The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 15 Mar 2013 04:22 PM PDT MARCH 16 — One of the most unique things about Malaysia is our deep respect for our elders. It doesn't matter what your ethnic background is, if you're Malaysian then chances are you just can't help but respect your elders because we're simply brought up that way. And this shows even in the supposedly very young and "rebellious" field of rock 'n' roll. Why do I say this? Because of the word "otai" which is slang for "old timer." Even though it's used to describe old timers in other fields as well, I don't think it's wrong to say that it's the Mat rock clan that made it the ubiquitous word that it has become. Now even though I'm the kind of guy that a lot of people describe as polite (oh how other people's parents love me, haha), which means that I do respect my elders, I've never really bought into this whole otai thing before. I think the fact that I pretty much grew up a punk rocker means that I basically rebelled against liking the music of most of these otais because they play rock kapak (or cock rock aka hair metal as the Westerners put it), which is exactly the kind of music that us simple-minded punk rockers are totally against. Of course, as a primary school kid growing up listening to the radio, there's no way I could escape humming or singing along to classics by bands like Search, Wings, May, Bumiputra Rockers, Gersang and loads more. Those classics are part of my musical fabric whether I like it or not, but it doesn't mean that I'd want to be caught dead in public singing them. Running into some of these otais backstage as I made my way into the rock 'n' roll world with my own band hasn't changed my mind either because for the most part the ones I do encounter don't seem as people-friendly as the punk rock otais (oh yes, we have those here in Malaysia too!) who I grew up admiring. Friendliness is one thing, but the thing that usually proves I'm right is how these otais usually fail to adequately respond to or understand the younger bands who are mostly not playing their favoured rock kapak music. This is where my complaints usually lie, which is their failure to even try to keep up with the current musical times and look at things from the young bands' point of view. Time and again I will read or hear the otais in interviews dismissing younger bands as "syok sendiri." I guess it's just the musical equivalent of having our elders dismiss us as just being plain wrong because we simply haven't lived as long as they have and therefore lack the necessary experience and knowledge to know better. And when we do come across a cool uncle, auntie, grandpa or grandma who strays from this default position, we're usually quite rightly very impressed. Having worked on a reality TV show since last month which involves otai bands sharing their knowledge and experience with new and young bands, I'm really happy to discover that I'm not always right. With three legendary bands in the form of Alleycats, May and Lefthanded providing guidance, sharing their many war stories and most crucially honestly and earnestly trying to "touch up" or improve the young bands' music (without changing their musical identity!), it is really quite heartwarming for a musician like me to witness all that happen before my very eyes. If you're now curious to watch the show, it's called Sentuhan Ikon and it airs every Saturday and Sunday on RTM1 at 3pm, and we're at episodes 4 and 5 this week. Of course, the one-hour runtime and the mainly musical nature of the show will mean that not all of the interactions between the otai bands and the young bands under their wing get shown on TV, but even then I think it's quite clear for all to see how refreshing the empathy and understanding shown by the otai bands and how warm the respect shown by the young bands. What impresses me most is how the otai bands manage to impart very useful musical advice and knowledge even to bands that play music that is totally different from them, even when the young bands' chosen musical genre requires much less virtuoso skill than the otai bands' music. And they do this without appearing condescending for even one tiny second! Although I've always liked the hits by bands like May and Alleycats before this, I think I love them more now that I've seen first-hand how wonderful they are as people. It's usually not nice to be proven wrong, but in this case it just feels sweet to be proven so. As Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin J. Candie put it in the film Django Unchained — "Gentlemen, you had my curiosity before, but now you have my attention!" * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. | |
| Posted: 15 Mar 2013 04:15 PM PDT
