A song in all our hearts

[Listen. Be aware]

NB: As of August 2006: - I will start to use flash media player to play my chosen songs because it is a lot better than what I had before. You also don't know to open a new window now with this player whereas I did beforehand. So now's there is this new player and therefore, new bliss.

Every month or so, I shall try and rotate 6 songs to this section for you to listen and perhaps grow accustom to. Included in this package of samples is a brief profile of my chosen artists and a short insight into the songs that I have chosen so that you might get a better understanding of these artists and why they are to me so good. All of the songs are trimmed by me to about 1-2 minutes using a mp3 trimming program, not only to consume less storage space but because they are after all samples.

I would prefer that if you like the songs, that you should support the chosen group // bands // singers by buying their singles // albums because they have worked hard on their talents and skills and deserved to be rewarded. I believe that sampling songs may encourage people to like such artists and in the long term, I want to try and post as many talented artists as possible here. If you however want to download some songs because you're interested then at least it's a start. I find that after listening to an album I really like, that I would buy it when I make enough money. Also to note, the music I choose are mainly within Asian music of various languages, other genres like classical and punk and even some European songs (if I can get around to that) and many other not so generic songs that plagues the UK charts these days...ha ha ha. Don't expect me to put an Eminem or Britney Spears song because I won't have anything like that okay??

Yesasia | CDJapan (Japanese CDs) | CDBaby | Annyoung (Korean CDs) |

How to use the flash mp3 player: If the player isn't loading up, the chances are that you don't have an up to date version of Macromedia flash (This players uses version 9) or my bandwidth has reached its limits. Once the play list appears, it is up to you to click on the name of the song in order to activate it. Sometimes the titles will appear in its original language or in its Romanised form.

Also to note: I've tried this in Mozilla and IE and they both worked for me.
The picture featured in the mp3 player is Korean singer K (Kei or Kang yoon-sung)



ARCHIVE: [ recent < -- 1 -- > distant ]

This Month's Audios

Kitto Daijoubu Single [NORMAL EDITION Cover image] きっと大丈夫 // Kitto Daijoubu - Arashi (Single:- First released: May 2006)

GENRE: Japanese Pop

Arashi (嵐) meaning 'storm' in Japanese is a pop group with 5 boys that are known for their dancing and acting skills. As a group, they have starred in 2 of their own movies ( PIKA*NCHI~Life is Hard Dakara(so) Happy and PIKA**NCHI Double), and have many variety shows like 'G no Arashi-Ganbare Arashi' and Midnight Storm. The members also acted separately in various dramas and movies that are perhaps well suited for teens - young adult humour rather than anything too serious. Arashi is in the order of age (youngest to oldest) Jun Matsumoto (b. 1983), Kazunari Ninomiya (b. 1983) , Masaki Aiba (b. 1982), Sho Sakurai (b. 1982) and Satoshi Ohno (b. 1980).

It's worth noting that the members who seem to be more prolific than the rest in the group are Jun Matsumoto and Sho Sakurai. Sho Sakurai is perhaps the most intelligent in the group by graduating from university with an economic degree which makes him a good role model for other youngster pursuing a musical career. He also wrote and composed some of the more memorable songs like 'sakura sake' 'kitto daijoubu' and the more recent 'aozora pedaru.' Jun Matsumoto (Or cutely known as Matsujun) on the other hand is the youngest and by far the most handsomest of the group, attracting a wide age range of fan ladies and has been in a number of movies and dramas. His shy yet strong personality is perhaps one of many of his characteristics that attract the fans whether he is acting or singing. Overall, each of the members contribute something that makes Arashi a very fun loving and hard-working group that would probably lasts for many years to come.

