HISTORY TEACHES US NOTHING

As some of you may know, I am a part-time facilitator at Republic Polytechnic. This semester, I am facilitating a module called History of the Arts. This module basically covers mostly Western art from the pre-historic age to the modern era in 15 weeks. Early on, I had a student question me about why she had to study History of the Arts – how was it relevant to her? So I enquired what diploma she was undertaking and she replied, “arts management”! Sometimes, you can’t make this shit up!!

This is not an unusual attitude. It’s rather commonplace in our music scene where even our bands and songwriters do not appreciate the importance of knowing the history of pop & rock music. For many of them, the scope of reference is often nothing earlier than 2000, if you’re lucky! And so, they are blissfully ignorant of the bands of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s! That is a whole lot of great music to be ignorant about.

What’s the big deal you say? Well, to put it simply, you can only create from what you know and if you know very little, then you probably will not be capable to create much either. And what is truly amazing is that in the internet age, it is so easy to listen to any music from any age. So let’s play a game, shall we? Let’s take a significant band from each of the aforementioned decade (which are related and associated music wise) and feature a video taken from youtube (where else?).

1960s

The Kinks

Ray Davies, the band’s principal singer-songwriter has been cited by many (yours truly included) as a seminal influence (including the bands that follow below). He is best known for his observational songs about his native England.

1970s

Big Star

Often considered to be one of the pioneers of power pop, Big Star melded a melodic sensibility and shiny guitar attack to produce a highly influential concoction. Fronted by the late Alex Chilton, the band would inspire many guitar pop bands in the 80s and 90s.

1980s

The Replacements

Part of the alt-rock movement that ruled US college radio back then (with R.E.M., Husker Du and others), this Paul Westerberg-led outfit has left deep impressions which resonates strongly with numerous indie bands today.

1990s

Pixies

Black Francis, the frontman of this beloved indie band, claimed that the above song was inspired by The Kinks, which brings us full circle.

As you can see, it isn’t too difficult to gather together some amazing music and bands from four different decades with the right research and of course, interest.

So, my message to all young bands and singer-songwriters out there in the S-ROCK scene, what’s stopping you???

FINGER IN THE AIR

When the announcement was first made about the Singapop event – a concert that will cost the taypayers a reported $1.5 million (!), ostensibly to celebrate 50 years of Singapore pop music – I really did not want to comment. Even when I realized that the concert would be held at the Marina Promontory at the exact same time that Cheating Sons would be rocking out at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre for Baybeats 2011, I was more than prepared to keep mum.

But when I read today’s Life section reporting the press conference announcing the concert, I could maintain my silence no longer. The organizers’ criteria for inclusion in the concert is ‘commercial success’, ‘wide appeal’ and ‘popularity’ of the selected band/artist. Yet, I understand that the concert will exclude the indie bands of the early 90s (e.g. The Oddfellows), even though the Oddfellows’ song So Happy was #1 in 1991 on the radio charts islandwide! Now, if that singular achievement does not signify ‘commercial success’, ‘wide appeal’ and ‘popularity’ – what the hell does then?

I mean, without tooting my own horn too much, Watchmen’s My One and Only stayed in the 98.7 Radio Charts for three months and at its peak was on heavy rotation on the radio EIGHT times a day (apart from being #1 also on NTUC Radio Heart) in late 1993. Naturally, I have not been invited either.

I have no qualms about being left out of the Singapop concert (and I am sure The Oddfellows and other indie bands do not give a toss either) BUT I refuse to let the EDB rewrite history in this manner. The local indie bands of the 90s had songs on the radio, TV and CD sales, were featured regularly in the press and made a deep impression on the hearts and souls of young Singaporeans at the time – to marginalize and trivialize their contribution to Singapore pop music in this manner is reprehensible.

If the organizers hated S-ROCK so much, they should have had the balls to come right out and say it instead of hiding behind this ridiculous criteria. It is clear from the deliberate timing and location of the Singapop concert that it is positioning itself in direct opposition to local indie bands and the Baybeats Festival in general. So, it’s game on – let’s make Baybeats Festival the best-ever attended public event ever and prove conclusively that S-ROCK rules!

FINGER IN THE AIR

Spotted at the Facebook profile of Great Spy Experiment drummer Fandy, a screen capture of yet another ugly Singaporean who apparently has no patience for Singapore bands opening for foreign bands. Presumably, if it was another foreign band opening for Switchfoot, he would have had no such problem. Last month, of course, we reported that when MUON opened for MGMT, it suffered the same verbal abuse from intolerant audience members. The statement that – “Then what, you think I paid money to see you guys is it!” – is telling. Why is it always about money with Singaporeans, eh? So does that give you the right to be rude and intolerant, just because you bought a ticket? Shameful.

Switchfoot must thank its lucky stars that they are not Singaporeans and are in fact White Americans, or else they would never have had a chance to showcase its talent before thousands of music fans worldwide, even in Singapore! Good thing that when Switchfoot was starting out and opening for bigger bands in San Diego, California, there were no idiots in the audience complaining that they did not pay money to watch Switchfoot…

Again, my message to you S-ROCK haters is the same – FUCK OFF! You don’t deserve good S-ROCK… I am sure that The Great Spy Experiment did not perform for YOU anyways – but to people who enjoyed its music. And believe me, there are many people who do enjoy S-ROCK…

TO THOSE ABOUT TO S-ROCK, WE SALUTE YOU!

Is the Singapore indie music scene worth saving?

More than a couple of years ago, I wrote a series of articles for the now defunct Audioload site entitled ‘Saving the Singapore Music Scene’. If you’re reading this and rolling your eyes, it’s probably because broaching this topic is akin to flogging a dead horse. And I totally agree with that sentiment. It’s getting rather tedious to even talk about the Singapore Music Scene. Taking a step back and looking at this issue objectively, quite obviously, I personally have a vested stake in the development of the Singapore Music Scene. So naturally the success (or failure) of the Singapore Music Scene has a significant impact on me. Obviously then, it’s hard not to be emotional and subjective about the subject. But lately, certain encounters have narrowed my perspective somewhat on this issue such that I am even asking the question – is the Singapore indie music scene worth saving?

