the low that is high to me

They belong in my good book forever (as long as they make good music, and stick to who they are that is).

Some bands/musicians are better in records, but these guys fall into the better-live wagon with the rest of the small number.

Don't believe me? Listen/watch for yourselves:



Things to listen for in their music:

1. wicked harmonization (the backup)
2. the instruments they play (try to take guesses, the sounds may not come from instruments you imagined they would be) --> they're famous for recycling stuff to make music
3. the "empty" and "hollow" sound that make you think about high-ceiling spaces
4. the vocals of Miller. rough and edgy to soft whispery.. instant switch!
5. the imperfections. they're full of it, but somehow it always becomes part of the songs
6. the heart and soul they put into their music.


I wonder, how long they can stay true to their musical personality. Here's hoping it's forever :)


*This is a tribute to @Bonnaroo

you

uu
What do I think about when I brush my teeth

 in the morning when I wake up

at night before I sleep?

nn

BONNAROO

My days are now filled with sunshine. I made a few important decisions, and visions are once again clear (so is my desk at work yeehaa). I've been making too many mistakes twice, and I will not let that happen again.

I just wish one thing would happen for me as the pinnacle of this temporary happiness.

One word: B O N N A R O O




You can check their website here.

It's happening very soon! But it's half the world away, and I might have to sell myself to go there.
Mission: Impossible!




Normally, I wouldn't bother to look up the infos on these music fests as I know I would only disappoint myself in the end. But this is just too irresistable!

Check out the line-ups!! (I'll only cover those I like here):

- Neil Young (oh how I cry listening to Heart of Gold and the tunes of sleek harmonica in your songs! Imagine listening to it live)

- Iron & Wine (I downloaded your albums!! If you play My Lady's House I'll kill myself. Sam Beam rocks the "Jesus" look and I&W is definitely a religion in the music world)

- The Strokes (shit man, shit. I need to be there. Julian Casablanca!!! Need I say more!!)

- The Decemberists (Mariner's Revenge is the shizz ughhhhh)

- The Low Anthem (apparently they sound better live than in records! The three part harmonization, the eccentric instruments, dudes with 'staches, the range of subgenre just within folk itself - EPIC. I need to hear them live)

- The Drums (I featured them here before in my blog. Their tunes remind me of carefree days! Let's Go Surfing!)

- Smith Westerns (their stage antics and cute band members! indie rock with sounds ala Nuggets and I love Nuggets from before!)

- Ratatat (not into electronica but somehow they got me! Loud Pipes is the anthem!)

- Pretty Lights (OMG. I just posted their song here! Please, lyricless madness. Fusion of all sorts. I think when all the music genre in the world are combined and gets mashed up in a blender, it would sound like their songs. Finally Moving all the way!!!)

- Eminem (I mean, come on. He's a genius no matter how main stream he is. I am a groupie since '99 Slim Shady days but like really fell in love with him during his most deepest and darkest period. When he sing, he owns it. Gotta be there to live it)

- Mumford & Sons (Since first heard of them on the free CD by the Uncut magazine some time ago, I just didn't look back. Smart persona, upbeat folk-ish tunes, waaaaaaa I just need to see them live!!! Folk with attitude!)

And then there are the rest of the 2011 lineup which you can check at their official website. All ticketing details are there too. And they have some art installation thingamajig going on too. So it's really an event not to be missed for those who actually CAN make it. Please go on my behalf!

To be honest, it is kind of a fantasy lineup for any music events! (If they would include AFI and Elliott Smith is still alive, and maybe also bring in A&J Stone, this could have been a music festival organized by the angels in heaven.)

And then there's another sad case where Bob Dylan is concerned. He is coming down to Singapore for the Rock and Roots music fest. Aaarrrggghhhh.

 

Although this is more possible than Bonnaroo, I don't really feel like going just for him since the lineup pretty much sucks (for me, I'm sure other people think otherwise).

