Message From The Cave: An Interview With Marcel Thee

An aspiring songwriter, Marcel Thee seeks to strike all boundaries between ear-fondling and adventurous musical sphere. Ranging from the critically acclaimed-crowd favourite Sajama Cut, of which he is the primary creative force, the transcendental-congregational "fuzz-folk" under his own name and into the noetic-novelty seeking attempts such as Roman Catholic Skulls and Strange Mountain, efforts of which staple himself as one of the most prominent figure within Indonesian music scene. When he's not busy poppin' out, Marcel juggles between professional music journalism and fatherhood.

On a frivolous move, I, whose penchant for attention seeking needs to be satisfied, decided to snatch some of his invaluable free time to do a little chit chat.

So here it goes:

Questions are in bold format.

I used to be a rockist but somewhere in 2005, I discovered “Am I Evil” from Diamond Head. The song abridged a precipice that was previously unfordable to “Dazed and Confused” hence I’m able to appreciate every song in Led Zeppelin’s catalogue and go on to an ability to appreciate most popular songs (Read: Non-rockist songs). What song(s) that makes you able to appreciate the beauty of popular music on the first place?

 I don't know if I'd ever seen music as being either rockist, as you said, and non-rock. The first band whose full catalogue I was into was The Beatles, and they pretty much laid the groundwork for popular music, or 'pop' as a genre. I fell for Berlin, for instance, at the same time I fell for Faith No More when I was 9 or so, and it's been pretty much the same ever since. There's never been much of a separation, though as I grew older I recognized that the music I enjoyed the most were not particularly the most popular ones. I've been figuratively blind towards any kind of popular music since the late 90s though, and only recognize a pop hit when it is very big like Ricky Martin or something – if he's still alive. The Black Eyed Keys maybe? I know absolutely nothing about local pop music. I do subscribe to the belief that the more popular and populist your music is, the less challenging and hence, valuable, it is. That's a pretty logical take.

 

In my opinion, “Is this It” hinted that there was a killer scene going on and it’s gonna be big. What album that makes you feel the same way? Be it from the 80s, 90s or 00s.

 

Well, “Nevermind” was one for the 90s, obviously. I was too young in the early 80s too recognize a scene. I guess “Is This It” for the 00s - though I didn't recognize it as a scene starter because I was a little older then and saw it as a great record in and of itself and nothing more. I was never into the other garage rockers of that era. Locally, “JKT SKRG” is certainly one I experienced up close and very much appreciate. 

Speaking of Strange Mountain. Sometimes I think that one can stroke the album title and change it to whatever suits him/her. For example: I scratched the “Shadow of the Metropolis” title on the tape and altered it into “Ghost of Her Shadow” or “Beneath the Willow Trees, The Ghosts are Feasting and She Went Away” and the songs (errr…..sounds) still made some sense. What do you think about that? Are you aware of that “risk”? Do you even consider that it is some kind of “risk” or are you ok with that?

 I don't really understand what you mean, but if we're talking about interpretations, than that's absolutely great. Certainly much better for listeners to draw their own meanings into it than expect some sort of explanation from songwriters. As for my music, you can pretty much do that to any music I make, not just SM stuff.

I read an interview between Boards of Canada and The Guardian. One of the band’s remarks was: “(Tomorrow's Harvest) it's loaded with patterns and messages. There are various tricks embedded throughout the whole body of this album, so it'll be interesting to see whether people pick up on these things.” Are there such patterns or “mechanical/quantitative fact” of any sort in Strange Mountain records?

Nothing particularly eventful, but SM is certainly loaded with layers of unorthodox and processed sounds. There are a lot of early SM songs that have my daughter's voice, piano “playing” in it. And most of the field recordings were done at or around my home, hence the distant traffic humming and such. I think Sajama Cut's “Apologia” had a lot of hidden sounds, though difficult to hear because of the sad production.

