Top 2007

Top 5 Movies of the Year:

I was rather selective with the movies I watched in 2007, depending on Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus for good measure. It turned out pretty well because I had some genuine difficulty picking just 5 from an eclectic mix of 20 odd, mostly excellent films I caught in the past year. In no particular order, though I've attempted to pick movies from different genres. A pity no Chinese movie impressed enough to make the list, though I thought Lust.Caution was a worthy contender - poignant, beautifully melancholic, well acted, and great production values all around, but slightly lacking in the 'wow' factor - minus the sex.

Click posters for reviews

Top 10 Albums of the Year:

Six of '06's Top 10 released new albums in 2007, but sad to say, none of them made the list. I was positively underwhelmed by F.I.R. and 林宇中's new releases, while 张惠妹 and 櫻桃幫 suffered from lack of exposure on my part. 曹格 and 林俊杰 failed to surpass their past efforts, allowing newcomers to take their place in this year's list.

2007 saw me getting into indie music in a big way, thanks in large part to sodagreen. 'nuff said about them. Cheer Chen was a logical progression, being an acclaimed earlier protege of sodagreen's mentor-producer. Having also featured in 2005's edition, I've always had something for her girlish voice and intimate compositions. The Decemberists' indie rock formula is refreshing, unlike anything on the pop charts - much like sodagreen when I first heard them, while NIN strikes a chord with their inspired alt rock sound.

And then there are the usual suspects - Stefanie and Tanya, both on their first new release after switching labels, and finding renewed success. Peggy's long-awaited album didn't disappoint - juxtaposing a fairy tale theme with greyish undertones, it was sombre (real dark) but brilliant. Fish and Ayaka represent the successful commercial releases, delighting with their mainstream, k-friendly tunes.

As usual, I only rank albums I purchased (but not necessary released) in 2007, which is a lot, actually. I don't even want to know how much I spent on all these CDs lest I die of haemorrhage of the heart.

And once again, in no particular order. 11 albums listed in view of sodagreen's dominance - their first two albums should have been in past years' Top 10!

Click cover art for reviews (if available)

《無與倫比的美麗》 蘇打綠

《小宇宙》 蘇打綠

《蘇打綠同名專輯》 蘇打綠

《花的姿態經典實錄》 陳綺貞

《許願盒》 許哲珮

《逆光》 孫燕姿

"Goodbye & Hello" 蔡健雅

《崇拜》 梁靜茹

"First Message" 絢香

"The Crane Wife" The Decemberists

"Year Zero" Nine Inch Nails

Voices

Just got hold of these albums from two of the most talented and acclaimed female singer-composers in the mandopop scene today. My wallet is bleeding, but they totally deserve the support. Highly recommended!

And I am loving sodagreen more and more by the day!

Not to forget my latest recommendation from Stef's album. Interesting lyrics.

飘着
作词:陈镇川 作曲:李伟菘

空气中 呼吸都凝着
我让思考放空
看你转身上楼
我知道 这就是答案了
还能怎么感受
那残余的温柔

当黑夜 清晰过白昼
当快乐 赔上了所有
当理智 熬不过放纵
你的神色什么都淡了
我还守着爱飘着

da la la la...

你回头 就像往常笑着
好像在原谅我
绑住你的自由

当黑夜 清晰过白昼
当快乐 赔上了所有
当理智 熬不过放纵
我的神色什么都算了
却还守着爱飘着

错在明知是错
快乐该怎么选择
我爱错 我只能选择沉默
不该嘶吼

当盲目的黑夜 清晰过白昼
当奢侈的快乐 赔上了所有
当假装的理智 熬不过放纵
每个路口 怎么转都错
我进退不得 谁救我

飞不进你梦中 偷一点感受
飞不回原来我 冰冷的躯壳
就这样漂浮着 悲伤的穿梭
感觉掏空 灵魂不在了
爱情突然失重 在飘着

da la la la...

梦游

作词:严云农 作曲:古晧

穿过时光机器 我一定可以再遇见你
循着钢琴声 找到你迷惑的神情
不够高的身影 计算着与梦想的差距
看你努力奔跑 但是终点在哪里?

