Standing on the Verge of a Rainbow, Finding at17's 《YELLOW》...

My Rating: 72/100

Track List:

01. 二百歲少女
02. 依然 . 親愛的 (Feat. 林嘉欣)
03. 101727
04. The Moon
05. 流浪到彼岸

Five tracks, but only three new songs. 二百歲少女 and 流浪到彼岸 has the same melody. The Moon is the demo of 101727. Yellow, however, has a more concise theme than Orange, which was released in July. Orange was an introduction to the entire project, the theme song Over The Rainbow will be my favorite song of the year. But the EP itself lacked a focused theme, it seems like the comments were read and considered.

The second volume of the OVER THE RAINBOW project uses the color of yellow as a theme - Yellow is the sharpest, most eye-catching color of the rainbow, but it fades away faster than its comarades... very much like the years of youth. Good concept, thoughtful idea, greater expectation... what's the outcome? Let's discuss it song by song.

依然 . 親愛的 (Feat. 林嘉欣) :

First plug of the EP, very soothing, laid back, folk-jazzy arrangement... tempting! Karena Lam's sweet and gentle voice as voiceover, playing the grown up version of title character, remembering an ex-best friend and all the promises they made together. But as time went by, their friendship ended. Perhaps they drifted away as life took them in different directions, we don't know, the point is, it's over and you can't go back...

你話你鍾意關淑怡 (親愛的), 我話我鍾意林憶蓮 (依然)...
你話 你想一齊開間老人院...
如果係宜家 你仲會唔會... 會唔會咁陪我呀?

Friendships, no matter how close you once were or are right now, will drift apart, fade away eventually. Just like the color of yellow. I guess everyone, myself included, has experienced a similar situation...

101727 / The Moon:

越大越易自由暢泳？或是越大越難輕鬆高興?... That's probably the theme of 101727, the likely 2nd plug of the EP. Haven't heard such a hard rockin' song from at17 in a while, and it's really refreshing! The aforementioned line was replaying in my head on the day of my convocation. 10 + 17 = 27. When I'm 27 yrs old, will I become the person I wanted to be when I was 17? I'm turning 22 in December, half way between the starting point and finish line. On a macro level, I think I'm working my way there. All I need is a kick-start in my career... I guess.

As for The Moon, it's Ellen's solo demo. And is it beautiful or what? When I first heard it on the radio, I thought the mood and the inflictions of her voice was very Feist-esque... It's the tranquility and softness that makes this demo so special... so down-to-earth. Ever since 無家想歸 of the Bian Bian Bian album, I've come to fully appreciate the special voice that Ellen has. No, it's not as beautiful as 二汶's. But it's exactly why there's so much possibility for her to adapt to different genres, and it's the versatility of her voice, guitar playing, and song-writing that makes up a big part of at17's unique style.

二百歲少女 / 流浪到彼岸:

I like the lyrics of Cantonese version 二百歲少女 a lot of more than the original Mandarin version... At least there's the positive and encouraging message about life in it. The Mandarin version lyrics are way too bubbly... it's more for Twins or Cookies or HotCha... not at17. In terms of the melody, it's very fun and upbeat but there isn't much to it, just OK for me.... not as good as the previously discussed tracks!

Under the spotlight...

This past weekend, I built a fake chandelier for our living room. It's surprisingly beautiful though. Keep in mind, I put those fake crystals on one-by-one... and it took HOURS!

It reminds me of Miriam Yeung's album <電光幻影>, released in summer of 2004, where the album photos featured a beautiful, antique chandelier.

The summer of 2004... a lot of memories, dead and gone. Anyhow, hope you are doing well.

