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Ashin’s Guide to Music for Running

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

[Ashin has a newish (August 12) blog entry on a subject very close to my heart: music for jogging and running. As a result, I had to translate, but I could not help having a lot of editorial comments - always identified by the brackets - and I'm adding some of my own favorites on the end. :D ]

In so many things we bring music along to keep us company, so no matter how hard they get, they can still be pleasurable.

A long, solitary road trip, an endless wait, because of what’s collected in the mp3 player, is transformed from being dry and dull to being a marvelous journey.

Jogging, with the addition of your favorite music naturally becomes twice as enjoyable!

I’ll share with everyone my “Running Playlist,” version 1.0:

“Welcome to the Jungle,” Guns ‘n’ Roses [amusingly, Ashin misses the plural on the end]
My high school idols, that fierce sounding voice was instantly popular with us “soon-to-be adults.” In this song there’s a rarely seen shift from slow to fast tempo, it’s well-suited for warming up and and accelerating.

[This is a great running song, I agree, though it starts out so fast I can't quite see it for the very start of a run! Two notes. First of all, look how young Axl Rose looks in that video! Amazing. Second of all, Ashin would have been what, 12 when this song was released? 11? I know, because i was 9. 'Course, that same year was the formal end to Marital Law in Taiwan; this makes me wonder if the song only got there when the boys were in high school, or if that's just when he discovered it.]

“Who Am I, Who Am I, Who Am I (我是誰我是誰我是誰),” Magic Power
Magic Power’s songs often have a very steady beat, driving one step in front of the other, very well suited to listening to while jogging. Everyone is occasionally seized by a sense of listlessness; jogging is not only a physical activity, but also kind of therapeutic. I’m just me; when I’m feeling lonely and useless, I can take myself jogging and push all my troubles to the back of my head.

[Preach it! I've always run much more for stress relief than physical health. When I was finishing up my dissertation in grad school, I'd get my best ideas out jogging; for about six months there, I never went without a pen to scribble ideas down on my hand. Of course, that was summer in DC; by the time I'd get home, I'd have sweat them all away!]

“Get Out,” Magic Power
Another MP song, just like “Who Am I, Who Am I, Who Am I” (that song title is so long!), the song “Get Out” is really inspiring when you’re getting tired and short of breath.

[I don't know Magic Power at all - no opinion one way or the other, as I confess looking up these links was the first time I've listened to any of their songs. I'm always a little skeptical of a band with a designated DJ - it's just not my kind of music usually. But if they've got good songs for running, perhaps I should give them a try. I did not fail to notice, of course, the heavy emphasis on B'in Music artists on this list, though....]

“Jump – Remix by Stone,” Mayday
Listening to one of our own songs while running seems weird, I’m always a little worried that I’ll be out on the road and start singing along. But Stone’s remix fills me with energy.

“To Be With You,” Mr. Big
In high school, this band was the idol of everyone in a band, every musician’s skill honed to perfection. As it turns out, an incredible band can get huge fame starting from a single, simple love song, ha.

[I don't think there was anyone at my school who was not obsessed with this song. We all thought it was so romantic and poetic, especially "waiting on a line of greens and blues...."]

“Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy,” Mr. Big
Another of Mr. Big’s famous songs. These days, following my mi Coach day and night, I think a lot of people will find the mi Coach to be just as close as your “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy.”

“SHERO,” S.H.E
Because of producing responsibilities, a mid-production version of this song has always been with me. What makes it different from your version is that mine has S.H.E singing an a cappella version of [erm] “Beethoven’s Fifth” at the beginning.

[Did S.H.E have a song called, "命運交響曲"? Are there, um, lyrics to this? Now, as much as it kills me to confess this, I can sort of see the chorus of "SHERO" being good to run to, at least for people unlike me who do not feel compelled to pull their own hair out every time S.H.E starts singing. For me, the song might interfere with my pacing.]

“My Adidas,” Run DMC
Don’t be skeptical; a heavyweight American music group really did once write a song called “My Adidas.” And it’s absolutely not any kind of advertising song – it was because in African American society, having a pair of Adidas shoes was apparently like having wealth to flaunt and collect, hah.

[Of course, Ashin does not mention that the song was originally released in 1986. On a somewhat related note, I often wish I could get Ashin to come and audit my general history courses. I just sort of think he could use a better grounding in such things, if his lyrics are any indication.]

“Night Cat (夜貓),” Della Ding
When I first heard 831 band member Uplee’s demo for this song I liked it right away – I’ve always liked music that combined rock + dance music elements. This song’s dance moves are really interesting; next time Show Luo “pays his respects to a queen of dance” he could add this dance. :)

[Hahaha... I *love* Snarky!Ashin. So much fun. And at least he recognizes that this song was just Ding Dang channeling Jolin....]

“Let’s Break Up (分手吧),” Della Dang
Another one having to do with producing; I have three production versions of this song on my Walkman. Uplee took charge of the arrangement – it starts as an acoustic guitar ballad, then suddenly turns into rock at the chorus. The bridge is particularly unusual; every time I hear it I smile as I run.

[That's all well and good, but my running playlist has the original A-yue version of this song, and I admit I do prefer it. Though this song does raise the question: did B'in Music buy up all of A-yue's back catalog for Della to cover??]


“Love Foolosophy,” Jamiroquai
This band’s music has a kind of lasting charm no matter when you hear it. Disco+Funk style, combined with wearing my [Adidas] “Clima Cool [cool breeze]” shoes, makes each step like a bursting cool breeze.

“Cosmic Girl,” Jamiroquai
Another Jamiroquai song; I have to wonder whether this band’s drummer might also be wearing “cool breeze” shoes while hitting the bass drum?

[Wow, Ashin gets his funk on. This begs the question: does he by any chance have a little ABBA in there to run to?]

Okay then, next time I have a chance I’ll share more with everyone.

If you have any running advice of your own, you’re welcome to stop by and leave a message. I’ll also share my experiences with you! :)

http://www.runyourselfbetter.com

Mayday’s 5K Challenge is underway!

