The Ukulele Ensemble

Last.fm going to charge for radio service

2009-03-25T11:44:00.000+08:00

In order to keep providing the best radio service on the web, we need to ask our listeners from countries other than USA, UK and Germany to subscribe for €3.00 per month.

and this will be in effect from March 30, 2009. Just how many things are wrong here? Unfairness, bad marketing, no understanding about 'one web, no borders' and um, Economics, just to say a few. Stinks worse than rotten fish, really. The comments section is already full of users expressing incomprehension, shocked disgust and 'good-bye last.fm' messages, and as much as I love the idea of social music revolution (which has been wiped from the logo since last July's update) and the original incarnation, I can't say the same of the new, arrogant Last.fm of the past 9 months and the self-destructing direction it is pig-headedly going, and I don't even want to contribute any more data and am now seriously searching for an alternative radio. And if any site starts to offer scrobbling, I'll desert this rotting ship for sure.

Do you use last.fm, and how do you feel about this? Sound off in the comments! (Or go say something at the blog link above.)

Salyu New Single, 'Halfway', Due February

2009-01-20T00:04:00.002+08:00

Scanty info yet, but I definitely prefer this wintery cover to the recent weirder-than-usual thing that is the Merkmal covers. And this is what's on her official site :

Release date:　2009.2.11
Ｔｒａｃｋｓ：
01. コルテオ〜行列〜　「シルク・ドゥ・ソレイユ」第8弾公演“ダイハツコルテオ”イメージソング
02. HALFWAY　2009年2月公開予定映画「ハルフウェイ」主題歌

UPDATED: Due to languishing Japanese study plans, I can't really tell you what's going on in the first link except it has something to do with Cirque du Soleil, which is cool (alert: loud background music), but the second one leads to the promotion site of 'Halfway', the movie which Salyu's namesake track is the theme song for. The 'theme song' tab is still tagged 'coming soon', but the refrain portion of the song can be heard as the background music. This is another of her higher-pitched poppish ones--nothing against that--just that my personal wish of a (however fleeting) return to Lily Chou Chou era ethereal awesomeness is left unanswered again. #heaves a wistful sigh#

(P.S. For more Salyu news and stuff please visit http://salyu.aiamu.net/. Still under construction but better than none, and I'm definitely not turning Uku into a second Salyu news blog.. =p)

Can't wait for Feb! :)

Salyu's New Album, Merkmal, Due in November

2008-09-28T19:25:00.000+08:00

According to the official website and translation from Salyu community on livejournal:

Salyu will be releasing a best album titled "Merkmal" on November 26th. There'll be two limited edition versions: one featuring a live DVD recording of her concert at Motion Blue Yokohama on September 17th, and the other featuring a second CD with her collab work (Valon, to U, & Mirror). The limited editions also come with a ticket reserve for her 2009 Merkmal tour.

CD Only: 3,000yen (TFCC-86281)
w/ Live DVD: 3,800yen (TFCC-86282)
2CD: 3,800yen (TFCC-86283)

Setlist of Motion Blue Yokohama show:
01. ARABESQUE
02. 光りの束 (hikari no taba)
03. name
04. 双曲線 (soukyokusen)
05. 体温 (taion)
06. 夜の海遠い出会いに (yoru no umi tooi deai ni)
07. Landmark
08. be there
09. 砂 (suna)
10. VALON-1
11. to U
12. WHEREABOUTS ~for Anthony~

It is a little odd that she's already releasing a 'Best of' after a mere two albums (or 3, if we count Lily Chou-Chou.) This is probably more appropriately called 'The B-sides'... And what's up with the sudden fascination with foreign--and GERMAN, not in the least--words? Merkmal is simply German for 'feature'. *scratches head*

Still very excited about this though, this being the first official live recording of anything from her...? and I totally look forward to some brand new material, too. It's been some time since the last album now, Missy Salyu! ;)

Mika

2008-09-08T14:01:00.002+08:00

Thanks for G's recommendation. Quoting her
'he's a little like the lively side of Rufus...you think?'

That pretty much nails it.

Mika

Lollipop

Grace Kelly

Do As Infinity is BAAAAACK!!!!

2008-09-07T11:46:00.003+08:00

I WANNA SCREAM MY LUNGS OUT! DAI IS BACK!!!!!
YES THEY HAVE REFORMED!!
There'll be a free live performance on Sep 30.

DAI fans, check out this forum thread for more details
http://www.daiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=16473

Watching their comeback performance nearly sent me crying for joy. It's just, bloody fun! I've never seen a happier Ban-chan!

DAI Reformed (It's been 4 years guys!!)

NOW! Shall we get up and dance?!

Shane Mack - Lie to me

2008-08-29T14:54:00.004+08:00

Shane wrote a couple of brilliant songs for the gay themed movie 'Shelter', a picturesque, heart-warming romantic flick. The movie features a strong performing soundtrack and through this form of collaboration, the amount of exposure an otherwise obscure artist gets to a new audience is undeniably effective.

Shane Mack's a country/folk artist from Nashville. Pop in his myspace page to listen to more tracks. Frankly there's little I know about him...'Lie to me' can touch a few heartstrings.Hear the tender anguish rippling through his voice, it's very emotional.

Lie to me (Download here)

Aoi Teshima - Niji no Kashuu

2008-08-28T16:16:00.004+08:00

The angelic Teshima's back with a new album 'Niji no Kashuu'(Songs of Rainbow), another line-up along her therapeutic soothing style.I'm yet to go through the whole album. The first couple of tracks have lovely folksy elements and you can tell she's adding new vocal techniques which break the mundane flow of story telling (I do love it! But obviously a little change is a nice surprise.)

Title track 'Niji' (Rainbow)

Download here (77mb,expires 7days or 100 downloads)

Niji no Kashuu (Songs of Rainbow)
Release: 2008.7.23
Normal Edition | First Press Edition (CD+DVD)

Romaji and suggested translation in bracket. Click here for more info.
01. 虹(Niji, Rainbow)
02. 恋唄 (Koi uta, Love song)
03. 空へ(Sora e, To the sky)
04. 恋するしっぽ。(Koisuru shippo, Tail of love)
05. CHINESE SOUP
06. 元気を出して(Genki o dashite, Cheer up)
07. 奇跡の星(Album Version) (Kiseki no Hoshi, Star of wonder)
08. 家族の風景 (Kazoku no fuukei, Family scenery)

100s (Hyaku shiki)

2008-08-24T12:40:00.006+08:00

First one on the right is leading songwriter/guitarist Kazuyoshi Nakamura (staring up profoundly).

Official website: http://www.100s.jp
Last FM profile: http://www.last.fm/music/100s

100s(pronounced 'Hyaku shiki' in Japanese) is a 6 piece rock band led by frontman Kazuyoshi Nakamura (kanji:中村一義) who started as a popular solo artist and later started the band. '100s' is in fact the title of Nakamura's solo album. He was once acclaimed a songwriting prodigy that comes along once every 10 years. Although I haven't listened much to his solo pieces, what he wrote for 100s is infused with vibrant energy, abstract imagery and set apart from others by a distinctive vocal boasting beautiful falsetto and unique pronounciations somewhere between Japanese and English. It's very intriguing and expressive. I tried to 'appreciate' the lyrics of Honeycom.ware (from their '05 album OZ) which, even to native Japanese, is rather gibberish. It's one of their best songs that has the pop-ish,shoegazing post-rock timbre, and is both romantic and philosophical. It's interesting to note Nakamura's influenced by impressionist Van Gogh, and Brit-pop group Primal Scream, both of which can possibly feed his inspirations and help to define the playful elements in his songwritings.

They've released two studio albums so far,OZ in 2005, and ALL!!!!!! in 2007. (By the way, if you care to notice there're 6 exclamation marks!!!!!!Just remember they have 6 members in all). There're 21 tracks on OZ, a rather weighty album to hold.

Here comes a string of youtube videos. I wanna recommend them all!!!!!! even if it irritates you. Scroll down down to download the albums.

Manmaru
- Hilarious! The members hang out to enjoy pizza and poker games. The loser is forced to wear a bumble bee outfit and flaunt it on the street.

Honeycom.ware
- dazzling neon lights and speedy travels, a modern city life

Mata ashita (see you tomorrow) live
- They invited a fan on stage to sing, wonderful! It's a sentimental piece definitely.

Naa, mirai (Ah, future)
- bombastic, high energy rock

Moshi kono mama (If it remains as it is)
- a soft ballad I find extremely touching. Maybe I'm just being maudlin lately.

K-ing
- You can lose yourself in melodies like this.

キャノンボール (Cannonball)
- Nakamura's solo work, from album '100s'.

Album Discography and Downloads
2005. OZ: Download here

1. OZ I
2. A
3. B.O.K (looking at the lyrics, it possibly stands for 'Bands are gonna be O.K.)
4. BASUTOREIN
5. Koko ga harete nara (If this is the end)
6. Nano motoni
7. OZ II
8. (For) Anthem
9. Sonata
10. Yasashi raion (gentle lion)
11~12. Leek Rag's Leek ~ Santa's Helper
13. Honeycom.ware
14. Tobira no mukou ni (beyond the door)
15. OZ III
16. Hikari wa hikari (light is light)
17. Ikiru mono (things that are alive)
18. K-ing
19. Mata ashita (see you tomorrow)
20. Bahahai
21. Haru to Fuyu (spring and winter)

2007.ALL!!!!!!: Download here

1. Sousa Sekai wa (Right, that's the world)
2. Kibou (Hope)
3. Manmaru
4. Naa, mirai (Ah, future)
5. Q&A
6. Shingarongu
7. Ano Kouya ni hanataba o (the bouquet in the wasteland)
8. Tsuta eru yo
9. Soshuu Yakyoku (Suzhou Nocturne)
10. Momotose
11. Moshi kono mama (if this remains as it is)

Jewel live in Vancouver 2008

2008-07-04T14:40:00.000+08:00

Just came back from Jewel's concert held at River rock theatre in Richmond. Upon realizing the theatre's located in a casino, I thought, hey, this place is tailored for Jewel! =D Her easygoing self fits beside neon lights and busy people, maybe a cup of beer to complement the picture.

I took two photos before concert starts. No recording device is allowed throughout the concert. Why didn't I sneak a few shots with my cell phone? I don't know.Our seats are in the 2nd row on the side.R says Jewel's side profile resembles Paris Hilton XD No doubt they're both blondes but one can sing the other does not.

Stage prop is simple: a corner table with a book and a vase (fake flowers?), two guitars and a mic.That's it.Jewel style.

As the lights dimmed, Jewel came on stage in black boots amidst a round of applause and whistles which quickly died away as she belt out 'Some~~~~where over the rainbow~~' It gave me quite a start. My hands jerked a little for two reasons: 1.It's very very very loud (Yes I'm in 2nd row). 2.She sounds wild. I'm not sure which effect weighs more on me, the amplifier or her soulful singing.

As usual, I don't remember the set list. The first couple of songs are picked from earlier albums, most of them from 'Pieces of you'. She told stories of her childhood and teenage hood in between, made fun of Celine Dion (a slim person like her spotting double chin when straining her neck to hit high notes), and 'a scandalous encounter' with Bob Dylan who invited her to his dressing room for an artist chat without coming onto her. Guess what Jewel's thinking 'O he must be gay!'And many more jokes that sparked sporadic laughters from the audience.She could be a great stand-up comedian =D

Jewel pulled the usual vocal tricks freewheeling between deep, powerful operatic voice to innocent saccharine whispers. Seeing her live before on TV, nothing's sparkling new to me. Still for some reason I found it a bit hard to breathe. Tension grabbed my chest disturbing the usual rhythm of breathing in and out, as if the presence of her voice wields like a knife resting on my blood vessels. At that moment I realized how authoritative she is on stage. It's impossible to turn away. My favourite pieces tonight are 'Hands', followed by 'Life Uncommon'. I was downright touched by her exuberant strength and spirit. A wondrous belief that we can truly free ourselves from life's slavery is starting to overwhelm me... as she determinedly strummed her guitar. What a hearty vibration.

However I was a bit sad? the sensitive love songs no longer touch me, like 'foolish games', 'morning song', 'you were meant for me' etc. Her performance is beautiful but I am simply numb. Like I've never experienced this emotion before, never known any heartaches. Jewel's a romantic poet falling in and out of love. The weight of every break-up and scratch apparent in her moaning, so are the sweet blesses. I can't help a little disappointment that my empathy has unknowingly slipped away.So be it!What an apathetic thought I had.I probably need a painful stab.

She also performed three or four pieces from the new country album. The title track 'Perfectly clear' is a still mental image, 'a pretend picture' she had in her mind: A man and a woman stand in the doorway. The sky is blue. The man was all packed, ready to go, and fumbling for some awkward words to say. The woman said to him 'Save it.'Not until she started to sing did I feel how heavy the picture was. 'Five years of kisses packed in your bag' - I thought of my friends and their winding relationships, and this burden called time. Why are we made nostalgic?

The last piece she sang was 'Who will save your soul'. I've heard the little talk before, won't blame the repetition though. Jewel wins my uttermost respect as an artist and a role model with enriching experience of overcoming endless struggles. Way to go girl! (no longer a girl, but...) She came back for encore and performed three more songs. The last one was a traditional folk song 'Chime Bells' and she didn't shy showcasing her yodel tricks. 'The crazy yodel singer' - no doubt.

Jewel yodeling Chime Bells - Atlantic City 12.02.2006

If there's only one word I can use to describe Jewel, that would be 'soulful'.

Backup descriptives are 'crazy', 'fun', and 'crazy fun'. XD

Jewel - Perfectly Clear

2008-06-08T23:38:00.004+08:00

From the young girl who debuted with a stunningly raw folksy rocksy piece of Pieces of You, Jewel certainly has experimented along her way (though sometimes to shocking results--I still abhor the neon terror that is 0304!) and now she has come full circle, sort of, to her folk/country roots. Opinions are divided here--I find it quite a strong, welcome return and zhu says meh. But/and we agree that both of us miss the emotional rawness, that bleeding, searing heartrenchingness of her early work. (Something only a young girl and young love could produce, probably, and clearly she can't be in that place for ever.)

Either way, we'll let you be the judge =) Download it here and tell us what you think! (Thanks to zhu for the upload!)

Tomiko Van - Tokyo Biyori

2008-06-08T16:53:00.003+08:00

After doing 2 cover albums, Tomiko's finally releasing something original. New single 'Tokyo Biyori'(東京日和) is out June 18! It's a lovely ballad that reminds you of warm sunlight on an ordinary day. What a happy voice. Great job, ban-chan!

After watching the PV, I can't help drawing a parallel between this and 'Baby don't cry' by Namie Amuro.

柴田淳 - ふたり

2008-06-08T15:53:00.002+08:00

Languid web-wandering on gloomy Sunday afternoon leads me to this...Futari ('Two People') by Jun Shibata. Love the calm piano and the clear, rich flow of her voice in it!

Last.fm +Youtube = Music TV Goodness

2008-05-07T10:42:00.002+08:00

Just discovered another last.fm + X compound--"a mashup of Last.fm and YouTube made by Tim Bormans. ...It’s best described as an online music television based on your taste. Just enter a last.fm username or music artist you like, and some funky coding later you will be watching your own personalized music channel. Now ain't that sweet?" Sweet indeed!

Try it here!

KOKIA: The Voice (2008)

2008-04-30T02:26:00.005+08:00

Today I feel it in my fingers to type this review on the latest album by Kokia: The Voice.

A big thank you to Zhu for introducing me to this amazing artist.
Her voice is so versatile and soul rendering and very capable at traversing various different genres. One moment full bodied and strong like that of a survivor, the next moment sweet, and innocent like that of a child.

The songs in this album are as vesatile as she is.

A couple of wonderful ballads in the compilation like Everlasting and Gomen ne, and some unorthodox pieces such as Follow the Nightingale and Song of Pocchong where I believe she came up with her own words for lyrics. Word on the web has been that if you manage to catch these words and write them backwards they are actual japanese words in Romanji. However, there has yet to be substantial evidence for that.

The lyrics to her songs are as hauntingly striking, particularly those of Everlasting which never fails to put me in a pensive mood. Everlasting is to me a stellar demonstration of her operatic prowess. The first time I heard it I thought it was actually Sarah Brightman. The timbre, the high notes even the song structure are similar to that of Brightman's. Though I must say that I think Kokia's voice is less jarring on the nerves and more fullsome and heart rendering.

Every moment I can feel you.
Wish You feel the same way.
If I show my secret garden you can touch to eternity.
It fill me in with scent rose.
everlasting memory.
Glow my life, you give me a heart to love.
What I feel please stay forever.

Someday I know it may fade away
Still we ask for forever.
find our sign in this music.
everlastig memory.
only my love, truly given eternal life.
what I hold, keep breathing forever.

Love, where to come.
Love, ever lasting.
The world is Saturated with light of love.

