Losing my cool

DISCLAIMER : AKU NAK MEROYAN SUMPAH SERANAH NGAN BAHASA 18SX SIKIT CAM ZAMAN DULU SO JANGAN BAGIK ANAK KECIK BACA. SAPA SENSITIF KE NAK TERASA KE.... GI MAMPOS!! JANGAN BACA. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Just like the title says.. I'm about to lose it.

Last year, when Estranged won with their self-composed Itu Kamu, we all applauded. Yeay for the validation of new talents, and shoo to the controlling names of composers and lyricists yang tiap tahun layak, and most of the time menang with their mediocre efforts.

What's that you say? Apa salahnya nama besar kalao bagus... well, I'm not denying some of the songs that have won before bagus, but... lauk pauk sedap mana pon, kalao biarkan berapa lama tuh - kalao asalnya sedap tetap BASI kan? Cam tu gak stail a few songs yang kalao tanding Anugerah Juara Lagu 1998 pun wouldn't have been out of place.

So last year, we all thought it was a signal that Anugerah Juara Lagu, the prestigious event yang recognise songwriting talents was undergoing a reformasi of sorts. Kan? Matilah ko... cam haram mengharap cam pelacur menjual tubuh tiap malam mengharap tak kena sifilis.

Or as I love exclaiming now... BUGHHIIIIIITTTT LUUUU!!! Tak paham takpe. Move along, folks.. nothing here to see.

So this year cam sial jerk kan? Separuh akhir is over, and we're left with a few good songs, and a few yang well.. to be polite, cam KIMAK saja dapat layak masuk.

Let's start with categories. Etnik Kreatif? What the FUCK! (Yes, da lama aku tak carut tanpa censored)

Terdesak semacam sampai lagu yang Mengharap Sinar or whatever leh masuk. Thus making the category yang dulu gah ngan some of the best tunes and best performances in the history of AJL, nothing more than a mere weak ass parody of what it used to be.

Nothing personal against Dior - but dude, or dudette can't sing, and the fact that sora dia cam bunyi enjin Pajero tak servis berdengung semacam... just shows how dead this category is.

Evolusi la ngok! Change the category into something like FUSION! Where all sorts of genres yang non conventional leh compete. Don't just have the category for the sake of having it kalao da takde orang nak bother entering it in its purest form.

Then kategori Balada. Apa lancau kategori Balada nih???? Dari dulu aku tak paham. What the fuck... sejak bila la orang kategori kan genre balada nih? So kalao rock ballad masuk Balada... leh tima ke??? Cam dulu lagu May... macam ke sial. Balada masuk kategori Pop on its own la.

Or do the organisers not know what POP music is? It encompasses anything deemed popular and accesible. Cuma pop ada pop dance, pop R&B, pop rock, etc. Cover la semua... termasuk ballads.

If that isn't confusing enough... ada lak kes salah dikategorikan oleh penganjur.

Mangsa kebodohan ni lagu lagu bagus... cam contoh, Cinta Terhalang. Kalao ikutkan klasifikasi, it's pop with R&B leanings. What the fuck lak kena calon sebagai Pop Rock, then bertaruh di separuh akhir sebagai Balada lak.

Lagu 6ixth Sense kat separuh akhir Balada apa kejadah. Juboq hang la! It's pop rock! Kenapa masuk balada BODOH!

Du-uh.

Then separate Pop Rock by having another category for ROCK. Ni nak masuk hard rock ke pop rock ke. Lagu yang dinyanyikan Fiq malam tadi, Bukti, cannot even be considered sebab kalao ikut kriteria kategori bangang diwujudkan, it should have been Balada bangang!

Arghhhh... da la semalam dengar ada lagu kena mark down sebab juri kata lagu tu dalam salah kategori. Cam sial!

Konon nak asingkan ballads from the main pop and rock tunes sebab slow dan laju konon takleh fight la. Kepala takuk itam ko la...

Abih camna you wanna judge something like Aku Lebih Tahu dan Aku Stacy yang pop dance and pop folk with a touch of rock against something like Yang Pernah, Lagu Untukmu and Mabuk yang all harder rock tunes in comparison?

Fuck it.

Stupidity and yes men work so well together to create chaos and anarchy.

Aku syukur Estranged and Meet Uncle Hussain dapat masuk semalam cause these are fresh new bands with their own well composed sounds who are getting recognition.

It won't stop the BASTARDIZATION of Malaysian mainstream music courtesy of something like AJL, but it'll soften the blow.

Still... it's not even funny.

For a prestigious event like AJL, to pull a cheap publicity stunt like wild card entries is just that... CHEAP! Just like some of the badly produced songs they let in.

I love Dingin, but semalam pengumuman lagu Dingin masuk cam tamparan bagik aku. Aku last week da katakan lagu like Teman Terulung, Dingin dan Cinta Terhalang as well as a few more patut layak ke final... bukan lagu cipap Ke Mercu haper haram tajuk tuh yang sound basi cam lagu sedekad lalu tak relevan or fresh. I mean songs semua yang competing bagus but that was just so wrong as that criteria didn't seem to be taken into account.

