My Musical Alphabet - a challenge

---

I was dying to create this list but no one nominates me. Sad! But lucky me, I saw a post by @veckinon for this challenge. He's kind enough to let me participate. This challenge was started by @verhp11.

---

The Rules
• You have to mention one song per letter of the alphabet. The song title has to start with that letter
• Write a small line of text for each song, memories or something else...
• Put a video with every song, if there aren't you can put a sound link
• Use the hashtag #musicalphabetchallenge
• Nominate at least 1 person, the more the better

---

It's really not easy to put the songs in the alphabetical order, but surely it is a fun challenge. In this list, you'll find some artist from Indonesia, Filipina, Iceland, Sweden, Australia, France, UK, USA. From the 70s until 2000's. Tame Impala is the youngest band on this list. And the letter X is tricky, I have zero references for it, so I came up with a different treat :P.

Without further ado, here is my list.

---

Aksi Kucing - Whiteshoes and The Couple Company

---

This is a funny song by one of the most prominent Indonesian Indie Band. It's actually a cover song from 1950s Indonesian Keroncong music scene. White shoes and The Couples Company is known for their retro sound and look. They did a great cover version in this song. This is a lyric video, in case you want to know the words. And believe me, if you speak Indonesian, the lyric is funny!

---

Be Above It - Tame Impala

---

I stopped discovering new music in the 2010s. I guess Rock is dead. But then I hear this song played in a coffee shop. It has kind of psychedelic things from old rock n roll band, but also have a new ambiance sounds to it. I love the balance. Hell, Tame Impala is a good band!

---

Calling The New God - Senyawa

---

If you're into experimental sounds, music that so weird you couldn't ever hear the lyrics, this one is for you. Senyawa is a unique duo from Yogyakarta. They built their own musical instrument from bamboo and other weird things, making an intense loud sound. Being unknown in their home country, actually, Senyawa is the busiest Band in Indonesia. Their tour schedule is amazingly tight. Not only in Asia but also Europe.

This video is a short documentary about Senyawa, directed by the great Vincent Moon.

---

Daddy's Car - The Cardigans

---

This is the first song I heard from The Cardigans. The melody was so catchy and Nina Persons' voice was so cute. I'm in love with this Swedish band. Thanks to The Cardigans, I knew about Labrador Records. This Swedish record label has so many great bands under their umbrella. Club 8, Acid House King, The Radio Dept., Pele Carlberg, and many more. I love them all.

---

Empire Ants - Gorillaz

---

I'm a big fan of Blur. Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon is my hero. I met Graham Coxon once during their concert in Jakarta, he drew me a cartoon character. That was one of the greatest moment in my life. So when Blur was on hiatus and Damon Albarn started the Gorillaz project, I was ready. And it was great! He gave me something that I really love: Badass cartoon characters and cool music.

But as the band evolved, they no longer use the cartoon characters. As you'd see in the video. This is a nice collaboration between Gorillaz and Little Dragon, a Swedish electronic music band. Yukimi Nagano, the vocalist, gave us a wonderful performance, full of soul.

---

F·U·Y·A - C2C

---

France has plenty of coolest DJ on the planet. C2C is definitely one of these best DJs. They are 4 DJ that treat their vinyl as an instrument. They go old school. Not against digital DJ-ing, but prefer real scratches on the disc. This song really gets me. It shows their skill as DJ, in a very entertaining way. The sample they use is unique, like an Asian tune. So good!

---

Good Enough - Dodgy

---

If it's good enough for you, it's good enough for me. This catchy lyrics and tunes were too fun to hear and sing. Liverpool FC fans recreate this song dedicated to their beloved player: Mo Salah. I remember when I heard this song on the radio, I immediately liked it. Yes, it was that catchy.

---

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - The Smiths

---

This is the story of my life, an anthem, thanks Morrissey to wrote it for me. But that's exactly the quality of The Smiths (or Morrissey), they could bring the lyrics that really gets you into a beautiful jangling music. Johny Marr's guitar was so dominant, and I love it. It's hard to choose which one of The Smiths song that I considered the best. But Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now would easily be in my top 3 of all time.

---

I am The Walrus - The Beatles

---

What's that "I am the egg man, They are the egg men, I am the walrus", are they high? "Goo goo g'joo", wtf man?! That's my reaction when I heard this absurd song. It took me several years to accept that this is the song by The Beatles, the same band thang sung "I Want to Hold your hand". But really, the absurdity was so good. I can't get enough of this song. My horizon of music was expanded wildly, thanks to I am the walrus. Pop music could be anything, pop music should be creative. The Beatles is a great example for this.

---

Julie Tearjerky - Eraser Head

---

This is a Filipino Band. This is their only song I know. It was released in the late 90s when the alternative music scene started to disappear. Thanks to MTV Asia, they showcased this band. I guess they're in the same genre (and generation) with Indonesian indie pop band Pure Saturday. The music was so simple. It did make me take my guitar to the studio and formed a band, played in small gigs. No fancy skills, no big money involved. It was pure happiness.

---

Kites are fun - The Free Design

---

When the internet started to boom in Indonesia, I was using it for searching more band that I never heard before. I use AltaVista (yes, this was before Google era), and mIRC to discover old bands. Kites are fun by The Free Design is one of my first discovery. I love this song so much. It has an element of pop, and folk and the mood was so bright. I want to play some kites!

---

Loser - Big Bang

---

I was skeptical about Kpop. I never listen to boyband song before. But my GF forced me to watch this video. And you know what? I love it! lol. This Korean Boyband is arguably one of the biggest boy band in the world. Yes, you heard me right. In. The. World. Their fanbase is spread across the globe. And the band members are talented and highly committed. They are distinctive from the other boyband, they have different looks and persona (as you'd see it on the video), and they dare to try something new and different. I respect that.

