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As I was studying for my Business finals today, for some reason I was infused with a sudden desire to listen to certain songs – most of them works that I have not listened to for ages (say around six, seven years?). Nothing strange you may say, but consider this list of traits that all those songs have in common:
i.) They are local songs. Local as in from Malaysia? XD?
ii.) A whole lot of them are in Malay (some of them even feature what I think is Arabic? @.@?).
iii.) I used to listen to these songs all the time. How’s that for a revelation from this Metallica-loving, I-dig-alternative-music boy? XD + =p
And yes I’ve decided to share some of the songs with you. Bear in mind that many of these songs are quite obscure and it took me a bit to find relatively-okay versions of them on Youtube. But I think they’re all worth a listen actually, so do give them a go if you have time okay? Haha, hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane/Malaysian musical culture as much as I did =)
Here goes:
1.) Mimpi Laila - Yassin.
Translation: Laila’s Dream.
I think this song was Juara Lagu 2001 or something. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
2.) Alhamdullilah – Too Phat featuring Yassin.
Translation: All Praises Be To Allah.
Ult li albi bissaraha!
Hayya nab’idil karaha!
Syakkireena a’ kulli ni’ma!
Ba’ ideena anil fattana…
=D
3.) Dua Dunia - Too Phat featuring Siti Nurhaliza.
Translation: Two Worlds.
4.) Monay Monay - Poetic Ammo
(I actually like this one very much because it actually lays to rest any perception that Malaysian English acts aren’t any good and can’t kick it with their foreign counterparts? Thus this song is something I am very proud of…lah XD)
=D
5.) Wassini - Waheeda
Okay this one isn’t so “old” but I still like it very much =D And I have no idea what “wassini” means actually lol.
Imtihan ya leil…ya leil…ya leil…ya leil...
=D
And finally, my favourite Malay “relatively-oldie” of the list (trust me, even I was surprised how much I liked this song!!):
6.) Raikan Cinta – M. Nasir
Translation: Celebrate Love.
Yes!! The great-granddaddy of Malaysian pop music himself – M. Nasir!!! I also think this song was a contestant on Juara Lagu 2001; again, correct me if I am wrong eh?
Mari mawarku, raikan cinta!
Tanpa cintaNya kita tiada -
Mawar cinta mawarku abadi!
Cinta pemilik segala jadi.
=)
Cheers guys! Never let it be said again that I have shallow musical taste =p
Filched off the Mission Metallica website:
James Hetfield being shown the finger for once.
HAHAHAHAHAHA, I think it’s hilarious XD
Can’t wait for Death Magnetic woot!!!
=D
I hope that you guys have noticed that for the past few days, snuffleupagush.wordpress.com has sported three pages (as opposed to the usual two) on its main section, the third one being titled “Project: From Sea To Sea”. However, for those of you who have yet to visit that page and discover what it’s all about, I shall first endeavour to explain it here before I begin this post proper:
Simply put, I love Canada. And I love my Petronas scholarship that has allowed me to be here, and thus be part of a dream I had once believed to be impossible. Therefore, while everything is still within reach, I have decided to see as much of the country as possible, and experience all that it has to offer. This would mean extensive traveling, and complete embracing of Canadian identity. Then there’s the gaining of knowledge of Canadian culture to be dealt with, trying to be trilingual (English – Malay – French), and not letting up on any opportunities to further this maple leaf experience.
Thus, Project: Sea-To-Sea. It’s mainly a personal travelogue; a diary – of the best things Canada – Ottawa for the most part – has to offer. I am planning to visit as many museums, National Parks, and boulevards as possible. I am also hoping to make it to at least one Canadian Territory (Nunavut?), and a significant portion of the Canadian Provinces (six or seven would be awesome). So while most of my fellow friends will be traversing Europe or the States, I will instead go domestic – and hunt down as many beaver notions as I can find =)
Anyway, one of the events which Sea-To-Sea intended to cover was this:
The Sound and Light Show on Parliament Hill.
