What’s in a name? In the case of bands, it could be a lot. From Toad the Wet Sprocket to Dogs Die In Hot Cars, band names are very much an essential part of band-lore. One could argue Death Cab for Cutie’s meteoric rise could be initially equally attributed to their zany name, as much as their delicious indie pop sound. It’s never certain though. Just look at Coldplay. Nobody’s going to be rushing to attribute their world-conquering antics to their tepid moniker. But we can all agree an ‘interesting’ name can get you noticed. And more importantly, what is the story behind how they got those names to begin with? Wouldn’t you want to know how Jaggfuzzbeats came to deciding on their name? As such, we tracked down a few Malaysian bands to find out just what is the story behind their zany band names.

Youth Portal takes a leaf out of the languid indie pop of Chicago band Smith Westerns. It’s not terribly complicated, but it’s got buckets of charm. It’s a straightforward cut built around a driving 4/4 backbeat, a singular guitar hook and two wonderful sounding chords. Sometimes that’s all you need. It’s the kind of music that inspires you to want to make some yourself, by just how easy and effective it all sounds.

Singer-songwriter Amrita Soon is clearly a whimsical creature. One only needs to roughly comb through her blog entries to clearly see that. She talks about experiences like being able to hear her audiences’ conversations while she’s playing or about missing her brother’s laughter because she’s been too busy. But mostly, it’s in the way she talks about music, like it’s not just a large part of her existence, but the reason for it. This is after all a girl who at the tender age of 15, paid her

Much like most musical genres these days, division lines can be drawn pretty intricately on hardcore music. Initially a more aggressive offshoot of punk rock borne out of the streets of Southern California with pioneers such as Minutemen and Black Flag, the genre, much like most genres, has gone through metamorphosis over the years. It has branched out to sub-genres such as metalcore (an amalgamation with metal) up to Nintendocore (look that one up).

It was legendary lyricist E.Y. Harburg who once said that, “Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought”. Within the first few notes of Noh Salleh’s gorgeous “Sarawak”, your thoughts are transported poignantly to another time and place. Of maharajas breezily making their way across padi fields on their elephants while large hand-held fans are waved beside their faces to help them brave the tropical sun. Of maidservants slowly making their way back to palaces w

To call Bittersweet Britpop revivalists would be somewhat incorrect because to them, it never went away. In their world, Damien Hirst remains the artist extraordinaire, Justine Frischmann is the belle of the ball and Oasis is still the loudest band in the world. The single “Inspire Desire” is their latest love letter to Suede. If you think that’s blatant labeling, then pause this song’s music video at 2:31. Bittersweet has never been apologetic about their allegiances. The rich tube-driven g

They say that it’s always lonely at the top, which makes you wonder what would possess the frontman of one of the most popular bands in these parts, one that consistently sells out shows and records, to record and release a solo album. Yet that is what Noh Salleh of Hujan did recently with his solo album ‘Angin Kencang’. But wait, doesn’t he already write all the songs for Hujan? “I guess I wanted to try something on my own,” says Noh, “I’m a big fan of SORE (Indonesian band) and I’ve always dreamt about writing retro French-style pop songs but singing in ‘bahasa’ Nusantara. That’s not really Hujan.

Today marks the 8th death anniversary of much-loved film director Yasmin Ahmad. Her loss was one that was felt by all Malaysians. If you did not resonate with her brilliant films, you would definitely have been touched by her moving festive-themed ads for Petronas. The growing mainstream interest in Malaysian films since the mid-2000s can be attributed to her 2005 film ‘Sepet’, a simple interracial love story that captured the hearts and minds of Malaysian viewers from all walks of life. Here are a list of directors who, like Yasmin, have in one way or another made an impact on Malaysian cinema.

Films capture moods and feelings probably in a way no other medium could. We watch comedies to cheer ourselves up during sad moments and we watch fantastical blockbusters to get away from the mundanity of life. If you’ve just broken up, it’s probably best to avoid ‘The Notebook’ for awhile. Films can make us feel things we never knew we could. That’s why we love them, because there is always a film for every mood or moment we have. Here’s a list of local films and when we think you should be watching them.

