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Rudolf Dethu - photo by @viarms

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Music journalist, writer, radio DJ, socio-political activist, creative industry leader, and a qualified librarian, Rudolf Dethu is heavily under the influence of the punk rock philosophy. Often tagged as this country’s version of Malcolm McLaren—or as Rolling Stone Indonesia put it ‘the grand master of music propaganda’—a name based on his successes when managing Bali’s two favourite bands, Superman Is Dead and Navicula, both who have become two of the nation’s biggest rock bands.

Berikut adalah sebuah tulisan menarik oleh Eric Sasono, seorang kritikus film, yang dimuat di majalah Tempo edisi Maret 2010 silam. Eric, yang juga redaktur www.rumahfilm.org, menelisik isu linguistik, tentang seberapa "tembak langsung" judul film ini: Diperkosa Setan. Memang, makin ke sini para penggiat film lokal tersimak makin berani. Tak hanya terang-terangan mengajakserta bintang film porno sebagai pemicu atensi---sudah pasti berujung riuh kontroversi---tapi juga blak-blakan di urusan memberi judul sinemanya. Eksotika bahasa, akrobat cantik demi menghasilkan titel yang bernas bahkan beradab bukan lagi menjadi prioritas. Komunikasi, antara pembikin dan penyuka film, cenderung satu arah, nihil basa-basi. Di perkara pemberian tajuk, yang lebih dikedepankan justru sisi sensasi. Jika di masa lalu masih mencoba berimprovisasi cukup sopan lalu menyorongkan sebatas Gairah Malam serta Ranjang Yang Ternoda, kini makin miskin estetika sama sekali. Coba perhatikan: Diperkosa Setan. Bukan mustahil dalam waktu dekat akan kian berani lagi, tiada tedeng aling-aling lagi, bombastis skala paling maksi: Disodomi Genderuwo.
Edition: March 17, 2010Rock-n-Roll Exhibition: ARIBOWO SANGKOYONyanyikanlah Hidup Kita!:: Playlist, intro, song descriptions, and (most) photos, written and handpicked by Ribosa Himself :: Saya bersaksi bahwa tiada hidup selain musik dan saya bersaksi bahwa lagu-lagu berikut adalah penyelamat kewarasan saya. Semoga kita dikembalikan ke distorsi yang 'benar' dan terbebas dari godaan pasar yang terkutuk. Amin.
For Indonesian version please click hereAlmost a year after releasing their 3rd full-length album, Magnet! Magnet!, The Upstairs are back with their newest single and video, "Menaralara". Indra "Kubil" Idris (guitar) was the guy in charge for the video clip, while Jimi Multhazam (vocal) wrote the lyrics and Beni Adhiantoro (drums) took the position as producer. Yes, after quite a few musicians have come and gone, during their 9th year The Upstairs has officially became a trio with some additional players: Khrisna (keyboard) and Pandu Fathoni (bass, synth). Go visit YouTube now and witness---and dance to---"Menaralara"!
Rilis pers mengenai album ke-3 Superman Is Dead bersama Sony BMG Indonesia ini sejatinya adalah materi lama (tanggal rilis: April 2006), walau tak juga bisa dibilang sudah usang. Sengaja tetap saya tampilkan di situs pribadi saya ini demi mendokumentasikan perspektif yang pernah saya tuangkan agar menjadi lebih rapi, tak lagi berceceran tak beraturan, bisa menjadi arsip yang sahih lagi sinambung.
*For Indonesian version please click hereAquarius Pondok Indah, one of the biggest record stores in Indonesia and located in the South of Jakarta, will soon be closed. The shop, first opened in 1995, has simply run out of business. Mid-August saw them start selling tens of thousands of items in their collection with a massive discount. A few months before that, in February, Aquarius Surabaya, after operating for 7 years, went bankrupt and Aquarius Dago, which used to be one of the coolest hangout spots for kids who lived in Bandung, was shut down in December 2009 after 19 years of guts and glory. Disc Tarra, another national record retail chain, consisting of 78 stores to be precise, is apparently in a similar situation and although they haven't closed any of their stores yet, some in significant cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, and Denpasar, have been resized, some down to 50% smaller. This phenomenon, most people believe, is caused by the digital trend. MP3s and iPods took over the world. They are more popular than cassettes or cds and walkmans or tape recorders, and piracy is exacerbating the problem. Even the gigantic-size record stores like Virgin have lost the add-on "Megastore" in their title, switching now to become Virgin Store only. HMV, idem ditto, they get tinier. Not to mention Tower Records, once considered a major influential music institution in their heyday, called it a day in 2006. With the many DVD and CD shops that line many of Indonesia's streets, the Indonesian government must come up with a strategy to put a stop to piracy and illegal copies. If they fail to do this, the countdown to music armageddon will continue...