Before, we move any further, let’s have some clarity about what I’m talking about. For our purposes, the Singapore indie scene comprises of bands/artists writing, recording and performing original English language pop and rock music, independent of any major label support. Thus, this definition excludes the Singapore Idols (who are signed to Universal Music) and bands who play only cover music (like the Goodfellas). Anyone familiar with the Singapore music would then realize that this definition would include almost every Singapore band/artist out there playing English language pop-rock music. Sounds like this would be a rather massive grouping, right? But it isn’t at all. Relatively speaking, the numbers would be quite small. Maybe slightly more than a hundred active bands/artists? By ‘active’, I mean gigging on a regular basis and releasing recorded original material (either for sale or for free). Assuming that Singapore’s population is currently about 5 million people, then the ratio of band to persons is about 1: 50,000. Staggering, isn’t it?

However, out of the 5 million people that make up Singapore, the maximum number of people who would pay to watch a Singapore indie band play, will not be much more than 250-300 people! And the same numbers also apply to number of persons actually purchasing Singapore indie CDs! So… the audience that exists to patronize Singapore indie music is less than 300 people. This is 0.006% of the population of Singapore! Sad and depressing but true.

But… should it matter to anyone other than Singapore indie musicians? I’d like to say that it should and trot out all the usual cultural reasons and compare us to this country and that country but then I come to my senses. After all, this is a country of people that by and large do not understand pop culture or appreciate pop & rock music. Sure, we now host the F1 Grand Prix, rock festivals, two casinos, theme parks and so on BUT this is purely appreciated from a functional & economic value standpoint. Typically Singaporean, isn’t it? Almost nobody appreciates pop culture here on an aesthetic level – it’s purely a numbers game. e.g. number of Grammys/Oscars won, number of albums and concert tickets sold etc.

Thus, purely on this numbers game, Singapore indie musicians are losers and failures. Glorified hobbyists who should not be tolerated or given the time of day. Singapore indie musicians are no better than panhandlers and freeloaders expecting their family and friends to support their hobby. Singapore indie musicians should in fact get a proper job so that nobody else should be put out of pocket and they should be obliged then to give their music away and play gigs all for free. I mean, other ordinary Singaporeans do not expect their family and friends (and even strangers) to fund their hobbies so why should Singapore indie musicians?

This perspective has been formed by decades of social engineering, mind you, so it’s not surprising. After all, no Singaporean raises violent objection (or eyebrows) that the Singapore Symphony Orchestra consists of full-time classical musicians whose salaries are paid for by fundraising activities. You never hear any Singaporeans crying out – ‘get a proper job’ to SSO musicians, do you? But that’s because in the true Singaporean mindset, the thinking will be that these classical musicians actually have proper qualifications as they have obtained a degree in their (classical) instrument in this or that prestigious foreign university so they have the right to be professional musicians.

Therefore, as far as the public consciousness is concerned, the authorities have half succeeded in their determined quest to eradicate rock music from the local culture, which they pursued with vigor in the 70s and 80s. So even if they have recanted previous position based purely on economic grounds, at least they can savor the victory of turning Singaporeans against rock music created by Singaporeans, which is surely half the battle! Yes, let the foreigners make rock music and let our businesses benefit by charging people (Singaporean or otherwise) to watch these foreign rock bands but by no means, let a Singaporean rock band be able to do the same thing. No, that would be wrong… and which would send a dangerous message to our youth that rock music is a viable career option.

So if the authorities deem it as such, it’s no wonder that our sheep-like populace should entertain such mindsets, it’s so logical and ultimately understandable. So any question about educating the general public about music and so on is a losing proposition. After all the powers-that-be do not want such a scenario to materialize. Why else would the Media Development Authority in a fake attempt to explore the possibilities of aiding the Singapore indie music industry commission a foreign accounting agency (who have absolutely no clue about Singapore indie music) to conduct a study into this issue. A study that to date, there is no news whatsoever about. Why else would MDA also sponsor a Mediacorp TV program – Live and Loaded – which sole purpose was to present Singapore indie music in the worst possible light? There cannot be any other reason why the producers of Live and Loaded chose to showcase mediocre bands (including school bands!) on national TV. At least, both MDA and Mediacorp can now declare to the general public that they tried to support the Singapore indie music scene in this manner but found the ground to be less than accepting and thus any further requests to support the Singapore indie music scene can be justifiably denied! A brilliant strategy!

So where does that leave my original query? Is the Singapore indie music scene worth saving? My answer would be no. But that’s because it does not need to be saved and we should not look to anyone to save it! I have said this before and I’ll say it again – if Singapore indie music is important to you, kind reader, then support it… if it isn’t, then FUCK OFF! This entire issue has nothing to do with you then and nobody is interested in your opinion.

I feel exactly the way I felt back in 1998, after the Asian Financial Crisis brought our economy to its knees. if Singaporeans are not willing to listen to my music then I will look for non-Singaporeans who are interested (which is why I worked hard to secure US distribution for the two Popland albums and did not bother with Singapore). Now, in a perverse way, the highly popular immigration policy of Singapore has actually brought many foreigners (not pathologically prejudiced against Singapore music) onto our shores. This is the demographic Singapore indie musicians should target and aggressively as well. Also, look for fans overseas, find the opportunity to gig outside Singapore to find the fans who will appreciate your music (and not care what nationality you are). Start regionally – population numbers in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines are huge and they will listen to your music without prejudice – and then move beyond South-East Asia to Japan, China, Australia, UK, Europe and the USA. Singapore bands have done this before – metal bands like Rudra, Wormrot, Meltgsnow and indie bands like Electrico, Great Spy Experiment, I Am David Sparkle, Stellarium, Etc and Caracal likewise. There’s a whole wide world of unprejudiced non-Singaporeans out there to listen to your music.

So what are you waiting for?

S-ROCK IS HERE TO STAY… IT WILL NEVER DIE!

