Thai pop-rock band Getsunova and Three Man Down have released their latest track and accompanying music video “Eek Mai Narn, Narn Kae Nhai”, which translates literally as “Not too long, but how long?”, which has garnered more than 1.9 million views since its release on November 16th and become the #3 top-trending clip in the music category on YouTube in Thailand.
Apart from the catchy tune, and the inclusion of the teachings of a famous non-conformist monk, Phra Maha Praiwan, the song’s popularity is also attributed to the satirical depiction of the existing problems in Thai society.
Several scenes in the video are shown through a student project, on the theme “Thailand In My Dreams”, such as increasing green public spaces, reforming student uniform and hairstyle rules, freedom of speech, same-sex marriage, decriminalising sex work and reorganising the government’s spending. These are all issues frequently raised by anti-government protesters. The school executives in the video, however, gave them zero marks for their presentation!
“Not too long, but how long would it take, it’s tormenting, as if it is taking forever.” The hook itself also takes a poke at the junta-government’s theme song, when the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) came to power in 2014 after the coup, which proclaimed “we will keep to our promises, it won’t be too long and the beautiful country will be back.”
The video gained mostly positive reactions from viewers, with many of them praising the creative team behind it.
Some viewer comments include “The MV is so creative and it reflects everything so well”, “This is the best MV of the year” and “I want to cry after watching this”. Famous Thai YouTuber “Bie The Ska” commented “I like the song and the MV. It is really cool. Every scene is so detailed.”
It is not often that a Thai mainstream musician openly criticises the government, but Getsunova’s latest release is, obviously, not the first one to give the Prayut-led government a satirical slap in the face.
Back in 2018, Thai rap group “Rap Against Dictatorship” gave the government pause for thought with its debut song “Prathet Kuu Mee” (literally: What My Country’s Got), which heavily criticised the military junta and the political system. It has now gained 102.5 million views since its release.
Most recently, Thai rapper “YOUNGOHM” also released “Bangkok Legacy”, criticising the government for alleged corruption and its handling of the anti-government protests.
Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service