This article---album reviews about Carla Bruni's Quelqu'un M'a Dit, Mad Sin's ...Sweet & Innocent? ...Loud & Dirty!, and The Tossers' Shadow of the Valley of the Death---were actually published in The Beat (Bali) mag way back in 2006. But I'm pretty sure they're still worth checking out. Oh, this version is the non-edited version, quite different version than what was published on The Beat mag. This, hell yeah, more in-your-face. More broken English...
DOMESTIC GROOVE ~ Celeb's Chosen Seven is my biweekly column in The Beat (Jakarta) mag. Basically it's an interview via e-mail which focuses on small, intimate, domestic stuff; what Indonesia's public figures are really into, musically speaking. For the third edition I went upclose-and-personal with Sandhy Sondoro.
Tonite! Wednesday, 2010; 8-10 PMBraggadocio Manifesto: Fight for Your Right to Party & Party for Your Right to FightSouth Bronx to South Central. East Coast meets West Coast. Brooklyn, Compton, till East Orange a.k.a. Illtown. Planet Rock via Kraftwerk. Malcolm X in full-effect. Farrakhan, Universal Zulu Nation, forever phat rezpect. Smith and Wesson, M16, snitchin', dissin', hustlin', gangsta-rappin'. B-boys, fly girls, here's amateur, simple and short---but hot---Hip Hop chronicles... » Radio streaming live http://111.68.113.198:9850/listen.pls
Edition: September 29, 2010Rock-n-Roll Exhibition: DEWA PALGUNAA Glimpse Journey to the Past:: Introduction and playlist, written and handpicked by Palguna Himself :: Perkenalan saya dengan (pe)musik rock terjadi bersamaan dengan "kerja paruh waktu" yang saya lakoni secara mingguan sebagai anak jalanan di Terminal Kereneng lebih dari tiga puluh tahun lalu: menjadi pengasong koran mingguan dan majalah. Dari perkenalan itu berlanjut ke "percintaan" lewat poster-poster yang memenuhi kamar kos saya―seorang anak SMP kelas dua―yang berdinding gedek di sebuah gang sempit di Jalan Plawa, Denpasar Timur, Banjar Pagan Tengah namanya. Percintaan itu berlanjut menjadi semacam kegilaan: dengan satu blocknote kecil berbentuk dompet yang ada resluiting-nya mulailah pertuangan saya memulung cerita tentang dan sekitar dunia musik dan bintang rock. Satu blocknote setebal dua jari selebar dompet, betapa pun "font" aksara dibuat sangat irit tatkala menulisinya, dalam waktu tiga tahun hanya menyisakan dua lembar kosong untuk saya tulisi. Tetapi dua lembar kosong itu tak kan pernah tersentuh aksara dari tangan saya lagi karena blocknote berwajah dompet itu rupanya menarik perhatian tukang copet. Ya, Anda benar: blocknote itu raib dicopet orang―sudah pasti karena dikira dompet penuh uang―dalam perjalanan antara Muntilan - Borobudur tahun 1981. Berakhirkah "percintaan" saya dengan musik rock? Sama sekali tidak. 90 % isi "dompet" itu masih saya ingat ketika saya melamar jadi penyiar di radio FM pertama di Bali tahun 1987. Saya ingat betul bagaimana Pak Dedy Sonata, yang mewancarai saya, hampir tak percaya bagaimana dari mulut seorang dosen muda bidang hukum (ya, saat itu saya sudah mulai mengajar di almamater saya, Fakultas Hukum Universitas Udayana) meluncur bak air bah kisah-kisah tentang lagu dan penyanyi rock. Tak perlu berpanjang kata, lamaran saya jadi penyiar tak bertepuk sebelah tangan. Para rock mania se-"iman," hidup ini memang mengagumkan, penuh kejutan. Seperti halnya hari ini: enam jam setelah Anda mendengar lagu terakhir dalam playlist ini, ketahuilah bahwa saat itu saya sedang berhadapan dengan 8 orang guru besar dalam bidang ilmu hukum di Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta. Beliau adalah para profesor yang akan menguji saya dalam presentasi seminar hasil penelitian disertasi saya. Siapakah hari ini yang lebih berbahagia dari saya yang bahkan di saat ujian ketika usia telah melampaui kepala empat pun tetap ditemani oleh musik rock?
Sejawat sekalian, okelah, mungkin Anda tak begitu familiar dengan siapa Sonny Sandoval (lihat foto kiri). Ia adalah biduan grup christian metal, P.O.D. Tapi Anda pasti kenal dong dengan Bob Marley? Selain kerap diidentikkan dengan warna hijau, kuning, dan oranye; sang Eyang Kakung-nya Reggae itu, seperti juga Sonny Sandoval, selalu tampil dengan gaya khas: rambut gimbal.
Rilis pers mengenai album kompilasi band-band lokal Bali yang kerap beraksi di Twice Bar/Maximum Rock 'N Roll Monarchy ini sejatinya adalah materi lama, walau tak juga bisa dibilang sudah usang. Sengaja tetap saya tampilkan di situs pribadi saya ini demi mendokumentasikan perspektif yang pernah saya tuangkan agar menjadi lebih rapi, tak lagi berceceran tak beraturan, bisa menjadi arsip yang sahih lagi sinambung.
Naif equal retro equal good equal entertaining. They've been around since mid 90's and still going strong today with their new traditionalist's imagery, heavy on the 70's side. 2009 saw the release of their last album, The Night at Schouwburg, and this year plan is the underway to get Planet Cinta onto the shelves. I talked with Jarwo and Emil about their upcoming album, Indonesia's music today, and their thoughts on lipsyncing.
