Month: July 2007

Categories
Fragments of My Dreams

Fragments Of My Dreams Episode 2 – Bloody Dentist

I visit this village. Somewhat backward. There are huts and the roads are made of wood. I meet this girl and I want to take her to my world. And guess what? She has a pet. This pet is no ordinary pet. It is a small dinosaur with sharp teeth and claws. It sends a chill down my spine every time I see it.

I take this girl into my world through the modern corridors (I have seen these corridors before in my another dream with round shape glass coating overhead) and I tell her that I have a dentist appointment. But I won’t be late for the Valentine celebration, I swear.

I have to keep that dinosaur pet in my home and how scary it is to keep it in the upper deck of my bed! Its claws are really sharp. I ain’t kidding. Later on, I have changed my mind. I keep it at the balcony outside the window instead.

I see my dentist and he does some preliminary inspection on my teeth. He marks 8 teeth to be fixed. He administrates some anesthetics to my gum and does some knocking at some of my teeth.

“Oops, it’s lunch time. Why don’t you carry on?” says my dentist.

I am puzzled. What am I supposed to do? Somehow I remember which are the 8 teeth that need fixing. I pull them out one by one. Some come clean while others leave pieces of bones inside my jaw. Nothing I can’t handle.

When I meet my dentist after lunch with 8 missing teeth, I ask, “Is this necessary?”. He hesitates and my friends (must be like 10 of them suddenly appear from the background) scream, “This is a scam!”.

Too late. My dentist says, “Introducing ‘Sensitive Teeth!’ … I am going to replace your teeth with these”.

I look at what he has got and he has a set of artificial teeth with him just like my natural ones.

He continues, “These will replace what you have got and will dissolve as time goes by!” But why would I want a temporary solution? My friends say, “You are replacing your good set of teeth with some temporary ones!”.

“Is it true?” I demand.

My dentist hesitates and continues to mix a concoction of what it seems like a strong glue. He is gluing those artificial teeth into my jaw! I can feel the glue on the side of my inner cheek. Yuck!

I am with much regret. Why did I give up my 8 good teeth? I am sure there is a way to make them good than to pull them out. I confronted my dentist, “So this is how you have repeated business? Giving patients temporary teeth that won’t last and have them coming back again and again?”. He kept making apologies.

By now, I am too late to reverse my decision. This dentist appointment is taking much longer than it is supposed to be. I am too late to feed the tiny dinosaur that must be very hungry by now. And I am too late to meet this girl of mine whom I promise to see her as soon as I can. Before I realise, it is no longer Valentine. Today is Easter Sunday.

Note: This is a real dream of mine. How much can you decipher?

Categories
Party

So This Is Attica …

I felt special in Attica. I will get to that in a moment.

Out of nowhere, Cynthia begged demanded asked me to take her to Attica since she has not been there before. Huh?! Just the two of us? She then threatened told me nicely that if I don’t, her guy friends will gladly take her there. Okay, she just pressed that “I Win” button. By midnight, we got out of the Clark Quay car park and …

… we were greeted by the smoke coming out from Ministry of Sound (MoS). Or was it? I think there must have been 30 to 40 people outside puffing cigarettes. Maybe that was why the entrance was so smokey. Good news for the non-smoker for sure. That would mean inside the club, we no longer need to put up with second hand smoke. Ain’t that great? I personally love that new law in Singapore.

The entrance of Attica is not that impressive. We paid S$28 per person to have access to both “Attica” (first floor that plays Hip Hop and R&B) and “Attica Too” (second floor that plays house music). The music I must say are way better than MoS. The DJ played music by Sean Paul, Ciara, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, and etc. It was great. If the DJ was to play Rihanna, that would have been marvelous. Perhaps he did, but …

… we headed upstairs at 1am once the private party was over. The number of speakers hung around the dance floor are overwhelming. My pair of ears had a tough time adjusting to the deafening dance beat. However, I must admit, the music was good. It was not just any House music but House music with melody.

