Ten Minute Mixtapes Volume 6: Maradilla Syachridar (Homogenic)

Ten Minute Mixtapes Volume 5: Wahyu “Acum” Nugroho (Bangkutaman)

Ten Minute Mixtapes Volume 4: Priscilla Jamail (Monday Math Class)

Ten minutes to make a playlist chosen from songs on my 160GB iPod Classic. That’s the concept behind Ten Minute Mixtapes, in which I get people to make them for me. It’s really simple, all they have to do is browse my iPod’s library and just select the tracks they want. The ten-minute time limit gives it an added adrenaline edge, so they don’t have too much time to think when picking their songs. It’s so easy that I can just ask anyone I find to make one without having to make a prior appointment.

This mixtape was curated by Priscilla Jamail, to whom I indirectly owe my current delusions of being a musician.

I first met her on Sunday, August 26th 2007. By then I was in my second year working for Rolling Stone Indonesia, and had pretty much forgotten about being in a band. Not that I had any burning desire to do so, even though I had dabble a bit back in high school. But I suppose a lack of talent prevented me from pursuing it with any real intent, and so by the time I was with Rolling Stone Indonesia, I was content to just write about bands instead of actually being in one.

Anyway, one of the bands I wrote about was The Adams, and as things go, I ended up doing a lot of hanging out with the band and going to their gigs. That was the case on that particular day, when they were at Ancol to play at the inaugural Urban Fest. This time around, their entourage included a teenage girl. Didn’t talk much, because I didn’t really know how to talk to random teenage girls I just met.

A few months later, I learned from The Adams’ lead singer Ario Hendarwan that he had a side project called Monday Math Class in which he only wrote the music and didn’t sing. So who was singing? Do you really have to ask? I still don’t know how it came about, so maybe I have some asking to do.

Eventually word got around about Monday Math Class, and they were invited to play a gig. Ario didn’t think just the two of them would work, and so he decided to fill out the live line-up. Prisci got her friend Ghyan to sing backing vocals, while the rest of the music would be via laptop sequencer. I happened to drop by the studio when they were rehearsing, when Ario asked if I’d like to help out with the sequencer. “What do I do?” I asked, bearing in mind the lack of talent I mentioned above. “Just press the space bar,” said Ario. Easy enough. Deal!

You can read about the rest of my band exploits here. As for Prisci, I feel less weird about being a twenty-something (now thirty-something) dude in a band with a teenage girl because…actually she’s still a teenager, and will be until March of next year. But I’ve known her for so long, so eventually most of the weirdness just went away and now she’s one of my best friends whom I am quite protective of. If it weren’t for music, there really wouldn’t be any good, non-creepy reason for me to know her. So here’s to music!

This mix was curated on April 29th 2012 at Monday Math Class drummer Ildo Hasman’s house, where the band rehearses and have a home-cooked lunch. Lately it’s mostly been lunch.

Oh, and look out for Monday Math Class’ debut EP. Coming soon!

1. Arctic Monkeys - “505”

2. Bon Iver - “Roslyn” [with St. Vincent]

3. Efek Rumah Kaca - “Tubuhmu Membiru…Tragis”

4. Fleet Foxes - “Blue Ridge Mountains”

5. She & Him - “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”

6. Sore - “Pergi Tanpa Pesan”

7. Warpaint - “Billie Holiday”

8. Feist - “The Bad In Each Other”

9. The Black Keys - “Gold On The Ceiling”

10. Anda - “Biru”

11. Amy Winehouse - “The Girl From Ipanema”

12. The Beatles - “Michelle” [Mono Remaster]

13. Gorillaz - “Empire Ants”

14. The Trees & The Wild - “Kata”

Here are the complete lyrics of Pure Saturday’s new album Grey. They’ll look better if you read them while listening to the album. Like I’m doing right now.

ademuir:

1. “THE HORSEMEN”

He’s standing on top of the rock

Waving his hand & tell that the game is over

He said; You have won too many fights!

Using those swords all the times

I don’t think it’s time to put the weapons down

The enemy may profess its love

But I have let…

And here’s Ade Purnama again, giving us lyric snippets and explanations as to what each song on Pure Saturday’s new album is about.

ademuir:

(The Album Synopsis)

“You have won too many fights, come on show your brave man side!”

