오렌지 키스 : music monday

music monday

Showing posts with label music monday. Show all posts

Have you ever had a song that you have not hears in yeeeaaarsss and yet the moment you hear it again, you find yourself singing along to every single word? I get that all the time. This is one of them. And this particular one surprised me the most.

ASOS or A Sisters of Shu are made up of two sisters, Barbie (aka San Cai of Meteor Garden) and Dee Hsu. I believe this song is Dee's solo but as you can see in that live performance, they sing it together. I would've posted the official MV but this fancam is more special to me. I attended this concert. This was my first East Asian pop [ie C-Pop, K-Pop, and the likes] music concert. Back when everyone in the Philippines was all about Dao Ming Si and Hua Ze Lei - I was biased towards Xi Men meself lol - I also went all out. My tickets weren't cheap, I went alone, and braved the crazy fans standing on a plastic chair so I can see the stage more clearly. Not to mention it was raining.

(Also, this was one of the last concerts that I went to with my Dad before he passed away. I know I said I went alone but he was hanging out at the bars surrounding the venue waiting for the concert to be over so he can drive me home. By the time I got out, he bought me so much merch... and I wasn't even asking for them. I still have those items, some still in their original packaging, up until now.)

But I digress. This song is one of those that I memorized without the aid of lyric sheets. I don't know how. My 14-year-old self is smarter I guess lol. I loved some of ASOS' songs and just yesterday, I was rocking to them again. They're a bit on weird side but I like the vibe. This is my favorite ASOS video. The original MV is kind of strange. Dee's boyfriends keep on dying. Love can't last long, I guess.

I don't know what's with me lately. I'm going back to my C-Pop love. And I still know all the words... which baffles me. I still don't know what they mean haha. I think I know more full C-Pop songs than K-Pop. Romanized Mandarin Chinese is easier to read than romanized Korean which looks like gibberish to me. At the risk of sounding like an elitist K-Pop fan, I prefer my K-Pop lyrics in Hangul. ;-)

Ahhh... there was a time when I had every song by artists associated with Meteor Garden from ASOS to Pace Wu. I wish I could recreate that collection. Hmm... come to think of it... challenge accepted? ;-)

I wept. I'm not gonna lie. I was weeping in that theater.

It doesn't matter what recording it is... if you don't cry during the deaths of Fantine and Valjean, you are made of stone. Me, the tears start whenever I hear the melody of On My Own. It gets repeated throughout the piece and by the time the movie ended, I was a blubbering mess.

I was most impressed during the first scene, Look Down. It was nothing less than amazing. It was epic, probably the most epic scene in the film. The transformation of Hugh Jackman from that hottie we all know and love to that emaciated Valjean was astounding. Anne Hathaway killed me with I Dreamed A Dream. She gave it everything she had and it was beautiful. I didn't know that was in her! That little Cosette, Isabelle Allen, she's really pretty. Her beauty is haunting and she did a good job. But my heart was completely stolen by Eddie Redmayne and Aaron Tveit. (Erm... they already did that waaaay before Les Mis, btw lol.)

I was a bit uncomfortable with the extreme closeups that the director opted for during the solos. It was a bit awkward to watch. I mean, they are pretty to look at but yeah, I felt a bit awkward hahaha. I didn't have as much of a problem with Russell Crowe as a lot of people did. I thought he did okay and it wasn't a big deal. I mean, there is a reason why he was chosen for the part, right? The others were good enough to carry the movie. I mean, Mrs. Lovett and Mr. Pirelli were fantastic. So what if Crowe is not the best singer? Deal with it. I actually liked the Eponine even less than Crowe!Javert. Unfortunately, Amanda Seyfried was kind of forgettable. If not for Eddie Redmayne, I wouldn't notice her much.

Now, I've sort of followed one rant from an artist/singer bitching about the casting choices. I don't dwell upon reviews but this one person irritated me. You might know who I'm talking about; I used to be a big fan of him but now, outside his music, he rubs me the wrong way. But yeah, he made such a huge deal about it. It made him sound bitter and definitely uppity. WTF, I just can't stand him outside his music. Just go raid Big Bang's closets and shut up, he should.

Nevertheless, I loved the movie. I hold movie musicals - musicals, in general - close to my heart. Valjean's death destroyed me... and the dude sitting in front of me. Yes, the scene made a guy cry. And now, I will make you cry...

I dare you find a more beautiful cover than this.