Back to Dingin, aku lagik rela lagu tu tak masuk akibat kebodohan pemilihan lagu nyanyian Ayu dan Spider, tapi maintain maruah. Ni cam saguhati murahan je akibat gimik sial tuh. Like you're not good enough, but look here, we got enough time to slot one more song.. so ko masuk la.

Pantat berulat tol! Ko hengat ni reality TV? And I thought AJL wasn't as cheap as that.

It's like the Grammys or even AIM umumkan pencalonan, and then last minute kata CAKKK!!! kami masukkan one more because it's so good (walhal sebab ramai orang carot maki hamun nak tengok Ziana Zain perform on AJL stage)

And if they really wanted to put Dingin in genunely, kenapa tak umumkan awal sikit? Even at the start of the Pop Rock show would be fine. Sebab not only composer dan lyricist lagu tak 'diraikan' on its own, it stole the thunder from the songs yang were supposed to be celebrated last night in the Pop Rock category.

And the jury?

Don't get me started. I respect everyone in the music industry. And the people yang judge pun semua experienced, and some actually knowledgeable. Shock horror!

Tapi...

Are they relevant? Come on. It's only human to be biased towards your personal preference.

Dari segi lirik contohnya. Ketara sangat, selagi ada lagu lirik ratapan bangsawan, selagi tuh la lagu yang inaccesible to the the music listening crowd tak recognised sebab kononnya simplicity is not taking the Malay language to the next level.

Come on. It's a song competition. Not a motherfucking poetry recital. Get people who know music. Not a damn dictionary.

A song, is telling a story, and for me, if it gets through the message it sends, and the message carries an essence of originality in relating its tale, dah ler. Takyah nak cam haram kena bahasa jiwa bangsat or whatever sebelom leh di anggap bagus.

And judging a composition. Aubrey Suwito is one of the names I look up to. But kekadang, Aubrey like a lot of people in this business, go stale with their sounds, and while they're still good, they ARE NOT RELEVANT. But sebab remaja veteran yang judge, so sounds ada yang dipilih tuh stuck in the zaman ubi kayu gituh (tak paham takpe) So don't get an uptight, old fart to judge lah!

This may not be a popularity contest, but come on. It's not curing cancer here. It's a fucking song competition. Don't be so anal about it.

Arghhhhh!!!! Everything's so wrong. How lah the music industry nak grow camni?

You see, that's the problem tau. Our growth is stifled by people who think like they did 10 or 15 years ago. They're the ones holding Malaysian music back and killing it.

Young blood and fresh ideas have to put up with so much bullshit to make inroads into the business.

Only a few musicians are left with their sense of taste intact, and remind themselves to be relevant. One of those greats for me is someone like Ramli MS. Dia ada feel apa current apa not.
They should use someone like him as jury... bukan some undeserving idiots on the jury yang every year moka sama, making the same mistakes.

Look people, there's a reason why they call it the music BUSINESS! Every business ada keperluan to be relevant to be alive.

Eeee... da lama tak meroyan aku nih.

Semalam aku setuju with most of the results actually. I predicted Yang Pernah, Lagu Untukmu, Kalis Rindu and Bukan Di Sini would get in and they did. Aku cuma terkejut Mabuk tak dapat. I mean, I love and support Stacy, but Aku Stacy is not the strongest song to earn a place in the final, and walaopon aku carot Spider masuk final ngan Bila Nak Saksi, for me Mabuk memang strong.

Well, at least no one can accuse me of being bias. But since Stacy da in aku sokong gak all the way as usual.

Entahla.. majlis meka, suka hati meka la kan. This is just my two cents worth, and as a viewer and lover of Malaysian music, just exercising my right, and my finger muscles nak meroyan camni.

To everyone who deserved a place in the finals, congratulations and do your best especially Estranged and Meet Uncle Hussain.

Siapa lagu cam cipap berkurap tuh, I hope you fall off the stage and die. Matilah... cam pantat. Don't like what I have to say? Fuck you! And then fuck you some more. I don't like your selection but I have to listen to them... so you can bloody fucking well put up with my random thoughts.

Da la.. layan pics... and bak kata the Bimbo.. keep it cool, people (but if you see the people responsible for the stupid decisions, smack those bitches)

Mila tengah bersiap


The Fabulous Cats entertaining themselves


Estranged, or Rich actually kena dera ngan Melodi


Ten minutes later


Kejadian lucu ketika persembahan Sofaz.. korang perasan tak?


Tengok bebetol. Tom da terbalik da. Seb baik muzik minus one (cuma Estranged je live)


Eh da betol kan balik


Stacy chilling pas dia abih


Announcing the qualifiers


Those who were called - and those who were not


Wakil kategori Pop Rock ke Anugerah Juara Lagu


Menggila...


Stacy with her winning smile


Press conference. Banyak soalan panas kuar


Horror je muka semua dengar soalan




Stacy and family and friends


PS - Entry ni tak edited so aku meroyan off topic tuh terima je lah. Just imagine me being foul in front of you spewing all these obscenities to get the full effect.

PPS - A very special congratulations to Stacy dan Sofaz yang skang menjadi wakil baru Pelita memandangkan meka honorary members of KEPITA wakilkan ahli cam Bob dan 6ixth Sense yang kecundang

PPPS - Congrats to Stacy Frenz for making their voices heard with their support! Keep it up guys.