Feng's Distorted World : 鋒言鋒語

Akira Kurosawa Movies

2007-11-23T21:23:00.000+08:00

In July 2006, a Japanese court ruled that all movies produced prior to 1953 were to be made available into the public domain. And so, many movies by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa were made freely available online, and most importantly legally. Those available on archive.org include Sugata Sanshiro (姿三四郎), They Who Step on Tiger's Tails (虎の尾を踏む男達), Stray Dog (野良犬), Rashomon (羅生門), Ikiru (生きる)

No doubt, the list I've present here is by no means complete and is likely to be further updated when reliable sources of the public domain films are made available. The sole film by Kurosawa that I would really like to see available soon is Seven Samurai (1954 - ouch, not really possible). I have not seen all of his movies, but my favourites so far are (in no specific order): Ran, Kagemusha, Seven Samurai, Rashomon.

Kurosawa's films have had a major influence on world cinema and continue to inspire filmmakers, and others, around the globe. "Seven Samurai" is frequently quoted as being one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, and has influenced modern filmaking in movies such as The Magnificent Seven, A Bugs Life, and Star Wars. Kurosawa's works are also influential to society in general. Most notably, the phrase "Rashomon Effect" has entered popular modern day usage indicating a conflicting situation.

Download the public domain movies by Akira Kurosawa here, available for free, courtesy of archive.org:
Format: 256Kb MPEG4 (Other formats are available on their respective sites)

Sugata Sanshiro (1943) - (195 MB) - site
They Who Step on Tiger's Tail (1945) - (149MB) - site
Nora Inu (Stray Dog (1949) - (313MB) - site
Rashomon (1950) - (226 MB) - site
Ikiru (To Live) (1952) - (367MB) - site

Moonlight Sonata Piano Score

2007-11-23T21:10:00.000+08:00

The Moonlight Sonata, aslo known as Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27, No. 2, was composed by Beethoven in the summer of 1801 in Hungary, on an estate belonging to the Brunswick family. The composition was published in 1802 and was dedicated to Beethoven’s pupil and passion, 17 years old Countess Giulietta Gucciardi.

Download the piano scores for the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven here (pdf):
Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata

Source: All-about-Beethoven.com
Wikipedia: Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven)

A Constellation and Shooting Stars

2007-11-23T20:52:00.000+08:00

Slowly Minute is is the solo project of 24-year-old Sapporo resident Takahiro Chiba. Takahiro blends crazy melodies that don’t line up with each other into playful electronics and live instrumentation - sounds of harps poking at pianos, beats that feel like the computer is drunk, vocals from a cartoon dreamland, and a strangely cinematic, often hilarious use of classic stock keyboards.

Slowly Minute is signed to indie label Bubble Core Records, the same label for Japanese DJ, Nobukazu Takemura. The track "A Constellation and Shooting Stars", from the album "Tomorrow World", combines a good mix of piano sections and synths to create a totally different lounge music piece, heavily influenced by ambient and jazz. What it really feels like is as if the artist were painting an imagery of what he is trying to present.

Download the track here:
Slowly Minute - A Constellation and Shooting Stars (mp3)

Do visit the artist's page at Bubble Core Records for more info and mp3s.

Emme Wong Lyrics

2007-11-23T20:50:00.000+08:00

Here are the lyrics to Emme Wong's (黃伊汶) song 愛失救

愛失救黃伊汶

和我從前談論海枯石爛
現在望我都嫌太浪漫
給我電郵話你得不到空間
自從來電變得愈聽愈煩

怎去熱戀怎麼心淡
然後愛到結尾只有散
喜愛默哀何必相愛
心灰到眼淚亦能沖淡 Ha..

* 全數接收愛已失救
沒有心相戀由我善後
不會內疚搶先開口
誰又要同情心縮開你手
誰人願勉強搶救
動作比分手還要荒謬
今次問你知不知醜
離別你眉頭都不需皺一皺

一切落空不必起哄
難道講分手必須發瘋
不要自己隨便失控
怎可以透露極其心痛

Repeat *

看你最終天天站在原地
請記得是我不喜歡你
要你看通被別人拋低的滋味
自知失去你亦總不會死

Repeat *

誰要和你潛入深海巨浪
願望若過多才會絕望
親我或留住我一點不稀罕
未能忘掉我才絕不嚮往
即管拋低我

DJ Mixing Software

2007-11-15T21:36:00.000+08:00

Here are some software designed for live mixing between tracks as a DJ would on actual turntables. I have tried many of them and here are some which I think work pretty well for a DJ who wants a good combination of mobility and performance. For best results, use 320K mp3 or Wav when mixing on these software.

1. Traktor

Traktor DJ Studio (now known simply as Traktor) is a software DJ solution developed by Native Instruments. This is actually one of my favourite and most frequently used software if I'm mixing live. I have personally used it in conjuction with a configuration of turntables and an external mixer.

The interface is straight forward and any DJ/musician would find many of its features handy and useful. It also offers a wide variety of features such as support for MIDI controller, EQs, 4 decks, multiple effects, master tempo, etc. The best part about this software is the ability to use it with Tracktor Scratch - meaning you could manipulate the digital tunes on vinyl.

Latest version available is Traktor DJ Studio 3
Download the demo from Native-Instruments here.

2. Ableton Live

Ableton Live is a powerful all-round DJ software. This piece of software is rather unique in the sense that it also allows for composing and arranging track "on-the fly". For this very reason, it is also extremely popular among many professional DJs and musicians. Some people who use Ableton in their livesets and compositions include Armin van Buuren, Sasha, Mogwai, BT, Paul van Dyk, and Daft Punk.

I seldom use Ableton in my sets, in favor of Traktor, partly due to the lower system requirements and functionality. It includes tons of features that I seldom (or never) use when mixing live sets such as track arrangement and sampler. For newcomers, the interface maybe a little daunting but the program provides a nifty little tutorial that'll guide users step-by-step.

Latest version available is Ableton Live 6
Download the demo from Ableton here.

3. Mixxx

Mixxx is an open source DJ tool designed for both professional and amateur DJs alike.

Mixxx allows DJs to mix music live with a clean, simple interface. Futhermore, Mixxx has a number of key features to help DJs in the mix: Beat estimation, parallel visual displays, and support for various DJ hardware controllers.

Mixxx is available for both Windows and Linux. The interface for Mixxx is clean and minimalist. I had only briefly tested this software but it provides basic functionality that any DJ would need for mixing (2 decks, cross-fade, EQ, queuing etc). According to the site, it also supports MIDI controllers. Best of all, it is free (as in freedom of choice and free beer) due to the nature of its GPL license.

Latest version is Mixxx 1.5
Download Mixxx from Sourceforge here.

Long Vacation Piano Score

2007-11-15T21:19:00.001+08:00

Here are some piano scores to several songs from the OST of the popular Japanese drama "Long Vacation" on Fuji TV by actor Takuya Kimuya (木村拓哉). The OST was written by Cagnet and contains a wide range of musical styles including RnB, piano instrumental and jazz. I've tried playing parts of the score and found the generally "Close to You" is somewhat easy but "Minami" is rather technical to perform.

Close to You - Piano Piece of Sena 1
[Page 1] [Page 2]

Close to You - Piano Piece of Sena 2
[Page 1] [Page 2]

Minami - Piano Piece of Sena
[Page 1] [Page 2] [Page 3]

Salakavala - Treacherous Tunes

2007-11-15T20:57:00.000+08:00

Salakavala is a suomisaundi psytrance group from Finland. They group has released many tracks on the internet prior to their album "Fractal Fishing". In addition to that, they also host the popular Finnish psy label Antiscarp.

Suomisaundi, is the dark, twisted metamorphosis of psytrance. It is commonly heard at forest parties at Finland and Sweden but in recent years has proliferated to the rest of the psychedelic trance community worldwide. Nevertheless, suomisaundi is still considered a rather underground sect of the already non-mainstream psytrance genre.

I must say its really something of an eye opener for people who are not familiar with psytrance and the suomi music scene in general. This is exactly the sort of music you have to listen to appreciate.

You can download the entire album in 320K mp3 format here:

Salakavala - Treacherous Tunes
1. When it Comes
2. Oatshaker
3. Antifeidaus (feat. Toletrancer)
4. Fifty Kopecs

Recommended tracks: Track 1, Track 3

Do visit Antiscarp Records for more downloads of Salakavala and other suomisaundi artists such as Mullet Mohawk, Igor Swamp, and Puoskari

A New Day has Come

2007-11-15T20:49:00.000+08:00

A New Day has Come
Celine Dion

This is a rather old but cool video by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and here are the lyrics to this great song:

A new day has...come

I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear

Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun
A new day has...come

Where it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun
A new day has...come

A new day has...come
Ohhh, a light... OOh

Psytrance mix

2007-11-08T00:12:00.000+08:00

Tracklist:

1. Prometheus - One Cell Short of A Brain [Twisted]
2. Puoskari - Dancing Legos [Antiscarp]
3. Derango - Masterdamnit [Inpsyde Media]
4. Transwave - Adoration of The Aum [3D Vision]
5. Aerosis - Take a Suntrip [White Label]
6. Elastic Plastic - xHamburger [White Label]
7. Chi.A.D - Astral Warrior [Nova Tekk]
8. Infinite Dimensions - Apocalypse [White Label]
9. Pandemonium! - A Mad Scientists Night [Metapsychic]
10. Blue Planet Corporation - Antidote (Pleiadians Mix) [Completely Cabbaged]

This is a psytrance mix I did towards the end of September. The set starts out with a good dose of suomisaundi, dark, prog-psy and then transitions into the much harder parts involving old-school goa trance with selected tracks by artists such as Transwave and Chi.A.D.

Download it here:
Feng - Psycho Mix
(51 MB)

光良 - 童話 (Piano Score & Lyrics)

2007-09-30T20:46:00.000+08:00

Here's the piano score to Malaysian singer Guang Liang 光良(Michael Wong)'s hit track 童話 (Fairy Tale) also known as "Tong Hua". I don't like the song but some of my friends seem to really love it! The piano score is pretty good though. Anyways, enjoy!

[Page 1]
[Page 2]
[Page 3]

And here are the lyrics to the song:

童话 - 王光良

忘了有多久再没听到你
对我说你最爱的故事
我想了很久我开始慌了
是不是我又做错了什么

你哭着对我说童话里都是骗人的
我不可能是你的王子
也许你不会懂从你说爱我以后
我的天空星星都亮了

我愿变成童话里你爱的那个天使
张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信相信我们会像童话故事里
幸福和快乐是结局

我要变成童话里你爱的那个天使
张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信相信我们会像童话故事里
幸福和快乐是结局

我会变成童话里你爱的那个天使
张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信相信我们会像童话故事里
幸福和快乐是结局
一起写我们的结局

Talamasca - Obsessive Dream

2007-09-27T17:42:00.000+08:00

Talamasca has offered his latest psytrance album for free download on his label "Mind Control Records"!

Talamasca
Obsessive Dream
Format: CD (2XCD)
Label: Mind Control Records (France)
Date: May 21, 2007

Track listing:
CD1
01 Talamasca - Obsessive Dream
02 Talamasca - Get It All
03 Talamasca - My Destiny
04 Talamasca - Feelings
05 Talamasca - Supernatural
06 Talamasca - Flashback
07 Talamasca - Overload
08 Talamasca - Spritual Renewal
09 Talamasca - Party Generation
CD2
01 Talamasca With Spacecat - On Purpose
02 Talamasca With XSI And DJ Gogo - The Good Team
03 Sirius Isness - Breaking The Matrix (Talamasca Remix)
04 Talamasca With Skazi - Imaginary Friend (Remix)
05 Talamasca With GMS - High Vibe (Live Version)
06 Talamasca With Shagma - This Isn't A Mistake
07 Talamasca With Eskimo - To Be Continued
08 Talamasca - Frenchman In Tokyo (XSI Remix)
09 Talamasca With Yuman - Ambient'n'roll

The album is a full 2 CD album, with the first CD offering tracks produced by Talamasca and the second CD a compilation of remixes of various groups such as Spacecat, Sirius Isness, Skazi, GMS, Eskimo, XSI and others.

The album is produced in much of a full-on (morning trance) style but has some orchestral psy and old-school goa elements laced in it. What I don't really like about the album is the uniformity of mood throughout all the tracks. However there are some notable tracks worth listening, - Overload, Spiritual Renewal. The second CD offers a greater variety of styles as many artists are featured on it.

While I don't find the album particularly prominent or outstanding in any aspect, I would say it is really noble of Talamasca to let people download the entire album for free. This is a rather decent album, but definitely nothing the sort of material you'd expect in his previous Beyond the Mask and Zodiac albums.

Download it from Mind Control Records here:
Talamasca - Obsessive Dream (full album)

Psybient Mix 26/07/07

2007-09-26T01:25:00.000+08:00

Tracklisting:

1. Shpongle - Shpongleyes [Twisted]
2. Testrauschen - Der Panther [White Label]
3. Carbon Based Lifeforms - Comsat [Ultimae]
4. MFG - Hypnotized (Feng Chillout Mix) [White Label]
5. Darkfarmer - Filament [Textone]
6. Astral Projection - Still Dreaming (Anything can Happen) [Trust in Trance]

This is a short psybient/psychill mix I did last night. Just slightly over the 30 minute mark. The set starts off in a surreal mood and gradually progresses, building up intensity and introducing new styles at the same time.

The first track needs no further intro to psy connossieurs really, because any real psy addict would know about Shpongle/Hallucinogen/Celtic Cross/Mystery of the Yeti/Younger Brother - Simon Posford. The second track is a little obscure by underground German electronic music projekt from Munich - Testrauschen. The original "Hypnotized" by MFG (Message from God) was really energetic and trippy but I managed to remix it to sound rather dub-ish and got it mixed with the more electro and IDM sounding "Filament" by Darkfarmer, originally found on textone's Designated Drivers Compilation. Still, the remixed "Hypnotized" still sounds a tad harder than I'd intended it to be. The final track from Astral Projection is actually a chillout version of their legendary goa trance track "People can Fly" from the Israeli group's debut "Trust in Trance" album.

Download the mixset here:

Psybient Mix 26/07/07 (35 MB)

Enjoy!

Rakuzen Chulan Square

2007-06-19T01:06:00.000+08:00

Here's a brief report of my Sunday lunch at Rakuzen Chulan Square branch, Kuala Lumpur, some 3 weeks ago with friends.

Chawan Mushi 茶碗蒸 (Steamed Egg),　Kaori-hako kani sarada 香り箱かにサラダ (Crab Salad), Chuka Kurage 中華くらげ (Chinese-styled Jellyfish), Yanagawa-nabe 柳川鍋, and Yakitori 焼き鳥 (Skewered Chicken)

Sashimi Moriawase 刺身盛合せ

Salmon Temaki サーモン手巻き, California Temaki　カリフォルニア手巻き, and Soft Shell Crab Temaki

Shiitake しいたけ (Skewered Mushroom)

Kimuchi Nabe キムチ鍋 (Seafood Soup-based hot pot)

Unagi Kabayaki うなぎ蒲焼

Sashimi Salad 刺身サラダ

Tempura Moriawase 天婦羅盛合せ

Today's Nimono この日の煮物

Soft shell crab

Sushi Moriawase 寿司盛合せ

Overall, it was a satisfying experience. Yanagawa nabe was something new I tried that day and its quite decent. Favourites here are Shiitake, Sashimi Moriwase, and Sashimi Salad. The Nimono was surprisingly good! (I'm guessing its probably even better going down with a good bottle of sake!)

Rakuzen has a really cosy environment, pretty decent food (although portion is a little small), and its good value for money.

Will return someday!

Moonshine at Laundry Bar

2007-06-18T19:12:00.000+08:00

Recommended by Armand Tanzarian, Post Rock musician and a frequent collaborator of mine, I was coaxed into attending Moonshine for May. Moonshine is a music show that happens every month at Laundry Bar, The Curve, in the suburb of PJ, approximately 30 minutes drive from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Four of the best bands in the Malaysian underground scene were featured that night. First up the line, was Estrella, a band which plays jazzy, acoustic music. They were the best band on the night IMHO. Great music for chilling out.

