My Thoughts And Motivations Behind The Post: Singapore, What Do You Want?

Wednesday 18 Aug 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Notes Tags: , , , ,

Empty Chairs
“A scene from Sunday afternoon as Singapore bands played to a small audience in gigs organised by the Youth Olympic Games”
Image credit: Leonard Soosay

When i wrote the post, Singapore, What Do You Want? I did not expect the minister himself to comment on it. I was coming home, taking the bus and checking my tweets out, and someone mentioned, “Look at the comments.” And for ten whole minutes, I was overwhelmed. This was going to be a lot bigger than I’d anticipated, and more will be stepping forward to share their views. I thought I’d be able to reply every single one of you who commented, but I can’t, or won’t. It’s almost 4AM, and my left arm is still in a cast, but I will share some top line thoughts and motivations to what drove me to write that particular post.

First of all, thank you for everyone who re-tweeted the message I wanted to share, for blogging about it and driving so many readers here (Mr Brown!). For everyone who liked a comment (ANY comment), and most definitely, everyone who left a comment. Whether you agree or not with my point of view, is not the point. I want to thank you for leaving a comment, and sharing your opinion, because it matters to someone. For those of you who encouraged me, thank you, I’ve been tired out from this because I’m not used to this sort of attention, but I’m learning to handle the pressure. You’re helping ALOT. And if my fuse was short on some, I apologise.

What it was not about
1. First of, it was not a blog post: extolling the MCYS, the ministers behind it; a political mouth piece with leanings to the current government in power nor about offering justification to why we should have held the Youth Olympics here; nor discuss what good or bad will come out of it.

2. Second, it was not meant to be a political piece, forcing people to take sides, that you are either for-or-against the Youth Olympic Games, and therein lied your political alignment.

What it IS about
1. It is an independent voice. It is meant to talk about human values and human spirit, despite our differences in opinion about the games. You as a reader can choose however you want to take my words, but I stand by the integrity of this blog, that it is a post meant to encourage everyday people like you and me, working & volunteering on the ground, and putting a spotlight on youth athletes who show us the values of human spirit; hard work; and how celebrations and disappointments are a natural course of life.

Motivation
1. My main motivation for writing this post, is perhaps best embodied in my previous post, “The Case Of The Local Music Scene Vs. You, The Consumer” My main motivation was to encourage. I’ve been playing in Singapore indie bands for about ten years, never breaking the mainstream, or seeing so many of my friends hit a ceiling when it comes to how far we can take our music. I’m not pinning the blame on the consumer / audience, but we know what it’s like to struggle, and fight for a craft, and no one seems to care. You could say I empathised with the athletes, volunteers and workers, because I felt that they were in a similar situation (despite a multi-million dollar budget).

I could just not care, and continue being a trainer for 2 weeks, collect my pay and go home, carry on with my life and write in my blog about other things. But like my previous post, I realised that *while* it would be nice to change mindsets, that’s way too selfish and self-righteous.

What was within my capacity, as a normal person in living in Singapore, was to give encouragement to those who needed, wanted, or were looking for it. I’m not saying I’m a saint, but like some of us who give monetary donations to feed material needs of the less fortunate. Maybe I felt like I still had an exccess of soul and spirit to give, so I shared that, to anyone who needed or wanted it. And that was really it.

2. It’s not that I’m proud of Singapore as much as I’m proud of people in Singapore. Do not mistake this with nationalism, and please try to understand that I have been contributing art and culture to a place that can be seen as home. (My family + friends are here, I am investing my time here to contribute to a society.) But while others choose to see the bad and wonder why we’re stuck in Singapore, I know I’m not alone with people who see the good, that this is where we would like to see local arts & culture flourish, as much as our home as a whole. Almost like rooting for the underdog I guess.

Why did I feel that motivation was necessary?
1. I definitely made the mistake of grouping all negative sentiment into a category of “haters”, or people not proud of Singapore, prior to writing the “Singapore, What Do You Want?” But I would like to remind everyone, that this is very wrong thinking. I can be guilty of it when my emotions get the better of me.

