Dear Karen and Richard...

Carpenters, another one of my favorite pop recording artists.
Terdiri dari dua bersaudara Richard & Karen Carpenter. Saya pernah menonton DVD lagu2 mereka sendirian di rumah, dan saya seketika diterpa gelombang rasa haru dan bahagia... hehehe... it's the power of music. I believe in it very much.

They're just beautiful. Beautiful people, beautiful music, great musical craftmanship.
Saat era 70-an digilas oleh arus musik rock dan heavy metal, at the end of the day, only the great piece of art can stand the storm... Carpenters menjadi satu2nya artis pop yang berhasil mencuat disaat industri musik sedang dikangkangi oleh musik keras.
Bukan berarti saya tidak suka musik rock, in fact, koleksi saya didominasi oleh rekaman-rekaman musik rock. But Carpenters is special. The sincerity and mastery of the art makes them stand out among other cute radio candyfloss pop...

Mereka mengawali sebagai kelompok jazz. Richard adalah classically-trained piano player, dan Karen adalah... seorang drummer gemuk yang pemalu! And she's a good drummer, too.
Siapa bisa menyangka, that chubby young girl behind the drumkit could step up into the light and becoming one of the most adorable and beautiful voice in pop music history?

What makes them special?

Pertama tentu saja bakat. Richard adalah seorang musisi jempolan. Kekuatannya menulis dan mengaransemen lagu sangat menonjol. Walaupun mereka banyak membawakan lagu2 cipataan orang lain pada akhirnya, namun kejeniusan Richard-lah yang mampu mengemas lagu2 itu menjadi sangat istimewa lewat aransemen musiknya. Strong harmony, and there's always a certain kind of sweetness in Richard's arrangements.
Dan Karen tak kalah berbakat, dia drummer jazz yang baik. And when she sings, my goodness, m y g o o d n e s s .... !!

Dia bukan tipe vokalis dengan teknik atau trik2 vokal yang fancy atau akrobatik. Suaranya tidak melengking-lengking dahsyat, tidak meliuk-liuk lincah, seperti misalnya... siapa ya.. Mariah Carey mungkin. Sama sekali tidak... dia bukan seorang biduanita berteknik gila-gilaan. But ada sesuatu... suaranya begitu nyaman... begitu akrab.
Bagaimana menjelaskannya ya... seperti mendengar sahabat kesayanganmu bernyanyi khusus untukmu seorang. That kind of warmth, that kind of intimacy.
It's amazing. Like your mother or beloved sister singing to you a lullabye before sleep. It don't have to be highly-skilled... but there's love in it. Karen Carpenter sings from her heart, directly to you and no other but you.

Kedua, the family value. Dua bersaudara cantik dan gagah, kulit putih..
Amerika terpesona karena family value tersebut. Siapa tak gembira melihat satu keluarga bisa menghasilkan karya begitu besar. Mereka memberikan harapan pada masyarakat bahwa nilai2 kekeluargaan masih sangat pantas untuk dibanggakan, bahkan di dunia hiburan, di jaman yang semakin edan.

Sayang nasib Karen berakhir tragis, di tahun 80-an dia meninggal dunia karena penyakit psikologis eating disorder, bulimia atau anoreksia gitu...
Meninggalnya Karen Carpenter menjadi shock bagi Amerika dan dunia. Potret seorang gadis baik2 tanpa cela, yang menyanyi bagai malaikat... ternyata terkoyak pula oleh problema. Seorang bintang memang seringkali harus dirampas nilai2 manusiawinya karena dia menjadi milik publik. Dan kasus Karen menjadi sangat memukul, karena publik tak menyangka seorang idola serba sempurna bisa mengalami masalah kejiwaan seperti itu.

Bahkan sambil mengetik posting ini dan mendengarkan lagu2nya di i-tunes, saya sekarang terharu...
Saya kutipkan beberapa lirik lagu mereka untuk anda... salah satunya adalah hit paling populer mereka Yesterday Once More.

Dear Karen & Richard, God bless you for the joy you have brought to us....
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ALL YOU GET FROM LOVE IS A LOVE SONG (1977)
Written by Steve Eaton

Like sailin' on a sailin' ship to nowhere
Love took over my heart like an ocean breeze
As seagulls fly I knew that I was losin'
Love was washed away with the driftin' tide

Oh it's a dirty old shame
When all you get from love is a love song
That's got you layin' up nights just waitin'
for the music to start
It's such a dirty old shame when you got to
take the blame for a love song
Because the best love songs are written
with a broken heart

And now the tears in my eyes are ever blinding
The future that lies before me I cannot see
Although tomorrow I know the sun is rising
Lighting up the world for everyone, but not for me
----------------------------------------------------

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE (1973)
Written by Richard Carpenter & John Bettis

When I was young
I'd listen to the radio
Waitin' for my favorite songs
When they played I'd sing along
It made me smile.

Those were such happy times
And not so long ago
How I wondered where they'd gone
But they're back again
Just like a long lost friend
All the songs I loved so well.

Every Sha-la-la-la
Every Wo-o-wo-o
Still shines....
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they're startin' to sing's
So fine....

When they get to the part
Where he's breakin' her heart
It can really make me cry
Just like before
It's yesterday once more.

Lookin' back on how it was
In years gone by
And the good times that I had
Makes today seem rather sad
So much has changed.

It was songs of love that
I would sing to then
And I'd memorize each word
Those old melodies
Still sound so good to me
As they melt the years away.

Every Sha-la-la-la
Every Wo-o-wo-o
Still shines...
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they're startin' to sing's
So fine...

All my best memories
Come back clearly to me
Some can even make me cry.
Just like before
It's yesterday once more.