The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:37 PM PDT MARCH 30 ― As easy listening as power pop may be, you'd be surprised at how hard it is to actually find bands that play power pop or just sugar-coated melodic rock 'n' roll in South-East Asia. Most bands who fall under the "melodic" umbrella in this region are either Britpop bands, indie pop bands, punk pop bands or hipster bands playing melodic indie rock. The rare few who do rock 'n' roll or garage rock usually have attitude to spare, but barely enough melody to pass around. Playing rough yet catchy rock 'n' roll songs is an art form that very few in the region have mustered enough courage to master, because catchy rock 'n' roll by definition necessitates the sort of simplicity that many a musician's ego can never tolerate. So whenever I come across a kindred spirit from a neighbouring country, I'd get unreasonably excited and am almost certain to try and start a friendship with said kindred spirit, and more often than not we do end up becoming real good buddies afterwards. Despite the many mainstream Indo rock bands conquering the airwaves even in Malaysia and Singapore, my heart still belongs to Sheila On 7, who turned out to be really nice people in person as well and of course one of my all-time favourites Naif. But it's in the Indonesian underground where my true kindred spirits hide, in the form of the very Weezer-inspired The Adams, the very Wondermints-ish Sore and Surabaya boys Vox. To this very day I still listen to their albums like I would talk to my best friend, which is as often as I can. When a country with as big a population (and as rich a music scene) as Indonesia can only offer a handful of bands for my heart to truly love, it's quite a surprise that a country as small as Singapore can offer two (not counting those that have disbanded). While the Indonesian bands I mentioned may not actually be power pop fans, the boys in Singaporean band Typewriter (or at least their frontman) are true blue power pop fans who are tuned in to the pop underground. And the fact that their debut album is so excellent is more reason to love them. Still, one of the earliest buddies I've made from a neighbouring country is the Singaporean band The Pinholes, whom I first met when my band Couple played there for the Baybeats festival in 2004. If I'm not mistaken, it's either right back then or a year or two later that I got a copy of their wonderful EP (released as a CD-R), and we've even played quite a few shows together there over the years. Even though in all of my music-related friendships I've always made it a point to make actual friends instead of "contacts", which means that I'd have to like them as people first, I've been quite lucky that most of the bands I admire have turned out to be sweet people as well. So even though I love the Pinholes boys like brothers, it's their awesome music that got me hooked in the first place. And for years I've pestered them to make an album or at the very least release something on a properly pressed CD instead of CD-R, and after numerous stops and starts and scrapped recording sessions, they've finally released a new EP called "Youth Of Gold" earlier this week, which they launched on Monday March 25, 2013. Not being able to make it to their EP launch in Singapore because of work commitments, they kindly emailed me MP3s of the songs from the 4-song EP. I've already heard their single "Sunshine", a sweet little guitar pop jam that will remind people of chilling on the beach, for which they released a music video on YouTube about a month back. They've rearranged "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll", which on their old EP sounded more like The Cribs but has now been transformed into an altogether different beast courtesy of a bassline that's obviously inspired by The Beatles' "Taxman." And of the two new songs (to me at least), my favourite would have to be "Preferably", which perfectly encapsulates the old Pinholes that fans have loved and missed all these years (they've changed line-ups quite a bit over the years) and the current incarnation. If there's one thing about them that I find totally endearing, but some may not, is their sometimes grammatically (and maybe even purposely?) incorrect English, best exemplified by the opening lines of "Preferably" which goes – "My life has been so wonderful and miracle" – just so it can rhyme with the word "circle." It might look weird on paper, but once you hear it sung with that irresistible melody, I'm sure you'll forgive them and enjoy the song for what it is – rock 'n' roll. So if catchy rock 'n' roll is your cup of tea, please seek The Pinholes' new EP out as it's already one of my favourite releases of the year. And if you're already a fan, we'll be playing a gig with them at a new venue called Alternate HQ on the 3rd floor of Fahrenheit88, Bukit Bintang, next Saturday, April 7, 2013 at 3pm. See you there and long live rock 'n' roll! * This is the personal opinion of the columnist | |
| Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:32 PM PDT
