Billy's Last Ride

Tahun yang lepas, aku ada menulis satu post mengenai wayang-wayang rempit yang wajib di tonton. Salah satu wayang rempit ikonik yang aku tulis adalah wayang yang bertajuk 'Easy Rider'. Kalau nak baca balik post aku tu, boleh lah klik di sini.

Aku menyentuh balik hal post itu kerana aku baru sahaja mendapat tahu (melalui Twitter) yang pelakon yang telah membawa watak 'Billy' di dalam wayang tersebut, Dennis Hopper, telah meninggal dunia, akibat kanser.

Berikut, adalah petikan dari satu artikel dari The New YorkTimes oleh Manohla Dargis, yang aku rasa, cukup padat dan tepat mengenai pelakon ikonik ini.



Dennis Hopper — actor, filmmaker, photographer, art collector, world-class burnout, first-rate survivor — never blew it. Unlike the villains and freaks he has played over the decades — the psycho with the mommy complex in “Blue Velvet,” the mad bomber with the grudge in “Speed” — he has made it through the good, the bad and some spectacularly terrible times. He rode out the golden age of Hollywood by roaring into a new movie era with “Easy Rider.” He hung out with James Dean, played Elizabeth Taylor’s son, acted for Quentin Tarantino. He has been rich and infamous, lost and found, the next big thing, the last man standing. - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times, 7 April 2010.

Goodbye, Billy.
You take it easy now.

Selamat Tinggal Holden Caulfield...

Penulis novel cult 'The Catcher in the Rye', J.D. Salinger telah meninggal dunia baru-baru ini. Dia berumur 91. Untuk detail penuh mengenai berita ini, klik sini.




Secara peribadi, 'The Catcher in the Rye' ialah salah satu daripada novel Top 10 aku. Karakter Holden Caulfiled yang sinikal dan penuh angst itu memang sebati dengan hati aku. Aku faham apa yang di lalui dan di alami nya. Aku sendiri pernah mengalami fasa remaja yang di penuhi ketidaktentuan, kegilaan. Dan persamaan pengalaman yang aku sendiri lalui itu seolah-olah sama dengan apa yang di lalui oleh karakter Holden Caulfield. Itu yang membuatkan aku betul-betul minat novel 'The Catcher in the Rye'.

Sehingga sekarang, sekiranya aku ada masa terluang, aku akan baca balik novel itu (aku ingat lagi yang copy pertama aku dah lunyai sehingga aku terpaksa beli copy baru tahun lepas) dan aku akan teringat kembali zaman-zaman remaja aku. Masa aku susah, masa aku senang, kisah cinta monyet aku, kawan-kawan lama aku yang aku dah hilang hubungan, cikgu-cikgu aku yang aku sayang (Puan S.) dan benci, bau bas sekolah aku yang pelik, kasut sekolah aku yang sentiasa kotor, makanan kantin sekolah yang memualkan, hari sukan yang membosankan, keriangan yang tak terhingga bila loceng berdering untuk menandakan waktu balik...

Nostalgia...



Goodbye J.D. Salinger and thanks for giving the world your gift.

Goodbye, Michael...

Sebagai tribute aku untuk mendiang Michael Jackson, aku akan membuat post ini di dalam bahasa Inggeris...


What can I say?

I first heard the news at exactly 7:19 am on my mobile. A Star News alert that I subscribe to said;

'26/6 Multiple award-winning pop giant Michael Jackson, 50, dies in LA hospital after cardiac arrest at home; see thestar.com.my/STAR'.

It was shockingly surreal. I just couldn't believe my eyes. I had to get a confirmation on the news so I switched on my TV to the Breakfast Show. After a while, they confirmed it. He has passed away...

A wave of sadness came over me. I couldn't move. I was silent. I was numb. I was heartbroken.

The King of Pop himself has died.

My first introduction Michael and his genius was the song 'Beat It'. I remember it quite well because I really loved the video. I must have been 6 or 7 at the time. As an impressionable kid, the image of this guy swaggering and absolutely oozing with coolness left a huge mark in my psyche. That awesome guitar riff in the middle of the song was seared into my mind forever. The dancing was so out-of-this-world that I even tried to imitate it. Every one of my friends loved him too. On the bus to school, we would all gang up to pester the driver to play 'Beat It' on the radio. Most of the time, he said yes. Riding home on the bus from school, listening and singing 'Beat It' with my friends. Those were some of my happiest memories that I have ever had.

Michael was there throughout my teens and my early twenties and his influence and his songs have been in my mind for all those years. 'Billie Jean', 'Thriller', 'Black and White' and a whole bunch of other songs were like the background music of my life, eventhough I was more into rock and indie. A bit of pop, now and then, won't kill you.

My favourite Michael Jackson song is 'Man In The Mirror'. For me, it is one of the best songs EVER! I won't bother writing down the lyrics for you because I'm sure you know them. A song about change. A song that has insipired me as well as many countless others, I'm sure. I have yet to hear of another song that carries the simple message that in order to change the world, YOU have to change first. Absolute genius!

What can I say?

I am sure the world is now in mourning for the great man. I am sure that countless other tributes to him will be written in the next few days, months and years to come. I am sure that he has inspired countless men and women everywhere, to write, to sing, to dance, to further the great cause that is art, in all it varied, multitudinous forms. I am sure that even the generations of humanity in the future will also come to love and honour his music.

I am sure that he will be remembered.

Good bye Michael.
We will all miss you.

August 29, 1958 – June 25 2009