Why Is Thailand So Unsophisticated Musically?

[Eric1949]

Even a deaf can hear that thai music is crap. But then most music around the world is crap. I agree with JR quite a lot. Thai music is sweet and easy. I know there are a few with some depth but they are hard to find. I have seen Mr Saxman a few times and he is great.

I totally agree with the op and find it hard why it seems to upset so many. It is just taste after all. Everyone it entitled to his own opinion.

My thai wife has lost all interest in thai music. She never listens to it and I wonder how so many of you can stand listening to thai music in your own house.

Ok,ok, Thai music maybe tolerable, and then someone strangles the cat, and the screeching starts. Shame the strangle dosn't grip a little tighter.

[OriginalPoster]

I don't see how anyone could dis Bob Marley. He was really a gifted songwriter and spread so much joy in the world.

But, I do agree that "Hotel California" sucks.

As for Thai music: I love this song by Carabao http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYxz9WtWj74

Is that the one with the cowbell?

No, the one with the cowbell was by Blue Oyster Cult & Will Farrell.

Edited October 28, 2009 by OriginalPoster

[MaiDong]

I don't see how anyone could dis Bob Marley. He was really a gifted songwriter and spread so much joy in the world.

But, I do agree that "Hotel California" sucks.

As for Thai music: I love this song by Carabao http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYxz9WtWj74

Is that the one with the cowbell?

No, the one with the cowbell was by Blue Oyster Cult & Will Farrell.

No, I'm quite certain, it was Carabao

[mrbp]

The OP is just representing a small minority with a very special taste. He admitted that he likes music that is a bit different from what the masses like. How arrogant is it to claim that his excentric taste is the sophisticated taste? What about the taste of people who love classical music from East and West?

The OP keeps repeating his views and so do I have to repeat that his view is a proof for the OP's narrowmindedness - he really believes that if someone doesn't share his taste of music then he is musically unsophisticated.

How much do you really know about the diversity about Thai music? Ok, you don't like it so probably you avoid listening to it and you most probably avoid trying to understand it and find out more about it. Probably you don't even know a fraction of the tip of an iceberg about Thai music and still you claim it is not sophisticated.

I agree, Thais are not sophisticated regarding your style of music - why should they be? They most probably don't like it - same as you don't like Thai music. Now it's certainly fair to say that you are not sophisticated regarding Thai music - why should you be?

Now what makes you think that the Thais should be any better or any less narrowminded than you yourself??

How comes that so many people from English-speaking countries seem to believe that a country and/or its people are weird or strange or not sophisticated if the people there have different tastes, different habits, different views, different mentalities, different clubs, different understanding of fun than the majority in his own country?

I have stated more than once I like lots of different kinds of music even classical and loads of music that isn't niche stuff. I like more than I dislike.

I don't have a music style, I like loads of different genres, I have a wide open mind, I have music in my collection from 60's years ago and music from over five different continents..

Please, Please, Please read before you get on your high horse.

I am the least musically narrow minded person you could ever meet.

The only stuff I usually dislike is manufactured pop music, cheesy karaoke, syrupy ballads and soft rock which kind of spans the majority of Thai music. Another thing I dislike as an open minded music lover is hearing the same music over and over again even if it's music I like. In Thailand playing the same music over and over again is a must.

You seem to be saying the fact that I want something more than the Top 10 or some syrupy Thai ballads that makes me narrowminded!!!

How can my hunger for more and more diverse and challenging music make me narrow minded but the Thais who sit down grumpy when Gasolina is taken off open minded?

I didn't say that people who don't like my music are narrowminded I said if people only like a narrow band of chart music and refuse to open their minds to anything else they are narrowminded. Especially if the music they like is identical to the music that there friends, families and neighbours like.

As someone who has been involved in music for over 25 years I have some strong opinions about what I like and dislike but I bet my music collection is broader than yours and most Thai peoples but for some reason you seem to think that makes me narrowminded.

If I was a chef I would be quite within my rights to say the standard of food in Malawi is awfull. Well as someone who has been involved in music for decades I reserve the right to say the standard of music in Thailand is equally awfull.

