The Shins - something about everything

After the last Norah post and an unplanned discourse on masculinity issues on this blog (which is at a historical low at the moment), zhu and I agreed we need to turn our attention to the non-female side of musicdom, males and Martians qualify. And so this post seems well called for and very appropriate to me (all smug), since our other problem, besides having polarized ear-brain connection that respond all too strongly to female sounds and little else, is that we tend to blog about artists we already take every opportunity to rave to each other about anyway (we here refers to two nutcases that’s zhu and me, but anyone is welcome to join the collective, non-extant *grin* emoticon). Blogging is hence just making babbling a little more coherent (and less scandalous) and take it to the next level. I say we do something about the growing list of each of our new favourites, now.

aww these guys ain't glamorous rock-star looking, I know, but they rock!

The Shins is a relatively new and extremely delightful new find of mine (though the band started way back in 1997 as Flake Music.) My shame at my slowness is slightly mitigated by the fact that the indie band’s profile was greatly boosted when two of their tracks were featured on the critically acclaimed 2004 indie film Garden State (Zach Braff, Natalie Portman), which I love, and which was how their sounds first reached my nerve endings a year ago. Since then they have become an absolute favourite.

As to their sounds and discography…here is where my musical vocabulary becomes a limiting reagent, so I’ll quote wikipedia instead.

The Shins' first album was 2001's Oh, Inverted World, released to critical acclaim for its lyrically deft, jangly pop sound. Dave Hernandez, former member of Scared of Chaka, joined the group following the departure of bassist Neal Langford. Chutes Too Narrow followed in 2003 to much fanfare in indie music circles, featuring even more multi-layered lyrical inventions and a musical approach that explored new genres, song structures, and levels of production fidelity.

and this bit is fun..

The Shins played a critically acclaimed show at the historic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, with Scotland's Belle and Sebastian on July 6, 2006. Both bands described playing at the venue as a career highlight. During live shows, the band members (particularly Crandall and Hernandez) are known to frequently swap instruments, making it somewhat difficult to define their exact roles in the band.

Oh, Inverted World

Chutes Too Narrow

The exciting news is that their next record, Wincing the Night Away is set for release on January 23, 2007 (soon!!). It was said to have been leaked to the internet but I'm totally waiting for the official release--I'll buy that as the first record in a hiatus of three years not of buying any music. I'll put up a few tracks for you guys to sample when the connection gets better (yelling for help from zhu!). Before that, please contend with this teeny tiny radio. (toothy emoticon =d)



Update: A sample of Young Pilgrim (zhu's pick) and Turn a square (mine) from Chutes Too Narrow is ready here, thanks to zhu! Expires around 7 Jan, old disclaimer apply. =d

New York City - Norah Jones

It’s really not so good an idea to fill your ancient, tiny-capacity MP3 player with Norah and Norah only, and set out on the road, thinking it’d make even the grimmest parts of the journey tender and not without subtle meanings. Especially when it’s an album featuring Norah singing about a labyrinthinely fascinating city that you'd always wanted to see for yourself. Especially when your own travel happens in winter, to harsh, unrelenting places like Chinese tourist destinations. (Of course you can renounce the idea of even bringing a player to drown out all other interesting, real sounds in travel. I got to do that when I am out of battery, which happens pretty often anyway.)

The thing about Norah is that she comforts you like opium. You keep coming back for more. You laugh, you fall into a reverie to the lyrics set to her low, smoky voice, and as you wake up lingeringly you cry, and cycle repeats. It’s subversive in that it could quietly wipe out everything else (N.B.: in emotionally turbulent times), and it's bad travel company exactly because of that. In the small town of Yangshuo, as I sat with newly made friends on the road side watching people and (unmoving) karst rocks and good humouredly chatting, we asked what music we each were listening to on that stretch of the journey. The guys chuckled (in slight embarrassment?) “oh, I know Norah Jones…but I never listen to romantic stuff like that ye know..” (guy’s pick was rock, more or less predictably.) Never occurred to me before that Norah’s music would be described as ‘romantic’, and then I thought, maybe, only girls and women listen to Norah? I personally would feel a little amused imagining a guy transfixed to her music for weeks on end like I sometimes do. Only on reflection did I realize that the subject matters and the perspective of her lyrics, poetic, poignant and at times melancholy, are mostly a very feminine kind. But I’d very much like to see someone disagree. :-P

About this album of New York City (which is actually by the Peter Malick Group featuring Jones)—if you had listened to the other more famous Norah albums (Come Away With Me and Feels Like Home) this one would not disappoint you in the least. The collaboration sees Norah attack the ‘70’s singer/songwriter style country/bluesy’ songs (quoting an unremembered source) with vigor and heart, and the result is that the album has a distinctly different and refreshingly lively feel as compared with the solo efforts. It’s really difficult to pick a favourite to put here, as all six tracks featured are equally great. I’ll just put the title track on YSI first. (coming later due to Taiwan earthquake and my being partially cut off to servers across the ocean..) UPDATE: download here before it expires around 6 Jan. Thanks to zhu for circumventing the problem from north America instead. All material from the web and meant for non-commercial purposes only. =D

New York City

I can't remember what I planned tomorrow
I can't remember when it's time to go
When I look in the mirror
Tracing lines with a pencil
I remember what came before

I wanted to think there was endless love
Until I saw the light dim in your eyes
In the dead of the night I found out
Sometimes there's love that won't survive

New York City
Such a beautiful disease
New York City
Such a beautiful,
Such a beautiful disease

Laura kept all her disappointments
Locked up in a box behind her closet door
She pulled the blinds and listened to the thunder
With no way out from the family store

We all told her things could get better
When you just say goodbye
I'll lay awake one more night
Caught in a vision I want to deny

And did I mention the note that I found
Taped to my locked front door
It talked about no regrets
As it slipped from my hand to the scuffed tile floor

I rode the train for hours on end
And watched the people pass me by
It could be that it has no end
Just an action junkie's lullaby

New York City
Such a beautiful disease
New York City
Such a beautiful,
Such a beautiful disease

We were full of the stuff that every dream rested
As if floating on a lumpy pillow sky
Caught up in the whole illusion
That dreams never pass us by
Came to a tattooed conclusion
That the big one was knocking at the door
What started as a mass delusion
Would take me far from the place I adore

New York City
Such a beautiful disease
New York City
You are my beautiful,
Such a beautiful disease

Salyu

Yes, my first post under the new pinkie sky! First of all, a round of claps for zhu's return haha! Although ukulele's again back to me + jady duo state as it originally started to be, I'm pretty happy with the current layout and contents ^^. (I hope blogger can consider EMOTICONS and a few remotely artistically inclined templates.)



Salyu Salyu! Did I write a post on Salyu before? The wikipedia entry is here, too brief to be informative but I can't add any more details as Salyu is indeed a mystery, a real Lily chou chou walking right out of the movie. Since all of the songs (and most lyrics) are single-handedly composed and written by Takeshi Kobayashi, a well-known composer in Japan for producing brilliant soundtracks for Shunji Iwai's movies, Salyu is a materialization of Kobayashi's ideal of music, a mix of new age, pop and acoustic. Salyu's 'angelic' voice (as most people like to describe it although I think it's more draggy, semi opera and maternal) lifts you high above ground into an imaginary world of wuthering winds (like 'Kaze ni noru fune') or a conundrum of still air, of emptiness. Scary or blissful depending on the situation. Most of her songs have a strong healing power which is reminiscent of Lily chou chou and we all love her for that =D (emoticons please!) We also love her wacky wardrobe and big loving smiles, and how she distorts her facial muscles to the extent we see an over-representation of mouth and too little of eyes! Yes, not to forget her chubbiness!!

Among her singles released so far, my favourites are VALON, Kaze ni noru fune, to U and Platform. All her PVs are superb! I wonder if it's the same director.

Some clips from youtube

Landmark - from 2006 live 'close to you'


VALON1 Live Countdown (lovely makeup!)


