Music | Due-East.org

Check out Neocha.com for Chinese indie music

孙智谦 on 29 Jun 2008

Are you tired of Chinese popular music? I am. Over all, it stinks. I mean, I’m a huge Jay Chou fan, and I like almost everything Sun Yan Zi and Wang Li Hong put out. But for the most part, Chinese pop music - like pop music everywhere - all sounds the same, and it’s all pretty mediocre. No creativity, no individuality. I really appreciate the traditional Chinese value of putting the group over the individual and not rocking the proverbial boat, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. It absolutely fails when it comes to music. Music is supposed to be creative, so just following along with the crowd definitely doesn’t cut it. Thankfully, in every culture there are always those independent people who like to experiment with new sounds and ideas and create something fresh. (Really, if you haven’t checked out InLove, do it. Yes, Lu, I’m always advertising your music!). I recently came across a post at Lost Laowai reviewing a great site called Neocha (aka “new tea”). I won’t go into what the review says since that would be totally redundant. Just check it out for yourself or head on over to neocha.com to get connected with great (and of course some not-so-great) Chinese indie music.

Rain Vs. Stephen Colbert

孙智谦 on 28 Mar 2008

I never would’ve guessed it, but apparently Stephen Colbert and Korean pop star Rain have been battling for supremacy in the Korean pop scene for years. And based on the examples in the video below, I gotta say that Stephen Colbert has Rain beat hands down. He’s so much more manly and tough and a much better singer than Rain…

Lee Hom, Jeong Hee, and Rain - Perfect Interaction

孙智谦 on 28 Mar 2008

Cross-genre music is awesome, but cross-cultural music is the best. Check out Perfect Interaction (完美的互動) by Wang Li Hong (a.k.a.: Wang Lee Hom), featuring Lim Jeong Hee and Rain (who isn’t actually IN the video for some reason). This song puts me in a good mood when I hear it. Love the sound, and their voices go together perfectly, which is I guess why the song is named what it is. A catchy song in 3 different languages with English subtitles in the upper left of the screen? I can’t ask for a much cooler video experience than that! It’s too bad there aren’t a lot more of these kinds of cross-cultural collaborations in music.

Mariah Carey’s “Ken Lee”

孙智谦 on 24 Mar 2008

I hate American Idol and just about any other “Idol” show, especially the failed auditions. I hate seeing people who think they can sing make fools of themselves in front of a public audience. And I hate seeing people who can sing decently get severely criticized by stuck-up, arrogant judges. But this is pretty awesome. I’m not sure what the language is they’re speaking, but I think it’s Bulgarian? And that’s Eastern Europe, which is close to Asia, so there’s your connection. Plus, Ken Lee sounds like an Asian guy’s name.

Painfully funny, eh? Now I recognize that English isn’t her native language, but seriously…if you’re gonna try to sing a song in a foreign language for any kind of TV show, at least make sure you can properly pronounce the words, especially when they’re pronounced so clearly by the original singer. She gets an F for her overall performance and an A+ for inventing that awesome cockamamie dialect thing…

Hey, Jealousy

孙智谦 on 21 Mar 2008

You know how when you were a kid you’d have these highly implausible fantasies about totally awesome things happening to you, and no matter how unlikely it actually was that those things would ever happen, somewhere deep down inside you thought they might some day? My fantasy when I was a kid was that I would be at my favorite band’s concert and then for whatever reason my thirteen-year-old mind could come up with, I would get invited up on stage to sing along with or instead of the singer of the band. I used to lie in bed at night and drift off to sleep imagining that kind of thing happening. But in the words of Noel Gallagher of Oasis, “While we’re living, the dreams we have as children fade away.” Reality eventually set in, and I realized that kind of thing doesn’t happen…unless you’re a Sammi Cheng fan in Singapore. Check out the video below:

Well, it’s pretty close to the fantasy, anyway. My Cantonese is horrible (read: all but nonexistent), but someone in the comments section on Youtube said something about Sammi making fun of the girl for being fat or not sexy (but in a good-natured way?!). Being called fat in front of thousands of people? That’d sting a bit, but it’s a small price to pay for being given the chance to live out a fantasy like that. The next time I’m at a Jay Chou concert (probably never), I’m bringing a poster that says, “Let me on stage to make a fool of myself in front of thousands!” or maybe just “Can I have Landy Wen’s phone number?”

