周杰倫 08.06.13「魔天倫」演唱會

Hee :).

Jay sang 一路向北! I legit almost lost it when the first few notes of that song came on. And following that he sang 不能說的秘密, which is another favourite of mine. He performed most of the songs from the new album (明明就! 哪里都是你! 大笨鐘!), but there was also a good mix of older hits. The concert felt really really short; I think it was only around 2 hours. Now that I think about it, though, he sang quite a lot of songs.

To be honest, I wasn't blown away by this concert like I was by his previous two. There were some good special effects but they weren't too impressive. Jay's singing was also kinda mediocre today. But overall, I had a great time! Jay's concerts always feel like a big sing-along session, because the crowd knows the lyrics to almost all of his songs, especially the older ones. As I was singing along I felt really proud of him, and also proud to be his fan :). 

I think I would have enjoyed myself more if I was sitting in the first category, where I'd be able to stand up during the concert. Because I was rather at the back, no one around me stood up. They were enthusiastic, alright -- the guy behind me knew the lyrics better than I do -- but I still felt rather restrained since I am used to standing throughout concerts. We only stood up at the last encore, when Jay asked everyone to stand up. Still, I cheered to my heart's content and dutifully waved my lightstick throughout!

I love you, Jay ♥. Till next time, then!

[Review] 周杰倫 - 十二新作.

Finally, I have listened to this album enough times to do a review on it. Jay's songs tend to sound better the more you listen to them, so reviewing the album after just one or two listens wouldn't give a fair evaluation of it. (But then again, someone who is not a fan wouldn't bother.) This review should be taken with a pinch of salt, because in case I do not make it obvious enough, I am a die-hard Jay fan, so no matter how hard I try to be objective, to a certain extent I am biased towards his music. Well, I must be biased towards Jay's music to be a fan of his, right? *laughs*

I'm not gonna talk about the MVs individually as it would take too long, but it is noteworthy that Jay is directing all the MVs in this album himself. And I really do like the MVs he directed! He said that there are gonna be 11 MVs in total, and 6 of them are already released at the moment. I should also mention that he looks really good in the MVs. Initially I didn't like his blonde and ginger hair in some of them, but they have grown on me somehow lol. I still maintain my stance that he looks the best with black hair though!

Listening to Jay's albums always reminds me of my love towards the sound of a piano, because it is heard in almost every song. Recently I may have been gushing over how awesome electric guitar solos sound, but really, I will never forget that my first love is the piano. It is still the prettiest-sounding instrument, in my opinion.

Overall, I think this is a great album! There are quite a few songs that me go, "WTF", but it's always in a good way 'cos they make me laugh. The light-hearted songs are nice and they make me smile. The ballads are especially good. I kinda wished these songs weren't all mixed around though; I feel bipolar, feeling depressed or almost tearing in one second and laughing or smiling in the next. Or maybe that's the point. Anyway, it's definitely a better album than the last!

1. 四季列車

Except for the first two, Jay's albums always start with a more upbeat song with rap as its verse (like 龍戰騎士, 跨時代 and 驚嘆號), and this song is no exception. I don't especially like it, but the arrangement of the song is interesting as somehow it just brings up the image of a car racing track in my head. And the "嘟嘟" and "噗噗" in the chorus always make me laugh, because they sound like the sound of car honking.

2. 手語

A very sweet-sounding song! I like how it starts with a lone piano, and even though it is joined by beats and other sounds shortly after, the piano is still prominent throughout the song. The whole song just sounds really happy :D. I like how relaxed Jay sounds in the verses. However, the autotune in the chorus is a big discount. He did this before in the previous album with Mine Mine, using autotune in an R&B song, and just as I did not approve of it then, I do not approve of it now. Still, it's a nice song.

3. 公公偏頭痛 [MV]

This song is just so LOL. But it's really catchy, especially with the repetition of the word "公公" throughout the song. The Chinese-sounding arrangement is good, and Jay's rapping is so fast here! The choreography of the song is cute XD.

