Rocked you like a hurricane!

Blues Gang

I was just thinking the other day. Occasionally, in my social media group, one or two members would send snippets of Malay songs of the 80s and 90s. These songs used to be high on the music chart and ruled the airwaves in their heydays. I was pleasantly surprised that these group members were even familiar with such songs.

We, the teenagers of the late 70s and 80s, must be a lost generation. The generation that grew up under the umbrella of the Malaysian New Education policy imbibed in Malay culture and songs.

We grew up laughing at P Ramlee's antics in his actual Malaysian-themed movies and comedies in our preteen years. We ended up watching them umpteen times, probably able to rattle out certain classic dialogues and recall particular scenes from his films at the drop of a hat.

The 80s saw a renaissance of modern guitar and drums bands that were belting out hard and punk rock music. Rock Kapak was another branch of rock of Malay punk. These bands were so popular that every Saturday night saw mobile stages erected in small towns for bands to belt out their brand of music. National competitions were rave. In these otherwise mundane small towns, which had boring weekends and lights out after the territorial TV ended its transmission, these events gave them a purpose in life. Small-time businesses and vendors made their killings. 

Amy Search

As the saying goes, all good times must surely end. The new wave of Islamic scholars sent to the Middle East on scholarships generated by petroleum-fueled prosperity needed to prove their worth. They raised their eyebrows condescendingly, shaking their turban-donned head in unison. They decreed that uninhibited mixing of sexes was sacrilegious. The intoxicating mixture of electric guitar, drums and percussions swayed believers from the purpose on Earth, i.e. to hail Maker's glory. The police agreed as intoxicants found their way to these meetings. These concerts simply had to stop. The memories of Gersang, JJ Carefree, Sweet Charity, Wings, Ramli Sarip, Search, Chris Vadham, Ben Nathan, Blues Gang, Awie, Headwind, Alleycats, Ella and the Boys, Zaiton Sameon and even the notorious Mona Fandey and talented M Nasir just remain as that, mere distant memories of a bygone era.

 

With the new post-Iranian Revolution's zest to uphold self-perceived the Almighty decree on Earth, the interest in hard rock dwindled. This 'decadent' music was labelled as devil-worshipping, and believers who were seen indulging in such melodies were looked upon with accusing eyes reserved for a heretic. Music taste shifted towards desert-themed rhythm even though it should be Hawaiian as we are in the tropics. Remember Terang Bulan, Mamula Moon and Negara-ku?

So it was indeed a pleasing experience to have my social media friends showing keen interest in that music of our early adulthood when Malaysia had its own brand of rock - Rock Kapak!  

(PS. Dedicated to JT, SA, RS, SK, HS, SM. You know who you are!)

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Another Kennedy curse?

Dark Legacy II: The Assassination of JFK Jr.(2014)

This is a followup documentary film to the one released in 2009 which incredulously implicated George HW Bush in the 1963 assassination of JFK in the streets of Dallas. 

It looks like the Bush-Kennedy animosity seems to continue into the next generation. George W Bush is said to be cited in the death of JFK's son. John F Kennedy Jr.

I remember reading about his plane crash on 16th July 1999. The cause of his mishap was told to be spatial disorientation as he was flying at night and lost his bearings when he made a sharp turn near the coast on a dark night with no stars. At that time, I thought it was just a case of a rich kid crashing his new toy. 

Now, this documentary shows many loopholes in the reporting, investigation, the search and rescue missions and even official statements from the authorities.

JFK Jr was a licenced and experienced pilot who is said to be meticulous in the handling of his flight paths. He had just recovered from an ankle sprain but was fit enough to fly. He was flying with his wife and his sister-in-law. There is controversy on whether a flying instructor was accompanying them. There are conflicting statements on this.

They started the journey a little late at about 7.30pm as they could have been waiting for his sister-in-law who arrived late. A skilful aviator as he was, travelling in a spanking new plane, he maintained regular contact with the traffic control tower. Just after his last contact at 9.39pm, his plane just plunged down almost vertically into the waters.

No rescue attempts were initiated and his uncle, Ted Kennedy, had to contact the FAA and the US Coast Guard on his disappearance. Being a public figure, the media was also interested. Even late past midnight, the authorities were clueless where to look for the plane. The information about the locator beam was also unknown. Search mission only commenced after 6am.

The wreckage was only found in the afternoon. The black box was found to have its battery missing, and the fuel valve turned off. One of the plane seats was missing allegedly with the said flight instructor.

To the makers of this documentary, all of the above screamed of a planned assassination. The battery of the black does not go missing just like that. It is not easy for the person manning the flight to accidentally turn the fuel selector valve. There are safety features against this. In the Egypt Air flight #990, a few months later, its pilot deliberately turned off the valve in an apparent suicide manoeuvre. 

The makers suggest that the flight instructor could be a Manchurian Candidate implanted by the same Military Industrial Complex as warned by President Eisenhower in the early '60s. This group of people are the wealthy moguls of the world who prosper from a world which is in an anarchic state. This Cabal is the same one which profited from World War Two and masterminded JFK's assassination in 1963 because he wanted to pull out from Vietnam.