But there are definitely some purely negative statements that get vocalised, and tear away at peoples’ souls. Ridicule for people who believe in something different from them, getting called names for the amusement of showing everyone how smart alecky one can be. I can appreciate satire, but I think we can draw a line when our words deride the integrity and character of someone we do not know. But again, this is a personal standard, how you use the Internet is entirely up to you. You will understand if I don’t listen to what you have to say if I cannot learn anything new.

But in the course of understanding the various grievances that we have, we should raise our voices if we do not agree with something. It is through public discourse that we can understand each other and work together for a better home for all of us. It doesn’t always have to be more money, welfare or convenience, it could also be more understanding and social graces with each other.

Conclusion
Thank you again, for reading. For leaving your comments, for sharing your experiences, thoughts, frustrations and hopes. I think Singapore is in an important transition, and I’m no expert policy maker, economist who can increase our GDP at the drop of a hat. But I, like others, can at least contribute to the culture of Singapore. Something I feel we’ve left behind in the name of progress. It may not mean much to some, but it means a lot to others. We’re not waiting for some great external act to galvanise the people, or have a sense of community. But I think we can start in our own little pockets on the ground, and slowly chip away at the unfinished identity of being a son or daughter of a place we would like to call home.

Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games: Singapore, What Do You Want?

Monday 16 Aug 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Affairs, Opinion Tags: , , , , ,

Empty Celebrations
“An empty Celebration corner”
Image credit: Yawning Bread

Another one armed post, because my left arm is still in a cast, but also because I feel that this is an opinion I want to share, hopefully to offer a different point of view, and perhaps one that’s positive as well.

I’m going to be talking about the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, so I’d better offer a full disclosure and disclaimer before we carry on:

“I am one of the trainers conducting the Digital Media Workshop for the athletes and coaches as part of the Culture and Education Programme (CEP), and I enter the Youth Olympic Village and interact with athletes, coaches, volunteers and people part of the organising committee on a daily basis. These opinions expressed, are my own, and are by no means affiliated to my employers or the organising committee, and based solely on my personal experience and account. My identity is fully public, and I am currently unaware of any communications directives, but I am taking a risk on my personal reputation, because I believe my opinion matters to the public discourse.”

I think there are many things to find inconvenient or uncomfortable about the Youth Olympic Games. It inconveniences us, our students are being forced to volunteer, crap food gets served, the budget blew itself by three times, we have to give way to the transport buses, there is little International coverage about the games, there is the unbalanced reporting done by our own mainstream press. Yes, these are all facts reported by alternative media in Singapore, and it really shows that the games are not as perfect as you might believe (but then again, nothing is), and definitely reasons for any concerned citizen to voice out. I myself as a contributing member of society, and the public, will of course hold the relevant parties to task by asking questions, but for the next 12 days, maybe I will just cool off.

Chinese Weightlifter
Image credit: SPH-SYOGOC/ Tan Kok Peng

I’m going to at least try to make this about the athletes who have come to Singapore to compete, who have been given the opportunity as one of the best in their sports back home, to come out here and compete with the best from other countries. To me, there’s something special about seeing so many different cultures in one venue. To learn, to compete, to know what it means to fight, do your best, and also make friends.

This is what I’ve seen when I was watching some highlights from the sports being played so far. Athletes doing their absolute best, giving their all and not giving up. Winning as individuals or teams, losing graciously but still with a fire in their eyes to improve, to make it for the next one, to know that even if they won, they are still not good enough, and want to get better. The camaraderie in teammates, the understanding that even if we’re all from different cultures, we’re all still together in one place, competing, making friends, understanding a little bit more about each other, hopefully working toward a future.

Winners
Image credit: Samuel Lin

And the excitement of the volunteers who wanted to be there! I mean, these kids WANTED to be part of the Youth Olympics! They wanted to meet athletes, they wanted to make friends, they wanted to learn, mingle, interact, share. I recognise that these volunteers are different from the ones who were forced into volunteering or making up numbers, but they are there nonetheless, and I simply think they deserve a bit more of our support.

