Melly Goeslaw's 'Diam' touches society's sore spot

Melly Goeslaw's 'Diam' touches society's sore spot

By Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta stood drenched in blood. Parents grieved
for teenage children burned to death amid looting and arson.
Tears flowed of innocent women who were sexually abused.

In a quiet and safe corner of the city, a young woman ached.
On a sheet of paper, she expressed her sorrow as a woman:

You showed me your face/I remained silent/You insulted me/I
remained silent/ Your tore at my hair/I remained silent/You
forced me to do it/I did not remain silent/ Oh...oh...it was too
much/ Oh...oh...I can't forgive you/I can't forgive you.

The grim verse is now included in Diam (Silent) which is sung
by the young woman herself.

She is none other than Melly Goeslaw.

"This song is somewhat controversial, especially with its
visualization of a bathroom in the video clip," Melly, 25, said
at her house-cum-studio in Rawamangun, East Jakarta.

"Some consider it too violent. Some women have protested; one
of them even asked her daughter to switch off the TV if the video
is shown. She thought her daughter too young to accept it."

The song tells of a woman traumatized by a man's abuse; in the
video, the woman, played by Melly, shakes as she relives her
nightmare experience.

Many may be uneasy over the disquieting theme, but Diam,
included on her third album Potret (1999), brought Melly the
award for best interpretation of a song from Video Musik
Indonesia.

Controversy is no stranger to the Bandung native. She has
garnered acclaim and notoriety for penning provocative lyrics for
her band Potret.

Take Terbujuk (Seduced) from Potret's 1995 self-titled debut
album. Melly's lyrics smoldered in a tale of the ultimate
material girl:

All that I give you/you alone/Just to fulfill my wish/What I
want is just the contents of your pocket/ If later you know
later/If you become aware/ Who I am/What I intend/ I do not care
in the least/Because I do not love you.

The song was a top-seller and Potret, founded in 1993 by
Melly, her husband Anto Hoed and their friend Ari, was an
immediate hit among teenagers.

Melly acknowledged her songs were deliberately antagonistic.

"I was fed up with lyrics in which women were always the
object of suffering, while the realities of life around us were
never the topic."

She writes teasing lyrics on material women (Terbujuk),
misbehaving women (Mak Comblang, Matchmaker) and even those with
inclinations some might term sexual deviation (Tapi Tak Mungkin,
But It Is Impossible).

"My limit is issues of ethnicity, religion, race and
intergroup relations, especially political matters," Melly said.

She skewers her subjects with the finesse of a deft satirist.
"There are a 1,001 ways to convey something, aren't there?"

In elementary school, Melly enjoyed writing poetry ("I was
happiest when doodling on paper, writing my poetry).

Her songwriting dates back to high school.

"I recorded my humming with the aid of a Walkman because I
could not play any musical instrument."

She scribbled the lyrics on paper napkins, in schoolbooks and
any materials available. "It could be said that I am a reserved
person so I need to write to express myself."

Her husband and friends have opposed her efforts to learn an
instrument. "They fear I will not be able to compose songs
freely, that I would be restrained by my musical instrument."

She said the best-selling of her more than 100 songs were
usually the easiest to write.

"If I write a song smoothly and rapidly, it is usually
accepted by the public. But if I get stuck for a time, I'd better
forget about it. Even if I continue with the song, it will not be
satisfying in the end."

Melly took four days to write Menghitung Hari (Counting the
Days) which, sung by Krisdayanti, has won several international
awards. She also wrote four other songs at the same time.

Memes, Ruth Sahanaya and Mayangsari also have done covers of
Melly's songs. Melly treats orders from other artists in a
professional way by scrapping the antagonistic lyrics. "As a
composer, I am also required to follow a client's wishes in
carrying out orders.

Songs with typically biting lyrics are reserved for Potret
albums. However, in the second Potret album released in 1996,
Melly included the melancholic Bunda (Mother).

She acknowledged her close relationship to her mother, who
raised her alone after divorcing famous singer Melky Goeslaw.

Despite her celebrated family name, the teenage Melly held no
ambition to follow in her father's footsteps.

"I wanted to be a background vocalist with Elfa Secioria,"
Melly remembered.

With that job, she paid for her high school studies in
Bandung. The elder of two children, she decided to devote herself
to music instead of continuing to university.

"I was not in a position to continue my studies. I was not a
high-ranking student and, besides, I had to consider the high
cost of university studies."

She also was confident she could earn a living from music. "Of
course, dedication is necessary. That is why I try my utmost."
Her total dedication has led to her putting off her plans to have
a baby.

Melly is busy finalizing her debut solo album and the fourth
Potret album, hopefully for release this year. She described the
music as resembling that of her favorite singers Tory Amos and
Enya.

"I did this intentionally in order to avoid clashing with
Potret's music, which also means confronting myself."

Melly is going deeper in the exploration of her lyrics; she
said some of her ideas were picked up from suspenseful movies and
her favorite novels by Agatha Christie.

"There is a song about a prisoner on death row," she said.

Although she does not say it, the uniqueness of Melly
Goeslaw's lyrics is due not to a yearning to be different, but
because of her concern for the darkness around us that we choose
to block out.