I personally think that Arashi better songs tend to be more uplifting and energetic tunes because I don't think they have that kind of quality to pull off really powerful ballads or that sort. I think that's probably why I didn't like 'Aozora Pedaru' too much. Nevertheless, being able to create songs that make people happy consistently is a good thing. 'Kitto Daijoubu' roughly meaning 'It's certainly alright' rocked the Oricon chart with their very colourful and fun music video and their infectious singing. If 5 guys in a top hat and suit can dance in front of a blinding bold rainbow and still give off a sexy manliness about them, then it has to be a really good video XD

To me, 'Kitto Daijoubu' is a very motivating and infectious song well suited for summer and love happy days. The one thing I did like about this song and many of Arashi other songs is that it doesn't try and make itself awfully cute like some of the other major groups in Japan (e.g. Morning Musume) because Arashi and JE's aim isn't to target kids that haven't hit puberty but more to fan girls and older ladies who may find Arashi adorable because they are after all, guys. I can admit that the rap that Sho Sakurai makes at the beginning and the middle was strange at first but after a while, the rap seem to gel in with the rest of the song but I generally love Sho's contribution. It's also nice to see Satoshi Ohno (the oldest) getting some face time in the music video. I would certainly recommend this song to anyone who has never heard of Arashi as well as 'Pika*nchi', 'Sakura Sake', 'ALL or NOTHING' 'Lucky Man' and 'Nice na Kokoroiki'

From the album 'Soulboy' Spring Breeze (Chun Feng Chui) - Khalil Fong (Album:- First released: November 2005)

GENRE: Chinese (Mandarin) Soul // R and B

For detailed information on Khalil Fong, please direct yourself to the shining star of the month section where you will also find some pictures and media samples. In a nutshell, Khalil Fong (Fong Tai Tong) is born in Hawaii and can speak in English, Mandarin and Cantonese quite fluently which he exemplifies in his first track 'prologue' from his debut album 'Soul Boy'. His musical influence is basically soul, R&B and hip-hop and he himself said that he was brought up loving Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.

'Soul Boy' was released in November 2005 and it was received generally well since he later bagged himself a couple of awards for best male newcomer. Its blend of smooth soul and R&B is a breath of fresh air amongst the dominant forces like Jay Chou, F4 and Wang Lee Hom in Asia and although Khalil's music could be mildly related to Wang Lee Hom, Khalil does have a distinct style developing which is very promising indeed. I heard Khalil strangely on one of those TVs on the Hong Kong buses (bless our wonderful technology la) that I first heard his name and I kinda feel a little silly that I didn't buy 'Soul Boy' when I had the chance last Christmas. Instead I went and purchased Leo Ku's (Koo Kui-Kei) 'star track' and boy am I regretting it slightly.

I chose 'Chun Feng Chui' or Spring Breeze from the album purely because it's the one that has been on repeat for quite some time. It's partly a Capella and the seemingly simple arrangement (that Khalil did himself) is superb in the sense that the piano play, the rhythm of the drum beating and the vocals blend well without the sense that one is overpowering each other. In my opinion, I just find this song easy to catch on. Anyone who have trouble understanding Mandarin like I do (My Mandarin is about as good as a 3 years old kid. Seriously XD) would still enjoy this song purely for the music, rather than the lyrics. Therefore I would recommend anyone who might be interested to try out this song first before delving into his other works. Somehow, I just wish Khalil becomes more famous or maybe release an album in Cantonese.

From the album 'Like a Movie' You are the only one - Wheesung (Album:- First released: April 2002)

GENRE: Korean R and B

In all honesty Whee sung Choi better known, as Wheesung is one of my new loves alongside Taebin but I seem to catch on his music quite quickly but I'll keep this short. He's a Korean R&B singer who made his mark with his debut album 'Like a Movie' in 2002. His voice range is somewhat smoother than Taebin and SE7EN from what I've listened to so far. Currently, he has released 4 albums though I've only listened to two so far. He's collaborated with many Asian artists like M-flo, SE7EN and Masta Wu during his career so far. As the albums progresses, I find that his R&B becomes more fused with hip-hop and pop and I quite like his 3rd album 'For the moment' because it suits him and his style.

Jeez. This is quite short. I chose 'You are the only one' from his debut album 'Like a Movie' because even though it sounds a little generic to me (I don't know why…it's just the way I feel about this song), I really like his vocals and it's a very sweet song to listen to. Apparently, his limited English is supposed to be quite good. 'Incomplete' shows that he has the capability though at times it just seems like he's mumbling. It's a nice song I would recommend though alongside 'Incurable disease' on his 3rd album. Wheesung when given the right R&B song does have a strong yet smooth vocal, almost comparable to someone like R. Kelly and K-ci and Jojo in some respect.