***

Okay, that’s the end of Ashin’s playlist, but here are a few of my own favorites for running:

“City (城市),” sodagreen
In spite of the fact that they never seem to play it in concert, this is one of my favorite sodagreen songs, and one I like no matter what the occasion. As it happens, though, this is also an awesome warm-up song. Start with stretches, getting out the door, maybe walking a bit to get going, and then by the second verse, start the jog. By the time it swells near the end, you’re running.

“A Petal of Freedom,” Glay
This song maintains a decent beat all along, has a few tidbits of English that are nice for those of us with no Japanese and therefore no real sense of what the song is about, and in a couple places the music swells to a climax that makes me want to run faster and – if at all possible – embrace the air. It’s hard to describe, but it just makes me feel happy. Must be all that “Don’t Worry” business – I mentioned earlier that I run to relieve stress, and this song really helps.

“Back to Black,” Amy Winehouse
This is a good early-to-mid run pacing song. Nice beat, not too fast, fun to listen to.

“OK,” A-yue
When I’m running, the rule is: if it’s A-yue, I want to hear it. :P

“Prince Noodles (王子麵),” Kid & Dream (i.e. Mayday’s Monster and Ashin + Stephanie Sun)
I switch up the Mayday songs on my playlist pretty frequently, and I admit for running I lean more old-school: “Motor Rock,” “Chu Chu Chu” (even with its annoying slow-down on the bridge), “People Life, Ocean Wild,” etc. But this song seems to stay on the list no matter how much I move around the others.


“Lover, You Should Have Come Over,” Jeff Buckley
Another song which, despite the frequently meloncholy tone of the lyrics, just makes me almost perversely happy with the swelling of the music. It’s an odd choice for exercise, I imagine, but I love the lyrics and the feel of it so I’m always glad to have it come on.

“I’m Not Jay Chou (我不是周杰倫),” Totem Band
Another good pacing song, and I do love the touch of cowboy-oriented snark as they mumble the lyrics. :)

“Them (他們),” P.K.14
Another great pacing song with a good beat. Admittedly, the switch up at the chorus can throw you off a bit, but I run around a lot of corners so they never seem to faze me.

“Loved Wrongly (愛錯),” Leehom Wang
This is my running uphill song. Seriously. The good beat doesn’t really kick in until over a minute in, but it always gives me a push when I’m at a “heartbreak hill” (i.e. something steep and near the end of a run). It might be that I’m picturing all the sweaty shirtless boxing in the video, but hey, whatever motivates you, right?

“Mama Told Me Not to Come,” Three Dog Night
Near the end of a run, this is a great song for keeping momentum. Actually, I’ll run to just about anything Three Dog Night, with “Let Me Serenade You” scoring high as another favorite.

“Bad Romance,” Lady Gaga
Admittedly, this is the only Lady Gaga song I know. I’m a little behind on the English Top 40 at the moment, but this is a GREAT song for the end of a run. I always look for it on my iPod shuffle for the last half mile, when you want to speed up and finally sprint in.

Anyway, here’s hoping Ashin posts some more of his running suggestions! I’m always on the lookout for good songs for the playlist.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Ding Dang, Leehom Wang, Mayday, Sodagreen | 2 Comments »

21st Golden Melody Awards Nominations

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

I missed this coming out on Friday, though that’s not terribly shocking since my nifty Google Alerts have gone haywire given all the Google trauma here lately. Plus I spent all day yesterday at the Shanghai Expo (forget what anyone else tells you; the REAL “can’t miss” pavilions are Mongolia, with its awesome dinosaur bones, and North Korea, which features a propaganda video in which a woman ice skates while juggling live birds. The mind boggles), so I wouldn’t have had time to translate even if I’d seen it. But the time has come to consider the list, which has so much to bring joy to the masses.

First of all, Cowboy Jay didn’t release an album last year, so he’s absent from the whole thing. Yes, he’s been absent before, and yes, so are Mayday and Leehom (who also did not release albums), but a cowboy-free (and S.H.E./Fahrenheit-free) year is still meant to be savored. Second of all, look at sodagreen! Not to mention the Superband, Tanya Chua, Cheer Chen, Deserts Chang, David Tao, Crowd Lu, 1976, and Totem Band. There’s a lot to like here. I’m not sure I get the logic behind nominating sodagreen twice for Best Band – it’s not like an award for a specific song or album, and the number of nominees is rather high this year. Plus, it could end up working against them, like Ashin last year with the best lyrics dual nomination – it splits their vote. Of course, if it split their vote and, say, 1976, Superband, or Totem won, then no worries from me. :D

Now for my annual disclaimers: I’ve tried to use official English titles where I know them or can easily find them; otherwise, you get my best guess. I often give the name of the artist in brackets after the entry. Once we get into production categories, I list the songs or albums nominated, not the people (since for most of them, we don’t have any reason to know the producers). I also edit the list for the categories I’m interested in and where I know the artists (i.e. I leave out classical and non-Mandarin categories); you can see the full thing here. So without further ado, the nominations.

Song of the Year (最佳年度歌曲獎):
“Riding a White Horse (身騎白馬),” Lala Shu《徐佳瑩 LALA創作專輯》[Lala Shu]
“Come If You Dare (好膽你就來),” A-Mit 《A-MIT 阿密特 張惠妹意識專輯》[A-mei]
“Singing in the Trees (在樹上唱歌),” Singing in the Trees《在樹上唱歌》[Claire Kuo]
“Desperado (亡命之徒),” North Bound《北上列車》 [Superband]
“Fish (魚),” Immortal《太陽》[Cheer Chen]

Mandarin Album of the Year (最佳國語專輯獎):
If You See Him (若你碰到他) [Tanya Chua]
Hui Wei (回蔚) [Karen Mok - I can't find an English title, but the second character is part of her name, so like "returning to Karen"]
Lala Shu (徐佳瑩 LALA創作專輯) [Lala Shu]
A-MIT (A-MIT 阿密特 張惠妹意識專輯) [A-mei Chang]
Immortal (太陽) [Cheer Chen]

