“NANA bnb with SEVENTEEN” (tvN, Disney+, Weverse)
Park Soomin: Producer Na Young-seok has kidnapped SEVENTEEN once again. This time, it’s not a tour, but a BnB. “NANA bnb with SEVENTEEN” was planned as a four-day bed-and-breakfast experience to fulfill a promise to S.COUPS, who couldn’t be there for the previous series, “NANA TOUR with SEVENTEEN,” due to an injury, and more importantly, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the group’s debut. While “NANA TOUR” dropped SEVENTEEN somewhere completely new to them and played out like a typical young person’s travelog, “NANA bnb” is different. As MINGYU aptly puts it during the special they filmed for (literally) “Chattering” all about their fifth studio album, the new series can be boiled down to a routine of “game, food, game, food, sleep.” It may seem simple, but for SEVENTEEN, it’s anything but. With roughly four times the members of the typical nuclear family, even a single group meal requires a spread akin to a feast, and the cleanup afterwards involves tackling a small mountain of dishes. On top of that, they have to play games—and win—to earn ingredients for every meal. Despite how excited DK sounds at first when he says, “It’s like we get three extra days off,” “NANA bnb” is a chaotic affair, filled with SEVENTEEN’s signature boisterous laughter, evoking memories of their early debut days on “SEVENTEEN’s One Fine Day: 13 Castaway Boys.” That might explain why DK describes the show as a “healing documentary-comedy” after the fact.
Even after 10 years, there’s nothing more fun than when the members of SEVENTEEN go together. JEONGHAN may be off fulfilling his military service and represented by a life-sized standee instead, but leader S.COUPS still includes the cardboard avatar during head counts. The rest of the group finds other ways to work standee JEONGHAN into the group dynamic, even seeking out his opinion on things. Even when they repeatedly fail at a game of “guess who” due to the sheer number of people involved, SEVENTEEN supports one another to the end with words of encouragement like “We’ll get it this time” and “We’re just getting started.” And this might be the true secret to Team SEVENTEEN’s success throughout a journey that’s already spanned 10 years—and even longer if you include their trainee days. Even when DINO playfully notes he has his “reasons for sticking it out” for 10 years being the youngest, his words carry a sense of pride over the long journey together. And maybe his reason is what they sing in the lyrics to the opening theme for “NANA bnb”: “As long as we’re together, we can go anywhere.” It’s all been enjoyable, and really only possible, because they have each other. SEVENTEEN truly is living the dream.
“Stuffy Driver” (Mitty)
Kim Hyojin (Music Columnist): Even in a time when the walls between genres are breaking down and we choose our music based on vibes, some artists still build up their musical universe within the framework of a single genre. I feel like genre functions as a sort of home base for artists. When you see a home, you glimpse the life trajectory of the person who grew up there, as well as the roots that form their personality. For Mitty, that home is R&B.
The vibrant cover art for “Stuffy Driver,” with its mints, greens, and reds, perfectly matches how upbeat and lively the single is. When you break the song down into its fundamental pieces, it’s clear there’s still R&B at its core. From the irresistible swing rhythm that gets you moving to the groovy bassline, tight harmonies of the backing vocals, and sound effects to keep the listener on their toes, the whole song makes it clear what kind of place Mitty cultivated her style in. Considering earlier releases like “some more summer” and its bossa nova influences, or “Overhear” and its nostalgia for ’90s contemporary R&B, “Stuffy Driver” feels like an extension of the aesthetic Mitty has worked meticulously to build. Despite absorbing elements of other genres, that core essence is always there. As she continues to put out new music, Mitty proves again and again how a genre can become central to who an artist is.
“There Was an Old Woman: Reflections on These Strange, Surprising, Shining Years” (Andrea Carlisle)
Kim Boksung (Writer): Traditional wisdom tells us that our later years are meant to be a time of despair. We’re reminded of this fact in everything from traditional art to modern media and even in casual conversation. And this all-too-readily accepted “fact” applies to women most harshly, both in how they end up shaping their own sense of self as well as how the rest of the world views them.
True to the title of “There Was an Old Woman,” a collection of essays by Andrea Carlisle, we’re trained right from even seemingly innocent nursery rhymes to see old woman as witches of a sort. But Carlisle’s “Reflection on These Strange, Surprising, Shining Years” views growing old for what it really is: maybe not a 100% joyride, but a period filled with intrigue. The author uses her wit, wisdom, and humility to connect with others her age and with nature around her to embrace, rather than eschew, the aging process, where experiences of loss and letting go lead to a better understanding of how the world works. The autumn years are a time of self-expansion, not transformation into a grotesque other.
Carlisle naturally presents an American perspective on this topic, but hers isn’t a self-help book, and her experiences are there to give readers the courage to embrace their own. And if you prefer fiction, she also includes some relevant further reading. Given the rising tension between different social groups these days, even readers still in their prime will no doubt enjoy and benefit from the insight and empathy this book has to offer.