duffeh

Some of you may remember that I absolutely hated Duffy when she first came out. Well you're wrong. I didn't hate her. That's too harsh a word.

Well, to be fair to me, I only disliked that she got popular after Amy Winehouse. I don't know am I right historically or factually, but it sure looked like it from here. But I have been listening to her. And except for Mercy, I love the rest of the album.

Her music makes me feel like I'm rocking on an old, white rocking chair on the porch of my southern summer home, sipping wine and enjoying the breeze from the old metal fan. The sun is setting, making everything orange on its way down. Ahhh... that's some good wine...

Ok, my music reviews might not be the best or most informative, but I'm trying here!

My favorite track has got to be "Serious" and "Hanging On Too Long", but I know my dear friend over here loves "Stepping Stone" to death. But really, the whole album is good and worth the cash. If you're like me, you would just end up skipping only one song, Mercy. Still, it's better than me skipping the entire E=MC2 to just play "Touch My Body". Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.

If you love old school, soul jazz-ish stuff and you're down in the dumps, Duffy - or more presicely, Duffeh - is for you.

the seventh tree will sprout 26th february

Goldfrapp's latest is a week away from release and I just pre-ordered the album from iTunes!
I really like the clown inspired artwork. It adds a nice dimension to the imaginary of what the album would be like.

She makes a very lovely clowntress don't you think?

*admiration sigh*

Beautiful voice, beautiful face... kinda make me wish I was in my thirties and British as well. I leave you with the first single from Seventh Tree, A&E.

this bus didn't crash

MYC's Battle of the Bands Asia 2007 was a huge success not only for the organizers, with the event being one the biggest battle of the bands in Malaysia, but also for my friends, the winning band, Bus Company!!! It was a life changing night for these guys. Congratulations Sam and Shaun, be strong with God and keep moving forward!


Liang hosted the event (as usual, this guy is one hell of an emcee)
Go listen to HITZ or buy his CD.


Best performance of the night. It's not easy to be the first, but these guys pulled it off. The Fridays rocked, and thank goodness their sarongs didn't come off.


It was a celebrity fest. Hannah Tan, Christien & Lavin, Kenny Sia (to some he is the Malaysian blogger, so that's a celebrity right there). Just before the winning band was announced, we were treated with a rendition of We Are The World. This was the 100th song that night I think. It was crazy, the amount of bands and artists that performed.



Don't get me started on when Denise took center stage to give away 3rd prize. She is drop dead gorgeous. Seeing her prancing around on MTV is nothing when you finally get to see her live. She was as charismatic and bubbly as I imagined her to be. My favourite VJ of all time.



Rock on guys! Keep living the dream, and don't let your fans down! Sam call me for the photos! Good night people!

The complete "MYC Battle of the Bands Asia 2007" photoset on my flickr

Minutes To Midnight

Linkin Park's latest effort - Minutes to Midnight was suppose to break new ground, as well as bring us the good stuff that we love them for in the first place. To many of my friends, the new album is disappointing. But to me, I have to say that I'm at peace with their decision to move away from their Hybird Theory days and more into, dare I say, pop territory?

I deliberately waited for the official release despite all the temptation to just download it, and on the 15th of May, I finally had my hands on the album from iTunes Music Store (yeah, I preordered). I was looking forward to the 2 exclusive tracks that would only be revealed on release day to my dismay. Turned out to be a live version of What I've Done and a song by Mike titled No Roads Left. The live version doesn't defer much from the studio recording, but Mike's song is pretty good.

The first thing you'll notice is that these guys are soft! The whole album is just soft, volume and everything. Only a handful of really heavy rock, and even then, those sound nothing like the stuff I loved about them (Crawling, Faint, Place For My Head etc etc). I was hoping for really heavy stuff, but nope, nothing like that in this album.

Verdict - the songs are good old rock/pop rock stuff and definitely very catchy. But you definitely cannot compare this with the previous 2 full albums. Totally different, and as I hate to say it, the Linkin Park we knew is gone. Musicians evolve, don't blame them for it. Despite everything, I really enjoy their latest effort.

Sam's Town

The Killers are just (sentence enhancers here) amazing! I totally had no interest when they released the first single from this album a few months back. But all changed one day when I was trapped working in the store. My friend would put the demo pink iPod mini into one of the speakers and let it play all day, but in a soft enough volume as to not disturb us talking to customers in that tiny store.

I was surfing most of the day and I realized after a while that The Killers were playing and it was actually just going through the whole album. Too lazy to get up to change the music, so just left it as it is.

After an hour of listening to these guys and I promise you, they will grow on you. No doubt about it, I understand now why so many people love them.

The thin, echoed vocals, the catchy guitar riffs coupled with heavy synths and strong beats. Good Stuff.

The Killers' - My Favourite "the" band out there!

You should know that I'm listening to another "the" band - The Sounds

The Sounds Got Me High

It's late in the night and I just started listening to The Sounds an hour ago. I don't know how to exactly categorize them or describe their music (read: it's late), so I'll just say this first up.

Totally trippy. Wonderfully trippy stuff

More details when I get them / not tired.

Take That's Shine Is The Worst Song Ever...

... that would be how I would feel if I wasn't feeling what I feel now which is the total opposite of what I made you believe I was feeling in the first place.

Moving right along. You see, I never thought I would be writing about these guys in my blog. I am definitely not a boy band kinda guy, even though I used to listen to them when I was a kid, but who didn't listen to Take That back then? The truth is, I wasn't interested in their new album when it was launched last year. But when I heard this song today on Chanel V, I had to admit that it felt good. It felt so good, that I decided to write about them.

You know what make would feel better?
This video of their live performance that I found on Youtube. Check it out. Amazing dance moves they pulling off.

Its a really happy, upbeat song about getting up, putting things down and just shining your @55 off!!

In my attempt to save whatever kemaluan I have left after that last sentence, I'm just going to go ahead and say that theres nothing gay about shining. On to the song.

Its a really simple song musically, but that's what so great about it. Simple music, catchy melodies and great positive lyrics. You should give a listen. But for bigger effect, watch their live performance. Did I mention those dance moves are just fantabulous?

One last thing. Has anyone noticed how Gary Barlow shot up a few dress sizes from last time? But the rest are just aging so gracefully.