I chanced on this gorgeous cover of Haru Haru, one of my favorite BIGBANG songs while looking up stuff about Lee Hayi. Apparently, this girl was in the same singing competition as the Mini Monster and she did this lovely little thing. Accompanied by the piano, she amazed JYP, BoA, and Papa YG himself. You can see it in their eyes. Listening to this gave me epic goosebumps.

Is it too much to ask for a studio version of this?

It is the last day of 2012. What are your favorite memories of this year?

To me, 2012 has been the best year of my life so far. I had the most fun, met a lot of great people, saw many famous ones (lol), crossed out a lot from my bucket list. I did so much this year and it was tough to fit them in one photo. So I split them into two.

The first half of my 2012 can be represented by The Avengers. It was by far, THE BEST red carpet premiere I've attended. I was with good friends and I was able to share it with my brother. To me, that was the most important thing. Not to mention, The Avengers is my favorite movie of 2012 (sorry, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey). I could not stop thinking, talking about it. But yeah, like I mentioned, I was thrilled to share that moment with my brother. It was a long and uncomfortable wait but I'm glad he soldiered on with me and saw/met the likes of Stan Lee, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Alexander and Stellan Skarsgard, and even Dominic Monaghan of LOTR!

Speaking of Alexander Skarsgard, I saw the guy three times this year. No joke! All at premieres: True Blood (I don't watch it anymore but I go to the red carpet every year for three years now), Battleship (come on... how many people can say they watched a movie with ASkars, Rihanna, Andy Roddick, and Liam Neeson in the audience with them lol), and when he went with his dad Stellan at The Avengers premiere. I think he recognizes me now... yeah, I'm pretty sure he does. I know that smile he gives me when he sees me and my GK stuff amongst the sea of True Blood.

Also speaking of LOTR, my starstruck moment of 2012 is meeting Craig Parker at the Spartacus: Vengeance premiere. I've talked about that moment in a previous post. I don't know how I held it together when he stopped by my spot, talked to me, took a photo (asking if we were doing a serious or wacky face even), and coming back after he'd moved on to tell me "not to enjoy the naughty bits (of the episode) too much". OMG. I've talked with a lot of celebrities but this one takes the cake. That night, I also saw Manu Bennett who had a small part in The Hobbit. And I shook hands with Lucy Lawless. I win.

One of the prouder moments of my life was taking my mom and brother to see American Idiot. Yes, I'm not a huge fan of the tour but I am a huge fan of the show. To be able to have both of them there on the 2nd anniversary of the first time I've seen the show (April 19) was priceless. I had my brother beside me at front row center and my mom got to see it for the second time from a distance. And they both enjoyed it! It was a full circle, seeing it for the first time on 19 April 2010 and then again two years later, 19 April 2012. It was special.

And I also added to my Generation Kill list. This blog knows nothing of my love for this amazing HBO mini series and I will remedy that soon. I met Benjamin Busch at his book signing at my local Vroman's Bookstore. I had him sign both his book and my very very special GK copy. And then I had the opportunity to talk to him. Again, no idea how I kept it together haha.

My first event of the year proved to be a foreshadowing of how awesome 2012 would be for me. Mythbusters: Behind the Myths tour. After yeeeeaaaars of watching and loving Mythbusters, there they were in front of me in the flesh. Adam and Jamie proved to be as interesting and entertaining in person as on TV. Then less than a week later, I was at the Spartacus: Vengeance red carpet premiere. How cool was my January? XD

This year, I also learned to appreciate having friends. I know this sounds rather sentimental but I didn't have a lot of friends that I meet in person at a regular basis. But these group of people that I met at work... they're great. I mean, the place we worked at wasn't the best of places but they were the ones that made it worthwhile. I may not be working there anymore but I will definitely keep those ties no matter what happens in the future.

January to June was pretty eventful. It only got better from there...

Sandara, ang pambansang krung-krung ng Pilipinas, is back in the Philippines. BIGBANG is also in the Philippines for their Galaxy ALIVE tour.

That, my friends, is all you need to know.

But honestly... this is what I really want to say --

TAENA. NASA PILIPINAS DIN SI SANDARA KASAMA ANG BIGBANG! SHET. EPIC. JUST FCKING EPIC. YG FOREVER!!! ♥

*hinga... hinga*

Wala lang. Hehehe... kasasabi ko lang kahapon diba na sobrang bebenta ang BIGBANG dahil kay / kapag andyan si Sandy. Oh ayan, may Korean-Tagalog translator na ang mga gago. XD San ka pa diba! I admit, medyo inggit ako. Pero iniisip ko kung nasa Pinas ako ngayon, baka di ko rin afford pumunta. Haysss... brighter side of things, right?

