Thread by @AesopsFableFly, I have this little theory (if you could call it that) about [...]

I have this little theory (if you could call it that) about mono & till now i’ve not had the opportunity to discuss it so please do feel free to jump in & share your views, opinions or corrections with me. I really wanna know if you guys have viewed it in the same way or not

so we previously spoke about how meticulous namjoon has been with each song’s placement in the tracklist. we know for a fact that joon puts a lot of thought into these decisions & it means a lot to him

[more on that here] https://twitter.com/aesopsfablefly/status/1186776795443535872?s=21

https://twitter.com/aesopsfablefly/status/1186776795443535872?s=21

which is why I think its so important to take note of where each song stands within mono

how does its position within the playlist carry on the message or story?

when viewing it in this manner, all of the songs seem to have perfect placement. they flow well... all except one.

mono is a very personal & highly relatable depiction of the darker elements in life that are rarely discussed

with themes of loneliness, anxiety, dissatisfaction, home & more; mono tackles these elements track by track, a distinct progression in conversation with each one.

so let’s look at this progression in the songs message in a very simplified manner (& when I say simplified, I mean simplified. each song is worth a 1000 words but I can’t do that right now so please bare with me for the sake of this thread)

1. tokyo - loneliness/feeling foreign
2. seoul - home, love/hate relationship
3. moonchild - acceptance of above, unity in sorrow
—
4. badbye - self destruction
5. uhgood - disappointment with self
6. everythingoes - healing/ acceptance of oneself
—
7. forever rain - loneliness

what I’m trying to point out is that if you look at the playlist as it stands, the ideal cut off point would be everythingoes right? Its conclusive, hes travelled through that healing process after so much pain & anguish.

then you get forever rain..

which brings me to my point.

mono is not just a playlist,
mono is a loop.

namjoon takes us from a place of comfort, warmth & reassurance only to throw us into the same solitude we experienced at the beginning of the playlist.

from tokyo to everythingoes we experience two stories on one journey; loneliness, self destruction & the overcoming of both.

the cathartic journey from track 1-6, leaves the listener feeling lighthearted, as if a burden has been lifted. but namjoon deliberately pulls the listener back into an empty space.

this is simply a depiction of life.

making mono into a loop & not one linear story creates an even more meaningful message behind it.

overcoming hardships does not mean we will not encounter them again & it would be naive to believe as such.

how many times have u felt lonely, depressed, anxious? how many times have u overcome those feelings only to have encountered them again?

thats life. there is no concrete affirmation that we will never hurt again. happiness can not live without sadness

which is why we see namjoon approach the topic of loneliness once again.

It’s realistic but in many ways optimistic..

Yes the dark days will come but that does not mean they’ll stay & yes the good days will come but they too shall pass by.

also bringing it back to how namjoon has deliberately titled this body of work a ‘playlist’ becomes significant here.

playlists are more often than not put on a loop by default. so here you’ve got namjoon recalling that continuation, perfectly placing forever rain as track 7

a clear example of this can be given with Pink Floyd’s iconic The Wall album.

It loops the last songs ending with a bit of speech which then continues on with the first track.

0:00-0:05
Outside The Wall (last track)

0:05-0:09
In The Flesh (first track)

Pink Floyds loop with speech was perfect back in those days with vinyl records that could continuously loop.

Fast forward to our digital age & playlists are at everyones fingertips. so namjoon uses his message, his voice to return back to to beginning, almost like its inevitable

namjoon doesn’t say it has to be ok, nor does he promise that it will be. instead he understands that with happiness will come hardship & each time you experience that, you will learn a way to overcome it

mono, like everything in life, comes full circle

if you made it here then thank you so much for reading & im sorry if this got a little long again, I tried to keep it as short as possible this time

—
‘mono’ by RM:

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2S9k2Iz

iTunes: https://apple.co/2Jcq5rU

forever rain MV: https://bit.ly/2ECiaW1

also, if you’re interested then there’s also this small thread that was made in celebration of #MONOversary, discussing the relationship between tokyo & seoul.

again, thank you for reading! I really appreciate it & dont be afraid to share your thoughts https://twitter.com/aesopsfablefly/status/1186787292083642374?s=21

https://twitter.com/aesopsfablefly/status/1186787292083642374?s=21

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