Keeping An Electronic Journal

I'm not so sold on the quality of my blog entries. If I should say so myself, they all kind of sound forced & lack substance. I mean, here I am trying to keep an online journal, yet I can't help but critique myself for not sounding like myself..


Now the question is, how does myself usually sound? I actually have written (or typed) some previous works that I'm particularly proud of. And, these pieces had been published online some years ago. But like any other story, there's bad news - good news in the equation. Bad news being that the blog site where they were originally posted had been discontinued :(
However, the good news is I still have the files of my articles saved. So, it's dorky.. but it sure is helpful now ^_^ 


And as such, I have always wanted a chance to post them myself, so what better segue than this. So for the next few entries I will be posting in my blog the music reviews that I've written for Chinese music blog years ago. It's with the hope of being inspired and getting a spark to wake up my literary muse.

Trendy Man - 潮男正傳 is the album in the middle of the top row

Trendy Man - 潮男正傳
Artist: Show Luo - 羅志祥Released: 2008–December 26
Gold Typhoon Music (previously EMI Capitol Music) If there’s a phrase to describe a Show Luo (Luo Zhi Xiang) Album, it has got to be ‘fun & high-intensity dance music’. Trendy Man, his latest release, is no exception. In this album, Show Luo injects that sexy-mysterious element in his otherwise high-energy repertoire.
 [Track Listing retrieved from wikipedia] 1.    撐腰 Cheng Yao (Support)
-       This is a fun, up-beat song, coming real close to being a novelty (if it isn’t already). It’s a happy-happy, dance-y dance song – has that same happy comical-feel as ‘qiang si qiang si’ except better. In the MV, you’ll find a number of familiar faces in Taiwan showbiz who in their own fun-way contributed into a livelier Show Luo act [as if it’s not already lively enough!].
 2.    高調愛 Gao Diao Ai (High-Toned love)
-       This is not exactly a slow song because it’s hardly slow. It’s got a nice catchy beat/tempo so I don’t think it qualifies as a ballad. It’s got a sweet melody & nice lyrics that goes fairly well together. Not the usual dance-y song but it’s also not a ballad (well maybe close, but not quite). It’s nice to listen to – mild & easy enough for lounge-music except it won’t cause you to sleep.
 3.    第二順位 Di Er Shun Wei (Second In Place)
-       This is the first real ballad in this bunch. It’s a sweet slow song, what’s rather distinct about this song is the snare drums [yes, you read that right! for real! you’ll really hear snare drums playing] which gave it an unusual ‘flavour’ [if you like!]. It’s a nice song & it’s quite touching.
 4.    搞笑 Gao Xiao (Making Jokes)
-       Contrary to its title, this is actually a slow song with a rather suggestive sad-feel. It kind of reminds me of ‘Hao Peng You’ (fr SPESHOW cd) & 最後的風度 (fr. Show Your Dance). One of those songs that ‘cuts through the heart’ – so to speak.
 5.    潛意識失控 Qian Yi Shi Shi Kong (Subconsciously Out Of Control)-       electric & catchy, with a touch of sexy – words that best describe this song [or at least words that came to mind when I first heard this track]. It’s one of those dance music that takes your breath away, and makes you sigh heartily in the end. Yup, that type of ‘sexy’. Good mix of electric music & synthesizers.
 6.    箇中強手 Ge Zhong Qiang Shou (Hot Shot)
-       This song is the opening theme for the drama “HOT SHOT”, where Show Luo starred. The song (and an ever-suitable MV) has got a mysterious-sexy feel to it that will leave you hooked. It’s a really nice, somewhat provocative, ‘Hot’ track – like it’s taking you in a different dimension!
 7.    幸福不滅 Xing Fu Bu Mie (Cause I Believe)
-       This is another ballad. It’s a sweet love song, none of that sad-feeling as track #4. Just a feel-good love song which is very easy to relate to [or maybe that’s just me…]. In any case, it’s quite touching and it’s really nice.
 8.    潮男正傳 Chao Nan Zheng Zhuan (Trendy Man)
-       This is a really good title song.  It’s fun, it’s cute and it’s sexy. And the song clearly states, ‘I like it, like it like that. yeah!’. Nice MV, with lots of fun costume-change inter-twined with a sexy-hot dance sequence! This is one carrier single that’s, on its own, reason enough not to miss this album. It’s a very likeable track!
 9.    假如你還在這裡 Jia Ru Ni Hai Zai Zhe Li (If You're Still Here)-      a really nice piano intro starts this song. It’s a slow and touching song. And as the title suggests, it’s got that sad-hopeful-feel that in one way or another we [the listening public] got familiar with sometime in our lives.
 10.  拿手絕活 Na Shou Jue Huo (Well-Skilled)
-       This final song is another upbeat dance track. It kind of sounds like an OST song, but I’ve checked & so far it’s not. But it does have that OST-type of feel to it.
  And now for the verdict: keep it or skip it? For me, the album is a definite KEEPER. The songs are slick and stylishly sexy, with a good number of ballads added to the mix. A good balance of high-intensity, energetic dance tracks and heart-warming [sometimes piercing] slow songs. So whether you’re into an all-time high-energy mood or in a laid-back wallow-y mood, you’d definitely find a song in the selection that’s just right for you. But don’t just take my word for it, I say, go find out for yourself! J

~ this music review was created in November 2009 & posted on the Album Reviews Forum of Chinese Music Blog. It was also in my wretch.cc blog, but unfortunately that too had been discontinued..