Georgetterox

Maybe you just love the outer side.

But when you’re asked to get into the inner side, you’re not interested of it.

Angklung of SMP 2 Bandung

I fought with my parents last week.

I wanted them to go with me to a mall, coz I read in the newspaper that there was a bamboo traditional art festival on the mall.

But my dad wanted to go to an electronic shop, coz he wanted to buy a TV.

I told him to wait for another day if he wanted a TV, coz the festival weren’t always held annually (or probably I wouldn’t notice if there was, coz the event organizer looked stupid enough, didn’t know how to make promotion).

Ronteng

My dad asked why I wanted to see the bamboo festival.

My dad said that if I just wanted to see angklung, he would take me anytime to Saung Mang Udjo on the eastern town. I felt I wanted to throw him a chopstick coz he said that.

Didn’t he know that all I wanted wasn’t seeing people play angklung, but I wanted to see crowd in parties?

Seratus Persen

Briefly, that day I accompanied my parents to a tv shop.

We went home by bringing a pretty good enough TV, but I wasn’t really enthusiastic coz I’d got my mind in the festival.

I really wanted my dad to accompany me to the festival after we returned from the damn TV shop, but it was already midday and my dad had already been exhausted.

Finally I asked him to be dropped on the mall and I didn’t look at him anymore.

Samba Sunda

It wasn’t just an angklung show.

I saw people played Sundanese gamelan and Balinese gamelan, mixed with techno and ska, and even jazz.

People came into the crowd ahead the shows, and I must struggle to find a strategic position so I could snapshoot, but it was really a joyful day.

I returned to home for an hour (my house was just 20 minutes driving from the mall) to charge my cellphone’s battery, coz the cell was the only instrument that I got and accidentally the battery was low. I sweated and I smiled, but my face was shining of cheers.

I told my mom that I just came home a minute, then I’d be back to the mall.

My mom asked what kinda show that I was gonna see there. I saw a lazy expression on her face, and I realized that she wasn’t really asking.

So I just answered, “I’m gonna see a bunch of people playing music full of noise.”

I wasn’t kidding, the sound system in the festival was so loud and the techno ethnical music was really enormous.

Garniati

I returned to the festival with much more ammunition: a stomach with full of homemade food, a cellphone which has been recharged a third, and a pocket camera which guaranteed of battery-saving.

The day had already been late, the music got out louder, the artist performed all out crazier.

I was more confused coz it was getting harder forme to prefer, whether I should join the shaking into that goddamn cool gamelan ska music or I should concentrate in snapshooting.

I came home from the festival late at night, very extremely exhausted, but it was really fun absolutely.

Angklung of Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Yesterday, I evaluated the pictures that I got and showed them to my mom.

My mom got astonished coz actually the bamboo festival wasn’t just a people’s parade to play angklung on the stage as she thought before, but it showed a lotta people played angklung on the center plaza of the mall. People played Sundanese ethnical instruments in rock nuance in a pub.

A woman danced jaipong with Samba rhythm arrangements on the background.

Including a band played rap with Balinese rhythm.

My mom said, if only she knew that the show was gonna be like this, she would have joined me into the festival two days ago. I just shat up my mouth coz I didn’t believe her.

Balawan

I’d asked my dad and my mom yesterday, I’d told them that it was an ethnical music festival.

But they refused to join me and preferred the damn TV. I knew that ethnical music was their favorite.

Then I realized that my parents might just like it coz they loved heard them slightly, but if they’re asked to watch the real show, they wouldn’t always accept it.

It’s like as if you like something coz it looks good, but if the thing comes up to you, you just say no.

As if you love the look of a cheese cake, but if someone offers you to taste it, you refuse it coz you’re afraid the extra-topped cheese will make you sick.

As if you like someone, but if the person wanna get close to you more intimately, you just run far away with no reasons.

Indonesian proverb says that it’s called hangat-hangat tahi ayam. Warm like a chicken sh*t.

Tags: family, festival, music, parents

I was enjoying my blogwalking yesterday as my friend updated her Facebook status with news which shocked me then: Stephen Gately was dead.

As a teenage chick of nineties, I remember exact that Stephen Gately was a member of Boyzone, and though I refused to be called as a Boyzone’s fan, but I should admit that I had two of their first albums completely at home, and I argued with my dad coz my dad declined to buy me the third one.

Stephen Gately was the prettiest Boyzone’s member –I’m not kidding ya-, his face was as pretty as a girl.

