1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 146



Only Noblemtl

146. Jekyll & Hyde (3)

Split personality or multiple personality disorder.

The official medical term is ‘Dissociative Identity Disorder’. The medical books were too wordy, so I enlisted Brad’s help.

Patients have other selves within their inner world, and each of their rooms or spaces are used by the selves within the inner world. In fact, patients sometimes have names for their other personalities. When a particular self wants to come out, it can take control of the body.

Reading the counseling cases gave me more goosebumps than reading the novel.

“They say that 90% of patients have experienced trauma during childhood. Wow, that’s why parents are important.”

Annie has a difficult family history, but she grew up really healthily.

“Have you finished writing the lyrics?”

I borrowed the story about Anthony that Jack told me.

“A girl from the countryside who dreams of becoming a singer comes to the city and is approached by temptations from all over because of her pretty appearance. The girl is fooled by the words of a man who says he will help her debut as a singer, and she takes the drink he offers her and drinks it. Then, her ego begins to split in two. I conceived the story in this way, but in the end, I want the girl to defeat Hyde and win.”

Annie listened to my story and thought deeply.

“Are you going to make this into a music video too?”

“huh.”

“That girl is me, right?”

“of course.”

“Then put me in a mental hospital.”

* * *

With Annie’s help, the song work progressed at a rapid pace.

The mood of the song is a mix of heavy metal and the style of Danny Elfman, a master of film music that I loved. Danny Elfman is famous for creating dreamy and dark fantasy world music with director Tim Burton in films such as Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Edward Scissorhands.

People only know him as a great film composer, but he actually started out as a rock band vocalist. So most of the music he made is mainly orchestral, but if you listen closely, you can hear a lot of new wave rock and progressive rock elements.

He had never played a musical instrument before he was eighteen, had no formal musical training, and was entirely self-taught.

I think that because he was self-taught, his music was able to break free from the conventional mold and have its own unique personality.

The introduction of this song is made bright and cheerful. And the major key gradually changes to a minor key. With a fierce guitar solo, Hyde appears inside the girl, and the grotesque chords swirl with a rough rhythm.

Angela unleashed hell on the Hammond organ, while Hyung Joong-Seop banged on the timpani like crazy inside.

“James, this is the hell scene, isn’t the drums a little too exciting?”

“It’ll be okay if you listen to all the tracks together later. You can play them more aggressively and overact like a madman.”

Overall, the chords and scales are arranged darkly, but the rhythm is made cheerful, intentionally emphasizing the bizarre feeling.

The music reaches its climax as the girl’s two inner selves battle fiercely, and she decides to take Hyde’s life into her own hands.

The ending part after the final battle is melancholic, but ends with a performance that hints at hope. The bandoneon that Hyunsang personally brought back from Cuba did its part.

“Wow, this song is really on a grand scale. It must have been quite difficult for Annie to film the music video.”

“Don’t worry, Jake. I’ll show you what it means to play two roles, hahaha.”

Lynx, I only trust you.

* * *

I met director Robert Smith to put together a storyboard.

‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is a novel, a movie, and a musical that I saw in the future that only had similar basic structures, but the beginning and ending were different.

But the fact that they all ended in tragic consequences was the same.

“Oh, you reinterpreted the original story?”

“Yes, I wanted a happy ending where the two selves of good and evil fight and good wins over evil. Fortunately, Annie gave me a good idea and I was able to complete the song.”

“Sparkling ripples are perfect for a positive message, haha.”

If you watch American movies or dramas, you can see everyone holding a glass in their hand during party scenes.

American parents teach their children to always hold their drinks in their hands or keep them within sight when they go to a party. If they have to go to the bathroom, they are told to give up their drinks or leave them with a close friend.

The reason is that you never know who will put what in that glass.

“In the case of The Age of Rock, there is a thorough security check, so that wouldn’t happen, but I thought that young people could be accidentally victimized in other clubs. That’s why I included a message to be careful. It could easily seem boring like a public service announcement, so I reinterpreted the Jekyll and Hyde theme in a fantastical way.”

“You’re showing it indirectly, not directly, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Unlike the original, this isn’t about the main character committing murder or anything, but rather expressing her inner conflict, so it all depends on Annie Yang’s acting.”

“Yes, I think I will do well.”

This time, we will film the main story and the band playing together. In the future, this format will become a standard format for music videos, not only for rock bands but also for pop singers.

* * *

A hotel in downtown LA.

“Guys, if you’re ready, let’s go.”

“Yes, father.”