Pardon this pompous question but is there a “correct” way to listen to Strange Mountain or Roman Catholic Skulls? I mean, I played some albums like 6-7 times and most of the time I fell asleep before the album came to the end. (I also read somewhere that Awan Garnida or Bembi Gusti said that “a good album is the one that puts one to sleep”.)

 

No, there's not. It should be the same way you listen to any of your favorite music. I do understand that for many, it is still considered music that is a little weird or, god forbid, “experimental”. But it's just music filled with emotions to me – Like all of my other bands. It's pretty simple – or “pop” - just delivered with a very particular mood that is heavy on the remembrance aspect.

Suppose that Jokowi is able to bring this country forward (and that includes promoting the “ekonomi kreatif”-thingy), musicians will be running out of ammo in their arsenal to criticize the government hence, there are some sort of risks that “ill-favored” or irrelevant songs will be more frequently published or on the contrary, the “abstract-yet-free to interpret” kind of music will be abundantly written. What do you think about that?

 

Protest music is fine but it's not something that interests me – certainly if it involves local politics. I guess I'm apathetic, but for health reasons. I'd rather not know than go insane. It's a middle-class survival thing. I can't go to a protest in my daddy's sedan, you know. The small concerns spoken in music ring truer to me, far more than some folk strumming and lyrics about toppling the government. 

Joko Anwar once said that: “Seni itu cair”, hence the saying “air seni”. Futhermore, he deducted that (roughly translated) “an artisan has to choose to put oneself, be it on the commercial side or the “to-hell-with-commercialization-this-is-my-art” side, can’t be both”. What do you think about that? Do you share that view? 

Sure. Obviously most self-subscribed “indie” bands are eager to reach some sort of stature while retaining their cool. You can't really have that without looking like a desperate tool. Certainly not here. Their efforts are embarrassing and obvious. Just sell out; the underground does not need you.

Speaking about music journalism, most of your articles brought out the good in an album but with hinted criticism. For example: On your article about The Slave, you wrote: “Bandung band The Slave are not aiming to re-contextualize rock music; nothing on their debut album “Remorse” will reinvent the rock’n’roll wheel” and ““Remorse” may borrow liberally from the classic rock library a little too eagerly” which I assumed as hinted criticism. And furthermore: “the songs are catchy and solid enough – two important ingredients whose impacts are maximized through its fittingly compressed production” and “that does not mean they can’t knock some heads off while at it” which I assumed as the good side of The Slave’s attempt. My questions are:

How do you manage to reach such balance in your writing? Is that your own policy?

Yes, pretty much. Not too many bands here can be filed under “Undeniably awesome” but I am absolutely a supporter of anyone who wills to be unique and good, so I am always looking at, firstly: the effort, and then the result. I rarely touch any band that I don't like at all, except if they are utterly terrible and can be used as an example of what not to do.

  

I was into Marina and The Diamond’s Electra Heart. Is there any “mainstream” act that you find interesting, I mean, plenty of wellness of an album or song to be heralded?

 

I like Disney soundtracks – that's pretty mainstream. If you mean “mainstream” mainstream, then probably not. Sometimes I listen to The Strokes in the car and Nirvana still when I'm with my kid; does that count? I've been listening to that last Cloud Nothings record a bit, which I enjoy.

What is the most exciting song to be played on stage, be it for “Marcel Thee” or Sajama Cut?

 

Oh, Sajama Cut is much easier to execute emotionally, so it's probably that. I like to be in a team, so that always wins. I have a new band of sorts that are rhythmically quiet powerful, so I'm looking forward to that too.

The hardest song to be performed on stage, be it for its delicate structure or efforts taken to replace the additional instruments (or studio trickery, if any)?

 

Pretty much half of the new record will be a challenge to play, though we will definitely break it into its essence. “Hong Kong Cinema” and “Street Haunts” are also something we've tried in rehearsal but just never had the conviction to play live yet. 

