Sod off TagBoard!!!

Something has happened to the tag board. So meanwhile, all please comment at the comments section. I'll search for some cute new tag board... :P

Fly to the sky...

No, not me. It's a Korean duo that "mountain tortoise" me had just discovered after watching the Korean variety show, Ya Shim Man Man. I just lurve Brian... he's so cute, bragging about what a good kisser he is and talking about his dating escapades when he lived in the USA.

Who are they? Korean duo, Fly To The Sky (FTTS) debuted on Nov 12, 1999 and consists of Brian and Fany (also known as Hwanhee - 환희). Both of them are born in January 1982. Brian is 7 days older than Hwanhee (I just cannot bring myself to type "Fany" again). Brian went to Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he is from and his parents are casino dealers - so exciting!!!. Don't know much about Hwanhee cos I haven't seen him on any shows yet. Most people would prefer Hwanhee cos he looks like he's got more attitude and his voice is different from Brian. I like Brian cos he's the regular guy, not much image thing going on and a decent voice. He seems to even have the negative traits of the regular guy. Maybe he reminds me of Geoffrey... haha... But who cares if he is regular or cool... Any guy who can sing with that much feeling is in my book of outstanding males ;)

I am currently in love with 3 of their songs, cos that's all I've been able to get my hands on.

1. 비 (Bi - Blood)
2. 남자답게 (Namjadapgeh - Like a man)
3. 습관 (Supgwan - Habit)

If you listen to 비 at first and don't find it at all beautiful, hold your horses, wait for the chorus, I promise you will feel shivers and the warm wave of love wash on you. That's how I felt when I first heard the chorus... then I was frantically searching for it. It was even labelled with the wrong title. I am so lucky to have found it. I wasn't sure if it was the song I wanted when I heard the first 2 verses, then once the chorus started, I had the chills... I was like "Aaahh... yesss...". How often do you get to feel like that? Hehe! Don't answer that!!!

Meanwhile, my Emule is not coorperating, so I can't listen to all their albums and tell you if they are really that good, consistent, bla bla bla... I'm hoping to finish previewing their 6th album, Transition (released early this year, told you I was a "mountain tortoise") and if I like it, when I get my job, I am gonna send HMV.co.jp some Yen for it. Hehe!

For now, everyone can listen to 비, courtesy of OrientPearl's World. But I'd still say that you should go out an get a copy of their album, since they're such lovely guys. We must not let beautiful men become victims of piracy. Hehe! Seek out their MVs on YouTube. You won't be disappointed.



References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_to_the_sky
http://flytothesky.ilikepop.com/
http://flytothesky.pfull.com/

Confession: Though I support Brian, I can't help thinking Hwanhee has a beautiful voice too. They're both so different. So it's actually hard to just like one... Hehe!

그래요??? (Really???)

Yep… it probably is. When they said true love conquered all, it would prove to be true ever so often. Today, I turned on the new 동방신기 (Dong Bang Shin Ki) album and all of a sudden, I am able to love the songs. They don’t sound messed up to me anymore. All I had to do was to focus on their voices, listen to the tunes and feel what they were singing. In the beginning, I’ll have to admit that though I was excited to hear the album once I completed the download, I wasn’t listening with an open heart. Probably on that day, I was feeling hot or bothered. My mood really affects the way my mind and heart feels. So, feeling very “fan” on that day probably closed my heart to their voices. I couldn’t believe that I have criticized the album so badly. It isn’t bad at all, given it is not perfect (what is?). To those who aren’t fans, it may be horrible (Nyeh! :P to you!). You just have to prepare yourself to listen and accept it.

In the past, when I bought an album which turned out to be a disappointment, I’d tell myself to give it a chance. I will listen to the whole album and find a song that I like. Maybe I don’t love the whole song, there could be a song where maybe the guitar solo is the only nice thing, but that would be enough to give me a reason to love the song. So with “O” – 정.반.합., I am starting to view each song with a new perspective. Funny thing is it didn’t even feel forced. I was going to listen to only the 2 songs which I thought were worth listening to, and then I just let the player continue after I’ll Be There. Sure enough, when the next song played, I realized, “Hey, it doesn’t suck at all. It’s pretty good.” I call this ‘allowing yourself to see the silver lining’.