To start a day, is to begin another life. A journey and a battle field. A way to remember something new and another way to forget what’s left. To start a day, is to meet more lives. To…

Pure Saturday bassist Ade Purnama elaborates on the lyrical concept behind their new album Grey. You can see them play the album in its entirety on Tuesday May 15th at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, click here for ticket information.

ademuir:

“One day in a life journey”

Album ini menggambarkan “perjalanan hidup dalam satu hari”. Bercerita tentang sesuatu yang sangat dekat dengan kehidupan manusia, apa yang mungkin, juga yang lazim terjadi atau dirasakan dalam satu hari umur hidup manusia. Satu perjalanan hidup manusia…

Ten Minute Mixtapes Volume 1: David Tarigan

In case you haven’t noticed, lately I’ve been hooked on 8tracks, which enables users to make mixtapes and post them online for others to hear. The mixes I’ve posted on my page so far have turned out to be quite popular; it still boggles my mind that some of those mixes have been heard over a hundred times. I’d like to think it’s because I put quite a bit of thought while compiling them, though I don’t have enough concrete evidence to support that theory. But I can assure you that I did put a lot of thought into the mixes I’ve done so far, and you could even say I’ve put too much thought into them.

So this is the antithesis of that. I’m calling it Ten Minute Mixtapes, mostly because I can’t be bothered to think of a better name.

Basically I’m going to go around and ask other people - mostly, but not limited to, from the music world - to make mixtapes for me. But to make things interesting, I’ve given it a few twists.

1. They must only choose songs on my iPod by adding them one-by-one with the On-the-Go playlist option.

2. They have 10 minutes to do so, right there on the spot with me counting down the time.

3. After the 10 minutes are over, they stop picking songs and leave the sequence in the order of songs chosen, and they don’t have to explain why they chose those particular songs. Spontaneity is the key.

I forgot where this idea came from, other than a desire to keep my 8tracks and Tumblr pages updated substantially update with the least amount of effort required. I plan to make this a regular feature with a new one every week or even sooner.

In terms of whether or not this has a point, I guess it has a few:

1. I have a 160 GB iPod that’s filled to capacity, but I haven’t heard every song on it because I just rip entire CDs and shove the contents in there. So by having others choose the songs, it’ll make me – and by extension, you – listen to music I probably wouldn’t have listened to on my own.

2. The guest DJs get to sharpen their hand-eye coordination and memory while scrolling through my iPod’s contents looking for songs they might actually know and enjoy, all in a limited time span. I guess you could call it a digital version of frantic crate digging.

3. Ten minutes seems like enough time to pick a mixtape worth of songs without over-thinking things, which can be detrimental at times. I guess I could let people take home my iPod, but the way these things go, it would probably be weeks or even longer before I got it back. So by doing it this way, anybody can play this game at any time, and I get to take my iPod home. Everybody wins!

For this first installment, the guest DJ is David Tarigan, whom you may know for his immeasurable knowledge of, and contributions to, Indonesian music. We’ve known each other for almost a decade, when he ran Aksara Bookstore’s music section and I’d have him order CDs for me. It’s quite apropos that the first song on his mix is by The Beach Boys, because when we first met I was getting heavily into that band, and so whenever I scraped enough money together, I’d go to David and order CDs to complete my Beach Boys collection. A few years later he’d help establish Aksara Records, the late, lamented independent label that introduced us to fine bands such as Sore, White Shoes & The Couples Company, The Adams and more. He’s still an active presence in the Jakarta music scene, when he’s not busy hunting down vinyl and watching Arsenal games on TV. Choosing him for this first Ten Minute Mixtape was a no-brainer, because his expansive music taste practically guaranteed he’d find something to like on my iPod. This mix was curated on April 21^st 2012 at Borneo Beerhouse, Jakarta during Dheg Dheg Plat, a gathering of vinyl enthusiasts.

1. The Beach Boys – “Passing By”

2. Beastie Boys – “So What’cha Want”

3. Benny Spellman – “Fortune Teller”

4. Big Star – “Nightime”

5. The La’s – “Timeless Melody”

6. Matthew Sweet – “You Don’t Love Me”

7. Pixies – “Vamos”

8. Rooney – “Shakin’ ”

9. Wilco – “Impossible Germany”

10. The Zombies – “Conversation Off Floral Street”

I hope you enjoy the first experiment, and look out for the next one later this week!

