Thai Music

[meemiathai]

Do farangs living in Thailand listen to Thai music?

Do they like it?

If not, do they consider themselves well acquainted with Thai culture?

[mrentoul]

Do they like it?

If not, do they consider themselves well acquainted with Thai culture?

This looks like a loaded question.

It is an awkward one for most westerners to answer, because I suspect they do not like it.

No one would admit to being ignorant of Thai culture, and the two are not necessarily linked. I assume you mean Thai popular music (as opposed to country music or classical music) and as such I assume you are referring to Thai popular culture (ie that bit of culture driven by teens and people in their 20s and 30s, and around which a huge entertainment industry has evolved).

I listen to Thai popular music (sat-tring) and love it. I thought popular music had died before I came here (but for Eric Clapton, who is getting on a bit).

Thai music has given many many hours of listening pleasure. I live with Thais who also like Thai music. They know all the names, and who is married to who and in which group. They also know which artists to avoid.

I reckon we get a new CD about once a week.

You can visit sites on the Net to get Thai songs in their entirety. Some are oldies, others not yet released.

Heard enough?

[meemiathai]

thank you.

and the two are not necessarily linked

I agree.

But would like to see what people think.

For me, I mainly listen to Thai music nowadays. For 4 yrs, since marriage. I like both pop and isaan music. Bird Thongchai is the best. Aren't Kat English and Nat Myria beautiful like angels? I like Carabao as well.

Really curious!

[bangkok-bob]

I'd rather listen to a screaming Thai motorbike than the awful garbage they call music, that's just me though. Maybe I should become one of those culture loving, tree hugging types, then it wouldn't sound so bad.

[mrentoul]

Maybe I should become one of those culture loving, tree hugging types

I don't think you have to go to that extreme. Besides, I thought the Greenhouse Effect had just about killed off that species.

Aren't Kat English and Nat Myria beautiful like angels?

They are, and there's a bunch of others who look no less beautiful. Au, another solo performer who lives in Bangkok, has physical beauty and a stunning voice to match.

[Nat]

I really like the song by Clash that's played literally everywhere - anyway, bought "the best of 2003" cd the other day just for that song

[meemiathai]

Ched Nam Ta?

[Nat]

that's the one - can't explain why but luv it

[mrentoul]

Clash has put out an acoustic-style album of their best stuff, called Soundcream. I think those songs sound better than the originals.

The lead singer is...what can you say? A thing of beauty. His voice is fantastic too!

I can think of a few other albums you might like if you like Clash. One is a new one by a group called Peacemaker, a few of whose songs you can find at 365jukebox.com.

Another group is called Pause. The lead singer is no longer with us, but his voice is one of those heaven-sent things.

Try also A Million Ways to Love Part 1 by Boyd Kosiyabong (and friends).

Kosiyabong is in a class of his own. He filled Muang Thong Thani stadium at least twice this year for a concert. He draws young and old alike.

There are heaps more...heaps!

[p1p]

Two other brilliant acts are Asanee & Wasant and Nuvo. Both well worth listening to. I have a collection of several hundred tapes and CDs going back to the mid seventies and listen to them almost as much as Farang sounds.

Don't you hate those game shows where the tone deaf & dumb contestants have to screech their way through assorted "pop" songs. I have tried, but I can't remain in the same room if one is on..

[Candyflip]

How about " LOSO"? They are pretty good too,aren't they?

This topic make me smile! I am thai but hardly listen to thai pop music. Shame on me!

Au is a great singer I agree

[mrentoul]

Au is a great singer I agree

She lives in a flower shop near Khao San Rd. My Thai friends keep bumping into her, and have talked to her a few times and taken her picture, but I have never had the pleasure, dammit!

She's an ordinary girl: drinks Thai whisky and smokes. No affectation, or so I like to think.

Au is stunning. Her voice makes me cry. I want to meet her before I leave this place (whenever that is).

I mentioned one website above where you can hear Thai songs. Another is kapook.com. They have collections of oldies as well, some going back more than 20 years.

Here's a link to a new song from Boyd Kosiyabong and friends. If this stuff is not fantastic, I want to know what is!

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=1667

[meemiathai]

khor ched nam ta

Nat, this is for you.

[meemiathai]

And this one of the very best of Loso is for you, Candyflip! I like it very much!

Sawadee bee mai!

