Always a pain for me to see this sign; it means I have to go home!
HOME | ABOUT | STORY ARCHIVE | MAILING LIST | GUESTBOOK | DOWNLOAD

Home > Indonesia

How Big is My Indonesian Music Collection?
by Farah 'Fairy' Mahdzan (5-Aug-2003) | Readers Say

I have a particular fondness for Indonesian music, and as such an appreciator I have spent the last 10 years collecting cassettes and CDs of Indonesian artists and musicians, mostly mainstream.

Getting these music albums required a little bit of extra work and money for me as I do not live in Indonesia. This usually involves me politely asking Indonesian friends who were going to fly home to help buy me CDs (this happened a lot during my student days in Ohio).

Nowadays I can afford to visit Indonesia occasionally and hunt down what I want. I buy my music albums everywhere, from air-conditioned music shops in posh malls to the simple tukang loak kaset (used cassette sellers) doing business on the dusty roadsides of Jakarta.

I don't really know how many Indonesian music albums I have, so I decided to find out. My goal was to spread the cassettes and CDs out so that I could measure the surface area they would cover.

I started by hauling out my collection in two large laundry baskets to the great outdoors. Let me tell you, these buggers were heavy!


I then lined up all my CDs first in rows of ten.


The Sunday sun was scorching down my back and
I was praying the rays wouldn't affect my CDs too much.


These are pirated video CDs of Indonesian music video clips which I bought from Jatinegara in Jakarta. You can't buy original VCDs of this sort, because there aren't any to buy to begin with! Small entrepreneurs have decided to meet music lovers' demand for video clip compilations so video clips are recorded from MTV and onto CDs. Smart.

The VCDs are extremely cheap to buy, around Rp.3000 each (Rp.2500 if you're an enthusiast Malaysian willing to buy in bulk).

There are about 20 of the latest video clips (at the time of purchase) on one VCD. Maybe even more, I didn't bother to count. But you know lah how many media files they like to cram onto one crummy CD, value for money konon. (Tapi memang ye pun, hehe!)


I was done with arranging the CDs; now it's the cassettes' turn. Since cassettes are smaller in dimension than CDs, it will take 20 to fit into the rows of 10 CDs.


I had a few more cassettes in the car which I hadn’t taken out.


I ran up to my room to see if I had left anything out. I found a few more music CDs, and also some VCDs that I thought should participate in the measuring project.


This CD has a really irregular shape and I think it's rather cool. I have never played it since it does not fit into my computer CD tray.

Check out the 1980s cassette in their large white casings! How retro. If you don't care for your older cassettes properly, the audio will sound muffled.


I had doubles of some albums because sometimes I lose track of what I have and accidently buy what I already own. Once in a while friends will give me albums that I already have.


I've finished arranging all my CDs and cassettes. Let's measure their perimeters so that we can use those numbers to calculate the area.

Okay math skills, don't fail me now...!

The long side of the area is about 8 feet and 6 inches. In meters that converts to approximately 2.55m.

The shorter side of the collection area is 4 feet and 10 inches, so that's close to 1.45m.

So (2.55m x 1.45m)=3.7m2

This is what 3.7 square meters of CDs and cassettes look like:

Assuming that you wanted to lay out sliced bread in the same fashion as I have instead of CDs and cassettes, and taking into account that the area of one side of a sliced bread is around 12x12cm (about 0.0144m2), then you would need approximately 256 slices of bread to match the surface area of my Indonesian music collection.

If you eat 2 slices of bread a day, that's about 128 days or 4.2 months worth of breakfast. If you eat Gardenia bread that comes in loaves of 15 slices, that's equivalent to 17 loaves of bread.

(Ok, am I hurting your brain yet?)

About 100 CDs and over 200 cassettes were involved in this auspicious project. They will be getting certificates of participation from me for willingly taking time off the shelf to make this calculation possible.


I'm tired of calculating now. Let's have some teh botol to celebrate!


I had some helpers to help me out with this project.



Not only did I learn how big my Indonesian music collection was from this project, but also how much one's body can ache after lugging around ten years worth of cassettes and CDs up and down the stairs in two laundry baskets and squatting down for about half an hour.

