I'm glad to have caught Tortoise in Singapore in 2005 and 2011, and elsewhere. They sang the songs of my junior college days. The band is very much older now. Their average ages are like, 59 years old. I mean, they've stuck around for 40 years. FOUR DECADES. The members pretty much remained the same since Bundy Brown and David Pajo left way back in 1996/1998.
Last year, 'Touch' came out. This is their eighth studio album. I'm reminded of how music-making used to be; the younger bands rarely make music this way anymore. I didn't realize back then that their genre is considered 'post-rock'. I only know that I like bands without vocals. Their music has been described as "interweaving repetitive motorik krautrock rhythms with sophisticated jazz improvisations, minimalist structures, and subtle electronic text."
I really enjoyed the show. It was soooo... for the lack of a better word... nostalgic. They played the songs of my youth, and then they played something more. While tonight's show was a mix of old and new, I still don't know all their songs. I didn't bother to memorize all of those, and I don't play it enough to be that familiar. I got lost at some point regarding which pieces were from which album, and I couldn't even recognize two pieces. Hahaha.
Of course they played 'Ten-Day Interval' and 'The Equator' (from one of my fav albums 'TNT', 1998). There was 'Gesceap' from ('The Catastrophist', 2016). They did new songs too — 'Night Gang' and 'Layered Presence' ('Touch', 2025). I'm less keen on the jazz bits, and more into the heavier parts, but this album would do.
MONO dropped their new album 'Snowdrop'and is doing a tour. I had considered flying to Taipei or Hong Kong for a short bit to catch MONO's show. I hesitated. This is typhoon season. And I have this insane luck with typhoons. If I schedule a trip to one of the cities a typhoon passes through, inevitably, I always run into one in whichever city I'm in.
Luckily I didn't do Taipei. Typhoon Bavi came and canceled every thing for the weekend. Flights, Mayday's two shows, and MONO's show. I stayed in town and caught MONO at the Esplanade.
The band's long-time collaborator and producer Steve Albini passed in May 2024. They recorded their last studio album 'OATH' (released June 2024) with him. This is the twelfth album, and the last one ever with Steve Albini who had recorded half of MONO's songs. Those depths of emotions and understanding between a trusted audio engineer and musicians go way beyond superficial. I think even fans of the band mourned the passing of Albini.
The thirteenth 'Snowdrop' was recorded by Brad Wood and mixed at his Seagrass Studio. It sounded equally amazing on vinyl. MONO didn't deviate from their usual sounds. However, it felt a lot more sensitive and warm. This is not an album that mourns. It celebrates life and living. It likely celebrates the legacy of Steve Albini, and also marks a point in Brad Wood's life as his beloved wife Maria had also suddenly passed. As I listened to the vinyl at home, my soul was absolutely following the cascade of emotions that is 'Snowdrop'.
MONO kept on making albums that sound different, yet not leaving their signatures. They have been active for 25 years. Madness. That passion. It was a superb show tonight in Singapore. What glorious soundwaves that washed over us. Them four created an expanse of worlds and soundscapes. It was so beautiful.
And Singaporeans apparently really really love karaoke. Sure. We always seek out the music with we grow up with, and whoever possess the highest spending power in that age group, leads the demand for the type of products and shows coming into this small city.
Nostalgia for their music and Singapore's positioning as a premier concert destination are often the reasons cited. But perhaps we've overlooked a more fundamental factor: Our indisputable obsession with karaoke and the KTV-friendly songs these bands have produced.
The article flagged Westlife's sold-out shows for three nights in February 2023. At least MLTR bothered to do fund-raising for the Dementia Society when they came in September. Well, it isn't always about replenishing these musicians' retirement funds. Many genuinely love what they do and enjoy performing, and would like to do it as long as they can, and there's a demand. I can see the brilliance in writing karaoke hits. It's that simple melody that's so difficult to churn out. But as a singer or a songwriter, when you hear a line, especially the chorus, you know it. The producers know it. We know it. You know whenever you've got a winner.
A Reddit user on subreddit community r/popheads put it best in response to what Western songs seemed to have significant cultural impact in the 2000s: “Basically anyone with good ballads and songs that are easy to sing along to will always have us Southeast Asians in a chokehold.”
When we have only these few radio stations, a patriarchal government, what on earth are we exposed to? People-friendly tunes. I'm not a fan, and certainly I do not buy their albums, but in those days, when someone has a radio playing in the background and all, and someone always would, these boyband/girl group songs blared over the speakers non-stop, all day, every day. I was bombarded with them till I could recognize these songs and inevitably catch some lyrics, as much as I didn't want to. I could even play some of these songs on the piano and the guitar by ear, and I'm not particularly good at that (playing by ear and jamming). SO. I stopped listening to the local radio stations, except for LUSH 99.5 when it launched in December 2004, and I was sad to see it shut down in September 2017.