This event is essentially a collage of words, music and sounds which uses the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in downtown Ottawa as a canvas to tell the story of the nation of Canada. Accompanying the superb auditory and image arrangement are fantastic light tapestries interspersed upon and about Parliament Hill, timed and sequenced in order to present a dazzling visual feast for the eyes. This free show occurs daily at around 9.30 pm and 10.00 pm, and will continue to do so until the 7th of September 2008, having begun “screening” on July 5th. I had wanted to see the show for ages – having had my eyes gouged out (in amazement) by the images the National Capital Commission placed on their website – but never had the chance to do so due to commitments to my summer courses.
But today, I figured “what the heck – I’ve been deprived of fun long enough,” and decided to head to the Hill to catch the nine-thirty show, bringing my camera along. I left Brooks at 8.45pm, hoping to get a good seat on the public bleachers – yes my Canada Day experiences taught me well lol! Along the way I took a few test shots with my Olympus camera; I had suspected that its night shot capabilities would be marginally less than awesome, and I was right >.<
This is about as good as it gets folks:
I also tried the preset Night-shot mode, but that one did no better – in fact, it did worse. Thus I had to settle for the less-than-satisfactory Auto format on my Olympus Fe-230. So sorry people, do not expect pictures of awesomely high quality >.<
I arrived at Parliament Hill around 20 minutes later, and was just so taken by the misty aura of the administration building amidst the fading solar rays that I had to take a picture:
The bleachers were filled up with early birds already (yeah, that quick lol) so I found myself a nice spot on the grass and settled down to wait.
Now, some essentials about the Sound and Light Show: apparently it has been around for quite a bit, the first show having been screened in 1967. Back then, it was shown at a place called the Astrolabe Theatre instead – the event only moved to Parliament Hill in 1984. Since it’s first inauguration, the show has seen many changes to its format and construction – most notably the late 1990s adjustments to the show in order to adapt it to the renovations being done to Centre Block and the Peace Tower sections of Parliament at that time. The current show has been in circulation since 2005, and is called Canada: The Spirit of a Country.
The show is divided into five clearly-defined segments: Act 1 – The Spirit of the Campfire, Act 2 – Celebrate Parliament, Act 3 – Celebrate The Spirit of Our Communities, Act 4 – Canada Celebrates, and Act 5 – Celebrate Canada, The Spirit of a Country. Things began rolling at 9.30 pm sharp, and boy was the opening sequence amazing.
It showcased a mock thunderstorm – complete with thunder audio and wildlife calls emanating from the speakers set around the court’s main turf. Then there was a simulated image of lightning – created by projecting lights in descending order onto the main section of the Peace Tower – and Act 1 began. Communication was the prime order of this section, as recordings of transcripts about how “the medium is the message” began playing.
This image was taken prior to the start of the Show. If you notice, there are “Quebec 400″ silhouettes on the left and right walls of the Centre Block – this is where images from the archives of the show are depicted as the event progresses. And by images, I mean images of just about everything – from rolling prairie fields fields, to the lifestyle of the average Canadian citizen, to polar bears and orcas, to spurious First Nation art and tapestry – all of them graced those walls =) But unfortunately they don’t turn up well on my camera, so you’ll have to squint a little to see those images…sorry guys.
Blue was the rage for a bit on the Hill.
This is one of the better shots – you can just about make out the awesome lighting effects (spirals of maple leaves, snowflakes, and stars) on both the left and right walls.
After the initial tapestry images and reading of quotes from Pierre Elliott Trudeau in the first few minutes, the projectors proceeded tp play recordings of the first radio broadcasts in Ottawa – complete with audible stereo crackles and interference. The audience was then treated to a sequenced development of communication in the country – words like “First radio tube”, “First short wave radio”, and “First domestic communications satellite” flashed across the face of the left wall of the structure we were all staring at. It did make me marvel for a bit at how far man has come in terms of communication: from smoke signals and symbols to heavy duty satellites orbiting the planet – kinda awesome; and cool to know that many of those technological firsts came from the North.