Wishful Thinking: A Mixtape

What do you get when you’ve been getting abnormally emotional when listening to music recently, and been having a lousy few days? Why, this mixtape, of course! The basic concept is that these are songs for that disconnect between fantasy and reality. I’ll let you fill in the gaps yourself. Caution: it might bum you out.

1. Teenage Fanclub - “Near You”

2. Miles Kane – “Take The Night From Me”

3. Weezer – “Miss Sweeney”

4. Rilo Kiley – “Under The Blacklight”

5. Arctic Monkeys – “Cornerstone”

6. Ryan Adams – “Blue Sky Blues”

7. Keane – “Try Again”

8. The Magic Numbers – “Let Somebody In”

9. Graham Coxon – “Flights In The Sea (Lovely Rain)”

10. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “I Could Die For You”

11. Bright Eyes – “Make A Plan To Love Me”

12. Oasis – “Talk Tonight”

13. Snow Patrol – “Just Say Yes”

14. Embrace – “A Glorious Day”

15. Norah Jones – “December”

16. The Killers – “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”

17. Suede - “The Wild Ones”

18. Dodgy – “Happy Ending”

I am officially a co-producer of Demi Ucok. Or so they tell me.

A little background: some time last year I first heard about Demi Ucok through Homogenic, the electronic pop group from Bandung whose music I like and are a fun bunch of people to hang out with, among other plus points. They contributed music for the film’s soundtrack, and you can hear their song “Utopia” in the trailer:

As far as I can tell, the plot goes something like this: budding filmmaker Gloria Sinaga wants to raise money so her next movie is a significant step up from her debut effort, and her mother is all too willing to give her the money…provided Gloria gets married in grand old Batak tradition, especially after discovering that her mother is terminally ill.

In a cute twist of life imitating art, one of the plot devices in the trailer is the concept of using the internet to raise funds for Gloria’s movie, and lo and behold, you can do the same for Demi Ucok itself if you click here for details. For Rp 100,000, you can be one of the movie’s projected “co-producers”, which will get your name in the movie poster. You’ll also receive this clapper-board shaped goodie pack, containing a clapper-board shaped notebook pouch, a Post-It pad and a Kopitiam Oey voucher. I got mine yesterday, which you can see here.

They’re aiming for 10,000 co-producers by June 2012.The money will go towards transferring the film and enabling it to be screened in cinemas across Indonesia, as well as promotional costs.

According to their website as I write this, so far they’re at 725.

A long way to go in the space of a month and a half, then.

Now, I’m familiar with this sort of thing. I’ve paid in advance for albums by Idlewild and Cast long before the bands even started recording, effectively helping those bands finance the making of their albums in return for certain incentives. Idlewild got my name into their thank you list; Cast offered a selection of goodies that you can see here.

But those were bands whose previous albums I had enjoyed, so those were more like the usual case of buying an artist’s latest work but paying earlier than you normally would. Whereas in Demi Ucok’s case, a few weeks later I still ask myself why I’ve sent them my money, other than it seemed like a cool thing to do and I had an extra Rp 100,000 lying around.

There are no big names starring in it, the filmmakers are relative newcomers with only one previous movie to their name, Cin(t)a, which I have not yet seen, so I didn’t do it because of their resume, though I know that movie was critically-acclaimed and won awards.

I didn’t do it because of any strong emotional ties with the people involved, because I’d never met any of them until a brief encounter just over two weeks ago when I took a random trip to Bandung because I was bored at home, ended up at Geek Fest and stumbled into a panel for the movie, where I asked some questions regarding the whole co-producer thing, because I was familiar with the basic concept due to those Idlewild and Cast albums and was curious as to how it could work in Indonesia (and won a free Cin(t)a DVD, which I’ll get around to watching as soon as I can). It was nice meeting writer-director Sammaria Simanjuntak and co-stars Sunny Soon and Mak Gondut (Sammaria’s mother) at the panel, and they all seem like nice, cool and passionate people. But I don’t think even Bill Gates hands over the equivalent of Rp 100,000 every time he meets someone nice, cool and passionate.

