My opinion of what's wrong/needs to be improved on with SG music scene.

[blank]

Thinking in permutations?? Come on man. If ur gonna make music totally mathematical it risks killing the feel. Of course I do get what u mean, but what im saying is that Singapore fails and will continue to fail in producing a uniquely singaporean sound due to a very fundamental fact, that we have no unique culture. In mathematical terms this would be like a whole equation with a near equivalent of a "(whole bloody equation) X 0" at the end. This reflects VERY much through our entertainment industries, both television and music.


The title of the thread is "My opinion on what's wrong/needs to be improved with SG music scene". I think im trying to give my personal answer to the 'whats wrong' part.

You don't need a Singaporean sound really.
As for the math part. I don't think you got what I mean.
Actually, I don't think you got my post at all really.

Only to be mocked by Aphex Twin to be a mediocre version of him. After OK Computer, Radiohead went through a crisis of faith and identity, trying to absorb as much avant garde influences as possible.

Sure, in the context of electronic music Radiohead might have been mediocre. But in pop music context, they definitely weren't mediocre. Two pretty different ballgames in my opinion.

 

[CAVEvents]

www.myspace.com/astroninary

Astroninja sings about Chuck Norris, yoyos, zombies and bukkake udon (the dish)

Plus, they've got a whole bunch of International fans, despite incorporating Singaporean lingo in their lyrics.

And they're Singaporean. Does that appease your need for something different and is internationally accepted?

 

[someone]

It think Force Vomit have always done a great job of having a very "local" sound (in a good way).

Fishtank mix in some danduk with their ska rock sound.

Is that what you mean...

 

[CAVEvents]

Don't forget the Boredphucks!

 

[alfa]

yes force vomit sounds very sporean!
their song is like a malay song but in english!

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

heh, a change from the original topic, nonetheless its good.

Over the years, if theres any band/musician that i can be proud of being in the same land, breathing the same air and seeing the same sight in out island, will be leslie low, be it his work with humpback oak, the obs or his own solo work. It doesnt has the ethnic sound in the music perhaps, but the words, voice and presentation, made me realised what it meant to be, being local and doing music. Coming from the heart.

another 2 which i can be proud off, one- concave scream, sean's voice. It was pretty majikal watching them coming back playing baybeats couple years back. Considering when i got into them, i was still in my teens and many years later, watching them again, lotsa moment of that "local sense" came back all at once naturally for me

The other, Bani hykal from B quartet. Be it with the band or his own solo stuff, words/spoken words and the performance/manipulative art stuff with 1/3 of b quartet and the circuit bending guy. Am always amazed and proud to have people like them on our land.

 

[Mobius]

Majority of local musicians are technically sound, quite a few are well known sessionists. They are good at their instrutments. But....

What we lack are good songs, honestly most of the songs cannot make it, no hook, weak melody, forgettable. Ladeda by Allura is the only local song lately that I find has strong melody and good hooks.

Vocalists is another problem, pitchy in their singing, lack of stage persona/ charisma. My personal experience (when I was playing in bands) is that most of them don't bother to practice or lack any proper training. They just come to practice sessions without practicing thinking that its like a karaoke session. But then this is my experience, I may be wrong.

The other problem is lack of ambitions, we don't seem to think beyond our shores, just satisfied with gaining a local underground support, that's why the band scene remains "underground" cause this is what we aim for. Of cos there are exceptions like The Suns, but they are a small minority. And gaining international recognition is not just posting ur songs on Myspace (everybody's doing that, so what makes u different from all the rest?) , its about getting the band to tour overseas.

My 2 cents.

 

[e]

Just a few questions to raise more questions... (pardon my bullet points as I'm not as deft at essays)

This whole discussion talks about the bands, the critics, the music...
Could it also be about the infrastructure of the "industry" that sifts and critiques the good from the bad?

Namely;
1)The 'zines... Your Spins, NMEs, Mojos, Qs etc... or maybe even the press... like Melody Maker, Guardian Music Weekly?

2)Media support... devoting 1 hour/week to local music to fill in a quota? Where is our own Singaporean John Peel? What about our music TV programmes? our own So It Goes that will discover the next Joy Division or The Sex Pistols?...

3)Live houses/units .... does every bar/pub/club need dance DJs 24/7, or imported Filipino top 40 cover bands? You'll be hard pressed to find venues with either a decent sound system (most are EQ'd to boomy bassy dance) or a large enough stage without having the bassist whack the guitarist in the face.

and...

