How Indie Are You?

(Cleaning up my MySpace account, I stumbled upon a couple of blogs I did about Malaysia's music scene. So, I've decided to repost it here!) After going to many gigs, I have seen many kinds of people & now know which "indie" category they fall into. If you have any ideas or categories you wanna add, do drop me a line!

The One-Band Hardcore Fan
This type of fans are the ones who come to gigs ONLY to see their favorite band perform. As for the other bands performing, they just simply couldn't care less. They would rather waste their time waiting/lepaking outside for these other bands to finish before their idols take the stage. As an example, during early 2008 I would always get pestered with this question at gigs: "Bila Hujan perform?"

The KAMI Wannabe
An interesting category whereby these type of fans sprouted from nowhere post-KAMI. Suddenly you can see them dressing in "happening" (I don't wanna get into the details) neon clothes wandering aimlessly around MCPA Hall or Annexe, doing almost anything except enjoying the bands. Basically, they are quite easily influenced by the modern media and now feel that indie is the latest fad. Seriously, do you wanna spend RM15 so that you want to be seen?

The Serial Moshers
Those who come to gigs to really enjoy the bands, showing their appreciation by moshing/pogoing/crowd surfing/hardcore dancing etc. Not necessarily a fan of certain bands but just wanna have fun or in Malay, memeriahkan suasana! Warning: those who are afraid to sweat it out or get bruised should not place themselves in this category.

The True Indie Spirits
Like the title suggests, this type of fans are placed on a higher category than the previously mentioned three although sometimes Serial Moshers can be put under this category. The true indie spirits are the ones who come to gigs to enjoy their favorite bands while supporting other bands performing on that day. They do not discriminate & think of being trendy; they sincerely pay their entrance fee for the sake of supporting their local independent scene.

Zee Avi's "Honey Bee": Anti-Establishment Protest Song?

By now, I think you should know who Zee Avi is. If you don't, she's a Sarawakian singer/songwriter who gained fame by signing with Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records, slowly establishing herself in the American market. Her music can be described as a melange of acoustic, jazz & folk but what intrigues me is her lyrics. Her first single, Bitter Heart, is basically about a housewife worried that her husband is out fooling around with another woman.

I've decided to analyze another innocent looking song on her debut album, Honey Bee. My interpretation on the song is that its a quintessential non-conforming rebel/protest song which in a way blends in with my personality (the first song that defined me was Green Day's Minority). So without further a due, here's my verse-by-verse take on her ballad of fighting against the establishment.



I am a honey bee / Shunned off from the colony / And they won’t let me in. The bee has been made an outcast of her own group & banished forever from the hive. The thing is, why? A bee in a colony was born to do its specific job i.e. mainly to serve the queen but being kicked out shows that she has a problem with the hierarchy, possibly insubordination.

So I left the hive / They took away all my stripes / And broke off both my wings. She must did something serious on par with treason to the extent that the other bees made sure the identity of this rebel is stripped off and disassociated as far away from their colony.

So I’ll find another tree / And make the wind my friend / I’ll just sing with the birds /They’ll tell me secrets of the world. Now she is set on revenge; by being "friends" with the birds, she'll gather enough knowledge and connections to build a strong opposition with the other animals in the habitat.

But my other honey bee / Stuck where he doesn’t wanna be / Oh my darling honey bee / I’ll come save you / Even if it means I’ll have to face the queen. Now we have a new character in the frame: the bee's lover. It could have been a case of forbidden love whereby he should be mating with the queen but instead fell for the her. This could be the reason she was booted out: their liaison was uncovered by the other bees.

So I’ll come prepared / My new friends say they would help me / Get my loved one back. By now, this rebel has gathered enough friends to launch an assault on the hive in order to rescue her lover. Such a daring and risky act, but bold nonetheless.

They say it isn’t right / The bees have control of your mind / But I choose not to believe that. Apparently, the rebellion managed to rescue the lover but the birds had reported that he did not want to leave its community and they feared that it had been mind-controlled by its peers. However, the resolute rebel still has hope in its heart to somehow be together with her lover again.

