Sunday, February 27, 2011

Presenting Mr Darcy

The many wonderful characters of Colin Firth


My Fav - Jamie, in Love Actually


The Importance of Being Ernest

The jealous husband in English Patient


Mark Darcy - Barrister



But that's not the first time he plays a Mr Darcy. He was in Pride and Prejudice.

The beautifully made, Single Man. Nominated for an Oscar in 2010.

Not the only time he played a gay guy. Harry Bright in Mamma Mia.

And, to date, the most compelling character of all - King George VI in The King's Speech. An outstanding performance worthy of an award. All the very best for the Oscar



* Everyone should see The King's Speech. It gives a little insight of the history of the royal family. Fascinating!*

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Mixed Tape, anyone?

Have you seen one of these baby lately?



Well.. not since the birth of ipod, iphone and ipad, I suppose. Heck I have not seen a walkman or discman for a veryyyy long time. Untuk sesiapa yang tak tahu. Benda ni namanya Kaset. Tape. Cassette Tape. It rules sometime in the 80s and early 90s.

I had a great collection of mixed tapes coz I went a great length of getting em all right. Late night patiently waiting by the radio, to hit the Record button at the precise moment, so that the recording is just crisp. Since I live in Johor, I had the best of both world ie all the best Rock Melayu songs from Pilihan Bersama, as well as the latest from the pop charts on Top 40s on the Singapore radio.

Bloody hell it's hard work. I had to scan the newspaper to see what selection of songs will be aired on Pilihan Bersama and had to sit thru the ramblings of the DJs to wait for the song to start. Then I discovered something....

There was this shop in town that can do mixed tape for you. At the same price of a cassette masa tu. Around RM17. Lo and be hold. They can do any songs as long as they have the albums on their shelfs. A cassette could fit around 17 to 18 songs. I remember that I had C.I.N.T.A of XPDC on one side and Baby I Love Your Way by Big Mountain on the other. What a sic choice! Hahahahahahahaha.

These cassette was a great entertainment thru out my teenage years.Zaman sekolah dulu takde duit nak beli bateri selalu, so if nak rewind or foward the tape, kena selit pencil in the kaset and spin it with your hand. Hahahahha. Nak jimat bateri kononnya! I wish I know where they are now. What a treasure!

Anyhoo, the above picture is actally the cover of my iphone. Nice camourflage huh?



It did fool a lot of people. The best yet was after a few days after I use it to take picture at the office. My colleague came to me and said.. "Ohhh it's your phone. I thot it's a new type of camera". We laugh for a good minute. "I must have look stupid to you, holding a cassette like that". Hahahahahahah.

Here's to all of my mixed tape. This song is definitely on one of them (the original of course, not the Fat Boy Slim version). I just heard it on the radio and got me to start to reminise...sighhh

Brimful of Asha - Cornershop

There's dancing behind movie scenes
Behind the movie scenes - Sadi Rani
She's the one that keeps the dream alive,
From the morning, past the evening,
Till the end of the light
Brimful of Asha on the forty-five
Well, it's a brimful of Asha on the forty-five
Brimful of Asha on the forty-five
Well, it's a brimful of Asha on the forty-five
and singing illuminate the main streets and the cinema aisles
We don't care about no government warning
about that promotion of the simple life and the dams they are building

CHORUS
Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow,
everybody needs a bosom
Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow,
everybody needs a bosom
Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow,
everybody needs a bosom

Mine's on the forty-five
Mohammed Ruffi (forty-five)
Lata Mangeshka (forty-five)
solid state radio (forty-five)
ferguson mono (forty-five)
Mon public (forty-five)
Jacques Dutronc and the Bolan Boogies
the Heavy Hitters and the chi chi music
All Indian radio (forty-five)
two in ones (forty-five)
ovvo records (forty-five)
trojan records (forty-five)

CHORUS

CHORUS 2

7-7,000 piece orchestra set
everybody needs a bosom for a pillow mines on the RPM...


* What does this song mean? Read here

Monday, February 14, 2011

Going GaGa at Grammys

Yes, I'm on leave today specifically so that I can catch the live telecast of the
53rd Grammy Awards. Bliss.