MARCH 30 — Is this the most boring league season in the history of European football? A few months ago I wrote despairingly in this column that the major leagues were bearing the resemblance of rather uninteresting two horse races. If only Id been right. Instead, an even more dull pattern has emerged with all of the "big four" leagues effectively already decided. In England, Manchester United have got the Premier League title pretty much wrapped up. With just nine games to play, theyre already 15 points clear of second placed Manchester City, and have a great chance to further strengthen their grip on the trophy as they travel to out of form Sunderland this weekend. Although Uniteds haul of 74 points from 29 games is extremely impressive, I think it says more about the paucity of the opposition than their own excellence. Robin van Persies acquisition last summer has significantly improved the Red Devils but this is by no means a vintage United side and, a few miles across Manchester, Citys hierarchy at the Etihad Stadium must be losing faith in Roberto Mancini after his failure to mount anything like a meaningful challenge to retain the title. Mancini has made many errors, but principally he is paying the price for failing to resolve his squads striker issues before it became too late. Even a year ago, when they were en-route to the title, it was blatantly obvious that the talented but fiery quartet of Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko was not a viable long-term solution: too many egos, too many soloists. But Mancini failed to act, despite several warning signs, and his sides lack of firepower is the biggest single reason for their poor campaign. City have only scored 51 league goals so far this season – 18 fewer than United and even six fewer than Liverpool (and only nine more than Lionel Messi on his own). Sir Alex Ferguson, I may suggest, would never have made the same mistake — one of his greatest strengths over the years has been the ability to know exactly when to dismantle a successful squad and build anew. Speaking of Messi, the title race is no more interesting in Spain, where Barcelonas imperious start to the season has allowed them to establish a 13-point lead over Real Madrid with just 10 games remaining. In the same way that I feel Mancini is largely responsible for his teams poor campaign, my regular readers will not be surprised to learn that Im more than happy to point the finger at Jose Mourinho as well (any excuse, frankly). The poisonous atmosphere within and around the Bernabeu camp, which so badly affected their progress in the early months of the season, has been largely caused by Mourinhos insatiable ego; and although his teams form has improved markedly in recent weeks, Id wager thats a case of the squad bonding together against Mourinho, rather than with him. Over in the German Bundesliga, Bayern Munichs progress has been even more emphatic, with the Bavarian giants no less than 20 points clear of second placed Borussia Dortmund. This means Bayern could even clinch the title this weekend — all they need to do is beat Hamburg at home and see Dortmund drop points in their trip to mid-table Stuttgart. Although Munich are a fabulous team who have a good chance of winning the Champions League, Dortmund are also a formidable outfit and their relatively poor league form (five defeats and seven draws in their 26 games) appears to be a side-effect of their determination to advance deep into the Champions League – a task they have achieved in impressive style to line up next weeks quarter final against Malaga. And then theres Italy, where last seasons champions Juventus are well on course to retain their Serie A crown: Antonio Contes team are nine points ahead of second placed Napoli, whose form has faltered badly in recent weeks. So theres little excitement in store in Europes big four leagues; but at least there could still be some drama in Frances Ligue 1. Paris St Germains Qatari-backed multimillionaires — David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and friends — are five points ahead of Lyon, but the Parisians have looked fragile away from home all season, failing to win any of their last three road trips. Lyon still have a chance, and Premier League fans will be keeping an eye on whether third placed Marseille — containing notorious former Newcastle et al bad boy Joey Barton — can make a late charge for the title. If its real late-season cliff-hangers that youre after, however, theres no option but to go Dutch. Theres a veritable four-horse race in the Netherlands Eredivisie, where Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord and surprise packages Vitesse are separated by just three points. But Im afraid thats it. In terms of title chases, Europe can currently offer nothing more exciting than Joey Barton and Vitesse Arnhem — I feel almost apologetic. At least we have the final stages of the Champions League to look forward to, and there are some terrific encounters in store ahead of Mays final at Wembley. I believe five of the remaining eight teams are easily good enough to win it — Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Real Madrid — and the quarter finals get underway next week. So if youre after top quality football, forget the domestic leagues and set your alarm clocks for late nights on Tuesday and Wednesday: thats where the finest action will be found. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist |
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