"Ringa Linga" (링아링아) by Taeyang (태양), Friday, August 20, 2021

In recent years, YG Entertainment boyband Big Bang has had quite a share of scandal. From the accidental drag on the wrong kind of cigarette for rapper G-Dragon to T.O.P's military drug scandal to Seungri's involvement in an underground gambling and prostitution ring, the hit machine that was Big Bang has been canceled by many former fans. Taeyang, however, is the only member free of controversy.  Rise was Taeyang's second solo LP, and the album was huge in 2014. Paste included the album in their article "10 K-pop Albums for People Who Don't Like K-pop," and as a former K-pop skeptic myself, this album was the slippery slope that got me into the genre. Taeyang's Rise sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. The surging pulse of the EDM drum machine, the minor-key tonal hip hop was perhaps reminiscent of some era of Linkin Park.   

PUT YOUR HANDS UP LIKE THE COUNTRY'S BEEN LIBERATED. Taeyang's Rise album starts with a sample of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" then takes a journey of satisfying pop-R&B. The biggest hit from the album is the slow ballad "Nose, Eyes, and Lips" which has been covered by many Korean artists and even by Michael Bublé. But the lead single, "Ringa Linga," Dazed magazine said "this unapologetic dancehall monster is meth-level addictive." I certainly listened to "Ringa Linga" over and over again after I bought the single on iTunes. The old, slightly off-key piano intro which comes back for the bridge makes the tune sound worldly in a way that invites the listener to a sinfully delightful experience. Lyrically, the song was all about taking your mind off of your worries on a Friday night. The hook is based on the carefree Korean nursery rhyme "Round and Round," a song that encourages children to have fun. A grownup Taeyang is using this call to fun in a grownup way--hitting the club and forgetting his worries with beautiful women. Likening this experience to riding a rollercoaster without a seatbelt, and talking about "bumping" and "shaking" coupled with the music video with the young singer showing off his abs, the song is simply a call to the dance floor. 

IT'S OUR PARTY WE CAN DO WHAT WE WANT TO. "Ringa Linga" uses the Korean slang bulgeum (불금), which literally translates to "fire Friday." Bul (불) is the word for fire and 금요일 (geumyoil) is the word for Friday. Geum can also mean gold and can refer to payment. So a "Fire Friday" is used when you go out with your friends for an epic night on the town on a Friday night, something good Adventists know nothing about. After vespers, Allan and Andrew were walking to Allan's apartment. "It's a shame your students are showing up for the religious activities," Andrew said. "The institution really doesn't see anything beyond money." "We try to advertise, and a few of my students show up, but the other teacher's don't promote vespers or Sabbath School," Allan said. "What's even worse is that the Adventist teachers are no better than the non-Adventist teachers. They don't care about getting the students into Bible studies," Andrew said. "The church here will die if there are no new converts. But instead the missionaries are all about their free time," Allan said as they turned into the darkened market in front of the apartment complex. "And that's understandable how we can fall into that trap," Andrew said. The smell of the day's fish was still lingered as they passed through the market. "But there's too much compromise when you start routinely buying food on the Sabbath. The other Adventist teachers at my institute stop at the bakery every Sabbath morning and bring the bread in for the students. And then they pray over it as if God is going to bless their sin they knowingly committed in front of him," Andrew started breathing harder under the weight of his backpack as they climbed the stairs to the third floor. "They do that here too. Sometimes the church members deliver food after the sermon." "When Adventist missionaries would rather talk about who they danced with in the club in Hongdae than give a Bible Study, the system is pretty damn broken," Andrew said as Allan opened the door. "But lest we forget," he added, "But for the grace of God, that's our story too."

 Korean (original)

 

Read “Taeyang - 링가 링가 (Ringa Linga) (English Translation)” by Genius English Translations on Genius