A Little Game

RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 15 friends.
5. Everyone tagged as to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun!

1, IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?

Smile - Robert Downey Jr.

2, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

The Sounds Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel

3, WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?

醒醒 - 林憶蓮

4, HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?

夢遊 - 孫燕姿

5, WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?

Mr. Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan

6, WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO？

Dirty Little Secret - Sarah McLachlan

7, WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?

Quickly (Feat. Brandy) - John Legend

8, WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?

Coming Home - k.d. lang

9, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?

路口 - 蔡健雅

10, WHAT IS 2 + 2?

The Circle Game - Joni Mitchell

11, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?

Gone - Daughtry

12, WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

Past In Present - Feist

13, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

It's Not You It's Me - The Little Willies

14, WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Lost Taipei - Joanna Wang

15, WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?

Eyes On The Prize - Mavis Staples

16, WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL？

Look No Further - Dido

17, WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?

頹 - 容祖兒

18, WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR??

Anyone Can Play Guitar - Radiohead

19, WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?

Serious - Duffy

20, WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?

旅行的意義 - 陳綺貞

21, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?

Don't Panic - Coldplay

22, WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?

If I Could - Jack Johnson

Coffee Table, Sofa, Fridge, Two Cups Of Black Tea

Very happy to see Kay's success with this song. 囍帖街 (or Kay, Eric Kwok, Wyman) really really really deserves this honor.

The melody is beautiful, catchy, and classy... The lyrics speak of the demolished "wedding invitation street" in Hong Kong, perfectly contrasted with the fading away of love between a couple... Kay's beautiful voice - soft and gentle...

Let's hope this team will create another great song in 2009 and years to come... Kay is here to stay! Rock On!








囍帖街 謝安琪

作曲/編曲: Eric Kwok
作詞: 黃偉文

忘掉種過的花 重新的出發 放棄理想吧
別再看 塵封的喜帖 你正在要搬家
築得起 人應該接受 都有日倒下
其實沒有一種安穩快樂 永遠也不差
就似這一區 曾經稱得上 美滿甲天下
但霎眼 全街的單位 快要住滿烏鴉
好景不會與日常在 天梯不可只往上爬
愛的人 沒有一生一世嗎 大概不需要害怕

忘掉愛過的他 當初的喜帖金箔印著那位他
裱起婚紗照那道牆及一切美麗舊年華 明日同步拆下
忘掉有過的家 小餐枱沙發雪櫃及兩份紅茶
溫馨的光境不過借出到期拿回嗎 等不到下一代 是嗎

忘掉砌過的沙 回憶的堡壘剎那已倒下
面對這 墳起的荒土 你註定學會瀟灑
階磚不會拒絕磨蝕 窗花不可幽禁落霞
有感情 就會一生一世嗎 又再惋惜有用嗎

忘掉愛過的他 當初的喜帖金箔印著那位他
裱起婚紗照那道牆及一切美麗舊年華 明日同步拆下
忘掉有過的家 小餐枱沙發雪櫃及兩份紅茶
溫馨的光境不過借出到期拿回嗎
終須會時辰到 別怕
請放下手裡那鎖匙 好嗎

Just Listen... "聽" 趙學而

聽 - 趙學而

My Rating: 84/100

Track List:

01. 我可以抱你嗎
02. 長夜 My Love Goodnight
03. Be Your Love
04. 情深緣淺
05. 曾在你懷抱
06. 許願樹
07. 對一個人愛錯
08. 某月某夜
09. 如果這是情
10. 吻別
11. 祝君好


I am not too familiar with Bondy Chiu's music. Over the years, I've had a few glimpses of her TV appearances in different sit coms. Heard her nice voice in individual music projects covering well known songs with new jazz arrangements (most notably 偏偏喜歡你 in 一期一會 Soundtrack). I thought her voice is really soothing, but was not about to spend $20 CAD to buy just that one song.

