cobacobakiwu

gie lagi

2006-06-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

LAHIRNYA SANG DEMONSTRAN

Anak keempat dari lima bersaudara keluarga Soe Lie Piet alias Salam Sutrawan, kelahiran Jakarta tanggal 17 Desember 1942, ini sejak kecil amat suka membaca, mengarang dan memelihara binatang. Keluarga sederhana itu tinggal di bilangan Kebonjeruk, di suatu rumah sederhana di pojokan jalan, bertetangga dengan rumah orang tua Teguh Karya. Saudara laki-laki satunya ya Soe Hok Djien, kakaknya, yang kita kenal sebagai Arief Budiman.
Sejak SMP, ia menulis buku catatan harian, termasuk surat- menyurat dengan kawan dekatnya. Semakin besar, ia makin berani menghadapi ketidakadilan, termasuk melawan tindakan semena-mena sang guru. Sekali waktu, Soe pernah berdebat dengan guru SMP-nya. Tentu saja guru itu naik pitam.
Dalam catatan hariannya, ia menulis: Guru model begituan, yang tidak tahan dikritik boleh masuk keranjang sampah. Guru bukan dewa dan selalu benar. Dan murid bukan kerbau. Begitu tulis anak muda yang sampai hari ajalnya, tetap tak bisa mengendarai sepeda motor, apalagi nyupir mobil. "Gue cuma bisa naik sepeda, juga pandai nggenjot becak."
Sikap kritisnya semakin tumbuh ketika dia mulai berani mengungkit kemapanan. Misalnya, saat dirinya menjelang remaja, Soe menyaksikan seorang pengemis sedang makan kulit buah mangga. Dia pun merogoh saku, lalu memberikan uangnya yang cuma Rp 2,50 kepada pengemis itu. Di catatannya ia menulis: Ya, dua kilometer dari pemakan kulit mangga, 'paduka' kita mungkin lagi tertawa-tawa, makan-makan dengan istri-istrinya yang cantik-cantik. Aku besertamu orang-orang malang.
Bacaan dan pelajaran yang diterimanya membentuk Soe menjadi pemuda yang percaya bahwa hakikat hidup adalah dapat mencintai, dapat iba hati, dan dapat merasai kedukaan itu.
Soe melewatkan pendidikannya di SMA Kanisius. Tahun 1962 - 1969 ia menamatkan kuliah di Fakultas Sasra Universitas Indonesia Jurusan Sejarah. Ia kemudian masuk organisasi Gerakan Mahasiswa Sosialis (GMSOS). Sementara keadaan ekonomi makin kacau. Soe resah. Dia mencatat: Kalau rakyat Indonesia terlalu melarat, maka secara natural mereka akan bergerak sendiri. Dan kalau ini terjadi, maka akan terjadi chaos. Lebih baik mahasiswa yang bergerak. Maka lahirlah sang demonstran.
Hari-harinya diisi dengan program demo, termasuk rapat penting di sana-sini. Aku ingin agar mahasiswa-mahasiswa ini, menyadari bahwa mereka adalah the happy selected few yang dapat kuliah dan karena itu mereka harus menyadari dan melibatkan diri dalam perjuangan bangsanya ... Dan kepada rakyat aku ingin tunjukkan, bahwa mereka dapat mengharapkan perbaikan-perbaikan dari keadaan dengan menyatukan diri di bawah pimpinan patriot-patriot universitas. Begitu tulisnya.
Tahun 1966 ketika mahasiswa tumpah ke jalan melakonkan Aksi Tritura, ia termasuk di barisan paling depan. Konon, Soe juga salah seorang tokoh kunci terjadinya aliansi mahasiswa-ABRI pada 1966.
Soe sendiri dalam buku CSD, menulis soal demonstrasi: Malam itu aku tidur di Fakultas Psikologi. Aku lelah sekali. Lusa Lebaran dan tahun yang lama akan segera berlalu. Tetapi kenang-kenangan demonstrasi akan tetap hidup. Dia adalah batu tapal daripada perjuangan mahasiswa Indonesia. Batu tapal dalam revolusi Indonesia dan batu tapal dalam sejarah Indonesia. Karena yang dibelanya adalah keadilan dan kejujuran ... Jakarta, 25 Januari 1966.
Soe dikenal sebagai penulis produktif di beberapa media massa, misalnya Kompas, Harian Kami, Sinar Harapan, Mahasiswa Indonesia, dan Indonesia Raya. Sekitar 35 karya artikelnya (kira-kira sepertiga dari seluruh karyanya) selama rentang waktu tiga tahun Orde Baru, sudah dibukukan dan diterbitkan dengan judul Zaman Peralihan (Bentang, 1995).
Juga skripsi sarjana mudanya perihal Sarekat Islam Semarang, tahun 1999 diterbitkan Yayasan Bentang dengan judul Di Bawah Lentera Merah. Sebelumnya, skripsi S1-nya yang mengulas soal pemberontakan PKI di Madiun, juga sudah dibukukan dengan judul Orang-orang di Persimpangan Jalan (Bentang, 1997).
Kabarnya, sajak karya Soe yang puluhan judul itu, kini juga sedang dalam penyusunan untuk dijadikan sebuah buku kecil. Masuk akal sekali. Sebab Soe itu bergaul akrab dengan penyair angkatannya Taufik Ismail, WS Rendra, Satyagraha Hoerip.

soe lagi

2006-06-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

SUARA PEMBARUAN DAILY
Mengenang 30 Tahun Kepergian Soe Hok Gie Oleh DAUD SINJAL
Tiga puluh tahun meninggalnya Soe Hok Gie akan diperingati dalam acara diskusi sehari, Sabtu 27 November di Kampus Universitas Indonesia Depok. Acara mengenang tokoh cendekiawan, budayawan dan demonstran itu diselenggarakan oleh sahabat-sahabatnya, alumni Fakultas Sastra dan alumni Mahasiswa Pencinta Alam (Mapala) UI.
Soe Hok Gie meninggal dunia 16 Desember 1969 sehari menjelang ulang tahunnya ke 27 karena kecelakaan di puncak Gunung Semeru, Jawa Timur. Dalam hidupnya yang singkat itu almarhum dikenal sebagai seorang aktivis mahasiswa yang berani dan gigih. Yang mengobarkan pemikiran dan sikapnya melalui tulisan, dalam mimbar diskusi, rapat senat mahasiswa sampai pada berdiri di barisan paling depan demonstrasi menentang pemerintahan Soekarno.
Lawan-lawan bicaranya mulai dari tokoh-tokoh besar seperti Presiden Soekarno (ia datang ke Istana dengan jas pinjaman), Soedjatmoko, Mochtar Lubis, sampai pada teman-temannya seangkatan seperti Akbar Tandjung. Tulisan-tulisannya yang menyangkut permasalahan kemanusiaan, hak-hak asasi manusia, kebangsaan, moral, keadilan hukum dan dunia mahasiswa tersebar di berbagai media, terutama Indonesia Raya, Sinar Harapan, Kompas, Mahasiswa Indonesia (edisi Jawa Barat). Tulisannya bermunculan demikian produktif di antara tahun 1966 sampai 1969.
Dalam booklet yang disusun oleh Sofjian Thaib, alumnus Mapala-UI, untuk mengenang 30 tahun kepergian Soe Hok Gie, dicuplik beberapa tulisan almarhum. Di tahun 1969, ia mengomentari rezim Orde Baru: "Tahun ini adalah tahun pertama Pembangunan Lima Tahun. Sampai saat ini, kesan saya adalah bahwa rakyat Indonesia acuh tak acuh terhadap rencana besar ini. Hampir tak ada komunikasi yang dimengerti masyarakat umum, dan Pemerintah yang terlalu pragmatis sekarang pada akhirnya gagal menimbulkan gairah dan sokongan kerja rakyat.".
Di tahun yang sama, ia pun telah mempersoalkan kontinuitas peran teknokrat dalam hegemoni militer negara Orde Baru. Sedangkan tentang hukum di tahun 1970, ia menulis: "Mahasiswa hukum akhirnya belajar bahwa ada pula hukum-hukum yang tak tertulis yang lebih superior daripada yang telah tertulis. Mereka perlu koneksi dengan orang-orang penting, dengan tentara, dengan polisi yang dapat menanggulangi hukum. Dan akhirnya, mereka harus memendam kenyataan yang pahit itu diam-diam."
Ia mengkritik KAMI (Kesatuan Aksi Mahasiswa Indonesia) yang menjadi klik vested interest. Tentang teman-temannya yang menerima tawaran kursi parlemen dan bahkan berebut mendapatkan kredit mobil, ia menyebutkannya sebagai pemimpin yang mencatut perjuangan. "Umurnya rata-rata mendekati 30 tahun dan telah berkali-kali tak naik kelas karena jarang kuliah. Mereka bukan lagi mahasiswa yang berpolitik, tetapi politisi yang punya kartu mahasiswa."
Ia memang seorang penggerak kekuatan moral, humanis sejati dan idealis yang bergairah. Tapi mempertahankan idealisme ternyata bukan pekerjaan ringan, dan itu dirasakannya sendiri, ketika ia bergulat dalam catatan hariannya: "Di Indonesia hanya ada dua pilihan. Menjadi idealis atau apatis. Saya sudah lama memutuskan bahwa saya harus menjadi idealis, sampai batas-batas sejauh-jauhnya."
Dalam diskusi sehari bertempat di Pusat Studi Jepang (PSJ) UI Depok itu akan tampil pembicara-pembicara: Dr John Maxwell (yang disertasinya 1977 di Australian National University mengenai Soe Hok Gie), Aristides Katoppo, Mohamad Sobary, Dr Ignas Kleden, dr Marsilam Simanjuntak, dr Hariadi Darmawan. Acara tersebut akan dipandu oleh Dr Syahrir dan Dr Dahana.
Soe Hok Gie lahir di Jakarta 17 Desember 1942 sebagai putra keempat dari keluarga Soe Lie Piet. Lingkungan keluarga yang tinggal di pemukiman padat di kawasan Kebun Jeruk/Sawah Besar Jakarta Pusat ini akrab dengan literatur. Ayahnya, Soe Lie Piet alias Salam Sutrawan adalah seorang wartawan dan penulis.
Dari segi ekonomi, mereka memang serba sederhana, tetapi tidak dalam penjelajahan intelektual. Soe Hok Gie dan kakaknya, Soe Hok Djien (Arief Budiman), sudah akrab dengan bacaan sastra dan filsafat sejak duduk di bangku sekolah menengah. Soe Hok Gie menjadi mahasiswa jurusan Sejarah Fakultas Sastra UI, sedangkan Arief Budiman menjadi mahasiswa Fakultas Psikologi UI.
Soe Hok Gie menulis skripsi sarjana mudanya mengenai Sarekat Islam Semarang yang kemudian dibukukan dengan judul Di Bawah Lentera Merah (Bentang Budaya, 1999). Skripsi sarjananya (ia lulus Mei 1969) adalah tentang pemberontakan PKI Moeso 1948 yang juga dibukukan dengan judul Orang-orang di Persimpangan Jalan (Bentang Budaya, 1997).
Sementara itu, tulisan Soe Hok Gie yang merupakan refleksi tiga tahun Orde Baru, yang menceritakan tentang teman-temannya yang menjadi anggota DPR-GR, dan perilaku mahasiswa, telah dibukukan pula dengan judul Zaman Peralihan (Bentang Budaya,1995). Catatan hariannya pada tahun 1983 diterbitkan oleh LP3ES dengan judul Catatan Seorang Demonstran. Setelah meraih kesarjanaannya, Soe Hok Gie mengabdi pada almamaternya, dengan menjabat sebagai dosen.
Sebagai mahasiswa, Soe Hok Gie menjadi Ketua Senat Fakultas Sastra dan menjadi salah satu pendiri Mapala-UI dan Grup Diskusi UI (GD-UI). Ia pun aktif dalam Gerakan Mahasiswa Sosialis (GMSOS). Di akhir 1965 dan awal 1966, Hok Gie diketahui secara terbuka mendukung jenderal-jenderal TNI-AD dengan harapan bahwa mereka akan membawa Indonesia kepada suatu masyarakat yang adil dan sederajat. Ia malah dikabarkan menjadi salah satu tokoh kunci terjadinya aliansi Mahasiswa-ABRI pada tahun 1966. Tapi menjelang akhir 1969, semakin jelas baginya bahwa ia telah salah menaruh kepercayaan. Ia melihat kekuasaan militer menjadi sosok yang fasistis.
Hok Gie juga duduk di LPKB (Lembaga Pembinaan Kesatuan Bangsa) yang didirikan oleh kelompok masyarakat keturunan Cina. Ia agaknya lebih setuju dengan pendekatan yang dilakukan LPKB ketimbang yang dilakukan oleh Baperki (Badan Permusyawaratan Kewarganegaraan Indonesia, juga kelompok besar golongan Tionghoa). Bulan Februari 1963, ia ikut sebagai delegasi pemuda yang setuju dengan asimilasi menemui Presiden Soekarno. Tapi kritik-kritiknya Hok Gie pada LPKB membuatnya ia dipecat dari lembaga tersebut.
Patriotisme
Bagi Hok Gie, gunung adalah tempat untuk menguji kepribadian dan keteguhan hati seseorang. Ia juga mengatakan: "Hanya di puncak gunung aku merasa bersih." Tapi lebih dari itu, kecintaannya pada alam adalah bagian penting dari kejiwaan cinta-Tanah Airnya.
Patriotisme, katanya, tidak mungkin tumbuh dari hipokrisi dan slogan. Seseorang hanya dapat mencintai sesuatu secara sehat kalau ia mengenal obyeknya. "Dan mencintai tanah air Indonesia dapat ditumbuhkan dengan mengenal Indonesia bersama rakyatnya dari dekat".
Hok Gie memang seorang penjelajah alam dan pendaki gunung yang entusias. Ia punya kekaguman tersendiri pada temannya, Herman Lantang, yang jago naik gunung dan sedang menjelajahi hutan Irian Jaya. Hok Gie sendiri bercita-cita suatu saat bisa mencapai gunung tertinggi di Jawa yakni Semeru.
Pada 15 Desember 1969, Hok Gie bersama kawan-kawannya Herman Lantang, Abdul Rahman, Idhan Lubis, Aristides Katoppo, Rudy Badil, Freddy Lasut, Anton Wiyana berangkat menuju Puncak Semeru melalui kawasan Tengger. Hok Gie ingin bisa merayakan ulang tahunnya yang ke 27 di atap tertinggi Pulau Jawa tersebut. Tanggal 16 Desember, di tengah angin kencang di ketinggian 3.676 meter (dari atas permukaan laut), Hok Gie, Idhan, Rahman terserang gas beracun. Hok Gie dan Idhan berada dalam posisi yang tidak menguntungkan dan nyawa mereka tidak sempat tertolong.
Cita-cita Soe Hok Gie untuk mati di tengah alam betul-betul kesampaian. Dan tampaknya juga cocok dengan ungkapan dari puisi Yunani yang suka dikutipnya: "Nasib terbaik adalah tidak dilahirkan, yang kedua dilahirkan tapi mati muda, dan yang tersial adalah umur tua. Bahagialah mereka yang mati muda."
Lokasi musibah itu terpencil dan nyaris tidak bisa diakses. Helikopter dari pangkalan TNI-AL Surabaya gagal mencapai lokasi karena cuaca buruk dan areal yang terjal.
Melalui upaya dari darat, jenazah Hok Gie dan Idhan akhirnya bisa dibawa ke Malang, 23 Desember 1969. Menjelang malam Natal 1969, pesawat Hercules TNI-AU yang mengangkut Hok Gie dan Idhan mendarat di lapangan terbang Kemayoran Jakarta. Di antara ratusan penyambut yang telah menanti berjam-jam terdapat Prof Soemitro Djojohadikusumo, yang ketika itu menjabat sebagai Menteri Perdagangan.
Soe Hok Gie dimakamkan di Menteng Pulo dan kemudian dipindahkan ke kuburan zaman Belanda di Tanah Abang. Di nisan marmernya dituliskan kata-kata dari lagu kesayangannya: "Nobody knows the troubles I see. Nobody knows my sorrow." Tahun 1975, sisa jasad Hok Gie digali kembali untuk dikremasikan. Abunya kemudian ditaburkan oleh sahabat-sahabatnya di lembah Mandala-wangi, dekat Puncak Pangrango, tempat yang acapkali dikunjungi Hok Gie manakala ia butuh kedamaian dan kesendirian.
Berita kematian Hok Gie menyebar hingga keluar Indonesia. Pada pertengahan bulan Januari, dalam suatu pertemuan yang diadakan The Asia Society di New York, Duta Besar RI Soedjatmoko menyatakan: "... Saya ingin menyampaikan penghormatan mengenang Soe Hok Gie, salah seorang intelektual yang paling dinamis dan menjanjikan dari generasi muda pasca-kemerdekaan yang baru saja tewas dalam suatu kecelakaan di Gunung Semeru."
"Komitmennya yang penuh untuk modernisasi dan demokrasi, kejujurannya, kepercayaan dirinya yang teguh dalam perjuangan-perjuangannya menyebabkan dia mampu mengatasi pandangan-pandangan tradisional yang menentangnya yang disebabkan latar belakang keturunan Cinanya itu. Bagi saya, ia memberikan ilustrasi tentang adanya kemungkinan suatu tipe baru orang Indonesia, yang benar-benar asli orang Indonesia. Saya pikir pesan inilah yang telah disampaikannya kepada kita dalam hidupnya yang singkat itu."
Pada bulan April, Benedict Anderson menuliskan ungkapan rasa hormat dan kagumnya pada sahabatnya semasa masih di Cornell University (Hok Gie pernah tiga bulan berkelana di AS tahun 1968) dalam artikelnya yang menggugah perasaan berjudul Indonesia. Esai Ben Anderson kemudian dipublikasikan oleh harian Kompas, 4 Mei 1970. Ben memuji Hok Gie karena dialah yang pertama kali melontarkan tentang adanya penahanan besar-besaran di pelosok Jawa dan Bali tanpa proses peradilan. Ketika itu, simpati yang dia perlihatkan secara terbuka, termasuk simpatinya kepada keluarga PKI yang mengalami dehumanisasi, bukanlah tanpa risiko.
Kawan lama Hok Gie, yakni Jopie Lasut yang ketika itu wartawan Sinar Harapan, menuliskan kenangan tentang Almarhum dalam rangkaian tulisan memperingati lima tahun kebangkitan mahasiswa. Tentang Soe Hok Gie terdapat pada bagian kedua serial di Sinar Harapan tersebut (7 Januari 1970) yang mengisahkan tentang Soe Hok Gie yang memimpin demonstrasi mahasiswa ke Kantor Pusat Pertamina memprotes kenaikan harga BBM. u

