And here we are, again, Mayday.

2001 was when I saw them live for the first time. Then in 2005. 2010年4月17日是第三次。第三次的与你们的音乐疯狂， 第三次的被感动。

It’s been a long nine years since the first concert, but every time I see them live, I’m transported to that evening, when we were young, suitably angsty but optimistic too, jaded but expectant. Their songs resonated too well, and the words rang deep and true. Of justification of our disobedience, of our impatience for the world to change so we could finally become relevant (and important); of the yearning to be free, liberated from what seemed to us old and tired expectations, significant only in times long beneath us; and of hope, for life, for love, and for the rest of us to begin. 2001.

I think we lost each other in the years after. 跟我姐说过，不再那么喜欢并不是因为五月天的音乐变了，或是太大众化了，也不是因为厌倦了他们的理想； 不是因为觉得竟憨人已不是米虫，那还有怨可唱吗？ 在2001，我们的世界交叉; 听到的和脑中的对了频率，找到共鸣。在五月天的音乐里，找到了同伴，明白了，领悟了希望的重要。

然后，他们就暂别了，去当兵，去进修; 而我也毕业了，出国，上大学。就在那时，我们分别地成长了。2005，我回国。为了演唱会，没去朋友的婚礼。那年的也好棒，就好像回到19岁的自己。但是，就有觉得那一年只不过为了回顾四年前的疯狂。有感动，但也不知是否只在怀念，回念当初的感慨。

2006过后，就没有把五月天的音乐放在心上。还是喜欢，但只是对过去的理想交代。走散了。

-

今年是2010年。4月17日，第三次。 感觉好像又交叉了，我们。

If you’re scared and it shows
Because you’re watching them grow
And travelling blows when you’re out of road
And when you jump up, the earth wants you back

Your resentment grows until you’re all alone
But you’re so smart, how could they not know?
When you’re standing there in good-humoured white

How do you do it and make it seem effortless?
When it’s all the stupid things, so overwhelming to me
Like paying my bills, or showing up for work early
Or laughing at your jokes

And when you first said that anything goes
Or a problem’s a task disguised in work clothes
That’s when I knew that I had to move

And why do you do it and make it seem delicate?
When it’s all the stupid things, so damn confusing to me
Like talking it through, controlling my temper
Like letting it go, saying, “Please, forgive me
For laughing at your jokes”

I have no idea what’s going on lately
And I just wish you would come over and explain things
And I have on idea what’s going on lately
And I just wish you would come over and explain things
And I have no idea what’s been going on lately
And I just wish you would come over and explain things

And why do they do it? They show up anyway
When they know that damn well
There’s no room for promotions out here
And maybe it’s wise
And maybe I’m just stupid
For laughing at your jokes

Plane Crash in C, Rilo Kiley

Aimee Mann is love! I wished her concert was long enough so she could do every song, but I guess that might be too much to ask. Anyway, super pleased that she did Video, Invisible Ink, This is How It Goes etc. Would have killed to hear I’ve Had It, or It Takes All Kinds (or Pavlov’s Bell, or The Fall of the World’s Own Optimist, Fourth of July, Just Like Anyone, Say Anything (!!), and well, the rest), but I’m one satisfied little fan.

iPhone is love!

September is underway, already! Whatever happened to my August will apparently stay forever unknown to me. October is but a month away! So near, and yet a thousand hurdles to clear before then. I just want to stay at home, eat ice cream, read some magazines, cycle around the neighbourhood (despite not having a bicycle), think aloud and try not to drop my phone.

I could also try to finish reading this. It is such a good read, but I can’t seem to get hooked.

Fark! It is 49 days!

Laura Marling’s Night Terror

I woke up and he was screaming
I’d left him dreaming
I roll over and shake him tightly
And whisper “if they want you
Oh they’re gonna have to fight me”
Oh fight me
I woke up on a bench on Shepherds Bush green
Oh a candle at my chest and a hand on his knee
I got up it was dark
Theres no one in the park at this time
Why do I keep finding myself here?
Oh fight me
If I look back and he’s screaming
I’d left him dreaming, the dangers fade
And I roll back and shake him tightly
And scream “if they want him oh they’re gonna have to fight me”
Oh fight me
But if I wake up on a bench on Shepherds Bush green
Oh a candle at my chest and a hand on his knee
I’ll roll over and hold him tightly
And scream “if you want him oh your gonna have to fight me”
Oh fight me

Don’t fight me

» Continue reading “oh, fight me”

A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity to be Free

Happiness

The upcoming U2 album cover art uses a Hiroshi Sugimoto photograph. I saw an image of it a few days ago and found it familiar. Being a non-U2 fan and because I thought the “equal” sign ruined the cover, I didn’t bother finding out who designed it or whose photograph it was. Now that I have, I am disliking it even more. Not because I am a huge Sugimoto fan – I do like his stuff though, but I won’t get particularly indignant if someone would ‘bah!’ him (so what is it that I’m trying to explain here? Not sure). I would probably be a lot less irritated if the photograph was taken with that design in mind, but imposing a (silly) “=” sign on a photograph that could stand and has stood on its own terms? If it adds value to the design, I am all for it. But this is just uninspired and a little blah. No line on the horizon? Okaaay, I get it. From the Rolling Stone article: 

There’s also an equals sign, but it doesn’t actually obscure the horizon, thus No Line on the Horizon. It’s only halfway through January but it’s safe to assume we have an early front-runner for album cover of the year.

Really? It must be a depressing year for music too. And uh-oh, U2’s new album cover is a ‘rip-off’. I do quite like the Brothomstates’s Claro album cover, though I must say the white square in the middle thing has been done before too. Hmm where did I see that?

So I’m currently totally infatuated with this song.

» Continue reading “russian red: gone, play on”

Kondoh Akino. Other than the song being horribly catchy, the animation is pretty damn neat as well. His site doesn’t have any of his animations, but his drawings and illustrations are great too.

Interesting post on Conscientious: Consuming vs Experiencing Art

Some initial thoughts:
- If you are to compare my drawings from my university days and the ones I have now, there is a rather high probability that you would think them quite similar. Black ink on paper/card, colourless; repetitive lines and patterns etc. I wouldn’t know how to convince you otherwise, and you probably wouldn’t want to be, anyway. But I do see differences between my past and current drawings, and though I am obviously writing from a very biased perspective, I know that they are changes significant enough for me to want to continue what I am doing, and to want to find out what comes after, or what might or might not. It is hard to pinpoint when enough is enough, but I do think that the “end” often does come naturally and moving on to other subject matter/media/etc should ultimately not arise from a “I-have-to” situation, but more from a curiosity / interest.

- This might be slightly irrelevant, but his thoughts on Sigur Rós had me thinking a little about this band I used to love. I still like them, but excitement about new music is a lot more muted than what it used to be. It isn’t because the band has gotten any worse; they are probably still a very good band. A more accurate reason is probably that we have both “progressed” in different ways. I liked them because at that time, their music was relevant and their lyrics rang true, but it is as though that even as we met at that point, we had immediately started to diverge. Lives go on, and we write about someone else and travel to someplace else, and in time, what had resonated ceased to matter much. Well, this would be a little ironic, if I can articulate it nicely, but it seems like I can’t so I won’t.