Cycles

Have you noticed that the release of good songs comes in cycles?

You might have a dry period for a few months where you don't hear any nice new songs released, and then you'd have a few months where you hear a lot of them.

Currently HOOKED on Coldplay's Viva La Vida, The Script's The Man Who Can't Be Moved, Pink's So What and Jason Mraz's Lucky, Paramour - That's What You Get

Coldplay - Must be played loud. The ending bit, with the Ohhh in the background...is the best!
The Script - The beginning, the lyrics and the chorus ... is the best!
So What - The MTV Video Awards live show...the best!
Mraz - Lucky...unique tune.
Paramour - Blast it loud on a roadtrip!

*Resorted to this to cheer myself up in light of tonight's cancelled Beyond concert.

Mega Disappointment

I am utterly disappointed and sad.

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Beyond fan, and have been so since Pri school.

For 16 years I have been their staunch fan. And when I heard that they were coming to do a concert in M'sia the last time around, I was still in Melb. So 2 months ago, when I heard that they were coming down for a concert, I snapped up the tickets, the most expensive ones, and went downtown to see them in their press conference. Among the handful of fans there, I did not have to jostle with too many people and was absolutely overjoyed when I got to stand right at the front of the stage, just a few feet from the band themselves. It was a nice moment. I also got to shake hands with them, exchange some words, and get them to sign on my poster.

I'm still high over that.

But I've been sent cruelly crashing down to earth by the announcement that tonight's concert is cancelled!!!

WTF.

Beyond beyond beyond!

Wow, it has been a Beyond fever fortnight.

At work, everyday has been mind numbingly, frighteningly full of figures, numbers, Excel, SAP, DWH, formulas, etc. Normally what gets me through the day is being able to very quietly listen to my beloved Beyond.

Top 5 rock bands in the world. Ever.

But my new colleague YP has turned out to be a v v knowledgeable and enthusiastic Beyond band as well, and she knows all the old songs as well, even songs that r terribly obscure that no true Beyond fan would know. So I’ve been able to ramp up my volume a tad, which makes for a good working environment. It’s always good to work with someone who also likes the same songs you listen to while working.

Then I found out that for one of the videos they used on Astro to raise money for the earthquake victims, they used a Beyond song as the theme!!! They just changed the lyrics, and all the HK artistes, the notable who’s who, all sang in it, even those who were criticised incessantly by Beyond. And this is 15 years after the demise of WKK.

Talk about lasting effect right? And then the other day, my friend who don’t really listens to Chinese songs, smsed me telling me he caught himself actually listening to and bopping along to and humming to a Beyond song on radio.

That was awesome. Converting friends, and knowing that even today they still play their tracks on radio. Very warm.

Ledailah

Music tastes are subjective. Thats my disclaimer.

It seems to me that in this modern era, it is very rare to encounter a classic, enduring, timeless love song. Of course, there ARE some, and there are others that are made special by their associations. Fair enough.

Once upon a time, when I was young-ER, I was of course filled with idealistic dreams. I picked up the guitar, and realized I took to it much faster than others, like a fish to guitar. With a little practice, I had gone further than others who took much longer. Also, perhaps with my up-to-Grade 3 piano training, I had a slight ear for this stuff. And some other reasons. But I harboured dreams of being a professional player. We started our own band, and we had fun, just a few guitars and no drums. It was purely for fun. On the surface. But inside, I always thought, wouldn't it be great, to be a travelling musician, or to be part of a successful band.

We went busking, just a coupla times, and it was great fun.

Eventually of course, the girl of the moment drilled it into me that it would never pay the bills, if I travelled, the distance would be too great for her, and that I was too much of a romantic and I better settle down and get serious with my career.

So I relented. Partly because also I saw the logic of her points. However, I have still always loved the guitar, my guitar, and I remember once upon a time, I hugged it to sleep. It means a lot to me, especially when I decide to play a song on it for someone. Coz then I'm not doing it for myself myself.

Anyhow, suddenly I feel an inspiration to play a song for a certain someone. Thought of this a lil while, but don't know what song to play. Finally, I have found it. But I am very nervous, and my fingers and hands are very shaky, bcause I haven't touched the guitar for .. 3 years or so. So, wish me well.

- - -

Corsica

So a friend introduced me to this website right?
Where its like…I searched for a couple of songs and its like got its own AI intelligence thing. It popped up on the side this recommended list of songs to suit my tastes.

That’s what I’d like to believe. Maybe true maybe not.

Point is… all the songs were good! Sitting here, work thoroughly taking a backseat, moving v slowly, stupid smile on my face.

Rosenstolz, Debelah Morgan, Van Morrison, esp my beloved Van Morrison.

Reminds me of those days in Rowden White, in btw classes, popping in for a nap, or propping myself on the cushions re-reading Tintin, listening to Van Morrison, among all the other trapped in the 70s/80s students with their retro clothing.

They even got ‘Amours Interdits’, the first classical song I learnt on the guitar! How did they know this is exactly the song I want to listen to now? And Paul Weller…this site is scary. It reads my mind / mood via my fingertips.

