Category: Music

  • SHINee – Hello

    Julz knows I’m not really big on SHINee, even though a lot of people I know have been telling me how much they liked Lucifer… I haven’t listened to it yet – I only need to stream it, but haven’t done it yet. LOL However, since Twitter timeline is filled with Julz tweets and re-tweets, and I saw the SHINee video on my YouTube updates, decided to check it out.

    Hello is like… strawberry cheesecake. It’s cheese, it’s sweet like cake, and it has pink/red strawberries. I have no idea why dude is the only in a room, but I dig the whole strawberry cheesecake dancing in the street.

  • LAST ALLIANCE – WING

    Funny thing, while voting yesterday, I ran into the friend who helped with with the romanization of the lyrics of their Me and your Borderline album. Today I find they’ve come back.

    After nearly 2 years and a half, Japanese rock band LAST ALLIANCE will be releasing their new album Keep on Smashing Blue on October 27th. Their new single and video WING is directed by Niwa Takayuki (丹羽貴幸) and features professional boxer Tsuchiyama Naozomi. The band doesn’t even show up in the video, which is unusual in Japanese music videos.

    I have a bias against Jrock — but not as bad as against Jpop — It might sound bad for me to say this, but I often find myself saying stuff like “it sounds too much like anime music” which isn’t bad, as some songs are actually quite catchy and/or good enough to add to your iPod. LAST ALLIANCE actually sounds kind of okay… obviously, my friend is a bigger fan.

    WING fits that “the song is kinda good”, it certainly has a nice energy to it, and despite the actual concept for the video and trying to do something different and setting LA apart, I think the video’s biggest shortcoming was editing. Believe me, I have the same issues when having upbeat songs – I keep shots for too long, it sucks the energy out of it.

  • Moi et le funky musique~~~

    So… today it’s voting Sunday. And I’ve also setup my About page… and got rid of my Favorites page because… well, it seemed redundant to have two pages about me. LOL

    In case you missed the post in which I talked about my taste in film, this is a similar post that talks about my history… or lack of history with music.

    When I was about 7, my dad opened a Karaoke bar (how Asian, non?). But by then, I had already grown up with the likes of the music of La Nueva Ola (the new wave) — you know, the type of Rock n’ Roll from The King… Jailhouse Rock or Houndog but in Spanish. My favorite tunes were probably La Plaga (the plage, the Spanish version of Little Richard’s Good Golly, Miss Molly), and La Mantequilla (the butter, the Spanish version of Cliff Richard and the Shadows’ Move It).

    Of course, I was a little kid going to Chinese/Peruvian school, so my repertoire also included the Cantonese Counting Song Yat Yi Sam, as well as the counting Elefantes song… as well as the Sukiyaki song. So from the very beginning… I had a predisposition for all types of music in many different languages.
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  • Lee Hom Wang – I Need Someone’s Company

    I was waiting for the official Leehom upload. UMPH.

    There’s nothing wrong with some groping in artsy black and white.

    [iframe src=”https://www.yinyuetai.com/video/player/80494/v_0.swf” width=”480″ height=”334″]

    Check out the YouTube version, though it might be blocked by Sony in your country.

    I don’t know if anyone’s noticed this, but Leehom’s been looking ageless for a few years now. Of course, you can attribute this to the Asian genes – you know we Asians look ageless… at least until we hit 60, or so Lainey says. I am waiting for my aunt to turn 60 in a couple of years, and test her theory.

    I met my friend after year and a half, with her new beau. Me and her beau are the same age, and she’s a bit younger – he asked, how old I was and we figured we were the same age to which my friend said “she doesn’t seem her age, does she?” I still get carded, and last time I renew my ID, the woman there asked me whether I was getting a new ID or a minor’s ID. LOL

    And alas~~~ I read Lee Hom says he prefers older women, so my cousin has better chances xD

  • Glee Quote of the Week – S02x02 – Britney/Brittany

    Didn’t love the Britney episode. Heather Morris can dance, but not dance and sing. My fears were confirmed – Brittany’s on-liner awesomeness is too much to handle on one episode. I couldn’t even laugh that her name is Brittany S. Pearce. And despite her having a great performance on Slave 4 U — inlcuding VMA 2001’s Birmanian python, yup I watched a lot of Discovery Kids as a kid — I just didn’t care.

    Actually, Brittany and DentistStamos was just… so awkward. LOL Same with Me Against the Music.

    My fave of the night was Toxic at the assembly because it was the only song included in the storyline without drug-inducing the characters… and Artie’s Stronger – sound-wise – it was the most like the original song. But yay! Emma and Terry are back!

    I didn’t find any particular quotable quote, but here’s the line that reminded me of the WB’s Popular with April Tuna, Emory Dick. I’m pretty sure Ryan Murphy is the only man on American television that’s constantly using the word “frottage” on national/international tv.

