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Curhat cukup panjang

Agak ingin merayakan kalau akhirnya berhasil menamatkan buku ke tiga tahun ini. Hore! Soalnya sejak pertengahan kuliah, saya sudah tidak bisa baca buku se-leluasa itu. Fokus saya teralihkan ke serial-serial tv yang juga tidak kalah bagus ceritanya dan tentu saja kewajiban untuk belajar cari nafkah.

Kali ini saya tergelitik sesuatu. Bukan tergelitik karena hal ini fenomenal, tapi karena ini merupakan akumulasi dari hal-hal kecil lainnya yang menggelitik sejak jauh hari, kebetulan benang merahnya sama.

Dimulai dari fakta ringan kalau dulu ketika kecil saya selalu menulis cita-cita saya sebagai penulis novel. tepatnya, penulis fiksi. atau penulis cerita. Sebenarnya bisa saya ceritakan juga kenapa saya kecil bercita-cita seperti itu, tapi nanti kepanjangan. Singkatnya saya yang tumbuh dewasa menyadari kalau menulis itu butuh bakat dan latihan, sama seperti kemampuan-kemampuan lainnya, juga ilmu menulis tidak bisa pukul rata atau palu gada.

Misalnya kamu jago menulis puisi, belum tentu bisa menulis cerita. Kamu bisa menulis cerita, belum tentu bisa menulis essai. Kamu pandai menulis essai, belum tentu bisa menulis copy. Tapi kalau memang tidak bisa menulis semuanya, bukankah memang itu artinya tidak berbakat? Pikirku dulu ketika awal bekerja. Singkatnya, saya merasa tulisan saya biasa saja. Cenderung banyak yang perlu diperbaiki. Ketika ikut workshop, ada nasihat yang saya ingat: "editor akan malas membaca tulisan yang tidak rapi, jadi percuma bila menarik tapi tidak baik kaidah penulisannya”, saya jadi semakin ragu dengan kemampuan saya.

Walaupun berada di posisi belum ingin menyerah tapi juga tidak lanjut berjuang, saya masih suka membaca. Kali ini mencoba bentuk yang lebih modern, agar (saran dari teman) saya bisa melihat bahwa banyak juga teman-teman satu level yang juga sedang belajar menulis. Banyak tulisan yang tidak enak dibaca atau bahkan menarik bisa masuk ke artikel daring. Tapi mereka memang punya isi. Ibaratnya seperti belajar makan gado-gado gerobak ketika kamu terbiasa makan salad restoran yang mengikuti kurs dolar. Sama-sama sayur.

Isi dari tulisan jadi penting karena saya terganggu dengan beberapa kisah dari 'budayawan' Indonesia yang membuat fanfiction dari kisah perwayangan. Memang sepertinya sedang trend, membuat kisah alternatif dari kisah-kisah masa lalu. Terutama bila kisah saklek masa lalu diubah sudut pandangnya dari kacamata perempuan. Misal Medusa yang dikisahkan sebagai monster jahat, setelah ditelaah oleh pakar adalah penyintas yang sempat diperkosa salah satu tuhan dari Olympus sana. Sementara di Indonesia, muncul kisah 'alternatif' dimana Shinta dari kisah Ramayana dikisahkan menyukai Rahwana karena sesungguhnya ia hanya pria jatuh cinta dengan tulus dan tidak pernah menyakiti Shinta.

Kisah ini tidak populer tentunya, tapi bagaimanapun saya bisa melihat kalau ada beberapa orang yang aktif di ranah 'budaya' menyukai ide ini. Mereka lupa meskipun Rahwana tidak pernah menyentuh Shinta, menculik orang bukanlah bentuk kasih sayang. Setidaknya bukan saya. Mengurung paksa satu hari pun, bisa membuat saya dendam, meskipun dikurung dalam istana. Hingga kini saya bingung, apa tidak ada wanita di sekitar mereka yang menjelaskan betapa perempuan tidak butuh cinta hanya dari aksi melayani, tapi juga memberikan kebebasan.