Yes it's subjective but it's a view that almost every professional farang DJ, musician, singer and promoter I have ever met in Thailnd agrees with.

The professionals in the creative arts from acting to music all seem to agree with me that Thailand is lacking in creative diversity.

But maybe you are right TallForeigner and we are all being narrow minded, arrogant fools who need a bit more karaoke in our lives

This is only country where real musical diversity could be branded as narrowminded and cheesy covers of boy bands could be considered great stuff.

Sheesh TallForeigner you know how to be condescending don't you. Admonishing people for saying this and saying that. I have strong views and I'm not afraid of being un PC, Get over it man.

[OriginalPoster]

I don't see how anyone could dis Bob Marley. He was really a gifted songwriter and spread so much joy in the world.

But, I do agree that "Hotel California" sucks.

As for Thai music: I love this song by Carabao http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYxz9WtWj74

Is that the one with the cowbell?

No, the one with the cowbell was by Blue Oyster Cult & Will Farrell.

No, I'm quite certain, it was Carabao

Google it.

[MaiDong]

Google it.

You're missing my point. let's forget about it.

[MaiDong]

I have stated more than once I like lots of different kinds of music even classical and loads of music that isn't niche stuff. I like more than I dislike.

I don't have a music style, I like loads of different genres, I have a wide open mind, I have music in my collection from 60's years ago and music from over five different continents..

Please, Please, Please read before you get on your high horse.

I am the least musically narrow minded person you could ever meet.

The only stuff I usually dislike is manufactured pop music, cheesy karaoke, syrupy ballads and soft rock which kind of spans the majority of Thai music. Another thing I dislike as an open minded music lover is hearing the same music over and over again even if it's music I like. In Thailand playing the same music over and over again is a must.

You seem to be saying the fact that I want something more than the Top 10 or some syrupy Thai ballads that makes me narrowminded!!!

How can my hunger for more and more diverse and challenging music make me narrow minded but the Thais who sit down grumpy when Gasolina is taken off open minded?

I didn't say that people who don't like my music are narrowminded I said if people only like a narrow band of chart music and refuse to open their minds to anything else they are narrowminded. Especially if the music they like is identical to the music that there friends, families and neighbours like.

As someone who has been involved in music for over 25 years I have some strong opinions about what I like and dislike but I bet my music collection is broader than yours and most Thai peoples but for some reason you seem to think that makes me narrowminded.

If I was a chef I would be quite within my rights to say the standard of food in Malawi is awfull. Well as someone who has been involved in music for decades I reserve the right to say the standard of music in Thailand is equally awfull.

Yes it's subjective but it's a view that almost every professional farang DJ, musician, singer and promoter I have ever met in Thailnd agrees with.

The professionals in the creative arts from acting to music all seem to agree with me that Thailand is lacking in creative diversity.

But maybe you are right TallForeigner and we are all being narrow minded, arrogant fools who need a bit more karaoke in our lives

This is only country where real musical diversity could be branded as narrowminded and cheesy covers of boy bands could be considered great stuff.

Sheesh TallForeigner you know how to be condescending don't you. Admonishing people for saying this and saying that. I have strong views and I'm not afraid of being un PC, Get over it man.

Nice post, good points.

[mrbp]

Yes Chriswatson I think your right. TallForeigner is over looking that it's not just Western music that progresses it's global. If you get to hear some of the Balkan beats coming out of Eastern Europe, afrobeat (Ahh the legendary Fela Kuti) or things like The Gotan Project out of Argentina. Diverse and challenging music is a global phenominon but it has bypassed Thailand.

I think you have a point about colonization and adventurous music.

Argentina, Brazil, Africa, Britain, America even Eastern Europe and Japan have been exposed to other cultures either through invasions or immigration. Thailand has been insular for centuries, tourism is as close as Thailand has got to being touched by another culture.

As for dissing Marley never! but if I hear The Legend album ever again I will scream.