I didn’t do it for Homogenic, because while it would be nice for more people to get turned on to their music through this movie and maybe even lead to some more soundtrack work for them, ultimately it’s just another way for them to get their music out there. If people don’t see this movie, they’ll still be able to hear Homogenic’s music via CD, radio and the Internet, or when they come to shows (which I recommend).

I didn’t do it due to any cultural connections, because I am not Batak and I assume a lot of the Batak references that may be contained will go flying over my head when I see the movie.

And yes, I didn’t do it because I’ve seen the movie. I haven’t. For all I know it could suck, in spite of good word-of-mouth on Twitter from people who - for all I know - could just be saying those things to help out their fellow filmmakers. Support your local film industry and all that, which I am all for. But ultimately, I’m not a big enough film buff that I’m willing to spend my time and/or money to see every highly-touted Indonesian movie for the sake of supporting the scene. I only go to see movies that I’m personally interested in for whatever reason, regardless of any hype surrounding them.

So I don’t know if this will be a good movie, though I’ve heard some of the songs Homogenic contributed and enjoyed them, so if it turns out to be crap, at least it’ll be a crap movie with a great soundtrack. But I doubt Homogenic would want to get involved with anything that sucked, and I trust their taste. And the clips I just saw on Demi Ucok’s YouTube channel hint at a movie with some smart, hilarious dialogue, so there’s reason to be optimistic.

So why have I given Demi Ucok Rp 100,000? Because I don’t have to be any of those things I mentioned above. As far as I’m concerned, this is a potentially-entertaining movie with a great premise that anyone who’s had diverging goals from their parents (and really, who hasn’t?) can relate to, regardless of their background. It seems like the kind of movie that I would want to see based on the premise alone, in terms of personal taste. I can only hope the execution will be as great.

I can also see that this co-producer thing is an interesting experiment that could pave the way for the independent funding of all sorts of creative endeavours, which is why it’s worth taking part in. Don’t think about whether or not they reach their target of 10,000 co-producers, though I really hope they do, or at least find simpatico sponsors who are willing to give them the funds they need, while leaving the movie as is and not tampering with it. Don’t even think about it as being Rp 100,000 you’ll never get back, because the lessons you could learn from this experiment could prove to be worth much more than Rp 100,000. At the very least, you’ll get your name on the movie’s poster without having to go through all the hard work required to make a film, and that’s already cool in its own right. And there are definitely worse things you could blindly spend Rp 100,000 on, so why not for something that could give you the legitimate right to brag to everyone within earshot, “I co-produced a movie!”

So yes, now that I’m a co-producer, I guess you could say I have become emotionally involved with Demi Ucok. I want it to succeed, I want it to reach every cinema in Indonesia, I want people to buy tickets and see it even though it doesn’t star Fedi Nuril or have people killing each other with their bare hands (not that I know of, though that Mak Gondut seems like a feisty character). If you’re reading this, I want you to click here and learn more. Or tune in to Metro TV’s 811 Show tomorrow morning (Wednesday, April 18th) at 9:15-9:45, where the people behind Demi Ucok will talk about the movie, and presumably about the co-producer thing as well. Maybe you’ll find your own reasons to support this movie that are more valid than reading the rantings of someone who has a tough time figuring out why he does random stuff and writes a blog post about it. And just happens to be a co-producer.

High School Retrospective: A Mixtape

Making all these mixtapes brought back memories of high school, which was the height of my mixtape-making days where I’d often curate them for myself or friends. So this particular mixtape contains songs that I used to put on mixtapes - as in actual cassettes, gasp! - back in the day, and I’ve arranged them chronologically based on the release dates of the album I first heard the songs on, and extended the space to 90 minutes in honour of the blank tapes I’d fill to capacity back in the day. All of these songs just happened to be on my iPod, so there’s still many more I wish I could have included but haven’t got around to buying again on CD. All of these songs originally came out between mid-1995 and mid-1998, which is when I was in high school. Yes, I’m that old. Shut up.

