Why Is Thai Music So Boring

[dbm]

I've been visiting and living here for a number of years now and am always befuddled as to why the music here is so dull. The mates at the pub and myself have yet to figure it out. I mean, when I've travelled to other tropical places the music has often been brilliant. Mexico, Jamaica, Cuba, Trinidad, Brazil, anywhere in equitorial Africa, India..all have great music you can listen and or dance to. But all the music here ( apart from the obvious Western boy/girl band rip-off crap) crawls along at a pace that makes a three toed sloth look like Michael Schumacher on yaba. What gives? Bring on the comments.....

[qwertz]

dbm, you speak for me on this point.

I think in LOS, like everywhere else, the music doesn't necessarily reflect the general taste.

It's more a question of hype and what the music industry mass produces.

All the places you mention have folk who love lively dance and their traditionally music is naturally composed to suit. Most Thais don't care for dancing in the streets.

If you look at traditional Thai dance (which I find charming BTW) you'll note that it's extremely disciplined, formal and mostly slow.

So the often music tends to sound monotonous to our ears.

And I do agree, I can't stand the stuff.

[girlx]

i never noticed the problem with it being slow... but i have noticed that it sounds like cats dying slowly. i can't stand most thai music.

[kmart]

i never noticed the problem with it being slow... but i have noticed that it sounds like cats dying slowly. i can't stand most thai music.

Some of the luk-toong stuff is ok, but some of the music here sounds like its all percussion and not much melody. A bit like a coach-load of hyperactive kids throwing stones at a rubbish skip or something.

[makrook]

agree almost 100% exept for some of isaan music.can't compete with latinos, obviously, but still in my remote muu baan, I did sometimes enjoy the gatherings with some "modern-traditional" quite entertaining music, and very dancable (or was it just the lao khao ?)

beside any political feeling, have a quick go at the record of "l'internationale" in thai, (one click on wikipedia), even THIS (especially at the beginning) they managed to sing in a very slow, drunk-like, stupid-looking way.

lasltly, older music can be quite ok, I personnaly kinda like carabao, even saw them live, and was pretty fun (not too much dancing though, lot of teenager fighting and police charging instead)

[mittheimp]

Well i completely disagree, i really like Thai music. The manufactured pop stuff i think beats the western equivalent hands down (maybe as i don't understand the words) and Mor Lam is just great!!!

[bannork]

If you can't dance to morlam you must be clinically dead, but don't expect snobby Bangkokians to play it.

Edited June 27, 2007 by bannork

[Neeranam]

If you can't dance to morlam you must be clinically dead, but don't expect snobby Bangkokians to play it.

Agreed - check out Jah Wobble's contribution. Anyone have a link for his stuff with Invaders of the heart and Mor Lam music.

Remember him from the Sex Pistols days? Public Image Lmd?

[Artisan]

If you can't dance to morlam you must be clinically dead, but don't expect snobby Bangkokians to play it.

Agreed.......morlam is great dancing music. Play it and the Isaan girls whoop with joy. Nobody can sit down.

[quiksilva]

All of it is painful to the ears apart from, maybe, Loso, well some of it anyway.

[rychrde]

Experienced recently a local village morlam concert. Reminded me of the playboy bunny scene in Apocalypse Now! Anyway, usual drunken swaying around in the crowd, but as the musicians got more and more drunk the singer could just about summon the energy to shriek out the odd phrase but the music improved no end!! started to sound like morlam jazz!! fun till 3am

rych

[samran]

Verse one: meaningless drivel.

Chorus 1: chan rak teerrrr......

Verse two: more meaninless drivel

Chorus 2 :Chan Rak Terrrr

Verse three: your are lucky that this song has a third verse. The potential for a semi sophisticated drivel, followed by a very "original" CHAN RAK TERRRRR

[Neeranam]

Verse one: meaningless drivel.

Chorus 1: chan rak teerrrr......

Verse two: more meaninless drivel

Chorus 2 :Chan Rak Terrrr

Verse three: your are lucky that this song has a third verse. The potential for a semi sophisticated drivel, followed by a very "original" CHAN RAK TERRRRR

This is only the rubbish pop stuff.

Throw in a 'tohraman', 'hua jai' and 'kit teung' and you have covered 90% of the lyrics.

[samran]

Verse one: meaningless drivel.

Chorus 1: chan rak teerrrr......

Verse two: more meaninless drivel

Chorus 2 :Chan Rak Terrrr

Verse three: your are lucky that this song has a third verse. The potential for a semi sophisticated drivel, followed by a very "original" CHAN RAK TERRRRR

This is only the rubbish pop stuff.

Throw in a 'tohraman', 'hua jai' and 'kit teung' and you have covered 90% of the lyrics.

thanks for the guide to "sophisticated thai lyrics" by Neeranam

[Artisan]

Verse one: meaningless drivel.

Chorus 1: chan rak teerrrr......

Verse two: more meaninless drivel

Chorus 2 :Chan Rak Terrrr

Verse three: your are lucky that this song has a third verse. The potential for a semi sophisticated drivel, followed by a very "original" CHAN RAK TERRRRR

This is only the rubbish pop stuff.