I’d suspected him that actually he was a wimp, if only he didn’t shock his girl fans at ’99 that actually he was gay.

Stephen Gately performs in the clip of Boyzone's No Matter What.

When I was a teenager I loved collecting pictures of music groups, and my hobby was determining who’s the cutest of them all (what a shallow!).

People said the cutest among the Boyzone was Ronan Keating, though I preferred Shane Lynch (coz of a cheesy reason, I love men with strong mandibles :-p).

Lotta girls loved Stephen Gately coz he’d got a sweet smile, but I was always suspicious to guys with sweet smiles.

Look at his thin smile. A normal guy won't even smile like that.

Stephen confessed that he was gay at ’99 and girls got disappointed.

He had been gay for long time, far before he entered Boyzone, but he admitted later after the group became a hit.

Louis Walsh, the producer who casted the Boyzone’s personnel, didn’t know that Stephen was gay.

He said later that if only he knew it from the start, he might gonna think twice to input Stephen into Boyzone.

It’s not cool if a boys group which created to make girls hysterically, has a member who doesn’t love girls, but prefer boys, is it?

This is an important lesson for any casting manager, next time if you wanna create a handsome artist which targeted girls as his fans, ask him first, “Do you love pussy or Mr P?”

Stephen must’ve known that Boyzone’s created for girl fans, but he insisted to apply.

I think he’s got crushed on the money, though he must suppress his different sex orientation.

Then I ask his motive, should we sell the whole of ourself, including our sex orientation, just for reaching popularity and high income?

I don’t know whether Stephen’s breakthrough as he confessed that he was gay at ’99 made a better condition for him or not. Definitely, another year later, Boyzone split.

Their latest single, Everyday I Love You, hit the chart, but essentially they split.

Stephen made his own solo album, A New Beginning, another year later, and promoted himself in my country.

His management team warned the Indonesian press, not for asking Stehen’s sex orientation. Dunno why.

Stephen Gately and his husband, Andrew Cowles.

Stephen Gately married his gay partner, Andrew Cowles, at ’03.

He died two days ago while he was enjoying vacation at Majorca, Spain.

As I’m writing this, I haven’t got a definite reason of the death.

The dead of Stephen Gately, another storymaker of my teenage age, has just reminded me that another part of my teen side has gone.

Tags: gay, music, my teen age

Pussycat Dolls

Pussycat Dolls has just pulled out their concert to rock Indonesia last week and I’m so excited to count down when they’ll split up.

B*witched

I’ve never been crushed into this group, ever since they were found by a reality show talent searching which produced by Puff Daddy.

I realized that they were attractive, but not really good.

They sing, they dance, and so on.

But probably more exact, Nicole Scherzinger sing, while the others are just background vocals dancing.

The classical disease of vocal groups remains the same year by year, only one person or two singing.

Pussycat Dolls ain’t the first, but this formula has been used from the stone age: B*witched, Girlfriend, Sugababes.

And see what happens now? They are split up!

Coz B*witched can’t live without Edele and Keavy Lynch, Girlfriend can’t live without Robyn Loau, and Sugababes just counts down coz it can’t live without Siobhan Donaghy.

Coz one person as a lead vocal will always dominate the others, and causes the other members are just seemed as supplements.

Let me tell you, Pussycat Dolls should change their name, become Nicole and the Backbones. That suits!

Destiny

That’s why I tell you why it’s difficult to compare Pussycat Dolls to Destiny’s Child.

They both are vocal groups, but Destiny’s Child developed better. I know that finally Destiny’s Child meets the end, but the members have reached the balance for each of their careers during their membership at Destiny’s Child.

Though people know Beyonce Knowles more well than Michelle Williams or Kelly Rowland, but during there were three of them at Destiny’s Child, those three had the same portion for singing. No one becomes the lead vocal for the others.

That’s how a vocal group is supposed to be established.

It’s just the same like when we’re in an organization.

A division can’t go on without the support of the other divisions.

No one may dominate the others.

Coz if a division doesn’t support same equally, then the organization only counts the time till it breaks.

Sugababes

I hope we can learn the valuable lesson after watching Pussycat Dolls.

Not just enjoying the roll like those Nicole and friends did.

By the way, what are the names of the others? I don’t know.

Coz all I hear about them is just about Nicole and Nicole again..

Tags: lead vocal, music, supplement