/// JELAJAH BELANTARA ///: May 2005

Monday, May 30, 2005

NILE: Annihilation of the Wicked.

Ini tentang album teranyar NILE, Annihilation of the Wicked,
yang dirilis 23 mei (UK) dan 24 mei (US) kemarin. Hanya saja sampai
detik ini saya belum mendapat bocoran empe 3-nya buat dinikmati.
Walaupun sekarang tinggal bertiga, yaitu:
Karl Sanders (guitars, vocals)
Dallas Toller-Wade (guitars, vocals)
George Kollias (drums),
NILE telah membuktikan dirinya tak tertandingi di scene subgenre
extreme metal saat ini. Album NILE yang paling kreatif dan kuat.
Kalo membaca technical review-nya seperti ini, tak sabar untuk
mengkoleksinya segera. (Wah saya kok pengen ngeblog pake
bahasa seperti ini ya? :)

---

I'm going to do a song by song thinger because i personally prefer those and so should you:

1. Dusk Falls upon the Temple of the Serpent on the
Mount of Sunrise
Unsirprisingly this is much like Karl's solo stuff, and yes it does win, its eerie, energetic and creepy all at the same time, this is an awesome intro track - 8/10

2. Cast Down the Heretic
Fuck.....well, that intro be's of the fast and awesome, Dallas's voice sounds awesome at the start, as do Jon's and Karl's voice, there is some awesome riffery going on and the drumming is simply ridiculous in its technicality. George is doing an awesome jurb so far, the riffs at 1:51-2:13 win fucking hard. A harmonised begin to the solos at 2:37 sounds deliciously evil and we're onto a solo, which, is fast, ridiculous and generally very awesome, it seems that Karl and Dallas are having themselves and old fashioned solo war, a nice little harmony break there, and the solos are still coming and i'm beginning to love this deeply in the face, the solo section goes from 2:37 to 4:34. A nice slower riff and wait i remember this from the live show. CASSTT DOWWNN THHEE HEERREETTIIICCCC - and Cunty im sorry for using this emoticon but i just have AAARGGHH! a repeat of the intro riff leads on to another chorus, HEEREETIIC THOOUU ARRT CAST DOWWNN. 10/10

3. Sacrifice Unto Sebek.
A slower intro here which is niiiice - a fast drum roll, and to be put simply this is classic nile, very nice riiffery in this song as well with drums, a lovely break at 1:30 leads on to the same riff but down an octave with the singing sounding lovely, ooooh solo - a short nice little solo that wins muchly, intro riff is repeated here, this song is veru brutal, 9/10

4. User-Maat-Re
The second longest song on the album starts with a very creepy and haunting acoustic guitar intro - which leads into a distorted riff with a very fucking nice harmonic, i don't know why but the drums in the slower part here win supreme. the drumming is very fast here - here being the optimum word. a few nice little riff breaks between the riff with the harmonic being repeated. ...I INSCRIBE WITH MY NAMMEE. Dallas's - well i assume its Dallas's voice sounds awesome when he roars that. OOh at 2:55 is a very delicious riff that sounds rather fuckalicious, Ah the first solo - the beginning is very slow and eerie (i dont know any other adjectives) and theres a small break after this where theres a single guitar playing a nice slow riff, the rest of the band comes in and it sounds crushing to say the least, i must say it's very nice to hear the bass clearly at points, at 4:40 the double kicks are astounding. The production is very awesome and everything can be heard rather ideaually, at 6:13ish there is a slow riff that is....divine. Another slow creepy soudning solo wit hthe rhythm in the background sounding McAwesome. The higher lead fades us out of the song. 9/10

5. The Burning Pits of Duat
I was expecting something special from this song when i heard Karl had a bit of trouble learning it. There is a very fast drum intro a la kheftiu, the riff here is very grinding and crushing, there is some very insane guitar playing here, Dallas's voice is again amazing and the crazy guitar playing continues, at 1:03 - possibly the hardest Nile kintaring i've heard, it leads into a fast solo that wins muchly, 1:41 into this song i'm loving it muchly. Holy crap at 2:00 the includence of a clean guitar tone makes this very fucking evil and crushing,. the next solo is again very fast while the rhythm behind it is going nuts, the drumming is, as per usually insane, and awesome, there is a repeated riff that can be compared to that of Nas Akhu Khan She en Asbiu, the 3rd solo is again rather fast and crazy, the end of this song is awesome, i love it. 10/10

