Nazz Ashari’s Neighborhood

And a shitty internet connection. Nice fuck.

Yes, yes, as you can see I went to the 'almost' heavenly Tioman island.
I went with two mates. On the bus, somewhere in deep Pahang, 2:30 am.
Another mate, sleeping like a baby.
Finally after six hours of torturous ride, we finally made it to Mersing. (I only got two hours of short, often interrupted sleep).
Then we got on the ferry at about 7:30 am.
And took some more photos.
And a lovely view.
And a lovely view.
And finally, the island.
Got off the ferry. Head still wobbly from not having enough and proper sleep. Cheese.
As you can see, the view is just simply breathtakingly majestic.
More view.
Postcard perfect view.
Delirious.
A view from our chalet's window.
We did quite a few activities there, like fishing and swimming. We planned to do snorkeling but it's just simply too expensive. Let alone snorkeling. There was no motorboats around. Not enough strong wave for surfing. A lot of strong wind though but nobody did wind surfing. Of course there are no photos of us taking a swim because we took a swim nude beach style like.
Just kidding.
Waiting for our lunch at an extremely windy street side cafe.
Nice sunset.
Next day, fishing at the jetty.
You can see the fish biting the bait.
A Chinese couple joined us as well. Threw bits of bread to attract the fishes.
Caught a colorful fish.
Then at night a fishing boat docked at the jetty, unloading their catch of the day.
And took this picture of this (something) thing.
Friday morning, light drizzle. 8 am, waiting for breakfast.
Our breakfast. With bread. (Oh sorry, I forgot to rotate the picture).
While waiting for our ferry to take us back to mainland, another round of fishing at the jetty.
We can only dream of catching a black marlin.
I want to come back to Tioman.
On the way back, a French family sat next to us. Their daughter, a cute little girl which I have forgotten her name sang a few songs to me which I'm not familiar with. I thought it must have been some French kindergarten song or something. Since I was sleepy at that time, and I can't speak French, I just smiled at her while she sang happily at me.

First impression: Ooh, Sigur Ros has released a new album just last week.
Second impression: The title is awfully long and impossible to be pronounced and remembered. Unlike Takk..., or ( ).
Third impression: Why is there naked people featured on the front cover?
Fourth impression: I thought Coldplay was the only one who had gone mad with Viva La Vida but Gobbledigook is just about as weird. Delightfully weird.
Fifth impression: There is even more naked people in the single's video clip.
Sixth impression: Viva La Vida sounds like a must buy because the song of the same name is just too weird for a Coldplay. This new album by Sigur Ros seems like it is going to be on my must buy list as well because I've never seen a band who made such 'happy' songs that everyone starts to take their clothes off. Freak Naturalismo?

I think Radiohead has got to be one of the band whose entire music career is near impossible to be summarized in a convenient thirteen track best of compilation album. I don't suppose anyone would be delighted to hear "The Bends" after "Pyramid Song" in a single listen. Not that "Pyramid Song" or "The Bends" is a bad song but as much as how Radiohead is not an album band, their entire collection of released albums does not sum up into one cohesive unit. Each album stands on its own; it has its own qualities and sound and trademark. Listen to 'Amnesiac' on its own and its a very dignified and rarified (I coined this term) or exotic album; compare it to 'The Bends' and it quickly becomes a cold turkey. I have in fact been thinking about the possibility of EMI releasing a greatest hits sort of collection for Radiohead for the past few years and I've even jumbled up a few tracks to see if it is a plausible idea - so far, I am drawn to a blank. Where to fit in "Paranoid Android"? What about "My Iron Lung"? What is the best track for the opener? Should it begin with the rockier early Radiohead, the neurotic middle age Radiohead, or the weird later age Radiohead? The other problem is that every album serves for a very specific kind of listener, for a very specific kind of listening. If 'The Bends' are listened to while moshing, then 'Kid A' are listened to while masturbating. Or something. Point is: don't buy this recently released best of collection of Radiohead. The recording company is desperate for money. For Radiohead purists like me, the title 'Best of' on the cover reads bullcrap.