Me and Jady's mutual favourite - Kaze ni noru fune


Platform live (First appearance on Music Fighter)


To U - ap Bank fest

Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek

Some random reading in Last.fm on Frou Frou and I read (with great surprise) that FF is a duo and not the name of the singer, right. And then I saw this weird name ranked first in a list of ‘Similar Artists’. Imogen Heap, what a name, but no, didn’t ring a bell. But later when I played the Hide and Seek sample track and heard the first notes, bell ringing big time. (If you are an obsessed follower of So You Think You Can Dance, you definitely will remember this track and/or the goose bump-inducing dance choreographed to it with the dancers in heavy mascara and full black outfits. But I digress) and later still, when I did find a tubie and stared at her bony, strong face for five whole minutes, I jumped from my chair realizing she is Frou Frou. The visible half of FF, anyway, so much for my uncomprehending reading activity. And YES, she went solo and has good projects going. I’m trying to get the albums down now, more to come.



Clip of the SYTYCD dance. Low quality but you get the idea. ;-)

maintenance worker blogging

Well I'm done playing truant for now and here's a report: Blogger has come out of beta officially as of today, and besides the long needed tagging function they also dished out a (yet rudimentary) recent comments in sidebar function too! Boy, aren't they aiming to push the other service providers off the cliff! Hoho... don't mean to make this into a lengthy geek post though, just some excited whistles and I'll snap right back to normal. Anyways. a little deserted this place looks, I wonder how everyone's doing...musically or otherwise. ;-) The last two of fish sama on classical music was just...mind boggling otherworldly and awesome, more more! and I say let's revive it rejuvenate reincarnate rewhatever! (and zhu I want to revamp uku, major itch. =$ shall we?)

Last.fm – the social music revolution

Something I stumbled upon the other day and had since fallen head over heels for. Basically it is a comprehensive music service that allows you to sample clips, see what's recommended and popular with other listeners, and the best part is this small software that runs quietly in the background of the computer, collects information of the music you are listening to, send it to the last.fm server so that personal billboard/radio 'charts-like’ thingie are automatically built up, allowing you (and others) to see weekly/overall top listened artists/tracks, who on the network share similar tastes with you, and other tricks I am still continuing to discover. It currently supports wmp and winamp. My (highly rudimentary) chart now looks like this.

Verdict: Highly recommended for index-maniacs and general music fiends. Geek to Live!

Psalteria--the medieval ladies' band

i was playing a small computer game "styrateg", found the background music very very nice. so i checked the "credits" section of the game and browsed briefly online. so it's from a medieval ladies' band--Psalteria. the band's website is very comprehensive, in it i managed to download some sample music and lyrics for the songs. ppl who are interested, pls take a look at the site here: http://www.psalteria.cz/english/set-en.htm

here is the lyrics for the game song. altho i don't get the meaning...

Como poden

Como poden per sas culpas
os omes seer contreitos,
assi poden pela Virgen
depois seer saos feitos.

Ond' avo a un ome,
por pecados que fezera,
que foi tolleito dos nenbros
da door que ouvera,
e durou assi cinc' anos
que mover-se non podera,
assi avia os nenbros
todos do corpo maltreitos.

Como poden per sas culpas os omes seer contreitos...

Con esta enfermidade
atan grande que avia
prometeu que, se guarisse,
a Salas logo irya
e ha livra de cera
cad' ano ll' ofereria;
e atan toste foi sao,
que non ouv' y outros preitos.

Como poden per sas culpas os omes seer contreitos...

Daquest' a Santa Maria
deron graças e loores,
porque livra os doentes
de maes e de doores
e demais está rogando
senpre por nos pecadores;
e poren devemos todos
sempre seer seus sogeitos.

Como poden per sas culpas os omes seer contreitos...


another medieval band: http://www.krless.cz/cz/vstupte.htm
this website is purely unrecognisable due to its usage of a non-english language, but i still managed to download its sample music in its CD section. the song style is parallel to that of Psalteria's. very nice, with a dense medieval air.

Cross-posting again.

mozart's piano quartet in G is quite nice. especially the first movement. i've never been particularly affected by mozart's music, for the same reason why i thought bach was boring. both are geniuses, but there are simply "too many notes" (from movie amadeus). both feel like a kind of show-off, and neither one stirs my emotions very much. such music i would categorise into the group which cannot be appreciated until you take the score and read and enjoy all the craftiness in the structure, and is a delight to perform. but after all is music a craft or an art? the function of art... what's the form for if that art cannot stir?

but the quartet in G is actually quite angry in the first movement, (and therefore sounds like beethoven a little bit). mozart's music is too pretty, except for some of his later works. i somehow feel that this clever man wasn't alive long enough to live life proper. his life ended shortly after the hedonistic youth, which he spent crafting pretty pieces, before he could experience any of the major emotions that he potentially could have exprience had he grown to be 40, 50 or 60. minimal bitterness in his composition. no frustration. not much anguish. nothing too profound. if he'd been through what beethoven did, i'm sure he could have written something brilliant. and it's indeed a pity. nevertheless, he's a genius, and above all, an interesting person, in the world of two categories of people. ah, and all interesting people are hated, all the time.

bach, was simply too successful and rich.

Cross-posting

dawn upshaw singing yanov-yanovsky's lacrymosa is just right. just right. so hauntingly beautiful. my hair kept standing. i would really like to see the score, cos i'm sure there's special instruction for the way the voice slides. upshaw slides on purpose for most of her performances and gets away with it with her celebrity license (and i do like the way she slides.) this piece, however, is slightly different in that she has virtually no steps between any two notes. all is sliding. (ok, maybe except for 2 places.) it's creepy.

fyi, the classical italian bel canto does not allow sliding of voice from note to note, although the central feature of bel canto singing is legato, meaning joining the notes. in fact, legato singing without much sliding is a very difficult technique. i see this a very unnatural phenomenon as most cultures have sliding in their singing (the so called "vocal"-ness in singing and playing). you see, singing without sliding is like mimicing an instrument because most western instruments cannot slide (except for strings). while the western europeans spend that extra effort to sing like an instrument, other cultures try very hard to play like a singing voice. the sliding lines in many chinese, indian, middle eastern and east european instruments, show such tendencies. i used to be criticised very frequently for sliding into and out of my notes, which i then concluded to root in my exposure to chinese music, in which virtually every instrument, especially voice, slides in and out of almost everything. i like it better that way, it gives the music much more room for subtle manipulation. don't you agree. it's beautiful when you have all that pitches in between.

Michael Ondaatje Quotes

On writing and reading

- A writer uses a pen instead of a scalpel or blow torch..
- As a writer, one is busy with archaeology.
- I don't have a plan for a story when I sit down to write. I would get quite bored carrying it out.
- I don't see novels ending with any real sense of closure.
- I read fiction, a little nonfiction, a little poetry - as various as possible.
- I see the poem or the novel ending with an open door.
- I tend not to know what the plot is or the story is or even the theme. Those things come later, for me.
- It doubles your perception, to write from the point of view of someone you're not.
- It's a discovery of a story when I write a book, a case of inching ahead on each page and discovering what's beyond in the darkness, beyond where you're writing.
- It's a responsibility of the writer to get the reader out of the story somehow.
- It's why you create characters: so you can argue with yourself.
- Once I've discovered the story, I might restructure it, maybe move things around, set up a clue that something is going to happen later, but that happens much later in an editorial capacity.
- Prose is much more public; I would like it to be as private, intimate, casual, not structured as poetry, not having an agenda.
- Research can be a big clunker. It's difficult to know how you can make the historical light.
- Right now, I have no idea what I will write or if I will write again.
- To write about someone like myself would be very limiting.
- Truth, at the wrong time, can be dangerous.
- When I was writing Billy the Kid, all I had was the question, How do I write this book? That's always the question.
- When you're writing, it's as if you're within a kind of closed world.
- You don't want to write your own opinion, you don't want to just represent yourself, but represent yourself through someone else.
- You want to suggest something new, but at the same time, resolve the drama of the action in the novel.
- You're getting everyone's point of view at the same time, which, for me, is the perfect state for a novel: a cubist state, the cubist novel.
- The last three books are much more a case of a moment of history, what happened almost by accident or coincidence, like being in the same elevator or lifeboat.