4)The whole trendiness and faddish nature of the kids... "Hey... you listen to this band or not.. indie leh.. very cool leh" When was "indie" bandied like a badge of hip?

5) Experimentation. Someone (blank, daryl or tim.. can't remember who) mentioned progressiveness of the music created.... maybe everyone is just afraid to experiment and push the envelope. Maybe everyone seeks comfort and acceptance in the popular. I remember when i first heard Amnesiac .. i was like wtf?..


anything else to add?


BTW; i really appreciate everyone's points of views. At least this discussion has shown both sides of the coin, and raised pretty good points...

 

[e]

deleted double posting.. damn internet lag

 

[daryl]

agree with all the above posters on Force Vomit, the BoredPhucks/Suns, and Astroninja on the sounding Singaporean part.

and also with B-Quartet's music, i'm sure we can all agree pretty much that they are pretty damn good.

e: it was blank who raised the point on experimentation.

i think it is great that you brought in the point of the 'infrastructure' needed to have a viable and exciting local music scene.

points 1, 2 and 3 i feel are related to the point of people supporting the acts. the support would encourage radio stations to give local music more airtime, encourage bars/pubs to cater to the original music crowd. and that is again related to how good the bands are to gather such support. and that is then again related to what a lot of people are trying to do, 'promote' local music.

all of them are needed.. so in order for it to work out i think everyone has to do it together.

 

[rottenramone]

u know i'm happy that we're even having this discussion. 15 yrs back there wasn't such a platform. development of singapore music as a popular culture will be beyond our time.

and also, as a collective, we're way too obsessed with looking at our belly buttons and being too concerned with what others say.

lastly, its the english language and multiculturalism that's hindering us from truly creating a melting pot, which in turn might probably jumpstart the Third Stage (go read http://www.newsweek.com/id/150425/output/print). if i'm chinese, i'm chinese and not anything else. our identity will prevent us from embracing and fusing cultures together.

look at brazil for example. there's no real brazilian race. its more of a amalgamation of portuguese, black, hispanic, native american, japanese, german bloods together. this fusion came after a couple of centuries. we still have a long way ahead of us.

 

[daryl]

thanks for the link

http://www.singapore-window.org/tfhmemo.htm to find out more about the arrests if you want

 

[blank]

Just a few questions to raise more questions... (pardon my bullet points as I'm not as deft at essays)

This whole discussion talks about the bands, the critics, the music...
Could it also be about the infrastructure of the "industry" that sifts and critiques the good from the bad?

Namely;
1)The 'zines... Your Spins, NMEs, Mojos, Qs etc... or maybe even the press... like Melody Maker, Guardian Music Weekly?

2)Media support... devoting 1 hour/week to local music to fill in a quota? Where is our own Singaporean John Peel? What about our music TV programmes? our own So It Goes that will discover the next Joy Division or The Sex Pistols?...

3)Live houses/units .... does every bar/pub/club need dance DJs 24/7, or imported Filipino top 40 cover bands? You'll be hard pressed to find venues with either a decent sound system (most are EQ'd to boomy bassy dance) or a large enough stage without having the bassist whack the guitarist in the face.

and...

4)The whole trendiness and faddish nature of the kids... "Hey... you listen to this band or not.. indie leh.. very cool leh" When was "indie" bandied like a badge of hip?

5) Experimentation. Someone (blank, daryl or tim.. can't remember who) mentioned progressiveness of the music created.... maybe everyone is just afraid to experiment and push the envelope. Maybe everyone seeks comfort and acceptance in the popular. I remember when i first heard Amnesiac .. i was like wtf?..

anything else to add?
BTW; i really appreciate everyone's points of views. At least this discussion has shown both sides of the coin, and raised pretty good points...

Yes, there are many factors. I frankly think the main problem is the horrid standard set for bands. But obviously I can't say that support will 100% arrive if there are good bands, we just have to fix the problem that we can fix. No point having e-zines, tv-shows, promotions when there's so little good fresh music and boring ass live shows.

In my opinion, this is what's holding the scene back.
1.Bad music being the standard, thus, too many crappy bands attaining status.

2.No support, be it from, as you said, the industry, people, etc etc.

