Jan 01 2010
Ears to the new year!
SINCE we missed out on a wish list for Christmas this year, we thought we’d put together one for 2010. So here are some things that we would like to see happen in Singapore’s music scene for 2010:
Local Bands At The Singapore Indoor Stadium.
- If Stef Sun and JJ Lin can play the Indoor Stadium, why can’t others?
We all agree there’s no lack of local talent. What would be cool, though, is to have a show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium by local acts. Stefanie Sun and JJ Lin have done it. Why can’t the rest? I know, some might say it’s too expensive and you can’t recoup the cost for a solo act. Er, how about make it a collective effort! Do the math: If it costs say, $20,000 to rent the Indoor Stadium for one day, how much would you have to charge if you were to fill 4,000 seats (see, I’m being conservative here) and still have enough left over to pay 10 good solid bands $1,500 each and still make a little pocket money? Throw in a couple of sponsors … it could work, right? Hm-mm?
More Full-Time Music Managers. Right now, a lot of artiste managers and promoters are doing this part-time, for various reasons, which is a pity, because we could really use them. One of the concerns is that a lot of bands have to do things like PR, marketing, etc themselves, thus keeping them away from concentrating on what’s really important: The music.
More Local Music On Radio.
- Inch Chua (left) gets invited to SXSW, but you don’t hear her on local radio
2009 was good to local music releases. From mega-compilations like the five-CD set 100 Greatest Singapore ’60sto albums and EPs – both physical and download-able – from the likes of The Observatory, JJ Lin, Mi Lu Bing, Budak Pantai, Cove Red, Plainsunset, Mark Bonafide, Amberhaze, Cosmic Armchair, Inch Chua, Another Sunday Afternoon, The Lion Story, Concave Scream, The Fire Fight and more, the local music scene isn’t short of, well, music. Except that we hardly ever hear a peep of it on the radio, maybe just a couple of songs on Safra Radio or 987FM. Is it because the music is crap? No, many agree that the sound quality and song quality can compete with anything by international artistes. So please, more local stuff on ALL radio!
Bring Back Talentime. Now that Singapore Idol fever is over, we’re intrigued by this old local gem. Hey, everybody else is rehashing old TV programmes again right? Talentime was Singapore Idol, Project Superstar and Anugerah before there was Singapore Idol, Project Superstar and Anugerah. Some of Singapore’s top acts like The Tidbits, Kuo Po, Ann Hussein, etc, cut their teeth on that show. Plus, you don’t have to pay franchise fees, and you can set whatever format you want to it. Of course, we’d have to update it for today’s audiences, such as allowing public voting, but we maybe still let the judges’ vote count. And make it such that anybody of any age with any talent can be on that show.
Air Live ‘N’ Loaded Season 2.
- A Vacant Affair performing at a Live ‘N’ Loaded roadshow
In early 2009, Live ‘N’ Loadedwas aired on our TV screens. Now I know that reviews of the show have been mixed, but like biopromax on local music forum Soft.com (www.soft.com.sg): “If only Live ‘N’ Loaded will (sic) be as grand as Singapore Idol, with loyal fans and all.” Impossible? I don’t think so. A little tweaking of the format, a little more thought into the programme, it could be as relevant as Live At Abbey Road.
Local Bands Get Paid Properly. There are many gigs this year featuring international and local acts. Some local acts are even opening for international acts. But there was a beef previously because some of the local acts were not being paid to play. Hopefully, things will be different this year, and bands will get a proper remuneration – not get paid $50, then still must pay for food, drinks and taxi fare home. Seriously, it’s happened before.
Refurbish The Capitol Theatre And Turn It Into A Live Music Venue.
This grand locale would make a nice live venue. True, it will cost millions to redo the place, but isn’t it better than to let the it be an empty shell. And it’ll be cool to have that as a permanent site for live events (and not just music, but musicals too). It’s got heritage, history and substance, why not? It could be a permanent venue for shows like Live ‘N’ Loaded (see above). Or Live At The Capitol. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?
Give A Cultural Medallion To A Pop Musician.
Or at least a Young Artist Award for music. I’m thinking someone like JJ Lin. How much more cultural can he be? He’s relevant, he’s represented Singapore at the Singapore Season in China, he can speak proper English and Mandarin, he writes his own songs, and he’s got the populist vote too. Or Taufik Batisah? Tanya Chua? The Observatory? They’ve crossed cultural boundaries too.
Is that a wish too far? Or simply as Radiohead once sang, a nice dream? Well, as the MDA CIO Yeo Chun Cheng told us: “If you don’t try, you’ll never know. If you fail, you try again.”
Some good words to remember come the New Year, don’t you think?