In Dec 2008, she released a long awaited album, covering Chinese pop hits and classics of the 80's and 90's. And she transformed and spiced up all 11 songs with jazz arrangements, giving each track a new look, and a new life. It's a great trend to see many talented singers coming back out asking the audience to "just listen" to our music, and not doing stupid things for making headlines... and getting attention the wrong way.

Amidst the plummeting record industry, Ms. Chiu personally invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in producing this album. What a bold and gutsy move... but I am sure she would be very happy at this moment, as reviews for the album have been very positive... not exactly sure how the sales numbers are, but I read CD stores in HK are jacking up prices for it... so that should be a good sign...

What I like the most about "聽" is the team work and collaboration between Bondy and her musicians. One person's power is very limited. No matter how good Bondy's voice is, without the world class guitarist, bassist, pianist, cellist, drummer, brass players, etc... who participated in this project, it could've turn out to be a lackluster, mediocre work. It was a very nice gesture to have all the musicians and their profiles/resumes displayed in the complimentary booklet...

Is the album entirely perfect? No. Especially in some of the song choices of the album... Despite the new arrangement, some melodies and lyrics are just hopeless and no matter how you try to change its face, the best it can get is a mediocre grade... I'm now gonna talk about some of the outstanding tracks from the album...




我可以抱你嗎

This big band jazz track acted as a cool opening for the album... the song talks about the parting of a pair of lovers, instead of whining though, Bondy puts of a smiling face throughout the song... saying "I miss the good times and I don't think about the bad ones..."

我可以抱你嗎　寶貝　容我最後一次這樣叫你　
你也不得已　我會　笑笑的離去



Be Your Love

What a sweet song... it makes me feel like I'm in love, that's how nicely handled this song is... Kudos to Bondy. It's nice to have the acoustic guitar, flute, and light drum beats supporting her throughout the song... One consistently handled element in Bondy's vocals is the new phrasing she reinvented with the new jazzy arrangements...

逃避你　接近你　惟願挑起一點是跟非
I Wanna Be Your Love　怎麼說起...




情深緣淺

Umm... This is what I was talking about earlier, if a song is hopeless, it's hopeless no matter what you do to it... Bondy's vocals were nice, but the lyrics and the over the board mellowness of the melody just doesn't work for me.... The only part I like is the long saxophone solo session towards the end..




許願樹

Just like Be Your Love, the acoustic arrangement gives this song a fresh and sweet taste. Her musicians steps to the foreground in the sound, providing some vocal harmony in the chorus.

Trees of the Bayou...　我的愛像純真的小孩




對一個人愛錯

This is probably the best example of spicing up a boring song... I love the slight Latin influenced arrangement throughout this piece. I love that her musicians have the freedom to show off their guns in the extended bridges and outros... of this song (and many others, making them at least 5 to 6 minutes long! great stuff!)... The only complaint is that... Bondy could've used a tougher tone... she could've bitch slap the guy instead of just doing a little whine... if you get what I mean.

恨什麼　沒什麼只不過一個人 對一個人愛錯




如果這是情

The new arrangement and phrasing, again, gave this boring song an extreme makeover.... It's now a song that you can play in a lounge while you're savoring a nice glass of wine... Leon Lai's original version? You can probably hear it being slaughtered by some drunk dudes at a karaoke bar...

讓我的美夢　換你一世情始終都等到一串好光景
願你可快樂　像我癡情尋獲最愛不必怕任性





祝君好

Probably the only song of the album from "my times" (I was in grade 8 when it came out, I think). The new arrangement is way simpler than the original, and way better. Just the piano, cello, and Bondy's amazingly calm voice. Not much emotion, it's like reflecting on a long lost love... there's no more pain, just a lot of regrets, and some tears...

只望停在遠處祝君安好... 雖不可親口細訴...






Strongly Recommended Tracks (in order): 祝君好, Be Your Love, 我可以抱你嗎, 如果這是情, 對一個人愛錯, 許願樹

Are you that guy from....