Maybe I’m taking things a little personally. Maybe. I know once the games end, my contract would have ended, and I’ll just go back to being ‘lil old me and be my usual snarky, overly critical self again. But maybe some of this ‘Olympic’ spirit has rubbed off on me, this belief that the human race can be something greater, can work together for something good, and that every time I read a cynical comment online, it almost seems like it’s telling the athletes and youth volunteers:

“We wish you were never here. You caused so much inconvenience for us, and it would just have been simpler if the Youth Olympics never happened, or happened here.”

But like I said, maybe I’m taking things too personally, it just sounds that way when I read the comments, and I really hope I’m wrong. I hope that despite the snarky, cynical comments we make about the games, we actually still believe in the youth. Those competing, those who chose to volunteer, and that maybe even those who were forced, can actually start reaping the benefits of this experience. It really is a global forum of 3,600 youths from around the world. How many of us can claim to have experienced that? Maybe for the next 12 days, this is about them, not us.

Maybe we don’t agree with how the party was planned, maybe we don’t like the host of the party we were invited to (Or rather, it feels more like our housemates organised a house party and didn’t bother to check with us), but if the other fact to the gawdy party decorations or cheesy music, is that people are genuinely having a good time, and making friends, are we the ones shortchanging ourselves by hating so much, and not seeing it from the point of view of the party guests?

I know this is an unfair sentiment. I don’t think that if you were forced to volunteer when you didn’t want to, is by any means a justification of the powers and authorities over you to force you to do something you didn’t want to. But maybe, we can try to understand that not enough people stepped up to the plate. Maybe it would have been ideal that we would jump at the opportunity to volunteer or attend the games, but we didn’t. I know it’s not a reprieve, but it makes me ask myself that question. Why didn’t I? Why did I wait till I got a job to feel this way? I believe we share similar sentiments of not wanting to support the games at first, but to feel this support for the games is actually a recent phenomena for me as well. Now, I just want to do my part, and that’s why I’m putting this entry on the line, to get shot down by people who vehemently oppose the games.

But to those of you who are open to being a part of this, who want to see the glass as half full (instead of half empty) I just encourage you to see for yourself, the spirit and heart of the athletes, volunteers and performers. This is something the $300+ million could not buy. You ask yourself what it means to be Singaporean? Well, it doesn’t mean you do everything your government tells you to do. It means you think for yourself, and decide what it means to be a Singaporean, and what differentiates you from the rest of the world. If you’re proud of your differences, shortcomings and triumphs, I think you can be proud that you are able to help host the dreams and aspirations of youth athletes the world over, that we were chosen to be a host, whether the world is watching or not, to be someone special to someone else.

Memories
“The athletes, volunteers & colleagues i spend my time with.”
Image credit: Social Media Too!

I’m dedicating this post to you. You who wanted to be here, to be part of something bigger than yourself, who wanted to experience something special in your life, who wanted to know there’s a whole world out there, who dared to dream big, who wanted to meet someone new, who sees defeat as a natural part of life, who wants to make a difference, who believes in a future. This is for you.

The Case Of The Local Music Scene Vs. You, The Consumer

Friday 6 Aug 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Culture, Opinion Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Audience
Image used with no permission from: Baybeats

Despite having only one hand to type, I will, because I believe this is important for the Singapore Music Scene. I’ve been thinking about the issue between Singfest 2010, The New Paper and the Singaporean music scene ever since I first laid eyes on that tweet in the morning. Something about local media disparaging local acts (aka “writing us off”) because our local representatives were only known as “another local band” in a local rag and another band, was bumped off due to time constraints to allow Kanye West to take the stage.

Of course this breaks my heart, because Inch Chua is a very talented singer and her management works uber hard with her, and Sixx who got bumped, are also equally talented, and I’m sure they worked just as hard to make sure they could deliver to the pundits who attended Singfest.

To put this in context, there is some murmuring in our community in the way corporations, event organisers, international artists + management, and most importantly, you / we the consumers, treat locally created art. This is probably best summarised in Luqman Hakim’s blog post. (Luqman plays for the band, B-Quartet.)

To put it bluntly, nobody gives a shit about local bands in Singapore. We are so marginalised that our community is pretty well integrated, and you are very likely to see the same people at gigs, the same people talking about music, and the same people playing in different incarnations of different bands. Yes, I know this, because I have been playing bass in Singaporean bands for the past 10 years, and I’m not saying anything about ability (I am merely average), but I’ve seen things, and I’ve come to understand certain things.