On Anil's Ghost

- Anil's Ghost is a pretty serious book, but you do want to have a break.
- Anil's Ghost may be a familiar style to earlier books I've written, but it feels new to me.
- I did not expect Anil's Ghost to go off into a twenty or thirty page section in the Grove of Ascetics when I began, but that seemed to be the way the book should go.
- One of the metaphors was the burial and stealing of Buddhist statues, how they get stolen and buried, unearthed and resold. Like human life, a metaphor for human life.
- That's Anil's path. She grows up in Sri Lanka, goes and gets educated abroad, and through fate or chance gets brought back by the Human Rights Commission to investigate war crimes.

On The English Patient

- I do know that film is much more visceral, in terms of its effect on the reader.
- In the book the relationship with Katharine and Almasy is sort of only in the patient's mind.

On being a Sri Lankan born Canadian writer

- I grew up in a country that was very different - the germs of racism were there then, I just wasn't aware of it.
- I'm a Canadian citizen. But I always want to feel at home in Sri Lanka. I'm a member of both countries.
- It's an odd state to be in, blowing the whistle on your home country.

---------taken from here.

Aoi Teshima - Gedo Senki Kashu

>> photo from Ghibli World>> http://www.ghibliworld.com/
Left: Director Goro Miyazaki | Right center: Aoi Teshima

I can't remember when's the last time I wrote a review. Maybe I should just write down random stuff before the urge completely evaporates. While the album is on its way to yours and yours email box, here's a lil' appetiser.


(photo from Ghibli World>> http://www.ghibliworld.com/)

I wrote something about it in my animation blog so maybe Jeremy knows. Aoi Teshima is a new star born out of the upcoming Ghibli film 'Gedo Senki'(Tales of Earthsea, premier July 29th in Japan). The theme song of the movie, titled 'Teru no Uta'(Teru's song) is an instant hit. Extensive publicity helps of course but what truly captures thousands of fans is Aoi Teshima, this 18 year old's soothing voice. The director of the movie, Goro Miyazaki, pinpointed her to perform the theme song after listening to her demo tape. There's loneliness in that voice, a loneliness which only belongs to the youth. (director's quote) The lyrics are beautiful. I don't understand Japanese but at least I can tell they rhyme and it's perfect for an epic story like Gedo Senki. The songbook album that came out July 12th contains 10 tracks, all of them lullaby-ish ballads. If you enjoy 'Teru no uta'(track #9), you'll sure love the rest as well. Track #2 'Ryuu' (Dragon) is one of my favourites. It's a nice switch after my eardrums got stuck to rock n roll all week. It's summer and this album is like a cool breeze. Btw, Miyazaki already started preparations on his next film. According to the producer Suzuki, Miyazaki just wouldn't let his son surpass him. Wait and see. (Honestly I pity the rest of Ghibli staff. C'mon this's not all about Miyazaki business... I want to see more varieties! Goro draws exactly the same as his dad. This's impossible!) Back to the album. Enjoy!

>> Download link:Aoi Teshima - Gedo Senki Kashu (July 12, 2006)

ゲド戦記歌集 (Gedo Senki Kashu)
Artist: 手嶌葵 (Aoi Teshima)
Date : 2006.07.12

1. 数え唄 (Kazoe Uta)
2. 竜 (Ryuu | Dragon)
3. 黄昏 (Tasogare | Twilight)
4. 別の人 (Betsuno nin | Another man)
5. 旅人 (Tabibito | Traveller)
6. ナナカマド (Nanakamado)
7. 空の終点 (Sora no Shuuten | The end of sky )
8. 春の夜に (Haru no yoru ni | Spring Night)
9. テルーの唄 (Teru no Uta)
10. 時の歌 (Toki no Uta)

------------------

Aoi Teshima Profile



Official Website >> Aoi Teshima
Kanji: 手嶌葵
(Singer, Voice actress)

B-day: 1987.6.21
Height: 174cm
Hobbies: Ballet, reading

------------------

Finally, the lyrics to 'Teru no Uta' (Kanji, Romaji, plus English & Chinese translations. Any more request? Guess not.)



テルーの唄

yuuyami semaru kumo no ue / 夕闇迫る　雲の上
itsumo ichiwa de tondeiru / いつも一羽で　飛んでいる
taka wa kitto kanashikarou / 鷹はきっと　悲しかろう

oto mo todaeta kaze no naka / 音も途絶えた　風の中
sora wo tsukanda sono tsubasa / 空をつかんだ　その翼
yasumerukoto wa dekinakute / 休めることは　できなくて

kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou / 心を何に　たとえよう
taka no youna kono kokoro / 鷹のような　この心
kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou / 心を何に　たとえよう
sora wo mauyouna kanashisawo / 空を舞うような　悲しさを

hitokage taeta no no michiwo / 人影絶えた　野の道を
watashi to tomoni ayunderu / 私と共に　歩んでる
anata mo kitto samishikarou / あなたもきっと　さみしかろう

mushi no sasayaku sougen wo / 虫のささやく　草原を
tomoni michi yuku hitodakedo / 共に道行く　人だけど
taete mono iu kotomonaku / 絶えてもの言う　こともなく

kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou / 心を何に　たとえよう
hitori michi yuku kono kokoro / ひとり道ゆく　この心
kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou / 心を何に　たとえよう
hitoribocchi no samishisawo / ひとりぼっちの　さみしさを

--- oOo ---

English Translation : Song of Teru

Over the cloud in the dusk
the hawk is flying always alone
He must surely be sad

All sounds are ceased in the wind
Holding on tight to the sky
he can't rest his wings

How do I express my mind
my mind like the hawk
How do I express my mind
my sadness that flies in the sky

The rain falls gently on the ground
Always hiding there behind the rock, a secret blooming
That little flower, is surely bitter

All colours fade in the rain
Who will ever stop by to appreiciate
its faint pink petals?

How do I express my mind
my heart, like that flower
How do I express my mind
the bitterness that sways in the rain

On this empty path
you who walk beside me
must surely be lonely

Insects are chirping in the grass
But we who walk together
have not spoken a sound

How do I express my mind
my mind that walks all alone
How do I express my mind
my loneliness that travels alone

--- oOo ---

中文翻译：特鹿之歌

夕阳彩云之间
总有一双翅膀 在那里徘徊
那头鹰 一定很悲伤吧

迎着风 听不到一丝声音
这双翅膀 紧紧地抓住天空
一刻都不能休憩

要将心比作什么？
好似那鹰一般的 这颗心
要将心比作什么？
那飘舞在空中的悲伤

雨淅淅沥沥地下
躲在岩石背后 总是静静的绽放
那朵小小的花 一定很苦恼吧

在雨中 所有的颜色都变得朦胧
又有谁会来欣赏
它淡粉色的花瓣呢？

要将心比作什么？
好似那花一般的 这颗心
要将心比作什么？
在雨中摇摆的苦恼

在这无人的 野外小路
和我一起的你
也一定 很寂寞吧

连虫子都在草丛中低吟
同行的人 却一声不吭

要将心比作什么？
形单影只的 这颗心
要将心比作什么？
孤单一人的那份寂寞

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a rock group out of New York. I've been following ever since they came out with their first full album, Fever to Tell. Although their first album is more of the garage punk/alternative variety, their music is pretty eclectic in general. Their sound is kind of hard to pin down sometimes. Some people say it sounds like that, some people say it sounds like this...etc.... All I know is that Fever to Tell it was the first time I've heard a fake orgasm incorporated into rock music (see: Black Tounge). Miss O's voice ranges from loud, brash, and thrashy to sweet as in the song Maps. Versitality is the key with this band.

Their first album didn't sell that great worldwide (only 750,000 copies...good, but not superstardom by any means), which was probably a good thing as far as how the band operates in making music and keeping their heads level.

The band consists of three personages, singer Karen O, guitarist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase.