6. Chapter of Obeisance before Giving Breath to the Inert One in the Presence of the Cresent Shaped Horns
A bell sort of sounding instrument is used at the start then the band comes in for a lovely fast pounding of your face, 30 seconds in the drumming is very similar to that of Sickening Horror's "Through Blackness It Crawls" - the part about 38 seconds in with the crazy drumming, this is another awesome song, again the riffery is fantastic and every song that i've heard off this album makes me love Nile more than i currently do, the solo sounds devastating and the drumming behind is is fast as a really fast thing. at 2:29 there is a break with a nice little riff and the drumming comes in which is awesome, at 3:05 there is a very egytptian sounding riff which is backed up by a gong being hit, this riff fades out for the end of the song 9/10

7. Lashed to the slavestick
A very crushing and heavy intro leads us into a lovely riff, this song grows on you like fuck and i now love every second of it, - side note, sis it me or do you appreciate songs more when you learn how to play them?). This song could be the meaning of crushing, well apart from if an elephant were to sit on your face. the drumming is lovely and the riffery is even more so. the riff at 2:14 is classic death metal and it is beautiful in its devastating..ness.. This song is a highlight on the album for me because its short and crushing, and it was the first AOTW song i heard thanks to the relapse MP3. The production is awesome in this song. the song goes well into Spawn of Uamenti. 10/10

8. Spawn of Uamenti
A nice little ambient interlude, some think it ends abruptly and it does but awesome so and goes very well into the title track 8/10

9. Annihilation of the Wicked
A very fast intro and the drumming sounds amazing, i remember this solo guitar part live - and i believe that Karl be's doing it. I love the rhythm that joins it at 48 seconds, and i love how it goes into the blast beat. The next riff is lovely, and the amount of harmonics makes my pants happy, the drumming is ridiculous here, George is truly an amazing drummer. 2:25 - 2 lovely harmonics that make me go dancing this song has a lot of awesome in it and the bass drum kicks accompanied by ANNIIHIILLATTIONN OFF THE WIICCKKEEEDDD 5:15 = win supreme, i can't really write much about this song other then say that this song is a big bundle of awesome. there is a very nice riff at 7:10 which is general awesome (i know i've said awesome a shit amount of times) the song goes on for more niceness. 9/10

10. Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten
a bell/gong sort of thing creates the intro and an evil sounding riff accompanies it. it goes into a slower verse with some amazing vocals in it. i can see what Karl meant when he said that dallas ripped up the recording studio - i think he said that anyway - this song is another bundle of lovelyness. at 4:11 there is a great breakdown. the solos are 5:04 is text book nile. at 6:51 there is a part reminiscent of stones of sorrow, there is a slow ending to this song, which is calmer than most of the album which easily leads us out of the album. 9/10

Overall i deem this album 9/10. it's not their best but it is still required listening, i know its a long review but hey its good album, these are the scores for all of Nile's albums so far:

Amongst The Catacombs of Nephren Ka 10/10
Black Seed of Vengeance 9/10
In Their Darkened Shrine 10/10
Annihilation of the Wicked 9/10

---

Diambil dari review A-W-E-S-O-M-0, dan situs resmi NILE.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Perpetual Image War!

" To make abstactions hold in reality is to destroy reality."
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Persepsi sudah sangat mendalam mengalami tahap kontemplasi
dalam relung-relung otak dan hati manusia. Memahami persepsi
adalah pekerjaan sangat berat, ketika tanpa ampun bahkan berada
dalam tataran paling ujung di atas tanduk pemikiran.
Segalanya menampakkan dua sisi. Segalanya bisa berwujud
kebaikan tak terbatas, namun di sisi lain adalah seringai tipu daya
yang kataklismik.

