Going merrily down the stream

Going merrily down the stream

The world has changed for music lovers, and now even those with bad taste can tune in to songs most people prefer to forget.

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

Before launching into my column this morning, a quick apology in advance: I sent this to my editors the morning after the Bangkok Post’s well-trumpeted, not to mention raucous, celebration of its 69th birthday.

As a result, any grammatical mistakes or carefully-shrouded obscenities may not catch the eagle eyes of my editors, who, apart from the adorable Khun Kritini, are comprised of Western journalists whose ability to spot errors is impeccable — except when interrupted by the whiff of a celebratory, and complimentary, drink.

I understand my column is being edited and screened with the aid of Tylenol and strong black coffee; either that or the hair of some Klong Toey soi dog. My money’s on the latter, but anyway … why this family newspaper chose to make such an event of its 69th birthday baffles me just a little.

Is it a cultural thing? Here in Thailand certain anniversaries are worthy of note more than others, such as the 12-year cycle that requires an extra bottle of Moet & Chandon or Hong Thong, depending on your taste and upbringing. Thus if you are reading this column at the age of 12, 24, 36, 48 and so forth, you are now at an auspicious age. I have always been pretty good at mathematics and as far as I can remember, 69 is not a multiple of 12, so there goes that theory.

It doesn’t matter. One doesn’t require much reason to celebrate, as the Thais can teach us, and it sure looked like the birthday party was a lot of fun. Did you see the picture of the Bangkok Post staff crammed into the corridor on page one last Thursday? What a talented bunch of people!

I do admit that for a second I mistook it for an update on the boat people situation, but put that down to my own absent-mindedness. Never judge a book by its cover, especially journalists.

We are off the track. In summary: happy birthday Bangkok Post. I will be watching to see if the 70th birthday celebrations are as high profile as this one. Suffice to say I am privileged to be a part of this newspaper for exactly 10.14% of its existence.

Now can we get down to business?

I’ve been having my own celebration of sorts this week, though nothing to do with the number 69 or my birthday. I’ve been having the time of my life, however, as I discover the joys of streaming.

Thailand’s dubious reputation is not limited to human trafficking and airline safety, as have been in the news of late. For more than 30 years the country has been persona non grata in the music world, where notions such as copyright are as foreign as other Western values such as shaking hands, checks and balances and punctuality.

Thais are simply not into the idea of paying for an idea, and that extends to music. One of the joys of landing here as an impoverished backpacker in the late 1980s, and throughout the 1990s in the pre-Napster era, was the proliferation of cheap cassette tapes and CDs at a fraction of the price back home.

It is interesting to note that Thailand has taken highly-publicised steps to wipe out its image as a sex tourist capital — especially in the shadowy paedophilia world — but attempts to crack down on illegal CD and cassette vendors have always been fleeting and half-hearted.

Artists chose not to perform here for this reason. Madonna, for example, in the 1990s said she would never stage a concert in Thailand because of its lax copyright stance; I understand hell is going to freeze over next year on that one, but it does demonstrate the feeling towards us in the past.

It also demonstrates why Thais took to illegal downloading with such fervour.

When Napster reared its head in the late 1990s, this country’s computer-savvy youth fell for it. They may not have been able to get their heads around English, but they sure as hell figured out how to work the Napster buttons in no time.

You no longer had to pay rock-bottom price for a Whitney Houston album. Now it was free! Music shops died, including Tower Records at Emporium, and some unique little shops in Siam Square, the best one run by a Thai woman who knew where every single CD was located in her crowded shop.

Thus the culture of copying music (it’s called gob in Thai, from the English word “copy”) is inherent. Nobody pays for music. Local music companies such as Grammy and RS have tried various models to get locals to buy Thai music in MP3 form, but nothing has worked. It’s probably why iTunes took so long to set up shop here, and while streaming giants like Spotify and the revamped Napster never did either.

Streaming means you listen to music without ever buying it. It’s like your own radio where you choose the playlist. I liken it to the salad bar at Sizzler; you can pile your plate with as much as obscenely possible for as many trips as you like.

This is the service that Apple launched globally last month. That included Thailand. I was sceptical at first, but when Apple announced the first three months were free, I fell for it like the good consumer I am.

It has changed my life. Now I can listen to absolutely any song or album I could possibly imagine. Talk about liberation; just last night as I drove home via Klong Toey (when my editors were probably in no fit state to edit anything) a train of thought popped into my head which went something like this:

Steely Dan. Remember Steely Dan? Remember the Gaucho album that consumed my life during 1981? I haven’t heard that album in ages.

In no less than 60 seconds the laid-back opening bars of Babylon Sisters were coming out of my car speakers, and for the next 40 minutes I was transported back to an earlier era, a time when my current Bangkok Post editors were youthful journalists with faces as wrinkle-free as babies’ bottoms. What a thought.

There are many issues about streaming; do artists get paid enough for it? My feeling is no, but it is better than not being paid anything at all. At the very affordable price of 350 baht a month, will Thais finally drag themselves out of their non-paying culture?

Last week I asked that question to a group of Thais I work with, and frankly I was a little surprised by their reaction. Keep in mind they are all well-paid and entrenched in the middle class.

“It’s 350 baht a month?” one asked me. He looked across at the other two Thais at the table. You could see they were calculating costs in their heads.

“It’s cheap, right?” I asked. There was a brief silence.

“Well … not really,” the first guy said. “If it’s streaming, then it’s through the internet.”

“That’s right. That means you need to pay for an internet connection,” said the second.

“And what about the bandwidth it takes up? You’ll end up paying more for the extra bandwidth,” said the third.

“Paeng,” said the first.

“Paeng,” said the second.

“Paeng,” said the third.

Sometimes you just can’t satisfy ’em, no matter what you do.

And that is where I leave you this week, dear reader, ecstatic in my new-found treasure trove of music and memories, and flabbergasted at my friends’ reluctance to pay a pittance for the privilege.

Did I spell flabbergasted correctly just then? And pittance … and privilege? Who knows? Editors! Enough of the 69ing! Get back to work!

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