004 Dangdut Karaoke: Denis Arista – the Rocker

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This young lady can really belt out a song.  In this one, ‘Aku’, it’s mostly rock with the dangdut showing through occasionally.  This has been the most popular of all the songs we’ve uploaded to youtube so far.  If I can work out why, I’ll be very popular indeed.  But finding out the ’why’ is often a hopeless quest when it comes to Indonesia, I find.

‘Denis’ is quite a popular girl’s name in Indonesia. It’s one to add to my list of unusual Indonesian names.

In this next clip, Denis shares the stage with some bonsai plants.  I can’t see the connection and probably the only connection is that the promoters also have a nursery business.  She’s wearing dreadlocks, which I’m not crazy about:

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Just to prove she can do real dangdut, here’s Denis again, with something we’re a bit more familiar with.  She’s dyed her hair a much paler auburn than in the first clip and she’s wearing a great jumpsuit – very shimmery:

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Jakarta Street Food: Skoteng – bring your own bowl

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There are quite a few variations on warm milky ginger drinks which Indonesians love to eat on a cool night.  As you can see, skoteng includes mutiara (pink sago beads), bread cubes, peanut, sweet beans, condensed milk and jahe (ginger tea), of course.  Sweet yet spicy.

The interesting part of this video starts at 2:20.  You can see how the vendor cleans the bowl and spoon after the customer has eaten.  This is why people bring their own bowls if they can.  That way also, the vendor doesn’t have to wait for them to finish eating before he moves off.  Anyhow, it’s something to bear in mind when you’re tempted by a food stall or small restaurant.  I guess restaurant hygeine problems aren’t exclusive to Asian countries.  We in the West can take a superior attitude because we don’t see what goes on in our own restaurant kitchens.

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Fire Fighting: Village Style

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Yes, we shouldn’t laugh – he’s a brave man - but it IS funny.  At first I thought he was hopping because the roof was hot and they don’t have any footwear.  In fact, he’s trying to jump over a wire.  I have no information as to whether he was injured from the fall.

It’s a desperate and forlorn effort trying to put out this fire with a bucket of water.  A fire in a kampung (humble village) like this can spread very quickly and wipe out entire neighbourhoods.  Of course, for many poor people, their entire lives are located in the posessions they keep in their houses – savings, tools of the trade, heirlooms.  The poorest don’t have bank accounts.

I once knew an American, working as a teacher, a real pig.  The only thing he did regularly was to go home drunk and beat his wife.  He lived in a kampung.  Anyhow, one night he decided to set fire to his house.  The locals were so incensed they gave him a thorough beating.  He only survived because the police arrived soon enough.

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003 Dangdut Karaoke: Ratna Antika can you Name That Tune?

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I’m fairly sure the music is by Mozart, I just can’t recall the name of the piece they’re ripping off for this song.  The title of the song is Abang Roni, if you’re interested.  Ratna Antika is quite a popular performer in Java.  As you can see in this clip, Ratna has a good strong voice and is quite energetic, although she could do with a few sessions with a choreographer.  She has a habit of sitting directly on the stage and singing, which seems wrong, but she is somehow able to carry it off.

Ratna has been in the music game for a while.  Here’s a clip of her singing the same song but looking a few year’s younger:

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Check the guy in the audience at 8:04.  I wonder what he was smoking?

Here’s Ratna Antika again, with the same song but this time with her hair dyed red.  I’m trying to figure out whether this is before or after the first clip in this post was recorded?  Red hair dye is easily reversed, so she could have done it at any time.  It seems it didn’t go down well, as I haven’t seen her in red hair anywhere else:

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002 Dangdut Karaoke: Lilin Herlina – Sexy or Sedate? You Decide

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We at Aboutindo are debating the second of Joko’s personal selection of dangdut vids.  I consider Lilin Herlina to be somewhat of a ‘girl next door’ type, whereas Ana thinks she’s raunchy.  Considering she doesn’t dance at all, I thought a bit of slow tempo music would be a nice contrast after all the Dewi Persik vids I posted before Xmas.  Still, Ana insists.  With a dispute like that, I’ll leave it up to you to judge.

Highlights of this clip include:

  • The soldiers whispering in the corner of the stage.  What are those guys saying? And why are they whispering?  I’d love to know.
  • The guy playing with the toddler at the back of the stage.  Ahh, so cute.
  • The drummer with a fag hanging permanently from his lips.
  • The tambourine guy who actually looks like he’s contributing something, unlike the one from Sonata .
  • Members of the audience passing her oleander twigs (instead of money) which she accepts and later throws on the floor (Indonesian girls don’t really appreciate flowers, guys). And,
  • The strange looking orange haired guy with the black moustache us the MC.  They have a far more dominant presence than someone with a similar role in the West.  I figure it’s partly traditional (the dalang, or puppet master) and partly due to the fact that there is always a line-up of singers, some of whom need back-up singing and even encouragement.