So we’ll meet in the darkness of the night / And I’ll promise I will be there on time / We’ll be guided by my new friends the butterflies / Bring us back to our own little hive. I'm not too sure about these verses since it seems that he might not be brainwashed anymore (the power of love; a kiss to break the spell?). However, they secretly met each other (the lover was drugged by the butterflies perhaps?) and both were brought to their new hive which she made.

Oh my other honey bee / No longer stuck where he doesn’t wanna be / Oh my darling honey bee / I have saved you / And now that you’re with me / We can make our own honey. A happy ending as the bee is finally reunited with its lover who was being opressed under the colony's regime by mind-numbingly serving the queen. To rub salt on wound, this radical bunch of minority bees decided to start their own colony, hoping one day they could bring down the "evil establishment."

Now, do you get what I mean? It's romantic in a way that it kinda reminds me of the "love conquers all" theme but I was pretty much amused that this song is pretty much serious about fighting against the establishment portrayed by the all-powerful queen bee. Was the bee's actions justified in order to find her own happiness or should she be executed for committing such a heinous crime against her fellow bees?

It is a question for us to ponder.

Movies I've Seen This Summer

In between those days I went traveling or hanging out along the Eastern Seaboard, I spend my time in State College by receiving a movie education; if you'd notice I had periods where I was digging into noir films (no. 3 - 9) & Spaghetti Westerns (no. 23 - 26). Hopefully next summer I'll find other stuff to do other than going on a movie binge.

1. Serpico
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Double Indemnity
4. Sunset Boulevard
5. The Big Sleep
6. Once Upon A Time In America
7. LA Confidential
8. Citizen Kane
9. The Postman Always Rings Twice
10. Vertigo
11. Once Upon A Time In The West
12. A Fistful Of Dynamite
13. Barton Fink
14. Metropolis
15. A Streetcar Named Desire
16. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
17. 12 Angry Men
18. Requiem For A Dream
19. Forrest Gump
20. Paths Of Glory
21. The Wild One
22. Wall Street
23. A Fistful of Dollars
24. For A Few Dollars More
25. Django
26. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
27. Supersize Me
28. The Truman Show
29. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
30. El Orfanato
31. American Psycho
32. Training Day

Summer '09: Receving My First (Mistaken) Racial Remark

As the title goes, I can cross that off my list of things to experience in America. My 11-months uncut hair has given me the license to look like a Hispanic. Hence, the "(Mistaken)" in my post. The story goes like this:

I was waiting in line for the 126 NJ Transit bus to Hoboken at Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal after enjoying the night at Roseland Ballroom watching Rise Against and Billy Talent besides moshing to Rancid in between. There I saw this short, half-bald white guy talking to one of the gate operators.

When he was done he passed by in front of me and shoved me with his hand. After walking four to five steps while mumbling something he stopped and said "Papi, fuck you!" Then he left whilst the people lining-up behind were laughing in bewilderment.

I don't know if he's inherently racist or just pissed because USA lost to Mexico 5-0 in yesterday's Gold Cup final (it seems Americans DO care about their soccer) but it's kinda funny though that he totally mistook me as a Hispanic since I'm Asian through and through. It gives me a bad impression on New Yorkers and the city in general: ridiculous parking fees, dearth of public restrooms, people who are less friendly and helpful & now this xenophobe but I can accept that it's just part and parcel of life in metropolitan America.

Green Day 21st Century Breakdown Gig Recap

Finally, I can die a happy person. I have seen the five bands I want to see in America: it started this March with Dropkick Murphys followed by Bruce Springsteen, Explosions In The Sky, Less Than Jake and topped off with the first band that got me into music: Green Day. So, here's the random things I've experienced during & after the concert at the Spectrum, South Philly.