Ada yang terjadi sewaktu saya menyaksikan transisi dari Jedi ke
Dark Side of Force dalam saga ke III StarWars ini.
Dalam pandangan saya (baca: persepsi), segala kecamuk dalam
diri Anakin Skywalker dewasa tidak sependek film berdurasi hanya
2 jam ini (bahkan kalo pun dipanjangin, membalik hati menuju
sisi lain benar-benar membutuhkan energi tidak terkira besarnya.
Bagi yang berpikir, ini sesuatu yang terlalu besar untuk
dipertaruhkan). Karena mengihwali persepsi, bagi persepsi saya
akan sama dengan alat membunuh yang sempurna.
Mari kita lihat mengapa.

DUNIA SANDIWARA

Demikian juga pemakaian simbol dalam mengirim pesan.
Para aktivis anti-mainstream pun tak mudah melepaskan emosi
mereka terhadap kekejaman tirani tipu daya pelempar komoditi
pembentuk imaji yang sukses mengelabui hampir 3/4 jumlah
penduduk dunia, para pesekongkol kelas kakap.
Hehehe... tuduhan yang sepihak kiranya, karena toh juga kadang
saya masih pake baju bermerek ADIDAS, makan pagi pake INDOMIE,
atau sekedar shaving pake silet lokal yang sering kurang tajam dan
perlu konsentrasi penuh agar hasil cukuran bisa rapi.
Hmmm, kelihatannya hipokrit, namun sebenarnya saya hanya ingin
menggarisbawahi bahwasanya ada perbedaan fundamental antara
hipokrit dengan persepsi. Agar tidak berbelit, saya tetap akan
mempermukakan ihwal persepsi.

Serangan balik tersebut secara cerdas bisa halus sifatnya.
Termasuk propaganda anti-propaganda alias culture-jamming.
Adakalanya berupa detournement (imej radikal yang subversif dan
cenderung memperkuat pesan oposisi secara lebih radikal),
ada pula jenis recuperation (ide dan imej radikal yang menjadi
komoditas dan aman). Kaos bergambar logo McDonald diganti
dengan tulisan McShit, kaos berlogo Nestle dengan tulisan
'We Kill All Babies' adalah contoh detournement. Atau kampanye
AGAINST ANIMAL TESTING-nya BodyShop adalah kasus nyata
recuperation. Kemarin ada cerita. Laporan teman saya yang
pengusaha warnet. Polisi atas perintah dari pemerintah menyita
komputer aset warnet gara-gara memakai software Microsoft yang
bajakan. Untung katanya cuman satu unit. Di Cilacap bahkan
seluruh komputer diangkut. Dan kampanye keberpihakan
konglomerasi dan korporasi global mengenai produknya ternyata
lebih bersifat recuperation. Itu pun pasti tak akan lepas dengan
faktor kepentingan. Acapkali gaya yang demikian akan serta merta
mengambil imej pemberontakan, dan saya menganggapnya
pencurian elemen2 di dalamnya secara terselubung.
Pembonceng yang culas. Licik memang. Semua bisa diklaim sepihak.
Wajar saja toh ini zaman masih milik kontemporerisme hingga suatu
saat entah kapan. Umberto Eco anticipated this 'semiological
guerrilla warfare' in his 1986 book Travels in Hyperreality.
He wrote: 'I am proposing an action which would urge the audience
to control the message and its multiple possibilities of
interpretation.' When corporate interests go so far as to employ
'viral marketing' — where, for example, two good-looking,
trendy people are employed to walk around public places
talking loudly about how great Stella Artois is —
subverting these acts seems to some activists the only
meaningful way to protest.

