"Brightside" by Turn Off the Stars, Saturday, July 31, 2021

Last month, I wrote about "Getaway," a song located in the center of Turn Off the Stars' only LP. I keep coming back to this obscure album, despite its simple, sometimes generic songs. "Brightside" is the last track on the 2006 eponymous release. The album takes listeners on a range of emotions from desperation to wonder to love to loss to dealing with the monotony of life, and finally to looking on the bright side. The optimism of the ending track perfectly embodies the Christian cliche of writing in a minor key but ending in on a major chord. However, I always wish listeners had an opportunity to hear what kind of music the band would have developed into. So, as we end another month's playlist, let's go out on a high note. Next month will certainly bring a range of emotions as the summer ends and school starts again in the endless cycle of children growing up and teachers aging toward retirement. Take a moment on Saturday, July 31st to enjoy some summertime sweet tea and think optimistically.

I LIVE, BUT ONLY FOR TODAY. It started with a little soreness, and then turned into a slight chill. Josh was hiking on a Sunday morning in early November with his student, an ajosshi who was so adamant about learning English, yet so slow to speak. Somewhere between a nice hike and "this day is dragging on" the fever started. Stomach pain from the dak galbi, a spicy chicken dish, exacerbated the problem. Bathroom problems had plagued Josh for a year now. Digestion on so little sleep had become a delicate balance of just a little simple food at exactly the right time, or else. But the toilet told another tale this time. Faking conversation for a few hours, Josh finally made it home to rest. Googling symptoms, it was pretty clear. He had sinned and he must suffer the consequences. What solutions were there when you were this kind of sick? Josh wasn't sure if there were the same kind of HIPAA laws in Korea. Could the boss find out his diagnosis? Would he be shamed or deported? Bigger questions about his future career or the possibility of anyone ever loving him were whispering in his mind through his fever dreams. And of God, was it possible to turn back? He had come to the conclusion that it was impossible to change before making the biggest mistake of his life. Was that conclusion still correct? Or was he playing out a Greek tragic end fated for people like him?

'CAUSE YOU KNOW THE SUN IS GONNA SHINE.  The brunch conversation at the German bakery near Noksapyeong station was warmer than the conversation last night. For one thing, it was an unseasonably warm mid-October Sunday morning, but also the conversation turned more to the everyday fluff than the philosophical debates of last night. Last night had started with a Bible study that left Josh feeling that it was impossible for him to follow God as laid out in rules of the Seventh-day Adventist church. If holiness was impossible, a list of messages on the apps told him that horniness was just a train ride away. Packing a small bag, Josh took a 7:00 express train to Seoul without any plans to come back that evening. Meeting Nam at Itaewon station, they decided on a Brazilian place. Nam was nothing too impressive, but he looked similar to his photo online. His baggy clothes draped over him, making him look short, despite being an inch or two taller than Josh. He had a bit of a John Lennon-tortured artist look with his round glasses and a curl of hair coming from the front of his knitted cap. Dinner was a hit and miss to find common interests in a dimly lit brown-panel walled restaurant. "So why don't you drink?" and "Let's have the pork" were met by "Well, actually my religion doesn't allow me to--" only to be cut off by a rant about how religion is master plan to control, or rather regulate, our basic urges. But something over dinner sparked the next part of the evening--a cement-floored coffee shop with cool music. Some talk about a Death Cab for Cutie song halfway through a cup of French-pressed coffee turned the tone of the evening. Stepping out of the cafe, the crowd of expatriate soldiers and cool, urban Koreans were descending upon neighborhood. Walking down the narrow street, crowds contracting for the frequent cars passing, Nam looked over at Josh, "So it's kind of late. Will you be taking the train or do you want to come over for a bit?" 

Read “Brightside” by Turn Off The Stars on Genius.