But oh, wouldn't I love to hear his silky voice on the mic? And who knows, he might meet&greet with a few lucky groupies. In which case, might be me..

Suddenly my life looks pretty darned gloomy in comparison to those in the USA or Singapore. I hate y'all biatches!!!

pretty lights

You wouldn't need any form of substance to get high on this. Ah, the right kind of laid-back and groove.

Picture this: You. At the roadside in some quaint province. Just before sunset. The smell of beach sand not very far. Hair in a neat mess and dark Persol shades on. A few european strangers waiting to be cultured. Rolled-up ciggies. Groovin' on the street. Barefeet, hands up. Raw.

Finally Moving by Pretty Lights

The piano and violin is sick. The song is orgasm to my ears.


p/s: check out covers of this song. They're good too, but I swear the original is the best.

stunner

wow, she actually wore this on the street like on a normal day? I am ever-envious!

From here

It's like living a fairytale everyday!

These days, work has toned down a bit, and I get more time to myself. So what do I do? Read. (Although I miss watching TV and downloading movies to watch at my own expense.)

I especially love to indulge myself in books that are of simplistic narration but with heavy and deep content. I am very impatient, so I prefer prose, short stories and poetry. Or novels with fast-paced narrative.

So I read this book. A small collection of poetry written by Spargo Postle.

I would like to share with you a stanza from one of his poems, A man of few words...

for i am a man of many words
nil by mouth
all by hand
churn in my mind
beseeching me to be silent
compelling me to write

I am drawn to this particular stanza. I guess you can say because there are a lot of people whom we meet who are of few words/reserved/introverted/quiet whatever you want to call. 

But I am particularly intrigued by it because it reminds me of someone. Someone who I know goes through exactly like the persona in the stanza all the time. I know he is a man of opinions, ideas and has a lot to say..it's just that he doesn't say it. A person who talks with actions, instead of words.

This someone is just like the man on the cover of this book (could be Postle himself hehe), half-smiled holding a glass of beer and a lit cigarette in between his fingers, in the same hand. Plaid shirt.

Oh why do I always have to take poetry personally?!?

But that person now belongs in a distant memory. I'll have to walk quite a journey down memory lane to find him. Sigh.

truth snowballs

Joseph Conrad said

"Inside every heart, burns the desire 

to set down once and for all

the true record of what has happened"

I think he is right. No matter how true we stay to ourselves, there's prone to be exaggerations of the truth, dramatic effects to our stories, little white lies to conceal what might not seem/be too nice, and amping up the pale or toning down of the frills.

There will come a time when we all lie so compulsively that we believe in our own lies.

So who's this smarty ass Conrad guy? A renowned Polish novelist in the English Literature. He barely speak the language, so I say he's a hero. Google him.

Classic Grenade

Grenade by Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars: I'd like to take this opportunity to tell y'all about the girl that I love..


3 Dudes behind: Awww, watchu know about love?


Bruno Mars: As far as I know, I'm broken-hearted, coz I wanna spend forever with this girl..And when I asked her you know what she said to me?


3 Dudes behind: What she say?


Bruno Mars: She said NO...OWU OH.. (sing song voice)


3 Dudes behind: Damnnnnn


Ahahaha classic. Lovin' it!

waiting to be saved

                                        Broken by Wani Ardy

One of my favorite Malaysian indie folk singers. 

p/s: Even if it's broken, there are pieces from it that we can keep.

why i'm in a bad mood

I've been going through a hard time. I'm unofficially depressed. Here's why:

1. Mubarak + Egypt + the US of A = New World Order The power against the Power of Voice of the Masses (sorry, hope you understand this)
2. Najib and his paranoia (re: point #1)
3. Anti-valentines day celebration policies by a certain party (??????) in Malaysia
4. 22,000 kids around the world still suffering from malnutrition each day (when some parts of the world can spend so much on nuclear plants and military)
5. Malaysia, to have its own nuclear power plant by 2021 (FOR WHAT? to defend ourselves from Singapore? Oh yeah, they're getting it too to "solve mankind's energy problems". yeah right Lee)
6. Kids who have adopted careers as suicide bombers (to make it symbolic, they'd do it wearing school uniforms)
7. Good leaders who grew up to become who they should be, until money is involved, which made them who they are today.
8. Teachers who develop a hobby at school which is to rape their students (aren't you ashamed of yourselves?!)
9. everyone's obsession with everything!! can't we all be moderate!! (too many to list. oh maybe one: money)
10. the adopted cat we have at home has died. It was a very sad image of death at its worst.

So, I'm generally not in such a good mood..DO NOT DISTURB.

LOL! (<-- wait, isn't this a bit inappropriate? well who cares!)

i will not be a corporate slave

As a friend put it, "I am having the bluest of Monday blues today".

Word.

After the an entire week of Chinese New Year holiday last week, and the short vacation I had in Phuket ( it was totally random).. man, I don't deserve to work today!

But it's not all that bad. I actually stayed up the night before to get some work done (slept at 5am), and was supposed to have a WIPs meeting with my team at 9am at the office this morning. 

I was thinking, This is going to be the worst day of my working life. I'm sleep-deprived and I'm not ready to face my bosses/clients whatever (especially after what had happened - I was caught in some tangle in the office).. I just want to make it alive by 5pm and dash home.

Work has been evil to me for the past few months. 

But as it turns out, today was actually quite ok.

The to-do list I had on a post-it actually got crossed out one by one, and by end of the day, I got everything done! And after a very long time, I managed to get home by 7pm and have dinner with the family.

I was totally beat and sleepy at the office towards the end, but it's all good coz I got home early!

Hah..the little things in life that we often forget to enjoy :)

fine, i'll get over it

As you know, I was a bit reluctant to embrace the new year. But I thought, you know, it doesn't even matter. What difference does it make, if it's 2011 or 2025, or 1974?

What matters most is how I make use of the year.

So here's a (sarcastic) hello to the new year. Finally.

A Sarcastic Hello by Anni B Sweet

Introduced by a friend, a film/arts/music and everything-indie buff. Thanks TAF!

indifferent

from here

caring is creepy

At this hour of the day (or shall I say, night) most of us would be lying in bed, thinking about the day we've gone through.

Some would have dozed off into Dreamland, to encounter the impossibles.

I am no different. As per usual, I'd be lying in my bed, staring into time warp, just replaying some parts of the day, and thinking what could have been, or how different it could be.

I would break the silence as silence would break me. Random songs would be playing in my head, and tonight, it is The Shin's Caring is Creepy.


It is.

When a person starts to care (often too much), creepy things happen. But I don't find any wrong in that.

We just care, and like to care.

But one wonders, if ever, a person would care about her.

And with the notion that there is, there will be, there has to be, someone who cares, somewhere in the world, she dozes off to join the slumber parade.


p/s: i just really miss him. RIP.

match made in music heaven

Hold On by Angus and Julia Stone

Somebody once told me, if you were not to listen to anyone, it would be singers; simply because they don't necessarily know what they're singing about.

But I only partly agree with him. Those who sing from their hearts (vocals and all technicalities aside) do know what they're singing about.

Anyways, it is always such a relief, whenever you find someone who likes the same music as you.

hey listen to me

People talk, here and there. About important things, non-important things, whatever.

Sometimes it's just too much I feel like screaming shut up a*seholes!

I know the person I should be saying that to is probably myself, I'm fond of talking gibberish and nonsense in general that what I say may actually gatecrash people's invisible sanity walls.

I like doing that to people, but don't necessarily like it when people do that to me *pfft selfish ain't she*

But hang on, before you judge (which you might have already), I actually really do listen to people. It's just that sometimes it's tiring.

So how do I filter all that useless trash dialogue the public throw around?

