Axe Rock

I was blessed with the opportunity to go to a boarding school when I was in Form 4. However at that time, it wasn't so much of a blessing as it was a display of authority on the part of my parents, but I was too young and too foolish at that time to realise (or rather, admit) the benefits a boarding school had to offer a growing young adult like myself.

Besides learning how afternoon prep sessions are actually just siestas in academic disguise and packets of Milo can be subject to ironing to become a sort of crunchy biscuit, I also learned to listen to what some people might call rock kapak or 'old school rock'. Some might cynically point out that most of the songs are just sappy love ballads sung by skinny men with long hair in tight jeans, but hey, who cares?

XPDC. Wings. Search. Lefthanded. BPR. Slam. Spring. You name it, I listened to it.

I still remember how a couple of friends and myself would be lying on the chilly floor of our dorm during the cold weekend nights when the hostel was quiet because most of the students were back in their hometowns enjoying themselves. A cassette player would be playing and we'd be singing along softly - or loudly, depending on the song - until we either dozed off without realising it or the warden came in and whipped our sorry asses to sleep.

Ah, good times. Good times indeed.

The funniest thing about it all is that most of my friends who also went to boarding school would have the same memories - late night sing-a-long sessions accompanied by friends. And though they don't talk about it, I deeply suspect that they also had their fair share of getting a taste of the cane for staying up way past bedtime.

So is rock kapak actually a universal phenomenon among students in boarding school? If so, it should probably be made a compulsory co-curriculum activity. Better than whatever rubbish it is that's played these days.

P/s - given this knowledge of my personal history, it's amusing to see the surprised look on my friends' faces when I tell them I listen to Malay songs. Is it that weird?