Next up was Furniture, which delivered an ambient, spacey, post-rock set that was made distinct by the vocalist's child-like vocals..

Laila's Lounge is up next. Apparently, they played a rock set reminiscent to Radiohead.

Armand told me that they had saved the best band for the last. They Will Kill Us All (TWKUA for short) was the band everyone in the crowd was cheering for, and they did put on a truly banging set that night. But their music wasn't quite to my liking, its just that they're not quite the usual music I listen to. By the time they had finished playing, the crowd was euphoric, and the music sounded as though it were still pumping in your ears.

And let's NOT forget about getting wasted!!

Enjoy!

Photos courtesy of Laundry Bar

Eluvium - Ambient goodness!

2007-06-18T18:54:00.000+08:00

Eluvium is one of the more recent ambient acts I've listened to and really got hooked onto. Coming from the indie music label, Temporary Residence. (Which is Explosions in The Sky's label), you can be assured that Eluvium is definately going to be a listening pleasure.

His 2007 album, Copia is an hour long epic journey through ambient landscapes. Eluvium's works are predominantly piano pieces, with subtle intermissions of strings. The music is emotionally provoking at times, yet it keeps its mostly calm, soothing setting throughout the entire album.

TRACK LISTING
1. Amreik
2. Indoor Swimming at the Space Station
3. Seeing You Off The Edges
4. Prelude For Time Feelers (mp3)
5. Requiem on Frankfort Ave.
6. Radio Ballet
7. (Intermission)
8. After Nature
9. Reciting the Airships
10. Ostinato
11. Hymn #1
12. Repose In Blue

For more downloads, visit Eluvium's label at temporary residence.

Updates, & Utada Hikaru Kiss & Cry

2007-06-18T18:28:00.000+08:00

Its been almost 3 months since I've had any updates at all. Sorry.

I've been spending most of my time on exams after exams, project curio, and I even managed to catch a gig which featured some Malaysian underground bands. More on that later.

For those who didn't know, Utada Hikaru released yet another single!! Though the single's title is yet to be announced, it will feature the track "Kiss & Cry" from the Freedom Cup Noodles commercial. It will be available on sale in Japan beginning 29th of August 2007. So thats something for us all to look forward to. Here's the fan editted video of the radio rip version of "Kiss & Cry" on Youtube:

Utada Hikaru - Flavor of Life Promo Pic

2007-03-17T00:14:00.000+08:00

Here's one for all of you Hikki fans out there. It is promotional picture for her latest single "Flavor of Life". Yeah, the latest news is that she recently divorced with her husband Kiriya Kazuaki after 4 years of marriage. I just hope that Kiriya can continue to do some of her PVs, her videos like the ones of Hikari, Final Distance, Sakura Drops, and Colors were all so cool!

courtesy of utada-online.net

You might also want to read a detailed post about "Flavor of life" here:
Hikki's New Single - Flavor of Life

My Little Airport - 悲傷的採購

2007-03-16T23:40:00.000+08:00

My Little Airport has again released a new track on their site after 2 months!! It seems that the rumour is true - they might be releasing a new EP soon. The track entitled "悲傷的採購" literally translates to "purchase of sadness". The track is heavy loaded with synths (casio by p) and has a overall lingering electronic but light feel to it.

My Little Airport的新歌"悲傷的採購"延續了上一首歌"畢業變成失業"的主題，即係時下香港年輕人對工作的觀念和一些社會的現實事情。在這一首歌里，Nicole的聲音和阿p的casio電子鋼琴非常合拍，聽起來有一份好輕鬆，煩惱抛諸腦後的感覺。

Download:
My Little Airport - 悲傷的採購 (mp3)

〈悲傷的採購〉

唱: nicole
曲/詞/編/ programming/ casio : 阿p
監製: my little airport

訂了一季又到下季
為何人大了就要成為工作的奴隸
最愛作的不可發揮

我的感覺逐漸流逝
從前曾話過要如何欣賞世界的美麗
現在只懂得放假去消費

如果繼續這樣我還是我嗎？我還喜歡我嗎？
或者我應該死去吧總好過變得更差
如果繼續這樣你還願意嗎？和我奏著結他？
日子不應該這樣吧而現實就是這樣可怕

You can download more of My Little Airport's tracks from their official site and also read about their past tracks on my posts below:
My Little Airport - 畢業變成失業
我愛官恩娜，都不及愛你的哨牙

We Have Your Head

2007-03-16T23:15:00.000+08:00

Here's a track that I was sent to me by Kevin from Big Scary Monsters Records. The artist featured below is none other than Richard Walters, an indie/folk rock artist, although the track below leans more towards the minimal genre.

While this is not exactly a genre-breaking track of any sort, the track is quite special in the sense that Walter's melancholic singing style blends in surprisingly well with the distinct shoegazing background of repetitive guitars and gentle piano sections. If you're a fan of shoegaze or chillout music, then this is an artist you should try listening to.

Richard Walter's EP "The Pilot Lights" has just released in February and was recorded in part by David Kosten (producer for Air Traffic, Iain Archer, Bat For Lashes and many more) and in part by Guy Sigsworth (ex-member of Frou Frou (along with Imogen Heap) and producer for Björk, Madonna, Lamb and others).

Richard Walters - We Have Your Head (mp3)

You can check out Richard Walters' myspace here and also buy his latest EP at http://www.bsmrocks.com

林憶蓮 - 詞不達意

2007-02-22T20:57:00.000+08:00

林憶蓮 - 詞不達意

4’24
OT: Communication (2003) – The Cardigans
曲：Peter Svensson 詞：小寒編：劉志遠監：Jim Lee/Sandy Lam
Recorded & Mixed by Jim Lee
Guitar & Bass Solo: 劉志遠
Drums: Melchior Sarreal
Background Vocal Arrangement: Jim Lee/Sandy Lam
Background Vocal: Sandy Lam
Pro-Tools Editing: Jim Lee
Recording Studio: 唐樓錄音室 (HK)/上赫錄音室 (Taipei)
Mixing Studio: 上赫錄音室 (Taipei)

有些人用一輩子去學習
化解溝通的難題
為你我也可以
我的快樂與恐懼猜疑
很想都翻譯成言語
帶你進我心底

我們就像隔著一層玻璃
看得見卻觸不及
雖然我離你幾毫米
你不會知道我有多著急
無心的坐視不理
我尷尬的沉默裡
淚水在滴

我無法傳達我自己
從何說起
要如何翻譯我愛你
寂寞不已
我也想　能與你
搭起橋梁
建立默契
卻詞不達意

在你的盲點裡寸步不移
不論天晴或下雨
陪著你悲傷歡喜
你難道從來不覺得好奇
你身旁冷清擁擠
我一直在這裡
不說一句

我無法傳達我自己
從何說起
要如何翻譯我愛你
遺憾不已
我也想　能與你
搭起橋梁　建立默契

我必須得先看明白我自己
翻譯成一句我愛你
我也想　能與你
搭起橋梁　建立默契
卻詞不達意　詞不達意

Thanks to re-sandy-lam.com for the lyrics

Crane's Perfect World

2007-02-19T22:30:00.000+08:00

Cranes is a shoegazing band formed in the mid 1980s in UK. They play mostly alt rock, dream pop, and also sometimes gothic rock. This is a track from their band's 1997 EP entitled "Can't Get Free". The band's style leans heavily towards ambient and ethereal sounds. The shoegaze "feel" is further amplified with the calm, gentle strumming of a solo guitar as well as lead singer Alison Shaw's ever prominent child-like vocals.

Cranes - Perfect World (mp3)

Visit Crane's official site on dadaphonic.com for further details of the band's latest gigs and downloads.

14 message ～every ballad songs 2～, Every Little Thing

2007-02-17T23:14:00.000+08:00

"14 message ～every ballad songs 2～" is the title of Every Little Thing's 4th "Best Of" Albums. It was just released on Valentines Day 2007 and is currently No. 2 on Oricon's Album chart. It is a collection of some of Every Little Thing's best songs and celebrates the tenth anniversary of the group's debut. Includes all their singles, live recordings, and fan-selected tracks spanning their complete history of ballads!

14 message ～every ballad songs 2～（フォティーン・メッセージ～エヴリ・バラード・ソング・ツー～）全曲原音で収録されており、ヒット曲「UNTITLED 4 ballads」収録曲、「恋文」、「またあした」といった前作ベスト以降の14曲が収録されている。

収録内容:
1. UNSPEAKABLE
2. キヲク
3. 雨の鳴る夜、しずくを君に
4. ソラアイ
5. nostalgia
6. しあわせの風景
7. azure moon
8. ルーム
9. 恋文
10. 五月雨
11. 帰り道
12. good night
13. またあした
14. 愛の謳

I'm listening to the album now and I really like what I'm listening to so far. I'll probably submit some lyrics once I'm done translating them. In the meantime, you can view the PV of ELT's song UNSPEAKABLE from Oricon here. You can also read about the interview with ELT regarding their new album (sorry it is in Japanese only).

How to Speed Up Open Office

2007-02-17T22:38:00.000+08:00

Open Office is a suite of office applications developed by Sun Microsystems. It is an open-source alternative to Microsoft's Office Suite and for this reason, it is often bundled together with various Linux distros such as Knoppix, Ubuntu and MEPIS. It also has the ability to save the documents in native Microsoft Office formats so that you can continue to work with your document even though the computer doesn't have Open Office installed.

Of course, there are several setbacks to Open Office. Firstly, its the incompatibility of the formatting Open Office with Microsoft Office. Of course, as time advances, compatibility between the two offices have increased by leaps and bounds and formatting is now a small problem for Open Office. The next issue is printing problems with Open Office in Linux. This is a problem that I have personally faced numerous times. Most users overcome this problem by either exporting their document as a PDF file and print them or take the drastic measure, ie. to reinstall their printer in Open Office.

Of all the problems mentioned above, the most common problem faced by Open Office users is of course the program's slow loading time. I've tested some methods to speed up Open Office's loading time and here's a list of methods I've found useful for my machine. I'm running a P4 with 256MB of RAM and Open Office takes almost 30 seconds to load. After applying the changes, Open Office now loads about 30% faster!! (thankfully!)

1. Increase Memory Cache
This is a method to decrease the loading time by tweaking the memory settings.
Go to:
Applications-->OpenOffice.org Writer-->Tools-->Options
Under the OpenOffice.org heading, select Memory,
Under Graphics Cache, change the "Use for OpenOffice.org" to 30 MB (or more if you have >512MB RAM)
Change "Memory per Object" to 2.0 MB
Close OpenOffice.org

2. Reduce Number of Undo Steps
Go to:
Applications-->OpenOffice.org Writer-->Tools-->Options
Under the OpenOffice.org heading, select Memory,
Now change these settings:
Undo:Number of steps = 25

3. Disable Java Runtime Environment
Apparently Open Office also loads the Java Runtime Environment at startup to handle databases. If you don't use database, you can disable the feature.
Applications-->OpenOffice.org Writer-->Tools-->Options
Click on Java, and deselect “Use Java Runtime Environment.”

Restart the program and and this should give you a much faster Open Office!

Happy Chinese New Year

2007-02-17T21:38:00.000+08:00

祝大家在豬年，豬肥屋潤，事事順利, 風調雨順！！
Happy Chinese New Year!!

Prison Break Flash Game

2007-02-11T13:51:00.000+08:00

"...We go tonight..."

This is the official Prison Break flash game on the Prison Break DVD special site. In this game, you play the role of prison inmate Michael Scofield trying to breakout to save his brother Lincoln Burrows from a death sentence. You have to make your way through tunnels and secret rooms to ultimately steal across the yard and over the wall. Breakout your way towards freedom!

As Micheal Scofield said, breaking out is just the beginning!

Tips:
Sneak up behind guards to knock them out. But be really careful when you're doing this, they'll hear you if you run. Avoid search lights by hiding in the shadows. Use the left and right arrow keys to walk, holding SHIFT to run. Use the up arrow key to reach above. Use the down arrow key to crouch or climb down. Press space bar to jump.

Play it now

You might also want to know how to fold the paper crane from Prison Break.

Intercontinental Hussle of Magyar Posse

2007-02-08T15:11:00.000+08:00

Magyar Posse is a six piece band, capable of conjuring up sounds that are surprisingly fun to listen to. The band is from Finland, and specializes in post rock. The track "International Hussle" below is performed live in Oulu, Finland on 17/04/2005 and is part of a larger liveset performed by Magyar Posse. The track is somewhat progressive and builds upon the steady melody and background. Towards the second hald of the track, a solo violin plays - giving the track some much needed elegance. Towards the end of the track however, the track is extremely distorted sounding, providing a stark contrast of mood as compared to the progression and solo violins.

Magyar Posse - Intercontinental Hussle (mp3)

You might also want to check out Magyar Posse's official site.

The Postal Service

2007-02-04T14:36:00.001+08:00

The Postal Service is electronic indie band which is popular among the worldwide underground music community. The track featured here "Such Great Heights" has been featured in many various TV series and films such as Grey's Anatomy, and the trailer for the film "Garden State".

In this special remix by house/techno DJ and electronic music artist John Tejada, the track "Such Great Heights" is presented as a rendition of electronic music closer to likes of tech house and electro clash. Light enough to be listened on its own, yet still mixable into house sets, the track is made up of simple beats and light synths - groovy and ideal for mixing into intros of sets.

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights (John Tejada Remix) (mp3)

You may want to also visit postalservicemusic.net and paletterecordings for more info on "The Postal Service"

Joe Hisaishi - Kid's Return Piano Score

2007-02-04T12:06:00.000+08:00

Kid's Return (キッズ・リターン) was one of Takeshi Kitano's greatest films. Like many of Kitano's films, Kid's Return is centred around the yakuza (Japanese gangster) theme. The movie is about two high school dropouts who try to find a direction and meaning in their lives—one by becoming a yakuza lieutenant, the other by becoming a boxer.

As usual, Joe Hisaishi (久石譲), the composer of film scores for many of Takeshi Kitano's movies, gets to write for Kid's Return as well. The track is has many traditional sounds such as drums and also manipulates vocal samples to infuse that native Japanese folk rhythm into the track.

And here's the piano scores for Kid's Return.
[Page 1] [Page 2] [Page 3] [Page 4] [Page 5] [Page 6]

Credits to joehisaishi.net for providing the scores.

You might also want these other scores by Joe Hisaishi:
Laputa: Castle in the Sky's Piano Score
Kikujiro no Natsu Piano Score

Tics by Lars Horntveth

2007-02-04T11:50:00.001+08:00

Been listening to alot of Scandinavian music lately - Bjork, Efterklang, Sigur Ros, and now Lars Horntveth - musical leader of Norwegian ten-man band Jaga Jazzist.

Over the last ten years, he has crafted a truly unique and innovative body of work. While Lars' style is remarkably similar to his works in Jaga Jazzist (of course, they're the same person involved in different projects) but the tracks released under Lars Horntveth's own name are a far more personal piece of work. His track were recorded entirely with real instruments and a nine-piece string ensemble on board to supply some extra textures, with the exception of programmed beats. In the tracks "Tics", strings (in both simple, short bows and pizzicatos) are the instruments of choice chosen by Lars to give the track a curious, playful, yet relaxing mood to it.

If you're a fan of Jaga Jazzist or the like, don't wait anymore. Download the track featured below on Lars Horntveth's official site now! You won't be disappointed.

Lars Horntveth - Tics (mp3)

Bjork - Verandi

2007-02-03T17:40:00.000+08:00

Bjork is one of the hallmarks of contemporary Icelandic and Scandinavian music. And here's a free download featured by Bjork on her official website. This is a track from her single "Hidden Place", which in turn from her 2001 hit album "Vespertine". Quoting from her site, Bjork mentions that:

"'Hidden Place' is sort of about how two people can create a paradise just by uniting. You've got an emotional location that's mutual. And it's unbreakable. And obviously it's make-believe. So, you could argue that it doesn't exist because it's invisible, but of course it does. And it's sort of a one-nil situation."

I've always liked the way she writes and arranges her tracks. Her albums are often very graphic and thought provoking, depicting scenes of distorted sexual acts such as fellatio and vaginal penetration. Despite the unconventional style in many of her tracks, it is still somewhat easy on the listeners' ears. The track "Verandi" featured here highlights Bjork's signature vocals and with that flute and eerie synth loop reminiscent to church bells ringing in the distance and repeating in the background. You will be left feeling slightly disturbed, but never confused after listening to the track.