I. Love. Sally.

I went to Sally Yeh's concert in Genting. Who is she?

This is Sally Yeh.



She is intelligent. She is spirited. She is active. She is spunky. She is funny. She is lively. She is warm. She is nice. She is pretty. She can dance. She likes sports. She has character.

  

She can sing and dance to fast songs.



Yet be versatile enough to perform soulful heart warming ballads.



She does up her hair the way I like it. See that high ponytail!? Shudder.



As a kid, I used to hear a lot of her songs thanks to my mother being a big fan. So when I heard she was coming down, I decided to surprise my mum and then drove her up to Genting for Sally's concert. She was fantastic!!! She was very funny, joking non stop, witty jokes, and poking fun at her husband. Her singing is v good, as she can sing just as well as Whitney Houston (she covered I Will Always Love You), Celine, Memory from Cats, and Ricky Martin's Livin La Vida Loca, among others.

She grew up in Canada, so she is very Western oriented, and speaks English with a very sexy accent. Her Cantonese is also spoken in a very sexy accent. She can't read or write Chinese, relying on people to translate the Chinese characters into phoenetics. Like me! At her concert, I could feel her genuine warmth, her niceness. And to top it off, her crowd engagement is fabulous. She asks them up on stage to dance with her, to hug her, to sing with her, she goes down from the stage and marches AROUND the arena, AMONG the audience, right in the midst of them. Which star does that? I've been to a few concerts in my time and none have done that. OK. Enough gushing.

Her love songs are RIGHT UP THERE. So it was great to just sit there...and bask in memories as the music washed over me. Then I realized someone nearby was waving distracting stuff and I looked over and my mum was waving the yellow giant hands they gave out. She was really enjoying it.

Thats my mum.


And this is me.




A great night.

Falling Into You

Tying in with the previous post...this is a sort of continuation.

[Tribute to C.D.]

People nowadays do not know what are great love songs. There is nothing being churned out on commercial
radio that can beat the 80s and 90s. Nothing. In the 80s and 90s we had Diana Ross, Roxette, Streisand, just to
name but a few. People nowadays attribute love songs to...what, Justin Timber 'show me your boobs Janet' lake?
Or perhaps Lavigne's (who has grown up to become a very fine young lady ahem gosh those thighs) 'Girlfriend'.
Come on. Nothing there.

Romance. That 'something' feeling you get in the pit of your stomach, when your heart leaps and misses a beat.
Some songs, for me, just quite accurately captures that feeling. Of course, we have to remember this is
subjective. It depends quite heavily on:

- who you heard it with
- what you felt when you heard it
- the circumstances

And these are all variables that differ from person to person. But for me, inspite of whatever flak Celine Dion has received from other people, she is still 1 of my all time fav solo artistes. It frustrates me that she is always left
out of convos, even though she has great songs, and one of the top vocal abilities ever. But nvm...my little
secret it shall remain. There are her well known numbers, such as:

- Immortality, her collab with the Bee Gees
- Let's Talk About Love
- I'm your angel, her collav with R Kelly (the paedophile!)
- The Power of Love, better than the original version
- Because You Loved Me
- My Heart Will Go On, infamous, thks to Leo & Kate
- The Prayer, with Bocelli

But who knows of her less well known numbers? I'm not talking about her French songs. Most people manage at 
most a couple of decent love songs. But C.D. is 1 of those people
who can consistently churn out that kind of song, and right here I'm referring to 1 of my all time fav albums,
'Falling Into You'. They make me close my eyes, and transport me to a very dreamy and special place...'Dreamin
Of You'...'I Love You'...'I Don't Know'...'If Thats What It Takes'...'Call The Man'...'To Love You More'...'Falling Into You'...'Fly'...

Brings back lots of memories too. Ahh...there was SY, the korean girl whose English was as bad as my korean, and
we had much laughter translating english and korean songs to each other, but ultimately, it was doomed as the
strongest understanding we had was to her mother's korean cooking. Encapsulating love songs aside, its time to 
stop, sigh, shut the book, and step out of the house into the grim world again, and for the moment, switch off
my MediaPlayer, and lock away my treasured emotion teleportation devices, to be used again another time when
the occasion calls for it.

Music Heals the (angry) soul

Left work at 11..that makes it a ..16 hour work day. Its been a while since I did that. Surprisingly, I feel v happy about it. Not at all unhappy. But when I got back, I was quite drained...so decided to arrange the lighting in my
room a certain way...using a combo of curtains, candlelamp n windows media player's screensaver.. then decided to select some songs that I could lie down and relax to. 

So I was trolling through me archives...and stumbled across a folder called "My fav soundtrack songs". A stash of some of my fav n most inspiring songs, from memorable soundtracks from memorable films.

Spent quite some time lying down dumbly listening to them and letting myself 
immerse in the nostalgia, sentiment & memories they brought back as an occasional tear rolled down the cheek.. bits n pieces of my past experiences unfolding in my mind as I watched the events unfold/replay, almost like a spectator watching a slide show on a big screen projector.