The half-Korean and half-Polish Karen O is the charistmatic lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and she's probably also the most spastic. She has an awesome stage presence and combines strange fashion with outrageous stage antics. She's done things like spit beer, fruit, and other assorted items at the crowd, swallowed a microphone, danced off a stage, and generally makes herself out to be a loveable nutcase like such singers as Iggy Pop. She really is a stage entertainer, and makes their live shows really entertaining. Sometimes she can really overshadow the other two band members...but really, the band probably wouldn't be where it is without her.

Nick Zinner is the guitarist for the band and an accomplished photographer, his photos ending up on their website. He's also published a photo book and served as the guitarist for another band on top of that. He's also a vegan and a member of PETA, and animal rights organization. He's responsible for some of the most catchy guitar riffs in recent rock memory.

Brian Chase is the drummer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He obviously keeps to himself, since there's not much that can be found about him online. He spends most of his time drumming...yeah.... But this guy can really beat the crap out of the drums, he knows what he's doing.

Recently the band let their fans make the video for their current single, Cheated Hearts. Now that takes guts.....

The Yeah Yeah Yeah's second album, Show Your Bones is probably much more accessible than their first album, and showcases their wider array of musical tastes while still remaining true to their own sound. I bought it right when it was released, and I definitely think it's the better of the two albums.

I short, I really like the Yeah Yeah Yeah's sound, and their live shows are definitely not to be missed for me.


Ah, that's where my case of Corona beer went....



So hard to find a pic of the band playing together

Radical champs

just my two cents worth of the new radical wimps album that has been circulating around.

Wat can i say...

their really quite radical in their ways...in terms of vocals, instrumentalization and song genres.

Why?

Vocals....Noda yojiro...vocals and guitar. have u not heard him? I still can't give an apt description of his vocal quality. It's nasal and plaintive at times, but the next moment it can be a caterwauling rock concert like squall. and he transits between the various range of timbre and pitches rather successfully without any glitches. But to be honest i prefer it when he sings more ballad like songs such as kome no senshokuta. Some songs that really exemplify this versatility - Hekkushun and Tonde hi ni Nairu natsu. Of the two the one that has made it to my favourite list is Hekkushun. Get a taste of his really quite perfect english in that one as well as a rather interesting transition between choir boy simpering to angst ridden rock brat from 3.19 onwards.
Instrumentalization .... the guitar plays a vital role in their entire get up. To be honest its in their more ballady and soulful songs that u get a taste of the slightly more brillantly orchestrated pieces. or maybe its just because it their rowdier and more rock songs i can't get a grip of the variety. Anyhows...listen to Hotaru, and pay attention to the solo around 3.19 ( seems like the interesting stuff occurs at this point ne?) the accompaniment to that is a xylophone of sorts. Why do I point that out? Well, to be honest, to me it's kinda rare hearing a xylophone in such a prominent role. Anyone who's played a xylophone noes wats bitches they can be. Hitting the right note, getting the right amount of wrist action and being on time is quite somehting, and to put it with a solo voice as solo acompaniment is a risky action which at the same time demonstrates the percussionist skill... unlesss....it's all done with a synthesizer...which ain't too hard to imagine in this day and age. oh welll...but it's still an interesting combi.

Another song that shows a nice blend of orchestration would be Saigo no uta ( my fave! ) that's where they employ the usage of orchestral strings along with a blend of rock faves, electric guitar drums... good going, that brought an extra pizzazz to the ballad.


Song genres .... Just listen to the album. Rock, pop, rap, R&B, soul, ballads....perfect cocktail for someone who has as short an attention span as moi.


Saigo no uta....

Lyrics: Noda Youjirou Music: Noda Youjirou

Modora nai kinou-tachi hontou ni ne
Arigato ne sabishii naa
Mada minu ashita-tachi ima iku ne
Yoroshiku ne ureshii naa

Kanawa nai negai-tachi hontou ni ne
Gomen ne itsuka kitto
Kanaerareta omoi-tachi arigato ne
Korekara mo zutto tomo ni

Chiisa na kodou furueru tabi
Omou no wa boku ga anata wo mamoru kara

Ima boku ga ikite iru toiu koto wa
Ima boku ga shiawase da toiu koto
Ima boku ga waratte nai toshite mo
Ima boku ga ikite iru sore dakede
Shiawase da toiu koto

Deae nai inochi-tachi kimi no fun mo
Boku wa kitto ganbaru yo
Kawashita kono yakusoku-tachi hanasa nai yo
Wasure nai yo yakusoku shiyou

Itsuka kono yo no dare mo ga ieru no ka na
“Boku wa mou nanimo nozomi wa shinai kara”
Chiisa na yume wo tsugi kara tsugi ni
Egaite wa sutete iku no wa
Hontou wa mou kore ijou nani mo ira nai kara

Ima boku ga ikite iru toiu koto wa
Ima boku ga shiawase da toiu koto
Ima boku no me ni namida ukandemo
Ima boku ga ikite iru sore dakede
Shiawase da toiu koto

Afureru inochi-tachi ikite iru
Boku ga iru ureshii naa
Kiete itta inochi-tachi itsuka wa ne
Boku mo iku ne sono hi made

Ima boku ga ikite iru toiu koto wa
Ima boku ga shiawase da toiu koto

Ima boku ga ikite iru toiu koto wa
Ima boku ga shiawase da toiu koto
Ima boku ga waratte nai toshite mo
Ima boku ga ikite iru soredakede
Shiawase da toiu koto
Ikite iru soredakede
Shiawase da toiu koto

Cao Fang

i believe you guys have all received Cao Fang's album sent by Zhu, who was asking me to write something for the newly emerged singer in China mainland. i hope her songs will leave a good impression to ppl who has never listened to Chinese pop before.

(to zhu: it's hard to write an original review... i should just put the Chinese review into google translate and get the English text...)

initially i didn't have a high expectation for her. since i'm already used to the old, traditional styles of most mainland Chinese songs. however her production came to me as a shock. she has adopted a very unique folk-song style lacked by most of her counterparts, and her voice is so natually integrated into her songs. this album "Encounter Me" is her second one so far, released 2 years after her first album, "Black Perfume". i like two of her songs in "Encounter Me" best, "Straw Man" and "Wind Blows over Rainy Days". her monologs in the front part of the songs have characterized Cao Fang's unique singing style well.

---

zhu:
Added Discography translations. I suck at translations. Bear with me.


Debut Album (2003) - 黑色香水 | Black Perfume
1. 黑色香水 | Black perfume
2. 春花秋开 | Spring flowers blooming in autumn
3. 失陪 | Excuse me
4. 透明对白 | Transparent dialogue
5. 橘子汁 | Orange juice
6. 基诺山 | Jinuo Mountain
7. Two weeks holiday
8. Garbled account
9. So cool
10. 落单 | Loly (lost + lonley)
11. 小病人 | Little patient
12. 别样生活 | Another kind of life


2nd Album (2005) - 遇见我 (Encounter Me)
1. 遇见我 | Encouter me
2. 神秘礼物 | Mysterious gift
3. 风吹过的下雨天 | Wind blowing over rainy day
4. 城市稻草人 | City scarecrow
5. ICY是淑女 | ICY is a lady
6. TROUBLE
7. I don't care anyway
8. 秋凉 | Autumn chill
9. 在夏天 | In summer
10. 落单.续 | Loly . c'td
11. 孤单的独白 | Lonely monologue

Icy's fansite: http://www.icyfans.com/forum/index.php

Music Bombs

We resumed our music sharing business obviously. There're too many links so I'll just sum them here and you can pick whichever catches your fancy.


Dido - No Angel

>> Dido's debut album which's rather original. The wikipedia entry categorises this album under 'easy listening' lol. Sure someone's heard 'No Angel', 'Thank You', 'Here with me'?

------- oOo --------


Dolly Parton - The Collection
>> Dolly Parton's an amazing country singer. Not sure where this album comes from. Maybe it's just an universal edition but you'll get a pretty good idea of her styles and voice. (2 tracks missing btw).