Act 2 was called Celebrating Parliament. Here is where the coolness of the presentation began reaching its peak as the Parliament buildings itself is integrated to be part of the show. This part begins with lights cascading like droplets of rain all over the stone walls to signify the end of Act 1, and the visual images from the projectors faded out. Then, with a huge barrage of light the whole Parliament building just lights up. Truly spectacular sight people – especially on a clear night where the Peace Tower is silhouetted against a blue sky. And yes I have a picture:
Then the simple yet succinct words – “This is our Parliament“.
I liked that part very much =) Images of Canadian senators and politicians in session began flitting across the screen as the main body of lights faded away. As the montage moved to describe the picturesque landscapes of the country, I reverted back to the night-shot mode of my camera, hoping to get some decent shots with it. This here is one of the best:
If you look at the centre portion of Parliament you can just make out what appears to be terrestrial flora.
I would have liked this pic if it wasn’t so blurry lol. But yeah, notice the absolute whirl of colours =)
Canada Celebrates in turn showcased some of the most awesome pieces of local music of the country. There was this incredible piano piece, sectioned by rock and roll sections and country music – in English and French both. The faces of local performers were also projected onto the faces of the walls; I recognized a still of Celine Dion in concert, for one.
There were some incredibly concise statement that summed up much of the nature and favourite pastimes of the country, both of which might seem very alien to a foreigner – that I assure you. This one was especially simple – it followed images of children ice-skating, tubing and tobogganing:
“Hockey is the spirit of sport in Canada.”
Very very very true lol. Take a look at the supporters and fan mania for the Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators and you’ll know what I mean. And yes by “hockey” they meant ice hockey – not the turf game which Malaysia is so good at haha!
There were also some quotes from the presentation that I liked very much; for one:
“We look like a geography, but just scratch us, and we bleed history.”
The power and the depth of knowledge in that line is just incredible. However, the next one was by far my favourite of the night:
“We can say one syllable and make the world smile…EH?!?!”
I swear to God I laughed out loud when that line was spoken (complete with comic tones and mock humour!) all of a sudden. (the syllable “eh?” is the Canadian version of our Malaysian “lah” XD)
How Parliament morphed in colour in just a few brief moments. Very very cool.
The final part was called Celebrate Canada – The Spirit of a Country, and was built around the theme of a nod to the nation’s military history and peacekeeping heritage. The sequence opened with a full illumination of the Peace Tower alone, with the structure being dubbed the nation’s symbol to the world. There were brief flashes of the World Wars, in which Canada took part as well. The part that caught me here was the slow rising of grave crosses on the building’s walls accompanied by a gentle recitation of “In Flanders Fields”, a poem by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae – a Canadian physician who saw active duty in World War 1:
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
Beautiful, isn’t it? The poem is a prime example of a French rondeau, and has been noted to be a cross between a “pastoral, sacrificial tone” (in the first nine lines) and a “recruiting-poster rhetoric” (third stanza). Notably, the work is also on the ten (or dix) dollar bill of Canada.
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow…
Sigh. Anyway -
The Peace Tower being lit up.
At this point the presentation was reaching it’s powerful crescendo, scaling it with virtuous statements like “Bravery – is to face the fold with integrity” and “Humility – is to know yourself as a sacred part of Creation”. The atmosphere here my friends, was of solemn and deep respect – the best juxtaposition to the soaring heights of joy raked by the cultural displays earlier.
You can just about make out the Mounties in this picture.
As the crescendo rose an octave, the speakers went silent and then slowly, a rendition of O Canada began filtering out. It was a slowed down version of the bilingual national anthem, and the best one I have ever heard – the emotion in the voice was just incredible, and the images that flashed on the walls – from the Rockies to the ice cold North to the rushing rapids and the five Great Lakes – were just surreal.
I won’t lie – I was moved to tears by the rendition. Very very very very incredible.
