What Kind Of Idiot Are You On Facebook?

I had this for quite a while now & I felt compelled to list down the idiocy of people that Facebook created after reading my mate Shafar's parody on Facebook addicts, moi included. Here are five things I find troubling about our human race when we go about with our "social networking."

1. Posting a status/link then "Liking" it - that just reeks of loneliness & the need to grab people's attention. Please, get a life.
2. "Liking" a person's post on another person's wall - I know Facebook put it there for you to join in the fun but must you be so intrusive? It's as if you're being nosy snooping about other people's conversation. 
3. Fans demanding their favorite artists to come to their state/country - you know they give fuck all about your comments. They wanna go on tour wherever they wanna go on tour; please, stop deluding yourself with "fan power."
   
4. Fans proud to be the first to comment on a post - ah, the joyful monkeys that get the banana peel instead of the banana.
   
5. Deactivating account then reactivating it again - the worst of the lot; primarily done because he/she is "having a turbulent time" (in other words, being emo) or just wants cheap publicity.
   

My Top 10 Albums Of The Decade

Yes! It's the time of the year for people to do lists & one list I won't be doing is "My New Year's Resolution" because face it, you'll be trying to break each and every one of those resolutions you wrote down before the end of next year. So, since this will be the end of the first decade of the noughties, I'll wrap it up with my best ten albums that holds dear to my heart & are musically, if not culturally, significant to the masses.

 











Green Day - American Idiot (2004)  
Green Day was the first ever band I listened to when I got into music & when this album came out I said to myself: this is the rock opera of the 21st century. Clocking at nearly an hour, this album takes you through the life of Jesus of Suburbia filled with hope & despair in typical three-cord punk rock fashion. All songs were solid but what surprised me was their two 9-minute epics "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming" that consist of five medleys played furiously non-stop, not letting me catch a breather at all. 
Favorite tracks: Letterbomb, Whatsername, Jesus of Suburbia.

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (2005)
Move aside The Killers, the real post-punk revivalists are none other than London's Bloc Party. First introduced by my cousin, it took a while to get into their groove but when it clicked, I just got hooked to it. Blending intense guitar rhythms, tight drum beats & Kele Okereke's hallowing voice, "Silent Alarm" also packs a punch with socio-political messages in their lyrics e.g. "Helicopter" is basically a bash on George W. Bush ["Just like his dad, just like his dad (the same mistakes); some things will never be different"].
Favorite tracks: Helicopter, This Modern Love, Pioneers.

Butterfingers - Selamat Tinggal Dunia (2005)
I dare say that this was the album that sparked Malaysia's indie music scene three years later. Although panned by the local media,they made a right move in shedding their Nirvana-esque 90's grunge & took their experimental progressive folk a step further by launching a full-Malay album. The result: an absolute bliss of fusion  between their brand of music with Malay culture e.g. "Tentang-Tentang" was adapted from a traditional Malay tune ("Geylang Si Paku Geylang") and turned into a protest-folk song.
Favorite tracks: Daulat Tuanku, Selamat Tinggal Dunia, Kabus Ribut 

The White Stripes - Elephant (2003)
There's only one word to describe this album: monu-fucking-mental. Everyone thought "Fell In Love With A Girl" was a one-off hit for them but they came back with a big one. It's garage rock at its purest with Meg White pummelling the drums & Jack White plucking the guitar strings like the gods of rock riding on a thunderstorm. Case in point: the  mind-blowing "Ball & Biscuit" intertwines calm verses with gargantuan rollicking guitar solos by the male half of The White Stripes.
Favorite tracks: Ball & Biscuit, The Hardest Button To Button, There's No Home For You Here.

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) 
These Sheffield lads' debut album took the whole world by storm because 1) they used the internet to give away free songs and 2) they're just that good. What makes them differ from the rest of the garage/post-punk pack is their relentless tempo, that sexy Yorkshire accent & even more relentless tempo although they can tone down a bit with songs like "Riot Van" & fan favorite "Mardy Bum." Perfect album if you want to go mental.
Favorite tracks: A Certain Romance, I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor, Dancing Shoes.

Explosions In The Sky - Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever (2001) 
Truth be told, I became a fan of post-rock about two years ago but once I understood it, it's one of the best genres of music there is; this brings me to Explosions. They are a four-man orchestra that craft amazing songs that will evoke all kinds of emotions in you & you will always experience something new every time you play it. This album was my choice because out of all the five albums they released, somehow this one just gets me. 
Favorite tracks: Greet Death, Have You Passed Through This Night?, The Moon Is Down

 Couple - Top Of The Pop (2006)

I wanted to put in Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut but once I remembered Couple, there's no way Walcott's gonna get out of Cape Cod. "Happy, clappy but not crappy" aptly describes this band and their brand of power-pop is just a joy to behold; you just can't not dance to their music. Although the lyrics are cheesy, but hey who cares? This album is the best remedy when you're down. From "Now That I Can See" to "Are You Ready", your frown is guaranteed to turn into one big smile.

Favorite tracks: Now That I Can See, Rock N Roll, Tentang Kita 

 

Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002)
Before they started to spew mediocre mainstream rubbish, Coldplay was actually a pretty legit band. "Parachutes" was a breakthrough phenomenon but I had to go with their sophomore effort as this album layed-down the "Coldplay sound", stamping their own genre on the music industry. From the thunderous opener "Politik" to the maniacal "A Rush of Blood to the Head", this is Coldplay at its peak.
Favorite tacks: Politik, Green Eyes, A Rush Of Blood To The Head. 
  
