Modern Noise, Fluid Genres: Popular Music in Indonesia, 1997–2001

9. Rock and Pop Events: The Performance of Lifestyle

9 Rock and Pop Events     Chapter 7 investigated the acara as a culturally meaningful unit, and the preceding chapter applied those insights specifically to the world of dangdut performance. We learned how musical performance could break down social boundaries and explored the central role of genre and gender ideologies in conditioning concert-related behaviors. This chapter extends the analysis to include two middle-class-oriented rock and pop events: bands performing at upscale cafés, and student-organized concert festivals. We will see how traces of dangdut and other excluded genres appear in these settings, often in unexpected ways, and also how these types of acara contribute to national cultural debates over class, gender, and Indonesian identity in the contemporary world. Café Music: Top Forty Cover Bands Most young, upwardly mobile Jakartans with whom I spoke (including those in the dangdut recording business) expressed fear of and disgust toward dangdut nightclubs and could never imagine setting foot in one. For them, nightlife in the city consisted of an assortment of trendy cafés and bars featuring Western-style rock/pop bands playing the latest imported and Indonesian hits plus some old chestnuts. I found that the instrumentation of these bands (generally known as Top Forty groups) was almost as standardized as that of live dangdut ensembles. The typical Top Forty lineup consisted of three singers—one male, two female, 210 usually wearing tight black clothing—backed by an all-male band composed of an electric guitarist, a keyboardist, an electric bassist, a trap drummer, and a percussionist. The latter played congas, bongos, timbales , cymbals, and the like—all foreign imports—rather than any indigenous percussion instruments. Generally, the male vocalist also acted as the emcee at the band’s performances, addressing the audience and soliciting song requests. Groups of this sort played regularly in café districts like Kemang; in fashionable Central Jakarta clubs like Bengkel Night Park, Hard Rock Café, and Planet Hollywood; in upscale mall food courts (such as the one in Plaza Indonesia); and other urban venues frequented by Indonesian elites and expatriates from North America , Asia, Europe, and Australia. During my stay in Indonesia, the repertoire of these Top Forty groups was remarkably uniform at any given time and consisted of about 75 percent foreign and 25 percent domestic songs. One male vocalist told me that Western hits tended to remain popular longer than pop Indonesia songs did, and therefore learning to play the former was a better time investment. When I asked Top Forty performers if they preferred Indonesian or Western pop, they invariably answered that it depended on the particular song. A male singer added that Western pop was more difficult for men to sing because it required a higher vocal range, whereas pop Indonesia, with a few exceptions like Dewa 19, was usually sung in a lower, more comfortable part of the male vocal range. He added that women’s vocals were just as difficult in both categories, an observation with which his female colleague agreed. In addition to Indonesian- and English-language pop (the latter including hits by artists ranging from Elvis Presley to ’N Sync), Top Forty bands played regional pop Batak and pop Menado songs when they were requested, and, as I discovered, most Top Forty groups knew how to play at least two dangdut songs. These songs inevitably included “Terlena” (Swept Away); popularized by singer Ikke Nurjanah, and “Kopi Dangdut ” (Dangdut Coffee), a highly danceable song recorded by Fahmy Shahab and based on a melody pilfered from the international Latin hit “Moliendo Café.”1 It was not entirely clear why these two songs in particular were popular among middle-class audiences; it is perhaps significant that the lyrics of both songs describe being “swept away”: the refrain of the former contains the pivotal line Ku terlena asmara (I’ve been swept away by romantic passion), while the verses of the latter repeats the lines Rock and Pop Events 211 • Dan jantungku seakan ikut irama Karena terlena Oleh pesona Alunan Kopi Dangdut! [And it’s as if my heart follows the beat Because I’ve been carried away By the bewitching spell Of the Dangdut Coffee Rhythm!] If dangdut constitutes an irresistible intervention in social space, these lyrics could be interpreted as celebrating the blissful surrender of the listener to the seductions of that music. This theme seems rather appropriate for dangdut songs appealing to middle...