Kisah alternatif diatas adalah salah satu alasan saya menulis ini, tapi ini cerita lama yang akhirnya saya pendam sendiri. Terlalu buang tenaga untuk menyuarakan ketidaksetujuan saya pada karya fiksi di sosial media. Namun alasan saya mengeluarkan uneg-uneg di tumblr setelah sekian lama tidak saya buka, sebenarnya karena saya sedang bekerja dengan teman-teman yang lebih pandai menulis. Satu lebih tua, lulusan sekolah di Amerika yang jelas lebih piawai dalam berbahasa seni. Satu lagi lebih muda dan pintar. Tentunya bukannya saya rendah diri, tapi teman saya yang muda ini seakan-akan menjadi contoh bagaimana jika saya yang muda tidak terhambat oleh gangguan mental yang saya abaikan saat itu: jalanmu di karir akan lebih mulus.

Tentu berkat teman dekat saya, saya mengerti bahwa ini bukan masalah besar. Hingga kemarin, ketika suatu hari teman saya dikirimi oleh seorang seniman senior sebuah tulisan panggung yang berisi cerita (lagi-lagi) tentang kisah alternatif wayang Ramayana. Dimana kali ini kisahnya Rama adalah seorang penyuka lelaki dan Shinta hendak membalas dendam karena merasa dimanfaatkan. Ceritanya menarik untuk diperdebatkan, karena memang unik, seperti kisah-kisah fanfiction pada umumnya (misalnya fanfiction Sherlock Holmes yang punya hubungan dengan Irene Adler, padahal di tulisan aslinya tidak).

Hanya saja, ketika saya membaca tulisan dari si seniman senior ini, ego saya protes. Tulisannya jelek dan terburu-buru, seperti tulisan kawan-kawan amatir yang tidak punya nama. Saya jadi berpikir, sepertinya dia ingin meminta bantuan teman saya yang pintar menulis ini menjadi editornya secara cuma-cuma. Tapi mungkin juga, saya lagi sirik saja dengan orang-orang yang sudah memiliki prestasi dan pengikut budaya tapi tata cara berpikirnya berbeda dengan saya.

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lol 😂

preparing to the live shows

by hewll. or Stu?

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Lemme know if there a fanfiction of these two beautiful men based on this story.

#damon albarn #brett anderson #fanfic #fanfiction material #britpop

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Day 1: Describe My Personality

I'm stubborn and I know what I want. That's for sure.

People say I’m an honest person, I won’t deny that. But I can lie too. Sometimes people think I’m too harsh. Well, I regret some of my way of caring for people, but I can’t please anyone.

I have a huge trauma and it put me to a tricky situation; I am glad and regret that I shared it with certain people. Yes, people can ask me this, but only face to face and in a private place. Anyway, this thing has formed me into a person who believes that a normal relationship is not for me.

I sometimes feel people think I'm strong (I am, but,) and they won't allow me to break. Maybe that's why I am always tired.

It's hard for me to share my feeling or thought. Therefore I love fiction, music, and art. They can tell me how to feel and that I related with some form of emotion that not everyone understands. I once felt related to Holden from A Catcher in The Rye, I'm not sure today, but yes, it messed up.

Now I madly attached with One Piece and Damon Albarn's works. One Piece is a story that told me the power of dreaming and caring. While Damon Albarn's songs often romanticize the beauty of accepting, struggling, and moving on.

In short, I like my personality, but I want to be better. 

#30 days challenge #day 1 #describe my personality

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I know that you're not suppose to wear green clothes to Parangtritis, but what happens if you have green eyes or just dyed your hair green? (Discuss?)

Legends (Soekarno) said once a Bulgarian embassy official found dead on the shore hcs he... Wear a green undergarment....... Which is not supposed to be visible right.

But naturally green eyes and dyed green hair?

Discussion open!