When I first come to Asia it was being played all over India, I went home came back a few years later and they were still playing it. I came to Thailand and saw reggae bars and thought great but they all still played nothing but The Legend Album so I handed out some of Marleys earlier stuff with Peter Tosh, I gave African Herbsman to almost every reggae bar I could find and it never got past the second track before Legend was restored to the CD player.

That was in 2005 and those "reggae" bars are still playing Legend and not much else apart from Job2Do and T-Bone.

I love Marley but Thai reggae bars have killed the Legend album for me.

[chriswatson]

I love Marley but Thai reggae bars have killed the Legend album for me.

Word.

[wave]

Check out the guys at zudrangma records They are unearthing very cool morlam from the 60's and 70's

Contemporary Thai pop is super sweet, banal and lacking in substance...... welcome to the world of pop. Of course in Thailand they have refined it to the sweetest most sickly you can get.

Generally speaking Thailand doesn't produce challenging or "political" music. Why should it? Most of the Thai population have a reasonable life (in their opinion)... It's warm...There's plenty of food....They have just enough money to sustain themselves..... Life is good (or at least ok)

The basic themes to Thai music are lost love. lack of money or the pursuit of sanuk.

If the movie "The Wild One" had been made in Thailand what would have been Marlon Brandos answer to the question "What Are You Rebelling Against?" ..... too much fun? too many pretty girls? I doubt it would have been "Whaddya got?"

The arts are often a mirror of society as a whole. In Thailand there is a huge occupation with having fun and that is reflected in their music, movies and media.

Leaving the socio-politcal angle for the moment and coming from a musical perspective, some of those morlam bands can hit a seriously funky hypnotic groove that rocks like a mutha if you can open yourself to it..... to quote Funkadelic "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow"

[chriswatson]

I guess Thais are from about the only country on the planet that has no issue with the Establishment, it's government or feels oppressed in any way. Perhaps this is why they are in a "land of smiles" and are so culturally conservative.

BTW your link to zudrangma records didn't work for me.

[Nostraforce]

Well In Bangkok I think club 808 is booking more cutting edge and less commercial world class stuff. I believe it's management is foreign, but nevertheless there are some exceptions to the rule.

My 5 cents is it is in the nature of the Thai. Just as there is no real book reading culture there is also no deep music listening culture.

L'art pour l'art?

Artists such as Leopold Senghor and Chinua Achebe have criticised the slogan as being a limited and Eurocentric view on art and creation. In "Black African Aesthetics," Senghor argues that "art is functional" and that "in black Africa, 'art for art's sake' does not exist." Achebe is more scathing in his collection of essays and criticism entitled Morning Yet on Creation Day, where he asserts that "art for art's sake is just another piece of deodorised dog shit."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_for_art's_sake

[phetaroi]

To be honest, as I have read through this thread I am reminded of the way teenagers act back in the States. Each year or at least every few years there was some new "in" band or singer that if you didn't like, you were sneered at. The teens would whine to adults, "You don't treat me with respect. You criticize my music." Of course, if you said you liked Elvis or, even worse, Perry Como, those same teens that wanted to be respected for their musical tastes would then make nasty comments about the music you liked.

All in all, as Dino once said to Sinatra: "What's the big deal? It's just singin'!"

Records that people like sell. I guess the Thais are satisfied with "their" music. Leave them alone. Respect their choice.

If you don't like the music available here in Thailand, buy/order a CD or music DVD. There's plenty out there for almost any taste, and with downloading over the internet, there's little blocking you from getting what you want.

[Ulysses G.]

I don't see how anyone could dis Bob Marley. He was really a gifted songwriter and spread so much joy in the world.

But, I do agree that "Hotel California" sucks.

Excuse me. Reggae sucks and Hotel California is a great tune - just overplayed.

[endure]

In my humble opinion Thailand has one of the best cuisines in the world, one of the most friendly relaxed cultures I have ever encountered, some of the most beautiful people and without a doubt some of the most sublime landscapes I have ever seen. I love Thailand deeply, thats why I live here. Whether it's the friendly locals, a beautiful sunset or a fried egg on top of my curry, I'm in love with the place but as a music lover, DJ and musician I have to say it's hel_l.