It’s funny how things can change from week to week. In the days leading to the Laneway Festival Singapore, I had begun to feel a little discouraged about S-ROCK. First, there was this event organized by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, which Danny Loong (musician, Timbre co-owner and all-round great guy) was speaking at regarding local music. The idea was to raise awareness about S-ROCK, the thrust of which related to the irrelevant emphasis placed on classical music in Singapore, when more effort should be placed in promoting and developing Singaporean original pop-rock music. Well, I was disappointed somewhat with the response of the audience which seemed very negative and clueless. I’d basically given up and spent much of the time chatting with (supremely talented singer-songwriter) Ling Kai but was ‘cornered’ by Danny to contribute. So I did. My 5cts worth was this – if music is important in Singapore then we must do something to support and develop it. And if music is not important, then forget it! Music, of course, means ALL kinds of music and not just classical. There were a few heads nodding even as I finished off my ‘rant’ so who knows…but I did feel down after that.

To compound matters, I’d discovered that Laneway Festival Singapore would be holding auditions for S-ROCK bands to play in next year’s edition. Auditions? Did the NZ bands have to endure selection via auditions? Did the Aussie bands? I do not believe so. Why are S-ROCK bands being subjected to this? If the organizers are not confident of making considered decisions regarding S-ROCK bands then engage someone who is. I mean, surely there are folk here who will be able to assist in the selection process, without having to resort to the free-for-all that is auditions. Was S-ROCK so low in the estimation of the Laneway Festival organizers? Obviously…

But then, over last weekend, I was blessed by two S-ROCK bands that reminded me once again that as long as S-ROCK bands are making and performing their own music, S-ROCK will never die & to hell with all the naysayers! First was TypeWriter and its excellent gig at the Esplanade Recital Studio. Granted, the venue was not sold out but those who were there had a rollicking good time with the band – who were in top form, especially when expanded by guest musicians. Everyone who was there thoroughly enjoyed themselves and it mattered little whether anybody else cared. A few days later at the same venue Cove Red (Rachael Teo and Koh Su Yin) – with support from Zhong Ren – opened for Villagers with a delicately gorgeous set that impressed most (if not all) who witnessed it. For me personally, it was a proud moment, having mentored Rachael in the past and followed her steady progress in the last couple of years. There was no question that Cove Red deserved to be there.

There is a lesson here to be learnt. When I first met Rachael, she had only a couple of originals but even as I worked to instill self-belief in her own talents and abilities, she began to grow and mature as a songwriter and performer. What the audience saw on that special Monday evening was something I knew was possible even back in 2008, if Rachael was given the confidence, know-how and opportunity. I am not tooting my own horn here, make no mistake, but my experience with Rachael is a good example of what is possible with our young musicians/songwriters. Therefore, let us as a community close ranks, acknowledge the challenges (but not dwell on negatives) and emphasize the positives. Let us work to nurture our S-ROCK bands ourselves, so that whether the local support comes or not, we will be ready to move S-ROCK to the next level – to push our bands overseas…

… still there’s more …

S-ROCK: THE YEAR THAT WAS 2010

In the end, 2010 was a good year for S-ROCK (rock music made in Singapore, in case you’re wondering).

In the last quarter of the year, the likes of Lunarin, TypeWriter, Basement in my Loft, Meltgsnow and Stellarium released albums that provided evidence that there was still fire in the bellies of these ‘indie’ bands. When you consider that none of these bands are truly “full-time” musicians, the quality of the music, songwriting and performances on these albums is outstanding and you cannot help but wonder what the results would be if they did not have the ‘distractions’ of day jobs.

Speaking of which, The Observatory has taken the bold step of going “full-time”. Certainly, this is excellent news and a boon to the S-ROCK scene. Out of all our bands, perhaps The Observatory is best suited to position itself more as an “artist” (as opposed to a rock band) and in this manner, extract support from the arts scenes, both locally and abroad. Hopefully, this is will be first crack in the wall standing between S-ROCK bands and greater public awareness.

On the local pub circuit, acceptance (and appreciation) of live music played by Singaporean bands is now a given (albeit familiar cover songs only), which is indeed progress from the dark old days when karaoke was preferred over bands. This year, a significant player entered the circuit – TAB – a music bar which pushed original live music to the forefront, with weekly foreign artists-in-residence (predominantly singer-songwriters) and the occasional ticketed event (e.g. Ryan Cabrera, Album Leaf, An Horse, Rox). However, of late, TAB has also resorted to the ubiquitous cover bands, labelled as “happy hour bands” instead.

Timbre, continues to be the leader in this particular field, and is about to embark upon an ambitious game changer – as far as the pub circuit is concerned – with its partnership with National Arts Council’s Noise for the upcoming (initial) six month singer-songwriter programme. Yes, I am involved in this initiative and excited to see something like this finally come to pass, as I have always maintained that improvement of Singapore songwriting is the key to “saving” the S-ROCK scene. Kudos to Noise and Timbre, it’s about time!

If I had to hand out awards I would give the best S-ROCK band to Lunarin. The band has come a long way since the release of its debut album Chrysalis, 4 years ago. The sophomore effort, Duae, was a quantum leap for the band, a heavier sound that belied the fragility of the conceptual emphasis. Live, the trio was a tight proposition, the years together have indeed forged the band into a formidable, cohesive musical unit. Not only that but watching the band redefine itself as a chamber rock ensemble at the Library @ Esplanade brought home to me the extent of its ability. I believe there’s more to come from Lunarin yet. Much more.

So… 2011 promises to be even more exciting.

…still there’s more…

THE CULTURAL DESERT

“In March 1978, months into his job as minister for culture, the late Mr Ong Teng Cheong found himself facing MPs who despaired that Singapore was a ‘cultural desert’.” Straits Times article, 2006.

32 years later, is this still true? Well, let’s narrow our focus to Singapore-English popular music (“pop music”) – is there a pop music culture in Singapore? Well, taking culture as shared beliefs on society, politics and human nature – the prominent shared social belief about pop music in Singapore is – rather crudely – that foreign pop music is good, local pop music is crap. This belief also extends to the value attributed to foreign pop songs over local pop songs.

Therefore, in general, Singaporeans would rather listen to Singaporean musicians playing note perfect copies of a foreign pop song, rather than a local pop song. This fact is evident once you step into any of the nightspots in Singapore. Invariably, there will be a Singapore band playing copies of foreign pop songs. Singaporeans are not interested to listen to Singaporeans playing their own original pop songs.

