part 1 - chinese/taiwanese music.
Coral Sea - Jay Chou ft. Lara
I'm not a huge Jay Chou fan, but this is one of the few songs by him that I like. It's a nice ballad that features his voice perfectly. Lara, from the band Nan Quan Mama, offers her vocals as a nice contrast to Jay's. Definitely worth a listen.
Sa Rang Hae Yo, 只对你说 - JJ Lin
Though the only part of this song that's Korean is the phrase "saranghaeyo", it's nonetheless a good JJ Lin song. I like the chorus, and the English phrases are well done. There's also a nice piano solo.
Qi Dai Ni De Ai [Anticipating Your Love] - JJ Lin
This song builds more than "Saranghaeyo" does, but I don't like it as much. It lacked emotion to me, but the chorus is catchy. Worth a listen.
One Umbrella - 183 Club
I've heard a lot about the, but since I rarely listen to music in Mandarin I only recently got around to trying them out. Pretty typical boyband fare, a mid-tempo ballad. The harmonizing is well done, but it's a pretty forgettable song. I do like a few of the verses though.
星空下的吻 - JJ Lin
This song starts out with strong beats and a rap verse, so it surprised me how absolutely beautiful the chorus was. It completely turns the song around. Definitely my favourite JJ Lin song and one of my favourite Cpop songs in general. Highly recommended.
Shi Er Yue De Qing Ge - Gackt ft. Wang Lee Hom
It's like a Christmas song with the sleigh bells at the beginning. XP Wang Lee Hom & Gackt ... not a combination I was expecting. Gackt's Mandarin is surprisingly good, and his voice isn't as powerful as it could be, but I guess it's probably harder for him to sing in Mandarin than in Japanese. The chorus builds a fair bit, and Gackt's distinctive voice is really what makes this song.
Kiss Goodbye - Wang Lee Hom
"Kiss Goodbye" has always been one of my favourite Wang Lee Hom songs since it's probably the first I heard. It's pretty old, so I thought some of you might not have it. It starts out with a beautiful piano melody and is an absolutely wonderful ballad. The MV is also pretty sad, though I found that it failed to capture the emotion of the song alone.
Xing Qi Liu De Shen Ye [星期六的深夜] - Wang Lee Hom
A more recent Lee Hom ballad, I'm not as fond of this song but it does showcase Leehom's vocals and the chorus is beautiful. It's also interesting to see how his voice developed from the older song "Kiss Goodbye" and from this song.
Now That She's Gone - JJ Lin
JJ Lin's English is surprisingly flawless, and any minor pronunciation errors are negligible. However, his voice seems kind of weak and overpowered by the piano accompaniment. I found myself unable to really focus on this song; it didn't really capture me as much as some of his songs do. Great effort, but the lyrics aren't anything special and overall, it's worth a try but not really that good of a song.
Understood - TANK
I'm sure some of you will know this song from the Hana Kimi soundtrack. I prefer Tank's more upbeat songs. His vocals aren't that great, which is underlined in slower tracks such as "Understood". It is pretty catchy and the lyrics are sweet.
part 2 - my picks
Meat Market - Everybody Else
A great band I first discovered off another rotation, musical chairs. Very catchy; I love the chorus and the lyrics. I rarely listen to American bands, but Everybody Else is one of the few that I like. Definitely try them out if you haven't already.
In Memoriam - Everybody Else
Piano intro = <33333. Lyrics are also awesome, I like the lyrics to this song even better than the ones for Meat Market. It's less upbeat than Meat Market. Again the chorus is great. Highly recommended.
GO!!GO!!GO!! - anCafe
It starts out as a sweet ballad. Miku's voice is lovely and not at all annoying as it can be in some anCafe songs. About thirty seconds in the song really gains momentum, something expected but I was expecting it would happen sooner. Typical anCafe fare, not that that's a bad thing. This song isn't as overwhelmingly oshare kei as some of their songs are.
I Wanna Go To The Disko - THE BEAT CRUSADERS
I love the guitar riffs near the beginning of this song. It's absolutely addicting and made me realize I don't listen to The Beat Crusaders often enough. I love the bass line throughout this song. Highly recommended.
Black Engine - Jang Keun Seuk
I never thought I'd actually like this song. Actor-turned-singer Jang Keun Seuk released the "Black Engine" single with JYP. Just the fact that it's a JYP song ensures that it'll probably be catchy, which it is. For some reason, Jang Keun Seuk's weak voice mixes very well with heavy beats. Worth a listen.
Space Hunter - Mix Speaker's,Inc.
I love this band, but this isn't one of my favourite songs from them. I do like the way the vocals are arranged and I thought it was a bit different from their usual style.
part 3 - goong s ringtones
Se7en's ringtones from Goong S. They are very weird to listen to as MP3s. O_o I have no idea why I have them but just in case there's any Goong S fans out there, I just uploaded them.
@01 자장면 시키신분 Se7en
@02 자장면 시키신분(Sexy Ver.) Se7en
@03 아싸!(미공개 벨소리) Se7en.
Labels: 183 Club, Antic Cafe, BEAT CRUSADERS, Everybody Else, Gackt, Jang Keun Seuk, Jay Chou, JJ Lin, Mix Speaker's Inc., Se7en, TANK, Wang Lee Hom