Recuperation is the process by which "radical" ideas and images are commodified and incorporated within mainstream society, such as the [[American Civil Rights Movement|movement for civil rights in the United States]] or the push for [[women's rights]]. It can be the opposite of [[detournement]]. It can also be the process by which [[medicine|medical]] patients recover from [[disease]], [[injury]], or [[mental illness]].
(taken from www.wikipedia.com)

Detournement; "short for: detournement of pre-existing aesthetic elements. The integration of past or present artistic production into a superior construction of a milieu. With detournement, images produced by the spectacle are altered and subverted so that rather than supporting the status quo, their meaning is changed in order to put across a more radical or oppositionist message.
(taken from www.wikipedia.com)

Bagi yang suka pengkotak-kotakan, konsep recuperation dan
detournement adalah salah satu baju belel pembungkus
ideologi bawah tanah secara umum. Dilakukan secara kolektif,
kekuatan kemitraan antar rebelis yang kokoh, perasaan senasib
lewat elemen pseudonym, plagiarisme, identitas, olok-olok sarkasme,
maupun paradoks.

AMBIGU DALAM PERPSEPSI

Recuperation tetap akan memperkuat imej korporasi, walaupun
secara sinisme tetap seradikal detournement. Namun dari
hemat saya, inilah produk yang sebenarnya akan sama-sama
menguntungkan kedua belah pihak, antara anti-mainstream garis
keras dengan pendosa dari kalangan korporat. Sama seperti
Emperor Palpatine. Kejahatan dalam atmosfir interpretasi.
Atau kata Pakde Kere bilang, aksi biadab pemerkosaan terhadap
komunikasi pemasaran nan urban. Semiotika yang ditarik dua arah
berlawanan secara paksa. Ada ambiguitas dalam persepsi.
Dan bagi saya ini adalah kanibalisme kebudayaan.
Budaya memakan budaya. Imej membelit imej. Ricuh!

Inilah dunia sandiwara. Panggung pertunjukan yang mengerikan.
We live in spectacular society, tatkala kita menghirup atmosfir
akumulasi pertunjukan yang luar biasa di mana-mana. Merusak
yang nyata (detriment of the real, substitute for experience).

"The spectacle is not a collection of images but a social relation among people mediated by images... The spectacle in general, as the concrete inversion of life, is the autonomous movement of the non-living... The liar has lied to himself"
- Guy Debord

Haha! Sepertinya tulisan saya terlalu pongah berpihak pada kaum
rebelis. Ya seperti apa adanya lah! Sehingga ide untuk mengambil
jalur protes keras adalah bagian dari konsep terakhir dari diplomasi
debat kusir dengan pihak korporat (diplomasi? emang ada ya rapat
begituan? Ha Ha Ha!). Propaganda tertulis maupun bergambar
adalah wajah terakhir dari minoritas, dengan catatan tidak ada
politik praktis yang mengotori. Semuanya telah jauh beranjak
dari ranah artistik, menyebar ke setiap jengkal perimeter Bumi
yang menjadi sasaran raksasa-raksasa itu.

PERPETUAL WAR!

Solusinya adalah perang! Bukan mengokang senjata.
Bukan pula anarkisme. Ini adalah pertaruhan persepsi.
Melecutkan tali kekang ego. Pertempuran di ujung tanduk.
Karena bisa terlihat pada titik terjauh pun visi kita akan tetap
melihat perebutan antara yang diklaim hitam dan what so-called
pembela kebenaran ini. Bisa jadi bakal sangat lama.

Naif kah saya?
Mungkin.
Masih kah ada waktu untuk mendiskusikan ini?
Mungkin.
Membuat jalur penyelamatan lewat perang?
Harus!

Itu persepsi saya,
saat ini.

(dari berbagai sumber, termasuk ini >>)

---

++ Oh ya, sudah saya lewatkan tamu-tamu terhormat saya
mengunjungi blog ini tanpa perjamuan yang seharusnya.
Maaf jika menemukannya dalam keadaan melompong.
Ada baiknya kali ini saya pulang kembali ke sini. :)
Selamat berjumpa lagi, rekans!

Friday, May 20, 2005

Membersihkan dengan Cinta.