Lobes:

1. The opening tribute to Aretha Franklin. The 5 ladies mmg have crazy vocal chops! What I love is that no one try to outshine the other. Great vocals, great songs. R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (also lobes Jennifer Hudson who looks hot in the pants. bila aku nak kurus mcm dia ni)

2. The trio - B.O.B, Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae. The slow rap by B.O.B is genius. Bruno Mars singing Grenade, 50s swing style is out of the world. And (aku tak pernah dgr sebenarnya) Janelle suddenly truning sort of white thrash teenage angst performance is actually cool though her voice mcm tak suit sgt. But seriously, I got nottttt...nothin on you guys!

3. Lady Gaga - I love that her costume is actually simple yet edgy and slutty or whatever you want to call it. Her performance is really pump up! Maybe being trapped in the egg helps a lot. Hahahah. You are indeed born this way!

4. Donnie Walhberg looking haaawtt presented an award! (Is there a Malaysian version of the Walhberg bros?)

5. Miranda Lambert's House That Built Me. Beautiful lyrics. Kudos that she won Best Female Country Vocal Performance, thumping Ms Underwood's Temporary Home (which I also like). Ms Underwood is no where to be seen. Am I missing something?

6. Eminem's Performance. I admit, aku tak paham sepatah haram yang dia nyanyi, but he was so pumped up, he brought the house down. Cool that he won Best Rap Album!

7. Lady Antebellum's I Need You Now. Brilliant. Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

8. Mick Jagger. Priceless!

9. The boys from How I Met Your Mother. Awesssome!

10. Top Ten List by David Letterman

11. Train won with Hey, Soul Sisters!

On the fence, Enghhh:

1. Cee Lo, Gywneth Paltrow and the Muppets. I love the song, I thot Gywneth sounded not bad.... I fucking hate the muppets! I hope Cee Lo's doing this out of mockery. It sure was funny though. And I thot the lyrics is super cool!

2. Usher. I always love his performance. Somehow, I think he lost steam. Maybe dah tua. OMGGG.

3. Anak Usher. J Bieb. He's solo 'Baby Baby' on guitar is way better than the half cooked mortal combat show, Never Say Never. He has the voice. But I think he needs more Umphh to pull out that kind of performance.

4. Hillary Scott's acceptance speech. Makcik, it's boring! Keep it upbeat and cool y'all.

5. Album of the Year and Best New Artist winner. Who are these people. But still, congrats I suppose?!! Err...

Pure WTF

1. J* Smith. I'm not a big fan of budak tak akil baligh ni. Let him stew a bit... and then he'll be da bomb. Seriously.

2. R*h*nn*. Yes the songs are great. But I think she thinks she's hot, perasan. Whatever la.

3. The whole bunch of rednecks syok sendiri (not including Bob Dylan). Trade the banjos with BB guns and shoot yourselves in the foot guys. Don't get me wrong. I love Country Music... but too much southern flair rasa mcm pening. Having said that, the front man of Mumfords and Sons, is comel!

4. K Perry. Somehow, aku rasa mcm bosan tengok muka dia. And showing her wedding I assume on the background makes it lame. I know she's going for the sweet Valentine theme, but all I got is LAME.

5. Matt Bell's shout out to pregnant gf. Eiii. (Ok maybe I have angst against people in love sbb loser and single... but still ... all I can think of is.. Skank!)

All I can say now is that I should have bought Lady's Antebellum's album the other day. (Now I have to go out and get it).