From the album 'Double Surround Sound' Soulless (Shi Hun) - Soler (Album first released: July 2005)

GENRE: Chinese (Cantonese) Rock

At the same time I heard Khalil Fong in Hong Kong last Christmas, Soler also sprung to mind though I didn't take much notice of them until very recently when they popped up in my mind for some weird reason. You can say it's one of those 'Ah! I remember them now' moments. Soler like Khalil are on the rise though they are pretty popular in Hong Kong from what I gathered when I was there. Soler means 'aiming high for the sun' in the Karen tribal language (Tribal people of Myanmar // Burma) and it is also the twins' mother's maiden name. Currently, Soler are one of the extremely rare successful foreign bands in Hong Kong to successfully sing and perform Cantonese songs, though strictly they aren't as 'foreign' as one might perceive them to be.

Soler is in my opinion, a canto-pop-soul-rock band. Imagine a Chinese Santana and Maroon 5 meshed together and you'll probably get something similar to Soler. Julio and Dino Acconci are genetic twins and are the sons of a Italian father and a Burmese mother. They were born in Macau and the two knows how to speak in 7 languages (English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and French) and have attended a Chinese school when they were younger. Given their Eurasian background, their efforts to sought a musical career prior to their Hong Kong success was to be difficult as their Italian album failed to launch in Italy. All I can say there is that the Italians were really silly not to make Soler big. Eventually, after Dino (the younger of the two) joined former Beyond guitarist Paul Wong and some street and underground gigs later, Soler eventually became big with the much welcomed release of their first album 'Double Surround Sound' in 2005 and their recent album 'Intuition'

I personally don't see what so attractive about the twins but apparently in Hong Kong, a lot of girls would scream for them because of how physically manly and handsome they are. Their age have not been disclosed yet but I'm figuring that they're in their late 20s // early 30s given their maturity and masculinity. What I like about Soler is the fact that they play the guitar and writes their own lyrics (well Dino does anyway), and it has been known that you can search for their somewhat 'active' Hong Kong blogs that has been quite received by their fans. Like Khalil on his site, I find that it's nice that they have these cute little blogs and if it is really them posting…then wow!

So given their electric personality and performances, I thought their first track 'Shi Hun' (or 'Sut Wan') from the album 'Double Surround Sound' would be an appropriate choice this time around. This album has English, Mandarin and Cantonese tracks that are quite a good mix especially for someone like me. 'Shi Hun' sounds to me like a heavy Maroon 5 song for some reason but I like Maroon 5 so that's okay! (And Maroon 5 is well received in Hong Kong). I quite like their deep with a hint of foreign-ness vocal range and the guitar chords sounds nice as well. Julio is more of the vocalist whilst Dino is like the 'rest of the band.' If their fluency in Cantonese doesn't impress you, I don't know what will because even as a Cantonese speaker that I am truly impressed. Another song that is quite popular in Hong Kong that I would recommend is 'Zhi jue' which is somewhat lighter than 'Shi Hun'.

On a last note, they have also appeared in commercials like L'oreal and Sharp and have acted in some sketches making use of their Eurasian background and how we Chinese really enjoy swindling hapless 'foreigners'…no we don't do that :)… I don't anyway ^^ It's supposed to make a serious point about knowing about real estate laws and why you shouldn't sign a contract unless you're absolutely sure you want the property (and not be pressured into signing a contract) but I found it funny anyway.