算了吧　算了吧　別唏噓
教往事　教愛恨　隨風去

明日之歌 楊千嬅

作詞：于逸堯@人山人海　

作曲：梁基爵@人山人海　

編曲：梁基爵@人山人海

涼了的湯　吃飽也覺沒趣

年幼的酒　全干了也未醉

難過的心　連花開都感心碎

時空交錯　停留不去

啊　為何暗自流淚　啊　為何需要伴侶

絕情絕句　是留是去　猶如在懸崖築堡壘

算了吧　算了吧　別唏噓

將心事　將憂鬱　藏歌裡

拾情拾趣　愛惜眼淚　

別再　貪心去追

寒冷的天　有飄雪勝落絮

年老的山　憑煙雨變綠翠

難過的心　能拋棄往日思緒

時光飛過　哪會倒退

啊　為何暗自流淚　

啊　為何需要伴侶

絕情絕句　是留是去　猶如在懸崖築堡壘

算了吧　算了吧　別唏噓

教往事　教愛恨　隨風去

十年十歲　也許再聚　若你　苦心進取

難過雨天　已不怕再面對

嘗過雨點　明天掌握手裡

Convocation . Funeral

Our convocation speaker said... "Commencement speakers are like the host at an Irish wake, people have to be here, and they don't expect you to say much."

Believe it or not, Mr. Segal's speech was actually the highlight of the ceremony, in my opinion, it wasn't boring, or long-winded, or filled with words and phrases that normal human beings rarely use in conversations. The speech was quite enjoyable and humorous, there were also some points that I could take home and reflect upon.

Ellen (at17) wrote on her blog over a year ago a passage that I still remember:

"今天去了一個天主教的畢業禮. 看到很多有心人, 有些人傷心, 有些很平靜, 但令我最感動的是他們全都很有愛心.... 神父說了一句讓我很欣慰的話, "死亡不是生命的結束, 而是改變" 所以我相信我今天去的是一個畢業禮, 而不是一個喪禮."

To me, my convocation today was a funeral. It was to commemorate the past 22 years of my life. From the moment I walked across the stage, shook hands with the school officials, received my degree, I realized I am no longer a kid.

My convocation signified the end of my reckless years, and the beginning of my adulthood. Am I growing up to be the person I wanna be? I'm not quite there yet, but I've been making pretty good progress. :)

And the Beat 360 t-shirt goes to...

A note from AC, obviously mass-produced, but the names/dates are changed accordingly haha. He loves poking fun at Wolf Blitzer and Lou Dobbs, the old guys at CNN, lol.

The graphics are huge, no kidding, but I love this shirt haha.

High school...

It's always great to see the elementary - high school group :) ...

I was the "invisible kid" at high school. Not particularly good at anything, not outgoing, don't talk much, don't get in trouble... Again, I consider myself socially awkward.

I don't have much memory of my four years at high school. Perhaps because there's not much worth remembering.

"The years of high school are your prime suffering years, you don't get better suffering than that", the best line from Little Miss Sunshine... I totally agree with it.

黃耀明《King of the Road》... Aren't we always on the road?

My Rating: 93/100

Track list:

01. 廣深公路
02. 貪生怕死
03. 平安鐘
04 .同一個世界
05. Teardrop
06. 金粉世家 (國語)
07. Ear Candy (Instrumental)
08. 憶苦思甜 (國語)
09. 20
10. 你頭上的光環
11. 親愛的瑪嘉烈
12. 107國道 (國語)




Just by looking at the track list of Ming Gor's newest album, I knew I need to OWN it. Last night, I listened only to the tracks that I long anticipated 親愛的瑪嘉烈, 貪生怕死, 廣深公路, 同一個世界... very good, I thought.

This morning, I woke up, brushed my teeth, had my muesli, checked my email... and I put on King Of The Road ... hmm... It's just what I needed, a perfect morning.

The entire KOTR album has a folk-ish, country-ish tone (with one exception). It's a perfect match to the "on the road" theme, whether if it's literally pursuing a road trip on the highway, or figuratively, the road of your life. Life and death. Young and old. Strong and weak.....

"We're just another soldier on a road to nowhere" is a line in Damien Rice's Amie. KOTR is an expansion of this line. It tells the story of people at different stages of their life journey.

Some small thoughts on worth noting tracks:


廣深公路: First single of the album, quite understandable. It's a perfect, easy to understand method to introduce the album's concept, musically and lyrically. The story of a border-crossing truck driver, country-music-style arrangement. Ming Gor plays the role of the narrator, of course, he excels in it. The mood/tone of his voice suits perfectly without overdoing or lacking emotions... Loving it.