---

Misty Mountain Hop - Led Zepplin

---

4 guys, all extremely skillful, definitely one of the best rock'n'roll band ever. My first encounter with Led Zepplin was Black Dog. That's an awesome riff! Jimmy Page's playin' was a motivation to learn guitar. How to really mastering guitar and keep it cool. Surely Jimmy Page has created many many greatest guitar riff ever. But Misty Mountain Hop sounds different. I remember when I heard it for the first time, I want to keep it playin' it over and over again. My walkman ends up broken.

---

New World - L'arc en Ciel

---

L'arc en Ciel (or Laruku), is easily the most badass J-rock band. There was a time before the Korean wave (Gangnam Style and so on) when Japan Rock (J-rock) is dominating music scenes. It's all thanks to the anime, they always showcasing cool J-rock song as an opening and at the end credits too. Laruku was exceptional. Their music was so diverse, they're loved to combine many genres, and the guitarist was super cool, with the cigarette always on his lips. This song is my favorite by Laruku. Try to play it once with my band. Total failure.

Fun facts: There is a band in Indonesia that devoted to playing in J-rock genre, and the band name was: J-rock. Quite meta, eh. Their selling was good but gradually become unknown for the millennials. Just like any old band. Yeah, life.

---

Olsen Olsen - Sigur Ros

---

I was watching Heima, a documentary about Icelandic band Sigur Ros. It was a good film, very humble, and warm. The best part of the movie? It got to be when Jonsi's grandma turn off the TV when Sigur Ros started to play a show on TV. It's hilarious. The second best would be when they played Olsen Olsen in an open scene. It's so damn good. I don't know the lyrics at all. But who cares. The music is great!

This video is taken from the 'Heima' documentary.

---

Parklife - Blur

---

Ah, nostalgia, memories, the 90s was the best time for me. It was the time for Nirvana to change the landscape of rock music. Sadly, Kurt Cobain died. But the legacy remains. The music scene was vacuum a little bit. Until this cool wave was coming, the British invasion. Brit Pop. All the cool kids should choose one: Blur or Oasis. I choose Blur. They offered something more diverse, more unique. We still hear the Jangling guitar and the Madchester influence in the Blur earliest album. Not until they released Parklife.

In Parklife, Damon Albarn did a bit of rap(?), in a thick British accent, and the chorus was so fun to sing along. I was in tears when seeing their live performance in Jakarta. I jumped around like crazy on this song's chorus. Feels so great.

---

Quiet Houses - Fleet Foxes

---

There are not so many song titles started with letter Q. But luckily there was a Fleet Foxes' song. Any Fleet Foxes song would be easily put on this list. Always love their harmonies. Kinda reminds me of Beach Boys, but more modern (Obviously).

---

Rano Pano - Mogwai

---

I've seen their live performance in Bandung, Indonesia. It was the best concert ever. So loud and clear. So intimate. The venue was not so big. I could see their sweating fingers on the guitar fret. This song is not my first encounter with this Scotish Instrumental rock band. But this song is one of their best. This is Mogwai characteristic. Start simple, then adding up the element, then the sound becomes thicker, chaos, uncontrollable. But then there was a climax. For me, Mogwai always delivered that point by point in a high precision. Slow but sure. Calm but dangerous.

---

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

---

Hands down, the greatest guitar riff of the 2000s era.

---

Technologic - Daft Punk

---

Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, Trash it, change it, mail, upgrade it, Charge it, point it, zoom it, press it, Snap it, work it, quick, erase it, Write it, cut it, paste it, save it, Load it, check it, quick, rewrite it Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it, Drag and drop it, zip, unzip it... Technologic.

Simply too awesome! :P

---

Underwear - Pulp

---

Jarvis Cocker's lyrics were poetics yet feel so real and vulgar. This particular song explains to me what Pulp is all about. My favorite quote from the song: "If fashion is your trade, Then when you're naked, I guess you must be unemployed."

---

Venus As A Boy - Bjork

---

Oh, I'm speechless. This is Bjork! This is pop music should be. Complex, rich, and deep. I was drunk when I listened to this song for the first time. I don't regret it. It was a great moment. This song took me so high.

---

Wake Up, Boo - The Boo Radley

---

I hear The Boo Radley before I read To Kill a Mocking Bird. I listened to this song at the same era with the likes of Blur, Dodgy, Pulp, Supergrass, Super Furry Animals, etc. Actually, I just loved their name and the song title. But the song is good. So...

---

X-files (Mulder & Scully) - Catatonia

---

Oops, sorry! I don't have any reference to a song starting with 'X'. Zero. Nada. Nihil.
But, I guess this one is okay. Quite captured the 90s era: Mulder and Scully--->X-files--->start with X--->approve.

---

Yesterday Once More - Carpenters

---

Probably the first song I listened to as a human being. Lol. I couldn't even remember when I listened to this song. Perhaps when I was still a baby. The "Every Sha la la" chorus is epic and evergreen.

---

Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie

---

I love David Bowie. This song was an early introduction for me before I knew Major Tom. The name Ziggy Stardust was so appealing. I was only a kid, I couldn't help it but look up to this poster of a very strange man. I begin to listen David Bowie on my early college years. Damn, he is good! No, actually, more than good! Great song, great artist, great personality.

---

There you go! This is my musical alphabet list.

I'd like to nominate @diebitch and @mateang to come up with #musicalphabetchallenge because I believe their musical taste could expand my horizon. Haha.

Cheers! Thank you for reading!

Photo by Natalie Perea on Unsplash