I'm sharing parts of my playlist. Funny how many of them involve the piano.

1. Love Theme (piano version) from "Romeo & Juliet" OST.
2. Only Time from "Sweet November" by Enya.
3. Amelie Theme Song (piano version) from "Amelie" OST, by Yann Tiersen.
4. Walking In The Air, from "The Snowman", by Howard Blake.
5. Main Theme Song, from "The Last Emperor", by David Byrne.
6. Parting (piano version), from "Rurouni Kenshin" anime, by Samurai X.
7. Theme (violin & piano), from "The Soong Sisters", by Kitaro.
8. Main Theme, "from Braveheart" OST, by James Horner.
9. Main Theme, from "Bicentennial Man" OST, by James Horner.
10. Main Theme, from "Legends of the Fall" OST, by James Horner.

Do enjoy. But please do not indulge in so much piracy.

Flames to dust..Lovers to friends..

[Listening to - Nelly Furtado: All Good Things Come To An End]

Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end

How true...and how infinitely sad...shan't elaborate anymore.

Nelly Furtado is getting better and better isn't she? There's Maneater. There's Promiscuous. And another top
fav.."Say It Right".



And now, "All Good Things Come To An End", with its haunting melody. So good it made me grab my guitar
and play it non stop 5 times. Crazy huh...Each song evoking a totally different mood & feel. Switching between genres with ease. 

And she is beautiful and sexy in a non conventional way. Being a madfan of Coldplay, I couldn't resist sticking in this collab b/w Chris Martin and Nelly - who has some great shots in this video.



There's several versions for download...make sure you get the one with Chris Martin (different from the one on the YouTube v-clip). For more clips to her live performance/MTV, youtube it.

my 90s classics (90s hits)

can't sleep, again.

just came back from a 20 min jog, took a shower and was lying in bed listening to my folder "my 90s classics", and hearing old favourites like Duncan Sheik, Eagle Eye Cherry, White Town, Jars of Clay, Fountains of Wayne, INXS, Toni Braxton etc just brought back loads of old memories...

times of halloween dances, christmas balls, valentines dances, where we'd scramble to find that one girl we were interested in, in the hopes of convincing her for a dance when the music turned slow.

yea, those were the days. when life was slower, when everything was fun.



i love our 90s music. i remember when hitzfm first came out, and they used to play Hanson, The Cardigans, kci n jojo, garbage, meredith brooks..and how i hugged the radio to sleep.



sigh... i miss the 90s.

Muse

VG: alex, i got 2 free tickets to go to Muse's concert. do you want to go? i am not going.
Me: huh? wow...nola...dont take ppls things...
VG: its FREE...go!
Me: (checks with other friend..yep she is going..ok so i wont be going alone..) OK la..thanks.

huh who is this Muse? I only know Starlight. so i ask a friend who hangs his hat on his 'updateness'.

so this hopeless friend told me 2 things:

1) muse = rock band
2) download super massive black hole.

so armed with my newfound extreme wealth of muse knowledge, the big evening rolled along and i got dressed. wasnt sure what to wear, and settled on something conservative - rolled up sleeved button up shirt and jeans. (shit, getting old).

this reminded me of those times (not that many unfortunately) when i was in melb, and i'd get a call 'ah-liks, get ready NOW!!!' and then my friend would rock up, and we'd hop in his car and head 
to another friend's place, where the whole bunch would be decking each other out in fancy gear.
this includes the requisite makeup, super hard spikey gelled hair in multi color, leather jackets n
tight black polyester/faux leather pants with studs/loops/metal/chain, etc. the most far out i ever had the balls to go was eyeliner and either a borrowed leather jacket or my glow in the dark raver shirts. we'd listen to loud music to psyche ourselves up.

then we'd drive over, imbibe alcohol, go to some suburb, down some dingy back alley laden with graffiti, into some neatly tucked away in the corner building that looks like some small abandoned warehouse (some still got stuff there like tyres hahaha) and the music b blasting man. a short while later (very short, if u take Absolut neat), with the strong smell of prohibited happy happy substances in the air, we'd be banging along happily and hugging equally intoxicated friendly strangers. ahh...guess 
none of em bands ever made it to the big time.

anyway muse concert was good! [THIS is my concert companion's better account of the night. Mind you she is a bit weird so please forgive her] .the music was ULTRA F#$#$ good! i guess being live, and kudos to stadium negara's (which isnt bad rock concert venue actually) sound system. i expected the fans to be teeny boppers but no, the crowd wasnt. the fact 
i was sitting was a bit restrictive coz the music was so good i jus wanted to hurdle the barriers n rush over to the pits, unveil my smuggled in Absolut (i wish!), whip out my Dunhills, and make happy happy with friendly strangers ... [wistful look].

instead, i couldnt take it near the end n ran up to join a bunch of Mat Rocks wearing Muse T shirts at the above railings and we swayed, smoked, headbanged a bit, and gave each other the thumbs up.

ah...I'm a Muse fan already.

