Terror Cotta

It was simply awesome to just gaze at these real Terracotta.. I dont know how they transport these things without damaging them further.




I hope to share my experience in this blog when I got time.

review cd Eid Tulus Iklas - ni sesuai aku guna "dont judge a book by its cover"

Cakap omputeh sikit - This is a new fantastic 10 original songs compilation sung in the Malay Language by ten Singapore rock bands with a common lyrical theme of Eid ul-Fitr solemn self-reflection and festive celebration.
You have a entertaining mixture of slow songs, fast songs, sad songs and cheerful songs.
Its always pleasant to support your local rock bands wherever you are, and also the buying of this cd contributes a certain amount of money to charity.



Aku tahu la bulan Ramadhan pun belum mula tapi aku dah start dengar lagu raya. Ini sikit ulasan cd baru keluar ni yang bernama Eid Tulus Ikhlas ngan pembelian korang memberi sokongan kat TAA dan Piala Dollah Kassim.

Cover album ok la, mass appeal, pasal lagu raya kot so memang tak nampak sangat rock dia.

A bit song by song. Kena ingat semua lagu tema raya, bermaaf2an, beraman2an, berinsaf2an, berkunjung2an, benda2 yang condong ke arah kebaikan la kira. Tapi tetap rock.




“V” – Salam Untuk Semua
- Spanish guitar / flamenco influenced sey...terkejut siak, tapi pleasant surprise gitu, aku dah dengar ni first song je kan, aku terus konfiden ni cd best punye.

Scyan – Bersamalah Beraya
- Catchy giler lagu ni. Apsal aku teringat Journey? pasal sedap dan melodic kot.

Empire – Raya Yang Sepi
- Peringatan ni EMPIRE, sila tolong jangan confuse ngan band Ali ex XPDC yang tu ialah MPIRE, Ejaan tak sama, takde E kat depan. Tak mau pasal korang dengar orang sebut EMPIRE korang ingat Ali XPDC MPIRE dan korang kurenggg sikit lak. Lagu Slow rock huhu.


Opurzit Youth – Hari Mulia
- Lagu rancak sey. Aku suka, ialah dah memang aku suka lagu rock. Time changes tukar2 slow laju lagu ni ingatkan aku kat Maiden. Suara penyanyi dia pun rock abis.

Kozmet – Selamat Berhari Raya
- lagu ni awek yang nyanyi ok. Rancak. DJ Radio suka la main lagu gini. Lagu penuh raya spirit, tapi tetap rock.

Nalo – Kenangan Di Pagi Raya
Slow rock, aku dengar lagu ni terus pergi tengok lirik kat cd booklet dia. Aku terdiam kejap. Bukan kejap pun...actually lama jugak...sedih siak wa. Serious berbual woi. Mencengkam Sanubari beb.

Nightraid – Raya
Rancak.. happening gitu.

Wet Appetite – Sudah Tiba Masa
Intro....walaowei!! stadium rock siak. Grand abis lagu ni.

Rancour – Oi! Raya Oi!
Best giler lagu ni , happening abis. Lirik dia humourous.. aku tak bleh tahan kul 3 pagi kat bazaar tu...lepas tu balik nak gi semayang raya.

Antologi – Nostalgia Di Hari Raya
Ooo another song with great time changes.
Start dia jangan sangka air tenang takde buaya nye lagu..
I like this song very much.




OK, serious berbual, this is a great cd. Korang beli tak rugi, korang pun bleh jadi geng baik ngan beramal kat TAA dan Piala Dollah Kassim.
Kalo aku kerja dj radio aku akan mainkan lagu ni, kalo aku keja reporter aku akan tulis pasal cd ni, kalo aku berbual2 ngan kawan2 aku akan cakap pasal cd ni, kalo aku buat majlis perjumpaan hari raya kat balai rakyat yang korang zaman budak2 dulu pergi main dikir barat dapat makan free tu - aku akan main cd ni.

What a waste kalo korang tak dapat dengar lagu2 raya ni ngan positive lyrical content...anyway they are new fresh songs...takkan lagu sepasang kurungan biru ngan lagu seri hari raya je setiap tahun kan dan kalo korang rock fan, kalo tak selalu pun , sesekali support local rock bands ngan keluar duit sikit dan beli cd dorang, dan kalo korang tak pernah dengar atau tengok band2 ni, this is your chance.

Review Loudness 25th July 2011 Scape Warehouse Singapore

Cakap omputeh dulu..

This is what I saw and hear on 25 July 2011 Loudness Live in Singapore at Scape Warehouse during their 30th anniversary tour.

1) First Time I went to Scape. Unlike most of you lucky guys in Johor and Singapore who catch the legendary Sentosa 1989 show with Mike Vescera, this is my first time haha. Nice place for about 800 standing capacity, I think there are more space but I think there is those safety rules to comply. Full house definitely and as its a Monday evening, you see a few in office attire among the rock tshirts. Clear majority in attendance are Malays young and not so young and far from young haha.
2) Come across old and not so old friends. Always bound to happen when going for rock concerts. BIRDS OF THE SAME FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER.
I know some of them are loyal longterm continuity hardcore Loudness fans, so like I say, tonite show means a lot for these people.
3) Entry I got problem, line up and then turned away at the door because no tagging. So Line Up again another section.
4) Tshirts collection for pre-booking is very smooth. Thanks a lot.
5) I enter and Paul Danial Trio with Jatt Ali is already playing...

