If There're Seasons...

Hello all and sorry for this extremely late post =p anyway I just attended a musical 'If There're Seasons...'. And i sincerely say i am very very impressed. Before i start on my incoherent rambling, here's the short synopsis from the programme notes.

The winter of dream numbs a lover's pain,
The autumn of dreams lies awake in vain,
The summer of life sings its passing song,
And spring comes again... with courage to hope, and go on.

'If there are seasons I would see snow, but not around here...'

After the painful demise of his girlfriend Jing, Ah Le flies to New York to breathe life into his fading dream of writing music. There he meets and befriends Ah Qiang, a fellow dream hunter from Singapore, who helps him settle right in. It is a difficult period of transition, but Ah Le soon gets a job working at a restaurant.

While on the job he encounters Rose, a struggling actress who fits right in with the boys and a beautiful friendship of battered dreams and ruised lives is born. The winds of fate stir and their lives tumble on. An air of romance lingers wistfully, ,but does an old love really die?

'There are no seasons here, but there is always love...'

Before you start trashing the musical just because it sounds like a soppy love story, watch it. :) it talks about Ah Le, symbol for aspiring young people, who wishes to migrate overseas for own own endeavours (in this case for music, which i thought was very relevant to us). But just like salmon trout that swim miles away only to return back to where they hatched, it's kind of a classic there's-no-place-like-home story. It held special meaning for me also because i have and still am harbouring the thought of going abroad, as many of you too also are i'm sure. There was a depth to the story and the way it was presented that i cannot put to words. Then again, there are many things which i can't put to words =) oh did i mention? there was a gay relationship in this musical xD

The songs featured were written all by local composer and lyricist Liang Wern Fook, many songs which we all know (including THAT certain 细水长流 song which was sung to death at ALL school occassions D:) were actually penned by him! No that was not meant to dissuade you guys from going for the musical. i enjoyed every single minute of it and i recommend this musical strongly as a must-watch. Many many other songs that i know were also sung but i just don't know the title =x

The musical's cast comprised fully of locals, including the band. Brilliant acting and vocals put together made this musical a success. Though the story line is a tad cliche, there was a refreshing feel to it when it is all sung out. What more, with all the songs were mandarin with a few lines of cantonese and 'Marikita!' thrown into it, it gave me a added sense of familiarity and closeness when i listened to those beautiful lines. In fact, i would recommend this musical over phantom.

Though it may be abit pricey, i got stall seats at $48, i think it's quite worth it, what more it's a singapore production and a good one at that! tickets are available at sistic. (gosh now i sound like a tv advert) anyway go http://www.iftherereseasons.com/ for more details! cheers! =)

Bok

TRAVIS

This is not meant to be a Time Out-styled review (one of my favourite magazines back in London) but am fresh from listening to British rock and an overdose of fusion the whole weekend.

Went major CD buying last month and got myself the latest Travis CD.

It is good. It is the best.

I'm not kidding and I'm not paid for this but being a fan of Travis for the past umpteen years watching them scale high, bump into Coldplay painfully (and I love Coldplay too), crash and seeing a dark album later surfacing, the latest CD is almost like a breakthrough. You can feel Travis is coming back. Good Scottish rock and alternative sounds, sad lyrics OR happy lyrics, sad sounding. Travis always likes to put the irony back in your life if you find yourself taking yourself a wee bit too seriously :).

Resurrected, blessed and out to convert, with a vengeance and a dagger between its teeth. Here goes..

The Boy With No Name
	Travis Average Review A welcome return This IS rare quality ... At their best Sweet stuff as per usual Surprise See details at Amazon by G-Tools

Selfish Jane is VERY good (plays on the phrase selfish gene) http://youtube.com/watch?v=G0sES3nzgsU and the youtube video is hilarious and clever. All things British become very hip if you read the lyrics and no amount of topshopping can hold sole claim to the array of British images that are linked in this song. The nice Iggy Pop drum entry.