I love my indie rock and metal. I'm not so much a Mandopop person although I know some of the 'famous' songs. I do know Cantopop because I needed to learn the language, and watching Cantonese shows and listening to the songs is the fastest way for me to pick it up. Out of necessity, I know the olden-day evergreen Chinese hits, and a few Malay songs. It's those songs defined as 'getai' favs. Haha. It's a bonus to know them to get through to my old folks on the roster; it's fastest way to break the ice. I can listen to Mayday but not Jay Chou or Eric Chou. I still prefer slightly less mainstream indie songwriters and alternative rock bands.
Obviously there's a reason why our music scene is just... pedestrian with Mandopop and English boybands taking the bulk of the population's love. NKOTB forever? Everything else is given to K-Pop and Taylor Swift. Our own music scene is sad. It used to be non-existent. In one fell swoop, our government killed indie rock in the 1960s by banning long hair on men and all visitors, and the 1990s saw the newspapers screaming 'Parents, would you let you child do this' with a photo of a mosh pit. wtf How absolutely puritanical.
We have progressed a little and diversified our music tastes. Esplanade and the staunch indie scene have soldiered on. We've got more indie bands stopping here for small gigs, repeated visits from some bands, and we've got MONO and Thom Yorke coming in next month too. We gotta keep it that way. Everybody should get something in a city that claims to be among the 'best' show of capitalism in the world.
Remember how we always say ‘it doesn’t rain on National Day’? Well it did this year. At least it stopped right before the official start of the annual National Day Parade (NDP). Even if nobody minded the rain, to have everything soaking wet would be a tad annoying. Not that people wouldn’t have been drenched in perspiration from our relentless heat and humidity.
I paid scant notice to the National Day Parade. It’s not my thing lah. I would just read the summary of the events in the official channels and on social media. This year’s NDP show’s creative director is Brian Gothong Tan. From all NDP previews, it’s a coherent and cohesive one.
Singapore turns 59 this year. The theme of the National Day celebrations this year is ‘Together, As One United People’. Apparently, we celebrate diversity and inclusivity. I certainly hope so. In Singapore social spheres, inclusivity and diversity are celebrated insofar it complements social norms and don’t push the limits, and preferably adhere to all religious sensitivities.
I didn’t bother about the official theme song, #sorrynotsorry, but what I really liked, is the original composition by weish and Claude Glass (Isa Ong) — ‘Horizon’. It’s not your typical four-chord ra-ra Parade song suitable for mass sing-alongs. It’s done weish-style. Sent chills down my spine when I listened to it on repeat.
I wish Singapore would truly embrace diversity and make a continued concerted push beyond the horizon. Let’s not sit around and point fingers and make snide remarks about ‘liberal weird people’ who aren’t your everyday neighbors. Make the everyday fun! Stop being insular. Stop complaining about trends and thw chamging world and new habits. Stop harking back to ‘how things were done’. Singapore is an odd engineered construct that ought to be protected. But not to be conservatively ostracizing. Let’s embrace weirdness. We’re all little oddities.
Snapped up tickets to a double-bill gig of Manic Street Preachers and Suede! They would play about 70 minutes each. There was a 25-minute interval for tech changeover. Loads of friends came for the gig too. Nice catching up during the interval. We got beers and wine at the foyer. Skipped the merch things.
The whole gig started ten minutes earlier! Walked in to Manic Street Preachers in the middle of 'Motorcycle Emptiness' (1992). Nice. The band used a banner as a backdrop! Ha! I guess they didn't bother to do a digital thing. Although that would be so easy. The digital backdrop would be 'reserved' for Suede.
We got pretty decent seats. Not upfront. I never want to be in the mosh pit or the first 5 rows of seats in a gig that might be kinda rowdy. Tonight's gig wouldn't be so. But I didn't want to get beer cups swung in my direction. I didn't even carry a bag. Why bother. Earplugs and a lip balm fit in the jeans' pockets.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
James Dean Bradfield asked the audience if we "Remember 1993?" Of course we do. He did a solo of 'Australia' (1996). It was meant to be 'Suicide is Painless' (1992), but I guess that's rather insensitive in this day and age, so he swopped it out.
It ended with 'If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next' (1998). Isn't this song even more relevant today, 25 years later? Nobody who might be new to this song needs lyrics to guess what it's saying.
I didn't bother checking against the setlist for other cities. For Singapore, Manic Street Preachers delved deep into their back catalog and played all these songs. Wow. How old did they think this audience tonight is? Hmmm. I took a look around. Old enough, I guess. LOL
SUEDE
Then Suedeopened with the new-ish'Turn Off Your Head And Yell' (2022)! Nobody at the stalls (where we were), sat down. Everyone stood up, dancing along with the band and singing. I thought that most of the audience tonight was like me, skipped watching the band at the F1 stage last year, and was thrilled that it returned to Singapore for this show.
