T. quickly pulled out the phone line and connected to 1269 in just a few minutes. He mentioned a few websites, but his favorite was xixi…net.
“This site has quality music and good sound. The only downside is that they only post new tracks occasionally.” – he said as he inserted a blank disc into the burner.
After nearly half an hour of waiting, the disc he named “music for lắc” was complete.
The Explosion of Lắc Music Websites
It’s not too difficult to search for websites dedicated to downloading music. It is evident that all these sites have a dedicated section for lắc enthusiasts. Some of the websites include: tia…com; vietger…com… Each site has a special corner for lắc fans to choose their favorite songs. The names have been changed to: extremely cool, always on point, lắc lắc lắc…
The emergence of these websites has inadvertently aided some individuals specializing in bootlegging lắc music discs to flood the market for lắc enthusiasts. At flea markets or any music shops, one can find discs featuring images of dancers and enticing titles: World Dance Music, Best of DJ, Let’s Fly… How could energetic youth resist such appealing advertising?
Ng…, a high school student who plays with team T., mentioned that his cousin regularly supplies lắc music to partygoers. With a computer setup specifically for duplicating discs, this individual is also willing to spend an additional 500,000 VND each month to rent a dedicated ADSL line.
Typically, these discs are sold to taxi drivers who specialize in picking up customers from dance clubs. A small portion is sold to high school students who enjoy loud music. H. admits: “If someone is diligent enough to sell discs directly to each taxi, the income can be quite good. Just imagine 20,000 VND per disc, and if you visit 2-3 taxi spots in one night, that amounts to a lot of money. Not to mention delivering to music shops throughout the city.”
The Story of “traixinhxinh”
Not as attention-grabbing as other sites, xixi…net is known among lắc users mainly because it offers nothing but lắc music. Being a personal website, it has a very simple structure. The lắc tracks are displayed through links and accompanied by a magician who leads the program. Not content to stay still, the old magician flits around, eager to welcome the “astronauts” of ecstasy.
The inviting phrases are full of enthusiasm: “Hello. Kimcuong welcomes you all. You open here to listen to the party music, that’s all you need to do. I hope we will have great impressions of each other. After the party, remember to be safe, my friends. Enjoy the music and don’t forget to party hard. Nguyen Kim Cuong. YM: traixinhxinh.”
We contacted Nguyen Kim Cuong via Yahoo Messenger and learned that he is a young man who just returned from the United States. Hopes of meeting traixinhxinh were dashed as he was shy about meeting strangers. According to him, the website was created just for fun. Occasionally, Cuong posts links in chatrooms to advertise or share with fellow lắc chatters so they can download music.
Cuong stated that the website is merely an experiment to gauge the reaction of lắc users, and the results have been quite surprising. Many lắc enthusiasts have reached out to him after downloading music, requesting him to continuously upload tracks for them.
Encouraged, this “player” is currently building a “more decent” and “grand” website with comprehensive sections for personal information, clubs, feedback, introductions to mix music, playlists, and news… Cuong mentioned that due to frequent internet use and having a bit of English knowledge, he has connected with many international DJs, which will be a source for providing lắc music for his website.
When asked if Cuong is afraid of getting caught for promoting lắc music, he answered nonchalantly: “First, it’s not illegal music. Second, personal websites are very easy to create, and they can’t be completely monitored. Third, no one knows who I am, and no one can meet me. So, why worry?”
It’s time for us to pay attention to those who are promoting lắc culture.
MAI TUAN
