10centwings

"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes."

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:08:10 +0800

“Do I contradict myself?
Very well, then I contradict myself.
I am large. I contain multitudes.”

- Walt Whitman

Khalil Fong has a new single, and it’s a Faye Wong remake...

Sat, 30 May 2009 23:58:00 +0800

Khalil Fong has a new single, and it’s a Faye Wong remake *gasps*.

I’m ambivalent about the drums, but other than that it’s all good. Ever realised how his songs always has some of the most mellow-lus(h)cious string arrangements?

(Do your ears a favour and listen to it in HQ please.)

EDIT: Updated Youtube link.

I've succumbed...

Sat, 16 May 2009 15:30:46 +0800

I've succumbed...:

…yes, I’ve signed up for an account with Twitter. Let’s see who sucks the inane out of whom in the end…

“Cuteness is out of the question… who needs...

Wed, 13 May 2009 23:49:50 +0800

“Cuteness is out of the question… who needs it?”

Imagine setting this loop as your mobile ringtone…...

Wed, 13 May 2009 00:52:48 +0800

Imagine setting this loop as your mobile ringtone… *sniggers*

Singapore Called the Most 'Innovative' Nation - Study

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:42:00 +0800

Singapore Called the Most 'Innovative' Nation - Study:

This is not about self-deprecation, but more a matter of knowing oneself. I mean, in ALL HONESTY, can this even/ever be true? One wonders what they’ve used to measure this so-called innovativeness. (I’m trying to get an answer out of myself by looking at this question from all sorts of innovative angles. But as a Singaporean, inevitably I’m having difficulties.) And in the first place, who’s this “manufacturing group” that conducted the study? My take: Not all studies are to be taken seriously. Especially those performed by unknown sources. Not a very innovative conclusion I know. But what were you expecting? I’m Singaporean.

Sesame Street: ABC Hip Hop with Miles On the vid: This seriously made me smile. Cutest Alphabet Song...

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:50:18 +0800

Sesame Street: ABC Hip Hop with Miles

On the vid:

This seriously made me smile. Cutest Alphabet Song ever.

On Sesame Street:

Sometimes I wonder if the creators of Sesame Street REALLY created the show from a kid’s perspective or from their own. I was never really amused by the programme when I was a kid. I could never really identify with it. I thought Cookie Monster was inane (ya, kids aren’t THAT stupid, y’know?), but I wasn’t exactly smart enough to understand all the Bert and Ernie jokes (and certainly NOT the innuendo).

Now that I’m all grown up, I actually start youtubing Sesame Street vids to soak in nostalgia. Suddenly everything looks cute and makes me go awww… But I don’t think kids are looking to go “awww…”. And I doubt all the repetition really works on the kids anyways (Sesame Street must be the only show that features so many versions of the Alphabet Song. Anyways, back to whether the repetition works, the 4-year-old me tuned out after some time. And my impression of CM still hasn’t changed after all these years).

With all that rambling done, my take in short is that the creators of Sesame Street have forgotten what it really is like being a kid. For instance, the creation of CM is evidently an underestimation of children’s intelligence. But some parts of the show may just go over the kids’ heads (though it may also be a case of me being not so bright as a kid). Now that I’ve watched the programme again from The Other Side, I can’t help but conclude that it’s a programme that amuses adults, and adults in turn believe it amuses their children just because they themselves are amused.

Kids reading this, feel free to tell me I’m wrong.

This place just gets stranger by the day...

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:11:00 +0800

This place just gets stranger by the day...:

The majority always rules.

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I’m aSelf-Knowing Organized Lifelong...

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:22:19 +0800

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I’m a
Self-Knowing Organized Lifelong Learner

Music Age Gauge

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:55:00 +0800

According to the Music Age Gauge, I am

49 years 1 month younger than Yoko Ono, age 75
40 years 10 months younger than Bob Dylan, age 67
38 years 8 months younger than Mick Jagger, age 65
37 years 0 months younger than Eric Clapton, age 63
33 years 10 months younger than Stevie Nicks, age 60
26 years 5 months younger than David Lee Roth, age 53
23 years 7 months younger than Madonna, age 50
20 years 1 month younger than Jon Bon Jovi, age 46
15 years 0 months younger than Billy Corgan, age 41
12 years 0 months younger than Mariah Carey, age 38
7 years 10 months younger than Alanis Morissette, age 34
0 years 4 months younger than Britney Spears, age 27

and when these songs were topping the charts and these events occurred, my age was:

The recording of We Are The World: 2
Walk Like an Egyptian, Bangles: 4
Didn’t We Almost Have It All, Whitney Houston: 5
Back In The U.S.S.R. is released exclusively in Russia: 6
Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O’Connor: 8
Emotions, Mariah Carey: 9
Fleetwood Mac perform at Bill Clinton’s inauguration: 10
The Sign, Ace Of Base: 11
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opens: 13

These folks sure know how to make me feel better about my age. At least they didn’t say, “You are xx years older than Miley Cyrus.” Thanks man.

(And what? Mariah Carey’s only 38?!)

Reblogged tuneage: Rachael Yamagata - “What If I Leave” Slow,...

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:01:00 +0800

Reblogged tuneage:

Rachael Yamagata - “What If I Leave”

Slow, haunting, intense, emotional, warm, and prickly are just a few words one might use to describe this track by the disappearing act that is Rachael Yamagata. She is just one of those artists that stays so under the radar that it’s easy to forget she even exists. Her latest record though, “Elephants… Teeth Sinking Into Heart,” provides a swath of styles, both new and old. One of the more subdued versions, I would recommend “Sidedish Friend” for a more rocked out type, if you’re into that sort of thing.

