Flat Bones

They were scheduled to play in a small gig in a hotel within my neighborhood. Small hotel cafe dressed as an underground gig. Why not? It's just within walking distance. It would be interesting to learn more about one of Indonesia's new pop-rock band with two hit tunes i.e. "Musnah" and "Sempurna" (the latter is more laid back).

I hear "Musnah" (Ruined) pretty often, be that as a video clip on TV or in radio or anywhere. I like the industrial-like guitar on refrain or bridge or whatever. Since the lead guitarist is still a guitarist of another famous band (Dewa), I naturally expected "Andra and the Backbone" to deliver similar tunes to "Musnah".

As of "Sempurna" (Perfect), it's a mellow song about "the perfect woman bla bla", which melody and lyrics makes everyone melts. Well, it's pop music, so they'd better win the hearts of general public *winks* The Backbone delivered an interesting guitar acoustic performance in "Sempurna". So, I was hoping to find a few nice tunes in between the grandiose of "Musnah" and the warm-hearted "Sempurna".

Turned out that I was so wrong. The Backbone delivered something that was a bit hard for me to balance. It's far from easy for pop, yet it would not split any ears.

Flat flat flat..



On the other hand, the vocalist looks kinda cool this time..

"Andra and The Backbone" - official web site of

Fresh ears

Out of boredom from the same songs and sounds on and on again, I checked out Rolling Stones' page on 25 best bands they picked from My Space. Despite the pretty harsh comments from the readers, I downloaded all 25, listened carefully to each song and picked my best 10 or so for a quick mix on the go stored in my mobile.

Here's my list in alphabetical order. Clicking "listen" will take you to Rolling Stones' original link to listening the music.

• The Airborne Toxic Event - “Wishing Well”[listen]


• An Pierlé & White Velvet - “How Does It Feel”[listen]


• Band Marino - “Every Time I Make A Girl Cry I Know I’ve Done My Job”[listen]


• Ferns - “Disaster Strikes Again” [listen]


• Kolja - “Let It Be - No Fears”[listen]


• Locksley - “Don’t Make Me Wait” [listen]


• Night Driving in Small Towns - “Close Encounters”[listen]


• Shannon Hurley - “Sunrise” [listen]


• State Of Ohio - “Wasted in a Vase” [listen]

Despite my loyalty to these tunes below:
Rammstein – Links 234
Nina Simone – Sinnerman
Dinah Washington – Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby
Paolo Conte – Via Con Me

I'm opening my ears for these guys:
Interpol – Untitled
Portishead – Roads

and a band that I picked up from Quiksilver music player:
The Stills – In The Beginning

What about your ears?

quikcuts

I'm not advertising "Quiksilver", a prominent brand that produces surfing, snowboarding and skateboard clothings and their related accessories. But I found that they have an interesting marketing strategy (I'd say that's a way of marketing their stuffs) that turns their goods more than just goods, but a lifestyle that comes with the product.

Quikcuts!

It's intoxicating. At least for me, who can't stand random choice of music in an online radio and only listen to music every now and then..

Quikcuts is not only for PC users, but also for Mac users. They also connect iPod users to iTunes. Well, audio isn't my thing. But I guess those who are so much into music will like Quikcuts' artist showcase. They change the showcase every now and then, so come back for more!

Wear your headphones and turn up the volume..

"sweet euthanasia"

The words "sweet euthanasia" was stolen from these guys' blog, or something that resembles a blog.

I was fishing any new stuff from my list of 41 groups that I subscribed to at "yahoo! groups" and stumbled into an e-mail about a "Indonesian trip-hop band". Geez.. something similar to "Portishead" but by Indonesians? With international reviews of various very foreign languages like Poland.

What an intoxicating music they have..
Sweet, yet murky but liberating.
It might the weater as Jakarta is pouring heavily in the past one hour. Everything seems to snug perfectly into an "out of the box" performance of "Everybody Loves Irene".

These guys are amazing and they're so young (you guys just finished junior high, aren't you? or?). I don't give a damn about their age, but they do produce intoxicating music dan sends you to.. places you name it *winks*

Feast on them here. Free MP3 are available for download and listening:
"Everybody Loves Irene"

afterhour delirium

Skycrapers with dimly lit lamps feigning power saving. Save energy now. We are 50 years late. The road is still hectic. Six-lane avenue that cuts the Metropole into South and North halves. This is a lazy evening.

"..it keeps trying to save me,
don't believe a word I say,
fever fairytale.."

A blowing instrument suffers from Martini hangover. Was it saxophone? Keine Ahnung.. Murky melody corking your heart out.

Huge neon signs. Humongous vinyl advertising banner on the pedestrian bridge hanging accross the fast-paced tracks. Piano keys. A, B, C.. soft drums? Any hitting instruments.


"..my late ego,
under your pillow, old radio.."

Smooth cymbals. Blurry voice. Soft yet high pitched.

"..and so we meet again,
so without it we will not feel pain,
so we will meet again,
at the lovely/lasting tree.."

Red light at the giant turnabout. Night cops smoking away the stale polluted damp air. Fourteen billion automated fountain is switched off. Roll down your window to see

"..my shadow love me,
just like I love myself.."

drifting away through fast and slow lanes. Cruising on top of 20 storeys structures.

It's kinda blues. It's Nina Simone and something else. A bit unexplicable to the common ears. Trip hop?

Very personal. Like mixing three flavors of gelato and licking the creamy texture to the final splatz. Interrupting the icy taste with bitter nicotines on your pink taste buds.



OBJECT:

Artist: Tika | Title: Frozen Love Songs | c 04/2005 Rooftopsound | Distributed by Aksara Record | All song, lyrics and images are protected | Made in Indonesia

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Image courtesy of:

http://www.aksararecords.com/images/cov-tika.jpg