未来总很神秘
有暴风雨 也有好天气
你曾经可以选择 轻易放弃

dala… 感谢你没有忘记 做你自己

跌倒时受的伤
在我身上 有相同痕迹
发现我的笑容 成长在你哭泣里

未来会很神奇
会经历爱 也学会期待
虽然有很多怀疑 你不明白

dala… 幸福的答案 我也还没解开

sol sol ti sol sol do 约定好醒来之后
要再次回到未来 陪我梦游

Only realised the brilliance of the lyrics after I read the zaobao interpretation.


If you still don't get it, the lyrics is about the protagonist ("我") going back in time to see his/her younger self ("你").

The idea is damn cool! I wonder what it would be like if we can do the same - look on our younger selves and marvel at how much we have changed, how stupid we had been, and how things might have been different had we acted differently.

逆光 Track by Track

《逆光》是孙燕姿出道7年的第十张专辑，也是她加盟Capitol的 第一张大碟，自然备受瞩目。庆幸的，她并没有让我们失望。选曲方面，以快歌‘逆光’主打，抒情曲贯穿，再融入几首中快板歌曲，兼顾各方口味，轻易屡获听者的心。重点是，此番词曲俱佳，旋律琅琅上口，词亦容易引起共鸣，不失为一张非常耐听的佳作。这几天反复播放了不下二十遍，不但没听腻，反而越听越是味道！

逆光：初听时印象不怎样，尤其对词无动于衷。不过听了几次后，觉得旋律与编曲还是可圈可点的。渐进渐强的编曲带出了歌曲的大气，磅礴的气势富感染力，仿佛在燕姿的声音中看到了希望。励志元素充沛，简单来说是首feel good song。非常符合燕姿正面形象的首波主打。

梦游：难得的气质小品，童真与古典韵味浓厚，是燕姿广受好评的新鲜尝试。如果你喜欢林忆莲的‘纸飞机’，应该也会喜欢这首歌 淳朴、淡淡的味道。

咕叽咕叽：另一首广受好评的作品。 继‘直来直往’之后，另一首有点无厘头，却又天马行空，令人发笑的中快版歌曲。节奏强劲，中段却突转慢拍，更给人不按牌理出牌的感觉。俏皮的rap也增添了好玩的指数。

我怀念的：第二波抒情主打，典型的‘姿式’情歌。副歌词曲深入人心 （我怀念的是无话不说/我怀念的是一起作梦/我怀念的是争吵以后还是想要爱你的冲动），是容易让人产生共鸣的失恋疗伤情歌。

安宁：编曲简单，前面acoustic得很有味道。整首歌起伏不大，淡淡的哀愁却依旧动人。

漂着：燕姿拿手的抒情摇滚。很棒的词 （当黑夜清晰过白昼/当快乐赔上了所有/当理智熬不过放纵...爱情突然失重/在漂着），较逆光还震撼的编曲，极富张力的声线穿透人心。

爱情的花样：听了比较没有感觉的中快板歌曲。i 周刊说是“复古电子风”，挺新鲜的。前面似外语的部分其实是‘直来直往’中的rap in reverse，不知有谁听出来了？

漩涡：很不容易唱的抒情曲，看来燕姿真假音转换的功力已登峰造极！Climax的部分感慨激昂，整首歌却不失委婉气质，赞！

需要你：另一首慢热、安静的抒情曲。副歌记忆度高，后段弦乐丰富的编曲更能牵动人心。

关于：文案形容为‘冷調英式抒情’，不过总觉得编曲太过有规律，旋律重复性也太多，加上平铺直叙的诠释，比较没有感动度。

这是一张第一次听 可能不会动容的专辑。不过仔细聆听几遍，应该会体会每首歌曲里耐人寻味的地方。

推荐曲目：梦游、咕叽咕叽、漂着、漩涡

逆光

Playing in the sidebar is the first single in Stefanie's latest album. You heard it here first! (unless you heard it on 93.3FM earlier today...) Took n listens before I started warming to the song.

