My opinion on Keroncong

Awam lembayung.. menghiasi bandar indah permai
Aman terlindung.. oleh pulau s'ribu melambai

Melambai, rona merona
Mengembang layar laju perahu nelayan
Memecah buih menyusur pantai
M'nuju Teluk Jakarta

Indah lukisan alam
Kala senja.. menjelang pelukan malam
Burung putih menyampaikan salam
Kata selamat malam..

(Bandar Jakarta, Ismail Marzuki)

The lyrics above are from the song Bandar Jakarta. I guess you readers wouldn't know the song because your tp young whilst I'm nearing the age of 70 that's why I know.

Maybe the lyrics sounds cheezy, or it doesn't have any substancial meaning or you may think that the lyric aren't as cool as cold play's or as kangen bands lyrics. Maybe it's to monotone and so on and so forth.I'm a big fan of keroncong (i guess you may seem that to be a bit strange) but to be honest with you, keroncong is really nice to hear. I first heard keroncong whilst eating bakmi ini a little warung in Jogja, they played it live with the tenor singers and viola, violin, cello base guitar and flute. At that instant i directly fell in love with it. Keroncong first came with the portuguese settlers from west Indonesia, than it gradually grew to become one of Indonesia traditional music.

The melody of keroncong is magical, it takes you back 50 years to when Indonesia was still a young country and after the revolution. And then you hear the keroncong's guitar melody which like no other music, it has a very distinct melody. Besides the guitar melody, there is also the distinct sound of flute and not forgetting the singer. Usually a woman with a very high voice, or a male with a very low bass voice. I

Sadly now, keroncong, like other Indonesia culture is being buldozed by western and japanese culture like anime (which i think is crap) and other western influences. It will be such a pity if in 10 or 20 years time, keroncong will have vanished like other cultures such as tanjidor (originates from Jakarta).

You may think that this blog is a bit naif, because i usually make fun of things than write what the benefit of something is, but for keroncong is different.I strongly recomend that you take your time to listen to it, and try to enjoy and imagine that you have gone 50 or 60 years back in time to a time where the air is still fresh and there are no traffic jams.

New and modern songs can also be played with the melody of keroncong, i will give you 2 links of video clips from you tube that perform keroncong as a traditional and modern melody of music.

so enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdewXRfCSdM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWMZFU8voHI