Poop music!
Remember when Indonesia used to make such good pop music? I used to love listening to Kla Project and Dewa 19 (when Ari Lasso was still in it - what can I say, Once doesn’t sing, he screams), and also Andre Hehanusa as well as this One Hit Wonder band, Jingga, who sang ‘Tentang Aku‘. They’re still so nice to listen to, even after all these years, because not only do they bring good memories and carry out nice melodies, the lyrics are also a lot more meaningful than what the genre has become today; poop music.
It all started since the rise of so-called musicians like Radja (I’m positively sure the vocalist is blind - that, or he is a total Bono-wannabe!), Kangen band (what the hell is with these guys? They’ve the fugliest looks and voice, ever!), Mulan Jameela nee Mulan Kwok (too much whimpering and not enough singing - what are you, a chihuahua?), Dewi Dewi (mediocre singing talent, maximum body flaunting, ditto with Mulan, which I guess are the prerequisites if you want to join Ahmad Dhani’s Republik Cinta). And those are only a few of the many terrible musicians that Indonesia seems to adore.
I’ve seen one too many live performances from the said artists, and not one of them can really perform. What amazes me though, the crowd loves them! They really, really love them! I even start to think whether I’m the one who’s got totally shit taste in music, because if those people are loving it, then why aren’t I? Or is it possible that Indonesia is undergoing through a major degradation of music taste right now?
All I know is that back then, people took their singing talent very seriously. Back then, people really did have talents in music and creating music, as opposed to having the talent to disco and body-oscillating this way and that. Back then, people really did make music and thought of the lyrics carefully, instead of singing about whatever was ‘hot right now’ (all the current musicians seem to be into singing about love affairs and loving two people at the same time - hey, perhaps that’s why polygamy is so popular now!). Back then, people made music that really touched people’s hearts - or mine, at least.
It’s seems to me that Indonesian artists have less integrity in withholding their profession - everything is done half-heartedly, as long as the video clips are controversial enough (ie. show some skin or show top models doing weird lounging around activities - to name a few), as well as the songs being played over and over in the radio to brainwash the listeners so that the songs get stuck in their head, and as long as these artists get publicized enough at talk shows and live performances, then all of those combined efforts are what make an artist deserve to get Platinum awards.
Which is why I don’t listen to the radio and seldom watch local TV - if not for the news, which are, most of the time, making me feel even more depressed than ever. But perhaps that is the main reason why I was shocked to bits when I decided to surf the local TV channels (whilst waiting for soccer to come on) and stumbled upon the performance of this band who had the whole junkies look to perfection and alas, when they brought the microphones upon their mouths and voices came out … I was paralysed and speechless. Oh, the voice! Oh, the tunes! Oh, the lyrics! Ouch, my ears!
Though I’m not a huge soccer fan, I’d rather see a bunch of men kicking around and fighting over a ball - any day, rather than witnessing junkies and Arabian-whore lookalikes writhing and whinnying something which they call themselves a song.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:03 am
Therry,
I woke up with an unhappy feeling after watching Manchester United was held draw by Lyon on their first leg match earlier this morning. But like you said, I can bear to watch my fav. team being defeated rather than asking me to watch Radja etc. Thanks God I subscribe Astro cable so I don’t have to deal with the boring sinetron, musik ecek2 and the likes. I think Radja band members are not blind…but they are blindly over-rated by our media and blindly adored by Indonesian music listeners…LOL!
February 21st, 2008 at 11:07 am
@Elyani:
Yeh! Thank goodness for cable! I got it installed last year, unfortunately the TV in my room only has local channels on (additional channels only available on master TV downstairs in the living room).
I am upset Arsenal got beaten by ManU!! Behhh….
But it sure does beat any performance by Radja or Kangen band, boy do they suck bad!
February 21st, 2008 at 5:04 pm
banyak band yang mau jadi linkin park wannabes….please deh!
btw you’re not the one who has shitty type of music…i think i am one, too coz the music industry now sucks! officially!!!! i’ve stopped listening to indonesian music (but heck, they attack me through sinetrons).
but i still love GIGI tho hehehehe
February 21st, 2008 at 6:50 pm
It’s a “poop music” indeed. Whenever I hear Dewi-dewi or Radja songs being played on the radio/tv/malls, suddenly i have the urge to go poop.
Thank God I have successfully made myself independent of TV years ago (i can live without TV since I was in high school) so I won’t heard them much. But often I heard those crappy musics played when I was in malls or public places.
Luckily in Indonesia we have super-duper-cheap mp3/mp4/music players made in China so you don’t have to buy those pricy iPods just to hear some good musics. For the music itself, you can always buy cheap pirated cd filled with a dozen new albums in mangga dua.
