Music of the East

Music of the East
easyrider Jan 23, 2013 17:13

I'm at a bit of a loose end.Right now its the awkward time between morning and afternoon lessons - a two,sometimes three hour break depending on my afternoon schedule where I could easily do something productive but instead choose to spend the time fittingly in front of a computer screen, the once keen young brain slowly shifting itself into processed Chinese milk awaiting the Orwellian style school tannoy sound calling those neccesary back to its grounds.

 

Anyway the POINT of this blog is (yes I'm pointing at you with screws attached to my fingers) is to throw out a few thoughts on some of the pop music here, which up until recently I've largely condemed as dreamy, samey, manufactured, repetitive etc, holding my beloved Bob Dylan and Nick Drake songs close my ears and heart. As a result of a laptop death, I'm guessing it was consumed by old age or disease, I have on loan one of the old school computers (it is a beast, believe me) thus separating me from my Itunes and embracing the computer world from a Chinese perspecitve(I do have all my music backed on an external hard drive but I'm too lazy to plug it in.)This has come as good news for my girlfriend, who whenever is here will blast out my apartment with her many favorite Chinese songs, forcing me to listen.Some of the songs have grown on me, though one that I'm not too fond of but has been contsantly in my head is "Nobody" by the Korean girl band Wondergirls (I know....). I'm not sure if this has hit the west but its everywhere here, in music in shops, Karaokes, bars, and now my previously peaceful apartment. I'm not too sure of the current state of music in England,but if its really desperate and you want to check out the Wondergirls or any Mando/Canto pop, below are a few links to some of the songs I'm partial to.

 

                                                           

 

1.      Ting Hai (Listen to the Sea) byA-Mei. Tawainese singer.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leVvZ4rX-lU 

 

2.      Jia Yi (Wedding Dress) As lightly darker approach compared to the usual love and happy ending songs you usually find here. A girl adressing her mother and then talking about drinking poison after being rejected by her fiancee, very Romeo and Juliet. Not sure who sings this one. 

 

http://mp3.baidu.com/m?wd=%BC%DE%D2%C2&word=%BC%DE%D2%C2&tn=baidump3&ct=134217728&sc=hao123(Click on the 11th song down and the fourth column along to listen).

 

3.      Ni Zui Zhen Gui (You Are The Most Precious) by Jacky Cheung and Gao Hui Jun. Yes the name is pure stilton. A duet which I’ve seen many people master and murder in various drunken karaoke scenarios.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD1ePfrWefI

 

4.      Shui Ming Lang Zi Xin? (Who Understands A Wanderer’s Heart?) by Wang Jie/Dave Wong. Sung in Cantonese,worthy of a place in Eurovision at least!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbjHCH6d36w

 

5.      Nobody by Wondergirls. Beware the catchy chrous.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzyXcrIpJxY

 

6.      Bu Chao Bu Yong Hua Qian (No Fashion Tide So No Need To Spend Money) by Lin Jun Jie. Half English half Mandarin. Including the inpsired lyric “Bear bricks take a shit on my sofa”that just comes from nowhere.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LOpBQLRk1Y

 

 Well hope you enjoy some of the above. If you don’t, I hope it doesn't put you off ever visiting China, these songs sound great when your drunk believe me! Thanks to my girlfriend for help with the translations, and for having the lovely Wonder girls swirling around in my brain eternally.  

 

Tags:China music

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