Surfing Youtube (So You Don't Have To): Part 7

This will be my last post with regards to this series. Exams will be drawing to a close soon, and you will have enough time to waste going through the millions of videos on Youtube to pick your own favourite! And I think I would like to go back to some honest writing.

My final theme will be the one closest to my (and indeed most of our) heart(s): home.

Nothing makes you yearn more for the comforts of home, of familiarity as when you're facing exams... I know that for a fact. Try ringing home during the exam period - the international diallers will be filled with homesick students longing for a friendly voice during their time of tribulation and isolation.

What is it about our homeland that we miss? The familiar sights and places, the smells emanating from the hawker stalls or mum's kitchen, the sounds of a vibrant city that has forgotten how to sleep, the touch of a friend carrying years of shared experiences, the soothing voice of a loved one.

Music has played a large part in this nostalgia, and although Malaysia has made some really painful/awful patriotic songs (think Suka I.T. (Love I.T.) and the English translation for that fitness campaign ('Together! Pump iron and let's go to jogging!'), there have been good ones as well... if you start singing the words 'Puji dan syukur pada Ilahi...' you will almost certainly get a smile from your fellow Malaysian and they will start chiming in with the next line. Sejahtera Malaysia is actually quite well loved by all Malaysians!

In the time of turmoil and uncertainty back home, it has been a call to arms by the recording artistes in Malaysia who have united to bring us this wonderful song:


Cheesy and cool all at once! Kind of like a Malaysia 'We Are The World!' Wait for the rapping bit!

The Malay guy who raps the English part was actually a batchmate of mine back in IMU! He has gone on to successfully pursue a recording career with his Teh Tarik Crew... wayyy cooler than being in medicine, in my honest opinion!

And then for all you Singaporeans, I must say that in my one and a half years there, this was one of the prettier homesongs that stuck with me:


Hah! You thought it was Majulah Singapura, didn't you? I still don't understand why the Singaporean national anthem is in Malay!

But in this adopted home of ours, the nostalgia is not lacking. This next clip was voted one of the best Australian ads of all time. It is epic, uplifting and involves an Australian symbol. If not for Waltzing Matilda, this is the next great Aussie anthem:


Look at all the cute kiddies, more well travelled than I will ever be!

While looking around for these clips, I found one that combined the second and third clip... it's really cute!

Home. A lifetime of memories and love in four little alphabets.