visa
New member
With the recent madmonkey saga and all, valid points have been raised and we can all argue to the cows come home- but we definitely agree on one thing, and that is that the local scene still has plenty of room for improvement.
So why not instead of spending time bickering about what we can or cannot say, discuss what we can do for the improvement of the local scene?
So I start this topic in a hope that we can have a serious discussion on what needs to be improved and how we can improve it. I personally don't see any need for negative comments, but if they are honest and constructive, great
Shall we start with naming the issues local music faces today?
1) Alot of local bands don't go any further than playing covers. Musicians here tend to favour covering difficult pieces over writing simple ones. However, this will never send a band far, and will not develop the local scene.
For example- Skyjuice is pretty awesome to watch with and they're all technically superb, but in all honesty, until they start writing originals, they will only go so far. Skyjuice is an idealistic example- their covers are great, and they're still awesome to watch! (I can't wait for your originals, guys!) We have tonnes of bands trying to cover Metallica and Iron Maiden and doing it horribly too. And that's upsetting.
Those of you who were at RFG would have noticed bands like WGB, Ronin, The Suns and Electrico drawing more cheers- not because of the technical difficulty of their solos (although there IS a good degree of proficiency) but because of the originality and catchiness of their songs.
It is a step forward local music when we have local Singaporeans knowing the lyrics to songs written by local Singaporeans, as in the case of, Crazy Son, Let's Make Love, I Want You, etc. I feel that more of us local musicians should aim to write memorable songs than going into a studio three times a week and doing nothing but covers.
I believe the first step is for the majority of local bands to establish and embrace their identities. We have far too many bands who play nothing but covers.
2) Local muscians' attitudes. Alot of us tend to whine and complain that we aren't getting any gigs instead of doing something about it. We also tend to either glorify one another to make each other feel better, or diss each other to make ourselves feel better. Either way, as madmonkey pointed out, this lack of honesty isn't beneficial in anyway.
I think we all have to give and take abit more. Critics should be a little less harsh, carebears (hahaha the name stuck with me) should be abit more critical, and musicians should be a little more open to criticism and not let carebearism affect their progress.
other SOFTies please carry on !
So why not instead of spending time bickering about what we can or cannot say, discuss what we can do for the improvement of the local scene?
So I start this topic in a hope that we can have a serious discussion on what needs to be improved and how we can improve it. I personally don't see any need for negative comments, but if they are honest and constructive, great
Shall we start with naming the issues local music faces today?
1) Alot of local bands don't go any further than playing covers. Musicians here tend to favour covering difficult pieces over writing simple ones. However, this will never send a band far, and will not develop the local scene.
For example- Skyjuice is pretty awesome to watch with and they're all technically superb, but in all honesty, until they start writing originals, they will only go so far. Skyjuice is an idealistic example- their covers are great, and they're still awesome to watch! (I can't wait for your originals, guys!) We have tonnes of bands trying to cover Metallica and Iron Maiden and doing it horribly too. And that's upsetting.
Those of you who were at RFG would have noticed bands like WGB, Ronin, The Suns and Electrico drawing more cheers- not because of the technical difficulty of their solos (although there IS a good degree of proficiency) but because of the originality and catchiness of their songs.
It is a step forward local music when we have local Singaporeans knowing the lyrics to songs written by local Singaporeans, as in the case of, Crazy Son, Let's Make Love, I Want You, etc. I feel that more of us local musicians should aim to write memorable songs than going into a studio three times a week and doing nothing but covers.
I believe the first step is for the majority of local bands to establish and embrace their identities. We have far too many bands who play nothing but covers.
2) Local muscians' attitudes. Alot of us tend to whine and complain that we aren't getting any gigs instead of doing something about it. We also tend to either glorify one another to make each other feel better, or diss each other to make ourselves feel better. Either way, as madmonkey pointed out, this lack of honesty isn't beneficial in anyway.
I think we all have to give and take abit more. Critics should be a little less harsh, carebears (hahaha the name stuck with me) should be abit more critical, and musicians should be a little more open to criticism and not let carebearism affect their progress.
other SOFTies please carry on !
doesn't mean you have to stop covering the awesomes either, I never thought I'd hear Yankee Rose or Addicted To That Rush by singaporeans 8)