soe hok gie

2006-06-22T09:33:00.000-07:00

KENANGAN KEPADA SEORANG DEMONSTRANSOE HOK GIE

Enam belas Desember 30 tahun lalu, Soe Hok Gie, tokoh mahasiswa dan pemuda, meninggal dunia di puncak G. Semeru, bersama Idhan Dhanvantari Lubis. Sosok dan sikapnya sebagai pemikir, penulis, juga aktivis yang berani, coba ditampilkan Rudy Badil, yang mewakili rekan lainnya, Aristides (Tides) Katoppo, Wiwiek A. Wiyana, A. Rachman (Maman), Herman O. Lantang dan almarhum Freddy Lasut.

"Siap-siap kalau mau ikut naik lagi ke Gunung Semeru. Kasih kabar secepatnya, sebab harus ada persiapan di musim penghujan Desember, juga pertengahan Desember itu bulan puasa Ramadhan," kata Herman O. Lantang, mantan pimpinan pendakian Musibah Semeru 1969, yang masih amat bugar di umurnya yang sudah lewat 57 tahun.
Terkejut dan tersentuh juga saya saat mendengar ajakan Herman itu. Dia merencanakan membentuk tim kecil untuk mendaki puncak Semeru lagi Desember ini, sambil memperingati 30 tahun meninggalnya dua sobat lama kami, Soe Hok Gie dan Idhan Lubis. "Kita juga akan berdoa, sekalian mengenang Freddy Lasut yang meninggal beberapa bulan lalu," lanjutnya.
Soe meninggal dunia saat baru berumur 27 tahun kurang sehari. Idhan malah baru 20 tahun. "Tanpa terasa Soe sudah tiga dasawarsa meninggalkan kita sejak Orde Baru ... perkembangan yang terjadi di Tanah Air dalam dua tahun terakhir ini, khususnya gerakan mahasiswa yang telah menggulingkan pemerintahan Orde Baru, mengingatkan kita kembali pada situasi tahun 1960-an, ketika Soe masih menjadi aktivis mahasiswa kala itu," begitu bunyi naskah buku kecil acara "Mengenang Seorang Demonstran", (berisikan antara lain diskusi panel soal bangsa dan negara Indonesia ini), yang bakal diselenggarakan Iluni FSUI dan Alumni Mapala UI.

Kasih batu dan cemara
Dari beberapa catatan kecil serta dokumentasi yang ada, termasuk buku harian Soe yang sudah diterbitkan, Catatan Seorang Demonstran (CSD) (LP3ES, 1983), di benak saya mulai tergali suasana sore hari bergerimis hujan dan kabut tebal, tanggal 16 Desember 1969 di G. Semeru.
Seusai berdoa dan menyaksikan letupan Kawah Jonggringseloko di Puncak Mahameru (puncaknya G. Semeru) serta semburan uap hitam yang mengembus membentuk tiang awan, bersama Maman saya terseok-seok gontai menuruni dataran terbuka penuh pasir bebatuan. Kami menutup hidung, mencegah bau belerang yang makin menusuk hidung dan paru-paru.
Di depan kelihatan Soe sedang termenung dengan gaya khasnya, duduk dengan lutut kaki terlipat ke dada dan tangan menopang dagu, di tubir kecil sungai kering. Tides dan Wiwiek turun duluan. Sempat pula kami berpapasan dengan Herman dan Idhan. Kelihatannya kedua teman itu akan menjadi yang paling akhir mendaki ke Mahameru.
Dengan tertawa kecil, Soe menitipkan batu dan daun cemara. Katanya, "Simpan dan berikan kepada kepada 'kawan-kawan' batu berasal dari tanah tertinggi di Jawa. Juga hadiahkan daun cemara dari puncak gunung tertinggi di Jawa ini pada cewek-cewek FSUI." Begitu kira-kira kata-kata terakhirnya, sebelum bersama Maman saya turun ke perkemahan darurat dekat batas hutan pinus atau situs recopodo (arca purbakala kecil sekitar 400-an meter di bawah Puncak Mahameru).
Di perkemahan darurat yang cuma beratapkan dua lembar ponco (jas hujan tentara), bersama Tides, Wiwiek dan Maman, kami menunggu datangnya Herman, Freddy, Soe, dan Idhan. Hari makin sore, hujan mulai tipis dan lamat-lamat kelihatan beberapa puncak gunung lainnya. Namun secara berkala, letupan di Jonggringseloko tetap terdengar jelas.
Menjelang senja, tiba-tiba batu kecil berguguran. Freddy muncul sambil memerosotkan tubuhnya yang jangkung. "Soe dan Idhan kecelakaan!" katanya. Tak jelas apakah waktu itu Freddy bilang soal terkena uap racun, atau patah tulang. Mulai panik, kami berjalan tertatih-tatih ke arah puncak sambil meneriakkan nama Herman, Soe, dan Idhan berkali-kali.
Beberapa saat kemudian, Herman datang sambil mengempaskan diri ke tenda darurat. Dia melapor kepada Tides, kalau Soe dan Idhan sudah meninggal! Kami semua bingung, tak tahu harus berbuat apa, kecuali berharap semoga laporan Herman itu ngaco. Kami berharap semoga Soe dan Idhan cuma pingsan, besok pagi siuman lagi untuk berkumpul dan tertawa-tawa lagi, sambil mengisahkan pengalaman masing-masing.
Tides sebagai anggota tertua, segera mengatur rencana penyelamatan. Menjelang maghrib, Tides bersama Wiwiek segera turun gunung, menuju perkemahan pusat di tepian (danau) Ranu Pane, setelah membekali diri dengan dua bungkus mi kering, dua kerat coklat, sepotong kue kacang hijau, dan satu wadah air minum. Tides meminta kami menjaga kesehatan Maman yang masih shock, karena tergelincir dan jatuh berguling ke jurang kecil.
"Cek lagi keadaan Soe dan Idhan yang sebenarnya," begitu ucap Tides sambil pamit di sore hari yang mulai gelap. Selanjutnya, kami berempat tidur sekenanya, sambil menahan rembesan udara berhawa dingin, serta tamparan angin yang nyaris membekukan sendi tulang.Baru keesokan paginya, 17 Desember 1969, kami yakin kalau Soe dan Idhan sungguh sudah tiada, di tanah tertinggi di Pulau Jawa. Kami jumpai jasad kedua kawan kami sudah kaku. Semalam suntuk mereka lelap berkasur pasir dan batu kecil G. Semeru. Badannya yang dingin, sudah semalaman rebah berselimut kabut malam dan halimun pagi. Mata Soe dan Idhan terkatup kencang serapat katupan bibir birunya. Kami semua diam dan sedih.