So with that, I present the case of the local music scene, vs. you, the consumer.

You Don’t Have To Give A Shit (But It Would Be Nice If You Did)
To make people give a shit about local music, and progressing from that, to part with their money to watch, listen or buy merchandise and music is a complex thing. I’m no expert in it, but I can recognise that entire industries were built from the ground up, massive investments were made to nurture talent and market them, technology is invested in.. bla bla bla. If you’re making music commercially, you are a commodity and a product. Full Stop. There is no argument there. If we want to do this full time, we have to give the masses what they want, because they are customers. Google recently killed Google Wave, because even though it was a swell piece of programming, it was too far ahead of its time, or it wasn’t what people wanted. But the experience gleamed from that, well, some will argue it was a worthy investment for the future.

But that’s my point, there’s no sense flogging a dead horse about the media not caring, or local audiences not caring. Selling a product to the masses is exactly what it is. Regular folk will not buy something they care nothing about. Media does not care about selling stories to what people don’t want to consume. The public came to watch The Wonder Girls, not any of us play. The media / unsavvy journalist may not have cared, or his/her editor may not have cared. And you know what? I don’t even read The New Paper, so I don’t care. It’s a vicious cycle, house of capitalistic cards.. or however we want to describe it. But y’know what? I didn’t create the rules to the game, it’s about the money for such events, art, or what art means.. was probably not part of the equation. It’s an INTANGIBLE benefit most of the time.

If you want them to care, give them something to care about. Give them something juicy to write about. Hijack the stage from Kanye if you have to, or maybe Ris Low has a singing talent and she should front your band. We’re not in a renaissance where people talk about art and buy it because we’re cultured, or believe that much in Singapore made things. We don’t even believe in the INAUGURAL YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES, where we will be on the mafucken international stage, and you want ‘lil Miss Lian who listens to the Wonder Girls on her commute to dead end job at XYZ company to give a shit? No.. in this case, of a paying gig with international celebrities, sadly no one gives a shit. And they’re entitled not to.

We’re Doomed Aren’t We?
You can criticise me for giving up my dream of making my own music and earning a living of it, allowing myself to be killed by what others think. But the news is that, for those of us still passionate, we’re still making music, we’re still fighting the good fight. We’re not fighting for ourselves, we’re fighting for the next generation. For every gig that you play, you lay one more brick on the foundation that will one day put Singapore on the map for a great cultural product. For every song that’s being written, it’ll inspire someone, and maybe that someone could do something great.

We don’t make music to be famous, or even to live our dreams. No, we don’t have that luxury. Maybe not in this life. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Is it worth the sacrifice?” Anonymity, juggling a job and a craft, being written off by your own countrymen, or worse, selling out and being that commercial success.

My friends, I say to you.. IT IS WORTH IT. We have been blessed with a spirit, that sees life differently, a talent that allows us to express ourselves, unique only to us as individual artists. You’ve tried to justify why you don’t do music anymore, or why no one else cares, or why it’s all about the money. But I say, screw it all.

The muse, she visited you, and you’re forever haunted by her ghost until you exorcise her in the form of song. You can’t help it, and we will keep making music not for us, but for you. It is our duty as stewards of an art that can move mountains, to play the songs as long as one pair of ears are listening, and one heart needs beating.

With that, I leave you with a quote, that still speaks to me this day, about why I cannot help but GIVE A SHIT.

All my love, to all my brothers and sisters playing music in Singapore, beyond genre, styles, success, failure, language or religion.. let’s just play each gig like it’s the last, best damn show in the world.

- brian. (Leeson + Shelves)

“of us all, he understood most about the world. about people. about society and what’s happening to it. things everyone knows in the gut. things everyone too scared to face, too polite to talk about. he understood. understood man’s capacity for horrors and never quit. saw the world’s black underbelly and never surrendered. once a man has seen, he can never turn his back on it. never pretend it doesn’t exist. no matter who orders him to look the other way. we do not do this thing because it is permitted. we do it because we have to. we do it because we are compelled.” – Rorschach, Watchmen issue vi

Stupid Extremist Christian On CNN: Burn Quran Day

Monday 2 Aug 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Affairs, Media Tags: , , , , , ,

Idiots on CNN
NOTE: If you decide to watch this video, I urge you to read my notes below with regard to my moderate stance.

