mosaic's gone

zai jian.

cinematics.

friday night was pretty special. 8 musicians on a stage, playing music that was familiar yet refreshingly different all at once. never have i seen a performance so dynamic and colourful. i loved how almost everyone got a chance to shine - the pianist nick ramm, the saxophonist tom chant, both the guitarists, stuart mccalum and grey reverend, the drummer luke flowers and of course the singer heidi vogel. guy reverend played a version of 'to build a home' that i felt was particularly special and was the treat of the night in my view. the original is a piano ballad which is pretty but frankly a bit boring - they truly jazzed it up here. plucking the chords on the guitar in 7/8 time and singing almost forlornly these lines:

There is a house built out of stone
Wooden floors, walls and window sills
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust
This is a place where I don't feel alone
This is a place where I feel at home

before the rest of the band joined in for the grand finale. f#min amaj emaj bmaj.

unfortunately i'd say that the saxophonist was a bit of a letdown because i think he was trying too hard to play wacky brass sounds and while it can be done well, it got repetitive and annoying after a while.

i'd also say that while luke the drummer was good coming in with fills through the songs his own solo was poor. he was simply hitting the toms loudly without many of the interesting ideas that came through in the songs. this compared to jeff ballard on sunday night, with the brad mehldau trio, who constructed a solo from the beginning to end, with ideas and motifs, subtle or obvious. even when his snare failed on him. the delicacy of his solo was fascinating and more captivating than the wackfest that luke came up with.

brad mehldau trio was brilliant as well. i'd say it's unfair for 3 guys to be that good at their instruments and still be keeping up with each other throughout the set. highlight for me was when brad took things upon himself with a meditative solo that seemed to speak volumes and communicate every concievable emotion there can be - happiness, sadness, anger, joy, shock, anticipation. utterly brilliant.

and then after all that i forgot about my class outing on saturday night. utterly brilliant.

Out in the garden where we planted the seeds
There is a tree as old as me
Branches were sewn by the color of green
Ground had arose and passed it's knees

By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top
I climbed the tree to see the world
When the gusts came around to blow me down
I held on as tightly as you held onto me
I held on as tightly as you held onto me

Cause, I built a home
For you
For me

Until it disappeared
From me
From you

And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust

yes! i am a long way from home

3am. miles of empty, empty roads.

my mind is devoid of any thoughts, like a hardbound novel with all the pages ripped out.

how do such people reason? how do such persons reason to, in one fell swoop, antagonise a hundred odd others?

anyway for the past few days i've been playing this tune in my head. at first i thought it was simply 'gagging order' by radiohead, but then yesterday i realised that i'd somehow morphed it into another mogwai tune that i couldn't quite remember. only when i hit the road at 3am did i manage to discover the title on my ipod as i blasted it through the stereo.

it's funny how similarly structured the chords in both songs are. dominic's bassline also obviously shares the same musical idea as the riff in 'gagging order'.

gagging order
the pretty song from the album 'com lag'.

yes! i am a long way from home
the (frankly) massive opener, in fact, of their 1997 debut album 'young team'. don't pay too much attention to the first 30 seconds.

haha. yea. fucking 3 am. aural heaven.

I hope you see things that startle you

stepping on the weighing scale is a bit like watching arsenal play soccer. occasional glimpses of promise, even flashes of brilliance, but ultimately disappointing.

my hunger scares me. i can barely go a couple of hours without thinking of eating. what happens after this chase for more kilograms is over?

. . .

Some people, were born to sit by a river. Some get struck by lightning. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people, dance.



For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

liange

as weeks go, this week was one of the best.

i know i'm not supposed to feel any sort of emotional attachment to my 17-year old bike that i've been training on up and down the east coast, but i do. i miss the ease with which its frame accommodated my frame, how easy it was to balance, the creaking noises that came out of it. i loved how the cogs didn't really spin straight, that the brakes didn't really work but that didn't really matter since it couldn't really go fast anyway. now it's gone.

instead now i've got a triangle plate on the windscreen. driving has it's own fun, but so does two wheels.

many personal bests this week. getting nearer 75kg. 3.88km for the 5min stationary bike test.

here's the itunes shuffle quiz, complete with pictures!

if someone says "is this okay", you say?

Dare You to Move
Switchfoot
The Beautiful Letdown

i like this song. uplifting. the other one i like by them is "on fire". like the colours in the pic.


what would best describe your personality?

Hyper Music
Muse
Origin of Symmetry

wacky song. i've decided i like it too, and maybe it answers the question. cover art rocks.


what do you like in a guy/girl?


