The Doraemon syndrome

Tadik gi tengok wayang... merasalah korang mesti tak caya gi tengok cita Thailand animation.

Truth is sebenarnya gi tengok the sequel to Khan Kluay yang meletop blockbuster di Siam tuh. Sini namanya Jumbo Gajah Biru (amik ko kreatif gila title dia... enam hari enam malam tak makan minum tidur dok nak pikirkan title kerana cita ni focus pada Jumbo... seekor gajah berwarna biru)

Versi tempatan ni, menampilkan suara Akim dan Mila. Tuh yang Jumbo warna biru tu Akim, dan kaler pink yang bini dia si Mila.

Tak caya? Hah... ni pic yang blur sebab lighting haus dalam panggung lepas tayangan Jumbo Gajah Biru.

What did I think of it.

Well, the actual animated movie itself, susah nak say anything bad about it.

Even though the animation takde tahap Pixar ke Disney, but seriously, the storytelling, the pacing of it all, the plot (though not that original, but what is in cartoons and animated features) - sungguh bagus.

I mean, when it comes to Thai films or full length features, the scoring, the storyline memang mesti tangkap leleh punya la.

I loved all one and a half hours of it.

Now here's the downside. For me at least.

Benda ni dubbing dalam Bahasa Malaysia.

Sorry lah.. but for me bab ni fail! Tiap kali ada benda dubbing masuk BM je, mesti salah kepit jadik sora ala Doraemon.

I mean, bukan tak patriotic ke apa. Kita da sedia maklum ni filem Siam. So biar je la dalam bahasa original. Subtitles, baby!

Ada member sentap ngan aku kata aku tak pikir orang yang tak suka atau tak reti baca subtitles.

Jawapan aku senang je.... learn to read.

Tak prihatin aku lak pada bebudak yang nak tengok kan? Well, all I have to say is kalao ada yang kata camtuh, then the kid in question should worry about their future more than what a talking elephant is saying. Umo berapa? Tak reti baca? THAT'S what's wrong with our education system! Literacy hado katanya.

It's not the same bila da dubbing. The emotion and intonation of speech lain. Even if you don't understand it, you feel it (merasalah ala Avatar - I feel you!). Bayangkan korang dulu tengok Nang Nak - bayangkan kalao alihsuara. Will the impact be same?

I grew up learning languages that were not my mother tongue. English, Bahasa Malaysia. So what's the problem.

Kalao da bahasa korang lemah, learn, bitches! Aku dulu belajar English pon layan min Your Language ok! Walaopon orang gelak haram aku paham memula. Lama-lama pas berkawan ngan kamus baru paham. Bahasa Malaysia lak aku belajar ngan layan lagu ok! Lagu the late Sudirman and then later masuk Febians and Gersang (matilah)

Jangan harap dok suap je. Ni la masaalah orang kita. Semua demand nak disuap je. The creativity gets zapped out. People get callous and unfeeling.

Tu yang bila tengok wayang kena have that bitch-slap effect. Intelligence is seconded to slapstick, and drama remains cliched.

Korang tengok drama Melayu biasa tau je skema kan? Orang kalao mati biasa sebab leukimia/kanser/sakit jantung. All rich Datuks and Datins wear suits and fancy dresses and an expensive date is one where dok kat kelab yang serve multicoloured drinks. No? Tengok agik...

This is all the beginnings of a bigger problem.

I remember watching the movie Caramel, a Lebanese production. Ok jer aku ngan kengkawan menghayati filem tuh walaopon layan subtitles. Selama ni korang tengok filem Hindustan, bayangkan sora Shah Rukh Khan digantikan pelakon sini? Feel tak? That's how I feel bila layan Spongebob Squarepants versi dubbing. EEEWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

Sapa tak paham aku meroyan apa, takpe.

Walaopon aku tak paham Mandarin ke Cantonese (cause aku cakap Hokkien je... lain ok!), aku tengok cita Cina pon layan subtitles gak... ok jek.

So I really hate this dubbed shit.

But if you wanna numb yourself, go watch this movie. The movie itself is SO WORTH watching, just sabar je la bab dubbing (kecuali kalao korang memang tak kisah then leh layan la). Me? I just heaved a sigh of relief when Akim and Mila stopped singing (bukan sebab tak bagus tapi tak feel) and enjoyed when the Thai version of the song came on.