Pero shet. Epic talaga. Kahit audience lang si Sandy sa concert, the fact na umuwi talaga siya. (Yes, I consider her Pinay na rin. More than ten years ka ba naman dun. Mas magaling pa siyang mag-Tagalog kesa sa mga Pinoy dito sa States. Mahiya kayo lol.) Imagine, pwede kayang isingit nina GD&TOP yung Oh Yeah tapos ka-duet nila si Sandy? Doable. LOL.

Thank you, Papa YG! Grabe, sobrang gratitude talaga. Second Anaheim show tapos ito? Wow lang talaga. <3 Excitement x 100 for my VIP friends back home. Pag-igihan nyo ang fancams at pictures ha!

I figured I wouldn't add to this list until the end of the month so I might as well just post it. Nothing much happened in hell - er... work - today apart from the usual asshole-ness of my supervisors. But this space is going to be wasted if I talk about people who do not deserve the light of day so lets just get on with my monthly favorites.

1. G-Dragon - Eojjeoran Marinya (What Do You Want?)
The cutest song ever! I was instantly hooked when I first heard this song. It just goes to show what a GENIUS G-Dragon is when it comes to songwriting. This is one of my favorites in the GD&TOP, Volume 1 album.

2. GD&TOP, Volume 1
I might have listened to this album more times than any other KPOP album this month. I love these two in BIGBANG and their subunit is full of swag. Two rappers in their element. But it's not just that! TOP has a very emotional ROCK SONG called Oh Mom. He's another lyrical genius, in my opinion. G-Dragon can write anything for all I care and it'll still sound cool. Volume 2 now, please... (review coming up, I promise.)

3. French vanilla iced coffee from 7-11
Even back in the Philippines, 7-11 coffees are the best. This one I really like because it has just the right amount of sweetness. And it's dirt cheap!

4. Temple Run featuring Brave
It popped up as a free game of the week at the App Store and ever since it came out, I wanted to get it. But as cheap as I am, I wasn't willing to shell out $1.99 for a Temple Run game. I'm enjoying it a lot. They added Brave-inspired features in it such as shooting arrows while running. It plays just like Temple Run.

5. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
I read this inside of 2 days, I think. Yes, it is considered a YA book, a genre which I really do not like. But it's also tagged as "Fifty Shades of Grey for young adults". What can I say... sex sells! Now, I don't think that the above quote is an accurate description. I still have to write an actual review on RGB (I took a month-long break but I'll be back in October) but what I can say is that I definitely recommend it.

6. B&N Nook Classic + WiFi
It's a rediscovered love. It is a birthday gift from my mom about two years ago. It's a life changer. Although I still buy and prefer actual books, an e-reader is just so convenient. Since getting my iPad 2, I had neglected Whatsername (that's its name) a bit. But this past month, I learned to love it again. That's where I read Beautiful Disaster and my next read, The Blood that Bounds.

7. Wet n Wild Bare-ly Legal lipstick
It gave me a perfect neutral lip that went so well with my skin tone. At first, I didn't really like it on me. But I think as the seasons change, I'm easing back into nudes and neutral lips again. I still wear and love bold reds but this one really surprised me.

8. I Am the Best (2NE1) choreography
I count this as one of those "best things ever"... er, things. And I'm talking about the choreography for the intro and chorus. Yes, I might be able to dance along to it if need be. XD Blame BIGBANG for this obsession. They did a super fun male version with G-Dragon doing CL's parts, Seungri for Sandara, TOP for Bom, and Daesung being Minzy. That, my friends, is the BEST cover version of this epic song.

9. Secret Garden
I would place the blame, once again, on BIGBANG. Click on the link to know why. Same goes for the link in the above entry. My original obsession with Asian drama began with Meteor Garden, a Taiwanese version of the Japanese manga Boys Over Flowers. Korea has a version of that too, in case you're wondering. I remember how kilig I was while watching Meteor Garden. As in I was literally bouncing on my seat swooning and melting! It's the same with this show. Are all K-Dramas like this? Man, if so, I'm in trouble. But no, Secret Garden is so golden! Gil Raim and Kim Joowon... aaaah, I get the tingles just thinking about them. ^^, And BIGBANG did a fantastic job parodying it.