Rhoma Irama and the Dangdut Style: Aspects of Contemporary Indonesian Popular Culture

Abstract

mana di atas dunia Banyak orang bermain musik Bermacam-macam warna jenis musik Dari pop sampai yang klasik If you are anti-dangdut Hate it but don't make trouble Just leave us alone to sing Sing our Melayu songs Bagi pemusik yang anti-Melayu Boleh benci, jangan mengganggu Biarkan kami mendendangkan lagu Lagu kami lagu Melayu Rhoma Irama2 Dangdut, the style of music here defended by contemporary Indonesia's bestknown popular entertainer, has been o f enormous influence in much of the post-Sukarno period, especially the years 1975-1981. Aimed directly at youth, it is dominated by a pulsating dance rhythm, and a populist message, with both Islamic and secular variants. It has produced Indonesia's first true entertainment superstars ; 3 played a large role in creating a market for the mass media in Indonesia (not only cassette tapes but radio, movies, and television) ; made a mark on other areas of cultural activity, especially literature; sparked open and often heated debate over the state of Indonesian culture; and given Indonesian Islam a new kind of pub lic identity. And while dangdut has been criticized on various grounds, it has been

DISLOCATING SOUNDS: The Deterritorialization of Indonesian Indie Pop

“…They work to demonstrate their own cosmopolitanism as testimony to their middle‐class status, their taste and style as markedly different from the poverty‐stricken majority. Whereas “most Indonesians,” particularly those from rural and lower‐class backgrounds, listen to dangdut and pop Indonesia (Fredrick 1982; Lockard 1998), indie kids prefer the relatively obscure styles popping up in the global underground. Whereas the imagined “mainstream” (Thornton 1996) of Indonesian youth adopt as their personal aesthetic whatever is currently popular, indie kids actively construct their personal tastes by exhaustively searching the Internet, combing through the dustbins of musical history for a style that sets them apart from the hordes, makes them tampil beda (stand out), and appear unik (unique).…”

“…The tradition of wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) attests to the influence of Hindu elements (Keeler 1987) on the largely Muslim Javanese, and the diverse practices of Islam throughout the archipelago, even the most fundamentalist, remain infused with mysticism and local animism (Beatty 1999; Bowen 1993; Geertz 1960). In Indonesian popular music like kroncong (Becker 1975), jaipongan (Manuel and Baier 1986), and dangdut (Fredrick 1982), hybridized aesthetics are the norm, combining imported musical styles with indigenous sensibilities and languages.…”

Dangdut and the Concept of Khamr: Hermeneutic Analysis of Dangdut Koplo Performance

“…Frederick said that the lyrics of "Hak Azasi" shows that Dangdut put forward a clear opinion or understanding of a matter [4]. Meanwhile, Titik Puspa argues that Dangdut is very close to the people.…”

Gender and Islam in Indonesian Cinema

“…Such a representation of socioeconomic class relations in film coheres with the New Order government's vision of modernisation as a process in which ʻthe elite sets tasks for the masses and control the style of mass participationʼ (Schiller, 1978: 38 quoted in Sen, 1994. (Frederick, 1982;Weintraub, 2008). Meanwhile, the male santri at an Islamic teaching school, of which Rhoma is an alumnus, are jealous and combative towards the pop preacher.…”