貪生怕死: Second single of the album. A 180 degree flip in terms of lyrics. It's no longer storytelling. It's a sophisticated discussion in a sensitive topic in our society... Death. Are we afraid of dying? To some degree, everybody is. But no one wants to admit it. Not because we don't wanna look like a coward, I don't think that's the main reason... It's because we're TOO BUSY to think about it. 怕痛 怕苦 怕窮 怕終於輸不起, Right? I love Ming Gor's voice in this song... like an angel whispering in your ear...


同一個世界: Ah... the Internet, Globalization. Necessity and increasing trend of our world today. Very thoughtful idea, and it fits perfectly in the main theme. With all these new gadgets, are we really getting closer? Or are we just putting more obstacles in between one another? I really like the melody (composed by Wong Ka Keung), it's got a "world music (Latin?)" touch to it... HOT!


Teardrop: Cover version of Massive Attack's hit. Not familiar with the original, but I know from Ming Gor's interviews that it's more trip-hop, down-tempo than the version in KOTR. Overall not bad, I like the new arrangements, but one thing that bothers me is when Chinese singers sing in English, they have a slight accent and it can sometimes be disturbing. Ming Gor has a slight bit of problem with that but nothing that I can't overlook (unlike Eason's Aren't You Glad, oh god...).


金粉世家: Hmm... still trying to figure out why this song is in the album... Not a bad song at all (I don't believe Ming Gor can ever produce a bad song). But it just doesn't really fit in to the overall theme. I'd always skip it if I'm listening to the actual cd. It's just not the right mood/tone. I'd be more than happy to include it in my workout songs though :)


親愛的瑪嘉烈: Composed by Ellen (at17)! I can't believe it's the first time Ming Gor sang one of at17's works... but what a blast! It's a folk rock number, of course, Ellen's strongest suit. Ming Gor resumes the role of a storyteller... it's such a nice way to wrap up the album. The middle-aged main character observes young passengers on trains, travelling from town-to-town, province-to-province, wishing them best of luck on the journey... journey on the road, and journey of life. 離家更是遠 竟可以支撐到目前 誠心祝福你 捱得到 新天地....

I learnt the truth... at17.

The less is always more... in terms of my musical preference.

I like songs with simple arrangements, preferably an acoustic guitar. Nothing's better than a beautiful voice accompanied by some plain ol' strumming and plucking of strings.

Their voices intertwine and create a perfect harmony. Their melodies and lyrics are at times uplifting "Over The Rainbow", often heartbreaking "無家想歸", sometimes soothing "良夜", but most importantly, they always connect well with on a personal, intimate level.

Jan 2001. 世界不知不覺無情地轉 勞碌找一個救生圈.

Dec 2002. 你這麼輕鬆似不擔心以後沒法再一起 再過幾分鐘　我即將失去自己.

Dec 2005. 回到每一次陰森記憶 像受傷的狗.

Sep 2007. 刺激嗎 幸福嗎 讓快樂穿透我吧 敏感嗎 害羞嗎 別顧慮相擁抱吧.

There were smiles, pain, sadness, sweetness, bitterness in all these chapters of my past. There were always an at17 song that I find comfort in at each situation. A song that I listen to when I want to recall a certain piece of memory.

Music can help to unlock long forgotten pieces of memories. For me, it's at17's music.

二汶. Ellen. Stories. Memories. Songs..... at17.

Meeting With at17:



The meeting took place in Sep 2005, prior to their concert at Living Arts Center. I nervously waited in line to meet them. I had their newly released book and first two albums for them to sign.


It was finally my turn. I placed the items in front of them. We shook hands and exchanged greetings. 二汶 asked me my name. "Dominic." I replied. Ellen spelled out my name to confirm the spelling, she spelled out my name with a Canadian accent. I told them I liked their recent single on radio... "衝衝衝". Ellen smiled and said "Wow, I didn't even have a chance to listen to the final mix yet". We then took the photo (I asked a very nice young woman behind me in line to hold the camera). 二汶 sincerely said "Thank you for supporting us, hope you'll enjoy the show." I smiled and replied, "No problem, I will enjoy it for sure."


I was so nervous the whole time. I wanted to say a lot more, but decided against it. It's like telling someone you love her on the very first day you meet. It's a bit embarrassing, hehe. All in all, I was so thrilled to get to meet them. I hope they'll come back to perform in Toronto soon. =)

Autumn Breeze, Autumn Leaves...