Best Music Video (最佳音樂錄影帶獎)
“Master (主人),” Innocent《赤子innocent》 [Mavis Fan & 100%]
“Daylight (日光),” Daylight of Spring 《春．日光》[sodagreen]
“Eat What You See (看見什麼吃什麼),” Senses Around《感官 世界》[Yoga Lin]
“Jimmy Baby (吉米寶貝),” Seven Days《七天》[Crowd Lu]
“I Come to the Seaside (我行來海邊),” Celebrations of Our Incomparable Selves – 2009 Taiwan Original Music Awards Album《98年臺灣原創流行音樂大獎作品輯「風神之歌」》[沈懷一]
“Come If You Dare (好膽你就來),” A-MIT 《A-MIT 阿密特 張惠妹意識專輯》[A-mei]
“A Trouble Like This (這樣的一個麻煩), Fifth Floor Bliss《上五樓的快活》[Eason Chan]

Best Composition (最佳作曲人獎)
Tanya Chua (蔡健雅), “Parabola (拋物線),” If You See Him《若你碰到他》
Shu Lala (徐佳瑩)、Su Tongda (蘇通達), “Riding a White Horse (身騎白馬),” Shu Lala《徐佳瑩 LALA創作專輯》[Shu Lala]
Qingfeng Wu (吳青峯), “Lost It (掉了),” A-MIT《A-MIT 阿密特 張惠妹意識專輯》[A-mei]
Chen Xiaoxia (陳小霞／), “Singing in the Trees (在樹上唱歌),” Singing in the Trees《在樹上唱歌》[Claire Kuo]
Cheer Chen (陳綺貞), “Fish (魚),” Immortal《太陽》[Cheer Chen]

Best Lyrics (最佳作詞人獎)
Yao Ruolong (姚若龍), “Needle in my Heart (心裡有針),” Dreamers《愛作夢的人》[Ricky Hsiao]
Lin Xi (林夕) “Getting Straight to the Point (開門見山),” A-MIT《A-MIT 阿密特 張惠妹意識專輯》[A-mei Chang; song title is literally, "Open the Door and See Mountains."
Qingfeng Wu (吳青峯), "Lost It (掉了)," A-MIT《A-MIT 阿密特 張惠妹意識專輯》[A-mei Chang]
Superband (縱貫線), “Desperado (亡命之徒),” North Bound《北上列車》[Superband]
Cheer Chen (陳綺貞), “Fish (魚),” Immortal《太陽》[Cheer Chen]

Best Arrangement (最佳編曲人獎 )
“Daylight (日光),” Daylight of Spring《春．日光》 [sodagreen]
“Slippery Love Song (溜溜的情歌),” Hui Wei《回蔚》[Karen Mok]
“A Tale of Two Chens (雙陳記),” A Tale of Two Chens《雙陳記》[Sandee Chan and Kimmy Chen]
“Riding a White Horse (身騎白馬),” Shu Lala《徐佳瑩 LALA創作專輯》[Lala Shu]
“Come If You Dare (好膽你就來),” A-MIT 《A-MIT 阿密特 張惠妹意識專輯》[A-mei]

Best Album Production (最佳專輯製作人獎)
Ricky Hsiao (蕭煌奇), Dreamers (愛作夢的人)
Tanya Chua (蔡健雅), If You See Him (若你碰到他)
Will Lin (林暐哲), Daylight of Spring (春．日光)
Zhang Yadong (張亞東), Hui Wei (回蔚)
Adizai (阿弟仔), A-MIT (A-MIT 阿密特 張惠妹意識專輯)
Zhong Chenghu (鍾成虎), Immortal (太陽)
Li Yunling (李昀陵)、Shi Jiahao (石家豪)、Yachun Asta Tzeng (曾雅君), Yachun Asta Tzeng (曾雅君)

Best Production of a Single (最佳單曲製作人獎)
“A Tale of Two Chens (雙陳記),” A Tale of Two Chens《雙陳記》[Sandee Chan and Kimmy Chen]
“Riding a White Horse (身騎白馬),” Shu Lala《徐佳瑩 LALA創作專輯》[Lala Shu]
“Master (主人),” Innocent《赤子innocent》 [Mavis Fan & 100%]
“Mulan’s Passion (木蘭情),” Hua Mulan Original Motion Picture Soundrack《花木蘭電影原聲帶》[Stephanie Sun]
“Not So Simple (沒那麼簡單),” Tiger Huang, Simple or Not?《黃小琥 簡單/不簡單》[Tiger Huang]

Best Male Mandarin Artist (最佳國語男歌手獎)
J.J. Lin (林俊傑), J.J. Lin 100 Days (JJ林俊傑 100天)
David Tao (陶喆), Opus 69 (六九樂章)
Eason Chan (陳奕迅), Fifth Floor Bliss (上五樓的快活)
Khalil Fong (方大同), Timeless (可啦思刻)
Jam Hsiao (蕭敬騰), Princess 王妃

Best Female Mandarin Artist (最佳國語女歌手獎)
Tanya Chua (蔡健雅), If You See Him (若你碰到他)
Karen Mok (莫文蔚), Hui Wei (回蔚)
A-mei Chang (張惠妹), A-MIT (A-MIT 阿密特 張惠妹意識專輯)
Deserts Chang (張懸), City (城市)
Tiger Huang (黃小琥), Simple or Not (黃小琥 簡單/不簡單)
Cheer Chen (陳綺貞), Immortal (太陽)

Best Band (最佳樂團獎)
Kou Chou Ching (拷秋勤), Kou Chou Ching Presents: Unsung Heroes (拷秋勤Presents：無名英雄)
Superband (縱貫線), North Bound (北上列車)
sodagreen (蘇打綠), Summer/Fever (夏/狂熱)
sodagreen (蘇打綠), Daylight of Spring (春．日光)
Mavis Fan & 100% (范曉萱、100%樂團), Innocent (赤子)
Totem Band (圖騰樂團), Shephard Boy (放羊的孩子)
1976, Manic Pixie Dream Girl (不合時宜)

Best Performing Group (最佳演唱組合獎)
Marshmallow Katncandix2 (棉花糖), Fly Away (小飛行) [I'm totally making up their English name - I tried to find it, but came up empty. (Thanks for the help, hobielover!)]
Come On! Bay Bay! (來吧！焙焙！), Fearlessness and Tolerance (無所畏懼與寬容)
DaXiMen (大囍門), DaXiMen X Album (大囍門X專輯)
SUPER JUNIOR M, SUPER GIRL
Power Station (動力火車), Moving On (繼續轉動)

I skipped the new artists – I just don’t know any of them and have lost momentum on looking things up. If I find the time, I may add it later!