——————————————————————————

Rachael Yamagata’s got a new CD. I like her vibe, and I love her voice, but Happenstance didn’t exactly sink into me, save for Be Be Your Love and a couple of other songs towards the end of the CD (see what I mean when I say it didn’t sink in?). Will probably give it another spin and see whether I hear any light, before I decide whether I’ll check out this new one.

Credits: mossy of OurHome SG WLH’s MUSIC-MAN concert was...

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 22:16:00 +0800

Credits: mossy of OurHome SG

WLH’s MUSIC-MAN concert was lauded the Best Chinese Pop Concert in Singapore in 2008 by the Sunday Times today. I am hardly surprised. Afterall he almost brought down the stadium that evening (I used almost because this sentence was meant to be interpreted in the literal sense, ha). I’ve never seen the Indoor Stadium rock SO hard before. Way to go!

But it makes me laugh that the reviewer said he liked the concert because it was “suitably extravagant” and that “he [WLH] had magic tricks”. I get it that he’s giving him credit for showmanship, but the David Copperfields were kinda secondary you know? It would have been a more convincing review if he’d said things about how WLH whipped the audience up into a frenzied high and had the entire stadium rocking from song #1 onwards. I mean, this is Singapore afterall… to have the stadium behave the way it did, that was a feat in itself.

This song is so good it literally aches.

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:41:43 +0800

This song is so good it literally aches.

Another track from WLH’s upcoming album - 我完全没有任何理由理你 This...

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:32:00 +0800

Another track from WLH’s upcoming album - 我完全没有任何理由理你

This song is absolutely wicked. I can’t stop smiling at how evil the lyrics are. When he starts dissing the other guy’s musical prowess (or lack thereof), I can almost hear a smile of immense amusement in his voice (or should I say, smirk of immense satisfaction?).

Hopefully there are more tracks along this vein in the upcoming album. I was kinda disappointed that more than half of the tracks featured on the radio show were K-ballads. Whatever happened to the rock album that was meant to be this album? I was looking forward to a high dose of edginess and to my eardrums being blasted from all those crashing guitars… but from what I’ve heard so far, this album seems to be walking towards SafeWay… sigh. I guess I shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions until I hear the entire album. Till then, I am crossing my toes that Sony hasn’t been freaked out enough by the lacklustre response to 《摇滚怎么了！！》to turn the album into some karaoke-friendly CD just so that it sells.

Wang Leehom’s latest single - 心.跳 (Heartbeat) I...

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:52:00 +0800

Wang Leehom’s latest single - 心.跳 (Heartbeat)

I wasn’t expecting myself to like this so much actually, cuz I’m more a quirky-song WLH fan than a ballad WLH fan. And plus, this song is SO K (karaoke… no offense, but it is!) But fact now is, I’m severely hooked. I had it on obsessive repeat on my way home this evening, and it doesn’t sound like it’s gonna die from an over-spin anytime soon. There’s something about the chorus that keeps me going back to the song again and again. No doubt the amazing hook played a part, but that aside, this chorus just sounds SO velvety. It’s the groove, the electric guitar, the harmonies and WLH’s newfound raspiness all rolled together. I’m really curious how the hi-fi version will sound. Much better, I’m sure. Just hoping that I’ve not over-spun the song to death before the album gets released.

Of planets and moons...

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:19:00 +0800

Khalil’s second single. Loving his bridge once again. :) The album’s slated to be released on 19 Dec, and apparently it’s titled Orange Moon. Not sure if he’s intending to go Nick Drake-ish, but from the 1st 2 singles I’ve heard, seems like he isn’t, yet. But it sure sounds like he’s going down austere lane in this upcoming album — no more mish-mash of 3 million layers of instruments. I’m not complaining though. In fact, I am very curious as to how this Orange Moon’s supposed to sound.

And I’m finding it strangely coincidental that another album that I’m wildly anticipating has planets in its title as well (ok, I know the moon’s technically not a planet). Not sure how reliable the source is, but apparently Wang Leehom’s upcoming album is called 典型的火星装地球. No I didn’t make any typo. Probably my source did… but knowing (or rather, not knowing) the ever-unpredictable WLH, this off-beat title may be the real deal afterall. I don’t know, I’ll just wait and see.

That Feist Sesame Street vid has gotten me into an Elmo feat....

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:27:00 +0800

That Feist Sesame Street vid has gotten me into an Elmo feat. superstar video rampage.

Even though Tony Bennet was evidently tickled by Elmo’s antics throughout the song, for some reason this makes me wanna cry. The way Elmo goes “bloop-bloop-bloop-blip-blip-blip” when the song goes “I believe in little things/Like icy drops of rain”… it’s as if he really believes.

I’m so hooked to Feist I Youtube her on Sesame Street /...

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:42:00 +0800

I’m so hooked to Feist I Youtube her on Sesame Street / Sesame Street her on Youtube… Ugh. You get what I mean.

This is majorly cute.

There was a request to see the original version of this picture...

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:58:00 +0800

There was a request to see the original version of this picture on Flickr.

The original’s really, one big mess… so there’s no way it’s gonna appear on my Flickr account. Here it is instead. Brace yourselves.

Khalil’s latest single, and I ain’t disappointed!...

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:13:00 +0800

Khalil’s latest single, and I ain’t disappointed! It’s one of those songs which makes you wanna sing and dance along to your iPod. In fact, imho it sounds like one of those songs Apple would pick for their iPod ad. Lovin’ that groove!