Sort of a Ronnie James Dio setlist...Fantastic performance by the four of them.. I manage to catch them playing Gates of Babylon ( Gates Of Babylon siak !!! legend giler ), Children Of The Sea, Heaven And Hell, Holy Diver, Dont Talk To Strangers... Jatt not need to sing as the audience especially those in front are singing for him...word for word. But when he sings, I hope Dio Disciples takes him on haha. I was hoping they play a Ministry Of Rock song but nope.
6) Jatt Ali sings " Gadis Ayu ", just that portion. I am so happy. Long Live BDB.
7) Wait for Loudness and I am nearer back, no mood to hustle and bustle nearer the front and I am trying to bootleg the show on my recorder so I guess I avoid the expected fanatcial singing-along by most guys in front haha.
8) Wait and see the Loudness crew preparing the stage.
Then its Loudness time..
9) Intro tape played. Drummer Masayuki Suzuki, then bassist Masayoshi Yamashita and Akira Takasaki appears and start play instrumental Fire Of Spirit.
10) Then Minoru Nihara appears and ask for the lighting staff to off certain lights as too bright for him, then he and Akira leaves the stage and call Masayoshi off stage too.
11) We wait again...about 4-5 minutes for them to sort out the issue.
12) Intro tape played again. Akira say sorry.
13) Played Fire Of Spirit again.
14) Minoru Nihara reappears wearing sunglasses this time, and they play Hit The Rails.

15) Minoru greets the crowd and say sorry for the earlier problem. He mentioned about Loudness having played here but for himself it is the first time.
16) Crazy Night next.
17) Heavy Chain followed.
18) Akira whispers to Minoru, so Minoru says Akira guitar needs tuning. So Akira talks about his age and Loudness debut, about Loudness 30 years anniversary, about the tiny Japanese guy who loves his Rock n Roll , and making jokes about the front row younger fans not born yet or something haha. I think he jokingly ask for a guitar to play accoustic. Then he introduce the drummer.
19) Akira ask for a drum solo. So Masayuki plays a drum solo.
20) Akira leads a 'we want more' chant, so Masayuki plays a second drum solo.
21) Akira then went to the drums and we got an Akira Takasaki drum solo.
22) Akira guitar tech joins in on the ending of the drum solo while preparing the guitar.
23) Masayoshi leads a 'we want more' chant next, so Akira went to the mic and ask for a bass solo.
24) So we get a bass solo. The crowd next ask for a Vocal Solo. Hillarious and very funny.
25) In The Mirror next, I always love these fast and furious Loudness songs so I guess thats why I love Disillusion the most, and I think Disillusion is the most tilted to heavy metal album by Loudness ever.
26) So Lonely next, what a surprise because its not played in the US Leg of the tour. I would prefer the original song that first appears as Ares Lament but beggars cant be choosers. Quite long version of So Lonely this one with Akira solo and everything hahaha. Near 8 minutes. I think everyone can sing along all nite long with this song and not get tired of it.
27)Exploder intro is played next, and Akira starts his solo which intertwined with Exploder. This is about 6 minutes long.
28)Like Hell continues the older 80s songs sequence.
29)Band Introduction next, Minoru talks a bit and joke about the new drummer being nervous backstage and introduced and ask applause for the drummer twice.
30) Get Away follows.
31) Black Star Oblivion next.
32) We got the intro Requiem and then King Of Pain.
33) Immediately follwed by Crazy Doctor. This version verses is sung in Japanese version not English version. I am happy to hear people singing along once the chorus switch to English.
34) Loudness leaves the stage.
35) What comes next is hillarious. Akira comes up on stage to tease the fans with his sayonaras and 'why you so quiet', but everytime he speaks, it has some in the crowd bursting with laughter including myself. Very cute way of speaking this Akira.
36) Let It Go. And I think this song takes everyone back to the 80s during their younger days haha.
37) SDI.
38) Loudness waves farewell.

About 107 minutes. Still waiting for a high quality complete bootleg of the show anyone? Mine pekak badak but I super like it haha. Tak jemu dengar.

After the show, bade farewell to friends who I dont know when I meet again or hear from again, and the words in most mouths is " WHITESNAKE!!!".


Cakap melayu sikit, happy la jumpa kawan2 lama dan tak lama sangat dan muka2 familiar hehe. Semoga jumpa lagi. Cam aku cakap, bila nak blah, yang disebut2 ialah 'Whitesnake'. Dan jugak aku survey jugak show ni sapa ramai pergi, so selain ada sebilangan kaum Cina dan Mat Salleh, majoriti terang lagi bersuluh budak mim jugak. haha. Tapi bagus, disiplin bagus, salute korang, dan jugak thanks a lot to the organisers. I dont think they are really focus on the heavy rock/rock n roll market but great job guys kat counters , kat pintu dan masa tagging and thanks for the cheaper tickets and tshirts. Cuma terkehel tak clear pasal tagging tu, or mungkin aku yang memang pekak. Semoga korang host lagi banyak genre heavy rock / rock n roll shows cam gini.




Baju belum bukak plastik pun...kawan aku cakap " nasib baik N dia betul " haha.. siot je.

A super quick brief report of the unusual things that happen in Loudness live in Singapore yesterday..

My report tommorrow la..but a short 'gezek' first.

I think these are the unusual things that happen that did not happen elsewhere..
I also never managed to make it for the KL show so I dont know the setlist there but the unusual things are -
Singapore got
1) TWO times the intro music
2) TWO times the first instrumental Fire Of Spirit as Loudness wants to redo everything from the start after their ' walk out '.
3) Loudness walking OFF stage to settle some lighting issues once Minoru appear after the first Fire Of Spirit.
4) THREEE DRUMS SOLO!!! with Akira doing one
Drum solo 1 done and completed.
Akira cheerleading 'we want more!' so we get drum solo 2 as his guitar hasnt complete tuning I think.
Akira then takeover drums to do his own drum solo..and his guitar tech join in during tuning of his guitar.
4) Masayoshi Yamashita then continue the " we want more! " cheers..
and end up Akira ask for a bass solo.. So we got a bass solo too before they proceed to next song after guitar tuning complete.

These are the unusual things...

Still waiting for the first audio complete bootlegs to appear, if none, I will take out mine..

CM all nite long

Things that other people wants to clear, may be a treasure to me...
So thank you very much huhu..


Gembira la aku dapat ni semua....Original wooo.

CM4, CM5, Championship Manager 02-03 , and 2007.

Aku suka ambik team bawah2.... ni aku try CM 2007, first kopek aku ambik Shrewsbury..