As the middle-aged black man spoke loudly, his four sons, who were getting ready to go out, responded.

“Michael, you’re not ready yet!”

“Dad······ I’m not hungry······.”

“Because you don’t eat like that, you won’t grow tall and your personality will become more and more like that of a girl!”

The man’s hand went up habitually, and little Michael crouched down.

“Father, let’s just leave Michael and go on our own. It’s a nice day.”

Jackie, the eldest son, didn’t want to ruin the mood by going to the party celebrating Billboard’s No. 1 hit.

“Yes, Father. You can just tell other people that you’re feeling a little sick and need to rest.”

Secondly, Tito also supported his older brother.

“Sigh… You just stay in your room. I’ll go and see you later.”

The man left with his four sons, leaving only the youngest, Michael, in the hotel room.

The middle-aged man is Joseph Jackson.

In order to achieve the dreams he could not achieve himself through his children, he created a group called ‘The Jackson Brothers’ consisting of the three oldest sons, Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine, and trained them harshly.

Then one day, at the suggestion of his wife, who was surprised to see her sixth son Michael dancing and singing like James Brown, he joined with his fourth son Marlon and formed the ‘Jackson Five’.

The Jackson 5 began to rise through the ranks and swept regional contests, most notably the Royal Theatre Contest, where they won by a landslide, and then went on to win the Apollo Theatre Contest in New York.

After signing with Motown Records in 1968, each album they released became a huge success. In 1970, they had four songs reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Although the Jackson Five was on the road to success, the youngest member, Michael Jackson, had a scar that he could not tell anyone. It was a trauma caused by physical and mental abuse from his father since childhood.

‘You little punk, you don’t need this either!’

Joseph Jackson held his five-year-old son by one leg, hung him upside down, and beat his private parts with a belt, inflicting unspeakable verbal abuse and abuse on him. He would not stop crying even if he cried.

More than the hard practice that lasted all day, Michael found the sight of his father sitting on a chair, holding a leather belt in his hand, watching him more difficult and terrifying than anything else. Just seeing his father made him freeze, tremble with fear, and feel like he was going to die.

Michael danced and sang more excitedly to shake off his fear.

Michael wasn’t just afraid of his father. On tour, his brothers would often bring women to their hotel rooms and tell young Michael, “No matter what happens, don’t open your eyes and pretend to be asleep.”

After some time had passed since his father and brothers had gone out, Michael’s pounding heart began to calm down a little.

I turned on the TV, thinking I might listen to some music.

A new channel called KMTV. It was a channel where you could listen to music 24 hours a day.

– Hello, Tonight Tonight Show viewers! This is Jack White!

When a round-faced old man came out and smiled playfully, I couldn’t help but laugh.

– Today, we are finally releasing the music video for Sparkling Ripple’s new single, ‘Jekyll & Hyde’! I’ll be making a cameo appearance, so viewers, please look for me, haha!

‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a really scary movie, so you made a song about it?’

Michael debated whether to change the channel, but decided to leave it as is.

A girl gets off the bus with a large suitcase. She smiles with joy as she looks at the bright lights of the big city. The girl works as a server at a club, and someone offers her a drink that will make her a singer. She ends up downing it.

‘Oh, I found it. The person who put something in that drink and handed it to the girl is the host.’

In the next scene, the girl begins to sing in a dark room.

– I sit alone in the dark.

(I sit alone in the dark.)

– I face two faces inside me.

(Facing the two faces inside me.)

– Bite and rip each other off.

(They bite and tear each other.)

– Which is the truth.

(Which one is true?)

Unlike the bright intro, the song starts with a dark atmosphere. The girl looks into the mirror and is in agony.

And then suddenly a guitar solo starts in a dark space with fog. The solo starts getting more and more nervous.

And then, with a flash of light, the drum explodes.

At the same time the mirror broke and cracked.

– What are you talking about!

(What are you talking about)

– a weak fellow!

(You weakling!)

The girl’s pretty and cute smile disappeared, and she was transformed into an evil expression with red lighting. With messy hair, sharp teeth, and a broken mirror, the girl’s appearance was even more bizarre.

Michael suddenly remembered the image of his father beating him, and he screamed, closing his eyes and covering his ears.

The light turned white for a moment, and the girl returned to her original appearance.

– But I’m afraid.

(But I’m afraid.)

– Where will it end?

(Where will it end?)

‘I’m scared too······ How long will I have to live like this? Where will it end······.’

Michael thought his father’s two faces looked just like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.