I had fun though! :)

RELATED STORIES:

Acknowledgements
Special thank you to EFR. Makasih ya.

Many thanks to Riga Saleh in Melbourne for double checking the calculations for me, huhu!

I carried out this "Indonesian music measuring project" after becoming inspired by Rob Cockerham's website, on which he runs a "How Much Is Inside?" section. The Californian man has measured everything from how much toothpaste is inside a tube to how much Doritos chips there are in bag, all by conducting unbelievably hilarious experiments with his friends.

WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT How Big is My Indonesian Music Collection?:
#64. Saya memiliki berbagai kaset original penyanyi dan grup musik legendaris Indonesia, seperti Favourite's, Franky&Jane, Ge&Ge, Hetty Koes Endang, Kembar Group, Koes Bersaudara, Koes Plus, No Koes, Panbers, Tetty Kadi, Titiek Puspa, Usman Bersaudara, Zaenal Group dll. Daftar bisa dilihat di Link

IndraArmansyah (08155058587) - indra@serasi.com
Posted by Indra Armansyah - Website   on 13-May-2008, 14:37 MYT

#63. Hey KANNAN, sorry for the late reply. You can try Disctarra.com or Indonesianmusic.com (this store sells only CD I think). Good luck!
Posted by Fairy on 9-Apr-2008, 15:25 MYT

#62. Hi,
I'm an Indian. I wonder the way you take so much of sincere efforts to preserve the cassettes & Cds. For me, cassettes got a good paly role than Cds, Mp3 as they are cheaper. Further I love to inform u that the cassettes of rock, pop collection etc., recorded by the Indonesian companies viz., Atlantic, Team, galaxy, King's, Talent, Golden Lion etc., are raelly superb as the recording is The Best. Hardly I find to purchase these cassettes in and around in India. I'm very much interseted in buying these. It would help me to know if the addresses of shops in Indonesia selling such cassettes so that I can buy some against payment vide Money Order or other mode of payments. Expecting your reply,

with regards,
K.Kannan.
Posted by kannan on 14-Jan-2008, 22:38 MYT

#61. duh banyak amat koleksinya... boleh dong tukeran.. tapi kalau dijejer gitu jadi kaya kaki5 jangan marah ya.
Posted by donna - Website   on 5-Nov-2007, 00:59 MYT

#60. Hi Fairy: Nama saya Herman dan tinggal di-New Jersey, USA. Saya ingin sekali punya lagu-lagu lama koleksi dari Lilis Suryani dan Koes Bersaudara (bukannya Koes Plus). Apa Fairy atau kalian di-Indo ada yang punya. Kalau ada yang punya, bisa engga dipindahkan ke-mp3 CD. saya akan bayar ongkos rekamannya. November nanti saya akan ke-Jakarta. Bisa saya ambil. E-mail saya kalau ada yang bisa. Thanks
Posted by Herman Suwardie on 5-Oct-2007, 12:02 MYT

#59. Senengnya liat ada yg iseng ama CD lagu2 Indo Gue lagi cari lagu2 Indo yg bisa di-download.... kangen....
Posted by Hunky Dory on 10-Jul-2007, 08:38 MYT

#58. Aq mo jual kaset jadul: RIA ANGELINA album ELEGI RINDUKU dan MAYANGSARI album TIADA LAGI. Klo minat reply aja via email!
Posted by YouDee on 27-Jun-2007, 18:03 MYT

#57. When I left KL, I left behind Grace Simone's album with my fiancee. Well, he left me.

I've looked around but Grace Simone is not so hot so what are my chances of getting hold of GS.

The tune is in my head (so irritating) but like him, I don't remember the song title anymore.


Posted by Nina on 14-May-2007, 11:56 MYT

#56. DINO: Saya tak adalah mp3 itu.
Posted by Fairy on 18-Apr-2007, 11:39 MYT

#55. Fairy, minta kirim ABK- Bukannya Aku Takut, please yach, ditungguiiiin banget yach dear!!!
Posted by dino - Website   on 15-Apr-2007, 21:31 MYT

#54. Inget mau cari CD Poppy Mercury. Suka banget ama lagu Antara Jakarta dan Penang. Cuma ada mp3nya aja...