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Dear Blur I know this sounds silly but I’ve fallen in love with Brett from Suede…..(Cue general hoots of incredulity and comments like ‘Fuck off!’, ‘Who put that in there?’ and ‘Coincidentally, this letter’s been given to Blur! What a suprise.’) This may not sound like anything strange, but I’m a boy. I’m so worried that I might be gay. I have all sorts of fantasies about Brett. I have never felt this way about a male before and I’ve had lots of girlfriends, even though I’ve never been all the way. Please help, I’m not homophobic but until now I had felt very confident about my sexuality. TONY, London Graham: “Now’s your chance to have that homosexual experience Brett!” (He’s alluding, of course, to Brett’s infamous claim that he’s a ‘bisexual who’s never had a homosexual experience.’) Alex: “It’s alright Tony. We understand Brett’s looking for someone just like you!” Graham: “Tony, I think you should go all the way with one of the girlfriends. You know, try it out, and if it’s not your bag, do something else.” Damon: “You may be gay. Don’t worry about it. If you’re confused about whether you’re gay or not, your best bet is to try and find an environment where there are other people who can talk about it, and identify with you. Also, once you realise that being gay is only part of your personality, then it will all become a lot easier.” Alex: “And you get yourself down to Old Compton Street, mate.” Damon: “But I would add that falling in love with people in the media is a bad idea. Brett is a very heterosexual male. And this letter is just an example of him messing people up through wantonly ambiguous declarations about his sexuality. Next!

Dear Blur

Melody Maker, 1994

(via ewwwmylife)

interesting

(via suedescifilullabies)

The way Damon adds “Brett is a very heterosexual male.” makes me believe that actually Damon has tried to make a move with Brett. At least once.

#Damon Albarn #Brett Anderson #bisexual #gay #britpop

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Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO)

By Tohru Fujisawa

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Bukan rahasia kayanya kalo gue punya 2nd account hanya untuk fangirling musisi. Yg gak gue sangka ada org yg tadinya suka nanya2 soal musik. Lama kelamaan malah curcol soal hidup dan kekhawatiran ala anak kuliahan.

Gue tau gue pernah di situasi tersebut, tapi topik dan arahnya super berbeda. Intinya, dia percaya teori konspirasi Covid-19 yg tujuannya mengatur masyarakat dan dikeluarkan oleh Bill Gates. Sampe di titik menyerang oknum tertentu, misalnya Najwa Shihab. Tentu sebagai mahasiswi yg Denial kalo tugasnya masih numpuk sementara perpustakaan tutup gue jadi mancing, Lo baca itu darimana?

Semua link yg dia sodorin, tanpa gue teliti siapa penulis dan editornya (kemudian coba gue teliti ulang) langsung bisa ketahuan bohong.

Di tengah perbincangan (sepertinya dia bisa liat gue yg udh mulai kayak asdos sotoy) ya kelar aja. Dengan akhirnya dia masih update akan isu yg dia percaya tanpa gue ganggu lagi.

Ujung2nya jadi serba salah. Gue tau alasan dia bisa punya pemikiran kaya gini salah satunya karena media yg sifatnya jauh dari diskusi.

Jujur, shock aja karena pertama kali bersentuhan sama org yg jauh di luar lingkaran.

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I know it's late. But can we have a brief sequel for Baek In-Ho?

I finished reading Cheese In The Trap back in 2017 (I think it's done in Indonesia around that time). And I just realized that the K-Drama is on Netflix, so I watched it. After watching it, I realize there are some differences (of course) but my point is... Baek In-Ho needs more clarity!

Or... I want to see that he got his own happy ending. Like, more happy ending, not the kind of Lalaland ending (a guy loves piano so much he marry his piano thing).

I love the idea that Seol finally happy with Jung. But it seems like only the girls get the boys. Bora with Taek, A-young with Jun, Mona with her boyfriend, even In-Ha got one. While the boys like In-Ho and Kwanghun (I forgot his name the one Seol accidentally holds his hand) gets none. It is natural of course that boys didn't get to meet their love ones at their 20s, but still!

Anyway, I do really hopes that Soonki (CITT writer) released a story on how In-Ho (maybe already at his 30?) found his new love. Or rather than remake a movie of CIIT (idk why they made the movie version tbh) create a movie for what's happen to Baek In-Ho.