What happened to shape attitudes in this manner? I have a theory, of course (but you knew that already).

You know the story, back in the 60s, there was a vibrant pop music scene in Singapore. Singaporeans flocked to tea parties, feted Singaporean bands playing Singaporean pop songs. The singles and albums sold well, the musicians were celebrities and Singaporeans did not consider their countrymen to be inferior.

But come the 70s something changed radically. The authorities did not understand rock music with its drugs and free sex associations and so moved to wipe out any trace of its influence on Singaporean youth. Even superficial connections like long hair were roundly stamped out. Rock musicians were the scum of the earth, the dregs of society – it was synonymous with being a drug addict, hooligan and a waste of life. The derogatory term “band boy” entered our vernacular. No parent in their right mind would want their child to be a rock musician.

This socially engineered attitude would pervade Singapore until the late 80s, when relaxations on local media allowed foreign rock music influence to return to our shores. So now, you could find foreign rock music on local TV and radio, an appreciation of foreign rock music was developing. Of course, in the 90s, a full blown local rock music revival saw many local pop songs on the TV and radio, unprecedented since the 60s. The influence of the press (Chris Ho’s Pop Life column, BigO magazine and local radio) managed to bring local pop music to a cult-ish level, with albums selling about 2000 to 4000 copies.

Fast forward to the 2000s and a shift in policy to rebrand Singapore as a vibrant, global city – suddenly grand prix, casinos and arts promotion are the order of the day. Appreciation of foreign rock music is at its height with 2 to 3 well-attended gigs happening a week (I can only remember David Bowie once in the entire 80s!) and cover bands dominating the pubs and clubs circuit.

But what about poor old local pop music? Still in the doldrums because, by and large, Singaporeans cannot accept other Singaporeans as artistic, creative people. Cos to be artistic and creative in Singapore is to be economically unproductive and an attitude to be rejected and even destroyed. Singaporeans have been educated (socially engineered) to be compliant employees and not independent, creative thinkers. Why do you think that the most successful Singaporean entrepreneurs tend to be the ones who had “less education” – y’know “drop-outs”? Freed from the shackles of our education system, these uneducated folk take risks and think “outside of the box”.

This cuts both ways. One, our musicians generally place limits on their own creativity and two, the Singaporean audience will not support or appreciate them as artists. Chicken and egg, really. Singaporean musicians think they are not good enough (and do nothing about this) and the Singaporean audiences think that Singaporean musicians are not good enough, as well.

That all said, we have actually progressed to such an extent that Singaporeans are able to accept local musicians as competent enough to play covers! Remember, there was a time where even this was not thought possible. But now, this fact does not raise eyebrows anymore. So does this mean that there will come a time when Singaporeans will accept original local music? Anything is possible of course but the way forward is really for Singaporean musicians to engage the private and public sector and audiences both locally and overseas by honing their craft in anyway possible.

Haha gotcha right? You thought that this would be yet another gripe from this morose old fart, expecting everyone and their dog to do us poor musicians a favour! Well, no point fussing over things you cannot control but instead spend time and effort (and money!) on things you can control – your music! Here comes the sales pitch – I believe that I can help you improve your music, if that’s what you want as well. If you are serious, drop me an email – info(at)powerofpop(dot)com to discuss how this can be achieved, for a reasonable price of course. Nothing is free in this world, my friend. I will be waiting, as usual.

…still there’s more…

WHEN I’M SIXTY-FOUR

This boys and girls is a cover of 16 magazine from 1964, featuring the Beatles…

… and this is a cover of Mojo Magazine from 2010 (46 years later) also featuring the Beatles!

This is, of course, a cover of Seventeen magazine from 2010, featuring Justin Bieber. Will there be any magazine covers featuring Bieber in 2015 (never mind 2056)??? Hurm??!!!??? Enjoy it while it lasts…

BEFORE I GET OLD

For more than a decade I wrote for Before I Get Old (BigO) magazine. The magazine was set up by Michael and Philip Cheah (with Stephen Tan) who were formerly writers with the now long defunct Singapore Monitor. BigO set themselves up as the only independent rock magazine in Singapore and actively promoted the Singapore music scene. Some might say that they single-handedly kickstarted the 90s revival but perhaps it’s more accurate to say that they were major contributors.

Sadly, BigO is no longer involved in the Singapore music scene. It now exists as an online zine focusing on political issues and digital bootlegs, mainly. Perhaps it’s the rather ignominious current status of BigO that has somewhat negatively colored many people’s perception of the magazine.

Which is unfortunate because in its heyday, BigO was instrumental in assisting Singapore bands in getting their music heard, whether by way of recordings or live events. I would be a hypocrite if I did not acknowledge that they played a big part in getting Watchmen played on radio and obtaining a recording contract in the early 90s. And I am sure many other bands/artists of that era would be able to testify to this as well.

Sure, no relationship is perfect and there were many things about BigO that I objected to but looking at the big picture, the time that BigO existed as a print magazine were exciting days. In an ideal world, we’d have a lavish coffee table book reprinting the best of BigO but alas…

Well, you can “relive” those heady days, if you like, at the Big On BigO Event this afternoon at the Post Museum at 3pm. More information here. I’m looking forward to seeing “old” friends waxing nostalgic about the “good old days” but always with an eye for the future of S-ROCK as well. if you’re attending, say hi!

…still there’s more..

HURM

“…they’re (DC) offering me a million or two million, then I would imagine that what was potentially on offer to them would be higher by a couple of factors, maybe two or three factors, who knows?  It could be a huge amount.  So this would seem to explain their apparent desperate need to get me to put my signature upon something, which I’m not inclined to do.  This is because I actually felt that the work we did on WATCHMEN was somehow special.  I have got a great deal of respect for that work.  I do not want to see it prostituted.  This has always been my position.”

Regular Power of Pop visitors would be aware that the comic book writer (and WATCHMEN co-creator) Alan Moore is one of my heroes and my estimation of the man continues to rise in the face of continued intimidation by DC in relation to Moore’s rights in WATCHMEN. In an interview with Adi Tantimedh posted by Bleeding Cool, Moore spoke about the latest issues between DC and himself concerning WATCHMEN. What is notable is that DC seem to be going to all this trouble to create WATCHMEN spinoffs and to basically hive off the legacy of a comic book that was published 25 years old. As Moore himself speculates – why does this desperation say about DC’s ability to create new stories and new characters?

