Stone Roses

A remastered version of all 14 official Beatles albums (yes, the original British versions and not the rearranged and remixed US versions, where they add in reverb effects or 'echo' as the Americans like to call it to their earlier songs and makes them sound awful), including the US album 'Magical Mystery Tour' and the two volumes of Past Masters compiled into one CD, has been released earlier this month. Reviews on the web said sound quality were excellent comparable to the original vinyl sound. By the time i knew about it, almost all their albums had been sold-out. All their later albums from 'Rubber Soul' to 'Let It Be' has been off the shelves. Why do i always get my news so late. Damn, have to wait for the re-print. And my favourite u2 album, 'The Unforgettable Fire' 20th anniversary remastered edition is due out next month. Damn.

But the good thing is i'd found one of the best debut album ever by another British band - The Stone Roses self-titled debut. Originally released in 1989, it has been given the remastered treatment too. There has been generally universal good review of this album from respected critics from Rolling Stone, NME, and Pitchfork.

The original version i had is not with me anymore. Two questions that is on my mind - does the music sounds dated since it has been 20 years down the line? That's such an easy question to answer-not at all. In fact, it wouldn't sound out of place if played on the radio today.

The other: is it over-rated? Not at all, as this one escapes most critics where they liked to talk of great albums the likes of The Beatles 'Revolver' or 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', Led Zeppelin's 'Led Zeppelin IV', Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' or MJ's 'Thriller'.

But then, critics tends to rate music different from waht the record-buying public listened to. And as one reviewer said, if the listeners don't share the critics view, then what does that say about the importance of critics themselves? Another person said that "over-ratedness is more a function of critical praise divided by musical quality than it is a function of critical praise divided by commercial success".

The Beatles 1967 concept album "Sgt Pepper's" is a good album. But i never have any desire to listen to it again, at least not on a regular basis. The Roses debut is another thing altogether. Pop music with touches of 60's psychedelic influences the likes of The Beatles and The Byrds. Every song is a gem. Not least because they're insanely catchy. Eighties pop with a 60's sound and doesn;t sound dated? Big part because of its appealing dance grooves courtesy of the two very talented rhythm players and guitarist John's intricate guitars. Not the normal rock beats commonly found on normal pop/rock songs.

Not a rave fan but i'd once read they revived the US rave and techno music scene with this one. Influenced some of the new generation of British bands which started a second wave of British music invasion for most of the 90's. Bands like Oasis, Blur, Orbital, Manic Street Preachers. And the musical revolution they created called Britpop. Perfect antithesis to the American generated 'grunge-rock' movement.

The other important thing is the sound quality. One word-excellent. Just hope u2's The Unforgettable Fire will be as good as the original was really bad.

Let's see if the money-minded record companies are going to put out the remastered version of another fine album of the 90's - Nirvana's 'Nevermind' when it hits 20 in another two years.

What, it's been 20 years already since i first heard these albums! I am old...now let me look for my Rihanna's cd.



Waterfall

Chimes sing Sunday morn
Today's the day she's sworn
To steal what she never could own
And race from this hole she calls home

Now you're at the wheel
Tell me how, how does it feel
So good to have equalised
To lift up the lids of your eyes

As the miles they disappear
See land begin to clear
Free from the filth and the scum
This American satellite's won

She'll carry on through it all
She's a waterfall

She'll carry on through it all
She's a waterfall

See the steeple pine
The hills as old as time
Soon to be put to the test
To be whipped by the winds of the West

Stands on shifting sands
The scales held in her hands
The wind it just whips her and wails
And fills up her brigantine sails

She'll carry on through it all
She's a waterfall

She'll carry on through it all
She's a waterfall

Changes

(Image from here: http://mo-01.deviantart.com/)

Went to my old workplace the other day. It has been nine years since i'd been there. It's a Saturday and almost all the offices were closed. Then i saw my old office. Looked the same. Use the toilet while there. Still the same. Even remember the old lady operating one of the lifts. Looked at her but she did not return my gaze. No, she did not recognized me.