#ciit #cheese in the trap #baek in ho #netflix #baek in ha #bora #hong seol #Taek #you jung #soonki

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Xfm studio, September/October 1992

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Gorillaz with Damon and Jamie throughout the years

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“A Damon Albarn story… where do you begin? OK, we’re in a Parisian boîte. This is when we’re playing with Bobby Womack, we’re doing L’Album de la Semaine on French TV. I’m talking to him in this club, it’s quite late and it’s quite quiet, and Damon suddenly just dematerialises. He’s gone. Where is he? “I look round and he’s on the dancefloor, which is empty. I wander over to see what he’s doing. And they were playing The The, This Is The Day, which is quite an unusual song to hear in a club. “But this is one of Damon’s favourite songs of all time. And when he hears it, he sprints to the dancefloor, and starts dancing – on an empty dancefloor. He was completely free, untethered. “And the female DJ sees this. I watch her do a double-take – “that’s Damon Albarn”. So she abandons her post – which is not on for a DJ – and joins him on the dancefloor, and starts having the time of her life.”

— Richard Russell’s life in 19 totemic tracks, The Face (31 March 2020)

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Blur for HMV Japan, 1995 😅

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I'm with you Nad! (Walo mungkin tidak dibaca)

Funny enough gue dengerin Prambors pas masa2 mbak ini jadi penyiar pagi, pas lokasi kerja gue jauh dan emg dengerin radio pagi jadi pilihan. Gue ga tau apa2 ttg drama ini, tapi obv gue akan dukung Lo. It's never okay tiba2 ruang pribadi Lo dimasukin org yg bahkan statusnya "teman kerja". Kalaupun terlanjur, seharusnya dia meminta maaf.

Mungkin gue tau artis ini, seorang boomer yg pernah nyinyir krn dikritik sebuah media? Ya ga peduli sih. Gue berharap tulisan ini tersebar intinya:

1. Jangan ikut campur urusan org

2. Stand up for what's important to you (serius gue salut banget Nadia gak nurut langsung pas disuruh minta maaf duluan DAN SADAR ketika dia jadi korban victim blaming)

3. Be good to everyone.

4. Etos kerja yg baik (keknya gue udh cabs deh kalo jadi dia)

Why I Quit Prambors’ Morning Show

Disclaimer: Ga ada maksud apa-apa dibalik cerita gue ini, I just feel I owe it to you kawula muda, yang sampe sekarang masih suka bilang kangen dengerin siaran DGITM atau Sunset Trip, atau yang masih nanya kenapa keluar dari Prambors. Supaya kamu tau. This one is for you.

Yang gue inget hari itu adalah malem Minggu, udah sekitar jam 11 malam. Gue baru pulang dari acara wedding, saat itu salah satu partner siaran gue ada yang nge-chat dan cerita kalo HP pasangannya hilang. Sedikit background aja, gue memang pegang 2 HP, yang satu untuk kerjaan, yang satu untuk chat-chat pribadi. 

Intinya dia mendesak, karena si pasangannya ini butuh untuk posting foto endorse-an yang udah harus tayang besok paginya. Yaudah, tanpa mikir panjang, gue kirimin salah satu HP gue pake GoSend dengan maksud nolongin teman siaran.

Sampailah di hari Senin. Kalo lo pendengar siaran pagi, udah ga asing memang kalo gue di ceng-cengin pas siaran. Tapi hari itu beda. Ceng-cengan ini berdasarkan hal-hal yang gak ada orang yang tau, kecuali gue dan beberapa orang terdekat aja. 

Baru sadar ternyata ‘bahan cengan’ ini diperoleh dari chat pribadi gue di DM instagram, yang diambil dari HP yang gue pinjemin. Gue ga masalah kalo bahan cengannya soal mantan gue (yang udah jadi bahan cengan hari-hari di DGITM), dan memang udah jadi rahasia umum. Tapi tentu gue masalah kalo bahan cengan ini sesuatu yang personal, dimana gue memilih untuk ga share sama orang lain, bahkan sesuatu yang menyangkut masalah keluarga gue. 