The Sound and Light Show on Parliament Hill is a feast for the eyes, the ears and the heart. It works if you’re a random person who needs a way to kill time on a Saturday evening, and it’s an astronomical splendor if you come out to wanting to appreciate the country and all of it’s marvelous contents.
A definite must-see if you’re ever here in Ottawa before September 7th.
With this, I officially kick-off Project: From-Sea-To-Sea.
-
Brazilian: Parabéns a você! nesta data querida muitas felicidades e muitos anos de vida.
Chinese-Cantonese: Sun Yat Fai Lok!
Chinese-Mandarin: Qu ni sheng er kuai le.
Croatian: Sretan Rodendan!
Czech: Vsechno nejlepsi k Tvym narozeninam!
Danish: Tillykke med fodselsdagen!
Dutch: Hartelijk gefeliciteerd!
English: Happy birthday!
Esperanto: Felichan Naskightagon!
Farsi: Tavalodet Mobarak!
Finnish: Hyvaa syntymapaivaa!
French (Canada): Bonne Fete!
French: Joyeux Anniversaire!
German: Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
Greek: Eytyxismena Genethlia! or Chronia Pola!
Hawaiian: Hau`oli la hanau!
Hebrew: Yom Huledet Same’ach!
Hungarian: Boldog szuletesnapot! or Isten eltessen!
Italian: Buon Compleanno!
Japanese: Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu!
Malay: Selamat hari jadi!
Polish: Sto lat!
Russian: S dniom razhdjenia!
Spanish: Feliz Cumpleaños!
Swedish: Grattis på födelsedagen.
Taiwanese: San leaz quiet lo!
Thai: Suk San Wan Keut!
Ukrainian: Z dnem narodjennia!
-
Yes people, www.snuffleupagush.wordpress.com is one year old today =) 31536000 seconds from the day I first kickstarted my initial blog templates in 13A03 Ridzuan Condominiums with an aim to start anew. I guess after all that, there really isn’t much to say, except to thank all of you for reading and being a constant encouragement for me to keep on writing. In return, I promise you all that this blog will keep on growing and attempt to provide as much reading and/or visual pleasure as possible; so please do keep visiting – the best is yet to come =)
(proof of this statement might come as early as tonight)
Cheers!
- Irving.
PS – I had opened up my pictures folder, trying to find decorative images that fit the “anniversary” mood, but I found none that really worked. So instead I decided to put up previously-unreleased photos which I think is a fitting testament to the journey that this blog (and its author) has went through in the past solar revolution.
PPS – And yes, also updated are the custom image header and the Up The Snuffleupagush’s Trunk page =)
Because Atif is awesome, I decided to do yet another random picture post =)
I had initially intended to call this blogpost The Silent Cartographer: With A Vengeance to signify the frustration I’m feeling with regard to how poorly I think my summer has been going up to now. But then I realized that at this moment, there are things which are probably more important than me.
So I now present to you, The Silent Cartographer: Forever. Enjoy folks!
And yes dude, this post is for you =)
Advance Ottawa.
King of the Hill.
Arachnada.
At least 2/13 are promised.
Safeguarding culture.
Prismatic.
Another onlooker.
Saluted by day, glorified by light.
First Nation Obelisk.
The Hogs Rage.
Off the 97 Bayshore.
World.
The Garnet & Grey welcomes you.
Home; and where the heart is.
550 Cumberland Street.
-
2010.2010.2010.2010.2010.
-
And just so you know:
-
=)
This thought has been on my mind for the past few days:
I have just realized how illegal and unethical online file-sharing is. Up to now I had merely accepted that the concept was wonky somewhere, but only recently did I realize how bad it really is, and how guilty that revelation makes me feel.
And for that reason, I think I’m never going to do it again.
Cheers guys!
=)
(and that’s one less pirate off the internet!)
#1
Kill ‘Em All (1983).
#2
Ride The Lightning (1984).
# 3
Master Of Puppets (1986).
# 4
…And Justice For All (1988).
# 5
The Black Album (1991).
# 6
Load (1996).