JFK Jr had political ambitions. And so had George W Bush. At that time John McCain seemed like the likely candidate to make to the White House. Thus, the Cabal got George W to supervise the planned murder. Bush's whereabouts for three days surrounding 16th July 1999 is unknown to everyone, including his office in Texas. The documentary suggests that he was on the ground arranging the 'accident', it seems.

There was talk that JFK Jr was going through some turbulent times with his magazine 'George'. A rumour was going around that his marriage could be in the rocks but, on the other hands, others said his wife was pregnant. The press, which initially gave the image of trying to find the truth soon started parroting the authorities and hinted the suicide angle.

1963: A 3-year-old JFK Jr saluting Sr's hearse.

The final verdict (according to the documentary makers) is that the instructor was the Cabal's Manchurian Candidate, who was on a suicide mission, and the delay is discovering the wreckage was necessary to retrieve his body to cover his trail.

After this incident, George W Bush was catapulted to the White House. Then there was 9-11 and their involvement.

In another YouTube presentation, the presenter suggested that probably the elusive Q of QAnon fame is non-other than JFK Jr himself. He postulates that JFK Jr faked his own death to confuse the Military-Industrial Complex. JFK Jr is now working in the background to right the wrong that his father wanted to do. The Cabal was just too powerful to clash head-on.

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Somebody to ape?

Friends (1994-2004; Season 1-10)

People need role models to guide them through the uncertainties of life. Every living day is a new experience. Hence, newbies who step into different stages of their lives necessitate the presence of someone with authority to emulate. Parents and teachers are sparse representations of adulthood. Their paths are dull, unexciting and merely outdated. Juniors need to follow routes that are 'compelling' and approved by their contemporaries. They aspire for someone or some icon to tell them what normality is.

For teenagers who peeled their inner eyes of awareness at the turn of the century, the Gen-Y's, the TV rom-com 'Friends' could have influenced their perception of what relationship is all about. 

Come to think of it, a generation before them formed their opinions on more significant life issues from Oprah. Oprah Winfrey set the standards on women empowerment, relationship issues, and accepting body image issues. It was as though the whole world had one set of values and it was dictated by the divas in the superficially glamorous city of Tinseltown.

The Gen-Ys (a.k.a. Millennials, born 1981-96), the middle-class English speaking urbanites, moulded their lives around the characters of 'Friends'. It was the norm to have close friends of either gender who may be intimate friends of any kind, with no holds barred, including those considered taboo by the generation before them to go to in time of crises. The social and cultural norms deemed 'normal' are as determined by their favourite characters or collectively by the cast of 'Friends'.

For those who have been living in hibernation, the sit-com 'Friends' is about a group of six friends, two apartments and a coffee shop that they hang out as well as the people as they meet in their lives. They were in their 20s when they started the show. Ross and Monica are siblings. Chandler attended the same high school as Ross. Rachel was Monica's high school mate while Joey joined the group when he became Chandler's roommate. The sixth member of the group is Phoebe, the free-spirited 'hippie', who once lived off the streets and now works as a masseuse. 

Ross is a palaeontologist in a museum. Chandler is a statistic analyst while Joey is a struggling actor. Monica is trying to make it big as a chef. Rachel started as a waitress at the cafe they hang out, Central Perk, but later found a job in the fashion industry.

The earlier seasons were refreshing, but as more episodes get churned, one cannot help but notice that the scriptwriters were running out of ideas. I guess one cannot ask too many questions like how some cash-strapped struggling young adult could afford to live in Manhattan and spent most days chilling at their favourite cafeteria. And why a palaeontologist and an academic would find the company of blue-collar workers more appealing. As their funny bone shrunk, their canned laughter seemed to reach higher decibels, and their threshold for laughter fell to almost zero. The writers dragged airtime by creating lazy jokes with sexual innuendos and sometimes in-your-face tasteless language labelled as a comedy. Another time-buying manoeuvring was replaying clip shows and operating on sentiments of nostalgia. The show failed to show a growing maturity in the characters. They seem to be excited by the same jokes all throughout the seasons.

It is ridiculous when in one season Joey and Rachel are lovestruck and the next, they are finding dates and discussing ways to bed their respective dates. Sure, it is all supposed to be taken lightly, it is after all showbiz, I find it comical when a couple who has fallen out of love with each other can look at each other in the face like nothing happened. And live in the same apartment, on top of that! Or is that modern love or something called moving on?

After being in the limelight for ten seasons, the producers finally pulled the plug on the show after episode #236, leaving a string of broken hearts and rudderless souls. They await a reunion of the cast in a single unscripted comeback show which was supposed to out in March 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19.


It is not for me to say, but maybe it is for social scientists to explore. The male characters are not given prominence in the series, much like many of the shows that are churned out from Hollywood. The male personas appear the not so intelligent ones, jokers, laid back, indecisive and be wrapped around the fingers of their female counterparts. It would be interesting to see how social dynamics in other parts of the world get moulded by the American Dream and the American perspective of women empowerment. It is good to know just how much the teaching of the art of flirting and promiscuous lifestyle that is sold to the general public actually modify our social mores?

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