I deemed that the demise of Semak Belukar is due to their attempt to live up what they say. I believe that you are an artist who “practices what he preaches”. For example, you are practicing monogamy hence the lyric “maybe we’re just not ready yet to have less than four wives” on “Fin”. My question is: Is there any song in your catalogue that doesn’t suit your way of thinking? How do you feel when you play it?

 

Well, “Alibi” is one where the lyrics in the literal sense are complete fiction, but the emotion is real. So it's a bit odd when people come up to me – which is nice, but has happen one too many times – and think that I fell in love with someone who fell in love with someone else. That is funny but odd. But most of the songs are from my perspective, which makes it easier to get into night after night.

 

Regardless of Less Afraid and Janji Joni, suppose that you can bring your discography to a certain point of time. What films that you think should put any of your songs in their soundtrack? What song(s) on what film(s)?

 

I think most of Manimal would have worked in an upbeat comedy or sad dramedy. I can't think of any particular local films, sorry. What's a good one? (I don't know either-me).

Taking close attention to Universal Music version of The Osaka Journal’s sleeve, there is some kind of numerical pattern (date?) written after each songs’ title. It’s been almost 10 years and I still don’t know what they mean. Care to explain?

 

Oh, well those are just birthdays of significant people in my life. I think my father, mother, and now-wife is there.

Some bands wrote poor lyrics in english and I won’t name them. Have you ever been sought after by lyricists from other bands for consultation when it comes to lyric writing in english?

 

Hmm, I think I have actually, but lately it has been mostly young music writers. Lots of emails from them. But lyrics...I can't recall any in particular, but it has ranged from really bad alternative posers to pretty good friend bands. 

This is a petty question: Will you re-release apologia?

Yes, definitely. We get a lot of requests from various labels to do this, but it doesn't feel like the right time yet. And this and next year will be a busy one so I don't see it happening anytime soon. Maybe 2016? It almost happened last year but I said no - Would have been too much in a year since we are also re-releasing Osaka.

 

Another petty question: What music do you feed to Anio? Or what music is she into at this period?

She listens to a lot of Strange Mountain, because I do a lot of the recording for that in my home studio/ home office/ her nap room. She's into Nirvana Unplugged and some Coldplay and some Interpol. That's what she likes and that's fine.

Christmas or Easter. Which one you prefer?

Christmas is fun, because there's a lot of get together. Gathering is what life is all about.

 Last petty question: Do you know Tina Yuzuki? If you don’t, google her and thank me later. But if you do/did, kindly ignore this question.

She's a fine lady.

Death To False Journalism-In Defense Of Watain

On October 29^th, Emma Hernandez did an interview with Reverend Bill M, a host of the weekly online radio show Devil’s Mischief and a member of the Church of Satan since 1997. The article was posted in noisey. In her article, she tried to deduct that most Black Metal acts are Poseur Satanist due to their lack of connection with the Church of Satan’s ideology. I didn’t take the article seriously until she mentioned that “He sets the backmasked record straight–and makes bands like Watain look like a bunch of posers in the process.”. Furthermore, she added that: “By their own definition, Watain plays “rock and roll as the Devil once intended” and they stick to it. At their show in Brooklyn earlier this year, the band presented a goat’s skull full of pig’s blood during their set, then proceeded to pour said pig’s blood onto the crowd. Some people screamed. Some people vomited. Some people just accepted it as normal everyday thing for a band that refers to its shows as “rituals.”. But Reverend Bill says that couldn’t be farther from the truth”, a statement of which makes it clear that neither Emma nor Noisey did not properly research the difference of Satanism observed by Watain and Church of Satan.