And now, presenting Song of the Year:

Need You Now

Picture perfect memories
Scattered all around the floor
Reaching for the phone 'cause
I can't fight it anymore

And I wonder if I
Ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

It's a quarter after one
I'm all alone
And I need you now
Said I wouldn't call
But I've lost all control
And I need you now

And I don't know how
I can do without
I just need you now

Another shot of whiskey
Can't stop looking at the door
Wishing you'd come sweeping
In the way you did before

And I wonder if I
Ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

It's a quarter after one
I'm a little drunk
And I need you now
Said I wouldn't call
But I've lost all control
And I need you now

And I don't know how
I can do without
I just need you now

Whoa, whoa
Guess I'd rather hurt
Than feel nothing at all

It's a quarter after one
I'm all alone
And I need you now
And I said I wouldn't call
But I'm a little drunk
And I need you now

And I don't know how
I can do without
I just need you now
I just need you now

Oh baby, I need you now



p/s: Ngantukalways - mengakulah that you are listening to country. Lady Antebellum won: Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals and Best Country Album!!

pp/s: Thank You M&M Biru for keeping me company during this award show :)

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Ku Ke Udara Lagi

...Bersama mu kembali
Dengan rangakaian lagu-lagu
Juga pesanan

Ku sebagai penghibur
Engkau mendengar di sana
Kita saling mengharapkan
Di dalam hidup ini...




33 years in the music industry, with 33 musicians, presenting 33 songs, Francissca Peter had her first solo consert at Istana Budaya. Of course akak akan pergi tengok. And tengok I did.

As this is the first time, kasi chance la kan. Tapi a few peeves yang nak jugak aku highlight. 1. Konsert start lambat, orang dah restless. 2. There's like 4 separate intro before Fran actually came out and sing. 3. The switch between songs sometime macam tak smooth. She need to better fill those gaps. 4. 33 lagu, bontot pun dah kebas. Hahaha. 5. Dancers tu tak payah. Macam show RTM pun ada jugak. And 6. Cepat sangat the konsert peak.

The peak to me was when Roystan Sta Maria came out to sing with her. Awwwww... how come there's not many great duet songs around these days. Listening to Siapa Dia Sebelum Daku live from both of them is priceless. Tapi the song after that lagi best... Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta. Skang lagu tu asyik main dlm kepala..."Biaarrr (dulu masa kecik ingatkan 'Diaaa') jauh di seberang.. Kasihh tak mungkin hilaanggg". From far Roy looked the same. Tapi bila tengok gambar dekat, memang la dah tua.

Of course Fran hit the ball out of the park with all of her ballads. The orchestra was brilliant thru out. She sang Kerna Terpaksa with Manan Ngah (asyik nak cakap Eman Manan) on guitar. Memang best gila. Her voice hardly change, still maintain. She also performed with Imran Ajmain. Ok la.

Sadly, the place was not packed. Banyak seat kosong. I suppose the ticket was a wee bit expensive. However yang datang tu mmg peminat tegar, kecuali kitaorang berdua yang asyik blur.. ni lagu apa? ni lagu apa? dah masuk lagu no 20.. my mind start going... bukan tadi dia dah nyanyi ke lagu ni? Akak kat sebelah kitaorang tu punya la suka. Siap jerit2 panggil Fran.. then the spotlight fell on her.. cist.. terlibat pulak kitaorang.

Ok la, skang saya mau layan jiwang sendiri dengan lagu dibawah

Siapa Dia Sebelum Daku - Roy n Fran

( F )
Aku selalu memikirkannya
Siapa dia sebelum daku
Gadis kau puja hingga kecewa
Kini kau tak menyatakan

( R )
Aku pun jua sering tertanya
Siapa dia sebelum daku
Pria kau puja hingga merana
Kau merahsiakan dariku

( R & F )
Sejak kau wujud dalam hidupku
Semuanya telah terpadam
Bak bayangan yang indah
Di malam purnama
Di telan mentari pagi

( R & F )
Apa disentuh sejarah dulu
Hanya menyakit hati sendiri
Telah ditemukan kita berdua
Engkaulah sinar hidupku

Engkaulah sinar...
Engkaulah pelita...
Engkaulah sinar...
hidupku


p/s: masa kecik-kecik dulu.... tak reti lirik, belasah nyanyi.. 'Bak tatangan yang indah'. Memang ada masalah pendengaran betul.

Friday, February 4, 2011

What's going on?

Entah...

I've been so out of touch with everything. The hell week is over. Hopefully next week tak seteruk this week. Yeah I know orang lain ini la minggu bersuka ria. Not for me it ain't. Enough about work.