Ada jual ke CD ni kat Indonesia sana ek? Poppy seangkatan dgn Nike Ardilla. Meninggal pun selang sebulan aje sama Nike..
Posted by SharmCos on 28-Nov-2006, 23:43 MYT

#53. do u have haruskah by ressa herlembang music video.....if u do can send to me by e-mail?
Posted by nasir on 24-Mar-2006, 21:37 MYT

#52. aku ada kaset ikang fawzy lengkap..dari RANDY and CINDY..juga PREMAN...kalo ada yg mau..boleh tapi barter ama kaset KIKI MARIA KARMA/ ANDI MERIEM MATTALATTA ..thanks

tjeuw@hotmail.com
Posted by anton on 31-Dec-2005, 19:03 MYT

#51. awak..am curious abt the band TBK..been trying to find info on them and their albums..can you advise me as to how?
thanks a lot!
Posted by syaryzad on 19-Oct-2005, 12:32 MYT

#50. hi there...
my name is erwin.i'm 26 yo, and live in jakarta. I read your website, and it seems that you love indonesian music very much. I work as a music and creative director for I Music Channel (Indonesia Music Channel). We also have our own music program aired on Astro Ria, called Indo Top 10 (every Sunday, 11 am). If you come to Jakarta, do not hesitate to call me. my cellphone number is 08159950625.
Posted by erwin on 17-Oct-2005, 15:15 MYT

#49. Hallo, Fairy, saya lagi cari lagu2nya Hetty Koes Endang, tapi cuman dapet beberapa titels saja. kalau ada hetty di koleksi kamu, tolong kasih tahu saya titel lagu2nya Hetty.

thanks, Rosit@
Posted by Rosit@ on 2-Oct-2005, 07:41 MYT

#48. Cik Adik Fairy,
Cuba cari di pasar kaget, for used cd or cassete. Kalau nasib ada baik mungkin boleh dapat......murah..mu rah!!!!!!
Posted by Azys on 27-May-2005, 14:58 MYT

#47. gue mau nanya, lho punya lagu permata hitam gak era tahun 80-an? siapa sich penyanyinya? ikang fauzi bukan? tolong jawab ya... gue udah nyari kemana2 gak dapet!
Posted by erhan on 20-May-2005, 08:47 MYT

#46. hi im from holland, where can i download indonesian music videos like so7, peterpan, audy, slank other great bands?

tnx
Posted by hendro rencoko on 5-Apr-2005, 04:22 MYT

#45. Hey there, fairy.. Am just beginning to listen to Indon songs. Am from Malaysia, and when Sheila on 7 got all hot and hip here a few years back, it never rubbed off on me until a close friend of mine turned on "Pria Terhebat" and then I got hooked all by myself with "Kita".. Another song the friend introduced me to was TBK - Bukannya Aku Takut. I thought the title was damned corny, but I love the song, and I especially looove the lead's voice. Hope you can help me out and let me know where I can find their site(TBK) coz I sure can't find anything on Google.com or I just don't know where to look. And appreciate it greatly if you could tell me where to get more of their songs. Kazaa only has Bukannya Aku Takut.. Great collection, by the way and that has got to be an understatement!
Posted by Adlin on 23-Jan-2005, 22:41 MYT

#44. RIO: Ya begitu lah.
Posted by Fairy on 30-Sep-2004, 17:43 MYT

#43. gila fai! lo masih punya kaset ruth sahanaya yang astaga! itu kan udah susaaaaahh nyarinya!
Posted by rio - Website   on 30-Sep-2004, 17:13 MYT

#42. Bagas, ria bukan adiknya siapa-siapa. Adiknya endang s, taurina adalah ratih purwasih, yg nyanyi lagu ' yang..hujan turun lagi.... dibawah payung hitam ku berlindung'
Posted by riadi - Website   on 30-Sep-2004, 16:19 MYT

#41. Wah, hebat ya koleksi CD kamu ! Gue paling suka lagu2 80an seperti Hetty Koes Endang/Endang S Taurina/Broery...
Suara mereka bagus banget...masih lagi dimainkan di stesen radio Singapore..Nah, baru semalam Endang S Taurina muncul dalam TV.Saya hampir menangis, kerana senang mendengar suaranya masih sama seperti dulu.
Posted by LadyG on 22-Sep-2004, 09:25 MYT