------- oOo --------


Pat Metheny - A Map of the World
>> Genre: new age, guitar
Pat Metheny is an American guitarist who works mainly on jazz genre. This album is sadly beautiful and quiet. Perfect background music for studying/reading, or maybe sleep inducing.

------- oOo --------


Yoko Kanno - Tokyo Sora
>> Tokyo Sora is a Japanese movie and it seems the setting is in an art university. Yoko Kanno wrote the scores and it was one of her earliest solo works. Some of the tracks are very minimalistic and humourous.

------- oOo --------


Cao Fang (Icy) - Hei Se Xiang Shui (Black Perfume)
>> This's Cao Fang's (English name 'Icy') debut album. She recently won the best mainland selling artist. Personally I find her lazy style of singing rather attractive and she's a very talented song writer. Won't pass any more comments. Maybe yaya will write a review.

------- oOo --------


雲のむこう、約束の場所 OST (The place promised in our early days)
>> It's an anime feature film OST. Even if you have no idea about the anime, the music alone is attractive enough, mostly strings and symphonie.

------- oOo --------

The rest of the albums are from Jady. I'll leave you to edit the posts.

Wong Faye - Chang You (Scenic Tour)

Alanis Morissette - So-called Chaos

Damien Rice

Yann Tiersen Albums(composer of 'Amelie')

Yann Tiersen - Rue des Cascades

Yann Tiersen - Retrouvailles

views, reviews, and stevie nicks

Confession--I didn't manage to study after all today--obsessedly browsed and read all music-related stuff, and did some extensive update on ukulele. The recent posts (and the lack of them) made me ponder if we had got it right after all the zest and labor: if the initial rush was too strong and tired out the drive to follow up, if too many people were invited, if the implicitly set tones and themes were too formal and contricting when all we ever wanted was personal views and random thoughts and (if it should happen) freely indulging in artists/genres we share common interest in. I should hope it's just the mad busy end-of-April period. I should also hope it's just my occasional streak of intolerance/impatience stretching its limbs. Hmph.

Rants and grunts aside, I am bursting to ask you this--do you know that Stevie Nicks (that gender-neutral voice that sang Touched by an Angel on Sweet November OST) is female?!! and an attractive, young woman at that?!! BLEW MY MIND AWAY! I was reading Dixie Chicks biography and it cited that the band had covered some classic item of Stevie Nicks--one click away and I was looking at a blonde girl/woman, and my first and only thought was: wrong spelling, name of that voice should be Steve Nicks. So, some more browsing..and arrrrhhhhh, it's her, it's her! Gosh. How this will change the listening experience of Touched! Incroyable..

upcoming album releases (to be completed)

Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way

The nine time Grammy-Award winning Sony Recording artists will release this highly-anticipated fourth album on May 23, 2006. Release notes and review.

---

Jewel is returning to her folk roots after the 0304 stint, releasing album GOODBYE ALICE IN WONDERLAND on 2nd May. news and review on the new album.

---

Zhu: added a promotional video on Jewel's upcoming album.

The music is with you all the way ...

Today I shall bring a touch of classic culture to this blog.
Previous meanderings and discertations on songs of more recent genres require adequate balance with more analysis on the whole skeleton of music:
TO me that means : Instrumentation.

The case study today will be the absolutely ingenious, and beautiful OST of the japanese movie
"Be with you" @ " Ima ai ni yukimasu" ( if i'm not wrong)

This OST is just amazing for more reasons than I can expound on.
I'll just pick a few of my favourite tracks and just give a brief rundown on them using my rather rusty knowledge from my 4 year MEP ( Music Elective Programme) course I took when I was a fair lass of 13-16 years.

The composer of this score is Suguru Matsutani.
He doesn't have that extensive a discography as sakamoto or kanno but i think that he's a testament of quality mattering more than quantity.

To me the main instruments that shoulder the most responsibility in bringing this excellent score to life are the strings, piano and occasionally the flute, which is used as an excellent highlighter of motiff introduction and slips into comfortable supporting role.


In track 6 which is light hearted song, the pizzicato (plucked) strings mimic the skipping feet of the little boy and the last few days of sunshine that exist beore the longawaited rainy season comes. The flute here takes on a a sweet innocent role intermingling between the strings with it's occasional squeaks here and there like rays of sunshine through a field of gold.

Immediately after this u have track 7 and 8 where a more melancholic and reminescent mood is brought about with a thicker texture to the string bits and the flute now takes on a mature role with a lower toned, velvety theme. In 8, there's gradual ritard ( slowing down) of a 3 note motif ( one of the recurring themes in the OST ) on the strings with the piano, which takes the heart renderingness just that extra bit more with it's slower and drawn out progression.

The versatility and range of moods and emotions in this OST is exemplified in 8 as well, where half way through this rather long track, the melancholic mood takes a change for the brighter, more hopeful tone. A more chordal texture adds bulk and works well to emphasise the hope and yearning that this beautiful rainy season will not come to a close, bringing away with it happiness and love.
once again u can hear the pizzicato strings and staccotoed notes, all wonderfully blended.
Towards the end where there's a switch to a quieter mood, the switch, just like many of the transitions is smooth, sweet and once again tugs at the soul strings. that's ingenuity for you.
No sharp surprises, no harsh sunlight to spoilt ur mild rainy days.

In 9, where matsutani employs the usage of vocals, it really works to make this sound like a chorus of angels from heaven. It's a light hearted piece with a good blend of contrapuntal tenor and soprano voices and similarly string accompaniment enters to support and make the mood just that bit lighter. Very clever.

In 11, is a quiet and sombre song. The solo piano entry sets the mood. With ending chords at each phrase, it implies the coming doom or tragedy and loss that is to happen. The strings then enter, and though uplifting, they seem to reflect the fight to prevent the eminent loss and the search for a possible way out. Towards the end of this short track there's an exagerated ritard of the 3 note motif mentioned above, and it ends on one of these repetitions. A lingering expression of hope.

Track 12 follows immediately after that last ritard. And it is my absolute favourite.
Here, the strings are in background whilst the drums and piano take on a prominent role.
All this works to create an atmosphere of tension, emergency and panic as the loss grows eminent. At 1.50, the strings take on a more prominent ascending motif in the background together with an ascending motif too on the xylophone which sets the mood in certainty.
The waves of tension and pain climaxes and matsutani does a cliff hanger at the end of this, leaving the listeners to wonder...What happens next?

Well I won't tell you what happens next.

You have to watch the movie.
It's a heartrending movie and the music is with it all the way.

Rufus craze

The Rufus craze has set in and seems wouldn't be going for quite a while..i really really really should cut my hands off for this, but I just watched a whole lot other Rufus videos. And one interesting (and to me, moving) thing I noticed is that, the way he carried himself changed a lot after he re-emerged from rehab, not just body gestures, but a lot in the way he talks and what he talks about. I'll come back to this later. (I just realized how horribly difficult the past biostats papers are..speechless..) but for now, I'll leave this space with this—

[Song of the Week] La Complainte de la Butte

Something on the autoplay item on the current radio (and the Rufus avalanche continues..) If you loved Moulin Rouge the movie/musical, if you love the soundtrack, you'd definitely know this. This rendition by Rufus is what started and drew my interest deep into his work, but the song itself is an old one, written by Georges van Parys (wiki entry in French), a proliferous Parisien composer of film and opera music, whose long career spanned the 30s thru the 70s. It was first used in Jean Renoir (impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir's second son, interesting eh)'s film French Cancan in 1955. La Complainte de la Butte is a chanson of Paris in essence, the Moulin a famous feature of Paris (made into six films so far) and 'les escaliers de la butte' ('the steps of Montmartre') refers to the hilly landscape of Montmartre, a scenic district of Paris. (Remember the long uphill stairs in Amelie? That was Montmartre too.) The lyrics, in French, are exquisitely written, and this version of English translation quite did it justice. Enjoy~

La lune trop blême pose un diadème sur tes cheveux roux
La lune trop rousse de gloire éclabousse ton jupon plein d'trous
La lune trop pâle caresse l'opale de tes yeux blasés
Princesse de la rue soit la bienvenue dans mon cœur brisé

