x

I miss that feeling of just walking around, listening to my iPod, all by myself... I clearly miss that and I think I clearly need that atm... Sometimes I feel the same sensation when I'm on my own, walking, just going somewhere, and there's no one around, just the breeze, wind blowing and leaves falling... And whenever I felt that sensation, I started to remember my time back in France...

I miss that quay alongside the Seine, near the Louvre.. Just enjoying the sunshine and hearing the sound of Paris.. Listening to the river, flowing.. The birds, the breeze, sirene here and there, accordion playing in the distant... I need something as simple as that... Just for a moment tho... I know I have other things to do and I can't just be on my own like that... But, I don't know why, I was able to do just that, so easy, when I was living there... When I had nothing else to do, I just decided to take a stroll outside, take the train/the métro, go to WHSmith near Place de la Concorde, and just take a stroll along the Seine, go up the stairs, cross the Île de la Cité, take a glance at the Notre Dame, then visit a few stores at Quartier latin... Man.. 2013-2014. Time flies.. I remember during that time I had a lot in my mind, just trying to move on with my life, not knowing where to go next... I often spent time alone, contemplating, thinking, listening to the music/podcast on my iPod... yeah.. I kinda miss the feeling actually... It was real.


I need to be able to enjoy my time alone, like I used to..

Her.

The thing is... It's so hard not to think about her.

I care, so much. I care so much for her.

And she has been a really big part of my life.

Yusuf Islam / Cat Stevens Relaxing Playlist ++

Hiya!

So.. This is gonna be really, really brief.

I made a playlist consisting of five Yusus / Cat Stevens songs... A relaxing playlist. :3 Put this on a loop and fell asleep... :p Just these five songs.. 

These are his songs that I know of, so far... So, if in the future I found some other songs, I'd probably put 'em in this playlist..


Here's the playlist: 

1. The Wind (Teaser And The Firecat)

"I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul. Where I'll end up, well I think, only God really knows."

2. Katmandu (Mona Bone Jakon)

"I sit beside the dark, beneath the mire cold gray dusty day
The mornin' lake... Drinks up the sky."

3. Sad Lisa (Tea For The Tillerman)

"She hangs her head and cries on my shirt. She must be hurt very bad-ly. Tell me what's making you sad, Li? Open your door, don't hide in the dark. You're lost in the dark, you can trust me. 'Cause you know that's how it must be."

4. How Can I Tell You (Teaser And The Firecat)

"How can I tell you, that I love you, I love you.. But I can't think of right words to say."

5. Morning Has Broken (Teaser And The Firecat)

"Morning has broken like the first morning..."

Beautiful melody, piano, guitar. Quite nice :)


Oh btw... Recently he wrote some stuffs on huffingtonpost. Here are the links:

Profile: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cat-stevens/
Blog 'Alliance of Virtue (or Get Your Bags Together)': http://goo.gl/7VxKfu

He actually wrote some good stuffs there, about peace and Islam and this modern world that we're currently living in... There's also a bit about why he became a Muslim.

"If the real intellectual and heart-cleansing message of Islam is not publicized or promoted, then the field is left to the belligerents and deadly aspirants of Armageddon."

Peace be with you :)

2015: The End of the Year Ramble

Hello I'm back finally woohoo.. *yay*

My God.. A lot has happened in the last 5 or 6 months or so.. 

Got into uni, been studying, meeting new people, got myself a gf, spending plenty of time with her, finally got a car, the car got scratched, got some of my first semester results/grades, celebrated my gf's bday and then she got back at me by giving me first ever bday surprise... Tried video editing... other stuffs as well.. I dunno.. Oh.. STAR WARS.. AND DOCTOR WHO... MY GOD.

I haven't written in a while.. Tbh.. I didn't really have the time...

And now, my first semester is gone.. And I have this month-long holiday, which is quite something..

Anyway.. Yeah.. I feel like writing.. Again..

I kinda miss Paris.. And living/spending time abroad in general... Well.. Maybe... I only miss some aspects of it.. But mainly, the frickin' strolling and the fact that you can go anywhere wherever you want whenever you want with a public transport.. Well, not really "whenever"... But close enough, especially during New Year's Eve..