It goes without saying that whenever I go party, something weird will happen. Be it as the new year party (2006) at Insommia Hong Kong when a working girl was being approached or the encounter of the beautiful transvestites at MoS during Christmas party (2006). At “Attica Too”, there are raised platforms at hip level. One time there was an Asian girl with super mini skirt dancing on top of the platform and I saw this Westerner stroking her outer thighs and then her inner thighs while she was dancing. Then came his friend – another muscular dude – who in turn stroked the girl’s inner thighs simultaneously with his friend. That was just so … wrong. That was just so … porn.

That aside, the entire experience has been positive. Attica is a lot smaller compares to MoS but the music is great. Now, why did I feel special at Attica? I looked around the dance floor and could hardly see another Chinese guy around me. There were lots of Western guys (and some Western women) and there were tons of Asian girls. Since I was with Cynthia, it wouldn’t matter either way. But if I was with my guy friends, I would prefer MoS’s crowd any time. I personally don’t think the Singaporeans prefer Attica – at least not the Singaporeans girls for that matter.

Caption: Cynthia at the dance floor.

Categories
Hip Hop R&B Music Reviews

Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad – Probably The Most Notable Pop R&B Album Of Lately

From the pop R&B artist who brought us the Nike endorsed upbeat single “S.O.S” and that heart wrenching yet beautifully written “Unfaithfull” comes a new album “Good Girl Gone Bad”. If you have not heard of the song “Unfaithful”, do click onto the link and check it out. It is hard to imagine that a 18 years old girl has the level of maturity to pull that one off. And Rihanna did that beautifully.

I have no idea where Barbados is (okay, I read that it is the most easterly island in the Caribbean and have obtained independence from UK in 1966) but Barbadian singer Rihanna has certainly made her home country proud with her charm and music.

What I love most about “Good Girl Gone Bad” is its strong opening. It is hard not to fall in love with the first five songs of the album at first listen. They are stylishly crafted and make you want to dance. If “Unfaithful” is my favorite track from her previous album “A Girl Like Me”, “Umbrella feat. JAY-Z” has to be the one in this album. In fact, I have never heard the word “umbrella” being sung with such a style. One time, I was out there at the Singapore Botanical Garden and there were two young girls singing happily with the hook from “Umbrella”. And that level of happiness is contagious. Soon I was having the song in my head. If you take a look at the lyrics from Rihanna’s official website, “Umbrella” is a song about two lovers who take an oath together and are determined to stick with one and other through thick and thin. Quite a meaningful song it is.

Out of the first five strong openings, Cynthia likes the fourth track “Breakin’ Dishes” a lot. I can certainly understand why. The beat is unique, the bass-line is powerful, and the melody is funky. As for me, the fifth track “Shut Up And Drive” (her second single after “Umbrella”) has a special place in my heart. “Shut Up And Drive” begins with a sampling from the 80’s rock band New Order’s “Blue Monday” and it sounds interesting to mix 80’s rock sound into today’s pop.

The problem of having such a strong opening in an album is how then to follow it through. The album could become tiring and old if the same style continues. Doing anything different may make it hard to follow the energy through. And perhaps that is why both Cynthia and I feel that the next two songs that are more mellow and with a pure R&B sound fall short of expectation. It is especially disappointing to me when “Hate That I Love You feat. Ne-Yo” (written by the same songwriter who wrote my favorite song “Unfaithful”) does not manage to rekindle the magic of “Unfaithful”.

Then comes the urban and reggae influenced “Sell Me Candy”, “Lemme Get That” (co-written by JAY-Z), and “Rehab” that are produced by Timbaland – the producer who created hit singles for Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, and Nelly Furtado – just to name a few. Out of these three songs that are produced by Timbaland, I enjoy “Rehab” the most. This mellow “Rehab” is co-written by Justin Timberlake and he sings the backing vocals for the song. Just beautiful.

What happens when you put JAY-Z and Ne-Yo together with Stargate as the production team? A powerful slow song with meaningful lyrics on humanity – “Question Existing”. And if Ne-Yo has somewhat disappointed me with that one song in the middle of the album, his work on the last slow track “Good Girl Gone Bad” has certainly fully redeemed himself (okay, that song in question is not that bad … the beat is pretty funky). What a way to close this 45 minutes album.