Update: Christine very kindly supplied the new artists translation in the comments (thanks so much, Christine!):

Best Newcomer (最佳新人獎)
Shadya Lan (藍又時), Shadya Lan Secret First Album (藍又時 秘密 1號創作專輯)
A Chord Hsieh (謝和弦), Nothing But A Chord (雖然很芭樂)
Shu Lala (徐佳瑩), Lala Shu Self-composed Album (徐佳瑩 LALA創作專輯)
Alisa Gao (高以愛), Alisa (Alisa高以愛)
Soft Lipa Dan Bao (蛋堡), Soft Lipa presents: WINTER SWEET

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Cheer Chen, Mandopop, Sodagreen | 12 Comments »

2009: Total Girl Power Year

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Yeah, I absolutely didn’t realize it at the time. But I was just trying to think of my 10 favorite Mandopop album purchases from the last year, and I came up with (in no particular order):

1. Cheer Chen (陳綺貞), Immortal (太陽)
2. Deserts Chang (張懸), A City (城市)
3. Tizzy Bac, If I See Hell, I Won’t Fear the Devil (如果看見地獄，我就不怕魔鬼)
4. Tanya Chua (蔡健雅), If You See Him (若你碰到他)
5. Mrs. This (這位太太), Am I Not Good Enough (我是不是還不夠好 )
6. Won Fu (旺福), Won Fu Loves You (旺福愛你)
7. Joanna Wang, Joanna & 王若琳
8. sodagreen (蘇打綠), Daylight of Spring / Fever – Heat of Summer (春.日光/ 夏.狂熱)**
9. Totem Band (圖騰), Shepherd Child (放羊的孩子)
10. David Tao (陶喆), Opus 69 (六九樂章)

Honorable Mention: Superband (縱貫線), North Bound Mega EP (北[上]列車). It didn’t make the list because it’s only an EP (albeit a six-song “mega” EP), not a full album. But seriously, “Desperado” is fantastic, as is pretty much anything those four men touch. I smile every time I remember their concert in Chengdu.

**To be totally honest, I’m not sure if sodagreen’s Spring or Summer would make the list by itself on its own merits, but my iPod playlist that combines the two and leaves out the really bizarre English sections from the latter album is pretty great, so I cheated and included them as a duo. I continue to suspect that all the “Vivaldi Project” albums together will probably equal either one stellar disc or a great two-disc set… leaving the rest of the songs inescapably as filler. Thanks to Xinyi, though, sodagreen is part of the Girl Power trend, making it an impressive 8 out of 10. Compared to my list from last year (below), that’s a HUGE change.

Now, I’m sure there were other fantastic albums released last year, but these are my top ten based on what I know and have heard. Somehow, even living in China has not prevented me from being perpetually behind on new releases, probably because I work to much. (And that, by the way, is the Official Blogging Theme of 2009, because my post count was way down this year. My new year’s resolution: post when I can, and stop making excuses for the rest of the time.) But anyway….. what good albums did I miss??

Now, just because I never did manage to post it, here’s my list of my top ten album purchases in 2008:

1. Mayday (五月天), Poetry of the Day After (後。青春期的詩)
2. Fusion, If the Future (如果未來)
3. P.K.14, City Weather Sailing (城市天氣航行)
4. backQuarter (四分衛), World (世界)
5. 1976, Asteroid (這個星球)
6. Milk@Coffee (牛奶@咖啡), The Older, the Lonelier（越长大越孤单）
7. Crowd Lu (盧廣種), 100 Ways of Living (100種生活)
8. sodagreen (蘇打綠), Sing With Me (陪我歌唱)
9. Cape No. 7 Original Movie Soundtrack (海角七號 電影原聲帶)
10. 13 Band （拾參樂團), The Horse-Faced Sailor’s Summer (馬臉水手的夏天）

Honorable Mentions: Xu Wei (许巍), Love Like Youth (爱如少年). The Bob Dylan of mainland Mando-rock/pop/easy listening. Leehom Wang (王力宏), Heart.Beat (心。跳). Half cheesy pop, lots of dodgy lyrics, some innovations that don’t quite work, but man, the boy can sing. And he is constantly reinventing himself, which I admire and respect even when I don’t like the outcome.

Albums I’m looking for in 2010: Fusion’s second album will come out eventually, right? Leehom should be releasing something new soon, and he’s supposedly staying with the “chinked-out rock” concept, which I like in theory even if I cannot stand the first effort (“What’s Wrong with Rock… and the whole world when I’m hearing this song…”). Autumn and/or Winter should be on deck from sodagreen over the course of the year (late in the year, I’d imagine). I haven’t seen Peng Tan’s acoustic album (slated for December) yet, so we’ll see when that materializes. Hmm, I must be missing people, but I’m not sure who. Certain cowboys who shall remain nameless have albums coming in the next two months, but that’s more of a “can’t turn away from a train wreck” curiosity than actual anticipation.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Cheer Chen, Fusion Band, Leehom Wang, Mandopop, Mayday, Sodagreen | 4 Comments »

Welcome to 2010!