Glow my life, you give me a heart to love.
What I feel please stay forever.
only my love, truly given eternal life.
what I hold, keep breathing forever.

Someday I know it may fade away
Still we ask for forever.

~Everlasting - Kokia: The Voice ~

Nani mo kamo hoshi ni natte is like a balladic J-poppish song with it's lyrics belting out angst and hope through her melancholic velvety tones. Hope it does make it to the top of the charts. Perhaps if the winds of change blow and render those mindless J-pop screamers mute. I am just kidding of course. I too have my favourite J-poppers too. The following is an english translation of the lyrics of the songs. From what I understand of nihon go it appears to looks quite accurate.

Hatred, conflict, suffering, even if we hurt each other

If we look at the same sky after we were born again,

It will probably be only a blink of a bright moment

Where, instead of people being sacrified, justice that goes on with happiness

Alone, a life on a single person, if that life belonged to the one you love

Please imagine, as though it's your own pain

Everything turns into a star and passed on to the future

Everyone is someone's one day only

Justified events, that adults had sought reasons and let them pass

Though i was there, looking, the moment i turned a blind eye, i went down

Please imagine, as though it's your own pain

To regret every time you lose something, and shed tears for my short comings

The tears shed, as many as the number of stars, trying not waste them

Only an emptiness cuts the sky, and tears my heart

When everything turns into a star, would it all be forgotten?

Please look at the person beside you

Coincidence that you cannot simply call them a stranger

It's too far into the time to smile back anymore

I don't need love that seeks something in return

Please imagine, as though it's your own pain

Everything turns into a star and passed on to the future

Everyone is someone's one and only

~Nanimo kamo ga hoshi ni natte - Kokia: The Voice ~

Odayaka na shizukesa is a truly interesting piece. Utilising intersting interplay between voice, instrumentation and synchronization. Kokia's masterful utilisation of her elements makes her appear to mimic Tori Amos with her piano playing and powerful voice. The calmess of the quiet is truely appreciated through her use of velvety tones on the saxaphone, and the plaintiveness enhanced with the gradual build up of instrumentation with the final die cast with the use of a string orchestra and other worldly vocalization and all this gradually decreases in numbers and the thickness of the music thins out towards the end to a plaintive long held note and a quiet plea for quietness. A true musical experience.

The first song of the album, Gomen ne seals the deal from the start. Each time she hits the chorus it makes you want to tell her that she's forgiven for whatever she is apologizing for. Every time you hear the words Gomen ne you can feel the sting of regret and pain. It's a feeling one and all can bear witness to whenever there's something or someone for which ( or whom ) we feel regret for and the pangs that come along with it.

It's strange that Kokia would choose to open her album with an apology. An act of humility or is there a deeper meaning to this album. For what it's worth, there is no need for apology or humility for this album. Just listening to this work of art is explanation enough.

(Edit: download link here. =p)

Zbigniew Preisner - Trois Couleurs: Bleu soundtrack

2008-04-28T21:31:00.000+08:00

Decidedly one of my favourite composers for film scores and beyond, Zbigniew Preisner makes music that's majestic, poignant, often profoundly melancholic and breathtakingly beautiful.

Quoting wikipedia:
Preisner studied history and philosophy in Kraków. Never having received formal music lessons, he taught himself about music by listening and transcribing parts from records.

He is best known for his work on Kieślowski’s movies, most famously, Trois Couleurs: Bleu, Blanc, Rouge; and after working with fellow Pole Agnieszka Holland on Kieślowski’s Three Colors: Blue, Preisner was hired by producer Francis Ford Coppola to write the score for The Secret Garden, directed by Holland.

Although Preisner is most closely associated with Kieślowski, he has written for other directors, winning a César in 1996 for his work on Jean Becker’s Elisa. He has won a number of other awards, including another César in 1994 for Three Colors: Red, and the Silver Bear from the 1997 Berlin Film Festival 1997 for The Island on Bird Street.

In 1998, Requiem for My Friend, Preisner’s first large scale work not written for film, premiered. It was originally intended as a narrative work to be written by Krzysztof Piesiewicz and directed by Kieślowski, but after Kieślowski’s death, it instead became a sort of memorial to him.

Here I'd like to share the soundtrack to Trois Couleurs: Bleu with you. If you have watched the film you'd likely remember the haunting symphony that played throughout the course of the narrative, that the bereft wife and secret composer Binoche plays hears in utmost intensity in her grief and anger; music that was like the sapphire blue glass windchimes she takes with her, containing and refracting such a vortex of emotions, but always in shades of deep, almost violent, blue.

You may download the soundtrack here. (But as usual, I strongly urge you to buy a copy if you like it like I do. Do enjoy.)

soundamus - last.fm new releases feed

2008-04-28T20:49:00.004+08:00

An awesome site for last.fm users: soundamus.net notifies you of the latest release of artists you listen to (and get scrobbled) by generating a self-updating rss feed tailored just for you. All you need to do is enter your username.

Don't use last.fm yet? You really should think about it, or find out more. Alternative, try music-alert. Happy tracking!

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

2008-04-28T11:24:00.004+08:00

Elbow is an indie rock/dream pop band from Manchester,UK. They're one of the most under-rated out there (so can be said of a million other bands) but their time will surely come! (not so much for the other million bands,sorry)! They released a new album in March this year titled 'The Seldom Seen Kid'(Download here, link expires May 3). The title is a tribute to their friend Bryan who just passed away, and also a line from their hit single 'Grounds for Divorce' (quote: Monday is for drinking to the seldom seen kid)

Links:
Official site | Wikipedia | Myspace

Elbow is my new find and I'm yet to (1) Dig out why they call themselves 'elbow', namely a rather fragile body joint (2) Listen to their previous albums to see the progression of musical style (3) Attend their concert on May 6th, held in a church in downtown Vancouver =D Envy me not!

As Jady asked me why they'd hold a concert in CHURCH (are they a religious band?), I browsed through online resources and came to the conclusion they simply love venturous places and even plan to try out a forest (They need solar energy to power up their electronic set XD)

I've listened to the seldom seen kid back to back a couple of times and dare I say I love every single track on the album! It's 100% gem! 'Grounds for Divorce' (released in single) is coarse, dark and ground-shaking, something that would fit frontman Guy Garvey's 'grizzly' image. It's a very catchy tune with old-flavoured, minimalistic guitars. However this's the only heavy rock song you'd find on the album and wiki says 'it's the most rock composition ever attempted by Elbow'. Successful as it is, grounds for divorce isn't exactly representative. The lyrics are excellently written with personal reference to the neighborhood Garvey grew up in. Matter of fact, one of the greatest attractions about Elbow is Guy Garvey's beautifully crafted lyrics, which can be read through as a complete poem with the finest rhymes and metaphors. Here's a discussion link to the lyrics of Grounds for Divorce, an interesting read.

Grounds for Divorce

Tune to 'One day like this' and 'Weather to fly' on sunny days and you'll experience how the melodious orchestra loosen up your bones and toss you high up the clouds.'The bones of you'and 'Some Riot'are much darker and introspective. 'The fix' is a nice attempt at folk composition (reminds me of Broadway musicals) and features guest performance from Richard Hawley. They have proved how talented and versatile they're when it comes to song writing. One of the best I've came across among indie rock bands.

One Day Like This

The Bones of You (Live at Glasgow)

The Bones of You
So I'm here. Charging around with a juggernaut brow. Overdraft speeches and deadlines to make. Cramming commitments like cats in a sack. Telephone burn and a purposeful gait. When out of a doorway the tentacles stretch of a song that I know and the world moves in slow-mo. Straight to my head like the first cigarette of the day. And it's you. And it's May. And we're sleeping through the day. And I'm five years ago and three thousand miles away. Do I have time? A man of my caliber?

Stood in the street like a sleepwalking teenager? No. And I dealt with this years ago. I took a hammer to every memento but image on image like beads on a rosary pull through my head as the music takes hold. And the sickener hits. I can work 'til I break but I love the bones of you. That I will never escape. And it's you. And it's May. And we're sleeping through the day. And I'm five years ago and three thousand miles away. And I can't move my arm for fear that you will wake. And I'm five years ago and three thousand miles away.

4 new Love Psychedelico live clips

2008-04-21T11:05:00.003+08:00

Just found these...=)

Your Song (Budokan '07! One of the commentors to the tubie says the DVD will be released in June, fingers crossed..)

Freedom

Right Now

Everybody needs somebody. In my opinion this song is one of the best to be played live, arrangement or vocal part-wise...almost better than the studio version!

And another old clip of "Everybody needs somebody" from Budokan first time round..good old times =p

Cao Fang - Live in Spring EP

2008-04-17T16:56:00.003+08:00

Frankly I'm not a fan myself, but since we seem to get quite some responses to the previous posts, here's another one for all the Cao Fang (曹方) fans out there--a new EP called 住在春天, or Live in Spring, and you may download it here.

@Shrota: if you visit here again, please leave your email so that you can get notified when the previous album is uploaded.

Kings Of Convenience - I'D Rather Dance With You

2008-04-16T22:12:00.002+08:00

Song of the Day! Get up and shake your booty~~ ;)

I'll leave it to zhu to do a KOC rave/post, just thought I'd post this cute (and gayest I've seen in a while xD) video here first, and also the soon-to-expire link to download the full size MV for any of you who collect...Enjoy~

Matt Watts - the ever seeing bird

2008-04-16T21:34:00.007+08:00

Seems like this budding indie artist is totally new on the scene, another young guy with an acoustic guitar and a breezy voice to confide and enchant, and not much other info the net--besides this blurb on last.fm, written apparently by the artist himself:

im from the west coast of the states, but i’ve been living in belgium for the past year. thank you very much for listening- i try to update this page as often as i can. you can also check out my myspace page if you’d like. (which contains new material not collected in the album, pretty nice too - jady's note.)

The debut album, the ever seeing bird, has all the wide-eyed youthful charms and soft, flowing simplicity of a new indie folk artist, but he stands out a bit more from the other indie folksy albums I've been listening to; I don't know if it's a good mellow-and-melancholic mix or the unhurriedness sweetness, but it definitely makes good company for some quiet nighttime reading. You can listen to one of my favourite tracks in the pink radio above, or download it here.

Contact and Request

2008-04-16T18:40:00.003+08:00

If you would like to contact us for anything, generally leaving a comment (say, in the latest post) would do, since we get notified duly. Feel free to use the shoutbox too.

Request an upload/re-upload/anything
Because we can't always respond promptly to the re-upload requests that we sometimes receive, we suggest you leave some way of contact in the comments, the most convenient being an email address of course, so that we could notify you when it comes, and need not let it expire quietly again. To avoid getting spammed yourself, spell it out like "xyz at abcd dot com", with liberal splashes of (){}[] too if you like.

You may also want to check out some news/blog aggregator services (we recommend google reader and bloglines) and subscribe to our feed. That way you'll never miss an update. =) Happy listening!

New Template!

2008-04-16T18:16:00.003+08:00

Hi long estranged readers, this is your rusty techie speaking, in quite a while. Basically I'm announcing another site appearance makeover (Which means we are probably going to return to regular updates. Again.) shedding the cuter, more feminine (read: pink) but narrower template--with original art from Contributor Zhu, see below!--

..with this much more subdued background and wider layout adapted from a wordpress theme.

How do you like it?

Also updated in this edition: to trim the sidebar length a little (it was sprawling), charts of fancy, flipping album arts are taken down (awwwww). But you can always visit our last.fm pages to find out about our favourite artists, or better, get your own going!

Lisa Germano - Geek the Girl

2007-12-19T14:11:00.000+08:00

First, some biography from wiki--

Lisa Germano is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter who has released seven albums featuring her distinctive violin and confessional lyrics. Her album Geek the Girl received widespread critical acclaim (making Spin's top 90 albums of the 90's list). She also performed as a guest on over sixty records by other artists, including Eels, John Mellencamp, Simple Minds, David Bowie, Sheryl Crow and Iggy Pop. She has also spent considerable time touring with Neil Finn, playing violin, keyboards, and providing backing vocals. She was the featured vocalist on the 1997 album Slush, which also included members of Giant Sand and Calexico.

The first album I came into contact with was her latest 2006 release, In the Maybe World, her low, wispy vocal and melancholic confessions was reminiscent of Mazzy Star, Mojave 3, or anything that brims with pure dream-pop goodness. A reading of her biography turned out to be surprising enough, given the success she had with her label, 4AD, and how it later dropped her and the dramatic events that led her to quit the music scene altogether in 1998. I could only say I am glad (very, glad) she's now back.

Geek the Girl was her fourth studio album and the most critically acclaimed (or so says wikipedia). You may download it here (link valid till 28 Dec).

Cao Fang - "Farther Than The Sky" EP

2007-12-19T13:04:00.000+08:00

Popular Chinese indie popper Cao Fang (曹方) just released a new EP after two years, called ’Farther Than The Sky' (比天空还远).

Tracks:
01. 夜晚 | Night
02. 比天空还远 | Farther than the sky
03. 最小的海 | The smallest ocean
04. 忽略 | Ignore
05. 夏末的萨克斯手 | The sax player at the end of summer

Download the EP here.

Mediamonkey 3

2007-12-18T21:00:00.000+08:00

I regret to say that the new Mediamonkey 3 icon of a black silhouette against a moon/sun(?) isn't so endearing as the beaming monkey face; minimized, it rather resembled the edonkey icon and I had to hover and look twice to be sure I didn't just somehow install edonkey on top of emule. But other than that, it's all great!

(click to enlarge)

The screenshot should speak enough of a sleeker, generally improved interface, with added functionalities like rating a song with one click on the player while listening to it, more ways to view your collection (by track details, album art, or album art with details), while largely maintaining the intuitive navigation structure of previous builds. Geeks may want to check out what exactly got improved, more screenshots, or a whole forum on MM3.

Download the latest build of MM3 here. Note that this is still in beta stage and there are still bugs and unfixed issues, so before diving in, back up what you need to back up, and enjoy. ;)

----------------
Now playing: Cocteau Twins - Pitch The Baby

Salyu- iris ～しあわせの箱～ & DVD release

2007-12-07T02:56:00.000+08:00

I'm outdated again, not surprisingly.

Note: Left is limited press. Right is regular edition.

Salyu's new single 'iris ~ Shiawase no Hako'was released on Nov 28th. It's another touchy ballad reminiscent of 'Platform'. Salyu established herself as a stand-alone operatic pop singer in 'Salyu period' (as opposed to 'Lily chou-chou' period). The ambient ether is replaced by a crowded, glamorous cosmo. That's my feeling of her transition. Both are undoubtedly unique but somehow I miss Lily chou-chou very, very much.

Here's a look at the PV, a sweet short film about circus performers and how a pretty little girl aspires to be one of them. Her PVs are never a disappointment.By the way, there's a 'Salyu clips 2004-2007' DVD release on the same date as this single. I'm gonna grab it!

DVD Purchase guide,

cdjapan | YesAsia

Release: 2007.11.28
3,600yen(tax-in) TFBQ-18076
DVD (Region 2)

1. VALON-1
2. Dialogue
3. Peaty
4. Suisei
5. Kaze ni Noru Fune
6. Tower
7. name
8. Platform
9. Tobira
10. I BELIEVE

Bonus Tracks
VALON (Ilmari×Salyu)
Making Clips (Music from TERMINAL Tour 2007)

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

2007-12-06T20:54:00.000+08:00

When Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and bluegrass goddess Alison Krauss decided to come together and make a duet album, what ensues is pure MAGIC. I only got wind of the news a couple of days ago and immediately jumped at it, but had I known the news long enough to sit back and muse through the months about what kind of a music-child this might turn out to be, I'd scratch my head, bad. Admittedly I knew nothing about the works of post-Led Zep Plant, who famously and admirably dabbled in a wide range of genres, so collaboration with artists outside of classic rock wouldn't be a first, still, to juxtapose the jangly, howling Led Zep passion alongside Krauss's lightly hopping banjo notes and angelic, crystalline honey of a voice is a strange, if not downright bizarre picture.