Paur McCarrney - Or a small Korean child sings Hey Jude

孙智谦 on 16 Mar 2008

This is pretty cute. Not as cute as the 3-year-old girl telling the story of Star Wars, but still cute. And it’s related to Asia, so you’ll watch it and you’ll like it. He can carry a tune pretty well for a child his age! I’ve included lyrics below, so feel free to sing along!

Hey Jude, don make eet bad.
Take a sad song and make it beh-urrr
Rerember to rerrerr into yer haaaar
Then you can staaarrrrr to mrake eet berrer
So rerrir owr an rerember to rerrerr into your haarr
*grunt*
Then you can staaar, hmm, hmm, to make eet beh-rer
hmm, hmm, Hey Jude, mhmmhmm, don mayafray, mhmm, mmh
You rere maydoo cole-owrt in keterr
Remember to rerrer into your har, mhmm, mmh,
Den you can staaar, hmm, hmm
To make eet berrer, berrer, berrer, beherr, beher, aaaaaaaah!!!
*cue awesome guitar solo* Na, na, na, na-na-ah-na, na-na-ah-na, Hey Jude
Do-Do-ee-dut-deh, naaa…

我爱你, by…some guy on Youtube

孙智谦 on 23 Jan 2008

I came across this video on Youtube, and when I first saw that it was a guy with his shirt off singing an original song of his, I thought, “This is gonna be painful to listen to.” But it’s actually a really good song. I really admire people who feel free enough to express their emotions outwardly and are able to channel them in creative ways, so this guy rocks!

I’m bored. Here’s a cool Youtube video.

孙智谦 on 30 Nov 2007

I’ve been really busy with various things lately, so I haven’t had time to review anything or look for any interesting news articles related to Asia, but I did find a cool Youtube video of some good piano playing. I’ve always liked the piano, but I’ve recently fallen in love with it, so I really like this one a lot. And it’s someone playing their interpretation of some of Jay Chou’s stuff, so that makes it even cooler.

The One Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song

孙智谦 on 10 Oct 2007

This doesn’t have anything at all to do with Asia, but it’s totally hilarious, so I thought I’d post it. It’s called The One Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song. I won’t say any more…just check it out and laugh.

Mike, you’re my hero.

First impressions of Jay Chou’s new song 牛仔很忙

孙智谦 on 10 Oct 2007

Sometimes it stinks being in America. Radio stations here aren’t exactly lining up to play the newest Jay Chou songs (or anything else coming out of Asia). But thanks to the Internet, I’ve managed to find a place online to listen to Jay’s newest song 牛仔很忙 (Cowboy On the Run). My first thought was, “Huh???”

I expected something different, but not that different. It’s definitely NOT typical Jay. It’s a complete departure from anything else he’s done to this point. It sounds like something a silly cowboy might sing, and the lyrics are comical rather than touching on on love, loss, and deep personal issues like most of his other songs do.

As for my opinion, I suppose I like it in spite of the fiddle solo and steel guitar, but I don’t know if I could take a whole album of nothing but this kind of song. I kind of wonder if it isn’t totally different from the rest of the album and if he didn’t release this song first just to play with people and get discussion going so that the anticipation of the album’s release would be greater. I also wonder if the promotional posters aren’t just jokes, as well. If so, somebody in marketing deserves a raise because my interest is peaked. If not, I have to give him credit for trying something totally new… I’ll definitely be buying the album regardless.

You can download the song here (right-click, save target as…), or just stream it through your internet connection and read the Chinese lyrics here.

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