Perhaps for some, it is not a question of whether or not to get this album but should or should you not spend the extra money and get the Collector’s Limited Edition. This special edition comes with an entry pass for 2 to Powerhouse with a catch – for ladies only. But the good thing is that this pass works on weekends and weekends only (Fri/Sat before 11pm). This is way better than the entry pass to The Boiler Room from the Bon Jovi Lost Highway album that only works on weekdays. Entry pass aside, this special edition comes with an additional CD that contains over 78 minutes of 12 remixes including S.O.S. as well as two previously unreleased songs “Cry” and “Haunted” – both remixed by Steve Mac. Steve Mac’s work is probably my favorite amongst the rest of the remix teams. Though it is strange to hear the song “Umbrella” being spanned at a much faster speed, I can imagine those who enjoy disco and trance music may like this CD.

Below is the video clip of her first single “Umbrella”. If you like it, you may try out her second single my favorite “Shut Up And Dance” and Cynthia’s favorite “Breakin’ Dishes”.

Related Website: Rihanna’s Official Site.

Categories
I See I Write

Com’on! My Site Is Rated “R”. Where Does That Come From?!

Online Dating

When I told my friends that my site is rated “R”, instead of being sympathetic, they are jealous that their sites are rated “G” instead. I want to be rated “G”. I want to be universal and to know that even a 3 years old kid may find my site interesting without worrying that I am a bad influence to that 3 years old. I was actually furious wanting to shoot and kill any insect in sight or to drop a bomb to desecrate the entire cluster of ant colonies (yes I do have ants problem at home that just won’t go away … and I bet that last sentence will earn me another 2 weeks of R rated status).

In retrospect, if I continue to write reviews on movies that are NC-16 rated, M18 rated, and R(A) rated, continue to write reviews on music albums that comes with that “Parental Advisory – Explicit Content” sticker, continue to post lyrics of my songs that is dark in nature – it is only fair that my site is rated “R”.

Still … that red sticker displeases me.

Footnote: Some friends of mine out of curiosity asked how exactly my site is rated. Basically, this online dating site provides a keyword search service on the submitted site’s front page and the submitted site is then classified based on the results of this search. Many people relate “R” rating to vulgarity and explicit sex but less so to violence and blood and gore.

Categories
Memorable Events

Celebrating 10.07.2007 (My Birthday D’oh!)

Caption from left to right, top to bottom: (1) My 9th oil painting, (2) My roti prata lunch, (3) If you see this landmark, turn right!, (4) If you see this sign, congratulations, (5) That seafood place, (6) Our dinner, (7) Cynthia was happy with her food, (8) Me too and a secret sign that only Cynthia knows

Thank you for all the birthday text messages, even for that “Happy Birthday Old Man” message. Honestly speaking, I am not that old! Above is some of the pictures I have taken for my unplanned celebration. Just click to enlarge and mouse over for caption. Caption from left to right, top to bottom: (1) My 9th oil painting, (2) My roti prata lunch, (3) If you see this landmark, turn right!, (4) If you see this sign, congratulations, (5) That seafood place, (6) Our dinner, (7) Cynthia was happy with her food, (8) Me too and a secret sign that only Cynthia knows.

I love celebrating birthdays. Be it as mine or others. I cannot think of any date that is more important than one’s birthday if we for once think about ourselves and not being overly patriotic or zealously religious or hopelessly romantic. I was used to have this tradition of buying my friends (then-colleagues) a buffet lunch on Roti Prata. It was really fun. Imagine having like 10 people on one table and forget about asking everybody what they want. On average each person eats about 2 to 3 Prata so I would just order randomly like … 5 mushroom cheese, 5 banana cheese, 3 egg and onions, and etc. Of course I always over ordered (what a good host I was eh?) and one time, I consumed 5 pieces of Prata. No kidding.

Those were the good days. A day before my birthday this year, I had an idea. I wanted to meet a friend of mine for breakfast, another friend of mine for late breakfast, then another one for lunch, another one for coffee, another one for high tea, and finally one more with Cynthia and I for dinner and possibly a movie. Turned out that calling up people at the last minute could be a logistic nightmare and since I woke up feeling lazy, I discarded my idea and just went with the flow.

When the clock struck 12am, I managed to finish the transcript of all my 10 songs and have them as something that are “band friendly” (the end result is something like this for half a song). I really should have done this years ago. It only took me 4 hours to complete this task and like the task of “looking for a job”, somehow I just never got around to do it. Just when I have started putting effort into it, the task is over before I know it.

