Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Pre Lunar New Year Spiel

listening : Citizen Fish - Active Ingredients LP
mood : relieved

A few more weeks to go to Chinese Lunar New Year. I still like the firecrackers... enough festive pyrotechnics to make Kuching sound like downtown Baghdad. Still, there enough wanton commercialization and politics that has made me a tad cynical towards this. It's still a great day though...but just don't expect me to go 'pantang' and shit.

As we are speaking now, my mom and dad are in the process of cleaning up the house. My aunt is as usual is making infantile demands; all this due to her Alzheimer's disease. Basically I'm still learning to be a lot more understanding towards her. But yeah, there were times i just totally lost it. Oh well... a blessed work in progress I suppose.

Here's some stuff that I did just two nights ago:

Was actually listening to Bush's Greedy Fly when I was working on this piece. Gavin Rossdale's have since been fronting a band called Institute. I don't know whats the status of his project these days, considering most post-breakup bands never seem to outlive their previous outfit's potential. There exceptions though; Mars Volta (from At The Drive In), Led Zeppelin ( from the Yardbirds) and Foo Fighters (from, of course, Nirvana). It would seem they have either made a name for themselves or just simply overshadowed their predecessor in terms of legacy.

I was actually thinking more about the politics of the punk movement. I really dig what guys like Jello Biafra and Ian Mackaye are doing. They have really taken punk rock from being an exercise in Malcolm McLaren's armchair cynicism to a progressive movement dedicated to destroying the hypocrisy of the government and religion. But there are times I am very wary of the self -righteous elements of the movement totally blowing all that is good of this movement. Their critical attitudes towards bands that supposedly sold out is no better than the legalistic elements of Christianity who condemn just because they themselves are insecure of their own fallacies. This is not just punk rock i am talking about. Every popular culture sub-genre ( be it rock, heavy metal or hip hop)has their inbred class of 'religious zealots' that thing highly of themselves. Whatever they cannot understand, they feel obligated to subjugate and criticize, while all the while not knowing they don't know they are steadily becoming the autocratic pigs that they were led to hate.

This is the symptom of humanity.

We hate because we have the innate instinct of fear. That fear rooted of a deep condemnation of being nothing. Take away the money and hipness and here we are naked with all our sins and flaws. We dare to stomp on other people because we need to make ourselves feel better. To make ourselves of authority and class. I guess most of you people are feeling dammed offended if I say this...but it's true. What else can you account people like Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer committing their heinous deeds. The universal feeling of fear and loathing in all of us. The fact that for all our achievements, humanity is nothing more but a species of posturing monkeys.

But for all this, I am happy I am nothing. Because in Christ I am actually something. You can say I use 'religion' as a crutch to my pointless existence. But here's the catch, dude.... the real Christianity was never a religion in the first place. It is a walk with a God that cares very much in all your affairs, be it trivial or profound.

To tell you bluntly to all of you... I would have been dead if it wasn't for Jesus. It's funny that one point I was like you refusing Christ like the embittered atheist would have done. But to think that He does not answer in moments of severe desperation .... that never the case! He hears, man. He heard me a long time ago when I was in trouble. I tell you, dude....never in my wildest dreams I'd dream to be where I am now.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Remember This....

We had one heck of a night on Friday. Basically it's the blessed tradition of talking about Christ to the early hours of the morning. I think by 3 am we could hear the rooster crow by then... in a sense you are starting the day. What better way to start the day is hearing about Christ's love for you.

It's not the scenario of getting high and beating the brains out of each other all in the name of cool. To most of the blessed people cool and hip enough, that's a boring party not worthy of attending. But better this than the artificial trappings of superficial socializing. Just an nice quiet night with the people you care about.

I've been getting back on my Pastor Joseph Prince recordings. Talk about the best spirit food the Father has to offer to you! It's a wonder why people put the message of Christ's grace off as naive and radical. The fact that they have to at least 'do' something is the real reason they are screwing up big time. Man's self-righteous effort to achieve it all by his own. What an unfixed deal!

Revolutions and Wars were done in the name of perpetuating progress and religion. "We got the brains, We got the muscle...therefore we could do everything we can set our mind on" In the end they are left bitter and burnt out. The idealistic end up as corrupt as the kings that they have sought to depose. The seeds of the pride gives way to stress and fear. They either crack up to disillusion or just plain compromise their values. No trust to a God that has done it all. Just plain old pride and arrogance to plain mess it up.

Moses thought he could liberate his countrymen with his princely titles and training. He only ended running to the wilderness with his tail between his legs. He only achieved this by returning with HIS anointing; crossing over the vast depths of the Red sea that eventually buried the multitudes of the pursuing battle hardened Egyptian army. Was it by his skills? Nope! Remember... he had been burnt out and disillusioned, but indeed... he came back with a vengeance.

But it was though in Christ, he was giving that fire for that vengeance.

How much more He could do it for you and me now.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Lest We Forget: An Outsider Remembers

Yay. My Citizen Fish album has just finished downloading! So far it has the ingredients of righteous street alley anarchy which shamefully most pop punk bands of today lack. Pardon my old school bias towards punk rock but there was a time the music had a lot to say; from the gritty alleyways of Thatcher's England, to the desolate streets of Reagan's America. It was during the day when MTV held sway over every kid in the confines of their living rooms; pre-packaged fantasies of the ideal hipster life playing to the newsreels of AIDS and wars in foreign countries.

It's no different now......

We got new wars now; war against the third world in interest of American national security as well as clandestine forces of corporate greed. The rising feelings of dissent everywhere, even on Malaysian soil, where the powers that be scramble for damage control in view of recent allegations of judicial malpractice. Punk rock in the other hands has pretty much gone to sleep, resting on their laurels and being gradually seduced by fat-cat record companies. Even the born again Christian bands are enticed by the almighty dollar; forsaking their values for a better tomorrow. It's survivalism at it's blatant low. Keep playing the fiddle as Rome burns to the ground.

Face it, punk is dead...and rock...it's a bloated corpse.

The revolution it promised to espouse has been left with nothing but empty shells of pre-packaged rebellion. It's now cool to be the outsider now. What was the last weeks mockery is now the toast of the new cool. How it's so easy for us to forget.....

But before I mouth off at the sad state of things (there is still a lot of hope mind you!)
Let us take this time to remember those who are actually still carrying the flame despite the sneers of the cooler than thou trend-whores. Guys like Mike Watt for continueing the econo tradition, Carburator Dung for still rocking on in the streets of KL for all this years, Roystone Johnny (of Kuching) for being an absolute maverick ( and for actually quiting in principle rather be liar in the local mainstream market), Steve Albini for defending the rights of the artist against s the covert motives of the industry,......many more that I've yet to gladly discover and enrich me! A vast army of me of anonymous Hendrix's and Bob Dylan's just waiting to tear up the stifling capital centered tradition of the industry.