4. 明明就 [MV]

I LOVE THIS SONG. It was the second song released as a single before the release of the album, and even though I already had the physical album pre-ordered, I couldn't wait and just had to buy this song off iTunes. It doesn't sound like much after the first listen, but after like the third listen I just fell in love with it. Jay's singing is really good here, especially in switching between his real voice (lol I don't know what "真音" is in English; modal voice?) and falsetto. The lyrics are simple, about letting someone go 'cos she'll be better off with someone else. They are sad, yes, but I think it's Jay's singing, the prominent piano and orchestra that make this song sound so deliciously heartbreaking. I also like how the orchestra starts off soft a few lines into the song, and builds up near the bridge. 

5. 傻笑 (feat. 袁詠琳)

Such a sweet song! At least that's what I thought, until I read the lyrics, which are about two people who like each other but can't be together because of a wrong timing. That's rather strange, considering how happy this song sounds from the very first second till the end, whether it's the singing or the arrangement o__o. That aside, it's a really pleasant song. Cindy's voice is very nice and blends well with Jay's.

6. 比較大的大提琴 (周杰倫+梁心頤+楊瑞代 ) [MV]

This is another of Jay's "weird" songs, but I really like it. I think it's jazz? (Not that I know a thing about jazz.) I like the lone double bass in the beginning of the song and the wind instruments that come in in the chorus. Jay varies his singing quite a bit in this song, which is good. The lyrics are so cheeky lol! Don't tell me the "哇咧喵" before the chorus didn't make you laugh XD. And the goat sound! And Jay's "還有一遍啦" and chuckle before the last chorus are so adorable HAHA. Lara sounds really good in the second verse!

7. 愛你沒差 [MV]

The second ballad of the album. I like how the song starts with just piano, then joined by a soft orchestra, the sound of a ticking clock, and then shortly after drums and guitar come in. Jay's singing sounds good and I think the layering of the voices in this song was done really well. The background voice in the first two lines of the chorus still makes me do a double take though 'cos even though I'm convinced it's Jay's, it sounds so smooth that I really thought it was a girl's LOL. But I think my favourite thing in this song is really the sound of the ticking clock. When you listen to the song at night with earpiece in your ears and silence all around, that sound really sets the atmosphere of the song.

8. 紅塵客棧 [MV]

The 中国风 song of the album, and also the first single to be released. It's not very special, but it's nice. Jay performed this song on piano with an apple, which is kinda cool.

9. 夢想啟動

This song sounds very uplifting! The piano sounds nice.

10. 大笨鐘 [MV]

I really like this song; it's very cute and sweet! Definitely one of my favourites in the album. The lyrics are rather childish, but together with the melody, they sound almost endearingly so. The wind instruments in the chorus add a nice touch to the song.

11. 哪裡都是你

This song is the third ballad of the album. It is so sad :(. And I love it so, sigh. The arrangement is simple, with the usual piano, guitar and drums. But Jay's singing here is so heartfelt and almost desperate, like that in 最長的電影. And the lyrics ;_______;. 

12. 烏克麗麗

Jay's singing at 1:27-1:35 always makes me grin like an idiot; he's just TOO ADORABLE hahahaha. He sounds more nasal here, but I think it was intended and it sounds okay. I also like how there's that tune that you usually hear in scenes related to Hawaii in the background; it brings into mind the image of the beach.

Happy 34th Jay :).

It's almost 3am, the cold wind is blowing along with the heavy rain and I am listening to 蒲公英的約定 on repeat with my eyes half closed as I am typing this. I am one day late (3 hours, to be exact) because I really wasn't planning on doing this, and I don't have much to say, really, but I just have so much feels right now (it's all the song's fault!) that I need to make this post.

Happy birthday, Jay :). I wish you happiness in all the years to come, as much as you have brought to millions of people through your music. There are a lot of things I wish I could tell you, like how much I love your music, how much I love your music, and well, how much I love your music. But I can't put into words exactly how much it is, so I shall not attempt to do it lest sounding like a complete 花痴. So just thank you, really, for being born, for making music, for being the proud and stubborn person that you are to continue composing songs however you want regardless of whatever others may say. I love you, I love your music. Did I say I love you?

[pinned] Facts about myself. (27/01/2013)

Here are some things about me that you may or may not know about.

