solid choice, though I probably would have ranked them higher because they are a group that I actually know about.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I would suggest 이 밤의 끝을 *잡고* as a more of a 'clinging onto' than 'holding onto', most because it's referred to as 초라함 immediately.

    :D My dad used to work for MBC back when we lived in Korea, and I actually met these guys when I was in 2nd grade. They were pretty nice.

    ReplyDelete
  5. i like clinging too.

    my dad is a landscaper and he did landscaping for one of these dudes after he retired from being in solid. hahaha

    ReplyDelete
  6. I saw the words Lee Joon, and instantly thought MBLAQ.
    I am such a fail....

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would suggest a much freer translation. Go for the *feeling* and not the literal words. As you say, it comes out decidedly inelegant that way.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A classic song! Since I enjoy translating songs, here's my stab at it. It's mostly identical to yours, but I changed some tenses and a couple of words around. Here it goes:


    I’ll probably never be able to see you again

    As my lips embrace your white shoulders
    Although we loved so much as we held onto the end of this night
    Even as our last kiss trembles with regret,
    To me, who arrived with empty hands, the gift the world gave me
    Was you, I know, so I must endure.

    So my heart won’t break,
    You must live happier than anyone else
    Forgetting everything
    So that my love holding onto the end of this night won’t become any more pitiful
    Don’t cry for me, I am okay.

    Yes, perhaps
    Since long ago, we thought that the inevitable separation might come to our love
    But don’t cry
    Cause I will be holding onto the end of this night
    You must live on, always smiling like that
    Please don’t cry, smile for me
    Please

    Even as our last kiss trembles with regret,
    To me, who arrived with empty hands, the gift the world gave me
    Was you, I know, so I must endure.

    So my heart won’t break
    You must live happier than anyone else
    Forgetting everything
    So that my love holding onto the end of this night won’t become any more pitiful
    Don’t cry for me, I am okay.

    While keeping this night that my heart shared with you
    I should bury you for shortly
    Although my tears are holding onto you,
    I should send you away with a smile so that you won’t be in pain.

    So my heart won’t break, be happier than anyone else
    Forgetting everything
    So that my love holding onto the end of this night won’t become any more pitiful
    Don’t cry for me, I am okay.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have all of their albums~! They were the best~

    ReplyDelete
  10. I agree with "regret" - also want to suggest "insignificant" but that's kinda mmouthful, eh.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jeong Jae-Yoon is the founder and producer of Aziatix since 2011.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aziatix

    ReplyDelete

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