At 56 years old, Brett Anderson's still got it. Towards the end of the show, he firmly told people to "put those fucking phones away" because "it kills the moment", especially to those at the front whom he could see. Hahaha. Then he settled down to do an acoustic solo of 'The Wild Ones' (1994). Now, this would be a song and moment that all of us wanted to record and keep forever in the cloud, or send it out to the friends who weren't here tonight. Save for a recalcitrant few who got dirty looks, especially that idiot who turned on his flashlight while recording, most of us respectfully put our phones away.
The setlist was another journey through nostalgia. They didn't play some of the songs that I hope for, but they played quite a bit of crowd favourites. Gawwwd, is this what it is now when bands do a show in Singapore? Every older generation looks for the songs of their youth.
I was hoping they would play 'By the Sea' (1996), but they didn't. That was fine because the band did a song from their debut album way back when — 'So Young' (1993). Did you know that 'By the Sea' was actually written in 1993, when they were recording their first album, alongside 'So Young'? That's why the opening riffs sound similar.
We were in the stalls to the right of the stage. Brett Anderson came down twice to mingle with us. How very astute. Lovely. The show had to end with 'Beautiful Ones' (1996) in a mass sing-along. Brett Anderson came down to the audience again and sweated it out. Heh.
Hajime Isayama's manga adaptation to anime 'Attack on Titan' 「進撃の巨人」, or fondly shortened to 'AoT', has to be the longest television series that I have chased. A whole decade of watching and re-watching the shonen anime. I read the manga, watched the seasons of anime, and had to re-watch because I forgot what happened in the intervening years. LOL.
Considering that I've been watching it since 2013, the 2023 Finale has been years in the making. It felt like this never-ending finale of Two Specials in 'The Final Chapters' /「進撃の巨人」The Final Season 完結編: 前編・後編. LOVED IT. I watched them on Netflix, which only had a short window of streaming rights, like for only a week. I think Hulu has a longer streaming window since it's the official premiere platform (along with Crunchyroll). Even iQiyi offers it too.
If you haven't watched it and is a huge fan, get off this page right now.
⚠️ STOP READING AT THIS POINT. SPOILERS AHEAD. ⛔️
It's such a complex storyline, utterly worth my devotion to the series.
PS: All my favorite shows can have acronyms like this — GoT, and AoT. Oof.
There's a huge controversy over the anime's ending. Is it a huge disappointment for you? Or did you like it? Let me just state for the record that I like it. True, it diverges from the manga, but hey, why not... creative freedom, author's intention and all. Is it?
Eren Yeager, child solider, has finally grown up. He turns into a giant with every intention to defend his homeland of Paradis against the invading Titans and invader nation of Marley But along the way, towards the end, he turns into a killer. In trying to free his people from slavery, he used his powers for genocide.
In the scene before Eren crosses the Great Rainbow Bridge, he has one final conversation with his childhood friend Armin Arlert. This scene plays out clearly and a lot differently from the manga. In the manga, Armin thanked Eren for becoming a mass murderer killer to save his own people. It seems to hail Eren to be still a hero who saved the world, even to the extent of genocide.
I blinked at this when I read it years ago — in his friend's forgiveness, does this absolve Eren from his crimes? The right answer is NO. BUT, in the eyes of friends, if he can find forgiveness, then that's the power of friendship. We don't forgive the crime, but we remember the person, the human with his humanity behind it. Mikasa Ackerman, who had tragically, in a twist of poetic justice, delivered the final blow to Eren because she had to do it to save the rest of humanity. Cut off is head. He ironically died in the mouth of a Titan.
However, in the anime's finale, Armin doesn't say these lines. He doesn't thank Eren. They both dreamed of freedom for themselves, their people and Paradis, but they wanted to achieve it in different ways. That seashell is such a beautiful metaphor for this dichotomy. Armin held Eren accountable for his actions/crimes/kills. Armin doesn't forgive the atrocities even as he loves his friend. In the horror of all that had unfolded, and at this juncture, before Eren passed on, Armin told him, "We'll be together, in hell."
Wow!!! This paints an entirely different take on the whole premise of the manga!!! Eren is no longer hailed as a martyr. He faces eternal condemnation.
Eren explained that he knew, as his father knew, as the Fates had foretold: he would become a killer. He pretty much admitted that he was an idiot given god-like powers. He came to believe that people of different cultures and races could never live together in peace. For one to flourish, the other must die. He knew, and he relied on his friends to become the heroes to save the world, and perhaps give him comfort and solace as he prepared to face eternal damnation.
In an interview with The New York Times' Rafael Motamayor, Hajime Isayama shed light on the ending. He was involved in the anime's production, checking storyboards and giving his opinions. He knew it would be a production decision, but they ultimate respected the creator's input, and hence the anime's ending is as such.
How much of the ending from the manga did you have in mind when you first began writing “Attack on Titan”? And how much did it change along the way?
That was pretty much there from the beginning, the story that starts with the victim who then goes through this story and becomes the aggressor. That is something I had in mind right from the get-go. Along the way, certain aspects of the story didn’t go as expected, and I adapted and fleshed out certain aspects. But I would say the ending of the story didn’t change much.