OK,ok, here you go. I'm nice.

Well, not to say I've exactly been flooded with fanmail.
But I have received a couple of requests for the X Japan videos and all that...I guess my links on my prev (very emotional) post weren't obvious enough. You could partly blame my IE for that (I had earlier mistakenly attributed the problem to YouTube). 
Now that I have switched back to my other browser (Opera, which is fanfuckingtastic), I can embed videos again! OK. 

So, I've got a couple here...some of which are the same as before. Unfortunately, among the good ones I have on MPEG, these are the ones I can find on YouTube.

If you are a Hide fan, you can't miss it. Part of Hide's tribute video.



The following was the performance by Yoshiki (piano) & Toshi (vocals, albeit in an imperfect voice due to crying perhaps) of Forever Love at Hide's funeral. 




And this one is the actual performance in concert of Forever Love by X Japan. It is self evident from here why X Japan is so well received. Toshi's tortured singing really carries the song, and its obvious from here what he meant when he said he needed to be very sad and emotional in order to sing X Japan's songs.




A photoalbum accompanied by Tears. Written by Yoshiki for his father, he later rededicated it to Hide, and added some lines to the end. This video shows why we love Hide.



Endless Rain. The song is brilliant, but the video is worthy because of Toshi's Chinese-Opera-Man-Pretend-To-Be-Woman looks.




This is the news report in Japan of Hide's funeral, and was also shown over CNN




OK...I promise, no more X Japan self indulgent posts for some time.
Yoshiki.  Hide.

Oshiete ikiru imi o

Oshiete ikiru imi o ... [Translations below]

Is this really the life you want? If you could live the life you wanted, is this it? I made a major momentous life altering decision recently. One of the many I have made and will continue needing to make throughout my life, no doubt. In doing so, I effectively killed a major part of me, a part which I have suppressed for the longest time, and upon reflection, has manifested itself occasionally in ways that I should keep private. Bear in mind though its nothing illegal/perverted!

In saying bye to this major part of me, I decided to dedicate these few days to indulge in as much as I reasonably can to that lifestyle I will be leaving behind by and by. I have to leave behind my university days. But for now, I will re-live those times wherever possible n come my re-entry into civilization n work, I will move with a clearer sense of purpose, where slightly more clarity in my life direction will be obtained.

[ I will try to live with love, with dreams, and forever, with tears. - Yoshiki, Tears, X - Japan ]

Stumbling upon my stash of X Japan memorabilia, I was suddenly struck by a sudden revival of my crazy for X Japan phase in university. Since I am saying goodbye to the dreams I held then, and only hold onto the memories, I shall indulge in the whole sensation, to recapture the feelings. Goodbye dreams...

YouTube seems to be giving problems..can't embed the videos. No problem, check this one out...Forever Love. I promise you won't be disappointed. I remember sitting street side one evening somewhere along Nicholson St. with HK and FL and the sun about to set, as we sipped our soy lattes in silence, dreaming of the endless tomorrows, with the slight drizzle coming down, and FL's portable speakers playing this song as accompaniment to our thoughts...and when it ended how we got up in silence, toasted with our lattes, and swore never to betray ourselves.

And how can we forget Tears, the song that literally moves you to tears...it was written by Yoshiki for his dad (who committed suicide when Yoshiki was just 10) and it totally resonated with me, who lost my dad at 5. It inspired me to grab my guitar, sit down, figure out the chords, and, guitar in hand, cycle down to the park in the night, playing and feeling the cold sting from the wind whipping against the few drops of tears running down my cheeks..please check out the link..I can't post MPEG files here. Its the best video ever, even if you aren't an X Japan fan. You can really FEEL the spirit of being in a band, of being an X fan.

No mention of X Japan is complete without the third of their most famous and commercialized triumvirate of hits..Endless Rain. Ahh...the Sundays spent waking up, with the rain pattering against the window panes, the cold sneaking up on your toes, and waking up to the sound of Endless Rain playing softly on the laptop..somehow the playlist timing is always such. And, humming along to .."madoromi dakishimete..[hold me warmly in your arms] " as I stretch and ponder the gloriously long day stretched ahead of me, full of possibilities. And then I kick off the doona, and hop off the bed as Toshi goes "Endless rain, fall on my heart kokoro no kizu ni (in this wounded soul)".

Toshi, the legendary genius singer, who can go up to 4 octaves. His voice and style of singing infuses X Japan's ballads with a haunting, mesmerising and inspiring quality.

Our beloved Hide...the flamboyant guitar genius..though he was technically sound, his strength was in using simple notes to convey across emotions at the right moment. HIDE! When you took your life, you took more than your own. Hide was the glue who held the band together. Upon his demise in 1998, Yoshiki disbanded the group.

Yoshiki..the genius behind it all. How many times he has inspired me to live my life according to my heart, his words, his music, tears the deepest part of you that you have buried inside, and pulls it right out into the open for a face to face confrontation.

X Japan...the band who touched a generation..you will forever live on in us.