Yet. The titans did not clash. They complemented each other so perfectly you wonder why they hadn't thought of doing this earlier, more often, and (if possible) for life. I'll quote Alanna Nash's in-depth review here--

No matter that Plant seems so subdued as to be on downers, for that's one of the keys to this most improbable meeting of musical galaxies--almost all of it seems slowed down, out of time, otherworldly, and at times downright David Lynch-ian, the product of an altered consciousness. Yet probably the main reason it all works so well is the choice of producer T Bone Burnette, the third star of the album, who culled mostly lesser-known material from some of the great writers of blues, country, folk, gospel, and R&B, including Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, Milt Campbell, the Everly Brothers, Sam Phillips, and A.D. and Rosa Lee Watson. At times, Burnette's spare and deliberate soundscape--incisively crafted by guitarists Marc Ribot and Norman Blake, bassist Dennis Crouch, drummer Jay Bellerose, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, among others--is nearly as dreamy and subterranean as Daniel Lanois's work with Emmylou Harris (Wrecking Ball). Occasionally, Burnette opts for a fairly straightforward production while still reworking the original song (Plant's own "Please Read the Letter," Mel Tillis's "Stick with Me, Baby"). But much of the new flesh on these old bones is oddly unsettling, if not nightmarish. On the opening track of "Rich Woman," the soft-as-clouds vocals strike an optimistic mood, while the instrumental backing--loose snare, ominous bass line, and insinuating electric guitar lines--create a spooky, sinister undertow. Plant and Krauss trade out the solo and harmony vocals, and while they both venture into new waters here (Krauss as a mainstream blues mama, Plant as a gospel singer and honkytonker), she steals the show in Sam Phillips' new "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," where a dramatic violin and tremulous banjo strike a foreboding gypsy tone. When Krauss begins this strange, seductive song in a voice so ethereal that angels will take note, you may stop breathing. That, among other reasons, makes Raising Sand an album to die for.

And an interview clip (with segments of songs) with Plant, Krauss and producer Burnette that's well worth checking out.

'nuff said. Grab the album here, and enjoy. B-)

----------------
Now playing: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Rich Woman

Rie Fu

2007-12-06T16:23:00.000+08:00

Per request(winks,Jady,bin bin), I'm throwing in a quick post on Rie Fu's latest album 'Tobira Album' released on 21st of Nov. You might think the word 'album' redundant(we appreciate its clarity) but it's in fact part of the official title. Refer to her previous album 'Rose Album'. Following this trend, we expect her next album to be 'X(a noun) album'.

I'm so lame. Forgive me.

Here's the download link about to expire. Grab it now or never!

part 1 (~60mb)
part 2 (~50mb)
Tobira Album (translation: Door Album)

A little introduction on Rie Fu - A Japan-based Maryland-London educated pop and folk artist who has her shot of fame with 'Life is like a boat',the ED of Anime 'Bleach'. Although anime/drama brings tremendous airplay, but please, don't define artists by anime tags. If you're not aware whether you belong to the 'anime tagging' group, think if these scenarios ring a bell:

'Oh she's the new Bleach ending.'

'They are the 4th Naruto opening.'

You get what I mean.

Thanks to Bleach, Rie Fu starts to get instant recognition. 'Life is like a boat' is an extremely melodious song, a little sad, a little melancholic, a crystal clear voice that's trademark Rie Fu. She's inspired by artists such as Sheryl Crow and the Carpenters. The oldie taste lingers in her folkish singing. One remarkable thing I find about her is how she manages to make music easy,clean and sweet. Voice is the single most powerful weapon she wields to penetrate your defense. She's a truly talented songwriter with a quality guarantee stamp on her credit. If you think 'Life is like a boat' is her limit, you'll be surprised how she stretches and goes way beyond her typical self. 'I wanna go to a place' and 'Tiny tiny melody' prove she can write as many 'Boat' classics easy breezy but she can also be humorously romantic in '5 mintues', 'Funny dream', or a bit edgy in 'Decay' and 'Conversation'.

I'd like to think there's a style-defining focus in each album. The debut eponymous album 'Rie Fu' shows her strength in writing sweet melodies. Beautiful voice, beautiful songs, but kind of two dimensional. As she promised to show more of the third dimension to the world, the 2nd album 'Rose Album' is incredibly romantic and smart. You get nostalgia fading in and out. Simply put, smart is the word. The latest release 'Tobira Album' is a lovey dovey heavily pop-oriented piece of work. It sounds bright and cheerful, with songs '5000 miles','Until I say'and 'Come to my door' paving the popish undertone. You also get a peek at the unavoidable graduation crisis in 'London' where she's currently schooling. 'What to do afterwards?' We wish you continue with song writing!

Seriously I have nothing more to write... I've exhausted all adjectives, verbs, nouns,adverbs,punctuations(not really)... So now I make way for tubie time!

Why not have a listen and decide whether you like her?

Life is like a boat

Decay

Until I say

あなたがここにいる理由 (The reason why you're here)

Live gig in London - 'The air was dry in London'
I have to say she's a natural performer with great integrity. Even when the set-up is damn noisy and people are chit chatting like crazy, she still manages to pull it off great. This song 'The air was dry in London' is include on 'Tobira Album' but the title is simply 'London'.

Sleepy.ab

2007-11-26T14:45:00.000+08:00

Jady's been diligently updating this blog and looking at the string of posts,let me just say I'm both moved and guilty. So here's my return-to-the-team post on a Japanese shoegazing band called sleepy.ab.

(Murmur to self: Did I recommend sleepy.ab before? O_O)

If you search for 'sleepy.ab' on wikipedia (Eng), the first hit that comes up is 'advanced sleep phase syndrome'. I'll mark it joke of the day. The name stands for 'sleepy.abstract' which aptly captures their soporific and ambient electrical sounds inspired by dream pop and alternative rock. They're the modern shoegazers (follow the link and read more), a rather short-lived movement active from the late 1980s to early 90s. Shoegazers use various pedal effects to create sophisticated layers of noise and atmospheric reverberations. Sleepy.ab however is much sweeter than 'noise' and you can hardly associate them with the word 'heavy'. Even in Japan this band is only active in the indie scene and remains obscure to the major consumers. It would be a great joy to share the magic of their music with more fans.

The line-up (retrieved from wikipedia japan):

Official Site (has audio and video clips)

Top left - 成山剛 (Tsuyoshi Nariyama),Vocal, Guitar
Top right - 山内憲介 (Kensuke Yamauchi),Guitar
Bottom left: 田中秀幸 (Hideyuki Tanaka),Base
Bottom right: 津波秀樹 (Hideki Tsuha),drums

Tsuyoshi has been compared to Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke.The similarity is certain. Personally I think Tsuyoshi's voice is more tarry and resonates with more power and dimension. It's hard to imagine one man equivalent of a surround stereo and you simply soar in their magic forest of sound. Their compositions divide among the saccharine melodious (such as Yume no Hana, merodi), the introspective darker wave (fluid, aufheben), and the weightier and noisier timbre (mass gymnastic display, Must it be?).They produce truly great, psychedelic melodies that infiltrate and saturate your senses. Just don't fall asleep! (warnings by Jady)

They have released 4 albums so far. It's hard to lay hands on their previous albums but you can try your luck with the latest 'Fantasia' which features a beautiful artsy cover (all their albums feature the same oil artist). My overall impression of 'Fantasia' is, compared to their previous, this album leans more towards dream pop and is more restricted stylistically. My favourite pick would be the 3rd album 'Palette'. The first track '四季ウタカタ' (Song of four seasons) gives you a fantastic shock of Tsuyoshi's vocal capability and it's also the track that gets me hooked to the band.

Albums:
face the music (2002.12.11)
traveling fair (2004.5.26)
palette (2006.3.8)
fantasia (2007.3.7)

DOWNLOAD, megaupload(8 tracks selected from the above albums, for sampling purpose only. Please support the artist by purchasing the original albums.)

Here're 2 precious live clips. A million thanks to the uploader, love ye!

(What kind of name is that, Kraps Hall...)

Live at Kraps Hall 2007.06.29, performing 'Yume no Hana'(Dream flower)

Melody (from 3rd album 'Palette')

Merry go round (from 4th album 'Fantasia')

Scene + Pain (from 1st album 'Face the music')

***
Now playing: Mojave 3 - Bringin' Me Home
via FoxyTunes

The Ditty Bops

2007-11-22T21:04:00.000+08:00

Hmmm, what should I say about the Ditty Bops...um, try, "I ADORE THEM!"? Yes, yes, that sounds about right.. =D

It wouldn't be too exaggerating to say their eponymous first album is one of the most delightful finds of the year for me. It is playful, joyous, wicked, smart, mellow, funny. It's what I'd happily put on on a sunny morning, or a cold rainy afternoon, or jogging to it, or dance a bit. I feel I could listen to it the whole day and indeed I have for a fair bit. These girls are just such fun. =))

Come to think of it, I know but one other girl duo, t.A.T.u., and even that is for all the (old) buzz around the fetishsized image and not the music--which, incidentally, is some pop and probably worth a listen, or so I heard. Oh wait, HOW did I forget Tegan and Sara! Really dig this lovely (real) twin duo from Canada...but that's for another day and I digress too much...and oh, the Ditty girls too have some rather interesting pictures, check them out... and I realize I was just thinking of the European-American scene, I am sure most of us would agree we've more than a fair share of girl duos in Asia, no? OK, end of freewheeling digression..

Some general biography:

The Ditty Bops is a band from Los Angeles, California that play a blend of folk, bluegrass, jazz, swing music, ragtime and musical theater. They are headed by Abby DeWald (vocals and acoustic guitar) and Amanda Barrett (vocals, mandolin and dulcimer). They are noted for their excellent harmonies and generally playful style and tempo.

Official site.

Download The Ditty Bops the album here. Link expires one week from now.

Due to chronic laziness I usually do my research as I write along, so I regularly get embarrassed by my outdatedness / shocked / pleasantly surprised. And this piece of old news I just found...well, will complements the above photo link real well, and may I call out to all my dear lesbo friends, it's worth your special attention, *winks*.
----------------
Now playing: The Ditty Bops - Wishful Thinking

download notice

2007-11-22T18:41:00.001+08:00

Just to update and let you know - here's the ten-track selection for the last weekly roundup, download link valid for a week. Particular highlight is Norah Jones' cover of Arcade Fire's Ocean of Noise, which is a rare find =d. Happy sampling~

update on beta last.fm and mediamonkey compatibility

2007-11-21T21:58:00.000+08:00

I got my reply from last.fm staff about said problem, and apparently it's because in installing the beta client it also automatically updated the plugins, which affect mediamonkey since the winamp plugin (which MM uses) is now updated to accommodate the latest winamp release (which, by the way, looks pretty slick, so much so I actually downloaded and tried out, and I rather gleefully say that functionality-wise it is still nowhere nearing MM.) and inadvertently loses the support for MM.

The rather simple solution is in this thread on the MM forum, but just to sum things up:

Download this .dll file. Exit MM and Last.fm, Locate the Plugins folder for MM (usually C:/Program Files/MediaMonkey/Pugins), and overwrite the file "gen_wa2_scrobbler.dll" with this file with the same name. Restart MM and it should work.

(I suspect it will work just as fine to simply backup your existent scrobbler.dll if you already have had MM installed and scrobbling working. Install beta or any version that has winamp plugin updated, and overwrite the gen_wa2_scrobbler.dll file with backup.)

Never used MM to scrobble before? It's easy. In the last.fm client, click on "tools" --> "Get plugin" --> next --> Add --> choose "Winamp" in the dropdown box and then click on 'browse' to locate your MediaMonkey folder, choose MediaMonkey.exe, click "Open" and then "Ok". You are set to scrobble now. ;)

----------------
Now playing: Diary Of Dreams - Darker

beta last.fm and more

2007-11-21T10:51:00.000+08:00

Alright, I'm a last.fm junkie, I like looking at stats, wandering tech forums, digging for easter eggs and extensions, and hopping on the endless 'similar artists' links and read whatever catches my fancy--works for me like wikipedia for some wikiholics, and sucks time like a black hole, xD.

So I installed the beta client yesterday--it's supposed to work just as slick, with improved tagging and some other goodies, but unfortunately it and my Mediamonkey don't seem to go along this time (I emailed and last.fm staff is already investigating), so MM users, don't rush in to test the new water yet. I now have to resort to listen to the rarely utilized radio stations in the client (out of reluctance to let my tracks go unscrobbled...yeah I'm this hooked), and which, delightfully, turned out to be very good! It streams quite smooth (with my not-so-broad broadband service) and the audio quality isn't bad at all. Totally loving it now.

As for tricks, statistic lovers are gonna love this: Extended last.fm stats based on weekly artist charts. Just enter the username and any specified time period, and it will generate a very comprehensive and rather impressive sheet of stats, like this. Sweet eh? =D

Another find is this Open Minded Index Generator--it calculates the so-named OMI by looking at the user's own tags in relation to the top artists of the last 12 months. Even as a lazy and sporadic tagger, I think the work is pretty nice (not that I got a very high score lol). Try and see for yourself. ;)

For the old tricks, see here.

Emmy Rossum - Slow Me Down

2007-11-09T19:43:00.001+08:00

Random tubie of the day~

I didn't even know to how to tag this besides pop, she sort of channels a little Imogen Heap--which is of course a much welcome thing--but not trip-hop or indie or new-age or anything of attitude enough...HAD to be pop then, #tags# (Blimey, jady can't even tell pop and non-pop apart now. Wasn't those cute dresses and fab hair and rolling-in-bedsheet shots clue enough?? *rolls eyes*)

I had no idea who she was when I watched it embedded elsewhere, and then turns out she's the 'Phantom of the Opera' star and this is her debut single, hmmm, might be interesting to see that movie..

dark(wave) week

2007-11-09T11:55:00.001+08:00

For lack of any one artist that I particularly want to write about yet wanting to write something @.@, I thought I'll attempt a Weekly Top Artists round-up (of last.fm chart). It should be interesting since some of the weekly tops may not make it to the more permanently visible Top 50 chart in a long time--if ever, but they are certainly no less worthy to put forward and recommend. And I don't always have an more varied chart than this...

UPDATE: download a ten-track selection here, link valid for a week.

1. All my faith lost
An Italian neofolk duo that makes quiet, pensive and somewhat dark (some label it 'goth') music and takes their subject from enchanted world of fairies, folklores, and lot more--my favourite track for example, An early fright from The Hours, muses about existence and Kierkegaard. Try a free track here (courtesy of last.fm).

2. Marissa Nadler
Melancholic and strange but perhaps not so appropriately grouped into the 'New Weird America' folk movement, Nadler exudes a rather more traditional and mystic aura than her contemporaries. She sings airy and slow, with simple and delicate guitar backing, and it totally charms me. Recommended Ballad of Living and Dying for a start.

3. Jewel
Do I have to write about Jewel? Really?? Well, let's try tags: folk, pop, rock, singer-songwriter. Ever since she releases the latest Goodbye Alice in Wonderland I have been ignoring it--gave it a listen, thought it unremarkable and never touched it again. This week I dug it up and listened alongside her earlier efforts, and may I say, it's actually good. Maybe the music is not as intense and so-honest-it-hurts (or apparently embarrasses, as some reviews evidenced) as before, but the life she continues to narrate...is more than some tracks in some album. Way to go, Jewel.

4. The Beatles
I'm not a fan, not by a long shot. I could never quite understand the strong emotions the mere name excites in some people (especially those born long after Beatles disbanded--John is not your personal god! Nor is George, for that matter..*prepares invisible cloak*) Alright. But quite needless to say, they are a great band, especially on the last few albums (my fav: Revolver), truly genius stuff.

5. Black Tape for a Blue Girl
Another darkwave/ambient band--the name was what attracted me first, gotta admit. I still don't quite get what 'gothic' exactly means--it's so musically vague and unilluminating, so I'll just forget that and quote wiki: "their sound could be described accurately as an ambient soundscape of analog synth and old world instruments (both real and synthesized), mixed with vocals of poetic and melancholy themes."

6. Nightwish
Nightwish is probably the one of the most famous and representative of the symphonic metal genre. I remember hearing 'Wish I had an Angel' (youtube) years ago and how the powerful and expansive soundscope stunned me. It had since had its lead vocal fired and replaced, and the new Dark Passion Play album is still very awesome.

7. Green Day
Green Day is a popular American (pop) punk band, and I'm imagining an disapproving stare from Jeremy our residential punk boy as I am writing this, but I have to say: the music is just...sweet! For a long time I was just listening to American Idiot--and never got tired of it, but now I'm starting to go back in time and begin from the beginning, and it's been thrilling.

8. The Ditty Bops
Quirky and playful indie pop band of two girls from California, they play a blend of folk, bluegrass, jazz, swing music, ragtime and musical theater. The eponymous first album is a gem.

9. Norah Jones
I was just indulging myself...I should know better than voluntarily sinking myself in that Sultriness...again... lol.

10. Explosions in the Sky
Someone asked me if I was listening to some violent metal stuff and I asked why. Oh no, this is not a loud metal band. Quite the contrary actually, it's an instrumental band (I still don't like the non-instructive post-rock tag) that makes ambient, experimental music, with equally long and idiosyncratic album names like Suddenly I Miss Everyone or The Earth is not a Cold Death Place.

----------------
Now playing: Lisa Germano - After Monday

Band of Horses - Cease to Begin

2007-11-09T00:38:00.000+08:00

I should leave this post to zhu to finish, but I thought I'd put up the file link first before it expires (soon). Download BOH's latest album here.