• After the opening act, The Bravery, was done I went to the restroom and saw two girls queueing into the men's. They made a smart choice since they knew that lining up into the women's will take ages & the men's line was pretty quick.
• Five minutes before Green Day started, a giant pink bunny came on the stage with bottles of Miller Lite (I saw it was light blue in color; product placement, duh!). That bunny proceeded to dance around and "drank" the three bottles. Simply weird since there were a lot of kids and teenagers at the show.
• A girl with a red Phillies tee went on stage and was "saved" by "Reverend" Billy Joe Armstrong during the East Jesus Nowhere. I think the girl was really shocked when the pyrotechnics exploded midway through the song.
• A saxophonist came on stage and did a solo during The Static Age & a disco ball descended up on the crowd for Are We The Waiting.
• During the hour mark (the show was more than two & a half hours long), Green Day played the oldest song of the set: 1992 Kerplunk's 2000 Light Years Away. A timeless classic before Dookie made Green Day the band they are.
• King for a day! Princess by dawn. King for a day! In a leather thong. King for a day! Princess by dawn. Just wait till all the guys get a load of me...
• Being totally fan-friendly, they let three fans sing three verses of Longview & for the encore, one fan played guitar for 3/5 of the epic Jesus Of Suburbia!
• While waiting for the train back to Ardmore, I had a chat with an old lady who also went to the show. Apparently, her son bought her a ticket as a Mother's Day present (Oh, she guessed my age as 23. Am I getting old faster...?)

Musings Of A Manchester City Fan

You saw it right: the Sky Blues, the Citizens, Blue Moon Rising, City Till I Die.

Why side with the less glamorous, always underachieving blue half of Manchester then? I have always been the non-conformist, pro-minority, underdog loving type so when I first got into football (as rest of the world calls it) i.e. the English Premier League, I just wanted to dissociate myself from the typical Malaysian who set Manchester United as their default team hence I became a fan of their local rivals. In a way, I would jump in joy & have that smile of satisfaction when United got beaten by City in a local derby especially two seasons ago when we did the double over them (thank you Sven-Goran Eriksson!).

Fast forward to the summer of 2009, Manchester City under the managerial team of Mark Hughes and Garry Cook bankrolled by the Middle Eastern oil money of Sheikh Mansour Zayed Al-Nahyan are on a project to make this Eastland club one of the big guns in the league. With four new players in the bag & two on the way, here is my opinion on City's transfer dealings:

1. Striker Diversity - the acquisition of Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz added to the incumbents Robinho, Craig Bellamy & Valeri Bojinov has shown that a variety of strikers are needed to deal against different types of team. This was glaring last season whereby the tiny Robinho was spectacular at home but struggled away especially against "tough" teams that like to stifle their opponents. By having a strong target man ala Santa Cruz or the incoming Adebayor will increase the chances of getting more points on the road.
2. Strength At The Center Of The Park - Adding Gareth Barry, the England international and former captain of Aston Villa, to the likes of Vincent Kompany, Nigel de Jong & Michael Johnson is a smart move by Hughes to have a strong core in central midfield, thus giving the licence and confidence for attack-minded players to roam forward. This is important as exemplified in the Champions League final whereby United's midfield was overrun by Barcelona's maestros, Xavi & Iniesta, costing them the title.
3. What's Going On At The Back? - The defence is already a-okay with adequate cover for the full-backs and center-backs but we still need a commanding central defender since Richard Dunne's self-implosion and Micah Richard's loss of form last season, with John Terry mooted as the prime choice by Hughes followed by Joleon Lescott although I prefer the latter over the former.
   
4. Guardians Of The Goal - The winter transfer of Shay Given is a masterstroke and buying Stuart Taylor while loaning Joe Hart to Birmingham City has given City a balanced mix of goalies from the early 20's to the mid-30's. Hopefully we can keep Hart as he has a huge potential and is earmarked into the future England national team.

One thing I noticed is that all of Mark Hughes' acquisition are all established EPL players (except Samuel Eto'o). I believe that his first summer transfer window is used to get these kind of players who know the league in-and-out so that they don't need a certain period of time acclimatizing to the footballing atmosphere in England. Furthermore, the weaking of the Great Britain Pound vs. Euro has made it costlier to buy players from other major European leagues. I think Hughes will start venturing into mainland Europe next summer when he has current squad settled and his culture and work ethic ingrained into the minds of the current crop of players.