You really have to admire Moore’s refusal to compromise his principles in this manner for financial gain. He has constantly requested that his name be left off the numerous film adaptations of his comics works and that any payment related to such films be given to the artist instead! When you consider that so far, films of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell, Hellblazer (Constantine), V For Vendetta and of course, WATCHMEN have been made, we’re not talking spare change here.

This is why I do not read comic books anymore. The people in the mainstream comics industry have no artistic integrity whatsoever.

Hurm.

Thanks to Kenneth Chaw for the heads up.

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HEAR NO EVIL

Censorship! A word that strikes terror in the hearts of the lovers of the arts everywhere. When I was a teenager and becoming aware of pop culture, censorship in Singapore was part and parcel of life. In the 70s, rock music was deemed by the Singapore Government as undesirable decadent Western influence especially the free sex and drugs hippie culture. Thus, anything associated with that, including long hair and rock music, was strictly frowned upon.

Yeah, it seems ridiculous now but take a look at what songs were banned back in the day.

Puff the Magic Dragon – Peter, Paul & Mary

Ostensibly a children’s song, the Government was of the view that the eponymous dragon was actually marijuana! How insidious of these evil musicians who seek to corrupt our innocent young children.

Download Puff, The Magic Dragon

Yellow Submarine – The Beatles

Yet another children’s song mistaken for a drug-related one! Where’s the drug reference, I wonder? Those civil servants had vivid imaginations for sure. All told, the Singapore Government also banned With A Little Help From My Friends, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and A Day in the Life!

Buy Yellow Submarine (Remastered)

Proud Mary – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Incredibly, this song – written by John Fogerty – also met with objections from Singapore censors! Well, y’know, boys and girls “Mary” is slang for marijuana and before you smoke it, you need to ROLL it. Hence “Mary” plus “rolling” equals evil drug song! Preposterous! But there you go… the Singapore censors did not understand pop culture and they did not care…

Download CCR’s Greatest Hits

Body Language – Queen

Enough about drugs! How about good old sex? Well, that’s what got Queen’s Body Language (off 1981′s Hot Space) into trouble. In fact, I remember buying the album at a record store and the salesman recommending that I pick it up quickly as the album had just been banned and the Singapore censors were coming to confiscate all copies. So I did. Seems rather tame compared to the hip hop music I hear nowadays eh?

Buy Hot Space

Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen

Well, not strictly banned but the national radio stations refused to play it due to the line – “to go and kill the yellow man” being considered offensive and the perceived jingoistic tone of the song. Of course, the meaning behind the track – an inditement on the USA (“nowhere to run/nowhere to go” – was completely lost on the radio heads. Hurm.

Buy Born in the Usa

I’m sure there’s more examples out there. Those old enough to remember, please pitch in. C’mon!

DON”T CENSOR THE ARTS, MOFOS!!!!!!

O CANADA

I’m sorry if it is getting tired or boring, dear readers, for you to read about how other countries support their local bands/artists but only by such comparisons is it obvious that the powers-that-be in Singapore are doing sweet FA for Singaporean bands/artists.

Well, quite possibly, the Canadians have one of the most comprehensive support systems for Canadian music. The Government of Canada set up a Canada Music Fund (CMF). CMF is the primary tool implementing the three major objectives of the Canadian sound recording policy, from creators to audience, which are:

- to enhance Canadians access to a diverse range of Canadian music choices through existing and emerging media;

- to increase the opportunities available for Canadian music artists and entrepreneurs to make a significant and lasting contribution to Canadian cultural expression; and,

- to ensure that Canadian music artists and entrepreneurs have the skills, know-how and tools to succeed in a global and digital environment.

(More info here)

Then there is FACTOR - The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings – a private non profit organization. Over at their website, one sentence springs up at you, “whether an artist is looking to record a demo, full length sound recording, market and promote an already existing album or showcase and tour domestically and internationally, funding is available.”

Not only that but further research will also reveal funding for popular music at state level as well.

AND if that was not enough, here’s the icing on the cake. Since 1971, radio stations in Canada have had to make sure that 30 per cent of the recorded music they play is Canadian. Now this requirement has been raised to 35 per cent and even up to 40 per cent in five years. The mind truly boggles.

Judging from the examples of Norway, Iceland, Australia and Canada, it isn’t too easy to come up with ideas on how to support Singaporean bands/artists. So what’s required is the WILL. Yet, the most the Media Development Authority (MDA) will do is to engage a foreign accounting firm to report on how to improve the Singapore music industry. Which is typical bullshit of course, as the foreign accounting firm will be clueless about the Singapore music industry and the MDA will simply file the useless report away to gather dust on some hidden shelf. “We’re looking into it” would be the official line…

Pessimistic but borne from years of (bad) experience.

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WISHING

This old fogey is always complaining about how he didn’t get to watch the top rock bands of his day in Singapore as rock music was essentially banned back in the 70s. Banned, you say? Well, the no long hair rule ensured that was so. Now that we’ve lightened up a tad – but censorship still remains for some strange reason – there seems to be a non-stop flow of foreign bands coming to Singapore.

I must say that the best gigs I’ve seen in Singapore (with foreign bands/artists) include David Bowie (the 2nd time round), the Police, Elvis Costello, Blur, REM, Lloyd Cole, Patrick Watson and Imogen Heap. That’s like eight gigs in 15 years! I guess you could say I’m fussy but I don’t just go googoo gaga over every foreign band/artist that plays on a Singapore stage, sorry.

So… instead of merely complaining. I set out my wish list of the top 5 bands I would like to see in Singapore. Would appreciate your comments. In descending order…

Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes’ debut album was my favorite of 2008 and their rich blend of country-folk-blues will no doubt be heavenly.

The Jayhawks

Pretty much a long shot, this one. Understand that the band has reunited, even Mark Olsen is on board, and is playing a couple of dates. Probably my favorite alt-country band (more than Uncle Tupelo even!) and it would be fantastic to see them play all those great songs. Maybe a smaller venue?