Bjork - Verandi (mp3)

Do visit her official site for more news and downloads.

Our Last Day - Casshern OST

2007-01-31T17:47:00.000+08:00

This is the soundtrack for CASSHERN, a Japanese film released in 2004. I know its a bit late for this post but I just couldn't resist writting about it. Apart from The Myth OST and Requiem for a Dream OST, this album is another of the best OSTs released in recent times. The soundtrack consists of 2 CDs, CD1 being a collection of tracks inspired by the movie and CD 2 the tracks that make up the background music in the movie.

The music in these 2 CDs are extremely varied and ranges from j-rock (Hyde, The Back Horn, GLAY), house (Satoshi Tomiie, Towa Tei), lovely ballads (Onitsuka Chihiro, Shiina Ringo, Utada Hikaru) and plain instrumental (Shiro Sagisu in CD2) as well. The track "Requiem" by The Back Horn which is featured in the fight scene between Tetsuya and Burai has become quite a cult favourite and helped boost The Back Horn's popularity worldwide immensely. "Borderline" by Onitsuka Chihiro is also a great track with hauntingly beautiful vocals. The track "誰かの願いが叶うころ (Dare ka no negai kanau koro) by Hikki is the ending theme for the movie. Coupled with a piano solo, the track has a certain melancholic aura to it. As for CD2, my favourite tracks by Shiro Sagisu are "軌道" which is the music for Tetsuya's revival and "The Last Day" during the final scene. Shiro Sagisu's talent combined with his fine use of orchestra and simple strings help make the music both dramatic and emotional in each and every aspect.

Simply put, ther's never a filler or a boring moment in this soundtrack. Instrumental or not, every track is great in its own special way and that's what that makes Our Last Day a great soundtrack.

Our Last Day - Casshern Offical Album

CD1
1. 椎名林檎 / 『茎(ステム)』
2. MONDO GROSSO / 『LIKE NO ONE'S LOOKING』 [Listen Realplayer] [Listen WMP]
3. HYDE / 『MASQUERADE』
4. TOWA TEI / 『ORIGINAL HUMAN』
5. ACIDMAN / 『水写』
6. SS:ST（Shiro SAGISU & Satoshi TOMIIE）[Listen Realplayer] [Listen WMP]
7. 鬼束ちひろ / 『BORDERLINE』 [Listen Realplayer] [Listen WMP]
8. THE BACK HORN / 『レクイエム』
9. GLAY / 『無限のdeja vuから~Peaceful Session~』
10. 宇多田ヒカル / 『誰かの願いが叶うころ』 [Listen Realplayer] [Listen WMP]

CD2
1. 荒廃
2. 暗影
3. 胎動
4. 眩暈
5. 神意
6. 軌道
7. 復活
8. 足音
9. 祈り
10. 幻影
11. 叫び
12. 記憶
13. 輪廻
14. THE LAST DAY

CD2 Composed and Arranged by Shiro SAGISU, Except:
[M-8] Composed by Tomohiko GONDO , Arranged by Tomohiko GONDO and Yuichiro HONDA
[M-9] Composed by Yuichiro HONDA and Tomohiko GONDO , Arranged by Yuichiro HONDA
[M-11] Composed and Arranged by Shiro SAGISU , Additional Production: Yuichiro HONDA
[M-14] Composed and Arranged by Tomohiko GONDO

The film is brilliant, and the soundtrack just blows your mind off, what else can you ask for?

Casshern OST's official site from toshiba-emi

Dice Wars - Risk Flash Game

2007-01-31T17:18:00.000+08:00

Here's a great game that is similar to the style of Risk board games except it has simpler rules. Your armies are dice, and when you attack another country, all the dice involved are rolled. In this game, you start off with a predetermined amount of dice and make strategic decisions to attack and claim enemy territory. One wrong move and that could be your last!!

Play it now

This game is developed by the great folks at gamedesign.jp.

My Little Airport - 畢業變成失業

2007-01-28T14:41:00.000+08:00

My Little Airport has just released another track on their site last week! The track entitled "畢業變成失業" which literally means "Graduation becomes unemployment" is a really cool track. The song retains the band's usual style and manages to capture the essence and feeling of many Hong Kong's youth which is the helplessness once they graduate and step into society.

My Little Airport 又推出新歌 "畢業變成失業"。新歌亦保留My Little Airport一貫搞笑，輕鬆又可愛的風格，令人聽起來很舒服。更難得是歌詞内容可以形容香港時下好多年輕人剛剛畢業踏出社會，又要面對失業，很迷惶，很無助的一種心態。

真喺好好聽GA!!

Download the track here:
My Little Airport - 畢業變成失業 (mp3)

Here are the lyrics:

唱: nicole
曲/詞/guitars: 阿p
編: 阿p/ nicole/ 阿賢@22cats/阿科@22cats
bass: 阿賢@22cats
drums: 阿科@22cats

一畢業就等於失業，
一畢業就等於失業。

Shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do。

七個月見左三十九份工，
搵份工仲難過搵老公，
我今日只想留在家中。

Shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do。

見工見到入左去東涌，
點知份工要去掘山窿，
我今日只想留在家中。
聽見同學逐個搵到工，
但我仍在尋尋覓覓中，
沒有人比我更加「火農」，
不幸正與我結伴中。

Shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do。

之後見岩份工以為好輕鬆，
因為份工基本上係無人工，
我今日只想留在家中。

Shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do
shoo do do do do do do do。

一畢業就已經失業，
一畢業就已經失業。

You might also want to read up on my other posts about My Little Airport here:
我愛官恩娜，都不及愛你的哨牙
HK's best kept secret - My Little Airport

つじあやの - 風になる (Lyrics and Video)

2007-01-28T12:56:00.000+08:00

Back by popular demand! Here's the music video and lyrics to つじあやの Tsuji Ayano's popular track "風になる" (Kaze ni naru - I become the wind). The track is the theme song for Studio Ghibli's hit movie "The Cat's Returns" (猫の恩返し). I can't explain how it feels, but the video is really cool cuz everyone is wearing glasses in it.

「風になる」歌詞

忘れていた目を閉じて　取り戻せ恋のうた
青空に隠れている　手を伸ばしてもう一度

忘れないですぐそばに　僕がいるいつの日も
星空を眺めている　一人きりの夜明けも

たった一つの心　悲しみに暮れないで
君のためいきなんて　春風に変えてやる

陽のあたる坂道を　自転車で駆けのぼる
君と失くした想い出乗せて行くよ

ララララ　口ずさむ　くちびるを染めて行く
君と見つけたしあわせ花のように

忘れていた窓開けて　走り出せ恋のうた
青空に託している　手をかざしてもう一度

忘れないよすぐそばに　君がいるいつの日も
星空に輝いてる　涙揺れる明日も

たった一つの言葉　この胸に抱きしめて
君のため僕は今　春風に吹かれてる

陽のあたる坂道を　自転車で駆けのぼる
君と誓った約束乗せて行くよ

ララララ　口ずさむ　くちびるを染めて行く
君と出会えたしあわせ祈るように

陽のあたる坂道を　自転車で駆けのぼる
君と誓った約束乗せて行くよ

ララララ　口ずさむ　くちびるを染めて行く
君と出会えたしあわせ祈るように
君と出会えたしあわせ祈るように

ROMAJI:

wasurete ita me wo tojite
tori modose koi no uta
aozora ni kakureteiru
te wo nobashite mou ichido
wasurenaide sugu soba ni
boku ga iru itsu no hi mo
hoshizora ni nagameteiru hitori kiri no yoake mo
tatta hitotsu no kokoro kanashimi ni kurenaide
kimi no tameiki nante harukaze ni kaete yaru

hi no ataru sakamichi wo
jitensha de kake noboru
kimi to nakushita omoide nosete iku yo
RARARARARA kuchizusamu
kuchibiru wo somete iku
kimi to mitsuketa shiawase hana no you ni

wasurete ita mado akete hashiri dase koi no uta
aozora ni takushiteiru
te wo kazashite mou ichido
wasurenai yo sugu soba ni
kimi ga iru itsu no hi mo
hoshizora ni kagayaiteru namida yureru ashita mo
tatta hitotsu no kotoba kono mune ni dakishimete
kimi no tame boku ha ima harukaze ni fukareteru

hi no ataru sakamichi wo
jitensha de kake noboru
kimi to chikatta yakusoku nosete iku yo
RARARARARA kuchizusamu
kuchibiru wo somete iku
kimi to deaeta shiawase inoru you ni

hi no ataru sakamichi wo
jitensha de kake noboru
kimi to chikatta yakusoku nosete iku yo
RARARARARA kuchizusamu
kuchibiru wo somete iku
kimi to deaeta shiawase inoru you ni

kimi to deaeta
shiawase inoru you ni

ENGLISH:

I forgot, closing my eyes
To take back the love song
Hiding in the blue sky
I'll stretch my hands to it once more
Don't forget that no matter when
I'll be right next to you
Gazing up at the starry sky, although the dawn is lonely
Just your one heart, won't grow dark in sadness, and
I'll change your sighs into the spring wind

I'll ascend the sunny hillpath
On my bicycle
And I'll take along those memories you lost
La la la la la, I hum a tune
And it color my lips
The happiness I've found with you is like a flower

I forgot, opening the window, the love song, as I started to run
Entrusting it to the blue sky
Once more, I held my hand over my head
I won't forget that no matter when
You'll be right next to me
Shining in the starry sky is the tomorrow where our tears tremble
Just your one word, holding it to my heart
For your sake, I am now being blown back by the spring wind

I'll ascend the sunny hillpath
On my bicycle
And I'll take along the promise I swore to with you
La la la la la, I hum a tune
And it color my lips
The happiness I was able to meet with you is what I pray for

I'll ascend the sunny hillpath
On my bicycle
And I'll take along the promise I swore to with you
La la la la la, I hum a tune
And it color my lips
The happiness I was able to meet with you is what I pray for

The happiness I was able to meet with you
Is what I pray for

If you enjoyed the video, you might also want to read these related posts about Tsuji Ayano:
つじあやの - 心は君のもとへ (歌詞とPV)
COVER GIRL by Tsuji Ayano
Balanco
Tsuji Ayano

Computer Testing Utilities

2007-01-26T17:10:00.000+08:00

Here's a list of software that's essential for your testing and benchmarking of your computer's performance. By running these software, you are able to determine a system's capability, overall stability and compare it to other systems (benchmarking). All software featured below are freeware and are often used to test new computers as well as overclocked systems.

1. CPU Z
While not exactly a testing software, CPU-Z is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system. It is really useful as it displays all information about your system such as processor type and specification, L1 and L2 cache size, motherboard and bios version, and RAM information. Good for identifying information that is critical for troubleshooting a problematic system.

Download CPU-Z 1.38 from cpuid.com

2. Memtest

MemTest is a RAM reliability tester. By running MemTest you can ensure that your computer's RAM is functioning correctly. This is a good thing to check whenever you buy a new computer, install new RAM, or change the configuration of your machine (for instance, to overclock it). If you are the sort of user who likes to push the performance of your machine to the edge, relying upon whether your machine will boot after your new BIOS tweaks is a poor way to determine the safety of your new settings, you can use MemTest as a true test of stability.

Download Memtest from hcidesign.com

3. Disk Speed

This nifty piece of software performs disk speed test and provided details about how fast your disks can transfer data. The information provided includes data transfer rate for linear reads, random read transfer rate and the seek time of the drive.

Download Roadkil's Disk Speed from roadkil.net

4. Prime95

This is a popular software among overclockers worldwide for benchmarking of their systems and is also a distributed computing project. The software is widely used for "torture tests". Testers often leave the system to run Prime95 for weeks and months on end. Prime95 uses the computer to find Mersenne prime numbers, and in the process of doing this, it pushes the CPU's floating point units extremely hard, causing the CPU to become extremely hot - making Prime95 an extremely viable software for testing system stabilty. There is also a Linux version called MPrime.

Download Prime95 from mersenne.org

If your computer passes all these tests, then you can be pretty confident that your computer is fit and ready to go!

Best of Contemporary Nu-Jazz, Downtempo and Breakbeat

2007-01-26T16:43:00.000+08:00

Here's a list of some of the top 10 nujazz/downtempo tracks I've listened to. I've actually published this list on internetdj.com sometime ago but I didn't feature it here. Most artist from this list are indie-based and signed to small labels with the exception of Japanese DJ, Towa Tei.

Best of Contemporary Nu-Jazz, Downtempo and Breakbeat:

1. Neutrino - Syupaman (mp3) [Read more]
2. Seksu Roba - Zero Gravity Miniskirt (mp3) [Read more]
3. Ohrlab - Voyage (mp3) [Read more]
4. DishTone - Grand Piano
5. Cinélux - Hollis (mp3) [Read more]
6. OMR - The Door (mp3) [Read more]
7. Slowly Minute - A Constellation & Shooting Stars
8. Towa Tei - A Ring
9. Zagar - Bossa Astoria (mp3) [Read more]
10. Skalpel - Ninjazz (mp3) [Read more]

Enjoy!

How to Fold Paper Crane from Prison Break

2007-01-26T14:40:00.000+08:00

In the Emmy Award winning TV series Prison Break, Michael Scofield leaves origami paper folded cranes in important places in his attempt to arrange an escape from prison for himself and his older brother Lincoln Burrows who was sentenced to death. FOX has called this paper folding a crane or a swan on various occasions before, but it really is an origami duck. Since watching the series, I've always wanted to fold the paper crane for fun. Found the following instructions from flettfolding.

Instructions on How to Fold the Origami Crane from Prison Break:

And there you are! You're done! Your finished product should look more or less like this:

by Smart J

You can also download the original pdf file from flettfolding.

And here's a video on Youtube teaching you how to fold the paper crane as well:

Here's another version of the crane and this version is the official version released by FOX on Prison Break's official site. It doesn't look too much like the actual crane in the series IMO.

The Pancakes - Everyone has a Secret

2007-01-26T14:04:00.000+08:00

The Pancakes is a Hong Kong based one-girl band consisting of independent singer-songwriter Dejay Choi. The music of the Pancakes is characterized by Dejay's very innocent, almost child-like voice with bright and catchy melodies. The Pancakes has also written songs for multiple McDull movies such as Prince de La Bun ("Gum, Gum, Gum"). Dejay also the voice talent for Miss Chan in all the McDull films. The track "越過高山" (Over the mountain) is a Cantonese track yet it retain's Dejay's style of childlike voices and simple melodies.

The Pancakes 其中一首歌《a》獲九巴選為廣告用歌。Dejay亦都為電影《麥兜故事》及《麥兜菠蘿油王子》中的Miss Chan配音。於2005年憑《麥兜菠蘿油王子》的一首歌《咁咁咁》擊敗其他著名歌手和音樂人奪得香港電影金像獎最佳原創電影歌曲獎。

Try out The Pancakes, I promise you wouldn't be disappointed!

The Pancakes - Everyone has a Secret

1. tamagawa
2. far too fast
3. 越過高山 (mp3) [Download MTV]
4. unexpected obstacles
5. another fifty days
6. fake bossa nova
7. 7a.m.
8. b
9. 中文歌
10. hallo goodbye

Visit The Pancakes official site for more mp3s and lyrics to the tracks.