Oh.. HAPPY NEW YEAR BTW!

Alright.. Back to our main ramble..

Yeah.. I FRICKIN' MISS STROLLING AROUND AIMLESSLY + LISTENING TO SOME MUSIC/PODCAST WHILE I'M AT IT. God...

It's the fact that no matter where you are, wherever you're going, you can always, sort of, feel safe.. And like.. Sure, nowhere is really "safe".. But compared to Indonesia or Jakarta or Depok (where my uni is)... Paris or London or like other places I've visited so far.. They have plenty of spaces for people to stroll, to simply walk around and enjoy their surroundings...

I miss the parks. I miss strolling around and then resting on a bench in some random park. I miss walking alongside a river.. or a canal.. or like the beach.. Btw sorry bad grammar I know.. Not too fussed about it.

There, I said it... I really frickin' miss proper facilities for pedestrians.... We need wider sidewalk/pavement... With plenty of benches.. And open area like proper town squares or parks..

I mean.. I know.. It's frickin' hot in Jakarta or Depok or Indonesia in general.. And if it's not scorching, it's frickin' raining, like, proper tropical storm rain kinda thing... Well, not really.. I mean.. I love the rain.. As long as they're not too heavy.. And I love the Sun as well.. So long as it's not too bright and there's wind..

But like.. We need open space, with plenty of trees.. I mean.. Come on.. Having an open space like parks or squares in Jabodetabek is quite doable, no?

It's not gonna be frickin' too hot. We just need to figure out some ways, like.. I dunno.. Trees.. Plenty of trees but like not like forest-y kinda trees... Just enough trees and grass and ponds or mini-rivers to get things going.. with footpaths..

Like, a week ago or sumthin.. I was walking around in this park at this shopping mall with my gf.. And then we decided to sit down.. And like.. MAN! It was breezing, like, proper wind.. It was a hot day.. But like sitting beneath some trees, just, it already made things cooler with plenty of, or just enough wind/breeze to keep us cool... Trees are the answer.. and lakes..

Anyway.. Yeah.. I miss walking around, strolling around, so much.

Whoa. That's done. I just needed to let it out.. Dangit. :p


Now.. My life..

The Faculty of Law is quite nice.. :) And my relationship has been going pretty well, with plenty of ups and downs.. But we always managed to get back up and yeah... I love her so much. There. I said it in public. Tho I can always edit this out or sumthin'.. but.. whatever...

Back when I started 2015, I never really imagined that my life at the end of 2015 would be like this..

The highlights are probably like: Inten, Faculty of Law, car.. And above all, I have the pleasure of being this lovely lady's bf..

Time flies, quicker than ever.. Just two years ago today, I was in London, enjoying NYE with my sister and her friends in front of the London Eye.. I was still in 12th grade, not knowing where I'd end up being..

I never really imagined that two years after that night... My life would be like this at this moment..

I thank God for giving me the strength to keep on going with my life.. And all the fortune that God has given me.. I'm so lucky.. Just need to make sure that I don't waste all of these fortunes and opportunities..

Bismillah.. 2016, what have you got for me..?

Bahasa Indonesia dalam ujian PTN

Friendly warning: Ini post pake Bahasa Indonesia yang sangat tidak baku karena 1.) Gw udah lama ga nulis pake Bahasa Indonesia, 2.) This is just a short post and I wanna go to sleep :p 3.) I wanna show you a point which I'm trying to make..

Gw ga bilang bahwa gw tau segalanya atau hal2 yang gw sampaikan di bawah ini benar... Bisa aja gw salah besar. Dan, ya.. Biar post ini jadi lebih "kredibel" gw bisa kasih beberapa contoh... 

Tapi... Karena alasan2 di atas, gw mau kasih opini pendek aja dulu :p Gw tiba2 kepikiran hal ini daan, gw coba nulis aja duluu... Sekalian latihan nulis pake Bahasa Indonesia... Walaupun ini pendek banget dan sangat tidak formal.. Or whatever :p

Enjoy...