Arcade Fire

HA! This is a no-brainer of course, with Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs album sitting pretty at the summit of the Billboard Album Charts. Nuff said!

Nada Surf

Matthew Caws and company have been releasing consistently strong records for a while now and with all the “inferior” bands I see coming through here, surely a top notch band like Nada Surf should have their day in Singapore as well. That would be nice.

Wilco

One of the top top bands in the world for the last 15 years, Jeff Tweedy and Wilco have been going from strength to strength and are an amazing proposition live. I definitely believe that they will go now well on our little red dot. Would be inspirational!

Well, boys and girls, what do YOU think?

Fleet Foxes Music From the North Country: Jayhawks Anthology

The Suburbs Lucky (Bonus CD) (Dig) Wilco (The Album)

AUSTRALIA

Australian bands have been making waves worldwide for a long time now and each rock decade has its own memorable Oz band. Off the top of my head – AC/DC (above), Men At Work, INXS, Midnight Oil, Icehouse, You and I and many many more. I’d wager that none of that rich musical history would have been possible without the support of both the Federal and State Governments in Australia.

Check out this video from the Australian Music Office website, which summarizes what funding is available for Oz bands/artists.

The mind boggles…

Back in Black Business As Usual The Best of Inxs

I ♥ SINGAPORE

How meaningful is National Day in 2010? For many Singaporeans, it is just another Public Holiday an opportunity to spend family time, get away for a holiday or catch up on sleep. For a nation comprised of different race, the sense of unity is always difficult to build, not aided by the influx of migrants in the last couple of years.

I personally think it’s a good time (as any) to take stock of S-ROCK – such as it is – especially in the light of peculiarly synchronistic events in the last week. I do not want to restate past events. Instead I will refer you to excellent pieces on this issue by Bani Haykal and Brian Koh. Check them out first before reading on.

Whilst it is right and proper to feel indignant about perceived slights but playing Devil’s Advocate, these commercial entities – whether it be the New Paper or Midas Promotions – are under no obligation to even take notice of S-ROCK. They will no doubt do so if it served their purpose but that’s as far as it goes.

I remember back in the early 90s. BigO Magazine functioned as a conduit for many Singapore bands to come together and have a voice – it’s no coincidence that many of the early writers also played in a band e.g. Patrick Chng, Joe Ng, Ben Harrison, Don Bosco and yours truly.

With the assistance and promotion of BigO, bands inked deals with labels, whether it was Universal, BMG, Odyssey, Rock or Springroll (funded by Japanese label Pony Canyon). It must also be highlighted that Jimmy Wee as the head of Springroll was a huge benefactor of Singapore music and numerous bands were able to record and release albums, with the attendant promotion to high profile.

With Singapore songs on the radio, well attended Singapore music gigs, the media were fully on board and whilst public acceptance never reached the levels of the 60s, it has been the best since. However, our music scene has never been the same since the financial crisis of 1997. Springroll folded and the era of the “major label” Singapore album was more or less over.

Certainly, S-ROCK had risen again but only because, I daresay, of Government intervention. Yes that’s right. Esplanade, *Scape and National Arts Council have, in their own way, contributed to the return of S-ROCK although in much smaller scale compared to the early 90s.

Like it or not, the S-ROCK scene will not grow without support from the Government. This is the way of Singapore and the music scene will not be any different. But why should the Government support the Singapore music scene? From their perspective, what are the numbers affected? Minuscule. Let’s be honest, if you take away band members, managers, producers, engineers, music writers – all who have a “vested” interest in the success of the music scene, how many people do we have remaining that are truly FANS of S-ROCK without any strings attached.

100? 200? 500? 1000? See what I mean?

And this is where as a scene WE have failed. Our scene is basically in chaos. In general, there is no quality control, no development, no management – it is strictly amateur hour. Yes, we get frustrated at people who don’t “get it” and show us disrespect – but that’s because we don’t respect ourselves to begin with. How can the “outsiders” take us seriously if we don’t take ourselves seriously. I mean, why should anyone who is not a musician or manager or blogger CARE about S-ROCK? Why indeed.

So we cannot expect help from anyone if we will not help ourselves. I am not suggesting a “musician’s union” as we do not generate enough revenue to justify that but perhaps a special interest group should be considered. Not merely to “promote” Singapore music but in the grand Singaporean tradition, to “educate” the general public about music appreciation. We have already come a long way and thanks to the internet, we have kids paying top dollar for relatively obscure foreign indie bands like Stars, Belle & Sebastian and the xx.

The question is this – how to “convince” these kids that a Singaporean indie band is as cool and hip as the aforementioned bands?

I must confess that I don’t have the answer. But I believe that efforts should be concentrated in the secondary schools, polytechnics and universities, including international schools. This is the next generation of potential music lovers whose attention we need to capture.

Well, I’ve probably said more than I’ve wanted to so if you managed to get this far. Thanks for reading. I apologize that as usual, it’s more questions than answers but at least, the awareness within the scene is growing. The next step taken will be crucial. Only when there are sufficient numbers would there be any point in making representation to the Government for proper support.

Comments please and kindly be polite.

…still there’s more…

NORWAY

The population of Norway is about 5 million people. Sounds familiar? Same as Singapore… except that unlike Singapore, Norway supports its local (popular) musicians through various funding outlets.

There is the Norway Arts Council where it “funds projects ranging from concerts, tours and artistic productions to compositions, recordings, festivals, church music and performance venues. The Council’s efforts are designed to support new creative and performing measures from Norway’s music community, from classical to electronic and popular music. Relevant projects involve encouraging new compositions, promoting cultural diversity, facilitating the interpretation and preservation of musical heritage, and disseminating music to the public at large, and to help ensure superior architectural quality. Current challenges in this field include adapting to the changing definitions of cultural venues and arenas.” Off their website.

In addition, there is Fund for Lyd Og Bilde. According to their website, “the Fund for Sound and Image is established to provide reasonable compensation to the Norwegian copyright holders for the legal copying for private use from the video programs and phonogrammer and to promote the production and dissemination of Norwegian sound recordings and / or image. Target group for the scheme is film / video producers, phonogram producers, performing artists and other copyright holders. The application must contain a brief project description, cost estimates and financing plan.” (Google translation from the Norwegian).

