Monday, January 31, 2011

The Day After #30harimenulis

Like a same song keeps repeating on and on. Some songs will get better, and the rest will be plain boring songs.

People has their own opinion, their likes and dislikes. We surely don't have any rights to tell people to match our taste, every time.

I keep writing. But it is not for me to decide, whether my writing gets better or worse. It is depend on the eyes who read. And maybe someone will kind enough to bear me their judgement and critics upon my works. Flatteries are joy of the present, while critics are the success of the future.

With some mistakes, I finished one of my journey, #30harimenulis. Even it is not one post per day as I thought it would be. I am failing my own commitment.

Thank you Maradilla Syachridar, for the inspirations about this journey. Thank you my fellow friends and blogger, Dhea Sekararum, Anastasya Adi, Novelisa Sondang Delima, for the companions in this journey.

One journey has ended. Billions left to unfold. I will not stop.

Bye '30 days of writing', welcome 'a life time of writing' :)

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Day #30: Temple of Dance

Dark. Just some glimpses of light.
Loud. Just enough to make my heart pounds.
Crowded. Just some people try to have fun.
It's my temple.
It's my holy place.
It's my paradise.
It's my escape.
It's my battleground.

Club. Night club to be exact.
The place of pure fun, yet fill with so many energy.

I was behind the DJ booth.
I was on the dance floor.
I was on the couch.
I was at the bar.
Every place holds their own spirits.

It's not about the alcohol, it's not about the drugs, it's not even about the opposite of sex.
It's the music. It's the passionate people. It's the energy. It's the atmosphere.
I love it here, at the temple of dance.

Think what you like, say what you want, do as you please.
Be free.

-- Inspired by "3 Years 3 Days - Temple of Dance"
Here's the lyrics:

Behold, and listen my children, my people
You are now in the temple of dance
And we pay homage to our god
And his name is trance
For trance is the only true way
The righteous way
More powerful than any drug known to man
Fulfilling, enlightning your very being
You must surrender to the all
And evering and moving force
Of this god, this god we call trance
So come inside, and rejoice
And join us, in the temple of dance

Temple of dance...

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Day #29: An Open Letter

Pardon.. I am on my way to meet works deadline. My brain is heating up. And you get on my nerves.

Hey, dude..

I may not the right one to give a lecture about morality, even to point out which is proper and which is not. But one thing I know is that if you want to say a thing to someone, you need to say it directly.

I think it is quite childish way that you use to show your dislike of me. I almost gave my self-control up and come down on you in the worst way possible. I am an egoist that always try to get what I want. If I truly want to destroy you, there's 100% chance that I'm going to try to do it.

Then again, I walk away because I know better that there's other people that is going to be hurt. You may call me names, you may hit me too. But do it directly. I am here. If you want to, come. I'm not going to runaway. And I hope you won't hide when the time has come for me to look for you, either.

As much as I hate to be disrespected, I also hate the ones that can't take the consequences of their own actions.

See you when you grow up, boy..

Friday, January 28, 2011

Day #28: RENT

"Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes.. How do you measure a year in a life?"
That's the line you're going to hear at the opening scene of RENT. My favorite musical movie ever. The movie was an adaptation from a Broadway musical, with the same name. The story is about the struggle of some New-Yorkers to pay they rent. But it goes beyond that, the struggle was under the shadow of sexuality, drugs and AIDS issues.

Beside I enjoy to watch good movies and listen to good musics, the reason why I like RENT is the message that it gave me. It's about the people around you, to support you, to be there for you. We can't leave alone in this world. We need some people, and some people need us.

It is the mutual symbiosis between us and the other. Don't ever ruin that. Be useful to others.

So, have you watched the movie, yet? Let me know what you think..

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Day #27: Writer's Block

Type. Type. Type. And backspace.
Type. Type. Type. And backspace.
Type. Type. Type. Close the window without saving.

I did this again. Over and over again. Writer's block. Is it really a writer's block? It is just a Goddamn blog post after all. And I got writer's block? Such a bullshit.

My friend once told me, "there's no such thing as writer's block."

Is it really? Who's right?

I think, writer's block is caused by lacks of experience and imagination, or maybe research in some cases. Also lacks of writing practice. That's why we can't be creative of what will our next topic is going to be. I've got this case that called writer's block several times in the past, especially when I tried to finish my academic paper. Yeaa, maybe that is caused by less favor from me about all the things that academic-related.

Have you ever feels like stuck while writing? Or maybe while doing something creative stuffs? I think everyone is already experienced it, right?

In times like these, I usually take a break for a while. Put my mind at ease. I'll be back to finish this entry in about 30 minutes later. I'm going to make some coffee and do some browsing.

-- 30 minutes later -- or maybe more --

Okay, I am back. And I just looked it up in wikipedia.org about writer's block. It is said that:
"Writer's block is a condition, associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked" writers have been unable to work for years on end, and some have even abandoned their careers. It can manifest as the affected writer viewing their work as inferior or unsuitable, when in fact it could be the opposite."

Whew.. Frightening, isn't it? Writer's block can make a writer abandons his/her career.
In that page is also said that writer's block can also be caused by more serious condition, like physical illness or depression. Am I sick?

Well, I'm not professional writer anyway. So, I'm not taking this writer's blog so seriously. Even in those 30 minutes break is quite useless. I'm still thinking about a thing named 'writer's block'.

So, here I am. Lacking inspiration about what to write, yet I was blabbing about writer's block. Maybe it's not exist after all. What do you think?

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day #26: Trance Troopers

Trance Troopers..

