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blue night radio - 150115
a letter from listener “jâ€

(the letter) “after listening to blue night every night, i’ve finally found the courage today to write in. i’m one listener (of many) who falls asleep with jjong-d’s “come take a rest tomorrow too†farewell ending each night. to tell the truth, i have synesthesia. it’s a disability that makes you visualize sound as a certain color. as a result, i find it difficult to go places where i can hear too many people’s voices, or too many noises.

when i walk the streets, i usually go around with my earphones plugged in, listening to a song i’m used to. but i still trip over often. it’s become an old habit to close my eyes whenever i listen to music. in middle school, i first heard jjong-d’s music through a recommendation from my sister. it seems like just yesterday when i first thought, “so, there are voices that look like autumn sunlight, too.†but now i’m about to graduate university, and i’ve moved to a quiet neighborhood where i’m listening to blue night now.

these days, i fall asleep watching a golden voice swaying and rippling from the radio. so, i wanted to say, thank you. i’m not sure how to conclude this. every night during your farewell i would think, i hope you get some rest too, jjong-d. my song request is epitone project’s “cactus.†thank you for reading thisâ€

–

(response to the letter) jonghyun: so, you see my voice as the color of gold. how difficult it must be to bear, really.. i get the feeling that it would be confusing to hear many people’s voices and perceive them as colors. and it seems like you avoid those kinds of places because it’s hard to bear, and that you normally try to shut those sounds out a bit. i’m so happy that i can give strength to someone like you through radio, and i hope that, at least during the time you’re listening to the radio, you’ll feel comfortable and your day will end glittering with gold.

–

(jonghyun then shared a telephone call with “jâ€.)

jonghyun: to say my voice is the color of gold, first of all i’m so thankful to you for (saying) that. you expressed it in such a luxurious way.
“jâ€: ah, well since we’re on the phone now…, your voice really is that color.
jonghyun: what color?
“jâ€: on an autumn day with really clear skies, (the color of) sunlight reflecting on the ground and sparkling. it’s that kind of yellow color.
jonghyum: ah, really?
“jâ€: yes. so it’s really, yes…, it’s nice to see.
jonghyun: (laughs) thank you. please keep listening to blue night. let’s see, today, wow, thank you so much for saying such nice things today. i think it was a really fun time for the blue night family, and i hope it was a, how should i put it…, warm and pleasant time for “j†nim too.
“jâ€: yes. ah, could i ask you for a favor?
jonghyun: yes, yes!
“jâ€: please continue singing (for us) lots in the future.
jonghyun: ok. i’ll sing diligently

(s/n: jjong was very respectful throughout the call. at the start he asked “j†to clarify how they should describe her condition (e.g. whether they should refer to her condition as “suffering from†synesthesia, or as simply “having†synesthesia. she said the latter). when “j†momentarily seemed hesitant to answer a question he immediately assured her she doesn’t have to answer anything if she’s not comfortable.

the listener shared many things about her synesthesia during this phone call, such as the fact that she usually sees piano as a gray tone, and violin as red if performed well. jjong asked how the colors appear to her, i.e. if they look like a kind of haze, or perhaps lines. she says the colors can appear as different textures depending on the source, such as a haze, or bubbles, or even “silk†a friend of hers happens to play piano in such a way that it looks like a “snow-like powder falling through the air.â€) (source: sullaem)

[note / update: jonghyun confirmed during an interview with pops in seoul that the lyrics to “view†were written in the viewpoint of someone with synesthesia, and most are pretty sure that this conversation / letter led to him finding inspiration for it.]

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