At some point, Lilin had her hair cut shorter.  It definitely changes her looks.  Here’s another laidback Lilin Herlina clip so you can see:

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Badai di Awal Bahagia Part 10: The final battle

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Here is the first part of the final battle, where the second bad guy gets his come-uppance. And one of the good guys too.
The gangsters are rather upset with Diah after what she did to Donna. She made things worse by waiting around for them to come home and starting this shoot-out. Now Rhoma and his detective buddy have come to help out.
The gangster on guard duty waits for the detective to come up close and shoot him. There’s plenty of gunfire, Rhoma does a funny pose at 3:02 and then demonstrates a strange way of running (maybe because of his high heels?). Next there are a couple of tedious fight scenes, where the outcome is never in doubt, but the bad guy in the first ends up lying on barbed wire and in the second over-reacts to every punch to comic effect.
Rhoma is about to rescue Debby, but forgets all about his daughter when he sees Diah get shot. For unknown reasons, Bonang – who can hit a tiny camera with a shot from the hip – is unable to hit a slow running Rhoma, except for a flesh wound to the arm which is soon forgotten. Diah gets the reward due all women who challenge man’s authority. Rhoma is incensed at losing an addition to his wife collection and gives Bonang a firey death. Why are they storing gasoline at a boat yard? Don’t the boats use diesel, like in every other country?

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In our 11th and final clip, Rhoma deals with the last gangster, Herman. It seems pathetic that the climax of the film should be Rhoma beating up on a disabled person. But Herman makes a good show of it. I was also a bit surprised by 1:28, where they roll around on the ground together. Is that a nod to the gay section of the audience? I’m just asking.
It all ends with Rhoma tipping Herman into the well. Herman freefalls for 7 seconds, which means the well is 240 metres deep!  And it’s dry!  That’s incredible that they should sink a well so deep in the swampy ground of North Jakarta, right inside a shipyard, and not find water. 

And that’s the end of the film.  Rhoma is reunited with his wife and daughter, which is to say - one of his wives and one of his daughters.  I’ve already checked Google, but Delsy Linasari who plays Debby doesn’t appear.  Maybe her parents used an assumed name for her and she went the way of most child actors (into obscurity) after that?

I’m pleased to say that this is the first English language synopsis for this film.  I’m also glad that it’s finished.  I feel like I’ve been living in Rhoma’s pocket these past few weeks and it’s not a comfortable place to be.   Anyhow, there’s plenty of action and variety and certainly plenty of laughs in this film. 

Is there anything we can take away from the movie?  Rhoma behaves in a reckless and agressive manner thoughout.  From the very beginning, he gets himself involved in someone else’s fight, bringing disaster on his family.  Having gained the respect of the police, he refuses to call on their assistance when his family is attacked.  Instead, he tries to solve the problem by himself, leading to bigger problems.  In fact, it leads to the death of an innocent person when he participates in a bank robbery.  In the midst of this carnage, he drops everything and orders his wife to make arrangements so that he can perform a concert.  When he is almost assassinated by a music lover (joke), he returns to reality and joins with the police to rescue his daughter.  However, it is not clear whether he is more interested in rescuing his daughter or sharing some tender moments with a woman who is not his wife or relative (haram).  Accordingly, my conclusion?  Pure exploitation.

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Badai di Awal Bahagia Part 9: Cat Fight

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This film has had just about everything – kidnapping, sex slave trading, rape, child abuse, bank robbery, car chase. With this scene we can add a cat fight into the mix. It’s a sure crowd pleaser.
As we can see, the girls are tired and emotional after a long day. Donna is having her period (she asked Diah to give her kerokan, and she’s put Salonpas – a pain reliever – on her temples) The baby has been a nuisance ever since they kidnapped her. But now, when she politely declines a second glass of water, Donna shows the same care her own mother must have lavished on her and attempts to push the glass down the little girl’s throat. This causes Diah to go nuts and the fight is on!
Diah has the best of it until Donna pulls out a switchblade. But you can guess how it’s going to end as soon as Diah notices the trident that just happens to be lying next to her.
It’s a short scene, but memorable.

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Badai di Awal Bahagia Part 8: The Show Must Go On

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This clip has a mixture of three scenes.
First, we have a telephone conversation between Rhoma and his wife where he explains that he hasn’t got time to rescue their kidnapped daughter as he has an important performance tonight. Talk about heartless! Anyhow, the phone call reminds me of the first time I stayed in Indonesia, people would answer the phone without saying anything – they expect the caller to start the conversation, which is a bit weird.
In the second scene, our policeman finds the mute robber. Notice how he pockets the cash smartly, then souvenirs the belt. After all, the mute guy isn’t going to say anything.
This brings us to our third and final scene for this clip. Rhoma performs his song Badai Fitnah. What’s going on with that satanic looking red-eyed smoke breathing goat’s head at the back of the stage? Is he performing some kind of black mass? Or could it be that he’s a secret member of PDI?:

Official logo of political party PDI


As instructed, Rhoma’s wife has brought the group’s stage clothes, but Rhoma doesn’t even look like he’s had a wash before this. He’s still wearing the same old t-shirt from last night, and strangely, the face wound is still fresh, after a full day! The tambourine guy is still with them. What he adds to the performance is anyone’s guess. When are they going to find some money to buy the drummer some sticks?
Meanwhile, at the back and in full light, Bonang takes a shot at Rhoma. If he had done that at the bank, we could have all gone home half an hour earlier.
Anyhow, all hell breaks loose when the policeman spoils his shot. There’s one last funny/weird bit when Rhoma stops to take his glove off and give it to his wife before rushing off to rescue his daughter. It’s important to take care of your props, after all. I love the way he makes a loping running motion, stops to answer her question then lopes off again.
We’re coming towards the end of the film, I promise. But the action is just going to get crazier.

