Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Mainstream, Indie and Underground

Most people in Malaysia did not understand what is the true definition of mainstream, indie and underground. The older generation used to think that indie music and underground music are bad. This perception is totally unacceptable. They should know what indie music and underground music are all about before making statement that will hurt people who support the movement of indie and underground band. Here, I'll explain this three things briefly.

Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought of the majority. It is a term most often applied in the arts (i.e., music, literature, and performance). This includes:
- something that is usual
- something that is familiar to the masses
- something that is available to the general public

As such, the mainstream includes all popular culture, typically disseminated by mass media. The opposite of the mainstream are subcultures, countercultures, cult followings and underground cultures.

Mainstream music denotes music that is familiar and unthreatening to the masses as for example popular music, pop music, middle of the road music or soft rock but it should be noted that older generations often dislike the mainstream taste of the youth and may not agree to what is or is not mainstream.

Independent
In popular music, independent music often abbreviated as indie. It is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels and an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording and publishing.

There are a number of cultural and philosophical traits which could be more useful in pinpointing what indie music is about than specific musical styles or commercial ownership. Indie artists are concerned more with self-expression than commercial considerations (though, again, this is a stance that is affected by many artists, including hugely commercially successful ones). A do-it-yourself sensibility, which originated with punk in the 1970s is often associated with indie, with people in the scene being involved in bands, labels, nights and zines.

Internet technology allows artists to introduce their music to a potentially enormous audience at low cost without necessarily affiliating with a major recording label. Most artists maintain their own Web sites as well as having a presence on sites such as Myspace.com. Technological advances such as message board, music blogs, and social networks are also being used by independent music companies to make big advances in the business.

Underground
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. The term is also currently used to describe contemporary music of non-mainstream musical exponents with actual specific genre or style being unimportant in determining the "underground" status. This diversity may serve to "protect" underground music from being packaged and marketed based on a restricted, easily identifiable sound.

The term underground music has been applied to several artistic movements, such as the psychedelic movement of the mid 1960s,other early underground include the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and Iggy Pop and the Stooges, all three of whom have made significant contributions to music.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

15 Reason Why Guitars Are Better Than Your Girlfirends

Here are 15 reasons why guitars are better than girlfriends:

01. Girls dump you. A guitar will always be there when you get home.
02. A guitar's minimum requirement is an amp. A girl's minimum requirement is shoes, clothes, makeup, a mirror, magazines, more shoes and a tiny handbag. And that's every week!
03. You'll never turn on a girl as fast as you can turn on an amp.
04. If your guitar sounds crap, you can tune it. If your girl talks crap you're stuck with her.
05. Guitar's, unlike girls, have volume control which goes all the way down.
06. If you play your guitar crap, it tells you its crap. It doesn't lie and pretend you did it right when you didn't!
07. Two girls at once is hard to come by. Double kneck guitars are not.
08. Your guitar makes a sound only when you want it to.
09. Nobody cares when you dump your old, out of date guitar for a new, younger model. In fact it's encouraged.
10. With a guitar, you can copy tunes from other songs. With a girl, try telling her you're copying some moves from an ex and she'll throw you out.
11. Your guitar doesn't refuse to let you play it once a month.
12. Your guitar will never find out if you've been playing another guitar behind its back.
13. You don't have to get guitars drunk before using them.
14. You can stare at a guitar all you like, but stare at a girl too long and you'll end up in an immense amount of pain.
15. Watching other people play the guitar is entertaining. Watching other people do it is just sick!

Poll - Most Popular Indie Band (2007)

The Most Popular Indie Band (2007)

01. Hujan
02. Bittersweet
03. 7 Missing Portraits
04. Komplot
05. OAG

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Review - Bittesweet

Band: Bittersweet
Genre: Indie Rock

Bittersweet began in mid-2004 with 2 members who had the same musical interests. Both heavily influenced by British music, the two decided to put their heads together and record an EP, just for fun. After the recording was completed Herri and Zabil distributed the material for feedback, which was mainly positive. When Zabil joined the Malaysian teaching force he had to quit the band, which left Bittersweet with only one of its founding members. Determined not to abandon what they started, Herri set about forming a complete line-up. He enlisted Dinie as their bassist first of all, before adding Hafiez (guitarist) to the line-up, Pijie as Bittersweet's vocalist with Emai on keyboards. Bittersweet finished recording their 2nd EP (Night and Morning Tales) on November 2004. Bittersweet finished recorded their 1st single (A Perfect Match) on June 2006.