Everything I love about London and about UK is somehow embodied in this album. You must listen to it to be haunted by it. An excellent break up song too :p

-

hello i've been rather stagnant, so.. shall try to post something.

i went on "schindler's list"-high after hearing both shimei playing it at strings concert and elizabeth (yes elizabeth yang one year our senior) playing it at VJ strings concert. hence i keyed it in at youtube and found 2 relatively nice videos. (:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueWVV_GnRIA

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1UvabfIbl8

the first is by itzhak perlman and the second is by some bing wang concertmistress of los angeles philharmonic.

surprisingly, i preferred the latter, instead of the usual "ITZHAK PERLMAN IS THE BEST!!!!111" (like all the comments in youtube)

personally i felt bingwang's one was more emotionally charged, she played with the sensitivity of a woman, and i liked the way she dwelled on certain notes. itzhak perlman's version was rendered too fast for my liking, it makes all the agony seem almost fleeting, although yes, his phrasing was brilliant.

of course the sound cant really be compared, since the 2nd video was recorded by an amateur.

hmm, what do you all think?

however, i'm sure of one thing. nothing beats shimei's rendition of the charged upward broken chordal passage that leads to the climax of the piece (the one with the D# to E), the speed, the delay, the tone control, or perhaps it's the impact of hearing it live.

p.s: how do you insert the video sample from youtube!

Music and Lyrics :)

Have you watched the film "Music and Lyrics"?

Being a Hugh Grant fan, I couldn't resist the VCD that just got released.

Am now an addict of the song "A Way back into Love".. a nice inspiration for those of you facing block for your new song...

I've been living with a shadow overhead
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed
I've been lonely for so long
Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on

I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away
Just in case I ever need em again someday
I've been setting aside time
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
Oh oh oh

I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine
I've been searching but I just don't see the signs
I know that it's out there
There's got to be something for my soul somewhere
I've been looking for someone to shed some light
Not just somebody just to get me throught the night
I could use some direction
And I'm open to your suggestions

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart again
I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end
There are moments when I don't know if it's real
Or if anybody feels the way I feel
I need inspiration 
Not just another negotiation

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart to you
I'm hoping you'll show me what to do
And if you help me to start again
You know that I'll be there for you in the end

Pop goes my heart has that heavy 80s tinge but this song, rox!


*somehow, virgos are all die-hard romantics deep deep in the core of us (goes the same for hard capricorns LOL*

The things films can teach you

After reading Aaron's entry, I will listen to McPhee again, especially Ordinary World and catch all the intervals dutifully. But I like the 'boys in the club' bit, very personal *sniff*.

Recently, I watched two fantastic films, for all you doggie fans out there.

いぬのえいが プレミアム・エディション
	中村獅童 伊東美咲 宮崎あおい おすすめ平均 俺は泣かないったら(T_T) 泣きたい人用 いい映画だと思います。 参りましたね レンタルしましょう Amazonで詳しく見る by G-Tools

I usually am a cynical person (anyone who watches overloaded British political comedy dramas would) but in all cynical people, there is always a soft spot that time and again, takes over our senses and makes us all human. Justifying my existence, I gave this film a try. It's rather cute, called Inu no eiga (inu is dog, and eiga is film in Japanese). It stars one of my favourite Kabuki actors, Shido Nakamura, amidst his string of horrible love affairs...and a virgo too sigh...but that is just one of the many gems in the film. Good acting aside, the dogs are so cute!!! the opening is a musical bit and stars most of Japanese top actors.

My favourite scene is the last one, where a dog and a girl share their memories together. I just watched and tears kept rolling down. Language barriers can always be broken when common themes of love and simple gestures of showing love to animals are appreciated and celebrated. I remembered when I was in Tokyo, I saw my favourite English sheepdog and my Japanese friend gamely asked the lady if we could hug and take photos with the dog. She said yes (I can't imagine a local person doing that) and we had fun. I felt as though because of a living being that couldn't talk Japanese or English, the barrier was broken in the common love for the animal.

This film just reminded me that human beings may have to be taught how to really live and love life as dogs seem to be having a better perspective of life than us.

The next film was one which I got on my way back from town:

The History Boys [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
	Andrew Dunn George Fenton John Wilson 20th Century Fox 2007-04-17 Sales Rank : 30124 See details at Amazon by G-Tools

This film tells the story of British schoolboys, smart, talented, lively and full of cheek, destined to go to Cambridge and Oxford. Driven by an ambitious History teacher who hails from Oxford, an inspiring but eccentric retiring teacher, a witty female History teacher (my favourite chr!) who claims history is about men and their failures and a lecherous principal, the boys question the meaning of life, learning and whether aiming for the top will bring them happiness.

Many aim for Cambridge and Oxford every year as it is prestigious. Some come out pompous but I have a friend who is still as zany about Stephen Hawking and humble as pie. So it depends. But the film delivers the misconception too that Oxford and Cambridge have everything. Londoners would attest against it.

That aside, the film was witty and if you happen to like English literature, the film is beautifully littered with poems and references to Hardy, Larkin, english history...the type of film that I like, the type of scenery that was nostalgic for me, but the elitism bit reminded me of an article I read today (check Insight pg 10, ST) about elitism.

