Myanmar – Fuck the Coup
In light of current events in Myanmar, an appropriate title for this mix of Burmese pop and rock songs ripped from 80s and 90s cassette tapes is “Fuck the Coup!”
The mix starts with an audio clip from a widely-shared social media video showing people heckling and mocking a broken-down tank on the streets of Yangon on 14 February 2021. The good humoured hecklers turn the Military’s show of force to scare people into accepting the coup, a potentially deadly event, into a comical situation. As the tank-driving soldiers frantically run around trying to get their tank moving again, the hecklers shout:
“Should I call the mechanics for you?”
“Help pull the tank! It’s broken!”
“Please help them. Poor guys!”
“Do you need help pushing?”
“Do you want us to push your tank?”
“Don’t be shy if you need help pushing?”
“Shall we push it straight to the scrapyard?”
“I don’t think they brought the manual.”
“Maybe they are just learning to drive.”
“If you are a learner driver, don’t drive downtown.”
The Archive of Southeast Asian Music (ASEAM) project started in 2010 as a website sharing rare music and music-related ephemera from the region. Listen to tunes from across Southeast Asia at ASEAM Youtube and join them on their Instagram at @aseam.info
Cover Artwork by ASEAM