Photos Taken & Editted By: Dominic Ngai
Location: Markham, near my neighborhood.
Date: Oct 14, 2008

Was Listening To:



微涼 - 林憶蓮

作詞：小美　作曲：R.Flack/B.Miles/M.Angelou　編曲：Terry Chan


微涼的秋，蕩來傷口
微涼的酒，苦澀輕透
微涼是我，未忘藉口
道別某個深秋

為何當天，不懂去愛
為何分開，方知熱愛
為何夜了，蕩來感慨
是否不應該？

匆匆一生獨自上途
風乾情感的苦惱
我站進街角墮進了夜霧 像消失地圖（在漆黑裡默禱）
無夢的心不懂去愛
讓孤單心靈失去你
寂寞感覺此際蕩來
是否不甘？

差一點把你再擁有
但我心卻害怕靜候（心卻在詛咒）
夜了想到以後不在逗留

Beat 360 (Update)

"MAY I CALL YOU TINA FEY?"

WATCH:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/10/04/ac.360.beat.fri.cnn?iref=videosearch

Here's my winning video, my caption complimented by AC and Erica! WOOO. It was actually on Oct 3 and I totally missed the announcement!!!!! :)

Hope my T-shirt will come really soon! I think I'm gonna wear it to the gym, hehehehe

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

A little bit of respect goes a long way.


A simple rule of thumb for socializing that I learned quite early on: "If you've got nothing nice to say, then don't say anything."


That's all I'm gonna say. I'm rising above.

LOST: My Favorite Character - Sun

SUN (白善華)

Sun (played by Yunjin Kim) is definitely my No. 1 favorite character on the show. She's very hot and I really like Kim's portrayal of a multi-layered Asian woman. Not to mention, her always Emmy-worthy performances. It's a shame she hasn't been nominated yet. Here's a heartbreaking clip of when Sun witnessed Jin's apparent death.....

WHO IS SUN?

Sun is one of the 48 crash survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. She was introduced as a stereotypical submissive Asian married woman. Later, we find out she's actually a very deceptive person who would do anything to protect herself.

On the outside, she's nice to everyone, loves her husband Jin, helped her friends on the island in many different ways.

But, she lied about not being able to speak English. She kept her own affair with another man a secret from her husband. She shot and killed an unarmed "Other" when the woman was deemed a threat to her own safety.




MAJOR EVENTS OF SUN

On the Island, she found out she was pregnant but was not sure who the real father is. When it's revealed that the father is indeed Jin, she has to face the reality that she will die from the pregnancy like all the other women on the Island before her.


At the end of the 4th season, pregnant Sun escaped the island with Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley, and baby Aaron (in the outside world, they are the only 6 survivors of the crash and they have to lie to keep their friends safe) moments after Jin "seemed to have died" from the freighter explosion.

In the future, Sun gave birth to her daughter Ji Yeon in Korea and has taken some control of her father's shady company, which is believed to be linked to the bigger Island conspiracy. She has also contacted Charles Widmore, one of the main conspirators in order to locate the island.



MY PREDICTIONS OF WHAT'S NEXT FOR SUN

We now know that season 5 will focus on the OCEANIC 6 and why they must or why they want to go back to the Island.

I don't believe for a moment that Jin is dead. The writers must keep him alive because that's the only reason for Sun to want to go back.


Right now, she is the only one who seem to have no ties at all back there and would definitely be the hardest to convince. She blames Jack for the "death" of Jin and she has a daughter to raise in Korea. Logically, she would ignore Jack's request to go back.

Unless, of course, Jin is still there....

Germinic

Germinic....

That's a clever new nickname given by my sister. I, on the other hand, call her "Victeria" (her name's Vicki, btw lol) cuz she passed on the neverending cold to me last week.

Oh, I've never been this sick for years... I've got some serious upper respiratory tract infection (cough, sneeze, stuffy nose, minor fever, chills, headache, sore throat) and I'm on a course of antibiotics to fight it. I just feel tired all the time, cough like an old man, and need to clean up my runny nose every 10 secs....

Haven't updated for 20+ days.... no mood to write anything. Just still waiting for a job offer. sigh. It's a tough world out there.

Somebody bail me out....