Musik Indonesia 1997-2001: Kebisingan dan Keberagaman Alaran Lagu

by Jeremy Wallach

What happens to “local” sound when globalization exposes musicians and audiences to cultural influences from around the world? Jeremy Wallach explores this question as it plays out in the eclectic, evolving world of Indonesian music after the fall of the repressive Soeharto regime. Against the backdrop of Indonesia’s chaotic and momentous transition to democracy, Wallach takes us to recording studios, music stores, concert venues, university campuses, video shoots, and urban neighborhoods. Integrating ground-level ethnographic research with insights drawn from contemporary cultural theory, he shows that access to globally circulating music and technologies has neither extinguished nor homogenized local music-making in Indonesia. Instead, it has provided young Indonesians with creative possibilities for exploring their identity in a diverse nation undergoing dramatic changes in an increasingly interconnected world. Ultimately, he finds, the unofficial, multicultural nationalism of Indonesian popular music provides a viable alternative to the religious, ethnic, regional, and class-based extremism that continues to threaten unity and democracy in that country.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History

322 pages, Paperback

First published October 22, 2008

About the author

A cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist, Jeremy Wallach is a professor in the Department of Popular Culture at Bowling Green State University. His research interests include Indonesian music, globalization, genre, music and technology, jazz, punk, world music, and metal. He has given presentations on his scholarship all over the US and in eleven foreign countries.

Reviews

[Aris Setyawan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeremy Wallach came to Indonesia at the right time. As Indonesia went through the transitional years between the New Order's authoritarian government and democratic government, he plunged headlong into Indonesia's vibrant music landscape. Wallach visited an underground metal concert, almost got punched by a racist skinhead, also swayed in the middle of a Dangdut concert, and screamed when one of the legendary Indonesian band, Puppen, took the stage.

The result is "Modern Noise, Fluid Genres: Popular Music in Indonesia, 1997-2001", one of the masterpieces of Indonesian popular music research. First published in 2008, this book was (finally) translated into Indonesian by the Komunitas Bambu Publisher and published in 2017 under the title "Musik Indonesia 1997-2001: Kebisingan & Keberagaman Aliran Lagu".

For example, Jeremy Wallach says in music, “Musical expression, a panhuman universal, has taken on special importance in modern societies. Its ability to channel affect, open possibilities for self-expression, and foster communal solidarity (imagined and realized-in-the-moment communities) stimulates various attempts to control music and harness its power to promote ideology.” (Page 263).

Quoting Wallach's statement, the music (performing arts) broadcast by our media has an ideological effect on its audience. This broadcast constructs a standard of liveability that must be homogeneous with what the media presents.

A book worth reading for those who want to know the development of Indonesian popular music. Either in the mainstream or sidestream/underground realm.

[Bimana Novantara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sepanjang baca dari bab ke bab saya menilai penelitian Wallach ini sudah cukup holistik tapi kurang mendalam. Penilaian itu muncul karena ada begitu banyak hal yang ingin dicakup oleh Wallach namun seperti hanya dilihat sebentar saja sehingga membuat poin-poin analisisnya terasa nanggung. Saya rasa, bagi pembaca yang memang mengalami langsung masa yang menjadi periode waktu penelitian Wallach, hal-hal yang dikemukakan di buku ini sebagian besar agaknya sudah menjadi pengetahuan umum. Tetapi itu bisa dipahami karena buku ini berasal dari disertasi Wallach dan target pembaca utamanya bisa dbilang adalah para dosen pembimbing dan pengujinya serta publik penelitian di luar negeri, yang perlu dibuat paham tentang konteks musik Indonesia sampai hal-hal terkecilnya. Bagian paling menarik buat saya adalah bab tentang toko Aquarius Mahakam dan bab kesimpulan. Pada bab tentang Aquarius ia mengungkaplan sesuatu yang memang sudah jelas dan bisa dirasakan tentang hierarki musik berdasarkan pengelompokan display di toko namun jarang dibicarakan (atau memang ada keengganan untuk membicarakan hal itu karena terasa sensitif), sedangkan di bab kesimpulan ada beberapa poin menarik yang Wallach ungkapkan yang bisa menjadi bahan diskusi mengenai kondisi kancah permusikan Indonesia. Satu hal yang mengganggu adalah buruknya kualitas terjemahan dari penerbit Komunitas Bambu ini karena ada banyak kalimat yang penerjemahannya sangat literal dan membuatnya menjadi sulit dimengerti.

[Arasy Pradana · Rating 4 out of 5]

If only Wallach focused his study on one significant aspect or scene, the book will be much more interesting. But if you’re interesting on Indonesian music scene as a whole on post-Reformation era, “Musik Indonesia 1997-2001” stand as a subtle sumplement.

[Anas Ah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, a remarkable book about Indonesian music has been written by non-Indonesian author.

[Aryo Damarseto · Rating 4 out of 5]

pengalaman membaca buku etnografi secara penuh pertama saya. alurnya cukup oke dan pengalaman wallach bertemu dengan banyak pelaku dan penikmat musik indonesia dikemas dengan sangat menarik. iya gitu aja mungkin full reviewnya sebenernya jadi tugas mata kuliah membaca etnografi jadi sekian dari saya.