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.

kieler woche.

founder's day celebrations are this friday. unfortunately i'll likely be doing a time-consuming rehearsal for the change-of-guard ceremony held on the 1st of march. which is, coincidentaly, founder's day.

on the brighter side, i'm likely to at least attend kiel week in late june and the worlds in canada in august. st. margarets bay is pretty much on the other side of the world.

i hope la.

. . .

brad mehldau trio play on march 15th. a double bassist and a percussionist led by brad's eccentric virtuosity on the piano. what first struck me was their cover of radiohead's epic 'exit music (for a film)'. i thought their take was parallel in grandeur to the original. i also like how they seem to emerge from the frenzied chaos in the improvised section of the piece and play the last few bars of the original. brilliance. pity you can't hear the bassist in that clip.

i really do wish they play that song. i also wish they play 'wonderwall' as well, of which i have in mp3. i dare say it's greater than what oasis managed.

then on the 20th, cinematic orchestra bring their live act to the esplanade stage. i hope they cram that stage with instruments and instrumentalists, that they fill our ears with vibrant sounds, odd time signatures, or simply anything i've never heard before, and leave us with memories to cling on to. maybe autographs to cling on to at the end of the concert would do the trick. heh. i also wonder if lou rhodes will make an appearance.

oddly enough, i just realised that cinematic have covered 'exit music (for a film)' as well. of which i also have in mp3. for all you know i'll get to hear that song played for me twice in very different ways in the same week. oh why can't we have the original band play the original? but now i'm just wishing.

what is it about jazz? my dad has called it 'aimless' before. perhaps. i'd rather call it an 'exploration', or a 'study', wandering about and searching out every nook and cranny for possibilities. you're only 'lost' if you're actively trying to get somewhere. if not, well, you're pretty happy wherever you are/end up. in a way, in jazz you can just about hit any note without being off-key. but that's not the point - if jazz was like that then anyone could approach a piano and bang notes and call it avant-garde - rather it's how the notes are played, constructed, the movement from one phrase to another. has anyone realised how difficult it is to play notes that come out differently every single time?

. . .

now i rant about 2 soccer players and 1 manager.

wenger, dear wenger, why do you continue to play eboue and bendtner? i've been watching them play for at least 2 seasons, and i fail to understand why they're still in north london. eboue will run and run and leave the ball behind, which gives an a for effort but an f for not coming up with any conceivable result. i honestly don't think i've ever seen him achieve something by the end of his runs. bendtner comes up with the occasional goal, but doesn't seem to have the touch, speed, creativity nor strength to warrant his frequent appearances.

i like how this article says "that the Croatian (Eduardo) underlined his importance with a brace and a MOM performance in the Cup that saw him contribute more in 90 minutes than Bendtner has in the last three seasons."

yup, after watching both of these dud(e)s balloon chances against roma and cardiff, i decided to put my two cents in. cuz that's almost how much those two are worth in my mind.

u r a bus

u r defined by statistics - nothing more than facts and figures.

0-100km/h, braking horsepower, manual transmission, turning radius, number of cupholders.

u r also defined by appearance and design. most importantly, the image associated with the badge u carry.

for this week at least, i r defined by statistics. level 12.10, 44cm, 5.55s, 75, 33, 11, 2min 3s, 7.4km, level 13.4. and there's a vo2max this friday as well. heart rate heart rate heart (WAIT!) heart rate heart rate left foot over right foot over left foot just keep pushing to the end.

maximal tests after maximal tests after maximal tests.
but in the end,
maximal tests are maximal tests are maximal tests.
the results
are just figures. figures that don't describe your frame of mind while pushing past the pain barrier, fail to appreciate the effect of encouragement given by peers when roaring to the finish.

figures then, that i'm so tired. for now,
i r busted.

WOL

it's amazing how often i find myself saying 'Wow!' out loud during the australian open matches that have been going on recently.