ROCK KAPAK!

HO! HO! HO! HO!

So I was very very busy for the past few weeks. From a super huge mistake, to running around fixing and delivering orders, marriage of one of my bestfriend and the misfortune of having to deal with the famed Puspakom Inspection (that's the Road Transport Dept's approved vehicle inspection company). Luckily, familial matters are kept to minimum (most of the time it involve partner's side and since the parents at hometown, the siblings are "settled" so me are a OK).

So from all the hectic thing and I finally have decent enough time to logged on to my favourite forum and lo and behold there's a thread about rock and rockers. It was awfully funny and good to remember those days where rock is truly rock and underground means real underground and not the R&B hip-hop underground crap nowadays.

ok.. seriously back then underground means punk, hardcore (not the freakin porn ye' dolt!) rock, trash, grunge (now dead though), speed (as in metal not the drug), black, industrial, acid, trash, sampah sarap, alkali, batu kapur, batu api and god knows what else.

It aint mainstream whatsoever. Word of mouth, fanzines, flyers, college newsletters and even 7-11's community board was used as a medium in reaching the masses. These underground bands work together and tour the country (at least the Peninsular) at obscure and small venue at a chance to rock.

Demos we're sold through mail, gigs or some "selected" outlets and none of those your victoria station, salem power station shaite.

Central Market was the hangout place, Piccadilly was the venue extraordinaire, and Jamming studios we're plenty.

Scooter back then were real scooters. Lambrettas, vespa and definitely not the VS125 or the modern day scooter was the transportation of choice. Well, not forgetting the BMW (Bas Mini Wilayah ie. Mini busses) as well. And forget ye not the old family car or van as a "tour bus".

One guitarist may appear in several albums, while a bassist may ends up having to be the frontman. Borrowing, guitars and effect pedals are very normal and you'll be somewhat lucky if you can get the same sound from one gig to another.

it was cool! a lot of hardwork and definitely a sign of your independence of doing it all on your own. Overcoming the odds to just keep rockin'

Well nowadays I heard the underground are R&B and hiphop, doing their thang coming up with their beat etc. ermmmmm.... sorry, but something aint right. You're angry and you express it by with a hip hippity beat and samples? and ready gigs are available and fanzines? i don't know something aint right. But what do I know of nowadays underground right?

Right until that Astro Programme. Something like "battle of the bands" in unearthing local talents and guess what? PAIN!!! ermmm.... I think its called something like Blast Off or something

There's this group called Soul Dinero. 5 guys, hip dressing, holding the mic at an angle (I'm sure he got the idea from Mas Idayu, the Dangdut Gelek Queen) and belting out ballads, R&B and whatever you call it lah. Definitely not underground in my book when you're crooning on stage with 5 of your mates trying very hard not to move in unison to avoid that boyband tag.

Then they decided to sing Usher's song, and may the lord have mercy and strike the PA system down. The lead singer can't sing, his voice breaks and "squeaakkkk"ed at the first high note, the 2nd, 3rd singer can't harmonise the Squeakiness and all of them definitely have a voice control of a young boy entering puberty. To think that this is in the finals and they get to pick their songs is just.... WOW!!

then came another group. SomethingSomething lah. Rock outfit and sang the Linkin Park song with the singer sang it at low voice and definitely 10 bars below. Ok! back then, those underground fellas can't really sing which is why they decided to just shout, or growl and use the term "throat" instead of vocals to introduce their frontman.

But, this one really sucks! It was so bad that it aint funny. Now I know how Simon Cowel felt.

so there you go, these guys was in the finals and get to perform 2-3 songs and none of the songs sounds good. Trust me, the existence of the word good in the previous sentence alone is an understatement.

It suppose to unearth the talent from the underground and..... wow! what a talent!!

Voice = Zero
harmony = zero
music = they massacred it

so what is so good about it?

definitely not underground by the look of things. There's is nothing of the streetwise look, go-getter attitude and the independent spirit and it is definitely not an alternative to the mainstream. Well, an alternative to good music maybe but you can get those from a drunkard singing at the karaoke machine.

Well, maybe I'm old and not in sync with matters nowadays but at least underground should means something right?

And what does this have to do with Rock Kapak? well, ermmmmm.... nothing really

:P