Invasion from Seoul (22)

Myeongjeon left the café in a hurry, saying he needed to write a song, and headed home. The kids seemed a little flustered, but there was nothing to be done. Inspiration had to be seized when it came.

The structure of the song. We should divide it into a first half and a second half, to begin with. We should make it fairly long, too. At seven or eight minutes, it might not be suitable for broadcast.

But the judging would be done entirely by the audience, experts, and mentors at the venue. Even if it did not make for a good broadcast, that would not matter as long as it could draw a reaction from the people there.

‘Overall, it’ll be a song infused with anger. In other words, Sound and fury…’

The emotion dominating both halves would be anger. Resignation at first, followed by anger. A melody embodying resignation in the first half, and a melody embodying anger in the second.

The guitar and piano would drive it forward. He could use drums and bass, but that would make the song too forceful. The piano would be played with an effect that made it sound as though it were coming from far, far away, creating a psychedelic feeling, while the guitar would lead the melody directly.

He would insert a classical-guitar solo in the middle. That would give temporary expression to the emotions, so the audience would not grow frustrated, while automatically building anticipation for the second half.

The second half would end with an electric-guitar solo. The struggle of those who had nothing. It would be good to add some sound effects for that, too. Maybe a chorus would be better—to embody the voices of angry people. Some might find it uncomfortable, but rock from that era had always been somewhat left-wing music, so there was nothing to be done.

And the ending would become lonely as they remembered the people who had withered away. Mixing in a blues feeling might work, too.

‘We’ll need two vocalists.’...