One can easily find that Church of Satan dedicate itself to LaVeyan Satanism (Atheistic/Modern Satanism) whose core beliefs and philosophies are based on individualism, epicureanism, secularism, egoism, and self-deification, and propagates a worldview of naturalism, Social Darwinism, and Lex Talionis. Additionally, Satanism involves the practice of magic, which encompasses two distinct forms; greater and lesser magic.[6] Greater magic is a form of ritual practice and is meant as a self-transformational psychodrama to focus one's emotional energy for a specific purpose. Lesser magic is based on the laws of attraction and consists of using one's natural abilities to manipulate others. LaVey wrote extensively on the subject of magic and ritual in his works The Satanic Rituals and The Satanic Witch.

This is the most important part of LaVeyan Satanism:

“Contrary to popular belief, LaVeyan Satanism does not involve "devil worship" or worship of any deities. It is an atheistic philosophy that uses the character of Satan as a symbol of pride, carnality, liberty, enlightenment, undefiled wisdom, and of a cosmos which Satanists perceive to be permeated and motivated by a force that has been given many names by humans over the course of time.”

Watain

I’m always an onlooker of Black Metal genre since my preference to proto black metal/first wave of black metal (Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Bathory to name a few) and somehow I’m not too keen of the second wave. I do listen to Mayhem’s De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas and Burzum’s first studio album but I’m not interested in devoting myself to the whole genre. Until I discovered Watain circa 2009. I found that they are something else. They’re not from Norway, their songs are darker yet quite tighter, Erik Dannielson is somewhat cultured and their stage persona is harsher than average black metal band (less white make-up and more blood). I collected all of their studio albums, be it on vinyl and/or cds, and regarded “Sworn to The Dark” as my most favourite Watain’s album thus far. One can easily dance sexily amidst the HellHammerian fluid, bouncy riffs on “Legion of The Black Light” or the sheer catchiness within the unholy “Storm of The Antichrist”, without losing the tightness that will leave you breathless. The Wild Hunt might be their version of Black Album or their weakest release but it requires another analysis.

But if you take some time to read any information about Watain, you will find that they observed Theistic Satanism (Devilworship) and support the Misanthropic Luciferian Order. 

This is the most important distinction between Theistic Satanism and LaVeyan (Atheistic) Satanism:

Unlike LaVeyan Satanism, as founded by Anton LaVey in the 1960s, theistic Satanism is theistic as opposed to atheistic, believing that Satan (Hebrew: הַשָׂטָן ha-Satan, ‘the accuser’) is a real entity rather than an archetype.

Hence the (animal) blood feasting ritual is compulsory.

However Ms. Emma Hernandez failed to identify the difference between the two and supporting her fallacy by putting a non-apple-to-apple comparison, just like comparing a Catholicism observant with a Protestantism observant. Death to false Satanism? Which Satanism is false? I think “Death to False Journalism” suits better.

Probably she hates Watain for shifting to their musical direction to the one on “The Wild Hunt” or she is fond of pigs and cattles or unable to get a free pass on one of Watain’s set or whatever. But her self-righteousness which reflected on her article shouldn’t have earned a place on a website with Noisey’s calibre.

To Emma Hernandez:

Go wash your face and put some time to learn before writing such an ill-informed article. Or you can contribute to Nosy instead.

Sekali Tentang Melancholic Bitch: Balada Joni Dan Susi

Pendahuluan: Sekitar tahun 2011/2012 saya pernah menulis tentang album ini di blog lama sebelum platformnya ditutup dan saya tidak sempat memback-up tulisan tersebut. Akhirnya  saya mencoba menulis lagi tentang album ini. Mungkin lebih baik, mungkin lebih buruk atau mungkin sama saja. Siapa yang tahu?

Dan mengutip sebuah wawancara antara Ugoran Prasad dengan Ardi Wilda:

“BJS itu kan dicuplik dari sebuah “keramaian.” Kalau dia bisamemproduksi sesuatu atau narasi yang baru dan menghadirkan “keramaian” lagi,itu jadi ideal. Aku ngerasa BJS belum terlalu mendorong orang untuk produksi,hanya konsumsi aja.”