The current economic and global situation right now is bleak. Every generation goes through war and bleak times. We're experiencing it, although not on a personal level, yet. I never want to, but how not to feel sad in these times. Is there no end to religious conflict? Is there truly no Utopia?
The manga ends with you showing the future of Paradis and sort of the cycle of war continuing. Is there no end to the conflict and the cycle you present in the story?
I guess there could have been an ending where it was a happy ending and the war ended and everything was fine and dandy. I guess that could have been possible. At the same time, the end of fighting and the end of contention itself kind of seems hokey. It kind of seems like it’s not even believable. It’s just not plausible in the world we’re living in right now. And so, sadly, I had to give up on that kind of happy ending.
I loved it that the Finale brought back Linked Horizon for the epic opening theme song of 'The Final Chapters', and that poignant closing song played during the final final final episode's credits. It ends exactly where it began. And if you spot that Tree and its huge significance and the kids, then you'll know that the Titans will rise again. That will be for another arc.
Never thought I would go to a Billy Bragg concert that was held at UCC, NUS. They had a pre-concert bar at the foyer, but no drinks were allowed to be carried into the theatre. I even sat at the stalls, right in the center of the hall at Row F. I wondered if this stop even made money. Judging from the filled hall, I guess it sorta did. To my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed the show.
Billy Bragg is one of those charismatic performers who I rarely see anymore. He comes across as sincere and genuine. At this age, his entire life has been laid out for audiences to judge. His fans grew up and aged along with him. He put on a great show in Singapore. He's a consummate storyteller, brilliant singer and plays the guitar beautifully. It's not easy to put on a solo performance. But he did it. The easy banter took us through a too-fast set of 70 minutes.
He covered Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'. He told us the tale of how Paul Weller asked him to stop playing that because he played it till it sounded like 'Smoke on the Water'. Hahaha. And it really did. He played the last three chords of the song mischievously so.
Why did the singer and activist (visibly so) bother with Singapore? I didn't figure him to be someone who cares about Singapore's audiences or her politics. While on tour in Australia in March, he joined ABC staff on the Sydney picket line. He did the same in New Zealand in February. As vocal as he might be about industry action and strikes, he obviously wouldn't do it in Singapore.
The seasoned musician knew exactly what to do in a solo show. This is his first time performing in Singapore, and he read his audience right — largely British in the late-forties to 60-something age group. This wasn't a show whose audience would wave phones and record songs or take loads of photos. I had to surreptitiously do so. Hahaha. Well, let's just say that loads of people in the audience took photos with the flash going off rather often. They genuinely didn't think that their phones could take shots without the flash. Okaaaay.
The show was peppered with anecdotes from his life, performances, and snippets of family interactions. Everyone apparently knew the lyrics to 'A New England'(from the very first album in 1983 'Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy'), and the theater sang along at each refrain.
In his encore, he sang 'Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards' ('Workers Playtime, 1988). The 1988 got a rework on chords and phrasing, and he revised the lyrics to throw in Elon Musk and podcasts. Too fun. What a delightful night. So aye aye, we're all pretty enough, still hip and very relevant.
I laughed and laughed. After all, I did assume a song's chorus refrain is 'Come on Camellia!' for the longest time. I'm one of those who can't quite catch song lyrics. It's not the accent. It's a song — the accents are irrelevant. It's probably the rhythm of it that puts ideas in my head.
I don't particularly put a lot of effort into listening to a song. I don't work in the music production industry and it's not my job to scrutinize lyrics, and I most certainly don't bother googling for it. I focus a tad more on melody, or the lack of it and the pacing. The singer, isn't the most important part of the band. So while I can appreciate some recording and mastering expertise, I don't particularly care about song lyrics unless they happen to be that brilliant or that offensive.
"Popadam Peach"???!!! No way! Hahahah. There're many summary pages on these 'commonly misheard song lyrics'. Cute. Well, I've sort of read them before. It's just fun to read them again. We read too many serious writing and opinions nowadays. Whatever happened to reading for fun? Or are we being bombarded by too much information popping up everywhere?
Stacker wrote a long article about it; Insider pointed out Taylor Swift's'Blank Space' is heard as 'All the lonely Starbucks lovers' instead of the right line as "Got a long list of ex-lovers". Heh. The clips attached to the articles are quite funny. NME has a list too. People seem to especially like a city built on sausage rolls, and warm sausage tea.
So that 'Camellia' lyric in a song I misheard all those years ago. Don't google. Have you figured out what song it really is?
This ‘Martial Arts Trilogy’ featured Tan Dun's compositions in three Chinese wuxia films — the violin concerto in ‘Hero’ (《英雄》2002, Zhang Yimou), the cello concerto in ‘Crouching Tiger’ (《卧虎藏龙》2000, Ang Lee), and the piano concerto in ‘The Banquet’ (《夜宴》2006, Feng Xiaogang).
