Tag Archives: Music

alan – 風に向かう花 (Kaze ni Mukau Hana ~ Flower in the Wind) PV

21 Jun

I have a lot of respect for alan. She seems like a really smart, intelligent artist – much moreso than a lot of singers at the moment (Asian or otherwise). I’m always really impressed when a singer is multilingual. In this respect, alan reminds me a lot of Sa Ding Ding (heralded as the Chinese Bjork). She’s Tibetan, but can sing in numerous languages and has a soaring, beautiful voice (her technique reflective of traditional Tibetan singing). It’s inspiring to think of alan and Sa Ding Ding growing up in Tibet, all the culture, tradition and the scenery.

I’m not a die-hard alan fan, I think her songs can be often very dramatic and deep and not necessarily the best thing to listen to on the journey into work. I really liked the songs she did for Red cliff (both the Chinese and Japanese songs) and see this is a bit of return to form for her. Let’s hope she’s successful for this release – it’s also very encouraging to see a Chinese star do well in Japan.

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Dido – Everything to Lose

29 May

Dido has had a pretty amazing career. Her singles have never sold millions, but her debut album is one of the highest selling debuts of all time. Growing up, Dido was the first artist whom I truly cherished – the 14-year-old me would have loved to see her in concert. Plus, she’s from Islington which is where I live! I’ve walked past her favourite pub so many times and my friends have seen her out and about. Her last album was met with a tepid commercial response. A lot of critics appreciated the collection though. Safe Trip Home is laced with melancholy and many of the songs directly refer to the sad passing of her father. Unfortunately, mournful introspection rarely converts into commercial success in today’s popsphere.

Dido, however, is striking back. Long before the current wave of electro-pop influnced music Dido embraced the dance world. Her brother, Rollo, is a member of electro, techno, dance group Faithless and his influence on her music can be seen throughout her career. Her latest offering, Everything to Lose is a full on, electronic pop song. It’s lyrics seem some what whimsical as we find her remembering times when her actions had no consequences but now that she’s found love, she has everything to lose. There is one lyric in the song that I find quite haunting: “I loved to live life but I was not afraid to die“. This is accompanied by haunting, soaring vocals that we have come to expect from Britain’s classiest post-modern chanteuse. Overall, the song strikes a fine balance between being a love song, a dirge and just a catchy pop song.

I love it!

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4Minute – HuH live on Inkigayo

23 May

4Minute are not my favourite girl group… in fact they might not even make my top 5. (Top 5 is something like 1 – T-ara, 2 – SNSD, 2 – Wonder Girls, 3 – 2NE1, 4 – Kara). I did however really like Muzik, but they don’t seem to have had a song I liked as much since then. I don’t think song goes anywhere – if you follow? Although I think most K-pop songs don’t have a huge finale to them, it’s just a simple chorus chorus repeat. I’m getting off track. I do like some of the arrangement of this song though – so check it out!

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Wonder Girls – 2 Different Tears Live on Inkigayo

23 May

Out of all the music shows K-pop fans can watch, Inkigayo has always been my favourite. Perhaps because it’s the last one of the week (it’s shown on Sundays) or perhaps because I always think the stages are more dramatic which in turn means the performers give it an extra 10%. Wonder Girls’ performance of 2 Different Tears on Inkigayo did nothing to change my mind on which of the music shows is the best.

The audience was amazing and whilst their performance wasn’t as polished as much as other acts (SNSD and 2PM spring to mind in giving absolutely flawless live performances), the Girls really bring something different to the stage. They all have unique personalities and they perform as entertainers – not just singers or dancers. I think the Wonder Girls are something unique in the K-pop industry, a band that aren’t afraid to be themselves and collaborate with their management on their career. May the Wonder Girls forever be together~! hwaiting! Although I’m sad they won’t be performing this in Korea for much longer :(

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Wonder Girls – 2 Different Tears MV Teaser

14 May

Ah! so I’m actually beyond excited about this. It seems like forever (how long has it been? almost a year?) since Wonder Girls had any new material out. They’ve debuted in America, toured with the Jonas Brothers but whilst the English version of Nobody was great, it is rather old. But tomorrow that’s all set to change when the girls release their new single, 2 Different Tears. They’ve been really mean and slowly leaked new information – new pictures and small clips of audio. But finally they’ve released an MV teaser. You can’t really hear the song but the MV looks really funny! Check it out below! Check back here tomorrow for the song!!! XD