3.Lazy ass musicians. Why lazy? They don't bother getting their music to people. Also, we have the goddamn internet, why aren't people listening to more interesting music! Why are people settling for bland shit like arctic monkeys or some other NME hyped up crap. There is SO much interesting awesome music out there, too much.

4.No originality, no emotion, no passion. I find myself spacing out when I listen to most local bands, they don't grab your attention, they have this "Okay I'm going to go on stage and play my instrument well hopefully don't screw up, maybe talk abit, make a few jokes and that's it." mentality. In simple terms, bad live performances.

5.Hobbyist musicians. Nothing wrong with taking music as a hobby. But this just ruins the scene. Please just go play in a studio and stay there.

6.Singaporean culture. What I'm specifically talking about is the awkwardness, the stage fright. There are too many bands who don't let loose, don't pour themselves out, don't give it a 100billion percent.

7.Horrible songs. This is an extension of bad music. The songs made by singaporean musicians are simply shit, the standard is so shit, most bands are just a name, you can interchange so many songs because they all sound the same. No dynamics within the songs at all either. Melodies are crap and typical. Everything is crap and typical. I could go on and on, but the point is the songs are horrible.

I might have other things to add but I'll end here for now.

 

[kirk101!]

hey good discussion youve got here.
and i totally think that b quartet is underated.
hykal is a genius man btw.
he is offering smth different to us.
his poetry. monologues. exquisite and eccentric.
with his band doing an electronica experimental with heavy influences from radiohead. i think theyre proving that genres like these can go mainstream.

and i haven heard anything quite like them.
their song shoe box is the sex.
and they are fantastic live.
with hykal kicking in high gear. its orgasmic.

heres the link:
http://www.myspace.com/bquartet

and for blank and e.
pushing the envelope of mainstream music and and not staying in the comfort zone.
there they are.
theyre not your typical local bands.

Agingyouth! hi.please please please give them more giggs to play. wanna see more of them.
or maybe a solo set. thatll be so rad. thanks.

cheers.

 

[daryl]

i think we have some good music around. objectively, to the best of my ability, i really admire and think these bands are good

The Fire Fight
Electrico
B-Quartet
Giants Must Fall
MUON
Amateur Takes Control
Winterhalter

you make it sound so bleak, blank. its not that bleak... but it is a fact that the bad bands far outweight the good ones

 

[evodia]

well, back to the thread..

it doesn't take someone who have a good band to say all this.

Its true, all bands needs SHOWMANSHIP!

if not, hw to attract ppl?

having a gd solid song its not enough, still u need showmanship when u perform.


Having pictures taken is depend on individual ( Posing or Standing Still ) up to them.



Thats my thought.

For those who disagree, u may be able to share your thought why u disagree to this thread.



Thx.

 

[daryl]

Its true, all bands needs SHOWMANSHIP!

having a gd solid song its not enough, still u need showmanship when u perform.

true, just wanna take the chance to use the word charisma in place of showmanship, i feel stage presence and charisma is much more important than showmanship. it depends on what music is being performed

 

[blank]

i think we have some good music around. objectively, to the best of my ability, i really admire and think these bands are good

The Fire Fight
Electrico
B-Quartet
Giants Must Fall
MUON
Amateur Takes Control
Winterhalter

you make it sound so bleak, blank. its not that bleak... but it is a fact that the bad bands far outweight the good ones

The good bands here, well honestly I'd say if they were from somewhere else I probably wouldn't listen to them at all. Except maybe one or two.
But, there is hope, there are many young bands now who definitely have potential.

As to how it goes, well we'll just have to try our best and see how.

 

[FluxUs]

well put it down to just having generally boring mediocre taste in music in general.........all flows on from there....go figure............

 

[funktastic]

all i have to say is one word: expression.

if a band can portray how the music is intended to be. i don't know but i firmly firmly firmly believe that many bands are so popular or can make it cos they know how to express their music.
if your music talks about angry, the singer must know how to add that touch of anger into that song.
okay you people can call me a faggot/loser/gay or whatever, an example would be 7 Things by Miley Cyrus. that song become a chart hit in mtv recently, imo i feel its cos of the way the music video expresses the music and so does the voice. most songs are synonymous with us because they capture our attention then lets us know how it feels through expression.
this is just my opinion, don't flame me. the miley cyrus song is just an example. there are many more songs which i'm sure you peeps can relate to. 80% of the time bands become what they are cos of expression. 20% is just catchy melodies.

media all that is afterwards. you need to have it first.