|
28/1/2003
I spent the most part of today trawling through all my old copies
of Spin.
Back before the advent of the internet my sole source of information
for music and anything remotely counterculture or alternative was
Spin. Somehow I never quite got into Rolling Stone
cos my impression back then was that it was a purely rock magazine
(it has since degraded into a pop magazine anyway). For a while
I was into Vibe a lot but it got too jiggy for me. Mixmag
was expensive and thick, and I hated their very British style of
writing, slang and all. Which is also why I would never buy another
copy of Jockey Slut. So I became a devout Spin
follower.
The first Spin I ever bought was the January 1997 issue
with Beck on the cover as artist of the year. I
was in Los Angeles then visiting my aunt with the rest of my family
and I remember taking the magazine off one of those racks that they
put right next to the cashier with all the chocolates, batteries,
gum and gossip mags. I remember reading it and not knowing most
of the stuff inside but six years on everything makes perfect sense.
Stereolab, DJ Shadow, Sleater-Kinney,
Neutral Milk Hotel, John Zorn,
Sun Ra, Built To Spill - I've
come a long way indeed.
You know how music brings you back to certain periods of time in
your life? Here are some of the milestones that I'll always remember:
- Going to my local record store after school in '96 to pick up
my copy of Endtroducing a month after I specially ordered
it from the US, brought it home, listened to it for the first
time and thought to myself, "This is the music that I've
been waiting to hear all my life!" I would like to think
I'm the first 17-year old Malaysian kid to own a copy of Endtroducing.
Anyone who can prove otherwise, well, bring it on.
- Breakdancing in front of a few hundred people during a performance
at one of my school carnivals to Naughty By Nature's
'Hip Hop Hooray' in '93. Quite literally my first (and only) five
minutes of fame.
- Insert foot here - buying Beck's Mellow Gold on the
strength of 'Loser', listened to the whole album and decided that
it was the worst thing I ever bought. Tried selling it to a friend
of my sister's but failed. Eventually dubbed the cassette over
with some radio shows. Bought the CD a few years later.
- Hearing 'Sour Times' in an Armani store in Beverly Hills while
waiting miserably for the women in my family to finish their shopping
(when we were in LA, see above). Mustered up enough courage to
speak to the gorgeous salesgirl behind the counter, asked for
the name of the CD they were playing and tried searching for it
the next day when it was my turn to shop. Sadly, I returned from
LA empty handed cos I couldn't find anything by Potter's Head.
- Happiest record hunting experience ever – stumbling upon
both Headz and Headz 2A during my regular trawl
through this used record store in Coventry, let out a muffled
shriek to the amusement (and shock) of fellow record hunter in
front of me and ran home to revel in the bliss of finally owning
not just one but two of the most important albums on Mo'Wax
ever. Eventually completed the collection with Headz 2B
when I bought it off London Jo last year.
Mmm,
memories ...
23/1/2003
Howdy howdy howdy. Sorry for the lack of updates but if you don't
know already I'm a lazy git. It's not as if there isn't anything
new to talk about. It's just that I'm a lazy git. Who's been having
a really good time in lovely Malaysia. So good that I'm beginning
to wonder why the heck am I still going back to London for. I don't
know. The Shtikman's confused. Obviously each place has its fair
share of pros and cons. But girls actually
talk to me in KL clubs (I swear to God!). This never ever
happens in London. That's 10 points for KL right there.
I met Jo
today. Very cool dudette. We went to the Junior Asian X-Games at
KLCC. Saw some really talented 4-footers performing all manners
of flips, ollies, grinds, bends, twists, shouts, whatever. Went
back into KLCC and met a Taiwanese girl in the Kinokuniya bookshop
who very kindly showed me and Jo where the Japanese mags were at
(they were in a tinier Kinokuniya on another floor). Bought my first
copy of Relax
but didn't quite get what all the fuss was about. And to think that
I got it for about RM 47 (do your maths
here) and not being able to read a single Japanese word. What a
fucking waste of money.
Still, girls actually talk to me in KL clubs. Respect the bassline!
10/1/2003
My forte has always been in fiery Thai food so it was a bit of a
surprise to my aunt and myself that I couldn't even finish half
of the tom yam soup that I had for lunch today. What is usually
a moderately spicy soup turned out to be the most torturous, sweat-inducing
meal that I've ever had to endure. It didn't help that the beach
umbrella over the table was red so I had to constantly remind myself
that it was only my imagination, not that the soup was actually
in flames.
I think I've truly lost some of my gastronomic superpowers. Not
to worry, all I need is a retreat to my ice cave in the North Pole
to recuperate and re-evaluate my battle plans. When the next tom
yam soup beckons, I'll be ready. Cape and red underpants available
seperately.
9/1/2003
You know you're back home in Malaysia when you can actually be robbed
off your beauty sleep by a neighbour's rooster which refuses to
let you rest despite having only 5 hours of shuteye. I live in a
relatively new residential area and there're all these modern, urban
homes springing up all around me every time I return from England.
Despite all the exposed glass stairwells, Balinese resort-like designs,
Ikea furniture and rooftop patios, people here actually still rear
their own chickens. Quaint isn't it? That's good ol' Malaysia for
you.
Sometimes I really wonder why the heck do I still wanna go back
to London for. It's cold, the sun never shines, the food's either
awful or pricey and I have to sleep on the couch (fair enough it's
a sofa bed, but ultimately it's still a couch). Then again I can't
live without Berwick Street and the Odeon in Covent Garden. And
St James Park. And the South Bank. And where else can you bump
into DJ Shadow on the street? I rest my case.
2/1/2003
A very happy new year, one and all. Honestly there isn't much to
write about. Been back for more than a week now and all I did was
laze around, eat good food and, well, laze around. I haven't even
been going out much - I actually spent New Years Eve at home. Very
sad indeed. Part of the reason is because I only really recovered
from my jetlag late last week. It didn't help that I had two family
dinners to attend barely 24 hours from the moment I arrived back
in KL so I could only sleep in and recuperate after Christmas. I
actually fell asleep on the couch halfway through the Christmas
dinner at my uncle's cos I was too tired. And my brother just got
a Playstation 2 so that's another reason for staying in (Onimusha
rocks!).
Reconditioning myself back to local weather has taken its toll on
my health too. The first thing I caught after I got back was fever,
then came the sore throat and the cough. And tomorrow I'll be heading
to Singapore for a day trip to visit some relatives. Hopefully there'll
be more social activity this weekend cos I'm feeling a whole lot
better today. Small case of diarrhoea notwithstanding (apparently
because my digestive system isn't quite used to local bacteria just
yet).
Ooh wee, downloaded an advance copy of Massive
Attack's new album. My first impression of 100th Window
is that it's kinda boring compared to Mezzanine. 100th
Window feels weird in the sense that it should've been the album
to come after Protection and before Mezzanine. Perhaps
it's got to do with the departure of Mushroom from the band. To
sum it up nicely, 100th Window feels a bit too mid-90's trip-hop
for me. Perhaps it'll grow on me. But for a Massive Attack album
to need to grow instead of massively attacking as it rightly should
is a bad sign in itself. Judge for yourself when it comes out in
February. Or whenever you get your anti-RIAA
hands on a copy. But of course, I don't recommend the latter ...
Do try and check out Asa-Chang & Junray's 'Nigatsu' though.
Indian tabla music infused with electronics + vocals in Japanese.
Sugoi ne! |
|
