So I was browsing album covers on Xiami when I ran into the one for Ivana Wong’s latest single, Goi Sei Dik Faai Lok (該死的快樂, translated to Damn Happy)… which turns out has a brand new video. And I was like- where have you been all my life when I started going down her discography~
Jyu Jat (如一, As One) is great. Siu Sau Seot (小手術, Minor Surgery) is amazing with the Lyrics Video. It’s also helping me practice my Cantonese xD My jyutping game is totally poor. I also hate that sometimes I’m fixing my music library and it’s not Cantonese but Mandarin, so I gotta fix my romanization. But I’m totally digging her music. More her less popular songs that are not straight up sappy ballads. Her piano skills seem to be on point.
I’m currently basking myself in the beauty that is Henry Huo’s (霍尊) first full-length album Heavenly Song or Tianyun (天韵). He was the winner of the first season of Sing my Song (中国好歌曲) when he cause a ruckus with his song Rolled-up Pearl Curtain (卷珠帘) [1], which he ended up performing at the 2014 CCTV Spring Festival Gala.
You can listen to the album over at Xiami or Migu Music (for US locked).
Lyrics, English/Español translations and song embed below the break~
Once again, all Chinese translations by me to be taken with a pinch of salt. xD
I just began listening (truly listen) to Mayday’s discography pre the Born to Love days, finishing off titles/pinyin/title translations, when I ran into this song titled Masquerade (Male, Female, One Body) from their 2003 album, Time Machine (時光機). The thing is, the title of the song is Ci Xiong Tong Ti (雌雄同體), which is the term used to refer to “hermaphrodites” (which, by the way, isn’t longer a term accepted for people, who are now referred to as “intersex”). Perplexed, thinking that Google Translate was giving me a wonky translation, I checked the dictionary to double check.
On a quick google search, I found a pretty terrific (singable) translation of the song.
Rather than you understand me—I’d rather be a mystery
A puzzle you just cannot solve, of what’s false and real, it’ll play at your heartstrings
I’ll play you, or play your opposite form; partake in this game of love that you’ve borne.
My mind was melted. I mean, it’s not VERY often you get playful duality in music, playing on gender-role conventions and completely avoiding the titillation that seethes from… well, everywhere now.
So~~~ Bibi’s got a brand new Chinese epic song that she’s done for some video game, and her voice sounds perfect. xD And since the lyrics of the song are tiny (just a few lines), I decided to give them a go.
Written by: Jam You Music Studio (积木鱼音乐团队) / Ju Weiwei (鞠维维)
Composed by: Jam You Music Studio
Produced by: Ronald Ng (伍樂城)… and Yang Ying (杨颖) [Angelababy???]
So here’s the song: Video is out~
Well, I wasn’t too far off the mark ;P
I don’t remember when I first watched this clip, but I remember I saw just a bit of it — the first two lines — on CCTV. Maybe it was during the 10th anniversary of the Macao Handover, but I remember the little girl singing.. it was just that, and then they cut away. At that time, I spoke no word of Mandarin (or Cantonese, or any dialect),my mother was watching with me as she listened to it and translated. She turned and told me “you know my name is not Macau, that is not my name.” — A sudden rush of emotions came over me.
I have no idea why that line was so powerful to me, I literally had to go to my room because I felt a little dust bugging me and my tears forming.
That was then. I have no idea what got me tonight — must be The Flowers of War business, I always get like this when I read a lot of negative press against China since the Olympics LOL. Anyway, I went on a hunt for that song because I didn’t know what it was called, and my mother didn’t grow up in China singing it so she had no idea it was a popular children’s song.
Called the Song of the Seven Sons – Aomen (七子之歌-澳门)… apparently there’s a Taiwan version as well, but it’s not as hip [1]. I thought there might be 7 versions of the song for different regions that were part of China or something xD
Anyway, a really GOOD translation of the lyrics is hard to find, but I managed to find a good one without doing any translating work (because I’m so lazy like that) but a lot of googling. Chinese, pinyin and translations after the break!
I gotta admit. I got a little choked up with this music video, and I’m totally pumped for Sodagreen’s upcoming new album… also titled What is Troubling You (你在煩惱什麼) — which, I have to admit~~~ comes at a bad time when Bibi is coming up with her new album and the Brown Eyed Girls are coming up with her nifty-licious repackaged Sixth Sense.
Did I tell you? I pre-ordered Sixth Sense and I ate it up like a sucker.
What makes me even more of a sucker, however, is that I had just pre-ordered the repackaged version too. Alongside Bibi’s new album.
Anyway, this new wonderfully sad and strangely uplifting music video comes from the brilliant mind of Muh Chen Yi Ren, from GrassJelly Studio — who also worked on my favorite Sodagreen MV… Incomparable Beauty [MV]. When these two get together, they make magic.
The lyrics seem… simple. I mean there’s not much lyrics… but I’m having issues with the double negative hahaha. I guess this is going to be my next Chinese class then!
I’ve attempted to sing Leehom’s new song six times already. The first time I saw it and he reached those verses in English… somehow I was deeply moved. LOL But I really can’t believe he’s saying all of this on the song. It’s really quite explosive.
Also, the people complaining it sounds like Ke$ha – please, as if she has copyrighted autotuned vocals. Plus, Leehom sounds more Michael Jackson than anything, specially singing in English. And I’m fine with that, in fact… I kinda love the energy when he says those things.
On the rough — seriously, are you going to trust my Google translation abilities? — multi-language lyric translation and pinyin below the break!
Since I posted the OAOA MV on YAM Magazine, I haven’t been able to stop singing along to the song, which at first was stupid. I mean, REALLY — the song is called OAOA. If you speak Spanish, it just reminds you of the Teletubbies. Lucky that the song is actually called O.A.O.A, but still! I just couldn’t get passed that name… then I finally listen to it, and it has been non-stop butchering Mandarin while saying OAOA.
Saying OAOA is as fun as singing Linda, Linda!!! Linda, Linda, Lindaaaaa~ xD
What’s even more impressive about Mayday 3DNA is that it’s also going to be a movie, and not just a concert movie but a movie-movie, with a plot and all. Makes me want to see it even more.
Pinyin lyrics after the break! So you can butcher Mandarin with me!
