Wilco

More music to share.

An unexpected gem of a find at the HMV New Year Sale. I didn't really hesitate when I saw this 2-CD Live set for only $7.95!

Wilco is another indie (again!) alt-rock band I discovered in '07 - I got their "Sky Blue Sky" album, which has, incidentally, been nominated for a "Best Rock Album" Grammy Award. They already have 2 Grammy Awards, and a number of critically acclaimed albums under their belt, so no surprise here that this Live album turned out to be pretty brilliant stuff!

Live footage of "Sky Blue Sky"

牛仔很忙 Vs 無與倫比的美麗

This playful, catchy song is gonna be the first single in Jay's upcoming album. A marked departure from Jay's previous work, this country-folk number is certainly very refreshing, and sure to be a hit!

Also scheduled for a november release is 蘇打綠's "無與倫比的美麗". It's intoxicating! And good thing I'm going to Taiwan in November, coz I can get hold of their album even if it's not released in Singapore. Yeah!

蘇打綠今年夏天特别绿演唱会

“说我‘娘’的人唱歌都没我好听”，青峯笑道。 出席了昨晚“苏打绿今年夏天特别绿新加坡演唱会”后，我不得不苟同青峯的大言不惭。当今中文乐坛，能唱的比青峯好的，尤其是live演出，应该屈指可数吧。当 然，青峯亦男亦女的嗓音并非所有人能接受。但他能如此收放自如，自在地驾驭着声线 - 时而亢奋激昂，时而轻柔委婉，时而又悲戚忧伤 - 穿梭于高低音域之间，叫人不得不佩服至极。

Photo credit: 《我报》

但苏打绿不单主唱了得，其他团员也使出了各自的看家本领，在无间默契之中击撞出了震撼人心的音乐火花。尤其觉得鼓手小威与中提琴兼键盘手阿龚弹奏得很有feel,而吉他手阿福和家凯的solo也都很出色。团中唯一的女团员贝斯手馨仪则不抢风头，酷劲十足。

在一片“绿海”之中，苏打绿呈现了近三个半小时的精彩表演，营造出一个随着音符运转的小宇宙。无论是快板摇滚，中板民谣，或慢板抒情，歌词的意境与歌曲的力量都渗透了整个会场，让乐迷们high到不行，沉浸在优美的旋律与青峯醉人的歌声当中。

苏打绿除了将两张专辑与五张EP的曲目几乎完整呈现，也选唱了一些经典中英文名曲，如Radiohead的“Creep”，邓丽君的“我只在乎你”，王菲的“天空”，和林忆莲的“夜太黑”。当然少不了苏打绿两位学姐较近期的作品 - 陈琦贞的“旅行的意义”，和青峯写给杨乃文的“女爵”，也引起场内很大的回响。苏打绿为配合乐团模式，为每一首歌注入了较rock的编曲，给人与原唱截然不同的听觉刺激，绝对有过之而无不及。

歌曲间中的闲聊，也让乐迷们见识到了苏打绿亲切好玩的一面。青峯充当发言人，机智、幽默、嗲声嗲气，还不忘调侃其他团员，制造了许多笑料。焦点都集中在青峯身上，似乎冷落了其他团员，不过亲和力十足的阿福，鬼马的阿龚，可爱的小威，帅帅的家凯和酷酷的馨仪也都很受乐迷的拥护，整个乐团给人很踏实（down-to-earth）的感觉。

演唱会 一次“做作”的encore（青峯总是说不喜欢预设的encore，很做作， 但是“人在江湖，身不由己” *笑翻*）理所当然，再一次真正即兴的encore才显真诚可贵。当一大半的观众已离席而去，苏打绿第二次encore还唱了近30分钟！虽然已接近午夜，围绕着舞台的乐迷点歌点得尽兴，他们也乐于在舞台上继续表演，大家仿佛在音乐中找到了共鸣与幸福。

青峯最后决定以“我的未来不是梦”结尾来鼓励在场的乐迷和苏打绿一样继续追梦,为演唱会划下了温馨、完美的句点。

这次演唱会真的让我重新感受到了音乐的感动与力量。不需要华丽的服装与绚烂的舞台效果，苏打绿对音乐的执著与努力已足以打动人心。真庆幸即使孤单一人也坚持出席了这场演唱会，绝对有值回票价！

Video credit: 《我报》

I'll stand by you

A beautiful song in a meaningful context. Like aik joon said, there are so many others who are suffering out there while we enjoy ourselves, or sleep peacefully at night. Do something.

I want to watch Borat!!!

He's absolutely hilarious!!! Hopefully it'd be released in Singapore soon, and it won't be banned/censored since there are some racist/sexist/politically-incorrect elements in the film.

On block leave this week so feel free to ask me out.

UPDATE: YES, Borat is coming to Singapore! Saw the poster at Lido just now. But "rating to be advised". Hopefully it's not R21...

2006 就是俊傑世界巡迴演唱會

Oh man, it was such a BLAST!!!

The wondrous ballads, catchy fast numbers, and, of course, the BRILLIANT vocals. JJ is really an immensely talented 'live' performer in a class of his own. Except for some cheesy dance moves and costumes, the concert was practically flawless. A visual spectacle, as much as it was an aural fest.

The audience (largely female) were spontaneous and the atmosphere was HIGH!! Quite unexpectedly, I remembered most of my lyrics. Yeah! Ok lah, considering the fact that I have all 4 of his original albums and sang his songs so many times at K-box, no big deal.

I really like the part where he sang the rock version of 美 人鱼 and Michael Jackson's "Heal the World". He also rearranged most of the songs and changed the melody of some parts to good dramatic effect, which would make the concert CD/DVD really worth buying. Unlike yanzi's... LOL. What's the point of having a concert if it's like listening to the studio album right.

I'm glad I went for the concert even though the ticket price was... ouch. JJ sure deserves to be heard 'live', man. I'd surely continue to support him for years to come. Now for F.I.R.'s concert. =)