February 21st, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Funny that I’m exactly like you, I loved Dewa BO (before Once), Kla, and Jingga (the female singer went to make an album with my friend Lens, but I don’t remember the title; and we went to see them in HRC). And after that I stop listen to Indonesian music, although one Dewa’s song stuck on my head because foreign bands in Shangri-La Jkt, HRC Bali and even Brix (Grand Hyatt Singapore!) sang that bloody tunes and I kinda know Peter Pan. But which one is Radja again? And before I left Indonesia there’s a Kucing Garong song which is beyond horrible…
To be honest even Britpop doesn’t produce big stars anymore except Amy Winehouse and recycling boyband/girlband like Take That and Spice Girls. Kylie Minogue is still the media darling despite her lips are getting thicker on every clip, as well as Girls Aloud because they’re oh so pretty and Sugababes who change personnels as fast as they change their own clothes. Unless if you think Madonna is British…
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:18 am
u guys are showing ur age.
what about the s.i.g.i.t, brandal is me, seringal, efek rumah kaca… — i could go on and on…
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:41 am
This happens when those major label choose quantity over quality. It’s about Indonesian producers taste.
Things are bit different in independent music world. They really have that freedom of expression. But unfortunately, once they attracted by the glamorise that offered by capitalism order, their identity in some cases are fade away. Gone with the producers taste. Once again, it’s about how Indonesians understand the purpose of education. Do they know that the purpose of education is to develop the knowledge? Do they know that the purpose of education is to build a character? I doubt it.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:12 am
Will this poop music term be famous, d’ya think? He3x.
@cn:
you watch sinetrons??? -pingsan sampe berbusa2-
yeah Gigi is not bad but I don’t like their latest video clip, the camera angle is all wrong and the model trying to act child-like is just making it even weirder…
@ivan:
yeah we can’t get away from crappy poop music, they’re everywhere! shopping is no longer a nice experience beh…
@finally woken:
Yeah, too bad Jingga didn’t last long, I thought their songs are rather good and even now ‘Tentang Aku’ is being sung again by Andien, if I’m not mistaken.
What about Coldplay, they’re pretty good! but they’re tunes are not exactly in the pop music genre arent’t they?
@john orford:
Whoa man you know Indo bands a whole lot better than I do! Efek rumah kaca… hmm apparently Dian Sastro likes it
@ingki:
Yes, I would rather listen to Indie music rather than bands who are steered by their record labels.
And also, the purpose of education is to build TASTE! Maybe that’s the reason why most Indonesians are so ‘norak’?
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:18 am
agree with u on this….this entry really had me in stitches especially the part about mulan hahaha… i love coldplay… their songs are so easy on the ears
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
@Ivy:
Don’t get me started on the ‘ah..ah..ahhh’-ing again
February 24th, 2008 at 4:57 am
“…whether I’m the one who’s got totally shit taste in music, because if those people are loving it, then why aren’t I?”
Kyakaka…I thought I was the only one. Things are getting worse and worse with the appearances of pseudo-artists and self-procalimed singers and actors.
Sekharang kok jyadi banyhak yach yang akcing dan nyanyih dan cyara berbicyara syeperthi inyi?
Blog km bagus, light, refreshing.
Boleh link?
Btw, siapa tuh Arabic whore-lookalike hahaha…
Salam kenal!
Ian
February 24th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
hiihi… g enggak pernah tau boyband girlband atau penyanyi lainnya ^^
biasanya denger dari orang enak, baru mintak lagunya. trus klo baca tabloid baru tau artis ini itu wakakakak…
ga gaul banget yah ^^
February 25th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
@Ian:
Thanks, Ian, link away
The next time you see a video clip with a porcelain skin girl dressing up in Arabian gear and body gyrating this way and that … you will know who I was talking about ha3x.
@Pitshu:
Join the club!!!!
But I don’t have any Indonesian band that I like right now … all of them sound the same!
February 28th, 2008 at 6:27 am
omg. poop music..
wakakakakaak
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Yes. It’s that bad. So bad that I even thought about writing to Balai Pustaka, suggesting an addition for the next KBBI.
Kangen. n.
A feeling that tickles your heart and feels nice to embrace… until it becomes associated with a certain music group. (If we can refer to what they’re playing as music.)
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
@isman:
Yayy! I’m not the only one who think Kangen band is shite!
Btw…wouldn’t suggesting them to be listed in the KBBI increase their popularity (there’s no such thing as a bad publicity, either way they’ll get noticed ha3x)?
March 12th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Satu lagi Ther, Agnes Monica. Bandingin aja waktu dia nyanyiin pernikahan dini yang masih bening sama lagu-lagu dia sekarang. Gemes gua dengernya, ngomong putih jadi “pucihh” belum dll. Astaga…
March 12th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
@LiSan:
Ohh maksudmu gini yah: “bhaaaghaiiimhuaaanhaaa chuaranhyaaa unchuuukkk …. “
*muntah darah*