Author |
Message
|
HuntressM00n |
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:48 am Post subject: Auburn vocal/guitars, Izuan Shah speaks up |
|
|
Mod Squad
Joined: 01 Sep 2005 Posts: 1581 Location: undisclosed
|
Rising above
By IZUAN SHAH
Last Saturday saw the usual New Year’s Eve celebrations taking place everywhere in Malaysia.
But for the 380 mostly young people detained at the Brickfields police station in Kuala Lumpur, the festivities was cut short when they were arrested at the venue of a gig in Jalan Klang Lama in Kuala Lumpur that night and carted to the station in police trucks for alleged “black metal” involvement, illegal gathering and other unfounded charges.
Despite being hushed and shepherded like convicts, the group simply continued their New Year celebrations when the countdown came at midnight. What the officers hadn’t counted on was that the group they had just arrested knew their rights.
These were the children of suburban middle-class families. If the police and their media cohorts came looking for the black metal bogeyman, they had come to the wrong gig. With private college students, members of the workforce and practising lawyers among the detained, they had messed with the wrong people.
Get up. stand up ... A section of the crowd, mostly indie musicians and their fans, gathered for a press conference at Paul’s Place early this week.
The generalisation of “black metal” itself is a lazy exercise of scapegoat labelling, a cruel generalisation of an alleged sub-culture of hedonism and “Satanic” practices, a Loch Ness monster the tabloids created with accusatory, non-researched articles and vague, unsolicited photographs of youths gathering at random concerts and music showcases.
To echo just a few heartfelt conclusions made by observers, it takes little more than common sense and a high school education to see music for what it is. Music is music. If media, authoritative or religious gatekeepers are so fearful of its influence on our young, then perhaps it says much about these parties’ own insecurities.
Perhaps the mainstream tabloids in question feel it within their power to seek out a scapegoat for their own shortcomings, to make up for their own laziness, their own failure to keep up with the times.
It has always been human nature to be afraid of and to demonise something they do not understand. It is natural to feel left in the dark about something one is unfamiliar with, and thus feel a strange liberty to condemn a perceived “lesser” group.
Music in Malaysia has always been kept in check sufficiently to be no more than cultural expression and a healthy outlet for the younger generation. Yet how frequently and persistently it is misunderstood is frightening: A bunch of confused adults is a lot scarier than a bunch of confused youth.
In developed Asian countries like Japan, music is valued and appreciation of music is encouraged by the family institution.
Music is also an important part of the community and it often serves as a lens to the state of a society here now.
Film, music, and literature of independent nature here often serve as an extension of creative traditions from the grassroots and can provide us not only with an insight into young Malaysia but can also share with us the multi-cultural impact of the past and give us a greater understanding of the present.
To anyone overwhelmed in the wake of the events, perhaps it should serve as reassurance and comfort in itself that a genuine love for music and the arts should outlast media demonisation and authoritarian muscle flexing.
If there have been complaints that local independent music lack substance, perhaps this is the perfect time for self-improvement – to inject that little bit of satire, critique and message in the music. And if there was never really a reason for young urbanites to really stand up for their rights, perhaps now there is.
The events following the New Year’s Eve raid is a wake-up call for the creative community to band together.
Standing united
The solidarity seen at the emergency press conference the day after the raid is a state aspired by all but in reality, a rare thing. Perhaps a forum designed to create and strengthen ties between musicians, artists, writers, curators, activists, filmmakers, tactical media provocateurs, students, designers, dreamers, architects, critical thinkers and cultural workers – everyone – would do well to ensure that the young and youth culture are not demonised again.
How much longer will young people be made scapegoats? Youth culture here has come so far since the bohsia era to redeem its battered reputation.
From having homegrown alternative rock music at Stadium Merdeka to independent films celebrated abroad and bands being showcased at the KLPac complex, modern young Malaysia is hardly about to shrivel up and be transported through some black hole back to Draconian times just because of a really bad idea by some tabloid “reporters”.
And anyone with a high school education would know that the good idea always wins out over the bad. _________________ "Thus let my enemy's blood be spilled
like water and sink into the earth."
- By Irene |
|
Back to top |
|
|
liquidjive |
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 03 Dec 2003 Posts: 341
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
GryMlock |
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 11:51 am Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 24 Nov 2003 Posts: 3699 Location: Agombak Ago go!
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
absence |
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:52 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 290 Location: Tanah Jawa
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Bode |
Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 1:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 2033
|
Excellent and intelligent write up!!!
And of course...AUBURN ROCKS!!! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
zubira |
Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 465
|
Bode wrote: | Excellent and intelligent write up!!!
And of course...AUBURN ROCKS!!! |
Setuju...wei how r u doc? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Bode |
Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 11:53 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 2033
|
zubira wrote: | Bode wrote: | Excellent and intelligent write up!!!
And of course...AUBURN ROCKS!!! |
Setuju...wei how r u doc? |
Aku rasa maybe sekarang ni music has to take the backseat dulu la...sibuk sangat...
Camna progress recording album ko? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
zubira |
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:37 am Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 465
|
Bode wrote: | zubira wrote: | Bode wrote: | Excellent and intelligent write up!!!
And of course...AUBURN ROCKS!!! |
Setuju...wei how r u doc? |
Aku rasa maybe sekarang ni music has to take the backseat dulu la...sibuk sangat...
Camna progress recording album ko? |
laa ye ke? sian ko bz giler..
chinese nuyear ni aku nak coba ngabiskan that last song..
pastu boleh start writing new songs..kt jb ni dah bnyak ilham datang..kaset recorder plak rosak..mcm2 hal.. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Bode |
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 1:14 am Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 2033
|
Aku pun...pasal ilham tu...memang melimpah limpah....tapi terbiar begitu sahaja...alahai... |
|
Back to top |
|
|
zubira |
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 1:48 am Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 465
|
Bode wrote: | Aku pun...pasal ilham tu...memang melimpah limpah....tapi terbiar begitu sahaja...alahai... |
tu la pasal..masa alat2 tak de ni (gitar kapok pun takde la nii) ,
mcm2 datang ..ishhh..aku ni dok tulis je kt note book aku all these ilhams : "lagu ni ada sikit mcm ni itu.." ..tapi kgkadang lupa gak akhirnye.. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
omarjamaludin |
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:05 am Post subject: |
|
|
Site Admin
Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Posts: 2615 Location: Tmn Melawati
|
aku pun byk idea ..tapi bila nak rekod tu aduh punya malas..aku ada 4 track recorder maybe aku akan hookup my v-amp into it for quick idea captures... _________________ my photoblog - http://sigemok.blogspot.com |
|
Back to top |
|
|
zubira |
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 465
|
omarjamaludin wrote: | aku pun byk idea ..tapi bila nak rekod tu aduh punya malas..aku ada 4 track recorder maybe aku akan hookup my v-amp into it for quick idea captures... |
ye betol..sblum idea ko tu terbang kt oang lain, ada lah lebih baik ko marakam idea2 ko tuh..mengertik?
oopss dah dekat 2-30 pagi nih..tak ble bangun lak aku kang tido lambat2 nih..wokeh omar...babai...shhhh aiesha is here..hahahaa.. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|