Wow~ it’s been AGES since I’ve done one of these [1][2][3]. Most likely since The Academy decided to change their one-page printable ballot into a two-page one. But~~~ I feel this is my best watching year in a long time xD
Correction: I did one xD
Archives For independent
Here it is! My final list of 2016~
I usually post my Top50 right after my Music Highlights, but my schedule has been all wonk this year. I know I’m very inactive on this blog, but I still hope the very few of you that still visit the site had a wonderful holiday week and that you are having a blast this New Year’s Eve. I wish for y’all’s good fortune this coming 2017 because we know we’ve had a rough 2016. Let us all recharge, and cross fingers for some very need good vibes~
They’re up! It took forever to put together because I expanded the list from 10, coz I couldn’t make up my mind, to 20 (and bonuses!) LOL! The funny thing was that when I expanded the Top10, the positions changed! If that makes any sense. I had only been able to put together half the list, when some work-related business came up, so went back to it last evening and had to stay up until 6AM to be able to post today ASAP. My Top50 Songs post is still a work in progress, though~ I got enough songs (too many), so it’s just a matter of cutting down.
I’m about to clock 1000 days on Xiami logins xD
Sad for this excitement, I know. LOL But I get obsessive-compulsive over these things easily. I took a screen grab because I don’t know whether the count will reset to zero or continue. Back in March when I went to Japan, I told my friend to login for me, so I don’t lose my clocked days, and there was a weird bug that made the counter go back to zero, so we thought for a while that it was done. A couple of days later, it went back to normal :P
I’ve been using Xiami for a lot longer, of course. And gone are the days when you could find everything on the site for stream and download :P Though you can still find stuff and download, it’s often the case when albums are empty. Recently, Xiami has taken to just be able to stream music (which is better than having blank albums), without download capabilities— Faye Wong’s most recent track is only available for stream, so you gotta find it elsewhere if you want it. The site is still a great source for Chinese music, especially from the independent scene. However, now Xiami-approved artists are allowed to mark their music as only-Mi tracks, meaning that you have to have Xiami credit on your account and not download music from your VIP free-tracks perk or use your red envelopes (points).
Having said that~~~ I have like +500 points (you get points for single days and months counted, albums added and music shared, etc.) and haven’t used them in so long. What the heck~ What are the perks of the VIP account if you still gotta pay for the Chinese music that you download; at least make it so that you use twice or thrice the # of downloads for those.
I still haven’t figured out what the note reputation is (eg. Re*), but I’m just a few hundred away from reaching the other level. Increasing my stars is a little trickier because English reviews don’t get as many likes or comments. lol
Also~ OMO! 1000 days on the 10 of 10. xD
I’ve just published a list of 100 songs in Chinese (mostly Mandarin, but also Cantonese… and maybe Hokkien… can’t be sure of that) that’s a great cheat sheet for anyone wanting to show off their knowledge of the scene. There’s definitely a wide variety of artists, so you’re sure to find something you enjoy.
Visit YAM Magazine for the list with a link included to the YouTube playlist.
Will keep this list updated here.
- The Bangles – Different Light [YT Playlist]
- Arena Hash [Soundcloud]
- NKoTB – Hangin’ Tough [YT Playlist]
- El Show de July No. 2 [YT]
- Nubeluz [YT Playlist]
- Los Nosequien y los Nosecuantos – Con el Respeto que se Merecen [YT Playlist]
- Michael Jackson – Dangerous [YT Playlist]
- Sister Act 2 Soundtrack [YT Playlist]
- Beck – Mellow Gold [YT Playlist]
- Michael Jackson – HIStory: Past, Present and Future [YT Playlist]
- Salserin – Con Mucho Swing [YT Playlist]
- Torbellino – Corazón en la Ciudad [YT Playlist]
- Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill [YT Playlist]
- 1999
- Backstreet Boys – Millennium [YT Playlist]
- Faith Hill – Breathe [YT Playlist]
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication [YT Playlist]
- TLC – Fanmail [YT Playlist]
- La Ley – Uno [YT Playlist]
- Alejandro Sanz – MTV Unplugged [YT Playlist]
- Dixie Chicks – Home [YT Playlist]
- Pink – Try This [YT Playlist]
- Bjork – Medulla [Bandcamp]
- Andrea Echeverri [YT Playlist]
- Marit Larsen – Under te Surface [YT Playlist]
- Bibi Zhou Bichang
- Now [YT Playlist]
- Wow [YT Playlist]
- Mayday – Poetry of the Day After [YT Playlist]
- Chang Shilei – Niu China [YT Playlist]
- Jonsi – Go [Bandcamp]
- Hebe Tien – My Love [YT Playlist]
- Galaxy United – The Absinthe [YT Playlist]
- Kishi Bashi – 151a [Bandcamp]
- Calle 13 – MultiViral [YT Playlist]
- Su Yunying – Ming Ming [YT Playlist]
- ANOHNI – Hopelessness [YT Playlist]
- Chen Weilun – Think Miss Sorrow [YT Playlist]
- Chen Li – Playlist [YT Playlist]
- ZenKwun – Existing like God [YT Playlist]
- Yuguo – Angry Horse [YT Playlist]
- Shortparis – Apple Orchard [YT Playlist]
- The Dada – Hello! [YT Playlist]
Oh, Happy Chinese New Year! Let’s start my (supposedly) bad-luck Goat Year with the now-mandatory Letterboxd list of my film collection~
I have a really weird history with films– born in the late 80s, you’d think I would’ve grown watching loads of 90s kids stuff, but I actually grew up with a lot of Silly Symphonies (which were released in the 30s) and loads of Disney 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s stuff, plus a lot of more grown up 80s movies. Poltergeist, The Thing, The Fly and The Stuff were particularly scary stuff (and I’m pretty sure I was scared of yogurt or white stuff at some point).
I don’t ever remember buying any original VHS tape, except for the rare birthday gift of a Disney’s Sing-Along Songs chapter or that X-Men tape I have. My first DVDs buys were Coyote Ugly, She’s All That and Loser — you can’t blame me. I was a 15-year-old girl. The collection grew bigger, and possibly exploded during my years abroad. I’m nearing my 500th movie.
Last year, I fell in love with Carrchy’s (卡奇社) music. And honestly, their 2007 album Daylight Allure (日光倾城) is pretty good stuff [Xiami] [YouTube Sample], but they hadn’t been releasing ANYTHING for many MANY years. Last night, they surprised with the release of the single track Clouds (云, Yun), which you can get in Xiami (Sorry, those who Xiami is blocking). I don’t know anywhere else where you might listen to their music [Here’s some Douban demos].
Other than that, happy listening!
Like we always do, the YAM Magazine team got together to vote for their favorite movies in a good ole’ Facebook poll in our secret group. We are so different and live so far away from each other that our choices vary so much, making the list alive. Of course there are movies I wish were lower, and others that were higher… but, all in all, it’s a good varied list for everyone to discover a new title.
