Well, today i will be reviewing an indie band called Bettie Serveert.
Here’s a short intro to them:
Jack: hey will, i was just trying out this new brand of milk, taste good!
William: Let me try it. (tries the milk..). My gracious davvy jones…. It taste awesome! Do you have more of it? I wanna let Elizabeth have some of that.
Jack: Give me those boots and i’ll let you have some of those DUTCH MILK from Dutchland. SAVVY?
William: dutch don’t come from dutchland you moron. They come from holland.
Jack: Holland? I thought they were called hols?
Sorry for that lousy joke. Well, Yup bettie serveert is an Dutch-indie band that was more or less formed early in the 1990s. The band consist of Carol van Dyk (vocals and guitar), Peter Visser (guitar), Herman Bunskoeke (bass), Martijn Blankestijn(keys) and Gino Geudens (drums).(talk about difficult to pronounce names!). Well less crap and lets listen.
This is one of their acoustic songs, You’ve Changed:
Haha, sorry for showing you guys a song that doesn’t really have the band. HAHA. But anyway, this song should be able to showcase the unique vocals of carol van dyk. Well some people will find her voice real irritating while some(like myself) will find it unique. This song is also really well written, making use of dominant clashing chords at appropriate times in the songs which in my opinion really brings out the whole song. Without those chords, the whole song would probably be “just another nice acoustic song”. And i absolutely love the last line of the chorus: “We’re writing our names in the lifes of the ones we miss.” Couldn’t have ended the song with any better lyrics than that.
Let’s see the full band now! This song is a new song to me too:
Well, the thing about this band is; i guess that they are very straight forward in their music(listen to songs like “Beginning to see the light” and “kid’s alight“), but at the same time they can sound really deep and sophisticated( like “Lover i don’t have to love” and “Dreamaniacs“). So i guess there is something for everyone. Carol Van Dyk adds point to the whole band in general.
Can’t say anything more about them than i already have, since i haven really heard alot of their music. I guess this is the kind of band where you kind of appreaciate their determination?, the fact that they have been around for maybe 20 years already and i think they will be till a long long time. Well, thats all for today…
Well, my dear friend Davian(look for him at davianteo.wordpress.com) who has been reading my blog regularly(thanks for supporting me!!!) has asked me to review on mandarin songs and i would gladly love to just that it really takes time to think of a theme to review on. And finally i got it! SInce i love female singers(for their voice not their bods) and i love acoustic sets (minimal instruments) i decided that maybe i should do a review on a few acoustic love ballads by some chinese female artist.
Today we will look at 2 very talented artist, both of them write their own music including the ones that i will be reviewing:
1) 蔡健雅(Tanya Chua) – 思念(recollections)
2) 陳綺貞(Cheer Chen) – 小步舞曲(Waltz)
I have a friend who tells me that he can’t take chinese songs at all cos they are just too emo! You can roughly imagine the kind of songs he listens to (BARNEY IS A DINOSAUR…..). Haha just kidin. Well anyway, i think to a certain extend its true. Not that english songs are not emo but i think there are definitely more emo chinese songs than english songs that we usually know of. Well lets cut the crap and get to the main topic.
Tanya chua, a singaporean, song-writer-singer-producer, has won the best female singer award twice at the 金曲獎(Golden melody awards-the most prestigous chinese music award).
The interesting thing about her is that, she actually changed her style of music right after she got her first award. That is rather strange because usually after you recieve an award you think that that is the kind of music that will bring you more awards. But instead she changed her style almost totally from a very poppish style to a more indie influenced(still poppish though)style that can be clearly seen in her “Hello & Goodbye” album. But guess what? She won again even after changing her musical style. I admire her courage and effort in that album, you can totally hear where she is coming from and that she just really put in lots of effort into producing it.
The song above, 思念 is not from her award winning album but is totally ripped off from one of the songs from that album. Well, it is a nice song to listen to over and over again, it has some nice lyrics to go with, it makes you emo, its simple, it has all the ingredients to making a hit song in the chinese industry. But, not good enough for me. I could clearly hear mistakes made by the guitarist(probably her) and the song becomes a little cliche when it comes to the chorus. Well and i said that it was a ripped off right? let me show you why.