# 7
ReLoad (1997).
# 8
St. Anger (2003).
And now, after a hiatus of five years, here comes…
# 9
September 2008 -
DEATH MAGNETIC.
…
People, I think it is obvious that I am very, very excited.
=D!!!!!
MENYESAL GILA BABI AMBIK SUMMER COURSE.
>.<
Looking back at the few reviews of music albums which I have done, I notice that there are very few which are actually of use to the general mainstream listener (read: this means a non-TBM review). Therefore, I have decided to review the following album – not only is this work something I suspect to be of more interest readers music-wise, but this album is actually also a very recent release.
Thus this review actually stands a chance of being the final dash of influence that may compel you to either buy the album or save your turkey for another musical piece. And that’s what reviews are essentially about eh? LOL.
Anyway -
Album: Viva La Vida Artist: Coldplay Release Date: 12th June 2008 Number of Tracks: 10 (or 12, depending on how you see it) -
Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am reviewing Coldplay! Viva La Vida is about a month old now, and after many many rounds of listens, I think that I am qualified to give my two cents worth on it.
What Coldplay would have you know upfront is the fact that they wanted Viva La Vida to be a departure from their traditional sounds and musical approaches; this concept is all the more understandable after their 2005 release X&Y was criticized for sounding too much like the release before it – 2002’s A Rush of Blood To The Head. Prior to release, the band suggested that it contained more strings and was possibly being moulded to operate with Hispanic influences. A bit more digging online allowed yours truly to discover that their frontman Chris Martin was even changing his vocal play by dropping to a lower register and not merely relying on his trademark falsettos. Pretty promising signs don’t you think?
The first song that greets you on the album is a short intro track entitled Life In Technicolour. The track takes the approach of gradually building up on electronic-sounding arpeggios and synthesized warbles that create the impression of a 1960s atmosphere that has been transported – in technicolour – to the 21st century. There are lots of things that this track also tells you actually: for one, guitar play of the rest of the album is foreshadowed; as they enter you note that they aren’t exactly the firm strumming along a rhythm line that you have gotten so accustomed to hearing from Coldplay. Instead they seem to be somewhat “digitzed” and warped; interesting.
Then you get the first sign of Chris Martin, whose surreal vocals power the song across an aesthetically pleasing finish-line. The one thing that crossed my mind here is that the title is incredibly apt – you actually get the impression of life in – what else – technicolour. I thought this was a very good start for the album.
Then we get Cemeteries of London – a track where “the night over London rang”. The warped electric guitar just pulses – there’s no other word for it – in this one, creating a incredibly vivid atmosphere once meshed over the synth clapping bed. The juxtaposition of tones in this second track is also one of note – a cheerful auditory approach is used to tell a story of desolation, death, dark magics and blanketing fogs. All I can say is that there is light over London yet.
Fresh from vivid ghost towns we now move on to the ethereal realm of misfortune; Lost is the next track in the offing. It starts powerfully, just catching you with its bass beats and thudding rhythm line. This song puts an end to any debate about Martin’s approach to his singing – it’s now clear that they will definitely be rugged and firmer on a permanent basis. This area of development is also capitalized upon by the next track, 42, which I have to say took a lot of time for me to appreciate. This fourth track is incredibly slow and tepid in its build-up, but the closing bass section is something that redeems it in entirety – watch how Buckland simply latches on to it and drives his much-changed guitar play home, all while Martin repeats the haunting cry of “You thought you might be a ghost; you didn’t get to heaven but you made it close.” I thoroughly enjoyed the section from 3.11 onwards as I felt the band was truly capitalizing on its knack of writing extremely haunting songs, coupled with their predilection for change. Another gem in the lineup.
But in listening to a good album, one always tends to wonder how long can the band keep it up as they always seem to falter and lose power at some point; Darren Hayes for one barely made it to the end of his The Tension and The Spark by producing the lame Ego and Sense of Humor tracks to wrap things up. Metallica had the problem too in ReLoad – the closing half of the album is barely more than filler, and weak filler at that; same goes for Daniel Bedingfield’s Second First Impression.