Yep, I came out with that idea about about a year ago or so. Trance Troopers is Aonyx's trance music signature event. The first Trance Troopers was held last year, on February 27, 2010. The event took place at Barcode, Jakarta. Lots of people came and we partied like crazy.
It's been almost a year after that. We finally made the sequel of Trance Troopers. On January 15, 2011, Trance Troopers Chapter II is held. Still at the same place, Barcode, Jakarta. Even though the club area is now known as Lunar Club.
The energy of the crowd was barely down from last year!! That's what I love the most of this event. What I regret is I don't take any photographs from the first event.

With this chance, I'd like to thanks Aonyx's friends from the first event, DJ Noxx (M1/43), DJ Ready (Synan Recordings) and DJ LTN (Spinach). And from the last event, DJ Noxx (M1/43), DJ Resty (M1/43), DJ Ditox (Trance4Life), DJ Bunny and The Cat, MC Giri (Spinach) and Indonesia Trance Community. Also Aonyx and Barcode family that help me realize my idea.
This is the energy from the crowd that feeds me on the deck. Thanks for coming, guys!!! Hope to see you again, soon!!!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Day #25: Keep Them Close

"Keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closer"

Know that line? How could you not, right? You must have heard the line above before. In a way, it is right. The basic strategy to easily defeat your opponent is by their weakness. But, it's not what I'm going to talk about.

After read that line, I was intrigue to ask a question, "So, who should we keep at the closest?"

If I've been asked that question, I'd probably answer it with, "Keep your loved ones to the closest." Fame, prosperity, status, even joy, won't mean a thing if we don't have anyone to share it.

I am not defining 'closest' as always has to be in the grasp. Instead, as try to be the close, mentally and maybe physically, and try to be the one that always be there to support. It is true that we are the main character in our life. But it doesn't mean we can act as a supporting role in other's life. We're not live alone in this world.

So, forget about the first sentence of this post. Shall we change it?

"Keep your friends close, keep your loved one to the closest. Make no enemies."

Monday, January 24, 2011

Day #24: Why Do We Fall?

In the movie Batman Begin, there are a scene when little Bruce Wayne fell to the bat cave, and then he had to wait a while until he is rescued. And after that incident, Mr. Wayne has something to say to little Bruce, "Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn and pick ourselves out."
Quite a line, it is true. We can't always be a dependent person. If we're not trying for ourselves, we can't expect someone will try in our behalf.

If we truly want something, go for it. No matter how hard, no matter how long. Sometimes, we may stumble down and fall. Even when we fall, don't let our head down. Keep it up, keep stare at our goal(s). Pick ourselves up and try again. That's what we should do.

But, every person has his/her own limitations. There are times that we meet a wall, too high to be climbed, to think to be brought down. When we already tried, and feels like we can't, ask for help. I'm sure our friends will lend their hands, and we need to reach out our own hands to be able grasp theirs.

Ask for help is not a sign of weakness. We ask for help because we are brave, brave enough to admit our incapabilities. That's what make you a warrior in your own life.

Never give up! :)

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Day #23: Lyrics

It is like everyone that knows me is already know that I love music so much. But, there're just some of them knows that I enjoy literature, too.

There are so many songs that I love. But most of them are not instrumental songs. Those songs are the perfect example of fusion between music and literature.

I am not saying that I am talented in music or literature, but I do enjoy to do them. I do enjoy writing, too (exclude academic-related-things). And this blog is the proof, even most of the entries are bullshit. Haa!!

I do make music and I do writing. But, writing lyrics for a song is on a whole other level. I've tried to do that, and all the attempts succeed as failure. All the lyrics I've made was too cheesy to be called as lyrics. Nevertheless, I'll keep on trying in the future, tho.

I've listened to so many good lyrics. But I can't get myself quite there. Just lack of practice and research, I guess. So, hope I can make a good one someday. The one that can reach some people hearts, so they know what the song is all about. Wishful thinking, eh?

Wish me luck!! ;)

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Day #22: Let Go


Just like to try and grab a handful of sands. The tighter our grip, the more sands will come out from our hand....

Pick them softly, lift them carefully, hold them gently. Just like the way we treat those we care the most. Sands and feelings are quite the same, aren't they? Such delicate things.

They can be sands, they can be pearls, they can be anything you treasured and loved. In the end, we can't hold them in our hand forever. They may slip and fall out from our grip, our hand may feel numb because hold on to them for too long, or maybe our grip just fail, a tad bit too tight or too loose.

It maybe anything. There's nothing certain in this very world we live in. There will always be surprises, they can be what we've dreamed of or what we've feared.

As everything else in this world, things in our grasp will come and go. When they come, cherish them. And when they go, let them.

It may be hard to let them go at first. Sometimes we try our hardest to make them come back to our hand. We'll be more than happy if it's happen, and devastated when we fail. That's good I think. It means that we really treasured them with all our heart's content.

Still, in the end, they may fall out again. And at some point, we'll need to let them go, for good. We may not be okay, but we will. We will...
So long, precious.. :)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Day #21: Media Distorsi

I admit. I am now into electronic music. And I am starting to know certain bands that even their names I haven't even heard before, either they're local or international bands or even certain individuals that bring this musical genre in their backs. If you were following my previous entries, you may notice that I've mentioned Homogenic in an awful lot of times. But I can't help it. They're my favorite local electronic band for a couple years back.

But, it's not them who catch my ears for the first time. And it's not even my comrades from Aonyx that introduced me to this genre, but I still got a lot of references from them. It was a band called Media Distorsi. An Indonesian band, that opened my eyes and showed me the existence of this music genre. At that time I was still playing rock-star with my school band and just listening to those mainstream musics.