Placeholder intro from All Music Guide:

Seattle, WA's Band of Horses plays dense, aching mid-tempo indie rock reminiscent of Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Formed in 2004 by multi-instrumentalists Ben Bridwell and Matthew Brooke out of the ashes of former incarnation Carissa's Wierd, the group caught the attention of Sub Pop during a show with friends and future lablemates Iron & Wine. The label signed the newly minted outfit in 2005 and re-released their self-titled EP. Their full-length debut, Everything All the Time, arrived in March of 2006. Four months later, while touring in support of Everything All the Time, Brooke left Band of Horses, going on to form a new project entitled Grand Archives. ~ James Christopher Monger

Now c'mon, zhu! xD

music-alerts: keep track of your favourite artists' releases

2007-11-08T23:38:00.000+08:00

As its slogan says, now music-alerts.com allows you to never miss another album release. Simply type in artist names and it automatically creates a customized feed for you. The engine roams amazon server every three days and updates your feed reader timely (what's a feed and what's a feed reader? Start reading here or trying out here).

Last.fm users can go to the bottom of your 'Top Artists Overall' chart and click on 'Paste your taste'--voila, it has your top 50 artists, and loads of work saved! Add on artists if you have yet more tucked away (I kinda wish last.fm gives a full feed for my top 100 or 150 artists...but people like me who have too voracious an appetite should be restrained ;P). Do remember to remove the last line when you are done pasting. =)

The generated feed looks something like this. Enjoy. ;D

Tim Minchin

2007-11-01T09:01:00.000+08:00

I first came across Tim Minchin on a TV show with Darren Hayes, where he did an kiwi song on piano (dedicated to Alan Brough from New Zealand). Always spotted with a bird's nest hair and 3 o'clock eyes, Tim's a modern Renaissance comedian whose quirky talents and creativity never cease to tickle the audience. 'Rock n' Roll nerd' (scroll to the bottom, scroll scroll scroll) is my favourite. It's bloody honest and hilarious.

More about him from Wiki, Official site.

The dark side

Inflatable dolls (singing about sex dolls I believe)

Here's the Alan Brough tribute

Live, Not perfect

The rock n' roll nerd

Running up that hill

2007-09-28T14:44:00.000+08:00

Wiki

Brief intro: The song was originally written by Kate Bush for the album 'Hounds of Love' (Darren Hayes' favourite btw). The complete title reads 'Running up that hill(A deal with God) but due to religious concerns, they dropped the bracket. Placebo covered it and what you see here is a live performance on the Henry Rollins Show. The song is about swapping positions between two different parties (a man and a woman) who have difficulties understanding each other.

There's something about Brian(Placebo's frontman)'s stage demeanor that attracts me periodically. (There are periods I can't stand his voice). Since I didn't hear Kate Bush's original version or any other covers, there's no ground to compare...

Placebo - Running Up That Hill Lyrics

It doesn't hurt me.
You wanna feel how it feels?
You wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me?
You wanna hear about the deal I'm making?
You be running up that hill
You and me be running up that hill

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.
If I only could, oh...

You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder.
There is thunder in our hearts, baby.
So much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don't we?

You, be running up that hill
You and me, be running up that hill
You and me won't be unhappy.

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building,
If I only could, oh...

'C'mon, baby, c'mon, c'mon, darling,
Let me steal this moment from you now.
C'mon, angel, c'mon, c'mon, darling,
Let's exchange the experience, oh...'

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems. x2

'If I only could, be running up that hill.'

----------------
Now playing: Venus In Furs - Tumbling Down
via FoxyTunes

[fun sketch] no cities left

2007-09-05T05:34:00.000+08:00

This used to be a giant and prosperous country finely divided by the flows of rivers and climbs of mountains. My ancestors dwelled along the Labyrinth of Minotaur, or 'the Myth', a local dialect mastered by a city of less than a million people. I am a descendant of the Myth's blood and they bathed me in the Maid of Krynn. The gentle streams soothed a baby's first cry of life.

But there was no Myth, or it seems nobody remembers it anymore.

I was born Lance, at 21° 18′ 30" E and 40° 25′ 20" N. My fiance Sasha is to meet me at at 15° 35′ 50" E and 45° 11′ 15" N, 17:00 just before sunset. People stopped asking 'where's the place?' a long time ago, or 'where are you from?'. We live by coordinates to the nearest precision. Everything's restructured in a way that leaves no room for redundant descriptions. Still, we say the sunset is beautiful, or intoxicating in its grandeur and forgiveness. Nature, both mother and us, hasn't changed much in the core.

The stellar express is travelling at a speed of 5000 miles an hour. Maid of Krynn flashed by below my feet and disappeared as quickly as it came. It spans 5° North and makes a sharp turn to the South in which it continues another 2° East before hitting the valley. That was high school geography my teacher taught me. My great-grandfather said, the Maid was borne under the belly of Myth, sprang it open and ran wild like an abandoned child. After conquering the Mountain of Knosses she grew tired and tamed, and quietly returned to the labyrinth. I know its vein as if it runs in my own blood wailing for an ancient map that's now burnt to the ground.

What marked the territory was now erased and names were denounced. The great War of Autonomy, or so they recorded it in print broke out a hundred years ago when Sanderstone first claimed sovereignty. Cliffton followed. The two largest cities threatened to throw the country into hell. Death toll soared across borders where people shed gallons of blood to claim bits of land smaller than their fingernails. It's funny nobody has an accurate account how the craze ended. All I know is, after the pledge for cease-fire, we were again united as civil men and women, on a land where no cities should exist.

I was shaken out of my reverie as the express halted abruptly at the destination. I stepped out of the gateway to see Sasha jumping to her attention.

'Ranpasarrrr!' She called out in a jolly note. Around her people turned at the foreign sound.

'You don't have to roll your tongue so much you know. It gives me the creeps.' I managed to feign a scowl.

'Don't you - '

'Ranpasar,' I pecked her lightly on the cheek. She smiled and poked me in the ribs. We looked at each other as if to reassure, and slowly started to walk towards the terminal.

It's 15° 35′ 50" E, 45° 11′ 15" N here, or at least that's where we are headed, the midpoint between our birth coordinates. Two days later a wedding shall be held.

However my great-grandfather won't bear witness to the reunion. He didn't even live to see how well Sasha learnt the word.

Ranpasar, with or without the extra 'r's, is saying in Mythical tongue - My love.

***

O man, what a hasty lazy ending. - Jude
----------------
Now playing: The Shins - Kissing the Lipless
via FoxyTunes

[fun sketch] the third man

2007-09-05T01:05:00.000+08:00

(A first! No idea how this was envisioned in your mind--a character sketch? A plot outline? I'll make a mini story this time.)

(Year XXXX, doomsday climate on Earth. A flood broke out somewhere in West Africa, engulfing villages, turning grasslands into soggy swamps and submerging miles and miles of grounds. The most violent outbreaks of the storms would see countless number of human beings flushed away together with domestic animals and wildlife. It was a most despairing sight.) - unnecessary background writing. =p

Two teenage boys are carried away from their villages in the Flood. Though neither of them knows how to swim, sheer luck sees to it that a sturdy wooden cabinet floats nearby. Bobbing up and down and under along the rapid, muddy deluge for days until, on the barren waters, they see a giant, lone tree breaking the surface. Carefully steering the cabinet float, the two boys paddle and finally arrive, climb up and dry off and stay stationary and have all those pleasures one can have dwelling in a large tree.

Days pass; the 'anchored' cabinet gets torn away in a subsequent storm, the bitter-sour fruits in the tree are barely enough to sustain them any more, and the boys were getting desperate. But what can one do? They fall quiet after hours of discussion.

Only to watch the water rise higher steadily by day--numbered are their days. So finally they thought of this--carve the big tree into a canoe--that, at least, they can do-- and leave the rest to fate. Now that they start to regard the tree, they realized how gnarled and unusually grotesque it is: a thick trunk broke into two great branches abruptly, sickly crimson patches dot the twigs, parts of the trunks have caved in, and even some full-girth stretches seem too mushy or rotten to be of any good. They wonder if there was some reason no other tree grows near it in sight. But in the end they picked a short stretch on one of the main branch, marked the ends and decided to work on the carving the next day.

The night, however, didn't go so smooth. Both of them slept fitfully and when they woke to another scanty meal of unpalatable fruits, they related their dreams of the previous night. It was revealed they had a same little dream. A foreign looking man (fair and short, slouching slightly) accosted each of them and said these broken words, "…so cold…old...ake it for 3..shall be rewarded…4 o'clock at four…three of me." Though it injected a little lively talking to the dreariness of the days, mystery and freak incidents were not too welcome, and they warily put the topic aside after a while and set to work.

But it was mission impossible, with next to no tools and little strength left. The boys take turns to hack away at the chosen branch as if just to let out bursts of despair and anger while passing the time. The very night came another dream. The same man, pacing impatiently about, eagerly gestures to them. He makes a Y shaped sign with his arms and body, and nods his head vigorious, finally shouts, eks!!

This time the two boys are fearfully intrigued, they feel the message--if at all--was from nothing good, but seem to have a strong sense of purpose and direction. - What's 'eks'? What was that 'Y' shape about? And then it stumbled across one man's mind--could it be the tree?

The place where the two great main branches come together is a circle enough to stand three persons, and has accumulated soil and epiphytes over the years which the rain has made into a mini swamp. A little digging reveals an already brittle wooden bar--dig and pull it out: a medium sized axe. Some further work unearths a small spade, two daggers and an iron bar, all severely rusted but still useable. The boys almost panic with the flute, odd discovery, and work with compelling frenzy.

Days later, the snug little thing was almost ready. Just enough for two boys to sit in, it awaits to be cut off at the ends and fall into the water beneath. The strange man appeared a third time in their separate but same dreams, angry. "I said you would be rewarded for 3. I'm the third man on your canoe. Or else..." dream broke off here for both of them, for a raging storm broke out in the dark night. Struggling to hold on to the branches and twigs in the strong gales of wind and rain, the two boys were anxious and fearful, for they felt a presence around them, or about the tree. but what of the 'third man'? There weren't any people in sight, in fact there was only the endless waters, and the occasional sight of corpses of people and animals languidly or rapidly floating past and away…not even a dead body for a soul to sit on.

And then one of them slips and tumbles down the web-like top branches straight into the muddy pit between Y-shaped main branches. Gushing rain had made it a true swamp, and in a blink of an eye the man sank chest-deep--a depth they never even arrive at in digging! Frantically kicking to find a foothold, the man thought he brushed against something round and slippery--deep in the mud? But he has gripped the edge of the pit, and hoists himself up.

In the morning they set to investigate it--the first man has a feeling that that deep buried something may have something to do with the third man and his haunting dreams. After some strenuous clearing of the mud--curious scraps of unnamable, rotten material abound--they saw what it was: the back half of a human skull lying deep in the dark pit.

So the two boys took the skull with awed reverence and together set off for escape in the canoe, and was rescued a day later by a search boat.

***

The flood recedes and is completely gone years later. The grassland recovers slowly. The boys are now young men and good friends, and they never cease wondering who the third man was, and what his words meant.

...(to be continued. yawnzzzz)

----------------
Now playing: Mai - like in a film
via FoxyTunes

Musicians are linguists

2007-08-31T20:00:00.000+08:00

…and probably have to be, if they are to be widely recognized? It is hardly surprising the whole world is eager to release pop music in English and, for certain romantic styles, French/Spanish too. Market rules. Not that I am complaining at all, though sometimes I do wish to hear a Swedish indie pop band sing in Swedish for once. ;-)

For the day I'm recommending three indie pop bands (I vow to take a break from twee soon) hailing from Japan, Brazil and China, who sings (exclusively?) in a language other than their own.

First up, mondialito. A two-piece Japanese band established in 2002, they are closer in style to their Swedish counterparts than their indie pop compatriots (ref. the more experimental and quirkier Spangle Call Lilli Line). Fueoka Toshiya's gentle guitar picking coupled with the airy vocals of Junko who sings in French with a lovely accent gives their sound an all too dreamy feel. A perfectly melodious and quiet companion to bedtime reading (or whatever you see fit!)

Download mondialito - cher mon amoureux. (Link valid for 14 days.) If YSI asks you to sign up I guess you'll have to, but it's fast really.

Summer time is almost over (though not much difference here in the tropics, *pity self*) a little late for an album named 'Summertime' perhaps? Well, only if you are the kind that fails to be moved by happy beats and jangly guitars--what kind of miserable are you then? ;-) Well I really like this band, its easy and bright-as-Brazilian-sunbeam sound and soft vocal...(the album was released two summers ago actually...I'm forever late.) wonder why they call themselves Pale Sunday?--a reference to Gloomy Sunday, I suppose not? Click on the album cover to read a better review.

Download Pale Sunday - Summertime. (Link valid for 14 days.)

Last but definitely not least, a strong 2002 debut album comprising of 10 English tracks, composed and performed by the very talented Tian Yuan (田原) with band Hopscotch（跳房子) released when she was still in high school. I still feel awed thinking that this girl is of my age, from my hometown (a frustrated megacity in central China) have soared up all like a strong, lone bird and already left such an awesome trail behind (and still much under-appreciated). But that's another story. This trip-hop and punk rock(? or so they claim) influenced album is unabashedly experimental, (sometimes I cringe a little at the monologues) sharp like a freshly cut lemon yet sports a sophistication and stuns even without considering the age and language and debut factors. A great shame I hunted it down only now!

Download Hopscotch - A wishful way. (Link valid for 14 days.)

----------------
Now playing: 彭靖惠 - 呆瓜
via FoxyTunes

Sarah Blasko - Explain

2007-08-27T10:14:00.000+08:00

Sarah Blasko is a popular Australian artist. Wiki her.

I love her draggy nasal voice. 'Explain' is from her 2nd album 'What the sea wants, the sea will have'. There's a strong warning sign to the tempo, which I adore...

Dylan Biopic trailers

2007-08-24T23:36:00.000+08:00

Just read this from Uncut (I am dying! to subscribe but being bankrupt, either the pound depreciates pretty damn soon now or I must just die) --

The first teaser trailer for Todd Haynes' Bob Dylan "biopic", I'm Not There, has gone online.

The film stars six actors as Dylan Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett (pictured above), Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Ben Whishaw.

"I'm Not There" debuts at this year's Venice Film Festival on September 4.

It's a rather old piece of news really, I remember reading (and squeaking) about it in production like ages ago. Long gestation baby eh Todd? But of course this being from Haynes (Velvet Goldmine! among other acclaimed pieces) about the pure brilliance Dylan and starring those names (for Bale alone I'd have elatedly gone for it--he also starred in Goldmine. Rock on Bale! and yeah you've read it right, Cate Blanchett as Dylan too, *grins*) it incites some pretty lofty expectations (and let's hope deservedly so)...Without further blabbering, some clips for your perusal--

Official 1 min trailer

A doubly long unofficial teaser

A Cate Blanchett clip -- boy she's excellent! But still finds her trademark sharp chin+thin lips+those grooves under the cheeks (what do you call it?) combination an amusing distraction...you just can't hide your Blanchett-ness with those features out and about, Cate. Should have done a Kidman trick à la The Hours. ;)

And erm...some other trailer that caught my eye--again quoting Uncut

The first trailer for Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert doc, Shine A Light, is now online. The documentary, shot last October at New York's Beacon Theater, features the Rolling Stones, plus cameos from Jack White, Christine Aquillera and Bill Clinton - as well as Scorsese himself.

Filming captures the band - at the peak of their worldwide spectacular 'A Bigger Bang' tour - at the end of a year which included many band related mishaps, including Keith Richards 'falling out of a tree.' Originally due for release in the UK in September, it is now scheduled to open next Spring.

What a rock cinema feast the coming months would be~~~~~~~~~~*droolz*

Random stuff: what do you listen to when everything seems to leave you cold and uninspired (like now for me)? me: probably Love Psychedelico. Or Philip Glass. And via last.fm I stumbled across this advanced addict——chart’s all but exclusively Philip Glass! Dude.

----------------
Now playing: Philip Glass - Liquid Days, Part One
via FoxyTunes

Flogging Molly

2007-07-21T15:01:00.000+08:00

In lieu of sending Jady music (*sheepish*), I decided to put up some Flogging Molly videos. For some reason listening to Flogging Molly, a Irish-American/Celtic-Punk band, makes the Irish side of me swell with irrational pride, especially with a song like "What's Left of the Flag".

What´s left of the flag - Flogging Molly

"Drunken Lullabies" - Flogging Molly

Salty dog - Flogging molly

Add to My Profile | More Videos

深い森 covers...

2007-06-30T19:22:00.000+08:00

Naree (vocal+guitar), cute British girl with a crystal clear voice

HIMEKA(vocal) + Mike (guitar), originality is bonus =D

Pazu-Chan & Elias, more emotional interpretations but I think the vocal sounds a bit weak.