Just updated my facebook picture last night cuz I snapped a new picture while waiting to leave home for work... (also the new profile pic here)

I got this random msg on facebook... some gwai lo or gwai por (The name is Pat, very unisex lol)...

He/she asked me...

ARE YOU THE GUY FROM IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE ?

Of course, In The Mood For Love = 花樣年華...

And the guy from 花樣年華 = 梁朝偉...


lol, honey, you made my day. hahhahahahahahhahahhaha.

The Best Part of Shopping Online...

The best part of shopping online is that you can stay at home and with the help of internet connection and a credit card, you can buy stuff from all over the world.

Moreover, I personally think the "waiting" part is also a very exciting experience. I checked my mailbox practically everyday whenever I ordered stuff online... The anticipation for the products to arrive reminds me of the pre-Christmas wait for Santa Claus when I was a lil kid... I stopped believing in Santa, however, at the age of five...

Last night, my Radiohead t-shirt from Britain and my books/CDs from Hong Kong all arrived at the same time. How lovely!



My Xmas Order:

A. Radiohead Tour 2008 Crew T-shirt (Blue)
- super expensive... but what da heck, in the name of the Christmas spirit and all....

B. 孔子的敵人 - 卓韻芝
- my first Chinese book in 2 or 3 years... always enjoyed Ms. Cheuk's viewpoints and since she left 903, her writings can amend for how much I miss this girl's wit and humor.

C. Orange Moon - 方大同
- not a super fan of Khalil, but I like his style of R&B (more classy, groovy) better than anyone else in the Chinese music scene - Jay Chou, David Tao, etc... Buying his album(s) in December every year has become a tradition for me.

D. 趙學而 - 聽
- my first Bondy Chiu album ever. Planning to write an entry dedicated to this beautiful jazz album. Stay tuned.

11 Books

Finished 11 books in 2008... I love reading more and more =)

Horror Section:

"Mildly Erotic" Section:


Romance Section:



Modern Classics Section:

My 2008 Top 10 Singles - Chinese (# 1-5)

#1. Over The Rainbow - at17
Genre - Folk Pop
From Over The Rainbow Vol. 1 (Jul 16, 2008)

at17's best song to date. It delivers a strong wave of positive energy on a bad day. There's always a ray of hope at the end of the day, even in the worst possible scenario. Every aspect of the song is perfect. Ellen and Eman's interwining harmonic voices, the lush of string and brass back-up, it just paints a bright picture and brings a warm smile on your face. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.

#2. 少年維特 - 何韻詩
Genre - Alternative
From Ten Days In The Madhouse (Dec 12, 2008)

If at17's Over The Rainbow brings a rush of positive envergy, Hocc's Young Werther will drop your mood to the rock bottom and turn your smile into a frown. They are a pair of polar opposites. From the first deep piano note to the dark percussion and string arrangement, from hocc's dark and deep tone in her voice here, to Wyman's lyrics about our generation's sorrows and troubles, ...everything in the song makes you sad and angry. And when a song is able to make my mood swing one way or another, it's a good song.

#3. 囍帖街 - 謝安琪
Genre - Pop
From Binary (Jul 25, 2008)

Kay Tse has become one of my top favorites this year. Album after album, she has proved that she's the real deal. 囍帖街 in many ways is a perfect pop song. Well handled vocals, meaningful lyrics, memorable melody. My only hope is that her live performances can be more stable.

#4. 然後怎樣 - 陳奕迅
Genre - Pop Rock
From 不想放手 (Jun 30, 2008)

A question that I've asked myself over and over again this year.... What Happens Next? Obstacles are present in every step of my way since my graduation... It looks like I'm now taking a long way to get to my goal... when almost everyone else is already there.

#5. 花不痛 - 古巨基
Genre - Folk Pop
From Guitar Fever (Sep 12, 2008)


Tanya Chua wrote a great song. Leo Ku has finally returned to his most natural vocal performance style. Thank God. The lyrics are worth thinking about, Our hearts ache because we allow it to ache, be glad when it happens.