I had watched all three films, because, wuxia. It's very hard for me to resist a wuxia film, unless it's a stupid comedy (think Stephen Chow's very gross toilet humor). I still remember their storylines (a tad... clichéd), and the characters. I definitely enjoyed the acting. Except I have to see Zhang Ziyi in all three films. Zzzz. She has significant screen time. Tan Dun said,
The three female protagonists in the three films all have something in common, in that they lost their loves and lives for their ideals. The musical images of these three heroines are interpreted by three different musical instruments in these three ‘film music’ pieces.
Decided to start watching in chronological order of films' release dates. I'm not familiar with any of the musicians. I uhhh don't attend enough MFO or SSO concerts... or even those by YST Conservatory. If I do attend, I simply enjoy the music, and I rarely pay much attention to the individual musicians, unless their name is printed gigantically on the bill. Also, I'm not super familiar with soundtracks of Chinese music, because unfortunately I don't watch enough of them. Obviously I can't compare Hans Zimmer or Ramin Djawadi with Tan Dun. Each score is done to a different film, requiring different vibes and feel.
Cellist Ng Pei-sian with Tan Dun in the 'Crouching Tiger Concerto'.
I considered watching this concerts separately on different days. Then again, I decided to run through all three in one glorious afternoon. It was such a luxury. I can always re-watch them since the streaming is available till 31 July 2020, 2359hrs! I began with the 'Crouching Tiger Concerto' (37 minutes). It featured Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) principal cellist Ng Pei-sian. The Singaporean cellist has a superb touch.
The cinematography is expansive and breathtaking. The martial arts sequences in this film are wonderful. The choreography is skillful and the actors are absolutely elegant and convincing in their movements. “暗石疑藏虎，盤根似臥龍”. I didn't watch this for Chow Yun Fatt, although he really does have that kungfu master stature. I watched this for Michelle Yeoh (as Yu Xiu-lian).
'The Hero Concerto': Composer and conductor Tan Dun, violinist Wang Jiamin, and on the guqin- Zhao Xiaoxia.
'The Hero Concerto' (50 minutes) featured Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) violinist Wang Jiamin and also guqin musician Zhao Xiaoxia. Wang Jiamin has played in Tan Dun's many collaborative orchestras over the years. Zhao Xiaoxia has been hailed as 'Queen of New-Style Guqin'. I know nothing about guqin and I definitely can't tell what's traditional and what's 'new-style'. Tan Dun introduced the guqin as a 3000-year old instrument, and talked about “琴心剑胆” as a running thread through all three films.
Whatever the musicians did, they evoked the pain of the film, those elegant flights among tree-tops and swirls of fabric in colors of red, white and black. It brought out the pain of Sword (Tony Leung) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) to have to give up their personal ambition of assassinating the King of Qin for the greater good in the unification of China.
'The Banquet Concerto' (37 minutes) featured Chinese pianist Sun Jiayi. She often plays under Tan Dun's baton in his international showcases. Tan Dun likened the piano sounds in this composition to be like 'Bartók's lyrical sounds fused with Chinese percussion'. I suppose he was referring to the Hungarian composer's penchant for pandiatonic and chromatic sections, and not adhering to diatonic harmony.
I like the piano concerto loads. Sun Jiayi's playing is extremely enjoyable. It almost felt like she knew every scene in the film. I don't quite like this film because it's a lot of palace intrigue, of killing Emperors and backstabbing one another. The wuxia scenes aren't stunning. It focuses a lot on Empress Wan (Zhang Ziyi) who isn't exactly a nice person. However I really like the ending of this film. Hahahaha. In her hour of glory, Empress Wan is killed by an unknown assassin. We see her dying face that tells of confusion, then horror and anguish. We'll never know who killed her, but we can have a few fun guesses. After all, palace living back then is short and deaths are plentiful and they come sudden.
I've missed playing the piano. The MIL doesn't mind sharing her Steinway Grand. But. NO. I keep going to the BFF's to play on her piano. Her solid thirty-year-old Yamaha is easy to maintain if it's played often; she gets a tuner in twice a year. But it's kinda dumb to let myself into her home to do so. She said I could, but naaah... a bit rude lah.
I'm an adequate player, not an accomplished player; a piano will never take centerstage in my home. I avoid classical pieces and jazz. They're not the kind of music that flows out of my fingertips and neither do I want to sit through long concerts of those genres. They represent pain and meaningless examinations to me, not fulfilment, joy and creativity. That ABRSM Grade 8 Distinction certification meant loads to my parents, but it means nothing to me.
I don't want to shift either one of the standard upright pianos (in storage) into this flat. They're too bulky. To be honest, unless the pianos stay in a temperature controlled room, the maintenance will be hell because they're so vintage that they require more than simple tuning. I didn't intend for any pianos to sit in the living areas. I kept spaces for a piano within the rooms. But the more I looked at the space and the more I mulled over it, I decided that a standard upright isn't quite the right fit in this home at this point of my life
So I went out to buy myself a Nord Piano 4. Hehehe. It didn't take long for me to set it up in the music room. The keyboard sits tight on a metal frame, with its two monitors upright and not distorting the sound at all. The Nord Piano 4 comes with the triple pedals, which means that they factored in the cost and I needn't do an additional purchase. Yay! I've never had a digital piano, so this is fun. Nord's weighted keys are beautiful. The one worry was whether I'd hate playing on it. I don't. I love it. I wouldn't be utilizing all the synth functions, and what little bit of transitions and models in this model are sufficient for my needs.