- - - - -

Omae wa motomete irun darou

What do YOU want from life? What lifestyle choice will you make? It is not going to be easy. Accept that there are prices to pay. And when it its time to move on, move on.

- - - - - -

Translations:

Oshiete ikiru imi o = Teach me how to live (Yoshiko, Forever Love, X Japan)

Omae wa motomete irun darou = What do you want (Yoshiki, Orgasm, X Japan)

There..I'm on YouTube. Your Turn.

I never turn down a ‘sensible’ (i.e. within certain limits) challenge or dare. It’s my competitive nature (of which I am very) and the result of my over-abundance of competitive juices (which normally lies dormant until I get put into a sports situation).

So, I and SOME PEOPLE (you guys/girls know who you are) were talking about various things, and we ended up talking about dares, and silly stuff. Such as me posting a video of myself on YouTube.

“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Damn…don’t say that.”
“No seriously. You wouldn’t dare. You don’t have balls for it. You are not a very big size guy anyway so your balls also not very big hahaha”
“Heck, now you getting personal man! Fine, I will do it, and then I get to dare you on something else!”
“You won’t dare!”

Apparently, some people, after knowing me for many years, still don’t really know me. If you think I am not capable of it, and given the task is a sensible non life endangering and criminal one, I will surely go for it.

And thus I’m gonna go for it even [WARNING:EXCUSES COMING UP] if I have been quite sick and coughing badly and lack of guitar practice and most likely will make several mistakes. So… here goes! You suckers… I win. Now its your turn. [Disclaimer: I really been out of practice and I made several mistakes haha and went off pitch too but fuck you!]

That’s me, with my rendition of Oasis – Don’t Look Back in Anger.

And...you said I wouldnt dare to do one in Chinese too right? Well, I know my Mandarin sucks, and I can't speak/pronounce it well/cant read/write it...but the Mandarin song is coming..

Hate Me

---

[Listening to..Blue October - Hate Me]

---

About 6-7 months ago...I first heard this song during an exceedingly tumultuous time in my then rship.

Everything fit so well. Really loved it to bits. Been meaning to figure out the guitar chords myself. Of course, sometimes, when I want quick wins, I just go and search for the damn chords online, but, if I really like the song, I will try to first figure it out on my own. Its just so much more meaningful, satisfying and nicer when I do figure it out. But I've never gotten round to doing it for Hate Me. But just now, after hearing a dear friend's heartfelt outpouring of his sorrows...when I got home.. I was inspired to pick up the 'tar and figure it out. Here it is...the fruits of 30 mins of labor..(searched for the lyrics online heh SOME cheating is ok dont b so strict)

Blue October - Hate Me - Transcribed by Alex

G
I have to block out thoughts of you

so I dont lose my head
Em
they crawl in like a cockroach

leaving babies in my bed
C
Dropping little reels of tape

To remind me that I'm alone
D
Playing movies in my head

That make a porno feel like home

G
There's a burning in my pride

A nervous bleeding in my brain
Em
And ounce of peace is all I want for you

Will you never call again

C
And will you never say that you loved me

Just to put it in my face
D
Will you never try to reach me

It is I that wanted space

G
Hate Me today
Em
Hate me tomorrow
C D G
Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you

G
I'm sober now for 3 whole months

It's one accomplishment that you helped me with
Em
The one thing that always tore us apart

Is the one that I won't touch again

C
In a sick way I want to thank you

For holding my head up late at night
D
While I was busy waging wars on myself

You were trying to stop the fight

G
You never doubted my warped opinions

On things like suicide or hate
Em
You made me compliment myself

When it was way too hard to take
C
So I'll drive so fucking far away

That I never cross your mind
D
And do whatever it takes in your heart

To leave me behind

G
Hate Me today
Em
Hate me tomorrow
C
Hate me for all the things
D Em
I didn't do for you

G
Hate me in ways
Em
Yeah ways hard to swallow
C D G
Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you

C D
And with a sad heart I say bye to you and wave
G Em
I'm kicking shadows on the street for every mistake that I had made
C D
And like a baby boy I never was a man
G Em
Til I saw your blue eyes cry and I held your face in my hand

C D
And then I found I'm yelling make it go away
G Em
just make a smile come back and let it shine just like it used to be
C D
And then she whispered "how can you do this to me?"

G
Hate Me today
Em
Hate me tomorrow
C
Hate me for all the things
D Em
I didn't do for you
G
Hate me in ways
Em
Yeah ways hard to swallow
C D G
Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you

ps: BTW if anyone can figure out the Lasse Lindh song's guitar chords for the middle section (highlighted) pls email me THKS:

but it's worth it, i love the thrill
come, come, come

My most beloved

My most beloved...

You have accompanied me through so many lonely nights
You kept me company when I first went overseas, pensive and thoughtful in my room
You helped to draw me out and made me realize what I loved about life
You helped me to discover parts of myself I never knew and others would never believe existed
You enabled me to mingle well with strangers
You were the one I hugged to sleep
You were right beside me as I changed from a high school boy to the young man I now am
You never complained or made any noise when I neglected you
You patiently waited until you were relevant to me again
You allowed me to do whatever I want with you, and when I hurt you, I felt the pain myself
You have not grown older with the years.. just more and more .. MINE.