1. Love Spit Love – “Am I Wrong”

(Angus soundtrack, 22 August 1995)

It was sometime in September 1995. I went to this music shop at Pondok Indah Plaza looking for the Red Hot Chili Peppers latest album, One Hot Minute. Right there next to it on the shelf was the Angus soundtrack, which I wouldn’t have noticed if the names mentioned on the front weren’t awesome. It had new music from my favourite bands at the time, Weezer and Green Day. It also introduced me to Ash, and the Goo Goo Dolls before they became boring. Buried at the end of the album was this track by Love Spit Love, whom you may remember from their cover of The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now?” that occupied the opening credits of the TV series Charmed. Guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer are also part of the current Guns ‘N Roses line-up, but back when this song came out the original G’NR still hadn’t totally imploded yet. So here’s Fortus and Ferrer still in the alternative rock scene, along with Richard and Tim Butler of the Psychedelic Furs, with their contribution to a memorable soundtrack. Much more memorable than the actual movie, which I have never seen and doubt would remember the details of even if I had.

2. Blur – “The Universal”

(The Great Escape, 11 September 1995)

I was on the fence during the great Britpop War. I had liked Blur since Parklife, which was in heavy rotation on my Walkman during the last year of junior high, and eagerly bought The Great Escape on cassette when it first came out. It did not have the staying power of its predecessor, but it still had its moments of magic such as “The Universal”. Then Oasis conquered all with (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? and Blur were relegated to a punch line, eventually redeeming themselves a couple of years later with a different sound. In hindsight, you could also argue that Blur have had more stronger albums than Oasis if you compare both bands’ careers. Redemption? Yes, it really, really could happen.

3. Toad The Wet Sprocket – “Good Intentions”

(Friends soundtrack, 26 September 1995)

I used to listen to the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 on Prambors FM every Sunday afternoon, back in the days when radio was the main way of finding new music. Yes, I grew up in a time where there was no Internet yet. Anyway, this was one of the songs I discovered from the countdown due to its inclusion on the Friends soundtrack as part of the background music where the gang holds two surprise parties for Rachel so that her estranged parents don’t meet each other. Most of that soundtrack album consisted of songs from this episode, as a matter of fact. I would also eventually learn to love The Beach Boys because of Grant Lee Buffalo’s cover of “In My Room” on this album. When they started showing Friends on Indonesian TV, I was living at my friend’s grandmother’s house, where there was only one television set. Because the episodes aired at around 10 or 11 at night when everyone else was asleep, I’d sneak out with the lights off, pull up a chair, turn the TV on with the volume really low, and watch with my eyes only a few centimetres from the screen. Listening to the soundtrack would prove to be much easier.

4. Oasis – “Cast No Shadow”

((What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, 2 October 1995)

I think the digital age has ruined the album experience. I mean, I love my iPod and the fact that I can carry around hundreds of albums in my pocket and listen to them any time I want, and I also like the fact that I earn enough money to keep buying CDs and have a job where I get them for free. But I think it’s resulted in a diminished attention span, in which I just rip all those new CDs and shove them into my iPod to listen later on, if at all. And when I do get around to listening, I never seem to memorise every single detail like I did back in my teen years where I only had a limited amount of money to spend on cassettes, especially since I lived in a different country from my parents, who would send my allowance once a month. So when I did buy a new cassette, I would listen to it over and over on my Walkman until I knew the song sequence and lyrics by heart. (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? was one of those albums that is now permanently imprinted on my subconscious. “Cast No Shadow” is track eight, or Side B track two in cassette terms. I just typed that based on memory, without looking at my iPod. Getting to meet them (well Liam and Noel, the other members on this album were already long gone) in 2006 was a big deal, and it all started from here.

5. The Smashing Pumpkins – “Tonight, Tonight”

(Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, 24 October 1995)

Siamese Dream passed me by. When it came out I had just moved to Jakarta to live with my elder brother, and what I listened to was still mostly passed down from him: Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. No Smashing Pumpkins. So I finally got on board after my brother left Jakarta and I lived on my own, and started to develop my own taste in music. MTV had also started broadcasting in South East Asia, and so “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, “1979” and other videos from Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness were in heavy rotation. I fell in love with “Tonight, Tonight” before the video came out, and the next time I know the band were winning awards left and right and losing members to heroin overdoses. Like Oasis, I finally got to see the band long after I fell in love with their work and they’d already gone through significant member changes. But seeing and hearing the new-look Smashing Pumpkins perform “Tonight, Tonight” reminded me that music often transcends its creators.