Gue tanya apa bener dia baca chat gue, dia pun ngaku. Satu hal kalo dia cuma baca chat gue; tapi ini lebih dari itu, karena dia baca chat gue tanpa seijin gue dan jadiin bahan siaran, plus disebarin ke anak-anak kantor Prambors. 

Gue marah banget. Ga inget kapan terakhir gue semarah itu, sampe gue ngeluarin kata-kata, “Anj*ng lo ya.” Gue ngerti dia senior gue, tapi gue cuma ngerasa itu udah ga wajar, and I had to stand up for myself. Saat gue tanya kenapa dia lancang kayak gitu, jawabannya, “Ya lo juga bisa dikenal sama orang-orang karena gue cengin.” Wow. Tuhan anda tuh bisa ngatur jalur karir saya?

Gue ga cuma marah, di balik itu gue kecewa karena niat gue hanya nolongin partner siaran gue. Gue mencoba tetap profesional. Hari berikutnya gue tetep siaran biasa, tapi suasana siaran berubah drastis. Setiap gue melontarkan pertanyaan on air, dia ga merespon. Terus-terusan kayak gitu. Gue mikir, “Yang salah siapa ya disini?”

Akhirnya kita diajak meeting sebagai tim siaran pagi untuk ngomongin. Dia tentu ga dateng. Setelah gue cerita ke PD gue (atasan yang bertanggung jawab sama para penyiar), seseorang mengeluarkan kata-kata ini:

“Lah. Lagian lo udah tau dia ember, masih aja lo pinjemin HP lo.”

Deg.

Rasanya kena musibah, tapi malah disalahin, “Ya siapa suruh lo punya HP, kan jadi dijambret.”

Lalu lanjutlah temen siaran gue satu lagi nyeletuk, “Ya kalo gue jadi elo, gue sih seneng ada bahan baru untuk dicengin, lagian bahas mantan lo udah mulai basi. Emang lo mau dijual apa lagi sih, pinter juga engga, cantik juga biasa aja.”

Hehe. Walaupun kejadiannya udah hampir dua tahun lalu, tapi ngetik kata-kata ini masih sakit banget rasanya. 

Akhirnya gue bilang sama PD gue, kalo gue butuh break sejenak. Tentu gue bisa liat kalo partner siaran gue juga masih belum mau siaran sama gue. Gue ngalah, gue aja yang rehat dan mundur dulu. Gue juga sadar, siapalah gue dibandingin para artis-artis ini. Gue akhirnya minta tolong digantiin sementara di DGITM. PD gue pun approve. Masuklah Kenny. Gue akhirnya siaran di jam siang. 

Beberapa hari kemudian, gue dikeluarin dari grup WhatsApp DGITM. Tanpa sepatah katapun. PD gue juga tidak memberikan penjelasan apa-apa. Dikeluarin aja gitu, kayak dua tahun siaran di DGITM gak ada artinya. Ya, tapi gue ngerti. Mungkin dia memang aset berharga dibandingin gue, cuma Nadya The Highlites. 

Jadi kalo lo tanya, “Kenapa kak ga siaran lagi di DGITM?”

Gue juga gak tau. Gue bener-bener gak tau kenapa.

“Kenapa ga langsung keluar dari Prambors?” Tentu itu terlintas di benak gue. Sesuatu yang gue renungin tiap hari. Tapi pacar gue saat itu (yang sekarang udah jadi suami) bilang kalo gue harus buktiin kalo gue tetep bisa jadi penyiar yang baik, tanpa harus siaran di DGITM. Yaudah, gue pertahankan dengan siaran di jam siang.

Datanglah PD gue menawarkan untuk siaran sama Sunset Trip, Ilham dan Julio. Tadinya gue khawatir kalo ini cuma bakalan ngebuktiin kalo gue emang ga bisa jadi penyiar yang baik. Gak ada apa-apanya tanpa dicengin.