Pelajaran Bahasa Indonesia yang diujikan di SBMPTN atau ujian-ujian masuk PTN lainnya itu terkesan agak... sia-sia.. :/ 

Masalahnya, ilmu yg udah dipelajarin juga masih aja ga terlalu dipake... Di essay atau artikel2 misalnya, masih aja ada salah ejaan. Entah di level buku pelajaran, perguruan tinggi, bahkan pemerintahan.. Masih ada kemungkinan ditemukan teks yang aturannya ga sesuai sama yg diujikan di ujian2 itu.. 

Sayang aja pelajaran yg dijadiin bahan ujian, yg ujung2nya nentuin masa depan penerus bangsa, malah pada kenyataannya ga terlalu dipake.. 

Yang pas di ujian ada salah sedikit langsung disalahin, pada kenyataannya ga jadi masalah besar. Padahal ujian itu nentuin masa depan banyak orang... :/ 

Gw sih setuju aja, perlu ada aturan Bahasa Indonesia yang baku. Fungsi paling penting dari aturan itu yaa... Untuk mengurangi ambiguitas. Penting banget, misal dalam konteks sosialisasi(?) dan pemberitahuan peraturan2.



And related to that... Bahasa Indonesia itu, dalam bahasa sehari2, mau dipake gimanapun juga, masih aja bisa dimengerti... Sort of.

Bahkan post ini... Gw yakin di post ini banyak bgt kesalahan... Mungkin hampir 100% ga ngikutin aturan "grammar" Bahasa Indonesia.

But hey, gw yakin kebanyakan dari kalian cukup ngerti apa yg gw sampaikan...

:p

Language is very interesting indeed.

Dan gw jadi inget dulu pas SMA sempet bikin essay ttg English dan fenomena Bahasa Inggris di media sosial... contohnya Twitter...

Gara2 Internet dan media2 sosial, bahasapun ikut berubah gitu....

So yeah.

Interesting, as I said. Sort of. :p

Cheers.

Musical Taste: The History (Part 1)

Hiya!

Finally I'm back. I'm back after a month and a half. Not bad, eh?

Was doing university entrance exams.. And so, wish me luck! Really hope that my fellow classmates can also get into where they want to be.

Anyway... As far as I'm concerned... It's holiday season here. Yep. And it's also Ramadhan! Oh, the Holy Month of Ramadhan... Welcome back.

Fasting season.

The cool thing is, from what I've heard... This year is quite special because, I believe, the next school year will begin after Ramadhan, after the Eid. So... I think.. No fasting while studying at school for this year..

But I'm way past that. :p

Anyway... I just wanna write about the history of my musical taste... Sort of.. Thing.

Have been thinking of writing this for quite some time... So.. Let's begin.

Introduction

Listening to songs have been a big, big part of my life... 

Okay. I gotta tell you. For those of you who have seen two of my last three posts... You probably realised that I have this weird taste for music... Yep.

Somehow.. I just can't really click with today's mainstream music.. Which is sort of a bummer, especially if you wanna try to connect with most people these days.

The only sort of recent mainstream artist whom I listen to is probably Ed Sheeran. Yeah. Even for Ed, I don't really listen to him all the time. It's just that, I believe, he's the only recent mainstream artist whose album I bought.

Besides Ed.. I do listen to new stuffs.. I bought several songs that have been played over and over again on the radio or at shopping malls... Catchy songs... Or I guess.. The fact that they are being played over and over again made them catchy? Dunno.

But mostly... In terms of "new stuffs"... I listen to not-really-mainstream-in-Indonesia songs.. Like.. Blur's new album "The Magic Whip" (2015). When Paul McCartney's "Kisses on The Bottom" (2012) and "New" (2013)  albums came out, I also listened to those.. Technically, those are new materials.. Right? I'm currently listening to Carl Barât and the Jackals' new album "Let It Reign" (2015), because I've been listening to The Libertines, again.. They are making a new album!! So that's quite cool. More on The Libertines later.

A few months ago, I was trying to explore more mainstream bands, and so I decided to start listening to the Arctic Monkeys. Bought their first (Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)) and latest (AM (2013)) albums... And in the end.. I quite like them. Though I very much prefer their first album than their latest. :p

Now... So.. What the hell do I listen to, then? And how come I listen to these stuffs instead of more-recent more-mainstream music?

