baybeats 2009 review

Courtesy of Shiro Ang

As a musician and a music fan, I absolutely had to head down to Baybeats to check out the local and foreign acts no matter what, and I figured I might as well share my thoughts in case any of you might be interested.

I first went on Friday. Unfortunately, I missed West Grand Boulevard; but I'm pretty sure they played a kickass set as they always do. Would have been quite curious to hear how their newer stuff would sound like now, though I've always been a fan of their older classics.

Next band I caught was Calerway, which was an Australian band. They weren't particularly remarkable in the "OMG THAT'S AWESOME!!" sort of way, but they were really really tight and their musicianship was impeccable. I was particularly won over by the lead singer's vocal control- he sounded live as he would have sounded on record. Having played on the Esplanade Powerhouse stage before, I can assure you that it is blazingly hot and doesn't particularly make life easy for any musician (although the sound monitoring is a dream- but that's another story for another day...)

I then went over to the concourse to check out Weiwen Seah, better known as For This Cycle. Weiwen is an incredible kid- he's young, hardworking, talented and really nice. In place of where one would expect a throbbing ego to be, is a rather endearing shyness which has clearly won over many adoring fangirls (who chope their seats in front of their idol immediately after the previous set). I really enjoy Weiwen's music and look forward to watching him grow as an artiste and musician. His guitar work is solid, his vocal style is unique and recognizable, and his songwriting avoids the cliché route. If he markets himself properly, my money is on him being well on his way to becoming a local music icon.

The highlight of the night, was of course, The Great Spy Experiment. The band was flawless, delivering exactly what I have come to expect of them. It was a great set, and some of the new songs were really interesting and not too similar to the British-electro-pop that they've often been likened to. However, the set was marred by a ridiculously violent moshpit and weak sound. I cannot understand why people even mosh to The Great Spy Experiment; it's predominantly dance music for crying out loud. The sound system did not do justice to the band either, with the bass significantly underpowered. I much preferred catching their set at Stasis 10 last year at the Substation, where it was an intimate experience between the band and the paying crowd of about 200 people. It is an unfortunate fact that free gigs invite troublemakers who just want to go crazy and spoil the experience for others.

About the volume- my guess is that there must have been complaints from the area; rumour has it that the powerhouse stage was shut down a few months ago because Minster Mentor Lee Kuan Yew found it too loud. My guess was more or less proven right the next day, when NEA officials came down with their sound-meters and demanded that the volumes be turned down, or the festival called off. Sigh. How can we support the arts and make our city-state more vibrant if we can't even tolerate a 3-day music festival once a year?

I couldn't make it the next day, unfortunately. I can't remember why. I would have loved to have caught Meza Virs, which I believe is the first bonafide metal band to grace the Baybeats stage. I was also looking forward to catching Suicide Solution, Flawed Element and In Each Hand A Cutlass- awesome bands. Another monumental step forward would be Opposition Party, old school punk veterans who've been around forever. Alas, I am told that they too were drastically underpowered on stage.

I went down on Sunday promising myself that I'd catch Audiocean, but only managed to catch the last couple of songs. Still, it was completely worth the rush- the energy was great and I'm very proud of them for owning the stage the way they did. I missed For Better Endings to catch Anberlin's acoustic set. It bugs me that I've still never actually caught a For Better Endings set, because I keep hearing their name so many times. It means that they've either had a meteoric rise to the top of their game, or that I've been out of touch with the scene for far too long. Probably both.

Anberlin's acoustic set was good. Stephen Christian's vocals are amazing- they're ridiculously high and polished! There was nothing special about the guitar playing or the harmonies, and the songs were decent. What made the set special was the crowd, which was absolutely packed and massive. I distinctly remember feeling a little chagrined, realising that it is extremely difficult for any local English band to get that sort of passionate support. On retrospect though, perhaps it's just a case of rarity? After all, if Plainsunset announced that they would be playing one last set before retiring, it would probably draw a crowd as significant. If Anberlin played at the Esplanade every weekend, we'd probably get bored after a while. Still, you feel me.

