Add one more lyric: Complaints Choir Cannot Sing

Man, I don’t know whether to be surprised or furious or what. Now the public performances licenses for the Complaints Choir project is revoked – why? because of foreigners? It was one thing to stomach the act that certain performances will “pollute our mind” and “affect the public psychology”, such as those of gay issues and satanic references. But now it’s also illegal to “reflect out loud” – are the foreigners in this group scapegoats of conveniences?

Background: Google for “Singapore Complaints Choir”, or go to singaporefringe.com or see this. Let me quote a well written closing to the TimeOut article:

The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival lets you get up close and personal with performance theater. In fact, this is where the heart of theater lives, without show-stopping numbers, huge sets or elaborate costumes – just the performers an arm’s length away from you, telling you a story. About themselves, about the world and, if you listen closely enough, about you.

And apparently some people just can’t get up close, because when they hear about themselves, they probably breakdown emotionally (oh shit I’m going to get sacked if I let them perform) or psychologically (hey wtf – a Finnish blasting Singapore in Singapore land!). Seriously, does Singapore really want to be a global city?

How about, seeing it from the shoes of people who are actually performers? I perform in public so I can empathize: The fear of sudden rebellion, seditious songs that will influence, all these sounds like bullshit! People take part in an artistic activity for artistic purposes, not for your petty political gain! If the “general public” is not ready for such things it is simply because they have been held hostage psychologically. What kind of deviant gracious society is this?

Another quote from an interview by Youth.sg:

How do you feel about receiving these complaints?
We deal with it. Haha. Actually, after listening to all these complaints, we feel that it makes us feel that people are more or less the same everywhere. It’s kind of nice to know that strangers also feel the same way towards certain things. We are all human, really. Things like aging population, healthcare are also common topics, especially in more westernised societies…

We aren’t getting depressed or anything like that as well, haha. People also understand the ironic side of the project. This project is based on complaints but it’s also very important, it brings out community values where people get together and share experiences. It’s a fascinating journey.

And by keeping quiet, or worse, forcing the voice to land on only “ministry of truth sanctioned” platforms, it brings out not community values, but the kind of 1984 doublethink that makes us cease to function well. The cognitive dissonance is so pronounce: perform more and perform less. Singapore the art city and Singapore the nanny state. Now M1 please sponsor something based on these principles. ARGH!

I think the least we can all do is to go support them at the The Chamber at The Arts House. Find someone you know and get invited. Better still, form your own complaints choir, or ink this permanently on the internet for the whole wide world to read about.

All the best Wai Lun! Don’t worry about the press, you’re doing the RIGHT THING – The show must go on!

UPDATED: Pictures 🙂 Too bad no videos yet. Soon soon. The officials for M1 Singapore Fringe told us to refrain from recording so that they can put the professionally recorded one online later @ complaintschoir.org

Wai Lun conducting the choir

The turn out for the 3pm show wasn’t that bad. I’m guessing that the evening turnout is probably going to be better. The entire song (in swing tempo) written in 3 weeks was fun and easy to sing along, although you might end up twisting your tongue as the words don’t fit into the tune 100%. There was an awesome rap bridge in the middle, as well as lot of “enactment” of the complaints themselves.

On the whole everyone was very good spirited. We discussed the ban in the Q&A session that followed, and there was a positive remarks coming from the choir members – I hope they are sincere about it 😉 It saddens me to hear that our two Finnish friends who came all the way here to start this project was totally puzzled by the way the “police” reacted to the project, and continue to stress the warmth and love that comes with this project. We all came together to see how similar the cultures are, not how different.

Leave you with a small segment of my best liked lyrics (at least the “printed” ones…) taken from various verses

I’m stuck with my parents till I’m 35
Cause I can’t apply for HDB
We don’t recycle any plastic bags
But we purify our pee
…
Will I ever live till eighty five
to collect my CPF?
…
People sit down during rock concerts
We have to pay for tap water at restaurants
…
All the bus stops have tilted benches
Cannot access playboy.com
…
What’s not expressly permitted
is prohibited