Mengapa naik gunung
Sejak dari Jakarta Soe sudah merencanakan akan memperingati hari ultahnya yang ke-27 di Puncak Mahameru. Malam sebelumnya, tanggal 15 Desember, dalam tenda sempit di tepi hutan Cemoro Kandang, Soe yang amat menguasai lirik dan falsafah lagu-lagu tertentu, meminta kami menyanyikan lagu spiritual negro, Nobody Knows, sampai berulang-ulang. Padahal irama lagu ini monoton sampai sudah membosankan kuping dan tenggorokan.
Idhan yang pendiam, cuma duduk tertawa-tawa, sambil mengaduk-aduk rebusan mi hangat campur telur dan kornet kalengan. Malam dingin dan hujan itu, kami bertujuh banyak bercerita, termasuk mendengarkan rencana Soe yang mau berultah di puncak gunung. "Pokoknya gue akan berulang tahun di atas," katanya sambil mesam-mesem. "Nyanyi lagi dong. Lagu Donna Donna-nya Joan Baez itu bagus sekali."
Pagi hari nahas itu, sebelum berkemas untuk persiapan pendakian ke puncak, kami sarapan berat. Soe yang biasanya cuma bercelana pendek, kini memakai celana panjang dengan sepatu bot baru. Bahkan dia mengenakan kemeja kaus warna kuning dengan simbol UI di kantung. "Keren enggak?" Tanyanya.
Rombongan pun berjalan mendaki, menuju Puncak Mahameru dari dataran di kaki G. Bajangan. Soe sebagaimana biasanya, selalu memanggul ransel besar dan berat, berjalan gesit sambil banyak cerita dan komentar. Ia mengisahkan bahwa di sekitar daerah itu pasti masih banyak harimau karena dia menemukan jejak kakinya. Dia juga menyebut kalau Cemoro Kandang berlumpur arang gara-gara kebakaran hutan pinus tahunan, sebagai pertanda seleksi alam dan proses regenerasi tanaman hutan.
Dosen sejarah ini terus nyerocos kepada mahasiswanya (saya), asal muasal nama recopodo alias arca kembar, serta mitologi Puncak Mahameru yang berkaitan dengan nasib Pandawa Lima dalam pewayangan Jawa. Namun sang mahasiswa juga membayangkan dengan geli, betapa kagetnya wakil DPR-RI saat itu ketika menerima bingkisan dari kelompok Soe berisi gincu dan cermin sebagai perlambang fungsi anggota DPR yang banci. Sayang, cuma segitu ingatan saya tentang Soe pada jam-jam terakhirnya.
Yang masih tetap terngiang justru rayuan dan "falsafahnya", kala mengajak seseorang mendaki gunung. "Ngapain lama-lama tinggal di Jakarta. Mendingan naik gunung. Di gunung kita akan menguji diri dengan hidup sulit, jauh dari fasilitas enak-enak. Biasanya akan ketahuan, seseorang itu egois atau tidak. Juga dengan olahraga mendaki gunung, kita akan dekat dengan rakyat di pedalaman. Jadi selain fisik sehat, pertumbuhan jiwa juga sehat. Makanya yuk kita naik gunung. Ayo ke Semeru, sekali-kali menjadi orang tertinggi di P. Jawa. Masa cuma Soeharto saja orang tertinggi di P. Jawa ini," kira-kira begitu katanya, sambil menyinggung nama mantan Presiden Soeharto, nun sekitar 30 tahun lalu.
Memang pendakian ke Semeru ini merupakan proyek kebanggaan Mapala FSUI 1969. Soe dengan keandalannya melobi kiri-kanan, mampu mengumpulkan dana untuk subsidi penuh beberapa rekan yang mahasiswa bokek sejati.
Singkat cerita, musibah sudah terjadi. Soe mungkin tidak membayangkan betapa kematiannya bersama Idhan Lubis bikin repot setengah mati banyak orang. Kami yang ditinggal dalam suasana tak menentu, selama sembilan hari benar-benar hidup tidak kejuntrungan. Selain puasa sampai tiga hari karena kehabisan makanan, kami makin sedih saat menerima surat dari Tides via kurir, menanyakan keadaan Soe dan Idhan.
Herman, kami sudah sampai di Gubuk Klakah hari Kamis pagi, sesudah jalan sepanjang malam (sekitar 20 jam). Pak Lurah menyanggupi tenaga bantuan 10 orang dan bekal. Mohon kabar bagaimana Soe, Idhan, dan Maman dll. secepatnya mendahului rombongan ... Tides dan Wiwik 18-12-69.
Saya pun terpilih menjadi kurir, mendahului rombongan sambil membawa surat untuk Tides. Isinya apalagi kalau bukan minta bantuan tenaga dan bahan makanan. Herman pun menulis surat: Saya tunggu di Cemorokandang dan bermaksud menunjukkan "site" tempat jenazah Soe dan Idhan ... kirimkan: gula/gula jawa, nasi, lauk, permen, pakaian hangat ... sebanyak mungkin!Akhirnya, semua bantuan tiba. Seluruh anggota rombongan baru berkumpul lagi pada tanggal 22 Desember di Malang. Kurus dan kelelahan. Maman terpaksa dirawat khusus beberapa hari di RS Claket. Sedangkan Soe dan Idhan, terbaring kesepian di dalam peti jenazah masing-masing. Untuk terakhir kali, kami tengok Soe dan Idhan. Soe yang mati muda, terbujur kaku dengan kemeja tangan panjang putih lengkap dengan dasi hitam. Jenis barang yang tidak mungkin dipakai semasa hidupnya.

Monyet tua yang dikurung
Kalau diingat-ingat, selama beberapa minggu sebelum keberangkatan dengan kereta api ke Jatim, Soe memang suka berkata aneh-aneh. Beberapa kali dia mengisahkan kegundahannya tentang seorang kawan yang mati muda gara-gara ledakan petasan. Ternyata dalam buku hariannya di CSD, Hok Gie menulis: "... Saya juga punya perasaan untuk selalu ingat pada kematian. Saya ingin ngobrol-ngobrol pamit sebelum ke Semeru ...."
Soe yang banyak membaca dan sering diejek dengan julukan "Cina Kecil", memanfaatkan kebeningan ingatannya untuk menyitir kata-kata "sakti" filsuf asing. Antara lain, tanggal 22 Januari 1962, ia menulis: "Seorang filsuf Yunani pernah menulis ... nasib terbaik adalah tidak dilahirkan, yang kedua dilahirkan tapi mati muda, dan yang tersial adalah umur tua. Rasa-rasanya memang begitu. Bahagialah mereka yang mati muda."
Soe yang penyayang binatang (dia memelihara beberapa ekor anjing, banyak ikan hias dan seekor monyet tua jompo), sebelum musibah Semeru itu sempat berujar: "Kehidupan sekarang benar-benar membosankan saya. Saya merasa seperti monyet tua yang dikurung di kebun binatang dan tidak punya kerja lagi. Saya ingin merasakan kehidupan kasar dan keras ... diusap oleh angin dingin seperti pisau, atau berjalan memotong hutan dan mandi di sungai kecil ... orang-orang seperti kita ini tidak pantas mati di tempat tidur."
Arief Budiman, sang kakak yang menjemput jenazah Soe di Gubuk Klakah, juga merasakan sikap aneh adiknya. Sebelum dia meninggal pada bulan Desember 1969, ada satu hal yang pernah dia bicarakan dengan saya. Dia berkata, "Akhir-akhir ini saya selalu berpikir, apa gunanya semua yang saya lakukan ini. Saya menulis, melakukan kritik kepada banyak orang ... makin lama makin banyak musuh saya dan makin sedikit orang yang mengerti saya. Kritik-kritik saya tidak mengubah keadaan. Jadi, apa sebenarnya yang saya lakukan ... Kadang-kadang saya merasa sungguh kesepian." (CSD) Arief sendiri mengungkapkan, ibu mereka sering gelisah dan berkata: "Gie, untuk apa semuanya ini. Kamu hanya mencari musuh saja, tidak mendapat uang." Terhadap Ibu, dia cuma tersenyum dan berkata: "Ah, Mama tidak mengerti".
Arief pun menulis kenangannya lagi: ... di kamar belakang, ada sebuah meja panjang. Penerangan listrik suram karena voltase yang selalu naik turun kalau malam hari. Di sana juga banyak nyamuk. Ketika orang-orang lain sudah tidur, sering kali masih terdengar suara mesin tik ... dari kamar yang suram dan banyak nyamuk itu, sendirian, sedang mengetik membuat karangan ... saya terbangun dari lamunan ... saya berdiri di samping peti matinya. Di dalam hati saya berbisik, "Gie kamu tidak sendirian". Saya tak tahu apakah Hok Gie mendengar atau tidak apa yag saya katakan itu.

Mimpi seorang mahasiswa tua
John Maxwell yang menyusun disertasinya, Soe Hok Gie - A Biography of A Young Indonesia Intellectual (Australian National University, 1997), menjabarkan betapa banyaknya komentar penting terhadap kematian Hok Gie. Harian Indonesia Raya yang masa itu sedang gencar-gencarnya mengupas kasus korupsi Pertamina-nya Ibnu Sutowo, memuat tulisan moratorium tentang Soe secara serial selama tiga hari.
Mingguan Bandung Mahasiswa Indonesia, mempersembahkan editorial khusus: ...Tanpa menuntut agar semua insan menjadi seorang Soe Hok-gie, kita hanya bisa berharap bahwa pemuda ini dapat menjadi model seorang pejuang tanpa pamrih ... kita membutuhkan orang seperti dia, sebagai lonceng peringatan yang bisa menegur kita manakala kita melakukan kesalahan.
Di luar negeri, berita kematian Soe sempat diucapkan Duta Besar RI Soedjatmoko, di dalam pertemuan The Asia Society in New York, sebagai berikut: ... Saya ingin menyampaikan penghormatan pada kenangan Soe Hok-gie, salah seorang intelektual yang paling dinamis dan menjanjikan dari generasi muda pasca kemerdekaan .... Komitmennya yang mutlak untuk modernisasi demokrasi, kejujurannya, kepercayaan dirinya yang teguh dalam perjuangan ... bagi saya ia memberikan suatu ilustrasi tentang adanya kemungkinan suatu tipe baru orang Indonesia, yang benar-benar asli orang Indonesia. Saya pikir pesan inilah yang telah disampaikannya kepada kita, dalam hidupnya yang singkat itu.
Kepada Ben Anderson, pakar politik Indonesia yang juga kawan lengket Soe, dalam salah satu surat terakhirnya, Soe menulis, ... Saya merasa semua yang tertulis dalam artikel-artikel saya adalah sejumput petasan. Dan semuanya ingin saya isi dengan bom!
Dari cuplikan berbagai tulisan Soe, terasa sekali sikap dan pandangannya yang khas. Misalnya, Soe pernah menulis begini: Saya mimpi tentang sebuah dunia, di mana ulama - buruh - dan pemuda, bangkit dan berkata - stop semua kemunafikan, stop semua pembunuhan atas nama apa pun. Tak ada rasa benci pada siapa pun, agama apa pun, dan bangsa apa pun. Dan melupakan perang dan kebencian, dan hanya sibuk dengan pembangunan dunia yang lebih baik.
Khusus soal mahasiswa, menjelang lulus sebagai sejarawan, 13 Mei 1969, Soe sempat menulis artikel Mimpi-mimpi Terakhir Seorang Mahasiswa Tua. Dalam uraian tajam itu, ia menyatakan: ... Beberapa bulan lagi saya akan pergi dari dunia mahasiswa. Saya meninggalkan dengan hati berat dan tidak tenang. Masih terlalu banyak kaum munafik yang berkuasa. Orang yang pura-pura suci dan mengatasnamakan Tuhan ... Masih terlalu banyak mahasiswa yang bermental sok kuasa. Merintih kalau ditekan, tetapi menindas kalau berkuasa.
Saat dirinya masuk korps dosen FSUI, secara blak-blakan Soe mengungkap ada dosen yang membolos 50% dari jatah jam kuliahnya. Bahkan ada dosen menugaskan mahasiswa menerjemahkan buku. Terjemahan mahasiswa itu dipakainya sebagai bahan pengajaran, karena sang dosen ternyata tidak tahu berbahasa Inggris.
Masih di seputar mahasiswa, dalam nada getir, Soe menulis: ... Hanya mereka yang berani menuntut haknya, pantas diberikan keadilan. Kalau mahasiswa Indonesia tidak berani menuntut haknya, biarlah mereka ditindas sampai akhir zaman oleh sementara dosen-dosen korup mereka.
Khusus untuk wakil mahasiswa yang duduk dalam DPR Gotong Royong, Hok Gie sengaja mengirimkan benda peranti dandan. Sebuah sindiran supaya wakil mahasiswa itu nanti bisa tampil manis di mata pemerintah. Padahal wakil mahasiswa itu teman-temannya sendiri yang dijuluki "politisi berkartu mahasiswa". Langkah Soe ini membuat mereka terperangah. Sayangnya, momentum ini kandas. Soe Hok Gie keburu tewas tercekik gas beracun di Puncak Mahameru.

Berpolitik cuma sementara
John Maxwell dalam epilog naskah buku Mengenang Seorang Demonstran (November 1999), menulis begini, "Saya sadar telah menulis tentang seorang pemuda yang hidupnya berakhir tiba-tiba, dan terlalu dini dengan masa depan yang penuh dengan kemungkinan yang begitu luas."
Kita telah memperhatikan bagaimana Soe Hok Gie terpana politik dan peristiwa nasional, setidak-tidaknya sejak masih remaja belasan tahun ... namun hasratnya terhadap dunia politik, diredam oleh penilaiannya sendiri bahwa dunia politik itu pada dasarnya lumpur kotor. Semua orang seputar Soekarno dinilainya korup dan culas, sementara pimpinan partai dan politisi terkemuka, tidak lebih dari penjilat dan bermental "asal bapak senang", serta "yes men", atau sudah pasrah.
Pandangan ini menjadi latar belakang pembelaan Soe akan kekuatan moral dalam politik di awal tahun 1966. Keikutsertaannya dalam politik hanya untuk sementara. Pada pertengahan tahun yang sama, dia menyampaikan argumentasi bahwa sudah tiba saatnya bagi mahasiswa untuk mundur dari arena politik dan membiarkan politisi profesional bertugas, membangun kembali institusi politik bangsa." Demikian tulis Maxwell.
Soe memang sudah bersikap. Dia memilih mendaki gunung daripada ikut-ikutan berpolitik praktis. Dia memilih bersikap independen dan kritis dengan semangat bebas. Pikiran dan kritiknya tertuang begitu produktif dalam pelbagai artikel di media cetak. Namun secara diam-diam, Soe ternyata juga menumpahkan unek-uneknya dalam bentuk puisi indah. Salah satunya Mandalawangi-Pangrango yang terkenal di kalangan pendaki gunung.
Pemuda lajang yang sempat pacaran dengan beberapa gadis manis FSUI, selain kutu buku, macan mimbar diskusi, kambing gunung, tukang nonton film, juga penggemar berat folksong (meski sama sekali tak becus bernyanyi merdu). Berbadan kurus nyaris kerempeng, di gunung makannya gembul.
Bagi pemuda dan khususnya mahasiswa demonstran, masih ada potongan puisi Hok Gie yang sempat tercecer, baru muncul di harian Sinar Harapan 18 Agustus 1973. Judulnya "Pesan" dan cukilan pentingnya berbunyi:
Hari ini aku lihat kembali
Wajah-wajah halus yang keras
Yang berbicara tentang kemerdekaaan
Dan demokrasi
Dan bercita-cita
Menggulingkan tiran

Aku mengenali mereka
yang tanpa tentara
mau berperang melawan diktator
dan yang tanpa uang
mau memberantas korupsi

Kawan-kawan
Kuberikan padamu cintaku
Dan maukah kau berjabat tangan
Selalu dalam hidup ini?

