salam and greetings to all,
this's
a piece from Contengan Jalanan [K²].Contengan Jalanan,true to its
title,really is a contengan.And while I'm putting this teaser up,might
as well do my own contengan regarding this particular chapter too.More
like a 7 years worth of rant actually.Haha.Bear with me.
Never imitate.Create.
A few years back while corresponding with KakYah regarding the trends and patterns in the book industry, this line came up, 'It's okay,kakyah.Kita kan indie yang tak ikut orang'.
Whenever
I'm doing anything artsy,I usually pull a Jesse James more than half
the time ; ie : being an outlaw. I don't really follow any particular
technical rules,nor trends (except for my own Code of Conducts).
The
first time the hikayats were out in the blogs,people went 'man,never
crossed anything like you yet,weirdness and all' (I paraphrased) ,and
with that,I'm glad.Because I know there and then that I've stamped
everything from the butchered language,overused phrases and any little
quirks no matter how weird it was,as purely mine.No cheap imitations.
I
guess I'd rather have people streotyping me as being ME,rather than
regarding me as an entity with no identity (or worse,an copycat cloned
copies).The phrases that I used,the storylines that I used;well
yeah…sometimes the overusings need to be done because uh…apparently
people freaked out when I'm not being me (whatever that means)?Rooftop
Rant is an example.And I think Contengan Jalanan will create the same reaction too,if not,close.
And to a certain extent,I AM a stereotype.A stereotype of being myself that is.Haha.No,seriously.
To
a certain extent,I guess I'm allowed to have my own personal
pet-peeves regarding this create vs imitate case.I've quite a low
tolerance towards copycats.
There's
a difference between taking inspirations versus
taking-things-bulat-bulat-pretending-like-it's-yours,mind you. And of
couse,there's the theory of the polygenesis and diffusion of ideas as
well.But when you see an almost exact storyline peppered with your own
little trademarks in the lines,I guess a little tired sigh is
allowed,no?At least I'm not voodoo-chopping the said Xerox-ies.The word
'acknowledgement' is not a mere jumble of alphabets,y'know.
Never imitate.Create.
Be
yourself.Whenever you're creating something,the piece created is an
extension of you,not others.If you want to be proud of what you
did,creating it from scratch,from what's inside of you will sure give
you pride.Maybe it'll look all sloppy at a first try, (mine did) but you
can always slap a proud grin on your face and say, 'I created that.I
came up with the idea myself'.Feels good to say that,aint it?
Don't
get me wrong.It's totally okay to absorb inspirations from the people
and things around you.Songs that you heard while waiting for your roti
canai,pictures you saw in the LRT,comics you read,TV shows you saw at
the cafeteria,the abang jual ikan at the Pasar Tani,books that you
read…or the other whatevers that trigger,but then shape it so that
it'll become yours.Hyundai created Getz,Suzuki created Swift.Both are
compact cars,but each has individual features that make them distinctly
THEM.
Some might say, 'just be proud of yourself,you're a trendsetter!'
I guess there's a thin line between that and the things I'm ranting about here.
Let's take a look on things that're more personal.
I'd
become quitely rankled whenever I see a 'May Allah bless' from random
strangers,actually.Or when it pops out with no meaning like some sort
of substitute of 'peace out'.Maybe some'll say 'haiya….stop being so
petty!'.I know…I know….but again…Never imitate.Create.
The
reason behind me being whiny on that is because the line is actually a
preserved memory of me and a best-friend of mine in high-school.Sue me
for being petty,but that simple line has deeper meanings to me,apart
from the deeper,greater literal meaning.
Again. Never imitate.Create.
Come
up with something to call it your own.Something like 'may Allah bless
you and me,and the rest of the universe.World peace'.I guess this's
mine as well?Heh.
Same
goes with the list of numbers marking the date and time for the
timeframe of having the work done.There's always one at the end of each
piece for those of you who didn't notice.The time-stamp format is
actually a very very private personal thing.It is actually a me-abah
momento.So,when seeing others using the same format,inadvertently feels
like an insult to the memory.Not joking.
Hence,Never
imitate.Create.and of course in the end all the credit goes to Him the
Almighty.But He also taught us the value of integrity.
May Allah bless.
p/s
: thanks for reading n shoutouting =].and for bearing with me being a
bear-saurus.haha.has been a great 7 years,and counting.thanks
again.maaf for the tone of this piece as well,i'm a bit under the
weather =] but I personally think it's waaaay long overdue.
and oh..blogdrive punya notification masih down,maka anda mungkin takkan dapat notification kalau ada entry baru
God,I need a break…enough Atlas on acid alredi...
T-shirt
Pagoda tie-dye ungu-biru tu dibetulkan letak lehernya di badan.T-shirt
yang jadi hasil kerjanya lepas bosan tengok Pagoda putih yang bersusun
dalam almari.Ye la,.mana ada baju Pagoda warna lain selain dari warna
putih.Dia suka Pagoda pasal dua sebab je,sejuk bila pakai dan serap
peluh.Tu je.
Letak
tali pengikat pendant Leo dan rantai ID dogtag di leher turut
dibetulkan.Letak ikat rambut di belakang kepala pun sama ditelek.Tangan
kanan kemudian mencapai drumstick sepasang yang tersadai di atas
floor-tom.Diketuk perlahan di atas snares.