*For Indonesian version please click hereBangkutaman, the indiepop veteran has just released Ode Buat Kota under the label Jangan Marah Records. This is their second full-length album, 7 years after the first one, Love Among The Ruins. This group originally are from Jakarta. But they started their career when they went to university in Yogya. The name Bangkutaman taken from a place in their University in Yogyakarta where they used to write poems and talk to each other, to sharing their musical interests. Their brilliant reputation came not only from their well-written songs, but also their intense spirit of Do-It-Yourself, which is quite abnormal for a pop band to adopt---and force---into this underground ethos. With its current formation, J. Irwin (guitar), W. Nugroho (vocal, bass, harmonica), D. Eryanto (drum), the band sing about the dynamics of the city, the business-as-usual of Jakarta life, and how they adapt the new chapter: the natural transformation from being university students to 9-to-5 people. Don't miss their performance in Kick Andy, Metro TV, October 1st, 9.30 PM Jakarta time. Or visit their Facebook page by writing "bangkutaman" in its "search" column.
Tonite! Wednesday, September 22, 2010; 8-10 PMRiot Grrrl & Queens of Noise: Yesterday and TodayJen Smith, personel Bratmobile, di suatu ketika di tahun 1991 pernah bilang, "This summer's going to be a girl riot" (versi lain menyebutkan "We need to start a girl riot"). Dan tak lama setelahnya, Wolfe serta Molly Neuman bekerjasama dengan Kathleen Hanna + Tobi Vail menerbitkan fanzine Riot Grrrl. Namun sejatinya pergerakan ini telah dimulai sejak tahun 1990, berpusat di Olympia, Washington, AS. Saat itu Punk Rock sedang melanda Olympia. Etos Do-It-Yourself sungguh diminati para anak mudanya. Perempuan-perempuan yang merasa suaranya kurang terdengar lalu berlomba-lomba mengambil peluang dengan menerbitkan fanzine, mengekspresikan pendapat pribadinya. Lalu di tahun 1991 stasiun radio KAOS di Olympia berinisiatif memberikan ruang kepada para wanita yang resah dengan membuat program Your Dream Girl. Fenomena Riot Grrrl kemudian direspons baik di International Pop Underground Convention dengan membikin konser khusus musisi perempuan saja pada hari pertama, 20 Agustus 1991, bertajuk Love Rock Revolution Girl Style Now. Secara musikal para aktivis Riot Grrrl pekat mempraktekkan ideologi Punk Rock yang kecil peduli pada kepiawaian bermain instrumen. Musik mereka terkesan mentah, lo-fi, amatiran. Slogannya: "Play just 'cause you wanna, no matter what". Riot Grrrl ini juga amat dekat dengan gerakan feminisme. Isu-isu yang sering diusung adalah mengenai pemerkosaan, pelecehan seksual, KDRT, pengakuan eksistensi lesbian, serta penguatan perempuan. Band-band yang kerap dikaitkan dengan Riot Grrrl di antaranya Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy, Sleater-Kinney, Team Dresch, Excuse 17, Huggy Bear, dsb. Di edisi BlokRokinBeats kali ini, Riot Grrrl & Queens of Noise: Yesterday and Today, saya pilih artis-artis yang baik secara langsung memang terlibat di skena Riot Grrrl macam Bratmobile, Bikini Kill, Team Dresch, dan Heavens to Betsy; juga kumpulan seniman perempuan yang besar menginspirasi gerakan persamaan derajat di Rock-n-Roll semisal Suzi Quatro, Patti Smith, Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders), Poly Styrene (X-Ray Spex), The Slits, Exene Cervenka (X), Wendy O Williams, Joan Jett, pula Lita Ford; serta sosok-sosok wanita yang walau tak terkait langsung dengan fenomena Riot Grrrl namun tersimak punya peran menonjol, kental kesan pemberontak, in-your-face, bingar lagi bising, di blantika musik seperti Peaches, Brody Dalle (The Distillers), Lesbians On Ecstasy, Kittie, Le Tigre, Shonen Knife, plus lainnya."A movement formed by a handful of girls who felt empowered, who were angry, hilarious, and extreme through and for each other. Built on the floors of strangers' living rooms, tops of Xerox machines, snail mail, word of mouth and mixtapes, riot grrrl reinvented punk"- Beth Ditto» Radio streaming live click here
Rudolf Dethu - photo by @viarms

About

Music journalist, writer, radio DJ, socio-political activist, creative industry leader, and a qualified librarian, Rudolf Dethu is heavily under the influence of the punk rock philosophy. Often tagged as this country’s version of Malcolm McLaren—or as Rolling Stone Indonesia put it ‘the grand master of music propaganda’—a name based on his successes when managing Bali’s two favourite bands, Superman Is Dead and Navicula, both who have become two of the nation’s biggest rock bands.

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