Tapi secara rating, puji Tuhan Sunset Trip naik, dan setelah pembuktian selama setahun, baru deh gue memutuskan untuk cabut dari Prambors.

Jujur, Sunset Trip yang menyelamatkan gue. Terima kasih ya udah mau nampung gue, Ilham dan Julio. 

Dari semua ini gue belajar kalo ga semua orang emang beneran peduli sama lo, kadang mereka cuma pengen tau aja. Gue udah nahan ini sekian lama, dan jujur ini cukup nyiksa gue, karena gue suka siaran dan gue sadar kok gue bukan penyiar yang ‘wah,’ tapi itu udah menjadi bagian dari gue.

If I get the chance to do it all over, I would still do it again. Gue tidak menyesal ini semua berawal dari niat membantu seseorang, walaupun itu jadi bumerang buat gue sendiri. Gue akan terus ngajarin anak gue untuk berbuat baik, bahkan saat ga dibalas dengan kebaikan juga; bahkan saat kebaikan lo dikhianati. Walopun begitu, gue emang memilih untuk jadi lebih private sekarang; nge-private Instagram, jarang post foto anak. Semua semerta-merta karena gue udah pernah merasakan disalahgunakan apa yang gue share ke orang yang gue percaya.

Dan buat yang baca ini, jangan pernah berhenti juga berbuat baik, dimanapun lo berada, sama siapapun orangnya.

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Hit Music 2005

No one expected Gorillaz to be so popular and people probably has forgotten Blur. Damon Albarn doesn’t seem to care though, he puts Blur aside and takes Jamie Hewlett to China for two whole weeks which he calls it “collecting folk songs”. They’ve been to Hunan, Guizhou, and Zhejiang. Not only did they travel Chinese attractions and taste all kinds of local cuisines in every streets and alleys, but they also promoted their new album while they were traveling. What a smart way to kill two birds with one stone.

Damon

Hit: Do you always wear a big sunglasses to look cool? Damon: Oh, no, it’s the light here, my eyes are sensitive to the light.(He said, taking off his glasses. Wow, what a typical handsome European, he has charming blue eyes.) Hit: What is your main purpose in coming to China? Damon: I was invited by a friend, but also was attracted by Chinese culture. I am interested in the culture and lifestyle of Chinese ethnic minorities, and their music in particular. We are so fascinated by it. On the other hand, we are promoting the new album Demon Days in here. In the past two weeks, we’ve been to Guiyang, Phoenix City, Changsha and Yiwu. But we are leaving today. Hit: That’s a shame, four more days and it’s the traditional Chinese autumn festival. You can have some delicious mooncakes on that day.(Damon seems to be interested in food.) Damon: Oh, yes. We have had some amazing food here. I found Chinese food really worthy of its reputation. I also bought a book of how to make dumplings. Hit: What’s the inspiration of making Gorillaz? Do you have any plans on touring? Damon: Each song is a story, and mostly happened on a dark night.It’s similar to the darkness that fell upon people after the 9 / 11 incident. For touring, as I have a very good impression of China, I will talk about it with my friends. We’re planning a world tour. I promise you, there will be a Chinese date. We’ll be back. (How’s the new video going? Damon: We are sampling in Africa right now, we have three videos done, now there’s one left. ) Hit: How did you and Jamie meet? Damon: We have many mutual friends, we’ve been knowing each others for 15 years.(Is it true that you guys live in the same building? Damon: Yeah, but that was a year ago, now we are living across the street.) Hit: What makes you want to form a HIP-HOP virtual band in the first place? Damon: Well, I still want to write pop music, but I don’t want to make ordinary music which is boring. And I’m interested in the idea of replacing actual people with cartoon characters. In fact, we can not be simply defined as hip hop band, because our music is very diverse, we got inspirations from everything. Gorillaz combines elements of Rock, reggae, hip-hop and lo-fi together. Hit: Would you like to talk about Oasis? They released a new album this year and it’s doing well. You guys were fighting a lot back in the old days. Damon: Well the battle between Blur and Oasis was some kinda promotion of the Britpop, isn’t it? As for our music, we better leave it to other people to judge. Hit: I also heard that you slammed the Live 8 concert, why is that? Damon: Because I think the concert lost its purpose. Assisting Africa is a formidable and complicated thing, and there are different ways to approach that. I think the reason to hold Live 8 concert is to help more people to understand Africa’s culture and its current situation. But live 8 failed to do that. For example, I used to think that I know about China, but it wasn’t until I actually came here and really got to know what people’s lives were like in here that I had a deeper feeling for China, a feeling that was different from the past. For the past two weeks, I’ve been fascinated by what’s going on here. I think Live 8 is a failure. It’s like if half the people in China were starving right now, and we organized a concert to help them, but not one Chinese was involved in the whole project, would you call that a success? Hit: Ok, let’s talk about something that’s less heavy. What other hobbies do you have besides music? Damon: Cooking, jogging, and playing with my baby daughter. I really like to cook, especially Chinese food. I had so many delicious food in China! I also bought a bunch of cooking books and I am going to try all of them when I get back. Hit: Can you make dumplings yet? Damon: We’ve got it covered. (Damon laughs, and I remind him that he needs more practice.) Oh, all I have to do is slice up the flour, chop up the vegetables and meat, then put in some mushrooms. And don’t forget about the chilli. (Damon windmills his hands while speaking, as if to prove that he can really cook. “Yeah, he loves chili, ” Jamie adds.) Hit: What’d you like to say to so many Chinese fans? Damon：谢谢(Thank you)！（He says these two words fluently in a strong British accent, somebody’s been practising obviously.）