One thought came up - nothing's changed yet everything is different. Some places still looked the same many years down the line. And some people remains the same when the world has changed. And there are some who, on the surface, seemed to move with the world. Yet, deep down their beliefs and core values stays with them until the end. Always.

Met an old friend the other day. Not a close friend. There are so few i could consider close friends. Despite meeting only a few times in more than 18 years, we still kept in touch. She still looked young and charming. Strange, but talking with her somehow makes me feel old. And inadequate.

Of all my friends from the fairer sex, she is one of the most independent and intelligent. Not to mention down-to-earth. All qualities to be admired, especially so for a woman. Perhaps, the only thing we have in common is both of us would like to see some changes in this land and its people.

As a person, i can be very boring. Just hope i did not bore her that day...

Life is but a dream

You had to leave
On a fine sunny day
To chase after dreams

Of a life without me
The train slowly pass from sight
As memories of your shadow lingers on

Those dreams of yours
Are yours alone
You are not one to share

When you wake up
Things will be different
Wise men often says

Life is but a dream
And when you wake
What does your heart longed for?



"It's kind of about a lady, and she's getting on in years, and she's stuck in this small town. Small towns fascinate me: you either struggle like hell to get out, to some people want to stay 'cause then they're the big fish in the small pond; and then others just kind of get stuck there. So here she is working in this little place, and then an old flame comes in, and he's probably driving a nice car and looking kind of sharp. Not a fancy car, but he's moved on. And then she sees him, and at first she doesn't even remember who he is, and then she realizes who it is. But she's just too embarrassed to say 'hello'... ~ Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam on "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" (or affectionately "Small Town")

That about sums up the song.

Pearl Jam could be considered the front-runner of the grunge rock movement together with Nirvana in the early 90's. Although not as as oft-mentioned with the latter group, most probably because Kurt Cobain killed himself at the height of success, their musical integrity is never doubted. And there's not that many baritone voices in rock as powerful as Eddie Vedder's.

It's ironic that grunge sounds raw and angry, in complete contrast with the preceding 'new-wave' music of the 80's. Whereas new-wave uses lots of synths and effects (particularly reverb), grunge was recorded 'dry' without much effects.

A sign of times perhaps where the 80's was always about materialism and experimentation, and the 90's a resurgent of activism, social issues and the sound of the 60's? And 'Britpop' started in the UK as a reaction against grunge at about the same time. Hmm, where was i during that time?

Chicken a la Carte

This should make us think twice about throwing our food the next time. We all know that life is not fair and some are luckier than most others.

Still taking things for granted?

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Ella Fitzgerald's music

Ella Jane Fitzgerald, 1917 ~ 1996

I have to say i liked loved Ella Fitzgerald's music. Her music evoke a nostalgic feeling of childhood to a time when my grandmother was still around.

These interpretations of Gershwin's classics are my favourites. Although she don't have a so-called "big voice", hers is so soothing and full of emotion. Listening to this in the dark and alone makes one feel everything else is so 'unimportant'. Alone never felt so good.

Someone To Watch Over Me (a jazz standard that has been covered by many artistes)

Much as i liked her earlier swing era music and her scat/fast-singing in the bebop era, but it's her collaboration with the Gershwin's brother (under the Decca label) in the 50's that i keep coming back to. The music is mostly only accompanied by the piano. In them, Ella's voice has a certain warm, very attractive quality. It's a kind of "don't break my heart" fragile-like voice.



Ella Fitzgerald - But Not For Me

But Not For Me

Morality, ethics, what?

"Morality represents the way that people would like the world to work, whereas economics represents how it actually does work" - so it was quoted in 'Freakonomics' by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner.

We often confused morality and ethics. They're two different concepts. We studied morality in school. Yes, although i do not hate the subject but found it extremely boring. Most probably it could be the teacher.