Back then, we had no idea how schools were elite, and elite was only known as a modelling agency. Somehow elite popped up since PM mentioned about J Lopez in his elite speech..? What is an elite? So what makes a non-elite?

Poor girl in elite school? If you make the best out of life no matter where you are, it wouldn't make a difference.

It's amazing what films can make you think of.

Music that people have no idea I listen to

Recently in class, there was this particular incident which revealed that people think I only listen to classical music. To which I replied, 'Believe it or not, I don't have anything classical in my ipod. None at all.' So I'm here to share with you two CDs which i play frequently while on the move or when trying to make some sense of numbers. Though they will, in no way, help us in pulling up our mep grades, (unless you're an alien like chunbok who picks out anything in a pop song that repeats thrice and yells, TIHAI! or who embellishes simple harmless melodies with VISTARS, much to the alarm of startled innocent passerbys) I personally think that they make life so much easier to endure, at times.

Promiscuous clothing and suggestive posing aside, this runner-up of American Idol Season 5 has much to offer. Blessed with a versatile voice, she is able to pull off several different styles convincingly; from pop, dance, R&B and especially her signature ballads which even swayed notorious judge Simon Cowell.

If there's one thing that I dislike in this album, it would be the blatantly feministic and sometimes cringe-worthy lyrics: In 'Dangerous', for instance, it reads, 'Dangerous. He’ll steal your heart away, then run and play. He’s dangerous. Protect your heart, he’ll tear it apart.' As admirable as her quest is to warn all females of the dangers of men, perhaps a little subtlety would do some good? Very very frighteningly, one track in the album sounds as if Britney Spears burst into Katharine's recording studio demanding to record a song to save her rapidly fading career. (The song in question is 'Do what you do', so be warned. Here's some evidence in case you're in the mood for GP: cause all the boys in the club wantin me/and all the girls in there tryin be like me) But thankfully, she redeems herself in several other stellar tracks including 'Over it', a solid pop number, 'Home' and 'Ordinary World', both of which are powerful ballads which showcase her voice very effectively. (the latter was destroyed by the above mentioned alien who decided it suited its voice effectively too)

Natasha Bedingfield's latest offering is no doubt an interesting mix, with well crafted lyrics which sometimes requires reading between the lines. Unlike Katharine McPhee, whose voice is rather conventional but beautiful all the same, Natasha Bedingfield's pipes are subjective. To quote one classmate of mine, whom i was trying to get to widen his musical horizon beyond Jay Chou, 'She sounds pissed off.' To me, it's one of the things which sets her apart from the myriad of new female vocalists springing up on the music scene.

The tracks in the album are very cleverly linked with a common thread running through them, the theme of relationships. It begins with a rousing number titled, 'How do you do?' in which she boldly declares, 'If it's weird for girls to give guys flowers/ Then maybe that's a reason to/ You're not climbing up my ivory tower/ So I'm comin' down for you' (this is the said song in which the alien picked out tihais) Following this is the highly amusing single, 'I wanna have your babies' which caused my sister to rant about the inaccurate portrayal of females as desperate beings. There is also very interesting imagery in 'Pirate Bones': 'It's not worth having/ If it's too much to hold/ You can dig so deep/ That's you're left with a hole/ Thirsty in the desert with a bag full of gold/ Don't wanna end up like pirate bones' and one track titled 'Still here' which rips your heart right out and at the same time, displays her competent vocal technique. Interestingly, we can draw comparisons with British pop (Natasha Bedingfield) and American pop (Katharine McPhee).

So there, all you people out there who harbour the misconception that MEP students are all about classical music!

A friend recently lent his Lisa Ono CD to me, Jambalaya - Bossa Americana. Listened to it while doing Math and i realised it is pretty good music for concentration.

Lisa Ono is Japan's most acclaimed Bossa Nova artist. To confess, i'm still not a fan of her voice. I find it a little too husky for my liking. Something clearer would perhaps be nice. My favourite song out of the cd is My Boy cause the lyrics are meaningful and the tune's simple and catchy. Most of the time, i actually prefer the instrumentation over her voice. Still trying to listen more to Jazz and other stuff like that.

Stay All Night's a funky number and i really loved the arrangement. I didnt think her voice was upbeat enough for the tune. The saxophone part is really great though.

Dont think i'll be a convert anytime soon. Came across Yamagata's Be Be my love the other day when i was youtubing around and i fell in love with it. Go hear!