Inspired by how (not very) long it took to finish the transcripts, this morning when I woke up, I wanted to paint. Many friends have asked me what happens to my hobby of oil painting and my standard answer was: my pool of inspiration has momentarily run dry. Knowing that my life will turn normal after I start working, I wanted to paint something. Just anything. Cynthia has been asking me to paint some of her soft toys so still life it was.

I have become rusty in oil painting, I have to admit. The first object took me forever to paint (see image 1 – left to right, up then down). And when I got down to the second object, my palette was filled with different shades of brown and all of a sudden, I began to see light and darkness. The end result was not that great – though Cynthia loves it. Hopefully my next oil painting will be better.

Halfway through my painting, I looked at the clock and realised that it was too late to call any friend of mine for lunch. Just before I finished the painting, Cynthia messaged me that she would be leaving office at 2pm in order to celebrate my birthday. Hooray! I quickly finished what I set out to do this morning and I pondered upon doing something special for my birthday.

An idea came into my mind and I warned Cynthia promptly of a crazy idea I have without telling her what this idea was exactly.

Before I could execute this idea of mine, I needed food. For the love of Roti Prata, I followed my tradition and have three this time (see image 2). While Cynthia was taking a taxi home, I drove to Thompson Plaza and changed for some foreign currency. By 4pm, we were …

… heading to Malacca.

I always love Malacca. That is where Cynthia and I first started dating. And we both love road trips – an unending road listening to our favourite music (we had Hilary Duff, Avril Lavigne, Scissor Sisters, Linkin Park, Rihanna, and Tiesto). It is amazing that most of the time, we just enjoy each other’s presence without being compelled to converse. I did not speed. Malacca is not that far anyway. I wanted to dine at one of our favourite seafood center where they serve baked seafood and our challenge was to find the place.

Malacca has changed quite a fair bit in this 10 years. The roads are a lot nicer and because of the change in landscape, we had a tough time finding the seafood center. We have a post-it documentation of how to get there. Basically, leave the highway at Malacca exit. Keep going straight and at the junction between a petrol station and a hospital, turn left. At the junction when another petrol station is seen (see image 3), turn right. Head all the way straight and at the T-junction, turn left. After a good distance, all we needed to do was to turn right …

… but somehow, that junction has disappeared. We retraced our route and found that right turn that was earlier than we anticipated. We drove through a village (with a sign “Bukit Durian”) and at the T-junction, we saw the “Ikan Bakar” sign (see image 4) and we knew we have found the place (see image 5). See footnote for a better direction.

I remember that seafood center was used to be a lot more crowded. Perhaps it was a weekday or perhaps the new road system has confused the living crap out of everybody, the center was almost empty. There were many stalls and we just picked one in random. We chose our dinner (see image 6) and before long, we had our baked seafood right in front of our eyes (see image 7 & 8).

By 11pm, we were back in Singapore. It was certainly a special day for me. Driving out of Singapore – even for that brief moment – allowed me to see things in a wider perspective. One of my friends asked what tonight’s plan was and he offered to light the candle for me. It may be one of those “mid-life crisis” as he pointed out but it was certainly one of those “spur of the moment”.

I in particularly love this spur of the moment.

Footnote: To get to that seafood center, exit Jasin Melaca (just 1 or 2 exits before Malacca). Head straight for 6km and then turn right. After another 8.8km, make a right turn. Travel for 9.9km and then make a left turn. Drive for another 3.6 km and then turn right, immediately turn left. Head straight and the seafood center is just in front.

Categories
Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

Die Hard 4.0 – Living Up To The Expectation Of The Franchise

I almost gave into “Transformer” after hearing some surprisingly interesting comments from people around me. Lora, for instance, loves the exciting plot, special effects, and the romance subplot. Another guy friend of mine loves the hot chick inside the movie. Fortunately, Tong Kiat has watched that, did not like it (for example, he cannot tell the good machines from the bad ones during the battle and he blames the … special effects), and when I suggested “Die Hard 4.0”, everybody leaped in joy.