gie

2006-06-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

Soe Hok Gie dilahirkan pada tanggal 17 Desember 1942, adik dari sosiolog Arief Budiman. Catatan harian Gie sejak 4 Maret 1957 sampai dengan 8 Desember 1969 dibukukan tahun 1983 oleh LP3ES ke dalam sebuah buku yang berjudul Soe Hok Gie: Catatan Seorang Demonstran setebal 494 halaman. Gie meninggal di Gunung Semeru sehari sebelum ulang tahunnya yang ke-27 — 16 Desember 1969 akibat gas beracun.
Setelah lulus dari SMA Kanisius Gie melanjutkan kuliah ke Universitas Indonesia tahun 1961. Di masa kuliah inilah Gie menjadi aktivis kemahasiswaan. Banyak yang meyakini gerakan Gie berpengaruh besar terhadap tumbangnya Soekarno dan termasuk orang pertama yang mengritik tajam rejim Orde Baru.
Gie sangat kecewa dengan sikap teman-teman seangkatannya yang di era demonstrasi tahun 66 mengritik dan mengutuk para pejabat pemerintah kemudian selepas mereka lulus berpihak ke sana dan lupa dengan visi dan misi perjuangan angkatan 66. Gie memang bersikap oposisif dan sulit untuk diajak kompromi dengan oposisinya.
Selain itu juga Gie ikut mendirikan Mapala UI. Salah satu kegiatan pentingnya adalah naik gunung. Pada saat memimpin pendakian gunung Slamet 3.442m, ia mengutip Walt Whitman dalam catatan hariannya, “Now I see the secret of the making of the best person. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth”.
Pemikiran dan sepak terjangnya tercatat dalam catatan hariannya. Pikiran-pikirannya tentang kemanusiaan, tentang hidup, cinta dan juga kematian. Tahun 1968 Gie sempat berkunjung ke Amerika dan Australia, dan piringan hitam favoritnya Joan Baez disita di bandara Sydney karena dianggap anti-war dan komunis. Tahun 1969 Gie lulus dan meneruskan menjadi dosen di almamaternya.
Bersama Mapala UI Gie berencana menaklukkan Gunung Semeru yang tingginya 3.676m. Sewaktu Mapala mencari pendanaan, banyak yang bertanya kenapa naik gunung dan Gie berkata kepada teman-temannya:
“Kami jelaskan apa sebenarnya tujuan kami. Kami katakan bahwa kami adalah manusia-manusia yang tidak percaya pada slogan. Patriotisme tidak mungkin tumbuh dari hipokrisi dan slogan-slogan. Seseorang hanya dapat mencintai sesuatu secara sehat kalau ia mengenal objeknya. Dan mencintai tanah air Indonesia dapat ditumbuhkan dengan mengenal Indonesia bersama rakyatnya dari dekat. Pertumbuhan jiwa yang sehat dari pemuda harus berarti pula pertumbuhan fisik yang sehat. Karena itulah kami naik gunung.”
8 Desember sebelum Gie berangkat sempat menuliskan catatannya: “Saya tak tahu apa yang terjadi dengan diri saya. Setelah saya mendengar kematian Kian Fong dari Arief hari Minggu yang lalu. Saya juga punya perasaan untuk selalu ingat pada kematian. Saya ingin mengobrol-ngobrol pamit sebelum ke semeru. Dengan Maria, Rina dan juga ingin membuat acara yang intim dengan Sunarti. Saya kira ini adalah pengaruh atas kematian Kian Fong yang begitu aneh dan begitu cepat.” Selanjutnya catatan selama ke Gunung Semeru lenyap bersamaan dengan meninggalnya Gie di puncak gunung tersebut.
24 Desember 1969 Gie dimakamkan di pemakaman Menteng Pulo, namun dua hari kemudian dipindahkan ke Pekuburan Kober, Tanah Abang. Tahun 1975 Ali Sadikin membongkar Pekuburan Kober sehingga harus dipindahkan lagi, namun keluarganya menolak dan teman-temannya sempat ingat bahwa jika dia meninggal sebaiknya mayatnya dibakar dan abunya disebarkan di gunung. Dengan pertimbangan tersebut akhirnya tulang belulang Gie dikremasi dan abunya disebar di puncak Gunung Pangrango.
Beberapa quote yang diambil dari catatan hariannya Gie:
“Seorang filsuf Yunani pernah menulis … nasib terbaik adalah tidak dilahirkan, yang kedua dilahirkan tapi mati muda, dan yang tersial adalah umur tua. Rasa-rasanya memang begitu. Bahagialah mereka yang mati muda.”
“Kehidupan sekarang benar-benar membosankan saya. Saya merasa seperti monyet tua yang dikurung di kebun binatang dan tidak punya kerja lagi. Saya ingin merasakan kehidupan kasar dan keras … diusap oleh angin dingin seperti pisau, atau berjalan memotong hutan dan mandi di sungai kecil … orang-orang seperti kita ini tidak pantas mati di tempat tidur.”
“Yang paling berharga dan hakiki dalam kehidupan adalah dapat mencintai, dapat iba hati, dapat merasai kedukaan…”
Selain Catatan Seorang Demonstran, buku lain yang ditulis Soe Hok Gie adalah Zaman Peralihan, Di Bawah Lentera Merah (yang ini saya belum punya) dan Orang-Orang di Persimpangan Kiri Jalan serta riset ilmiah DR. John Maxwell Soe Hok Gie: Pergulatan Intelektual Muda Melawan Tirani.
Tahun depan Mira Lesmana dan Riri Reza bersama Miles Production akan meluncurkan film berjudul “Gie” yang akan diperankan oleh Nicholas Saputra, Sita Nursanti, Wulan Guritno, Lukman Sardi dan Thomas Nawilis. Saat ini sudah memasuki tahap pasca produksi.
John Maxwell berkomentar, “Gie hanya seorang mahasiswa dengan latar belakang yang tidak terlalu hebat. Tapi dia punya kemauan melibatkan diri dalam pergerakan. Dia selalu ingin tahu apa yang terjadi dengan bangsanya. Walaupun meninggal dalam usia muda, dia meninggalkan banyak tulisan. Di antaranya berupa catatan harian dan artikel yang dipublikasikan di koran-koran nasional” ujarnya. “Saya diwawancarai Mira Lesmana (produser Gie) dan Riri Reza (sutradara). Dia datang setelah membaca buku saya. Saya berharap film itu akan sukses. Sebab, jika itu terjadi, orang akan lebih mengenal Soe Hok Gie” tuturnya.

hok

2006-06-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

Soe Hok Gie

Soe Hok Gie di Puncak Pangrango, 1967
Soe Hok Gie (17 Desember 1942–16 Desember 1969) adalah salah seorang aktivis Indonesia dan mahasiswa Fakultas Sastra Universitas Indonesia Jurusan Sejarah tahun 1962–1969.
Soe Hok Gie menamatkan pendidikan SMA di Kolese Kanisius. Nama Soe Hok Gie adalah dialek Hokkian dari namanya Su Fu-yi dalam bahasa Mandarin (Hanzi: 蘇福義). Leluhur Soe Hok Gie sendiri adalah berasal dari Provinsi Hainan, RRT.
Ia adalah seorang anak muda yang berpendirian yang teguh dalam memegang prinsipnya dan rajin mendokumentasikan perjalanan hidupnya dalam buku harian. Buku hariannya kemudian diterbitkan dengan judul Catatan Seorang Demonstran (1983).
Soe Hok Gie adalah anak keempat dari lima bersaudara keluarga Soe Lie Piet alias Salam Sutrawan. Dia adik kandung Arief Budiman atau Soe Hok Djin, dosen Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana yang juga dikenal vokal dan sekarang berdomisili di Australia.
Hok Gie dikenal sebagai penulis produktif di beberapa media massa, misalnya Kompas, Harian Kami, Sinar Harapan, Mahasiswa Indonesia, dan Indonesia Raya. Sekitar 35 karya artikelnya (kira-kira sepertiga dari seluruh karyanya) selama rentang waktu tiga tahun Orde Baru, sudah dibukukan dan diterbitkan dengan judul Zaman Peralihan (Bentang, 1995).

Catatan Seorang Demonstran
Juga skripsi sarjana mudanya perihal Sarekat Islam Semarang, tahun 1999 diterbitkan Yayasan Bentang dengan judul Di Bawah Lentera Merah. Sebelumnya, skripsi S1-nya yang mengulas soal pemberontakan PKI di Madiun, juga sudah dibukukan dengan judul Orang-orang di Persimpangan Kiri Jalan (Bentang, 1997).
Hok Gie meninggal di gunung Semeru tahun 1969 tepat sehari sebelum ulang tahunnya yang ke-27 akibat menghirup asap beracun di gunung tersebut. Dia meninggal bersama rekannya, Idhan Dhanvantari Lubis.
John Maxwell menulis biografi Soe Hok Gie dengan judul Soe Hok Gie - A Biography of A Young Indonesian Intellectual (Australian National University, 1997).
Pada tahun 2005, catatan hariannya menjadi dasar bagi film yang disutradarai Riri Riza, Gie, dengan Nicholas Saputra berperan sebagai Hok Gie.

soe

2006-06-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Soe Hok Gie (1942-12-17–1969-12-16) was an Indonesian activist, who opposed the successive dictatorships of Presidents Sukarno and Suharto.
Gie was an ethnically Chinese Roman Catholic. The name "Soe Hok Gie" is from the Hokkien dialect; in Mandarin his name would be "Su Fu-yi", represented in Hanzi as "蘇福義". Soe Hok Gie was the fourth of five children in his family; his elder brother Arief Budiman (also known as Soe Hok Djin or Su Fu-qin (蘇福秦)), a sociologist and lecturer at the Christian Satya Wacana University, was also quite a vocal critical voice in Indonesian politics.
After spending his final years of senior high school at Kanisius, Gie attended the University of Indonesia from 1962 until 1969; upon finishing university he became a lecturer at his alma mater until his death. It was during his time as a student that Gie became an active dissident, protesting against President Sukarno and the PKI. Gie was a productive writer, with articles published in such newspapers as Kompas, Harian Kami, Sinar Harapan, Mahasiswa Indonesia, and Indonesia Raya. After the release of Riri Riza's Gie in 2005, his articles were compiled by Stanley and Aris Santoso and republished with the title Zaman Peralihan (Transition Era) by publisher GagasMedia.
An avid proponent of living close to nature, Gie quoted Walt Whitman in his diary: "Now I see the secret of the making of the best person. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth". In 1965, Gie helped found Mapala UI, a student environmentalist organisation. He enjoyed hiking, and indeed died through inhaling poisonous gas while hiking up the volcanic Mount Semeru on the day before his 27th birthday.
Fittingly, Gie once wrote in his diary:
"Seorang filsuf Yunani pernah menulis … nasib terbaik adalah tidak dilahirkan, yang kedua dilahirkan tapi mati muda, dan yang tersial adalah umur tua. Rasa-rasanya memang begitu. Bahagialah mereka yang mati muda."
This roughly translates to English as "A Greek philosopher once said... The best fate is that of the unborns, the second one is that of those who die young, and the distant third is that of those who die in the old age. I feel that this is right: Happy are those who die young." Gie attributed the statement, which echoes similar comments from Friedrich Nietzsche, to an anonymous Greek philosopher.
His diary was published in 1983, under the title Catatan Seorang Demonstran (English: Annotations of a Demonstrator). Gie's university thesis was also published, as Di Bawah Lantera Merah (Under the Red Lantern).
Gie's diary served as the inspiration for a 2005 film, Gie, which was directed by Riri Riza and starred Nicholas Saputra as Soe Hok Gie. Gie is also the subject of a 1997 book, written by Dr John Maxwell and entitled Soe Hok-Gie: Diary of a Young Indonesian Intellectual. The book was translated into Indonesian in 2001, and re-titled Soe Hok-Gie: Pergulatan Intelektual Muda Melawan Tirani (which roughly translates to English as Soe Hok-Gie: A Young Intellectual's Struggle Against Tyranny).

http://www.mothteeth.com/bookmaking/

2006-06-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.mothteeth.com/bookmaking/

How to Make a Simple Hardcover Book.