The moon, all too fair, in your russet-red hair sets a sparkling crown
The moon, all too red with glory, is spread on your poor, tattered gown
The moon, all too white, caresses the light in your world-weary eyes
Princess of the street, do allow me to greet you, my broken heart cries

Chorus:
The stairways up to la butte
Can make the wretched sigh
While windmill wings of the moulin
shelter you and I
[Les escaliers de la butte sont durs aux miséreux
Les ailes des moulins protègent les amoureux
The steps of Montmartre, all uphill, are hardest on the poor
The sails of the mill, like wings, shelter all paramours]


Petite mandigote je sens ta menotte qui cherche ma main
Je sens ta poitrine et ta taille fine
J'oublie mon chagrin
Je sens sur tes lèvres une odeur de fièvre de gosse mal nourri
Et sous ta caresse je sens une ivresse qui m'anéantit

I feel, beggar-girl, your fetters, they curl as they seek out my wrists
I feel your young breasts, your thin little waist
I lose my regrets
I taste on your mouth the feverish breath of a half-starving waif
And with your caress I sense drunkenness erasing my life

The stairways up to la butte
Can make the wretched sigh
While windmill wings of the moulin
shelter you and I
[Les escaliers de la butte sont durs aux miséreux
Les ailes des moulins protègent les amoureux]

Et voila qu'elle trotte la lune qui flotte, la princesse aussi
La da da da da da da da da da
Mes rêves épanouis
Les escaliers de la butte sont durs aux miséreux
Les ailes des moulins protègent les amoureux

And see how she skips, the moon how she drifts,
The princess in tow
Da da da da da da da da da da
My reveries grow
The steps of Montmartre, all uphill, are hardest on the poor
The sails of the mill, like wings, shelter all paramours.

Grey Gardens

Request par Jady, since a moment ago we were chatting about Rufus Wainwright. I see the future of Les Ukuleles - it'll be inadvertantly flooded with posts on Mr. Wainwright. So I've warned you.

Rufus Wainwright - Grey Gardens
(click for savefile link, beware of porn ads)
from album 'Poses'

Honey I’m a roller concrete clover
Tadzio, Tadzio

Arm wrestle your mother
Simply over
Tadzio, over you

But beware my heart can be a pin
A sharp silver dragonfly
Trying to get my mansions green
After I’ve grey gardens seen

In betweeen tonight and my tomorrows
Tadzio where have you been
In between tonight I know it’s Tadzio
Tadzio don’t you fight

Honey can you hear me
In between been dragging a dragonfly
Trying to get my mansions green
After I’ve grey gardens seen

Honey won’t you hold me tight
Get me through grey gardens tonight

Tadzio, Tadzio
Tadzio, Tadzio

Trying to get my mansions green
After I’ve grey gardens seen
Honey won’t you hold me tight
Get me through grey gardens tonight

Tadzio, Tadzio
Tadzio, Tadzio

I got distracted by the sound of Tadzio. I don't understand the lyrics in the first place and was bothered by the repetitive hissing sound coming from my earphone.(You might be right in saying 'he's got an expiring voice', ET-sama...)Tadzio here, Tadzio there... Out of curiosity I googled and found the original source of this mysterious name. Tadzio, an extremely beautiful Polish boy from Thomas Mann's novel 'Death in Venice'.

Summary of the novel(quoted from here)
The central character is the greatly respected, but ageing professor Von Achenbach, who at the turn of the century leaves his native Germany for a holiday in Venice. Once installed in a comfortable hotel he notices among the guests an almost unaturally beautiful Polish boy, Tadzio. Von Aschenbach is slowly but surely obsessed and although he watches Tadzio, he dare not speak to him. Although married and heterosexual he finds that the beauty of a young boy and his ensuing obsession disturbs him deeply and results in a re-awakening of his emotions that we find are dormant through a series of flashbacks.Despite warnings of a cholera epidemic Aschenbach stays in Venice; he sacrifices his dignity and well-being to the immediate experience of beauty as embodied by Tadzio. After exchanging a significant look with the boy on the day of Tadzio's scheduled departure, Aschenbach dies of cholera.







It was adapted into a movie in 1971. Movie shots of Tadzio
I'm making it sound like a movie review. I'll leave the lyrics interpretation to Jady. Enjoy!

---

Continues Jady…(I got to complain about the way Zhu habitually chucks unfinished posts to me, very funny, HMPF!)

M. Rufus has proved to us that he’s one well-read, deep-thinking modern poet (with an ‘expiring’ voice, sure) with all the alternatively dense or abstract lyrics he writes. Thomas May’s review of Poses says of Wainwright as having the ‘the singular, unclassifiable, ranging gift of singer/songwriter’. (See the full review at the bottom.) But appreciating the music is one thing, interpreting lyrics is another—which is particularly difficult with monsieur Wainwright who writes with such personal, almost cryptic voice. What’s ‘roller concrete clover?’ What’s ‘in between been dragging a dragonfly’? and what could ‘grey gardens’ possibly mean, apart from a barren, withered heart?

Updates: after some avid searching by Mlle. Zhu, we now have some interesting bg info about Grey Gardens, a 1975 documentary telling ‘the story of the aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and their everyday life at Grey Gardens, a decrepit 28-room mansion located in East Hampton, New York. Edith Bouvier Beale and her mother (also named Edith) lived together there for over twenty years in squalor and almost total isolation.’—so Grey Gardens is in part literally a desolate place, and in other part probably a metaphor for all that it stands for.

---

Thomas May's review on Poses

The scrutiny of success that came early on--being named Best New Artist by Rolling Stone in 1998, the year of his debut album, for example--would have smothered many another emerging talent. But it failed to stopper the singular, unclassifiable, ranging gift of singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright. His sophomore album, Poses, advances beyond the earlier, cabaret-inspired effort with a suite of songs marvelously varied in arrangement and texture but linked by Wainwright's characteristic theatrical panache. "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" catalogs excess with playful self-censure, but Wainwright's whimsical ironies often take a bruising, poignant turn, whether in the pseudo-upbeat "California" or, most movingly, on the title track. The dying fall of Wainwright's lusher melodies--echoes of "Across the Universe" as well as ultrachic Beatles tunes such as "Michelle"--meshes remarkably with the poetic substance here as he explores a landscape of wistful self-knowledge caught between longing and decadence. Yet even through all the layers of picturesque, postmod observation, Wainwright conveys a sense-filtered experience that gives urgency to his hauntingly mumbled opacities. With Poses, the young artist proves his authenticity.

Tool

Tool is a band that I started listening to in high school, and has remained a band that I listen to often. I'm not sure if it's something the rest of the ensemble would be into, but I thought they were worth putting up. I'm a bit worried that maybe you guys would find the videos repulsive? If it's too much, let me know and I'll take them down. I didn't think they were bad though.














I'm not really into metal...rock and punk were more my style. However, Tool is a strange bird. Their guitar riffs are heavy, but their lead singer, Maynard James Keenan can really sing. He doesn't need to scream or yell, he's got a good singing voice. The thunderous guitar riffs even have their strange melodic quality after a while that can draw you in. For this reason they've been called "trance rock" or "trance metal" at times. Of course, the content of their songs is dark and generally disturbing.

Tool's wikipedia entry

Most of their songs are of human interest...the dark sides of life, death, religion, human failings, and sexuality. The band's mantra has always been "think for yourself." Some critics have called them "the thinking man's metal" because they touch on ideas that not a lot of other bands do. Some of their songs may seem like a creepy gothic metal-art-rock, but their videos really seem that way. They came in at the height of the alternative music craze, which made them popular with their album Undertow in 1993. The bleak and soul charing photos within the album helped set their tone and style. Their second album was Aenema, which came in 1996 after the alternative craze had ended...and it didn't do as well as their first album. In 2001, they released their third album was Lateralus, which became their biggest selling album...probably because of the lack of good hard rock on the American music scene at that time. They've had numerous shorter releases, including a "pre-album" called Opitate in 1991, but I've listed their main, easy-to-find releases.