Thais only seem to like Western music if it was made in the last four years and featured heavily on MTV or Hotel California and Bob Marley, nothing else is allowed apart from Thai soft rock and cheesy Thai balads.

Why do you expect Thais to like any form of Western music at all? They aren't from the West. They're Thai. You are an alien in their culture. It's not up to them to appreciate your taste in music. If you want any form of musical recognition it's up to you to become knowledgeable about the various forms of music that are popular in Thailand most of which aren't heard in your local disco.

[Redhawk]

By all means, a very interesting topic, amusing and furthermore very informative.

Long live the "The Eagles", duck, crouch, roll and gone.

[JR Texas]

It is singalong crap.......sweet and mindless crap.........nothing deep.......nothing that makes you think (maybe that is one reason for it........they don't have to think and don't like thinking).

then u must have missed siliporn's song about a 15 yr old prostiture, or the 'dear john' song about a thai going over seas to work and receiveing a dear john ive found a farang that earns more then you , song...

u have to really listen to words in some of the songs, and the ones in issaan are often sly stories or stolen morlum sing changed abit...

as for music, go to a greenhouse around here, and u will hear thais singing together as they work. the only others ive heard doing that are the arab workers that often sing chanting work songs. dont see too many farangs singing to themselves while they work do u?

and what ever happened to the grateful dead? u have an obssession with hotel california.... but, i have horrible taste in music as i also enjoy the israeli cassette/wedding singers, the quai arabic turkish crying over how horrible life is, songs, etc.

i guess my tastes in music have shrunk, no matter in what language... but husband is a pue chewit fan only, and loves to play phin music on his cheapy guitar. everything western for him is either michael jackson or rocknroll.......which he detests as it is associated with clubbing style and not sanuk (drinking whiskey and singing along to cheesy issaan crying songs)..

bina

israel

I was talking about the dominate cultural ethos..........of course, one can find an exception to any rule or anything a person says..........but the overwhelming trend with regard to music in Thailand is conservative CRAP.

The musical scene is very conservative, like Thai culture.......right-wing-radical conservative (one of the most conservative countries in all of Asia).

The "kids" grow up listening to crap........thinking crap is good.......singing it when they get drunk..........it is boring. Entertaining........well, not to me but that again is a cultural thing.

Contrast Thailand's ultra-conservative music scene to say, China's or especially Japan's, and you can see a big difference. Many Asian kids are open to new ideas and especially new music, even if that music is old.

Thais are locked in an ultra-conservative mental box......the vast majority can't seem to escape it.

Again.........I am generalizing. But it reminds me of the 50s in the USA.........maybe Thais will break out of the box eventually and start embracing new ideas........that would be something new.

Am I biased........yes, I love music and especially new and creative artists. I will listen to Mozart, Willie Nelson, Dylan and Jimmie Hendrix, etc., .........they all have something in common: they played outside of the mental box dictated by their culture..........they produced something interesting and new.

I am not saying there is no worth to Thai music............I am just saying they are probably some of the most musically limited people on the planet.

[bifftastic]

Even in Bangkoks must trendy clubs like Bed they are playing the kind of music that would be playing to chavs in Romford (A London suburb known for tacky nightlife). Not the kind of music any serious music lovers would be listening to in the West End, Hoxton or Hackney.

I know a lot of the club promoters, DJs and owners and even places like Bed Supper Club keeps the music as unchalenging and popular as possible. And Bkk is an oasis of musical enlightenment by Thai standards but compare it to Singapore, Hong Kong or the mighty Tokyo, London and New York it's dead.

very true, I know DJ's who play all over the world, they rate Brazil, Croatia, Russia, Czech Republic, Mexico as places they can play to appreciative audiences who know and love their music. (ok i know there are many people who think all dance music is complete <deleted> but as mentioned before tastes vary) but when I mention Thailand they all pull a face and say 'too trancey, all bang bang nosebleed techno and the DJ's couldn't mix muck for a brickie' (ok that was what one of them said!) must admit I do like the Thai bands sometimes but there certainly isn't the variety available of all music types like there is in many other cities/countries. Maybe living in London I'm spoiled?