No Cheating Mode OK. Pure suffering and losing and kena thrashing haha...

Lepas ni aku nak try Belgian League pulak haha.

( Saje je boring malam2 kat tempat kerja....opppsss ).

The Cranberries is coming again and I still wont be there ( sambil gigit jari )

Aku tak pernah tengok The Cranberries live. Ni dorang nak main tapi Singapore aje, pun aku tak gi. Tak boleh angkat la harga tiket, dan jugak nak sedapkan hati...aku kerja malam tu hari haha. Lagi satu...errr...puasa hehe. ( Aku tahu korang ada yang baca ni yang bukak puasa burger king, sambil tunggu gate opening untuk SLAYER main kat expo dulu kan?? Siot je kan.. ) Tapi Rare la kira Cranberries datang rantau sini. 2nd time je kot.




In the grand scheme of things and priorities in life.. Going to a Cranberries show is not that important la haha. Although their pop songs are embedded already in my mind for many years.
But nevertheless, I spend these last few days while walking and taking public transport enjoying Cranberries live bootlegs. I think they have so many melodic fantastic songs and seems live they are fabulous from bootlegs and youtubes and MTVs that I had enjoyed all these years.
The 2002 October Paris one has the Bali bombing being mentioned during Zombie.

Anyway both these shows are from Paris 2002 but I believe was for different tours as the later one has brand new songs from their greatest hits cd. I dont know too much about them in detail anyway.








Super super songs and audience recording on both these bootlegs...make a nice mp3 companion during walking and travelling these few days..

Taiji and ACDC River Plate lanun packaging

Taiji dah mati. Dah dua X nye orang mati bunuh diri dah.
-Sapa minat X Japan tentu minat kat dia pasal dia main sampai album Jealousy dan dvd 3 jam verge of destruction best giler tu.
-Sapa hardcore Loudness fan, tau la sapa dia. Aku zaman mamat EZO frontman tu aku kureng sikit.

His death and the cause of it is I guess big enough to even enter mainstream news such as this

Speaking of Taiji, I always remember when I was sort of introducing X Japan music to my friend who is a big huge Loudness fan and he immediately pick out Taiji from the photo and say on which album Taiji plays for Loudness.

And that for me is an example of a huge Loudness fan, and these are the people that deserve all the happiness for the coming Loudness visit.




Next, ACDC Live At River Plate. ACDC, aku tak minat sangat pasal boring, tapi...dorang punye greatest hits semua sedap2 la jugak. Tapi dorang kalo live, aku jarang miss tengok dan beli dorang nye live videotapes ( zaman pak kaduk dulu ), dan dvds.. Live videos atau cd, dorang memang champion walau ada lagu2 sedap aku suka yang jugak singles, tapi dorang tak main dah lama haha.
tapi cakap pasal tak pernah miss live videos/dvd dorang, No Bull Directors Cut aku belum tengok..
Yang ini River Plate, lanun punye tapi korang tengok dorang punye packaging...copy dari Blue-ray katanya..apa pun memang best la, crowd dia memang giler babi. Champion la kira.

I really really love the ending during the credits, when the helicopter was hovering away from the River Plate football stadium and the fans was serenading that famous famous Argentina fans serenading song.
I think I had linked before a youtube scene of Iron Maiden members just standing on stage while the whole stadium ( its another stadium ) was serenading their love to Maiden,
this time the lyrics was change to from " Oooo Iron Maiden " to " ooo ACDC ".
Very very nice...

Four Nil To The Arsenal ( ikut tune Go West ) - 13 July 2011

( Seeing Arsenal playing live, gives me the opportunity to appreaciate their off-the-ball movement and each players posititioning during attack, defence and taking corner kicks etc. You can never see all these on tv.
- The new players who play their first ever game for the Gunners like right back Carl Jenkinson and left sided attacker Ryo Miyaichi
- Most popular player and by far the loudest cheers for the night - Samir Nasri.
- In total both teams made about 7 substitutions or more each.)



Sampai je aku dah kena pao. Jersey Arsenal baru punye yang logo ada daun tu.
Mintak tawar dapat la 32RM sejersey. ( Aku tak beli apa2 pun. )



So masuk stadium...ooo not bad crowd la.. Aku estimate max 50K, tapi suratkabar taruk 60K.
Not bad for a weekday Arsenal crowd. Tambah ngan harga tiket yang quite expensive walau untuk yang tiket harga bawah pun.

Aku sebenarnya paling nak tengok Arsenal punya off-the ball movement.
Tengok kat tv atau internet tak sama ngan tengok live.



First half ok la... baru 5 minit dah penalti. Clear Cut punye. Ramsey + Wilshere combination ni kan, best siakk. Muda dan British.
Walcott pun score. Mintak2 dia score banyak ni season.. , semua pun ok kecuali Chamakh cam lembab je.

half time mood



Second half... Open siak game. Makin thrill.
Nak kat abis tu RVP, Sagna, Arshavin, Nasri masuk... Quadruple Substitution... Woo terus dah jadi macam Harlem Globetrotters siak Arsenal... Nasri...gentel jugak la sekali tu... Tepukan gemuruh.

Aku rate la, Arsenal players perform only at about 20% of their potential yesterday. Frolic In The Park gtu. Tu pun Malaysia dah kena titik. Tapi Malaysia pun sebenarnya ada attack, ada chance jugak...



Game Over.. Til the next time The Arsenal comes..




Abis game, aku kena pao lagi sekali jersey Malaysia kaler biru yang sleeve ada merah putih tu.. mintak tawar...dapat la 40RM sejersey. Aku tak beli apa2 ah....haha.

Balik...LRT pack giler tapi very very smooth..and we didnt pay for the ride...
For big games, this is what happened la..
Masuk stesen tak yah slide card, sampai destination, pun terus keluar pakai side gate untuk mereka yang dari stadium. Timakasey LRT Rapid. Superb job by all the staffs.


But now the game of the season...