My beloved Yamaha C 40... I first laid eyes on you when I was in Year 8, when the music teacher insisted that we all learnt guitar, & then made us perform Colors of the Wind as our test.

So I went to Subang Parade to buy my guitar. And...now I am 24 years old. Thats a 10 year relationship, where you stood by me through thick and thin.

You listened to me sing and yet played along. I've already changed your strings like a gazillion times. From learning and playing Eric Clapton, oldies and goodies, to Sugar Ray, Coldplay, Beyond, Travis, Lass Lindh, Lonestar, Five, Beatles, Elvis, etc etc...

Recently my guitar's 4th string broke. Which I didnt realize. So after picking up the guitar for the first time in ages n ages...after some adjustments..the 4th string was reinstalled, but later snapped. I just fixed in my new 4th string. Works like a charm. And without further ado, I quickly ripped off a few songs. Just to sharpen my fingers.. Eagles - Desperado, Metallica - Nothing Else Matters, Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved.

The best guitarists in the world are non mainstream. U2's The Edge is not bad, but I still think Morrison, Paisley, Hendrix, Clapton, Django Reinhardt etc etc...are THE best.

OK..time for bed! 4 15am already!

Incestuous Colleagues

I don't get it.

Wouldn't they feel awkward next day?!

Last night, was the company annual dinner. After that we proceeded to Velvet. And then, I saw my colleagues touching feeling each other up and down, dirty dancing and the likes.

Hmmm....

OK, the girls look good. I give them that, granted, and, nobody would believe me if I said otherwise so mights well just get it out.

But I found it weird that the colleagues could .. do all that.. and then.. go back to work in a professional setting nxt wk and face each other and be all normal.

This guy from HR... was soo professional when he hired me...he had my respect. But now that we've been out a few times and his true self has surfaced...my opinion of him has changed drastically. Just goes to show how one should never judge based on first second or even third impressions. And news spreads fast as well.. once a sleazebag..alwiz stuck with that label..

. . . . . . .

Incestuous colleagues aside...have just got to say that in the entire night, the last 1 hour was the best part..when I disappeared from the bunch of sweaty roving bodies n hands and ran off to the mainroom..thank god for H, G, KT and the gang...how can any1 dance to RnB? please!

btw i mean for guys ok. girls, i totally understand (and dig it as well).

but c'mon guys.. standing there...not doing much.. not moving much..shake 1 arm here... shake 1 leg there... and, for some others, cop a feel here...cop a feel there...no feel la wei

but with trance...u can just stand/sit there n ENJOY THE MUSIC..the BEAT...the BASS...got pattern ok.. got timing...cannot simply stand there shake a bit like RnB...its dynamic.. its fast.. its aggressive.. its physical.. its violent...u get swinging elbows and an odd kick...step step step.. whole body gets worked up.. ur in ur own world..u express woteva...can jus retreat to ur own lil corner.. hide there..and .. do ur thing...with the BASS. now thats real dancing - the rest are just wannabes.

. . . . . . . . . .

TechnoAhBengFreak-The Reawakening - Dedication to Trance

Christopher Lawrence.

A FUCKING GOOD BASS BEAT.

DEEP STRONG POWERFUL THUMPS THAT invades your every fibre and forces its way into your head and expands til there is nothing else in existence.

Space to move.

Lights. The blinking flashing rapid on/off white lights that is perfect for the robot dance.

Colorful strobes.

Happy people.

Strangers smiling laughing hugging.

A good tune.

Since Ruums changed management (ew yuck to their new programmes) some time ago, life has not been the same.

Instead of my occassional sojournes there to feel alive, now I find myself (on rare occasions) being restless and yearning for something to make me get THAT feeling again. THAT feeling is something indescribable, something very magic.

THAT feeling:

- Can only be gotten from the adrenaline and rush I feel when I'm out there,
- Trance/harddance/good techno (please, no soundtracks infused with a bass).

There is something indescribably fucking fun when you have had:

- A few (preferably more) drinks
- Ciggies (Dunhill Buttons for me only please),
- Deep deep solid bass pounding in my ears
- The vibrations from the speakers on my skin, the sweat, the heat, the adrenaline running through my body, and I just move move move...just have to move.. the music does not allow you to stay still.
- Music is like a persistent friend, it cajoles coaxes caresses and finally pulls u off your comfortable spot right smack onto the floor and before you know it your hands and legs have taken on a life of its own.

. . . . . . .

It all started a long time ago...Aish...I miss those pure times...the togetherness one feels when raving. Nobody gives a shit if u can dance/rave. Of course if you can dance well you get cheers but if you don't no issue! Ppl wore all sorts of different phats as a means of self expression and outlet of creativity, not like towards the end where it was see who has the most expensive/trying to one up each other. Aih...DOME...those dance til 7am emerge staggering into the sunlight don't even realize toes are cracked, skin under feet is like shredded, shoes also more or less destroyed, and feet aching and sometimes got blood... and u never realize all this til the music stops. Admittedly I never went much...but the times I did.. were great. Strangers hugging, laughing, welcoming, dancing together, unlike now where its about attn hogging grabbing the limelight n trying to one up each other. Shudder. Mostly, I went commercial, like QBH, Sirens etc...but it was still fun.