Here's to an optimistic season at City!

You Know You're In Malaysia When...

1. KTM 2 minutes early is actually the previous one 17 minutes late.
2. Yellow on the traffic light means "speed up before it turns red!"
3. Just red on the traffic light means "there's still a chance to go!"
4. Al fresco dining is chairs & tables on sidewalks AND roadside.
5. The national sport is watching the English Premier League.
6. Popcorn & pretzels are sweet, not salty as they should be.
7. People buying original DVDs are deemed crazy by society.
8. Towing for illegally parked cars is virtually non-existent.
9. Shopping malls are the unofficial community center.
10. Your broadband internet actually feels like dial-up.
11. Tipping to waiters at a restaurant is a myth.
12. People go out to have teh tarik, not beer.
13. It feels like summer all year long!

Bahasa "English"

The verdict is out! The Malaysian government has decided to revert the teaching of science & mathematics in both primary and secondary in English back to Bahasa Malaysia (BM); note that this is the second time the English-BM reversion has happened. GMP [Gabungan Mansuhkan PPSMI (Pengajaran & Pembelajaran Sains Dan Matematik Dalam Inggeris)], the movement who wanted BM to be used as the sole language of instruction in all subjects taught in school are rejoicing that the decision was made in their favor.

This begs the question: bagus ke tak bagus? My take: BAGUS!

Odd, you may think that I agree with the government's decision since I dreaded learning Fizik, Kimia, Biologi & Matematik Tambahan in BM (I was in the second last batch before PPSMI was implemented in 2003) and had to "translate" all this knowledge to English when I entered INTEC & later at Penn State University. I have to say I was one of the lucky ones to have been taught English by my family when I was small so I was competent enough to switch between languages when it matters.

Some of my friends who are currently studying in the States are against this reversal since they know the uphill struggle of going to and fro between BM and English especially in the field of science where technical terms and definitions are the norm. They might overcome the whole word translation shenanigan but weaving those jargons together into sentences, heck even essays, would present a greater challenge in an already independent environment that is of university life. But what about the millions of Malay, Chinese and Indian school-goers back at home: have we ever thought of what they are going through?

Syahredzan Johan made a good point that the problem with PPSMI was the poor implementation rather than the concept itself and this has caused major problems to the students and teachers ("Tikus-Tikus Ujian PPSMI") as the statistics have shown. His musings make sense and I would like to pull this issue into a larger context i.e. this is intrically connected with the tertiary education, the workforce and ultimately the Malaysian identity. Here's my breakdown of these three entities:

Tertiary Education
The problem arises post-SPM where colleges and universities are in a tug-of-war between teaching courses in BM or English since most text books in specialized courses are in English and no effort are being made to translate these books into BM. In some cases, you would have students reading English text books and BM notes from the instructors! Thus, a similar decision must be made in line with the non-teaching of PPSMI in school because you just don't want students to be still confused jumping from one language to another, do you?

Workforce
This is another area where the English-BM paradox applies. The over-emphasis of employers on an applicant's proficiency of English had struck fear onto people's minds that if you have major problems in speaking and writing in English, you can look forward to a career in flipping Ramly burgers. So, why take all the hassle learning in-depth BM when you already speak the language and when your future employers treasure English like the 16th-century Portuguese treasure Melaka?

Identity
And these two areas led me to the Malaysian mentality and identity; bangsa Malaysia. The paradox I mentioned just now surmises that we love our bahasa but somehow we put our colonial master's language as number one hence the problems in college syllabus and getting a job. Whose expectation was it that all Malaysians must be good in English? We are learning a totally different language and not everyone can master it even after 11 years of schooling. It's not a video game where you can master it in a couple of hours, it's a LANGUAGE!

This is a matter of self-realization and soul searching for each and every Malaysian to decide whether to put Bahasa Malaysia or English on the throne; if we collectively decide that BM is the king, implement a pro-BM policy for the whole nation i.e. prioritize our mother tongue in books, billboards, forums and resumes. Of course you can still learn English (or any other language as guaranteed by the Perlembagaan) and strive to be fluent at it but at the rate we were going, we are as much eroding our own cultural identity as we are ignoring our language.