The first song I played on the Nord off-the-cuff, was Jenny Lewis's 'Wasted Youth'(from On the Line, 2019). Next, I'm going to do 'Heads Gonna Roll'. I'm going to work my way through this album. I can easily sing her songs. I have no idea where to find legit piano chords. I suppose I can pay for downloads, but if I want to play and make music this way, it will have to come from my head and my heart. I took a glance at the guitar chords. That helped. I have a good ear for pitch and melodies. This is a song I know well. Closed my eyes and allowed the fingers to lead. Transcribed it rather easily onto the keys. Took me four hours to work out a satisfactory cover version. I'm glad that I still got it.
We visited Snake + Herring purely because we thought it sounded cool. Hahahah. And it is a cool winery! Totally new world and hip. Their vineyards are sited mainly in the southwest and Albany. Classic wine connoisseurs would highly likely turn up their noses at it. We were tickled by how it has named its wines and its awesomely designed wine labels, and names.
And what did I know... the 2017 syrah named ‘Redemption’ was fairly impressive, as is its 2017 chardonnay named ‘Corduroy’ (I forgot to ask if that's from Pearl Jam.). I tend to avoid syrah and shiraz, but the 2017 ‘Redemption’ persuaded me to give it a chance. It's indeed lighter and less intense. It has none of the usual tart and spicy notes that my tastebuds associate with the full-bodied shiraz. I almost bought the ‘Cannonball’, a 2017 blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and petit verdot because apparently they named it after the song by The Breeders. Hurhurhur. Its current range of wines is surprisingly rather decent.
If you go new world, you go hipster all the way. Great music selection in the den too. They allowed us to go through its cds and vinyls, and the man was happily plonked in the den going through their records. We put on The Pixies. I didn't just buy its wines. The man and I also bought a tee! I LOVE THIS WINERY. No regrets about shipping a case home and paying taxes on it.
Made a date with the friends to watch The Cure's concert film 'Anniversary 1978-2018 Live in Hyde Park London' at The Projector. Directed by the band's long-time visual collaborator Tim Pope, this was filmed last year when the band was part of the British Summer Time Festival. Sound was mixed at Abbey Road Studios (but of course) by Paul Corkett and Robert Smith himself.
The film lasted slightly over two hours. This was the band's 40th anniversary show after all. The last time we saw The Cure in Singapore was way back in August 2007. That was a three-hour long gig at the Indoor Stadium! Nights out are rare for us nowadays since we have doggo duties; this film was totally worth it. Frankly, I enjoyed this 'concert' way more than if I had been squished with the crowds at Hyde Park. Hurhurhur. The man was right there last summer. After the show, he had to walk for two hours before he found a bus (every bus route around the Park has been re-directed) to take him back to the hotel.
At Hyde Park's 2018 show, The Cure's encore set took us back to 40 years ago. Wow. I feel old! Dunno about goth rock, but to me, The Cure is classic English rock. Erm, they had a BritPop phase too. I didn't get into them (or many British bands) till university. Since then I never stopped listening to their songs. Robert Smith is the fixture. Drummer Jason Cooper and bassist Simon Gallup are quite steadfast. Keyboardist Roger O'Donnell left and re-joined in 2011. In this current line-up, The Cure ruled Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2019, alongside The Killers, Stormzy and Kylie Minogue. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian, wrote in a 1 July review,
It’s been 41 years since they started plying fretful suburban melancholy and rainy Sunday afternoon ennui: the first time they headlined Glastonbury was some years before a considerable portion of this year’s attendees were born. These days, they release albums so infrequently that huge – and incredibly lengthy – live shows are pretty much the band’s raison d’etre. This kind of thing is tried and tested; it’s just what they do.
At 60 years old, Robert Smith is still rocking it. I have no idea how he and the band have the stamina to last through such energy-sapping shows. The band has put out so many wonderful songs and I don't have a favorite. Hearing all of them made it a fantastic night. There's supposed to be a new album coming out at the end of the year. It'll be their 14th album (might be their last), and a loooong eight years after '4:13 Dream' (2008). Can't wait!
Bought the tickets to Fleet Foxes six months ago, without thinking if I would be in town. Figured it would be easy to pass the tickets to friends or even sell them. Glad I made it to the show. I really wanted to see the band. I've never been able to catch Fleet Foxes in their hometown Seattle or in any other city. I was seriously put out last May when schedule didn't allow me to catch Fleet Foxes in Seattle at The Showbox, even though I was in WA. I wasn't staying in downtown Seattle on those dates right where the venue is, and I couldn't drive like two hours back to town. Thrilled that they came to Singapore.