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SNSD – Oh & Run Devil Run Goodbye Stage Live on Music Bank

1 May

Sadly for the SNSD girls, they didn’t get to perform their latest song that much. However, the girls were back on Music Bank with a special goodbye stage performance! The girls performed Oh and Run Devil Run. I really love Run Devil Run! I think it’s a great pop song and definitely should have made the cut of the latest album. The choreography is always pretty awesome – especially when they do the slow down bit when performing live stages (which is sadly missing form this performance). It’s clear to see why the girls are heralded and super idols, their performances are always amazing. Polished live vocals and not a dance step out of line, I can’t think of any other group who deliver such great live stages. Kudos to them!

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After School – Bang Live on Music Bank

1 May

The Korean music shows are slowly returning to screens this weekend after a long period of mourning for the naval tragedy that occurred not so long ago. My sympathies reach out to everyone sadly affected by such a sad and avoidable loss of life.

Amidst another claim of plagerism, After School continue to promote their new hit, Bang. It’s a shame though, the K-pop music industry seems to have another plagerism case every week. But I guess with a turn around of songs and artists that happen monthly, weekly and even daily, the K-pop insiders are struggling to think of ideas. Alas, there’s no excuse for stealing someone else’s stuff.

The song is pretty catchy though! Check out the girls performing Bang on Music Bank:

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Jay Chou – Superman Can’t Fly Pinyin Lyrics

29 Apr

Hey everyone! So, I’ve finally done it and translated the lyrics into pinyin – not sure if they’re all correct so you’ll have to forgive any mistakes! Happy singing along~! If you would like an English translation, let me know :)

Jay Chou – Superman Can’t Fly Pinyin Lyrics

Māmā shuō hěnduō shì bié tài jìjiào
Zhǐshì shǐmìng gǎn zhǎodàole wǒ wǒ shuì bùzháo
Rúguǒ shuō màrén yào yǒudiǎn jìqiǎo
Wǒ huì jiādiǎn xuánlǜ nǐ huì juéde chāo diǎo
Wǒ de qiāng bù huì zhuāng dànyào (dànyào)
Suǒyǐ fàngxīn bù huì yǒurén dào (rén dào)
Wǒ pāi qīng fēng xiá bù xūyào tìshēn yīnwèi zìxìn shì wǒ huìhuà de yánliào
Wǒ zuò hěnduō shì bèihòu de yìyì yuǎn bǐ nǐmen xiǎngxiàng
Pāi gè diànshìjù wèile yǒuqíng yǔ shí nián qián de mèngxiǎng
Shōushì lǜ zài gāo yě nán kànghéng wǒ de wěidà lǐxiǎng
Yīnwèi wǒ de rénshēng wúxū zài duō yī bǐ nà jiǎngxiàng

Wǒ bù zhīdào hé shí biàn chéngle shèhuì dì nà bǎngyàng
Bèi gǒuzǎi pāi bùnéng bǐ zhōngzhǐ yào dà qì de múyàng (zěnyàng)
Wǒ chàng de gēcí yào yǒudiǎn wénhuà
Yīnwèi suíshí huì bèi dāng jiàocái

CNN néng bùnéng děng yīngwén hǎo yīdiǎn zài fǎng
Shídài zázhì fēngmiàn néng bùnéng chóng pāi
Suíshí suídì zhùyì xíngxiàng
Yào kòngzhì yǐnshí bùrán jiù gēn dù shā fūrén làxiàng de wǒ bù xiàng (běnlái jiù bù xiàng)
Hǎoláiwù de zhōngguó xìyuàn dìshàng yǒu hěnduō shǒuyìn jiǎoyìn
Hé shí cáinéng kànjiàn wǒ de zhǎng

Rúguǒ chāorén huì fēi nà jiù ràng wǒ zài kōngzhōng tíng yī tíngxiē
Zàicì fǔkàn zhège shìjiè huì ràng wǒ juéde hǎo yīxiē
Zhěngjiù dìqiú hǎo lèi suīrán yǒuxiē píbèi dàn wǒ háishì huì
Bùyào wèn wǒ kūguòle méi Yīnwèi chāorén bùnéng liú yǎnlèi