Stef's characteristic 甩音 is missing, there's less use of 转音 (portamento), and it may feel weird to have so many 拉音 without 抖音(vibrato) for those not accustomed to her style. For the record, Stef has never used vibrato - a common and overused technique - right from her very first album, which makes me wonder if she's trying to be unique, or just doesn't know how...


逆光

也许我一直害怕有答案
也许爱静静在风里打转
离开释怀很短暂又重来
有时候自问自答

我不要困难把我们挤散
我责备自己那么不勇敢
遗憾没有到达 拥抱过还是害怕
用力推开你我依然留下

有一束光 那瞬间 是什么痛得刺眼
你的视线 是谅解 为什么舍不得熄灭
我逆着光 却看见

那是泪光 那力量 我不想再去抵挡
面对希望 逆着光 感觉爱存在的地方
一直就在 我身旁
(光芒 你是光芒)

我以为我能后退 反复证明
这份爱有多不对
背对着你如此漆黑 忍住眼泪
睁开眼 打开窗 才发现你就是光芒

I had high expectations for the lyrics because the title 逆光 (against the light) conjured many splendid imageries in my mind, but the lyrics here just don't work for me. Too literal, and a little contrived in certain parts in an apparent effort to achieve the oh-so-important rhyme. In short: 不够诗情画意，意境过于肤浅. Well, at least it's not about hackneyed, sappy love.

My story,Your song 經典全記錄

Just bought the deluxe version which is indecently expensive, and I can't say it's worth it coz I have all of Stefanie's previous albums. But how could I not, when this is her landmark swan song with warnermusic?

I just finished listening to the first CD and I was deeply moved even though this is the nth time I have heard those same songs. It's not that I can identify with the lyrics or anything, but they felt so strangely poignant that I could feel my emotions stir. Over the years, her image has changed, her vocal prowess has shone through, and her musical direction has matured, but her newfound status as one of the brightest stars in Asia has not changed one thing - the ability of her music to touch, or to quote the Superstar judges, 感动度.

I still remember the first time I saw her "Leave Me Alone" MV on TV, I was instantly drawn to her distinctive vocals, singing style, and refreshing image. I didn't even know her name, whether she was popular, or that she's fellow Singaporean. Perhaps that's what you call the elusive "X-factor". It's anyone's guess whose album was the first ever CD I bought. 9 albums and 6 years later, I am still very much a fan, and looking forward to her next album with Capitol.

雨天

The song you hear is Stef's newest single, 雨天. The only new song in her Greatest Hits album, a compilation of 60 songs spanning 6 years of her career at Warnermusic. A must-buy if you're a fan, and more so if you don't have her previous albums as it is going to be the most complete compilation of all her chart-topping singles. She started out at Warner with 天黑黑 (clousy sky) and now she is marking the end of her career with them with 雨天 (rainy day). What a brilliant juxtaposition, don't you think?

Ok enough of promotion, watched "The Banquet" yesterday and it was pretty good. Tasteful direction, outstanding cinematography, luscious costumes and set designs, competent acting, graceful fight sequences, a rousing score, and an adequate script (a loose adaption of Shakespeare's Hamlet) made this epic tale of love and treachery surprisingly intriguing and entertaining. The ending must have been the most intriguing of all, but I'd leave it to you to watch it for yourself and arrive at your own conclusions. The director, Feng Xiao Gang, has a flair for comedy, as it seems, for the audience sniggered in between some of the most tragic moments in the film. Perhaps he is just being true to his roots - he is well-known for his comedies, like Big Shot's Funeral and Cell Phone.

3 movies in a week. I'm broke!

依然范特西

That's the title of Jay Chou's new album slated for an 8 Sept release. Hopefully the title (rehashed from his 2nd album for the uninitiated) is not suggestive of his impeded flow of creative juices. Heard his duet with 费玉清 and it sounds, ermmmm, 不伦不类. To begin with, they have such drastically different styles that you'd never imagine them crooning on the same track. The DJs even made fun of Jay, known for his mumbling, for his perfect enunciation on the song, apparently due to the coaching from his duet partner. LOL.