“Die Hard” and I have gone a long way. Though I can’t quite remember where I watched “Die Hard” (1998), I remember vividly where and when I watched “Die Hard 2” (1990). I was just 24 hours away from boarding the plane to fly from London to Hong Kong and I wanted to try something different. I wanted to stay awake the whole night so that I would be able to sleep throughout the flight and wake up fresh in Hong Kong (that did not work). My friends whom let me stay at their apartment back then gamed for this crazy idea of mine and they have rented – on top of many other things – “Die Hard 2”.

I am not sure how many of you remember the plot of “Die Hard 2”. It was about terrorists taking over the entire airport and threatened to crash all the planes until their demands were met. Not exactly the kind of movie to watch just hours before boarding a plane (perhaps that was why I couldn’t sleep on the plane?). In the first “Die Hard” installment, John McClain’s (“Bruce Willis”) wife was stuck in a high-rise that terrorists took over, in “Die Hard 2”, his wife was amongst one of the planes circling above the airport under siege.

Since when action films make logical sense? Just when you thought John’s wife would be loving him for life after these two life changing events, in “Die Hard: With a Vengeance” (1995), their marriage was at the bleak of divorce. John McClain has become an alcoholic under suspension from service. The plot began with a bomb explosion with the man called “Simon” involving John McClain for all his bomb detonation games (and of course that racist sign John has to wear in Harlem when he met Zeus played by “Samuel L. Jackson”).

Almost 20 years have passed since “Die Hard” was released that shot Bruce Willis to stardom. I have to say, Bruce doesn’t seem to age a bit. At 52, he still looks amazingly agile and I think it all comes down to the “cool factor” he has. If the success measurements of an action film are the variety of parties in pursuit, the explosion, the tight plot, and a sense of humor, “Die Hard 4.0” has scored high in my book. Many people enjoy and amuse at how indestructible John McClain is (hence the franchise title, “Die Hard”). To me, it is how straightforward John McClain is (he doesn’t plan, he has an idea and execute it) and how he gets the kick of the entire execution and is actually enjoying doing it. A man with no perceived fear. That spirit of directness and self-enjoyment is what I enjoy watching installments after installments.

I have watched quite a few movies that try to tackle the theme cyberspace. It either over simplifies what lies within – like hacking into an account with a guessed password at first attempt or by typing something as silly as “hack this account” – or portraits geeks as someone who type really fast in front of multiple screens. “Die Hard 4.0” tackles the topic of cyber-criminology (hence the version number “4.0”) and while there are still rooms for improvement, it does strike a good balance between what may satisfy those who are computer savvy and a good sense of entertainment. So it comes with no surprise that in this installment, John McClain’s partner is a geek named Matt Farrell (played by “Justin Long”) who has decent acting skills. Since John is now officially divorced, his long time wife Holly is out of the picture and into the picture is John’s daughter Lucy McClane (played by “Mary Elizabeth Winstead”). After the movie, I asked Cynthia if she remembered which movies have “Mary Elizabeth Winstead” acted in as I did seem to have some vague ideas. Turns out that Winstead has also acted in “Death Proof”, which we have watched recently.

All three of us from Movie Review Squad love “Die Hard 4.0”. If you are into the genre of action or you have already seen some of the previous installments, you really should not miss this one. Try not to think too hard (though I must say there are parts of the plot that don’t quite make sense to me) and you will certainly get entertained.

An after thought: How could I possibly forget to mention the “Mission Impossible: III” girl Maggie Q? Okay, I think she has played her role well and I can understand why some guys are crazy over her. For “Die Hard 4.0”, Bruce Willis is my hero. Make no mistake.

Categories
Songwriting

…—… Commemorate 070707 Live Earth – A Simple Song Of Mine

It is amazing that musicians from all around the world come together to create concerts of a climate in crisis. As of now (00:30) I am still watching the concerts. I am so inspired to turn green and to take part in saving the planet. I believe that all it takes is for us individuals to be more environmental friendly and soon, our governments will notice and shape policies that may reverse global warming. International borders are to be blurred, world citizens will realise that we do not live in isolation, and hopefully natural habitats for the polar bears, penguins, and etc. can be preserved and many endangered animals will continue to roam this world that does not only belong to us humans.