林憶蓮 - 放開手

2007-01-25T10:49:00.000+08:00

Lyrics to one of the tracks in Sandy Lam's latest Mandarin album "Breath Me"

放開手
4’21
曲：許哲佩詞：許哲佩編：Jeong Jaeil
監：雷頌德/Sandy Lam/PR Wang/Gil Hwang/李偲菘
Electric & Acoustic Guitar: Hong Jun Ho
String Arrangement: Jeong Jaeil
Background Vocal Arrangement: 雷頌德/李偲菘/Sandy Lam
Background Vocal: Sandy Lam
Record by David Sum/Ngai Chi Ming/Lee Jeong Hyoung/陳西敏/Naruse Tatsuhito
Recording Studio: Avon Studio (HK)/唐樓錄音室 (HK)/Rui Studio (Seoul, Korea)/Moon Studio (HK)
Mixed by Naruse Tatsuhito
Mixing Studio: Moon Studio (HK)

退冰後的咖啡很苦澀
愛情少了溫度只剩空殻
你說過的謊言我看破
原來只是無解的睏惑
眼淚流多少才知道痛
痛過以後會不會解脫
你就算留下又算什麼

你所謂的天長地久
卻也敵不過半個地球
心冷卻後我不再難過
痛過就收
我不再為了你受折磨
努力找尋自己的天空
讓你走後心豁然開闊

放開手　兩手空空
自由　不帶走什麼
我選擇一個人寂寞
勝過兩個人痛
放開手　兩手空空
自由
寬闊宇宙我一個人享受
單純的擁有

大口呼吸世界多美麗
對於愛情依然有憧憬
閉上眼睛我感受生命
等待奇跡
城市裡有過多少無心
無心卻傷了另一顆心
學會欣賞陰天的風景

Thanks to re-sandylam.com for providing the lyrics

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

2007-01-23T22:48:00.000+08:00

Hungarian Rhapsody Number 2 is the second in the set of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by Franz Liszt. He was a student of Carl Czerny, and noted especially for his showmanship and great skill with the keyboard.

The Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor is particularly well known, due to its frequent use in animated cartoons. The piece has appeared in cartoons such as Mickey Mouse in The Opry House in 1929, and most well known for the Tom & Jerry Academy Award winner "The Cat Concerto". This animation was one of my favourite Tom & Jerry clips and I really enjoyed watching it everytime.

Here is the piece available as a free download, as performed by Sean Bennett, a world-class pianist hailing from Chicago, Illinios who has performed for the foreign consulates of 20 countries.

Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Performed by Sean Bennett) (mp3)

Testrauschen - Fine Electronic Music

2007-01-22T17:16:00.000+08:00

Testrauschen is a group from Munich, Germany. The group name means "Test Noise" in German and it reflects their style, which is mainly experimental. The group produces ambient, electronic, experimental, sometimes energetic music.

The track "Glad to be here" is really beautiful and sounds hopeful. While sweeping pads in the background conjure a dreamy landscape, the synth leads the main progression towards the buildup. But there's no real climax here, it just sort of dies down in the final moments track. The other track featured here, "Der Panther", offers a somewhat contrasted mood as compared to the first track. Although both tracks are mainly progressive in nature, "Der Panther" is the more repetitive of the two, but still a great track nonetheless.

Although I've only listened to 2 of their tracks, I really like their style - downright simple, no-nonsense, and progressive.

Testrauschen - Glad to be here (mp3)
Testrauschen - Der Panther (mp3)

Want more news and downloads about Testrauschen? Visit them here:
http://www.testrauschen.com/

Looking outside my Window

2007-01-22T16:55:00.000+08:00

Found this while going through some forums:

Efterklang is not a Monopolist

2007-01-21T15:56:00.000+08:00

The track "Monopolist" featured below is from Danish music group, Efterklang's debut album "Tripper". The track is a testament to what the band is exactly capable of, calm and soothing music. Throughout the track, gentle vocals combined with that ever repetitive drum beats and the sweet violin solo coupled with a soft trombone, combine to give you that perfect audiotory experience.

Efterklang - Monopolist (mp3)

Visit them on efterklang.net.

You can read up abit about Efterklang on my blog posts here:
Efterklang
Cacoy is "Kakoii"!! - Another band signed to Efterklang's label.

"Flavor of Life" Lyrics - Utada Hikaru

2007-01-20T12:28:00.000+08:00

Due to popular demand, I've decided to post the lyrics for Utada Hikaru's latest single "Flavor of Life" below:

ありがとうと君に言われると
なんだか切ない
さようならの後も解けぬ魔法
淡くほろ苦い
The flavor of life...... The flavor of life......

友達でも恋人でもない中間地点で
収穫の時を夢見てる青いフルーツ

あと一歩が踏み出せないせいで
じれったいの何のってBaby

ありがとうと君に言われると
なんだか切ない
さようならの後も解けぬ魔法
淡くほろ苦い
The flavor of life...... The flavor of life......

甘いだけの誘い文句
味気のないTalk
そんなものには興味をそそられない

思い通りにいかない時だって
人生捨てたもんじゃないって

「どうしたの？」と
急に聞かれると
「ううん、何でもない」
さようならの後に消える笑顔
私らしくない

信じたいと願えば願うほど
なんだか切ない
「愛してるよ」よりも「大好き」の方が
君らしいんじゃない
The flavor of life…

忘れかけてた人の香りを
突然思い出す頃
降り積もる雪の白さをもっと
素直に喜びたいよ

ダイヤモンドより軟らかくて
温かな未来
手にしたいよ限りある時間を
君と過ごしたい

ありがとうと君に言われると
なんだか切ない
さようならの後も解けぬ魔法
淡くほろ苦い
The flavor of life......The flavor of life...

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
sayonara no ato mo tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life......The flavor of life...

tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de
shuukaku no hi wo yumemiteru aoi furu-tsu
ato ippo ga fumidasenai sei de
Jirettai no nani notte? Baby

arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life......The flavor of life...

amai dake no sasoi monku ajike no nai doku
sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wa sosorarenai
omoitoori ni ikanai toki datte
jinsei suteta mon janai tte

doushita no? to kyuu ni kikareru to “uun. nandemo nai”
sayounara no ato ni kieru egao watashi rashikunai
sinjitai to negaeba negau hodo nandaka setsunai
“aishiteru yo” yori mo “daisuki” no hou ga kimi rashii janai?
The flavor of life

wasurekakete ita hito no kaori wo totsuzen omoidasu koro
furitsumoru yuki no shirosa wo omou to sunao ni yorokobitai yo

daiyamondo yorimo yawarakakute atatakana mirai
teni shitai yo kagiri aru jikan wo kimi to sugoshitai
“arigatou” to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life......The flavor of life...

You can view the video on my post about the new single here:
Hikki's new single - "FLAVOR OF LIFE"

Shpongle - Tales of the inexpressible

2007-01-19T13:09:00.000+08:00

Shpongle is considered to be one of the most important and influential psychedelic downtempo or Psybient music projects of recent years. It is a project by Simon Posford (Hallucinogen) and Raja Ram. Their 2001 album "Tales of the inexpressible" alongside with their first album "Are you shpongled?" are among to be the most important and genre defining albums in the psychedelic downtempo (psybient) genre.

The track "Dorset Perceptions" is the best track in this album and is just about the right tempo for mixing into other psy/goa and even trance tracks... It's not as hard as Skazi or other Hallucinogen works, yet it is not exactly psybient like Shulman or Leftfield. Spanish and Oriental sounds interwining with classical guitars, flutes, and distorted vocal samples are widely used throughout this album to present you with that Goa groove that's distinctly Shpongle's.

1. Dorset Perception (mp3)
2. Star Shpongled Banner
3. A New Way to Say "hooray"
4. Room 23 (mp3)
5. My Head Feels Like a Frisbee
6. Shpongleyes
7. Once Upon the Sea of Blissful Awarness
8. Around the World in a Tea Daze (mp3)
9. Flute Fruit

Visit Shpongle's fan site and Simon Posford's myspace for more news and mp3 downloads.

Second Sun - The Spell

2007-01-19T12:21:00.000+08:00

L.A.-based live progressive house/trance duo Second Sun is composed of Antoine & Adam. Second Sun first stormed onto the international dance music scene with their single "Empire," which was remixed by Paul Van Dyk and included on his huge selling compilation The Politics of Dancing.

The duo then went a step further collaborating with Paul van Dyk for the track "Crush" in the hit album "Reflections", they have enjoyed formidable reputation as trance artists. Akin to Paul van Dyk's dense production style, Second Sun not only create celestial, heartstring-tugging melodies, but they also incorporate live instrumentation and electronic manipulation that are sure to move minds and feet alike.

Second Sun - The Spell (mp3)

Visit the group's myspace here.

FLV Online Converter

2007-01-18T18:45:00.000+08:00

This is a great service provided for free by Takuma Mori of vixy.net. The service is using a compressed domain transcoder technology (outline in Japanese). Converts FLV to MPEG4 faster and less loss in quality than a typical transcoder. FLV file formats are commonly used by sites such as Youtube, Google Video, Reuters.com, Myspace etc. Don't know what's a FLV file? Read here.

You just enter the URL of the page that contains the FLV file and the Converter will change it to whatever format you want. You have options either to convert the FLV to avi, mov, mp3, 3gp, and even mp3 only. Then you can download the converted files. This is a pretty cool way to download FLV files from Youtube, Myspace etc.

FLV Online Converter

Hikki's new single - "FLAVOR OF LIFE"

2007-01-18T18:10:00.000+08:00

Utada Hikaru's latest Japanese single is titled "Flavor Of Life" and will be released on February 28th!! The single features a total of 5 tracks, including an original and ballad version of the title track, as well as a CD only remix.

宇多田ヒカル新曲「Ｆｌａｖｏｒ　ｏｆ　Ｌｉｆｅ」はドラマ「花より男子２＜リターンズ＞」の劇中歌。２／２８発売日です。

Edit-Due to popular demand I've decided to upload the lyrics to the song(Flavor of Lifeの歌詞):
"Flavor of Life" Lyrics - Utada Hikaru

TRACKS:
01. Flavor Of Life
02. Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version- (image song for J-Drama 花より男子2 - Hana Yori Dango 2)
03. Flavor Of Life (Original Karaoke)
04. Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version- (Original Karaoke)
05. Flavor Of Life -Antidote Mix- (CD-Only Bonus Track)

And here's the PV for Flavor of Life (Ballad Version):
ＹｏｕＴｕｂｅよりＰＶフル視聴

New Single "Flavor of life" from Hikki's official site.

At17 - 三分鐘後

2007-01-18T16:28:00.000+08:00

At17 (雁石分天) is a Hong Kong girl band that is pitched to appeal to high school and university students. The group members are Eman Lam (林二汶) and Ellen Joyce Loo (盧凱彤).

At17 seems to be more artistically and musically inclined and contrast significantly when compared other mainstream Cantopop girl groups such as Twins and Cookies. Both Loo and Lam are involved considerably in the songwriting and production for their albums. Loo plays the guitar and piano, and Lam plays the guitar and various percussion instruments.

Their style may be best described as Folktronica and their light melodies and simple lyrics appeal to many teenagers today. The duo have also written multiple tracks for the OST of many Mcdull movies such as Prince de la Bun(麥兜菠蘿油王子). At17 is currently signed to the same record label as Pixeltoy - people mountain people sea (人山人海 - a Chinese proverb which means a lot of people).

Here's the video for the track 三分鐘後 by at17. Its a really cool track.

at17's official website
at17's official blog

You have my support

2007-01-18T16:22:00.000+08:00

Bloggers United: No Fear

Read more:
Bloggers sued in Malaysia
Bloggers united. No Fear.
BLOGGERS UNITE!
In Honour of the Heroes

Starcraft Turret Defence FA5

2007-01-15T20:16:00.000+08:00

Remember the game Starcraft? Well, here's a treat for all you Starcraft fans out there.

This is a flash version of the immensely popular game by Blizzard, Starcraft. Starcraft FA5 stands for "Flash Action". As you can guess, it it currently in its fifth edition and legions of fans cheer on the developers of this game to continue developing it.

In this game, you play the role of a Terran army general and have to build turrets and then upgrade and defend your base against swarms of Zerg enemy attacks. Gameplay is extremely similar to the Tower Defence games from Warcraft so players of those games will feel right at home.

Play it now

Check out other similar games here:
Tower Defence Flash Game
Flashcraft Tower Defence Game

つじあやの - 心は君のもとへ (歌詞とPV)

2007-01-12T18:15:00.000+08:00

Here's the video for Tsuji Ayano's (つじあやの) track 心は君のもとへ (Kokoro wa kimi no moto e) which is featured in her album Haru Mikan (春蜜柑) and her EP "Koi suru Megane" (恋する眼鏡). The video's really great and its filmed in the Portugese city of Lisbon.

And here's the lyrics of the track. Sorry I didn't have time to translate or romanize them.

作詩：つじあやの作曲：つじあやの

守られていた
その時までは
きっとまた戻ってくれると
信じて待っていた
うそが上手な君のことば
きっとまた笑ってくれると
信じて待っていた fu…

きっと夢はかなうだろう
青い青い空の下
つながってゆく広がってゆく
心は君のもとへ

失っていたその時僕は
きっとまた忘れられないと
感じて泣いていた
うそでかためた夜の星は
きっとまた離れられないと
感じて泣いていた fu…

きっと君は来ないだろう
暗い暗い空の下
くずれてゆくこわれてゆく
心は君のはてに

きっと僕はうたうだろう
遠い遠い空の下
流れてゆくあふれてゆく
心を抱いて歩いてゆく
きっと夢はかなうだろう
青い青い空の下
つながってゆく広がってゆく
心は君のもとへ
心は君のもとへ

In the meantime, you might also like to read these related posts about Tsuji Ayano:
COVER GIRL by Tsuji Ayano
Balanco
Tsuji Ayano

Sudoku Original Flash Game

2007-01-11T17:41:00.000+08:00

Here's a flash game for all you Sudoku lovers out there. There are 75 levels in total and fill in the 9x9 grid and ensure every column, row and box contains numbers from 1 to 9. Use the Hint by first selecting a square you need help on.

Play it now

CD 50 FREITAG aus LICHT by Karlheinz Stockhausen

2007-01-11T15:49:00.000+08:00

Karlheinz Stockhausen is often heralded as one of the most important composers of the 20th century. He is best known for his ground-breaking work in electronic music and controlled chance in serial composition. His works are orchestral but widespread use of electronics throughout his work has had a lasting impact on the more classical, avant-garde, and electronic music communities.

Popular musicians such as Cecil Taylor, The Beatles, Kraftwerk, Coil, Björk, Sonic Youth, Miles Davis (Bergstein 1992), Frank Zappa, and Herbie Hancock cite Stockhausen as an influence.

The tracks featured below are from the CD 50 FREITAG aus LICHT and has a dark, looming atmosphere which is dominant throughout the entire length of the album. The track "Elufa" is somewhat lighter as compared with other tracks in the album with the use of brass instruments and also a choir, but its still shockingly dark and eerie nonetheless.

CD 50 FREITAG aus LICHT

1. FRIDAY TEMPTATION Score Page 1 (mp3)
2. FRIDAY TEMPTATION Tone Scene 1 (mp3)
3. KINDER ORCHESTER (S. 13) (mp3)
4. ELUFA Real Scene (S.130/131) (mp3)
5. CHOR-SPIRALE Real Scene (S. 130/136) (mp3)

More info about this great composer can be found here:
www.stockhausen.org

Takagi Masakatsu - COIEDA

2007-01-11T15:20:00.000+08:00

Japan's Takagi Masakatsu (高木正勝) is a seasoned audio/visual pioneer whose work has been projected and played in galleries and clubs throughout Europe, the United States, and the Pacific Rim. He dabbles his talents in many various fields of art including music, video making, photography and even art paintings as well.

COIEDA is the title of Takagi Masakatsu's 2004 instrumental and jazz album. Its an album that employs extensive use of pianos and simple offtrack beats to carry out that jazzy vibe which is the essence of this album. His works are visual expression of the world around him, just as painters paint their visions and they allow us a glimpse into how Mr Takagi views his world around him.

My favourite tracks are exit/delete (vocals by Daid Sylvian), Girls, and Private Drawing. The tracks in this album are just so soothing and calm. If you're intending to listen to a great CD to chill out after a long day at work or a hectic day at school, then COIEDA is for you.

COIEDA

1. pia flies
2. new flat
3. midnight (mp3)
4. cruz
5. exit/delete
6. COIEDA
7. O.P.R.
8. dogma
9. girls (mp3)
10. private drawing
11. cuba
12. birldland #3
13. change of seasons
14. opferm (mp3)
15. primo

Do check out COIEDA's page for a complete mp3 and music video listing and Takagi Masakatsu's official site for more of his works and videos.

God is an Astronaut

2007-01-11T13:12:00.000+08:00

Just listened to some tracks from the album "A Moment of Stillness" by instrumental band "God is an Astronaut". They are considered by many as the most intense live act to emerge from Ireland in recent times due to their controversial audio/visual shows.