Believe it or not, my ears are powerful; well my mind is, at least (walaw!).

I am a selective listener, so I keep my ears from becoming strained.

The first 50seconds, I will listen attentively. If you got me within that, well, you've got me hooked. If it's not important, or does not catch my fancy, I drop it. Sometimes I pretend to be interested, or a huge proportion of the time, I just wander into other things in my mind.

For you noobs out there, let Yoda help you. You should be grateful, just for my presence in this world.

Here I've got some pointers for you. Read on.

If you want to look interested, but think about something else in a conversation:

1. [If it's a guy] Look at that person's beard/stubs/moustache; it makes you look like you're listening closely, while thinking about what he is saying, but at the same time not giving him the wrong signal by gazing deep into his eyes. Unless you're into him - this is allowed.

2. [If it's a girl] Look at her face in general (don't specify area, the girl will think you're looking at her flaws) and don't ever look away. Even if there's a fly that is bugging you. Or the guy that just passed smelled so good you want to just get a glimpse of his face. Don't.

3. [General] Do not nod your head too much and vary the rapidness of the nods. Ensure good mix of slow nods, and a few vigorous nods where you notice that person is raising his/her voice.

4. Say "hmm" when you sense he/she is asking a question (but you missed it), and follow by saying "I don't know man..really. But I understand what you're saying" It gives the person the assurance he/she needs whilst at the same time, providing enough freedom for he/she to make a decision without you influencing. Win-win.

5. Squint your eyes a little. Not too frequent, just to add some variety to your "attentiveness" in the conversation. For best effect, squint your eyes while looking at the person talking, then blink your eyes slowly and turn away from that person before you open them again. It gives the "thinking far" feel.

6. Tilt your head. This is normally for when someone is talking about how great his/her relationship is going. But you don't really want to hear all about how cute the teddy bear her boyfriend gives her or how his girlfriend has the best body on earth it's alien to humans etc. The more excited the person is talking about it, the closer you position your ear to your shoulder. You can also rest your hand on your elbow, and place your chin in your palm. Don't forget to throw in a little smile here and there.

7. If you suddenly see the person is laughing (which is probably because he/she just cracked a joke that you have no idea what about), cover your mouth with both your hands and face down. If you're supposed to laugh really hard, than cross your arms on the table and put your head on it (facing your knees) and shake your shoulders in a "shivering" manner. Face the speaker once in a while whilst breathing heavily or gasp for air and put a hand on your stomach; indicating you've been laughing real hard. Bang the table a few times, face down, with the combo of all the above if he's still laughing. The key here is: to face down.

TRIVIA: This is because when you laugh, your face actually creates, biologically, some fine lines at the corner of the eyes, and the corners of your mouth - these, you can't fake. So if you don't want to get busted, better hide it.

8.  Put a hand on his/her arm if he/she is telling a sad story. Leave it there. Rub a little, but nothing too extravagant, like hugging etc. The maximum you can go is to put your arm around him/her from the side.

9. Hug him/her from the front, only if he/she is crying (with tears streaming). Make your eyebrows into one straight line, and raise the middle part (where the two eyebrows meet). Turn both your upper and lower lips inward and let out small sighs along the way. Incorporate pointer #8 if need be.

10. Try to counter-attack. This is a weapon for when he/she actually caught you not listening. Begin your sentence with "I know, I'm listening, I'm listening. Just trying to imagine/think". This can be followed by "Hmm..but you know [continue with any counter-reflex statements from his/her previous sentence]" Also, since prevention is better than cure, you can drop here and there when he/she is in mid-sentence with the words "But..don't you think.." and stop there. When he/she asks you what, you tell "No, no, continue. Nothing important"

So, I will stop at #10, before you all start using this against me when I'm talking to you next time. Haha. And just for the record, I normally really listen to people, this is just based on observations on what I think works when you really want to try and listen to people but they are just too boring.