Yesterday I attempted to finish a song and today, when I review the recording, I did not like it at all. So time to rewrite all that I have … while watching …—… Live Earth Concerts.

After Cynthia was back from a wedding dinner, I let her listened to the recording and she likes it. A simple song she found. A simple song indeed.

I CANNOT SPEAK

I cannot speak what’s on my mind
I am lost in words
What’s there to say
I rumble and tumble twisting and turning

Don’t get me wrong you know I care
Sometimes I wish that you can read my mind
In this space of vastness
Picking up the pieces of who we really are

My lips are frozen, what else can I say?
In this ever changing world
We thought we knew it all
This mask that we wear

Don’t get me wrong you know I care
Sometimes I wish that you can read my mind
In this space of vastness
Picking up the pieces of who we really are

I wish to live with no regret
At times it’s hard not to disappoint
When the time is right and the place is right
There is a chance for us to set things right
I cannot speak what’s on my mind
Finding it hard to find the words
You’ve anticipated and neglected
How I feel what I feel inside

To speak my mind
To find the words
What lies inside
We cannot hide

To speak my mind
To find the words
What lies inside
We cannot hide

Don’t get me wrong you know I care
Sometimes I wish that you can read my mind
Don’t get me wrong I cannot bear
You know that all I care is how you feel insideDon’t get me wrong you know I care
Sometimes I wish that you can read my mind
Don’t get me wrong I cannot bear
You know that all I care is how you feel inside

Copyright © 2007 by Wilfrid K. F. Wong. All Rights Reserved.

Categories
Diary

Yet Another Traumatising Experience

A while back, I was traumatised by my dentist. I really should have seen him more often. Yesterday, I was traumatised by the air-con men. I really should have asked them to service my air-con units more often. They did open up, dismantle, and clean every single component of the units. It was a gruesome sight. More gruesome when they have decided to clean the condenser that is located at the washing area and I have to move my washing machine and dryer out of the way. That scene of “what-lies-underneath” will stick in my mind for decades to come. If only the theme of this website is “where nothing is too grotesque to be shared”, I would have …

But let’s not go there. Instead, I ponder and self reflect. I may not have a degree of Permanent Head Damage Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) but I am a keen observer. Things that we have belief in and our so-called values influence what we do everyday. We can’t see what belief is or values for that matter but we can observe one’s behaviours to make a certain guess of what belief and values one holds. Or in the situation of not so positive behaviours, what belief and values one does not hold. Unfortunately, some people tend to be so fixated on one’s undesirable traits confusing that with the spots on the leopards (hence the famous phrase).

Which is kind of ballock if you were to ask me – to confuse something as permanent as the coding of our body (aka genes) with something as abstract as our beliefs and value systems. One can never prove the invalidity of a past observation and linking future behaviours with the past makes it all more frustrating. Personally, I think belief can be changed, value system can be altered, people can become better. In view of this, I am going to see my dentist more often, call up my air-con men more often, and have already planned to do some serious clearing up, cleaning up, and rearrangement of the junks inside my storeroom (that will involve moving the washing machine and dryer out from the washing area again because they are in the way *gasp*).

People do change for the better. And so can I – like time and time before. I am ready to be traumatised by my storeroom. Bring it on!

PS. I am not sure how your air-con men service your units. I strongly recommend Gain City. They have done a fantastic job years after years and it costs S$25 per fan coil and S$30 per condenser (add another S$60 for acid cleaning if it comes down to it).

Categories
I See I Write

Hooters – Of Hula Hoops, Drinking Competition, and … Kids

I promise to show you a picture of a hottie. Just stay with me.

Today (Thursday) was such a dramatic day. But I will get to that in a future blog depending on how tomorrow turns out.

Cynthia’s cousin is in town and he has chosen Hooters as our dinner destination. Fine by me. I have been to Hooters a couple of time mainly because my buddy RC loves to lunch there. I was terribly late and when I arrived (more details to come later), I got a shock of my life. Cynthia’s cousin was there. His wife was there. His 3 kids were there. His wife’s brother was there. His wife’s brother’s wife was there. His wife’s brother’s 2 kids were there. Hence as you can see in the picture (pardon the quality as my phone is not that great in taking pictures in the dark) – Cynthia and the 5 kids … at Hooters. I was the only Singaporean in the party. The rest are all Indonesians.