6. Dodgy – “One Of Those Rivers”

(Free Peace Sweet, 16 March 1996)

The definition of deep cut. I keep looking for live versions of this song on YouTube, but I suppose it’s one of those songs that the band couldn’t bother taking out of the studio, even though they probably could afford to hire a touring banjo player and string section as the album Free Peace Sweet was at the height of their popularity. Lots of catchy songs on the album, but back then I kept gravitating towards this because of its sprawling, epic vibe. The original line-up of Dodgy broke up in the wake of this album, and got back together a few years ago, resulting in a just-released album that sounds more West Coast than Britpop. Now that I think about it, you can trace the roots for that new album back to this song.

7. Ash – “Lost In You”

(1977, 6 May 1996)

I think I had a special place in my heart from the start for Ash, because they were closer to my age than the other bands I liked. Them and Silverchair, but I didn’t really like Silverchair during their first album. They felt like they were trying too hard to sound like some grizzled old grunge band, whereas Ash sounded like the fun-loving teens they really were. Plus they had better songs. “Girl From Mars”, “Kung Fu”, “Angel Interceptor”, “Oh Yeah”? Oh, yeah.

8. Manic Street Preachers – “The Girl Who Wanted To Be God”

(Everything Must Go, 20 May 1996)

My elder brother introduced me to the Manic Street Preachers when I first moved to Jakarta in 1993. I liked “Motorcycle Emptiness”, but I saw their photo in a magazine and decided they were just too weird. Then I lost track of them, only noting the news about one of their members mysteriously vanishing. But they came back in the midst of Britpop, and this was the song that Prambors had on their playlist, and they didn’t look as weird as they used to. In fact, they looked like an entirely different band, with all their sensible polo shirts and trousers. Eventually I tracked down the album it came from, Everything Must Go, and get stuck into their other songs like “A Design For Life” and “Kevin Carter”, before going back to their older albums, including The Holy Bible which I got at a shop without paying, if you know what I mean. But it was in crappy condition, so I felt that was fair enough.

9. Weezer – “Across The Sea”

(Pinkerton, 24 September 1996)

Undoubtedly, Weezer are my band. The first band that I discovered on my own, the band that shaped the development of my musical taste as it is now. Their first album was the soundtrack of my last year in junior high, so naturally I was awaiting their second one with high anticipation. I remember going to school one Saturday because we had to take an IQ test, then afterwards we went to McDonald’s at Plaza Senayan because my classmate Dimitri was buying us lunch for his birthday. Then we stopped by Duta Suara, and while browsing the shelves I found Pinkerton on CD. I didn’t have enough money, but luckily I instantly thought of making a deal with the birthday boy: he would pay for the CD with his money first, and in exchange he would get first dibs at borrowing it, since he also liked Weezer. With that kind of thinking, no wonder I got 143 on my IQ test. I used to be smart, once upon a time. Anyway, listening to Pinkerton for the first time was a jarring experience, especially if you were accustomed to the instant catchiness of The Blue Album. But “Across The Sea” was the one song that grabbed me the moment I heard it, and to this day I’m still sure it could have been a hit single that would prevent the album from flopping.

10. Fountains Of Wayne – “She’s Got A Problem”

(Fountains Of Wayne, 1 October 1996)

Ever bought an album solely based on a review? This was probably the first time I did that, after previously buying cassettes and CDs based on name recognition or hearing something on the radio or MTV. I don’t recall hearing any Fountains Of Wayne songs before I read a review (I think it was in Q), so one day while I dropped by the music shop while visiting my parents in Saudi Arabia I picked it up on a whim. One of the best decisions I made during that holiday. But then again I don’t recall many decisions I made during that holiday. I do know that Fountains Of Wayne bassist and co-songwriter Adam Schlesinger is everywhere – he did the That Thing You Do! Soundtrack soon after, and is also a member of Ivy and best friends with ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, who keeps showing up on Fountains Of Wayne albums.