It was only one song that I have heard from Media Distorsi, it often repeating on and on in my head. The song called "Confession Part 2". I really love the song, even until now. Back then, I only like to hear the song. Never scratched in my mind that I want to see them live. But now, I truly regretted it. Nowadays, I barely heard the name Media Distorsi again. Maybe just one of their personnel, that known as Indra7. And now is known as one of the DJ of Microchip.

Well, I still do hope that someday, it will come the time that they decide to perform live again. I'll be trying my best to be there and thanks them in person.

Click here to visit their myspace page. They haven't been online since August 2009, but you can still listen to some of their songs. Once again, thank you, Media Distorsi. :)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Day #20: Love What You Do, Do What You Love

"Love What You Do, Do What You Love"

A simple statement, really. I don't know who started it first, but for me, the words above reached deep within.

I often found my mind wandered, even to the most absurd place, when I am alone. And I recall, it's been more than once that I thought of "what's the point of doing something you don't love?". That's why I often ask, "what's your dream?". If I haven't asked you that question, then I have not chatted with you long enough to ask that. The point of asking that question is for my selfish curiosity to know what have you done to reach what you love.

I live my life the way I want. I have an awful lot of dreams, some of them can be seen here. But right now, I want to focus my living my life in the music way. I even choose 'Trance Music' in my theme for thesis, while I am studying in architecture (LoL). We'll see how it goes. Haha.

So, I can (proudly) say it (now), I LOVE WHAT I DO AND I DO WHAT I LOVE! Do you?

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Day #19: Radio

Who needs a radio nowadays? When we can easily hear our favorite song from our own mp3 player? Well, I do need the radio.

To be honest, I am a quite apathetic person, I rarely give a damn to what happen in the world if it doesn't have anything to do with me. I don't watch the news or read the newspaper, even if I am, I only watch or read the sports news. Ou yea, there's twitter now. I can easily know what is happening, but it doesn't mean that I read all the updates.

To be honest (part 2), I only hear the local radio when I am in my car. But in average work-day, I spent about a quarter of it in my car (yea, I am restless.. :p). So, it is a quite lots of time to listen to the radio. And sometimes, in my own home, when the internet connection is good, I listen to online radio.

What can I get from the radio?
Beside some news that being brought with a-certain-funny-way from the broadcasters, listen to the radio also gives me updates in music. About cool events that will happen, new songs release, etc. As a bonus, sometimes I like to hear the jokes from the broadcasters, they can make me laugh my ass off.

That's why I still need the radio. Are you?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Day #18: Julie Thompson

After the post about Amandia Syachridar, Indonesian local vocalist that I've been dying to work with, I've got another one.

Her name is Julie Thompson. A Norwich, UK, born and bred singer. And now she is a singer under Magic Muzik / Black Hole Recordings. I think it was in 2008 when I first her name. It was Allure feat. Julie Thompson - Somewhere Inside (Andy Duguid Remix) that made me fell for her voice for the first time. As a die-hard fan of vocal trance, I really dig her voice.

As a reference, you can hear Allure feat. Julie Thompson (Andy Duguid Remix) here. And also Super8 & Tab feat. Julie Thompson (Rank1 Remix) here or the (Club Mix) here. (All videos are courtesy of Youtube). Listen to them, and you'll know why I made this entry as a tribute for her.

As a member of Astral Escalation, an Indonesian duo that bring trance as our genre, I really do wish that someday we will have the chance to work together with her. Oh, Julie Thompson, how I really love your voice!! See her myspace page here.

#trancefamily

Monday, January 17, 2011

Day #17: Jealousy

"When you really value something in your life, you build a fence around it and protect it."
That sentence really strikes me. Basically, some parts of the sentence above are true, well, for me at least. I felt quite protective for things I treasure. Are you?

I can be one hell of a protective person, to those I care about. I may not show it openly, but I know I am. I'll try my level best to protect those I treasure the most. It is like an instinct, I'll be reacting before I thinking it through to jump in and try save them.

Then, a silly question pops out in my head, "Is it the same as jealousy?" For some reasons, I think it is. I think jealousy is a compliment that you show to other person to show that you care about them. Of course, the way to show the feeling plays important part, some people will not take it as a compliment at all. But rather take it as an insult.

I think it is like a basic instinct for everyone. When you feels in peril, you'll be thinking about those which you value, beside your own survival.

So, if sometimes I got overly concerned about something, or maybe to you. Just remember that is because I care. ;)

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Day #16: Amandia Syachridar

After the post on my 4th day about Maradilla Syachridar, it's now her sister turns, Amandia Syachridar. I admire both of them. And to be honest, I admire Amandia first.

Who is Amandia Syachridar?
At first, I knew her as the main vocalist in Andezzz's first solo album, [departure:people]. Watch the video of Pergi and Jatuh if you want (courtesy of youtube.com). And if I'm not mistaken, pardon my memory, I watched her live PA one time at (in Memoriam) Centro The Club, Jakarta. Her quality in vocal, without a doubt, makes her my favorite Indonesian singer.

In 2010, I've got the even better news. Amandia Syachridar joined, one of my favotite Indonesian band, Homogenic to take Risa Saraswati's place as their vocalist. My favorite musicians are now join forces, what a news, right?

Homogenic latest album, Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom, are indeed the best purchased I made in 2010. Then I came in contact with Homogenic (thanks to TRAX FM Jakarta for their Terusik Traxkustik). In short, I (kind of) made a deal with Dina to remix one of their song, Destiny. The following day, I received all the vocal samples from Amandia for the song Destiny. Again and again, her voice blew my mind.