Here is the link if you know Cantonese -- Mr. Chan ... and Mr. Chan



From the album 'November's Chopin' Hair like Snow - Fa Ru Xue - Jay Chou (Album:- first released: November 2005)

GENRE: Chinese (Mandarin) 'Pop'

Jay Chou (Chou Jie Lun) alongside Alexander Wang Lee Hom is one of the most influential Taiwanese artists in recent years and his fan base though extremely huge all across Asia, is definately growing across the globe. Born in 1979, Jay has achieved so much applause and praises for his music and his acting. He's known for his composing and song writing skills rather than solely his singing that not only helped his career but others in the music industry like Vivian Hsu. Since 2000 when Jay first started producing, he has released 7 albums (including 'Still Fantasy' which is to be released on September 8th of this year), 4 EPs including the smash hit 'Fearless' (the theme song for the film 'Fearless' with Jet Li) and then some other works including 'Initial J' which was only released in Japan as Jay's greatest hit in collaboration with the film 'Initial D' which he starred in. With the success of 'Initial D' (starring alongside the likes of Shawn Yue and Edison Chen), he is going to star in future films of 'Slam Dunk' (Inspired by the anime and manga of the same name) and 'The City of the Golden Armour' (working alongside the renowned Chow Yun Fat)

Given his success, Jay is still perceived as a calm, quiet and intelligent man as he continue to work diligently on his music and his acting career despite the extremely tight schedule he now have recently. He started learning to play the piano at the age of 3 before having such a passion for music as he now has. Not exactly a musician's man like Wang Lee Hom who seems to be able to play every instrument he touches with beauty, Jay can still play the guitar, the cello, the jazz drum as well as the Chinese Dizi (membrane) which is the Chinese flute often heard in traditional Chinese music (My dad listens to them all the time). In fact, my dad used to have one and he tried to teach me to play the flute after the recorder but that didn't go too well. It's still quite a talent for Jay to be able to play that many instruments but his magic really lies in his ability to mix classical influences with modern rap // hip-hop influences of his own. It has been known that Jay is influenced and inspired by Chopin's compositions (I wouldn't blame him) and thus this mix of the classical and the modern creates such a unique style for Jay. Recently, he seem to branch into Chinese classical music with songs like 'Fa Ru Xue', 'Huo Yuan Chia' and the more recent 'Qian Li Zhi Wai' but they are all worth listening to.

In my opinion, there should be at least a song that everyone will like in Jay's array of magical songs whether it's ballads, rap, pop, hip-hop or even something different, as he seemed to had shown in the album 'The eight dimension'. Critically, there are probably some times when I think that the style he brings in several songs are all too similar especially with his more hip-hop songs but you can't help that there's something unique about them because of the way Jay written them, composed them and especially how his voice fits in. If somebody else pulled off with a different voice, it just doesn't sound good to me unless it's Jay's singing even though he doesn't exactly have a powerful voice. I also think that's what put Wang Lee Hom and Jay Chou apart in that respect because Wang Lee Hom style (especially his more hip-hop songs) is more western yet sophisticated in his blend with the classical and the modern while Jay Chou's songs with more hip-hop has a certain beat that is extremely infectious yet sounds a little ghetto in a good way with his lyrics (which is evident in some of his songs in the album 'November's Chopin' like 'Ye Qu' and 'Piao Yi'. Another distinct difference is the fact that Wang Lee Hom's mandarin is by far, not as good as Jay Chou who was born in Taiwan, which is evident when they play live. However, Jay has been known to forget his own lyrics on certain occasion but I can forgive him.

So about 'Fa Ru Xue', which roughly means 'Hair like snow' and why an Earth I chose this song out of all the others that I really like. It's a nice blend of the use of traditional Chinese instruments with the hard drum beating, the piano and his non-overpowering vocal creates this very romantic song. The way it has been composed and arranged is almost ingenious as these assortment of instruments sounds so smooth together. The only criticism is probably Jay's vocal especially with the rapping after the first chorus but I like the rapping. It's worth noticing about the lyrics and how beautifully written. Vincent Fong who is the main lyricist in Jay Chou's works is something worth paying attention to if you know mandarin or not. Like I said, 'Fa ru xue' is a romantic song but in the traditional sense with a great use of metaphors with not much 'cheesiness' as most romantic songs nowadays tend to have.

Since this is a Jay Chou layout, I'm going to throw two more Jay Chou songs in the playlist. Is this a plug to get more to support Jay? Well. Yes.