Throw in a 'tohraman', 'hua jai' and 'kit teung' and you have covered 90% of the lyrics.

Sorry...I thought we were talking about dancing!!!

[Krupnik]

What about Job 2 Do???

Excellent Thai reggae.

[kankaroo]

i never noticed the problem with it being slow... but i have noticed that it sounds like cats dying slowly. i can't stand most thai music.

Verse one: meaningless drivel.

Chorus 1: chan rak teerrrr......

Verse two: more meaninless drivel

Chorus 2 :Chan Rak Terrrr

Verse three: your are lucky that this song has a third verse. The potential for a semi sophisticated drivel, followed by a very "original" CHAN RAK TERRRRR

This is only the rubbish pop stuff.

Throw in a 'tohraman', 'hua jai' and 'kit teung' and you have covered 90% of the lyrics.

[chownah]

What about Job 2 Do???

Excellent Thai reggae.

[Torv]

I've been visiting and living here for a number of years now and am always befuddled as to why the music here is so dull. The mates at the pub and myself have yet to figure it out. I mean, when I've travelled to other tropical places the music has often been brilliant. Mexico, Jamaica, Cuba, Trinidad, Brazil, anywhere in equitorial Africa, India..all have great music you can listen and or dance to. But all the music here ( apart from the obvious Western boy/girl band rip-off crap) crawls along at a pace that makes a three toed sloth look like Michael Schumacher on yaba. What gives? Bring on the comments.....

It's because you're not Thai.

[Neeranam]

What about Thai 2 do - I think they're a reggae band.

[sukanyacondo]

I love the Issan music and bought some cd's a while back. Some of the other stuff is a bit mournful for my tastes.

[Mid]

What about Job 2 Do???

Excellent Thai reggae.

[MrSnrang]

Thai music is boring due to the lack creativity. There just aren't any bands that have done things like the Sonic Youth, Radiohead, Marilyn Manson, The Cure, Placebo, etc. They all like to stick tightly to specific musical genres and don't dare to break boundaries.

I'm not saying that musicians aren't creative, I'm saying that if there ever are good bands that do something new they aren't promoted because there's enough bubblegum pop, luk thoong, and dreary soft rock for everyone.

[Johpa]

Well i completely disagree, i really like Thai music. The manufactured pop stuff i think beats the western equivalent hands down (maybe as i don't understand the words) and Mor Lam is just great!!!

The "Thai" pop music, "SaTring" music, is unblievably bad, and has sat at the end of same artistic dead-end road for decades. But it is not really Thai music as the exact same drivel can be heard in various languages throughout Southeast Asia . It reflects more the total abscence of musical appreciation of the larger Chinese business community spread throughout Southeast Asia and up into East Asia far more than it reflects anything Thai. Let's face it, it don't mean a thing if it don't got that swing and Thai pop music (along with rap) ain't got no swing.

But all the traditionally based Thai folk music like the mor lom and luuk thung music that survived in Isaan and Laos makes for some great music and sometimes even great dance music once you learn to do some Thai folk dancing. Carabao has shown that you can meld this folk music into more western oriented music and be successful.

[billp]

There just aren't any bands that have done things like the Sonic Youth, Radiohead, Marilyn Manson, The Cure, Placebo, etc.

To me, all these bands you mention sound just boring and flat. I'd rather listen to a good morlam or lukthung performer any day. Or, failing that, some live blues at Ad Here the 13th or Tokyo Joes.

[yorkieb]

I have to agree with the OP.. What gives?............ My Thai GF always borrows and plays CD's from her friends which all seem to be some love songs or something slow. Which to my ear always makes me so depressed I feel suicidal. If I lived in the kingdom I think I would have done a reggi perring by how.....lol

[Jingthing]

I don't hate Thai music largely because I enjoy hearing the Thai language in song. But it is pale compared to Latin music. I think both Thailand and Brazil would do a great service to each other if they traded about 10 million of their people with each other. Talk about spicing things up. Brazilian Portuguese with a Thai accent?

[Torv]

Alright alright, it's because we're all heartbroken love sick puppies ok!?!

...I really think we are. *snickers*

[hauyee]

IF ..your love thai gril you will not boring about thai song ...because your heart will dancing

[dbm]

ummm...ok....I'ts a bit difficult to love my Thai girl when the music keeps putting me to sleep.

I think part of the reason the music sucks so much here is the insular nature of Thailand and that it has never been exposed, at a deeper level than the boy band crap, to international culture and musical styles. There doesn't seem to be any attempt, or creativity, towards fusion. Listening to World music now we can hear jazz, house, hip-hop etc..fused to the indigenous music of that country, which invigorates both. I've been surreptitiously inculcating my wife with Latin jazz, salsa,reggae, Fema Kuti from Nigeria ( you know, throw a cd on while making dinner-- nothing overt--sort of like black propaganda) and now she doesnt want to listen to the Thai crap anymore ( bua mak mak!). She's certainly not familiar with anything like the Lambada, but it's a hoot to see her doing her Thai dance style to some Tito Puente!