Now, one of the remix of Destiny is done, see my previous entry. Time to move on to the new project. And, sometimes in the future, I really do hope that Amandia will be willing to fill her vocal in one of our song. Haha, wishful thinking, eh? :p

This is my closing. I want to give all my best wishes for success and happiness for Amandia Syachridar and Homogenic, Dina Dellyana and Grahadea Kusuf. I'll always be waiting for your future works. :)

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Day #15-b: Youth Culture

After a while, I finally post another entry in Bahasa Indonesia. It was one of the article I made about my-simple-overview about Youth Culture. When I read it over again, it was quite interesting. It's time to share it, I guess. Happy reading. :)

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Tak dapat dipungkiri bahwa manusia adalah makhluk sosial. Manusia tidak dapat hidup seorang diri. Bagi Hannah Arendt (1958), manusia yang hidup seorang diri – seperti budak yang tidak diizinkan untuk terjun ke dunia sosial atau makhluk barbar yang memeilih untuk tidak memiliki dunia sosial – bukan sepenuhnya manusia.

Menurut Dear dan Wolch (1989), hubungan sosial manusia dapat: diatur oleh ruang, dipaksa oleh ruang dan ditengahi oleh ruang. Jadi, lingkungan fisik memberikan pengaruh besar terhadap perkembangan sosial dan perilaku manusia. Dan Bell (1990) berpendapat bahwa juga kondisi suatu lingkungan berubah, maka perilaku manusia juga akan berubah.

Sedangkan William (1961) berpendapat bahwa segala keputusan yang dibuat manusia dalam kondisi tertentu dipengaruhi oleh ‘masyarakat’ dan ‘budaya’. Masyarakat dapat diartikan sebagai sekelompok orang yang menempati wilayah yang relatif terbatas, berinteraksi secara sistematis dan memiliki budaya dan institusi sendiri. Dan budaya dapat diartikan sebagai ‘gaya hidup khusus’ yang mengekspresikan arti dan nilai tertentu, tidak hanya di dalam seni dan pembelajaran tapi juga di dalam institusi dan perilaku.

Tentunya, ada berbagai macam ‘gaya hidup’ atau budaya yang ada di dunia ini. Dalam tulisan ini, saya ingin membahas secara khusus budaya yang cukup populer, yakni budaya kaum muda. Berbeda dengan budaya populer pada umumnya, budaya kaum muda – sering dianalogikan sebagai kaum remaja – (youth culture) merupakan sub-budaya yang berdasar pada sifat, sikap dan perilaku kaum muda. Budaya populer adalah segala ide, pendapat, perilaku, fenomena dan citra yang dilakukan oleh mayoritas manusia di dunia. Budaya populer sangat dipengaruhi oleh media massa, juga berubah dan muncul pada tempat dan waktu yang tak dapat diperkirakan. Sedangkan budaya kaum muda ialah budaya yang tercipta akibat ke-khusus-an yang terjadi pada gaya, perilaku dan ketertarikan kaum muda. Budaya kaum muda ini cenderung lebih apatis terhadap perubahan tren yang sedang terjadi di dunia.

Menurut Dick Hebdige (1979), budaya kaum muda dapat dibedakan menurut beberapa unsur. Beberapa unsur bisa terlihat secara langsung seperti gaya penataan rambut dan gaya berpakaian. Di luar unsur tersebut, diperlukan pengamatan secara seksama. Unsur-unsur yang tak dapat terlihat langsung antara lain seperti: kesamaan ketertarikan; bahasa slang dan dialek; genre musik; dan tempat berkumpul. Budaya kaum muda ini biasanya terjadi di luar institusi sosial yang telah ada seperti keluarga, rumah, pekerjaan dan sekolah. Hebdige juga menambahkan bahwa kelas sosial, gender dan etnis berperan besar dalam pembentukan sub-budaya ini.

Budaya kaum muda juga dapat diartikan sebagai ekspresi dan gaya hidup yang cenderung disimbolikasikan. Simbolisasi dalam budaya muda sering diasosiasikan dengan kesamaan yang menonjol dari suato budaya, seperti fesyen, kepercayaan, bahasa, perilaku dan ketertarikan. Sebagai contohnya, kesamaan ketertarikan dalam genre musik melahirkan budaya-budaya yang erat dengan suatu genre, seperti Punk, Gothic, Indie, Emo, Rave dan lain sebagainya.

Sejarahwan Steven Mintz (2006) mengemukakan bahwa budaya kaum muda itu tidak ada hingga tahun 1050-an. Dahulu, kaum muda (anak-anak) diarahakan untuk mengikuti budaya orang dewasa saat mereka sudah menginjak usia dewasa. Hal sependapat juga dikemukakan terlebih dahulu oleh Stan Cohen (1964) dan Dick Hebdige (1979), bahwa budaya kaum muda muncul sebagai sub-budaya yang menentang budaya kau

m dewasa yang dominan pada saat itu. Jadi, budaya kaum muda dapat dikategorikann sebagai budaya tandingan atau budaya balasan (counter-cultures).

Perkembangan budaya muda ini dikaitkan juga dengan perkembangan yang terjadi dalam bidang ekonomi dan sosiologi. Teori-teori yang berkaitan dengan budaya kaum muda ini pun juga datang dari para filsuf dan sosiolog.