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

Happy New Year! Seriously, I cannot understand where this last year has gone. I finally have my “top ten albums of 2008″ ready to go, and here we are with another one down. On the bright side, if you are feeling overwhelmed by the ever-changing nature of modern life, take some comfort in the world of Mandopop, where a remarkable consistency can be seen. For example:

1. Ashin is filming awkwardly “romantic” scenes with new girls he can’t quite look straight in the eye again; this time, it’s a 7-Eleven commercial with Penny Patty Hou and there’s no kissing, so the attempt is at least respectable. (Except when he’s supposed to have his arms around her in the print ad; sad, Ashin, so NOT rock-n-roll!) Penny Patty, on the other hand, gets all the best gigs ever since she had the good sense to get dumped by Cowboy Jay; she also sang with A-yue back on his OK album. I think her star continues to rise. Also, 7-Eleven commercials seem to provide a very rare opportunity to see Ashin out of clothing with large cartoon bears or Hello Kitty on it.

2. Ashin was, however, running around rehearsing for the Taipei New Year’s concert in the official Bad Pants Choice ‘09, the jeans with the words “StayReal” in huge letters across the ass. In 2010, Ashin, Just Say No to dodgy denims. I’m very busy, but I’d be willing to consult if it would keep you away from these poor choices in trousers. (Apologies if you started watching that and got blasted with an unexpected bout of S.H.E. halfheartedly singing along with their soundtrack.)

3. Most of the news this week was taken over by the annual “who was performing where on New Year’s” thing, which is always just a little bit dull. But, spicing things up a bit this year, here’s sodagreen’s performance on the Jiangsu Satellite Television New Year’s Show, which was broadcast the other night (even if it wasn’t taped, then, ahem. Sodagreen was performing in Guangzhou for the night itself). That show was headlined by the Superband, offering the nation an opportunity to ogle A-yue, which essentially means it was fifty-thousand times better than the Hunan Satellite Television New Year’s show, which was mostly boy bands and poplets. *sigh* If only the Jiangsu Satellite Television New Year’s show had been on New Year’s, and, you know, in Jiangsu. I could have pilgrimaged out to see all my favorite boys (and Xinyi).

4. Speculation is flying over the girl accompanying Leehom out to the New Year’s concerts. This, of course, is a favorite party game: who is Leehom dating? (Played with the accompanying bonus round, “Is Leehom gay?” which he then periodically denies in song.) Well, rest assured fangirls, it was his cousin. (Um, yawn.) In that article he also talks about seeing his nieces and nephews, who are still small but have clearly defined gender roles: the boys like trains and cars and the girls like princess outfits and ballet dancing. Suggestion, Uncle Leehom: buy those girls a cool science kit. They’ll thank you later. (Leehom has some interesting stuff going on right now; his movie with Jackie Chan is coming out at some point, he’s the spokesman for the Taipei pavilion at the Shanghai Expo next year, and he recently recorded a duet with Teresa Teng to serve as the theme song for the pavilion. She’s been gone for many years, of course, but modern technology is a wonderful thing. Coincidentally, I *also* love Taipei.)

Then, of course, in every bit of consistency there must be at least one glaring exception; oh, but my dears, what an exception.

Cowboy Jay did not release an album in 2009.

Oh, it’s glorious. A year without him dominating the awards ceremonies in spite of all the reasons why his latest album is derivative and boring and totally undeserving. Ah, the sound of silence. And to think I mocked his acting career; I take it all back. Sadly, I think he’s going to hit us early in 2010, and even more sadly, he supposedly wrote his latest in his “free time” while recording two films and a panda-themed superhero soap opera, which in general does not bode well. But I remain hopeful that the pattern of knee-jerk accolades will have been broken, and we will return to the early years when Cowboy Jay was actually – *gasp* – judged on his merits. Oh, I can hope.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Cowboy Jay, Leehom Wang, Mayday, Sodagreen | 7 Comments »

In which I admit I don’t understand Chinese t.v. among other things

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

If the Mayday NFL program is broadcasting anywhere at any time, I haven’t found it yet. But here are more behind the scenes videos, and here’s another article with pictures of the trip. (I think my favorite part of that video is the bit where they get the posters from the Redskins Cheerleaders. Ding Dang, if you’d like a shirtless Adrian Peterson picture, just let me know and I’ll hook you up. Fair’s fair.)

Meanwhile, the Jiangsu Satellite Television station is hosting its annual New Year’s concert… in Guangzhou. Which, you’ll recall, is not in Jiangsu Province. Nowhere near Jiangsu Province, actually. But I suppose if Hunan Satellite Television could host its Chinese New Year concert in Las Vegas, then there’s no reason for Jiangsu to host its show in Jiangsu. The rumors are flying that that event which I have least anticipated might occur at the show: F4 might reunite in concert. I generally keep an eye out for Vanness and ignore the rest of the crew, but in general I consider any event where they do not simply appear, but actually sing, as a not particularly good thing.

Ashin’s endorsements notwithstanding, do they really wear makeup?
Okay, away from the television. Someone needs to teach some of the people working for Mayday that “they haven’t put on any make-up” is not a particularly rock-n-roll excuse for refusing pictures. Unless you’re part of a glam rock outfit or KISS, which they decidedly are not. Well, usually.

They really formed a Superband just to get girls…
When asked if the fearsome foursome (Lo Ta-yu, Jonathan Lee, Wakin Chau, and my beloved A-yue) ever go out to pick up women together, they all answered that of course they did. In fact, lots of female fans make them give better shows. I keeps seeing references to the idea that of the four, Jonathan Lee is the only one actually single; if that’s the case, can I just say: Mr. Lee, maybe it’s your haircut?

David Tao is taking Woodstock
With his new rock-themed album, David Tao is taking to the mainland on a tour that will include some of his rock songs and some of his favorite songs from the 60s and 70s. (If the picture accompanying that article is any indication, he’s also sporting some of the contemporary wardrobe on stage.) Tongues are waggling, however, at his choice of venue for his concert next month in Shanghai – he’s playing the Gymnastics Center, not even the Grand Stage (i.e. where sodagreen played for its first mainland voyage last year… a venue that seats only 4,000 and doesn’t normally host artists of his caliber). He says he’s going for a more intimate feel; some speculation that his star is falling is pretty much inevitable. I’d run off to Shanghai to support him, except that he’s saving me the trouble and playing Nanjing earlier in the month.