#40. Astaga kamu tuh kurang kerjaan banget deh! Huahahaha Tapi speaking of old cassetes, my longest surviving one is Tommy Page's 1992 album A Friend To Rely On, which I purchased in grade 4 (1992). And about tukang loak kaset, I found one who sold NKOTB's Step By Step album near my campus (gue kuliah di UI). I used to have that album and actually thought of buying it from si abang loak, tp ngga jadi
Posted by Nana - Website   on 18-Sep-2004, 20:16 MYT

#39. Hey HAWE, thanks.
Posted by Fairy on 15-Sep-2004, 13:57 MYT

#38. Gempak seh ko fairy!!!u do really appreciate what u had bought and the music itself...so collect more cd's and cassette to add up u'r old collection!!good luck!
Posted by hawe on 15-Sep-2004, 12:23 MYT

#37. Ridjal, thank you.
Posted by Fairy on 10-Sep-2003, 12:42 MYT

#36. hi fairy, i truly enjoyed this entry.. hahaha.. i will be coming back to this site again. you've won a new fan.
Posted by ridjal - Website   on 10-Sep-2003, 12:16 MYT

#35. gw..ngfans bgt ma Ikang fauzi.... btw..ada yg punya kasetnya gak ya???...or yg punya alamat dia.....
Posted by yunita on 4-Sep-2003, 12:57 MYT

#34. Yeah, I remember the government banned those so called 'lagu cengeng' from radios and televisions. I forgot the real reason, but I guess they consider it a sign hopelesness . The government even decided what people should listen...
And I also remember when a malaysian rock group Search was very famous with their song Isabella, some indonesian song writers pointed that also actually was a 'lagu cengeng' but with different tone and music.

Btw, I wonder where those old rock group like Search, Wings, Iklim etc?
Posted by jamal on 20-Aug-2003, 18:59 MYT

#33. Oh gitu toh Bagas. Kocak juga ya hehe. Asli gw belum pernah dengar ttg si Ria satu ini. Ya everyone has different taste lah hehe.
Posted by Fairy on 20-Aug-2003, 17:48 MYT

#32. Sorry Kurt, but it's unbelievable for me. tapi selera orang ya masing-masing ya
fai, Ria and her sister (Endang S Taurina?) were among the most popular singers in 80's, but for 'common people' upsss waduhh.. because their songs were 'lagu cengeng'. If I'm not wrong, once the government banned the song like that (macam lagu dian pisesha tu)
Posted by Bagas on 19-Aug-2003, 16:01 MYT

#31. Currently RM1=Rp.2300 (around there lah), so Rp.1000 is about 43 sen kot. Murah meriah kalau beli CD kat Indon. Best!
Posted by Fairy on 18-Aug-2003, 14:44 MYT

#30. hahhahaha sah fairy nih.. you really cracked me up.. gile banyak your cd collection.. i love the helpers picture.. cool la.. anyway kalau 1000 rupiah tu.. how much is it in ringgit?
Posted by tasia on 18-Aug-2003, 14:26 MYT

#29. Bagas: I bought Ria's casette way back in d 80's during elementary school.. then followed by Nike Ardillah. Ketawalah...it's ok, at least it's a classic.

Fairy: Pop commercial I guess..zaman 80an. With those funny hairdo's..hehehe
Posted by kurtney on 17-Aug-2003, 00:30 MYT

#28. I don't know Ria Resty Fauzy. What kind of music does she sing?

Bagas, kenapa emang dengan Ria Resty Fauzy?

Kurtney, I have not heard of Ria so I don't have her albums.