Well, as I've told you before.. Today's mainstream music simply doesn't click. Dunno why. Probably since I was a little boy, I've been, sort of, accidentally "exposed" by "old mainstream music"... And then, a few years later, I developed this unconscious interest towards old mainstream music.. Dunno. Just a theory :p

Or actually... Is it because of genetics? Heard that musical taste is an inherited trait? Nah, dunno.

Okay, enough rambling. I just wanna share the evolution of my musical taste.. Sort of, what I hear, bands that I sort of follow. Yeah.

1. Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, and Queen

The earliest memories that I have of really listening to a band or an artist... I forgot which one I listened to first.. Probably the Bee Gees.

I had this VCD of one of their live appearances and I remember watching it. I also remember listening to their "Love Songs" compilation album... In form of a cassette. Yep. Old school, according to today's standard.

At the same time, I was also listening to Rod Stewart. I remember listening to "The Very Best of Rod Stewart" album. Forgot whether it was a cassette or a CD.

This was back in primary school, I guess.. I used to play them music in my (parents') car.

However, besides those two.. I remember Queen being the one which I really listened to and really follow. I had their three "Greatest Hits" cassettes, and I listened to them over and over again. I also remember that the first ever music CD that I really picked to buy.. was.. the "Queen Rock Montreal" album. I just checked wikipedia and apparently it was released in October 2007... I was in 6th grade..? whoa.

I liked to watch videos of their live concerts. I remember watching the Montreal one, and the Queen + Paul Rodgers one. 

And umm... Fun fact. One of the earliest memories of me using the Internet was actually watching this video of Freddie Mercury doing his thing before singing Under Pressure in Wembley '86. Just, wow. I mean, that was back when I had this dial-up connection thingy.

I mean, you gotta love Freddie Mercury, and Queen as a whole. Freddie was this, charismatic and funny figure on stage. And Queen's music. John Deacon's bass line, especially from "Under Pressure", Brian May's guitar play, Roger Taylor's drumming. Oh man. I just love their music and how they act on stage. The bass-lines, the guitar solos, the fast and hard drumming... The soul of it all.

This is how I fell in love with rock music.

Queen is really the first band that I ever got into. The first band where I learned to memorise the names of its members.

When I moved to France, I started collecting their studio albums... Though right now, I still haven't finished collecting them.. So.. We'll see

I remember still listening to Queen back in 7th grade... 

But actually, in 2008, I was introduced to this band...

Probably the band that influenced me the most.

And that is.....

2. The Beatles

Back in 2008, my father bought two Beatles cover album. One was this choral cover of The Beatles' songs, the other one was Jazz cover.

I actually forgot what made me decide to buy the "1" album. A compilation album of their 27 number one singles. I listened to it over, and over, and over again. In my car, on my CD player.

The Beatles.

I remember before I got that close with The Beatles... I remember thinking, "The Beatles. Yeah, have heard that this is the greatest band ever. But, naah, probably never gonna listen to it."

Well kid. You were totally wrong. You became this Beatlemania, Beatle-geek, Beatle-walking-encyclopedia back in junior high school.

I mean, wow. This post isn't gonna be enough to describe my "relationship" with The Beatles.

The first ever band-related T-Shirt that I ever bought, it was The Beatles. The first ever band-related book, The Beatles.

Back in junior high school, I started collecting all the original UK LPs or studio albums. Coincidentally, they were just releasing the remastered version of those LPs.. Wow. Just. Wow.

The first one that I bought was "Sgt. Pepper's". And from then on, during my jhs years... I tried to save up some money in order to buy new albums. And in the end, I finished collecting the 12 albums, plus the "Past Masters" album. Just. Wow. Good times.

My father went to the U.S. once, and he bought me The Beatles' "Anthology" book. Yep. That giant book. I was so. so. so. just. wow. Thank you, thank you dad.

I bought The Beatles' Anthology documentary, and have watched it for several times. I have also watched all of their movies + The Yellow Submarine. I even went on Tumblr, simply because it was full of Beatles-stuffs.

