Subculture is not a religion

A short post.

Was living a normal KL day, jamming, lepak mamak-ing, taking advantage of public transport and walking... :)

I was with a few friends and we touched on the topic of subcultures (malas nak sebut yang mana), and my friend told me about a boy who not only dissed a normal lifestyle sans subculture, but also tried to preach people into joining his subculture.

Okay. Dude. Just one question. If you look back to your teenage years, were you even part of that subculture? Probably not. Probably you were still listening to stuff like Backstreet Boys, and doing things you would laugh at people for doing now. Doesn't matter. Push that aside.

I agak pening when my friend told me about him telling his friend to become part of the subculture, egging him on to doing the things he does. Mate. Why are you acting like a priest? Why are you acting like those people that walk around pushing religious books into people's hands, saying "Be part of us"?

Subcultures are not there for preaching. They are there to give you an ideology, to give you a lifestyle you yourself are comfortable with, to be the backbone you fall back on when you shatter. You do not abuse the subculture, and make it like a religion. You're supposed to live it, be it, and express, yes, what your subculture is. Leave the others to choose if they want to be part of it. Leave it to the others to make their decision about what they want to do with their life. Everybody's fighting for freedom, and you're doing it in your own way, but don't start banning other people's freedom of action. That just makes you one big hypocrite.

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With Love,

KL Mosher

Mosh Etiquette

Hahaha macam mosh ada etiquette pulak.

Let me take you on a stroll through the pushing bodies, flying kicks, circle pits, stage diving, pizza makers, two stepping, break-downs, windmills, air walking, crowd surfing and all these other things you see in a mosh pit and get to the facts I am intending to meet with this post.

If I was asked where is a place you can feel the best and most excited, one of my answers will definitely be "In a moshpit". But there are also times when I feel pissed off or completely laugh at those who make a fool out of themselves around or in the moshpit. They should seriously think about what they do and what their purpose of being at a gig actually is.

Dengar musik ke dating?

I definitely personally think dating at a gig... is super. I would love doing that. But that accounts for a few things. WHAT kind of gig it is, and WHAT kind of people you are. Do the both of you LOVE gigs just as much? Is the gig suitable for couples? Sumpah I tak faham people who bring their girlfriends along to a gig, dah TAU dah mesti chaos giler, but marah when they get pushed around. Look, if you reti bring gf to a gig, that would mean you've been to enough to know about them. You would know the kind of silly things friends do to each other in a moshpit and the regular heavy stuff others do. If you want to date, and don't want to get hurt, then just dude. Stay away. To the back, to the side. Indie gig ke.

Or even better, how about just not go and head to Times Square instead? We're all having fun and it's just not a nice sight to see someone pulling an angry face just because someone ter-pushed your girlie. Seriously man. Both of you should know what a gig is like, especially hardcore gigs.

Breakdown ke gaduh?

Yes, the heavier stuff do happen, as I justified in the upper column, but that doesn't mean one must take it too far and make it more about hurt than about fun.

I saw this. A guy having his fun moshing. Yeah, so what if he took the space? All you have to do is jadi berani sikit, go beside him and mosh until you get your space juga. There is no need, no need, to stand at the side, see the guy get closer to you, and suddenly do a huge kick to his legs or face. Seriously, that is horrendous. That is rude. That is barbaric. You don't go into a moshpit to create a fight. What's worse is people who usually do that tend to get PISSED OFF when the other person's friends marah dia. Cheh.

Think, man. We're here to have fun, not only you want to mosh, but everyone will get their chance to enter the circle. Or at least, why don't you just do a circle pit until you find a free space? Banyak cara, and gaduh isn't one of the best.

Freestyle ke ikut irama?

Some are even worse. They don't even follow the music. This refers to every gig. Some skank without the sound of ska, some pogo without ANY loud music, some two-step when it's the breakdown, some breakdown (this is the most annoying) when it's more for two-step. Aduhhhhhh.... dengar la musicccc... It's not about showing what you can do. It's about feeling the music. And when you look stupid just trying to show off your skills, that just proves you're not feeling the music at all, just using the music to get yourself out on the moshpit to show off your 'moves'. No need for that, it's not a dance competition.

Fashion show ke gig?

Senang citer. Everyone with a brain will know going to a gig will mean sweating and stinking. So if you don't want your clothes to get dirty, or your make up to smear or to stink... don't bloody stand in the pit!!!

Cari pasal ke cari fun?

This is quite similar to the first column, except it's not specifically about couples but more about one's own feelings. One gig tend to have many many fans. And many many bands. Bands that you love and bands that you're just okay with. And of course, during the gig your energy level may fluctuate and at some point you might feel quite tired and unwilling to stay in the crowd. Then... don't stay in the crowd. You staying in the crowd tired will lead to someone pushing you, and you getting angry, and then you not enjoying the set, and buat muka, so everyone who looks at you will just be like... "Dude, what's with this person, man?"