2006-06-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

How to Make a Simple Hardcover Book.
You will need: Sheets of paper to make the pages.A slightly larger sheet of sturdy paper, to make the outer cover. Brown paper is excellent, and can be painted with indian ink or other waterproof pigments.Two boards of hard card, to make the inner cover.Two ‘tapes’ of flexible card, to hold the pages to the cover.You will also need some fabric to re-enforce the spine. Use a non-flexible weave. Old bed sheets or pillowcases are perfect.A craft knife for cutting the paper and boards, and a steel ruler of sturdy piece of wood to cut along.Glue. (Pva or paste.)A needle, and a heavy thread. (Waxed linen thread is best.)A sharp object such as an awl or a nail, to punch holes.Sheets of plastic, to insulate moisture from the glue, and stop it from spreading through the book as it dries. Overhead projection sheets are good, but any smooth plastic will do (e.g. plastic zip lock bags, old folder covers.)
A Note On Grain. Most paper has a grain, which means that the fibers in the paper tend to line up in one direction. This gives the paper certain properties. Grained papers should always be folded along the grain. In a book, all grained papers and boards should be aligned vertically, with the grain parallel to the spine of the book. This is to avoid wrinkling and warping. To test the grain of a paper, cut a small square, and lick one side like a stamp. It will curl around the grain. If you need to test a paper in a shop, where you cannot cut it, the grain is usually visible to the eye. Grained paper also has a distinct feel; the paper will bend more easily around the grain. Breathing warm breath onto paper will also result in a slight curling, which subsides after a short time.
The Construction 1. Cut segments of eight to twelve sheets, with the grain running parallel to the intended spine.
2. fold the segments over, along the grain. You can use the back of a spoon to flatten the folds.
3. Punch holes for sewing. Make a template using the tapes to measure. Make holes either side of the tapes, and one more at each end of the fold.
4. Thread the needle, and tie a knot at the end of the thread. Sew the segments together, following the diagram below. a. Sew into the first hole, into the outer edge of the fold.b,c. Insert the tapes. The thread should pass over the tapes, and hold them in place.d. Insert segment two under the tapes, and sew the first hole.e. Tie the thread around the tail at the first hole, before inserting the third segment. f. After sewing along segment three, hook the thread under the join between the first and second segments. Repeat this step at the end of each segment. g. When all the segments are in place, hook the thread under the previous join, and tie off the thread with a knot.
5. ‘Seal’ the spine with a thin layer of glue. Work it into the cracks, and coat the thread. This strengthens the sewing, and closes the spaces between the segments. Press the book flat under a pile of heavy books. Make sure the spine is pressed as flat as possible, as it will set into this form permanently. The final product is called a ‘book block’
6. Meanwhile, make your cover. Cut two boards, slightly larger than the book block, so that there is a small border on three sides of the book block.
7. Cut a large sheet of heavy paper, so that there is room to place the two boards side by side, with a space between them the width of the spine of the book block plus three times the thickness of the boards. There should be a border around the boards of about one inch. On the INSIDE of the paper, mark the positions of the boards, Cut the corners off, leaving a small space between the corner of the board and the cut.
8. Coat the paper with glue, and place the boards. Glue a strip of fabric between the boards. You may also, optionally, include a strip of card, to create a hard spine. The card should be the same width as the spine of the book block. Make sure all are glued down well. Fold the paper over, (1,2,3,4) You may now press the cover under some books, using sheets of plastic to cover the exposed wet areas, or simply continue on with the next step.
9. Now the book block can be glued into the cover. Under the first page of the book block, place a sheet of newspaper, and beneath that a sheet of plastic. Cover the page with glue. It is ok for the glue to pass over onto the newspaper. Glue down the tapes, and cover their backs with glue. Make sure the page is coated right to the edges, especially near the spine. Carefully lift the page, and remove the newspaper. Make sure the plastic is properly in place and drop the page back onto it. (The plastic stops the moisture from the glue spreading through the pages and causing them to wrinkle.) Drop the book block onto one side of the open cover, so that the spine is flush with the inside edge of the board, and there is an even boarder on the other three sides. If it is uneven, the cover may be carefully opened, and the page can be shifted slightly, or even removed for another attempt. Make sure the positioning is satisfactory before applying any firm pressure. Repeat the process with the other side. The only difference here is that the cover must be lifted up and placed against the top of the book block. Line the board with the spine, and lower it down.
10. Press the book under as much weight as possible. Position it on the edge of a table, so that the spine sticks out a little. (The idea is to line the edge of the table with the boards inside the cover.) If the spine is a soft one, it can be shaped while wet, and will set. Allow the book to ‘cure’ until it is totally dry. If it is removed too early, the cover will curl. A damp book feels cool to the touch, and will still smell like glue. Once it is dry, it should have a neutral temperature, and smell only very faintly of glue. When it is dry, remove the plastic sheets, and the book is complete.
Page Calculators for Multi-Segmented Books and Single-Segmented PamphletsFor Instructions on how to print multi-segmented books using a home computer, click here. This javascript page calculator includes instructions for formatting and printing a multi segmented book in WORD.For a calculator for a simple single-segment pamphlet, click here.Links For more bookbinding techniques, visit these good pages on book repair .
Feel free to use these instructions for any non-profit purposes. Reproduce and distribute freely. If you find these instructions useful, or have any suggestions, please let me know.

contact

paperback writer

2006-06-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Paperback Writer" is a song written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon and released by The Beatles on the A side of their eleventh single. It went to the number one spot in Britain, the United States, West Germany and Australia. This was the first Beatles single not to be a love song (however "Nowhere Man" was their first album song released with that distinction). On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, "Paperback Writer"'s two-week stay at number one was interrupted by Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night".
The track was recorded between April 13 and 14 1966, and is marked by the boosted bass guitar sound throughout. With some studio tweaking, the bass is the most prominent instrument in the mix. American musicians like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett had used heavy bass sound before and now The Beatles were catching on, with tracks like this and "Drive My Car". The song is one of The Beatles' most distinctive forays into "mod" rock and owes much to the contemporary work of The Who, with its distorted, circular guitar hook, high-pitched harmonies, and pounding drums, complete with tambourine touches à la "I Can't Explain".
One of McCartney's aunts reportedly requested that he write a song with some other theme than boy-girl relationships. British disc jockey Jimmy Savile claimed that McCartney's inspiration came from seeing drummer Ringo Starr reading a book. "He took one look and announced that he would write a song about a book," he said. The song's lyric is in the form of a letter from an aspiring author addressed to a publisher. Said author badly needs a job and has written a paperback version of a book by a "man named Lear." This is a reference to the Victorian painter Edward Lear, who wrote nonsense poems and songs of which John Lennon was very fond (though Lear never wrote novels). The Daily Mail was Lennon's regular newspaper and was often in the studio when The Beatles were writing songs.
Aside from deviating from the subject of love, McCartney had it in mind to write a song with a melody backed by a single, static chord. "John and I would like to do songs with just one note like 'Long Tall Sally.' We got near it in 'The Word.'" He also claimed to have barely failed to achieve this goal with "Paperback Writer," as the verse remains on G until the end, at which point it pauses on C. The backing vocals during this section are from the French children's song "Frère Jacques".
Other noteworthy aspects of the song include its distinctive a capella intro, which reappears after each verse, and the distorted guitar riff that explodes from it leading into the next verse. A similar melody can be heard in another McCartney number, "Got To Get You Into My Life".
In Britain, the single was released with the infamous "butcher" cover art, depicting The Beatles with raw meat and decapitated baby dolls tossed about. The imagery was deemed too explicit for an American audience and was released there with photos of The Beatles playing live, but with John Lennon and George Harrison's images reflected so that it appears they are playing left handed.
"Paperback Writer" was not included on an original Beatles album. However, it can be found on several compilations:
A Collection of Beatles' Oldies... but Goldies
Hey Jude/The Beatles Again
The Beatles 1962-1966 (Red Album)
Past Masters, Volume Two
The Beatles 1
The song's title was used by rock writer Mark Shipper as the title of a humorous, semi-biographical novel (Ace Books, 1978) that retold the Beatles' story, distorting the events for comic effect.
In the liner notes for the Monkees box set Listen to the Band, it is revealed that the song Last Train to Clarksville was inspired by this song, when the composer heard the end of Paperback Writer on the radio and misheard the lyrics as "Last train to... something..."

trade paper back

2006-06-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

A trade paperback (TPB, sometimes referred to as a trade paper edition) can refer to any book that is bound with a heavy paper cover that is generally cheaper than a hardcover but more expensive than a mass market paperback.
Trade paperbacks were once used primarily for special editions, but for many literary titles trade paperbacks have now replaced regular paperbacks as the format for a book's subsequent release once its hardcover edition has been discontinued. Generally, regular pocket-sized paperbacks are now used only for popular and genre fiction titles.
For new writers publishing their first works, a trade paperback may even be the sole format of a book's release.
Dimensions of a standard trade paperback are 198 mm × 129 mm (8" × 5¼").
In the genre of comic books, trade paperbacks are usually used to reprint several issues of a comic series, usually an important storyline or the entire series itself. Graphic novels are also usually found in trade paperback form.

hard back

2006-06-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper), or sometimes leather. They may have flexible sewn spines which allow the book to lay flat on a surface when opened, although most modern commercial hardcover books have glued spines.
Hardcover books are often printed on acid-free paper, and are much more durable than paperbacks, which have flexible, easily damaged paper covers and glued spines. Hardcover books are also more expensive to manufacture and purchase. Hardcovers frequently come with artistic dust jackets. If brisk sales are anticipated, a hardcover edition of a book is typically released first, followed by a "trade" paperback edition (same format as hardcover) the next year. For very popular books these sales cycles may be extended, and followed by a mass market paperback edition typeset in a more compact size and printed on thinner, less durable paper.

mass paper back

2006-06-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

A mass market paperback is a small, non-illustrated, and relatively cheap version of a book, usually coming out after the hardback and often sold in non-traditional bookselling locations such as airports and supermarkets, as well as in traditional bookselling locations, such as bookstores.
Mass market paperbacks are distinguished from hardbacks also by the different business practices that publishers and booksellers apply to them. When booksellers note that books have been in stock a while and have not sold, they may return them to the publisher for a refund or credit on future orders. However, in the case of mass market paperbacks, this "return" usually means stripping the front cover, returning that for credit, and pulping the book itself. Changes in the costs of printing relative to the costs of shipping have led to the creation of trade paperbacks, which are similar in format to mass market paperbacks, but larger (near hardback size) and with different returns policies applied to them.
The mass market paperbacks sold in airport newsstands have given rise to the vaguely defined literary genre of the "airport novel", bought by travellers to while away the hours of sitting and waiting.

History
British publisher Allen Lane launched the Penguin imprint in 1935, with 10 reprint titles; this started the paperback revolution in the English-language book market. However paperbacks were not new as a format: the Penguin series had been inspired by the 1931 Albatross Books series, in Germany. Lane intended to produce cheap books. He bought paperback rights from publishers, ordered huge print runs (e.g., 20,000 copies) to keep unit prices low, and looked to non-traditional bookselling retail locations. Booksellers were intitially reluctant to buy his books. Woolworths, the department store, however placed a large order on the books, and the books sold extremely well. After this initial success, booksellers were no longer reluctant to stock paperbacks. The word "Penguin" became closely associated with the word "paperback".
Robert de Graaf, in 1939, issued a similar line in the USA, partnering with Simon & Schuster to found the Pocket Books imprint. The term "pocket book" became synonymous with paperback in English-speaking North America. In Québec, the term "livre de poche" was used, and continues to be used today. De Graaf, like Lane, negotiated paperback rights from other publishers, and produced large print runs. His practices contrasted with those of Lane in his adoption of illustrated covers, aimed at the North American market. In order to reach an even larger market than Lane had, he went the mass market route, through distribution networks of newspapers and magazines, which had a lengthy history of being aimed (in format and distribution) at mass audiences. This was the beginning of mass market paperbacks.
Genre categories began to emerge, and mass market book covers reflected those categories. Mass market paperbacks had an impact on slick magazines (slicks). The market for cheap magazines diminished when buyers went to cheap books instead — one factor in this was that the content included in both formats crossed over — authors also found themselves abandoning magazines, and writing for the paperback market.
U.S. paperbacks quickly entered the Canadian market, because the newspaper and magazine distribution network was controlled by U.S. companies.
Canadian mass-market paperback initiatives in the 1940s included White Circle Books, a subsidiary of Collins (UK); it was fairly successful.
McClelland and Stewart entered the Canadian mass market book trade in the early 1960s, with its "Canadian best seller library" series (at a time when Canadian literary culture was beginning to be popularised, and a call for a Canadian author identity was discussed by the Canadian masses). See Egg Head or Quality Paperbacks for McClelland and Stewart's paperback line

paperback

2006-06-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

Paperback may refer to a kind of book binding by which papers are simply folded without cloth or leather and bound - usually with glue rather than stitches or staples - into a thick paper cover; or to a book with this type of binding. (Contrast cloth, hardback, hardbound or hardcover.)
The paperback format was pioneered by German publisher Albatross Books in 1931 but the experiment was cut short. In England Penguin Books adopted many of Albatross's innovations, for instance the conspicuous logo and the color-coded covers for different genres, beginning in 1935, and was an immediate financial success.
The format was brought to the United States with Pocket Books, beginning in 1939. Because of its position as Number One in what became a very long list of Pocket editions, James Hilton's Lost Horizon is often cited as the first paperback book, which is not correct. The first mass-market, pocket-sized, paperback book printed in America was an edition of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, produced by Pocket Books as a proof-of-concept in late 1938, sold in New York City, and now very collectible. Number One on the Penguin list of 1935 editions was André Maurois's Ariel.
Paperbacks include cheap mass market paperbacks, in the standard "pocketbook" format generally printed on newsprint or other low quality paper, which will discolor and disintegrate over a period of decades, and more expensive trade paperbacks in larger formats printed on better quality paper, sometimes acid-free paper.

award

2006-03-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Trivia
The Coke Badger is a nod, not just to the rabbit in Donnie Darko but to the fairy godmother in Wild at Heart
One of the line producers disappeared, presumably on a drug binge, during the shoot in Ibiza
The film was shot 1.77 on HD
The baby in the closing scenes is Paul Kaye's real baby
Frankie's doctor is the director Michael Dowse's real-life doctor S. C. Lim, playing the part of himself; this character/ doctor also appears in Dowse's film Fubar.
[edit]

Quotes
Frankie Wilde: Flip flop is to me perfection.
Frankie Wilde: I can confidently say Ibiza is dot dot dot.
Frankie Wilde: Maybe I should write a book. That might take years though, perhaps a pamphlet or brochure.
Frankie Wilde: We're bending the sounds. I've been forging it. We've a lyrical smelter.
Max Haggar: I think what he's trying to say is even though he feels that he has nothing to prove to you, he'd be happy to prove anything you want, to you.
[edit]

Awards
[edit]

Won
Best Canadian Feature - Toronto International Film Festival - 2004
Best Feature - US Comedy Arts Festival - 2005
Best Actor (Paul Kaye) - US Comedy Arts Festival - 2005
Grand Jury Award - Gen Art Film Festival - 2005
Audience Award - Gen Art Film Festival - 2005
Best British Columbian Film - Vancouver Film Critics Circle - 2005
Best Male Performer (Mike Wilmot) - Canadian Comedy Awards - 2005
Best Overall Sound - Leo Awards - 2005
Best Sound Editing - Leo Awards - 2005
Best Feature-Length Drama - Leo Awards - 2005
[edit]

Nominated
Best Actor, Best Feature - Method Fest
Best Achievement in Production - BIFA
8 Genie Awards

2006-03-07T08:34:00.000-08:00

It's All Gone Pete Tong is a 2004 fictional biopic independent film about Frankie Wilde (Paul Kaye), a DJ who goes completely deaf. The title is Cockney rhyming slang for "it has all gone wrong".
Several famous DJs appear in the film as "talking heads", giving the film a false sense of authenticity. Carl Cox, Tiësto, Sarah Main, Barry Ashworth, Paul van Dyk, Lol Hammond, and Pete Tong appear in the film.
Canadian comedian Mike Wilmot also appears in the film, as Frankie's agent. He won a 2005 Canadian Comedy Award for the role.
The film was released on April 15, 2005. The DVD was released on September 20, 2005. In 2005, it won two awards at the US Comedy Arts Festival for Best Feature and Best Actor (Paul Kaye) and swept the Gen Art Film Festival awards (Grand Jury and Audience). It was filmed on location in Ibiza and shot entirely in HD.