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001 Dangdut Karaoke: Aduhai by Shinta and Arlan

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Joko gave me this and a whole bundle of other music clips when I was in Java.  I’ll upload them over the next few months.

It’s a very sweet version of this very sweet song.  I don’t know anything about the performers.  As you can see, Shinta is absolutely gorgeous.  Arlan’s voice is a bit weak.  The smoke that’s rising isn’t from a fog machine, it’s kretek (clove cigarette) smoke.

The song was written by Rhoma Irama, who we’ve been featuring quite a lot of lately through his old 80’s movie Badai di Awal Bahagia.  Here’s his version of Aduhai  from back in the good old days (can’t remember the name of the film for now):

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Rhoma’s son, Ridho has taken to covering his father’s songs.  I guess he saves on copywrite fees.  In his version of Aduhai, he sings the duet by himself, which is a bit strange (there’s no activity in this clip, just a picture of Ridho:

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If you want to sing along, but want to know what you’re singing, here are the (rather intimate) lyrics:

Male:

Indahnya, indahnya aduhai

<Beautiful oh so beautiful>

Female:

Manisnya, manisnya aduhai

<Sweet oh so sweet>

Duet:

Saat-saat memadu cinta, Saat-saat yang paling indah

Kata-kata bak mutiara, Kata-kata dalam bercinta

<moments when we share love, moments which most beautiful

words like the pearls, words when we make love>

Female :

Mesranya, mesranya aduhai

<Close, oh we’re so close>

Pria:

Rasanya, rasanya aduhai

<Emotion, oh such (strong) emotion>

Female : La-la

Pria:  Hm-hm

(2X)

Female : La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Male : La-la-la-la-la-la

Female:

Menyanyi, bersama menyanyi, mencurahkan rasa cinta dalam hati

<Let’s sing, let’s sing together, expressing the love from the hearts>

Male:

Bersemi, semoga bersemi, tumbuhlah dan mekarlah cinta sejati

<Spring, let it spring, let it Grow and blossom, the true love>

Female:

Indahnya, indahnya aduhai

<Beautiful oh so beautiful>

Male:

Manisnya, manisnya aduhai

<Sweet oh so sweet>

Duet:

Saat-saat memadu cinta, saat-saat yang paling indah

Kata-kata bak mutiara, kata-kata dalam bercinta

<moments when we share love, moments which most beautiful

words like the pearls, words when we make love>

Male:

Mesranya, mesranya aduhai

<Close, oh we’re so close>

Female:

Rasanya, rasanya aduhai

<Emotion, oh such (a strong) emotion>

Male : La-la

Wanita: Hm-hm

(2X)

Male : La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Female : La-la-la-la-la-la

Male:

Sang bunga tersenyum merekah, gembira menyambut tiba musim cinta

<The flower smiles wide, gladly to greet the love season coming>

Female:

Semuanya nampak gembira, seakan turut merasa bahagia

<Everything looks happy, looks like they can feel the gladness>

Here’s a song which is also called Aduhai.  Although its a duet, it has a different tune and different lyrics.  It was written by Reynold Panggabean, who you see at the start of the clip.  The guy in the clip is Benigno, who hasn’t been in the media much since he was identified as being gay, though I don’t know if that was the matter which finished his career. Check out his expression at 2:25 hehe.  The best part of the clip is the dancers, who wear some strange tissue paper- like skirt over their clothes, they do a funny dance:

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Badai di Awal Bahagia Part 7: Rhoma Fights the Mute Guy

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Rhoma fights for the steering wheel and they end up in a lime burning quarry.  Ana swears she hears the mute say ‘keluar’ (get out!) at :20, but I’m not so sure.  We then have a running fight (well, running as fast as you can in stilettos).  Rhoma shows he’s not above playing dirty as he kicks the mute guy in the nuts and later trips him up.

Is Rhoma fighting fairly? You decide.

It’s a bit disappointing that the director seems to lose courage when the fight comes to the lime kiln.  Our two boys get only part way up the ramp and then the fight’s over.  The mute guy does a reasonably dangerous roll down the ramp as Rhoma holds his kick pose.  But I would have preferred to see a nice, vertiginous punch out at the very top of the kiln.

The wad of cash is actually about the amount you will be carrying around with you if you visit Indonesia.  It’s a nice feeling to have handfuls of cash in your pockets.  Even though it isn’t worth all that much.  Rhoma says “itulah bukti dari perbuatanmu” as he stuffs the wedge into the mute guy’s mouth.  It means “this is the evidence of your works”.

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