"Rehat kejap la kot." Pa'an mengesat peluh di dahi.
Yang
lain hanya mengangguk setuju.Gitar disandar pada stand.Drumstick
dibiar tinggal di atas snares.Azad dah mencapai botol air.Fend pun
sama.Pa'an terus bersila di lantai dengan dahi berkerut merenung score
arrangement di tangan untuk Revelation.Ada bahagian yang tak kena dan
dia rasa tak puas hati la tu.Lagu dia tulis,jangan kacau dia nak
kerja.Semua orang maklum dengan benda tu.
Dari
setengah jam tadi mereka buat test-drive untuk Revelation dari atas ke
bawah.Masuk korus je mesti sangkut.Sampai Fend si tukang vokal pun dah
naik mengah nak menjerit not tinggi.
Erdi
turut sama bersila di sebelah Pa'an. Memanjangkan leher nak tengok
bahagian mana yang rasa boleh diubah.Sebagai co-writer dia ada mandat
la nak masuk campur.Kalau tak,mau percuma je kena siku dengan Pa'an.
No secret,no lies
Naked words coming down
tumbling from the tainted skies
Littering even dirtier streets
mucked by he and she,and their shady traits
K²
yang bersila di sebelah Azad mengangguk-angguk kepala sambil humming
korus Revelation,dengan hujung jemari kanan mengetuk kepala lutut
mengikut beat di dalam kepala.Azad pula bersiul jadi bunyi background
mengiringi.Fend yang duduk bersandar di dinding,mata dah terpejam.
"Lagi dua minggu dah nak puasa la,kan." Azad menuturkan tiba-tiba.
"Hmm."
Waktu
bulan puasa memang waktu slow.Jamming session mana buat selalu waktu
bulan puasa.Biasanya dua minggu lepas raya baru pick-up balik rancak
untuk nak masuk studio.Rumah terbuka kiri kanan depan belakang la
katakan.
"Aku tak fikir lagi tahun ni punya baju raya nak pilih warna apa." Azad menggosok dagu.
"Masuk je kedai,pejam mata,cekup satu.Dah.Selesai masalah." Pa'an menggumam dengan dahi masih berkerut merenung score.
"Antiklimaks la kau." Azad cebik.
Pa'an buat tak layan.
Ruang
studio tu kini hanya diisi suara Pa'an yang membebel sendiri dan suara
Erdi mencelah bagi cadangan.K² kini dah tukar lagu.Tak lagi humming
bahagian korus Revelation.
"Kalau
susah sangat instrument nak masuk waktu korus tu,kita buat je terus
lagu ni jadi five-part harmonies." Erdi sengih pada Pa'an.
Pa'an ketawa besar. "Acapella?"
"Dah tu?Kita cukup lima orang apa….." Sengih Erdi masih tak padam.
Ketawa
Pa'an masih bersisa.Dia kembali menghadap score di tangan. "Weng la
kau…..sejak bila Creepy Hues sama macam Boys II Men?"
Ketawa pecah.
"Not bad apa five-part harmonies." K² angkat sebelah bahu.
"Kau…." Telunjuk Pa'an lurus ke arah K². "….jangan nak mula."
K² sengih selamba. "Sailing." Ucapnya sepatah.
"Sailing.Lagu Christopher Cross tu?" Pa'an angkat kening sebelah. "Tu bukan five-parts la."
"Aku lagi suka versi N'Sync dari versi Christopher Cross." Riak muka K² masih tak berubah.
"Kau tau tak N'sync tu boyband?" Azad geleng kepala.
"So?"
K² angkat sebelah bahu sambil membetulkan ikat rambut. "That JC guy
has a good vocal,they've good harmonies.Apa aku kisah diorang tu
siapa."
"Kau
ni memang buat bulu roma aku meremang la." Azad menggumam sambil
menggosok lengan. "Lelaki jenis apa dengar lagu boyband?"
"Yang
bukan stereotaip." Fend yang menjawab dengan mata masih terpejam. "Ada
pernah kau tengok ke lelaki sejati lain pakai Pagoda tie-dye warna
kuning-pink dan masih boleh jalan tegak?"
Haha.Meriah ketawa pecah.
"Aku orang seni." K² buat muka.
"Kau je K²….kau je…." Azad menepuk-nepuk bahu K².
"Bosan la ikut tiru orang." K² sengih sumbing. "Identitinya mana?"
"Hah." Pa'an menepuk score di tangan tiba-tiba.
Empat kepala beralih ke arahnya.
"Apanya?"
"Kenapa?"
"Dah jumpa?"
"Tukar mana?"
Fend buka mata.
Mata
Pa'an bersinar memandang yang lain. "Untuk korus ni,kita kill
instrument untuk every alternate line.Letak solid vocal je."
Kening Azad naik tinggi. "Tak pernah orang buat dalam scene ni de…." Bibirnya mengukir sengih.
Sejenak Erdi membayangkan dalam kepala. "Bertambah-tambah lagi chilly." Dia angkat tangan. "Sold!"
K² angguk. "I like."
"Beauty."
Never imitate.Create.