11. Live – “Lakini’s Juice”

(Secret Samadhi, 18 February 1997)

Live’s Throwing Copper was another of my junior high soundtracks, with songs like “Selling The Drama”, “I Alone” and “Lightning Crashes”. Ed Kowalczyk also made me feel better about cutting my hair really short, though I never had that weird pigtail like he did in the “I Alone” video. Then their next album came around, and I suppose you could count it as another example of sophomore slump, even though it was actually their third album. “Lakini’s Juice” was a strange choice for a first single since it’s built upon that droning riff and there doesn’t seem to be anything resembling a chorus, but as I’ve become older I’ve learned to appreciate it more. I interviewed Ed last year on short notice, and in our brief chat I could only think of whatever came into my head. I didn’t get to tell him that the first time I ever sang on stage with a band was during my junior high farewell where we played “I Alone”, and I trashed the microphone stand much to the dismay of the equipment rental people. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t tell him that, because I don’t think he’d be pleased to know he was the inspiration behind my act of teenage destruction.

12. Ben Folds Five – “Brick”

(Whatever And Ever Amen, 18 March 1997)

I was a bit of a fascist when it came to rock bands. It had to be guitars, bass and drums, and maybe keyboards if really necessary. Ben Folds Five had no guitars, and they only had three members even though their name strongly suggested there should be five. Then I heard “One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces” on Prambors and was blown away. Managed to find the Whatever And Ever Amen CD in Saudi Arabia while on vacation during the end-of-school break, and became obsessed with the album upon returning to Jakarta. I instantly fell in love with “Brick”, which eventually became a single and their biggest ever hit. Too bad Ben Folds didn’t play it when he came to Jakarta last year, but at least I got to hang out with him and dig for Ben Folds Five gossip. Looking forward to the new album, I hope their time apart has done them good.

13. Cast – “I’m So Lonely”

(Mother Nature Calls, 14 April 1997)

Around this period I started buying a lot of music magazines, especially British ones like Q and Select. Naturally, I ended up listening to a lot of Britpop, and Cast were one of the main bands. I had their first album but didn’t really get into it beyond “Alright” and “Walkaway”. I think John Power’s voice was just too nasally for me. “Live The Dream”, the first song I heard from their second album Mother Nature Calls as it was played on the radio, also didn’t do much for me. But I ended up buying the album anyway, and eventually found songs more to my liking. “I’m So Lonely” became an instant favourite because that pretty much summed up my high school life up to that point. Sad but true.

14. Supergrass – “Sun Hits The Sky”

(In It For The Money, 21 April 1997)

This is another album I bought because of a review; I remember it getting five stars in Q, but in hindsight they also gave five to Oasis’ Be Here Now, so maybe their judgment might have been suspect for Supergrass too. But that was enough to make me go and buy it, even though at the time I didn’t really listen to their first album besides “Alright”, and In It For The Money’s songs still hold up today. I remember the day I bought this cassette at Aquarius Mahakam, because some lady walked up to me and asked if I’d be interested in auditioning for a commercial. No idea why, they were probably desperate. But I went along anyway, just to see how it went. Fortunately I didn’t have to do anything too embarrassing other than sit on a tricycle and pretend that was my motorbike, then act surprised when the real owner showed up. I didn’t get the part, which is probably a good thing. Otherwise I’d have spent the past decade typecast in commercials, movies and soap operas as the nerdy guy in the background.

15. Foo Fighters – “Up In Arms”

(The Colour And The Shape, 20 May 1997)

This is the song I gravitated towards the most on the Foo Fighters’ second album because it had a Weezer vibe to it. This album came out just over a year after they performed in Jakarta, and I recall seeing the video for “Monkey Wrench” and thinking, “Hey, what happened to the other drummer?” The other drummer – William Goldsmith – left during the making of this album because Dave Grohl wasn’t happy with his drumming and decided to re-record the parts by himself without telling Goldsmith, which didn’t go down too well. This is one of the two songs on the album that still featured Goldsmith’s drumming, though you can’t really gauge his skill because he’s only on the soft part at the beginning. Coincidentally, Goldsmith’s replacement Taylor Hawkins had also been in Jakarta a few months before this album came out, as Alanis Morissette’s drummer. He joined Foo Fighters after the album was done, but just in time to appear in the “Monkey Wrench” video and make me confused.

16. Radiohead – “Let Down”

(OK Computer, 21 May 1997)

For me, this is the defining Radiohead album. Songs that the average person may know like “Creep” and “High And Dry” are embarrassments in comparison, whereas Kid A is envelope-pushing but tuneless. OK Computer is where they found the perfect balance between experimentation and song craft, and is the reason why I shudder whenever I hear about them putting away their guitars for their latest albums. Guitars are good, they help you remember to write a tune worth remembering. Like “Let Down”.

