Well, to answer the first question, cultural observer Remy Sylado immersed himself in Yudhoyono's latest album, Ku Yakin Sampai di Sana (I Believe I Will Get There).

His verdict?

Some of the songs are reminiscent of other already-popular songs, Sylado explained - without necessarily plagiarizing them.

The song "Majulah Negeriku" (Go Forth My Country), he said, "shows similarities - in terms of accords and melody - to the song *Island in the Stream' sung by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton," said Sylado, who used to be a music editor for leading music magazine Aktuil back in the 1980s.

So while the first part of Yudhoyono's song sounds quite familiar, the refrain also reminds us of another song, Sylado added.

"The refrain is similar to that of the song *Baby Blue' by George Baker."

However, Sylado underlined, such similarities are quite normal.

"This reminiscent effect isn't plagiarism," he said, and continued, "Certain accords *from a song* embed themselves in our memory, which later intuitively drive the creation of a new song."

Sylado also criticized the use of English terms on the album's cover. Yes, it's a bit ironic, don't you think, that an album made by the President of Indonesia uses English terms such as "vocal by" and "arr. *arranged* by", when a myriad of Indonesian words could be used instead.

"And I can't stop wondering why the wrong English terms were used on the album's cover, next to each of the nine songs," Sylado said, referring to the use of "vocal by". "They should have used *sung by' or *recorded by'."

Most of the time, he went on, "we try to appear cool by using English, but we do it the wrong way."

While Sylado's remarks focused on the aesthetic and linguistic part of the album, music observer Remy Soetansyah examined the album from the listeners' point of view, comparing Ku Yakin Sampai di Sana to previous albums Rinduku Padamu (My Longing for You) and Evolusi (Evolution).

His comments?

"I think when Pak SBY released his first album *Rinduku Padamu*, he was targeting *listeners from* low-income backgrounds," Remy, also a senior music journalist and song writer, said. "From the music arrangement, I could say, he was more into pop."

But then, Remy said, after receiving some criticism, it seemed Yudhoyono tried to redeem his album by collaborating with legendary musician Jockie Soeryoprayogo, the former member of God Bless.

"The next album *Evolusi* aimed too *high'," Remy went on, referring to the orchestra-sounding album. "It sounded too serious, heavy... less-entertaining... while music, in the first place, is supposed to be entertaining."

So perhaps, in another attempt to address that criticism, Yudhoyono tried "achieve balance" when he released his latest album, Remy explained.

"*Aiming* not too low, and not too high either - this time."

Coining Yudhoyono's songs as "the anti-pop of popular songs", Remy explained that although they could be categorized as pop music, they were actually the antithesis of the current Indonesian popular music filled with lyrics about cheating and broken hearts.

Meanwhile, he went on, the lyrics of Yudhoyono's songs go against the mainstream - highlighting optimism and positive spirit.

Whether the public agrees or not, time will tell, Remy said. In the mean time, the State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs Andi Mallarangeng said, "We packaged *the album* in a way that would sound attractive and could entertain young people."

- JP/Dian Kuswandini

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