Berhubung saya bukan seorang yang punya arah, bakat atau atribut apapun yang dibutuhkan untuk menjadi "seniman" dalam rangka memproduksi sesuatu yang baru, saya masih harus puas dengan menghadirkan intepretasi saya mengenai album ini. Mungkin baru, mungkin tidak, siapa peduli?

Sebagai seorang pria (!), ok, anak laki-laki yang sebentar lagi menapaki usia 30, pertanyaan paling menyebalkan adalah: “Kapan kamu akan berkeluarga?” sambil diiringi tatapan kasihan karena mungkin sang penanya merasa (ya, merasa, bukan berpikir) bahwa tidak ada perempuan yang rela menghabiskan sisa hidupnya bersama saya (sampai sekarang memang tidak ada). Pertanyaan saya didalam hati kepada mereka tentu saja bahwa apakah mereka berpikir bahwa berkeluarga pada saat kondisi dimana Pemerintah belum berhasil menjamin penghidupan yang layak bagi rakyatnya adalah sesuatu yang dapat diterima?

“Rezeki kan sudah ada yang ngatur. Nanti rejeki istri dan rejeki anak bakal dateng kok”.

Saya yang baru saja menemukan Sartre tentu saja berpikir bahwa jawaban tersebut adalah amat lucu karena saya (terpaksa) setuju bahwa manusia dilahirkan tanpa tujuan. Setelah manusia lahir, maka mereka akan berpikir dan menggunakan kehendak bebasnya sesuai dengan kondisi yang sedang mereka hadapi. Urusan kehendak bebas tersebut akan mudah (dan mungkin indah) ceritanya ketika seorang anak lahir dari keluarga kelas menengah ke atas namun menjadi sulit ketika anak tersebut lahir sebagai kelas bawah. Sebagai contoh: Anak-anak yang lahir dari keluarga uber miskin dan terpaksa berakhir di jalanan, entah kemudian di penjara atau di akhirat dalam kondisi yang secara sosial dianggap buruk. Melihat kondisi semacam itu, membuat saya sungguh tidak percaya bahwa ada rezeki yang sudah disiapkan untuk anak tersebut. Yang saya tangkap dari kondisi semacam itu adalah contoh individu yang ikut-ikutan pemerintah yaitu gagal (baca: belum berhasil) dalam memberikan hidup layak bagi keluarganya. Jangan pernah coba menceramahi saya karena saya sudah pernah (dan masih) melihat  (dan juga merasakan akibat dari) kegagalan orang-orang yang sejak berkeluarga  sampai sekarang tidak kunjung berhasil dalam menjamin kehidupan yang layak bagi anggota keluarganya (walaupun satu dari sejuta anak yang berasal dari orang tua gagal tersebut mungkin saja berhasil “jadi orang”). Belum lagi anggapan usang para penganut paham patriarkal akut yang belum bisa menerima kesetaraan gender, tetapi itu cerita lain. 

Jika dosa memang ada, maka, membawa kehidupan entah darimana dengan tujuan hanya untuk menghindari tekanan orang lain (dianggap tidak laku, dianggap tidak lurus, dianggap tidak benar, dianggap tidak-tidak lainnya) dan membuat kehidupan tersebut menderita (dan bahkan berbuat dosa) adalah dosa yang sangat berat. Anda saya persilakan untuk tidak setuju.

Berbicara mengenai kepala keluarga (bisa laki-laki, bisa perempuan) kelas menengah ke atas, yaitu mereka yang memang sudah berhasil lepas seluruhnya dari sokongan dana orang tua atau memang berhasil menanjak tangga kelas sosial secara mandiri, tanggung jawab yang besar sebagai kepala keluarga kadang juga membuat mereka mulai merasa perlu untuk bertingkah menyebalkan. Standar ganda, check, ketakutan kehilangan pekerjaan karena membela rekan kerja yang benar, check, berusaha keras untuk tidak menyusahkan pemilik modal dengan menyusahkan orang lain yang tentu saja memiliki aktiva jauh dibawah pemilik modal, check, orientasi yang semakin terarah terhadap uang dan konsumerisme, check, menjadi gendut dan malas, check, menyuruh orang yang berada dibawah kekuasaannya untuk melakukan hal-hal bodoh dan tidak berguna, CHECK! (silakan tambah hasil observasi anda: mencari hiburan tidak sehat lewat prostitusi? Bisa saja!) Mungkin satu-satunya orang yang berkeluarga dan saya tahu masih mampu memegang teguh integritasnya hanya Wiji Thukul. Silakan sanggah kalimat saya.