17. Teenage Fanclub – “Ain’t That Enough”

(Songs From Northern Britain, 18 July 1997)

This is another band that I could have got into earlier but finally got around to based on stuff I read. In this case, I bought Was There Then, an Oasis book by Jill Furmanovsky. Back then I picked up just about any Oasis books I could find, especially if they were by someone close to the band. In Furmanovsky’s case, she was their regular photographer during their first three albums, at least. Her book featured the best of her Oasis photos, including shots from the sessions for Be Here Now. Making a cameo appearance were Teenage Fanclub, who were recording their own album in the same studio. Cue photos of Liam Gallagher inviting them to listen to Be Here Now and calling Teenage Fanclub the second greatest band in the world. (No points for guessing whom Liam considered the greatest.) With that glowing endorsement, I had no choice but to check them out. And they are now one of my favourite bands of all time, ranking up there with Weezer and Oasis. So I guess Liam was right.

18. Northern Uproar – “Any Way You Look”

(Yesterday Tomorrow Today, 25 August 1997)

This is a classic example of discovering new music from the radio. I heard it on Prambors, liked it, waited for the announcer to mention the name of the artist and title of the song, then would go looking for the cassette the next time I was at the shop. Northern Uproar were the runt of the Britpop pack, a bunch of brats from Manchester that weren’t taken too seriously because of how young they were. Next thing I know, I’m reading interviews in which they talk about their second album being influenced by The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. I hadn’t got into The Beach Boys at that point, but now I can hear what they meant, especially on “Any Way You Look” with its sophisticated vocal harmonies and melancholy hidden within a joyous tune. Brian Wilson would be proud.

19. The Verve – “Velvet Morning”

(Urban Hymns, 29 September 1997)

The year 1997 was all about “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and that iconic video of Richard Ashcroft walking down the street and bumping into every poor sucker that gets in his way. Quite a bit like the song itself, with its slow but relentless pace that sucks everyone in. Then the album Urban Hymns came out, with songs like “The Drugs Don’t Work”, “Sonnet” and “Lucky Man” that made you glad they changed their mind about breaking up. Of course, they broke up again after touring this album, then got back together and recorded and toured another album, then broke up again. By the time you finish reading this sentence, they’ll probably be thinking about giving it another go.

20. Green Day – “Worry Rock”

(Nimrod, 13 October 1997)

I remember high school being quite a lonely time in terms of having friends with mutual music taste and a similar intensity towards it. So I was still into alternative music while everyone else was hopping on to whatever bandwagon was going on, including house music and acid jazz. Adolescent identity crisis, I guess. Green Day were one of those bands that everyone was into back in junior high because of Dookie, then most people lost interest in as they got older. I stuck with them, even though Insomniac wasn’t as much fun as Dookie. I was surprised by Nimrod, because it still had their signature pop punk sound, but also divergences such as the cinematic instrumental “Last Ride In” and the poignant acoustic number “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)” which I’d let friends listen to on my Walkman before asking them, “Guess who that was?” No one ended up being converted back to Green Day fandom, as far as I recall. But the whole act of discovery and letting people know what you’ve found is something that has stuck with me until today.

21. Pulp – “A Little Soul”

(This Is Hardcore, 30 March 1998)

And now a confession: in spite of the heavy Britpop leanings of this mixtape and my listening habits in general at the time, I have never owned a copy of Different Class, one of the defining albums of that era. Back in the day I never really got into Pulp’s music; I remember thinking the “Common People” video was a cheap rip-off of Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” (because they were both set in a supermarket, you see), with extra lame choreography. I just didn’t get it, basically. Oddly enough I got more into This Is Hardcore, which is the antithesis of Different Class with Jarvis Cocker struggling to come to terms with the madness of fame. So it’s a somewhat more mature and wiser Jarvis you hear on that album, with music that matches his downbeat mood. On “A Little Soul”, he dispenses words of advice to his son (imaginary, I imagine) so he doesn’t end up repeating the same mistakes as his father. Heavy stuff, which probably flew over my head at the time. I just liked the prettiness of the tune. After hearing the lyrics again just now, I imagine what my advice would be to my son. It would probably be something like, “Are you sure you want mixtapes to take up that much of your time?”