What are the budgets for this funding? For the Norway Arts Council, about US$22 million has been set aside for music in 2010 and for Fund for Lyd Og Bilde, the sum is $5 million. What is the budget of National Arts Council or Media Development Authority for Singapore pop/rock music? A big fat ZERO!

Certainly, the beneficiaries of Norway’s enlightened thinking has been, apart from their local bands/artists, the music lovers of the world which has translated into export kroner for the Norwegian government. Here are a couple of Norwegian artists/bands you should check out. Remember you might never have heard of these bands/artists if not for the above funding…

Kings of Convenience

Emperor

Jaga Jazzit

Sondre Lerche

… and there’s more …

ICELAND

Iceland has a population of 325,000 – about 7% of Singapore’s! And yet, the reputation of the Icelandic popular music scene far exceeds our own. Iceland is not an English-speaking country, yet its bands are better known in the USA and the UK, even though Singaporeans probably speak more English than Icelanders do. Do you still want to tell me that Singapore is too small? Mmm?

Unlike Singapore, Iceland has a dedicated body (Iceland Music Export) to promote Icelandic popular music. According to its website, “IMX was initiated by Samtónn, an umbrella organisation of rights holders societies, in partnership with governmental and private funds in November 2006. The aim is to bring together the disparate strands of Iceland’s eclectic scene under one roof. By increasing access to information about artists, collaborating with companies to promote Icelandic music abroad and organizing marketing strategies, festival and event participation, IMX will increase the visibility of Icelandic music in the international sphere, and provide an essential one-stop resource for all interested parties“ (emphasis mine).

What about the Media Development Authority, you say? Well, what about it? Does MDA even bother with Singapore music in the same way that IMX does? (That’s another PoPinion, I think)

Anyways, here are a couple of Icelandic bands you might want to check out…

Seabear

FM Belfast

Jonsi

Mugison

Mum

… still there’s more …

NO JUSTICE, NO CRY (with profuse apologies to the late, great Bob Marley)

Back in the mid-80s, my personal choice of artistic fix came in the form of comic books, which had displaced my beloved rock music in my affections. This obsession continued through most of the 90s before giving up the ghost in the early 2000s. By that time, superhero comics had become a bloated, ugly beast and had lost all the charm and creativity of the 80s. Creators like Alan Moore had even more or less given up on comic books altogether.

Not only that but with the technological improvements, films could now present superhero abilities completely and with the advent of the superhero blockbuster, superhero comic books became breeding grounds for future movie franchises and no longer a viable art form in its own right. It’s no surprise that the San Diego Comic Con is now described as “the Cannes of the blockbuster movies”.

Once in a while, I return to the world of comics to determine if there is anything of interest. Sadly, it’s worse off than before. A recent example is the Justice League series, Cry For Justice, one of the ugliest piece of exploitative convoluted superhero narratives I’ve had the misfortune to read. Together with Final Crisis, it’s proven to me that superhero comics has devolved from the grim and gritty concepts (pioneered by Moore and Frank Miller in the 80s) into soulless, heartless exercises of nastiness and meaningless violence.

What has happened to writers like Grant Morrison and James Robinson, who’d previously given us worthy comics like Doom Patrol, Animal Man and Starman? Has working out of the comic book ghetto totally warped their creative sensibilities? Truthfully, I expected more. Unlike luckier peers like Miller, Neil Gaiman and Mark Millar – who have moved on to other mediums – the likes of Morrison and Robinson seem powerless to apply their abilities to subvert the decay of superhero comics and now are as much as a part of the problem as everyone else.

This probably sounds harsh but there was a time when I could hold my head up and admit that I read comic books. Sadly no more…

THE TOPPERMOST OF THE POPPERMOST

Concluding my PoP 10 selection of my favorite Beatles songs (for now). Read Part 1 and Part 2.

7. YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOUR MONEY

Even as Abbey Road famously includes a suite of loosely inter-connected songs from Sun King to The End, just before that is You Never Give Me Your Money which is a mini-suite in itself. This mini-suite consists of essentially five (!) parts – a pseudo-classical opening, then a honky-tonk country section, followed by an instrumental passage backed by helium backing vocals, a downright bluesy couple of bars and finally, the closing guitar pattern/riff with the nursery rhyme-like fade-out “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7/All good children go to heaven”. Heaven indeed!

8. RAIN

The template for almost every psychedelic rock song that followed, Rain was the B-side of Paperback Writer and contains the legendary backward John Lennon vocals at the coda. Also the subject of one of the earliest music videos.

9. LADY MADONNA

I once dismissed Lady Madonna as McCartneysque fluff (!!!) but recently have been using it as a superb example of how arrangements can be used to cement hooks into listener’s head. Now it’s one of my favorites. I dig the music video as well.

10. YOU CAN’T DO THAT

Somehow, this track off Hard Day’s Night exudes a whole lot more power and attitude than many of the Beatles songs of that early period. Lennon’s role-playing of the jealous guy is par for the course whilst the Rickenbacker-driven rhythms keeps the song on edge. Genius!

Yes, only ten… not easy to distill but appropriate for present purposes, I think. More lists to come…

Comments welcome, of course.

THE TOPPERMOST OF THE POPPERMOST (Part Two)

And so, we continue with my favorite TEN Beatles songs (as of now, of course). Read Part 1 here.

4. WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY SLEEPS

The White Album is probably my favorite Beatles LP (Abbey Road runs a close second) and there are numerous songs I adore on this fabulous double album (Back on the USSR, Dear Prudence, Martha My Dear etc etc etc) but if I had to choose just one as representative then it would have to be George Harrison’s seminal rock interpretation of the I Ching. The icing on the cake, is of course, Eric Clapton’s performance on lead guitar. That and the vibrato organ. Oooh!

5. GETTING BETTER

From the opening clipped guitar chords, the repetitive piano notes to the Indian tambura at the final verse, there is a driving drone evident throughout this powerful song. The contradiction in the chorus – “it can’t get no worse” (from Lennon) – is the Beatles at their humorous best. Sophisticated pop-rock that has seldom been bettered since. Heh!