Chànggē yào ná zuì jiānán gēshǒu
Pāi diànyǐng yě bùnéng zhǐ ná gè zuì jiā xīnrén
Nǐ bùcānjiā bānjiǎng diǎnlǐ jiùshì méi lǐmào
Nǐ qù cānjiā jiùshì dàibiǎo nǐ hěn zàihū

Dé jiǎng shí nǐ gǎndòng luò lèi (luò lèi) rénjiā jiù huì juéde nǐ kuāzhāng zuòzuo (zuòzuo)
Nǐ méi biǎoqíng biérén jiù huì shuō tài xiāozhāng
Rúguǒ nǐ tiānshēng zhège biǎoqíng nàxiē rén shènzhì huì guài nǐ māmā (māmā)
Jiéguǒ zuìhòu shì biérén zài dé jiǎng nǐ yě yào jǐyǔ chōngfèn de zhǎngshēng yǔ wéixiào
Kāi de jū bùnéng tài hǎo zhù de lóu bùnéng tài gāo
Wǒ dàodǐ shì yīgè chuàngzuò gēshǒu háishì hǎorén hǎoshì dàibiǎo
Zhuānjí yī chū jiù bìxū shì guànjūn
Pāile diànyǐng jiù bìxū yào dà mài
Zhǐ néng shuō dāng chāorén zhēn de hǎo nán

Rúguǒ chāorén huì fēi (chāorén huì fēi) nà jiù ràng wǒ zài kōngzhōng tíng yī tíngxiē (tíng yī tíngxiē) Zàicì fǔkàn zhège shìjiè huì ràng wǒ juéde hǎo yīxiē
Zhěngjiù dìqiú hǎo lèi (dìqiú hǎo lèi) suīrán yǒuxiē píbèi dàn wǒ háishì huì (wǒ háishì huì)
Bùyào wèn wǒ kūguòle méi
Yīnwèi chāorén bùnéng liú yǎnlèi

Chinese Lyrics:

妈妈说很多事别太计较
只是使命感找到了我 我睡不着
如果说骂人要有点技巧
我会加点旋律你会觉得 超屌
我的枪不会装弹药（弹药）
所以放心不会有人倒（人倒）
我拍青蜂侠不需要替身 因为自信是我绘画的颜料
我做很多事背后的意义远比你们想象
拍个电视剧为了友情与十年前的梦想
收视率再高也难抗衡我的伟大理想
因为我的人生无需再多一笔那奖项

我不知道何时变成了社会的那榜样
被狗仔拍不能比中指要大器的模样（怎样）
我唱的歌词要有点文化
因为随时会被当教材

CNN能不能等英文好一点再访
时代杂志封面能不能重拍
随时随地注意形象
要控制饮食不然就跟杜莎夫人蜡像的我不像（本来就不像）
好莱坞的中国戏院地上有很多手印脚印
何时才能看见我的掌

如果超人会飞 那就让我在空中停一停歇
再次俯瞰这个世界 会让我觉得好一些
拯救地球好累 虽然有些疲惫但我还是会
不要问我哭过了没
因为超人不能流眼泪

唱歌要拿最佳男歌手
拍电影也不能只拿个最佳新人
你不参加颁奖典礼就是没礼貌
你去参加就是代表你很在乎

得奖时你感动落泪（落泪）人家就会觉得你夸张做作（做作）
你没表情别人就会说太嚣张
如果你天生这个表情 那些人甚至会怪你妈妈（妈妈）
结果最后是别人在得奖 你也要给予充分的掌声与微笑
开的车不能太好 住的楼不能太高
我到底是一个创作歌手 还是好人好事代表
专辑一出就必须是冠军
拍了电影就必须要大卖
只能说当超人真的好难

如果超人会飞（超人会飞）那就让我在空中停一停歇（停一停歇）
再次俯瞰这个世界 会让我觉得好一些
拯救地球好累（地球好累）虽然有些疲惫但我还是会（我还是会）
不要问我哭过了没
因为超人不能流眼泪

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T-ara – We Are The One MV Preview and Making Of

28 Apr

So! T-ara are releasing a World Cup song! Woo! Congratulations to the girls! I know a lot of K-pop artists release support songs but to be chosen is still undoubtedly a great honour. They must be very proud ^_^ For this release, the girls are sporting red and white cheer leading outfits. What with SNSD’s Samsung Cooky CF and Kara’s World Cup song, the ladies of the K-pop world have gone cheer leader crazy!