Thinking about this, I feel that this is exactly what a real relationship is like. When you love a person, there will be a time when you encounter something about him that you don’t feel you want to accept, you want to write it off and not ever have it be prevalent in your relationship. But when you are in the state of mind to view it with a new perspective, you may find that it isn’t as hard to accept, overlook or forgive as you originally thought it was. Then you will look the person and remind yourself of the good things and try to put that in your mind all the time.

Love conquers all when everything about the person is accepted and viewed in a positive light. Love becomes blind when faults eventually acceptable or even endearing. However, it will not be perfect every day, which is for sure. On the days you’re grumpy or pissed off; you will not have the patience and heart to be blind to everything. Those are the days you pick on every fault and you may even get annoyed with the sound of his voice, just as I did when I first heard the album. It just sounded like noise to me, until I put myself in the state of mind to listen.

So remember, after blowing off that person because you were not in the mood to deal with him, do something to remind both of you that what you have together is still good and will continue to be strong. When you feel you are in the mood, act on it, show your love, open your heart and mind to accept the imperfections (at least for a day, hehe!). God knows that we’re all not perfect, no matter how much we hope to be.

Recommendation: Read this entry with an extra sappy song. Makes the words sound so much more beautiful. This entry was inspired by just listening to my boys, 동방신기.

Let me be a cow (though I'd much prefer to be a pig)...

Nyeh!!! Not gonna put any links but except for the site of the Clazziquai Project...

http://www.clazziquai.com/

By the way... I bought the soundtrack of My Name Is Kim Sam Soon from the local music store for RM18... seems fishy... but who cares!!?? There is a song on the soundtrack that makes me cry each time I hear it because it's always used at the sad parts and therefore associates my brain to a sad thought each time I hear it. Even when I sing it, tears will run down my face... It's called 이별 못한 이별 (Ibyeol Mothan Ibyeol - Farewell Without Farewell), sung by 지선 (JiSon) from Loveholic.

*note that I am now providing translation for my Korean since I've received complaints from some unadventurous people who do not wanna check it up for themselves :P*

I regret to inform everyone that the new 동방신기 (Dong Bang Shin Ki) album is not as impressive as the last. Apart from track #1, "O"-정.반.합. ("O" - Jong.Ban.Hap) and track #5, I'll Be There, the rest of the songs sounded messy. Don't get me wrong. I still think they sound more beautiful than ever. They have really improved with the vocals and acapella stuff and I think the person arranging the music tried too hard and got carried away with the aim of fully displaying their wonderful ability, making every song sound like a mess of harmonies. Yea... I'm confused too... It just sounds noisy, sort of like lots of people chattering at once. The arrangement did not result in a seamless harmony of their beautiful vocals. The fast tracks did not pack the power like their last album did. Imagine my dismay... Some of the songs even sound retro, in a tired sort of way. I don't know how to describe this album at all, only that it is not what I had expected from gods rising from the east. Oddly, I don't even feel as inspired to dance to track #1 as I did to the fast tracks on the last album... Sad...

So at this moment, I am seriously contemplating if I should spend lots of Japanese Yen by ordering their special edition album from HMV Japan. Should I? A fan should be loyal eh? Lets wait a bit and see how much freebies they throw in with the special edition to make it worth my money.

Once I start, I just can't stop...

Ever notice that most of my titles always end with 3 exclamation marks or ellipses (3 dots, exactly)?

I have a job interview tomorrow, and I dunno how to prepare for it. Maybe cos it's not my dream job, but what the heck... get some cash while waiting for the prefect opportunity to smack me in the face. There is a job I want, and if successful, I would have to go to Bratislava for training. Where the heck is that you ask? That's in Slovakia, a country formerly joined as Czechoslovakia. Isn't that a mouthful? I used to think it was formerly part of Russia or something, turned out it was actually part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. So in addition to speaking Slovak (something like Russian, but a variation), they speak Hungarian and German too! Well, not everyone, but there are like 5 million people there and they probably speak all sorts of languages. I just hope it won't be dreadfully cold if I get to go. Then it will be at least bearable. Cos everyone knows I am always cold... No, I'm not a cold fish or a cold bitch kinda cold, I feel cold with the slightest air conditioning. Maybe a trip to Bratislava will toughen me up :P

Ok, as promised... let's talk about the Clazziquai Project. Their first album was named Instant Pig. How cute is that?!! It's definitely a sign that their music would suit me since the whole world knows how much I love my pigs... Hehe!