** Malaysia vs Singapore. **

Siot dua2 game aku tak dapat pergi ah...
Singapore nye game main kat Jalan Besar Stadium max 6K capicity.
Konfem korang nak tiket, kena tido kat stadium overnite. Tapi first kopek jualan kena tunjuk IC Singapore dulu, dorang takut peminat Msia beli pasal Msia dapat 500 tiket je haha.

DAN MESTI GEREK AH SOKONG DUA2.. Hahaha.

Kalo aku pegi, aku pakai baju putih. Visit Krabi White Tshirt haa. Neutral rabak punye.

Cable TV - Astro, Mio, SCV & Football

(This is how I get my dose of English Football.)

*Balik KL , tak pasang Astro - Tengok je la tu enam channel per tu.
*Balik Spore, tak pasang Mio, tak pasang SCV - Tengok je la about seven channel per tu.

Tak bedek la, salah satu sebab ialah kos. Dan jugk sebab2 lain.

But my friend have a fantastic theory on why he installed cable tv at home with the football coverage included. It is an attractive way to ensure his grown son stays at home on weekend late nights. I always think this is brilliant. Respect giler.

Secara peribadi untuk aku, kalo nak tengok bola live, kena pergilah kedai kopi/kedai mamak/ dan kalo musim piala dunia kat balai rakyat atau McDonalds.

Lagipun, untuk aku sendiri, aku minat Liga Premier Inggeris, tapi pada aku buang masa je la kalo aku tengok kalo lain 19 teams tu beraksi. Pada aku buang masa je la aku nak tengok Man U ke Chelsea ke Man City ke main... Puas hati aku tido atau buat benda lain, kalo aku tak kerja malam la pun.

Aku cuma minat tengok Arsenal aje. Tu la pasal aku tiap2 bulan bayar tiga pound gitu, untuk dapat Football Channel Arsenal. Dapat la tengok tiap2 game yang semua berkaitan Arsenal aje..

Tapi ni pilihan masing2 yang empunya.

Anyway, WELCOME TO THE FOLLOWING 23 GENTLEMEN -

Wojciech Szczesny
Vito Mannone
Sebastien Squillaci
Johan Djourou
Kieran Gibbs
Carl Jenkinson
Laurent Koscielny
Andrey Arshavin
Marouane Chamakh
Ryo Miyaichi
Armand Traore
Thomas Vermaelen
Bacary Sagna
Theo Walcott
Alex Song
Jack Wilshere
Tomas Rosicky
Denilson
Aaron Ramsey
Emmanuel Frimpong
Samir Nasri
Carlos Vela
Robin van Persie

AND WELCOME TO THE HONOURABLE Mr Wenger, Mr Pat Rice and all the rest of the non-playing staff.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Loudness fans - decision time..x 2

Jadi aku rasa korang peminat Loudness dah buat keputusan la..

T-shirt mana satu lagi lawa??

Gempak giler kalo 1st day raya pakai baju gini kan? I mean, once balik semayang raya la. Melampau la kalo gi smayang raya pakai tshirt gini kan?

Tapi N dia tu lain sikit la kan.

Jadi sua terang lagi bersuluh, thsirt ni dua design ni akan jadi the most sought after item for all Loudness fans in Malaysia and Singapore for the coming Loudness shows in both countries.

Jadi aku rasa korang peminat Loudness dah buat keputusan la kan..

Show mana yang korang nak pergi... ( kalo ada pilihan )

Kat KL, siap ada Amy Search. Mula2 aku mati2 ingat bila kawan aku cakap Amy Search ada aku cakap ok la, opening act kan, rupanya aku silap la...
Dari cari poster ni cakap Loudness perform ngan Amy Search.
So aku cuma terfikir, kalo Amy Search nyanyi ngan Loudness, kalo katalah Amy nyanyi lagu Loudness, contoh satu verse Heavy Chain la katakan...
Tapi kira aku nak dengar Amy nyanyi ke atau aku nak dengar Minoru Nihara nyanyi?
ni ialah apa aku fikir la..
Dan jugak ada tiga opening acts lagi...



Kat Singapore lak, takde special performance apa kebenda...
So, tiap2 lagu maknanya Minoru Nihara nyanyi semua la kan?
Dan ada Paul Danial + Jatt Ali aka Ministry Of Rock sebagai opener.




So...decision...decision time... hehehehe..


Apa pun untuk yang dapat pergi... Enjoy!! Aku harap aku dapat pergi satu show pun jadilah..

REAL - Sifu

(This is sort of a tribute cd but with two original songs, sung in the Malay language.)
Lama kot aku tak cakap pasal cd melayu, So sambil aku nak tunggu satu dua cd band2 rock dan musicians Melayu release dorang nye new albums ngan lagu2 baru, dan aku tahu tak lama lagi keluar kompilasi berapa bands rock buat album raya ngan semua lagu2 original baru hari raya dorang so kita flashback lagi satu cd lama dulu aku belum taruk kat sini lagi.

(Aku tambah line ni lepas abis buat blog ni pasal aku rasa -> Banyak merapek merhaban ni post, so watch out haha.)

Antara cd cd band2 rock melayu yang buat tribute atau cover version album , aku nak highlight kumpulan May nye cd ‘Keras’ sebagai satu contoh yang aku suka. Lagu pertama ’Lagu Penyamun’ dah Metalika abis, dan sampai paling best lagu terakhir ada lagu original ciptaan May kat album tu “ begegar segunung rindu “ ( ini versi original Oney nyanyi ) yang pada aku antara lagu2 kumpulan May paling best giler aku suka dari zaman kaset Juara2 Rock sampai tukar2 penyanyi sampai la skarang dah. What a song , memang bergegar..,

..tapi with all due respect, sebahagian kita gunakan youtube sebagai sampler untuk lagu2, tapi lagu2 rock melayu kalo dah kat youtube dah tak memberi full justice ka lagu tersebut. Kualiti kurenggg. Timakase la yang upload dan share, tetapi… Sebagai sampler ok la,saje buat lepaskan gian, buat stim kering, tapi the real deal? I don’t think so.
Support local bands korang ngan beli ori TERUTAMA kalo local bands korang buat cd lagu2 baru ciptaan sendiri dan pakai duit sendiri / self-financed. Anyway cakap pasal youtube, Aku nak upload bootlegs audio rock concert Melayu yang aku dapat rekod sana sini pun aku rasa tak payah sua, Cuma kalo cam Lovehunters tu hari tak yah banyak soal, tu memang Bourne Ultimatum punye personal rekoding at least untuk koleksi peribadi aku sendiri la. All the planets aligned together nye rekoding. I read some of your youtube comments on songs like Blues Untuk Rakyat. I am happy you guys love it. And I am deeply disappointed that the song is not included in the official live dvd for what I think are music/ record companies /labels issues.