MARCH 16 — Well done Brendon McCullum, you wily old fox. McCullum is captain of the New Zealand cricket team, which is currently playing against England in the second test match of their series in Wellington (the first test was drawn). Before the match got under way, McCullum was falling over himself to eulogise his opposite number, England skipper Alastair Cook, who has been in a rich vein of form with the bat. Lapsing into a severe bout of hyperbole, McCullum stated that Cook is a "genius" whose ability with the bat has only ever been surpassed by the legendary Australian Donald Bradman. Now, I'm a big fan of Cook's and he will almost certainly end up as England's all-time leading run scorer, but rating him as second only to Bradman is pushing it. Even in my lifetime, suggesting that Cook is the equal of Brian Lara, Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar or Sachin Tendulkar would be a rather generous conclusion, especially when you consider Cook's very good but far from exceptional batting average of 49.6. While there's a chance that McCullum meant every word he said in a respectful spirit of sporting chivalry, the more likely scenario is that he was deliberately exaggerating for effect. Perhaps the New Zealanders have been fed-up with hearing about Cook's brilliant form and the skipper decided to employ some heavy irony as a form of mockery — some kind of New Zealand squad in-joke, I wouldn't be surprised. Or maybe he was attempting to lull Cook into a bout of complacency, telling the Englishman what a wonderful player he is so that he'd become over-confident and stop doing the things that made him successful in the first place. Whatever the motivation, we can be pretty confident — because these days sportsmen generally enter into every press conference knowing exactly what they're saying and why — that McCullum had a specific purpose in mind and can therefore be accused of indulging in a spot of what has become known as "mind games": the psychological warfare to and fro that supposedly provides a framework for any sporting encounter and sets the tone for the action that lies ahead. The popular theory is that "mind games" fill an important function as a prelude for the real contest on the field of play, somehow exerting a significant impact upon the outcome of the encounter by insinuating certain ideas into the psyches of the contestants; filling their heads with confidence or fear, anticipation or nerves, vengeance or supplication... to win the real game, apparently you first need to win the mind games. What nonsense. Mind games are played, perhaps, but nowhere near as the media would like us to believe, and it's only very rarely that they can be truly regarded as making a real difference to the sporting action that follows. McCullum, for example, may be feeling quite pleased with himself after snaring England captain Cook for a measly 17 runs immediately after his "genius" comments. But in reality there was, I am convinced, no connection between the "only Bradman is better" speech and Cook's low dismissal; it was just one of those innings that all batsmen (even Bradman) encounter on a reasonably regular basis. In the same way that it would be ridiculous to conclude that Cook only scored 17 because McCullum called him a genius, it's equally off the mark to bestow any real meaning to the words spoken by the media's crowned prince of mind games, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. Fergie, we are regularly told by the media, succeeds in undermining the confidence of opposing managers and players by unleashing a cleverly calculated torrent of subtly suggestive statements that somehow strike the mark of a weak spot, time after time. Erm... no he doesn't. Ferguson is a right old moaner, yes (although a lot less now than he used to be), and has a magnificent knack of manipulating the media by whining about referees, for example, to create headlines and deflect attention away from his own team's failings or pressures. But these things only matter to the media and to fans who allow themselves to get carried away by the peripheral chatter; they have no impact whatsoever upon the subsequent action. Liverpool, for example, did not lose the 2008/9 title to United because Ferguson masterfully manipulated Reds boss Rafa Benitez into unleashing his infamous semi-coherent "Facts" tirade; they lost it because they drew too many games against moderate opposition while Fernando Torres was out injured. And similarly, Newcastle did not lose the 1995/6 title to United because Ferguson goaded Kevin Keegan into delivering his even more infamous "I would love it!" rant; they lost it because they were an already unbalanced team who became more unbalanced following the mid-season signing of Faustino Asprilla. On both those occasions, Ferguson's ramblings — albeit great material for the media to write easy stories — had little to do with the successes enjoyed by his team. In the same way, United's late collapse at the end of last season was not due to Fergie suddenly losing his all-powerful mastery of mind games. He didn't and it wasn't. So the next time you read about such-and-such manager "playing mind games" before a big match, take it with a large pinch of salt. They are probably doing nothing more than falling into the media's trap of creating a few easy headlines with some gently provocative comments. It will often be done knowingly to direct the media's agenda in a specific direction (Jose Mourinho is particularly keen on this strategy) but when the proverbial white line is crossed, it will count for next to nothing. And by the way, Brendon McCullum's mind games — if that's what they were — weren't really that successful. Cook might have gone for 17, but England's next two batsmen (Nick Compton and Jonathan Trott) both scored centuries. So perhaps McCullum's comments were aimed at hiding the deficiencies in his own team's bowling department... now that's a bit more like it. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan