POST #100 - All Things Partimelovers



Well, as announced by the lead singer Zulfadli himself on that night (Dance Punk Party 6), here with the post number 100 we have embedded a video of Partimelovers' The Wknd Sessions, um, session, of the song entitled "Helah". I don't really feel obligated to write a review of the gig (uh, party, sorry) itself since Junk has done a rather good job themselves here (Picture credit goes to them as well). Besides, I was there that night strictly only for Partimelovers and The Otherside Orchestra. See the third post below this one, the one with the poster for the event itself? See they stated clearly that the party would start at 6? That has definitely got to be a misprint because if my unreliable time record system is not mistaken, the gig only started at ten past nine. Not that it's a complaint.

Then, I also came across a review of the venue itself, One Cafe, which came out very helpful because as how the reviewer has pointed out, the place really is a bit tricky to find. Not that it is hidden, but just quite unexpected. Drive along the Jalan T.A.R. everyday and you'll only see the food court. The other issue that the reviewer had with the place is the bad sound system, which I find it to be rather spot on too. But I didn't got the chance to check out the toilet, or the cheap drinks.

Though the party is already in its' sixth installment, the crowd for that night I have to say was pretty 'thin' and uh, rather selective. 'Thin' in the sense that for the first three bands to perform (The Fridays, Enrai, Swampy Zombie Fever), the crowd was made up of almost entirely exclusively of band members of other performing bands, friends of the band, friends of the other performing bands, friends of friends of the band, and friends of friends of the other performing bands. It's a very small community from the outset. Reminds me of the Shoegazing scene - famously being described as the scene that celebrates itself, you pretty much get the idea where that tag came from. It was only by the time Partimelovers hit the stage that the crowd starts to build up and some movement worthy of making it a lively party breaks out on the dance floor. But the grand prize, of course, I have to say, goes to The Otherside Orchestra. Complete with disco lights strobing in the back of Izwin, the mood that they created with their set is pure awesome. The crowd went absolute bonkers. What more would you ask for? Whether you're one of the scene kids, or friends of friends of friends of the band, or drunk Caucasians, everyone on that night can feel the groove in the air, everyone had a generally good time. Dance Punk Party, for many of its' shortcomings, does have its winning charm as well. But if DPP were to take off into the stratosphere, they have to get off of hosting at lousy venues, and start promoting the event more aggressively.

And perhaps proofread the poster as well.

LINKED: Hitler's Downfall Was Caused by "Friday"



Somehow, I just couldn't stop laughing watching this video.

Anyway, new entry for this blog has been coming in very slowly as of late, and that I probably have to blame it on work - this is by the way the most hectic time for me because we're nearing the end of the semester and one test, one video assignment, and one final exam is coming right around the corner. In fact I haven't been able to listen to any new song as of late, so there you go. (Well I did 'listened' to Rebecca Black's "Friday" but surely that doesn't count) In the meantime, enjoy this laugh-a-tastic video of Hitler having a meltdown about Miss Black having a dilemma of which seat to choose. Seriously, please do not even be bothered to find her video here because thanks to her nasally voice made worse with digital enhancement, and the inanity of the lyrics... I can't even compose a coherent sentence here now. My brain has suffered a lot.


Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun. Gaaah! Stop it! Stop it!

*Thanks to Art of Trolling for the image above, and thanks to Buzz Feed for letting me know of the video.

LINKED: Dance Punk Party, 18/3, Jalan TAR



They have Partimelovers and The Otherside Orchestra - enough reason for anyone to brave the punishing traffic jam and be there. Organized by the cool folks operating under the same name, Dance Punk Party, it is promised to be more than just a typical gig where people come by with friends in tow, have a drink or two, enjoying good music, live - it is supposed to be a party in celebration of the birth of the Dance Punk/Post Punk movement in Malaysia. Too bad Komplot imploded way too early before the movement get to fully bloom for else, we strongly believed that they would be the best torch-bearer for it.

Catch their Twitter update as well here.

For a taste of Partimelovers delicious, delicious grooves, click here.

For a taste of The Otherside Orchestra good-time-always danceable tunes, click here.

REVIEWED: Let England Shake by PJ Harvey



There was something infinitely liberating seeing raptors flying across the sky as they continue on with their journey northward, leaving their temporary makeshift nest on a small island just outside Port Dickson on a bright sunny Saturday. I could only bade a longing farewell with an amazed stare. This is perhaps the only most precious thing that I can gather from my last weekend's excursion at an event called Raptor Watch; that and apart from the delight of seeing secondary school students learning a lot about the forest, thanks to a guided trail walk by me.

I wouldn't already consider myself a 'seasoned' forest guide from my rather brief experience of doing so but my, I can already spot certain types of tree from miles away, and rather accurately. It largely goes to the shape and the surface of the tree trunk, which to any untrained eye, it all looks just the same. Not that it's a bad thing because I thought of the same thing as well before this. You'd be surprised actually to see how the forest, despite of its' uniformed color scheme, are made up of large variety of individuality, and each of them are almost not alike with one another. I'm probably splitting hair here (and to be quite honest, who gives a flying fuck about it anyway innit?) but the subtle art of subtlety is something that one must be acquainted and familiar with in order to fully appreciate something like PJ Harvey.

I've mentioned this before in regard to PJ Harvey's materials and I'll mention it again here - PJ Harvey's songs have always been, and will always be, about musical styles and notion rather than its' lyrical content. Not that they're unimportant but because one needs to really appreciate what a highly talented songwriter Ms. Polly Jean is, something else has to take a backseat, and that naturally goes to the sung words. Or was, because now that her 8th studio album is already out, entitled Let England Shake, the rule book has been rewritten.

We're not going to dwell at a much further length about what this album constitutes, were made of, and what it made us feel as the disc spins because for certain things, the lesser you knew about it, the better. Let England Shake certainly is a very political album in its' stance and its' voice, but it is not of a discontented anger, or straight-up revolt like Rage Against the Machine. It is not angry in a way, but rather pretty poetic about it - brutish honesty kind of poetic. It is not the kind that will stand in front of baton-wielding riot police in arms, but rather is more at home sitting on a rocking chair with a cup of tea and sprouting quotes of Descartes and Proust. If all these fails and you still find yourself scratching your head, let's just say it is a very subtle album. And it is the type of subtlety that you just have to pay attention to.

What we dare to say is that with the Arab region still in political turmoil and general realization and zeitgeist reaching wide acceptance, this album could possibly be the Dark Side of the Moon of the current age. Quite a statement? For such an album, it totally deserves it.

Very Grammatic - Watch Raptors Shake England



Yeah - last year was pretty exciting, though I was only manning the Games counter, and the Thai Royal Birdwatching Society's (or something) booth. Hundreds of people flocked onto the open field of PNB Ilham Resort, watched raptors flying pass through (the binocular & telescope booth was a big hit around that time), and basically had a great time there, pricey food notwithstanding. This year though I'll be in with the Nature Guide team, which is excellent (I'm all for nature walks). Training is on this Saturday, the whole shebang is on the following weekend. Will come up with a report of this Saturday's excursion if anything interesting took place. In the meantime, PJ Harvey's Let England Shake is still giving me a hard time for me to properly digest it. Let me just say that for now, it's still pretty... rancid. From what I gather, this album has a very dominant political theme to it, which kind of explain the 'angry' sound of this album, and great timing as well with the current political turmoil broiling in the Arab countries, the songs resonates very well with the spirit of the time. We could be looking/listening at the soundtrack of the current time here - the stylistics though is another matter which we're still getting acquainted with. This is angry time for all of us.