Something irked me when I read a post on Generation Y, or more aptly named Generation Whine. This Generation Whine tag, given delightfully to those who were born from 1980 onwards (hell I don't care if it's correct or not), functions bit like pigeon-holing a whole generation of youths after the Generation X which is often associated with angst and the Baby Boom lot which I have absolutely no idea why it was named so that way. The article say those in the Generation Whine often act the way the name goes - they whine. And they whine some more. And they whine a lot. Where Generation X is about being optimistic and driven, Generation Whine is subdued, passive, and a crybaby. So you have whiners like Eminem, and paranoid confused self-loather like Radiohead. I think for that we have to thank Joy Division for making lyrics about sadness and rejection such a phenomenon it is nowadays. And who can blame Ian Curtis for having such an extremely low self-confidence. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is such a classic; it became the official anthem for the Generation Whine while Ian killed himself a month after releasing the single. Nobody wants to hear him whine in person (which is probably the reason why he committed suicide) but everybody listened to him whine in that song. What convenience.

Today I feel like telling you a story about my wallet. Well, not my wallet particularly but something in my wallet that I've been keeping for ages now. It was something that now I shall consider it a piece of history - a history of rock & roll; a history in music; a history of my final two years in secondary school. It has been kept safely in my wallet for many years (or rather been ignored of its existence) that only today, out of a sudden, interested to unfold back into the memories that it holds, or just a sudden peak in interest towards its existence, or just having nothing to do in the afternoon. As you can see in the photo that I've posted above, it's a business card for Music Exchange. Not just a ordinary music exchange mind you but a music exchange that tells of my early fetish towards rare, unusual, exotic music (read: post rock). It's a small shop, really, selling second hand, used, unwanted CDs by a host of artists, ranging from the exciting ones like Flying Saucer Attack (I bought one!) to the really rubbish ones like, uh, can't remember... Peter Andre or something? The point is: this shop has it all, from the really new ones to the really old ones (which comes in the form of a vinyl record); from the really good album to the dustbin-territory-occupier album; from local materials to (of course) international ones; from widely available discs to the really rare, printed in small number ones. It was something like a true music lover's wet dream. No, even better; a true CD/record collector's wet dream. To those who do not understand the kind of 'fetish' that we're having (like me who does not understand my manga-crazy friend's craziness) may look at this place and think it's just some kind of a junk heap. Luckily I still keep my sanity in check while the shop was still around and yes, it was to any certain extent, a junk heap. Notice that I mentioned "while the shop was still around" just now. The other thing that reminded me when I think of Music Exchange is Bukit Bintang itself. Before that, I've never been to KL by myself. Even a trip to the KL with my family was very scarce itself since my father hated driving through the traffic jams. So, when I learned upon the existence of this second hand disc shop in Jalan Walter Grenier in Bukit Bintang, I thought I'd venture out, and it was quite a trip itself since I don't know my way around KL, and I have absolutely no idea where Bukit Bintang was. What I did was took the RM2 Metrobus ride from Subang (is the fare still the same nowadays?) to Central Market, and just walked to whichever direction that I though would best direct me towards Bukit Bintang. Did I make it? Of course I did. Luckily I walked along the Puduraya. Now I already know that area like the back of my hand. Those were the times when the legendary Movement club was still at the Bukit Bintang-Pudu junction before it burned down to the ground; when post rock was the cool catch phrase and Damn Dirty Apes goes together with the term like Sonny and Cher; when Tone was THE magazine that matters; when Wow FM was just about to be the new Time Highway Radio before its untimely demise, together with Tone magazine. Oh, and electronica was just making its wave in Malaysia with names like Discomafia (whose CD also I bought one at Music Exchange), Herb Vendors, Rabbit, Alt+Ctrl+Dlt, and Deanna Yusof. All that memories (and many more actually which I'm too lazy to detail it all down here) are compressed altogether into this measly little business card belonging to the now history (and now legend as well) Music Exchange. I have thought of throwing the card away but maybe not because I have with me a piece of history that reminds me of the time when KL and Malaysia's underground music scene was at it's most interesting moment.