'Ban shou ren' from the album 'The Eight Dimensions' translated as 'The Orcs' was used for the Chinese's edition of the game 'Warcraft III: Reign Of Chaos' and it's just a strange but nice mix. ' Qi li xiang' from the album of the same name translates as 'Common Jasmine Orange' (How he comes up with witty albums name is beyond my thinking but it's a plant just so you know) and it's a sweet slow song which is violin and guitar assisted. This is one of my most favourite Jay songs.

From the OST 'Stairway to Heaven' Ave Maria - Rebecca Luker from 'Stairway to Heaven' Soundtrack (Album:- first released: 2003/4)

GENRE: Opera

Chunguk ui Gyehdan has many English names like 'Tree of Heaven' 'Paradise' and 'Heaven's Stairs' but I'll stick to 'Stairway to Heaven.' This was one of the first Korean dramas that I watched from what I can remember. It aired on Phoenix CNE in England in 2004 and I only watched the a few episodes of it back then. After watching the whole series, I find that this is more of a sad tragic drama than I have imagined and romantic dramas rarely moved me like this one. This was broadcasted in Korea between 2003 / 2004 and now it has been aired in many countries in South America and Asia. The four main actors and actresses also benefited greatly from this drama as they went on to making good films and dramas especially Choi Ji-woo and Kwon Sang-woo.

I don't really want to try and give the whole plot away because this is a really good drama to watch that will leave you feeling sad and depressed as you feel for the main characters right to the end even when you have the idea of what is to come. Basically it's a tragic Cinderella story (without the whole magical tripe) where the two 'love birds' (It's more of an innocent affectionate relationship rather than one full of kissing and stuff that we see all the time in romantic films), Han Jung-suh (played by Choi Ji-woo - the woman in the OST picture) and Cha Song-joo (played by Kwon Sang-woo - the man in the picture) are marred by Jung-suh's stepsiblings and stepmother's intervention and attempts to get Han Yoo-ri (Jung-suh's stepsister) married to Cha Song-joo while Han Tae-hwa (Jung-suh's stepbrother) is smitten for Jung-suh and wants her 'no matter what'. The abuse especially from Han Yoo-ri and her mother Tae Mira right from the word 'go' is quite mentally disturbing and you'll quickly find hatred for these two characters whilst finding sympathy for Jung-suh who eventually becomes less innocent and more strong-willed later on. It's not surprising that the actors who played the young Song-joo (Baek Sung Hyun) and the old Song-joo (Kwon Sang-woo) were well received by the ladies. Kwon Sang-woo is in fact one of the most sought after actors in recent years since he is an Asian sex symbol and was June 2006 most beautiful man (I don't blame them, he really is 'really' charming) There's even an important character, 'director Jang' who is a white dude who can speak fluent Korean. He's cool ^^

What I loved about this drama is that love is never black and white nor there is a simple happy ending and it's clearly seen with the relationship of the four main characters. It's also nice to see that evil in this case is in the form of manipulations, deceit and beauty as Han Yoo-ri shows when she grows up (because she is really beautiful and smart in this drama) and Tae Mira is simply evil (and she was really entertaining). The soundtrack is a gem to the drama as well because it matches the mood of the scene almost perfectly, especially with the very popular theme song 'Bogoshipda' (I miss you) by Kim bum-soo which in itself is a song to cry for because the words really hits the spot when it comes to something heart-breaking.

'Ave Maria' is one of the other recurring songs in the entire drama as it is played when the credits roll and whenever there's some form of action like when Song-joo as an adult runs after the bus Jung-suh was in for a whole bus stop. I know absolutely what it feels like to run after a bus when you're not wearing trainers or carrying heavy books and successfully catch one and believe me; it's really exhilarating when that happens. Plus, watching someone like Kwon Sang-woo run is really hot. 'Ave Maria' meaning 'Hail Mary' in Latin have been composed several times by famous composers like Schubert, Mozart. Verdi and Caccini and I thought it's nice to have this cleverly fitted in with the drama. I really have no idea who Rebecca Luker is but I like her strong voice in this haunting track that includes strong beating percussions and a killer choir to go along with this singer. After looking around the Internet, this composition has also been used by a couple of modern female artists like Hayley Westenra.

~ Pancakes [01 // 09 // 06]