林俊傑-學不會 review

Where he lacks in looks he makes up with amazing composition that vibrate his ability to convey pure emotion. This is the sole reason why I am a strong supporter of his talent and songs. After two years, with changes in contracts and throat injury what not, JJ Lin is back with an all new album. His hit track "學不會 [Never Learn]" shocked me as I unwarily opened the link posted on his Facebook fanpage. The song was so beautifully written, well sung and overall hauntingly beautiful - nothing I have ever heard before in C-pop. His voice has somewhat matured and strengthened over the years,  as a result one can truly appreciate the high notes he reaches towards the climatic ending. The addition of sighing as part of the song is fantastic also, such a playful twist to conventional rhythm that took my breath away the first time I heard it. How has someone not done this before?? It seems only true talented musicians with singing and composing ability can execute these. This is true mastery of composition, in an asian era dominated by synthesised pop considered as the only popular and "cool" music, this form of ballad production done properly with piano, violin and drum is an art form in itself.

There seems to be nothing out there at present which competes against this level of composition, and I admire the full radio track over the official MV. Once again, I truly recommend people to listen to the song without watching the official Music Video first, it is the only way where one can truly appreciated the melody, harmony and rhythm without being distracted by moving pictures. If you haven't already seen it though, please view the provided link below, because the scenes in which the MV is shot is within Europe, most notably Prague, Switzerland and many other countries where the scenery is spectacular.

INFINITE for Christmas really? Really though?

So here is Kpop trying to capture the Christmas spirit. The song "White Confessions" released by INFINITE (which in my mind seems like another manufactured Kpop group) has been an 'all kill' in the charts this week, knocking off the much loved IU's comeback, new debut group Troublemaker and my favourite Wonder Girl ladies. But what is seriously special about this track and the MV apart from the usual materialistic, fake and totally unreal storyline that represents nothing in real life and is all a fantasy? Surely the ladies from Wonder Girls should have won something rather than this cheesy Christmas track.


The usual chimes of bells in the introduction is accompanied with a shot of different stereotypical Christmas feel items. If you ever try listening to the song without being mesmerized by the eye candy that is the MV, you begin to feel a hint of Japanese pop style music in this song. Look again at the music video again and oh wait! The scenes they have chosen are all in Japan! Why exactly are Koreans bouncing over to Japan for this video shoot, is Korea not even good enough for their Korean Christmas song? 


Sigh, I just don't understand.
But just to give the song a bit of credit it does sound good, the vocal range of the boys may not be spectacular but the timbre of some of the members is rich. It's just enough to make it mainstream, but besides that I can pick nothing special out of it. Once again the Kpop formula works once more, with members having limited singing opportunities throughout, then a couple of raps here and there to make the song "cool" and bang, there you have it, a song which everyone will hopefully catch on to - which, in this case, obviously has.

IU and her comeback!

I became a fan of IU ever since the time she sung a mixture of Lies, Sorry Sorry and Gee with her angelic voice combined with her excellent guitar playing - pure talent. The last time I was properly obsessed with her was with the "Real IU" EP, her song "Good Day" was a track quite different to the songs produced by other musicians at the time. It gave a hint of going back to classical instruments rather than relying on the heavy synthetic sounds Kpop was creating. An addictive riff throughout made it catchy, and it was highly praised by critics for her 3 super high notes somewhere during the latter part of the song. 

Now she is back, with a new title song called "You & I" - which in my opinion, is quite cute.

But if you haven't seen it already, the music video is centred around the Victorian era, where everything was a mass array of cogs and spinning things. It really gives the music a sense of Baroque, yet again referring back to the inspirations of "Good Day". The song itself certainly feels at first quite similar to last time, nothing special here, until you hear the little special vocal additions which make the song extra cute. It's a nice song no doubt, but one feels slightly let down by the lack of development ever since her last promotions. The song is great and IU is able to execute her excellent vocal range, but perhaps she should consider stepping out of her comfort zone, ditch the cute, minimalistic, child-like look and develop something that makes her more matured, something adult-like. I think she has been stuck in the same time period for too long. As much as it feels like me telling her to become like any other Kpop artist out there, I still feel it's only necessary she should experiment with different styles. 