This album here is very subtle yet it is laced with melodic guitar leads and peppered with fine traces of electronica. Nothing in this EP is really repetitive because it progresses steadliy thoughout the course of the album. The tracks "A Moment of Stillness" and "Elysian Fields" are both shimmering and hauntingly beautiful.

A Moment of Stillness

1. Frozen Twilight
2. A Moment of Stillness (mp3)
3. Forever Lost(Reprise)
4. Elysian Fields
5. Crystal Canyon

Visit God is An Astronaut's official site and their myspace profile for a complete listing of their works and more downloads.

King Ly Chee (荔枝王)

2007-01-10T15:56:00.000+08:00

King Ly Chee (荔枝王) is a hardcore punk band from Hong Kong. They consists of band members Andy, Riz, G, Pong and Man and are often heralded as one of the pioneers of hardcore in HK. Their music is a fine but curious mix of punk rock, hardcore, metal and indie-rock infused with shouted verses, interspersed with melodic flourishes. Their lyrics are thought-provoking and aimed at the younger generation, much similar to their contemporaries such as LMF.

King Ly Chee participates in frequent gigs and tours in HK and other major asian cities such as Bangkok, Singapore and Jakarta. They have a huge following in Taiwan and Japan as well. King Ly Chee is a very talented band who have made a name for themselves as well as secured an incredibly loyal fan base. Though I'm never a big fan of punk rock, I must say that I'm truly impressed.

King Ly Chee - Children (mp3)

More info on the band can be found on their website:
www.kinglychee.com

and also from their myspace site:
king ly chee

Current playlist

2007-01-10T15:45:00.000+08:00

Currently listening to:

Zhou Kou Dian 周口店
Audiotraffic
Dream-fly
So What
Hardpack

Will post a bit on them once I'm done listening.

Hitoto You - Morai Naki

2007-01-09T18:29:00.000+08:00

Hitoto You (一青窈) is best known for her Jpop debut single Morai Naki (もらい泣き). The single reached #4 on Oricon charts and charting for an amazing 68 weeks in the top 200 singles. The single became the #13 single of 2003, and was awarded the Best Hit Artist, with the Debut Artist of the Year award at the Nihon Record Taishou.

It is also interesting to note that if the track "Morai Naki" is played at 80% of its original speed, the singer sounds exactly like Hirai Ken (平井堅), a popular Japanese R & B singer.

PV for Morai Naki (もらい泣き):

一青窈 - もらい泣き（歌詞）

作詞：一青窈
作曲：溝渕大智・マシコタツロウ・武部聡志

朝、から　字幕だらけのテレビに
齧り付く夜光虫。
自分の場所
探すひろいリビングで
『ふっ』と　君がよぎる

愛をよく知る親友とか　に　は　
話せないし、夢みがち。
段ボール　の、中　ヒキコモりっきり
あのねでもね、
ただ誰多遜訊いてキイテキイテ

※ええいああ　君から「もらい泣き」
　ほろり・ほろり　ふたりぼっち
　ええいああ　僕にも「もらい泣き」
　やさしい・の・は　誰です※

乙女座
言葉、にすればする程
意味がない小宇宙。
あげよう!
と、決めた絵本だって
とうに流行り廃れちゃった。

PM12:00過ぎ　て、鳴らすメロディー
迎えが来ないシンデレラ。
明日 - 笑える - 始めの - 一歩
からだで　おしえて　欲しい誰多遜ホシイホシイ

（※くり返し）

ええいああ　ぽろぽろもらい泣き
ひとりひとりふたりぼっち
ええいああ　僕にももらい泣き
やさしいのは　そう　君です

（※くり返し）

ええいああ　君から「もらい泣き」
ほろり・ほろり　ふたりぼっち
ええいあありがとう「もらい泣き」
やさしいのはそう　君です

Romaji:

asa kara jimaku darake no terebi ni
kajiritsuku yakouchuu
jibun no basho
sagasu hiroi ribingu de
futto kimi ga yogiru

ai wo yoku shiru shinyuu toka ni wa
hanasenai shi yumemigachi
danboru no naka hikikomorikkiri
ano ne, demo ne
tada kiite, kiite, kiite

*eeiaa kimi kara morai naki
horori horori futaribocchi
eeiaa boku ni mo morai naki
yasashii no wa dare desu*

otomoeza
kotoba ni sureba suru hodo
imi ga nai shouuchuu
ageyou!
to kimeta ehonn datte
tou ni hayari sutare chatta

jyuuniji sugi te narasu merodii
mukae ga konai shinderera
asu waraeru hajime no ippo
karada de oshiete hoshii hoshii hoshii

(* repeat)

eeiaa poro poro morai naki
hitori hitori futaribocchi
eeiaa boku ni mo morai naki
yasashii no wa sou kimi desu

(* repeat)

eeiaa kimi kara morai naki
horori horori futaribocchi
eeia arigatou morai naki
yasashii no wa sou kimi desu

Translation:

In a TV full of subtitles early in the morning
There are bugs that seem to gnaw into it
In the big living room where I try to find my place
You pass by me

*I can’t tell my good friends who know a lot about love
And compared to them I’m a dreamer
I’m still stuck inside the cardboard box
But still, please,
Listen, listen, listen*

Eeiaa I receive tears from you
Sentimental, it’s just the two of us
Eeiaa I receive tears from you
Who is the kind one?

Virgo
The more we put in to words
The less meaning it has, the little universe (microcosmos galaxy)
Even the picturebook that I planned to give away
Slowly rotted away to the trends

The melody that sounds at midnight
Cinderella who doesn’t have a way home
The way to smile tomorrow
I want you to show me with your body

(* repeat)

Eeiaa, drop by drop, the tears fall down
Sentimental, it’s just the two of us
Eeiaa, I receive tears from you too
The kind one is, yes, it’s you

(* repeat)

Eeiaa I receive tears from you
Sentimental, it’s just the two of us
Eeia, thank you, for the tears
The kind one is, yes, it’s you

Cacoy is "Kakoii"!!

2007-01-09T17:53:00.000+08:00

The term "Kakoii" (かこいい) is a very common term in Japanese and is often used to describe something cool. And this is what Cacoy, a Japanese band, really is all about. Simply put, their music is downright cool.

Cacoy consists of members from Japanese band Tenniscoats (Saya and Takeshi Ueno), DJ Klock (a frequent collaborator of talented Japanese DJs such as Ken Ishii and DJ Krush) and Maher Shalal Hash Baz. Cacoy is also signed to the same label as Danish post rock guru, Efterklang. The tracks featured below are from their album "Human is Music" - a much clearer descendent of the Danish host's post-electronica-rock sound. The track "Yoko Majikick Ono" utilises simple electronic synths and beats to bring out the very essence of their style, which is light, but definitely not light-hearted.

Cacoy - Piracle Pa (mp3)
Cacoy - Yoko Majikick Ono (mp3)

Visit Cacoy's label rumraket.net for more details and downloads.

Utada Hikaru - Colors (Lyrics and MV)

2007-01-08T20:44:00.000+08:00

This track is a rather old track by popular Jpop artist Utada Hikaru and is feature in her 2003 single "Colors" as well as her latest album "ULTRA BLUE". The single "Colors" also features "Simple and Clean" which is an English version of the track "Hikari" and is also the themesong for the hit game "Kingdom Hearts". It's a pretty cool track and her music video was simply superb!

Here's the video for the track:

And here's the lyrics:

COLORS

作詞: 宇多田ヒカル作曲: 宇多田ヒカル

ミラーが映し出す幻を気にしながら
いつの間にか速度上げてるのさ

どこへ行ってもいいと言われると
半端な願望には標識も全部灰色だ

炎の揺らめき　今宵も夢を描く
あなたの筆先　渇いていませんか

青い空が見えぬなら青い傘広げて
いいじゃないか　キャンバスは君のもの
白い旗はあきらめた時にだけかざすの
今は真っ赤に　誘う闘牛士のように

カラーも色褪せる蛍光灯の下
白黒のチェスボードの上で君に出会った

僕らは一時　迷いながら寄り添って
あれから一月　憶えていますか

オレンジ色の夕日を隣で見てるだけで
よかったのにな　口は災いの元
黒い服は死者に祈る時にだけ着るの
わざと真っ赤に残したルージュの痕

もう自分には夢の無い絵しか描けないと言うなら
塗り潰してよ　キャンバスを何度でも
白い旗はあきらめた時にだけかざすの
今の私はあなたの知らない色

Romaji:

COLORS

Lyrics: Utada Hikaru Music: Utada Hikaru

MIRAA ga utsushidasu maboroshi wo ki ni shi nagara
Itsu no ma ni ka sokudo ageteru no sa

Doko he itte mo ii to ii wareru to
Hanpa na ganmou ni wa hyoushiki mo zenbu haiiro da

Honoo no yurameki koyoi mo yume wo egaku
Anata no fudesaki kawaite imasen ka

Aoi sora ga mieru nara aoi kasa hirogete
Ii janai ka KYANBASU wa kimi no mono
Shiroi hata wa akirameta toki ni dake kazasu no
Ima wa makka ni sasou tougyuushi no you ni

KARAA mo iro aseru keikoutou no moto
Shirokuro no chesuboodu no ue de kimi ni deatta

Bokura wa hitotoki mayoi nagara yorisoutte
Are kara hitotsuki oboete imasu ka

ORENJI iro no yuuhi wo tonari de miteru dake de yokatta no ni na
Kuchi wa wazawai no moto
Kuroi fuku wa shisha ni inoru toki ni dake kiru no
Wazato makka ni nokoshita ruuju no ato

Mou jibun ni wa yume no nai e shika egakenai to iu nara
Nuritsubushite yo KYANBASU wo nando demo
Shiroi hata wa akirameta toki ni dake kazasu no
Ima no watashi wa anata no shiranai iro

Translation:

COLORS

Lyrics: Utada Hikaru Translation: Izak Loftus

The mirror reflects the illusions in my soul
And before I’m aware of it, I’m quickly lifted

Where can we go and can we break apart?
The sign of my incomplete wish is entirely gray

Flickering flames paint my dreams tonight
Your brush isn’t dried up yet?

You’ll be able to see the blue sky if you open up your blue umbrella
Is that not good enough? The canvas is yours
I’ll surrender to time and hold the white flag overhead
Now I’m like a matador, enticing you with crimson

Color after color fades under the flourescent lights
I met you on the black and white chessboard

When I lost my way that time, I leaned close to you
Ever since that month, I’ve wondered if you even remember it

Simply watching the orange color of the setting sun with you made me happy
Your mouth was the origin of catastrophe
Black clothes are only worn when praying for the deceased
Crimson is intentionally left behind by the mark of rouge

You say that there are no more dreams to paint within myself
But how many times must I fill this canvas?
I’ll surrender to time and hold the white flag overhead
Now I am the color that you do not know

COVER GIRL by Tsuji Ayano

2007-01-07T15:33:00.000+08:00

COVER GIRL is a 2004 album by Tsuji Ayano (つじあやの). In this album, she performs covers of popular Japanese and English songs. Hence the name "COVER GIRL". Although this album is a cover album, it has nothing short of Tsuji Ayano's own style. Simply put, when you're listening to this album, you won't even feel that its a cover version because its so distinct and unique in style.

The album is considered to be something different because it is presented in 2 CDs (Tokyo side and Kyoto side). Her second 2 CD album is CALENDAR CALENDAR which is a compilation of her "Four Seasons" singles. Also, this is her first time singing in English (Never can Say Goodbye by Jackson5), considering the absence of English lyrics in most, if not all of her songs.

Notable tracks worth listening in this album are 黄金の月, シャ・ラ・ラ and Swallowtail Butterfly～あいのうた～. Her best track in this album is 星に願いを(When You Wish Upon A Star) IMO. Its so different from the old version by Louis Armstrong yet it still sounds really cool. Perhaps its her gentle twang of her ukulele that makes the real difference.

Tokyo Side -disc 1-
1. 黄金の月 / スガシカオ (Kogare no Gatsu)
2. パレード / シュガー・ベイブ (Paredo) [Listen Real Audio] [Listen WMP]
3. シャ・ラ・ラ / サザンオールスターズ(Sha Ra Ra)
4. Never Can Say Goodbye / JACKSON5
5. 年下の男の子 / キャンディーズ (Toshishita no Otoko no ko)
6. ラブレター / THE BLUE HEARTS (Ravureta)
7. 星に願いを(When You Wish Upon A Star) ＜Full Version＞ [Listen Real Audio]

Kyoto Side -disc 2-
1. チェリー / スピッツ〔鴨川土手より〕(Chiari) [Listen Real Audio]
2. 結婚しようよ / 吉田拓郎〔京都市立銅駝美術工芸高等学校より〕(Kekkon Shioyou)
3. プカプカ / 西岡恭蔵〔法然院より〕(Puka Puka)
4. なんとなくなんとなく / ザ・スパイダース〔METROより〕(Nantonaku Nantonaku)
5. Swallowtail Butterfly～あいのうた～ / YEN TOWN BAND〔つじ家より〕
6. 別れても好きな人 / ロスインディオス & シルビア〔Irish PUB fieldより〕(Wakare demo Iki na Hito)
7. お世話になりました / 井上順〔TK furnitureより〕(Osewa ni Narimashita)

Check out Tsuji Ayano's official site for more previews and a complete list of her works released.

By the way, Tsuji Ayano has released several new albums つじベスト (Tsuji Best) which is a collection of all her best tracks and はじまりの時 (The Time at the Beginning) during the last quarter of 2006. I'll write up a bit on these albums once I've listened to them.

In the mean time, you can read more about Tsuji Ayano on my posts below:
Tsuji Ayano
Balanco
Tsuji Ayano's new Hairstyle

Laputa: Castle in the Sky's Piano Score

2007-01-06T17:48:00.000+08:00

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ, Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) is a great movie that I've watched for sometime. It was directed by Hayao Miyazaki and released in 1986 by Studio Ghibli. The OST was composed by none other than Joe Hisaishi (久石譲) who is a frequent collaborator and composer of Ghibli films. The OST for this movie was highly acclaimed by both fans and critics alike.

So here's the piano scores for Laputa's OST:

The Girl Who Fell from The Sky (Laputa theme) (空から降ってきた少女, Sora kara futtekita Shoujo)
[Page1][Page 2]

Memories of Gondoa (ゴンドアの思い出, Gondoa no Omoide)
[Page 1][Page 2]

Discouraged Pazu (失意のパズー, Shitsui no Pazu)
[Page 1]

Sheeta's Decision (シータの決意, Shiita no Ketsui)
[Page 1] [Page 2]

The Moonlit Sea of Clouds (月光の雲海, Gekkou no Unkai)
[Page 1] [Page 2]

Castle in the Sky, Laputa (天空の城ラピュタ, Tenkyuu no Shiro, Ryaputa)
[Page 1] [Page 2] [Page 3] [Page 4] [Page 5]

Thanks for Ichigo's Sheet Music for providing the above piano scores.
And do remember to visit Nausicaa.net for a detailed review of the movie and Studio Ghibli's offcial site for more info.

Build Buildings - there is a problem with my tape recorder

2007-01-06T17:13:00.000+08:00

Build Buildings is Ben Tweel, musician, scientist, philologist. Ben was born in Columbus, OH, and now lives in Brooklyn, NY. Under the name Build Buildings, Ben makes music with computers, instruments, household noises and records.

Frankly speaking, I don't really know how to classify their music, closest sounding thing would probably be minimal. Though it sounds somewhat minimal, there's not a great deal of droning in the music. Instead, as you listen to Ben's works, you'll be welcomed by ambient-esque electronic blips. Despite this, delicate beats still manage to leave space for external ambient sounds to filter in and play with the music.

Highly recommended.

there is a problem
with my tape recorder

1. 27 Cents
2. Mackerel Scout
3. Dibs
4. Pendulum
5. Servo
6. Notices
7. Test (mp3)
8. Wash
9. Drumspeed
10. tk
11. November (mp3)
12. er+

Check out Build Building's official site for more mp3 downloads and info.