However, sadly for T-ara, I’m not overly impressed with the song ;_; I’m actually quite disappointed… Ole ole ole le le le isn’t the most original of melodies – especially for someone living in England. However, I am really happy for the girls ^_^ Not too sure about the face painting though – but bless them! Check out the MV teaser and making of below~ Also check out Boram’s hair! I quite like it!

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Jay Chou – Superman Can’t Fly Song with Chinese Lyrics

26 Apr

Hi all! Lately I’ve been on a J-pop splurge: I re-downloaded Namiesan’s stuff to my iPod (for a while I listened to her more than anyone else – I really like her stuff, although I’m not as fond as her most recent album) and listened to Angela Aki and YUI for the first time in a long time. This got me to post more about J-pop the last couple of days (this and the fact that a lot of Korean music shows are currently on hiatus).

So, why not also pay attention to some C-pop? I don’t listen to C-pop nearly as much as J-pop or K-pop. In fact I really only listen to 5 artists: Jolin Tsai, CoCo Lee, Stefanie Sun, Faye Wong and Fiona Sit. Everyone else is just a couple of songs here and there. I think it’s because C-pop is huge and I wouldn’t know where to start. However, one singer who I do like (but am in no way obsessed with) is Jay Chou. Jay Chou, for those that don’t know (as if no one knows who he is!), is the number 1 mega star in China. He sings, he writes and produces his music – he even produces and writes for other artists. He’s also turned his hand to acting (which can be seen in Curse of the Golden Flower).

He’s been on a somewhat long hiatus for an Asian singer. Jay is returning after a 2-year break inbetween albums. His new song is called ‘Chou Ren Bu Hai Fei’ which translates as Superman Can’t Fly. The lyrics remind me of a Sylvia Plath song but hehe. I’ll work on translating these into English tomorrow or today :)

媽媽說很多事別太計較 只是使命感找到了我 我睡不著
如果說罵人要有點技巧 我會加點旋律你會覺得 超屌
我的槍不會裝彈藥 所以放心不會有人倒
我拍青鋒俠不需要替身 因為自信是我繪畫的顏料

我做很多事背後的意義遠比你們想像
拍個電視劇為了友情與十年前的夢想
收視率再高也難抗衡我的偉大理想
因為我的人生我需再多一筆那獎項
我不知道何時變成了社會的那榜樣
被狗仔拍的那邊裝著要道歉的模樣 怎樣

我唱的歌詞要有點文化 因為隨時會被當教材
CNN能不能等英文好一點再訪 時代雜誌封面能不能重拍
隨時隨地注意形象 要控制飲食不然就跟杜莎夫人蠟像的我不像
好萊鎢的中國戲院地上有很多手印腳印 何時才能看見我的掌

喔如果超人會飛 那就讓我在空中停一停歇
再次俯瞰這個世界 會讓我覺得好一些
拯救地球好累 雖然有些疲憊但我還是會
不要問我哭過了沒 因為超人不能流眼淚

唱歌要拿最佳男歌手 拍電影也不能只拿個最佳新人
你不參加頒獎典禮就是沒禮貌 你去參加就是代表你很在乎
得獎時你感動落淚 人家就會覺得你誇張做作
你沒表情別人就會說太囂張
如果你天生這表情 那些人甚至會怪你媽媽
結果最後是別人在得獎 你也要給予充分的掌聲與微笑
開的車不能太好 住的樓不能太高
我到底是一個創作歌手還是好人好事代表
專輯一出就必須是冠軍 拍了電影就必須要大賣
只能說當超人真的好難

如果超人會飛 那就讓我在空中停一停歇
再次俯瞰這個世界 會讓我覺得好一些 oh
拯救地球好累 雖然有些疲憊但我還是會
不要問我哭過了沒 因為超人不能流眼淚

(lyrics credited to here.)

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