I'd love to promote some deep house or tech house stuff in Thailand, I reckon if they could experience a line up of, say, Mr C, Terry Francis, Nathan Coles, Eddie Richards Ritchie Hawtin etc. they'd absolutely love it.

I've got a friend in Bangkok, she goes to all the 'happening' parties and I send her mix CD's of all the above and she absolutely loves them but I think it would be VERY hard work to get a foot in the door as it all seems to be sewn up by what I can only describe as mediocre pop/trance badly mixed.

Surprising for such an otherwise vibrant city.

[bkkjames]

I find it interesting that all these Worldly Music Experts fail to realise a key thing about here...we are never on the front end of the curve.

We get car models two years after they have been introduced in Europe, same with computers, movies, mobile phones and even fashion.

There are upsides to this however. Less overpriced trendy crap of little substance that is the flavour of the day makes it here ultimately.

Back to the DJ thing, for you 'happening experts - all things global' consider that you can stand out from the masses with your foresight and wax lyrically while attending all the big events in Bangkok with lines like "Well in London and Milano, the in thing is...." while smirking to yourself at how behind the times we are. A perfect recipe to stay in the limelight.

[Maigo6]

I am just saying they are probably some of the most musically limited people on the planet.

LOL...........

I thought I had seen all the criticisms possible of Thailand and Thai people from you, but you can always find more.

Sek Loso maybe crap to you, but when he is performed in Europe he got rave reviews.

Take bands that are not from English speaking countries who have become international stars without singing in English.......Ummmmm, there must be some, I just can't think of any at the moment.

Abba had phenominal International success, what would their success have been if they had sung the same songs only in Swedish ?

The Scorpions had great International success, would they have been so successful singing only in German ?

So it's pretty much a given that successful international bands sing in English, or are considered crap because they cannot be understood, believe it or not JR, Dylan may be considered crap by many Thai people purely because they could not understand the language or the intent. If Dylan sang in Thai, then he may be liked by more Thai people.

You may consider Pongsit Khampee crap, purely because you cannot understand what he's actually singing about, but the Thais like him. If he sang in English, no doubt he would be more popular amongst English speaking listeners

Music is Music, most that criticise other peoples musical tastes and think that only their taste is the correct taste and all other should follow their lead are arrogant and dillusional.

Ask a young Hip Hop fan what he thinks of the music you like and he'd probably tell you it's crap, you may think his taste is crap, when he's old he may well still like Hip Hop, but the newer generation will think it's crap, yet all of you may like 300 year old classical music.

As for the OP who bought over 50,000 discs over to Thailand to be a DJ, you must have had a heck of a bill for freight, must have cost a fortune, what was the import tax ?????

Must be a sickener, to have wasted all that money when you could have gone to Pantip and bought a couple of Mp3's.

[Redhawk]

I am just saying they are probably some of the most musically limited people on the planet.

LOL...........

I thought I had seen all the criticisms possible of Thailand and Thai people from you, but you can always find more.

Sek Loso maybe crap to you, but when he is performed in Europe he got rave reviews.

Take bands that are not from English speaking countries who have become international stars without singing in English.......Ummmmm, there must be some, I just can't think of any at the moment.

Abba had phenominal International success, what would their success have been if they had sung the same songs only in Swedish ?

The Scorpions had great International success, would they have been so successful singing only in German ?

So it's pretty much a given that successful international bands sing in English, or are considered crap because they cannot be understood, believe it or not JR, Dylan may be considered crap by many Thai people purely because they could not understand the language or the intent. If Dylan sang in Thai, then he may be liked by more Thai people.

You may consider Pongsit Khampee crap, purely because you cannot understand what he's actually singing about, but the Thais like him. If he sang in English, no doubt he would be more popular amongst English speaking listeners

Music is Music, most that criticise other peoples musical tastes and think that only their taste is the correct taste and all other should follow their lead are arrogant and dillusional.

Ask a young Hip Hop fan what he thinks of the music you like and he'd probably tell you it's crap, you may think his taste is crap, when he's old he may well still like Hip Hop, but the newer generation will think it's crap, yet all of you may like 300 year old classical music.