 











Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
I'm not a fan of dance music, but dance-able music, now that's an interesting proposition. Scotland's very own art-rock outfit Franz Ferdinand got me first sucked in to their infectious  rhythms with their debut single "Take Me Out" that started out in typical indie strumming fashion before breaking out into an "everybody move!" moment. Yup, even when I'm doing assignments on my laptop while listening to them, I'll still imagine shaking meself on the dancefloor.
Favorite tracks: Take Me Out, Darts Of Pleasure, 40'.

Gorillaz - Demon Days (2005)
Everyone's favorite animated band continued where they left-off from the self-title debut four years back & its just got better and better. Still having that gritty British feel to it, this album is a musicologist's wet dream with funk/rap ("Dirty Harry"), 80's-dub ("Last Living Souls") & dance ("DARE") mixed into the fray. They also had a "is it the music or are we high?" moment with their last three tracks that featured a spoken word ("Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head") proceeded by a haunting choir ("Don't Get Lost In Heaven" & "Demon Days").
Favorite tracks: Last Living Souls, Dirty Harry, DARE.

Winter '09 Movie Marathon

Hi there people! 'Tis a long time since I've updated my blog as I was pretty much committed to my academia this autumn & it's been going well. I have a couple of interesting posts coming up celebrating the end of the noughties but I'll leave you first with the list of movies I'll be watching before & after my trip to Miami, Florida (because I'm not that rich to stay there for three whole weeks); not as sophisticated as my summer list but I need to catch up on some of 'em.

1. Otis
2. Jaws
3. Gadoh
   
4. Choke
5. The Eye
   
6. Memento
   
7. Dark City
8. District 9
9. Waking Life
10. High Fidelity
    
11. The Hangover
12. Public Enemies
13. Batman Returns
14. Minority Report
15. Sherlock Holmes  
    
16. Dial 'M' For Murder
17. Crank: High Voltage 
    
18. North By Northwest
19. Paranormal Activity
20. Tim Burton's Batman
21. Terminator: Salvation
    
22. The Blair Witch Project
23. Blade Runner (Director's Cut)

Random Ramblings

Random ramblings about whatever is going on in my head right now. Since I haven't updated my blog in a while, I'll try to do it every week by at least giving you five piece of my minds. Oh, don't you just love the beauty of memory, storing and retrieving all those worthless garbage information?

"Non-biotech quote from a biotech instructor of the week: 'Marketing people are the most evil people on the surface of the earth, they bring to the downfall of civilization' - M.T."

 "Whoever does that two-finger peace sign (V) in a picture should have those two fingers cut off."

"My parents are evil. Yesterday morning (Malaysia time), my dad lied to my grandmother (who's living with us) that I was in a deep financial crisis causing me to live in hunger and poverty. This made her breakdown and cried, immediately called me to check on my well-being; yes, she was literally sobbing and at first I thought she was faking it. Oh, pity too my sister too who just woke up and was absolutely clueless to the hoohaa in the kitchen."

"Things To Do In America #49: buy local produce i.e. apple cider from the Amish - check."

"My housemate's criteria of a Malaysian being 'Americanized': the ability to wear a t-shirt and pants/shorts without bringing along a hoodie or sweater during fall."

"Whatever that can be put on the bread, will be put on the bread."

"I know I'm a non-conformist. But I now realize that when I'm in a group of non-conformists, I'll try my best to be THE non-conformist of that group. Individuality at its best."

"I've been playing Vampire Weekend's "A-Punk" all week long. Fucking catchy song, that is. Oh, and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" too."

"Facebook Statuses of the Week: "Biar mati anak, jangan mati pucuk" - A.A. & "Don't worry, be hippies" - S.I." 

"Now that my hair is long (nearly shoulder length), I think I wanna try the wet look."

"Understood only by Penn State students: you know that person is a freshmen when he/she looks both ways on College Ave."

Is There Such Thing As Underground Bands These Days?

This is my second "forgotten" MySpace blog regarding some menial definition on how relevant the term "underground" is in today's local music scene.

A friend of mine asked me one day, "Is indie the same meaning as underground?" A good question which prompted me to write this blog since nowadays I rarely hear the term "underground" being used instead indie is widely used as the "in" word by those who are involved in these scenes. So, are there any differences between these two words? Is underground irrelevant in the era of MySpace? Has indie replaced underground or does the underground scene still exists?

To answer the first question, I checked out some websites and what I got from Wikipedia was

"Underground music is music which has developed a cult following, independent of commercial success. This music generally speaking has little or no mainstream appeal, visibility or commercial presence."

while this is from *Malaysia Local Act

"...their album and songs only consists 80% of quality...All the songs are produced just to satisfy themselves and a group of their fans only.

These two excerpts give good definitions on the meaning of underground which is clearly understood as music which has a certain type of fans, small fanbase (presumably smaller than independent bands' fans) & most importantly does not have any commercial appeal. However, underground music is actually a subset of indie where it is still a DIY culture but according to *Malaysia Local Act, underground music differs from indie in terms of " ...their songs' quality, quantity of fans, type of gigs they are involved in, type of fans and how they perform on stage."

Consider this: in the 90's where our scene first exploded, the internet is mostly unheard of by people: if you want to go to a gig, you must search and labor for it by asking friends or try to get flyers. However, the advent of MySpace causes the word underground to become vague as more people and fans are now able to get to know these underground bands, listen to their songs and attend any gigs they perform. If your want to know who is Bleeding Mascara or Lord Sunny Day, just type in their name and click the search button! Thus, in the long run, their fanbase would eventually grow and for this situation are they considered underground anymore?

To my final question, I would strongly say that indie has not made underground irrelevant as the underground scene STILL exists. But technology has enabled their music to be heard by a broader set of audience thus making the words "cult following" in the definition null and void. Currently, I can safely say that the word "underground" is loosely used to define bands that are down to the roots of their own music; they play music not to sell albums or garner popularity but they play music for the sake of music.

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...?)