But then..haha...time to 'grow up' and 'focus on studies' [yea right]...haha...took a hiatus. Til I discovered Ruums. But now its gone.

THEN. Last night. After the company annual dinner... off we went to Velvet...dunno...of late I really really cant stand RnB anymore...RnB was so...I don't know.. 'last time', for lack of a better word. Its only good if you want to feel up girls. Really. Which I am so not into. I go clubbing to CLUB. Not to pick up girls or get cheap thrills. Too much pride for that. So.. midway into the night... received SMS from H and gang at zouk mainroom...woot! Glanced at my colleagues standing around me in various states of sleaziness and fun...didnt want to interrupt anyone... RAN off to zouk..and...had the best time I have had in a v berry long time!

Trance and Techno - May we always worship at the altar of your bass.

Music = Time Travel Device

"The Blowers Daughter"

And so it is
Just like you said it would be
Life goes easy on me
Most of the time
And so it is
The shorter story
No love, no glory
No hero in her sky

I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes...

And so it is
Just like you said it should be
We'll both forget the breeze
Most of the time
And so it is
The colder water
The blower's daughter
The pupil in denial

Damien Rice

One of my fav songs...it is from the OST to "Closer" (a brilliant movie, with Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law)

Isn't it funny how our mood would be THIS one moment, and completely sway over to THAT in just one instant, and all it takes to achieve this dramatic swing, would be a song?

You'd be happily whistling and whatnot and then a certain song, which carries with it certain memories, would start playing, and next thing you know, you are feeling kind of emotional, you don't feel like singing anymore, and your head is flooded with associated memories of a different time and place, and, it is as if you are seeing the actors in your memories like you are watching them on a black and white silent projector all alone in ur dark basement. And it is funny that while the person you are watching being projected (yourself) seems happy and laughing in there, the same person now watching it (you) are feeling sad instead.

Life is funny like that sometimes. Fate likes to play tricks on us.

I was dropping off someone after work today, and was happily going on my way home, when the CD in the car switched tracks...instantly, my cheerfulness vanished, and nostalgia took over, big time. Perhaps it was the combination of the rain pelting down against the window, the darkening sky and the contrast against the headlights of cars caught in the jam in the rain...

There I was, just coming off work, caught in a rain and jam, sitting in the car, but my mind was far away...

Its a combination, I guess, of the lyrics, the music, and most of all, the place/time/person you were with when you first heard that song...

{Note to self: Must..not..be..weak}

A Musical Blog...

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Listening to: Suzanne Ciani - Anthem

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Always read the fine print. This is the fine print. Please do not proceed unless you are a music afficionado. If you do not count yourself as one, pray stop reading and go and do something with your time that would make you happier than reading the below.

Words make you think a thought.
Music makes you feel a feeling.
A song makes you feel a thought.

- EY Harburg (Edgar Yipsel) 1898 - 1981

Ahh...how meaningful. And true. Music; the right song at the right time, can so swiftly transport us to a place in the annals of our memories, into our dreams of the future, into our dreams and imaginations...the power to make us laugh, cry, become 16 again, feel inspired, feel sad, feel pumped up. So powerful it has been used in all sorts of situations to provoke and create an emotion. From Mao's Red Guards propaganda, to movie themes, in romantic restaurant settings, to military pride, from funerals, to weddings, to proposals...

---

Music expresses that which cannot be put
into words, and that which cannot remain
silent.

Victor Hugo

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Have you ever felt like feeling something, but not being able to express in words what this something is, and you hear a song, and you go, thats exactly it! Last night, I was at Alexis at Jln Ampang [more on that in future posts] when my companions talked about love, and the convo drifted to how I knew I loved my gf. Well, love is a very deep and wide topic, studied debated pondered experienced doubted hoped over the last few millenia. I am not so pompous as to claim an understanding of the subject - I would fail abjectly, and, I do not understand the subject as well as I would like to. I myself have many reasons for daring to claim that I like my gf very much, and what I felt to be as close to that 4 letter word as it can get. But back to music. So when they asked me, one thing that fluttered through my birdbrained mind was that Elvis Presley song, Are You Lonesome Tonight. Of course, it was a bit too embarassing (I have ego issues but I am honest see) to admit this publicly. But it got me thinking...how me and her have 'our' songs, and things like that. I think, well, if we are no longer together, how would I feel, how would I be able to take it? Well, this one isn't an 'our' song, but when I hear it, it comes pretty close to how I would describe what I'd feel in the above situation.

Are you lonesome tonight,
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a brighter sunny day
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?
Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?