Soundtrack
Al Sharp - The Beta Band
Back to Basics - Shapeshifters
Can You Hear Me Now - Double Funk feat. Paul Kaye
Cloud Watch - Lol Hammond
DJs in a Row - Schwab
Flamenco - Flamenco Ibiza
Flashdance (Raul Rincon Mix) - Deep Dish
Get On - Moguai
Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
G-Spot - Lol Hammond
Hear No Evil - Lol Hammond
I Like It (Sinewave Surfer Mix) - Narcotic Thrust
It's Over - The Beta Band
Messa da Requiem - Riccardo Muti/La Scala Milan
More Intensity - Pete Tong and Chris Cox
Musak (Steve Lawler Mix) - Trisco
Music For A Found Harmonium - The Penguin Café Orchestra
Need To Feel Loved (12" Club Mix) Reflekt
Need To Feel Loved (Seb Fontaine and Jay P's TYPE Remix) - Reflekt feat. Delline Bass
Parlez-Moi D'Amour - Lucienne Boyer
Plastic Dreams (Radio Edit) - Jaydee
Rise Again - DJ Sammy
Ritcher Scale Madness - And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Rock That House Musiq - Christophe Monier and DJ Pascal present 'Impulsion'
Rock Your Body Rock - Ferry Corsten
The Aviator - Michael A. McCann
Troubles - The Beta Band
Up & Down (Super Dub) - Scent
You Can't Hurry Love - The Concretes
[edit]

2-Disc CD
[edit]

CD 1
Pacific State - 808 State
Cloud Watch' - Lol Hammond
Dry Pool Suicide - Graham Massey
Moonlight Sonata - Graham Massey
Baby Piano - Lol Hammond
Ku Da Ta - Pete Tong
Mirage - Moroccan Blonde
Troubles - Beta Band
Parlez Moi D'Amour - Lucienne Boyer
Need To Feel Loved (12" Club Mix) - Reflekt
It's Over - Beta Band
Halo (Goldfrapp Remix) - Depeche Mode
How Does It Feel? - Afterlife
Holdin' On - Ferry Corsten
Four-Four-Four - Fragile State
Music For A Found Harmonium - The Penguin Café Orchestra
Learning to Lip-Read - Graham Massey
Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
Interlude
White Lines - Barefoot
[edit]

CD 2
Intro
DJs in a Row - Schwab
Flashdance (Raul Rincon Mix) - Deep Dish
Good 2 Go - Juggernaut
Rock That House Musiq - Christophe Monier and DJ Pascal present 'Impulsion'
Blue Water - Black Rock
Back to Basics - Shapeshifters
Up & Down - Scent
Serendipity - Steve Mac & Pete Tong Presents Lingua Frranca
Plastic Dreams (Radio Edit) - Jaydee
Rock Your Body Rock - Ferry Corsten
Can You Hear Me Now - Double Funk feat. Paul Kaye
Musak (Steve Lawler Mix) - Trisco
Yimanya - Filterheadz
Need To Feel Loved (Seb Fontaine and Jay P's TYPE Remix) - Reflekt feat. Delline Bass
More Intensity - Pete Tong and Chris Cox
Frenetic (Short Mix) - Orbital

Plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The film begins showing a dirty, hermit-like man living in a very dirty padded room. The film then cuts back to one year earlier, showing DJ Frankie Wilde at the height of his fame on the party island of Ibiza. With a record contract in hand, he lives an opulent life performing at the hottest nightclubs and living in a gorgeous villa with his trophy wife Sonya. Sonya is a model that starred in his first music video (Rise Again), and they have a son King (product of an affair by another man). Frankie's career is guided by super-agent and egotistical Max Haggar.
Contemporary DJs validate Frankie's mastery of the turntable. Paul van Dyk states, "Frankie was definitely one of the best. He had his very sort-of own style, his very own momentum with the crowd. I don’t think that anyone else did it his way." With fame, we also see him partaking in the traditional rock star lifestyle, complete with alcohol, drugs, and women. Frankie's drug addiction manifests itself, to Frankie, as a giant "Coke Badger".
Frankie begins noticing troubles with his hearing while watching a soccer match. Frankie is working on his next album, which appears to be greatly delayed. Helping him are his "two Austrian mates" Alfonse and Horst, who seem more suited for a metal band. Frankie continues working on his album and playing gigs at clubs, but his hearing begins to degrade rapidly. After a disastrous set of gigs, it's apparent to everyone, except Frankie, that he's going deaf. After playing another terrible set at a club one night, Max confronts Frankie. Frankie agrees to see a doctor, who tells him he's lost hearing in one ear and will lose hearing in the other, unless Frankie stops exposure to everything he loves dearly: loud music and drugs.
During a recording session with his Austrian mates, a guitar is smashed into an amplifier whose volume Frankie has maximized. Trying to listen to the speaker, the feedback knocks Frankie unconscious. The damage has left him permanently deaf. Without his hearing and without completion of the album, Frankie is abandoned by Max and Sonya. In a desperate attempt to regain his hearing, Frankie locks himself up in his house, which he "soundproofs", and ingests only fast food and drugs.
Frankie attempts suicide, only to realize that he wants to live. Frankie meets lip-reading instructor Penelope and learns to read lips. As his ability increases, so does the closeness of their relationship. Over time, Frankie discovers that he can understand music and sounds through sight (viewing digital waveforms) and vibrations (tying speakers to his feet). Frankie mixes an album (Hear No Evil) and delivers it to Max, who, after listening to it, is ecstatic. His joy is only overcome by the newly found knowledge that Frankie is completely deaf.
Max convinces Frankie to play live at Pacha as a comeback for the spurned DJ. Frankie agrees, reluctantly. Frankie proves he can still mix and he's better than ever. After the show, Frankie and Penelope disappear. As the film ends, we see Frankie and Penelope, with baby, walking down a street, unrecognized.
[edit]

Characters
[edit]

Primary

Frankie, DJ god, descends from the heavens of an Ibiza mega club.
Frankie Wilde (Paul Kaye) is the king of DJs, slowly losing his hearing, and soon to lose everything he thinks is important to him: fame, trophy wife, beautiful villa in Ibiza
Penelope (Beatriz Batarda) is the deaf lip-reading instructor who gives Frankie the tough love he never had and always needed
Sonya (Kate Magowan) is the supermodel turned wife of Frankie Wilde. Her days are filled with deciding on what theme is more appropriate for their garden: Japanese or Spanish?
Max Haggar (Mike Wilmot) is Frankie's suger-agent. Fat, balding, and brash, Max is all about money and his cell phone is his lifeline.
Jack Stoddart (Neil Maskell) is the ruthless CEO of Motor Records who has no sympathy for Frankie. He says, "I didn’t want a deaf DJ on the label. I didn’t want the company to be touched with the deaf stamp. Well, business is tough and sometimes you have to make awkward decisions and I’ve made harder decisions than dropping the deaf DJ."
[edit]

Secondary
Eric Banning (Dan Antopolsk) is the whimsical author of several biographies on Frankie Wilde.
Alfonse (Paul Spence) is one of Frankie's "Austrian mates", half of the metal group Ladderhause.
Horst (David Lawrence) is one of Frankie's "Austrian mates", half of the metal group Ladderhause.
Dr. Lim (Doctor S.C. Lim) is the doctor who diagnoses Frankie's deafness.
King (Sterling Williams) is Frankie and Penelope's son (from a different father).
Coke Badger (Gideon Gold) is Frankie's personification of his drug addiction.
Pete Tong (As Himself)
Carl Cox (As Himself)
Paul Van Dyk (As Himself)
Sarah Main (As Herself)
Tiësto (As Himself)
Barry Ashworth (As Himself)
Lol Hammond (As Himself)
Charlie Chester (As Himself)
Danny Whittle (As Himself)

frankie wilde

2006-03-07T08:26:00.000-08:00

Deaf, Not Dumb
Pete Tong's a mockumentary that will make your heart dance
By Robert Wilonsky
Article Published May 12, 2005

var cityID = "dal";
var sectionBase = "film";
var issueDate = "2006-03-02";
var cid = "19465";
photoRotator("storyPhotos", "storyPhotoHeader", "storyPhotoImg", "storyPhotoCaption");

Film Details
Who / What:
It's All Gone Pete Tong
Details:
Written and directed by Michael Dowse. Starring Paul Kaye, Michael Wilmot, Beatriz Batarda and Kate Magowan. Opens Friday.
The mockumentary is a tricky thing and not to be attempted by amateurs, many of whom treat the form like a joke without need of a punch line; damn the filmmaker who thinks it clever and ironic enough to "interview" "real people" "talking" about other "real people" who, of course, don't exist except inside the cluttered, shuttered mind of a moviemaker who couldn't figure out how to fit his fiction inside the framework of a real narrative, which would take actual work. Worse, the mock doc, when done wrong, always comes out the same, loathing the nobody next door whose idiosyncrasies are exaggerated into freak-show proportions. They're not "mock" because they're phony docs; they're mock because that's precisely what they do--poke fun at characters the filmmakers hold in contempt, which is a lousy reason to make a movie in the first place. For every Chris Guest movie, for every Bob Roberts, there's a Lisa Picard Is Famous or Burn, Hollywood, Burn or The Big Tease out there waiting to beat you to death with quotation marks.
So why, then, does writer-director Michael Dowse's It's All Gone Pete Tong work so wonderfully, when it's a work of fiction positing itself as a true-story biography of a legendary Ibiza-based DJ named Frankie Wilde, who goes deaf from too much noise and drugs? It arrives complete with talking-head testimonials from the likes of Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, Lol Hammond, Pete Tong and other real-life record-spinners who tout Wilde as a reclusive legend and troubled pioneer. ("He's a showman as much as he is a musician," says Tong, his face as straight as the razor Wilde uses to cut his coke.) Interspersed with their accolades are other tales told by phony folks: the record-label boss who says he's "done harder things than drop a deaf DJ," the biographer who explains in a scholarly deadpan how Frankie lost his hearing ("Years and years of noise was the basis of his problem," duh), the manager who rambles on about a dream in which he sucks himself off. The only thing missing is the amplifier that goes to 11 (though there's even a subtle nod to that).
It's All Gone Pete Tong--slang among Cockney ravers for "It's all gone wrong," or so claim the facetious press notes in which nothing's to be believed (or dismissed)--succeeds primarily because it loves its subject, played with bright eyes and a big heart by British comic-turned-actor Paul Kaye, whose BBC character Dennis Pennis hassled celebrities years before Sasha Cohen, as Ali G, made his f'real fortune. Kaye, looking like Ralph Fiennes with a mouth full of Shane MacGowan's teeth, begins the movie as a caricature of the DJ scene--a chain-smoking, coke-snorting, scotch-swilling, scrawny twerp who considers himself "the Imelda Marcos of the flip-flop world." He's a narcissistic ass, capable of sending a crowd of thousands into an ecstatic frenzy at the drop of a needle, but incapable of feeling anything more than the urgent need to screw the fleshpot pile of tits and thongs secured for him by his American manager Max (Mike Wilmot).
Dowse introduces us to Frankie at the peak of his fame and powers: He's seen in the opening credits descending from the heavens into a throng of sweaty Ibiza partygoers, a crown of thorns atop his head. We meet his model wife, Sonya (Kate Magowan), whom Frankie met while making the ridiculous video screened almost in its entirety. They're the kind of couple who smoke while they play tennis, who come up with half-assed ideas they consider brilliant (he wants to market his own line of hummus; she thinks he ought to call his next record Frankie Hummus), who share lovers in front of each other. He's perched high atop Glowstick Mountain, from which the fall is quick and brutal: One minute he's watching a football match on the telly, the next he can hear only the ringing in the ears that precedes his going totally, maddeningly deaf. He proceeds to go slightly insane, believing that "total silence" will cure his condition. Frankie, too, is visited often by the Coke Badger, a giant drooling creature that bleeds white powder.

What could have been a daft, sick joke--the equivalent of Spinal Tap's drummer exploding on stage--becomes a sweet and comic love story, as Frankie, shaggy and self-loathing, emerges from his yearlong funk to find a woman who teaches him to lip-read (Beatriz Batarda) and helps him discover ways to feel and see sound. (This involves strapping on speakers with flip-flops attached to the top, so Frankie can feel the music through his gnarled toes.) He finally finishes his new record, only to see his work exploited by Max and the label, who want to make him an idol to the deaf kids screaming for one (only nobody can hear them, hahahaha). But Frankie's too grown-up now for such garish nonsense; the boy, in his late 30s, at last becomes a man--an apt metaphor for a club scene built on the idea of eternal youth, at least till the sun comes up and the drugs wear off. He will disappear again--to where and to what, we're meant to have no idea. But the movie leaves us with a broad, genuine smile, not the smirk born of so many mockumentaries. This is phony, absolutely, but the good feeling it leaves behind is plenty real.