Sekali lagi masalah sampah. Tapi ini sampah di tempat wisata.
Taman Nasional Gunung Gede-Pangrango (TNGP) di Cibodas
memang sebelum 1 Mei ditutup untuk pendakian. Wajar saja ada
program pemeliharaan, namanya juga Taman Nasional alias suaka.
(cagar alam pertama di Indonesia, yaitu tahun 1889 seluas 15.196 Ha.
dan karena tingginya keanekaragaman hayati yang dimilikinya,
UNESCO menetapkan sebagai cagar biosfer yang merupakan
paru-paru dunia). Termasuk bersih gunung, meniadakan sampah
yang ada di gunung. Kali ini saya mencoba ikut tim.
Penyelenggaranya anak-anak dari milis PANGRANGO.

Sebanyak 150 orang berangkat selama 4 hari ke sana.
Tenaga sebanyak itu cukup untuk menyisir sampah dari puncak
hingga ke basecamp. Dibagi 4 regu: Air Terjun Cibeureum (1650 m),
Air Panas, Kandang Badak, dan Puncak Pangrango (3019 m).
Tim saya, ABUPALA, kedapatan jadi pengusung sampah
di area Kandang Badak. Semuanya disediakin karung.
Dan syukurlah semua membawa turun sampah masing-masing,
tentunya minus sampah organik ya :)

Terkumpullah 603 kg sampah. Lumayan. Melampaui target panitia
katanya. Banyak sekali sampah plastik dan kaleng.
Gunung api jenis strato itu memang kotor sekali.
Walaupun sudah dibikin peraturan tentang membawa kembali sampah,
masih saja banyak pendaki yang menggampangkannya.

Spot menyenangkan untuk melepaskan penat kota.
Silakan kalo mau ikut mendaki, grade-nya masih moderate kok ;)

---

Gak terlalu lama sebelum hari kemarin, gunung ini pernah
batuk-batuk agak hebat. Aktivitas vulkanik ternyata berpindah
ke arah utara, ke arah endapan muda, arah Cipanas.
Komposisi lava G. Gede berupa andesite hypersten augite vitrofirik
sampai andesite augite hypersten. Sejumlah batuan berkomposisi
basalt ditemukan pada lereng utara Gunung Pangrango.
Gunung Gede menghasilkan aliran lava andesitik dari sumber magma
primer tholeitik pada kedalaman zona Benioff 120 - 125 km.
(buset istilahnya!)

kenalkan!

Monday, May 02, 2005

Just Communicate!

Sebentar saja buka buku berdebu ke masa-masa kuliah...

---

All communication is accomplished using symbols. A symbol is something used to convey a meaning. It could represent an idea, an action or an object. People are able to create symbols using written marks, such as punctuation, letters, numbers, and arithmetic operation signs; pictures; gestures or other body motions, such as tapping someone on the shoulder; and sounds, including both spoken language and non-verbal utterances, such as "mmm …" and "uh huh." There are also symbols generated by electrical or mechanical devices, such as horns, traffic lights, computers, radio transmitters, telephones and doorbells. Symbols generated electrically or mechanically are sometimes called signals. These include gestures; for example, putting a finger over one's lips is a signal for "Quiet!"

When people communicate, they have to use symbols, because these provide the only clues about what we are thinking. For communication to work, both the originator and the receiver have to agree on what the symbols mean. A language is a system of symbols with generally agreed-upon meanings. There are also graphic symbol systems, such as the set of symbols used on a map, for musical notation, to indicate chess pieces, to describe cross-stitching patterns, etc. A symbol system that does not use words is called a code. Some codes use numbers, such as Zip Codes and ISBN's, while others use gestures, such as the football referee's signaling system. Braille language is a tactile code for representing letters and numbers. Bar codes are patterns designed to be read by optical scanning machines. A key shows the translation between a code and ordinary language.

How are the meanings of symbols established? There are two basic methods. Some symbols imply their own meaning, by using images or sounds that correspond in some way to the concepts they represent. For example, a "Wheelchair Access" symbol shows an icon of a wheelchair, which would be recognized by most people. Symbols of this kind we call expressive symbols. Other symbols, such as the letters of the alphabet, have no logical connection at all with the things they refer to. These we call arbitrary symbols. People can usually figure out expressive symbols for themselves, but arbitrary symbols simply have to be memorized.