來到今天 - 李克勤, 黃伊汶 (歌詞)

2007-01-06T16:44:00.000+08:00

來到今天 ~ 李克勤, 黃伊汶

曲:謝杰詞:陳少琪編:劉祖德

(李): 我路過行李藏著太多的傷痛
那會為誰逗留盛放我笑容

*(黃): 我也路過既能被你感動　
你都失重為何將言詞
都鎖進在眼中

(黃): 年紀小不等於我是錯　
盡情活著為何代表闖禍
(李): 請別來愛我我沒法親手　
又再寫多一首昨日悲歌

# (李): 來到今天就當做記念趁著我們能避免
(黃): 我會勇敢跳進你的空白點
(李): 為何像隔開一光年
(李): 今天我又再失眠
(黃): 今天以後更驚險都一起脫險
(李): 來到今天別了別掛念趁著結局能預見
(黃): 我不怕雨天預備共你的愛＃
用血與淚提煉
(李):如若肚餓了願你細心點找到合適餐店 *

Repeat *

(李): 只貪溫暖終於只有更加混亂
如沒有缺陷誰會堅決絕緣
(黃): 明明是愛著要扮到隔開很遠
若愛燒光耗損
(李): 世上都繼續轉 (黃):世上不必轉圈

Repeat #

(黃): 用血與淚提煉 (李):不可並肩
(李): 如若雨未過
(黃): 就算濕透身
(黃): 亦要再遇見
(李): 請等晴天

好多年前嘅一首歌但係都係咁好聽...《來到今天》曾經予2002年獲得「十大勁歌金曲第一季季選」最受歡迎合唱歌曲之一。每次聽呢首歌嘅時候都有一份冬天嘅感覺..

Flashcraft Tower Defence Game

2007-01-04T14:04:00.000+08:00

Flashcraft TD is a tower defence game. Gameplay is similar to the likes of Element TD I've presented sometime ago.

Interface closely mimics the one from Warcraft, right down to the initial game screen! In this game, you can build and upgrade towers for more attack. Wave after wave of "creeps" pour out the spawning point, each level in increasing difficulty. Place your towers in strategic places to stop the creeps from reaching your base!

Flashcraft Tower Defence Flash Game:

Play it now (Takes awhile to load, pls be patient)

If you liked this game, you might also want to try Element TD which is also another Tower Defence Flash.

New Year Celebrations Around the World 2007

2007-01-02T22:35:00.000+08:00

Just went browsing Flickr for some of 2007 new year celebrations and I've come up with a collection of New Year celebrations of most major cities around the world. Encircling the globe, beginning from Auckland and ending up in San Francisco! Enjoy!

Auckland

by francoisNZ

Sydney

by malvino.juwono

Tokyo

by wilhelmja

Taipei

by Lin1000.tw

Hong Kong

by vitafluida

Shanghai

by onion83

Singapore

by st0caL

Kuala Lumpur

by Tall Justin

Bangkok

by humarkus

Dubai

by NikAt

Moscow

by mpechyonkin

Berlin

by Timothy Fellsrow aka Robert Henke

Rome

by Landersz

Madrid

by lucholarry

Paris

by le méchant garçon

London

by Orhan*

Rio de Janeiro

by Notre album souvenir.

New York

by PostMan1107

Toronto

by jumphawk

San Francisco

by *christopher*

Once again, thanks to the stunning photos by the above individuals for making this possible - a very special moment in time.

Last.tv - Watch out Last.fm!

2007-01-02T22:20:00.000+08:00

Last.tv is a music video player which matches your music taste from last.fm to videos on YouTube. Data from your Last.fm music profile is retrieved to create a continuous playlist of videos from artists you listen to. Last.tv then matches videos based on artist names and turns up live performances, bootlegs, interviews and fan interpretations. This is unique content which would never be aired on regular music video channels. Last.tv automates selection and provides effortless continuous play and you don't even need to slect your own videos. Simply put, its like watching MTV, except this time its all your favourite clips!

The concept is really novel and cool but sometimes there's a mismatch between the video results from youtube and your stats in last.fm. Needs a little more work IMO.

Just fill in a last.fm username to get a stream of that person's music:

Last.tv

note: Not an official release by last.fm!

Guide to Japanese Animation Software

2007-01-01T15:50:00.000+08:00

Sometime ago I was doing some animation and tried out some Japanese animation software. Most of the software featured here are freeware but some of them are highly functional shareware. Do download and try them out!

1. Metasequoia

This is the main piece of software I use for modeling. The software is a polygon modeler for 3DCG and was developed by Osamu Mizno, subsequently releasing MetasequioaLE as freeware. It's interface is very straightforward and this makes it easy for beginners. But do not be fooled by its simplicity, this software is so good that Japanese designers who are producing FINAL FANTASY are also using it. Third party plugins also add functionality to this software. The software supports a wide range of file formats and this is one of the reasons that makes it really popular.

Metasequoia Ver2.4.0 (Shareware)
MetasequoiaLE R2.3b-2 (Freeware)

from the official site at metaseq.net

2. Cyberdelia

Cyberdelia is a 3D animation tool with w3d, x and wrl file exporter. 'w3d' file can be used on Macromedia Director for Shockwave3D. 'x' file is for DirectX. 'wrl' file is for VRML97. The animation process is pretty cool and can be edited frame by frame. Models can also be imported from Metasequoia.

Cyberdelia Version 6.4 (Freeware)

from the official site at cyberdelia.net

3. DoGA CGA

DoGA project started in 1985 by university students in Japan, to support the newly born culture of CG animation. This is a series of applications that starts with a very basic tool kit and sequels later with added functionality. DOGA-L1 is the first lesson (L1) of the L series and is designed to teach beginners the very basic of animation. The L3 version of this software can be very powerful although it does seems to be more of a hobbyist tool instead of professional software. Again, models can be created and imported from Metasequoia.

DoGA L-1 (Freeware)
DoGA L-2 (Shareware)
DoGA L-3 (Shareware)

from the official site at doga.co.jp

4. Parthenon

This is a GPU accelerated global illumination renderer. It allows for Direct illumination using shadow mapping and High quality rendering equivalent of Monte Carlo path tracing. Parthenon is really powerful and rivals other professional rendering software. Supports Metasequoia .mqo files as well.

Parthenon.zip (Freeware?)

from the official site by Himatsubushi

5. RedQueen

RedQueen is a command line Global Illumination renderer. Features include Path Tracing (unbiased), Photon mapping, final gathering and Panorama Rendering support. As with all rendering software, system requirements are pretty much on the high side. As you can see with the image below, the results are stunning for this rendering software.

RedQueen (up to VGA size for unregistered users)

from the official site teamredqueen.com

6. MarbleCLAY

MarbleCLAY is a 3D polygon modeler formerly known Etude/3D before. Now it is released as freeware. Spline patch modeling by triangle and square polygons is supported. The software is similar to the likes of Metasequoia except that it has more functionality and has compatible rendering with RedQueen.

MarbleCLAY beta 5.7 (Freeware)

from the official site Escargot Visualwares

7. Kashmir3D

Kashmir3D is a software for making landscape CG or amazing 3D maps. Support for Full-Raytracing rendering and Z-Buffer rendering, rendering clouds, fog, snow and mist, and depth of focus. 3D navigation by GPS Receiver is also included. If you need landscapes or maps for your 3D movie/game, this is the software you can use.

Kashmir 3D Ver8.0.9 beta1 (Freeware)

from the official site at kashmir3d.com

8. Rios

Seems like this is another Japanese animation suite. Haven't had time to try this out myself. Looks pretty good and promising at first glance.

Rios0.1.11 (Freeware)

from the official site at junkshed

9. Block Designer

This is a software that makes it easy to draw 3D images. Block Designer functions like assembling Lego blocks together. Interface is downright straightforward and the program can either save files BD format or in Autocad's dxf format. The dxf can then imported into Metasequoia for further editing or a third party renderer. Pretty cool IMO.

Block Designer Version 3.00 (Freeware)

from the official site at kogarashi.jp

林憶蓮 - 面對面 (MV and Lyrics)

2007-01-01T12:34:00.000+08:00

Again, this is another great track by Sandy Lam from her 2006 Mandarin album entitled "Breath Me". Here's the music video for the track 面對面 (Face to Face).

And here's the lyrics to the track!

面對面
4’32
曲 : 孟楠詞 : 李焯雄編：雷頌德監：雷頌德/PR Wang/Gil Hwang
Bass Solo: PAL
Background Vocal Arrangement: 雷頌德
Background Vocal: Sandy Lam
Recorded by 陳西敏 & Naruse Tatsuhito
Mixing Engineer: Naruse Tatsuhito
Recording & Mixing Studio: Moon Studio (HK)

恍如前生的昨天
模糊愛過的臉
細節不可辨
說不出感覺的感覺

到底是感覺選擇事件
或事件選擇感覺
虛線的連結
預知的離別

劃過悶雷的閃電
心酸眼亮的瞬間
僅有的一切
還不夠了解的了解

也許是過於轟轟烈烈
才太快灰飛湮滅
燻紅了雙眼
看不見的才一一的浮現

我終於敢和自己來面對面
那是我用堅強武裝的膽怯
走錯了房間
退回原點
不見得會和你有關聯

聚和散原來是雙生的兩面
這次不要別人來抱我的肩
自己的房間
在我裡面
一直在尋找的在身邊

往事像隔壁房間
電話響了沒人接
歷歷在眼前
卻碰不著邊真抱歉

也許還在那邊
情感總是物質不滅
放開了
看不見的才一一的浮現

我終於敢和自己來面對面
那是我用堅強武裝的膽怯
走錯了房間
退回原點
不見得會和你有關聯

錯和對原來是雙生的兩面
這次我能擁抱我的不完全
自己的房間
在我裡面
一直在尋找的在身邊

忘不忘總是兩難
越簡單越困難不簡單
多一段枝枝蔓蔓
卻讓人成長

我終於敢和自己來面對面
那是我用完美掩飾的欠缺
走錯了房間
退回原點
不見得會和愛有關聯

得和失原來是硬幣的兩面
只是它剛好落在了這一邊
自己的房間
也有晴天
一直被忽略的在還原

You can read more about Sandy in my posts about her here:
林憶蓮 - 呼吸 Breath Me - 2006國語大碟 (2006 Mandarin Album)
林憶蓮 - 爲何他會離開你 -2005廣東大碟 (2005 Cantonese Album)

Credits to 關於她… 林憶蓮 RE: SANDY LAM for providing the lyrics for the song.

2007

2007-01-01T12:10:00.001+08:00

1st post of 2007!!

新嘅一年當然係希望會做到更好.
2006年經已過去,一年之間都算發生o左好多事情..

展望將來,做到最好!

Kikujiro no Natsu Piano Score

2006-12-30T23:52:00.000+08:00

Kikujiro no Natsu (菊次郎の夏) is a 1999 film by Takeshi Kitano(北野武). The movie tells the story of a young boy searching for his mother during his summer vacation. The film is mostly divided into smaller chapters, listed as entries in the boy's summer vacation diary. It's really a great movie in every aspect but it presents a very different mood from other Kitano's movie due to the absence of the usual "gangster" or "Yakuza" theme in this one.

The score for the movie was composed by none other than Joe Hisaishi (久石譲), frequenter of the Japanese music scene. Joe has also been known for writing some of the best scores for movies such as HANA-BI (which is also another great movie by Kitano), Laputa and Nausicaa.

The track featured here is a piano solo of the main theme from the OST.

Kikujiro no Natsu Piano Score
[Page 1] [Page 2] [Page 3]

Check out Kikujiro no Natsu's page on internationally renowned Japanese director Takeshi Kitano's site here.

Mono - Not Your Average Post Rock Band

2006-12-25T20:18:00.000+08:00

Japan's Mono are a peculiar group. They are another post-rock band which was recommended to me by my friend. They are one of the most passionately aggressive rock bands of the last decade, with their soaring crescendos, titanic sheets of distortion and dark melodies executed with the delicacy and precision of a paper crane.

I've taken a listen to their 3rd album released in 2004, entitled "Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shine" and I find that its pretty cool. The mood of the music can be calm and soothing and changes at the drop of a key. A track worth listening in this album is "Halcyon (beautiful days). The track can also be download from download.com.

Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shine

1. 16.12
2. mere your pathetique light
3. halcyon (beautiful days) (mp3)
4. 2 candles, 1 wish
5. ode
6. The sky remains the same as ever
7. lost snow (mp3)
8. a thousand paper cranes

Link to Mono's official site.

Tower Defence Flash Game

2006-12-24T17:08:00.000+08:00

Here's a popular flash game inspired by the popular genre of Tower Defence, which is a custom game in Warcraft 3. Wave after wave of "creeps" pour out from various spawning points in increasingly more challanging forces and numbers. You have to build towers and upgrade them in order to keep the monsters at bay. If the monsters managed to get through your defences, you lose. The flash is pretty cool, but the map Element TD is much much better IMO.

Warcraft 3 (Element TD) based Flash Game:

Play it now

Inspired from the Warcraft 3 Tower Defence custom map Element TD.

If you enjoyed this game, you might also want to try out Flashcraft, which is also another tower defence game based on Warcraft 3.

Turkish March by Mozart

2006-12-24T16:47:00.000+08:00

This piece is a really delightful piece by Mozart and is part of his Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331. This theme is really unique in style and mimics the style of Turkish Jannisary military music. The track was also used as the soundtrack for "My Life as Mcdull" but Cantonese lyrics were included for the movie. This track is another manifestation of that pure musical genius that many believe found its supreme embodiment in Woifgang Amadeus Mozart.

Mozart - Turkish March (mp3)

Credits to Malek for providing the download for the track above.

And here's the piano score to Mozart's Turkish March by free-scores.com

Turkish March Piano Score [Download PDF]

Essential Listening List

2006-12-24T16:44:00.000+08:00

Essential Listening List, stuff that I'll probably be listening for the next few weeks. Might write up a bit on them if I can find the time:

at17
The Pancakes
my little airport
Pixeltoy
King Lychee
Karlheinz Stockhausen
MONO
524
Joe Hisaishi
Takagi Masakatsu
Tsuji Ayano

Light Parade by Gutevolk

2006-12-22T15:32:00.000+08:00

Here's a track by Japanese ambient electronic artist Gutevolk. As always, she's incorporated various different sounds and melodies to produce that distinct sound that's clearly Gutevolk's. This track features interesting use of a simple electronic synth loop as the background while she sings over it.

Twinkle

1. twinkle star's cycling bolero
2. light parade (mp3)
3. little girl, little star
4. silo
5. moonlakers
6. wondering

light parade lyrics:

speed o agete dokomade yuku no daro
bokura no kotoba o kimama ni tsunaideku
sekai no hajimari o tsugeru yo ni
oh where is my bird?

mune ni hikaru diamond melody no parade
onpu ni michibikarete samayoi tsuzukete iru
hora imagoro boku nado wasurete
sekai no dokoka eto
oh where is my bird?

Do check out Gutevolk's official site for more mp3 and lyrics. Here's the link to another track by Gutevolk that I've listened to previously:

Gutevolk - Sora

Stick Soldiers

2006-12-22T14:10:00.000+08:00

Stick Soldiers is a really cool game that I've played for some years now. Version 1 and 2 of the game was developed by WhiteSpace Unlimited. Version 3 of the game is under construction as well, but this time under Andrew Rusell Studios. The game is truly unique in its concept and is highly customizable and comes with a level editor as well.

While the game lacks in graphics, it makes it up in terms of gameplay and interface. Gameplay is highly addictive and interface is downright simple. In Stick Soldiers, you control a pencil-drawn stick soldier with various weapons (uzi, grenade launcher, etc.) to destroy other stick soldiers in your attempt to reach the specified frag limit

Download Stick Soldiers 1
Download Stick Soldiers 2
from their official site.

Stick Soldiers 3 is currently a work-in-progress and will be shareware, rumored to cost roughly $20 USD for the full version. However, a definite price has yet to be announced; the only official price range up to now is between $15 USD and $20 USD. The free, shareware version will not have any time limits for playing, but those without the full version will lose out on some features.

Isao Sasaki's Piano Works

2006-12-20T23:16:00.000+08:00

Isao Sasaki is a Japanese pianist and singer. He is famous for his piano works which are both highly emotional and heart warming. He embarked on his musical career in 1972, and over the years, he has written numerous scores for various dramas, movies, and anime series. Most notably he composed the scores for movies and anime series such as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Shinzo Ningen Casshan, and Superman.