As for the band members...they generally live normal lives and are pretty reclusive for "rock stars." Much that has been written about them is rumor and crap. They do not worship the devil...none of their imagery is satanic. If you want to read more about their lives....read here under biographies.

Vocals: Maynard James Keenan
Guitar: Adam Jones
Drums: Danny Carey
Bass: Justin Chancellor























I've uploaded a sample of their music to YSI: Tool Selections

Here's also some links to their visually creative, but highly disturbing videos. The quality on them is not the best, but I think they're still kind of creepy. Imagine "Corpse Bride" gone wacko. Click on the photos for the videos. You'll need to be able to play real media files.

Prison Sex














This is probably one their most disturbing and brilliant videos. It's strange, ugly, and heartwrenching at the same time. The song and the video are basically about child abuse. The singer, Maynard James Keenan, has been vocal about his dislike for his step-father...and you can probably follow the logic from there after seeing the video. Like most artists, he probably used it as material for the song and as an outlet for the abuse he suffered. The image of the broken doll that represented an abused child stayed with me a long time after I first saw it. It's pretty abstract, but I might still advise some caution if you're overly sensitive and good at decoding symbolism.

Stinkfist









This is one of their more fun videos...it's just creepy and weird to be creepy and weird. It actually uses live actors and is a brilliant piece of abstract art, at least I do. The symbolism is a bit more straightforward, the easiest of which is "the opening of one's eyes to the truth, and shedding the lies that cover you." Watch as the main character has his eyes opened (when he inexplicably turns obsese) and sees all sorts of strange creatures.There are other metaphors...but they probably don't need to be explained here.
Edit: There's actually a slightly better quality streaming video at singingfool. Have to sit through a short commerical though.

There are other videos, but you can see them from the website listed above.

Limited Discography:

Undertow

Aenema

Lateralus

Official Website

Life In Mono

The trip-hop duo Mono was formed by the vocalist Siobhan De Maré and producer Martin Virgo. Their songs are mainly influenced by jazz, '60s pop and classic film-soundtracks. Life in mono is a song in the American film Great Expectations soundtrack which earned a high profile for the duo. So far they only have one album: Formica Blues. Personally I found "life in mono" is the best in this album. I've uploaded this song to my space, those interested can download from this site:
http://individual.utoronto.ca/yayaduck/Yaya/mono.mp3

The lyrics for songs in Formica Blues can be found in this site:


Life In Mono by Mono

The stranger sang a theme
From someone else's dream
The leaves began to fall
And no one spoke at all
But I can't seem to recall
When you came along
Ingenue

Ingenue
I just don't know what to do

The tree-lined avenue
Begins to fade from view
Drowning past regrets
In tea and cigarettes
But I can't seem to forget
When you came along
Ingenue

Ingenue
I just don't know what to do

Muhahahaha, after some painstaking search, I managed to find most of the songs in Formica Blues. You can find them here:
http://individual.utoronto.ca/yayaduck/Yaya/Formicablues.rar
Guys, show some enthusiasm! Gimme some cheers!

March releases

Ok I'm back editing this post. I'll send the albums to our yahoogroup to avoid posting links on this blog.

1. Rie Fu - 2nd Album - Rose Album (2006.3.24)

-> track listing
-> official site

My rating: 8 out of 10

Rie Fu's back with her 2nd album, which isn't VERY different from the major style of her debut, but you can feel the influence of the Carpenters on her musical conceptions more strongly, especially in the 2nd and 3rd track - 5minutes & funny dream (rather humourous and romantic). Other tracks such as 'Tiny Tiny Melody' and 'I Wanna Go To a Place' still mirror the melodious and gentle recipe from her debut hit 'Life's like a boat'. Overall, this's an authentic Rie Fu album with new ideas coming into play.

2. Tomiko Van Debut - Farewell (2006.3.29)

-> official listing

My rating: 7 out of 10

On second thought, I shouldn't be so harsh so I changed the rating from 6 to 7. Still personally, I'm rather disappointed, not with Tomiko's vocal performance, but with the music itself. Nagao DAI wrote all the songs and he's the one who in a sense defined Do As Infinity, who brought out the wild spontaneity in Tomiko's voice and pushed it to full potential. Now DAI's disbanded and Tomiko started her solo career. It's a tough ride. It's almost impossible to ask fans to dissociate Tomiko from shadows of DAI and that's why comparisons between the DAI Tomiko and the current Tomiko are inevitable. I'm sure Tomiko herself won't like this to happen so I'm trying to be impartial and judge her as if I know her for the first time. And I soon realize, casting away the past of DAI and looking at Tomiko again as a new-comer, she doesn't stand out much from average Jpop singers. The songs are mostly mellow ballads which are pleasant sounding but just as easy to forget. Nevertheless, I recommend 'Farewell' and 'Hold me...'.

ET's comments (since she's here, and listening, and humming) : good mix of vocal techiques employed in Tomiko Van's work as opposed to previous Jpop greats like Ayumi Hamasaki and Utada Hikaru who essentialy employ the same techniques to achieve good effects. In addition, little spice can do no harm. - quoted verbatum from ET-sama (who's lying on the temporarily made Japanese-style futon like bed, half dreamy, half dead...)


3. Love Psychedelico - 2nd Album - Live Psychedelico (2006.3.22)


My rating: 9 out of 10

NICE NICE NICE. You know Love Psychedelico performs GREAT alive!! I especially like 'Wasting', 'Neverland' and 'Mind across the universe', all of them with moody sophisticated acoustic guitar introductions.

Ah, I'm done ^^

group email

Since Jeremy mentioned it, I think it's a good idea to get a group email address so everyone can receive updates/comments/new posts in real time. I've sent out the invitation to all except yy (Jady, tell me her email address).

Group email: ukulele_ensemble@yahoogroups.com
Group homepage:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ukulele_ensemble

Cheers!

GARNET CROW: Flying Gone

MSN chat
Me: Jady, am I allowed to...
Me: post a new entry?
J: on?
Me: GARNET CROW
J: NO
Me: Whhhy not?
J: YOU ALREADY HAVE A BLOODY SITE DEDICATED TO GARNET CROW!
...
(anyway in the end I get a 300words max permission ^^ from Jady)

I probably know the general response from the rest of ukulele since I've been ranting about GC like forever. The last time I attempt to promoto GC to ET-sama, 50% of the tracks I sent over received a 'fail!' evaluation. Well, the thing about GC's music is, it's almost 'never' catchy and pleasant to ear on first listening. Plus, the lead vocal, Yuri Nakamura's voice is rather special. Unlike typical (or stereotypical) female Japanese singers who have high-pitched squeaky voices, hers is very alto and neutral sounding. I'm not sure how that will affect listeners' choices but as far as I know, GC has a well balanced ratio of male vs female fans.

I'm just going to recommend one song. (Tears, if only you know how difficult it is to pick the RIGHT song to recommend. The wrong choice can easily lose a potential fan) It's their 6th maxi single - flying, which is chosen as the theme song for playstation game 'tales of eternia'. I was dozing off on my desk last night (with earphones on and music playing), but when I heard the chorus of this song, I was almost instantly awake. The elation and excitement was really incredible no matter how many times I hear it. The opening beats have a strong sense of urgency and everything seems calm for a while, until you hear this sudden take-off, as if holding your breath before a blood boiling bungee jump. This song is about the turning wheel of fate, about destinies, uncertainty and assurance. So be patient and give it a try! If you want to know more about GC, you might as well visit my fansite ^^ (advert time here), which I assure you is 100 times more comprehensive than Wikipedia entry.

I actually tailor picked a couple of GC songs (3 tracks in each genre) . Choose whichever you prefer:
-> soft rock & hip-hop
-> soothing & melancholic
-> happy, high & jazzy
-> my personal favourites

Flying
-> YSI link (I've also included a live concert version of this song)
-> Also Flying's c/w song 'cried a little' (a very sad song)



Composed by Yuri Nakamura
Lyrics by AZUKI Nana
Arranged by Hirohito Furui
English translations from Ryuichi's GC soundscope, modified by me

季節きせつはずれのbeach side
(the out of season beachside)
夜よるに隠かくれた
(your face hidden in the dark)
君きみの横顔よこがおは何なにをみつめてるの？
(what are you looking at?)