Communication breaks down when the sender and receiver interpret the symbols differently. This can happen because a symbol has more than one meaning, more than one symbol has the same meaning, or the receiver simply hasn't learned the meaning in the same way as the sender. When a symbol has more than one meaning, the alternate meanings are called homonyms, by analogy with two words in a language that sound the same but have different meanings. Homonyms can be confusing, because the sender may have intended one meaning for a symbol, while the receiver assumes another. If someone is unsure about the intended meaning of a symbol, they generally try to use clues from the environment, i.e., the context, to clear up the uncertainty. A more subtle problem occurs when more than one symbol has the same meaning. We call the alternate symbols synonyms, again by analogy with spoken or written language. The problem here is that the receiver may associate a particular synonym with the meaning, and not expect another. Here again, context is crucial in establishing that a particular symbol is being used to convey a particular meaning. Frequently, children lack the contextual clues assumed by adults, or vice versa, which can lead to a breakdown of communication between them. How many adults understand the shorthand language children use in on-line chats?

Much of education consists of learning to create messages in various symbol systems, and translating among them. For example, learning to read means learning to translate from written language both to spoken language and to the concepts represented by language. Arithmetic "word problems" require translation from written language to mathematical shorthand. Errors in translation often occur because math teaching focuses more on the syntax - the structure of the language - than on the semantics - what the symbols actually mean. For example, the statement "There are three times as many dogs as cats" is mistakenly translated syntactically as 3D = C, while the correct equation would read D = 3C.

Symbols qualify as technology, because they are invented by people to solve problems. Like other forms of technology, they can be analyzed to see how well they accomplish their purposes, and redesigned if found wanting. An evaluation question for a symbol is: "Does it convey the intended meaning?" A typical symbol has a variety of elements that work together, and these elements can be identified and analyzed separately. For example, the commonly encountered "NO SMOKING" symbol includes a circle, a diagonal bar, a cigarette, and smoke. It uses particular colors, line widths, and sizes for the various parts. In analyzing this symbol, it is useful to ask how well each of these elements contributes to the overall goal.

(saya kutip dari sini).

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Berselancar di Atas Buku.

Pernah saya dengar ungkapan, bahwa selain media, disebutkan
bahwa buku adalah sumber kejahatan terbesar manusia.
Ya! Apalagi buku-buku 'berat'! Terlepas dari apakah buku itu
menipu (deceptive) atau sejenis jurnal sains. Setidaknya bagi
peradaban maju. (mungkin saya tidak memperhitungkan buku
masak memasak dalam golongan ini, kecuali buku itu menghidangkan
sup bayi seperti di Jepang). Atau untuk sebagian besar manusia
Indonesia yang sangat kuat budaya okultis-nya, mengharap
berperilaku obyektif-empiris tanpa bekal yang kuat dalam
mendekonstruksi sebuah buku adalah mustahil.

Kadang kita tergugah. Menaruh minat besar. Wow! ini baru keren!
Sangat menarik untuk dibaca, seperti yang pengen saya baca
di bawah ini. Gak begitu penting sih, daripada tidak saya baca?
Toh H.P. Lovecraft, penemu kata 'Necronomicon' tidak keberatan. :)
(Memahami agama melalui literatur sama halnya menggali artefak
kebudayaan kuno tentang realitas fisik dan mitologi di dalamnya.
Namun ada perbedaan besar di antaranya. Of course, this is also
the problem with religion in general, but I digress).

Tidak berlebihan juga. Karena memang memahami kandungan buku
sama halnya mencerap informasi dari media, yang dimana jika tanpa
pendamping, penafsiran (hermeneutika) yang kita susun
tidak bakal 100% sempurna. Akan ada salah-salah kata. Distorsi.
Tergantung dari latar belakang kita, dan juga pendamping kita.

Memang selalu ada resiko. Apalagi dalam menafsirkan untaian
kalimat agung pada kitab suci. Wallahu'alam.