Hasil observasi asal-asalan saya diatas seakan-akan mendapat afirmasi dari album Melancholic Bitch (“Melbi”) berjudul Balada Joni dan Susi (“BJS”). Secara garis besar, album ini bercerita tentang “Joni dan Susi termakan utopia kehidupan kota besar yang diumbar di televisi, lalu memadu kasih dan pergi ke kota padahal Pemerintah belum mampu menyediakan kehidupan yang layak bagi rakyat banyak termasuk Joni dan Susi sampai akhirnya Joni terpaksa mengutil dan menjadi pesakitan dan ujung-ujungnya menjadi obyek jualan berita televisi”. Paparan tersebut menurut saya adalah ilustrasi yang paling masuk akal dan jika ada yang mampu menyusun kalimat yang lebih baik, silakan isi di kolom komentar.

Pada sebuah majalah anak muda sekitar tahun 2005, Denny Sakrie pernah berpendapat bahwa (roughly quoted) “Band-band indie jaman sekarang hanya berasa cool karena punya referensi bagus” dan Melbi dengan sukses berhasil menghindar dari busuknya terminologi cool tersebut. Mendengarkan album ini, sulit menampik bahwa ada saja bagian-bagian yang tidak akan kehilangan tempat dalam album studio band-band rock prominen dalam budaya pop barat namun yang membuat BJS terdengar tulus adalah cerita dan konsep kuat dan tentu saja relevan dengan kondisi sosial baik pada saat album ini dirilis maupun sampai sekarang.

Sebagaimana sebuah album konsep yang ditulis dengan semestinya, maka BJS dibuka dengan intro suram yang mencerminkan dibukanya kotak Pandora kesengsaraan dan  mendeskripsikan pertemuan antara Joni dan Susi di ruang kelas dimana Ugo sebagai narator menjelaskan mengenai mimpi utopis perkotaan yang membuat siapapun yang melihatnya merasa ingin dan mungkin harus mencicipi dan menghidupi kekotaan tersebut termasuk Joni dan Susi (“Kota-kota menjalar liar”). Dari mana mereka mendapat visi kehidupan perkotaan tersebut? Tentu dari  dari “kotak gelas” yang mana didalamnya “rumah-rumah terkurung”. Tentu saja ini maksudnya televisi.   

Berbekal mimpi, Joni dan Susi langsung ber “Bulan Madu”. Sebuah mimpi bulan madu tepatnya yang merupakan cara berkelas untuk meludahi para anggota kelas menengah-atas yang tanpa ragu menghambur-hamburkan uang untuk berbulan madu di tempat-tempat eksotis yang tersebar di pojok-pojok luar negeri. Di tengah-tengah “Kapal yang sedang bergoyang” dan Joni yang meminta Susi untuk “Jangan bergerak terlalu kencang-jangan hilang keseimbangan” Joni dan Susi melakukan perjalanan psikadelik penuh cinta dan nafsu keliling dunia sambil diiringi musik gelap yang mungkin saja terinsipirasi “No Quarter”. 