Erving Goffman (1961), dalam buku karangannya ‘The Presentation of Everyday Life’, melihat keterkaitan antara perilaku manusia sehari-hari dengan pertunjukkan teater. Di dalam interaksi sosial, seperti pertunjukkan teater terdapat bagian depan – tempat dimana seseorang atau sang aktor berada di atas panggung di hadapan para penonton. Bagian ini diartikan sebagai tempat dimana citra diri dan impresi yang diinginkan dapat dikedepankan. Dan terdapat bagaian belakang diartikan sebagai tempat yang tersembunyi dan privat, dimana aktor tersebut dapat berperilaku sebagai individu yang terlepas dari peran dan identitas mereka di masyarakat.

Saya mencoba mengartikan pendapat Goffman bahwa seorang manusia berperilaku sesuai dengan budaya yang berkembang di masyarakat-nya. Budaya yang berkembang di masyarakat inilah yang memberikan peran dan identitas seseorang dalam dunia interaksi sosial. Walau memiliki sisi yang berbeda sebagai individu, seseorang pasti memiliki sisi sosial yang sesuai dengan budaya yang berkembang di sekitarnya.

Stuart Hall dan Tony Jefferson (1993) berusaha mengaitkan budaya kaum muda dengan perkembangan sosial yang terjadi akibat perkembangan ekonomi. Mereka berpendapat bahwa budaya kaum muda merupakan usaha untuk menentang dan menolak hagemoni kaum borjuis. Sementara pengikut ajaran Karl Marx (Marxist) di Frankfurt School of Social Studies berpendapat lain, mereka berpendapat bahwa budaya kaum muda-lah yang menimbulkan budaya konsumerisme dan kapitalisme. Mereka juga mengemukakan bahwa budaya seperti inilah yang menyebabkan budaya-budaya kaum muda merenggang dan bermusuhan satu dengan lainnya.

Dalam bukunya ‘Postmodern Ethics’, Zygmunt Bauman (1993) juga menyatakan bahwa budaya modern di paruh akhir abad 20 – yang saya analogikan sebagai budaya kau muda – sudah bergeser dari budaya produktif menjadi budaya konsumtif. Hal ini dikarenakan adanya jaminan keamanan untuk kebebasan, kebebasan untuk membeli, kebebasan untuk mengkonsumsi dan kebebasan untuk menikmati hidup.

Jadi, secara umum, budaya kaum muda merupakan budaya yang dipengaruhi dan mempengaruhi budaya lainnya. Bidang-bidang yang memiliki keterkaitan timbal balik ini berhubungan dengan gaya hidup manusia, antara lain sosial dan ekonomi. Dan budaya iniliah yang mengatur manusia untuk membuat ruang-ruang sosial yang sesuai dengan budaya yang dianutnya. Sebaliknya, ruang-ruang yang telah mereka buat ini kembali menuntut mereka untuk bertindak dan berperilaku yang sesuai dengan budaya yang mereka ciptakan.

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Referensi:

Buku:

Arendt, Hannah (1958). The Human Condition, Chicago.

Bauman, Zygmunt (1993). Postmodern Ethics. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell.

Carmona, Matthew; Heath, Tim; Oc, Taner & Tiesdell, Steve (2003). Public Places – Urban Spaces: the Dimension of Urban Design, Burlington.

Cohen, Stan (1964). Folk Devils and Moral Panics, Paladin, London.

Goffman, Erving (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.

Hall, Stuart & Jefferson, Tony (1993). Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-war Britain, Routledge, London.

Hebdige, Dick (1979). Subculture in the meaning of style, Menthuen & Co, London.

Malbon, Ben (1998). “The Club” clubbing: consumption, identity and spatial prac

tices of every-night life, in Skelton, Tracey & Valentine Gill (ed.) Cool Places – Geographies of Youth Culture, Routledge, London.

Manning, Philip (1992). Erving Goffman and Modern Sociology, Stanford, CA. : Stanford University Press.

Mintz, Steven (2006). Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood.

Slater, Don (1997). Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Storey, John (2006). Cultural theory and popular culture. Pearson Education.

Web:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_subculture

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-youthculture.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_culture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countercultural

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erving_Goffman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumerism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zygmunt_Bauman

Day #15-a: Destiny is Finished!!!

Crap.. I spent all-yesterday to finish Astral Escalation's remix of Destiny..
So, I forgot (again) to update my journey in #30harimenulis :(
I have to post another entry later this day..

This project was started in November 2010, pardon my memory. I was shamelessly introduce myself to Dina Dellyana and asked her BlackBerry pin. I desperately wanted to have a collaboration with one of my favorite band, Homogenic. But, after chatted a while via BlackBerry Messenger, the collaboration was put on hold due to Homogenic and Dina's tight schedule. (I'm still hoping for this to happen sometimes in the future, though :p) Instead, Dina offered us (Aonyx) to remix one of their song. So I pick one of my favorite song from their latest album (Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom), the song called "Destiny".

Soon after that, Grahadea (one of Homogenic's member) sent me an email. That email consisted of Destiny's song materials. I listened to the materials, I was surprised because all the files were vocal files of Amandia and some backing vocals also. So I guess, we have to create a whole new song for these vocals.

I was really on fire with this project, in total (until now) there were three different approach for the remix. But, the trance version from Astral Escalation was the first one to the finish line. I'll upload the song to Astral Escalation's page on Soundcloud and Myspace, soon. The link can be found in the right panel of this page, labeled "Alter Ego".

Hope you like it. Thank you for this opportunity, Homogenic and Dina Dellyana. :)


Here are the lyrics for "Destiny (Astral Escalation Remix)":

Destiny, here I am
Giving all my days
I never felt so in love before

Forever is not enough
Nothing can tear us apart

To be at your side,
To be in your heart,
To be at your side,
To be in your heart

Nothing can tear us apart

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Day #13: Astral Escalation


Let the narcissism begin..
Now , I'm going to talk about my first project in Electronica Dance Music scene, Astral Escalation..

