Will The Real Uncle Hussain Please Stand Up?

You have got to make new music, that is the way that I look at it anyway ~ Sebastian Bach (Skid Row)

I first fell in love with Meet Uncle Hussain when I heard their song Laguku Untukmu on radio a few months back. I was immediately smitten! I thought the song was totally awesome, post-modern; different from the current pool of boring and cliché Malay and Indonesian songs. The theme of the song is different, I like the irony in the title, it has sort of a punkish element in it, plus, I thought the song was oozing with attitude! The name of the band is also already catchy! When I heard the song La la la Kerjalah, I thought, man, these guys are so damn good, where have they been all this while (and where have my taste for good songs gone)? I quickly headed to CD shops but to my dismay, everybody that I asked looked totally clueless and flabbergasted as if I’d spoken Greek! Nobody seemed to know who Meet Uncle Hussain is! When a friend told me MUH is an underground band and underground bands don’t normally have their albums sold over the counter, I was devastated! I thought, man, how long do I have to wait till I get to hear their album? From then on, I became an ardent fan of the radio, hoping to catch any of the two songs on air! There’s just something about the lead vocalist’s voice that is distinctively refreshing and rebellious … well, like a cross between Iggy Pop and Freddie Mercury. I think.
When a friend told me that there’s an OST of the TV Series, Kami (I didn't even know this TV series exists), that features MUH’s two songs, I was ecstatic and quickly dashed to the CD Shop to buy a copy. With the CD in hand, my heart is still weary, are these the only songs I’m gonna get from MUH? When will I get to see them in action? I have zero knowledge about the underground music scene and the thought of going to concerts where the crowds are approximately half my age makes me feverish with fear. Plus, where on earth would I get the info about underground concerts?
At last, my wish came true. I actually got to see them in action on TV a couple of nights ago. I had these visions of the lead vocalist in action on stage – jumping around, headbanging, you know, all that stuff that you get to see when Iggy or Freddie performed. But I got zilch. Zero. Lan was strumming his guitar, and stood there singing like he was glued to the stage! Though he had the right facial expressions, I was disappointed. The song oozes with attitude, man, and needs to be reinforced with meaningful movements! Well, maybe, just maybe, MUH had to adhere to protocol since it was an award-giving event? I hope that was the reason. Otherwise, Lan, you’ve got to sing without the guitar, man. It is really restricting your movement and this only lessens the impact of the apparent attitude in the songs.
Well, anyway, I hope to hear their full-fledged album soon. I don’t really know much about them but I think they’re breaking away from the stereotypical Malay band image and identity. I’ve sort of listened to their third single – it’s a really mellowed-down version and somehow lacks the attitude in the other two songs. Sigh. Maybe this is a premature judgement for that third song but I believe they have the edge over the other local bands as long as they stay true to their truly unique style. Long live MUH!