[meemiathai]

>> เพลง : เคยรักฉันบ้างไหม

>> ศิลปิน : โลโซ [LOSO]

>> อัลบั้ม : ปกแดง

และแล้วก็มาถึงวัน วันที่เธอต้องไป ใจปวดร้าว แทบแตกสลาย

ก็รู้ยังรักเธออยู่ แต่ไม่รู้จะห้ามยังไง ต้องปล่อยไป เพราะใจสุดจะรั้ง

ก็เธอเข้ามาเปลี่ยน เปลี่ยนความเป็นฉันแล้วทุกสิ่ง มันไม่จริง ที่เธอจะจากไป

หัวใจ เจ็บปวดแค่ใหนไม่มีใครรู้ ต้องเก็บไว้อยู่ลึกข้างใน

อีกนานไหม อีกเมื่อไรถึงจะลืมเธอ

* จะผ่านคืนนี้ยังไงข้างกายไม่มีเธออยู่ อยากบอกให้รู้ฉันคงต้องตายถ้าขาดเธอ

อยากกอดเธอไว้นาน ๆ อีกสักครั้งก่อนจะจาก มันทรมานแทบจะขาดใจ

** บอกฉันหน่อยได้ไหม ก่อนที่เธอจะจากไป ก่อนที่ลมหายใจฉันจะสิ้นสุด วันนี้

เคยรักฉันบ้างไหม อยากจะถามครั้งสุดท้าย ก่อนคืนวันอันโหดร้าย จะมาถึง

บอกฉันหน่อยได้ไหม ว่าทำไมต้องหลอกฉัน ถ้าไม่รักก็บอกกัน ตั้งแต่วันนั้น...

... อย่าฝันจะได้หัวใจ

Solo :-

[ ซ้ำ * , ** ]

[taxexile]

i'm afraid i find most thai pop music to be nauseatingly saccharine, even worse than euro-pop,kiddie-pop or that nadir of musical expression, brit-pop.

some of the mor-lam type of music from the north east /lao is quite pleasant to my ears. its a truly original sound that has developed without losing too much of its roots. i think of it as thai blues. there was a thai woman called phompuang, who died some years back, whose voice and music were exceptional.

as i'm someone who was weaned and nourished on wailing guitars and blues and jazz rhythms of the 60's,70's and 80's, the simplistic,simpering warblings of the thai popster,with their tales of unrequited love,spotty angst, unreliable and cheating partners and flowery emotional overkill will never strike a chord in my heart. some of the more "serious" musicians can wield a useful plectrum, but its just a poor copy of western styles.

if anybody can recommend good thai music (not thai-ified western pop), or a radio station that plays such stuff, i would be grateful as i'm always on the look out for good sounds. but i have generally been disappointed with thai music.

the songs are of the minute, will be forgotten in 6 months and therefore form no part of thai culture and are are only useful as background music in lifts or in robinsons department stores.

[Candyflip]

Taxexile, if you dont like thai bublegum music like CAT,AU etc , try thai classical ones like SOONTARAPORN!!! They are excellent!! They were a big band in 1960s-70s. My mother used to listen to those music all the time,while my father was into The beatle and rolling stone.

SOONTARAPORN has many singers both men and women.For woman voice , i highly recommend RUANTONG TONGLANTOM and for man voice SUTHEP WONGKUMHANG is the one to go for!

Thank you for LOSO lyric ka, that song was a fevorite song of my ex-french bf too! I wonder if all french love LOSO ... haha

[mrentoul]

the songs are of the minute, will be forgotten in 6 months and therefore form no part of thai culture and are are only useful as background music in lifts or in robinsons department stores.

Hmm, what does that say for those of us unfortunate enough to like Thai popular music? Seems we don't make the cut.

I disagree Thai popular music fails to contribute to Thai culture. Thailand is a young society, so the music young people make is almost bound to have an influence.

But some of these artists draw old and young alike. Ever been to a Bird concert? Parents, teens, and grandparents alike. He holds a series of them every year, up and down the country. And he's not so young himself any more!

the more "serious" musicians can wield a useful plectrum, but its just a poor copy of western styles.

Once again, I don't agree. The Clash has a couple of great guitarists, and some of their acoustic playing resembles classical stuff more than it does rock.

Check this out: doesn't it sound Spanish to you?

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=1536

It's by Clash, and taken from the soundtrack to Beautiful Boxer.