Stef's "Best of" compilation is also coming out in September! 28 old songs (all of which I have on original CDs...)+ 2 new tracks (only...). Would buy it for sure, although it's obviously Warnermusic's way of squeezing every cent out of her, since her recording contract with them has ended and she is signing on with Capitol (Jolin's current record company, incidentally). More looking forward to her new album with Capitol.

The dearth of updates is mainly due to my being really busy. Also I am saving my updates till the end of the week, after the Army Half Marathon, when I would be running 10km. So this short entry was posted just to pacify dear jinny who requested an update. LOL. Ciao then.

第17届台湾金曲奖

最佳流行音乐演唱新人奖: 林宇中/林宇中个人首张专辑
I have such great taste. LOL. Before 林宇中, Stef, JJ and F.I.R. all got best newcomer awards!

Tanya got 最佳国语女演唱人奖. Although I don't like her (as a person, not her music), I am glad she's the second Singaporean to receive this award. You all should know who's the first. ;) Have been wanting to get her "T-Time" album, but I think I'll only buy after the gai ban. Anw in no hurry coz I have so many new CDs to listen to!

My Top 10 CDs of 2005

Instead of offering a retrospective look at the past year, I have decided, on this last day of 2005, to pick 10 noteworthy CDs amongst the 25 odd that I bought in the past 12 months. Sorry I don't download songs, so the selection is pretty limited and if your favourite album isn't up there,too bad. =P I have put them in order of my personal preference.

1. 五月天: 知足最真杰作选
What can I say, all the greatest hits, and I really love all the new songs!! I was actually quite disappointed with their previous 2 albums, but this one reminded me of the Mayday during their good old days. An album that should not be missing from any decent collection.

2. F.I.R.: 无限
The trio's sophomore album which met with with mixed reviews. Personally I didn't like it initially too, but it grew on me after putting it on "loop" for a week. A good mix of upbeat tracks and memorable rock ballads, overall a diverse and universally appealing sound that surpasses their debut album in all respects (except originality...).

3. 孙燕姿: 完美的一天
Well, my first ever and no. 1 idol. I wouldn't bear to place her out of the top 3. But she certainly deserves this spot based on merit, for her willingless to experiment and move away from commercial pop. There isn't a song as endearing as 同类, but quite a few decent tracks, and she demonstrates that she has matured not only as a singer, but also as a composer and producer.

4. Mika Nakashima: Best
Remarkably mellow vocals, and the arrangements are refreshingly different from mandopop and English pop. You don't have to understand Japanese to fall in love with the catchy melody and silky-smooth delivery.

5. 林俊杰: 编号89757
My favourite male artiste, relegated to 5th spot probably because his album was released relatively early in the year. I didn't like the title track, and his other hits are sorta overplayed (on radio as well as at KTV...). Nevertheless, a laudable effort in coming up with a concept album (pretty rare nowadays in the mandopop scene) powered by his almost flawless vocal techniques.

6. Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms
7. Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here
8. 陈绮贞: 华丽的冒险
8. 周杰伦: 十一月的萧邦
10. Corrine May: Fly Away

Honourable Mention:

• Do As Infinity: Do the A-side
• Utada Hikaru: Single Collection Vol. 1
• Kate Bush: Aerial

I shall stop blogging

Hmmm this is my 20th entry, hurray! I shall make it a reasonably long one to commemorate this milestone. I have been posting at least one entry per day for the past 19 days, even though 'A's is around the corner and I've fallen way behind in mugging. So, I've made up my mind to stop blogging until 'A's are over. I'd most probably not come online as often as well, as I realised that the cause of my headache is actually this dreaded computer with which I'm typing this very blog entry.