The indie folk-rock band has been around since 2006, releasing their first eponymously titled album in 2008. There's a second 'Helplessness Blues' (2011), then the band went on a hiatus. To date, they're only at their third album- 'Crack-Up' (2017). Robin Pecknold's vocals are still velvety, and he hasn't lost that magic in his songwriting. The band made it such a beautiful night.
In 2012, Robin Pecknold took a bold decision to walk away from music for a while. He moved to New York and went to school at Columbia. Now, he's ready to get back to Fleet Foxes, albeit with some changes to the members. (Did you know Josh Tillman a.k.a Father John Misty was their drummer once upon a time?)
Happy to hear old songs. ‘White Winter Hymnal’ is still such a favorite, along with 'Mykonos' and 'Drops in the River'. The band sounded AWESOME. In their latest 'Crack-Up', their new sound seem to lean towards prog rock rather than folk rock. Their new songs are so complex to play live, but they nailed it. No better venue than the Esplanade Theatre to bring out those multi-layered sounds and not blow out my eardrums. That's another one off the music bucket list. What a wonderful show.
Of course I had to hear Feist. She returned to Singapore with a band, as part of Esplanade's Mosaic Music Series (no longer branded as a major festival). The night began with songs from ‘Pleasure’ (2017). Admittedly, while I’ve heard them, I haven’t decided if I like any. I love them albums 'Let It Die' (2004) and 'The Reminder' (2007) too much.
Then we went to the old songs. That was when Feist urged the concert hall to stand up. Up to that point, we were all sitting quietly, chilling out. Okaaaay, we got up and happily grooved to the music. Yeah, much better than slouching in my seat, and having to wiggle each time people from my row wanted to move in and out.
Admission details stated that the concert would last two hours, without an intermission. That sounds really long, even if Feist has the whole band with her. But two hours it indeed lasted. At the encore, on the acoustic guitar, Feist changed out the arrangement of 'Mushaboom'. The final song was her 2007 ‘1234’, but done so differently tonight, because it has been ten years. Gorgeous mellow night.
Let's be very clear. I'm celebrating the talent and music, not giving tacit approval to the alcohol-fueled and drug-ridden lifestyles of these musicians, or any musician, or anyone. Dabbling in cocaine and heroin, and reliance on any sort of substance is a painful path. They will become your lifelong demons. Music wise, this is my second shock of 2017. We had tickets to Grandaddy two weeks back. They had a new album and they were coming to Seattle. But Kevin Garcia had a sudden stroke and passed away. That was so sad.
When it comes to music, grunge is my first love. It was the only rebellious expression I had to counter the classical nonsense forced onto my childhood. The angst ridden music that came out of Seattle in the 90s spoke to my teenage heart, sang my emotions and soothed my soul. I don't know many new bands now with this sort of grunge sounds. Their music holds these influences, yes, but not quite 90s grunge. Soundgarden is the very first band I fell in love with. I was thrilled when they got back together in 2010 and released 'King Animal' in 2012. In an article today, NPR's Charles R. Cross wrote,
If there was one Seattle band of the "grunge" era that seemed more "Seattle" than any other, it was Soundgarden. Nirvana was actually from Aberdeen, and not a single member lived in Seattle until 1992; Pearl Jam didn't become a band until Eddie Vedder arrived from San Diego. But Soundgarden was truly Seattle. Chris Cornell went to high school ten blocks from my house, though for accuracy, that's just outside the Seattle city limits (and, for accuracy, he dropped out of that high school).
Here we have it, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Scott Weiland, and in an untimely sad fashion, Chris Cornell. Thank you for the music, gentlemen. Arguably, there're still Mark Lanegan, Tad Doyle, and uhhh Dave Grohl. And of course, Eddie Vedder. Seattle's Space Needle went dark for an hour tonight, to honor her brilliant and tormented son of grunge. Rest in peace, Chris Cornell.
I've always been very fond of Aimee Mann's vocals and songwriting. She put out a new album 'Mental Illness' in March (the first in five years), went on tour and came to Seattle for a show at Neptune Theater. *SCREAMS IN HAPPINESS* Aimee Mann returns to Seattle in July 18 at Woodland Park Zoo.
The tickets go for USD34 I think. But the system didn't allow us to get tickets earlier for some reason. But we managed to get re-sale tickets on StubHub on the day itself. Those tickets were pegged at a high USD65 for days before, and on the day of the show, it went down, hovering at USD40. We waited some more and bought ours for USD36; very okay lah.
I haven't properly heard his older stuff. Good to be acquainted with them tonight. He sang a number of them. In fact, he began his performance with 'Shop Vac', a comment on suburban life. 'Ikea' is hilarious. 'I Crush Everything' is a sad little emo song about a giant squid who hates himself. 'Your Brains' is the one song I know, about zombies. Hehehe. Given his old life as a computer software engineer, 'Code Monkey' is so apt.