I then went to catch Inch Chua's solo acoustic/electronica set, which proved to be very interesting and rather pleasant. I think she's really developed as an artiste, both vocally and as a songwriter. The music is textured and very pleasant. Mark John, as he always has been, was absolutely killer on the guitar. Extremely musical, yet quirky and fun. I enjoyed it.

I only caught the last bit of Lunar Node's set, but it was nice to see that the crowd was really getting into them. I'm proud of them for coming so far so fast! Could really see their passion. I went over to the Powerhouse Stage to catch Zero Sequence, and they were mind-blowing. I remember catching Zero Sequence a long time ago and thinking that they were virtuoso wannabes. My perception has changed completely. They've gotten a new drummer (Big boy Shamyl!) and an amazing new vocalist (Mang?) who has an absolutely epic, theatric voice. The music soared and the showmanship did justice to it. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and am proud to acknowledge them as a local band.

I caught slight bits of Jon Chan at the Arena, who never disappoints with his heartfelt music. I went over to the Powerhouse stage again where we caught The Ambassadors, a Filipino pop-punk band. They were absolutely awesome, with great musicianship, awesome riffs and rhythms and brilliant harmonies. The drummer was amazing too. I'd describe it as a sort of eclectic mix of Amber Pacific and All Time Low.

The main highlight of the entire festival of 2009 was, of course, Anberlin. I'd never actually listened to more than a couple of their tracks on MySpace or YouTube, but I always thought they were fairly decent at best. The set started late because of sound-check issues. I was going pretty psycho with anticipation at this point, because the crowd was so revved up. If any of you saw a shirtless indian guy making strange and unintelligable noises the top of his voice, it wasn't me.

The band came on suddenly and the volume was cranked up especially high for the occasion. (I like to think of it as the sound engineers' way of giving the finger to the authorities, but of course they would never actually acknowledge that even if it were true...) The volume was awesome. They had some problems with the mike at the beginning, but it was quickly sorted out. The volume was torrential and the music was epic; great sound, awesome showmanship from the band. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Oddly, the mosh didn't feel as ridiculously violent as GSE- probably because the most violent moshing was contained within a circle pit, which is the thoughtful and ethical thing to do.

The pinnacle of my Baybeats Experience so far still belongs to a Filipino band called Faspitch which played at Baybeats 2008. It was hands down the best large crowd I'd ever been a part of, and some of the best music I ever witnessed. It was a lot more intense, whereas Anberlin felt more crazy and mindless in comparison?

Still. Glad to be a part of the music.

72: stoning all day.

I woke up really late, courtesy of the long and taxing day (and night). I did absolutely nothing. Read a little bit of a book. Re-lived my childhood by playing some Raptor and Doom. Been enjoying Songs To Wear Your Pants To, it's absolutely brilliant.

I'm getting uncomfortable at how much time has passed since I last got any work done whatsoever. I want to watch Anberlin tomorrow but I really haven't earned the right to.

73: baybeats 2009

I went to the gym in the morning and met a friend in the afternoon. I got to ride on the open-air top of a Duck Tours bus, which was a fun experience. Would quite like to work with them part-time for a while after my A's!

The girlfriend joined us, she had to take a cab because she was lost and her handphone ran out of battery. We met a couple of more friends there, and we all went to catch Baybeats together. Met a few more friends and plenty of familiar faces. The music was alright. I was a little bit disappointed. Had dinner late and met some more friends at the void deck nearby, where we played Risk until 4am (which on retrospect, was a bad idea.)

Did absolutely no work at all.

74 days left.

I spent pretty much all of today with the girlfriend. I hardly got any studying done, but it was a pleasant day. I feel like it would have been justified if I'd been studying the past few days, but I haven't.

75 days left.

Today I went to Sakae Sushi with my classmates after school. I don't normally spend a lot of time with my classmates, so I thought that I ought to hang out with them. I did, and I had a good time. :)

76 days left.

I know for a fact that I need to be doing a lot more to be at ease with myself. I will only allow myself more time for this when I have gotten my priorities right. I hate how I always say "it begins today" and never manage to follow through. I hope things change now, but even if they don't, I swear I'm never going to give up.

77: need to pick up the pace.