It uses exactly the same chords during the intro(even the plucking pattern is almost the same, try it davian). And i loved the song 達邇文, it has amazing lyrics and the chord progression is just killer man. But to rip off such a big part of the song and put into this song is really unappreciated(in my opinion). Well, but i have to say, even so, i really enjoyed the song and i really enjoyed her voice most importantly. And i know you will enjoy it.
小步舞曲 by Cheer Chen(also a song-writer-singer-producer) on the other hand is a well composed and well performed song, without any obvious flaws in the music. Even though her songs are also somewhat similar in style, but she definitely didn’t ripe this song off from her other songs or vice versa.
The chorus uses an ascending progression (G Am Bm C D). A rather unusual progression, seldom used in popular mandarin songs and she actually found a nice melody to go with it. For that i really salute her. She have to put in a little more work on her lyrics though; i mean it rhymes and it definitely makes sense, but it didn’t ache my heart as much as Tanya’s song. But i still love this song.
Cheer on the other hand has been very consistent in her musical style(mostly melancholic sounding indie songs), always knowing what her fans like and i would have to say has never failed me either. Even though she isn’t like a ultra big star in the region, but she just keeps doing what she does best and she just delivers her music so well.
Well shall not talk too much now. thats about it. Just wanna share some nice music with you guys. SO…….
Does “Inuyasha” sound familiar to anyone? Well, it used to be my favourite anime! BUt why am i talking about “Inyasha“? Because simply Do As Infinity sang the theme song – Fukari Mori. Which is definitely their most famous song untill now.
Well, for me…. the band’s strength can be summarised into 2 points:
Van Tomiko(lead singer) is bloody cute and has a unique voice
The Compositions are absolutely awesome (will discuss a little more later)
In case you know absolutely nothing about the band; here is a short intro to them.
Do As Infinity is a japanese trio that was formed in 1999 after the main “brain” (Dai Nagao) decided that he was going to form a band. Dai Nagao is a composer that was hired by AVEX Tracs to write songs for Ayumi Hamasaki(Queen of J-POP) and Hitomi. The band consist of Van Tomiko(lead singer), Ryo Owatari(guitarist) and Dao Nagao(guitarist but he already left DAI).
SO…. Here is the song i will be reviewing. “Shinjitsu No Uta”. (Which is absolutely my favourite song in the world!!!)
*there is absolutely no way i could post a mp3 onto wordpress. ANGRY!*
Alright let me try to explain why this is my favourite song. Firstly, if you listen to the original version, the intro arrangement (or infact the whole song) is THE BOMB. Let me name the instruments that you can hear from the intro; ErHu, Pipa, Acoustic Guitar, Synthesizer and Acoustic Piano. So many instruments yet none of them clashing with each other. And the Erhu and Pipa absolutely give the whole song a very chinese/oriental flavour to it.(in my memory, not many japanese have done this before).
Secondly, its in 6/8(my favourite rhythm). The 6/8 definitely gives the whole song a very powerful driving rhythm on the 3rds. 6/8 have been known to be used most commonly in music like blues and waltz being able to “bring people into the music” very easily.
Graph Illustrating dynamics of songs
Thirdly, DAI songs always amazes me. almost all of their songs have very defined and strong dynamics that gives you a very “shiok/good” feeling. I know this sounds stupid, like DUH! All songs are suppose to be like that. BUt DAI is able to do it exceptionally well (the increase in dynamics is drastic) not just by increasing loudness but also by increasing the overall busyness , high notes in the melody and even the lyrics help by putting emphasis on certain words. Listen to every one of their songs and you will find the same trend.
Well, if you have watched the video, you would have realised that she definitely needs to work on her vocals, live. She sounds amazing on CD but i have to say that her performance in the video was far from ideal. Her voice “cracked” and towards the end of the song where she had to hit all those high notes you could practically see her “dying” to reach them. But i absolutely salute her for not using a vocal tuner(which i know of many artist who actually uses it during their live performances). But anyway i thought the band did a good job recreating the song(though there were lots of details lacking).
Well honestly i have to say, to promise to write a review of a 20 song album/compilation was definitely hardwork, considering that its my first blogging experience and that it is JIMI HENDRIX i am reviewing on. (you can imagine how many million people will be wacking my blog the moment i say something wrong or unpleasant).
