I’M in Taipei this week on my “John Bangi Blues” album tour. The trip includes two lecture-performances and a podcast at three of the top 10 Taiwanese universities.

I doubt my jaunt here in the Taiwanese capital will make the news cycle unless I say something contentious.

I’ve seen social media posts by non-academic (but very smart) friends questioning the need for guest lectures by foreign academics.

To the lecturers, these opportunities are important to not only share their work or ideas with others in the same field but also to elicit healthy dialogue in the flesh.

As an independent musician, a trip like this is a golden opportunity to engage with the local community.

This is my third time performing in Taiwan and I had built my academic and music networks in the previous trips.

A multi-hyphenate like me takes advantage of all resources and contacts to learn and experience more in both fields.

A multi-hyphenate, if you don’t know already, is someone who are skilled in various fields at the same time.

Most people in the performing arts in Malaysia are multi-hyphenates, even if they do not realise it.

For example, many musicians who perform in classical ensembles also teach a musical instrument or more.

Here are some two concepts that are familiar to a multi-hyphenate.

There’s no such thing as a hobby

The concept of “hobby” is a denigration of a meaningful personal activity. I find it insulting, for example, for my music-making to be called a “hobby”.

Music-making is a big part of my identity. It just doesn’t pay well or consistently enough for a living but that doesn’t make it a hobby.

Some may argue that one should pursue one’s hobby full-time and make job their “passion”.

However, if one relegates (or elevates, depending on who you are asking) their passion into their job, it would take away the wonder and joy of the passion in the first place.

Learn to juggle the things you love to do with the things you need to do to pay the bills (with no desire to climb up the career ladder) and you may find meaning in life.

Holidays are for amateurs

Holidays are boring and a waste of time, if you ask me. Think about it: you go somewhere you desire in your imagination and spend a lot of money to do it, only to sit around and be unproductive.

Being a tourist also often means you are disengaged from the community you are visiting because any relationship you have with the locals is purely transactional.

Your intent to fulfil your imagined idea of an ideal holiday supersedes the reality of the actual place or circumstances.

All our ideas about where to holiday are the result of of advertising and marketing (ask anyone who’s been to Paris for a holiday).

Tourism is an industry and tourist traps are exactly that: they are set up to lure you, my dear tourist.

So, take a chance off the beaten path. Live a meaningful life on your own terms instead of following the herd. – May 10, 2024.

* Azmyl Yunor is a touring underground recording artiste, and an academic in media and cultural studies. He has published articles on pop culture, subcultures and Malaysian cultural politics. He adheres to the three-chords-and-the-truth school of songwriting, and Woody Guthrie’s maxim “All you can write is what you see”. He is @azmyl on Twitter.