Today was an average day. I was wide awake in school, which was somewhat unusual but very welcome. I managed to cover a decent amount of Cold War stuff, which is only one segment of International History. I met the girlfriend in the evening, and we probably wasted a little bit too much time because I was completely unproductive when I got home. Sigh.

78: lethargy

Sleeping late last night was a bad idea, obvjously. What was strange was that I got up pretty early because my brothers were talking in my room, yet lay in bed for a couple more hours, then spent another 2 hours on the internet. I do feel like I was doing fairly decent stuff instead of the usual mindlessness, but it's time to put an end to this. I'm heading to the gym first, and when I get back I'll do broad overviews for international history as well as both macroeconomics and microeconomics. Ciao.

UPDATE: I did NOTHING. It wasn't really a bad thing though, it was kind of like taking a break, albeit an underserved one. I had a good workout at the gym which exhausted me. When I got home, I ate the Subway foot-long I'd bought, read the papers, then did some more reading. Oh yeah, I believe I went to meet my friends afterwards to play some Risk. It was pretty fun. But I got absolutely no work done. :(

it's only words

This is going to sound a little unusual coming from me, but lately I've felt that my vocabulary is rather limited. I came to realise this over the past two months or so, as I've begun to read more books again. I used to be an extensive reader as a child and I've always been very expressive with my thoughts, but I've also always limited myself to the bare minimum when it comes to words. I strongly believe in a simple, minimalistic approach when it comes to communication. Any additional embellishment is unnecessary and only serves to cloud your message and confuse your audience. For the longest time, I was absolutely content with my level of expression and understanding.

Lately though, I've come to realise that there are actually quite a lot of words that I am uncertain about. I've reached the stage where sometimes I quite literally don't have the words I need to properly express myself. I've always pondered, ever since one of my enlightening KI classes, about the relationship between language and expression. Can you feel something that you cannot express? Does your mastery of your language affect the way you actually think? I was rather uncertain initially, but my present circumstances are proof that what I instinctively felt was true. As with music or even facial expressions, the more tools you have at your disposal and the better your mastery of them, the stronger the influence you have over the message which you desire to communicate.

To put it simply, as I always try to, a mastery of a mode of communication not only allows you to communicate better with others, but with yourself as well- and this can allow you to reach thoughts, emotions, arguments and feelings which you might not have been able to ascertain otherwise. When they're not fully fleshed out, I reason, they don't truly exist in the real sense. This is deja vu to me, because I have most definitely experienced it several times as a musician who has not come anywhere close to a reasonable mastery of my art. It's enlightening, it's frightening, and it's one of the most amazing feelings in the world- that you're actually making progress and covering new ground.

I am now fueled with a renewed passion for learning and understanding the written language, not because I want to impress you with my vocabulary, but because it will help me reach further outwards to express myself better, as well inwards to come to terms with what I might not have been able to express before.

It's such a simple idea, yet holds so much weight. I am humbled.

I feel it's also relevant to address why I stopped reading in the first place. Understanding it is important to me in developing a broader understanding of myself in general, and may be interesting or relevant to you. When I was a young child, I used to read voraciously. It was like jumping into new entire worlds- of fantasy, science, history, the human condition. I could go on for hours about all the magical experiences I had when I was reading as a child (and I certainly shall, but that's for another post). What I couldn't understand initially was why I had stopped reading, but it all makes sense to me now. I stopped reading heavily when I was about 13 or 14. The seemingly obvious answer is that I was won over by the flashing lights and sounds of computer games, anime, movies. Words on a page couldn't compare to that, surely?

I refused to believe that my mind would have been so easily won over by something so primal and juvenile. There had to be something more to it, and at some point recently, it clicked. I was fascinated not by the games themselves, but by the interactive and social element of it all. I was becoming more of an extrovert, spending lots of time making friends, getting into trouble- and in short, I had moved on from vicariously exploring the world of books to literally exploring the world that had opened up in front of me. Staying over at friends' houses, playing in a rock band, falling in love, drinking and smoking, witnessing the life and death of relationships, coming to terms with the reality of death itself... the books couldn't possibly compare to the world which was opening up before my eyes, and responding to my actions. On retrospect, it was like being a newborn baby all over again- touching and feeling the world around me, making mistakes, getting in trouble. The world is much less forgiving when you're an adolescent, but it really is like a second birth.