    Becky: Hey, Coach! The Glee Club is doing Britney Spears for the assembly, I just found out.
    Sue: Becky, you’re on Red Alert. If you see any awkward teenage frottage perform that citizen’s arrest we practice.

    (more…)

  • Ahh… 2NE1, What Am I Going to Do with You?

    I’m taking a wild guess here, I’m really confused with all the nicknames in the comments, but I’m guessing Southsideirish is Bill (you can change your name in the Intense Debate profile, you know xD), so… I finally took time to watch 2NE1’s presentation he recommended – in… Sketchbook?

    Plus, I also took some time to listen to their debut album, and like I commented when they released their 3 singles, I’m giving the album a passing grade already. However, I’m doing so just barely. I’m giving them a 3/5, which is more than I could say for the likes of Rain or even Taeyang. xD But why is that? After all, I did love Try to Follow Me and Clap your Hands. I’m all over those two, and I’m partial to Go Away and Can’t Nobody. The rest of the album? It just sort of felt kind of bland, and I’m not counting the remixes. Can’t Nobody is so processed that I can’t even understand what they are saying, and if I give Kanye flack for it, I’m giving 2NE1 flack for it too. LOL

    2NE1 defends themselves vocally, but they’d better be prepared when autotune begins wearing out. I am not convinced they could kill it vocally, or in a 100% full-on Michael Jackson-worthy choreography. 2NE1 is cool, it’s fun, but I don’t think I can see them here once Bom and Dara hit 30.

    Give me a performance where 2NE1 kills it Acapella style a la Acapella Candy Man from Brown Eyed Girls, and I’ll eat my words. Same with the dudes of Big Bang – I know Daesung can sing – but can all of them kill an Acapella performance together as Big Bang?

    And… is it me, or is Minzy the lovechild of Daesung and G-Dragon? There, I said it.

  • Ehhh???? Atami no Sousakan End

    I need someone to discuss this. LOL That ending, I did not expect THAT ending. But I like what I’ve been reading around. I like it a lot, without revealing too much – I like the concept of duality. Even more so considering how it ties with Tokyo Jihen’s theme, which let me tell you – could blow your mind.

    [iframe src=”https://player.youku.com/player.php/sid/XMzgxMzIxNTky/v.swf” width=”480″ height=”400″ /]

    — EDIT —

    All the YouTube uploads are going missing (THANK YOU, SONY >,<), so I’m just going to embed this Youku no-so-sync version because it’s the only one I’ve been able to find. In any case, here’s a Portuguese subtitled version on YT.

    —

    Please, let the explanation of the # mean that there will be a second season~~~

    Also, Japan! WHY NO OFFICIAL SUBTITLES? The 8eps DVD collection is priced at over $150USD – considering the Yen’s so high compared to dollars now – and no subs? Oh, really?

    Sponsor of Heiwa Fansubs will have to do – google “atami no sousakan” and watch the show – they did a great job at subtitling this… in a time when I was uncertain this show would get picked up by any group, they were our saviors! Thank you Heiwa Fansubs~ Please, don’t stream the groups’ subtitles.

  • Masaki Okada and Yu Aoi for MAIKA’s Kokoro – Raiou MV

    It’s supposed to be the short version – remember this? – Well, it’s here.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu2aVWvP__o

    Have I told you that MAIKA reminds me a LOT of old school Shakira in her Donde Estas Corazon and Donde Estan los Ladrones days? You know, before she turned blonde on me and began doing that thing she calls Shakira music in English? Kind of like Alanis when she became happy. Shakira was the Latin American Alanis.

    So I approve of Maika. Must now find if she’s got an album – hmm… kinda reluctant to get a single. But, anyway… remember Masaki and Yu were going to lip-sync? OMG, it’s the cutest thing ever. I hope there’s a long version of just the two of them lip-syncing because that was the highlight of the video.

  • What is a Geek?

    This just Freshly Pressed.

    So what type of geek are you?

    I guess I’m a Music and Film Geek. I actually don’t know how to arrange my albums because Asian albums are not necessarily jewelcase, so now the collection is all wonk. And so many discs in the movie collection, too lazy to arrange. xD

    Been buying books, but not on a specific subject. Got a bit of novels, a bit graphic design, photography… just one manga collection, and one comic book collection (3 out of 5 volumes).

  • UK Music Video Awards 2010 Nominations

    Perhaps the UK Music Video Awards is doing something better than the VMA. Why? Well, they nominated OK Go’s This too Shall Pass. That, I believe, is an automatic win in nominations~

    Highlighted nominees?

    Florence and the Machine, Plan B, Massive Attack, MIA — though I’m not exactly sure Born Free is a Dance Video exactly — and surprise! SOUR’s Hibi no Neiro, which won my Breakthrough last year. xD

    Check all the nominations over at Promonews.tv

    though I’m sure there’s better Dance videos in S.Korea, non?