Oppps out of topic.



Seperti album ‘keras’ Sama jugak ngan cd ‘REAL – Sifu’ ni, dua lagu paling best ialah lagu2 original iaitu “ Jangan Tak Nampak “ dan “ Disini “. Satu a slow song, lagi satu a laju song. Dua2 sedap - aku suka. Anyway ni cd dah lama..lebih sepuluh tahun dah kot.

Lagi sepuluh lagu ialah semua lagu2 Kembara. Takde lagu M Nasir zaman solo, so nak panggil pilihan lagu2 kat cd ni sebagai Real – Kembara pun boleh kot.
Cammana nak describe eh?
Keroncong Untuk Ana versi Real ni kalo aku dengar, aku akan teringat Harvester Of Sorrow. Tak tahu apsal. Apa?! Harvester Of Sorrow siak aku dah teringat? Tak agak2. Tapi bila aku mengelamun, khayal2, berangan mat jenin, kalo kat kepala ada lagu Metalika, mesti HOS atau Sad But True…
kena slow la dan reflect kepathetickan diri . Bayekk nye word kan? ‘Kepathetickan diri’. Konfem mintak nak Mampos kalo jawab gini kalo time sekolah dulu2.



Ok ok…membebel susah nak stop lak - HEY!! kersani mengalirlah dikau… !!!
Gerhana, Hati Emas, Duit are the more popular songs by Kembara covered here. I like them all. Fabulous remakes of already great songs. The song’ Duit ‘ has never been more relevant than now with the lyrics – Jangan Sampai Makan Rasuah Nanti Bangsa Jadi Musnah. Well… aku tahu besok kita mati lobang kubur sendiri2 dan masing2 nak lepas seksa kubur pandai2 la jawab sendiri2, tapi ku Cuma nak komen sikit je la - kalo under table masyukk bayekk punye, lepas tu balik kasi anak bini dan sesapa je la makan. Weak ah beb. Jadi Darah daging.



Malam – Aku nye paling memori bila dengar lagu ni ialah masa pergi tengok kumpulan Search main kat Larkin zaman drummer Lola..dalam ribut2 berasak2 tu, ada satu mamat ni, asyik pekik je tau between tiap2 lagu. Dia akan pekik “ MALAM!!!... MALAM!!!! ..MALAM!!“. Betul2 nye suka agaknye lagu ni, versi Seach cover lagu ni. So I guess lagu Malam ni, memang special sama macam lagu Suatu Masa, lagu jenis ramai peminat suka. Tapi aku lagu Suatu Masa ni aku suka skip, pasal lembab sangat. Sorry jangan marah.

Lagu2 lain – Empat Penjuru, Perjuangan , Lagu Untuk Seorang Ibu, Bunga Bakawali , Balada Osman Tikus. Semua dah dirock kan, much much more heavier tapi aku tetap suka Cuma like I say some original version songs are a bit lembap la tapi bukan aku cakap lagu tak sedap, lagu tu sedap…cuma kena ikut mood la, kalo tengah mood jiwang2 sedih2 mestilah best dengar , tapi cakaplah kalo kata aku tengah mood hurray2 misalnya , terus lagu2 slow Kembara jadi lembab. Again, sorry jangan marah.
tapi nasib baik Real ni dah mengrockkan lagu2 ni ke tahap aku bleh dengar kat public sambil senyum2 sendiri, jari kaki lak pelan2 turun naik ikut beat. Aku takde problem langsung menikmati lagu2 ni. In fact, aku rasa Bunga Bakawali versi Real ni gerekkk sangat. Tiap kali masuk Korus… aku singalong tak ingat kiri kanan haha. Tapi let me stress, REAL pada aku tidak mengaibkan lagu2 Kembara ni. Cuma purist mesti tak suka kot. Apa? Purist!!??… cam betul je aku pakai words2 gini haha.



Actually kalo Real ni ada bawak satu lagu pasal public transport either kat Singapore atau KL dari Kembara ni pun best, bas no 13 or Express Rakyat or the Puduraya song or whatever.
REAL on this cd is listed as Joekunza Obe, Boyima Onawa, Bonniekama, Adiqimata.

Apsal aku teringat BROKENCOP MACHINEBLASTER!
Dan apsal aku tetiba rajin nak berblogging haha...

Last Days KTM in Singapore ( pt 4 ) - fridge magnet and His Highness Sultan Johor writes such an interesting blog entry for Singapore Straits Times.

firstly, souvenirs hunters memang go all out untuk dapat cenderamata/cenderahati kenangan. Sampai ada bahagian rel pun dijual orang beli tak salah aku.

Well...memandangkan belanja untuk hiburan dan kesyokkan diri sendiri adalah terhad...
Jadi aku cuma dapatkan ni..
Fridge Magnets tapi alrite la... aku suka..bleh taruk satu esbok kat dapur Msia, satu kat esbok dapur Spore. Meaningful pasal KTM pe haha. Satu depicts Stesen Tanjong Pagar, satu depicts Bukit Timah Station.

Yang menarik tu ialah tarikh tahun yang diprinted kat Fridge Magnets khas keluaran KTM untuk peristiwa hari dalam sejarah ni. Tahun 1915 dok.