The first sign that Coldplay’s line is tethering comes in the fifth track. Or sixth, depending on how you see it (track #5 is a double song package). Lovers In Japan (the first part of the twin package) is decently catchy, but Reign of Love (the closing half) is just plain weak and devoid of direction. Not only that, the band steps off the pedal of change completely and directly reverts to its X&Y and A Rush of Blood… style of play. Another thing that gets me is that I fail to understand why they had to stick these two songs together in one listing…couldn’t they have like, kept them apart? Cause IMHO, I see no benefit at all of them being smashed together – aside from partially covering up the fact that Reign of Love is an incredibly weak song.
And whaddya know – the next song, Yes is also a double package song!! At this point I was starting to wonder what on Earth were they thinking in gluing these tracks together; again my thesis works – Yes is a decent song with Middle Eastern string influences, but the Chinese Sleep Chant grafted onto it is just a cancerous repeat of the Coldplay of old. This negative radioactivity also maligns itself on the next song – the title track of Viva La Vida, whose string arrangement is completely disproportionately positioned if you place it next to a guitar heavy song. Not to say that I couldn’t judge the song independently – I felt it was bordering on being dull and average, with its lack of proper musical power so effortlessly delivered by preceding tracks like Cemeteries of London; ironically it was chosen to be the second single of the album.
And while we’re on the subject of singles, I want to comment a little about the much-talked-about first single of Violet Hill – I am of the opinion that the choice of this song as the first single was an incredibly poor representation of what the rest of the album was going to be like. Upon first listen I actually had the impression that Coldplay was going to be a bit more rock heavy – what with the random guitar riffs and electric guitar solo at the end of the track. This got me really worked up as – I won’t lie – I’m a fan of heavy guitar sections. However all my expectations were sorely let down by the band as there’s barely a track that has similar musical beds like the one on Violet Hill. This first single is truly a unique component on the album – trust me when I say nothing else the band does comes anywhere near the new ground charted by this track. It’s like the band uncovered a new musical hoard but decided to abandon it and do other stuff yet still trumpet it like it is all they had been working on all this time.
Not to say that its a bad track, of course. But one can’t help being disappointed when you don’t get what you expected to receive.
Strawberry Swing, Death And All His Friends and The Escapist are the final three tracks on the album. Of the three, Strawberry String was my clear favourite, with its incredibly catchy guitar whines and warbles. Champion’s steady, resonating drum beats are at their absolute best here, having already been impressive throughout. Of the other two, The Escapist was the clear loser, but since it was a bonus track, I shall refrain from overtly-criticizing it. However on a whole I thought the album ended on a pretty strong note, and I have seen many many other albums end up on worser terms, having been awesome all along.
*shudders to think of MCR’s The Black Parade*
So what do I think of the album on a whole, having yakked about it for one hour already? Well, i think it’s a very good album actually, and very much worth your moolah. It’s standard Coldplay quality, which means you can expect decent music and catchy tunes all around. The band has also really experimented with its sound, and their experimental results have come good – there are now awesome new dimensions to their play (albeit some remain terribly unexplored and greenhorn-esque) which never fails to make a band better and more dynamic. Most importantly however, they have managed to stay recognizable after all that metamorphosis. Again, I can cite you a band where such change has gone horribly out of order – Linkin Park’s Minutes To Midnight revealed their incredible shallow-ness of musicianship as they convoluted themselves into producing some of the worst songs that I have ever heard in my life.
Thus, I am glad to announce that Coldplay stays way clear of such negative positioning, and for that I afford them my heartiest congratulations on making the good record that is Viva La Vida.
Everyone should try this out – especially if One’s a Coldplay fan.
84%.
Selected Tracks: Cemeteries of London, Violet Hill, Strawberry Swing, Lost, 42.
Selected Duds: Reign of Love, The Escapist, Chinese Sleep Chant.
You want determination?
I’ll show you determination.
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