But Oh Well, we will just have to wait till next time to see if there is any change to her style...

Comparing the past to present

In honesty I'm not really excited by the direction in which Jay Chou's music is going. If anyone is fortunate enough to even decipher the words he sings without keeping an eyes on the lyrics I salute you, but for all the sane and normal people out there I just want to tell you that you are not alone.

A few weeks ago I did manage to review his latest album: "Exclamation Mark" and gave it a good thumbs up with particular songs on the CD. But Jay has recently shot a couple for music videos for "超跑女神" and "迷魂曲", both songs which I am not particularly proud of. But let us look at 超跑女神 first:

The introduction melody is delightful, cheerful and weirdly happy. Not sure why. It shows a shy and childish Jay Chou character who likes to play with his car collectibles. Overall at this point I find it cute and adorable, until the whole set transforms into a swimming pool scene loaded with random Asian chicks - and everyone is dressed in white. Whereas this serves as immensely popular eye candy to the thousands who wish to see something like this, it simply does not go with the song. I don't understand the plot to be honest, nor the lyrics but right now I just want to write more about why the music and the story of the music video do not go together. 
Firstly, everyone there (who seems to be attractive) is wearing white it is normally because it is some PIMP's party, therefore it would have made more sense if there was a heavy beat, hip-hop/RnB or whatever kind of track - just not Jay's. 

The second song is based on an inception theme, yet again, we don't see any more innovative strategies by Jay Chou towards his new style - and that is really all I wanted to say about the second video.

Truth

Some true words.

Jay Chou 'Exclamation Mark' album review

Jay Chou resumes his string of annual album releases with a set of 11 exciting songs, all of which I have listened to repeatedly over the past few days. The first thing that struck me about the content was how easy it was to listen through the entire CD.The music was fresh, no doubt about that, but was also fresh in terms of his style which, for viewers who have not heard the tracks yet, is a development into up-beat songs. Within the album the one song which struck me most was 你好嗎, the only slow song on the CD. I believe Jay reaches even higher pitches than ever before, and the meaningful lyrics accompanied by a sorrowful melody proves once again of Jay's singing/composing abilities. 

I particularly favoured 世界末末日 after listening to it a couple of times. I assume the style is similar to that of 一路向北, where there is a set-up of electric guitars and drums to give a rock genre feel. Other songs, such as 公主病 has obviously drawn reference both in terms of rhythm and lyrics from 陽光宅男, proving Jay is capable of developing his previous styles. One thing I do find strange is the lack of '中國風 (Zhuong Guo Feng). The loss of such a unique style is a shame but perhaps his decision to do so was right, as the continuous use of his trademark composition was beginning to tamper with the perfection of 髮如雪.

Overall the album has been an instrumental success, despite me being oblivious to the number of copies he has sold. The album has revitalised the style of Jay's music, moving away from the stereotypical karaoke styled ballads which the Cpop industry have focused on for too long. The various MV (music videos) such as 'Mine Mine' have displayed Jay's new ability to dance, something to add onto his outstanding resume. After 11 years of remaining in the limelight, Jay's new content is still pushing the boundaries of his composition skills, something worthy to admire.

Jay's Classic '中國風' styled "髮如雪"

From his 11th Album: "你好嗎"

Touchscreen Gloves

I never really understood the concept of Muji, but it seems to have caught on recently because I'm seeing more of their stores dotted around everywhere and people carrying large bags out of there. Nevertheless, I decided to take a visit and was immediately attracted by the fact they don't sell one unique product, but a range of random things which we want but don't necessary need. Let us take, for example, touchscreen gloves. It solves the problem of taking off my gloves during winter to access my iPhone. You see, such a simple idea yet such an effective product!
It is amazing how many gems and gift ideas can be found in Muji. So, if I were to give a tip, pop round to your nearest Muji store for Christmas gift ideas for family and friends!