As far as oldies go, Vina Panduwinata and Chrisye are my cups of tea.
Posted by Fairy on 14-Aug-2003, 14:46 MYT

#27. did you buy ria resty fauzy cassette? oh goshhh, can't believe. Indonesian will laugh at you histerically
Posted by Bagas on 14-Aug-2003, 14:36 MYT

#26. Hi Fairy... Looks like u n me boleh join forces.. my Indonesian cd collection pun dah sama byknya dgn yours. Talk abt d retro casette cover, mine was fr an old Indonesian artist called Ria Resty Fauzi(dunno if u heard of her b4) Baru aja borong cds from my recent Yogya trip, and my bf said, Gile Gilean loe... oh well, wat d heck, the cds r cheap n i can't help but to buy...hehehehehhe
Posted by kurtney on 14-Aug-2003, 10:53 MYT

#25. (Aiya, my website is now being infested by former law students.)

lissa, I bought those pirated VCDs waaaaay before this article, and from INDONESIA at that, so I don't think the Msian govt. has any business poking their noses into my Indonesian pirated VCDs purchasing affairs when clearly they were slacking in law enforcing in our own country.

I heard Indonesia is trying to enforce the same type of law on their piracy problem. I am reserving my extra loud laughs for Indonesia. I don't think it can ever be done in the same way Malaysia is. (Maaf ya teman2 Indonesia semua, but for this issue saya sangat skeptikal.)

And yes Lissa, tuty (Owle I call her) are in touch again. We are planning to meet up for the first time ever this coming Monday. Won't you join us?

And thanks for patronizing my website. It makes me feel all warm and cosy inside, just like a plate of freshly deep fried Oreos.
Posted by Fairy on 13-Aug-2003, 18:20 MYT

#24. oh ya, lupa. my fren here from Uitm nama dia Norhayati (tuty) says she remembers u, sebab chatting dulu, xsure maybe b4 Ohio. siap ingat u dok pj. anyway she says hello, dia ckp ur fun. i said i know. we both like ur website. thanx 4 brightening up our days. p.s- jaga hidong jagn kembang sgt ya!
Posted by lissa on 13-Aug-2003, 17:49 MYT

#23. erm, fairy, are u sure u want to retain photographic evidence of your (clearly) ownership of ciplak cds at this time of year on Malaysian soil plak tu. er saja bagi heads up. wouldn't want our widely beloved and undoubtedly amusing miss fairy to suddenly go, er, "missing" (or lose a coupla thousand ringgit).....hehe, peace. i'm all for cheaper good music.
Posted by lissa on 13-Aug-2003, 17:44 MYT

#22. wow wee fairy.. siap kira berapa banyak roti bole cover.. clap clap clap..
Posted by lutfi on 12-Aug-2003, 06:29 MYT

#21. My first experience listening to indonesian music was back in 2000 when i was studying law in UiTM Shah Alam. My house was an indonesian from Jakarta name Alhaq. He studying Mass Communication also in UiTM (still wondering how he managed to get into UiTM coz it's supposed to be only for Bumiputra students). Anyway, he introduced to me to this one experimental indonesian album called "Ahmad Band". The album cover was very interesting but i dont really like the songs though...too experimental, and the massage in the songs were so hard to digest.
Posted by anen on 12-Aug-2003, 00:43 MYT

#20. Ya ya...long live indonesian music.. Ahhh....tension kat australia takde MTV Ampuh!!!! Indonesians are very artistic when comes to music. Especially indonesian bands. And their female singers..not only beatiful, but damn talented
Ni artis malaysia, kalau pompuan muka lawa tapi suara hampeh, yg boy band plak...sikit2 lagu jiwang. Tak ape2 tah.
Posted by anen on 11-Aug-2003, 13:47 MYT

#19. Ebb, considering the number of original Indonesian music albums I own (over 300), I think that I'm doing a decent job supporting the artists' work, wouldn't you say? Besides, those 5 pirated VCDs contain Indo music videos which are not available in any original releases (I mentioned this in my article).

There couldn't possibly be a Fairy Mahdzan clone. I certainly don't remember donating my DNA for such a duplication process of me.

There is only one Fairy Mahdzan.

