Tonight, the Starlight is Dazzling
This post is kind of overdue. It was supposed to come out a week or so after the musical, but pushed back due to the excitement of seeing a special someone on a whirlwind visit on 30 Sept!
The song “禁色” from the musical made me re-visit the forgotten Tat Ming Pair CD “繼續追尋” that I bought some 10 years ago. There was a time when I liked their “今夜星光燦爛” and “溜冰滾族” very much. My sis bought a few of their albums but apart from a few songs, they didn’t feature prominently in my ‘likes list’. Maybe their style of music (perhaps a bit like Depeche Mode?) was too experimental for me then and actually I didn’t have a clue what they were singing about! I was aware that their lyrics were alternative, weird and contained messages but at that time, I didn’t know the hidden meaning behind “禁色”, “天花亂墜”, “十個救火的少年” and most of their other songs. And it was a time when guys having long hair were frowned upon by many, so the distinct image of one-long-one-short (Ming-Gor had long hair, while Tats had crew cut) worked against them especially among the more conservative.
Nevertheless, Tat Ming had a cult following among die-hards who were impressed by their unique (and controversial?) views and music style. They thrived during a time when English and Japanese covers were the norm, and together with rock bands and dance groups created their own niche in an glittery industry then dominated by superstars like Alan, Anita and Leslie.
Into the 21st century, things have gone bland. K-songs are now standard fare for fledglings and top-acts alike. If you want a song to be popular, it must be easy for the mass to stomach and subsequently belt out comfortably in Karaoke. The result is an industry veered towards similar-sounding tunes despite a wave of up-coming songwriters. But I believe people are beginning to feel bored with lacklustre tunes and mediocre singing, and yearn for the ‘good old days’. Which explains why the comeback concerts of Paula Tsui and Sam Hui were sellouts, the demise of Leslie and Anita met with so much dismay and sorrow, and the return of Tat Ming and Grasshopper welcomed with open arms, anticipation and expectations.
Tat Ming scored with “寂寞的人有福了”last year and released their new album this year. Hocc and Candy Lo defied current trends with a thoughtful musical album and Buddhist-influenced philosophical muses respectively. A sign of better things to come?
My wild wishes: Sammi to do a crossover with a symphonic orchestra, jazz-influenced album, or rock collaboration with Hocc! And Joey to break out of the ‘K’ refuge and do something different! Maybe work with Chet Lam or at 17?!
The song “禁色” from the musical made me re-visit the forgotten Tat Ming Pair CD “繼續追尋” that I bought some 10 years ago. There was a time when I liked their “今夜星光燦爛” and “溜冰滾族” very much. My sis bought a few of their albums but apart from a few songs, they didn’t feature prominently in my ‘likes list’. Maybe their style of music (perhaps a bit like Depeche Mode?) was too experimental for me then and actually I didn’t have a clue what they were singing about! I was aware that their lyrics were alternative, weird and contained messages but at that time, I didn’t know the hidden meaning behind “禁色”, “天花亂墜”, “十個救火的少年” and most of their other songs. And it was a time when guys having long hair were frowned upon by many, so the distinct image of one-long-one-short (Ming-Gor had long hair, while Tats had crew cut) worked against them especially among the more conservative.
Nevertheless, Tat Ming had a cult following among die-hards who were impressed by their unique (and controversial?) views and music style. They thrived during a time when English and Japanese covers were the norm, and together with rock bands and dance groups created their own niche in an glittery industry then dominated by superstars like Alan, Anita and Leslie.
Into the 21st century, things have gone bland. K-songs are now standard fare for fledglings and top-acts alike. If you want a song to be popular, it must be easy for the mass to stomach and subsequently belt out comfortably in Karaoke. The result is an industry veered towards similar-sounding tunes despite a wave of up-coming songwriters. But I believe people are beginning to feel bored with lacklustre tunes and mediocre singing, and yearn for the ‘good old days’. Which explains why the comeback concerts of Paula Tsui and Sam Hui were sellouts, the demise of Leslie and Anita met with so much dismay and sorrow, and the return of Tat Ming and Grasshopper welcomed with open arms, anticipation and expectations.
Tat Ming scored with “寂寞的人有福了”last year and released their new album this year. Hocc and Candy Lo defied current trends with a thoughtful musical album and Buddhist-influenced philosophical muses respectively. A sign of better things to come?
My wild wishes: Sammi to do a crossover with a symphonic orchestra, jazz-influenced album, or rock collaboration with Hocc! And Joey to break out of the ‘K’ refuge and do something different! Maybe work with Chet Lam or at 17?!
posted by yung | 1:26 pm
2 Comments:
will be really cool if Mi does try something new!!!
hehe...in fact looking fwd to see wad Joey comes up with in her upcoming concert !
yeah, really looking forward to Mi and Joey trying new stuff. Sammi is definitely past the stage of singing mindless pop songs while it's high time Joey stops singing just K-songs and annoying dance tracks. I'd like to see something else other than sexy stuff (she's done that for Show Up already) in her concert.
Hi rachael, do i know u?
anyway, i used to think Yumiko
had potential, but after her first few songs, i got fed up and began to lose patience cos she nearly always mimed in performances i've seen.
i like the unconventional style of Endy's songs but watched some of his live performances and to be honest, he sounded pretty bad -off-pitch and v soft voice - so i decided i won't buy his albums unless he bucks up with his singing...ok he sang better than expected at hocc's musical but i'm not really convinced...yet...
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