愛.歌姬

Realised I haven't posted a review (read: unqualified impressions) in ages. Not that I haven't been buying CDs or watching movies, it's just I've been busy and lazy.

"The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Ratatouille" should make my year-end top 10 list, but none of the CDs I bought recently is exactly noteworthy. 张悬's 《亲爱的...我还不知道》 , despite zzyo's enthusiastic recommendation, is too esoteric for my tastes. And Corrinne May's "Beautiful Seed" fails to surpass her previous albums with the bare bones arrangements and religious-themed lyrics.

I was really looking forward to F.I.R.'s new album, 《愛.歌姬》, but it didn't seem very promising when I previewed it. It'd be difficult to replicate the phenomenal success of their first album, but they are increasingly veering towards bubblegum pop, and Faye's amateurish compositions do nothing to inject new blood into their music. Hopefully it'll grow on me with time.

蘇打綠's 《無與倫比的美麗》 scheduled for a year-end release is the only album I'm looking forward to for now. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't disappoint, having heard two of the tracks. Typical sodagreen, with the titular track having a beautiful melody a la 《小情歌》 and another with an energising and lively vibe. I want to see their Taipei 小巨蛋 concert!

飛行部落 - Track by Track

Get high – Incorporates rock+hip-hop elements. The result is a high energy track with a catchy, infectious melody that would get your feet tapping. However, the repetitive lyrics+chorus proved slightly mundane after a few listens. Not to mention it sounds like a song for a commercial, which it is.

雨櫻花 – My favourite track on this album. Very refreshing style which they call 和式摇滚, with the use of Japanese instruments in the arrangement. The lyrics are a perfect match for the melody, and Faye’s vocals shone in this song.

天天夜夜 – One word - Overhyped. LeAnne Rimes was “underutilised”, considering they had her back in the studio for this recording. They might as well have used her original rendition. There is a palpable lack of chemistry between Faye and 阿沁. Either a vocal mismatch or the harmonising just didn’t work for me.

飛行部落 – Not a particularly strong first single, glad that they didn’t use it as the first track. Elaborate arrangement – this time they chose a tribal theme (“印加古文明元素”) – as with 千年之戀.. Great guitar solo in the middle. But why does the guitar rift threading the song sound so familiar?

北極圈 – One of F.I.R.’s signature ballads. Reminds me of 我們的愛 and 把愛放開.

你很愛他 – Not so F.I.R.-ish on the first listen. Probably because of the relatively plain folk acoustic guitar accompaniment. A little quiet and Faye’s vocals sounded strained and artificial. However, the song slowly grew on me after a few spins. A valiant attempt at something less flamboyant given F.I.R.’s taste for grandiose arrangements. The most radio-friendly ballad in the album.

1234567 – Jazzy, playful, uplifting. Although I didn’t like Love Love Love (another jazz track from the last album), 1234567 is a lot more fun and it’s really jazzed up!

眷戀 , 我最愛的人 – Characteristic 阿沁. compositions. Typical ballads with clichéd lyrics.

I don’t care – Intro’s a little pretentious. F.I.R. doses out some heavier/edgier rock in this track. Showcases Faye’s dynamic vocals. I like it when they rock (pun intended). =)

Overall: More creative elements, in general a positive departure from previous efforts. The entire album sounds polished and coherent. I like the flow of songs, and there’s a good mix of fast, mid-tempo and slow numbers. Excellent recording and arrangements as usual. Faye’s vocals weren’t showcased as much as in previous albums – vocal gymnastics on 塔羅牌 in their self-titled debut and brilliant range on 千年之戀 in 無限. Also lacks really strong ballads like Lydia/我們的愛 and 把愛放開/刺鳥 in their first 2 albums respectively. Nevertheless, I feel that this is their strongest showing thus far, and heartily recommend it. (4 stars/5)

Recommended: 雨櫻花, 你很愛他, 1234567, I don’t care

没时间 我没时间

I have lots of things to blog about but so little time.

Let's see, there're the (long overdue) reviews of Pirates, Keane: Under the Iron Sea and Utada's Ultra Blue, which I sincerely believe I would never post coz I don't like to 炒冷饭. And then batallion Change of Command (COC), brigade COC, NDP preview, and scholarship presentation.

Just bought F.I.R.'s 飛行部落, let's see if I can find the time to post something about it. For the record, I have to laud warnermusic Singapore for including so many freebies with the SG version - a pictorial book, a set of exquisite postcards (chio!) and an MV VCD (exclusive to SG!). Very nice packaging as well. It's time to rock!

飛行部落

F.I.R.'s new album is slated for a 28 July release. The title's not quite inspiring but they flew all the way to the big apple to do some recording so I'm expecting something good.

I like the retro look!!

Incidentally, S.H.E. is releasing their compilation with new songs (again?!) on 20 July. David Tao's album is due in August and Jay's September. Seems like peak mandopop season.

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

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.