Remember: Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa.

Michael Jackson Media Overkill

Why, o' omniscient media, why?

Why do you need to concoct such an intrusive barrage of coverage on the death of Michael Joseph Jackson, the acclaimed King Of Pop? Is it not enough for you to just reminisce on his tour de force on pop culture during the 80's and 90's? You just have to explore every possible avenue to milk another cash cow of yours by examining every nook and cranny of Neverland ranch and even bring his former chimp Bubbles, who was enjoying his life in some zoo, into the frame.

Personally, I had no affection to Michael Jackson as he was not part of my childhood (if Green Day were to suffer the similar fate, touch wood, I'd shed some tears) but the excessive coverage has made me feel disgusted and repulsive. It's as if his death must be the talk of the town and be made known to everyone in all four corners of the globe. Yes, we know he has passed away so can we just lay the body to rest? But nooo, the body had to be paraded to the citizens of the world in many of your EXCLUSIVE and BREAKING NEWS, pushing all other headlines however significant it may be, to the backburner.

I'm not saying that I don't give a shit; all I want is for you to pay your respects to him and just move on with life. Yes, he brought joy to the world with his melodies and has been significant to many people's musical upbringing but it is time to part and it would be best to remember him through his songs rather than trying to look for skeletons in his closet before going on another posthumous witch-hunt. Do not get absorbed into all the hype because some media outlets honestly do the coverage for what Michael Jackson did while most see him as means to gain extra "ratings."

Summer '09: Of Post-Rock At Central Park & The Greyhound Bus

A Soaked Out Post-Rock Gig
Hullo! I just got back from New York City on a short 4-day trip to watch "One of My American Bands To See Before I Die", the majestic quartet Explosions In The Sky from Austin, TX. It was a wet (approx. two hours rain before they came on stage, the only shower I had in New York!) but terrific show with Munaf Rayani, one of the guitarists, playing like a man possessed.

During the show, one idiot shouted "Please....I want First Breath [After Coma]" while everyone else was quietly focusing their ears and minds to another song; this heralded someone to shout "Shut the fuck up!," generating a couple of chuckles towards that mood-spoiler. Nothing feels better than crowd justice.

Greyhound: We're On Our Way
Once I was chatting with this American friend who asked me how I travel from State College to Philadelphia. My succinct answer was "Greyhound" and I got a rather interesting riposte: "Don't homeless people take the Greyhound?" I wasn't able to answer that until this trip. While waiting for my transfer at Harrisburg, PA I came upon a rather friendly guy who gave the ubiquitous remark "How you doin'?" and offered me a smoke which I politely declined. Then, that guy proceeded to chat with a woman beside him telling her that he was homeless because both his parents died in a car crash and he has been going from town to town vying his trade as an odd-job worker.

Shifting aside from this sad but true story, Greyhound with its bus terminals have that bizarre charm of producing all the quirky characters that you can imagine. While waiting for the bus at New York, I glanced upon this middle-aged man pushing his elderly mother on a wheelchair towards the departure gate. They were there for some time and suddenly were gone for about 20 minutes. When they came back again, the man was wearing a glittery red dress that was quite tight around the waist (to show his curves?!?) and had lipstick on. I don't know if it's a gag but doing it at 9:30 a.m. during morning rush hour is not the right time to prove a point. Fortunately, both went missing again and didn't board the bus to Harrisburg.

In the bus, I had the privilege to chat with this girl who came from Montreal, Canada to visit her family down at Newark, NJ. We had some small talk about our backgrounds and also about music whereby she put on a baffled face when I mentioned "Explosions In The Sky" and I envied her for being able to be part of Coachella (at least I still have All Points West to look forward to). Even though I have answered my friend's question about the nature of this bus company, I would say that it is more than just homeless people using it to get around. It is like a meeting point of people's journey through their lives: you have tales of sorrows, the downright weirdos and the formation of friendships.

Well, there you have it. The many faces of Greyhound.