Let’s do a short intro on Jimi hendrix:
1) Guitar god
2) Rolling stones magazine ranked him #1 on “the greatest guitarist of all time”
3) Worshipped by guitarist all over the world even until today
4) His songs have been covered countless times (voodoo child, little wing, bold as love–just to name some)
5) And he is self-taught.
Yup. That should be enough to give you an idea of who or “what” he is. (well incase you were wondering why he doesn’t have any grammys, he lived in the 60′s and then grammys has just started and it was called “the best on record“. DOn’t believe me? check wiki)
Jimi Hendrix plays as a trio (called jimihendrix experience) and its just something about a trio that always fascinates people. As for me, 2 questions about trios are constantly on my mind: 1) HOW THEY MAKE THEMSELVES SOUND SO FULL(not empty)??!! 2) How does the guitarist sing and play such complicated lines at the same time?
Call me a noob but i’ve tried playing “little wing” and singing at the same time. It was a disaster. i wish i could record it down for you guys, but its just too embarrassing(considering my “shy” personality).
Being a guitarist for years, many people have adviced me to get a Jimi Hendrix album but i never did listen to their advice, until i started playing “guitar hero world tour” on Wii. HAHA. Well, it was almost like i was committing a sin to not buy a Jimi Hendrix album. WHY? you may ask. Well here is your answer:
Still don’t understand? watch the Next Clip.
Well, i’ve known that he is definitely a guitar god who is capable of ripping of your brains with his riffs and solo but to me…… He was more of a showman. If i don’t watch him live, there is no point. But i have to admit, i was completely wrong. HE SOUNDS AMAZING ON RECORD TOO!!.
So here it is, my review of the record.
Tracklisting:
Purple Haze
Fire
The Wind Cries Mary
Hey Joe
All Along the Watchtower
Stone Free
Crosstown Traffic
Manic Depression
Little Wing
If 6 was 9
Foxy Lady
Bold as Love
Castles made of Sand
Red House
Voodoo Child(slight Return)
Freedom
Night Bird Flying
Angel
Dolly Dagger
Star Spangled Banner
Yup, 20 songs. Well if you ask me, it is definitely worth your money(it costed me S$19.95).
You are probably getting tired of this post by now, trying to get through it because either you know me, or you are really bored. So i shall just focus on the overall record and some highlights of the album.
Well, i have to say, listening to the record 3 times through, i realised that there was a very observable change in the style of his music through each album and especially when his bassist changed(from noel redding to Billy cox). I was a getting a little bored when i was listening to the last 5 song of the album especially when the songs became a little “poppier” in my opinion. But i thought the choices and placement of each song was almost perfect(atleast for the first 15 songs).
Some pages from the album booklet
Purple Haze’s riff was just pure raw power which will get any rock enthusias’ head popping back and forth. My only complain is that this song is too short! And if you are expecting a complicated sounding theory filled song,… sorry you won’t find it here. The main driving force of the song is the delightful riff that you will never find sick of. (which is expressed in many of his songs) The ending solo could have went a long way if not for the fade away. haha.
All along the watchtower totally blew me away. The fill ins was just so tasty and so suitable for the song (written by bob dylan). You will be able to find some “wah wah” action in the middle of the song which resonates between ur left and right speakers. Even though it wasn’t written by him, he just expresses this song so well. Not the best singing though, but it wasn’t going to affect it at all. The song is just so well arranged, simple, not flooded with too many solos and the buildup of the whole song was wonderful.
Not only were there pictures, there were also write-ups on each song
Jimi’s songs can be divided into 2 different kinds in my opinion. Pure energetic rock and clean bluesy softer songs. If the later is what you are looking for, you won’t be dissapointed because songs like “Little wing“, “the wind cries mary” will be able to satisfy your needs. What can i say about “little wing“? The intro is pure genius, the progression was well thought out, the words were meaningful and the drums and bass was just enough to bring out the whole “slow blues” feel yet being able different from any BB king or muddy waters song. just brilliant. (Bold as love would be another similar song. And i actually think Bold as love is better than little wing-personal preference). The BIG double stop hammer-ons and pull offs were i guess totally unheard of during his era and he was able to use so many of those notes in this short song.
And you have to listen to “voodoo child“. the intro alone would be sufficient, really.