1. I don't like animals.

I may think that a puppy is adorable, but I'd still keep a distance from it and not want to touch it. I used to say that it's because I think animals are dirty, but then again, it's not really the reason. I guess I'm rather fearful of them?

2. I hate cigarettes.

I hate, loathe cigarettes with a passion. I think smoking is the most selfish addiction ever because in the process of killing themselves slowly, smokers are also killing other people with their second-hand smoke that is more harmful that first-hand one. I get pissed off whenever I smell cigarette smoke, and usually I make my disdain pretty obvious, on purpose. I have nothing against the smokers themselves, as long as they don't smoke within like 10 meter radius of me. I told my dad that I'd stop calling him Dad if he starts smoking, and I was not kidding.

3. I have a very bad memory.

I can't remember things well, so don't be surprised if, say, I say that I can't remember what I had for lunch the day before. (Now that I think about it, I really can't remember what I had o_o.)

4. I love fruits.

I don't think there's any fruit that I dislike. I love fruits!

5. I don't have just one favourite.

I like things, I dislike things. But I don't have favourites. Ask me what my favourite song is and I would never be able to give you an answer, even after you narrow it down to one particular artist. What's wrong with just having a top 3/5/10 for everything?

6. I really don't like to be sick.

When I was young, I really wanted to be a doctor. It wasn't really because of any noble reason like I want to help people, but simply because I dislike being sick. Usually I pride myself on being strong, but when I'm sick, I tend to whine a whole lot.

7. I love music.

I think listening to music is a big part of my daily life. I love music. You can always find the perfect music to go with any weather, mood, and what have you. You can like a song without liking or knowing the language it's sung in, or even its genre. It's rather amazing that I can remember so many songs' lyrics, given my terrible memory.

8. I don't regret.

I tend to do things that I want to, regardless of what others think. Conversely, I don't do things that others may expect me to, if I don't want to do them. Since my actions are a result of my personality and the situation, even if I were to be given a chance to do it over, given the same circumstances, I'd have done the same thing I did at any particular time. Therefore, there's no reason to regret. From time to time I may groan at some stupid thing that I did in the past, but I don't regret that I did it. I take a mental note of my mistakes and tell myself to not do the same things in the future, and that's it.

9. I love singing.
I may not sing well, I don't have a nice or unique voice and I am half tone deaf (because I can't match notes to their names, like A/B/C/etc), but I really like singing. I can sing for hours straight and still feel like singing afterwards. I usually can't stand awkward situations, but in a karaoke place, as long as everyone likes singing (important caveat here), it should never be awkward!

10. I am a direction idiot.
I can never remember directions to places and I have trouble reading the map. I need a GPS installed in my brain. Like, seriously.

11. I love looking at stars.
Stars are always there at night, but most of the time we can't see them, either because of the lights or fog. That's why I feel lucky when I look up and happen to see a starry night, not the mention the fact that it's just really pretty :).

12. I love Jay Chou.
I love Jay Chou....'s music (laugh). I still remember how years ago when my brother borrowed his 七里香 album from a friend I took one look at the cover and wondered out loud how such an ugly person could become so famous, but then he started playing the album and I was totally blown away. I love his music, whether it's the 中国风, the ballads, the rock/rap songs, the happy-go-lucky pop songs or the quirky I-don't-even-know-what-they-are songs. A lot people say that he never changes, and that his songs sound the same, but I beg to differ. Yes, his music has a certain "Jay" feeling to it, like even before you know it's his song you'd get an inkling that it was, but there isn't one single thing that defines Jay's music, for it's really quite diverse. Uhm, okay, I didn't mean to rant. But anyway, yeah, I love Jay Chou's music, and so, I love him. He can do whatever he wants, as long as he keeps making good music. I can go on and on, but yeah, the bottom line is, I love Jay :).

13. I really don't like the cold wind blowing at night.
It always makes me go all emo.

14. I hardly ever remember my dreams.
Moments before being fully awake I may think, "I had a good/bad dream," but minutes after I'd completely forget what the dream was about. Wonder if that's a good or a bad thing.

15. I like drinking.
THERE, I said it.