Ashin is saved from jumping in the river
Mayday is gearing up for their concert in Guangzhou this month, and ticket sales are at around 80%, saving the band from worry and Ashin from jumping into the Pearl River. “It’s the fans that saved me,” he acknowledged. (BTW, I find that headline on that article very odd. I almost mistook it for an article about a Shin concert before I started reading.) Putting pressure on sales are other big acts taking Guangzhou in the near future, such as the personified proof of the decline of civilization, Lollipop (which acknowledges that they’re not as handsome as F4 or as musical as Mayday, but they excel in being… people-friendly?) To reward fans at the Mayday concert, they’re giving out “ring lights” to some fans, and organizing a sing-a-long to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Um, see above about teaching some of Mayday’s staff about how to be a bit more rock-n-roll.

It’s not an honor to be nominated, it’s an insult not to be
The nominees for the 9th Annual Global Chinese Music Awards are out, and I’d be hard pressed to name people who weren’t nominated in one of the eight major categories. They have sixty nominees for the “top twenty songs,” and right there, I can tell you that you do not care much about the outcome of this one, because if Leehom’s Hannah Montana send-up “What’s With Rock” is one of even the top twenty songs last year, then I take back everything I said above about the decline of civilization – civilization is gone. Anarchy reigns.

Then, of course, they have a whole category dedicated to duets, which only serves to encourage people to write more soppy, mediocre his-and-her bubblegum pop or ballads. (Note: do not, under any circumstances, go listen to all of them. First of all, you’ll drown in sap. Second of all, you’ll be singing “Na, na, na” for the rest of your life. I heard five seconds of that song walking down the street on Saturday and was singing it for hours, with nothing more to go on than “na, na, na.”)

But here’s the real problem: there are 23 nominees for best male artist, 17 for best female artist, and 15 groups – so by this point, if you haven’t been nominated for *something* you probably have not appeared on the radio anywhere in the Chinese speaking world in the last year. Except if you’re a band. There are only three band nominees: Mayday, sodagreen, and Nand (与非门). Um… are you kidding? That’s all they could come up with for bands? It’s all wrong, very, very wrong. But they’ll hand out the awards anyway this week in Beijing.

…And speaking of things that are all wrong…
And speaking of duets, and speaking of Cowboy Jay (indirectly; he’s on the nominee list a few times in various categories), I had a brief reminder this week of why I so dislike certain cowboys personally no matter how good or crappy I find their music. After reading a thread on the Chinese Music Blog, I looked up news about Cowboy Jay’s duet with a new singer, the Texas-born Cindy Yen. She seems musical and apparently writes all her own music, which sounds like good news in spite of her having written a pretty dull duet to sing with her label’s boss, the Cowboy himself.

In the middle of this article promoting Cindy’s new career, Cowboy Jay mentions that, “Cindy’s piano performance is really incredible! She’s equally matched with Yuhao, but for a girl to be able to play at that speed and with such energy is really cool and surprising!”

For a girl? Can’t he even pretend not to be a sexist pig? You know, just when speaking for public consumption?

All I can say is, Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Cowboy Jay, Ding Dang, Leehom Wang, Mayday, Sodagreen | 7 Comments »

Why like sodagreen?

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

[I liked the writing in this commentary, so I translated it in its entirety. I don't have the new album yet - still waiting - so I totally and completely invented the English versions of the song titles without any reference to the actual lyrics.]

Why like sodagreen? Because you and I are the same, not too high nor too low a level of education, not too much nor too little musical experience, not too great nor too bad a life, not too old nor too young in age, wanting a little excitement but nothing too intense, wanting something a bit alluring but not too enthralling, wanting something a little bit daring but not too addicting; in sodagreen you can find a little bitterness, a little low-cost ruckus, a little breath of youthful defiance, a little rebelliousness to go with your clean collar and heterogeneous thinking.

Summer: Fever is a London-produced, Brit-rock concept album, as well as the sequel to the last album, Daylight of Spring. Qingfeng is at his creative peak, writing more great songs than ever; listening to “You Made My Summer (你夏了夏天),” “He Made My Summer (他夏了夏天),” that splendidly bright singing, expresses a kind of freedom that comes with youth.

Summer: Fever is a work that stresses the whole, not a single track. “Cicada Thoughts (蝉想)” and “Encircled (包围)” have a penetrating rock attitude, whereas the raucous nature of “Yu Garden (御花园)” and “Peter and the Wolf (彼得与狼)” reveal a passion that cannot be restrained; love song “Sleepless (无眠)” is ever so slow, ever so intoxicating, the two inserted English poems revealing a scholarly rock and roll attitude.

If you were a little bit older, you’d like the Superband (纵贯线); if a little bit younger, you’d be infatuated with Mayday. Compared to foreign music fans, we’re forever lacking a Beatles, so sodagreen is a mirage we use to make up for music’s shortcomings. If we take sodagreen, Mayday and the Superband together, that’s the place that the Beatles have in the hearts of European and American music fans; because we’ve never had it, our sense of deficiency is stronger and more confused, endlessly wanting to fill in the blank space.

[Side note: Am I actually too old to like Mayday? As I have noted probably a few too many times before, I'm younger than Masa... but not by much. Hmm. Interesting that sodagreen - the youngest of the three groups - gets the in-between berth, and Mayday the teeny-boppers. It makes sense to me in terms of their music; I just find it interesting that it's taken as a truism that Mayday doesn't appeal to people over thirty who didn't essentially grow up with the band.

I also love and adore the Beatles, acknowledge the profound influence they had on music history, but still think it is possible to overstate the importance of having a "Chinese Beatles" that can somehow be all things to all people. Not even the Beatles were that - it is ridiculously easy to find people who think everything about them was and remains overrated. Having Mayday, sodagreen and the Superband, however, ain't half bad. Strangely, all three perform in Nanjing or Shanghai sometime in the next month. Perhaps the Jiangsu-Shanghai corridor is actually some sort of Mandopop nirvana?]

