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Music

Watch 'Project Panda', Pay Respects To Legendary DJs, and More This Weekend

Read a whole book on how the New Order hated the youth if you're in that kind of mood.
Illustrations by Dini Lestari

REMEMBER J DILLA AND NUJABES AT 'REST IN BEATS VOL. 2'

Some people say God needed DJs so he took J Dilla and Nujabes from us. I agree with them. This Saturday, the collective Interrupted is throwing a party to commemorate the beat masters at Mondo By The Rooftop. Since both of them died in February (though four years apart), it would be right to close this month with a gathering to pay our respects to them. It will be a merry gathering filled with fine tunes provided by Greybox, Spydee, Klapr, Matter Mos, Gilang, Rhst, and El Gringo. See you there! —Dini Lestari

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SKIP THE MALL, WATCH 'PROJECT PANDA' INSTEAD

I’m the type of person who refuses to spend money on mall theaters to watch blockbuster films. Those movies will make its way to Netflix or TV at some point anyways. I’ll just wait a few months, or a year at most, for Black Phanter. I don’t care. But I have a much deeper appreciation for small theatres showing less-distributed films. When I was living in Seattle, my favorite independent movie theater went out of business and a local TV station interviewed me about how heartbroken I was. Here in Jakarta, there are very few spaces that show films that aren’t in malls, so we need to cherish and support these places, ALWAYS. On Saturday, Kenobi Space is hosting a showing of Project Panda, an Indonesian feature-length film directed by Dom Dharma about a pharmacist whose life is in danger after he made a super popular drug called Panda. There will be a Q&A session with the filmmakers and cast afterwards. Bring all your friends. —Alia Marsha

READ HOW THE NEW ORDER TRIED TO SUFFOCATE THE INDONESIAN YOUTH

According to late President Gus Dur, the biggest mistake a reader can make is to lend a book to someone else. I mean, have you ever lent someone your favorite book and then it was lost forever? The man clearly has a point. I personally have never let anybody else touch my copy of Dilarang Gondrong! Praktik Kekuasaan Orde Baru Pada Anak Mudal Awal 1970-an, an important book that shows how Indonesia once tried to ban pop culture under the reason of maintaining national stability.

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If you've read or heard about it at all, now seems to be the right time to grab your own copy. Marjin Kiri Publisher has brought us a new edition of Aria Wiratama Yudhistira’s seminal work. The book is a popular version of a his legendary essay written during his time at the University of Indonesia. It dives into the New Order’s obsessional concern, from 1966 until early 1970s, with the youth at the time. Massive campaigns were conducted by the national military, arresting anyone with long hair and associating long hair with criminals. The government didn't only hate the communists—they weren't a fan of the hippies either. —Ardyan Erlangga

DISCOVER NEW PUNK MUSIC

It's the third week of the month. You're low on money. For music lovers—myself included—this is a sad time. You need to kill the urge to hit the nearest the record stores. It’s probably better not to go to shows, because while some of them are free, the merch isn't. Does this mean we’ll be deprived of new music completely? Hell nah. Yogyakarta’s giant net label Yes No Wave recently just launched a subsidiary, Dugtrax Records, which focuses on punk music. And like Yes No Wave, everything on their site is free and legal to download. Currently, Dugtrax Records' roster only boast two names: Amok and Netsov (a play on letters of SetNov), but they’re should be enough to fulfil your punk thirst until that direct deposit hits. —Manan Rasudi