This video shows the absolute ridiculousness of extremist thinking from the Christian camp. I’m Christian, but I believe the majority of believers would think that this opinion is absolutely unrepresentative of our faith, as much as people in general do not think that terrorist acts have been representative of the Muslim faith.

It is stupid that such a man was given a platform to rant and rave about such extremist behaviour. It was obvious that the interviewer and interviewee were not even on the same intellectual plane to argue ANY sound discourse, and it is even stupider for people to even begin taking sides to this discourse.

It’s appalling that such thinking exists, and to entertain any thoughts of ‘us vs them’ after watching this, is to open yourself to the ridicule that you are stupid, and unable to form ANY opinions of your own.

This interview should never have happened or been entertained, and I question CNN as to the intent of airing this interview as it reeks of sensationalism and misrepresentation. The only fair argument i have as to why they aired this, is to give this ‘pastor’ a chance to explain his ridiculousness, of which he clearly displayed his incompetence, misogyny and intolerance.

There is nothing of value in this video, whatsoever.

Inch Chua Can Rule The World

Tuesday 27 Jul 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Culture Tags: , , , ,

inch-wallflower
credit: inch chua

Stop on by the Esplanade Recital Studio this Friday evening for a real treat by one of our own homegrown talents, Inch, and be treated to some of the loveliest ditties you’ll hear this side of the equator.

Inch has paid her dues, fronting the popular alterna-pop band, Allura, and also launching her solo career by releasing her debut full length album, Wallflower, online earlier in July. But this Friday, this Friday is special, it’s the actual album launch at one of the best acoustically treated venues in Singapore, the Esplanade Recital Studio.

If you don’t already know her style, I’ll just say it’s a quirky mix of lithe folksy acoustica and jazz-birds. But you should school yourself by downloading her album that she’s kindly put up for free. Seriously, you have no excuse not to get your hands on this. Download from her bandcamp –> HERE <--

Dan at Waking Up To also makes special mention of my favourite song of the new album, Wallflower.

Album Launch Details
Date: Friday, 30 Jul 2010
Time: 930PM
Venue: Esplanade Recital Studio
Tickets: $25 from Sistic

My Chat With A Taxi Driver To Commemorate Racial Harmony Day

Wednesday 21 Jul 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Affairs, Opinion Tags: , , ,

taxi

I didn’t know that today was Racial Harmony Day, until I checked my social network updates and noticed some friends commenting on the event. In it, they were talking about how they hoped that the way we celebrate Racial Harmony here in Singapore, would go beyond wearing each others’ traditional costumes, but started to really understand each other.

I agree with that. Growing up in Singapore as a Chinese person, I’m automatically part of the majority race, and I don’t think I face a lot of racial stigma because of that. I think that there are still racial issues not just in Singapore, but the world as well. Thankfully, in Singapore, outright racism is not rampant, I think we understand that we all are citizens of the same country, and that means something.

But perhaps I’ll just share a story that happened a week ago. I was coming back home from an event, and hailed a taxi. The person that greeted me was a Malay, and lady cab driver. It’s not very commonplace to hail a female taxi driver (though they seem to be increasing), but I don’t really think much about these things as oddities. What did grab my attention, was the music that was playing in the cab.

It was a peaceful mix of tablas and guitars played in Eastern tunings, and while I’ve been exposed to some of it in my forays with music, I was tickled. So I asked her what it was, thinking it was a modern musician who fused middle eastern styles together. To my surprise, she explained that it was the music that the Muslim FM radio station played during the hour of prayer.

I was genuinely interested, because I was only familiar with the vocal prayers that were usually broadcasted at Mosques or on the radio. I didn’t expect a more modern, or fusion-influenced sound to also be played.

And that broke the ice, we started talking about each of our practices (I’m Christian), and our beliefs, and I think we went past tolerance, and tried to achieve an understanding of each other as two individual people. Different, but yet coexisting in a very real, and peaceful fashion.

