Leonard Cohen. There is no doubt that the man is one of the greatest songwriters and poets to have graced this earth, blessing us with his talents since 1967 when he released Songs Of Leonard Cohen. He has had endless amount of tributes from some of your favorite artists and now there are fresh new ones! Columbia recently released Old Ideas, the latest Leonard Cohen album, and celebrating Cohen’s amazing career they got a bunch of artists to cover their favorite Leonard Cohen song and recorded it on video. Participants include Deerhunter/Atlas Sounds’ Bradford Cox, NYC’s Cults, Cold War Kids, and more. Definitely a good find, enjoy some of the covers below and click here to view the whole series.

Leine Roebana are a group of modern dancers, established by Andrea Leinde, from The Netherlands, and Harijono Roebana, from Indonesia. Since 1990′s the group has been known and respected by the dancing community in The Netherlands, this encounter between Europe and Asia, the traditional and the contemporary, creates a dynamic of harmony between their dancing and the music. These alumni’s of Kelola, have introduced their latest choreography, titled ‘Ghost Track’ and will be performed in Salihara Theater, the idea of ‘Ghost Track’ sprouted from an Indonesian instrument that is ‘Gamelan’, the pair described that Gamelan has a distinct sound and it challenged them physically. This performances also involves Iwan Gunawan as a composer, who has his roots in traditional art and music of Sunda, yet a deep knowledge of Western contemporary music. Ghost track is a journey, undertaken by dancers with different culture backgrounds, who explores themselves through their own identity and the music.

Ghost Track LeineRoebana
Teater Salihara
Jl. Salihara 16, Pasar Minggu
Wednesday-Thursday,
08-09 February 2012, 08:00 PM
Price Rp 50.000,- | Student Price Rp 25.000,-

Dried Cassava
Mind Thieves
Self Released

4/10

It’s not easy being in a band. There are opinion differences, varying skills and abilities, personal circumstances and many more to consider if you decide to throw your lot with a specific bunch of people. Dried Cassava, as far as I know, have been at it for seven years now, having been formed in 2005 during the members’ high school days. And Mind Thieves, their first release, is the fruit of their dedicated labour.

One of the first thing you noticed about the band is their penchant for funk driven rock and it is during these numbers that the band is at their most comfortable and spontaneous; the guitars spit out venomous funk/blues licks, while the rhythm section locks into a tight groove. Opener “Pig Nose”, a song anchored by a nice groove with couldn’t-give-a-fuck vocals and catchy refrain, topped with feedback laden instrumental break is probably the pick of the bunch. Each of he other songs has their own strengths, but they often too readily fall back into predictability, rehashing formulas perfected by other bands such as The Red Hot Chilli Peppers or Incubus.

The slower numbers are either ballads or mid-tempo pop songs that are mostly hit and miss. “Paradox”, with its pleasant pace and melody, is the kind of song that could get very popular, but lacks punch and ambles contently until its sing-a-long conclusion. “Manusia Beruang” follows templates set by indonesian bands like Dewa or Padi, marrying big, soaring chorus with poetic lyrics but giving you the feeling that you’ve heard the song somewhere else before. A worthy mention here goes to “Menjual Kaum Hawa”, an interesting bluesy number about prostitution that, though saddled with vocal affectations that may not be to everyone’s taste, shows another side of the band that may be worth exploring further.

Mind Thieves isn’t actually a bad album. Sure it is patchy, but considering this is their first release, it’s really not that surprising. It takes time to figure out what it is you want to say and even longer to figure out how you’re going to say it. For now, Mind Thieves is a schizophrenic ride that alternates between 90′s alternative music, noughties pop-rock, and overtly melodramatic pop songs. What the future brings, though, is entirely in their own hand.

Another edition of Tune In from GoodNWS featuring SPOKEN. This is a special edition to celebrate Valentine’s Day also a tribute for the late great J-Dilla who passed away six years ago. You will also listen to a good mix of Jazz, Soul, RnB, and Electronic music by SPOKEN and they will remake some of Dilla’s songs.

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SPOKEN LIVE @ TUNE IN

Saturday, February 11^th 2012
Tree House Kemang (Right Across from Splash)
Jalan Kemang 1, No. 72
Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia

Start from 9.00 p.m

Featuring SPOKEN:
Desty Ratnasari – Vocal
Doni Sundjoyo – Bass
Dhani Syah – Keys
Reinhold Makasutji – Synth

MC by Punang Adipradana

Dj
Rei
Alan

Don’t forget to attend this event! You will not be disappointed!