Update: thanks to inkblueraindrops for the edit!

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Mayday, Sodagreen | 13 Comments »

Just a little (more) Superbanding

Monday, August 10th, 2009

So, remember that Superband album I supposedly bought on my way out of China in June? Yeah, it was not so much a real Superband album as it was a dodgy set of random songs from each of the four guys’ previous careers that was being sold like a real album in the normally reliable Xinhua bookstore. I confess I suspect that the publisher did not have full copyright to publish this either, though of course it is China, so who knows. But still, quite annoying.

Here’s good news, though, for everyone (like me) so excited about a REAL Superband album that you’ve taken to inadvertently buying knock-offs, the guys still promise the album is coming. And soonish, though I’m still not sure if there’s a date set. In the meantime, they’ll be interviewed on Sina on the 11th. I just learned they’re going to be continuing the tour when I get back to China in September… I might just need to see them live one more time. You know, just to get the full experience.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue) | No Comments »

The Superband, in Concert

Monday, July 20th, 2009

In honor of the Superband (縱貫線) performance in Singapore this weekend, I thought I’d finally post my thoughts on their concert in Chengdu last May. Yes, this is horribly delinquent, though not nearly as delinquent as my half-finished “Cheer Chen in Shanghai” post from March. Or, for that matter, my “favorite albums of 2008” post from January. What on earth is going on with me? Well, in the last year I transitioned from perpetual student to gainfully employed adult, and that has been very hard on my free time. I mean, I never felt like I had free time as a student, but as it turned out, there was still plenty of time to avoid working on my dissertation. Once I was writing four lectures a week and plotting exams and grading papers and keeping up my own research, that old free time dwindled to next to nothing. (*sigh*)

I’ve managed to maintain my Mandopop devotion, however, and I state with some pride (and a touch of embarrassment) that I actually made it to six concerts last year in China (three in Shanghai, two in Nanjing and one in Chengdu). I have a ticket for Mayday in Nanjing in September, too, so we’re already off to the races for next year. Moreover, I still have so much I want to write about, so even though I’ve been slowed down on my posting, the project goes on. New Mayday translations should also be posted in the next few days.

Now, the Superband. Before I get too far into this, I should note that why yes, actually, I do completely have a crush on Chang Chen-yue. Do not expect unbiased reporting when he’s involved. ☺ Even without that motivation, though, I think I still would have made an effort to go see the Superband in concert. But why Chengdu? Well, Shanghai was last week (i.e. when I was already back in the U.S. for the summer), and I’ve been to Hangzhou before… Chengdu was a place I’ve wanted to visit for a while, so I took the Superband concert as a sort of excuse to go.

Now, about the concert itself. If anyone ever has a chance to see a show in the Chengdu stadium, I highly recommend it; it is an open-air venue right in the middle of downtown, so sitting there relaxing into the music and glancing up at the night sky was heavenly.

I had wondered when the whole Superband concept was launched last year about what exactly A-yue’s role in the whole thing would be. Was he an afterthought? Necessary for drumming skills? A convenient solo artist also at Rock Records? An attempt to cash in on the younger audience? Seeing and hearing the band perform, however, I rather got the impression that far from being the odd-man-out, he’s really the crux of the whole thing. When the band played as a foursome, they played more of A-yue’s songs than any other; their signature single is still the A-yue written, “Runaway (亡命之徒).”Not to mention the fact that there were more light up signs with his name on them than there were for any other member. That’s not to say that the rest of the band (Jonathan Lee, Wakin Chau and Lo Da-yu) didn’t have their own fair share of fans. I sat next to a mother and daughter who had clearly come to the concert together. The mother looked to be in her late 40s; the daughter in her 20s. The daughter had a giant poster of A-yue, and the mother, a giant poster of Jonathan Lee. (I ran this by my own mom later, wondering who she would be cheering for at a concert. Given pictures of all four men, she picked Wakin Chau, which I sort of predicted. He is pretty good-looking.)

The format of the concert was divided between sections where the four acted like a real band, and sections where they were doing a sort of superstar variety show. There was a full band section first, in which they divided up instruments like a “real” band with Jonathan on rhythm guitar, Wakin on electric, A-yue on drums, and Lo Da-yu alternating between guitar (bass?) and keyboards. They sang a number of A-yue’s songs here, along with a little preview version of “Runaway.” One cute note: when they were introducing themselves, first you had a “My name is Lo Ta-yu,” then “…and I’m Wakin Chau,” followed by, “I’m Superband’s drummer, A-yue,” which lead a playful Jonathan Lee to answer, “well in that case, I’m the guitarist, ‘Little Lee (小李).’” This led to a whole string of jokes, some of which I couldn’t follow and some of which I just couldn’t hear; for an outdoor rock concert, the sound was really not cranked up all that high.

We learned later from Wakin that sometime in the course of taking the stage for this section A-yue fell, scaring the rest of the band into wondering whether they needed to cancel the rest of the show; “Dr. Lo” took a look at him and determined he’d be alright, though.

The opening band act was followed by solo sections with each of the four singing some of their own songs, which I’m sure gave the rest of the band a chance to rest (and A-yue a chance to nurse his wounds from his fall). I confess, I didn’t know most of the songs that they sang, though all four have great talent for songwriting, so it was fun to listen to each of them. A-yue’s section was my favorite, of course, but that is not just because he is (frankly) pretty hot; it’s that I knew his songs better. Now, of course, I’ve waited too long and cant’t remember which songs he sang solo and which of his songs the group did together, but he did a good mix of rapping, singing and guitar playing. Everyone in the stadium seemed to know every word he sang, which made me wonder if he wasn’t more than a little vital to the success of the project. I do remember that Jonathan Lee did a really bluesy version of “I’m Just a Small Bird (我是一隻小小鳥)” that I loved. I’d never really heard Wakin sing before, but he has this fantastic voice. What I remember most, though, is that he sang one song more than the others, but I guess someone forgot to warn the lighting crew; after his third song he was plunged in darkness (cover for leaving the stage, I assume), and suddenly out into the night you hear his voice chuckling, “or maybe I won’t be singing one more….” Heh. Lo Ta-yu might have been the biggest surprise for me, though. I’d never seen so much as a video of him performing before, so I was a bit taken aback by the Mick Jagger like stage antics. He did a lot of spinning and while solo dancing – what he lacked in skill, he more than made up for in energy level. At one point I could swear he was doing the Funky Chicken. He was wild and fun. He also sang a new song that night – world premiere at Chengdu – that interestingly enough featured A-yue on the harmonies. I was actually surprised and impressed all night by how well the guys’ voices blended.