Record producers are always credited with the success of an album. However, do you know what is it exactly that they do to make that happen? Just what is it about the world-renowned producers such as Mark Ronson (Adele, Christina Aguilera and Amy Winehouse) and Rick Rubin (Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Aerosmith), that have huge artistes all over the world clamouring to work with them? The internet describes them as ‘being the person that oversees and manages the sound recording of a band or performer’s music.’ They are the ones who gather musical ideas for an album and work with the artiste to help improve the lyrics and arrangements of the songs. If they have enough clout, they can even strongly suggest how a guitar riff should be played, or how a piece of lyric should be delivered.

Urbanscapes rather loftily dubs itself as ‘Malaysia’s creative arts festival’, but the truth is, not many would argue against it. The first edition played host to just a couple of hundred guests but recent editions have seen thousands filling up venues all across the Klang Valley to get a piece of the action. 15 years is a long time for almost anything these days, and for Urbanscapes to still be generating buzz after all these years speaks volumes about its influence on the Malaysian creative ar

There are many Malaysian artistes that have made it to the international stage but some of them have had to work hard on their own and earn that success through sheer determination. No government sponsorships, no help from friends in high places. Just constantly plugging away without giving up while being powered by their obvious talent. Here, we’ve listed 6 artistes that have had international success by the merit of their own grit and toil, which in turn makes us feel even prouder that they carry the birth flag of our country.

Malaysia is a footballing mad country, and few would disagree. People shuffle off to sports bars, ‘mamaks’ and the comfort of their couches on weekends just to catch the latest EPL and European matches. In that same breath, these same football crazy fans would love to have a national football team they can be proud of. Malaysia has not always impressed in the international stage, but there have been some wonderful, celebration-worthy moments. We’ve listed 7 below.

Crews are an essential part of the hip hop experience. Most hip hop artistes worth their salt have a crew to back them up. An artiste’s crew acts as a petri dish for germinating ideas, collaborations and rhymes. It’s what hip hop is all about. A solid crew can really move and shake the scene. Just look at Odd Future. It’s no different here in the hot and humid Malaysian hip hop scene. But do you know the main crews that rock the scene in these parts? We list a few essential ones to get you started.

If an organisation is likened to massive chugging machine with thousands of movable parts and intricate engineering, then most people would agree that corporate culture is the oil that greases the bolts. Without it, the machine would still run, but not as smoothly as you want it to be. Also, it would certainly be unsustainable in the long term. To say that a company does not have a corporate culture is fallacy of sorts. Every company has a culture, it’s just a matter of whether it’s the one yo

Toronto band BadBadNotGood (BBNG) will be playing here in KL on Nov 29 at Le Noir, TREC KL and you really don’t want to miss it. The band has made a career out of defying people’s expectations, breaking down barriers and being one of the best live acts in the business. So flexible is their sound, that you could tag any label from ‘hip-hop’ to ‘jazz’ and even ‘electronica’ to them and it seems to fit. MORE: RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY PRESENTS BADBADNOTGOOD AT LE NOIR, KL. GET YOUR TICKETS. The band,

If there's one thing that the recently concluded US election taught not just America, but the rest of the world, is that the human race no longer trades in the currency of logic, but emotions.

Butterfingers will be headlining the upcoming Rockaway Festival. The band, consisting of Emmett (vocals/guitars), Loque (guitars), Kadak (bass) and Loko (drums), has not shared the stage since 2009. If you are suffering from a bout of musical amnesia, or you just don’t know what the big deal is, we’ve put together a brief Butterfingers’ historical anthology using 5 of their most compelling songs.

The Premier League has become a proverbial ‘game of thrones’ of sorts this season. The long spoken about manager ‘merry-go-round’ has spun its recent huge spin on to the Premier League, landing some, many would argue ‘most’, of the top football managers in the world into jobs within the league. Highly sought bosses Jürgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino are already sitting comfortably in their respective jobs in Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs.

We've seen the narrative played out before in movies. Brash upstart gravitates towards a mysterious master because of a personal tragedy and is trained on a skill that will eventually bring him redemption at the conclusion of the film. 1/3 of the movie is often spent on the upstart having to show that he has what it takes to succeed in said training. The burden of proof is very much placed on the padawan.