Anw the wedding banquet at the Grand Hyatt today was not bad, I ate too much and can't sleep, that's why I am still online at this hour, posting this entry. There was shark's fin (ok I know the cruelty involved in getting the fins but what can I do, they served it...), abalone, scallops, etc. etc. I tried to mug there -you should know that the bulk of the time during wedding banquets is spent waiting- but the lighting there was too dim (to create a romantic atmosphere...) which added to my headache. I think I'm suffering from migraine, which reminds me that I should get some sleep coz there's still the TSA (a test tt requires "brain power") tml.

Btw Ocean is supposed to appear on the Cancer Charity Show tml night, but I doubt you will get to see his real looks (unless like I predicted, he's more yandao now) coz very few pple will turn up at his Nov concert if he proves to be as hideous (I kinda like this word...) as the picture in i-weekly says he is tml. Expect to see him wearing a mask or something. LOL.

Before I end, I just want to plug Stef's new album a bit. It's really nice, you may not like the songs on first listen, but they just grow on you with time. Very nai4 ting1 (esp. songs like yin xing ren and ming tian qing tian), and I can now officially conclude that it's a GREAT album and all of you should go get the original SG version (which comes with a complimentary $20 party world KTV voucher incidentally). I'll hate you if you just download and not buy the original version, I mean it! I've heard the 192kbps mp3s (the highest quality ones I can find on the net) and they are totally not representative of the quality of the album. The mp3s sound compressed and the resolution is substantially worse than that of the CD. If you don't believe me, you can buy the original CD and listen to it for yourself. If you can't hear a difference, you ought to cut off your ears.

Ok time for me to bid my faithful readers a temporary farewell, but fret not, I will be back in about 750 hours' time (according to Relf's blog, but I still have Bio S so not sure abt the accuracy...). All the best for your 'A's, it's the last lap (I know you've heard it a google times...) and definitely not the time to slack or falter.

Gambarimasu!

We're All Superficial (Part 1)

Hmmm thought this would be a good topic to discuss, plus can tie in with the stuff I read on Zejia's blog regarding "shi li pai" and "ou xiang pai", whom I shall dub the "singers" and "lookers" respectively. An important thing to note is that these are not mutually exclusive, coz u have pple like Stef, JJ, etc. LOL. I hear "dissenting" voices, but Stef just got the Golden Melody Awards last year for "best female vocalist", so I reckon she deserves some respect. As for JJ, if you have heard him sing "live" before, you should know his vocal prowess.

Ok to save myself the trouble of paraphrasing (since it's not GP...), I shall just quote directly the "contentious" points made. I'm not trying to turn this into an online debate lah, but I feel there are a few points that are worth discussing. It's all IMHO and YMMV (for all of you who dunno what these mean, u need to come online more often...).

"Sometimes, I juz hope people around me can be less li zhi and less intellectual, but dun wan too du one la. Haha, contradicting sia. I mean, ya, clever people like them, would go for shi li pai singers, cos they are good. Ya, I understand and think they should be idolized. But, well, it seems as if they are all too much into this shi li pai thingy."

Not all intellectual pple go for the singers lah, that's a generalisation. Maybe you feel that's the trend for people around you, but many clever pple also like lookers. When Stef debuted, she was promoted as a looker (I know she's not very chio lah, but she's got a very charming smile and personality). Her singing was pretty bad then, esp. live, but I have supported her since then.

"Well, I'm both into ou xiang and shi li pai, my idols are SHE and JJ/lihong, ya, got ou xiang pai and shi li pai one. I get to appreciate both in this sense. But people around me none into ou xiang pai one. So it seems as if I'm so bai chi and stupid to like SHE. But... I still like them, so I wouldn't care haha. However at times, it is juz maddening to hear them saying things abt SHE and me liking them. I mean, I dun criticise you or your idols, why should you. Juz hold your tongue. Ya, I'm fu qian and bai chi, so what, I juz like them."

Live with the criticism lah, we all have different preferences, and one man's meat is another's poison. You wouldn't be so concerned if you're confident about your idol, and know that all that criticism isn't valid. Like pple used to condemn Stef but I just shook it off. What's most important is that you get something from supporting your idol, not what others say about them. Anw liking lookers doesn't mean that you are extra superficial, it's in fact pretty normal coz we're all superficial(will discuss this in more detail later).

