Let Me Tell You One Thing...

'Let Me Tell You One Thing' ini digarap oleh salah seorang penulis undangan zine doNGan.  Benda ini ditulis sekitar pertengahan tahun 1999 dan ditulis khas oleh -aiiehensemsekali- untuk zine doNGan edisi ke4 (diterbitkan suku ketiga tahun 1999). duksajo.blogspot rasa ada wajarnya untuk ianya didokumentasikan dalam blog ini sebagai satu khazanah cerita silam.

Tulisan ini bukannya menjelaskan fahaman yang didakapi. Ok, ia adalah satu perkara pada satu ketika, di masa anak-anak muda berkeinginan secara kritikal mencari dan menetap arah tujuan, dan anggap saja ini satu bahan bacaan semata-mata. Diterbitkan semula bagi mengesahkan bahawasanya ia wujud.


Let Me Tell You One Thing by aiiehensemsekali

I don't know how to start this... writing an article to the editor of one of so-called underground scene fanzine. Pretty scary huh!!! This is my first attempt, anyway I'll give my best shot! Don't worry my man. Commenting is a sort of condemning too I guess. What can I say!! Life's a beach.

As well homo sapiens who already exited in this planet for quarter century, I really wanna share something with you guys and gals. Underground scene... to be precise in Malaysia Underground Scene, most precise Kelantan Underground Scene.... I can't tell you when the scene started here in Kota Bharu, but i can tell you one thing,the scene itself ummm... let me put like this, I think the metal scene in Kota Bharu existed scene early 80's. I bet many of you can't remember and realize about the Taman Sekebun Bunga Crew site now is the site of Diamond Puteri Hotel... believe me or not.. ask your dad and elder brother about it.

As a very small kid that time. I was in standard 4 then. The Taman Sekebun Bunga, where there was a music outlet there called "Metal Merchant Force 55-D". Hmm... I always went there to get a stuff mostly metal stuff such as Slayer, Metallica, Sodom, Destruction and tones more. Can you believe it, in 1984 I still remember when I bought a dubbed cassette of Kreator's 'Flag of Hate'. You know its kinda hard to find an original copies of it in ordinary music shops. They sell lotsa stuff such as printed t-shirt, bags, cassette, and LP Vinyl as well. There was a trend t time, where there was only one music dominated; of course I just labeled it as 'Thrash Metal' only... if you guys 'old-timer' can still remember, Audio Music Centre (old!) also provided us with a lot of dubbed compilation album, such as Speed Kills 1 & 2. It was soooo happening then... I miss all of it. The 'abang-abang' there were friendly too... I guess they are, now busy with the kids, huh!

About the band, I don't remember much, as far as I know, there was Slapdeath and I believed there were few more. You know what I think. I was lucky when one day during expo held in Panji couple of years back where Slapdeath performed in front of me... damn cool! Really kick ass... I still remember until today when they covered 'Cry War' by Kreator. Ha ha ha... it was sooo cool. After a few years in 1987-1989, there was no more 'Metal Merchant Force' until the place has been banished a couple years later. Where else can I find the stuff like that, cheap and rare... I keep on wondering how in hell they get the 'Whiplash' LP-Vinyl huh... ?? Unsolved mystery... I guess this postal trading stuff already existed decades ago...

There still some good shop provide the good tapes around. Well we still lack of local talent tapes and demos then, I keep out of track for few years especially in the early 90's. I don't know why, I cannot remember what's really happened in the scene then especially in Kota Bharu. Sometimes I realized at this time... people, youngsters prefer other kind of music which was not offered in the scene...NKOTB maybe? Or Milli Vanilli maybe? I don't really know.

Hmmm... that's all about the old-skool stuffs. The longer I write it might get you guys and gals boring eh... I discovered the new-skool, new age scene in early 1993. I read the first local zine called Aedes (R.I.P.) edited by Scene Maestro, Joe Kidd. Even there were few more which I never had a chance to read. Lotsa band released their debut such as Pilgrims, Suffercation and Modar. I didn't hear anything from Kota Bharu yet...

The scene getting bigger and bigger. The variety of music influenced also expanding. I think this is the time when the real scene really burst (to me). Carburetor Dung released their debut which featuring Boo Hoo Clapping Song. Well allow me to express my view of saying that this evergreen tune had become the anthem for the scene itself (I here a right of saying anything right). Good luck to Carburetor Dung, "you guys come from the street" (according to Li).

Hey... hey... music, music... Oi! and Punk became bigger now. It's so happening... tones of band appeared in the scene lately, even in my lovely hometown Kota Bharu. I prefer Oi! tune anyway, a lil' bit of ska really kick ass. It's awesome dude, and A.C.A.B was the first I eencountered long live boot boys!! To all skinheads... the legend continues with or without you. Peace!! Talking about Hardcore music, I'm very much into this kind of music actually, musically they are slight different from Oi!/Punk... do you realize we're at the same root!!! Fighting for life and unity. Punk and Hardcore kids out there, please bear in mind. Life ain't bed of roses. That's the fact...


Keep on struggling until one day you'll find yourself... your inner self... these thing not only limited to this two kinds of music only. It all about the scene, no matter in what genre you're in. Even grunge, indie, rare or even hip hop. It's really bad, today kids are more into pointing finger to each other because they're different in their school of thoughts. What important is what you're really into. I'm not trying to say that I'm into specific kind of music... "in the underground, integrity lies within" (Step Down - S.O.I.A). Please, please don't split don't whatever you like. Sceneter keep on talking about freedom of speech and human right. So why don't we keep all the kids do whatever they want in this darling scene of us. Even they want to involve in Nazi. This is their right, the scene doesn't belong to anyone in particular... oh my God! Am I sound a lil' bit philosophical now. I guess not... this is what we are now. Face the truth okie.... I think I have to stop writing for now... Maybe I'll see you later, I have some more to write, maybe next time.... I promise...., Peace.

-Aiiehensemsekali-