As for the OP who bought over 50,000 discs over to Thailand to be a DJ, you must have had a heck of a bill for freight, must have cost a fortune, what was the import tax ?????

Must be a sickener, to have wasted all that money when you could have gone to Pantip and bought a couple of Mp3's.

I totally agree on that, could'nt have said that better. Thanks.

[thaihome]

I am just saying they are probably some of the most musically limited people on the planet.

LOL...........

I thought I had seen all the criticisms possible of Thailand and Thai people from you, but you can always find more.

....

TH

[mrbp]

very true, I know DJ's who play all over the world, they rate Brazil, Croatia, Russia, Czech Republic, Mexico as places they can play to appreciative audiences who know and love their music. (ok i know there are many people who think all dance music is complete <deleted> but as mentioned before tastes vary) but when I mention Thailand they all pull a face and say 'too trancey, all bang bang nosebleed techno and the DJ's couldn't mix muck for a brickie' (ok that was what one of them said!) must admit I do like the Thai bands sometimes but there certainly isn't the variety available of all music types like there is in many other cities/countries. Maybe living in London I'm spoiled?

I'd love to promote some deep house or tech house stuff in Thailand, I reckon if they could experience a line up of, say, Mr C, Terry Francis, Nathan Coles, Eddie Richards Ritchie Hawtin etc. they'd absolutely love it.

I've got a friend in Bangkok, she goes to all the 'happening' parties and I send her mix CD's of all the above and she absolutely loves them but I think it would be VERY hard work to get a foot in the door as it all seems to be sewn up by what I can only describe as mediocre pop/trance badly mixed.

Surprising for such an otherwise vibrant city.

Evil Eddie Richards, now theres a blast from my acid raving past.

I'm from London too and I love the broken beat/nu jazz scene.

It's so funky and musically diverse. It can flip from soulful to hard, from light to dark, from housey to hip hop to drum & bass, to soul via jazz with a splash of reggae a twist of afrobeat and a chunk of techno but always with that unique broken beat flavour.

Total musical freedom, it's absolutely amazing. Massive in West London and @ The Notting Hill Carnival and now spreading to Berlin, New York, Tokyo, Detroit and many other vibrant centres of musical freedom.

People have said a few times

"why should we expect Thais to like Western music when they are Asian after all"

It might suprise you to know Thais do have a house music scene, a hip hop scene, a rock scene and a reggae scene. It's just that their alternative music scenes are only the alternatives they see on MTV and they refuse to dip into the deep wells of musical creativity that each genre offers at it's roots.

The rock, hip hop and house you hear in the charts are what you will hear in the specialist Thai clubs and nothing else.

These are not the real artists who are making the music for the musics sake they are just the select few artists which the likes of Simon Cowell thinks are marketable, it's souless commercial crap. It's all about the money for these artists. The real stuff comes from street level but the Thais only want to hear the artists with corporate backing not the guys who are making music for love.

The house music they want to hear is only the mass produced pop house remixes and tracks they can easily buy on the Khao San Road as pirated Ministry Of Sound Annuals or crap Tiesto stuff but as bifftastic says most of all they like to listen to nosebleed repetative psy trance <deleted>. Try playing a soulful house groove, Detroit techno or anything made before 2003 to a Thai house crowd and you would lose the dancefloor instantly.

New York house music legend Louie Vega played in Phuket last year to about 30 people who kept requesting pop house or trance. dam_n!!!!!!!! Louie Vaga can pull crowds of tens of thousands anywhere in the world but in Phuket 30 people who want him to play David Guetta tracks or Armin Van Buren <deleted>.

As for the Thai hip hop scene. Nah it doesn't really exist, they say they love hip hop but they don't think of Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, KRS1, Big Daddy Kane or A Tribe Called Quest they mean strictly that awfull gangster shit you hear in the charts and nothing else. Once again Thais like the stuff with corporate backing not the stuff which is being made for the love of it.

The Thai rock scene seems to only be poor attempts at copying pretty boy rock bands like Weezer nothing with balls like Hendrix, Led Zep or Motorhead.