Ok this is getting too long, so I shall do a follow-up tml. Ciao.

Mayday

Went for Mayday's autograph session today, was quite surprised to see mostly girls. Anw the atmosphere was pretty high, although Ashin's live singing is, well, nothing spectacular. I thought he was straining to hit some of the high notes. Didn't memorise the lyrics so couldn't sing along, sianz. Quite chaotic, and people started breaking away from the queue midway while they were performing. Quite pissed, they should have had more barricades and officials to make sure people stand in line. And they kept plugging the Singtel IDEAS card when the whole thing already started late by 1 hour. Anw got their autographs eventually so I am happy already. Here's a list of autograph sessions I've been to:

1. Stef's "The Moment": Queued for 2hours+ and the queue moved so slowly, pple were obviously cutting queue. She came late, and went off without signing even half of the albums (including mine), was totally pissed.
2. Stef's "Stefanie": Went late, but pple were still queuing for autographs, so I thought I could join the queue. Apparently not, they just closed the queue... Pissed.
3. F.I.R.'s "Unlimited": Started on time, and very very organised (exaggerating number of barricades and officials), and they signed every single album, even those who came at the very end were allowed entry. Why can't Stef's autograph sessions be like this?
4. JJ's "#89757": Started late, but he still signed every album. I think it lasted till 11+pm. Pretty organised, and the queue moved fast!
   
5. Mayday (see above)

Damn tired, stood for like 2 hours under the sun today. At least it was enjoyable.

完美的一天

The title isn't reflective of my day today, it's stef's new album for those who still dunno..

I have looped the entire album more than 10 times, and for some reason, I don't have any particularly strong feeling towards it. It's more of mixed feelings I guess. To tell the truth, I couldn't find any fault with the vocals, compositions, or production. In fact there is no one song that I can say I really dislike, unlike 听见 in the last album (always have the impulse to skip that song...). But it seems to lack something, probably the wow factor, or that one single that can make you forget about all the other imperfections. Or perhaps, I was expecting a little too much.

But after all these years of supporting her - through 8 albums - her offerings have become kinda predictable. It's not a bad thing, really, but sometimes you just wish for that little bit more. No, I ain't disappointed with this album, but I can't say I love it either. I'm reluctant to say it but it's good, but not great. As with the last album, it strikes a reasonable balance between radio-friendly and more alternative tracks. There are also attempts to introduce new elements by roping in new composers and producers, a laudable move despite the end product sounding like an experimental product lacking overall direction.

It's really not as bad as I make it sound, and certainly worth a listen if you're sick of those superficial/commercialised stuff put out by beautiful people who can't sing for nuts.

Recommended Tracks: 第一天, 眼淚成詩, 隱形人, 心願, 夢不落

An Imperfect Day

Haiz have to blame Aik Joon n Jinny, made me pre-order stef's new album at that ulu shop. That guy cheated me lah. The SG version also has the CD-rom and even a $20 Party World voucher, which means that I am paying >$10 additional to get some lousy stickers with the TW version. He had the cheek to tell me that SG version confirm no freebies. Dots. Now have to wait until next Monday then can get the CD, and have to go all the way to that ulu place again. I would have bought the SG version on Friday. Argh!

Anw Stef's new songs are pretty decent. A Perfect Day is actually quite mediocre, I think they made it the first hit mainly for the advertising potential. First Day is the PERFECT hit for me - composed by F.I.R. and Mayday, performed by Stef n can hear Ashin n Faye harmonising in the background! Catchy melody(composed jointly by FIR.ST DAY), Mayday-style wacky lyrics + Lotsa attitude + Funny MV. Oh man, if only there's JJ and you get all my fav mandopop artistes collaborating on one song.

Don't ask me to lend you Stef's newest CD, I will NOT lend any of my idol's CDs to anyone except for that rare few lucky ones who catch me on a good day. I bet most of you would have downloaded it before I get the CD on next Monday anw (right, zzyo? =P). Must support original! Just eat less, or DOTA less, and you will have money.