Suratkhabar2 English dan Melayu di Singapura memang have a field day untuk occasion ni.. Siap hari sabtu lepas ada all out seperate section untuk gambo2 last kopek KTM di Singapura.

Paling menarik , dorang ikut buat liputan rumah2 flet didiami keluarga pekerja KTM dan hari dorang pindah dan kucing2 dorang terpaksa tinggalkan.

Sapa tu hari, yang anonymous ke sapa tu reply kat blog posting aku, ah beb, Straits Times siap keluar gambo tempat pusing kepala Loco untuk short end long end sey.




Ini cuma sebagian je, banyak giler gambo2 tiap2 hari dan cerita2 baik kat sokkabar Melayu atau omputeh Singapura.

Tapi satu yang sangat unusual, ialah blog yang ditulis oleh Sultan Johor khas untuk suratkhabar Straits Times Singapore. Dan serious berbual, full of humour dan sangat menarik. Pada aku, memang best giler la, informatif abis dan menarik sangat tulisan His Highness ni. Wah sey, his highness everytime masuk Singapore either drive atau bawak kapal yacht dia. Wow.



ni blog dia untuk sokkabar Singapore pasal kenapa dia nak pandu KTM keretapi terakhir keluar Tanjong Pagar, Singapura.


Why I drove the last train out
July 01, 2011 Friday, 10:00 PM
His Royal Highness, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor, on why he asked to drive the last KTM train out of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.
________________________________________
WHEN I found out last year that Tanjong Pagar Railway Station would be closed, I expressed my desire of driving the last train out of Singapore to the KTM chairman.
What the governments do has got nothing to do with me. To me, it is a sentimental matter.
It was my great grandfather, the late Sultan Ibrahim, who opened the Causeway, designed for both road and rail links. He paved the way, literally, for the first train to rumble into Singapore from Malaysia back in 1923.
I felt it was only appropriate for me, as the ruler of Johor, to drive the last train out.
Besides trains, I fly jets, helicopters, and I sail my own yacht. I am never a boring person. Everything to me is a challenge. I always like to find something new to do. Every day, I look at the weather and think to myself, what should I do today?
So when the KTM chairman said OK, the train instructor was sent to my palace.
There was no train simulator. I had to study the diagrams of the controls and learn about the mechanics of how a train moves. After that, we started the practical lessons.
The first time I sat at the controls, it felt a little funny because there is no steering wheel. There is only the throttle and the brake.
It was a little scary too because, unlike a car, you cannot swerve when you’re driving a train. If there is something on the tracks, you cannot avoid it. You will hit it. It’s not like a helicopter, where I can go up and down.
What helps is that there is a note, or manifest, that the station master hands you before you leave the station, and which you need to sign for. It describes the route you would be taking, what the speed limits are, where the crossings are, etc.
As the lessons progressed, I learnt one other thing: You cannot think only for yourself when you drive a train.
You need to feel it. You need to feel its length, its weight, the momentum and the gradient you are on.
I drove around to places like Negri Sembilan, Kluang and KL, after I received my locomotive driving licence.
Thursday night was the first time I set foot into Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. That’s because when I come to Singapore, I usually drive or take my yacht.
I was told not to go more than 60km per hour, because these are old tracks and they could be a little unsteady.
There were two safety drivers with me at the controls. One of them was my instructor, because I always feel more comfortable when he is beside me.
I also brought my iPad onto the train because I always like to find out where I am and how fast I am going (Yes, you can do that with an iPad!).
I felt a little sad that it was a night journey and that I couldn’t see what was around me as I drove.
But I also felt very honoured, because there were so many passengers. They are a testament to the bond of friendship between the people of Johor and Singapore.
I knew many of them felt sad about the station. Some of them feel that Singapore is developing too fast. But I don’t think so.
We cannot control development. It happens at its own pace. But we must always know our history.
In Malaysia and Singapore, when we go to school, we do not learn about ourselves, but about the world.
You ask a Singaporean on the street: Where is Kazakhstan? Or, say, where is Cape Town? He will probably know.
But Segamat, Malaysia? Probably not.
So this is the message I want to say to Singaporeans: Learn about the history we share.
More than anything else, that is why I asked to drive the train.



tapi kan, memang, aku lalu immigresen Singapore, tengok tempat KTM baru, ada kejong sikit..haha. Nanti mesti gerek punya kalo dah lama sikit.

Mega 'Anything Maiden' Update - old 1988 mag, latest tour book, etc etc

I dont have much spare time for internet, so a huge long one shot update.

Its been few weeks since I talk anything Maiden, since I got the Classic Rock Magazine with the Maiden cover story actually. Its been all blogging and storytelling about trains, KTM last days in Singapore, Crazy Train and other songs from Ozzy's first two albums Expanded Legacy cds, and not forgetting Portdy posting the Heartbreak Station lyrics - one of the best ever train related songs for me - in one of his blog replies to my post.

FIRSTLY
I got this magazine, those type of Magazines that only have 100% Maiden in it that I am so fetish about, yes very rarely you can find these old English Language magazines floating around on ebay, and its even much more very rarely I can find them affordable, but sometimes I got lucky.




This is from 1988, Its called Iron Mighty – The Story of the Maiden. I think this magazine was published to celebrate the release of ‘my eyes get misty just thinking about the beauty of the songs on this album’ – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. The magazine is over 20 pages in color. Some of the pages from this magazine and the content are attractive to me, even some Steve Harris quote on getting tattoos. And of course many brilliant photos of the band members from that period.





I really love the back photo of this magazine.





SECONDLY
Alexander The Great.. . is loved by many of us as such a beautiful perfect song, and the gossip of why this song is never played live, never ever , have raised this 1986 song to even higher legendary status. In Greece, seems this song is very special to the Greece fans, as I think ATG is part of their proud history. Last two weeks, in Athens, Bruce say this words – “ Maybe we’ll think about it “ while serenading the crowd with the chorus of the song.