ClaZziQuai (this is the correct way to spell it) is actually the name of the DJ/Producer who mixes all the music and to date, they have 3 vocalists. They followed Instant Pig with a remix album, ZBam. Their 3rd album is Color Your Soul, which I found to be lacking compared to Instant Pig. Can't explain why. Maybe some critics will say it was better, but personally, I prefer Instant Pig. Color Your Soul was followed by it's remix, Pinch Your Soul (sounds painful). Apart from releasing their own albums, Clazziquai's name can be credited to many soundtracks of Korean dramas and movies. So lookout for their names if you notice a special song in a soundtrack. Could be them or maybe just ClaZziQuai alone.

For those who feel like venturing out for a taste of the Clazziquai Project, here are my recommendations (majority from Instant Pig):

• After Love
• After Love (Extra Remix)
• After Love (Female Version)
• You Never Know
• You Never Know (Soft Remix)
• I Will Never Cry
• Flower
• She Is (from My Name is Kim Sam Soon OST)

So when is the best time to listen to the Clazziquai Project? Well, to wake up in the morning (puts you in a good mood), when writing or working and when playing games. Their music never intrude with thoughts and concentration but sometimes... they just make you feel like dancing... hehe!

They are back!!!

동방신기 is back with their new album, "O"-정.반.합. 동방신기 fans around the world!!! SCREAM!!!!

I see that they have managed to "un-priss" 준수, 유천 looks like an old man, 재중 looks more Japanese than Korean now, 창민 looks pretty much the same, albeit having grown a bit matured... but what have the done to my 윤호!!! He looks half preppy and part sissy with that poofy hair!!. Why must they mangle him? But it's ok... he still dances like the 윤호 I know and he is singing better this time round. I'm currently downloading the album to tide me over until they release one with a bonus DVD.

After being crushed by the SM Entertainment audition, I must admit that I have neglected my boys for awhile. I was listening to everything under the sky but them (maybe a song or two occasionally). I was listening to Rising Sun and Tonight and Love After Love every day and night until the day I found that I didn't make it. After that, I started to explore new sounds... Who was I listening to? Let me list them so that you can go check them out yourself.

1. Lee Min Woo (better known for his solo name, M)

2. Jang Woo Hyuk

3. Shinhwa

4. Buzz

5. The Trax

6. Clazziquai Project (my latest addiction)

7. An Jae Wook (the original Korean screen god)

No, the above are not numbered in preference. Just random. You'll find rock, rap, R&B, ballads and some Ah Beng music in my selection above. I'll let you guess which genre is for which. Hehe! Clazziquai is great. They sang one of the most beautiful songs for the soundtrack of My Name is Kim Sam Soon. I was sceptical about the series at first. But I watched every single episode, and it was fun and touching. The songs very beautiful, touching and some were cute. Still searching for the proper soundtrack. 2 things on my shopping list now, the soundtrack for My Name is Kim Sam Soon and 동방신기's 3rd Korean album. (Hint! Hint! My birthday is in Dec... geddit?)

Anyway, I thought that I would never come to look at 동방신기 again. I sort of wondered what my reaction would be if they had a 3rd album. I must say I wasn't as excited as I was with the 2nd album, but my love for them is gradually resuscitating itself (woe to my bank account). So with great flourish, I welcome back my boys... I wish them all the success in the world and sob in silence at the thought that I may never ever brush shoulders with them. Their bloody company wouldn't hire me, you see!!!

Ok, enough anger and words... I believe I have fulfilled the blog quota for the day, since people who refuse to blog are forcing me to blog. The very nerve... :P More about Clazziquai in my next blog!

Arrivederci, me caro ~ Acqua di Gio...

Or so I thought :P... I was told by the Parkson sales assistants that my beloved Acqua di Gio was discontinued and found after purchasing it at an independent perfume shop (more like a stall actually) that it was Parkson who discontinued carrying this perfume. It is still very much in production and can be found anywhere around the world except for Parkson stores. After I paid RM205!!! I could have bought it at duty free for less!!! I was actually devastated for a few days, thinking that I will never see and smell it anymore. I have been using this scent since I got it as a present when I was in Form 2.

Oh well... the follies of a shopaholic... at the moment, to prevent any future shocks... I'm setting my sights on a backup perfume. Couldn't find any close enough to this for my liking until I met it whilst flushing my money down the perfumery's pockets.

This... is Ultraviolet Fluoressence by Paco Rabanne. It smells almost like my beloved Acqua di Gio and lasts just as long (not very long). It's an EDT. I can never stand the smell of strong parfum. I'll stick with toilet water, thank you very much.