It all begin in Summer 2008, when I started to enroll in Spinach DJ School. Along the way, I figured it out that the only trance-base DJ that enrolled there just me and a guy named Rama (Irsan Ramadhan). Rama's got the first gig before I finished my term. We were joined in 180 Management, a DJ management that was built for the Spinach DJ School's student after they're finished their enrollment.

On the late 2008, I've got my firstgig in Musro, Borobudur Hotel, Central Jakarta. Because Rama and I were the only trance DJs, so we got the last turn in that night's rundown. So, we decided to play back to back. The same taste in music got us decided that it's better for us to be joined forces. At first, we took 'Astral Plane' as our project alias. After a while, we've been informed that 'Astral Plane' is already exist. So we changed our alias to 'Astral Escalation'.

We got pretty steady gigs for a while. Until around February or March in 2009, we were kind of figured out that our vision wasn't the same as our management. So we decided that it's better to be resigned form 180 Management and started to create a new management with our own vision.

It was Rama's idea to took Oscar Erdiansyah as our allies. And briefly, Aonyx was born in April 2009. You can read a brief history about Aonyx in my previous entry here.

Since Aonyx was born, Astral Escalation carries a mission to be the best trance-duo in Indonesia (wishful thinking.. Haha). And also with the help from Oscar and Jaya of Aydra & Oscar, we started to produce our own songs and remixes, which you can check in our myspace page here.

As we get stronger on the internal relations with Aonyx, we started to look for another trance management as our friends and allies. So far, we've got a good relationship with Spinach Records, Synan Recordings, M1/43 and recently, Trance4Life.

With so much going on in EDM scene, we hold a high hope for Astral Escalation to strive forward to reach our dream, to be Indonesia's top trance-duo in International EDM scene.

Wish us luck, guys!! :)
Cheers, Trance Family across the world!!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Day #12: Flexibility

Flexibility.
Right or wrong. Pretty or ugly. Good or evil. And so on. They're all relative. They're all subjective. They're flexible.

Justice? What is justice? All I know, if it is written as a law, it will be justice. Whether it is written by the country or by "God" in holy books. But know and believe are different matters. If I know something, it doesn't mean I believe it. Even bad people deserved to have a lawyer to defend them, they deserved a trial, right?

For example, do you allow a child-rapist to walk freely in our country because he has won over his trial?

Flexibility. In moral. In point of views.
Whether you have it or not. Law is not a sword or spear. It was a bunch of written words, it bent.
So, what about your thoughts? Can you live in a grey area, or it is a simple 'black and white' in your brain?

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Day #11-b: Normal

It's my second entry for today. Why? Because I was such a incompetent person. I was preoccupied by many things yesterday, and I totally forgot that I have a commitment that I have to post one blog-entry per day in my #30harimenulis or #30daysofwriting journey. So, here we go...

I am going to talk about a thing called 'Normal'. It's the 'Normal' in human behavior, not the 'Normal' Distribution in math's probability theory.

So, it is normal for people to forget, isn't it? But it is not normal to broke a promise, is it? And who decide it is a normal thing or not? I guess it's depend on the society you dwell in. Different society tends to have few different norms.

But what is normal, really? For me, it is just something that majority has chosen, an average for everything. So, if you're not in the average state, you're not normal. Whether you're an imbecile or you're a genius. But the word 'abnormal' is often refers to something negative, don't you agree? But once again, who decide it is a negative thing? A majority, of course.

Yeah, as social being, it is almost impossible for a human to live alone by himself. Even Tarzan needs his animal friends. So we need to respect to other people wish and well-being. What about our desires? Do people understand that?

For example, it is like world-wide believable thing that "Men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus". It is believable that men thinks about 'sex', and women think about 'romantic' when they are facing the word 'love'. So, if a woman think about sex and a man think about romantic, it is not normal, is it? Err... You should answer this for yourself. It can make a whole new topic about 'normal' in gender issues if I continue this kind of example. But do you get what I mean, don't you?

For me, normal is a stereotype. A majority. It is boring.
So, if normal is a majority, I am the abnormal one. If the path that already laid is the only truth, then I am the unforgivable sinner. I hate to be the same, but everyone does to, I guess. As normally as you think you are, you'll hate to have an entire same outfit with someone, let's say, at a party or gathering where public can have a clear view of you.

Can you change a 'normal'? Of course. Make the majority believes it. It is about social acceptance after all...

Day #11-a: Friendship, A Lifetime Investment

What you call a friendship, I call it an investment.
What you call it an introduction, I call it create a network.
Haha. I know what you think. Such a money-oriented scumbag or a two-faced prick.

Basically, yeah. It's true. But not everything can be valued by money. When you start to know someone new, it always is an opportunity, a chance, a gift. Begin with introduction, a friendship opens up a new door for your future. You'll be gifted with many possibilities. And to be honest, not all the possibilities will be positive. But at least, I try to look them in positive ways.

Why I start this theme? Until now, my friends are the one who made a Fadil Pinandita that you know now. And I want to share something about friendship in my point of view.

Never expect anything from the start. But still, start the friendship with a good intention. Treat a friend like you want to be treated. And don't expect you'll be in the receiving end, try to be the one that always offers. Eventually, all those good intentions will be returned to you somehow. So, treat your friends kindly. Don't forget about the old ones while you're making a new ones. Interaction frequencies may reduce after some times, it doesn't mean that the goodness in friendship has to be reduced also.