Kemudian tiba saatnya mereka mengucapkan janji setia. Bukan janji setia biasa karena ditengah musik yang merupakan versi gelap dan luasnya eksplorasi dari “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”, selain janji standar semacam “dalam suka atau duka, kaya atau papa, sampai kematian memisahkan”, Joni juga meminta Susi untuk ”lukai aku, belah dadaku, makan jantungku,renggut hatiku” dan ditutup dengan rayuan (atau mungkin janji) pamungkas: “Jika aku Israel, Kau Palestina, Jika aku Amerika, Kau seluruh dunia, jika aku miskin, kau Negara”. Pasangan kontras yang tidak dapat hidup jika yang lain tiada.

Merasa cukup setelah berjanji dan berbulan madu, maka mereka mulai menuju kota (baca: Distopia). Lirik dari lagu ini semata-mata mendeskripsikan perjalanan bersama. Namun yang membuat lagu ini menjadi tidak biasa adalah intro “Ob-la-di-Ob-la-da” dipadukan dengan nyanyian Ugo dan Silir (Joni dan Susi) dengan melodi lagu pop khas Indonesia sampai akhirnya Joni dan Susi mulai memasuki teritori kota (Distopia) pada menit kedua lagu ini yang ditandai dengan irama disko tung-tung khas pantura sembari diimbuhi dengan permainan keyboard sarat psikadelia yang mungkin saja pernah juga di-sampel oleh Justice di album "†".

Tiba di kota, Joni dan Susi memaknai kedatangan mereka lagi-lagi dengan bantuan televisi. Mars Penyembah Berhala adalah sarkasme. Melbi menggambarkan sulitnya orang-orang untuk lepas dari cengkeraman mimpi yang ditawarkan televisi (“oh seseorang cubit aku di pipi/ jika semua ini..hanya dan hanya mimpi”) sebelum lagu ini memuncak dimana lick mengawang a la Interpol ditimpa dengan pidato cuci otak yang meresahkan dan berupaya untuk menahan mata pemirsa pada televisi sebagaimana diteriakkan oleh perwakilan entah dari Departemen Penerangan buatan seorang diktator atau mungkin saja versi Indonesia dari Big Brother.

Meresahkan karena saya yang mendengarkan lagu ini merasa tidak mampu untuk mencabut mata orang-orang lain yang terperangkap mimpi televisi. 

Kebahagiaan kisah Joni dan Susi kini hampir usai. “Nasihat yang Baik” memberdayakan pengaruh post-rock dan/atau shoegaze sebagai bungkus atmosferik nan esensial. Dari bujukan Joni (“Tidurlah Susi”) kita bisa saja membayangkan sepasang kekasih yang sedang berteduh di kolong jembatan atau halte bus dimana sang suami yang sedang kebingungan besok akan makan apa, tengah menenangkan istrinya.

Dan memang sudah semestinya bahwa kebingungan mengenai apa yang akan dimakan disambung dengan “Propaganda Dinding” dan “Apel Adam”. 

“Susi demam dan terbaring gemetar, Joni gusar dan tangannya terkepal, miskin takkan membuatnya putus asa, lapar memaksanya merasa berdaya….dinding berbisik: curilah roti”

Kenapa dinding? Kenapa bukan “setan”? Siapa yang membutuhkan imajinasi tentang setan, jika kita sudah punya televisi (dinding)?

Siapapun segera tahu arah dari “Propaganda Dinding” tetapi teror bisikan dinding itu belum seberapa dibandingkan dengan teror sesungguhnya:

“Supermarket tak pernah sepi, lihat deret yang selalu tersusun rapi, waktu terkutuk kadaluarsa di bungkus roti, Supermarket dan busung lapar adu lari” (Simak juga detak jam di intro). Sepanjang sejarah mendengarkan album musik berbahasa Indonesia, sejujurnya saya belum pernah menemukan majas ironi sehebat ini.

Apakah dinding berkonspirasi dengan minimarket untuk menjual mimpi dan membuat orang datang dan mencari keselamatan di supermarket? Silakan renungkan.

