Of My Moleskine Notebook

As the punters are checking the last few details on their outfit in their bedrooms before going out or the rearview in the car as they’re stuck in traffic, or maybe they’re settling into a good somewhat overpriced New Year’s Eve themed dinner in a restaurant, or merely just lazing around in front of the TV at home; I’m currently typing my last post of the year in a chain coffee shop in KL Sentral, making use of the free wi-fi.

All I can say is: what a year. A year of chaos, of change, of many firsts and experiences which I wish to be the last. I said goodbye to many people, and said hello to many more.

It’s times like this when I look back and review the year back. It would be pointless trying to condense 12 months into five minutes of thought; and the fear of regret or over emotional analysis prevent me from writing furiously into my journal. I can’t write that much anyway, I’ve only got five pages left in my Moleskine; all five pages rationed for my last entry for the year before I start a new volume.

As the 25th December issue of Time had remarked on its last page; to celebrate the year end one must make lists. What a better way to remark on one’s year than a half-heartedly put together list? I mean, really?

So here’s my unabashed, unresearched, personal list of what made 2007, the year it was.

1. 2007 was a year for LOCAL ARTS

This year marked an especially important one in the local music scene with a burgeoning community of musicians and artists releasing their work outside the mainstream, and getting somewhere.

Acts such as Meet Uncle Hussein and Reza Salleh to name the few have risen to public recognition with increased airtime set aside by FLY FM and regular cameos on the 8tv show KAMI; an 8-episode serial that focused on a group of friends coming together through music. The characters frolicked around in gigs on screen wearing t-shirts by local art groups like BANGKIT, POPMALAYA, and Kurasaraksasa; whose designs often sell out at their frequented art events; something that two has grown in numbers.

This year, Central Market, KL has raised its status as not just a tourist spot but also as a centre for contemporary culture opening its arms to students and the young. The Central Market Annexe plays host to new exhibitions, plays, gigs and all round art events. May it be a week full of women’s rights forums and plays; a gig glorifying DIY culture, or just an exhibition of the city seen through the eyes of artists; it’s all been done at the Annexe. Now armed with a Facebook group, punters can be notified about new events ever so often to the point of it being quite annoying.

2. 2007 is for MUSIC

In October, Radiohead self-released their long anticipated new album, In Rainbows. What made this release any different from the other power bands releasing a follow-up album is that for the very first time people could pay as much as they like for an album, or nothing at all.

Call it consumer power, DIY ethic, or a strait-laced finger to years of DRM music downloads; but either way, Radiohead paved the way to many more artists giving away music such as Prince, or even NIN, who learnt from Radiohead’s experience, and put on a basic fee on purchasing their music.

3. 2007 is for HUJAN

In 2006, a group of guys from different parts of the country (and one guy from Indonesia) got together and played beautiful music. They called themselves HUJAN and played to an audience comprising mostly of friends. After just a few months of constant performing at gigs and art events, and a self-released EP “1 2 3 Go”, HUJAN was on the lips of every scenester in KL. Hardcore fans, who follow (and I mean literally) the band around as they perform, wear t-shirt designs by fellow local t-shirt designers with their love for the band on their sleeves. Calling themselves RAINgers, this congregation of followers are in the thousands and often crowd smaller cafes and clubs such as the Laundry Bar at The Curve to show support for their beloved band, often than not scaring the other, less Malaysian scenester dressed people.

Their obsession is not without reason. HUJAN is the most exciting and refreshing act that we’ve had in a very long time. The Malaysian music scene has been lacklustre and dormant for a very long time, with a long list of similar sounding bands producing low quality, low-fi, half-hearted songs. For once Malaysia has produced a band with songwriting skills encompassing smart tongue-in-cheek lyrics to heartfelt and even somewhat poetic lines with jazzy, smooth Strokes-like guitar chords; perfect for singing along down the New Pantai Expressway or for savouring with eyes-closed.

4. 2007 is for Monocle and its friends…

I know, I know, I know. When am I ever going to stop name-dropping this institution? Anyway, since this is my list and I make the calls to my own list of my year, it would be unfair to not give this magazine another mention.

Only been released in February this year, Monocle is one of the most exciting things in print media since The Guardian redesigned its logo and content. Featuring everything from world affairs to culture; from bicycles to military equipment; Monocle Magazine is the brainchild of media-mogul (can I call this super cool nice guy a mogul?) Tyler Brûlé; who I should really stop gushing over and who you should go google; NOW.

Needless to say, nothing much else in print had influenced my view of the world and politics as much as Monocle and its dazzling, page long, crystalline photo supplemented editorials.

5. 2007 is for Malaysian Politics

Fifty years in and people are talking. Well, not just talking, they’re screaming, protesting, crying, complaining, suing, throwing around tantrums and wearing yellow. From the BERSIH Rally calling for clean elections, to the reform of the Malaysian Judiciary; from narrow-eyed whispers about someone’s son in law to claims of racial cleansing (huh?) by HINDRAF; Malaysia’s politics had never been so so dangerously interesting.

6.  2007 is for Consumer Fads

For months on end it’s always been CUPPACAKES this or CUPPACAKES that. People would post pictures of them eating ladybug designed cupcakes on social networking sites; and now we can’t even go to a decent restaurant with a bakery section without being bamboozled by some sort of multi-coloured piece of icing on a sorry excuse of a cupcake.

And then came the donuts. A line started at J.CO Donuts Pavilion when the outlet first opened middle of this year; and for some reason, call it herd behaviour, but six months in and that line is still there. What’s next? Spring rolls?

7. 2007 is for Angkasawan

Who everyone thinks is gay.

Oh well,  7 numbers for 2007. It was a great year. And I can only wish ALL of you a Happy New Year. May the next year, bring in eight more numbers of exciting new things. Best of wishes.

Reading Murakami has greatly improved my relationship with my cat.

We no longer argue for separate territories on the sofa or give each other the evil eye, let alone feign ignorance of each other’s existence.

In fact, over these past few months our understanding of each other has grown ten-fold. We sometimes sit down next to each other and I find myself telling him about my problems, all of them; and sometimes I even bother sitting down on the kitchen floor to feed him. He would come and bite my arm as I lie around the house reading – more Murakami, naturally – and plop himself next to me; like an old friend.

In fact, I no longer feel threatened by my cat, and all past fantasies of stabbing him repeatedly with the kitchen knife – out of annoyance – have completely left me.

Murakami has probably done for the understanding of the feline race as much as what Simone de Beauvoir has done for feminism. While “The Second Sex” was a catalytic work of literature that inspired millions of women to take charge of their own sexuality; Haruki Murakami and his prolific of short-stories and novels have made millions of us literature reading humans realize that cats are not mere creatures who eat fish and sleep in our beds. Amongst other things, his books have made us aware that cats understand fields of meteorology that humans are unbeknownst to and that the feline form is able to comprehend much more about socioeconomics and politics than we are aware of.

Quite similar to how my ongoing delay in reading anything by Germaine Greer on the subject of feminism; I have yet to read Nastume Sōseki’s “I Am A Cat”, and of this I am quite ashamed.

Rest assured, all intention of obtaining a copy is still existent and going strong, as is all determination to further understand the intellectual sentiments of my cat.

Ask yourself a question my friends, are YOU suffering from a bad case of miscommunication between you and your cat? Do you silence your qualms and worries about each other by merely feeding your partner (read: cat) an extra portion of tuna rather than address the situation at hand?

Then read something, anything by Haruki Murakami; and save your relationship with your cat.