8.24.2003

 

[pawnstarz]

it is not by chance that i obsess about music - whatever catches my fancy - and the name x'ho keeps cropping up. he is by no means the only one keeping it real, who isnt afraid to sacrifice a little material wealth to live his dreams, but the most identifiable. you cant really argue very much about how interesting a heavily-tattooed, ex-mohawk-sporting dj is in our still-cloistered society. but this time sheer coincidence has made him the subject of my post at a time when his new band pawnstarz, or zircon gov. pawnstarz, in its full and unabridged glory, just made the cover story of yesterday's ST Life!.

i happened to be shopping at HMV earlier on in the week where i came across x'ho's second(?) and most recent book, Attack of the SM Space Encroachers in the magazines section right next to my beloved Muzik. and one copy was open, so i flipped through. and it struck me as being some sort of op-ed social commentary in bite-sized nuggets. in other words, a blog, in the real vernacular of the heartlands, hokkien and all, in print. but something deep and idealistic in me reacted against the idea of buying somebody else's blog, and i passed the book on for Bjork's Greatest Hits, The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and the latest copy of Muzik.

which leads me in nicely into the age-old dilemma of what tom friedman calls 'glocalisation' (converted from the americanized spelling).. the challenge of retaining one's own cultural roots, embodied by olive trees, in the face of globalisation and the things it brings about, represented (quite aptly, too) by a lexus. so its about the lexus vs the olive tree - and i wonder if i am selling out by paying good money to support, in turn, an established international artist (who somehow still cuts it as alternative), an upstart but critically-acclaimed american band who embrace japanese culture , and a pan-european publishing conglomerate, instead of a struggling local musician whose opinion and taste i have the utmost respect for (even if he goes overboard on the Chicks on Speed.. a little overrated in my opinion).

that was on wed night. the very next day, i was shocked to hear that passion 99.5 was going to be pulled off the air by Dec because the National Arts Council decided it wasnt cost effective. well, not just the arts station, but also the arts magazine. a magazine is a magazine, but a station! its been around for 6 years - the entire duration ive actually been addicted to radio - the station that champions local music and arts events - where i get my nightly jazz fix (no doubt heavily influenced by gilles peterson) - which took x'ho under its wing and let him present groovevisions after hip parade got canned by perfect 10 - its a much more vibrant, living, breathing entity than any magazine. and its something id gladly pay taxes to support.

come friday morning, newsradio 938 had a segment where people called in with their views about the imminent closure of passion 99.5, and i was quite peeved at the people who obviously hadnt heard about the station and didnt quite give a damn about it but who still called up voicing their very general support for the arts. if theres anything i cant stand its pretension, and i really begin to wonder how many people DID listen to passion 99.5 in the first place.

as carrie chong said about the 'underground' St Johns' Powerhouse rave party - "you can't say that in singapore!! nothing is underground except for.. the mrt!" i dont expect pirate radio to crop up, catering to the 99.5 niche - even though some aspects of the listenership undoubtably fit the demographic who would try - given the furore over the indonesian pirate radio stations who literally broadcasted offshore, via ship. (come to think of it i dont really know what happened, i only know it existed..)

it's a very long ramble, i know, but the basic point im trying to get at is if i can pass up x'ho's book for imported music (no matter how alternative or counterculture it is), how can passion 99.5 survive? and how can anything other than fine art - for which there will always be an established niche, whether its among the noveau riche or those with old money - ever survive (not flourish, mind, SURVIVE..) here, where pragmatism reigns supreme over everything else?


Tanya Chua - Wu2 Di3 Dong4

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sometimes i think i think too much. and i begin to see the inherent simplicity and truth in zen philosophy (or what i understand by the loose usage of the term) and about learning organisations.. how the harder you push the more likely youre not going to get there. how you have to be not looking for something, but ready for it all the same, for it to drop into your lap.

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