Last.fm tricks and applications

2007-06-27T20:35:00.001+08:00

The sporadic tech junkie post, heh heh. If you like what last.fm offers as much as I do and not afraid of the ‘geek’ label, children--here’s some stuff you may play with in your own idle time:

- Last.Fm Toolshed

Some rather handy small applications and greasemonkey scripts here, including Chart Changes, Recent Tracks Updater, 6 Degrees, Reverse Neighbours, and PyScrobble. (If you don’t know what greasemonkey is—it’s a Mozilla Firefox extension that allows users to install scripts that make on-the-fly changes to specific web pages (wiki). Which means before you install any monkey scripts you’ll need the monkey itself--believe me, the magic is well worth the two clicks you need to execute!) I’ve had Chart Changes and Recent Tracks Updater for some time now--CC allows you to see the changes in artist and track rankings over time (7 days for the weekly charts, and for every update of the overall charts), and RTU updates your recently listened track list without you having to leave the user page--more details and illustrations in the links themselves. Work like magic. xD.

- Gijsco’s Last.fm Desktop Generator

Great little application here--downloads your personal chart data, and generates desktop wallpapers of various sizes from various schemes of your choosing. Very neat.

- Last.fm normalised rankings

"A little application to rank your favourite artists and albums by an estimation of how long you have spent listening to them" instead of number of tracks, which is often not a very accurately representative stat.

- Mainstream-O-Meter

Finally somebody thought of making another -O-Meter, lol.. A little blurb from the author: "The Mainstream-O-Meter calculates your mainstreamness by comparing the listener count of your favorite bands to the average listener count of the five bands who have the most listeners among Last.fm-users." More maths here.

Kotaro Oshio - Hard Rain

2007-06-22T14:56:00.000+08:00

Oshio Official Site

Awesome guitar picking XD I think it should be renamed 'romantic rain' rather than 'hard rain'. It's nowhere close to a torrent.

Fromwkik
Kotaro Oshio (押尾コータロー, Oshio Kōtarō) is an acoustic guitarist from Japan. Born in Osaka, on February 1, 1968, he is most well known for his work on the steel string guitar.Oshio's music is classified within various categories including pop, new age, and jazz. His style has drawn comparisons with other highly regarded musicians such as Michael Hedges. Oshio's musical technique includes fingerpicking, slap harmonics, and precise strumming.

While his albums include mostly original material, Oshio is also well known for his covers and movie soundtracks. His unique skill in interpretation and arrangement can be heard in tracks such as "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" from his album "Starting Point".

Jeremy's Rock n' Roll list

2007-06-14T11:56:00.000+08:00

Well...at the suggestion of Jady, I've put my list up here in a repost from my myspace page. In retrospect, it feels kind of retarded when I reread it. I guess I have to organize my thoughts somehow though. It's still not an exhaustive list on what makes rock music for me. Searching wikipedia with the names between the asterisks will give much better info...like...duh.
======

It's probably no secret that I love rock music. I tend to like rock music that sticks to the independent spirit of 50's rock and roll and 60's garage, which punk rock does...although I also like certain offshoots like electro-punk, grunge, some progressive metal, etc. I thought maybe I'd list some of what I currently think makes the overall genre great in no particular order. It's by no means complete and mainly what's on the top my head right now. Feel free to disagree..., haha. I'm sure there are some, and I'm not naming names, that would want Garnet Crow and Love Psychedelico on here, but they get a lot of love on this site ;-)

*Chuck Berry* Without this guy, I don't think there'd be rock and roll as we know it...a great guitar player and singer. He's a legend...I don't think I can really say more. His peers like Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens also rank up there.

*Misfits* The original Misfits with Glen Danzig is probably one of my favorite bands of all time. Danzig melded horror/sci-fi themes, punk rock, doo-wop, and a catchy sing along chorus. He also had an awesome singing voice...probably unparalleled in the punk rock world. The only thing that came close to ruining the band (and I guess it did....) was their album Earth A.D., but I've gotten used to that hardcore mess.

*The Clash* Another of my most favorite punk bands, The Clash is probably the most musically diverse. Despite London Calling and Combat Rock being favorites among fans, I think that the UK version of The Clash is probably their best album because it was the "raw" Clash. Singer and guitarist Joe Strummer held a political idealism that I share...I like how they held up against the nihilistic Sex Pistols, whom I don't like very much.

*Joan Jett* Do I need to explain? She's also a legend in her own right and paved the way for the grrl next on my list....

*Kathleen Hanna* Er...controversial punk rock goddess that she is...she did a lot for women in rock music. She was unapologetic in spouting obnoxious riot grrl uber-feminism...but the male dominated punk rock scene probably needed that kick in the ass. While I don't always agree with her Bikini Kill work, her other band, Le Tigre is probably one of the best electro-punk bands ever and another of my favorite bands.

*L7* A band that took the riot grrl ideology and made it more accessible to everyone, sticking to a grunge/metal/punk hybrid sound. They just wanted to rock hard and be taken seriously...being male or female didn't matter much.

*Tool* Before Tool I hated metal. I thought it was all big hair, greed, ultra-long high pitched guitar solos, groupies, and narcissism (I am a fucking rock star!). Seeing the video for "Sober" way back when MTV still showed videos 24/7 changed my mind a bit. This band is awesome and always reinvents it's sound. Although it started out more in thrash metal territory...they've gone more progressive and experimental defying labels. They also do something very punk...they always advocate thinking for one's self and to not always trust the establishment. At least, that's what I got out of some of their songs.

*Bad Religion* Awesome hardcore punk band...melodic and abrasive at the same time.... Their lyrics are quite intelligent and they express their social commentary in a more subtle way than most punk bands.

*Black Flag* Well...early Black Flag...pioneers of the hardcore punk movement...they had do it yourself ethics and anti-establishment feelings in abundance and who wouldn't like a band once blamed for the decay of youth in America?

*Devo* They get points for being original. I don't know why, but their sound is infectious...not quite rock, not quote electronic, and definitely offbeat. You either get their brand of devolution or you don't.

*Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs* Well...there wouldn't really be the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as we know it without her. Probably the most eccentric female performer to come out in rock music for...um, she may be unique. Her stage performances are awesome and quite spastic. They've got a cool, raw rock sound that was missing from contemporary rock music in general the past few years. Karen O is also one of the few singers to successfully integrate an orgasm as part of a riff in the song "Black Tongue."

*The Ramones* I'll probably be hung for saying this, but the Ramones probably weren't the best punk band ever. They were, however the hardest working and probably most influential. They galvanized the punk scene when it was still in its baby stage, producing bands like the Clash.... They still have some awesome songs though.

*Akiakane* I had been having trouble finding new punk bands that liked...then I heard this Japanese punk rock band and I felt reinvigorated. These gals are awesome! They have high energy and a "who gives a fuck!" political passion. Unlike many of their timid female peers in Japan, they don't seem to care about their image. Vocal for their support of Taiwan and love of their own country...the band has run into unfounded flak by a few misguided individuals who misinterpret the messages they take from Japan's WWII experience. Not that I agree with what they sing about, but I've never been big on always having to agree to like something. Man I want to see them live!

Wow, I think I was bored. Maybe I'll add to this list sometime as there's more to be said.

LOVE PSYCHEDELICO - Freedom

2007-06-13T16:12:00.000+08:00

LP - Freedom (theme song for national baseball event)
I ran out of adjectives to describe this PV, surely one of the highest budgeted in LP history. Just right for the sweltering hot sports event.

Jady should've posted this lol (Check out her fansite Salut,Delico! ). Their new album 'Golden Grapefruit' will be on sale 27th June. Audio clips are available on their official website. I have a pretty good impression of this album, much anticipated!

Also check out the exclusive 'Golden Grapefruit' site on jvcmusic

Ross Copperman - All She Ever Wrote

2007-06-12T15:13:00.000+08:00

Ross Copperman is an american singer-songwriter, a newbie who just released his first album 'Welcome to reality' in May this year. The most popular track 'All she ever wrote' is very pop and catchy. Although it doesn't sound much different from other punk (would it offend if I say 'teenage punk'?), I like the piano arrangements. I prefer a more mature voice but this one isn't bad.

Official Site http://www.rosscopperman.com/

The Bird and the Bee

2007-06-10T13:23:00.000+08:00

One song a day is much easier than a review proper. If you like the song you can dig up the group on your own =D Still, some basic info on this indie group 'The bird and the bee' which I chanced upon on a chinese music blog trix.cn. The L.A. based duo consists of vocalist Inara George and keyboardist Greg Kurstin who worked with Red Hot Chilli Peppers before. Their style is a bit dance and electro indie. I'd say Inara sounds like Imogen Heap, but softer and more dreamy pop.

The bird and the bee official website

***
I just knew this from one of their interviews: How does the band name suggest 'sex'? Seems it's a common saying in English.Someone enlighten me.

***

Continue here,

They released the eponymous LP on Jan, 2007.

Here's the first track on the album 'Again and Again'

F*cking Boyfriend

SMR7 - Bluecat's Story

2007-05-03T02:16:00.000+08:00

A night of endless pondering and fitful dreaming later, I joined my friend Bluecat for breakfast and this was the story he told—

SMR6 - Quiet before the storm

2007-05-02T21:11:00.000+08:00

Monday afternoon. The sun was high in the clear sky for the second day running and the townsfolk knew then summer was officially upon them. A jubilant mood seemed to infect the small town, even the postmaster got out of the somewhat grim office he liked to squat in day to day, and was seen basking in the warm breeze, smoking a pipe and beaming at passers-by. The only unfittingly grim person, however, seemed to be me.

Three days had passed since I delivered the mail to the Mansion, and though there was no mail coming over the weekend, I had been finding myself excuses and pretenses to be around the mansion. I kept back letter No.25 and dropped No.31 and No.6 (now made 16 by me) in the mansion mailbox on Friday morning, the house dead silent in the morning shower, and in the afternoon when the storm stilled a bit, returned to deliver the left out letter. I was almost going to drop it in the mailbox as usual, having taken a good look at the solitary house in its desolate neighborhood, but something in me nudged and nagged: This is a perfect opportunity to find out…if No.6 mattered, if anything mattered at all…and I was both shaken and emboldened. I had hardly put down my hand from pressing the bell when the heavy oak door swung open again, and this time the Mr. King standing before me was even a stranger person.

It was startling to reflect that it had been only a few days since I last and first saw him, and his already translucent skin seemed to have gone transparent, revealing small, purple veins crawling underneath his skin, the neurotic hand holding the door had its index finger freshly bandaged, and there were subtle water stains on the front of his otherwise spotless trench coat ( in this weather?) All these I took in within a fraction of a second, his crumpling frailness and extraordinary fatigue...but his nonetheless severe gaze on me was crushing my self-assurance by the second, and it was almost within one breath that I stammered out a thin story of the discovery of one mis-sorted letter stuck to the bottom of the bag and…'Yes, boy, that will do. Thank you.' He almost tore the letter out of my clammy hand and shut the door promptly. In that fleeting moment I was sure he for once lifted his gaze from my face and looked out beyond the gate. It was as if he was expecting someone…or not. Uncomfortable to linger on for another moment, I shot home straight, and only later did I realize the reason of my discomfort: the dreadful man himself was dreading something.

The next day, I went to ask my neighbor and good buddy Bluecat for a favor.

***

Bluecat was the son of the plumber of the town, Bobilong, and barely two years older than me, he was already making a name for himself as a better plumber than his drunkard of a dad. Though he's a humble and loyal friend, the best kind you can have in a closely knit town, he's not someone to confide in—he talks to his imaginary pet—a 'blue cat'—all the time! He had it since he got lost in the wild prairie some time when he was four or five, and after he magically made it home, wide eyed and feverish and mumbling—everyone then had thought he was a gone case and already preparing memorial services—he had talked down to the ground since, sometimes seen stroking and tickling air, addressing it as 'kitty kee' or more fancifully, 'master K'. When asked about who he was talking to, the reply would invariably be 'can't you see this magnificent diamond blue cat?' People thought him a little nutty from the incident, but who could ask more from a soul supposedly lost forever to them? So they gave him the nickname and joked and laughed about it, so much so his given name gradually dropped out of people's memory. Bluecat would pause anytime in the middle of his work, in a conversation, snap out of a nap even, to talk to the cat. Most things he said usually made little sense to anyone at all, but through the years Bluecat had also blurted out some things that alerted and puzzled the older folks in the town—they said a young lad like him wouldn't have known those things even if he were literate and cared for books, for they were really old history and some people would rather see them remain buried. Bluecat just shrugged; my poor friend never knew why or how anyway. A wizened gypsy woman who wandered into town every 2 years or so even wanted him to apprentice under her, and if not for Bluecat's mom insisting that he stayed and took care of his young sisters and brothers, he'd have gladly gone to see the world with his feline friend.

***

So I went to Bluecat, asking him to go to the mansion and see the man. I didn't tell him the real reason—god forbid if he should tell that to the cat in the middle of town square!—instead I told him I thought the mansion was in bad shape and might be suffering from termite problems, and it was good for business if he cared to offer to inspect it. I also told him that although the man might seem severe and disagreeable, he was really a kind-hearted soul. Bluecat didn't even think about it twice, said he'd go there after he got a job done in an uptown household, no problem at all, and set off with his satchel.

***

The rest of the day I sat on the front porch, peeling onions and waiting for Bluecat to return. The rain was reduced to a dribble by dusk, and almost stopped completely when it got dark, but no sign of Bluecat even then. Mom called out to me for dinner for the third time, threatening to lose her temper, so I reluctantly shuffled inside, disquietude starting to nibble at my mind—what happened to Bluecat? Is he in trouble? Did that Mr. King see through the tricks and realize the true intention behind? Could he have attacked Bluecat? The last thought almost catapulted me out of my seat, earning a solid warning glance from mom, so I collected myself and finished dinner in record speed.

No, Bluecat can't be attacked, I thought as I sneaked out of the backdoor, thinking how thin but how strong and agile he was, never beaten in a street fight. Maybe he was running other errands after seeing the mansion? …but this was too late. I climbed over the fence and landed into the soggy vegetable bed at the back of their house, and seeing that Bluecat's attic window was still unlit, I pulled down the secret rope ladder and climbed up into his room.

A bunch of us used to play more often in the attic when we were younger, and long time had passed since I last landed there through the window. The room hadn't changed much though, the childhood toys and models in abundant disarray across shelves and sketches of house plans and also of Master K plastered the walls. The bowl of fish cookies for the cat was still by the foot of the bed, some of them even appeared broken and corners nibbled off by sharp teeth—maybe rodents? I picked up a loose paper and quickly drew a few symbols, put it in the bowl and weighed it down by cookies. Now all I could do was go home and wait.

***

…the sycamore outside my window shook and sighed loudly, I looked into its shadow and saw a cat, a diamond blue cat, scratching at the trunk of the big tree. I shooed at it and it turned up its eyes, and I shuddered uncontrollably—its eyes had the most woeful yet most resentful look, and its face was almost transparent, with blue veins crawling under the fur, it was almost like…

TAP! TAP!

I suddenly opened my eyes and realized I had dozed off and this tapping sound must be Bluecat! I hopped to the window and there he was in the garden, picking up small stones and aiming for my window. When he saw me he waved and gestured a few words—'I'm OK, talk to you tomorrow!' and I gestured back through the quiet night and was so relieved.

Rufus Wainwright - PV - Going to a Town

2007-05-01T13:04:00.000+08:00

Keren Ann - Lay Your Head Down (video)

2007-04-28T02:35:00.000+08:00

keyword: keren ann, new release, folk, blues, acoustic, ballad.

LOVE PSYCHEDELICO - new PV - Rain

2007-04-24T02:14:00.000+08:00

O me gawd they did it, they just released the first PV to the new album! (Getting instant gastric ulcer on hearing news..) But people, keep your expectation normal, and by 'normal' I mean down...I dunno, me I felt a little disappointed. The tune was an odd piece, the opening even felt discordant somehow, although it got better towards the second half...Repeated listening needed, maybe? I still can't wait for the new album.

On a side note, this PV is probably the most expensive addition (if they didn't take the footages out of some documentary) to the line up of LP's always cheaply produced and ill-or-laughably-directed PVs (with few recent exceptions). BUT--no Kumi or Naoki for the entire thing?! The only animate things a bird and two ~~goats~~ kangaroos!? (some mammals, thank you! Oh wait, did they go to Australia by any chance?) It was as if we had seen too much of them lately or ever and would rather prefer some refreshing shots of nature. Victor records, have mercy on our hearts...

In other hearsay news, it is posted on last.fm forum that there will be a new compilation album due for release soon in the U.S., meant as the introduction to the American audience. Hmmm..

YUI - can't buy my love

2007-04-06T08:17:00.000+08:00

A double post from my blog ^^ New release from YUI, a Japanese pop/rock singer who's very popular now. I can't say I like YUI's type of voice (too childlike for a rock star), but she has her strength in song writing. Of course there's gotta be some reason for her sprawling popularity... Her humble personality and catchy tunes are the top 2 reasons why people like her =D

YUI's 2nd album - Can't buy my love, released on April 4th, 2007
wiki

Tracks
1. How Crazy
2. Rolling Star
3. It's All Right
4. I Remember You
5. Ruido
6. CHE.R.RY
7. Thank You My Teens
8. Umbrella
9. Highway Chance
10. Happy Birthday to You You
11. Winding Road
12. Good-bye Days
13. Why?