In a way, I'm actually teaching you how to be polite to other people. Hehe. Otherwise, do take the time to really listen to what people are actually really saying (by what they are not saying), rather than just merely listening to the sentences they conjure and throw out to you.

Not saying anything, is also saying something. Think about it. (Walaw! Trying to be deep)

Hope this helps. Goodbye, and be a better listener!

the untying of the ribbon

A small that is big,
A surprise that is expected,
A small surprise.

dude is smart

Stu? What are you doing?
Making chocolate pudding.
It's 4am in the morning, why on Earth are you making chocolate pudding?
Because I have lost control of my life.

- AndyNolastname

Was looking for a song by The Mountain Goats, and found the above by a commentator. Thought it was smart.

A W K W A R D

Disclaimer: highly egocentric, and from a very limited view point of the writer.

Hello World. You are awkward. Yes you, the World. (Don't try to shake your head and cause a dis-orbit)

Some observations to prove:

Observation #1

How you are divided into three categories of people: smokers, second-hand smokers, and non-smokers.

I unwillingly fall into the second category. I have no problems with those who are in the other categories (especially the third), but it always left me in a very awkward spot with the first. When those who smoke, smoke around me, I will most often than not, become a wallflower, eventhough I don't want to. Because then the smokers will feel awkward to smoke around me. Especially when they are smoking while standing, I'm not too sure whether I should cross my arm, stand with a foot in the front, try to act like the smoke they exhale doesn't bug me etc.

I noticed I got the hang of observing smoking friends whom I always hang out with, whether they exhale to the right or to the left, and choose to sit/stand on the opposite so that my hair won't smell of cigarette. It is very awkward.


Observation #2


How you succeed in making me eat my own words. When I say something, for example "I won't ever fall for that kind of dude", I will then fall deeply and madly in love with a guy of that sort and will go for him. Or when I say, "I won't laugh", I will laugh the whole way.

Why do you make me act awkward!


Observation #3


Who invented the lift/elevator? The journey I have to take everyday to work; that 33 floors I have to ride up the elevator can be the most torturous silence I will ever be in. I have no clue how to not make it obvious that I feel awkward or like hide my expression when somebody lets out a "silent killer" that stinks like a soiled underwear, especially when the elevator has mirrors on all four sides. You pretty much can't do anything without anyone trying to look.

Or when there's a cute guy, and you're trying to steal looks, and he caught you looking. How do you hide that blush? (wahhh)

And typical conversations starters will involve whether anyone has eaten (lunch/breakfast/dinner), whether anyone is working late/going back already or how they come to work. And it normally ends there. Major awkwardness.


Observation #4


I am good at this, but I am just wondering how. How I can pretend to laugh real hard at an inappropriate joke told by a boss, a person I've only met for the first time and does not click or have any interest to be so, or a person who tells the joke really badly. Awkward.


Observation #5


How to act when somebody caught you smiling to yourself. I mean, to be able to smile is a basic human right, and these people make it look like you're weird, and stare at you like you're bananas. It's not like there's someone walking around naked.


Observation #6


Awkward-immune people. Those who do not understand how an awkward situation is like. I know I really like to create awkward situations with people for the sake of it, because I like to test how far the mere mortals can put up with such a situation (walaw!), but I know what awkward is.

Some people do awkward things without realizing it is awkward, like for example, a friend I had in school, she was really pretty (we all are --> all girls school, what do you expect), and sweet and all that jazz guys always fall for. In class, she always turns around to talk to me and another friend. One day, she turned around, and while I was talking, she picked her nose. She picked her friggin nose. In front of us. With her index. It was deep. And it was green.

Like what the!

I really don't know how to react to that, and to this day, I'm traumatised. The situation still haunts me in my sleep. I have nightmares coz of it.


Goodbye, I'm going to leave you with an awkward ending. You suck! (try react to that. bahaha)

love lost

Love Lost by The Temper Trap