Things have changed now. I stopped reading because I felt like there was nothing more to learn from books (which is an absolutely absurd notion, you don't have to tell me) and I was far more interested in jumping into the deep end of life itself. (You could say that I was following the Pareto 80-20 principle) Now, it feels like I've come full circle. I'm 19 years old and I have gotten my fair share of the driver's wheel these past 7 years or so. I've made stupid decisions, and I've made good ones. I've been motivated by noble causes, and ridiculously desolate ones. Now it feels like I've learnt the bulk of what I was meant to learn from living life on the edge, and the time has come for me to return to the previous state. It's like a never-ending cycle. Right now, it feels like that there is so much that I have to learn about myself and the world around me from the wisdom of others. I have a deepened interest in philosophy, economics, sociology, mathematics... every single field of learning and understanding. I am making sense of the world around me, I am making sense of myself, and I am on the right path. Sometimes I do things for stupid reasons, but I've always needed a reason nevertheless. For the past 7-10 years, I didn't have a convincing reason to study hard. Now I do. (Just in time, too!)

It's such a simple idea, yet holds so much weight. I am humbled.

(Today I studied Southeast Asia history, doing a large overview of all the major topics in all the themes. I now have a confident and full understanding of the scope of the syllabus, and I'm probably going to do the same for international history tomorrow. It feels good, though I believe that I can pick up the pace. Going to go to the gym tomorrow for a nice satisfying workout. I hope my wrist doesn't hurt. Okay I'm going to drink a can of milo and go to bed. Yay Arsenal! Okay good night!)

79: Imperial Ambitions

I didn't manage to get any studying done yesterday, but I have a fairly decent reason. (Well, better than "I was sitting in front of the computer" or "I was at the void deck with my friends") I had borrowed a few books from my school library (Cold War, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Ethics and Imperial Ambitions) and I found out yesterday that they were already overdue.

Imperial Ambitions is a book of interviews with Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is an amazing intellectual, one of those amazing guys who is incredibly well-read and has thought-provoking views on absolutely anything and everything. He's currently a lecturer on Linguistics at MIT, but his value is far more than that.

In Imperial Ambitions, he reveals, with the ambivalence of a man who has witnessed and considered more than the rest of us, many of the ridiculous atrocities with the US has committed and gotten away with over the years. The truth about Vietnam, Cuba, Nicaragua, Serbia, Iraq and many others is so much more simple than all the complex conspiracy theories we've all heard about, and in that respect it is also so much more horrifying. The hypocrisy is staggering. His insights on "manufactured consent" are enlightening, and his criticisms on foreign policy are moving.

He is an amazing, inspiring man with eloquence, elegance and powerful views that are put across with child-like simplicity. I was so shaken, intellectually, after reading Imperial Ambitions that I couldn't bring myself to pick up my notes because it seemed so petty in comparison to the powerful ideas that I had just internalized and am still working hard to properly absorb.

There is so much we have to accomplish, and worrying about generic examinations seem so foolish and inconsequential in comparison to the issues in the world today. I must remind myself firmly that I have to get past this hurdle if I am to be taken seriously in our society.

Today will be a productive day. To be consistent with what I promised myself yesterday, I'm not going to make further posts until I get a significant amount of revision done. Cheers!

(Do read his debates and views at http://www.chomsky.info/)

80 Days Left

It's 6:13PM on a Friday evening. I am physically a little bit weary; we played rugby for PE yesterday and I am aching in some unusual places. That said, I am going to get started on some SEA History revision as well as do a GP essay for my tutor. Incidentally, the question is "Should the word failure ever be used in education?" I get annoyed at how vaguely defined some GP essay questions tend to be. Are we talking about formal education specifically? Obviously we don't have to, but if I branch out too much then I will have an interesting essay but no clear, central argument. Limitations can be challenging, but sometimes they're just plain annoying. I score well nevertheless, but I am left feeling unsatisfied as a writer. I understand now why celebrities love it when journalists ask them good questions- sometimes you really can't go anywhere with a bad one.

