#dreaming radio

In his recent interview with BookDB, Tablo discussed his latest publication Blonote, as well as his thoughts on the process of writing, the publishing industry, and more.

Check out the translations below!

It’s his first time leaving the house as an author, 8 years after his novel Pieces of You was published. During that period, Tablo has earned quite a few titles for himself: husband to actress Kang Hyejung, dad to Lee Haru, CEO of independent label ‘HIGHGRND’ affiliated with YG Entertainment, and the author of the recently published Blonotes.

Although it is now well-known amongst the public, he seemed to feel particularly awkward about the word ‘author’ prefixing his name. To be exact, he didn’t want to be called that. Apparently he feels embarrassed about the fact that Blonote is categorised as ‘poetry/essay’. The phrases filling up around 250 pages are definitely not in the form of a poem or an essay, but they leave a lasting impression just as poems do. However, if one is to assign a genre to this book, there is no way to express it, other than purely ‘Blonotes’, as he says.

Blonote is a collection of phrases from a radio segment of the same name, on MBC’s ‘Dreaming Radio with Tablo’, a radio program that he hosted for two seasons (2008-2009 and 2014-2015). On the segment he would share some unscripted, stray thoughts. Some of the phrases introduced in the book were handwritten by 19 celebrities including movie director Park Chanwook, BIGBANG’s Kwon Jiyong, actress Gong Hyojin, and 6 readers. The cute title font for the book is his daughter, Haru’s handwriting.

“If I were to compare it to school - when I make music, it feels like I’m in the school stage crew, broadcasting the stories I want to tell; when I publish a book like this, it feels like I’m sending out secret messages to my friends.”

What sort of stories would be written in this secret message that he passed, for the first time in 8 years? On the 28th of September, the official release date of Blonote, we met Tablo in a studio in Shinsadong.

“Kwon Jiyong, Park Chanwook, Yoo Heeyeol… There’s a reason why it had to be their handwriting”

Q. It’s been 8 years since Pieces of You. Today is the official release date, and you made the best selling list with just the pre-orders. It must mean that many people have waited for Tablo’s book.

I’m very thankful. In fact, I used to think ‘is it really worth publishing as a book’ since I’ve already shared them on the radio, but I realised many people wanted it during the second season (2014-2015) of ‘Dreaming Radio with Tablo’ and started collecting the phrases, bit by bit. Blonotes themselves were random thoughts that I shared on the radio instead of a sign-off phrase, so they were published after I made some corrections and improvements.

Q. Perhaps since each phrase was completed at a different time, working on the book must have reminded you of old memories, like discovering an old diary. How was it like to work on the book?

I even found phrases from when I started Blonotes in 2008. What was amazing was that, it felt like I was looking back at my past self. There was quite a lot of negative and depressing content, so I felt like I was a very pessimistic person back then, compared to now. Since I’m aware of when I started dating Hyejung, I can feel that my writing changed after I fell in love and got married. It did feel like pulling out an old photo album from my drawers and looking through them for the first time in ages. Not only that, but because Blonotes contained not only my memories but also the listeners’, it felt burdening in a way, but also more exciting.

Q. The handwritten notes from celebrities and normal readers felt like a present. Is there a reason why those phrases had to be handwritten by them?

For not only Kwon Jiyong and Park Chanwook but also for everyone else who participated, I felt that the message would be conveyed better if certain phrases were expressed in their own handwriting. Usually I would assign the phrases to them, but some others chose their own phrases from a few candidates. Especially with Yoo Heeyeol, considering the way he usually sings, I felt that the phrase suited him so well.

Q. Unlike your previous work which was a novel collection, this book is composed of short passages. What do you think is attractive about succinct phrases?

I think what’s most attractive about them is that the author throws a seed at the readers, and it’s the readers’ right to decide whether that seed will become a tree, a flower, or simply part of the soil. As a reader myself, I like reading those short passages because they give more room for the readers themselves.

One of my favourite genres are advert slogans. I was hugely intrigued by them since I was young. I admired sentences that left long-lasting impressions even with just a few words. Perhaps that’s why if you look at my lyrics, they’re composed like a combination of short sentences. I think I’ve been doing that without realising.

Q. Though they might seem similar, there must be a difference when it comes to writing short passages, and writing lyrics.

Yes, definitely. However similar they may seem, even I am still discovering just how different they are. There are actually phrases I’d left out to use as lyrics while working on Blonote, and others that I thought I’d actually leave in as sentences. They’re phrases I spontaneously came up with when the music for the radio segment came on, but sometimes they were so good that I’d think ‘I should save these to use as lyrics’, and quickly think of another phrase. But since I’m running out of time, I come up with not-so-good ones. (Laughter) Like “Rock”. There were heaps that made no sense.

On the contrary, when I thought ‘these expressions would feel inadequate or mediocre when used as lyrics’, I just left them as written phrases. There are times when written sentences have more appeal than musical expressions. Sentences are ‘fixed’ once they’re placed on paper. They don’t flow like music, but instead, you can hold those sentences, own them, and sometimes think while staring at them, so… they’re definitely substantial. That’s why I like them.

Q. Are you working on anything else, using the sentences you’d saved to use as lyrics?

I’ve already used some of them. What’s amazing is that sometimes, I find myself using expressions in my lyrics that I didn’t even realise I’ve used for my Blonotes. Surely, they’re all in the back of my mind. Recently, I was honoured to produce Sechskies’ new song, and the lyrics include a Blonote phrase that was introduced in the past.