The Root of All Evil
Dream Theater
Score

oops.



what is your life's purpose?


Letter
Oddway
Away From the Everyday

obscure and a very interesting song from the music is art website.



what is your motto?


Act of War
Owen Duff
A Tunnel, Closing In EP

lovely song.



what do your friends think of you?

Conscious Life for Coma Boy
Aereogramme
My Heart Has a Wish that You Would Not Go

decent pop rock song with a touch of violins.


what do you think about often?

The Winter Rush
Some By Sea
Get Off the Ground if You're Scared

love the latter half of the song.


what is 2+2?

Staring at the Sun
TV on the Radio
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

radiohead have a song called 2+2=5. oh well this is a rocking song.


what do you think of your best friend?

Little Monsters
Charlotte Gainsbourg
5:55

you could say they are kids at heart.



what is your life story?

The Day We Caught the Train
Ocean Colour Scene
Moseley Shoals

happy stuff. he's got a good voice. the chorus sounds all too familiar, i'm sure it can be found somewhere else.


what do you want to be when you grow up?

Intervention
The Arcade Fire
Neon Bible

i'm gonna be anti-war freedom fighter with a taste for indie music when i grow up!


what do you think when you see the person you like?

The Man from T.H.R.U.S.H.
Lalo Schifrin
The Bossa Nova: Exciting Jazz Samba Rhythms,Vol. 3



cool sounds. this is from the guy who composed the mission impossible theme. and the cover... uh.


what do your parents think of you?

Nature Springs
Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Paul Simonon and Simon Tong
The Good, The Bad & The Queen



fascinating drumbeat. artwork makes me think "v for vendetta". i'm gonna be an anti-war anarchist with a taste for indie music when i grow up.

what will you dance to at your wedding?

The Lemon of Pink
The Books
The Lemon of Pink

it would be difficult to dance to this sort of electronica. but it's a delight to listen to.


what will they play at your funeral?

Walking Her Home
Mark Schultz
Mark Schultz Live... A Night of Stories & Songs

It'd be nice if this is how my funeral sounded like. People singing and people laughing and people having a good time.


what is your hobby/interest?

Sunny Side of the Street
Harry Connick Jr.
Harry Connick Jr.

i'm interested in piano led jazz and pretty suits.



what is your biggest secret?

Deliverance
Opeth
Deliverance

i secretly listen to music that shane would like. i'm secretly afraid of the dark.


what do you think of your friends?

Disguises
The Who
Magic Bus: The Who on Tour

they're good for road trips. funky cover!



what's the worst thing that could happen?

Variazioni concertanti, Op. 130
Julian Bream, John Williams
Together Again

beautiful stuff.



how will you die?

Many Lives → 49 MP
Final Fantasy
He Poos Clouds

actually a live version where owen pallett plays a bach partita in between the rest of his own song. the original piece starts off as 6 beats, but is largely in 5 beats. i adore this song. here's a video of him performing the song, where he shows off how he loops different violin parts over each other, creating the effect of many owen palletts.

what is the one thing you regret?

Never Seen
The Immediate

i regret having this song. i don't like it. and look at that cover! horrible!



what makes you laugh?

Your Ex-Lover is Dead
Stars
Set Yourself on Fire

another lovely song. i'd say the intro makes me laugh. when there's nothing left to burn, you've got to set yourself on fire.

what makes you cry?

Estonia
Marillion
This Strange Engine

it's a sad song alright. love it! like the idea for the album art.



will you ever get married?

With You
Stars of Track and Field
Centuries Before Love and War

it's a boring song. meh. answers the question though.



what scares you the most?

Shasta (Carrie's Song)
Vienna Teng
Warm Strangers

few things scare me more than how brilliant her songwriting is. listen out for the horns to the end.


does anyone like you?

Cold Wind
The Arcade Fire
OST - Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends

what a haunting song. driving seemingly alone, perhaps i don't like anyone.



if you could go back in time, what would you change?


Midnight Coward
Stars
In Our Bedroom After the War




fascinating song.
"what can't be decided
in the morning it will bring itself to you.
what can't be decided
can fool you into thinking maybe you can choose."

what hurts right now?

Skunk
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Now I Got Worry

song starts with jon screaming "owwww!" like it really hurts.


what will you post this as?

Liange
Anoice
Remmings

stunningly beautiful piece. the violin and piano lines intertwine like some wondrous magic.

march

isn't it funny that on march the 1st,

i was supposed to march down orchard rd, pass plaza singapura, wearing red, blue and gold on my peak cap on acs' founder's day. i never realised it until i changed into my no.1 uniform.

that i was promoted to corporal, despite... y'know. hehe.