Now catching up on the sports front.

1. Aussie Open - Yeay Kim wins again. Finally an Aussie Title for her.


Going into the match, tak tau nak sokong siapa sebab excited jugak an Asian finally gets into a Grand Slam final. Dah la Li Na ni dah kalahkan Kim the last time they met. Nail bitting moments all the way. Better luck next time Li Na. I lobes your speech :) I thot it was rather sweet in non cheesy way whatsoever.



2. Andy still not winning a Grand Slam :(.. tell me quando, quando, quando Andy ooiii.



3. Chelsea is fourth on the table - WTF? WTF? WTF? I haven't catch a single match of them yet. Punya la lost interest.

4. Namun, dalam ke'WTF'an, tiba-tiba Tico Torres moved to Chelsea :)



And, to unrest in Eygpt, I hope peace will prevail and the Malaysians over there are safe and arrives home soon.

What's Going On - Marvin Gaye

Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today - Ya

Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on

In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Tell me what's going on
I'll tell you what's going on - Uh
Right on baby
Right on baby

Monday, January 17, 2011

Bola Emas

That's what the translation say of Golden Globes. Hahaha.

I'm at home while waiting for the contrator to do some reno work. Managed to catch half of it before I had to switch off the TV sebab they have to paint the walls behind it. Hmpph.

Anyhoo... lobes the winners. Here are my favorites:

Yipeeeee! Colin won the best actor award. Can't wait to watch King's Speech.


Next, Chris Colfer aka Kurt. Yeeayyyy Gleeee


Then, Claire Danes. Ok saje nak post gambar laki dia jugak. Heheh no idea what this role is about, but I always like her as an actress. Love the dress as well. Plus this is her 2nd Golden Globe win. Hebat.


Ok, this guy didn't win, but in my book he's a winner all right. He was great in Social Network. However, the pictures that I found of the guy he's playing real life.. errr.. tak comel pun. Also love that Social Network won the best screen play and direction.



Also, spotted a lot tonight though tak menang - 'Marky' Mark Walhberg. He's one of the producers of Boardwalk Empire. Also nomitaed for his role in The Fighter. I wish I could be one of his funky bunch ;P


Ok yang ni pun saje gedik nak letak. I wonder if Blue Valentine is as tear jearking, heart wrenching as Notebook.


Hmm 2010 Sexiest Man of the Year nowhere to be seen pulak.

I was hoping that Depp would win for his role in Alice in Wonderland, tapi tidak nampaknya. It's ok. Here's the full list of nominee and winners.

Can't wait for the fashion police tomorrow. I don't really get the shoulder pad revival, but I thot Leighton Meester looks great in one.


And my favorite of all is.....


....Jenny from the Block in Zuhair Murad!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

The Silver Jubilee goes to ...

Masa kecik-kecik dulu, I think there were two things that I looked forward yearly. The Final of Malaysia FA Cup and Juara Lagu. I can't remember when I stopped bothering about Malaysia FA.... but I never missed watching Juara Lagu. From Azwan Ali to Ogy to these 3 stooges ops Mod Squad (whatever.. I thot they should bring Ogy and Azwan just for this 25th year). From K Melah's blinking hearts to KRU botched pyro to the rock kapak era to Pak Ngah's domination with Ethic Creatif to Ning's hig Falsetto to the uprising of the Indie acts, saw it all.

25 years - hats off to the TV3!

Brilliant opening: I was 8 when Francisca Peter won Muzik-Muzik with Manan Ngah. I loved that they opened with her. Of course she doesn't look like she did then, neither do I. Hahah. Next is Nash (who I think is already on his way to see a doctor). Jerit pun jerit la bang, esok seminggu hilang suara pun tak apa. Janji sedap. Ohhh then came out M Nasir. I lobes his performance. He is very composed. Hate the dancers as usual.

1. Sempurna (Yuna)
The ochestra was brilliant at the beginning. Her vocal was brilliant. Her playing the keyboard was brilliant. But somehow, I'm not feeling this as much as I did during the semis. Personally I think she should have just let it be low key and just have only the orchestra to back her up. No doubt she is very talented. Whatever it is, this song still have my vote to win something tonight.

