At long last, the secret is not a secret anymore; Siti Nurhaliza is going to be married to Datok K afterall. Months of anxious speculations and all the time awaiting with bated breaths by loyal fans can now finally cease. In my honest opinion, Siti can marry whoever she wants, whenever she wants and it's nobody else's friggin' business -- indignant fans be damned. Having said all that however, I find it difficult to imagine the jubilant couple living together under the same roof in conjugal bliss; they are not exactly the living embodiment of that old adage, "bagai pinang dibelah dua"... if you get what I mean. =p
Anyhow, I've just seen the new Biarlah Rahsia music video and I think it resembles the Nokia L'amour handphone series advert; the one with the animated vines and flowers popping out everywhere. I really dig Siti's Farah Fawcett-styled coiffure in the vid but there isn't alot of activity going on (unlike Siti's mtvs from previous albums) and I feel that the overdone simplicity is rather disappointing. Overall though, the cinematography and quality of film used is excellent and anyway, Biarlah Rahsia is a song strong enough to stand on its own without an mtv.
Talking about her new single, it's an amazingly intimate piece of work with a very heartfelt delivery by Ms Siti. Although not overtly jiwang (ie. emotional), there is a glaring sense of a "message" in the lyrics -- probably an indirect way of pleading to the masses not to be too critical or judgmental with regards to her private affairs. Whateverlah -- Although I can't see Biarlah Rahsia picking up any music/song awards, it is still an excellent song and the perfect lead single to come off her new album Transkripsi.
A much belated album review
Honestly, I was expecting the songs from Transkripsi to have more Indon-pop vibes, considering the fact that Siti collaborated with the top names from the Indon music scene for the album, namely Melly Goeslaw, Erwin Gutawa, Glen Fredly, et al -- In other words, Transkripsi should have picked up at where her previous album, Prasasti Seni, left off... but it didn't. Apparently, most of the songs on Transkripsi are in an entirely different mold as compared to the stuff she had done before, but still, I'm happy to report that they did grow on me with repeated listening and are just as enjoyable as her past hits.
Worthy mentions (besides Biarlah Rahsia) include the RnB-inflected opening track, Siti Situ Sana Siti, which is like a sequel of her previous work with Too Phat, Dua Dunia; the Yasin-penned Hidup Penuh Bicara (an updated World music-type of song) though not as immediately infectious as Lagu Rindu but still pretty good; the cool bossa nova strains of Rupanya Kita Serupa; and the wholly-by-Siti song, Intrig Cinta which has a rather peculiar but likeable upbeat arrangement. Aubrey Suwito's strong melodies on Bisakah ends the album on a memorable and convincing note that Siti is still the number one pop vocalist, bar none, in Malaysia.
The controversial details of her much-publicised private life aside, I feel that Transkripsi boasts some of Siti's boldest and best works to date; therefore it's such a pity that the album's visual concept isn't as impressive as the music on the CD itself -- the former is merely adequate when it should have been drop-dead amazing. Yet, I suppose this is just a minor setback from an otherwise impeccable album.
Will Siti be sweeping up the awards at next year's AIM (Anugerah Industri Music) or will she be ousted by hot favorite-diva-of-the-moment Jaclyn Victor, who is coming up with her sophomore album quite soon? We shall just have to wait and see... LOL