I believe if we have friends in our life, life will be easier to be lived. Friends will lend their hand when you ask them, or even they already offer theirs before you ask for them. Because in this era, believe it or not, it's not (entirely) about what you can do, but (more) about who you know.

But, having friends doesn't mean that you'll be a co-dependent person. Try what you can do with all your might, friends are the supportive materials. You won't be like it too, when someone always cling at your shoulder all the time, right?

In my opinion, good intentions, respect, understanding and generosity are the main traits in a friendship.

So, hello my friends and soon-to-be my friends. It's nice to have you all in my life. Hope this goodness will last for life. Thanks, all... :)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Day #9: Unfolding Sympathy (revised)

Made a mistake by using an old draft of lyrics, so look at the post in November 2010 archive..
or simply click this.

Thanks.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Day #8: New Music For Today

My friend once said, "Music never cease to amaze me.."

And I totally agree with it. In every city, in every building, in every alley, in every place in this world, music is there. Sounds travel together with the light by the very air we breathe. Music is everywhere.

One of my 2011 resolution is to broad up my horizon in music. I promised myself that I will hear music from 365 new musicians I've never heard before this year. I already listened to something new, but still, have not start "the counting part" just yet. I think I will just sum them up in the edge of this year. Haha. Too lazy to count them as the day passed by.

So, I'm going to talk about a musician that I found today. I found her by coincidence. I was checking up my personal myspace page out of boredom this morning, and found couple friend requests. One of them is from "IamHarlequin". Usually, I just accept all the friend request on my myspace page, but out of nothing, I happened to open up her page.

It was Anne Freier, who created I am Harlequin (you can read it completely from her page). A girl from London that describe her genre as Indie/Melodramatic Popular Song/Pop. And what catch my eyes was her influences. She made her influence with an image box, here it is:
Then I listened to couple of her tracks, they were somehow unique, interesting and fascinating for me. Remind me a bit of Bjork and Imogen Heap, but still, somehow fresh. I love them.

So, I am Harlequin is my new music for today. Find out what's yours! Cheers..

Click the picture to be linked-in to her myspace page. Hope you like it, too.. :)

Friday, January 7, 2011

Day #7: Football Identity


Football Identity (FID) is an online game about football. I've become an addict of this game lately, thanks to Tito Alfani that introduced me to this game (cynical tone.. haha).

You can signed up for free for the first character, if you want to add another character, you must pay for it. Like a drug dealer, first batch is free. LoL. After you signed up, you can choose what character suits you the best. There are three main character you can choose: player, manager or journalist.

If you choose your career as a player, you should name your character, choose the ideal position and pick a body-type that suit best your position. Voila, your character is made! The next step is advertise yourself in the forum, don't forget to write your availability for the match time. Because it is the real time online football game, in a match you can only control your character only. You will play with 10 other player from all across the world.

If you choose a manager, you will be assigned to the team with no manager. But if you want to learn the rope for a bit, you can start being an assistant manager. Manager responsibilities are to choose the tactics and formation of a team, buy or sell players also control their contracts.

And if you choose a journalist, you'll act as a sport-section reporter of a newspaper. You'll write a story, give a review about a team and you can also set up an interview with character you'd like to bring up as you cover story.

So, whatever you choose, it is for a football die-hard fans only. I don't recommend this game for those who love football half-heartedly. :p

PS: You can watch the tutorial video of being a player in a match via youtube here

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Day #6: When It's Gone

Human, or me, can be a very ungrateful bitch. Satisfied is a word I rarely used. Somehow I want more, without take care what I already had. But when my something of mine is being taken away, I realized that I really need that.

Today, one of my precious possession is gone for a while. It is my health.

I rarely pay attention to my health, rest is something I tend to forget during my days (and night). I rarely slept, sometimes I missed a meal, and lately I didn't do any sports at all.

After today, I promise that I have to watch my own condition. Thanks God, you made me realized I was being ungrateful-self. And thanks Mom, you've been taking care of me when I was down.


Be Grateful, I just added one more thing to my 2011 resolutions.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Day #5: Beer Goceng, It's Not (Just) About Getting Drunk

Lately, every Tuesday (and sometimes on Monday), I went to Cerveza Bar at Barcode, Jakarta. Because they have a very interesting promo from 7-10pm every Monday and Tuesday, a glass of beer just for IDR 5000. (I swear I'm not Barcode's marketing team.. Hehe)

Why I love to come for this promo? Cheap beers! Well, it's an obvious reason. But some other reasons make me want to go there every week.

I came to try this "Beer Goceng" for the first time on my birthday night, last November. It was an impulse thing to celebrate early, although I planned to celebrate it also two days after that. I was there with some of my friends. And thanks to some of them, I almost blacked-out. About 80 glasses of beer for 5 or 6 persons, and I'm not counting the Tequila shooters.

That day, the first time I noticed Drum N Bass and Dubstep music. While I was drunk, listening to those music is HEAVEN! I'm not lying. After I sobered up the next day, I start to search these kind of music through the web (with a friend's help for references). Then I came to love them. I want to play DnB and Dubstep while DJ-ing sometimes later. :p

Alcohol and music aside, there's one more reason why I keep coming to Barcode. That is GREAT COMPANIONS!! In whatever I do, companions are the one that matter the most. Whenever I come to Barcode, alone or with (random) friends, there will be some familiar faces there. Love that place.

So, what can I say? Bottom's up!!!

(4th/last round of beers in Nov 22, 2010)

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Day #4: Maradilla Syachridar

This post on Day #4 in my #30harimenulis mission is a tribute to Maradilla Syachridar.

I don't know her well. To be honest. I just met her once, in the backstage of Urbanfest 2010 in Pasar Seni, Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, Jakarta.