Sirisak is another young artist who is great on acoustic guitar, but more than that, he has the songs and the voice. Many of these artists have more than one string to their bow, so to speak.

Want to hear a more mature singer? Try Boyd's A Million Ways to Love Part 1. He's just put out another one, Songs from Different Scenes Part 2. Both include songs from artists well beyond their 20s and 30s.

One is veteran performer Gumala Sukorson, who sings a wonderful piece in Thai on the first album and who has just put out an album of her own (in English, I am told).

Her daughter, Marisa, sings a great piece on Songs from Different Scenes 2.

You can find both songs at 365jukebox.com, at this address. Just put สุโกศล in the search box.

http://www.365jukebox.com/script/search.cgi#PLY

Here's an alternate link for the daughter's song:

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=1667

Here's another beauty, also from A Beautiful Boxer, by ''Art'' Arsinee Suwan:

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=1148

[Candyflip]

The kapook link you gave is excellent!!!!! This really make my day. I am 10000 miles away from home, some songs make me think about my golden teen years in Bangkok. Can I add some of my fevorites?

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=1327

by nop pornchumni ,the only thai guy that I fancy a date. lol

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=1327

by if i am not wrong that was AU, when she was with paper jam. excellent!

[mrentoul]

We got just the one link there, but it was a great song, so I played it twice.

Some albums I like for just one or two songs. The two-part Divas and Gentleman concert contains a song that still makes me weep: Polapon's version of an oldie, Mot Leuw Mot Leuy.

A compilation, She Sings His Songs, includes a beautiful version of Ying Soong Ying Ngao by Au.

Haven't looked for links for these because I have the CDs. If I find them I'll post them here.

Please forgive Anglicised spelling. I don't who can read here and who can't.

[Candyflip]

oooppp wrong url

here is the paper jam song by AU

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=1187

[mrentoul]

Thanks for that link. I have been looking for that Au song for ages!

One of her throatier numbers. She sang it at a concert she gave with Amp (another young woman with a terrific voice) at Thammasat University this year.

Here's another oldie I love, by ปุ้ม อรรถพงษ์

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=1124

This one is just cute:

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=925

A gentle classic:

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=850

Here's a link to a post at thai-language.com about one of my favourite Thai bands, Pause. Contains link to songs and website, plus lots of posts (in Thai) about the band.

http://www.thai-language.com/ubb_cgi/ultim...ic;f=1;t=000140

[mrentoul]

Someone mentioned here a while ago that the soundtrack for Beautiful Boxer sounded great.

Now that I've heard it, I can second that!

Here's a song from it. There are two versions on the sountrack, one longer and mystical sounding, and the other a radio edit.

This one is cut for radio, I think.

http://www.kapook.com/newmusicstation/play.php?id=1335

[taxexile]

i've tried some of those links and they just reinforce my views of thai pop music as either saccharine mush or thai-ified versions of western musical ideas. they are popular for a few months and then fade into well deserved oblivion. they will not form part of thai culture.

the bluesy mor-lam, being timeless , is the true repository of the thai musical soul and that is where future musical historians will look to find thai cultural musical heritage.

the pretty boy warblers and posing songstresses will find themselves deservedly dumped into the dustbin along with all the other 'd'-list celebrities that infect our lives these days.

BRING BACK REAL MUSIC AND REAL TALENT.

[Longsands]

Back in the early 90's there was Hin Lek Fie - Stone Metal Fire. I bought some of their tapes back then and took them back to the UK. Anybody who got in my car had to lend them an ear, and I ended up brainwashing a few of my mates. Generally rock, both slow and hard. The singer is still going strong in The Sun. Often get my Thai friends to sing their stuff to help me endure those dreaded karoke nights occasionally forced upon me.

Lam Morrison was also a bit of a showman, covering lots of stuff. Last saw him at the Sofitel, Khon Kaen, 3 years ago. Enjoyable.

[mrentoul]

they will not form part of thai culture.

Err...and we know this how?

Bothered to ask a Thai?

I think music enthusiasts here will just carry on enthusing.

Is that alright with you?

(don't get prickly...just having fun)

[taxexile]

please carry on enthusing, music is a personal thing, but most pop music is just airtime filler and a business venture, and as time will i'm sure tell,will have no lasting qualities.

enjoy it for what it is but lets not elevate it above its station.

prickly???........me???..... never.