Anyway, I will do the essay and the history revision and update on my status maybe a little past midnight. f I accomplish what I hope to, I'll reward myself (and you) by continuing on the introductory post as well as do another post about the things I intend to pursue and accomplish after my A levels are done.

To a fruitful session!

Human Rights

Section A: What are human rights?
Human rights are what we believe that we are entitled to. We try to have broad, "universal" human rights such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; economic, social and cultural rights and everything else covered in the UN Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In reality, however, the concept of entitlement varies from community to community. For example, I don't see why we should be entitled to bear arms- but that is my personal opinion, derived from my personal experience, and may not apply to another person living elsewhere in the world in completely different circumstances.

Section B: Why should we care about human rights?
I shall sidestep the messy cesspit of moralistic arguments- The denial or limitation of human rights limits the holistic development of individuals. Why should we care about individuals? Because they make up larger communities. Why should we care about communities? Because they contribute to the human race as a whole. Think about it- it is no coincidence that countries which deny basic human rights are also the most economically and socially backward. Every woman or child who is denied an education is denied the opportunity to change the world. Who knows how many geniuses we might have overlooked already? If we want to find a cure for cancer or AIDS, it would certainly help if we had more of our best brains working on it.

Section C: Should we be optimistic or pessimistic about the campaign for human rights?
At a personal level, I believe that we should be optimistic about it because being pessimistic never helped anybody. That said, I think that optimism at this juncture can be justified. As the world progresses (the pervasiveness of the media, integration of economies, blah blah blah) , it is becoming increasingly difficult for any regime to deny people their rights because of pressure from the global community. There is a worrying instance where this doesn't hold true, though, and that is when fear is brought into the picture. Fear of terrorism or random violence, for example, can convince people to give up their freedoms in the name of safety. There are frightfully convincing conspiracy theories abound about how it's all a big scheme by the international elite to exploit the masses. I do believe that as long as we have intelligent and well-informed people in the world who dare to stand up and speak out, things will just progressively keep getting better. Of course, we can't afford to ever get stagnant and take things for granted. Nobody wants to be remembered as the generation that messed it all up.

Section D: What does the continued campaign for human rights imply about the human condition? So deep! I suppose it suggests that we do have a sense of shared destiny, that we disapprove of injustice and that we do desire peace and prosperity for everyone, at least at a superficial level. We ought to take that with a pinch of salt though, because idealistic movements naturally resonate with the more idealistic elements within us. We might claim to want to provide human rights for everyone, but we would probably be disturbed (but not surprised) by the number of people who would rather let the oppressed remain oppressed so that they feel superior (and safe). Does that sound like a crazy idea?

Let me propose a hypothetical scenario- if you could alter history such that the mainland Chinese would be denied the right to migrate and seek out a better life for themselves, knowing that it would drastically reduce competition in schools and in the workforce here, would you do it? What do you reckon the average Singaporean would choose (let's assume his vote were secret :P)? It might seem like the rational thing to do to promote your own (and your offspring's) chance of survival, and thousands of years of primitive thinking has hardwired that sort of instinctive decision making into our brains. Logically (and morally) though, it's the wrong thing to do. Perhaps one of the most revealing truths about the human condition is that we care about ourselves more than we care about each other.

what i'm up against

I have a lot of material to cover in preparation for my A levels. I figured that it would be a good starting point (for myself as well as you, dear voyeuristic reader! I jest) for this blog, and for my revision. Here we go:

H2 MATHEMATICS

01. Sequences & Series
02. Mathematical Induction
03. Binomial Series
04. System of Linear Equations & Inequalities
05. Curves & Transformation
06. Functions
07. P & C
08. Differentiation & App
09. Maclaurin's Series
10. Integration
11. Diff Equation
12. Vectors
13. Complex Numbers
14. Probability
15. Sampling Methods
16. Binomial/Poisson/Normal Distributions
17. Sample Mean
18. Hypothesis Testing