The Thai reggae scene can be distilled down to one album by Bob Marley, one album by Thai reggae outfit T-Bone and one song by Job2Do.

I have played hip hop to Thai hip hop crowd but because I was playing real underground hip hop not chart pop hop they weren't interested, I have played to Thai house crowds but because it wasn't stuff they knew from MTV or the nosebleed trance you can hear at The Full Moon forget about it.

I have played some of the most influential bands in rock music to Thai rock music fans but because they weren't shallow pretty boy chart rock bands with to much gel in their hair the Thais switched off. When The Jam, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead, Aerosmith(the early stuff) and Acdc can't excite rock fans then you know they are not really rock fans but fans of faux rock/chart music played on guitars.

As for reggae I have played at 5 different reggae bars (complete with weed smoking dreadlocked Thai rastas) with a highly aclaimed reggae DJ from London who spins at the London Carnival he is the real thing. But he wasn't playing Marley on loop so after a half an hour or so inevitably the requests for the Legend album or requests for T-Bone come quick and fast. So it goes from genre to genre, from club to club the Thais only like what they already know and to hel_l with musical adventure.

So it's not that all Thais only listen to Issan music and Madonna quite a few like hip hop, house and reggae but strictly the most common shallow well known versions of each genre over and over again. If they hire a hip hop or reggae dj they don't want him to bring sounds they never heard before they just want him to play the same cd's they listen to everyday or they will sit down and sulk.

Thais have the most closeminded and musically shallow culture I have ever encountered.

Edited October 29, 2009 by mrbp

[bkkjames]

Do you know Tod Daniels?

[JR Texas]

I am just saying they are probably some of the most musically limited people on the planet.

LOL...........

I thought I had seen all the criticisms possible of Thailand and Thai people from you, but you can always find more.

Sek Loso maybe crap to you, but when he is performed in Europe he got rave reviews.

Take bands that are not from English speaking countries who have become international stars without singing in English.......Ummmmm, there must be some, I just can't think of any at the moment.

Abba had phenominal International success, what would their success have been if they had sung the same songs only in Swedish ?

The Scorpions had great International success, would they have been so successful singing only in German ?

So it's pretty much a given that successful international bands sing in English, or are considered crap because they cannot be understood, believe it or not JR, Dylan may be considered crap by many Thai people purely because they could not understand the language or the intent. If Dylan sang in Thai, then he may be liked by more Thai people.

You may consider Pongsit Khampee crap, purely because you cannot understand what he's actually singing about, but the Thais like him. If he sang in English, no doubt he would be more popular amongst English speaking listeners

Music is Music, most that criticise other peoples musical tastes and think that only their taste is the correct taste and all other should follow their lead are arrogant and dillusional.

Ask a young Hip Hop fan what he thinks of the music you like and he'd probably tell you it's crap, you may think his taste is crap, when he's old he may well still like Hip Hop, but the newer generation will think it's crap, yet all of you may like 300 year old classical music.

As for the OP who bought over 50,000 discs over to Thailand to be a DJ, you must have had a heck of a bill for freight, must have cost a fortune, what was the import tax ?????

Must be a sickener, to have wasted all that money when you could have gone to Pantip and bought a couple of Mp3's.

Always a pleasure reading your posts.........

[bonobo]

I borrowed a buddy's car some 6 years ago or so for a trip to Buriram to buy some silk.  As I got out of Bangkok radio range, I saw a cd in the door compartment, so I put it in.  I am not expert on Thai music, and some of it wasn't really catching my attention, but one song was bouncy with a nice melody, so I played it a number of times.

Back in Bangkok, I was in the conference room waiting for a meeting when I started half humming, half singing the song (without really knowing what the words meant). The Thais in the room started looking at me strangely, and then a few burst out laughing.  My buddy finally told me that I was singing a popular children's song!  

So I guess that showed whose taste was sophisticated and whose was a little more immature.

[CitizenSmith]

Try playing a soulful house groove, Detroit techno or anything made before 2003 to a Thai house crowd and you would lose the dancefloor instantly.