“The miracle lies with the person who ‘accepts’ art, not the person who ‘creates’ it.”

Q. You organised a playlist on Twitter, to listen to while reading Blonote.

This was also done at a fan’s request. I guess it’s because Blonotes originated from a radio program. It rained yesterday and everything, so I was very keen to upload it.

Q. Under that playlist, there was a sentence that said, “To read is a miracle”. Was that right after you read a book?

I’m always reading a book. I feel that it’s becoming harder and harder to read books. It’s difficult to take out the time for reading books, not to mention being able to focus. Nowadays, there are plenty of things I can see and take in, regardless of my will. As a consequence, I don’t have much time to be holding onto a book. I’d read so many books as a child, but after I started making music, it’s hard to say I’ve read ‘a lot’. So nowadays, I’ve been making an effort to read more.

I feel that the miracle lies with people who read, listen to and look at art itself. Whether it be books, music or movies, it’s the person who accepts it, not the person who creates it. I think, if a creator treats their work as a great magic that is exclusive to them, it actually ends up damaging their own art. That’s why I uploaded that sentence: “To read is a miracle”. That’s what I feel about the act of reading itself.

Q. That mindset would help a lot in creating music as well.

Yes. I don’t want to force anything on the listeners. That’s why in some aspects, my music may seem a little abstract. But I want to have a ‘conversation’ with those who listen to my music and read my writing, not to sit them down and give them a ‘speech’. Of course, if that speech turns out great there would be no problem, but I don’t think I’m a great speaker. I think I’m a ‘decent communicator’, so I always leave a little room for the possibility of communication in both my music and my writing.

Q. In this day and age, we’re more accustomed to ‘seeing’ than ‘reading’. We’re experiencing a transition period from the age of printed media to an age of digital media, so inevitably we must bring up the alienation of the publishing industry. What are your thoughts, as a person who works closely with literature?

I also experienced that transition process from cassette tapes, CDs to digital files. Cassette tapes disappeared after the release of our 4th full-length album. Before I knew it, digital music files became the criteria for rankings, rather than album sales. Before online music sites became widespread, there was a time where I ‘had no choice but to take a loss’, and with every interview I’d be asked about ‘what I thought of the changing trends in the music industry’. I still have the same opinion as I did back then. I think ‘just because the industry is changing doesn’t mean you suddenly can’t make music anymore, nor does it mean people will stop listening to music… you just have to try harder’. In the end, I started my job because of music, not because I wanted the music industry to improve. If you look at the numbers, there may be less people reading books now. I think everyone’s various thoughts and opinions due to that are all justifiable. I don’t deny them. But it’s not like there’s no one reading books, and what’s more important is that the significance of books is not lost. There are books people will look for in any situation, books that people want to read, books that provide you with something. There may be some sadness, but I still think those should be the aim. There’s no need to have fear, just because of that sadness. I don’t think it’s a competition of that sort.

Q. Celebrities are constantly publishing their own books, but sometimes they extend beyond the essay genre and are categorised as novels, garnering controversy. That was the case with Pieces of You 8 years ago, and Skeleton Flower by SHINee’s Jonghyun last year. 

It’s no surprise that controversy is created when someone from another industry enters a certain industry, and I’m very thankful for that. Because they pay us attention. But personally, I don’t feel that it’s worth such a controversy. We’re not challenging ourselves to become authors or novelists, but it’s simply some musicians who like to write, publishing books.

Think of the word ‘calling’. For example, when you say “That person’s true calling is to be a movie director. It’s fate.” I hear that sometimes, but I disagree that everyone is only destined for one thing in their lives. I applaud those who dedicate their whole life to one job, but at the same time I equally applaud those who blindly try various things.

Q. To communicate with the public through a book, and not through music, would be another source energy for you. What differences are there?

If I were to compare it to school - when I make music, it feels like I’m in the school stage crew, broadcasting the stories I want to tell; when I publish a book like this, it feels like I’m sending out secret messages to my friends. To discuss it in terms of scale, Epik High’s music is actually on a small scale. We’re merely conveying what the three of us have to say, but the thing about music is that once it’s out in the open, it spreads like wildfire. We’re actually whispering, but it eventually turns into a shout. We’re very thankful for that, but sometimes we want to keep them as whispers. I think books allow for that. With those who read my books, I feel like I communicate with them in a different way, and form new relationships.

Q. There are quite a lot of readers awaiting your novels - when do you think they would be available?

Pieces of You was a published collection of short novels I’d written back when I was 19-20 years old - when I’d never even imagined that I’d be making music. So to be exact, I’ve never written a novel after naming myself ‘Tablo’. Sometimes when fans ask me to publish another novel, I feel very thankful but if I had the time for that, I’d rather just read a good novelist’s work. (Laughter) But as for Blonote, not all the phrases so far have been included in this one book, so I think there may be a possibility for a second publication.

Q. If there is to be a sequel, what genre should Blonote 2 be categorised as, other than poetry/essay?

Blonote has its own genre, but I feel too inferior to ask for my own category… I don’t know. I’d say ‘small talk’, ‘ambiguity’, or a ‘note’. (Laughter)

Source: https://brunch.co.kr/@bookdb/810

Hey guys, just letting you know that Blonote (Korean version) is now available on Amazon. The publisher has also confirmed that the English version will be released soon, so stay tuned!