For more info, check their Website or Facebook, or follow their Twitter

Ashkan Hovarvar, a known mixed media artist who works and lives in The Netherlands has been busy since his first public release for the disturbingly awesome mixed media works titled ‘Faces’. A collages series Ashkan Hovarvar made in 2009, by using parts and pieces of distorted human parts, it manipulates the human face, depicting an undeniable, unavoidable beauty by accepting the darker sides of human ‘nature’. The saying goes ‘beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, It occurs in places you least expect’, however the beauty that people accept nowadays is widely held but fixed and oversimplified idea of what is advertised by many, and it deformed the identity of a person who is overlooked by what people mainly call ‘beauty’. Hovarvar ‘Faces’ series sums up his search for an identity, and the physical and psychological wounds inflicted on soldiers from war, by using First World War soldiers with facial mutilations, which influence his other works such as Identity Lost and Spaces. Check out his other ‘Faces’ series and his other works on his website.

Buying a new car is a daunting task, especially if faced with a dilemma after arriving back from European cities with great public transport, there you don’t seem to mind not owning one at all.

I find myself pondering on the need to buy another car that will further increase the congestion of the city’s traffic, for most part it’s about finding the ideal car to fit your lifestyle and budget, but during the search I realize that perhaps there is a bigger conspiracy between the car manufacturers and the lawmakers to further delay a solution for our public transportation, back in the 1950’s Los Angeles experienced the demise of its public railway system to the lobbyist of the car-manufacturing giants.

There’s an apparent similarity in a city without good public transport, the car becomes a lifestyle rather than a functional transportation to get you from point A to point B, because it certainly is not “cool“ to stroll in the sidewalk especially in a city like Jakarta, where many are willing to purchase a car worth a lot more than it should for the sake of maintaining a lifestyle. For sure I’m one of those people who would rather buy a pre-owned European car rather than pay a ridiculous amount purchasing it new only to lose a third or more of its value the next year.

But there are some good choices for car lovers out there (read W_selection ), mostly Japanese brands, and of course the undisputed ultimate car for Jakarta, the Toyota Kijang Innova made it to the top of the list.

Perhaps by having less of a need to embrace the car related lifestyle, we would have a congestion solution to our traffic problem, aside from the obvious solution of a good public transportation for our dear city that we eagerly await to be materialized.

If you live in Jakarta, you know that automobiles are an integral part of our daily lives. These are the vehicles that keep our professional and leisurely lives moving, and though in the future we all hope to have a better public transportation system, right now we have to be realistic that having your own car is the convenient means to live in Indonesia’s capital. Because cars are so essential Whiteboard Journal (with Leo at the helm) selected 10 cars you should consider if you are looking to buy that next means of transport. The following cars were chosen for their value to money, how it suits Jakarta’s lifestyle, and practicality. Take a look, and if you have any car suggestions be sure to let us know!

1. Ford – Fiesta

2. Toyota – Kijang Innova

3. Nissan March

4. Suzuki – Swift

5. Honda – Freed

6. Toyota – Fortuner

7. Toyota – Alphard

8. Daihatsu – Gran Max

9. KIA  - Sportage

10. Mercedes – E-Class

Good news for all football enthusiasts in Indonesia, especially FC Barcelona’s supporters!

We know that people are already spreading rumors regarding FC Barcelona choosing Indonesia as the only country out of Spain to establish the FCB Escola —and yes it’s really going to happen!

Run by FC Barcelona, Threesixty Sport, and Excellion Analytics. FCB Escola will be open in mid of 2012 at Sentul and only 250 new students will be enrolled per year. Students will be divided into 2 groups based on their age: 5-11 years old and 12-18 years old. You don’t have to be afraid, aside from tactical and technical football training all students will get formal education including school subject as English, Spanish, mathematics, economics, science and nutrition and there is also various other programs; such as summer camp or their training camp in Barcelona for two weeks.

Well, this is going to be amazing! With this FCB Escola has been founded, let’s hope it will create a better impact on Indonesia’s football progress.

After a successful run introducing their campaign at the previous Brightspot Market, JanSport’s Design It Yourself makes its 2012 return for a limited time in February. Currently making it’s home at the Goods Dept in Plaza Indonesia, the bag customization campaign…/span>
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Adam Frelin, an artist working in sculpture, video, film and photography. Also an Assistant Professor of the Art department, at State University of New York. One of his many art works is an interesting installation that is hanged along a steel cable between two hills on a cattle ranch on Wyoming. This installation called ‘White Line’ is a long line formed by fluorescent lights, curved in the middle as it gives the valley an illuminated look, and almost supernatural in appearance. This installation is not only displayed in Wyoming but also later in Tokyo, the installation is called ‘White Line for Tokyo’ located in a traditional Japanese garden. Meant to be viewed at night, the installation elegantly mixed the man made with the natural, and transform the traditional garden into an eerie, psychedelic wonderland.