In the end, we started talking about mutual respect for every human being, even the ones that are not nice. (Hahaha, we try!) About how we build so many walls around ourselves, that we forget how to love each other. It was a really nice chat, probably one of the best I’ve ever had in a cab ride. I learned a little more about the Malay and Muslim customs, and I hope she also saw a different side of the Chinese and Christian practices that we have.

I think of my Muslim colleagues who have become friends, that we can talk, and share our points of view. Not just in the things that make us uniquely “racial”, but also the things that make us uniquely human. We can agree, we can disagree, we can laugh and we can argue. But in all this, I think there’s an open channel of communication, that we don’t write off each others’ beliefs. I remember times when I was able to explain why I believed, and I had friends of different faiths explained why they believed.

And above all, when we start looking at ourselves as “US”, and not just “us and them”, I think it opens the way forward.

One thing I’d like to highlight, is that.. I would like to see Racial Harmony Day, one day become Multicultural day. The topic of “race” is multi-layered, complicated even, not everyone is ready to see that moving past our race, does not mean we give up our cultures and traditions. But yes, being multicultural means we understand more about each other as Singaporeans, not as racial groups. I think this is important, especially since more and more foreigners come to Singapore to work.

To me, the quintessential image of Singapore: Chinese, Malay, India and OTHER has to change. It should come to a point, that we don’t look at that image and identify with the physical appearance of the two dimensional image, but that when we look at an image of Singaporeans, we understand that we are Singaporeans.

Baby steps, and maybe one day, we’ll see ourselves as being responsible for this world as well.

Happy Multicultural Day everyone!

Death Penalty Book Banned In Singapore

Saturday 10 Jul 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Affairs Tags: , , , , , , ,

Once A Jolly Hangman
credit: yawning bread

If you’re looking for a little insight on the archaic death penalty still in use in Singapore, and how the judicial system wields this weapon to maintain law and order in Singapore, you can probably find some insights in Alan Shadrake’s new book, Once A Jolly Hangman. The flipside is, you won’t be able to find it in your local bookstore, because it’s been banned.

In the Information age of the Internet, there are many ways to bypass local censorship laws that would seek to control its populace by making certain reading material, unavailable. Yet, the act of censorship takes away a certain liberty we have as a populace, to think for ourselves. And if we’re not allowed to think for ourselves, how are we going to maintain a fair democracy that’s based on making balanced, rationale decisions?

I’m not too sure why the book got banned, but I can only guess that the content was rather seditious, and sedition is such a blanket term for anything that calls into question what the government has done. And according to Yawning Bread’s review of the book, Shadrake calls into question many discrepancies with regards to how the death penalty has been metted out.

Glaring at the reader, is the alleged trend that people in a position of wealth, power and influence, can seemingly bend the law to their will and get out of legal loopholes that would otherwise have doomed them to the gallows. What could possibly be seditious or slanderous, are these accusations, that point fingers are various public figures who see themselves as above the law.

If true, you don’t need a degree in philosophy to recognise the moral hypocrisy seen in this form of control. Whatever the case, our government has once again made the decision for us, and we are not encouraged to read this book. Hell, they’ve gone one step further and said that it would be illegal to purchase or own this book.

And because investigative journalism is so controlled in this country, people cannot intelligently decide for themselves, what is fact and what is fiction, and our sham democracy continues to exist in the subjugated ignorance of our populace.

It’s just one book, I don’t even know whether the claims made in the book have been properly referenced or how biased it is. But a government with nothing to hide should not be hiding behind a veil of censorship, distancing itself from the questions people are asking. You put the constant fear of the future in our lives, ration our choices to make it glaringly obvious that unless we are willing to sacrifice our material comforts for the greater societal good, we should just shuffle along, because there ain’t nothing to see here.

If you sow the wind, be prepared to reap the whirlwind.

You’ll Love The Things He Finds

Saturday 10 Jul 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Culture Tags: , , , , , ,

Common

Giving a shoutout to my boy, jbarks, one of the snappiest designers I know who appreciates the clean, simple and minimal layout. He’s launched Common, that is in his own words, “an online repository of things i find”.

It’s got a beautiful layout, with nice big pictures and snappy words. Everything the communications geek in me loves.