You know?

There is nothing wrong with walking out for a while to take a breather. Other fans from a band you don't like won't kill you for walking out on the band. In fact, they would be happy because they have the whole pit to themselves; people who are passionate for the music being played. It would, however piss them off more, if you stood in the crowd, making faces that suggests you don't like the band. Some guys in the pit are very sensitive, and cari pasal je. Doesn't mean you have to go out looking for it, too.

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With Love,

KL Mosher

No Need For Agression

Alright, just a little hippie side of me taking control here. I came across a story today that made me ponder on the attitude that some bands have to endure coming from other people. Or simply put, how bands have to deal with haters.

The story? Well a boy, who used to like this particularly band, but suddenly does not (because he heard the band was 'sombong' when in truth he has never spoken to them in his life), was walking past a mamak when he came across the vocalist of that band. Note here that he dislikes the band because of rumours, not because of the music.

Anyway, he saw the vox there, and dia jerit "________ sucks!" really loudly as he walked past the vocalist. The boy found this funny.

Tapi kelakar ke? Let's think about it. I'm pretty sure people who play in bands that are quite famous are bound to be damn used to getting stuff like this on a daily basis. I'm pretty sure they will soon get unaffected by it. I'm pretty sure most of them don't give a shit. "Pfft, haters... biarlah..." will be most of their response.

So in a KL Mosher devised scene, the vocalist will buat bodoh, buat macam tak dengar. People who heard the yell will look at the 'idiot' who yelled that. And then the vocalist. Satu jerit macam sakai, satu playing it cool. Who's going to look stupid?

Who's going to be the one who looks like a fool? The vocalist or the boy? You decide.

What's the point then, of agressively approaching bands you dislike to diss them just for your own satisfaction, when really, what you do will not change any ounce of your life, except make a good story for friends. What's the point?

Disliking/liking a band is a personal thing. You can share it with friends, you can go "arghhhh!" when their song comes on the radio, but why is there a need to be so rude and so impolite to people who are making music, who are spending hours and hours recording and touring to satisfy those who care and appreciate their music?

Grow up, people. Trust me, you get nothing out of it.

And if I may add, having spoken to many, and knowing the vocalist of that particular band myself, that the vocalist is actually the one yang paling friendly who tries to lepak with fans and friends during their shows. So, as I have said in a previous blog post... if you tak kenal diaorang tapi you dengar citer je, and 'fuck' band tu because you got teenagedly annoyed... doesn't that make you a bit naive to just believe everything you hear?

Agression is only at its best when it is for the pure passion of music, when it exerts in performances, when it is in the lyrics of songs, the shouts of vocalists, the twangs of guitars, the pounding of the drums.

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With Love,

KL Mosher

Local Pride

Right, here comes a little Malaysia love from me. Not being patriotic or anything, but I was in the midst of a conversation with a new found friend who was into grindcore and we stumbled upon topics of Napalm Death and Suicide Silence (and the Suicide Death gig last week)

This was one of his comments about Suicide Silence:

"oky la suicide silence tpi byk retak sme la u try dgr btol2 cm sme je sume..tpi xbole kte ape la owg putih yg bwt sume gempak2..btol x.."

Well... Tak betul, my dear friend.

I believe that we, in order to support our local music scene, must fully and truly believe in our music, and the progression of it. Why do we have to be let down by the potential of the international bands? We aren't allowed to criticize the works of white people, eh? That mentality can't get us anywhere if we want to strive further with Malaysia's - in my opinion - increasingly amazing scene. Plus, criticism is not always negative. We can give good feedbacks, and learn from it, to build up on our own works.

Yes, I admit, we have crappy bands. But so does the U.S.A. So does England. So does France, Germany... whatever. If there are no crappy bands, how can there be good bands to compare with, right?

As a local, we shouldn't be afraid to compare our local music to international music. I can name more than ten groups from the U.S that can't compare with the likes of our own bands like Seven Collar T-shirt and Love Me Butch. Do you seriously think Boys Like Girls are better and more original than Seven Collar T-shirt? Seriously?

Think about it.

Every band is different, and I believe we should destroy, trash and burn that barrier that separates local and international bands, because the difference does not lie in the country or place we are from, but the music that inspires and the road we take in making music. We have awesome international bands, and awesome local bands, shitty ones from afar, and shitty homegrown ones. The thing is... it doesn't matter. Don't let the big world intimidate our own world to striving. Music is universal. There should not be a 'we' and 'they'. There should only be a 'we'. Us. Kami. OUR music. From EVERYWHERE. If we're always going to think 'We can never be as good as them', how the hell do you expect to kick ass? Many people escape from reality into music because it is in music where there is no superiority, no government, no power (except the power to make us feel good) and no differences (except in genres). So why should we feel like we are inferior even with music?

... Btol x?

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With Love,

KL Mosher