Ain't that the truth....

Frankie Knuckles, Derek May and the classic Stings of Life. Shooting back across the Atlantic we have the likes of Darren Emerson, Oakenfold, Rampling, Anderew Weatherall, Danny Rampling and Terry Farley, these were the pioneers of house music 20 years years ago from Chicago, Detroit, The Balearic Islands and the UK they created a worldwide phenomena.

The USA and UK are the leaders in music, with a history that no other can challenge on the planet it is simply astounding. That's not being arrogant, that's just stating a fact.

The youth rebellion here seems to involve wearing skinny jeans, a Reggae tracksuit top and driving a hundred miles an hour on a souped up Honda Wave, which is a pity as there is so much more 'outside the box'.

[mrbp]

WARNING NOT FOR CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WHO ARE EASILY OFFENDED BUT BILLS GOT IT RIGHT.

PLAY FROM YOUR F*$*ING HEARTS

I'm with Bill Hicks

Nuf said

[mrbp]

Try playing a soulful house groove, Detroit techno or anything made before 2003 to a Thai house crowd and you would lose the dancefloor instantly.

Ain't that the truth....

Frankie Knuckles, Derek May and the classic Stings of Life. Shooting back across the Atlantic we have the likes of Darren Emerson, Oakenfold, Rampling, Anderew Weatherall, Danny Rampling and Terry Farley, these were the pioneers of house music 20 years years ago from Chicago, Detroit, The Balearic Islands and the UK they created a worldwide phenomena.

The USA and UK are the leaders in music, with a history that no other can challenge on the planet it is simply astounding. That's not being arrogant, that's just stating a fact.

The youth rebellion here seems to involve wearing skinny jeans, a Reggae tracksuit top and driving a hundred miles an hour on a souped up Honda Wave, which is a pity as there is so much more 'outside the box'.

Ahh yes Smudge, you are a man who knows his onions. Andrew Weatherall used to spin with my best mate @ The Gardening Club in Covent Garden back in the early 90's

Rhythim is Rhythim-Strings of Life

Remember this stuff?

Ahh the good old days

And of course the Mighty Larry Levan

I remember hearing this tune played at an illegal acid house party in a derelict police station in North London back in 1988,

I spose thats what I call true musical open mindedness that way back then a bunch of acid ravers would go mad for an old soulful disco track like this. Open minds..nuf said

Edited October 29, 2009 by mrbp

[chriswatson]

To be honest, as I have read through this thread I am reminded of the way teenagers act back in the States. Each year or at least every few years there was some new "in" band or singer that if you didn't like, you were sneered at. The teens would whine to adults, "You don't treat me with respect. You criticize my music." Of course, if you said you liked Elvis or, even worse, Perry Como, those same teens that wanted to be respected for their musical tastes would then make nasty comments about the music you liked.

All in all, as Dino once said to Sinatra: "What's the big deal? It's just singin'!"

Records that people like sell. I guess the Thais are satisfied with "their" music. Leave them alone. Respect their choice.

If you don't like the music available here in Thailand, buy/order a CD or music DVD. There's plenty out there for almost any taste, and with downloading over the internet, there's little blocking you from getting what you want.

There's no denying teenagers act like that in the US and elsewhere. In fact, probably everywhere except in Thailand. Why is that? The new generations presumably do not challenge the old. Nothing necessarily "wrong" with that but it manifests a conservative culture, which is what Thailand has.

Of course one should respect a culture and their choice, but it shouldn't stop those bred in less conservative cultures to discuss the evidence as "questioning things" is the way our culture has conditioned us. You can't have it both ways.

"New" music is available, legally or otherwise (for the time being) to any one with Internet access, but that's not really the point, it's just a fact. I do find it strange that despite tourism and a large expat community, none of this has resulted in Thai music advancing through contact with different music from different continents.

I still think it may be because Thai ladies are conservative music-wise (because of their cultural conditioning) and their prospective clients/boy friends don't want to make it with someone who has a face like a slapped arse (due to their sulking because of the choice of music isn't to their liking).