ささきいさお（佐々木功)は、日本の歌手・俳優・声優。1972年に声優として、タツノコプロ製作のアニメ『科学忍者隊ガッチャマン』にコンドルのジョー役で出演。ガッチャマンの打ち上げの宴席において、余興のカラオケで主題歌を唄いこなしたことが評判になり、翌年『新造人間キャシャーン』の主題歌担当に抜擢され、ささきいさおの芸名でアニソン歌手としてデビュー。以降、数々のアニメ・特撮作品の主題歌を歌い、1974年にはテレビアニメ『宇宙戦艦ヤマト』の主題歌が一世を風靡し、ミリオンセラーを記録する。別名アニメソング界の大王。水木一郎や子門真人、堀江美都子らと共に、アニメソングの黎明期を支えた歌手の一人である。

Featured here is one of Isao Sasaki's more recent albums entitled "Forever". Do feel free to download some of the tracks and have a listen at his works. The track "Water Color Heaven" is truly amazing and relaxing music.

It is essentially - heaven painted in water colors.

Forever

1. Water color heaven (mp3)
2. oh...you're beautiful lady
(From 'Bungee jumping of their own')
3. You only love it twice
4. Great fear
5. Manha de carnaval (mp3)
6. The letter of soldier (From "J.S.A")
7. Between love and fascination
8. Ophelia
9. I'm just dreaming (mp3)
10. peace of mind
11. The celestial river

Do remember to visit Isao Sasaki's official site for more news and mp3 downloads.

Explosions in The Sky - Your Hand in Mine

2006-12-19T17:33:00.000+08:00

Explosions in The Sky is a post rock band recommended by one of my friends Armand Tanzarian. Their album "The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place" released in 2003 is considered as one of the genre-defining albums of its time. Similar to the likes of Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Sigur Ros, the band plays concise and progressive music, both instrumental and distinct in style.

The track featured below, "Your Hand In Mine", feels constantly in flux, growing and transforming with every note. Using a simple combination of guitars and drums, it is upbeat, progressive and hopeful, yet not having too much of a joyful mood to it. The track is great in the sense that it manages to conjure up feelings and imagery of hope.

The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

1. First Breath After Coma
2. The Only Moment We Were Alone
3. Six Days At The Bottom Of The Ocean
4. Memorial
5. Your Hand In Mine (mp3)

If you like their track, don't forget to check out their official site for the latest news and more downloads from the band.

Welcome to Europa [yur-ROH-pah]!

2006-12-18T18:09:00.000+08:00

Temple City is the intercontinental and Internet collaboration of Dietmar Quistorf and Christoph Kolodziej. They produce mostly downtempo and ambient stuff.

Shady stuff, that is.

Working over a 6,000-mile wire between L.A, California, and Frankfurt, Germany,
Kolodziej and Quistorf pass songs back and forth until they reach the sound that's
Temple City's own a unique cross of Kraftwerk and Mother Nature, with a dash of sci-fi.

The track begins with a dark voiceover intro of a spaceship arriving at Europa, one of the Galilean moons of Jupiter and then continues with an eerie intermission of the synths. Not much variation in the entire mood and rhythm of the track but it produces a calm and chilled out feeling with the seamless interwining of the synths and drum beats. It's pretty much chilled out that some of my friends say that this is good music for smoking weed.

Temple City - Europa [yur-ROH-pah] (mp3)

Do check out their official page on Download.com for more of their good stuff.

Clint Mansell - Requiem for a Dream OST Download

2006-12-18T17:37:00.000+08:00

The soundtrack for the cult movie "Requiem for a Dream" was composed by reknowned composer Clint Mansell and performed by the Kronos Quartet.

The trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers used a remixed version of the track "Lux Aeterna", re-recorded with a full orchestra and choir. The song, named "Requiem for a Tower", was made just for the trailer (it was not featured in either Requiem for a Dream or The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) and was composed by Simone Benyacar, Dan Nielsen, and Veigar Margeirsson.

The track "Lux Aeterna" has been remixed numerous times by notable artists such as Paul Oakenfold, Josh Wink, Delerium, and even a psytrance mix by trancemaster GMS (Growling Mad Scientists). The track "The Last Stand" from The Myth OST by Nathan Wang was also clearly influenced by Lux Aeterna.

Download previews of the tracks below from Clint Mansell's official site here.

Requiem for a Dream OST

1. Summer Overture (mp3)
2. Party
3. Coney Island Dreaming
4. Party
5. Chocolate Charms
6. Ghosts Of Things To Come
7. Dreams
8. Tense
9. Dr Pill
10. High On Life (mp3)
11. Ghosts
12. Crimin' And Dealin'
13. Hope Overture (mp3)
14. Tense
15. Bialy And Lux Conga
16. Cleaning Apartment
17. Ghosts - Falling
18. Dreams
19. Arnold
20. Marion Barfs
21. Supermarket Sweep
22. Dreams
23. Sara Goldfarb Has Left The Building
24. Bugs Got A Devilish Grin Conga
25. Winter Overture (mp3)
26. Southern Hospitality
27. Fear (mp3)
28. Full Tense
29. Beginning Of The End
30. Ghosts Of A Future Lost
31. Meltdown
32. Lux Aeterna (mp3)
33. Coney Island Low

Guide to Cantonese Input IME and Software

2006-12-17T12:49:00.000+08:00

A common problem that have been troubling cantonese-speaking Windows users is the inability to input special cantonese-only characters in their systems. Characters such as "乜","喺" and "冇" cannot be typed used Microsoft's Chinese IME and also using other euqivalent software such as NJSTAR and Chinese Star. These software can display most of the fonts with GB encoding but there's simply no easy way to input them. Furthermore, written Cantonese contains many characters not used in standard written Chinese in order to transcribe words not present in the standard lexicon. In 1990 the Hong Kong Government introduced the Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set (HKSCS) in use for electronic communication as an attempt to standardize written cantonese. The HKSCS is a prerequisite for many of the softwares and IMEs featured below so download and install HKSCS before install the IMEs.

Download the Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set (HKSCS) from Microsoft.

To solve this problem of typing cantonese on the computer, a wide plethora of software and IMEs have been developed. Most people today use ChangJie, Jyutping or handwritting recognition pads.

I've tried and tested many alternatives to allow me to have the ability to type Cantonese on my computer. Many of these software are commercial but I didn't want to pay anything for it, so I decided to do a bit of googling for the proper tools and after a bit of testing, I've come up with a list of some of the best and free software for this purpose.

1. ISO 10646 version of HKSCS-2001 reference font and input software (ISO 10646 版本輸入法軟件)

This is the official software for typing cantonese with is developed by the Hong Kong Government. It uses the ChangJie input method, Quick Input method and Stroke Input method. Its pretty decent but only downside is that ChangJie is the main input method. The learning curve for the Changjie input method is pretty steep and if you don't know Changjie then its better to use other easier methods such as cantonese romanization (e.g Jyutping or Yale). Check out the official site here.

Download ISO 10646 version of HKSCS-2001 reference font and input software

2. Red Dragonfly Chinese Input Method (紅蜻蜓粵語拼音詞語輸入法)

This nifty piece of software is developed by Dr. K.K. Luke, Department of Linguistics, University of Hong Kong.This Input Method can thus be used to type characters from the HKSCS. It uses the cantonese pronounciation method for the input of the characters. This software is pretty good, except that it is limited to run on native Chinese version of Windows. If you run an English version of Windows XP, you can download Applocale from Microsoft and display this software in Traditional Chinese (GB) encoding. Check out more info for this software on their official site from The University of Hong Kong.

Download Red Dragonfly Chinese Input Method

3. Cantonese Input IME (廣東/粵語拼音輸入法)

This is the best piece of software I've come by so far. It uses the Jyutping (粵拼) method for input. This software is installed as an IME and is highly cuztomizable as you could change the pronounciation of the characters to suit your own typing habits as well as also add new characters to the list. You can find a step by step tutorial to setting up and customizing the software on their official site here.

Download Cantonese Input IME

4. CantoInput

This software is developed by Jim Burket and is a Unicode-based cantonese input IME. Both the Yale and Jyutping methods are supported. A Mandarin Pinyin mode is also available. CantoInput will run on any operating system with a relatively recent Java runtime environment. You could run it on Windows, Linux and even on Macs. I haven't had much time to try out this piece of software but by the looks of it it seems pretty fine. Check out CantoInput from their official site.

Download CantoInput

Golden Flowers in the Disco!

2006-12-15T22:23:00.000+08:00

The term "Disco Volante" actually means "flying disc" or in some cases, "flying saucer" but the band featured today is far from being "saucy".

Disco Volante is Oliver Achatz, Marko Pelaic, Janis Guckes, Paul W. Taylor and Soeren Frickenschmidt. The band is from Frankfurt, German and produces electronic styled post rock and progressive rock. Their music is extremely experimental and is influenced heavily by post rock and laced with electronic sounds that seems to blend seamlessly in each of their tracks.

I don't listen much to rock, but heck, I guess this track is one of my fewer exceptions. They may not be really famous, but they do sound similiar to the likes of Jaga Jazzist and Sigur Ros though. They are GOOD.

Download one of their tracks here:
Disco Volante - Golden Psycho Flower(Layout) (mp3)

You can get more of their tracks and photos from their official site below:
discovolante.de

Gaim - An Instant Messenger Client

2006-12-15T16:09:00.000+08:00

Gaim is a popular multi-platform instant messaging client that supports many popular protocols. Gaim is open source and is released under the GNU General Public Licence. It runs on UNIX/Linux systems, Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD and Mac OSX as well. It is currently used on many distributions of Linux such as Knoppix, Ubuntu and others.

Here are some of the protocols that Gaim supports:
Jabber (XMPP)
MSN Messenger
Google Talk (Through XMPP)
IRC
AIM
ICQ
Yahoo! Messenger
QQ
SILC

The best part about Gaim is its ability to allow users to log in to several IM accounts simultaneously. For instance, I could be chatting with someone using MSN and with a second person using ICQ and chat with a third person using Google Talk! Although there are some other multi-protocol clients such a Trillian that offer similiar functionality, I find that Gaim is the best in terms of ease of use and also due to the fact that its FREE!

In my opinion, Gaim is an extremely well-written piece of software. It is lightweight and ad-free. Gaim is also highly customizable through the use of downloadable plugins that add loads of functionality to this nifty piece of software. Only downside about Gaim is the file transfer function in MSN gives you really slow speed as Gaim cannot establish a direct connection between the 2 peers as of now. As of now, all connections are routed through Microsoft's servers.

I got to know about this software through using Linux systems and I've been using it on all of my machines ever since, even on my Windows boxes!

Download the Gaim instant messenger client complete with GTK+ from their project page at Sourceforge here:

Gaim Downloads (All Packages)
Gaim Downloads (Version 2.0.0 Beta 5)

Jazzy Rhapsody

2006-12-14T23:19:00.000+08:00

Rhapsody is a Malaysian band I've listened to for a couple of years now and I've gotta say I really like their style. They play mostly jazz and instrumental sounds. The duo, Ywenna Carolin & Nicole Foo who makes up Rhapsody, met in a dusty piano room when they were still clad in high school uniforms, Nicole was mesmerized when Ywenna started tinkling Chopin's 'Nocturne in E Flat". After 7 years of dreaming, Ywenna and Nicole have finally got off their asses to start making their dreams come true.

Rhapsody is a frequenter of the Malaysian Jazz scene and have been featured on events such as Starbucks Music Series, Moonshine, Penang Island Jazz Festival, the Xmas Sofa Party @ FrangiPani, which is really popular bar in KL. Their quite well-known among the underground music community in Malaysia as many of my friends in KL have attended their gigs.

With Ywenna playing the piano and Nicole as the vocalist, the duo sound like a match made in music heaven. Their music is very calm and soothing. The gentle sounds of Ywenna playing on the piano blends perfectly with Nicole's voice which tailor-made for singing jazz. One of my favourite tracks by them is "So Scared". I've been puting the track on loop the entire time I'm writing this article. ~Sweet

Download the track here:
Rhapsody - So Scared (mp3)

Do visit their page on i-bands.net for more info and downloads and visit their blog here for their latest events and gigs.

我愛官恩娜，都不及愛你的哨牙

2006-12-13T18:11:00.000+08:00

岩岩聽My Little Airport既新歌《我愛官恩娜，都不及愛你的哨牙》，覺得好搞笑，成個FEEL好cute好唔同，不過聽落又幾好聽bor。歌中有段用法文來唱，感覺有D似UTADA HIKARU首《ぼくはくま》- Boku wa Kuma

《我愛官恩娜，都不及愛你的哨牙》
唱: nicole
曲/詞/編/casio: 阿p
法文詩作+讀: 阿雪

咦，乜你鍾意官恩娜架？

難道你已經不再喜歡我
碰見面也都不嗌下我
難道你已經不再關心我
看見亦要直行直過

其實我已經算很喜歡你
對住第二個都冇咁好氣
其實我已經算很欣賞你
看住電視亦會想起你

我就算喜愛官恩娜
都不及愛你的哨牙
我就算喜愛何韻詩
她都不及你的法文詩

如若你真的這麼喜歡我
到最後你不應該放棄我
難道你也見一個鍾意一個
每個月看中數十個

On partage la musique
Dans la rue, sur le lit
On n’a besoin de parler
et la main dans la main
comme ca, juste toi et moi
Ensemble, toujours

我就算喜愛薛凱琪
都不及愛你的皺眉
我就算喜愛張柏芝
她都不及你咁得意
我就算喜愛官恩娜
都不及愛你的哨牙
我就算喜愛何韻詩
她都不及你的法文詩
她都不及你咁得意
她都不及你咁真摰

You can download the track here from their site:
My Little Airport - 我愛官恩娜，都不及愛你的哨牙 (mp3)

HK's best kept secret - My Little Airport

2006-12-13T17:22:00.000+08:00

My Little Airport is one of Hong Kong's music scene's best-kept secrets. The indie band, consisting of a female vocalist, Nicole, and a male songwriter, P produces some of the most special sounds in the Hong Kong music scene today. Their music style is casual and comfortable to the average listener, similiar in style to some of Tsuji Ayano's tracks. The lyrics the write about are both witty and light-hearted. Their adventurous spirit and playfulness can been observed through their selection of song titles and lyrics. Definitely a much welcomed change to the songs you hear on radio everyday.

My Little Airport 呢個indie band俾到人一份好輕鬆，好好玩既感覺。My Little Airport的音樂、歌聲和歌詞互構成一種特有的清新氣質，編織出一個單純的世界，迷人可愛。歌詞中寫既係一段段美麗而朦朧的青春烙印。MLA第一張專輯《在動物園散步才是正經事》於2004年8月出街，就登上叱吒樂壇流行榜第10位。新歌《我愛官恩娜，都不及愛你的哨牙》都真係幾好聽！！

在動物園散步才是正經事
01. Coka，I’m Fine
02. 在动物园散步才是正经事 (mp3)
03. Victor，Fly Me To Stafford (mp3)
04. Edward，Had You Ever Thought That the End Of The World
05. 柯德莉，关于风景
06. My Little Banana
07. Josephine’s Shop
08. 王菲，关于你的眉
09. You Don’t Wanna Be My Girlfriend Phoebe
10. Dee，It May All End Tomorrow

只因當時太緊張
01. Gi Gi Leung Is Dead
02. I Don’t Know How To Download Good Av Like Iris Does
03. 只因当时太紧张
04. 失落沮丧歌 (mp3)
05. 就当我是张如城
06. 白田购物中心
07. Leo，Are You Still Jumping Out Of Windows In Expensive Clothes？
08. 你的微笑像朵花 (mp3)
09. 春天在车厢里
10. My Little Fish

Do visit their official site below for more info on them:
mylittleairport.com

Endless Love Piano Score

2006-12-11T00:54:00.000+08:00

Finally its here!! This is the piano score for the track Endless Love "美麗的神話" which is the OST for Jackie Chan's 2005 movie The Myth. The OST was written by Nathan Wang & Gary Chase. Two versions of the song have been produced. One version is in Chinese and Korean and the other version entirely in Chinese. The 1st version was a duet between Jackie Chan and Korean actress Kim Hee Seon who also starred in the movie as the Korean princess. The 2nd version was sung by reknowned Chinese artists Sun Nan and Nan Hong. These are not the official scores and are compiled by the great guys at popiano.net. I haven't really had time to try playing out the scores but they don't seem too sophisticated at first glance. Maybe later this week.

