ALWAYS IN LOVE - CHAPTER III

 http://www.alivenotdead.com/34291/viewspace_27085.html

I listen to it from my iPod every time when I am commuting - on the taxi, on the bus, on the train, on the plane.

There are times I locked myself in the hotel suite, "I've gone to ground", and just counting the minute, second, until the time I can finally return home. Journey's always long. It's long from the moment I've left your side.

And If I am back to you. That's because you are my destiny.

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INn1C6ImJKg&mode=relat...

 http://www.alivenotdead.com/34291/viewspace_26746.html

Someone asked me if I have never heard of Oasis before how could I say that I like British Pop...? Well good question.

Really the only British band that I knew was COLDPLAY. And I don't just like them. I love them.

That was many years ago when I came across their music - it was the song Yellow, played on a late night music program called "Rave". I was hooked instantly. I went to the record shop and asked for it but I could not find it from the main stream record stores (that was long before they were popular!). In the end I found it in a local music store that also sells vinyl. I did a search and found out COLDPLAY was categorised under "British Pop" genre.... So naturally I put it as my favorite!

My all time favorite is from their debut album, a song called Shiver.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBqRj8LwwEA

Ok, where else can I show off my limited talent as a wannabe singer?

Early last year I went to a studio and recorded a 5 song EP as a gift to my mum. My mum has been my biggest fan - always the one with most enthusiam while others all went "oh come on, can we go now?" during my long solo karaoke sessions.

Of course, like a tone deaf person, I would never discover the truth about my singing. But I am happy in the belief that I could have become a singer "if only..."

So here you go:

Cover of Silent All These Years (Original: Tori Amos)

Ok it is embarrassing to admit it – but yes I “kind of” followed American Idol 2006. But I had a very good reason.

It all started from a freezing evening in a quiet Chinese village – yes, my HSU VILLAGE, in February 2006.

I was there with Mum and M for the Chinese New Year celebration. Well as you can imagine there was no café or pubs to go during the night time. The only entertainment that we had was that small 15 inch TV with (amazingly) satellite stations from Hong Kong. M and I were super bored so we flipped through the channels. And there it was, the only program that M could actually understand – American Idol Audition. So we watched it.

We first saw Taylor Hicks when he went for the audition. He looked a bit awkward -slightly overweight, with pepper coloured hair, and he moved in a funny way. We thought he was just one of these people on the novelty list and was just there for us to have a laugh. But when he sang, wow, I’ve got to admit, it was refreshingly impressive.

Taylor’s style was very different from the rest: very SOUL, instead of R&B or ROCK or POP. He passed the audition (although Simon made a comment that he would never make it to the final list. Isn’t it ironic?) And because of that he was the only contestant that stuck in my mind. Then we came back to Perth. American Idol was not aired in Australia so naturally the show faded to the background.

In March I went to Bangkok for business and by chance, when I turned the TV on in my hotel room, the show was on. It was already down to the final 12. Obviously all the qualifying tests were done and I thought about that funny looking guy with grey hair (I didn’t even remember his name). I was wondering if he made it to the final list and sure enough, he was. He performed “Living in the city” by Stevie Wonder and he was amazingly fun to watch. That was the moment that I was hooked.

Throughout the show I went traveling back and forth between Singapore, Bangkok, and Perth and I was able to catch some of the episodes. And thanks to other American Idol fanatics I was able to download the missed performance from the internet.

Some of Taylor’s live performances are in my iPod. I guess this made me appreciate his talent more. Because, when I watched his performance it was so entertaining and the fact that he was a good singer was often overlooked. So when I listened to his performances it was his voice and his interpretation of the songs that moved me. He was such a fine singer.

Oh by the way, M and I watched the American Idol Final in Singapore together. What a nice bookend.

For Taylor Hicks performance you can find it on: http://www.graycharles.com/index.php/video/

聽說很多人跟U2合唱團說: 『喔我愛死你們的音樂了！尤其是那首歌 ＂ONE＂ – we played it on our wedding! 』

 這個comment經常讓U2哭笑不得，因為如果你仔細聆聽歌詞的話，就會發現這並不是一首適合在婚禮上撥放的歌。若真要為這首歌找場合的話，應該是最適合那種兩人分分合合多次之後又要協調分手的時候吧。

其實，很多人聽流行歌曲時並不會特別注意歌詞，頂多就是注意一下副歌罷了。怪就怪在這首歌的副歌又長的很像情歌，難怪會被人誤會：

One love
One life
When it's one need
In the night
One love
We get to share it
Leaves you baby if you
Don't care for it　

一生　一個愛　

是一人在黑夜裡所渴求的

一個愛　我們互相擁有 

如果你不珍惜

它便會離你遠去

雖然這首歌常令人誤會，但其實ＯＮＥ的歌詞是頗具詩意:

Love is a temple Love a higher law
Love is a temple Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt

愛情是座聖堂 是最高的律法

你讓我虔誠地進入了這塊聖地

卻又要我匍伏前行

但我怎能一直守候你給我的

你所能給我的　只是傷痛