:: A Malaysian on Music, Gigs, Concerts. ::

My Blueberry Nights

Awesome stuff this is. I finally watched this WKW classic after more than a year of waiting. Some of the top WKW classics that I love are Chungking Express, In The Mood For Love and 2046. Personally, I love the scenes, the music, the conversation and dialogue. It just blends so well together. Sorry, I’m a WKW fan. For his first attempt on an English language film, this is pretty impressive. All his filming traits are evident and I love the camera angles taken from outside the cafe/bar.

Of course, there are also bad points. No film is perfect. I think Norah Jones was a bit of a mis-cast. She tries to appear all pure, nice and wholesome but I think she has a long way to go when it comes to acting. Natalie Portman is not too bad as goofy oddball character. I seem to think it’s similar to her role in Garden State. Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, David Strathairn and others managed their own ground pretty well. I suppose most of WKW films make you feel like you are on a trip. The mind type of a trip :). Cat Power’s cameo was trip. In her short 5 minute stint, she left a much more lasting impression that Norah did in the whole film. Cat was silently seductive and oh-so-sexy.

The soundtrack. I’m getting it soon. It’s brilliant. There were a few throwbacks to In The Mood For Love and 2046. The repeating song this time was Cat Power’s - Lived in Bars. Needless to say, it’s back on my playlist again. This time, permanently.

So, catch it if you have done so yet.

Nic Harcourt. The legend. The man behind Morning Becomes Eclectic. The man who gave many artistes’ careers a kick-start. The man who brings you the opportunity to play Hotel Cafe. He is leaving MBE, the show that he has hosted for the last 10 years. It is a sad day for KCRW/MBE fans.

Nic Harcourt was responsible for putting many artistes on the map. He has been accredited with introducing Dido, Travis, Coldplay and many others. He helped launched the careers of Norah Jones, Pete Yorn, David Gray, Kate Earl, Meiko, etc. He has surely introduced me to so many bands, including alternative latin music. Together with John Peel, these two DJs have really shaped my music taste. It’s sad to see him leave MBE, but he’ll still have a weekend show.

He has been described by music writer Mark Weingarten as “the most influential DJ in America.”

Nic Harcourt to leave MBE

John Michael Crichton (1942 - 2008), was 66 when he passed on on November 4 after losing the battle with cancer.

I can’t say that I have read all of his books, but those that I did read has given me a very memorable experience. My favourite novel of all time and all authors is Timeline. For those of you that don’t know what it is about, don’t take the film as a true representation. The film was horrible in many levels, but the novel was superb.

Among the novels that I read are Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Disclosure, The Lost World and Airframe.
Some of them make good movies, some of them don’t. Michael was also the creator of one of the longest running series, called E.R.

The man is a literary genius who himself is a doctor, who enjoys theories and technology. He brings real knowledge and expands it with his own theories. A perfect example of this is Timeline, where he plays on the theory of Quantum Physics and parallel universes + time travel. Pure class.

As a tribute to the great man, I will now read his last few novels, including an un-named version coming out next year. Cheers and thank you for making millions of reading sessions in the world a lot better with your stories.

A couple of years ago, I built a list of my own Top 250 songs of all time. Unfortunately, my laptop was stolen and with it, my list. It took me months to compile that list, and it will possibly take me months to compile this chart, but here goes. The first order of action is to nominate songs for the chart. So, look for the email link on the right as you always do and send me a nomination if you like. The rules are simple:

1. More than one version of the song may exist in the chart
2. Song language is irrelevant

Nominee List (in no ranking order, yet)
Massive Attack - Teardrop
Massive Attack - Inertia Creeps
Massive Attack - Angel
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Annie DiFranco - You Had Time
Collective Soul - Shine
Damien Rice - 9 Crimes
Damien Rice - Delicate
Damien Rice - The Blower’s Daughter
Daniel Powter - Bad Day
DJ Shadow - Six Days
Dog’s Eye View - Umbrella
Feist - 1234
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly
Incubus - I Wish You Were Here
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
My Chemical Romance - I Don’t Love You
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Snow Patrol - Run
Spiller - Groovejet
Telepopmusic - Breathe
The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl
The Chemical Brothers - Where Do I Begin
The Like - June Gloom
The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black
Those Dancing Days - Those Dancing Days
Johnny Cash - A Satisfied Man
KT Tunstall - Universe & U
Nouvelle Vague - Dancing With Myself
Reindeer Section - You Are My Joy
The Sundays - Wild Horses
The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
Fiona Apple - Across the Universe
Rufus Wainwright - Across the Universe
Patty Griffin - Kite Song
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Sarah Mclachlan - Angel
Sarah Mclachlan - I Will Remember You
Meiko - Reasons To Love You
A Fine Frenzy - Almost Lover
A Fine Frenzy - Whisper
Kate Havnevik - Grace
Kate Havnevik - Nowhere Warm
Russian Red - Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Bonnie Pink - It’s Gonna Rain
Jason Downs Feat. Milk - Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Terrorvision - D’Ya Wanna Go Faster
30 Seconds To Mars - From Yesterday
30 Seconds To Mars - A Beautiful Lie
The Killers - Human *New*
The Cardigans - Been It *New*
Billie Holiday - I’ll Be Seeing You *New*

Original: Teardrop - Massive Attack, from the album Mezzanine 1998.
Notable Covers: Newton Faulkner, Jose Gonzalez and the Flash Hawk Parlour Ensemble.

One of the most cult classic songs of history is Massive Attack’s Teardrop, which featured on their Mezzanine album, released in 1998. This song features on many Top 100 lists across the major music publications, such as Spin, Rolling Stone, etc. It definitely features on mine, which will be re-built shortly (why rebuilt? that’s another story for another time).

Two fantastic covers of the song include Newton Faulkner and Jose Gonzalez. My favourite is definitely Newton Faulkner’s cover, which I first heard in somewhere towards the end of 2007, when I was in Glasgow (i think). Strangely I can’t remember where I was. It was probably in HMV or Music Box (sic?).