Jamie

Hit: Can you introduce yourself first? Jamie: Introduce myself? (Jamie looks at me blankly. “Start from ‘I am —’ Ready, go!” Damon quips.) I’m Jamie (He thought for a while before blurting out. “I’m single. I’m looking for a girlfriend. ” — I made fun of him as Damon did.) I’m happy to be in China. I am the artist of the band, so I drew all of these arts. Hit: How did you come up with the idea of using cartoon characters as the band’s public image? Jamie: Because cartoon characters are so common, everyone has seen cartoons, and their characters can be more edgy. They can do a lot of things that actual people can’t in real life, they are the exaggeration of reality. And it’s easier to show artist’s intentions with cartoons. Hit: I noticed that in your paintings, characters’ eyes are specially designed. Why is that? Jamie: Well, because when you talk to someone, you look them in the eye, and through their eyes you can see what they’re thinking. Hit: Who is your favourite Gorillaz member? Jamie: I think it’s Murdoc, who’s formed the band and also is the heart of the band. Hit: When you were creating Gorillaz, did you ever think about making the band members’ appearances match the music? Jamie: Not Exactly. You know, the band members have their own personalities and backgrounds. So it’s more like… making cartoons. (Did you make their personalities more similar to the actual band members?) No, they are nothing like the people behind all this . Hit: Did anything hilarious happen during this trip? Jamie: We have a lot of funny stories, but it’s hard to explain. We spent most of the two weeks bouncing on the bus. Hit: What kind of person Damon is in your eyes? Jamie: He’s a lovely sunny boy.

Bonus

1. After Damon Albarn said his “thank you” to fans, I asked if he knew any other Chinese words, he immediately turned to Jamie, who was standing next to him, and asked, “How to say dumplings? ” And then he smiled and said, “饺子! ” which sounded way more precise than the “thank you”. 2. Damon talked a lot about the places he had visited, and he solemnly pointed to the green military rubber shoes on his feet, “Look! I bought them in PHOENIX CITY! ” Jamie, who was wearing the same shoes as Damon’s, also pointed to his feet and said, “Mine too! ” 3. Damon is apparently good at doodling, so he improvised on the magazine we brought with us… I just felt a little twitch at the corner of my mouth, I don’t know how to appreciate thta! Awkward!

for @damonalbarn​

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[tutututula]

20 September 1995, Ocean Room, Great Yarmouth