Sound: Bittersweet sounds like most indie and brit-pop band but "Capital E" is well-blended with dangdut. The other songs are typical indie.

Lyrics: This is where they shines. The lyrics are something special. Their songs have meanings. No complain.

Impression: Bittersweet is simply magnificent. I rated them as one of the best indie band in Malaysia right now. There's nothing I dislike about this band, it's a bit different and it's a bit the same but you can't help sing along, a lot of the songs have an anthem like quality about them. "Capital E", "A Perfect Match" and "It's Monday" are all great.

www.myspace.com/bittersweet
amp.channelv.com/bittersweetatamp

Monday, December 10, 2007

Definition Of Indie

Indie music can best be described as independent or DIY (do it yourself), when the person making it has full control over their art, art that people work hard on, and they do it all for others to enjoy and listen to. There's something for everyone to enjoy. It can cover everything from punk, rap, country, emo, blues, jazz, jazzcore, and everything in between. It is music made by the people for the people, it is Malaysian, American, British, Australian, it is anywhere and everywhere you can imagine. Everyone is doing it, having fun hanging out at indie events with friends or family. If its out there now and its music its either indie or was once indie, so indie is worth every second of listening.

Great music can be found anywhere from Perlis to Sabah, to other countries, all places have something to offer. Indie concerts are our form of entertainment. Friends go to clubs or cafes to meet new people or hang out with friends, family and most of the time there is a band, DJ, or rapper playing there, they are indie artists. They are the people that spend hours writing and practicing songs for others to have a good time. Everyone can have a form of indie music that they listen to, they may go and search for bands all the time but all they have to do is open the newspaper to the entertainment section to see that there are great bands out there and see that theres such a variety out there no one can complain.

Music for the people, by the people. In a way Indie is the American way. It was created as a form of free speech that overtook the world and now it speaks to us through emotion, truth, or something similar. All artists from bands such as Greenday, Blink 182, Matchbox 20, to Aerosmith weren't always famous, they were once indie (independent) bands living out of a van. Bands such as Gage, Candiria, and As Cities Burn are living out of that van and are considered indie and are trying to make it in the music world. What they need is support, they need people to buy there CD's to keep music alive. If no one supported indie music there would be no music. It is the indie bands that will eventually be the sound of today.

Anyone could pick up a guitar and record a CD if they tried hard enough, however, in our day and age it's getting harder and harder for artists to get by and do what they love. They spend thousands of dollars recording in a studio along with hundreds of hours practicing songs for shows not for their own personal enjoyment but so that anyone who gets into what their saying can go and buy their CD's. Bands travel all over the world trying to sell CD's and they need as much support as possible from everyone that can give it. If the music scene were to die then there would be no more places for people especially the younger generations to hang out at and our society wouldn't be as social as it is now.

Indie music is for everyone no matter who they are, what they like, or what color their skin is, there is an indie artist(s) that they would like. Friends, family, anyone can go out and see bands play and have a great time and this is because of the artists that work hard to make people so happy. Music is a something for everyone to enjoy, indie music makes it so there is something for everyone no matter what they like. The music scene can only die if indie bands stop getting attention and all those dreams of thousands of people are not supported. Everyone should try to listen to indie music at least once and remember what it is about, being independent, living a dream.

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Review - Hujan

Band: Hujan
Genre: Alternative Rock

Formed in early 2006, this wave-worthy band consists of Noh on vocals and second guitar, Dimas on bass, Iyag on first guitar and Ambobzeela on drums. They play alternative rock.

Sound: The first time I listened to this band, I think it was The Strokes with a different singer singing in Malay. A lot of similarities between Hujan and The Strokes in terms of sound.

Lyrics: One word to describe their lyrics, AMAZING!!! The lyric in "Kuala Lumpur" is too straight forward but it is still great to listen to. In "Pagi Yang Gelap", who ever made the lyrics for this song is genius. Great song.

Impression: Their songs are impressive. I love the vocals. For me, this is one of the best band in Malaysia and their best song is Pagi Yang Gelap. Go check them out!!!

www.myspace.com/kugiranhujan
amp.channelv.com/kugiranhujan

Welcome

Welcome everybody to this blog.

Why I made this blog?
I made this blog to promote Malaysia Independent Music Scene, to share our view and opinion on our beloved scene and to show my support on our local industry.

What can we find in this blog?
You can find review on Malaysian artists and discover new Malaysia artists.


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