H2 ECONOMICS

Microeconomics
Scarcity, Choice, Opportunity Cost
Resource Allocation in Competitive Markets
Firms & How They Operate
Market Failure
- Market Dominance
- Externalities
- Inequity
Government Intervention
- Rationale
- Methods
- Failure

Macroeconomics
Key Economic Indicators (GDP/GNP, Inflation, Unemployment, Exchange Rate, BOP)
Income/Employment Determination
Macroeconomic Aims & Issues (Economic growth, maximum employment, stable price levels/exchange rates/balance of payments)
Macroeconomic Policies (Fiscal Policies, Monetary Policies, Supply-side Policies)
International Economics (Benefits from Trade, Globalization, Protectionism, FTAs)

H2 History
International History
The United Nations and Global Affairs (1945-2000)
The Cold War And How It Shaped The World (Origins, Extension, End)
The Development Of The Global Economy
Conflict and Co-operation (Arab-Israeli Conflict, Indo-Pakistan Conflict)

Southeast Asian History
ASEAN: 1967-1997
How Independence Was Achieved (Pre-WW2, Japanese Occupation, Post-WW2)
Challenges to Independent South East Asian States (Liberal Democracy? Maximum Govt? Role of Military? Communist Influence? National Unity? Minorities?)
Regional Conflicts and Co-operation (Political Disputes? Racial/Religious Influences?)

H1 Literature
Unseen Poetry
Great Expectations (Dickens)
Othello (Shakespeare)

H1 General Paper
General Paper is General!

All of the above (especially History) are just main points that go into much deeper detail. I realise that the list is not completely fleshed out and I am tempted to list it out, but I figure that it would be an unproductive use of time that would be better spent actually studying for now.

introductions

My name is Visakan Veerasamy, and in this blog I am going to be brutally honest with you, and more importantly, myself.

I'm 19 years old this year, born and raised in Singapore. I am a genuinely rational and intelligent person. There are many, many things that I am passionate about, proud to have achieved and look forward to accomplishing. I am a musician, an activist, a writer. A friend, a lover, a fighter.

For 13 of these 19 years of my life though, I have been defined by something which I have rarely considered to be of much importance, which is my formal education. Regardless of all my hopes, dreams, talents and aspirations, I am constantly reminded by my family and the System that I am ultimately defined, during this phase of my life, as a student. Let me give you a brief history of my experience with the Singaporean education system.

I went to Opera Estate Primary School, which was a pleasant neighbourhood school. I would consistently top classes without studying or paying attention in class, but I never thought much of it then. In Primary 3, I transfered to St. Hilda's Primary School where I had qualified for the Gifted Education Programme (the entrance test for which I did on a whim rather than any ulterior motive). Over the next 3 years I would find myself challenged and inspired, but I still didn't develop any study skills and frequently got into trouble for not completing or handing in my assignments. I made friends with kids fronm everywhere, and was just starting to realise the implications of being labelled "gifted". I didn't study for my PSLE, and got a T-score of 245. (A* for English and Science, A for Math and Tamil) I can still remember my dad slapping me when I showed it to him, because 245 was not going to get you to Raffles Institution.

I went to Victoria School instead, and those of you who know me personally will certainly know that I consider it to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. It was a wonderful experience. The GEP folks at MOE put me on a probation status-I would have to deliver the results that they wanted, or I would be asked to leave the Gifted and rejoin the mainstream. You can imagine what happened. I still hadn't developed any study skills, having invested far more points in improvisation than preparation. I flunked Secondary 1 (GEP), and was promoted to an average Secondary 2 class. I figured that I would be aceing "normal" work, but it wasn't the case. There was simply too much content that I was unfamiliar with, I was far too complacent and hanging out with the slackers at the back of the classroom did not help.

At the end of Secondary 2, I chose a class with 7 subjects instead of 8, thinking that the free periods would be pretty awesome to do homework or study. It turned out to be a poor academic decision; most of the guys in my class were people who were academically weak or had no discipline, and none of us ended up doing any homework. (It didn't make sense to do it if everyone else didn't, and the class was going to get scolded anyway.) We would do crazy things like climb out of school to go play LAN at Zion at Roxy Square, and had all kinds of fun. We just never really paid our studies much attention.

(to be continued)