2. Berlari (Tomok/ Tomok & Shazee Ishak/ Tomok)
Tommy Tomok!!! Alamak..ni MJ ke apa ni? The changes in the arrangement is great. I think vocally Tomok could've done better. I was not going to say much about this performance.. but I can't. The Slash celup is absolute rubbish. Baik pakai songkok bang. Baru aku respect sket. Right this is not about you but Tomok. The camera during this performance is a bit slacking, can't really see the choreography.

Asal usul nama Tomok? Pulau tomok? Kampung Tomok? APABENDANIHARAMJADAH (font size 500, bold). Siapa tulis script ni? Angkat tangan, sepak muka sendiri.Kuat-
kuat!!! Haish.


3. Pelita (A.P.I/ Loque)
OK. I never paid any attention to this song before. No idea what it is about so I don't really understand what's with the 'I'm injured' theme. And the accompanying band in black robes. Err.. lepas tu drummer kena lari ke depan utk jatuh kiok beramai-ramai. Tak boleh ke tergolek kat drum set tu aje? Err..Ahh...hummm... err tak tau nak cakap apa la.

4. Kebahagiaan Dalam Perpisahan (Shahir/ Edry Abdul Halim)
What do we call a guy who came on stage wearing a cape? ...A cape? ...A cape? A f*ck*ng capppee! (ok ni lepas dia kibas-kibas cape ni macam Zorro). Ok NO front shot please, seluar ketat sial. Yang makcik ni bercakap-bercakap, meroyan kat tepi ni kenapa? Kenapa la N.A, kau nak terlibat dalam kancah pertelingkahan ni? Aku dah tak paham hujung pangkal lagu ni. Alamak.. Captain Cape kena penampar sebijik. Apakah? E, you should have done better. This boy should just stood there and flex his vocal cords to the max.

5. Drama King (Meet Uncle Hussain & Black/ Taja/ Tun Teja)
Ramli MS and the Orchestra really outdone the opening of this song. Lobes it! Lobes the coats. Hate the pantomine or whatever they are called. Eye brow raising over the tights Black is wearing. Anyhoo I don't know if the sound in the stadium is better, but I think the band is tad too loud. Black's vocal is drowning.Hmm I begining to think that this performace is a bit overrated. I have such high hopes for this song. I hope it will still win.

6. Noktah Cinta (Hafiz/ Ajai/ Sheikh Qalam)
Ok I stand corrected. Ada jugak jawa dari masai ni. You can't go wrong by going back to basic. Kan senang nyanyi je macam biasa. Ok...dah keluar pulak scene tembak menembak....I spoke too soon :( What's with the white suits ni? Ada sale kain ela kat Jalan Tar ke? At least his vocal is great. And the song does sound good.

ADOOOIII the script is really killing me. TAK BOLEH BLAHHH DE!

7. Tolong Ingatkan Aku (Ana Raffali)
Hmmm. The guitars were nice. Sounds like some country act in the Grammy's. Not bad at all. What's bad is that you have such a huge stage, and you choose to sing in a cage? Ok this is rubbish. If I close my eyes and just listen to the song and vocal, I would say it's a good performance. The unnecessary gimmics are spoiling this show.

8. Selamat Malam (Faizal Tahir/ Audi Mok/ Faizal Tahir)
OK disturbing pulak aku tengok akak pregnant ni. OK ni dah blow out of portion. Dah keluar Aziz Satar pulak. Ya rabbi, lagu ni sedap. Suara sedap. Kenapa nak ada orang berlakon merepek meraban ni. Tak paham aku. Lepas tu dah ackward si FT ni nak rock kangkang sendiri kat depan. Arghhhhhhh apa benda ni????

9. Ku Ada Kamu (Adira/ Edry Abdul Halim)
My first thot was, eh opening Olympics kat Beijing. 2nd thot, hedious dress. But I will overlook all those, because I love this song. I thot her vocal was not bad except she didn't managed to sustain it in the end. I love the arrangement. I hope this performance will win something.