Sulit memisahkan propaganda dinding dengan sekuelnya , Apel Adam,  yang merupakan sebuah narasi yang dibungkus keyboard kelam dan bingung serta secara berkelas memberikan sindiran halus terhadap kapitalisme yang sudah tidak terkendali, mereka yang bermain tuhan dan tentu saja sekali lagi: televisi.

“Kau tak bisa mencuri sepotong roti dan sebuah apel karena pencurian merusak kesetimbangan harga, Supermarket memerangkapnya, sebuah apel jatuh dari lubang di celananya. Pada orang-orang yang menghantamkan hukuman tuhan di wajahnya: Joni berkata: Jangan libatkan polisi di lagu/cinta ini….

Sementara, televisi datang lebih cepat dari ambulan.”

Dan hampir lima tahun setelah album ini keluar, Supermarket (dan mini-supermarket) semakin banyak dan siap memerangkap Joni-Joni baru. Entah sudah berapa orang pekerja televisi yang mendapat makan dari Joni. Entah sudah berapa miliar pendapatan iklan yang diperoleh stasiun-stasiun televisi berkat penjualan berita tentang Joni.

Granat sarkasme Melbi masih belum habis karena Akhirnya Joni Masup TV. Melbi dengan cerdik meminjam dan memutakhirkan pola drum Martin Hannett di Isolation sambil mengkritik Pemerintah yang gagal “membaca jejak luka (Joni) yang tertulis di jalan” sembari memohon kepada Susi: “Susi ajarkanlah kepada mereka, bagaimana caranya mengeja”. Pesannya sudah jelas: Anda tidak bisa mengandalkan pemerintah ketika  anda adalah anggota masyarakat kelas bawah sebuah negara yang carut-marut.

BJS (seharusnya) ditutup dengan Menara. Menara adalah sebuah narasi yang kembali mengingatkan Joni dan Susi akan satu sama lain sebagaimana pada intro album ini. Di tengah-tengah derau gitar berbau Joy Division, Joni dan Susi mengenang betapa pahit dan terkutuknya distopia yang sempat mereka singgahi (“berdarah, luka ditanganku berdarah, luka di tanganmu, saling menggenggam kita mengikat darah kita selamanya), serta merancang janji atau rencana masa depan yang terdengar seperti ancaman balas dendam (“Kita akan bepinak banyak banyak menjadi sekawanan Joni, sekawanan Susi, mari pergi, membuka lahan kebun apel seperti tuhan”). Sindiran lagi kepada kasus apel di “Apel Adam”. Dan anda harus paham kenapa ada kata-kata “tuhan” sebagai “pembuka kebun apel”.

Suka atau tidak suka, tuhan kita adalah para pemilik modal.

Satu-satunya hal yang membuat saya tidak nyaman adalah “Noktah”. Diluar kalimat “pelarian telah berakhir” yang secara lirik mungkin bercerita tentang kematian. Saya belum berhasil menemukan alasan tepat mengenai keberadaan lagu ini di BJS. Apakah Melbi sedang berupaya membuat saya bingung? Atau lagu ini dibuat untuk keperluan promosi, mengingat liriknya yang nyaris tidak ada hubungannnya dengan Joni dan Susi. Saya tidak mengkritik musiknya karena sebenarnya lagu ini cukup berhasil memadukan gamelan dengan sound-sound alternative rock, melainkan saya hanya mempertanyakan urgensi terkait keberadaan lagu ini pada album BJS. (Diluar tempelan outro “Namaku Joni…Namaku Susi” yang sebenarnya sudah cukup dinarasikan di “Menara”).

All in all, Apalagi yang bisa saya harapkan dari album sehebat ini selain afirmasi yang saya kemukakan pada alinea diatas? Mungkin ketika pertanyaan “Kapan kamu berkeluarga” muncul entah dari siapapun, daripada saya jawab “may….may be yes may be not”, saya akan segera lempar album ini tepat ke wajah mereka sambil berkata “Dengerin ini dulu deh Jon, baru nyuruh-nyuruh gue kawin”.