DVD
1. Feel My Soul
2. Tomorrow's Way
3. Life
4. Tokyo

Some small break through compared to debut. Highway Chance & Umbrella show her different side. Highway Chance has an unconventional structure... Most of the songs on the album are catchy so I would say it maintains the old YUI flavour and would score roughly the same as debut.

Recommendations: Rolling Star, I remember you, CHE.R.RY, Umbrella, Highway Chance

Rolling Star

CHE.R.RY

I remember you

Rufus's new single - Going To A Town

2007-04-04T11:28:00.000+08:00

I got another update from the prolific Rufus Wainwright news feed (the feed is prolific, not Rufus (but I don’t mean Rufus is not..)) his label is really priming the time for the new album, by releasing a single a month before the actual album? I’ve never heard of any Rufus singles before so I checked again, and turns out this is only the second single. The original page contains no tracklist but there's an iTunes link (no idea what it leads to, I don’t have iTunes..)

I am listening to Rufus’s track-by-track commentary on Want One and Want Two (registration required. I guess diehard admirers should have heard them many times, long ago. Being my usual slow self..) He tells of emotional and/or funny back-stories, and things that I’d never imagine just looking at the lyrics. And he is fabulous hilarious…(ok stop xD)

Want One (Sept 2003) | Want Two (Nov 2004)

Love Psychedelico releases new song

2007-04-04T01:16:00.000+08:00

I hate the stone slackers behind LP’s official site—smegheads do sporadic, infrequent news updates in Japanese and none in Chinese, Korean or English since December 2005. NONE! And oh, looks like Chinese and Korean are one and the same with English language now—the news pages are an identical triplet anyway. Employ new staff please!! Call out and you shall get tons and tons of multi-lingual volunteers fling themselves at ye!! Here is one enraged and unfortunately non-Japanese speaking fan throwing rotten tomatoes, for a start...

Hate/threat mail aside, latest news hot from the oven (it’s posted TODAY and I had a hunch to check just this instant. No, I don’t hover over the site everyday and no, they don’t have RSS.) So quote I:

新曲「Freedom」がNHKのMLB放送イメージソングに決定

6月発売予定のNEW ALBUMに収録される新曲「Freedom」が、NHKのメジャーリーグベースボール（MLB）放送のイメージソングとして使用されることが決定しました。

このイメージソングは、ベースボール発祥の地アメリカ、MLBという最高峰の舞台において活躍が期待される日本の選手たちに、LOVE PSYCHEDELICOが、“フリーダム＝自由”にのせて送る熱
いメッセージです。

Google translation sucks at this, the bot can’t handle a piece with too many punctuations still. So before a kind human soul translates this, I am gonna guess it said one or more of the following:

- LP’s new song Freedom is gonna come out.

- A new album is coming in June, (DAMN it's ABOUT TIME TO!!! Jumping and whooping in joy. Please tell me I didn’t get this one wrong!!) and it contains Freedom (yeah whatever...let me get over the previous sentence first).

- And LP is going to perform Freedom in some big deal baseball event. Japan is a baseball freak nation. XD

Anticipation!!

Happy Birthday, Elton!

2007-03-26T11:07:00.000+08:00

It's Elton John's 60th birthday, and you can watch him live on the birthday show in New York as well as look at his long and immense career here.

The Misfits

2007-03-22T15:30:00.000+08:00

Keeping in step with the "rediscovery" of all my favorite high school punk rock bands, I thought I'd do a little blurb on the hardcore "horror" punk rock band, The Misfits. This only refers to the original 1977 to 1983 lineup, not the resurrected 1995 band.

Forming in 1977, the Misfits were very close to the first wave of punk rock bands that included the Ramones, the Clash, the Buzzcocks, and the Sex Pistols. The lead singer and "creative director" Glen Danzig named the band after Marilyn Monroe's last movie of the same name. Their music was originally their music was more experimental and somber, but were soon influenced by the emerging punk scene by bands such as the Ramones and the Damned.

The most notable aspects of The Misfits sound was their fusion of 50's doo-wop, experimental rock, punk rock, and the creation of a "horror punk" sound. Glen Danzig's voice was very versatile, and I think he arguably has one of the best voices in rock&roll. Their early music was very melodic despite the thrashing punk guitars, and remained so until Earth A.D., which was much more "hardcore." Their lyrics were influenced by 50's B-horror and sci-fi flicks, littered with monsters, murder, and violence. Some songs can be kind of shocking if you take it seriously, like "Last Caress" and "Bullet." It can also catch one off-guard if you're taken in by Danzig's awesome voice.

The Misfits Samples:

They also adopted their most iconic images early their active years. The first was the "devilock", in which the hair is grouped towards the front of the head, like a reverse pony tail. The other was the use of the Crimson Ghost, a villain from the 1946 Hollywood movie serial of the same name. Members of the Misfits also dressed in black and often wore ghoulish makeup inspired by 1950's horror movies. These theatrics likely inspired modern acts like Marlyn Manson.

The Misfits released three albums and never did find much success before calling it quits in 1983. However, their recordings became more and more popular in the underground scene and bands like Metallica covered their songs and brought them into the light. Since 1983 unreleased tracks and compilation albums have been released and are highly recommended to any fan of rock music.

The Misfits had much more trials and tribulations that I cared to include in this blurb, but all can be read at wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Misfits.

The Misfits @ LastFM

Notable Misfits band members:
Glen Danzig (vocals)
Jerry Only (bass)
Manny Martinez (drums)
Franche Coma (guitar)
Jim Catania (drums)
ROBO (drums)

Misfits studio albums:
*Static Age (recorded 1978, released 1997)
*Walk Among Us (1982)
*Earth A.D. (1983)

lyrics contest - round 4 - OSTs

2007-03-22T15:11:00.000+08:00

Alright, as the last two rounds turned out they were too damn difficult, we were just competing to get the other bald first (by pulling own hair out). So my second try would be themed and plentiful quoted if not hinted. zhu, you ready?

Theme: original soundtracks. All the songs have been featured in one or more films, tv series, anime, you get the idea...(zhu I think you have all of them, either the OST album or the songs by themselve, or at least heard of, and you should have seen most of them. Name the movie too if you so like. =D)

Difficulty: giveaway to obscure drive-you-mad stuff, in descending order.

31)
I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss
Well a few of the verses well they've got me quite cross
But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song
It's for people like you that keep it turned on

32)
You can live the life you like.
You can even marry Harry
But mess around with Ike.
And that's good, isn't it?

33)
Moonlight and love songs - never out of date
Hearts full of passion - jealousy and hate
Woman needs man - and man must have his mate
That no one can deny

34)
I stole ten thousand pounds,
ten thousand pounds to see you
I robbed convenience stores
'cause I thought they'd make it easier
I lived of rats and toads and I starved for you
I fought of giant bears and I killed them too

35)
All the leaves are brown
And the sky is gray
I've been for a walk
On a winter's day

zhu didn't have forrest gump, sobz. replacement is harder!

A satellite recalled your voice
Sent me round the world again
All the night you've dreamed away
Sent me round my heart again
One touch upon my lips
And all my thoughts are clear
I feel your smoky mist
Up to the stratosphere

(and i realize that basically, the first five are shameless giveaways..)

36)
Drink up one more time,
And I'll make you mine.
Keep you a part,
Deep in my heart,
Separate from the rest,
Where I like you the best,
And keep the things you forgot.

37) It blows in my eyes and makes me realize
The trouble that I'm in
That Carolina Wind
And the dirt beneath my heels in the road
Obeys command to me and serves me as I go

38) Photographers snip snap
Take your time she's only burning
This kind of experience
Is necessary for her learning

39) And now I tell you openly, you have my heart so don't hurt me.
You're what I couldn't find.
A totally amazing mind, so understanding and so kind;
You're everything to me.

40)
Cerf-volant
Volant au vent
Ne t'arrête pas
Vers la mer
Haut dans les airs
Un enfant te voit
Et dans la tourmente
Tes ailes triomphantes
N'oublie pas de revenir
Vers moi

(yeah, French. But that's really easy, like, how many French OST do we have in common?)

Lyrics Contest Round 3 (Chinese)

2007-03-22T15:04:00.000+08:00

Easy one, no hints!

(21)
爱为何总填不满又掏不空

(22)
把酒高歌的男儿是北方的狼族

(23)
只看见沙漠哪里有什么骆驼

(24)
我还没说可惜你已经在叹气

(25)
留着相同的血喝着相同的水

(26)
所有公允的景观之中，我都不存在

(27)
欢迎光临你好吗

(28)
一个梦境的周围散落花瓣十六枚

(29)
我的心情好像土拨鼠在挖洞

(30)
总觉得钞票一天比一天难赚

Lyrics Contest - Round 2

2007-03-21T13:15:00.000+08:00

Round 1 isn't exactly concluded, but to reward the hard work of zhu the question setter: a premature release of Round 2. I have yet to type in hints, and that'll depend on feedback (i.e. grunts and complaints). Honestly, a lot of the stuff are quite a giveaway (IMO), too well known..we'll see. Don't bother checking my last.fm chart for hints cuz I didn't scrobble, but I know you wouldn't. That was a smug note to self. ^_*

- update: hints added by popular request. You can always demand more.

11) if lies you tell can make it better
and hopeless dreams can make your day

one of those bands that like a numerical in their names.

12) Jaded in anger
Love underwhelms you
No box of chocolates
Whichever way you fall

by a now inactive duo.

13) But as the embers of the summer lost their breath and disappeared
My heart went cold and only hollow rhythms resounded from within

title is indicative of a time of the year.

14) Soon there'll be candles
And prayers that are said I know

you don't have to name the original artist--though it'd be a bonus if you do--cuz it's one of those frequently covered classics. analyse the nouns.

15) Sure you were swift when the handsome Greek boys dropped by with gifts
You are suave thanks to the ribbons that open sesame

in these two lines a word echoes another title by the same artist.

16) Take another shot of courage
Wonder why the right words never come
You just get numb

title is shared by a cocktail, a film, an album, and of course, this song.

17) Take two people - romantic
Smoky nightclub situation
Your cigarette traces a ladder

song featured in a rock n' roll movie. pays tribute to Casablanca the film classic. (that's TWO hints.)

18) One says, he wants everlasting happiness
other says, he wants nothing
it's all one to me..

ooh you got this one, I thought it would be the first to go, too. ;-) I was going to say, 'a vertebrate and an invertebrate', haha.

19) To the brutes in the halls
My timid young fingers held a decent animal.

the name of the band is part of the body--human body, i am not sure how it's called in other mammals.

20) The game I used to play
I've always put my cards upon the table
Let it never be said that I'd be unstable

band on hiatus. country of origin is neighbor to that of the original artist(s) of lyrics (17).

Lyrics Contest

2007-03-21T11:02:00.000+08:00

Round 1 - Questions by Zhu
Identify song title and artist, no cheating, no googling. Your brain and memory is your only tool! (plus fingers for typing)

Clues are given beside question number.

(1) The song title reminds me of bubble gum.
Plant a seed, plant a flower, plant a rose
You can plant any one of those

(2) Already disbanded.
Using symbols using words
Can be likened to a deep sea diver

(3) Clue's embedded below.
Don't slide

(4) The first BIG digital animation film.
I only need a little time
Perhaps a little hair

(5) Well, can't give clue for this coz it's too obvious.
He was a boy, she was a girl
Can I make it anymore obvious?

(6) Closer
Stones taught me to fly
Love taught me to cry

(7) Let's get to the chorus.
Hello, you fool
I love you

(8) I posted the lyrics before in my blog (sorry, not a good clue, still a clue)
The people go forever descending
It's when we're all inside
That summer's on the way

(9) A flower
I wake in pain
I dream of love as time runs through my hand

(10) Coz we aren't old yet.
And it really doesn’t matter that we don’t eat
And it really doesn’t matter if we never sleep

lyrics contest

2007-03-20T16:22:00.000+08:00

sighs zhu, i realize there are technical problems in having more than one shoutbox on one page, so this newly constructed shoutbox only made a fleeting guest appearance on uku before been taken down and transferred here...with my fully knowledge that there's a resident (but much disused) shoutbox here too. Never mind that first, I don't see a great flurry of posts gushing into ss anytime soon, so let's just ping pong lyrics here.

KOKIA

2007-03-20T14:08:00.000+08:00

I just started listening to KOKIA. There're 2 or 3 tracks in Red Garden OST that caught my notice and I tried other songs. Her voice is classically trained, perfect control and tuning. Her singing style is a strange blend of opera, folk and pop ('opera' being her strength and highlight).

Basic info from Wiki.theppn

KOKIA is a Japanese singer-songwriter hailing from Tokyo. She is mostly associated with games and anime soundtracks; having appeared in eight different game/anime soundtracks to date. KOKIA has an extremely talented voice - she even held a long-tone Opera note for a little over 29 seconds on national TV once. She is most well-known in Hong Kong and Taiwan for her song Arigatou..., which became so popular it was even covered by star Sammi Cheng. Her biggest hit in Japan was the single The Power of Smile / Remember the Kiss, which reached #15 on Oricon charts.

External Links
Official web (old)
Official web (new)
Happii KOKIA (fansite in Eng & French) - very resourceful!

Some live clips from youtube,
She always performs barefoot! It seems she has a large fan base in France.

[Live] KOKIA - Bataclan 2007 part 1/2

[Live] KOKIA - Bataclan 2007 part 2/2

[Live] KOKIA - Arigato (in France)

KOKIA - Aishiteirukara
This one makes me a bit nostalgic.Coz I sure heard it when I was a kid,on radio!lol.

Rufus News

2007-03-20T12:31:00.000+08:00

Woke up this morning at 11:11, and my google reader notifier calmly said I have about 60 new feeds (10 hours after I last read), most of them under the ‘music’ tag. I thought Oh man, I hope blogspot didn’t automatically republish ukulele…and as it turns out everything was from this one “Rufus Wainwright RSS feed”, talking about bulk updating for your musician…

So, lots of Rufus news--sold-out live shows and touring and interviews and all--Rufus is one busy man (or maybe just that he can’t help being in High Demand). The most exciting of all is his new song on The Robinsons soundtrack, called Another Believer, is available for listening on his MySpace page. The song sounds catchy and cheerful, pop enough for an anime movie, but very Rufus nonetheless. And the most ‘bizarre’ of all is the cover to the new album, Release the Stars, due for release on May 15.

Does anybody else think this is a little unsettling on first glance?

The tracklist is also released, it reads

01 Do I Disappoint You
02 Going to a Town
03 Tiergarten
04 Nobody's Off the Hook
05 Between My Legs
06 Rules and Regulations
07 I'm Not Ready to Love
08 Slideshow
09 Tulsa
10 Leaving for Paris
11 Sanssouci
12 Release the Stars

I think I just saw some interesting title choice…and words foreign to me. Seems Rufus likes his literary allusions as ever, and I have a good feeling it’s not gonna disappoint me in the least.

In other news, the anticipated documentary film Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (in which Rufus among many others pays his tribute and performs 3 songs) just screened in New York. I have great respect for the man (though the man has not released any new material in many a year…But I’ve yet to exhaust his rich old stuff, so I am not as disgruntled), and I am hoping it comes my way soon (if at all). Without further ado, a trailer for your pleasure.

and I'll wrap up it all with Rufus live in concert, performing Greek Song. Yum.

(and...I curbed the next thousand incoherent words I wanted to say of Rufus...no small effort I tell you...)

Death Cab for Cutie - Marching Bands of Manhattan

2007-03-18T03:38:00.001+08:00

Thanks to Jady who introduced me to death cab for cutie, an American indie rock band formed in 1997. I want to recommend this song 'Marching Bands of Manhattan',from their 2005 album 'Plans'(the highest charting album for DCFC, nominated for Grammy).

- Links -
Wiki
Official Site

The melody is quite simple and repetitive but it keeps the rhythm going. 'Like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound'best summarises the sorrow and numbing comfort. The 1st and 2nd stanza seems to be spoken by different subject, an open admirer and a doubtful hermit. Their love never quite works out. While debating the damage or bliss love could bring, romance is drowned in rising tides and the opportunity's slowly disappearing. I don't like the music video but heck let's just stick with it.

"Marching Bands Of Manhattan"

If I could open my arms
And span the length of the isle of Manhattan,
I'd bring it to where you are
Making a lake of the East River and Hudson
If I could open my mouth
Wide enough for a marching band to march out
They would make your name sing
And bend through alleys and bounce off all the buildings.

I wish we could open our eyes
To see in all directions at the same time
Oh what a beautiful view
If you were never aware of what was around you
And it is true what you said
That I live like a hermit in my own head
But when the sun shines again
I'll pull the curtains and blinds to let the light in.

Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole
Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound
But while you debate half empty or half full
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown [4x]

Your love is gonna drown [4x]
Your love is gonna...

uku uku

2007-03-18T00:35:00.000+08:00

整个下午窝在瘸腿椅子里做ukulele beta版，站起来去买晚饭时腿居然麻了。一天下来什么正事也不想做，不想做事的时候大概就只能做模版..什么逻辑。

以为很难转换的beta template(其实应该说blogspot 2吧，人家都从beta毕业好久了)，仔细看了一下code，发现其实很简单，就是在CSS里面裹来裹去，换几个名字，加上一点新的，删掉很多无用的，差不多就是个可以见公婆的小媳妇儿了。uku是初试，所以花了不少功夫还是个不折不扣的丑媳妇，缺胳膊少腿，歪歪斜斜的眼眉就是整不端正，活活急死人。最后做完了发现其实变化也有限，好像保护文物一样，整旧如故，大概也只有做过的人知道有什么名堂罢。

习惯性的几乎每天看uku的webmeter stats，哪怕更新一点都不勤。不知道还有没有人像我，好像有强迫症一般，吼吼。除了世界地图比较好玩之外，referring url page也是很有趣的地方。你大概不知道uku人气最高/最常被搜的帖子是哪一篇吧？呵呵，是你那篇 Gedo Senki Kashu和Aoi Teshima的super review，不少人都是搜Teshima的歌词才点进uku的。有人前几天才留了言request歌词，不知你看到没。还有其他一些很好笑的或者很莫明其妙的search word combination，总之都end up在uku了，笑...

偶在想忙完了这一阵，要好好地，regular地给uku浇水施肥之类的。不过写review好严肃啊，一个月有一两篇可以啦（或者两个月有一篇...哈哈...不过某人欠的norah还是要写的哈），还是轻松的推介比较好玩。希望不是五分钟热情...

an update

2007-03-17T22:46:00.000+08:00

(blogging out of pure frustration that I am in no shape to attack a congested desk of work right now..) Finally got this blog into the post-beta version, which looks pretty much the same as before except for the hierarchical archive list (which does not load and expand well in firefox, just this single case. I am investigating) and the ability to rank tags—I don’t like it in this case as the numbers are not very helpful excepting indicating this blogging circle is primarily into north American and Japanese music scene—so I put that at the bottom of the sidebar, in case you still want to know the stats.

In other news, two other albums that I noted in the upcoming release list of ’07 have come out-- Air’s Pocket Symphony and Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy—zhu still owes a sweet mini-review on Norah’s latest Not Too Late released in January. Well zhu, you know the saying, and you are not too late if you cough it up about NOW. B-) Back to the new stuff, I'm look ing forward to hearing them, especially Chinese Democracy. With the complete line-up change and this long of hiatus and no studio album I wonder where GNR stand now, and if they have gone entirely obsolete for that matter. That’s a sad nagging thought, but I’ll hold off my doubts for now.

Put on old Grammy compilation music all afternoon, they made up a long playlist and I didn’t bother to change—it was just…mindlessly easy on the ears, and a lot of them remind me of the times when I still bought cassettes (a lot), and recorded radio programs and trading with friends…good old days. And after this revision of pre-Britney pre-hip pop music I have to say they were almost too sweet…melodious sometimes to the point of being formulaic. Is it a thing of the late 90s or has it more to do with whoever voted for those Grammies…just a thought, I have not been following the award for years..

and Last.fm keeps recommending me stuff that either I already own but have yet to scrobble, or stuff that I went to try and really liked, gotta love this brainy music bot…

indie rock playlists

2007-02-26T21:28:00.000+08:00

For indie rock enthusiastics, music omnivores and anti-copyright fiends (who download an inordinate amount of stuff for pastime and/or just for the kick of it, ye know who you are ;-) – here’s the latest goodie (that the very slow me found not long ago). Click and you shall find bittorrent links to several large (by 'large' I mean LARGE) indie rock playlists, compiled monthly by some generous soul(s) of interesting, fun tastes. Enjoy!

Spangle Call Lilli Line

2007-02-21T12:27:00.000+08:00

Profile
Spangle Call Lilli Line are (from left to right) :
Ken Fujita (guitar), Kiyoaki Sasahara (guitar) & Kana Otsubo (vocal, keyboard)

Links
Official website >> Lilliline.com
Fansite >> SCLL @Keikaku.net
Interview >> Interview by Japan Live (in Eng)
last FM. entry >> here

My selection, download here
3 tracks included: Nano, Veek, piano

Spangle Call Lilli Line (SCLL for short) is another independent Japanese band I discovered while searching for artists similar to Love Psychedelico. In fact, they resemble little to LP although both are tagged 'Rock'. You can read from the above two links. The interview is especially helpful, at least for me, in understanding their style which comes to be what it is, amorphously abstract and experimental. Imagine three art students coming together to make music, assuming (without openly questioning) each other's music taste to be decent and mildly compatible. Without an ounce of knowledge as which direction to go, no concept, no predefined genres, they started experimenting instinctively in a way not too far from playing with clay and happy with the final shape be it a jar or a mug.

I'm not saying they're not serious musicians (although all of them have 2nd jobs other than making music). Most of the songs were composed by the vocalist Kana Otsubo whose voice is similar to 'Lily Chou Chou' (Salyu), wispy and soft. My impression is that Otsubo relies on fragments of images to lead a tune. Even the lyrics are fragmented and make little sense even to native Japanese, according to the interview. As a result their music is most impressionistic and spontaneous, like filtering out your memories as if pulling thought threads and knitting them into a loose drawing. You don't care much about stanza. Flowing stream doesn't have a structure and you just drift along with their melody. The arrangement tends to be minimalistic and repetitive, but melodious.

Discography (a summary)
+Album+
since (2006.10.25) - best collection
FOR INSTALLATION (2005.6.29)
Trace (2005.4.20)
or (2003.6.11)
Nanae (2002.11.10)
Spangle call Lilli line (2001.3.25)

+Single+
Nano (2003.4.12)

+DVD+
68 SCLL

I haven't sampled enough songs to pass further comments. My current favourite is 'Veek', 'Piano' and 'Nano'. Veek is my fav of fav. The entry music reminds me of the ending tune used in 'Paranoia Agent' (White Hill - Maromi's theme), that string pluckering sound mixed with electronica whistle foreshadows a free atmosphere. I was listening to it at midnight, walking alone on an empty street damp from a day's snow. Neon lights repaint everything. White snow, black asphalt, green shrubs, they all give up their colours for the night. And listening to Veek while watching the fading of a day is utterly comforting. I love Kana's voice.

Here're some tubies you can watch (not much to SEE, so just listen)

Nano

U-lite

Musicovery

2007-02-19T23:54:00.001+08:00

Chanced upon this piece of goodie from folkfurieuse’s blog. In a nutshell it’s an interactive webRadio that picks music for you based on your mood, energy, and the genres and eras of your choosing. Pretty fun to toy around with, streams fast too…and I am settling on Dark and Calm for now…= d

Aoi Teshima

2007-02-12T17:43:00.000+08:00

For general information, refer
Aoi Teshima @Wiki.theppn
Aoi Teshima Official Website (Japanese)

Here are 3 sample tracks I selected, download here
1. Therru no Uta (Song of Therru)
2. Ryuu (Dragon)
3. Kishi wo Hanareru Hi (The day I left the shore)

Aoi Teshima (手嶌葵), a low profile singer famous for her hit single 'Therru no Uta', the theme song of Ghibli animation 'Gedo Senki' directed by Goro Miyazaki, recently released her 2nd album 'Haru no Kashuu'. There isn't much information on the net about this singer and I doubt there ever will be given she's neither rock nor mainstream pop, in fact nothing that'll make her a central figure in the commerical world. Teshima is in essence a shy and humble choir girl whose unobtrusive voice soothes your senses and reminds you of our love for nature, for the pure and for love itself.

The first song I heard is none other than 'Therru no Uta'. It's a simple folk song with minimal arrangement, a wise choice as the prose style lyrics delivered in a pure voice deserve more attention and its gentle sadness is distilled in the silence of melody. There is a small universe and vibrant dimension in her voice, which is like a string that quavers at the end of each note, sending out ripples spreading into a far more spacious world than the sky the eagle roams (as what's depicted in the song). It's a strangely comfortable voice that doesn't put stress on any particular syllable but elevates your imagination and evokes images of peace. For 'Therru no Uta', I see ruins of a lost generation resting silently under eagle's wings and a grassland swinging with low clouds.

Her second album 'Haru no Kasshu' is the exact same skin as her debut album 'Gedo Senki Kasshu', which includes ballads and folk songs. Technically speaking you'd wonder what's so special about her as a singer per se? There're probably thousands of choir girls like her who just don't have the chance and luck to be chosen by Suzuki (producer of Ghibli). But there she is singing what she likes, touching many heartstrings with her humbleness and genuine love for nature. You can't hate her. Grins =D (What kinda review is this -.-!! Sorry but you'll have to buy it.)

DISCOGRAPHY
Singles: Therru no Uta (06 June 07)
Albums: Gedo Senki Kashuu (06 July 12) & Haru no Kashuu (06 Feb 07)

Live performance of Kishi wo Hanareru Hi (The day I left the shore)

new radio up!

2007-02-11T15:24:00.001+08:00

I finally got our own radio up and running (YAY!!), almost a year after we said we would! Still building the playlist, so many items I wish to cram in and dish out....meanwhile I'm taking down the sidebar listing and archive it here.

::Previously Featured & Highlights::

(click for pop-up radioblogs)
7. noir, robert post, keren ann (again), rufus wainwright (again), keane, various OSTs
6. the mamas and the papas, laurie andersen, bjork, this mortal coil, laura fygi
5. U2, radiohead, moulin rouge, guns n' roses
4. yann tiersen, keren ann, alanis morissette, damien rice, gabriel yared
3. stan getz, sting, bic runga
2. anggun, simon & garfunkel
1. rufus wainwright, pink floyd, nirvana

Love Psychedelico singles review (in Chinese)

2007-02-07T00:23:00.000+08:00

Randomly read some pretty interesting review (and background information) of two LP singles, don't agree entirely, but am a keeping a copy here. Translation? Maybe later..

8th single - My Last Fight (Nov '03)

1. My Last Fight
2. Fleeing Star
3. Dreamer

　撰文：小野田雄 (Yu Onoda)
　　LOVE PSYCHEDELICO 究竟是什麼？對於 2003 年的 Kumi 和 Naoki 兩人來說，這是一個十分重要的問題。他們在 2002 年舉辦了兩場日本全國巡迴演出，讓大家共同目睹他們正以現場樂團的形式持續成長茁壯著，而他們的樂風也在這時發生了變化。他們似乎是想要將重心轉移至現場演出上，並採取一種更直接的途徑，但這樣的嘗試最後卻無疾而終。最後，完成初夏的三場演出之後，他們與主流音樂巿場正式決裂，為的是要回答這個問題：「LOVE PSYCHEDELICO 究竟是什麼？」
　　因此，讓我們仔細想想，LOVE PSYCHEDELICO 一直以來究竟是何種類型的團體。他們過去發表的音樂屬於搖滾樂團類型，然而他們並不是樂團，而是二重唱。此外，就算他們走的是搖滾樂團路線，有時他們的音樂卻是數位音樂，常在一個以抽象概念為基礎的音軌上進行繁複的迭床架屋工作。為了在自己的音樂中呈現這樣的創意和影像，他們必須讓自己的心智保持在無壓力的狀態，值此同時，他們對自我的認知也開始逐漸模糊。
　　然而，經過一再反覆的試誤過程，Kumi 和 Naoki 終於在『My last fight』一曲中找到了「LOVE PSYCHEDELICO 究竟是什麼」這個問題的答案。他們成功地讓自己原本的虛擬影像更加真實，並為自己的音樂注入了更多的深度、色彩以及獨特的樂句組合。他們的音樂足以和畢卡索或 Jackson Pollock 的繪畫相提並論。強調旋律的樂曲輕柔地搖晃著聆聽者的感受，而不斷重覆的舞曲節奏則刺激著聆聽者的感官和精神。這首歌已儼然成為 LOVE PSYCHEDELICO 的全新身份表徵。據我所知，這張單曲專輯的製作過程為他們帶來了無比的樂趣，而這首歌則是在相當放鬆、毫無壓力的情況下製作完成的。最重要的是，這三首歌將在您的心中縈繞不已，並讓您得以窺見 LOVE PSYCHEDELICO 的靈魂深處。

9th single - Fantastic World (Dec '04)

1.Fantastic World
2.Romance

這張單曲專輯的發行時間距離 LOVE PSYCHEDELICO 發行第二張專輯『LOVE PSYCHEDELIC ORCHESTRA』已有兩年又兩個月之久。這時他們重新返回原點，並終於推出第三張專輯『LOVE PSYCHEDELICO III』。我們在 2004 年年初訪問 Kumi 和 Naoki 時，他們顯得十分積極且充滿能量，因此我當時就有預感，他們將在 2004 年有一番特別的作為。
　　
　　他們在 2 月份參與了 [Zoku Naniwa Sullivan Show] 的演出，並於 7 月份與新成立的伴奏樂團參加了在橫濱和大阪舉辦的 [Rock Odyssey] 演出。新成立的伴奏樂團成員包括來自 DR. STRANGE LOVE 的 Susumu Osada 和 Takamune Negishi、來自 CORNELIUS 的鼓手 Yuko Araki，以及鍵盤手崛江博久。同時，他們也在和另一個伴奏樂團 (與來自 GREAT 3 的高桑圭/白根賢一、來自 SKETCH SHOW 的權藤知彥、以及鍵盤手崛江博久共同組成) 為即將於 10 月份展開的巡迴演出進行綵排。雖然他們如此積極，新專輯和單曲的錄製情況卻不盡如人意。他們一心想要創作出一種只屬於自己的音樂，卻從未訂下發行日期，因為他們想要在一個能讓他們能對成品感到完全滿意的環境中進行錄製工作。因此，在沒有預訂發行日期的情況下，新單曲的發行也就顯得遙遙無期－一切全取決於錄音室內的錄製情況。然而，他們終究還是完成了這首創作，這也是為什麼現在我們手中可以握有這張最新單曲專輯－『fantastic world』。他們大約花了 1 個月的時間寫出主打歌，並趁著演出和綵排的空檔完成錄製工作。他們似乎是在極為放鬆的情況下完成了這首歌的錄製工作，並將他們對音樂的熱情化為現實。我相信他們是在嘗試結合第二張專輯中的「訊息」以及第三張專輯中富有創意的流行樂句，以找出一種能夠傳達「愛」的方式。苦澀的真實感以及如夢似幻的甜美感受共存於這首單曲中，傳達出一種更寬廣的人類大愛；而『romance』一曲則較偏重個人的愛情。將這兩種元素巧妙地結合在一起，並完成這兩首歌的創作，對他們而言是一大挑戰－雖然這是他們第一次在如此緊湊的時程下完成的作品。主打歌具有 LOVE PSYCHEDELICO 慣有的細膩和華麗感。開頭的吉他樂句停止之後，Kumi 的歌聲便和原聲吉他一同響起。他們的音樂所喚起的情感帶有豐富的色彩和溫度變化。另一首曲式簡單的歌則是在描述一段悲傷的愛情故事。每個人對每首歌的印象或有不同，以上只是我個人的觀點。這是 LOVE PSYCHEDELICO 一張和諧、平衡的作品。我不確定哥倫布是否真的說過「地球是圓的」這句話，但這張單曲專輯倒真的是圓的，而它那一再循環的流行樂風確實能夠放諸四海皆準。

Keren Ann

2007-02-06T20:04:00.000+08:00

Shrugging off the education/informational-column-writing feeling from the last post…and finally do this long overdue one!

Keren Ann!
Keyword: singer-songwriter, acoustic, folk, Nick Drake-ian (oh which means there need a Drake post…or read last.fm bio for now)
Language: English, French

A mini-bio:

Born 1974 in Israel, Keren Ann is singer-songwriter/producer based largely in Paris, New York and Israel. She began her solo career in 2000 with La biographie de Luka Philipsen, "Luka" in homage to the Suzanne Vega song-- written with and produced by Biolay, who also co-wrote and -produced its follow-up, La disparition (“Disappearance”). In 2003, Not Going Anywhere which includes several songs from La disparition re-sung in English, was her first U.S. release, but the American breakthrough came with its bilingual follow-up, Nolita, named after her neighborhood in lower Manhattan. She also collaborated with Barði Jóhannson of the Icelandic group Bang Gang for the album Lady & Bird. The fifth album, the eponymous Keren Ann, will be released April 23rd, 2007 in Europe and May 8, 2007 in the United States.

(Groans...not another eponymous album! What's so cool with eponymousness besides a fair touch of narcissistic smiles into the mirror? Or maybe eponymous has proven to be always critically acclaimed and commercially successful and thus an auspicious move…Okay I’ll keep the grumbles to me self. Getting that album, eponymous or not!)