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"Some writers use the term 'morality' for the first, descriptive, sense in which I am using 'ethics'. They would talk of the morality of the Trobriand islanders when they want to describe what the islanders take to be right or wrong. They would reserve 'ethics' (or sometimes 'moral philosophy') for the field of study or the subject taught in departments of philosophy. I have not adopted this usage. Both 'ethics' and 'morality' have their roots in a word for 'customs', the former being a derivative of the Greek term from which we get 'ethos', and the latter from the Latin root that gives us 'mores', a word still used sometimes to describe the customs of a people.

'Morality' brings with it a particular, and sometimes inappropriate, reasonance today. It suggests a stern set of duties that require us to subordinate our natural desires -- and our sexual desires get particular emphasis here -- in order to obey the moral law. A failure to fulfil our duty brings with it a heavy sense of guilt. Very often, morality is assumed to have a religious basis. These connotations of 'morality' are features of a particular conception of ethics, one linked to the Jewish and Christian traditions, rather than an inherent feature of any ethical system.

Ethics has no necessary connection with any particular religion, nor with religion in general." - Peter Singer "ethicist"
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Sometimes, i think morality is something those in power create because they think most people are bad. Whereas ethics is what most of us know instinctively and practiced daily (i hope) because people are inherently good. No? If not, how do we explain the fact that bad news and equally bad gossips are what we read so often and what sells news? Do we find "Boy saved woman from being knock by a car" in the headlines? No, good deeds like this still happen often (i hope). Most possibly "Boy lured by woman teacher into having sex" will sell truckloads and we considered them 'hot news'-ah.

That is not to say there are no bad and evil people but good people far outnumbers them. And good people are often ignorant not because they want to but mostly because they're minding their own business (i hope). But that's probably just a generalization.

A blog post i read some time ago came up in my mind again. There is just so much talk and articles about morality and religion but does one have to do with the other? i just don't understand why do people like to preach morality to others. Really.

Is there a universal moral law that is detached of religion? Could this simple "do not do to others what you would not have done unto you" be the one? It couldn't be much more simpler right?

The same commentator in the blog also listed nine other rules which makes perfect sense in the world we lived in today. So then, the 10 ethical commandments every person should know and hopefully follows (in no particular order of importance):

1. Do not do to others what you would not have done unto you.
2. In all things, strive to cause no harm.
3. Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.
4. Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.
5. Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.
6. Always seek to be learning something new.
7. Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.
8. Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.
9. Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.
10. Question everything.

If everyone practices items 1 to 4, then the world would certainly be a better place to live.

Items 8 to 10 are what Malaysians should practise more so that we do not become fool for a lifetime. 'Question Everything', like the blurb in the said Freakonomics book, "assume nothing, question everything' is especially pertinent.

They should teach these in schools, i tell you. And not "thou shall always follow the rules", or "thou shall not disobey the authority because well, they are the authority and we're not!" type of bullshit. Why do people always concern themselves with the trivial and failed to see what's important?

Maybe we could even add more to the list. Then we will really get a more interesting Moral Education subject in our schools, perhaps.

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A song i had always liked since school days. Chinese pop songs are very different from their English counterpart. The words are more poetic and expresses emotion much better. There are exceptions, of course.

All I Want Is You

Heard this on the radio today. It's been a long time since i heard this one.

According to lead singer Bono, the song is dedicated to his wife. A poetic and lyrical description of true, unconditional love perhaps.

And the music video is excellent too. The symbolism of the depth of true love in the lyric are captured in this black & white short film. But an unrequited love. A midget falls in love with a 'normal' woman. Apparently, she has feelings for him too but actually loved another man. A more 'normal' man. But what is 'normal' anyway? Does 'normal' in a physical sense equates to other things? That only a normal man can love unconditionally, while other 'not-so-normal' people could not.

According to lead guitarist Edge, the video was inspired by a 30's film called 'Freaks'. These day, they rarely make this kind of music video anymore.


You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
You say you want
Your story to remain untold

But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you

You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night

You say you'll give me
Eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbour in the tempest
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you

You say you want
Your love to work out right
To last with me through the night

You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
Your story to remain untold
Your love not to grow cold

All the promises we break
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you

You...all I want is...
You...all I want is...
You...all I want is...
You...