人ひとは誰だれもが皆みな
(everybody...)
何なにかを背負せおってる
(is carrying something)
だけど　ふとよぎる不安ふあん
(the anxiety that suddenly crosses my mind)
消けせやしないよ
(won't be erased so easily)

僕ぼくらは何一なにひとつ
(we, for the sake of something,)
知しることない未来みらいの為ために
(for an unknown future)
手てに入いれたり投なげ出だしたりして
(cast off what's held in our hands)
儚はかなく誘さそう行方ゆくえめざして
(and it leads you on to a foreign path)

flying gone
夢見ゆめみる様ように　墜おちてゆくの
(falling as if dreaming)
君きみの中なかへ
(into your embrace)
恐おそれないで傷きずついたら
(without fear, if i get hurt)
きっと　切せつない優やさしさを抱だいている
(I'm sure a bitter gentleness will envelop me)

flying fall down
羽はばたきながら　墜おちてゆくの
(flapping my wings, falling)
君きみの傍そばへ
(to your side)
何なにも　ナイ　明日あすがくる瞬間ときは
(before the coming of that empty instance in the future)
君きみに出会であえた奇跡きせき胸むねの中なか
(I'll hold to my heart this miracle that I've met you)
ネムラセテ...
(and fall into a deep slumber)

君きみを信しんじる程ほどに　ねぇ
(the trust i've placed in you)
傷きずは深ふかくて...
(is as deep as my wounds have been)
私わたし以外いがいのもの　すべて
(how i wish that everything, except my own presence)
消けし去さりたいよ
(could be erased without a trace)

気きづいた時ときには　もう
(by the time I realized it)
ただ走はしり続つづけることに
(there was no other choice but to go on)
安やすらぎさえ感かんじていたなんて...
(strange that I even felt peace)
イミジキアスヲ　飛とび越こえてゆけ
(together, let's cross this imaginery space)

flying fall down
旅立たびだつならば
(if we are to set out on a journey)
朝あさも昼ひるも夜よるもなくて
(no matter if it's morning, noon or night)
君きみのめぐる輪廻りんねの果はてへ
(to that place where your endless cycle of reincarnation ends)
二度にどと帰かえらぬ(三途の川)かわのほとりまで
(to the River of Styx where there's no return)
飛とび出だすの
(let's fly)

flying gone
もつれてゆくよ
(getting tangled up forever)
君きみの　アイ life すべて求もとめ
(I want your love, life and everything)
you and me
もう別べつの生活ひを灯ともす
(starting a new life)
君きみのいない明日あしたなんていらなくても...
(I don't want a tomorrow without your presence)

flying fall down
羽はばたきながら　墜おちてゆくの
(flapping my wings, falling)
君きみの傍そばへ
(to your side)
何なにも　ナイ　明日あすがくる瞬間ときは
(before the coming of that empty instance in the future)
君きみに出会であえた奇跡きせき胸むねの中なか
(I'll hold to my heart this miracle that I've met you)
ネムラセテ...
(and fall into a deep slumber)

SMR 5

(c'td from the last 'diary entry')

One, two, three... I wasn't sure whether I was counting the no. of drawers caught in that brief glimpse or just counting in order to calm my boiling excitement. On reaching 10, I made up the biggest decision in my life.


Back in the mansion, Raymond King untied the knot to the bundle of mail but was suddenly reminded of the opened telegram. Not for the first time, but certainly one of those rarest moments, Mr. King found himself in a rather amusing gesture - his body bending over the oak table, hands still holding on to the ends of the untied thread and his eyes dead fixed on the red telegram lying cosily beside his sleeve - his whole body was locked in time and space as a pearl of throughts streamed through his busy mind. If I put the telegram back and return the envelop, will Mr. no 6 suspect that I've opened it without his consent? I could well explain the little accident to him in person to clear up any misunderstandings but how do I explain the initial curiosity that prompted me to take his mail in the first place? On top of that, no. 6 hasn't been here for almost a month. If he doesn't check in next week, I'm entitled to dispose all his mails as rightfully stated on the agreement. The logical conclusion could well end the mental struggle, until the printings on the telegram inadvertantly caught him. The letters were fading from the dampness but the word 'cypress' held his gaze in a vise. It was the maiden name of this ancient mansion but was no longer in use ever since he became heir. The current addressees, of course, only knew this place as '1 Moonriver Lane', and never Cypress! God forbids! Sensing an ominous sign coming, Mr. King snatched up the little piece of paper and squinted his eyes, which were now glimming with anxiety. "get out cypress on recieving next mail M. coming, Jade.' Raymond King dropped back in his vine chair, deep in thoughts. He dissembled the short message and chewed them over: 1. Jade, the sender, is relaying an important if not life-and-death signal to no.6 and the source of threat is the mysterious M. 2. There's a new mail coming in and upon recieving it, no. 6 is supposed to 'get out of cypress' as told. The biggest cipher,however, was 'get out cypress'. If 'cypress' was indeed referring to this mansion, could 'get out' literally mean to escape this place and move elsewhere? It wasn't uncommon for strangers to knock on his door and inquire about Miss and Mr. so and so although Mr. King emphasised to his customers that '1 moonriver lane' should be a mailing address and never be mistaken as their actual residence. Suppose Jade the sender, by mistake, assumed Cypress was where no.6 lived, the message would then suggest 'get out of your house.' If not, it could imply 'terminate your deal with the master of cypress.' And who is M? The urgent undertone seemed to tag M with a dangerous nature, a nameless face with a deadly pursuit. In all circumstances, no.6 was an alarming case. If only 'cypress' was a harmless coincidence! If not... Mr. King frowned and his heart tightend. Suddenly he remembered 'the next mail' and sprang from the chair. The newly arrived bundle was soon a mess as he frantically sieved through the letters looking for the small number tag. Six, six, six... to his great disappointment, there was none. As if to distract himself from a million palpitating possibilities that flooded in and broke the dam to his serene life, Mr. King closed his eyes and dived deep in a sea of fading memories. He thought of Catherine, in an extravagantly framed portrait, looking golden and regal. She kissed the child gently in her arm, whispered a lullaby and too quickly disappeared without a trace, leaving the baby alone. The Cypress. Raymond King snapped back to reality, frowned bitterly and knocked his knuckles against the table. He MUST get the next mail.



Chapter 4 No. 6
'There ye go, boy!' my old man tossed me a heavy package of letters. It hit me on the shoulders and I winced. 'Wassup with ye? Ye alrite? Kinda stupid and slow today huh?' he smiled a fatherly smile and gave a bearly pat on the same shoulder which was hit less than five seconds ago. I secretly grimaced but said nothing, in fear he would mock me further on my words which strangely, all sounded like laughing stock to him. If only I could be in a perpetual jolly mood like my old man! In fact, I had been a nervous wreck ever since I made my first move. I dare not tell it to anybody, certainly not THIS man smiling across at me. I'd lose my job instantly for sure.

Yesterday I got my usual share of letters. Instead of dutifully setting out on my bike and delivering them to the right household, I picked out those addressed to Raymond King and carefully examined them. Dear readers, if you still remember that stroke of moment where I made up a very important decision, and here it is! The curtains have just unfolded. I'm like a prankish boy throwing pebbles into an once tranquil pond. I watched the ripples spread far into a mass of dead foliage, disturbed them until now there was a small clearing. What was I looking for? I had no idea, but I was sure there WAS something, in the same way I always knew hamsters hid their nuts in secret alcoves nobody else knew of except me. There I held the letters up to eye level and shuffled them back to back. The numbers were there as expected, 25, 6 and 31. If this was what they would call a turn of fate, I did it with a single stroke. I took out a black ink pen, and with my clammy hands, etched a vertical line beside 6. What a difference would 10 make? If only I knew then!