And if your friend likes Indo stuff, invite her to visit my website, I'm sure she'll find it interesting.
Posted by Fairy on 11-Aug-2003, 00:06 MYT

#18. eh..i remembered u saying dont want to support pirated music? *w* btw, how's life now? believe it or not, i have a friend who kinda looks like you and to my surprise she likes indo language too. talking about so-called clones!
Posted by Ebb on 10-Aug-2003, 22:53 MYT

#17. Nash, Fairy does not reveal her trade serets. But if you have a knack for photography, you could probably figure it out. Not that hard really.
Posted by Fairy on 10-Aug-2003, 14:13 MYT

#16. wow, amazing collection you have there fairy.

and how was that clever photo taken?
Posted by Nash on 10-Aug-2003, 13:33 MYT

#15. Jamal, saya punya satu kompilasi Yongky Soewarno dengan satu lagu Ikang Fauzi on it, "Jangan Main Api," itu doank sih. Kalau kasetnya Ikang kagak ada.
Posted by Fairy on 9-Aug-2003, 16:55 MYT

#14. gila...banyak bener koleksinya
btw, fairy punya ngga kasetnya ikang fauzi (penyanyi rock lama)? aku cari di internet mp3 nya ngga ada.

Posted by jamal on 9-Aug-2003, 14:55 MYT

#13. PINJAM!!!!

muahahahaa...
Posted by zack on 9-Aug-2003, 12:53 MYT

#12.
Posted by eLLieZ de`HearT on 9-Aug-2003, 11:06 MYT

#11. Raf, what can I say girl. It's passion.
Posted by Fairy on 9-Aug-2003, 10:22 MYT

#10. ya Allah, you really got time on that day dont you???? what an effort minah! hahaa but where interest lies, everything is possible. eehheehe. for me it will be books lah yg berlambak2 compared to cds and tapes.
Posted by Rafthah on 8-Aug-2003, 18:51 MYT

#9. Buset Bagas, mana gw punya CD dangdut huhuhu. Kalau mau Vina Panduwinata, Chrisye, Dewa, Humania, KLA, Kahitna, and whatever album yang kamu bisa lihat di situ, nah itu baru ada.
Posted by Fairy on 8-Aug-2003, 18:01 MYT

#8. Aje gile fai, ngapain juga coba ngejejerin tu CD, mana pake dibandingin sama roti pula? btw, mana CD-CD dangdutnya, diumpetin dimana hayo?
Posted by Bagas on 8-Aug-2003, 16:30 MYT

#7. Mmmmm..... teh botol.......
Posted by MK84 on 8-Aug-2003, 12:18 MYT

#6. oh too bad... ingatkan for sale... haha... nah, still cant view ur gb... sokay... i pun lupe nak upgrade browser... im off dling now...
Posted by LeiF - Website   on 8-Aug-2003, 09:52 MYT

#5. Adhe, bwahahah, malah rumput yang diliat. I don't have the patience to collect MP3s, males download and mencari. Tapi ya kan gw collector so I like buying the CDs and cassettes. Makanya rajin ke tukang loak segala.

Leif, sorry my stuff not for sale dude. BTW are you still having problems viewing my GB? Dah try upgrade browser tak?
Posted by Fairy on 8-Aug-2003, 09:33 MYT

#4. lelong lelong!
Posted by LeiF - Website   on 8-Aug-2003, 06:13 MYT

#3. Rumputnya bagus

Btw, come to think of it, I never bought Audio CD! Yay MP3 mlulu siy huehehe
Posted by Adh3 - Website   on 8-Aug-2003, 03:51 MYT

#2. Yey CIA is back! I've missed you!

Ya to think kalau beneran ada tiga Fairy, I'd have 3 times as many cassettes and CDs woohoo!

Mau donk.
Posted by Fairy on 7-Aug-2003, 23:18 MYT

#1. dasar fairy gila .. huheheehe gue ngakak sambil ketawa2 ngeliat tingkah lo yang sebegitu NIATnya. salut bgt deh .. adaa aja ide lo. and I especially like the 'helpers' photo (come to think of it, if there were really 3 of you in this world .. imagine how huge the surface area would expand yah?).
128 days x 3 = 384 days worth of breakfast. hehe

BURUAN MANDINYA !
Posted by CIA on 7-Aug-2003, 22:38 MYT

POST A COMMENT:
Name:
Email:
(not displayed)
Website:
Verify: code: : Please type the verification code as you see below:

 Remember me
Say what?


 
Mahdzan.com © 1996-2003