Self-study and classroom lessons based on newspaper feature stories

This column is for self-study or classroom use and gives guided help with reading the wide variety of writing styles and topics that appear as feature articles in the Bangkok Post. The lessons include background information, skill-building practice and vocabulary explanations.

August 26, 2003

Pop culture style

INTRODUCTION

Are you a fan of The Peach Band? If so, you will find today’s story easy to read because you will already know much of the information in it. And if you don’t know much about these rising stars, you will soon be up to date with the latest in popular Thai culture.

People in the Outlook department know there are many young readers of the Bangkok Post, so there are often stories about Thai music and the youth culture scene. One of the writers who regularly covers the music scene is Onsiri Pravattiyagul.

When she writes about music, she uses a very conversational style – phrases you can adopt and use yourself. So there is one activity below to help you become familiar with those phrases.

However, for second language readers, there can sometimes be a problem with Onsiri’s writing – some of her sentences are very long and complex. After you have worked through those in the activity below, you will be better prepared to read similar stories in future.
Tough stuff first

Let’s look at one example of a long, tough sentence. The ‘it’ in the sentence refers to the success of the group’s first album. There is a long, complex clause explaining where the two musicians met in the middle of the basic sentence. The basic sentence (the main idea of the sentence) has been bolded for you. For now, don’t worry about unknown words, focus on the whole sentence.

But it hardly comes as a surprise when The Peach Band, who met when the Silpakorn University junior Wiriyapa took a class in “Lyrical Producing” where Rakpol was a teacher's assistant at Gen-X Academy, has been making a name for themselves among the “indie” kids for about a year now.

Here’s another example talking about the group’s decision to record an album. In this sentence there are two complex clauses with extra information before the basic sentence. Again, the basic sentence has been bolded for you.

After launching a series of hit songs and a couple of live gigs, including a co-headlining spot with another semi-famous DIY band, Monotone, at last year's Fat Festival, The Peach Band knew it was time for them to seriously start considering making a proper studio album.

Now, when you find these sentences in the story, you’ll already be familiar with their meaning. There are two other complex sentences – one of them in conversation from one of the stars. As you read, find those two examples and underline the basic sentence.
Spice up your conversation

The phrases in the first list below are taken from the story. Try to see how many of them you can match with their explanations in the second list. Some of them will be easy, for the others, you’ll find them in the story and the way they are used will help you.

……. just peachy

……. chances are

……. lay your hands on

……. couldn’t be happier

……. making a name for themselves

……. churning out

……. not too difficult to digest

……. jump the boat

……. test the waters

……. don’t sweat it

……. wishful thinking

are extremely happy

becoming well-known

belief that something you want to happen is happening or will happen, although this is actually not true

find out what the situation is before doing something or making a decision

fine, exactly right

get; obtain

it is possible; probably

leave an organization that you belong to, suddenly and unexpectedly

producing something quickly and in large amounts

easy to accept and understand

you don’t need to worry

Try to use two or more of these expressions in your next conversation about a favourite song, album, or group.

OUR STORY FROM THE BANGKOK POST

Just peachy

The Peach Band has hit the big time

Story by ONSIRI PRAVATTIYAGUL

Rakpol Rakkanam and Wiriyapa Chandrasuwong

SOME VOCABULARY HELP

big time
great success, especially in the entertainment business

debut
the first

reception
the way something is welcomed

indie
(independent) popular music played by bands that are new and not well known, and produced by small companies; DIY (do it yourself)

darlings
people who are very popular

saccharine
too emotional

torch song
a sentimental song about disappointments in love

gig
a public performance by pop or jazz musicians

concede
to admit something is true

lyricist
a person who writes the words of songs

juggle
to try to deal with two or more jobs at the same time

discard
to throw away

stable
steady and regular

hype
excessive amount of advertising that exaggerates good qualities

reap
to get a good result, especially because of what you have done

mould
pattern; style typical of something (in this case, success)

Try asking record shops for The Peach Band's debut album, The Peach Band: Is More Complicated Than Visible. If you've tried in the past two months, chances are you haven't been able to lay your hands on it as stock is constantly running out.

The composing duo, Rakpol Rakkanam and Wiriyapa Chandrasuwong, who met at music school Gen-X Academy, couldn't be happier with their album's reception.

“First of all, we would like to say that we are very happy. And we are proud of what we're doing. This level of success has exceeded our expectations — we never dreamed of such success,” said Rakpol.

But it hardly comes as a surprise when The Peach Band, who met when the Silpakorn University junior Wiriyapa took a class in “Lyrical Producing” where Rakpol was a teacher's assistant at Gen-X Academy, has been making a name for themselves among the “indie” kids for about a year now. They've kept on churning out hit songs — such as Tong Ratree (Nightlife), Let's, Keb Rak (Keeping Love) and Freedom — becoming the darlings of, in their own words, modern Thai pop.

What does that sound like, you might ask? Well, if you want to judge it accordingly to The Peach Band's overall sound, then it would be something like saccharine sweet, simply melodic Thai pop coupled with torch song vocals ending with Thai classical instrumental segments, as demonstrated by the biggest hit from the first album, Vorn (Begging).

“The listeners are just seeking new, different things while the music makers are trying to make things happen on their own, on their own terms. So the needs match very well. And our music, which is created entirely from our two brains, is not too difficult to digest,” said Rakpol, who also doubles as producer and live keyboarder.

After launching a series of hit songs and a couple of live gigs, including a co-headlining spot with another semi-famous DIY band, Monotone, at last year's Fat Festival, The Peach Band knew it was time for them to seriously start considering making a proper studio album. Rakpol conceded that the idea of releasing an album never crossed their minds as he had to work and Wiriyapa had to study.

“But then people kept asking us when we were going to come out with a real album after our four songs and several appearances in the media,” said Wiriyapa, singer and a main lyricist.

So they decided to jump the safety boat. That meant hard work for both parties. Wiriyapa needed to juggle her classes and the studio, trying to resolve her future, while Rakpol suffered more severely when he chose to discard his stable job at Gen-X Academy.

“Of course, it was a turning point. But I didn't want to step onto two boats at the same time. At first I was scared at how I was going to be able to put food on the table. I went to my label every day to write songs since I didn't hold a day job any more. I limited my spending to 100 baht a day,” Rakpol said.

But it all paid off when The Peach Band: Is More Complicated Than Visible hit the big time, skyrocketing up almost every indie and mainstream radio and music channel chart. Whether or not it was just hype, the reality is that the band is definitely in demand as their schedule is booked all the way to the end of the year. A definite change for an unemployed musician and an English major.

“Yeah, we have to adapt a bit and need to be more responsible. We want to do this as well as we possibly can since it's what we've been dreaming of,” said Rakpol.

Though they're currently enjoying attention and fame, The Peach Band reveals that they would love to explore individually for a short while. Rakpol's urge is to produce while Wiriyapa might test the waters with solo projects.

“We think that separately we might be able to reap experiences more fruitfully. And then when we're back together, we'll inspire better end results, I think,” said Wiriyapa.

Audiences shouldn't sweat it since the two admit that there'll definitely be another album and they won't try to break the mould, striving to be weird.

“We'll still sound like us because this is our taste and identity. But we expect our music production to be of better standard,” said Rakpol.

Let's hope that's not wishful thinking.

• This lesson was prepared by Maureen Paetkau, a professional teacher of English as a second and foreign language and Assistant Manager and Webmaster for Learning Post at the Bangkok Post.

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