So long, guys

As this is the last column I'll be writing for The New Paper, I just want to say a few things.

For a start, I consider myself very lucky to have had this gig.

I know that most Singaporeans don't consider writing to be a particularly prestigious profession but for me, it's been an honour and a privilege.

Being paid to just talk about movies and music?

It's up near the very top of my personal list of the greatest jobs in the world.

Thanks for the wonderful opportunity, TNP.

Next, I would like to encourage you, dear reader, to keep thinking for yourself when it comes to the culture you consume.

If there's been any underlying purpose or theme in my writing, it's to encourage free thought.

You don't have to like what others like. You don't have to hate what others hate.

Be aware of your true feelings as you engage with a song or a film or whatever.

It sounds elementary, but it's almost impossible for most.

Don't be one of the most.

When it comes to film, the critics are often wrong and the Oscars are mostly wrong.

When it comes to pop music, your friends are probably wrong and the charts are almost certainly wrong.

Trust your own sense of taste. Feel your own feelings.

Finally, I would like to tell you a bit about what I'm going to get up to now that I'm no longer with TNP.

As I hope you already know, I'm a DJ on Kiss92. I do a show called Maddy, Jason And Arnold In The Morning every weekday from 6am to 10am.

Please listen.

We have a lot of fun.

MUSIC

Aside from that, I'm working on my own music.

Having written about music in this paper and played music on the radio, I feel it's time I indulge my life-long ambition to create my own tunes.

My band is called The Shimmer Glimmers. Our singer is the extraordinarily talented Nadirah Zaidi.

We're amazing and our first album will hopefully be out late next year.

You can find us on Instagram 
@theshimmerglimmers.

My new dream is that one day, some other guy will be writing a column about my music.

Should this dream by some miracle ever come to pass, I just pray that this other guy is more charitable than I ever was.