So hopefully one day we’ll get ATG live, and I hope to be there to see them play it live. Ooohh cant imagine that I am in Mumbai or Bangalore to see Maiden and then came the part “ they wouldn’t follow him to IN”DI”YA!” tired of the combat the pain the glory “. Haha, sorry I am just imagining things haha. I just know that if they play this song, there will be a number of people out there who will have a breakdown just listening to the wind, Alexander’s father voice, and the slow intro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDEfsU0DK-A&feature=related

Check out this Youtube of Bruce singing Alexander The Great chorus in Greece 2011 and his hints.


THIRDLY
Since I am referring you guys to a clip on youtube, here’s another one - its quite a few months but I still love it and just sharing if you guys are not aware of it, check this one out from the Fort Lauderdale Florida show. It’s a quality unique video of Maiden from the higher seats level. The kind person who records this focus much time on Janick. I find this recording amusing to see Janick on stage from such an unusual angle. His guitar playing, showmanship, all his fabulous moves, and to top it off his fooling around with the walk-on-stage Eddie ( so you guys know what song this is ), and the ill treatment of his guitar at the end of the song haha.
Check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWrPxg5vh4Y

If I can afford future concert tickets or fly somewhere to see Maiden for the sixth time, I maybe will consider standing nearer to Janick side haha. Check out Steve Harris comments on Janick’s Blood Brothers solo somewhere below ok.

FOURTHLY
This is the Final Frontier Tour 2011 Programme Book which is only sold for the final leg of the tour which is for Europe. Other parts of the world has only the Postergramme version. Unfortunately those who catch them in Singapore or Indonesia have none at all. Macam sial aku tahu.

This is not mine ,I dont have this tour book. I just got the photos only. I am interested in this and I know you guys would want to see it too. Not to sound like a sour-grape, but I think the rarer Somewhere Back In Time Tour Programme Book ( which is much rarer than the common postergramme ones and only available on Europe 2008 dates ) are so much more beautiful, and I got that one after a long hard search.







But hey, if you guys can find this cheap somewhere, then get it along with the postergramme version as you’re part of the worldwide audience and the dates are printed on the them. Make a nice memory of the event.








FIFTHLY ( is there such a word )
A kind soul in the Maiden forum share this advertisement so I thought many of you may have not seen it before. Its from a Brazil magazine ad. Its saying “ Music. Read what it Is made of “ or something. I think this ad wins some ad awards.



I love it, sort of an attention seeker ad,makes a nice conversation piece, …and I don’t care what my friend say about KISS, he dare call them cheesy, and what other people say about KISS, I like their songs.They have lots of nice great songs. And I hope West Ham gets promoted immediately for Steve’s sake and I still hope Mr Wenger signs Scott Parker haha. And I cant wait for 13 July. The biggest club in the biggest city in Europe is coming… West Ham is the second biggest as far as I'm concerned. next we have Fulham, Leyton Orient, QPR.. all these are clubs that I think are great too.


SIXTHLY ( I think my English really is brain-damaged, Phua Chu Kang please help me )
Like I say on the classic rock magazine post, with Maiden doing a huge spectacular British tour which I so envy people from all over the world who got the opportunity and managed to find a way to make the trip, we get all these famous England’s music entertainment magazines features Maiden prominently on their magazines pages.
This is from one of the Kerrang issues. Not mine again. Its from the forum and shared by kind Maiden fans to those who have no access to the articles. Its even retyped. Salute for sharing.




Kerrang Song Stories May 2011

Best of the Beast

For more than 30 years, Iron Maiden have defined the term ‘heavy metal’. Now more popular than ever, and with a new Greatest Hits albums due in June, bassist Steve Harris walks us through some of the band’s finer moments of the past two decades.

Words: Rod Yates Photos: Ashley Malie, Robert Ellis/Repfoto

Holy Smoke
“Bruce [Dickinson, vocals] wrote the lyrics. I think they’re very clever, having a go at all the religious nutters. [[Not the nutters so much as the ones who make loads of money out of it.]] Did we get much flak from religious groups? Not really. We got more when we did Number of the Beast. By this time I think they’d got tired of us. It was quite a tongue-in-cheek song so we thought, “What can we do with the video?” So I shot all the video myself, and we had a lot of fun doing it. There’s Janick [Gers, guitar] playing a little plastic guitar in a swimming pool. It was all done around the grounds of my old house.”

FIND IT No Prayer for the Dying, 1990.

Fear of the Dark,
“It’s become a massive crowd favourite, they sing along to the intro. You don’t know when you’re writing a song that it’s going to happen, but I knew it was a catch melody. It was written about the house [where the Holy Smoke video was filed], ‘cos it was really old, so it was quite spooky. It never bothered me living there, but it used to freak a lot of people out. There was one part of the house where you ‘d go around the corner, it was very dark and you’d have to reach out and put the light on – it was one of those things where you think that’s something there. Everyone’s had some incident [with the dark] that’s freaked them out.”
Find it: Fear of the Dark, 1992.

Afraid to shoot strangers.
“It’s about the first Iraq War, about putting yourself in to the position of going into war – would you be gung ho or would you be afraid to shoot strangers@ It wasn’t political, it was just an observation of what was going on. At the time we didn’t know it was Martin’s [Birch, producer] last album, and we didn’t really know it was going to be Bruce’s last album either [the signer left the band in 1993, before returning in 1999]. Cos although he was acting up a little bit and showing a few signs, we didn’t really see them until later. We didn’t recognise them, otherwise we might have tried to do something.!”
Find it: Fear of the Dark, 1992

Sign of the Cross
“I think it’s a really strong song, that’s why we opened the album with it, because it’s got everything in it bar the kitchen sink. [[He said the same about Blood Brothers later :-)]] [[Listening to it at the moment. At first I thought the amp was buzzing, then I realised it was the 2-minute intro.]] We thought, “Well, this is us now, and if you don’t like it, piss off.” Some people didn’t get into this era as much cos Bruce wasn’t there, but I think there’s some great songs. [The Gregorian chants at the beginning] set the scene really well. We had some other ones which were fantastic, and we contacted the people and they wouldn’t let us use them because it was Iron Maiden – the Devil himself! Gutted!” [[A lot of chants should be out of copyright now, being medieval – get Blaze to re-record them :-)]]
Find it: The X Factor, 1995.