Ok script pengacara ni dah masuk kurang ajar. Nyampah tahap gaban sial.

10. Extravaganza (Bunkface/ Sam Bunkface/ Bunkface)
OK vocal tu memang ke laut lepas la. But I have to give props for the useage of the stage, visuals and lights. Nampak mcm stylo la jugak. Other than that, aku macam termenung kejap masa ni. Suam suam kuku aje vibenya. The low key bridge was nice though.

11. Sofea Jane (Black/ Sham Kamikaze & Iswandy/ Farril)
White lagi. Lebih stok baju sekolah ke? Errk..Back to business. I lobes this song. But I have this nagging feeling that his vocal lacked the umpph that makes this song beautiful. Macam kureng feelnya. OK la kasi chance la nak tarikkkkk part last tu. Best vocal? will see.

SOO SWEATTTT. I'm sweating here dude, cut it already.

12. Hanyut (Faizal Tahir/ Audi Mok/ Faizal Tahir)
Nampaknya harga besi juga dah murah. Ramai pulak bawak props besi2, jaring2, cage. This song is great, no doubt. Vocal is great as well. Huyoooo masuk dalam air. Ada baldi ke kat situ? Baju basah jangan bukak bang. Nanti kena ban lagi. Hahaha. So far props ni paling hebat. Kudos.

13. Jahat (Stacy/ Edry Abdul Halim)
The shaolin getups were kinda cool actually. Too bad the song came out the end of the night, when the show has lost it's steam. Nevertheless, Stacy did bring it. Dah 3 kali dia masuk final, don't you think it's high time that she's awarded something. Best performance ke. Whatever the outcome is, good job Stacy!

14. Mencari Konklusi (Hujan/ Noh Hujan)
Again the orchestra sound great! Overall the music sound dramatic and loud, the way it should be I supposed, which is good. I think half of the audience is already asleep. So this should wake them up. I'm really disturbed with what the drummer is wearing on his face though. Otherwise, biasa aje performance ni.

Aku rasa yang tak menghampakan setakat ni Ramli MS and his orchestra aje.

Now comes the part that I have been waiting for. First up, K Pah. OMG! Ni la Vocal terbaik malam ni. Kau Tinggi Di Awan Biru, this song really blew me away! Finally something to save the night. Oh Di Mana, here comes the soul train. Layannnn. Bila pulak keluar Latif Ibrahim or Herry Amir! Hahaha. Wuhuuuuuuuu Sekebun Cintaaaaaaa!!! Tu dia Anggapanmu Ziana Zain. Vocal pun da bomb. I like! We can hear that the crowd is loving this. I shall ignore the baju yang over the top tu. Madah berhelah plak. For this segment so far, aku memang frust la tak dapat ticket nak tengok live :( Waaa.. Nampaknya ni pun akan join Nash pi jumpa doktor esok. Nasib boleh control lagi. Good job.
Alamak... CT.. buang tebiat nak bersilat pulak. OK, I'm not big on these kinda of songs. Boleh la.. Hmm lagu etnic lagi... Bring on Aku Cinta Padamu, let's go old school! Ye la vocal chops kau memang best. Dah macam konsert dia pulak, syok sendiri pun ada. Cindai ni ok. Aku suka juga. Tetiba nak berdance pulak makcik ni. Suka ati la beb. Yang kelakar tu bila kau geli hati sendiri bila step salah.
The result
Best Vocal - Hafiz (not bad)
Best Performance - FT (no surprise there)
3rd Song - Nohktah Cinta (eiiii)
2nd Song - Drama King
And the Silver Jubilee goes to.... (turns to be the biggest surprise of the night), Ana Rafali with Tolong Ingatkan Aku. Whoaaaa! Aku tetap kata idea nyanyi dalam sangkar tu budus. But I do agree, the song great. I was hoping Yuna bagged the title though. Congrats Ana!
Akhir kata, tolonglah tahun depan panggil aku jadi pengacara atau paling tak mintak tolong tulis script, after tonight with those three... anyone who can speak would've done a better job. Me included.
Good Night and Good Luck!