Chekkit ->->-> Here. <-<-<- And subscribe!

J Dilla x Stussy Documentary

Thursday 8 Jul 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Culture Tags: , , , ,

J Dilla

I’ve really been getting into J Dilla lately after reading a couple of hip hop artists reference his influence in the realm of beats. I will admit that I know almost next to nothing about the inner workings of hip hop, being exposed to rock music for most of my entire life, but I’m really stoked that I found these musical gems of musical honesty.

So, J Dilla passed on in 2006, and left behind some seminal hip hop records. I’m really getting into Donuts, which was released just three days before his death. He died from a rare, uncurable blood disease, and was still making thoughtful, meticulous and ultimately, soulful music till he passed on. I’m just glad I’m able to revel in it today.

In February, Stussy put out a limited edition J Dilla t-shirt, and also a three part documentary that chronicles J Dilla’s influence on the hip hop community, most notably told thru his peers at Stones Throw Records, who are also top class artists in the independent hip hop community.

Check out the documentary in the video links below:

Part 1

Stussy – J Dilla Documentary Prt 1 (of 3) from Stussy on Vimeo.

Part 2

Stussy – J Dilla Documentary Prt 2 (of 3) from Stussy on Vimeo.

Part 3

Stussy – J Dilla Documentary Prt3 (of 3) from Stussy on Vimeo.

The Fire Fight Say So Long, For Now.

Tuesday 15 Jun 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Culture Tags: , , , ,

So Long For Now, 13 June 2010
credit: photoperplexed

Singaporean rockers, The Fire Fight, are taking a hiatus from the Singaporean music scene as various band members pursue other aspects of their personal life. Frontman Joshua Tan will be furthering his studies overseas and drummer Iain Tham will also be focused on pilot training in the future as well.

Just last Sunday, at the new Scape Warehouse, The Fire Fight played their last swansong before parting ways and new adventures. But let one thing be clear, this is only slong, for now, as they have promised to be back together and continue making music in the future.

This gig set out to be different from the usual intense blazes of live performances that the band are known for, and instead opted for the glowing embers of a Storytellers-isque stage setup that had each band member facing each other, perhaps symbolic of the brotherhood that they shared, that this was for them as much as it was for the fans.

However, the stage was not without problems. For some reason, the sound mix was terribly muddy and unbalanced, not allowing the vocals to be heard properly. This made appreciating the intimate vision that The Fire Fight tried to achieve, a rather arduous process for a gig goer. As such, it was probably pure sentiment that saved this show from being a complete washout.

As that may be, sentiment is probably one of the strongest arsenals in the Fire Fight’s musical talents. They’re fighters, and rather uncompromising in terms of what they want to achieve, and to do it on their own terms. By the time their first musical guest, Angel, appeared on stage to sing People & Spaces with them, that’s when the magic happened. Perhaps that’s when the band as a whole fully embraced the vision they were trying to achieve. When they didn’t need to to try to impress their vision on the audience any longer, but they were now sharing the stage with one of their friends and long time partners, transforming their vision into reality by just surrendering to the greater powers and appreciating that this was exactly what they wanted for themselves.

So Long For Now, 13 June 2010

And so the night continued with a few more musical guests ranging from their manager, Esmond Wee who shared a duet with Joshua on a Jimmy Eat World number, and Saiyful from The Great Spy Experiment. But the highlight of the night probably went to Sonnet, performed by Joshua and Matthew of Hardcore band, A Vacant Affair, sharing a particularly touching and insightful story about the song, just made it mean that much more. And when you put two of the most emotive and prolific of Singapore’s lyricists together, well.. it was special.

The last collaboration of the night went to Kevin Mathews, who was a judge at the band’s Baybeats 2007 audition, and shared the song they auditioned with, Train Song. In true Kevin Mathews fashion, the acoustica rearrangement really worked for this particular interpretation of the generally upbeat song, and it was heartening to see two generations of Singaporean rockers sharing that stage.

And ultimately, that’s the gift that was shared that night by The Fire Fight. Regardless of who you were before, or what you will become, the band celebrated it all. It was a touching swansong and reunion, one that only a band like The Fire Fight could pull off because of the many friends they’ve made over their five year career. ir gig started with a fear of what the unknown held for everyone, but the night ended with everyone knowing, come what may, it would be together as a family.