Chart #1: The Early to Mid-'70s

2006-02-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

In the beginning there was rhythm...until something else emerged from New York City's South Bronx: a rougher, rowdier spin on funk innovators like James Brown, George Clinton, Marvin Gaye, and Sly Stone. Rap. Based on the fundamentals of "beats" (copped off other people's records) and "breaks" (assisted by a turntable and some discreet crossfading), the MCs' contrasting delivery styles soon split along two camps: Disco and B-Boys.
Disco: Appealed more to black disco crowd and stressed crowd response over actual rhyming.
Pete DJ Jones -- New York's #1 DJ, c. early '70s. His mixing style and sound system kept 'em moving with MCs the Disco King and JT Hollywood.
DJ Hollywood -- c. 1974. One of the genre's early top New York DJs; assisted by DJ Junebug, who was murdered in the early '80s. Key record: "Hollywood's World."
Eddie Cheeba -- New York's #1 DJ, c. 1975-77, earning $2,000 a night.
"Love Bug" Starski -- Goes back to the days of Pete DJ Jones. His career peaked in the mid to late '70s. Kurtis Blow: "The only guy I ever saw who could play to both crowds. Nobody could mess with 'Love Bug'!" Key record: "Gigolette."
Early Originators:PlummerMaboyaGrandmaster Flowers (supported James Brown at Yankee Stadium). All came in Jones' wake as disco DJs/MCs
Kurtis Blow -- né Walker; Kool DJ Kurt, c. 1976. Felt drawn to both camps for different reasons: "When I saw Pete (DJ Jones), I realized it didn't have to be one or the other."
B-Boys: More in touch with the streets than their counterparts. Favored a tougher, rapid-fire rhyming approach.
Kool DJ Herc -- "The godfather of hip-hop"; despite his slight rhyming skills, his massive stature and sound system inspired such followers as...
"Herculoids"
Afrika Bambaataa -- Founded modern B-Boy style. Ex-Black Spades gang leader's 26 record crates made him a topflight DJ.
Grand Master Flash -- "Herculoid" who created his own aggressive turntable style. As Raheem notes: "To see Flash at that time, you'd be in awe. He'd catch (a record) in the air...handcuffed!" Accompanied by "Cowboy" Keith Wiggins, one of rap's first certified MCs, Flash formed Future Players. Often strapped for cash, they didn't seem strapped for acts, as attested by earlier efforts.
Paul Winley -- Issued two Bambaataa 12-inch singles in 1980, including "Zulu Nation Throwdown."
Bobby Robinson -- Enjoy Records (1979-82). Debuted Flash and crew ("Superrappin'") and Funky 4 + 1, which included future Furious Fivester Raheem, among others.
Sylvia Robinson, Joe Robinson, Joey Robinson Jr. -- Family-run Sugar Hill took over when Bobby Robinson of Enjoy Records dropped out of the scene.
Russell Simmons -- Then a local promoter (c. 1979-80), just taking it all in...
CHART #2: 1979-'84
Why is it so difficult to sort out hip-hop's maze of claims, counterclaims, and contradictions? Nobody worried about documenting what remained essentially a local scene, nor the diehard separation between the B-Boy and disco camps, which never acknowledged each other's contributions. With the success of Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'" (1979) and "The Breaks" (1980), along with "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" (Fatback, 1979) and "Rapper's Delight" (Sugarhill Gang, 1979), the original categories evolved into "just plain ol' rap!" as Kurtis would have it.
Grandmaster Caz -- His rhymes are said to have provided the backbone of rap's (and Sugarhill's) first big hit....
Sugarhill Gang -- Michael "Wonder Mike" Wright, Guy "Master Gee" O'Brien, and Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson. "Rapper's Delight," "8th Wonder," "Apache," "Funk Box."
The Treacherous Three -- "Feel The Heartbeat"
Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five -- "White Lines (Don't Do It)," "Jesse." Recruited new members and kept group's name for two years following the '83 split.
Sugar Hill Records Rahiem: "The way they were able to get records on the street -- that was amazing! If we cut that week, the record was on the street next week."
Spoonie Gee -- "Monster Jam," "Spoonin' Rap," "Spoonie Is Back"
The Sequence -- Angie B, Cheryl the Pearl, Blondie. "Funk You Up," "Monster Jam," with Spoonie (well, what else would you call it?)
Grand Master Flash & The Furious 5 -- "The Message," "Freedom," "It's Nasty (Genius Of Love)," "New York, New York" Flash -- Went to Elektra with Raheem and Kid Creole Rahiem -- "Reflecting back, 'Message II (Survival)' and 'New York, New York' should have been on The Message album. That wasn't in our foresight, and I guess it wasn't in Sylvia's either." Remained rap's preeminent group until discontent with their label, and internal dissension, led to court battle, then split into rival camps. Rahiem: "I remember one Christmas 'The Message' had been out a few months, and we were expecting some kind of money, and when it didn't happen, I remember the group pitching a bitch about it. When I say 'divided,' we were divided over our decisions, and when I say 'conquered,' we were conquered...over money. In the music business, you don't get what you deserve -- only what you negotiate."
Kurtis Blow -- Early successes led to supporting Bob Marley and the Commodores on tour and management by Russ Simmons. Russell's younger brother Joey Simmons (Run) broke his arm, so he couldn't DJ for Blow in 1980. No matter; Blow produced Joey's crew as well as the Fat Boys, who both reaped considerable benefits from Kurtis' guitarist, Larry Smith, and multi-instrumental DJ, Davy DMX!
Run DMC -- "It's Like That," "Sucker MCs," "Rock Box"
Fat Boys -- né the Disco Three, c. 1983. "The Human Beatbox" Darren "Buff" Robinson (died of cardiac arrest in '95), Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon "Kool Rock-ski" Wimbley
Afrika Bambaataa -- "Planet Rock," "Funk You," "Renegades Of Funk," all smashes on Tommy Boy Records. Mr. Biggs Pow Wow MC G.L.O.B.E. Jazzy Jay -- producer, "Jazzy Sensation"
"Love Bug" Starski -- "At The Fever"/"You Gotta Believe," 1983
Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock -- "It Takes Two"
Whodini -- "Friends"
UTFO -- "Roxanne, Roxanne"
Juice Crew -- Roxanne Shanté, M.C. Shan, Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane. All off to solo careers.
Chart #3: 1984-Present
The mid- to late '80s marked a new reality: East meets West, with the new, California-based breed seemingly taking their counterparts to the cleaners, businesswise and saleswise. For example, Ice-T's earliest pressing deal with Macola Records guaranteed him 50 percent for every 12-inch record sold. N.W.A.'s main men, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, have expanded on that capitalism to form their own production companies, labels, and spinoff ventures (has anybody forgotten the Wu-Tang Clan's "Wu Wear" yet?). Artistically, the genre split into "hard-core," with political and social commentary versus the in-your-face "gangsta" acts, who have earned razzes from Democrats and Republicans, critics, old-school acts, educators, and parent groups alike. "Music is always a reflection of where we are," quoth Rick Rubin. Indeed, what else is new?
West Coast
Duffy and Jerry Hooks -- Made first inroads with their 1981 "Gigolo Rapp" 12-inch.
L.A. Dream TeamThe Egyptian LoverToddy Tee & Mixmaster Spade Kurtis: "They did the first sing-rap, like Domino does..."
Ice-T Widely regarded as the creator of the "crime rhyme"; early records like "6 In The Morning" and movie roles (Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo) paid off big in the studio. He hasn't looked back after the rough 1987's Rhyme Pays and landmarks like 1991's O.G. Original Gangster.
World Class Wreckin Cru When Prince-style funk and braids didn't move the requisite units, along came an alleged drug dealer in Eric Wright (Eazy-E), whose profits helped fund Ruthless Records (thanks to a J.J. Fad smash in '88), and a new attitude.
Tupac Shakur (2Pac) One of Death Row's biggest acts. His acclaimed roles in Poetic Justice and similar platinum sales weren't enough to prevent his 1996 murder in Las Vegas. His posthumous album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, moved units anyway.
Offshoots
By the '80s women had made inroads into what had been virtually an all-male preserve, including: Queen Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa.
Eric B. & Rakim -- Production wizardry proved no hedge against personal hassles. Key record: "Paid In Full"
N.W.A. (Niggas With Attitude) Only two albums -- 1988's Straight Outta Compton, and '91's Efil4zaggin (read it backwards!) -- and both were hugely successful. The group fell apart in '91 due to business hassles, but they left their mark! Dr. Dre -- Successful solo/production career. After N.W.A. split up, Dre established Death Row Records in 1992, where he recorded his solo album The Chronic, which sold three million copies and spent eight months in the Billboard Top 10. His first artist signing was Calvin Broadus, whom Dre rechristened Snoop Doggy Dogg, yielding the multiplatinum Doggy Style album along the way. By 1994 he'd rapped on or produced albums selling nearly 28 million copies. Eazy-E -- d. 1995 of AIDS complications Ice Cube -- Like Dre, Ice Cube (né O'Shea Jackson) has expanded his provocative stance into an awesome multimedia profile, including music production, a movie production company, movie roles, and of course a string of solo work, including 1990's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted and 1991's Death Certificate, which Entertainment Weekly called "20 tracks of the most visceral music ever allowed in public." Despite protests from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference over his material's inflamatory stance, Cube seems hardly about to tone anything down for anybody. Why should he when his 1992 album The Predator topped Billboard's pop and R&B chats simultaneously -- the first album to do so since Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life (1976)? DJ Yella MC Ren (Solo careers)
East Coast(Hard-core)
Run DMC -- Lost steam after failure of 1988's Tougher Than Leather movie and lawsuits against their label, Profile Records; came back strong with 1993's Down With The King album.
LL Cool J -- "Rock The Bells," "I Can't Live Without My Radio," "I Need Love"
Slick Rick Two more successful parts of Russ Simmons' and Rick Rubin's Def Jam empire. Cool J grew into mainstream success (at last count, two possible versions -- clean and X-rated -- of his forthcoming autobiography are being discussed), while Rick went to prison for attempted murder (which yielded the aptly titled I Shouldn't Have Done It album). Two different stars, two different tales! Kurtis: "(Rick) definitely acted that way...off the record!"
Public Enemy -- "Miuzi Weighs A Ton," "Don't Believe The Hype," "Welcome To The Terrordome" Chuck D and Flavor Flav -- Rappers Terminator X -- DJ, cuts Professor Griff -- Minister of Information Picked up political direction when other Def Jam earners lost ground. Yo! Bum Rush The Show (1987), It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988), and Fear Of A Black Planet (1990) set a higher, socially conscious standard. Flav's string of drug busts and Chuck's growing multimedia profile (Slam Jamz Productions) have put the group on hiatus, though a new album is rumored for this year.
Boogie Down Productions -- "Stop The Violence" Begun by KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock (killed, 1987) along similar lines as Public Enemy. By Any Means Necessary (1988), Ghetto Music: The Blueprint Of Hip Hop (1989), and Edutainment (1990) raised the genre's political consciousness and added D-Nice along the way
-- Researched, compiled, and designed by Ralph Heibutzki-- Graphics: Lisa D. Quinlan
As you can see, there are many artists who stake legitimate claims to their part in the genesis of rap music. Pick your favorite. As for me, I love them all. In the end, we're all in the same gang, pieces of the same puzzle that is the history of rap. The history lesson will continue with Volume 2....
-- Kurtis Blow
There is no holiday season without "Christmas Rappin'," and there was no 1980 without "The Breaks," thanks to B-Boy, disco DJ, and old-school rap pioneer Kurtis Blow. His first five albums helped launch the international rap attack that revolutionized the music industry. His creation of the sample loop changed the way rap records are made.
Blow's seminal hit "The Breaks" was the first certified-gold rap record. Another of his major hits, "If I Ruled The World," was recently covered by star rapper Nas. Kurtis currently hosts a weekly old-school hip-hop radio show on KPWR (Power 106-FM) in Los Angeles.

Kurtis Blow Presents: The History Of Rap, Vol. 1:

2006-02-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

The Genesis

In the early 1970s a musical genre was born in the crime-ridden neighborhoods of the South Bronx. Gifted teenagers with plenty of imagination but little cash began to forge a new style from spare parts. Hip-hop, as it was then known, was a product of pure streetwise ingenuity; extracting rhythms and melodies from existing records and mixing them up with searing poetry chronicling life in the 'hood, hip-hop spilled out of the ghetto.
From the housing projects hip-hop poured onto the streets and subways, taking root in Bronx clubs like the Savoy Manor Ballroom, Ecstasy Garage, Club 371, The Disco Fever, and the T-Connection. From there it spread downtown to the Renaissance Ballroom, Hotel Diplomat, the Roxy, and The Fun House. It migrated to Los Angeles, where a whole West Coast hip-hop scene developed, sporting its own musical idiosyncrasies, its own wild style.
Through television shows like BET's Rap City and Yo! MTV Raps and a succession of Hollywood movies, hip-hop gained millions of new fans across America, in places far removed from the genre's Bronx roots. It spread to Europe, Asia, Africa, and nearly every continent on Earth, gaining more cultural significance as the years rolled by. Today it is one of the most potent and successful musical forms of the 20th Century.
Hip-hop is the voice of a generation that refused to be silenced by urban poverty, a local phenomenon fueled with so much passion and truth it could not help but reach the entire world. Like every musical genre that came before, hip-hop has its pioneers, artists who were essential in defining and popularizing the art form. This CD series showcases those legendary artists -- their songs and their enormous talents -- who created what today is known as rap.
The History Of Rap. How can we truthfully tell this story? There are so many different versions. Who is correct? There were approximately ten different pioneers, each of whom stakes a claim as the originator: Pete DJ Jones, Kool DJ Herc, DJ Hollywood, Eddie Cheeba, "Love Bug" Starski, Grand Master Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, the Sugarhill Gang, Run DMC.
The names fit together like pieces to a puzzle. And as we assemble the puzzle, we have to give equal props to all, because it is the individual contributions, pieced together, that explain the true history of this billion-dollar-a-year phenomenon.
To understand the history of rap, you need to know two things:
1. Rap is talking in rhyme to the rhythm of a beat.
2. Hip-hop is a culture, a way of life for a society of people who identify, love, and cherish rap, break dancing, DJing, and graffiti.
In the early '70s, when I was about 13 or 14 and disco was monopolizing the mainstream airwaves, the rap movement was just being born. A man by the name of Pete DJ Jones was about the most notable DJ during those early days. To me he epitomized the true meaning of a DJ. He had the precise timing necessary to enable the partygoer to dance nonstop while keeping the break of a record playing continuously. He had a clean mixing style and an excellent sound system.
I remember seeing Pete at a club called McCoys on 43rd Street and Third Avenue (midtown Manhattan) in 1972. I was 13 then and got in the club by using a phony ID. What I experienced that night was something that not only changed the course of my life, but also would eventually revolutionize the music industry. Pete was New York's #1 DJ. He had an MC named JT Hollywood (not to be confused with DJ Hollywood, who came on the scene around 1973), who was the first real MC I can remember. (During those early days an MC was the master of ceremonies -- the host of the party, show, or gathering. He told the crowd where they were and the DJ's name. He motivated them to have a good time.) What really knocked me out about JT Hollywood that night was when he said to the people, "If you want to have a good time tonight, somebody say 'Oh Yeah.'" The crowd of 1,000 responded by shouting, "Oh Yeah!"
Pete DJ Jones became my hero, and I followed him everywhere. I studied him, his style, his playlist, his MCs: JT Hollywood, JJ the Disco King, and the great "Love Bug" Starski. I followed him to all of the big midtown black clubs: Nell Gwynn's, Pippins, Nemos, Justine's, Ipanemas. I became a Pete DJ Jones follower and a DJ myself later on that year.
The teenagers of the South Bronx and Harlem didn't have the money to pay for admission to the expensive midtown and downtown clubs, so they had their own parties. Along the way, clubs, house parties, and block parties sprang up all over New York ghettos, giving birth to the neighborhood DJ and MC. Something of a mutation of disco, hip-hop was also a rebellion against disco.
Kool DJ Herc, the godfather of hip-hop, was a Jamaican-born DJ who moved to the Bronx in 1967. With his unique playlist of R&B, soul, funk, and obscure disco, Herc quickly became the catalyst of the hip-hop way of life. The kids from the Bronx and Harlem loved his ghetto style, which gave birth to the concept of the B-Boy. The B-Boy -- or beat boy, break boy, Bronx boy -- loved the breaks of Kool Herc, and as a result soon created break dancing. These were the people of the hip-hop culture. While Pete DJ Jones was #1 for the black disco crowd in NYC, Herc and the B-Boys were the essence of the hip-hop movement, because of they lived the lifestyle. The way they danced, dressed, walked, and talked was unique, as opposed to most of the disco artists and fans of the time, who were not as in touch with the urban streets of America.
The B-Boy crowd was different from the middle class blacks who were represented at Pete DJ Jones' parties. There was no dress code at a B-Boy party; we were younger and wore tennis shoes, jeans, mock necks, Playboys, Kangols, sweatsuits, etc. I remember many weekends going downtown to 43rd Street and Lexington Avenue to Nell Gwynn's on Friday night to check out Pete DJ Jones, and then traveling uptown the following night on the Number 4 train to the Bronx to check out Kool Herc at the Executive Playhouse. I was torn between these two DJs. I've had many debates about Pete DJ Jones' precise timing and Kool Herc's playlist. Songs like:
"Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose (In The Jungle Groove Remix)" by James Brown. This is the national anthem of hip-hop. Every B-Boy, MC, rapper, DJ, rap group, break-dancer, and aerosol artist knew this song, and when it was played at a party or club, everyone knew it was time for the best B-Boys to do battle. Definitely the highlight of the night.
"Get Into Something" by The Isley Brothers. Many people remember The Isley Brothers for their ballads, but this song has a drum break that is incredible. Excellent for the B-Boy break-dancer in you.
"Melting Pot" by Booker T. & The M.G.'s. This song is one of my favorites. The jazz feel epitomizes what hip-hop is all about. You'll love this one.
"Listen To Me" by Baby Huey. A strictly underground song for real B-Boys and Kool DJ Herc fans. Strong intro with strong R&B tracks.
"Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band. This song was a big national hit in 1971. Very funky and with an incredible break as well. Young MC used it in "Bust A Move" as did LL Cool J in "Jingling Baby."
"It's Just Begun" by The Jimmy Castor Bunch. The song's intro is probably its most popular part: "What we're gonna do right here is go back -- way back." Check out the guitar solo and the break.
"Apache" by Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band. This is one of the records Kool DJ Herc brought over from Jamaica. A calypso hip-hop feel with incredible percussion breaks. Also check out the guitar line that the Sugarhill Gang pilfered in their version of the same song.
"Hum Along And Dance" by The Jackson 5ive. Only a real B-Boy or a hard-core Jacksons fan would know this song. It may seem unbelievable that Michael Jackson contributed to the creation of hip-hop, but if you don't believe me, check out how funky this song is.
"Love The Life You Live" by Black Heat was another of my B-Boy favorites. This song has the most incredible break for your power moves. Many people know the original by Kool & The Gang, but this version is for the real B-Boy.
"Theme From S.W.A.T." by Rhythm Heritage. Pete DJ Jones loved to cut up the break of this song whereas Kool Herc couldn't quite pull it off. Remember the TV series S.W.A.T.? We're going way back here....
"Dance To The Drummer's Beat" by Herman Kelly & Life actually came out during the end of Kool Herc's reign. Hollywood, Eddie Cheeba, Starski, and Flash made it popular in the late '70s. There is a great percussion break that became very popular, enabling the DJ to show his skills.
"King Tim III (Personality Jock)" by Fatback was the first rap record. King Tim III was a rapper from Harlem who got a break by landing a job with old school dogs of funk Fatback. He would rap during the band's musical breakdowns, entertaining the crowd with call and response. When it comes to giving credit for making the first rap record, people get amnesia. I remember him -- he deserves the credit.
It is mandatory to express the importance of these songs. You have to understand that disco music was the hottest thing out -- it was a craze that infiltrated all of American society. We were the rebels who couldn't relate. We weren't going for it. These songs represent our attitude. They FEATURE strong R&B dance tracks, some with roots in Jamaica and Africa (via Kool DJ Herc). These are 12 of my favorites out of about 100. I love the breaks of these songs -- they enabled the B-Boys to get off their best moves, creating a circle of people around them who would watch amazed as the best would battle in dance. I was one of those B-Boy dancers and one of the best in Harlem. I loved to travel up to the Bronx and battle with the Herculoids (Kool Herc followers): The Nigga Twins, Clark Kent, D.ST, DJ Coke La Rock, etc. When I went to Pete's gigs there was rarely any competition, except for when I battled Dancin' Doug from the Polo Grounds for the crown of Harlem. I lost that night at Nell's, so I think I was about the second best B-Boy in Harlem. What a feat -- ugh -- I mean defeat! But as for Kool DJ Herc (my other hero) and the Herculoids, they blasted NYC with a trend that soon became a culture for all the world to embrace. (Did you know I changed my name to Kool DJ Kurt for a while in 1976?)
DJ Hollywood was the first rhythmic disco rapper. Unlike Herc he was not confined to the South Bronx. He would DJ downtown, midtown, and throughout the five boroughs of New York City -- although he gained his fame at Club 371 in the Bronx. His flyers read: "Featuring the Golden Voice of DJ Hollywood."
Hollywood was mainstream disco, but he was also the first DJ to interweave that sound with rhythmic rap as we all know it. And unlike the DJs and MCs before him who were basically like radio announcers generating crowd participation, Hollywood put raps together in rhythm with chants -- with eloquent, simple rhymes and a lot of crowd response. "Everybody scream!" was his house-rocker, and "Throw ya hands in the air!" became a chant heard at concerts around the world.
In 1975, '76, and '77 Hollywood became New York's #1 DJ and, space permitting, could draw up to 2,000 people on any given night. During that time Club 371 became the #1 club in the city. I remember going there back in 1977. The lines wrapped around the block. It was impossible to get in if you didn't have the juice. Luckily I knew Reggie Wells, the club's musical director, who went to CCNY with Russell Simmons and I.
As with Pete DJ Jones and Kool DJ Herc, not only did Herc and Hollywood dislike one another, but neither recognized nor respected the other's contributions. For the most part, even their fans were different. The B-Boys were from the ghetto, while disco was for the middle class and the rich. But there was hip-hop in both worlds. It was the hip-hop tug-o'-war -- disco rappers versus the B-Boys.
DJ Hollywood became another hero of mine because of his great voice. The man had style and class. DJ Junebug, the DJ behind Hollywood, was just as exceptional as Pete DJ Jones and Grand Master Flash. Tragically, he was murdered in the early '80s. God bless you, DJ Junebug.
Grand Master Flash (Joseph Saddler) earned his name with his speed on the turntables. He rose to legendary status in the world of hip-hop right as Kool Herc's reign was ending. A B-Boy to the extreme, Flash's DJ style took Herc's playlist to the next level. He was the first (even though some say it was the Grand Wizard Theodore) to utilize "scratching" and "cutting" -- taking two records and keeping the break repeating continuously -- thus rearranging the song and creating an extended instrumental groove over which the MC or rapper could entertain the crowd with raps. Flash studied the techniques of Kool DJ Herc, Grandmaster Flowers, Maboya, Plummer, and Pete DJ Jones. But it was Flash's desire to emulate Pete's style while playing the "antidisco" music favored by Herc that led to his turntable experimentations -- and took hip-hop to the next level.
In 1974 Flash began playing parties in the neighborhood and gained quite a reputation for rocking the house. Two years later he teamed up with rapper Keith Wiggins, who soon became known as Cowboy, and the pair rocked parties throughout the South Bronx. (Note: Flash, a B-Boy, did not play the same circuit as Hollywood, a disco rapper, but they were both hot at the same time.)
In 1976 Flash and Cowboy were joined by Melle Mel (Melvin Glover), Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover), Mr. Ness -- aka Scorpio (Eddie Morris) -- and later Rahiem (Guy Williams). Who knew then that they would become the premier rap group of the early '80s? Grand Master Flash & The Furious 5 went on to gain immense recognition in the recording industry with several hit records.
I didn't get a chance to experience Flash until late '77, because I was a DJ and an MC myself, doing disco shows in and around New York. When I did see him perform at the Hotel Diplomat, there was a spotlight on his hands. He had rings on every finger, and the reflection of the spotlight on his rings made it seem as if his hands were sparkling as he cut up the beats. He was a most incredible DJ; he inspired me to get back to the B-Boy school of hip-hop. So it was a dream come true when I finally got the chance to work with Flash & The Furious 5 in 1978. We were called Grand Master Flash & The Furious 7 (Kool Kyle was the seventh MC).
Afrika Bambaataa is a bona fide hip-hop legend. He is affectionately known as the grandfather of hip-hop, having been a part of the movement since 1972. The former gang leader of the Black Spades, Bambaataa is the founder of the Zulu Nation, an organization dedicated to peace, love, and unity. The Zulu Nation is said to have worldwide membership of more than 400,000, including some of rap music's brightest stars. Celebrated master of the beats, Bambaataa is known to have more than 25 crates of records! His 1982 hit, "Planet Rock," is still a highly sampled reference standard.
I have talked about Flash and Bambaataa in Volume 1 because they were influential during these early days. Since their records actually came out later, I will mention them in the next volume as well. Also, Run DMC and I will be mentioned in Volumes 2 and 3 although we were significant back in these early days as well.
There were many MCs, groups, and DJs who participated during the beginning of rap, and they should not go unrecognized. This "family tree" traces their lineage:

Overview

2006-02-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

Hip-hop music was pioneered in part by Afrika Bambaataa, aka the "Godfather of Hip-Hop culture." He started to DJ in the early seventies with wax records, mixing all genres of music, most famously funk combined with European electronic music. He would later go on to found the Universal Zulu Nation. Grandmaster Flash also pioneered the turntable technique that DJs and the world knows as the "scratch."

DJs would rock crowds in parks, at block parties and the like by playing the "breakdown" sections of funk songs, and mixing various songs together on turntablesso that the music never stopped. Accompanying the DJ was the MC, or "master of ceremonies" who would use the spoken word to hype up the crowd and praise the DJ.

How "rap" started: In the beginning, the DJ was the most prominent person in the rap music equation, but once the music industry saw dollar signs in the creative efforts of MCs, or masters of ceremonies, such as "Love Bug" Starski and Kurtis Blow, the MCs were termed as "rappers," and the music was labeled "rap." Soon, in the eyes of the public, rapping eclipsed the art of DJing, and rappers became kings and queens.

Hip-hop dance: The other elements of graffiti and dance developed at their own pace. One popular form of hip-hop dance, breakdance, grew out of a need for youth to express themselves and prove their prowess in a creative, non-destructive way. Many heads who would have been involved in gang activity or street life were able to express their frustrations through the art of a dance that was at once aggressive and poetic.

Breakdance drew from many dance styles and incorporated elements of Brazil's capoeira, other forms of martial arts, and was sometimes mixed with other hip-hop styles like popping and locking. Crews like the Rock Steady Crew, developed and "battled" other crews on the dancefloor, elevating the dance to an art form with now classic moves such as the 2 step,the Airtrack, the headspin, The Glide, and many more. Krump emerged from clown dancing in the new millennium.

Graffiti: Also known as writing, it started as underground urban art boldly displayed in public areas, usually sides of buildings or walls. It was used by citizens to make political and social commentary, as well as gangs to mark territory. Folks would leave their mark with "tags" such as TAKI 183, FRANK 207 and countless others. Eventually the art of tagging would blossom into a full-blown art form, consisting of beautiful mural art that would cover trains and buildings... and be villainized by the clueless New York Transit System. Read a complete history of graf.

What is hip-hop

2006-02-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

Hip-hop is a culture. The term is loosely used when referring to commercialized rap music, however hip-hop is more than just music. It is the hearbeat of American ghetto youth who claimed their own self-expression and used it to rise above their physical circumstances. Hip-hop culture has its roots in pride, truth, courage and self-determination. As a result it has grown to influence almost every segment of the planet.

The Elements: Composed of four subcategories, universally known as "elements." The elements are: dance (commonly referred to as breaking or breakdance), graffiti (also known as writing), DJing, and rapping. These four elements developed along different time lines and each have their own unique history underneath the umbrella of hip-hop culture. Rap music has developed at a faster rate than all the other elements and as a result can claim a number of sub-genres.
When it all began : Hip-hop culture started to develop as an entity in the early '70s in New York City, while its different elements, namely graffiti and break dance can be traced back even earlier to the late sixties. Some trace rap back to the spoken word poetry scene of the late sixties, while many go even further back to ancient African societies who boasted griots, women and men who were walking vessels of their people's history and related the various stories and histories through spoken word.

2006-02-06T08:23:00.000-08:00

trip hop