Kids at Hooters eh? Somehow the idea of Hooters girls and kids don’t really mix.

But it is kind of cute to see those kids. I was like the magnet and they all wanted my attention. So cute. Cynthia was kind of giving me that jealous look but hey, they kind of love me. Not my fault eh?

Two of the Hooters girls did that Hula Hoop dance and somehow got all the kids excited. They all got into the dance floor and tried Hula Hoop too turning the area into a playground. Think of this … Hooters turns into a family playground. Hard to reconcile.

And then, there was a drinking competition. Each contestant was given a super long tube to suck the glass of beer dry. Hooters picked someone from France, someone from Australia, Hong Kong, and a girl and guy from Singapore. Everyone except the guy from Singapore were good looking. I have a picture to prove (You can’t see the guy from Singapore, thank God … and check out the only girl contestant in the competition). In the end, the guy from Hong Kong won and got himself … 10 Hula Hoops from Hooters.

What an interesting night. Cynthia and I headed to another pub later to talk about something serious. And that is another story.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Kelly Clarkson’s My December – Has She Found Her Own Style Finally?

When someone as popular as Kelly Clarkson releases an album, I really should come out with a review fast. Real fast, like on the same day. However, lately my life has turned busy so sorry guys for the delay. Nevertheless, Kelly Clarkson’s “My December” has jumped the queue of the coming soon list.

Big question to myself after listened to “My December” for a good number of times is: why didn’t Clarkson stick with her previous formula and release a popular but forgettable album? We all agree that her “Thankful” and “Breakaway” are both great album. Easy to the ears, great melody, but unfortunately easy to be forgotten too.

Another big shocking revelation to myself is that I thought I have heard all that pop rock has offered. Majority of my collection are from that genre. Then I realised one little detail from Clarkson’s 3rd album that makes me want to go back to my collection and to pay that extra attention again.

So what is that big shocking revelation? “My December” is predominantly a rock album with lots of electric guitar sound and drum and it sounds strange to me that except the first 10 seconds of so, Kelly Clarkson’s vocals fill the entire song literally from beginning till end. Hardly are there any gap for the instruments at all – be it as slow or fast songs. Not sure if it is just me, I found it strange. I am used to rock music having space for the guitar solos and so on. That usually makes the music more memorable, to me at least.

But that is not necessarily bad news. Because Kelly Clarkson has a great and versatile voice. And I can certainly see the footprint of her ex-boyfriend all over the entire album. In her 3rd album, Clarkson has decided to participate in the songwriting for all her songs. That makes this album more honest, more personal. This also makes “My December” one dimensional in terms of topic and some songs are outstanding while some are not really on par. The standard is varied.

I particularly like some of the more unusual songs from “My December”. Hands down to the last track “Irvine”, the real gem of the entire album. It is just her and the acoustic guitar with this slow song split into two parts having a 1 minute silence in between. This close to 9 minutes song captures Clarkson’s emotions well. Part one of “Irvine” is a song of desperation. Part two is a song of recovery with a hint of angst and musically it is mixed with the old record sound. This hidden track is called “Chivas”.

Other slow songs I love are “Sober” and “Maybe”. Both are beautifully composed and executed. I love the ambiance created by “Sober” and I love how “Maybe” starts with just acoustic guitar, and then drum, and finally the song explodes into a full rock ballad. Some may like the single “Never Again” – a fast rock song. My pick would be the more unusual “Haunted” and “Yeah”. The music of “Haunted” somehow reminds me of Evanescence.

So in total I did a count. I love 6 songs out of 13. Rumor says that the record company nearly can this album. Some may think that Clarkson has committed a career suicide. She defied the record company, fired her manager, and cancelled her tour due to disappointing sales. The real test is how many American Idol fans are going to stick by Clarkson after this change in music direction. Kelly Clarkson would have my full support had the quality of her songwriting was more consistent and to stay with one style – probably more of the acoustic type and let her vocal shines. As for her next album, if any, I think I will make some serious sampling before purchasing it. Not that I don’t love her voice. I just not sure if she will change her music direction again.

“My December” is not as forgettable compares to her other albums. It is short of a great album though it has some great songs sung by a great voice.