She's my favourite singer for sure... very pretty and abundantly talented. In this video she sings her single "If A Song Could Get Me You" in a marketplace in Oslo, Norway. She is Marit Larsen.
I received a surprise package from Universal Music - a free copy of Bryan Adams' 11!
Am currently the happiest person on earth, if you know how much I adore Badman! I vaguely remember a contest from many months ago... must be from that.
This CD will go well with Jason Mraz's We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. I bought last week :)
Do you remember this delightful song, Scatman's World by Scatman John? As a kid, I used to be enthralled by its first line, "Everybody's talking / something very shocking / just to keep on blocking what they're feeling inside". So true, isn't it?
But today as I listen to this song, I find these lines from the 2nd verse very meaningful: "[01:38] Everybody's born to compete as he chooses / But how can someone win, if winning means that someone loses?"* Think about it!
"I wanna be a human being, not a human doing. I couldn't keep that pace up if I tried. [01:57]"
On a sadder note, I've found out from YouTube commentators, that this was Scatman's last song before he succumbed to lung cancer (in 1999) from secondhand smoke. With this knowledge, the black and white images, and especially his sudden absence at [02:17] are especially haunting...
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* This quote replaces the Ashlee Simpson one on top-right of the page. That quote is reproduced here for memory's sake: "So what? I'm mixed up. Ya you want me so you're messed up too!" - Ashlee Simpson in Love Me For Me (watch)
My job is confirmed! :D (And it's not an April Fool's joke. Gosh, I hope not!)
...but have you heard of political frustration? The feeling of not being able to blog about -- or in more general terms, voice out -- on issues related to the country's political arena?
Once, I've been assigned to speak on a politically controversial topic in a government-run camp before (the topic was no choice of my own; it was a group effort and the group chose me as the speaker) and was loudly admonished by the Little Napoleon facilitator at the end of my speech.
I've seen my friends blogging mild criticisms leveled at their university faculties which resulted in overblown disciplinary action on them. Again, Little Napoleons.
I've once posted an entry of arguable racial offensiveness and was uncivilly ticked off by a reader/relative. Again, overblown reaction.
I'm not the type of person who can be comfortable on the wrong side of the law. When the university senate warns that undergrads are not allowed to participate in 'any election efforts' (does this include discussion of election efforts?), and with nationwide campus laws seemingly supporting this, the danger that the boundaries might be redrawn to single out one person from the pack for scapegoating or public flogging, is very, very real.
(Notice how blogging and flogging are spelt so alike? Not long ago, they were synonymous.)
Hence, you can understand my feeling of insecurity and frustration when it comes to political or current affairs issues. I call it political frustration (castration?), and am certainly suffering its symptoms right now.
This song caught my ears years ago and I've finally found it. Gives me multiple 'face-flushes'.
Kiroro - Mirai E ("To the Future")
* Hora ashimoto wo mite goran
Kore ga anata no ayumu michi
Hora mae wo mite goran
Are ga anata no mirai
Look, do you see what's at your feet?
This is the road you walk on
Look, do you see what's up ahead?
That is your future
My mother showed me
So much tenderness
Telling me again and again, to walk on with love
I was too young then to understand what she meant
But she still took my hand
And walked together with me
My dream always seems
So far away in the sky
I'm afraid I'll never reach it, but I'll keep chasing it
Since this is my story, I don't want to give up
You held my hand when I was scared
And walked together with me
At times I hated that tenderness
And let go, not listening to my mom
Look, do you see what's at your feet?
This is the road you walk on
Look, do you see what's up ahead?
That is your future
At times I hated that tenderness
And let go, not listening to my mom
Look, do you see what's at your feet?
This is the road you walk on
Look, do you see what's up ahead?
That is your future
Look, do you see what's at your feet?
This is the road you walk on
Look, do you see what's up ahead?
That is your future
Turn to the future
And let's walk there one step at a time
Switching CDs
Currently listening to Avril on the radio with a 'live' version of her song Nobody's Fool. Avril is painful to listen to 'live'. On the other hand, we know Ashlee Simpson can't sing 'live' at all, but her studio CD Autobiography sounds really good. The Avril CD has switched over to her studio songs (it's a bootleg, you must have guessed) and sound so much better, though still nothing quite praiseworthy. Where's my M2M CD?