Here you go:

Endless Love Piano Score
[Page 1] [Page 2] [Page 3] [Page 4]

Credits to popiano.net for the piano scores above.

In case you're searching for it, here's the lyrics for the song:

Endless Love I Lyrics
Endless Love II Lyrics

You can read more about The Myth here and here.

林憶蓮 - 呼吸 Breath Me

2006-12-10T21:33:00.000+08:00

Sandy Lam's latest Mandarin album "Breath Me" which was released on the 29th of August 2006 was simply superb! The album features a Mandarin cover version of UK band New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle". She titled her rendition of the classic hit "One Person" and recorded it in two different versions (Track 1 and 14). Her voice is angelical, crisp and smooth to your ears.

This album is so good that I cannot stop playing it over and over again on in my car and my computer, whether I'm studying for my exams, finishing my assignments, or just reading email. In my opinion, this album is better than her last Cantonese album entitled "True Colours" released in 2005.

01. 一個人
02. 面對面 [歌詞 Lyrics] [Video]
03. 日子
04. 詞不達意 [歌詞 Lyrics]
05. 南方的風
06. 放開手 [歌詞 Lyrics]
07. 箴言
08. 要不要
09. 日子
10. 呼吸 (Q Mix)
11. 斷線
12. 相信
13. 玩伴
14. 一個人 (不安份 Mix)

林憶蓮這張醞釀三年的國語專輯《呼吸》，從收歌、錄音到整張專輯的概念形成，Sandy都一如以往一樣親身參與。我非常喜歡的歌曲包括「面對面」，「詞不達意」和「放開手」。

主打「一個人」是改編自英國樂團"New Order"的熱播作品，新詞由周耀輝填上，編曲充滿懷舊復古的電子音樂氛圍，顯然又是一首會在迪斯可熱播的歌曲。「詞不達意」旋律譜得好，有一份聽完後仍叫人未能抽離的魔力，小寒的歌詞也填得相當細膩。許哲佩的「放開手」是首佳作，整首歌有一份強烈的生活感，歌詞寫出走出陰霾後的自由自在，憶蓮把那種感受成功演繹出來。點題歌「呼吸」詞曲編俱不錯，更吸引的是整首歌的氣氛。「相信」是林夕填詞的作品，內容讓人感動，情懷很細致，與曲調也相當配合。這首歌在新加坡的音樂排行榜上取得相當好的成績。其他歌曲方面，「面對面」和「日子」亦值得一聽。

很遺憾的，前幾天在新加坡舉行的《夜色無邊世界巡迴演唱會 2006》我沒辦法參加。上個星期在馬來西亞的演唱會，我也錯過了。關於演唱會的圖片和音樂片段可以在以下的網址觀賞：

林憶蓮新加坡演唱會06.12.09 Fans Sharing

Guide to customizing foobar player

2006-12-08T16:54:00.000+08:00

Foobar 2000 is one of my favourite audio players. It's known to be light on system resources and easily customizable and configurable with the use of third-party components. Best of all, its free!

Download the latest version of the foobar player from the official site.

Here are some of the foobar components I've tried and used for my own foobar player. All the plugins featured below are recommended for use in foobar 2000 version 0.9 .

How to install the plugins:
1. Download the plugins and unzip them
2. Copy the dll files into your default foobar component folder (i.e C:/Program Files/foobar2000/components)
3. Restart the foobar player and you're ready to go!

1. Columns UI

Columns UI is an alternative user interface for the foobar player. It allows interchangeable elements through the use of panel and toolbar components. It is a prerequisite of many other foobar components such as albumart_ui and track info mod.

Download - Columns UI from musicmusic's foobar stuff

2. Album Art Panel

Another example of customizing your foobar player is to enable it to display a song's album art. Using the component foo_uie_albumart, you can easily modify the desired image's source, height and even configure it to cycle through several images.

Download - foo_uie_albumart v0.045

3. Track info panel mod

Track Info Panel Mod is a modification to the Foobar2000:0.9 Track Info Panel (foo uie trackinfo) panel by Terrestrial. It allows you to display a track's data such as length, artist, album, and year.

Download - Track info panel mod from Hydrogenaudio wiki

4. Quick Search Toolbar

Derived from foo_uie_search and ported to foobar2000 0.9, foo_uie_quicksearch provides the ability to include a search panel in your Columns UI layout, displaying results in a chosen playlist. The search parameters can be customized according to your own needs. I just left to for default.

Download - foo_uie_quicksearch

5. Audioscrobbler

This is a plugin that allows submission of data of the tracks you've listened to last.fm. It employs audioscrobbler technology to retrieve your listening data. Last.fm's client is good as well, but I just prefer using foobar and this audiosrobbler plugin rather than last.fm's official client.

Download - foo_audioscrobbler

6. Crossfader

This is a simple dsp plugin that adds crossfading functionality into the foobar player. I don't really bother with crossfading but listening to ambient and instrumental tracks with this feature will take your entire listening experience to a whole new level. Do try it!!

Download - foo_dsp_crossfader at Acropolis' Blog

7. ProjectM

ProjectM Visualisation is a visualisation based on the ProjectM project, which is a reimplementation of Milkdrop under OpenGL. The version available here is a modification of bleh's ProjectM Visualisation for Foobar2000 0.8. The forum thread for both the original version and the modification available here can be found here.

Download - ProjectM Visualisation

8. Whitecap

Whitecap is another visualisation plugin for foobar. It features 190 effects, a morphing slideshow, savable and scriptable effects, video file export capabilities, and control over specific effects. WhiteCap is designed to be visually engaging and extremely dynamic, yet flexible enough to allow for customization, control, and scripting. I don't really use this plugin much.

Download - foo_whitecap from soundspectrum

9. Lyricsdb

This plugin allows you to search and upload lyrics basing on song's artist title and sometimes album. Lyrics are download from a database and saved to the %lyrics% tag.

Download - foo_lyricsdb

10. Queuemanager

This plugin provides a panel which shows the queue's contents and allows you to remove tracks from the queue. It also allows you to have playback automatically starting when you create a queue.

Requires .Net 2.0 framework. If you don't have it you can get it here.

Download - foo_uie_queuemanager

Tsuji Ayano's new hairstyle!

2006-12-07T18:35:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I visited Tsuji Ayano's blog...She changed her hairstyle!

It's the Enduser ultimately

2006-12-07T14:41:00.000+08:00

Recently heard some tracks from this electronic music project "Enduser" - the brainchild of Lynn Standafer. Bearing in mind that he is influenced by several genres such as hip-hop and jungle, the music he produces under the alter-ego of Enduser are somewhat industrial strength drum and bass with a good dose of breaks and rap.

The first time I listened to it I felt that it was too hard on my ears but gradually I got used to it. It's really quite interesting.

Enduser has been collaborating with other notable electronic artists such as Panacea and NYC hardcore band Terror. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York and frequently performs around the US and around the world. You can find more about Enduser at his official site here.

Enduser - Things to Do in the Queen City (mp3)

Audiomatix - What a Day

2006-09-02T18:10:00.000+08:00

Currently in its 13th installment, the Mercedes Benz Mixed Tape series has gained widespread notoriety among the internet community and avid music fans since its release in 2004. The mixtape features many talented but little known musicians and includes various genres such as downtempo, chillout, RnB, hiphop, house, techno, electronic, nujazz, breakbeat and ambient as well. Every six to eight weeks, Mercedes Benz (yes, the car maker) releases a new Mixed Tape.

Was recently listening to the old Mercedes Benz Mixed Tape 02 yesterday night and discovered this track "What a Day" by Audiomatix that I really liked. Little is known about the artist except that he/she could be German. Very much downtempo, the track features some really soothing female vocals coupled with a chilling background. Perfect way to end a long day at work.

Audiomatix - What a Day

The Mercedes Benz Mixed Tape 13 is available for free download at www.mixed-tape.com and will be available till 25/09/2006. The next Mixed Tape is due for release on the next day.

At a Department Store

2006-08-23T23:49:00.000+08:00

Some interesting essay I found the other day while going through some forums. Apparently it was taken out of some tuition centre and then scanned. Laughed my ass off this:

Kids today...

テルーの唄 (Therru no Uta)

2006-07-30T13:06:00.000+08:00

More on Studio Ghibli's new film "Tales from Earthsea" by Goro Miyazaki. 19 year old Teshima Aoi (手嶌葵) is the singer for the OST from the movie. The song is "Therru's Song" (テルーの唄) and was released on the 7th of June 2006.

This is actually the first time I've heard about this singer. Ghibli has a history of using singers who usually unknown within the music and animation industry. For example, Tsuji Ayano （つじあやの) who sang the OST for Ghibli's Cat Returns (猫の恩返し) back in 2001. Her song "Neko ni Naru" has since gained widespread popularity in Japan and propelled to stardom.

She has an amazingly calming and pure voice which gives the film a folklore atmosphere which Miyazaki is trying to portray. Teshima Aoi's track "Therru's Song" is currently ranked 12th on the daily Oricon Singles Chart. Previously it had reached a top position of 5th on the Oricon Charts.

You can view the PV for the song on Youtube here:

手嶌葵
テルーの唄

夕闇迫る雲の上　いつも一羽で飛んでいる
鷹はきっと悲しかろう
音も途絶えた風の中　空を掴んだその翼
休めることはできなくて

心を何にたとえよう　鷹のようなこの心
心を何にたとえよう　空を舞うよな悲しさを

雨のそぼ降る岩陰に　いつも小さく咲いている
花はきっと切なかろう
色も霞んだ雨の中　薄桃色の花びらを
愛でてくれる手もなくて

心を何にたとえよう　花のようなこの心
心を何にたとえよう　雨に打たれる切なさを

人影絶えた野の道を　私とともに歩んでる
あなたもきっと寂しかろう
虫の囁く草原を　ともに道行く人だけど
絶えて物言うこともなく

心を何にたとえよう　一人道行くこの心
心を何にたとえよう　一人ぼっちの寂しさを

Romaji:

Teshima Aoi - Therru's Song

Yuuyami semaru kumo no ue itsumo ichiwa de tonde iru
Taka wa kitto kanashikarou
Oto mo todaeta kaze no naka sora wo tsukanda sono tsubasa
Yasumeru koto wa dekinakute

Kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou taka no youna kono kokoro
Kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou sora wo mauyona kanashisa wo

Ame no sobo furu iwakege ni itsumo chiisaku saite iru
Hana wa kitto setsunakarou
Iro mo kasunda ame no naka usumomo iro no hanabira wo
Medete kureru te mo nakute

Kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou hana no youna kono kokoro
Kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou ame ni utareru setsunasa wo

Hitokage taeta no no michi wo watashi to tomo ni ayunderu
Anata mo kitto samishikarou
Mushi no sasayaku kusahara wo tomo ni michiyuku hito dakedo
Taete mono iu koto mo naku

Kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou hitori michiyuku kono kokoro
Kokoro wo nani ni tatoeyou hitori bocchi no samishisa wo

You can visit Teshima Aoi's official site here:
手嶌葵オフィシャルサイト

Tales from Earthsea ゲド戦記

2006-07-24T23:26:00.000+08:00

The latest feature film from Studio Ghibli, Tales from Earthsea ゲド戦記 (Gedo Senki), will be due for release on July 29, 2006 in Japan and August 10, 2006 in South Korea. The film is produced in cooperation with Tokuma Shoten (株式会社徳間書店), Studio Ghibli, NTV, Disney, Hakuhodo (株式会社博報堂), Dentsu (株式会社電通), d-rights and Toho. It is based primarily on the third book of the Earthsea series, The Farthest Shore, by Ursula K. Le Guin.

The film is directed by Miyazaki Goro, the eldest son of reknowned Japanese director, Miyazaki Hayao (宮崎駿). This film was directed by Goro because Hayao was busy with Howl's Moving Castle when a small team (including Goro) formed by producer Toshio Suzuki began work in October of 2003. Although lacking any animation production experience, Goro led the team and drew the storyboards. Hideaki Anno (Evangelion) and Yasuo Ootsuka (head animator of the Lupin series) were greatly impressed by Goro's drawings. Suzuki felt confident appointing Goro as director after hearing from Anno and Ootsuka.

View the trailer to the much antipated movie by Studio Ghibli here:
Tales from Earthsea (Official movie trailer)

and you can also download the TV promo here:
Tales from Earthsea (Japan TV promo clip)

credits to Studio Ghibli and Online Ghibli for providing the clips above. Do remember to visit the (Japanese-only) official site for Tales from Earthsea.

Personally I really liked the song they used for the film's trailer. I liked what I've seen so far on the trailers and previews so I'll be anxiously awaiting for the film's release this 29th of July!

My Red Hot Cock

2006-07-21T17:35:00.000+08:00

Squarepusher seems to be able to crank out a hit single everytime. This track comprises elements of two-step, IDM, and drum & bass, all music genres of which the Pusher seems to specialize in and able to manipulate the sounds accordingly. It simply leaves you humming the song for hours and hours. By the way, the song is also known as "My Red Hot Cock".

"I am gonna give you all my love/ I am gonna fuck you in my red hot car".
Great and the true essence of pop-art style recycling!

Squarepusher - My Red Hot Car (Album Version) (Contains Mature Lyrics)

容祖兒 - 情歌的情歌

2006-07-21T16:52:00.000+08:00

Joey 将各位乐迷最期待的、最渴望的《Ten Most Wanted》十首新曲，灌录于2006年首张唱片之中。《Ten Most Wanted》中的「情歌的情歌」將會是莫拉维亚交响乐团音乐会的主题曲。

作曲：James Ting｜填詞：黃偉文｜編曲：｜監製：舒文

如果愛是一闕歌　美麗嗎　其實看歌者怎唱
何解最近的愛歌　題目卻　全部亦有關哀傷

我怕你那本末已倒置　記住沉淪時　忘掉了慶幸時
尋覓情愛的奧義　情歌每日播卻在唱錯　它的意思

＊愛　並非要來臨叫你感慨　是愛　令這個平凡世界精彩　
不要盡信苦惱皆因愛　它使生活帶著期待　
你　未找到誰人你最深愛　但你　亦不要時時故作悲哀　
即使有談過不堪的戀愛　會愛　每個人臉上　先有光彩＊

如果將心扉揭開　難道你　曾為了失戀相愛
可笑世上人愛嗟怨　甜蜜卻　忘掉用愛歌裝載

你看看世間上各種愛　種下是人們　原為帶快樂沿路
難免出意外　何必馬上說再沒有愛　抽身退開

REPEAT＊

愛　並非要來臨叫你感慨　是愛　令這個平凡世界精彩
不要盡信苦惱皆因愛　它使生活帶著期待
你　未找到誰人你最深愛　但你　亦不要時時故作悲哀
想想有時你笑逐顏開　只因當日發現　亦曾被愛　善待

View the MV for Joey's new song on YouTube here:

Listen to a preview of Joey's track below:
容祖兒 - 情歌的情歌

Men Who Fell from Earth

2006-07-19T17:38:00.000+08:00

Atom Heart and Bernd Friedmann, one of post-techno's most prolific experimental electronic musicians, the other an avid jazz fan, team up to create tracks of avant-garde electro-jazz.

As Flanger the two pair up to create electronic jazz in a way that blurs the lines between analog electronics. Between them both they play all instruments and then mash it all up in the computer. One minute you think you're listening to vintage Miles, Marc Moulin, or Nucleus (the good Nucleus aka Ian Carr, not the new crappy Nucleus), and the next you're listening to some weird techno bridge in the track which all crashes back into jazz territory... nice.

The track "The Men Who Fell from Earth" has some drum n bass influences throughout, most notably in the first few minutes, yet it never fails to retain its distinct jazzy vibes, bringing together some magnificent moments of flamboyant beauty.

Flanger - The Men Who Fell from Earth

Visit Flanger at Ninjatunes here.