I wonder if youre lonesome tonight
You know someone said that the worlds a stage
And each must play a part.
Fate had me playing in love you as my sweet heart.
Act one was when we met, I loved you at first glance
You read your line so cleverly and never missed a cue
Then came act two, you seemed to change and you acted strange
And why Ill never know.
Honey, you lied when you said you loved me
And I had no cause to doubt you.
But Id rather go on hearing your lies
Than go on living without you.
Now the stage is bare and Im standing there
With emptiness all around
And if you wont come back to me
Then make them bring the curtain down.

Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?

---

Pause.

*Regains composure*

OK. Anyway. I am listening to Suzanne Ciani now. Some of her better ones are Anthem, Italia, Mozart, Berceuse, & The Velocity of Love. And it just got me all emo all of a sudden. See, back when I first arrived in Melb (Feb 2000), at the tender age of 17, almost right out of high school, I was in this period of 'like-to-be-by-myself-for-long-stretches-of-time-to-think' phase. And, for a whacko kid who was undergoing rapid change mentally physically and in new surroundings etc (being not a very particularly articulate kid - still am not) I dealt with my don't-know-how-to-handle emotions the best way I knew (then) how. I turned to music, majorly. So Suzanne Ciani brings back memories of me, fresh, naive n untainted, after dinner, sitting alone in the little patio outside my little room, in the night, with the soft yellow light, in the dark night of winter, pondering this and that.

---

Where words fail, music speaks.

Hans Christien Anderson

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Its interesting sometimes, how long forgotten (pushed deep back into the far recesses of the mind to clear up memory for more immediate everyday usage requirements) memories [how ironic - you clear up memory for memories by deleting memories] can be summoned up like that *snaps fingers*.

When I hear songs, especially the main theme (John Barry), of the OST from Out of Africa, I get goosebumps. I see, in front of me, as if I am viewing in the third person, me, 16 years old, hearing it for the first time, sitting side by side with my best friend in his house, sitting relaxed, arms clutching the chairs, heads leaned back, eyes shut, just soaking and basking in it. And I am struck by how innocent we used to be, and when I think back to all that we have both encountered, and where we both are now, I physically feel my heart ache a little bit for the lost innocence. I miss that part of my life. I miss that friendship we had. I must take some responsibility for allowing things to change. But change they must, for WE change. But he has always been, STILL is, and will always remain, my best friend.

---

Great music is that which penetrates the ear with facility
and leaves the memory with difficulty. Magical music
never leaves the memory

Sir Thomas Beecham

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Another good one is the OST from Last of The Mohicans. THIS is one you ABSOLUTELY cannot miss. I was reminded of it when I read a friend's blog today. Good taste, N. Get the Celtic Instrumental, Enya-Promontory, and James Horner's theme.

This James Horner, he is everywhere! If you can, get his themes for Bicentennial Man, Braveheart (I bet the movie is half as good without the OST) and Legends of the Fall (the beginning is to die for..it is so good that even its ahbeng-techno-fied version is decent).

- - - - - - - -

If we don't talk about musical teleportation through time, and just letting ourselves soak in the sounds...you won't be far off the mark with the Three Tenors. Andrea Bocelli is not far behind, but just listen to his version of the aria Nessun Dorma of Puccini's Turandot and compare it to Pavarotti's. Seriously, Nessun Dorma itself is a masterpiece regardless by who, but Luciano's is a slight class above; his voice, and.. I won't go into it. This is subjective, and I'm sure you can draw your own tastes.

But like good food, where you bring your friends to go to to share in heavenly gastronomical delights, good music must be shared too. "Volare", a classic, sounds good by the Gypsy Kings' Latin version. Very good in fact. But for a different, operatic, and just as good take, listen to Pavarotti's version. His pronunciation of 'Volare..ohhh'...phooey. Another one would be Le Donna E Mobile, also by him.

Ahh the power of music.

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Music is the outburst of the soul

Frederick Deluis

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Can just sit back in the chair in the dark room.. air cond... a glass of my fav dessert wine [Brown Brothers Orange Muscat], head thrown back...and letting the sounds wash over me. THIS is why you invest in a good sound system.

Did you watch Diane Lane and Oliver Martiniez and Richard Gere in 'Unfaithful'?

Disturbing as the show was [but DL looked pretty good for a 36 year old!], there is a song there that is really good, and perfect for, um, setting 'moods'. Love the track...its called 'Ai Du' by Ali Farke Toure.


Back in Melbourne, after a hard day's work, coming home, dimming the lights, pouring myself a drink (Whisky on ice preferably, a habit I picked up during university where I often stayed up alone late into the night in my room trying to make the programming coding more elegant) isolating myself from the world, and sitting at my window with my feet out, maybe having a smoke or 2... those were the moments...playing my tracks...another good one is 'Mondo Bongo' by Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros (from Mr & Mrs Smith OST) and 'Lay Lady Lay' by Magnet.

OK I have revealed some of my all time favourites..there's more but I should go to sleep now. Its 12am, I got some work to prepare for tomorrow, and I have to wake at 6am in order to get to work for something.. but its OK..sharing is caring.. = )

To be continued...