I've never stood so close to the stage during shows. There were some sort I think Aimee Mann probably did one song from every album. 'Patient Zero', 'Humpty Dumpty', et al. The last time I saw her was in Singapore, 2009. Wheeeeeeee! The night ended with a cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'Go Your Own Way'. Ahhhhh.... my heart!!! SO AWESOME. 😍
Bravely attended 'Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land'《暗戀桃花源》at Esplanade's Huayi Festival. Staged by Taiwan's Performance Workshop (表演工作坊), this well-loved classic written by Stan Lai(賴聲川) was first performed in 1986 (when Taiwan is still under martial law and has been separated from mainland China for 40 years), and has had a number of film adaptations made since.
Esplanade has also brought in this play a decade ago for its Singapore debut. Of course I know nothing about it. 2017 is my first time watching the much-raved-about play. This 30th anniversary version is directed by super-talented actress, director and playwright Ismene Ting (丁乃筝). The girlfriend wanted to know the title of the song the actor sang right at the start. I assumed it was an original song written for the anniversary edition of the play, but an initial google search turned up nothing. It sounded familiar, so some furious googling the next morning led me to 蔡琴的《追尋》.
Two plays within a play. Of two bickering drama troupes that somehow booked a rehearsal space at the same time and date, creating loads of arguments and conflict. They eventually halved the space, and in a magical twist of brilliant scriptwriting, the actors began to complete one another's lines in spite of them rehearsing completely different plays set in different eras and storylines. Basically, it's really about separation and reunification. To choose to remember or forget, to live in the present or hold on to the ghosts of the past. There must be a political comment in there somewhere about Taiwan and China. Of which I refused to delve into. I didn't need the English surtitles since not much Min Nan (閩南語) was spoken.
The play even bothered to use local references and even a mention of the actors acting in local film-maker Jack Neo's madcap shows as a...corpse. 😂 I rolled eyes at that. Some bits were seriously lame and super corny. There was a random character walking around looking for another equally useless person. I thought that was completely unnecessary. I only wished that the scenes with both plays interacting on their halves of the shared stage were increased. That was witty.
I'm a huge fan of Polly Jean Harvey, ever since the first time I heard her when I was an angsty teen. Her style has evolved and changed through the decades, and I still like her music so much. Her recent ninth studio album 'The Hope Six Demolition Project' (2016) totally blew me away.
As much as I enjoy PJ Harvey's lyrics and Seamus Murphy's photography, I've not read or flipped through 'The Hollow of the Hand', yet. I'll get there before the year's out. Also didn't zoom to Kinokuniya at her signing session to get her autograph on a copy of the book. :P For now, I'm happy to have watched a great first gig of 2017 at Esplanade Theatre.
Accompanied by nine musicians on this tour, PJ Harvey didn't pick up the guitar tonight. She didn't need to. Spot the legends! There's her long-time collaborator and respected musician and record producer John Parish, and there's guitarist and drummer Alain Johannes Moschulski. The band focused on 'The Hope Six Demolition Project', which explained the odd set-up for the drums. They did some fun old songs. So stoked to hear 'Down By The Water' (1995) and '50 Ft Queenie' (1993) live. Woah.
Was scanning the feeds and saw that Rooney was scheduled at Neumos on a Sunday night. Wow! They've completely fallen off my radar. Didn't know Rooney is still touring! They've been around since 1999! Remember their 'I'm Shakin'? They even have a new album 'Washed Away' released earlier in May.
Okay, indie pop night it is. Rooney and SWIMM. We had dinner fixed, but we were determined to catch Rooney. We somehow made it to the opening band, which was SWIMM. Apparently Royal Teeth was stuck on the icy roads, got a flat and couldn't make the drive up to Seattle. So the night was just two bands, which was just as cool.
Rooney was just as fun as the last time I saw them! Hehehe. The musicians have changed of course, but not Robert Schwartzman lah. His vocals are still strong and he still hopped around on that stage like a 25-year-old. Yeah, of course the band did 'I'm Shakin'. I don't think they could ever run away from that. Robert Schwartzman has to sing that one forever. It was such a fun night dancing. Oof. One of the encore songs was so nostalgic!! My goodness. 'If It Were Up To Me' (2003). WOAH.
Being on the road means we don't have the luxury of a gym, But we can carve out 30 minutes to easily make do with what we have in the room to stretch out. Strength training is easy- there're always gear to carry and stairs to climb. Hahahaha. Plus, we have our very own yoga teacher Amanda Ling dispensing fitness advice daily.
There're instructional videos Amanda sent to our group chat, but I can't be bothered to adjust them to blogspot's specs. Anyway, in one video for the morning (see screenshot above), it's using a face towel, the common sort even hostels provide. Go into plank position, elbows close to the sides of chest to engage triceps, hold, and draw towel into chest with legs using lower abs. Do not cheat. Do not exert quads more than the abs. Repeat 10x. IT WORKS.