6. TAXMAN

The Fab Four were constantly creatively curious, and with more time in the studio the band began to change the very concept of pop and rock music. Taxman opened the ground-breaking Revolver, George Harrison’s tirade against the kind of high taxes the likes of Beatles had to face. Musically, Paul McCartney’s contribution was stellar: a raga-influenced solo and a bass line that has been imitated ad nauseum ever since. John Lennon provided much of the backing vocal concepts including naming the two main political party leaders of the time viz Harold Wilson and Edward Heath. Memorable!

Stay tuned for Part 3.

THE TOPPERMOST OF THE POPPERMOST

I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone out there that the Fab Four are my favorite band of all time. Forty years after their demise, their music still enthralls and touches me. Two years ago (!), I did my PoP Ten of my favorite Beach Boys tunes, here’s part 1 (of 3) of my list for the Beatles. Comments welcome, of course…

1. A DAY IN THE LIFE

The finest recording ever? Two distinct songs from John Lennon and Paul McCartney cobbled together by the most inventive instrumental section ever committed to magnetic tape. Lennon provides some of his best non-sequitur lyrics – “Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall” and his singing is haunting and evocative throughout. McCartney contributes an incongruous jaunty middle part equally memorable. This is what I mean when I say “legendary”.

2. HELP!

One of my favorites from the early Beatles period, Lennon’s impassioned vocals and the tight harmonies gets me everytime. Of course, the heartfelt lyrics are something anyone can identify with. Great beat and melody. Hypnotic.

3. PENNY LANE

Originally, In My Life was supposed to reflect upon the childhoods of Lennon and McCartney and would refer to specific landmarks in their hometown Liverpool. That didn’t materialize and the concept was only fully realized on Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. Both tracks were recorded during the Sgt Pepper’s sessions. Penny Lane is brilliantly nostalgic, colorful in both words and music, its music hall sensibility echoes the Kinks and the piccolo flute at the coda now the stuff of legend.

Stay tuned for Part 2…

Buy The Beatles at Amazon.

THE ANGEL GABRIEL

In the 80s, thanks to popular LPs like So and Us, Peter Gabriel finally achieved status of rock superstar. As much as I do consider So and Us to be good albums, for me personally, the best musical period for Gabriel was between 1977 to 1982, when he released four eponymous albums.

I first came across Gabriel when he was the lead singer of the progressive rock outfit Genesis. Gabriel quit Genesis in 1976 and embarked on a solo career. In the next five years, he would produce some of the finest rock music ever.

Now also referred to as Car, Gabriel’s debut is a powerful one featuring memorable tracks like Moribund the Burgermeister, Solsbury Hill (video below), Modern Love, Humdrum and perennial live fave, Here Comes the Flood.

A year later, Gabriel released his sophomore effort (often called Scratch), produced by King Crimson’s Robert Fripp. Fripp’s influence is evident in the use of his patented Frippertronic effects in Exposure. Not quite as strong as the album before and after it, Scratch still contains On the Air, D.I.Y. (video below), White Shadow, Animal Magic and the aforementioned Exposure.

Easily one of my favourite albums of all time, Gabriel’s 3rd album (or Melt) was co-produced by Gabriel and renowned 80s producer Steve Lillywhite, and the muscular sound being the main result (the influence of post-punk is obvious). The songs on Melt are probably among Gabriel’s best known – Games Without Frontier (video below) and Biko (a tribute to South African martyr Steven Biko) – along with such classics as Intruder, Not One of Us, And Through the Wires, Family Snapshot etc. The entire album is essential, nuff said!

Not as accessible as Melt, Gabriel’s 4th LP (or Security) is an ambitious, experimental song cycle where Gabriel’s interest in world music flowers and blooms. Memorable tracks litter the LP, including The Rhythm of the Heat, San Jacinto (video below), I Have the Touch and Shock the Monkey.

Check out the Peter Gabriel store at Amazon.

THIS IS POP!

It bears repeating that Power of Pop is not merely about “powerpop”, meaning the melodic crunch of bands influenced by the Beatles, the Who (circa mid-60s), Badfinger, the Raspberries and Cheap Trick. When we say “pop” we refer to “popular music” as contrasted to “classical music” and more or less begins with the advent of rock ‘n’ roll in the early 50s. And “power” is to me, the ability to touch hearts and souls, to make a difference – a unique quality, you might say.

So if you’re a band/artist that creates “powerpop” music by the above definition, then get in touch <info(at)powerofpop(dot)com> and you might just find yourself reviewed at the Power of Pop. It would be our distinct pleasure. Yes, indeed.

…still there’s more…

REVOLUTION #9

It goes without saying that the Beatles are probably the most influential rock band of all time. But of course nothing exists in a vacuum. So who influenced the Beatles? Here are some clues for you to come to a conclusion.

BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS

RAY CHARLES

GENE VINCENT

LITTLE RICHARD

CHUCK BERRY

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg – Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison Carl Perkins and more… Just goes to show that the best bands/artists listen widely and take in the best influences, add a little of their own ideas and create a brand new exciting sound! An obvious tip of course but one worth taking note of.

THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC

Melissa, a fellow music blogger, left me a tweet asking, “What other songwriters/bands would u recommend?” Ooh, how much time do you have, Melissa?

Well, to keep things concise, let’s take a look at what kind of music Melissa listens to now. I understand that she once remarked that Noel Gallagher was her favourite songwriter. So we’ll have Oasis as our starting point.

Gallagher has never hidden his admiration for the Beatles so obviously, the Fab Four has got to be on this list. I would strongly recommend commencing our exercise with the White Album, now available in a remastered edition.

Two more influential 60s British bands that figure prominently in Gallagher’s raison d’etre are The Who and the Kinks. Check out both bands’ singles from this era.

70s glam rock also played a part in Gallagher’s music development e.g.  T. Rex and David Bowie. Their early 70s output is essential listening.

And what about post-punk? The Jam’s Paul Weller is an obvious source of inspiration. The entire Jam discography must be explored.

… and there would not have been an Oasis without the Stone Roses. The first album is all you need…

Only the tip of the iceberg but that should keep you going for awhile, I’d wager…