Keren’s style takes a lot of influence from folk while blending in elements of rock. One special thing about her is the serenity in her music—it’s not just melodious or soothing—it exudes tranquillity (not the Zen-master kind though), yet underneath her lightly sung, almost dreamlike vocal it goes deeper, takes on brooding tones and sometimes dark turns. Just like what could be said of Nick Drake’s sounds, pretty much the same could be said of Keren’s—gentle, autumnal, intimate, and can be at once so beatific and melancholic.

Besides the addition of English on top of French to sing in, Keren's approach to music has been, IMO, consistently and relentlessly herself through the last four albums. You may hear the changes, the quiet transition from one album to the next, in theme or music arrangement, but it's always her speaking true to you.

Not Going Anywhere was the first album I ever listened to, and remains my favourite. The light nonchalance of her vocal totally belies and sometimes hides the dissecting disillusionment in the lyrics, if you float buoyed by the tunes and don't listen closely. A gem.

A selection of a few tracks from three of her albums may be obtained here (expires arrgh today, should've posted earlier). Ask me to re-send if you are interested.

...And this freakin thing happened

what's wrong with this picture?

Singer-Songwriters

2007-02-06T18:00:00.000+08:00

(kicking off with this first...wanted to clump all the artists I wanted to but never got around to rave about under this one...almost. ^6^)

I remember a rather amorphous discussion on singer-songwriters I had with someone I encountered (a Belgian, if it is of any relevance); amorphous because he was constantly straying—jumping—from one point of argument to a next and I was trying—in confusion and quite in vain—to tie up all the points along the way if not actually bring the conversation back to where it started, which was the merits and demerits of singer-songwriters and their music. As a high enthusiastic of many a singer-songwriter of our time, mostly Western but also an emerging crop of Asian artists, I could not (and can’t) find a major intrinsic flaw with the tradition, let alone a reason to shun it, and so I was rather surprised to hear the older man’s preference for non-ss artists. It was probably only indifference towards it, but when he said ‘oh that so-and-so (when I mention some favourite musicians), so you like those singer-songwriters!’ it sounded rather scornful. So I asked him what he liked. He ummed and hmphed and beat around the bush and quantum tunneled through various points, and after a rather tiresome rabbit chase nothing much came out, except for a vague remark somewhere that a singer per se is probably purer and thus better at the craft than someone who so unnecessarily wants to do it all. ???

I mean, what era do you live in, man? Even regular oldtime rock bands pen their own songs! With the perhaps perpetual exception of jazz and blues (which loves to be nostalgic and never stops covering old classics), and then pop (thinkin'...Britney) everywhere else I look I see the brilliant parts of any genre to be singer-songwriters. The whole indie scene is very much them (thanks to technology for once). I think it’s an exceptional gift to be able to write music and interpret and express it all by oneself, and when such artists come along the result is often vivid, sincere, and profoundly moving if one happens to be on the same frequency. For me, to listen to the congruent beats and lyrics that grows out of the contemporary artists through time is an amazing experience of witness, as they sing eloquently or privately, of the world we live in now, personal crises and exultations, or sentiments and small moments of life. Personal is the what feels so special about it, I guess, and so good.

Wikipedia has a pretty nice entry on the evolution of the singer-songwriter tradition, and also a list of singer-songwriters in the world, both focusing primarily on Western countries. (The absent Chinese part has a lot of catching up to do...)

Across the Universe - Fiona Apple and all

2007-01-29T02:22:00.000+08:00

Just watched this cover of the Beatles's Across the Universe by Fiona Apple, so diabolically different from Rufus's resounding, uplifting interpretation (see the earlier post) -Apple sings slow, languid, haunting, and her alternately expressionless and Mona Lisa-smile face is decidedly eerie...highly interesting. I still haven't found the original Beatles version, makes me wonder what it might be like very much. But - give me Rufus any day!

--------

Update: here's more...^6^

Original Beatles version. (Jeremy -- I can't find a way to embed the video you recommended so got this tubie instead ;-P).

A Tsunami themed Grammy performance by Bono from U2, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Billie Joe, and a lot more. Musically it's a small disaster, IMO, but it's great to just see such a bunch singing together.

A much better cover performed live by Rufus Wainwright, Moby, and Sean Ono Lennon. Moby probably shouldn't have been involved in this one, his low voice just did not fit. And Sean--I am interested to but can hardly hear him! (though I think it's hard to hear anyone under Rufus's soaring voice...lol)

MV of Rufus's version. All time favourite =D.

Lennon and Harrison probably would have liked to see this highly spiritual (religious?) cover by Laibach...telling from the end credits they must be some Eastern Europe musicians, interesting take. And what's the last funny scene doing there??

This one is old..and sound and image quality is pretty damn bad. I just wish Roger Waters had brought in even MORE Pink Floyd-ness into the version, that would be awesome.

Gay icons

2007-01-28T15:05:00.000+08:00

This is too hilarious and fun, have to keep a copy.

Ten Gay Icons as chosen by Rufus Wainwright

Sunday November 12, 2006
The Observer

1. Judy Garland

Judy is not a gay icon at all. She is somewhere far beyond that. She is a gay beacon. A gay saint. She has led the way through the darkness for some 50 years. Whether it's the Wizard of Oz or the Judy at Carnegie Hall LP - these are brilliant touchstones for the gay experience. A kind of communion takes place between a gay listener and Judy. And of course there is the drink and drugs counter-story, which is very gay for one reason or another.

In the postwar years in Western culture, it has become somehow socially acceptable to be drunk and stoned. There is such a gay fascination to that story. Gay people understand a party, that's for sure!

There is no level on which Judy Garland doesn't connect with gay men. She married one, for chrissakes!

2. Stevie Nicks

Certain intellectual gay men obsess over Stevie. She is a dinner party conversation in herself, served up as a kind of hors d'oeuvre before a conversation about the Pre-Raphaelites, or something. She separates interesting homosexuals from uninteresting ones.

3. Dusty Springfield

Blessed with great artistry, she never let her lesbianism get in the way of it. Because she wasn't open about it, she gave herself the right to enjoy being a lesbian in private. It didn't diminish her. In the end, cancer claimed her; there's an iconic price for an iconic life.

4. Madonna

There's a dark force at work here - she subverts everything for her own gain. I went to see her London show and it was all so dour and humourless. She surpasses even Joan Crawford in terms of megalomania. Which makes her a kind of dark gay icon in itself.

5. Kylie Minogue

I love Kylie, she's the anti-Madonna. Self-knowledge is a truly beautiful thing and Kylie knows herself inside out. She is what she is and there is no attempt to make quasi-intellectual statements to substantiate it. She is the gay shorthand for joy.

6. Morrissey

Whether he's gay or not, he is the gay Elvis. He is among the greatest entertainers of our time. The banter, the dancing, the stage-craft, it all conspires and you know exactly what Morrissey is. He is heroic. He is a total package, like Dean Martin or Prince.

7. Barbra Streisand

Ugh, Barbra! You've got to hand it to her. She got everything she ever damn wanted and she does manage to maintain her insanity on such a highclass level. I respect her deeply. She's not as sinister as Madonna and she gives us some hope.

8. Pink

She's slightly left-of-centre in this deeply conservative pop world. She's not it, but you'd have more of a chance of finding it by using her as a conduit than you would if you used Britney Spears. You know, Pink is what I would call a 'gateway drug'.

9. Prince

It feels weird talking about Prince as a gay icon now but you have to applaud a black man in the American record industry who could be so playful with androgyny. Justin Timberlake wouldn't do that. He is a marine dressed as a pop star.

10. Kate Bush

She is the older sister that every gay man wants. She connects so well with a gay audience because she is so removed from the real world. She is one of the only artists who makes it appear better to be on the outside than on the inside.

飛べない翼

2007-01-28T00:01:00.000+08:00

Once again.

I can’t help it; I watched Lily ChouChou again and yet again (within one week). When Salyu sang her 'Wings that can't fly' and Shiori pulled the strings and beamed watching the eagle-like kites, heart wrenchingly innocent and delicate, and so happy, I wept. Could only weep, and then more weeping. I can’t describe it. just breaks me.

Towards the end I got so tense. Because I could not remember the ending. It's been...eighteen months now, and my memory appears a moth-bitten carpet. I remember...crouching in the dark watching it for the first time with you in the home sty, I remember muffled gasps and tears (was it just me..) and going to bed with heavy heart and my face somewhat swollen and neither of us saying much besides a confused, broken discussion. (think Lily Chou-Chou is in many ways always associated with those hot summer days in Suzhou and the smell of the bamboo mat in your air-conditioned room). I couldn’t remember...what happened to Hasumi after Hoshino died. When he played a few notes on the piano at home and the camera cut to his torso quite still in midair my heart clutched itself and shuddered in fear, fearing that he might have hanged himself and that I have forgotten. (But how could I, if he did such a thing, or anything at all??) The ending came to this scene, billowing sunlight and Debussy, and the resemblance of this to the Love Letter scene struck me only now. My infinite respect and gratitude for Shunji Iwai, for giving closure (like how Ondaatje said a storyteller should do), and calm, pulsing hope.

And I just got more moRE mORE nostalgic for Kokyu and Salyu-as-Lily Chou-Chou. Saw this fictional discography of Lily Chou-Chou on the wiki page, beautiful, Lily-styled names, why can't they produce all of them?!

1stアルバム『ジュエル』

みずうみ
三つの扉
踊る魚
愛の実験
犬の眼
オルゴオル

2ndアルバム『エロティック』

共鳴
孤独の瞬間
ビデオテープ
化粧をしない生活
家
エロティック
約束の日
指先
悲しい瞳
沈黙の木

3rdアルバム『呼吸』

アラベスク
グライド
友達
土曜日の郵便
飛べない翼
セーター
飛行船
花の瞳
九月の雨の心臓
回復する傷

a bit of Rufus news from FolkFurieuse

2007-01-25T00:51:00.000+08:00

Just saw this (see below) on Folk Furieuse, I am so amused by that thing Mr. FF wrote about Rufus being the same 'drôle, folle' (funny and 'silly'? haha) guy very much involved in the gay cultural scene as ever. (The 'Têtu' mentioned (French for "stubborn") is a gay magazine published in France, where the interview page (and the literally smoldering Rufus shot) is taken from. And apparently FolkFurieuse himself interviewed Rufus, as far as I understand. HOW IMMENSELY LUCKY!)

Rufus Wainwright dans Têtu

Un peu d'auto-promo n'a jamais fait de mal à personne. Je vous invite donc à vous procurer le dernier Têtu (n°119, Février 2007) afin de consulter - entre autres, l'interview de Rufus Wainwright réalisée par votre serviteur. J'ai interrogé Rufus sur le spectacle qu'il va donner en hommage à Judy Garland, le 20 février à l'Olympia, mais aussi sur son prochain album, Release the stars, qui sortira en mai et dont il parle en avant-première. En interview, Rufus ne change pas, toujours aussi drôle, toujours aussi folle, toujours aussi impliqué dans la culture gay. Il a même balancé même une petite vacherie (c'est le cas de le dire) à propos de Madonna, ce que peu de gens osent faire. Juste un regret, ma traduction de "Over the rainbow" pour le titre de l'article est mauvaise. Je pense que "Par-delà l'arc-en-ciel" aurait été mieux. Je le saurai pour la prochaine fois... En attendant, si le coeur vous en dit, il reste des places le 20 février à l'Olympia : www.olympiahall.com.

Elliott Smith - Ballad of Big Nothing

2007-01-24T15:53:00.001+08:00

Just want to test out the iJigg radio really. Elliott Smith (1969 – 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician - "bleak, almost uncomfortably unsparing and yet tragically beautiful make Smith something of a Nick Drake for the indie rock cognoscenti." I'll put up more about him later. Enjoy this first~ =D

Ballad of Big Nothing

Throwing candy out to the crowd, dragging down the main
The helpless little thing with the dirty mouth who's always got something to say
You're sitting around at home now waiting for your brother to call
I saw him down in the alley, having had enough of it all

Said you can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you

All spit and spite, you're up all night and down every day
A tired man with only hours to go just waiting to be taken away
Getting into the back of a car for candy from some stranger
Watching the parade with pinpoint eyes full of smoldering anger

You can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you
Now you can do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to though it doesn't mean a thing
Big nothing

Frou Frou - Details

2007-01-24T00:04:00.000+08:00

From last.fm biography--

Frou Frou is a British electronic musical group with two members: Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth, active from 2002 to 2003.

Frou Frou manufactured an impressive brand of vocal-driven, electronic pop; formerly the exclusive territory of Björk. The British duo had been collaborating for years without a record deal, and after what must have been countless hours matching Sigsworth's studio finesse and trickery with Heap's breathy yodel, the group's debut, Frou Frou - Details, was completed for American release on MCA Records in 2002.

Heap and Sigsworth first worked together on "Getting Scared" from Heap's 1998 solo record, Imogen Heap - I Megaphone. After completing the promotion for that splendid debut, Heap was ready to begin work on a new project and the two hooked up again as Sigsworth had privately been compiling music specifically for Heap while producing other projects. The first track, conceived by the new, more formal (but as yet unnamed) pairing, eventually turned into "Flicks" from Details, which is perhaps Frou Frou's most Björk-reminiscent number.

Sigsworth grew up listening to eclectic female artists like Kate Bush, and along with Heap, developed an appreciation for classical music. He has specificaly worked with Björk (Homogenic, Vespertine) and Madonna ("What It Feels Like for a Girl") among many other significant '90s pop and electronic artists. Far from being the kind of campy moniker one might expect from a more sugary pop outfit, the name Frou Frou was decided upon when Francophile Sigsworth noticed the phrase in a Baudelaire poem. Apparently, when uttered in French, the phrase is meant to approximate the swishing of skirts as they swirl about the legs of comely dancing women, as in a burlesque performance.

Born composers, multi-instrumentalist Heap and studio/sound/ producer/musician Sigsworth are credited with many side appearances in support of other artists, especially Sigsworth, who was often used as a bit of a song-fixer. While those aren't bad jobs to have, artists of Frou Frou's caliber need to step out on their own, and while Heap worked as a solo artist for a majority of her career, Sigsworth had never been so strongly identified with any previous project. Instead of relegating the male producer/writer to a barely credited back seat, as often happens with a female-fronted team effort, Frou Frou was conceived and honestly portrayed as a true collaboration, making it significant for its marketing truthfulness if nothing else.

Details has some relatively conventional pop moments like "It's Good to Be in Love," but more experimental cuts like "Only Got One" display a more definitive quality. The true accomplishment of Frou Frou (which is in evidence on just about every track the "band" created) is their uncanny ability to infuse highly manipulated, digitally crafted music with a warmth quite rare in pop and almost unheard of in music so technologically progressive. In the studio, Frou Frou achieved unique sounding beats for Heap's luscious voice via more-than-would-be-expected acoustic and natural instruments. These actual instrumental performances were recorded first, then heavily manipulated in an editing stage, giving the duo their own process and thus, their own sound. This approach made their music lush, dynamic, and more earthy when compared to typical electronic/dance and canned pop.

Eagles Inching Toward First New Album Since 1979

2007-01-23T19:56:00.000+08:00

Source: billboard.com

August 02, 2006. by Gary Graff, Detroit

The Eagles hope to take flight with a new album -- sooner rather than later, according to guitarist Joe Walsh. "I would say the first half of next year we should be able to put out a new Eagles album," he tells Billboard.com, adding with a laugh that "it'll be nice to have some new songs to play, 'cause we're sick of the old ones!"

The Eagles have been talking about a new studio album, their first since 1979's "The Long Run," since launching the tongue-in-cheek series of Farewell tours in 2003. The recording sessions so far, according to Walsh, have yielded "pretty much basic tracks for people to take and write words to. We've got a bunch of stuff floating around."

But after touring Europe earlier in the summer, Walsh says there's a new resolve to start turning those ideas into finished songs. "We decided we better get some new product out, some new songs," he says. "We could rest on our laurels and play our catalog forever, but we're not a nostalgia band. We've got another record in us. We don't have a mean ol' record company to tell us we're done anymore, so we're taking too long. We really need to just police ourselves and get in there and get it finished and put it out."

Two new songs, Walsh's "One Day at a Time" and Glenn Frey's "No More Cloudy Days," appeared on last year's live DVD "Farewell 1 Tour -- Live From Melbourne," which the band released via its own Eagles Recording Co. imprint.

First up for Walsh, however, is his first tour with the James Gang in 35 years. As previously reported, the outing begins Aug. 10 in Sturgis, N.D. Walsh won't rule out the possibility of recording new music with the trio too, but he quickly adds, "I really don't know what to expect. I just don't see a whole lot of improvising rock'n'roll bands out there now, so I think maybe there's a little window here for a spontaneous group like us. I'm excited to see where it goes."