![album iwan fals album iwan fals](https://www.covercentury.com/covers/audio/a/akustik_iwan-fals_29192356.jpg)
Probably a better place to start for someone who doesn't speak the language is the full band stuff. As such, there's more of a focus on the lyrics. These are all unreleased versions of songs he started posting on YouTube during the Covid pandemic, just as many musicians have done in other countries. If you've never heard his music before, this probably isn't the best place to start. Here's his Wikipedia entry if you want to know more about him: Fals had the number one song, as well as the most songs on the list. (As an example, the second song here, "Ambulans Zig Zag," is a critique about the poor state of Indonesia's public health care system.) In 2002, Time Magazine listed him as a "Great Asian Hero." Also in 2005, the Asian version of Time Magazine published their opinion of the top 100 Indonesian songs of all time. He's particularly known for the quality of his lyrics, and he's served as kind of the social conscience of the country, with many protest songs about poverty, injustice, corruption, and so on. His music career started in the late 1970s, and he's still going strong today (as I write this in 2022), with a new album released in 2021. He's often referred to as the "Bob Dylan of Indonesia," and with good reason. But I lived there for two years at one point, and in my opinion he's heads and shoulders above all other Indonesian musicians, a musical genius. Have you ever heard of Iwan Fals? Unless you've spent time in Indonesia, I highly doubt it. I figure very few people will download this, but who knows, maybe word will get out to some Indonesian groups and it'll find an audience. But if not, you may well skip it, since all the songs here are sung in the Indonesian language. Do you speak Indonesian? If so, you'll hopefully love this. I have to warn that this album isn't for everyone.