They're everywhere!

Music. Something that all of us wouldn’t be able to live without. Be it classical, rock or even disco, all of us need music to fill our worlds. The younger generation click on their iPods, the older ones with their record players. As I quote ShakespeareShakespeare on this, ‘If music be the food of love, play on’. Of course, at that time he couldn’t have been talking about BeyonceBeyonce’s booty shaking beats or Avenged Sevenfold’s headbanging tunes. But all the same, ‘play on’!

Malaysia is developing country. Not only in the financial field, nor technological, but also musical. These days, there are so many independent – or indie, as they call it – bands in the local music scene that I’m not surprised if by the end of the year I might be in one. A lot of these bands have been really successful, like Meet Uncle Hussein, Estranged, Hujan, Bunkface and even Julie Goes Overseas. These bands produce songs that make their way into the chart faster that you can say ‘indie’. But the question remains, is this a good thing or bad?

I’ve read a lot of reports, many of them praising the efforts of these youngsters. Many saying that this might be the future of Malaysia, a breeding place for more indie bands. Yet back to the question. Do we really want Malaysia to be a breeding place for indie bands? I’m not trying to insult or put down these indie bands, but honestly, what are the percentages of the band being really good? Not that high really.

Yes, there are notable vocalists like Lan of Meet Uncle Hussein. He’s got good vocals and can carry notes nicely enough. But there are others that may need at least a few vocal classes. Not only that, but other band members should have the skills too. It’s not enough to be able to just tug a few strings on the guitar, or hit the drums. To do something, takes perseverance and heart. Not just a few screaming girls saying ‘I love you’ even though they curse you for hurting their ears.

A few of my acquaintances are in bands. One very funny – I mean, amusing – memory was when some of us were in the school bus. Someone placed a CD in the player, with all eyes on him. We were expecting some good music, since he was so insistent on playing the CD. In the end, all of us were laughing as we sang the bland repetitive chorus. I asked about the artist, and they told me it was a band consisting of some of our school mates.

Personally, the will to actually form a band and play musical instruments is really praise-worthy. Even I don’t have the diligence to do so. But as I quote from Spiderman, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’. With the great power of giving music to people, you have the responsibility of making it good. This actually goes for all those musicians out there. Now, where’s that keyboard I had?