Note: Now, this M2M Shades of Purple CD is original! A China release which was cheap after conversion... equivalent to RM10 here. On another note, my inability to find (even a bootleg copy of) Marit Larsen's Under the Surface CD until now is frustrating. Oh, Marit. Such a tease you are!
picsource
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Back Pain Philosophy
Treat the person who backstabbed you with respect. Call him by his name and smile to him. Make it even more challenging for him to do what's in his nature. Life is a circle. Every one of our actions will be concluded sooner or later, in its own way. If not in this life, in the next.
(But why do I have to meet so many of this bullsh!t people in my lifetime?)
I wish to end my circle of life. I guess I've lived so many lives before that I've become muak (disgusted) with this business of rebirth and death already. But it's a tall order to achieve, so I guess a more practicable goal would be to strive to make my next life better.
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Year of the Red
Every morning and afternoon on RED FM, they play a short Fengshui tips segment where this guy Kenny Hu from "I'm-not-printing-his-website-here dot com" sprouts common sense and downright nonsensical fengshui tips (in his pseudo-English accent!) like:
"Please take care of yourself when you're on the road, as accidents might happen to you, this year of the Red."
As he finishes, a prerecorded voice proudly proclaims: "RAT... FM!"
It's just a misheard, but it never fails to crack me up!
Song - "A Boy and His Frog" by Tom Smith
LYRICS
Life is unfair, so they tell me,
Because they think I wouldn't know.
They only can see a cheap gimmick
On their children's favorite show.
They say, "Oh, that's foam and a wire,
Attached to a green velvet sleeve,
Anyone can do that" -- well, that's true, I suppose,
But who else could make them believe?
What can I say without you there to guide me?
How else am I supposed to give?
How can I sing without you there beside me?
How else am I supposed to live?
You could never just do the expected,
I was just an idea in a bog,
But you sewed up your dream
and we made quite a team,
Jim and Kermit, a boy and his frog.
It was me, Rolph, and you,
but I think that he knew
There was something that you and I had.
The magic we made just kept growing,
And none of it ever was bad.
Then came Ernie and Scooter and Gonzo,
Doctor Teeth, Cookie Monster, and more.
But now all of those voices are silent,
And I want to go on... but what for?
No one can make me what you did,
No one can walk in your shoes,
No one can make me forget you,
But that's not a path that I'd choose.
I just can't let it be over,
You wouldn't want it that way,
So I'll stand up and I'll face it,
And, though not quite in your voice, I'll say:
I will go on without you there to guide me,
There's so much more I can give.
Wherever I am, you will be there beside me,
As long as I keep you, you'll live.
We just wanted to make people smile,
I was always much more than your toy.
I will never regret and I'll never forget
What we had,
I'll miss you, Dad,
This frog and his boy.
This is an extension of my previous post on Marit Larsen.
To remind us of the great talent that made up M2M, here they perform Don't Say You Love Me on acoustic guitar, live backstage in Toronto, from roughly four years ago. Marion Raven at left, and on the right is Marit Larsen.
TOTALLY AWESOME!!
Well it's two weeks to the start of my examinations, after which will be my final semester as an undergraduate. As always, I impose an isolation curfew around myself during the revising periods, going out as little as I can, and talking to people as little as I can.
But thankfully, I've learnt to relax and in fact, nap most afternoons away instead of pressuring myself to the point of meaninglessness and depression like previous times.
Now with no more lectures, my days are free from rigid pre-existing timetables, which is a good thing and also bad. For one, without the basic structure, I now see no point in waking up early. Most of the time I wake up just before noon. Sometimes after lunch, I revisit my bed for a sleep encore until sometime in the evenings when I would wake and study vigorously.
I've found that I am most efficient studying for an incredibly short period of time, as if in a hurry, turning the pages and scribbling away, as compared to psyche-ing myself to sit and study for hours. It doesn't work very well, as I keep rebelling against myself.
I realize that I use the pronoun 'I' a lot here. It sounds very egoistical and selfish, doesn't it? But well, in writing about myself, it certainly would be impossible to not mention the subject of the actions, wouldn't it?