Beyond the solos, then, they came back together to sing as a foursome again, doing a lot of classics that essentially turned the stadium into a huge karaoke lounge. I was probably the only person there that didn’t know almost every word of every song, but even when I could not sing along I really enjoyed the atmosphere. By the end, after about two hours of music, I was a bit worried, though. They still hadn’t done the full version of “Runaway,” and I was going to feel a bit ripped off without it. I should have known better, though – it came out in the encore. That was especially fun, because it featured A-yue rapping the opening, then making a beeline for his drums while the rest of the guys traded off the rapping.

Without making old age jokes, I would say that one thing that stands out about the concert was the energy of the performers – but also just how much fun they were having. There was a lot of on-stage banter, lots of which I just didn’t catch, but you could tell that they like to tease each other and thus far, at least, were having a blast with the tour. Lo Ta-yu made a lot of jokes about being “Forever Young” and having the band to keep him young, though I suspect his funky dance routines contribute to that as well. The end verdict on the show is that it is highly, highly recommended, even if you (like me) don’t know the songs all that well.

On my way out of China at the end of last month I picked up the Superband album, which so far, at least, is just a concert recording. It’s three discs worth of music, but it is not a new self-composed album yet with more songs created by the four of them (like “Runaway”). I’m still hoping, though.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Mandopop | 2 Comments »

A-yue’s Afro

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

My, but it was glorious:

hubba hubba

This was A-yue taking a little time away from his Superbanding to lead a a concert of aboriginal singers in Taiwan on July 4. The theme was “No Longer Afraid,” so A-yue showed how unafraid he was of women’s clothing, wearing a wig (which to me screams “Seventies!” more than “girly,” but oh well), a bustier and a short skirt (with clearly visible boxer shorts to complete the look). (This article says it was a traditional aboriginal outfit… for a woman.) He clearly did not think through the mechanics of the outfit before hitting the deck, however, as there is talk of (*ahem*) “Little A-yue” having made an accidental appearance to those sitting at the right angle. His manager says that was indeed an accident, and that “next time” they’ll be more careful. Heh.

A-yue and A-mei sang “Love’s First Experience” together, with A-yue acting all exaggeratedly sexy and A-mei fighting her laughter. A-mei was convinced by the enthusiastic audience also to sing “I don’t know I love you” with A-lin, which ended in a kiss. A-mei is also leading an aboriginal singers concert in Taipei Arena on August 8. Over twenty acts have already signed up for the close to seven hour show, and A-mei is trying to get her sister Saya to make a comeback there.

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue) | 1 Comment »

The Superband on tour

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

Okay, so I meant to post this earlier this week, but about halfway through I was overwhelmed with bitterness (you’ll see why when you get there), and then I never quite finished it. Now, however, I have other things I want to say, so I need to get this one out of the way. So without further ado….

The Superband began their tour recently, which means rumors about the group are flying. There was a news report the other day that Emil Chou was giving up vast amounts of earnings for the sake of the band, to which he replied that he’s never spoken with the reporter making the assertion. He also notes that he’s learning a lot from the arrangement, especially about composing (and especially from A-yue, who has a very different style from him).

As for rumors that the Superband has been slow to release songs because they cannot agree on the writing process, well, that’s sorta true; the band’s spokesman says that disputes and disagreements can help create much better work. That said, they are not having serious fights about things. They say they don’t expect to be able to produce like Beyond, but they are coming up with new ideas and having the young Chang Chen-yue is particularly helpful in this regard. As they begin their concert tour, however, their new songs will finally be introduced to the world.

Now, has the economy forced the band to schedule fewer concerts on the mainland? Rumors were flying that they scaled back from 30 concert venues to six. Not true, say their representatives: they have already made plans for 17-8 shows; they just won’t announce shows before they’re sure they can happen, that’s all. Beijing concert tickets are selling well, and the band is scheduled to play on July 11 in Shanghai, and they do not worry about the challenge of playing within a week of Mayday. (Do not tell me that Mayday is playing Shanghai when I am back in the US for a few weeks… yup, the ticketing agencies are listing them as playing July 3-4. I guess Toronto was just an interregnum, and now they return to their usual practice of only visiting places when there’s no way I can be there. Why, oh why, does Mayday plot against me???) They have already announced shows in Beijing, Hangzhou, Xi’an, Chengdu, and Chongqing.

Now, the first performance of the Superband has taken place in Taipei, and of course Mayday sent flowers and even went backstage before the show to wish the band the best (a jocular Lo Ta-yu caught sight of them and started saying “Ah, our seniors!” To which a panicked Mayday replied that no, the Superbanders were actually their respected elders.

They sang songs from the catalogs of each of the four men. A-yue did a man-with-guitar performance of “Intersection,” but he struggled through “Yearning Is a Kind of Sickness” because a freidn of his had recently died (oh wow, that’s pretty horrible). On a lighter note, they haven’t worked out all the chinks in the system yet; when introducing themselves, Emil Chau yelled “We are…” then he yelled “Superband!” (in English) and the rest of the band yelled in Chinese, “纵贯线!” Haha, whoops. Concert attendees included lots of Rock Records artists and alums, including Mayday, Champion, Victor Wong, Renee Liu, and Genie Zhuo; David Tao and supermodel Lin Zhi-ling were also in attendance.

Yeah, still bitter here. *sigh*

Posted in Chang Chen-yue (A-yue), Mandopop, Mayday | 2 Comments »

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