Music

Golden Boy

Colourful, catchy and controversial � Pang still has the musical magic

By Suwitcha Chaiyong,  Photographs courtesy of Giraffe Records

Did You Know : Pang was once a freelance writer for Mono Magazine.

Narkarin Khingsak (Pang) could be forgiven for assuming he has the Midas touch. The veteran rock singer-songwriter won the best male artist award at the Season Awards 2003 then spent eight months carefully crafting his fifth album, Leam Thong (Encased in Gold).

The album has already produced a hit single that has stirred up controversy over censorship � controversy that will undoubtedly help push sales. In the meantime, Leam Thong has also been widely praised by fans and critics alike and will almost certainly cement Pang�s position as the one of the elder statesmen of Thai rock.

MUSICAL MISCHIEF

And so on to the censorship issue. Pang was a little surprised when the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) misinterpreted his use of the word khot on the track �Man.� While the word can be used as a swear word, in this context, it means �very,� according to the singer. However, the NBC disagreed and the word was removed from the music video, although the radio version was left intact.

�To tell the story properly, �Man� needed this word and in the song it wasn�t used incorrectly,� Pang said. �It added a feeling of sarcasm.�

Pang�s sense of mischief can also be heard on the track �Puchai Ma Dai Leow Kwa Ma Lae Ma Jak Thong Mae (Men Aren�t Worse Than Dogs and Come From Their Mothers).� The song is a playful pun on the well-known book, Phuchai Leow Kwa Ma Lae Ma Dai Ma Jak Dow Ankhan (Men Are Worse Than Dogs and Don�t Come From Mars), which criticises male behaviour. Is his song a response to the book?

�This song got its inspiration when I went to a bookstore and saw so many books that blame guys for all sorts of problems,� Pang said. �I think it is unfair. After all, there are differences between the sexes � men like to look at beautiful girls and women get excited about discount merchandise,� Pang said with a smile.

OLDER AND WISER

While Leam Thong is sure to be a runaway success, Pang does accept that as he gets older, new talent will spring up and replace him. It�s a fate he�s not all that concerned about, although he�s not ready to call it quits just yet.

�Some artists have asked me to write songs for them, but every time I make a new album, I put all my energy into it, so I�m too exhausted to do anything else,� Pang said, adding that he may turn his hands to producing one day � but only when he�s too old to sing.

And after that? �I will just fade away naturally,� said the singer, with a glint in his eye.

Vocabulary

the Midas touch (n): the ability to make a financial success of everything you do (comes from a myth in which King Midas was given the power to turn everything he touched into gold)
veteran (n): a person who has a lot of experience in a particular area or activity
controversy (n): public discussion and argument about something that many people strongly disagree about, disapprove of, or are shocked by
censorship (n): the act or policy of removing the parts of a book, movie, etc. that are considered offensive
cement (v): in this use, to make a relationship, an agreement, etc. stronger
mischief (n): behaviour that is annoying but does not cause any serious damage or harm
misinterpret (v): to understand something/somebody wrongly
intact (adj): complete and not damaged
sarcasm (n): a way of using words that are the opposite of what you mean in order to be unpleasant to somebody or to make fun of them
pun (n): the clever or humorous use of a word that has more than one meaning, or of words that have different meanings but sound the same
inspiration (n): somebody or something that is the reason why somebody creates or does something
exhausted (adj): very tired

Idiom

to call it quits: to decide to stop doing something