The Fire Fight are performing one FINAL show, opening for American indie-rockers, Mae, who are performing at S*cape’s new building’s opening launch, this Sunday, 20 June, 2010. details at S*cape.

For more details about The Fire Fight, do check out their Myspace

Photos were kindly supplied by Thomas, who is a stunning photographer and usually seen at gigs taking photos. His flickr page is photoperplexed.

The Intimate Future Of Music: mild eyes

Thursday 3 Jun 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Culture Tags: , , , , ,

mild eyes
credit: mild eyes

A music lover cannot help but smile when they see individuals from one of their favourite bands take the time to incubate a side project, nurture it, and then when it’s ready to walk, unleashes it to the world. Or in this case, thirty lucky people.

Steven Hodson is the bassplayer for View commentsComments
Filed under: Culture Tags: , , , , ,

Lido circa 1970s
Credit: singas.co.uk

Film aficionados should be in for a treat when the Esplanade Rehearsal Studio presents “Understanding Singapore Cinema”. Featuring film curator and director of the Asian Film Archive, Tan Bee Thiam, he will explore how Singapore’s film industry has developed, and what relevance it has to our young culture.

It promises to be an interesting session, because of the voracious appetite Singaporeans have when it comes to mainstream cinema, and we are trying to develop and export our own homegrown cultural products. The friction and dichotomy of the issues at hand are bound to make for interesting discussions.

Tickets go for $15, and is happening on 19 June 2010, SAT, 2PM at the Esplanade Rehearsal Studio.

Buy your tickets from the Esplanade website.

Switching Back To R755 lite

Thursday 3 Jun 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Notes Tags: , ,

Sorry boys and girls, just feeling a bit schizophrenic here and I’m switching back to the R755 lite theme because it’s a lot more dependable and Bash just seems to be rather wonky on various browsers. Hopefully, I will one day turn this into a theme that’s more ‘magazine’ styled. But in the meantime.. RIP Bash:

Singularity Industries: Bash Theme

Adult Sized McDonald’s Playground In Sydney, Australia

Wednesday 26 May 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Media Tags: , , , , , , ,

Adult-sized Playland
“That’s the last time we agree to the architect’s designs after a bender!”

So DDB Sydney has created a massive outdoor experiential campaign for the one and only, evil empire of processed fast food, Micky D’s. Yeah, I like calling Micky D’s an evil empire, or their food is poison, but y’know what? I’m not free from vice in my life so hey.. not being hypocritical here.

Anyway, they did it. Did what? They built a playground in the middle of the city. What’s so crazy about that? They created an adult-sized playground, so that grown men and women (like you and me), could let their hair down and go crazy on giant slides, ball pits and rodeo ridey things.

I must say, that after first watching the video below, it was rather heartwarming, simply because you see business rats showing some child-like emotion. I liked the copy too. “We did something only Maccas could do.” Firm, but not brazen, confident and cheeky all at once.

However, on second watch, the magic was lost on me. For starters, the people captured on tape looked rather fake, especially the guy with the balding front, glasses and striped tie. He appears at the start, middle and end of the film. In fact, some of the shots needed the camera to be really close, and most regular folk don’t feel too comfortable in front of a camera. It was too heartwarming. And hence, the video worked for about two minutes before the magic wore off. Like most of the packaging we see today.

Singularity Industries Switches To The Bash Theme

Saturday 22 May 2010 by litford | Comments
Filed under: Notes Tags: , ,

Singularity Industries v1
“Singularity Industries v1″

In a bid to differentiate my professional blog from my personal one, I thought it would be nice to get different themes for each of them. I found a fitting pair with the black or white themes, Bash and GEEX3M that can both be found here.

This blog is using the Bash theme, and I like it because the layout’s similar to the old theme, r755 lite, although the CMS isn’t anything to rave about. I’m going out on a limb by having white text on a black background, it’s not something I like per se, but done well.. like the Bash theme, it doesn’t look too juvenile, and I think it suits the artistic direction of the blog. Which is, be proud of your geek tendencies.

Let me know in the comments, what you think of the new look.

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