Who is Maradilla Syachridar?
Firstly, I knew her as a publicist and a backing vocal of one my favorite Indonesian band, Homogenic. Thanks to Trax FM Jakarta, I was introduced to the members of Homogenic (Dina Dellyana, Grahadea Kusuf and Amandia Syachridar) in "Terusik Traxkustik" that held at Plaza Semanggi a couple months back, but Maradilla wasn't there at the time. And a while after that, I came to Urbanfest just to see Homogenic's performance again. That was when I met Maradilla for the first time.

After been introduced, I started to follow her twitter's account. The "somewhat" fascinating language that she used in her tweets came to my interest. After a while (again), I knew that she's also an announcer in Sky FM Bandung and also a writer. Then, I started to follow her blog page also. (In this point, I was asking myself, "Am I stalking her?" Then I answered it myself, "Errr... I guess so..")

Why I tribute this post to her?
Her tweets made me remember how I love literature so much. Then I started to read a book again, the last book I bought and read was the one she often mention in her tweets. The book called Oksimoron by Isman HS. And guess what? I love it. After I read some posts on her blog, I was interested to start writing again. This idea of #30harimenulis is also inspired by the posts on her blog.

And a couple weeks back, she post another blog post. A mixtape that she created, and without wasting any times, I downloaded it. And guess what again? I love the songs that she picked in her mixtape that called "Guffaw Mi Head". In that mixtape, I've introduced to an artist that called Cyndi Suei. And guess what (again and again)? I love this Cyndi Suei's music after I looked around on his myspace page.

So, this is my way of to thank Maradilla Syachridar. For inspirations that she gives to me (unintentionally). The literatures and the musics, she's truly my new role model.

I am now one of your biggest fan. And I'm looking forward for your next inspirations you'll share. Thank you.


Monday, January 3, 2011

Day #3: AONYX: We Are The Drugs

It was around March 2009, Irsan Ramadhan/Rama and I (as Astral Escalation), decided to leave our old management. I was thinking to form a new management, at that time all I was thinking is to form a new DJ management and small event organizer for our own event. And Rama suggested that we recruit Oscar Erdiansyah as our comrade. Oscar was also a member of our old management.

After we told Oscar about our intention, he tagged along Jayarindra Sigit, because they got a project together that called Aydra & Oscar. Technically, we had oral agreement to form a new institution. But, we still had no idea how to form it. So, we ask for a guidance from one of Indonesia's top DJ and an owner and founder of Spinach Records, Riri Mestica.

Basically, Riri supported our intention. We met up a couple of times, and thanks to him, we got the courage to found a new management.

And AONYX was born in April 2009.

Aonyx's name is taken from a rare animal species, Aonyx Cinerea (Oriental Small-Clawed Otter). It was Oscar that came up with the name. Main focuses of Aonyx was (and still are) created some good songs and create great performances. And not long after the name was chosen, Oscar tagged Anissa Nuradi Putri/Icha along with us. With her specialty as graphic designer, she's the one we entrusted with all creative designs for Aonyx.

Along the way, we created some club events, befriended with some people within the industry. Even Aydra & Oscar become a finalist for LA Indiefest Remix Competition in 2009. Everything was revolved around Electronic Dance Music scene until April 2010.

An offer to perform at brewww!, Kemang, was received. So we (Oscar, Jaya and I, also with some help from additional vocalists, Charita Utamy, Leona Agustine and Muhammad Pandu of PAL/NTSC) prepared some electronic music to cover and play them live. In total, we performed two times as electronic band. We were not satisfied with our performance and decided to put this live music project on hold.

In late 2010, Dmust Akira or as known as Akira As Astronughty (Trax FM Jakarta announcer and former member of 1945MF) joined us. We knew Dmust since 2009, so he wasn't a stranger for us. With Dmust as our comrade, the live music project was planned to be back on track on 2011. We will also help him to launch his solo album under (coming soon) Aonyx Records.

From the moment that we formed Aonyx in April 2009, we got couple allies too. I personally would like to thank Spinach Records, Synan Recordings, M1/43, Trance4Life, No Signal, Indika FM and Trax FM Jakarta, also Barcode, Buddha Bar, Kampus, 365, Domain and brewww! for all the supports for Aonyx.

Watch out for us, 2011. Caution: too loud is not in our vocabulary, and we are addictive. Haha. Wish us luck, fellas.

Cheers..
(from left to right: Irsan Ramadhan, Jayarindra Sigit, Dmust Akira, Oscar Erdiansyah, Anissa Nuradi Putri and me)

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Day #2: Just Another Fallacy?

A word came out in my head when I was about to write this post. In my mission of #30harimenulis, I am free to write anything, right? What is free anyway?

Free. Freedom. And free will. What these words means for you?
In my opinion, those words refer to a state where a human being is able to make choices, honest choices, without other's influence or certain constraints.

It was the ideal meaning, I guess. But it is impossible to be applied in our world. Because since we were born to this world, certain values has been injected through our own brain. Those values was given to us before we can clearly distinguish what is good for us. Religious, ethical and scientific values already ruled this world since the first human on earth, I guess.

Our environment and society, also written constitutions, that we've been dwell-in shaped us into what we are today. Those influences, those values are the ones that determine all of our own actions. And based what majority called "goodness", the seven basic acts of true human's nature: Pride, Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony and Lust, are now called seven deadly sins.
If we apply our honesty, we'll be called as sinners. If we suppressed those feelings, we will known as saints. We are free to decide, which one will we be? Sinner or Saint?

Oh, well. "Free will" is just another word for "fallacy", isn't it?