The Clansman
“I like history and although the film (Braveheart, which inspired The Clansman) is not true to how things really happened, I loved it as well. Sometimes when writing something, you conjure up some imagery, and [upon playing the opening riff] I thought, “Oh year, the glens”, and I decided to write about them and about being part of a clan, not the Klu Klux Klan! Some Americans, being a little naïve, they thought The Clansman was Klu Klux Klan! Did I have to defend against those claims: Not really. A couple of times people asked me, and I just said, “It’s with a C, not a K!”
Find It: Virtual XI, 1998

The Wicker Man
“Shooting this video was a bloody pain in the arse! We did it in LA so you’d think it would be nice, but it was freezing! Absolutely freezing our bollocks off. The best thing was when we set [the giant wicker man] on fire and got warm! But I think the video could have been better, I don’t know what happened with the edit. This was the second time we got nominated for a Grammy ]for Best Metal performance]. I want once years ago and vowed never to go again. I don’t like all that celebrity crap. I get a lot of grief cos the females in my family all want to go, but I won’t.” [[He should send them along in his place then!]]
Find it: Brave New World, 2000

Blood Brothers
“My dad died when he was young, he was only 49. I was actually on tour at the time, I was in Spain. It leaves you in a dark place, but some of your best material can come out of that stuff. It wasn’t just about my father. It was saying we’re all blood brothers and we should treat each other a bit better than we do. I think that’s one of the best solos I’ve heard Janick play. I still get goosebumps when he’s playing it. [[Me too. Sonisphere 2010, absolutely riveting.]] I had the basic idea for Blood Brothers around the Virtual XI era, but it wasn’t a complete thing.”
Find it: Brave New World, 2000

Dance of Death
“Is this inspired by [Ingmar Berman’s movie] The Seventh Seal? Yes and no, because Janick came up with the basic idea, and I took it somewhere else. [[Florida :-)]] It was just this story about someone being drawn into this whole world of weirdos and it just went from there. I saw the film Eyes Wide Shut, and I liked the imagery of that and just the weirdness of it. [[There’s a long long tradition of people being drawn into a dance with the dead or a fairy dance and just about escaping with their lives.]] We’ve got a bit of flak for that album cover actually, cos it was so different. But I still stand by it: I think it’s great. [[I never understood what the fuss was, apart from the artist being miffed that they used an unfinished rendition of it, apparently (on purpose, not by accident).]] You can’t take too much notice of what everyone else says or you’d never do anything different.”
Find it: Dance of Death, 2003

The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
“It’s just a short fictional story. We tried to make out Benjamin wasn’t someone fictional, but we didn’t get very far. We created a website [about him], we were hoping to disguise when it was created, but some hacker got in there and found it, as we knew they would sooner or later. It did create quite a buzz, people going, “Who the fuck is Benjamin Breeg?” [[And what’s his connection with Billy Bunter??]] It was fun while it lasted. [[Not for Benjamin though!]] Is Benjamin the seventh son of a seventh son/ Well, you can debate that until cows come home, but I’m not answering!”
Find it: A Matter of Life and Death, 2006

When the Wild Wind Blows
“I think that it’s different from what we’ve done before. The way we recorded it, the whole process of it was different [the song was recorded in stages]. I just said to the buys, “Indulge me, cos I want to try something different here”, and I think it turned out really well. The actual inspiration came from the Raymond Briggs animation. I remember watching it years ago on VHS, and it made a real impression on me. [[I challenge anyone to watch that and not have a real impression made, even though it’s a cartoon.]] I just took what I remember of it – I know there was this very British old man and lady talking: “Oh year, well, there’s going to be a catastrophe and the world’s going to end, but shall we have another cup of tea?” And that just stuck in my mind, that’s what really started it all off.”


Seventh Topic of A Seventh Topic.
The John McMurtrie photo book is finally coming out. Its been rumoured at the end of the Somewhere Back In Time World Tour, and after the rumours in the forum died down I though this book was cancelled but here it is, and we got the Final Frontier Tour too.
The book is going to be fabulous from the samples and Bruce is writing the foreward. There are fans who already pre-ordered it but I think there is no rush. I went to a Kinokuniya branch in Singapore the other day and I found the Ultimate Metallica by Ross Halfin lining the bookshelf, at about $60. I don’t know, I am still waiting for the Library to get the book so I can go thru it without paying for it, not really interested in the photos of the new lineup of Metallica anyway, and if I ever see Metallica live one day, I sure know where I wont be standing anyway haha. Anyway, Ross Halfin was quoted as saying his latest coffee table Def Leppard book is his best ever. I hope the Library gets this book asap too. I saw the samples on youtube, and its attractive. Tangkap Jambu kind of attractive haha. Anyway, Speakng of Def Leppard, I hope to check out Mirrorball if I got the chance. But no StageFright? And from later 90s albums No Promises? No Long Long Way To Go? Nothing from Slang? No lots of my favourite pop rock songs haha.

EIGHTH

I got this spectacular magazine from 1992. It’s a very special Metal Attack issue 100% on Iron Maiden to celebrate the release of Fear Of The Dark album and Maiden headlining Donington Monsters Of Rock one more time, and it has a special article on the tragedy of Maiden headlining the 1988 festival in front of 107,000 where they were kept in the dark of the deaths of the two fans which happen in the day until after their performance.

Its fabulously super freaking wonderfully thick magazine about 80 pages loaded with nothing but Maiden… I was looking for this magazine for years but its always expensive on ebay, until I search ebay thru countries and wala…ebay.au has this haha and its magically cheap.





so tired

so tired.. ( yes, I really hope for a Bark At The Moon Legacy Edition next )


I will share the content more next time…