Just like yin yang, you can’t have all good and no bad, so here it is: the singing was definitely not the best you will ever hear(but i guess he was able to create a kind of personal style that makes him who he really is), and on some songs he sounded like he was rapping or reading from a book(e.g. castles made of sand – but i still love that song though).
The last song would be one of those song that will drop your jaw when you watch him live but on record,……. it just doesn’t sound right to me. It sounded like he was trying to play some national anthem while rolling on the floor(at least thats wat i pictured in my mind). And the change in style for the last 5 songs was really spoiling the whole pace of the album. “freedom” was perhaps the only song that i enjoyed from the last 5 songs.
SO If i were to summarise the whole album in 1 word: TASTY. definitely one with lots of guitar skills to learn, one which exploits the blues and make it new, one that can make a person feel high and low at the same time.
8.5/10 for the music
(in case you were wondering what “little wing” sounded like-thats me by the way)
Well, i decided not be too ambitious and start with something small. Here it is:
Alicia Key’s “If i Ain’t got you”
What more can i say? With more than 30 million copies of her cd sold worldwide, 12 grammy awards sitting at home collecting dust(3 more and she could use them as bowling pins) and thats the result of only four albums! Wow. (its amazing what wiki can tell you).
Definitely one of the best R&B/Soul singers i’ve heard (others including Mariah Carey, Beyonce, whitney houston etc). A small looking girl with a huge booming voice. And the best thing of all, she actually composes her own music! Definitely a huge advantage compared to most mainstream soul singers.
Nice, simple intro to the song, making use of all the major and minor 7ths that she can find. Nothing fancy, allowing the notes to descend one by one. The key to this song in my opinion is the 6/8 rhythm(its my fave rhythm) giving it a very groovy yet soulful feel. [in case you don't know what 6/8 is, it is basically music in 6 counts]
I have to admit, she did a great job on the piano. Nothing dressy, but try playing in 6/8 and singing at the same time, it ain’t easy. Her vocals are of course undeniable amazing, especially all her smooth swinging R&B notes on words like “some, things, define”… just yummy.
But i would have found a few notes just a little restraining, like on the first line of the chorus “some people want it ALL”. I checked with other videos of her performing this song live and i didn’t find those restraining notes. Perhaps she didn’t do her warm up or something. But most importantly, i actually liked those notes, even though they were imperfect. (sounds like some singing technique actually)
Well in summary: A well composed song, a great singer, inspiring lyrics and an excellent performance.
This is my first time blogging. I believe there’s a word for that, “noob”. Yes and i have to admit i am a bit of a “noob”. Why? definitely not because its my first blog, but because i used to think that blogging was for people who have nothing better to do and have no choice but stare at the computer screen for hours till their eyes turn bloodshot.
Well, so anyway here is the deal. This Blog is about 1 thing. MUSIC!!!!!
I will be reviewing CDs, DVDs, Videos, Songs, Bands(local & international) and even Concerts (if i ever go to one) of all genres(except techno since i hate it) and of any language(but mostly English and Mandarin). But of course you will be wondering: “who is this dude who goes around commenting on others music?”. WELL, all i can say is, all of the comments made by me are truly personal and subjective. Being a musician for years and having listened to enough music(I HOPE*), i hope i can give insights to people who also truly loves music.
All Music is reviewed at least 4 times before i comment on them. E.g. If i review a CD, i would have listened to it 3 times through at least. First time without looking at the lyrics, second time with the lyrics and third time in detail to the musical arrangement etc. the fourth would be a review of the artist previous/other albums. The principle guideline is true for other types of review.
Music will be commented based on; musical, lyrical, overall appeal. These will then be subdivided into smaller divisions.
BEWARE: Music is subjective, so if i offend anyone, please do forgive me??
Do drop me a comment if you would like me to do any reviews on any artist.
I like music where there are instruments actually playing(some music are all computerized music/loops and you can tell!). I like songs that consist of well arranged chordal progressions and dynamics(so i hate songs that have 4 chords going round and round). I'm more of a classic person, but some new age electronica music wouldn't be that bad too. I like to review older music as a way of sharing what is good but very often been forgotten. With that, i hope you can see from my perspective when i do reviews. ENJOY
Here’s a short intro to them:
Tracklisting:
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