Rocking Indonesia: The Cultural Legacy of the Rolling Stones in Bandung

by Muhammad Irfan (Curator)

At a certain point, music arrives not only with its melodic flow but also with visual imagery and imagination, intertwined with character, persona, and stemming from societal contexts. It transforms to be more than just “leisure entertainment,” but considered as “representative” and be “a part of” its audience or listeners. The concept of Rocking Indonesia emerged through this thesis, taking Bandung —a city in West Java, Indonesia— as a focal point, with The Rolling Stones as its subject, which is the closest example for me, as a curator, to understand this thesis.

This personal reason stems from my belief that a city’s identity influences the social pulse of its community, further impacting the artistic response of its creators, in this case, music. Born as a cosmopolitan city, Bandung, with all its unique traits, becomes a battleground of ideas from thousands of pages read, thousands of notes played, thousands of film durations watched, and layers of ‘isms’ from various corners of the world studied, debated, or simply felt on the surface, affecting how the city’s daily life unfolds. When discussing this in the context of music, I have no hesitation in mentioning The Rolling Stones.

In Bandung, The Rolling Stones became more than just a British band consisting of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood (and if you’re eccentric enough, you certainly wouldn’t forget Brian Jones!). They became a slang, a symbol of “new coolness” for several decades, generalizing Western rock music while also becoming a part of local rock. Beyond that, The Rolling Stones are also interpreted as “tough,” “uncontrollable,” and “dangerous,” applying not only to music but also to football, street violence, the vulnerability of a neighborhood, and even food. Therefore, it is not necessary to memorize hundreds of The Rolling Stones’ catalogs to attach the word “Jagger” or their iconic lips and tongue logo. In short, they become a living culture in the midst of society.

For instance, “Jagger” is interpreted as a “thug” or “troublemaker,” and people with such tendencies are nicknamed “Jagger.” During the celebration of Indonesia’s Independence Day on August 17, often marked by bands in villages, intimidating shouts like “A, Stone A!” or “Don’t play Western songs, just play Stone songs” can be heard, indicating the audience’s request for performers to play The Rolling Stones’ songs. Humorously, the audience will still dance even if the performers play other Western rock songs that are not by The Rolling Stones. This is what I mean by “becoming a generalization of Western rock music while also being part of local rock.” Uniquely, The Rolling Stones have also become synonymous with those living in the narrow, bustling alleys of the city with their dense population and various social issues.

Referring to these facts, through Rocking Indonesia, I intend to “bring” the vibration of The Rolling Stones in Bandung to the exhibition space at TheCube Project Space, Taipei. Combining archival exhibitions, visuals, and sound art, I want to invite visitors to understand and feel how The Rolling Stones, as a Western cultural product, transform within the local life of Bandung, Indonesia, and become an example of the relationship between music and its audience.

Among the archives on display, most are from AKTUIL magazine (1967-1986), a popular music magazine published in Bandung, which became a catalyst and a propagandist for Western pop culture in Indonesia post-1965. Through AKTUIL, I aim to show how the media portrayed The Rolling Stones (especially the iconic Mick Jagger and Keith Richards) hyperbolically, not just in music but also in lifestyles associated with the credo of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. I then show how this rock ‘n roll imagination was brought to the people through local heroes like Deddy Stanzah (The Rollies, Superkid), who came to be seen as the ideal local version of Mick Jagger. This made him the “Mick Jagger among us,” and his image was subsequently replicated by fans as a new form of The Rolling Stones they knew.

Irama Nusantara, a musical archivist group from Indonesia compiled a mixtape to suggest how some local musicians “stole” The Rolling Stones’ hook for their works, especially in the 1960s to the 1970s. At the end of September, we will also invite Wawan Christiawan, a Rolling Stones fan, senior live performance artist to perform his interpretation of the phenomenon.

Similarly, several archives of cassettes, vinyl records, and digital mixtapes are expected to illustrate how local Bandung musicians, especially from the late 1960s to the 1980s, took significant influence from The Rolling Stones’ songs. There is also a video collage depicting how society’s interpretation of The Rolling Stones has evolved over time. In order to “bring Bandung to Taipei” and help visitors imagine the kind of space that this music grew up, I also invited two artists from Bandung, Rama Saputra and Mufti “Amenk” Priyanka, to capture this environment through soundscapes and visual sketches. 

This exhibition is the first and perhaps the last exhibition abroad for Amenk, a tribute to him, who passed away in June 2024 due to illness during the preparatory period of this project.

To showcase the unlimited imagination of the people within limited living spaces.

It’s only rock ‘n roll, but we love it!

* more about Amenk: Amenk at a Glance: From Bandung and Plans in Taiwan