To cap off this post, here's my current favourite song. It's called Under the Surface by Marit Larsen. Marit was one half of girl band M2M which consisted of her and Marion Raven. This album of Marit, also called Under the Surface, is unfortunately only released in her home country of Norway.
Suddenly I’m back at the core
Thinking of her who had you before
Were you as good
As good as we are
Do you remember?
Did you love her the way you love me?
Is there a chance that there might be
traces of her that you carry
under the surface?
(Full lyrics)
The best song out of Hairspray, the wonderful musical set in the 60's, is undeniably You Can't Stop the Beat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HtvO4-Y-x0
The above version, curiously, does not have Seaweed (Elijah Kelly) and Penny's (purr-ty Amanda Bynes) parts before Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) starts to sing, but its visuals are the best of Youtube.
An alternate version is here, albeit with less interesting visuals but the song is complete...
[Note: This video replaces the original one which is no longer available (thanks Beve for informing). This one is captured straight from the movie.]
TRACY (Nikki Blonsky)
You can't stop an avalanche
As it races down the hill
You can try to stop the seasons, girl
But you know you never will
And you could try to stop my dancin' feet
But I just cannot stand still
Cause the world keeps spinnin'
Round and round
And my heart's keeping time
To the speed of sound
I was lost till I heard the drums
And I found my way
TRACY & LINK (Zac Efron)
Cause you can't stop the beat
Ever since this old world began
A woman found out if she shook it
She could shake up a man
And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it
The best that I can today
'Cause you can't stop
The motion of the ocean
Or the sun in the sky
You can wonder if you wanna
But I never ask why
And if you try to hold me down
I'm gonna spit in your eye and say
That you can't stop the beat!
PENNY (purr-ty Amanda Bynes)
You can't stop a river
As it rushes to the sea
SEAWEED (Elijah Kelly)
You can try to stop the hands of time
But you know it just can't be
PENNY
And if they try to stop us, Seaweed
I'll call the N Double A C P
Cause the world keeps spinning
Round and round
And my heart's keeping time
To the speed of sound
I was lost till I heard the drums
Then I found my way
PENNY & SEAWEED
Cause you can't stop the beat
Ever since we first saw the light
A man and woman liked to shake it
On a Saturday night
And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it
With all of my might today
'Cause you can't stop
The motion of the ocean
Or the rain from above
You can try to stop the paradise
We're dreamin' of
But you cannot stop the rhythm
Of two hearts in love to stay
Cause you can't stop the beat!
EDNA (John Travolta)
You can't stop my happiness
Cause I like the way I am
And ya just can't stop my knife and fork
When I see a Christmas ham
So if you don't like the way I look
Well, I just don't give a damn!
EDNA & ENSEMBLE
Cause the world keeps spinning
Round and round
And my heart's keeping time
To the speed of sound
I was lost till I heard the drums
Then I found my way
'Cause you can't stop the beat
Ever since this old world began
A woman found out if she shook it
She could shake up a man
And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it
The best that I can today
Cause you can't stop
The motion of the ocean
Or the sun in the sky
You can wonder if you wanna
But I never ask why
And if you try to hold me down
I'm gonna spit in your eye and say
That you can't stop the beat!
(instrumental)
MOTORMOUTH (Queen Latifah)
Oh oh oh
You can't stop today (No!)
As it comes speeding down the track
Child, yesterday is hist'ry (Be gone!)
And it's never coming back (Coming back!)
MOTORMOUTH & ENSEMBLE
'Cause tomorrow is a brand new day
MOTORMOUTH
And it don't know white from black
ENSEMBLE
Yeah!
MOTORMOUTH & ENSEMBLE
'Cause the world keeps spinning
Round and round
And my heart's keeping time
To the speed of sound
I was lost till I heard the drums
Then I found my way
'Cause you can't stop the beat
ALL
Ever since we first saw the light
A man and woman liked to shake it
On a Saturday night
And so I'm gonna shake and shimmy it
With all of my might today
'Cause you can't stop
The motion of the ocean
Or the rain from above
They can try to stop the paradise
We're dreaming of
But you cannot stop the rhythm
Of two hearts in love to stay
Cause you can't stop the beat!
Aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah, aah
Ever since we first saw the sun
A man and woman liked to shake it when the day is done
So we're gonna shake and shimmy it
And have some fun
For today!
You can't stop
The motion of the ocean
Or the rain from above
You can try to stop the paradise
We're dreaming of
But you cannot stop the rhythm
Of two hearts in love to stay
You can't stop the beat! (You can't stop the beat!)
You can't stop the beat! (You can't stop the beat!)
You can't stop the beat!
credits to stlyrics.com, with some corrections
This is my favourite song out of High School Musical 2. It's called Gotta Go My Own Way, sung by Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens), which is also a most emotional moment in the film as she decides to break up with Troy Bolton (Zac Efron). Word has it that Zac does his own singing in HSM2 as opposed to mostly using songwriter Drew Seely's voice in the first installment.
Somehow I find Troy's innocent mannerisms, especially in this video, appealing. He almost always looks helpless and coy, in contrast to Gabriella, who appears a much stronger person.
For some reason, I favour Gabriella's solos in both movies. In the first installment, my favourite song was When There Was Me and You, when Gabriella feels heartbroken thinking Troy doesn't love her. (Gasp! I think I'm seeing a pattern here!) And I don't even mind that Vanessa's voice is very much studio-produced, and that anyone could tell. The music sounds nice, and poppish. Just the way I like it!
Oh yeah, and emotional too.
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Ps. Go watch Hairspray and root for Seaweed and Penny!
Elton John duets with Shania Twain in Shania Twain's Winter Break. They both sing Shania's "You're Still the One", followed by Elton's "Something About the Way You Look Tonight".
One comment left for this video cracks me up:
"Oh my God it is Shania and Mike Meyers! The spy who shagged me." - dlquinn9517
I just heard PCD's Buttons on the radio -- for the umpteenth time, I might add -- but this time, a thought struck, "Hey, 'loosen up my buttons' doesn't make sense!"
A button, like a light bulb switch, is either on or it's off. How is it possible to loosen up a button? Here's a challenge: Try to ponder that question while watching this video :P
Ps. Isn't it a great mystery that guys love to look at girls, and girls... well, love to look at other girls, too?
Fell in love with this song. Here are two versions. One is Way Back Into Love as it's sung in the movie by Hugh and Drew, and the other is from the OST, spliced with footage from the movie. If your connection is unsatisfactory, I recommend you watch the second one first.
Straight from the movie...
And the full Demo Version...
I've been living with a shadow overhead
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed
I've been lonely for so long
Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on
I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away
Just in case I ever need 'em again someday
I've been setting aside time
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind
All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
Oh oh oh
I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine
I've been searching but I just don't see the signs
I know that it's out there
There's got to be something for my soul somewhere
I've been looking from someone to shed some light
Not somebody just to get me through the night
I could use some direction
And I'm open to your suggestions
All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart again
I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end
There are moments when I don't know if it's real
Or if anybody feels the way I feel
I need inspiration
Not just another negotiation
All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart to you
I'm hoping you'll show me what to do
And if you help me to start again
You know that I'll be there for you in the end
In the song Tinderbox taken from Elton John's latest album The Captain and The Kid, Elton recounts how he and lyricist Bernie Taupin, at the peak of their success, began pushing themselves, and each other too hard ("rubbing up together around the clock / lately we've been getting more roll than rock / You and me together in a tinderbox"). [Tinderbox lyrics]
As Elton put it in a live performance, "We got on each other's nerves a lot. And we're sorry for that," before hammering the catchy intro to Tinderbox.
In the final lines of the third verse, he sings: "Was he worried we might go too far / Maybe wind up rhyming moon and June" which I presume to be Taupin poking fun at bad poetry -- songwriters who rhyme for the sake of rhyming.
But then it hit me that the combination of "moon - June" is not really that uncommon. Do you recognize this song that goes: "Now that she's back in the atmosphere / With drops of jupiter in her hair, hey, hey..."? Yes, it's Drops of Jupiter by Train. [Drops of Jupiter lyrics]
And the final lines of that verse?
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like june, hey, hey
Now, is Elton implying his judgement on Train's songwriting skills? Do you know of any other "moon - June" combinations?
Time is Right
Looking Back at Campus Life