I don't know why, but back in jhs and even back in 10th grade, when I was already living abroad, I simply wanted to show my friends on how awesome The Beatles are. Frankly, looking back, I was a bit too much on being a Beatlemania.

But hey... You gotta love John, Paul, George, and Ringo. They are brilliant, funny, witty. 

From their Quarrymen-Rock and Roll years, to Hamburg, to their early U.K. success, Europe, the World. When they stopped touring and went on being this band with psychedelic and Indian influences, and then went on producing more music and more everlasting masterpieces. Their breakup, their solo careers, John's death, the Anthology session, George's death, more solo careers...

They are simply. Wow. Looking at how they have evolved and matured throughout those years. Even in the 60s, within a space of ten year, their music went through this drastic evolution. And they frickin' made masterpieces. Different genres throughout the 60s, but their music lives on. They pioneered lots of things, and really made a big influence on the music industry.

I simply can't rank which Beatle is my favourite. They are all unique in their own ways. Same thing goes with ranking their albums or their songs. When an album or a song matches your mood, you can simply enjoy it, even consider it as the best.

I thank God that I was given the privilege to watch Paul McCartney live, back in 2011. It was simply, amazing. I was also given the privilege to visit London and Liverpool, and most of the Beatles' sites. The 3 Savile Row, Abbey Road, the Cavern club replica..

The Beatles is still very important to me. And of course, I also listen to John, George, Paul, and Ringo's solo materials.

Right now, I'm listening to most of Paul's solo music, including Wings' music.

And by the way, June 18th, Happy Birthday Paul!

So yeah, The Beatles. Even the way I speak in English... I think it's sort of influenced by them. :p

3. ABBA, Michael Jackson, John Lennon and U2

Back in jhs, besides The Beatles, I also listened to John Lennon, U2, Michael Jackson, and ABBA. Yeah. Weird combo.

And btw, these are just the ones that I can remember.. sort of. The ones that I remember I really listened to, like, I have the CDs and I remember playing them CDs in my car.

I mean, not that I stopped listening to The Beatles or Queen or Rod Stewart or Bee Gees..

So, back in 2008, after watching "Mamma Mia!", I began listening to ABBA... Limited only to their greatest hits tho.

In 2009, after Michael Jackson's death, my parents bought "The Essential Michael Jackson" CD, and so I started listening to Michael Jackson.

And as for U2.. I can't really remember what made me buy that CD.. The "U218 Singles" CD thingy.

Those three are quite alright, I listened to them quite a lot back in jhs, besides The Beatles, of course.

And for John Lennon, obviously it was because I was listening to The Beatles. I bought the "Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon" album. It was good.

4. Paul McCartney and to be continued

Anyway... Summer 2011, I moved to Paris. And um... Before I moved to Paris, I remember that I started buying Paul McCartney's solo era albums.

Just before I moved, I bought "McCartney" and "McCartney II", newly remastered back then. And, like, whenever I listen to songs from those two albums... They remind me of my early days in Paris.

For example, whenever I listen to "Every Night", or "Coming Up", or "That Would Be Something".. They simply remind me of those early days.

I have mentioned about how I was collecting Queen's studio albums back in Paris. Well, I was also collecting Paul McCartney's solo era/Wings' albums, such as "RAM", "Band on the Run", "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard"... many more.

Moving back to Jakarta, it's getting hard for me to collect hard copies of those albums... I'm still looking for the newly-remastered version of "Venus and Mars" and "Wings at the Speed of Sound". :/ 

Back in 2012, I began to explore more bands, trying to look for new materials... 

And so, I started listening to lots of more bands/artists. A wider variety of genres. Decades of music. Etc2.

Just you wait for Part 2. Just you wait. 

And sorry for the bad English, like, oh no, my writing skill has deteriorated quite a lot. :o

See ya next time. Cheers.

The Beatles. Playlist.

Just another playlist. Enjoy!

1. There's A Place
2. You Really Got A Hold On Me
3. If I Fell
4. I'm A Loser
5. It's Only Love
6. Michelle
7. Here, There And Everywhere
8. When I'm Sixty-Four
9. All You Need Is Love
10. I Will
11. Julia
12. Two Of Us ("Naked" version)
13. Something