Unlike many, I am looking online for the translation so enjoy it more AFTER the movie.

Ok ok.. cukup meroyan. Pas abih layan wayang, gi ler ngan kengkawan makan kat Uptown. Slalu Hartamas, Bangsar, Rasta... ni tukar angin sikit. Port lama aku sejak zaman abih skolah.

Tapi tak penah perasan signboard ni lak.

Tuh dia kata ko... THE TASTE CAN KILL U. Ko sanggup makan? Aku tanak!!!!!

But honestly kalao korang try Western kat gerai ni - memang can kill you. Yucks!

Kalao korang nak makan Western ko carik kedai Yazid (dekat je ngan si lanun ni). THE BEST!

Sodap... and bigger portions. Mintak black pepper sauce dia lebih ok, meka tak kedekut. And memang sedap. Rugi tak rasa.

Ok la... I need to call it a night. Layan...

PS - Yang tak paham tujuan entry ni simple je - go watch a good production like Gajah Jumbo Biru, but learn that reading subtitles is not that bad as you should be listening to emotions within the context of delivery, as well as knowing what words are delivered.

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Damn! I actually managed to stick to my resolution - on the first official day. Matilah! Cakap cam bertahun da lamanya kan. Propah sangat...

Was up by, worked out, showered, had breakfast and in the office by 9.30am. Hado?!!! Looks like things are going good.

Masuk je opis, no one in, so popped out for tea with Kid. She belanja.. heh! Tu la rezeki orang baru pop new kids kan. Walopon kena ikut laki dok Seremban da... tapi tetap gigih ulang alik tempat keja.

Pas settle prediction piece for Anugerah Juara Lagu (which will be out tomorrow in The Malay Mail), headed ke launch album Era Muzik Hits Terkini.

Secara jujur kan, aku paling meluat album kompilasi. They're usually the cheap-ass way nak put out a product. Especially kalao sparuh tuh bahan recycle dari previous releases. Tapi nak cakap camna... some people call that strategy sebab kemut nak invest in talent baru (actually thinking fans like products like this) and then in the end wonder why our industry fails when so little effort is put in.

Album Era Hits Terkini nih has ten songs. Tracklisting dia as follows.

1. Menggegar Dunia - Stacy & Adam

2. Menatap - Aril

3. Jika Kau Ubah Fikira - Mila

4. Bengang - Akim

5. Pakai Buang - Stacy

6. Masih Jelas - Hafiz

7. Sujud - Mawi

8. Sugul - Yazid

9. Berbicara - Isma

10. Maafkan - Anita Sarawak

So there you have it. Semua lagu yang memang da sumbat kat Era sampai berdarah telinga. Well, not in a bad way. I mean from the aspect of some of the most overkilled songs.

For me, the only new song yang caught my attention lagu Yazid, Sugul. Interesting...and definitely worth a listen.

And kalao ada yang nak dapatkan album ni (yang cover album cuma pic Stacy, Mawi, Akim, Mila dan Hafiz - kenapa Aril, Yazid, Adam, Isma dan Anita Sarawak tak kira laku kah... ke peminat meka ni tak cukup power market), ada bonus disc for music videos.

Nine in total. Well actually eight sebab the first item is the menu. Hado! Ada video for Menggegar Dunia, Menatap, Jika Kau Ubah Fikiran, Bengang, Pakai Buang, Masih Jelas, Sujud dan Maafkan. And the videos come in a VCD (zaman skang orang DVD terus kan lagik senang)

By the way - versi video Masih Jelas adalah versi yang ada hantu kum-kum selendang merah.

And to add insult to injury over the quality of videos (tatau la sebab aku tengok kat Mac nih) azab nak mampos quality video. Tengok Youtube pun lagik clear. So kalao korang nak beli album ni - biar for the audio je, cause the video just ain't a bonus.

Anyway.. pada peminat Akademi Fantasia (obviously sebab selain kak Nita, semua dalam album ni keluarga AF), here are some pics post launch masa kita semua lepak makan. Candid je. Tengah sibuk borak, tak sempat amik pics bebetul.

Mawi ada, tapi borak-borak sebab lama da tak jumpa, tak sempat lak snappy. Last jumpa pon masa panggil dia mai relaunch The Malay Mail. So borak banyak nak catch up... but these are some pics yang sempat snap.

Seriously dead tired today... so not much to update. Besok je la.. kalao tak sparuh mati camni. But it's a good kind of tired sebab memang feel accomplished sangat bila dapat wat banyak dalam sehari.

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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.

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Yang pernah...

Phew... damn tired Just back from supper at Syad and Aishah's place. Sebenarnya ada belated birthday do for Marsha sana tapi aku tak sempat join, just caught Zarina and Bob and Syuib lepak sana je.

Memang couldn't make it earlier sebab tadik lepak Sri Pentas 2 for the full dress rehearsal of the Pop Rock semifinals tuk Muzik-Muzik besok.

Dapat ler legakan fikiran. Music always soothes me... especially good stuff. And since ada some acts performing some very nice tunes, loga la sikit den.

Aku malas nak cita lelebih so just enjoy some of the pics I snapped. Of course most of them before, during (backstage and about) as well as after the rehearsal. I focused mostly on people who are my friends, so sorry kalao korang ada favourites aku tak sempat snap, either because I'm not close to them, or don't really care for them too much.

Lagi satu kalao korang perasan, I try and snap people on rotation basis. Kalao moka sama je pon bosan kan? Bazir bandwidth korang je kang nak download moka-moka sama. Heh... on to the pics!

The strong people you don't see. The PRs and production crew led by mother chicken kak Kelly)


Zimi dari Sofaz


Ni bosan sampai layan handphone ni apa hal... heh


Stacy and her ladies!



Rich the happy husband. Perasan tak cincin kat jari. Yes folks... that's a wedding band. Simple but very meaningful.


Ramainya layan handphone backstage... even Fiq


Tam doing what rockers do.. erm... showing off their guitar?


Mail is a little bit disco and Nafi a little rock and roll


Nafi and Tony going all rockstar


Tam having a serious chat with Stacy. Pasal? Erm.. adalah...



Faizal and Cheryl


Mock announcement. Stacy kena panggil dulu terus wat pose erm... you can see for yourself


Then ramai lagik join


And this time she looked more relaxed


Briefing pas rehearsal


Mila and Stacy camwhore sat sambil dengar


Bebudak Sofaz look so... erm.. interested


Cherry, sis Stacy


Estranged concentrate tuh


And Lan ngan bebudak Meet Uncle Hussain?


Of course, I also have videos, tapi I will post them in my next entry sebab tengah edit and upload.

Meanwhile ni some additional info and gossip yang related or totally unrelated to Muzik-Muzik and anything remotely connected.

-Velvet is in Sabah dan dia tak ikut Rich ke KL untuk semifinal Muzik-Muzik. Selesai saja malam ni, Rich akan balik ke Sabah and the couple plan to spend their time together. Baru kahwin camtuh la...

- Estranged is the only band yang bukan saja vocal live, tapi muzik pun live. Ni sebab meka takde minus one tu lagu meka, and they will rock the house.

- Because of the live set-up, meka tukar slot ngan Flava yang menggantikan The Lima (refer pada previous entry for rundown) and will open the show tonight. Ni tuk senangkan mengalihkan dan mempersiapkan amps, and the whole set-up of what they need to perform live.

- Shah dikatakan withdraw lagu Ku Merindu because Ella ada engagement lain and dia tanak penyanyi ganti sebab kisahnya, lagu tu memang dia bajet tuk Ella je. Hence kemasukan lagu Sofaz (refer pada previous entry for full list of lagu lagu yang akan dipersembahkan)

- TV3 is said to be not too happy with Mawi. And mungkin peminat pun akan upset to hear Mawi will NOT be performing for the Anugerah Juara Lagu dalam lagu dia berganding dengan Heliza dalam Doa Dalam Lagu. Ni kisahnya sebab dia akan berada di Korea ketika Anugerah Juara Lagu. Tuh la... masukkan lagu, pastu tanak block date lak. Hish... orang nak kahwin...

- Pengganti Mawi kisahnya akan ditentukan kemudian, but kalao ikutkan, dengar cerita TV3 nak Bob tuk gantikan Mawi. Ajai, selaku penulis lagu dikatakan juga inginkan Bob sebagai pengganti untuk nyanyi in place of Mawi.

Ok... the videos and a little surprise in my next entry. Wait for it...

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