Under the influence
Sounds that changed my life. Past and present
Now Playing
Most important albums
It is sure difficult to name one's favourite albums. So instead, I'll try to focus on albums that managed to keep me in good company either one time or another. I'll just talk about a few of them below. The rest can be found HERE.
Black Sabbath - Ozzy Osbourne Years (3 CD box set)
The box set is simply mind blowing. Back then, I listened to it days and nights, repeats after repeats. It almost became part of life. With this box set I’m truly proud to be in love with something my friends were not into.
Oasis - Definitely Maybe
In my opinion, the joint album of the 90s together with Radiohead’s The Bends. Rock and roll at its very best. Two favourites are Columbia and Supersonic.
Radiohead - The Bends
It’s a good thing Radiohead try something different each time they cut an album. Bad sadly, I can never get enough of ‘The Bends’. Every tune is such a beauty. Particularly fond of (Nice Dream) and Black Star.
James - Whiplash
I took the risk of buying this album for just one song - She’s A Star. Definitely worth every single cents. All the not so experimental songs turn out to be the singles. All the more experimental ones turn out to be my favourites. A great album that can be listen to without skipping any tracks.
The Beatles - A Hard Day’s Night
Every Beatles album is a classic. But since this was the first Beatles album that I listened to, it is for me the most influential one. It made me fall in love with the band, listen to all other Beatles albums and follow the solo works of its individual members. From the Beatles I moved on to the Hollies, the Byrds, the Who, the Beach Boys and all things 60s.
Most important songs
Some of the songs mentioned below may not be my favourite. Some I don’t even listen to anymore. But they sure have some kind of impact in my life or at least during a certain period.
New Order - Turn My Way
Although my mind was already set on heading towards Cambodia, this song gave me the added inspiration. Prior to my departure, I would listen to it every night and it made me more eager to leave Singapore for Cambodia. Many friends find it weird that I would take up all the strange decisions in life. Guess they would have to listen to this song to find out why.
Oasis - Wonderwall
I’m not particularly into this song. However, it has to go down as the song that changed my musical direction. I had always been listening to rock and metal stuff until this song came along. The first time I heard this song was in a pub where the live band jammed a metal version of the song. I thought that I would be nice to have this song into my heavy metal collection so I brought the album “What’s the Story Morning Glory” Well, we all know it’s Britpop… and Britpop is fantastic!!! No turning back from then on.
Pink Floyd - Time
A song that always reminds me that I have been wasting my time throughout my life. Part of the lyrics goes "you were young and life was long and there is time to kill today... and then one day you find 10 years had got behind you, no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun." Great tune with fantastic meaning.
Underworld - Pearls Girl
In a time when rock music dominated my musical interest, this was the song that brought me into dance and inevitably into clubbing culture.
The Hollies - Gasoline Ally Bred
Can’t really explain why, but it’s a song that makes me want to settle down. Most tunes from the Hollies Greatest Hits are great but to me this is the crème de la crème.
The Beatles - In My Life
My favourite Beatles song. Every time I listen to this track my very own MTV will play in my mind with the faces of my friends and places I have been to. A really nostalgic song. Fuck man! Miss you all.
Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
Though I never read Wuthering Height, I simply love this song. As you can see from my favourite list of songs that Kate Bush is the only female singer around.
Cinderella - One For Rock And Roll
A great song from this glam rock band. Written in such a way that reminds me of some Bob Dylan stuff - socially, and politically oriented. Cinderella has always been my favourite glam rockers.
Shed Seven - Chasing Rainbows
The song I listen to each time I feel down. Makes me feel like I never achieved anything in life. Best listen to the morning after. Read between the lines.
Simon And Garfunkel - Sound Of Silence
If Chasing Rainbow is the best song for the morning after, then Sound of Silence got to be the best song to kick start the adventure.
The Smiths - Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
The lyric is very much like my life in Singapore. Damn real. Really love to share this song with my friends. Guess many of you must be feeling exactly like what Morrissey is singing.
Pixies - Gouge Away
Special thanks to Daryl. This is great! God bless you.
A special mention to... ...
The Boredphucks - Ai Sio Kan Mai (Live)
A headbanging English cum Hokkien cum Mandarin anthem. The first time my friends and I heard this song we laughed until we cried! We keep on replaying it for the entire night! In the end we concluded that it was better than Guns N Roses, Metallica or Nirvana. Vulgar it may be but common’ if America has Kid Rock, Singapore has the Boredphucks! All thanks to Arthur for this.
Not forgetting the Mandarin, Canto and Jap tunes...
English tunes and dance stuff may be what I listen to these days but having grown up with Chinese and Cantonese tunes, it would be unfair not to list down some important tunes.
Cantonese
I always find that Cantonese songs seems to have more meaning in them. A lot seems to be happening in a single verse. Beyond's rock tunes are wonderful. Here I mentioned only two, but seriously, most of their albums seems to have at least two or three outstanding numbers. Taiji was another great HK band, although Hacken Lee and Faye Wong might not be what you people expect me to include in this list.
Beyond - Shui Ban Wo Chuang Dang
Beyond - Que Kuo
Hacken Lee - Yi Ge Ren Fei
Taiji - Yi Ge Lian Ai Gu Shi
Faye Wong - Ru Feng
Mandarin
Chinese music brings back good memories. First love, first karaoke, first idol, first cassette, first CD, first concert. During the early period the music were pretty Xing Yao. Most hits come from those SBC dramas. A young Eric Moo's 'Yi Wang Guo Qu' definitely impressed me till this very day. It's a classic that can't really be compared with other Chinese songs I listen to. However, it was the music of Wang Jie started it all and it was 'Ta De Bei Ying' that first caught my attention. Around the same time my brother was listening to Zhang Yu Sheng and I get hooked to him too. After a short period of listening to Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau, I started to listen to more rock and alternative singers like Wu Bai and Faith Yang.
Eric Moo - Yi Wang Guo Qu
Zhang Yu Sheng - Mei You Yan Chou De Re Zi
Wang Jie - Ta De Bei Ying
Faith Yang - Xing Xing Dui Man Tian
Wu Bai - Yu Ni Dao Yong Jiu
Japanese
I started listening to Japanese music after taking up basic Japanese language during my polytechnic days. As usual, my inclination is to rock. I am still pretty much into all the songs listed here. Although I don't really understand what I'm listening to, I have to say that these tunes go down like smooth lager. Yellow Monkey is my favourite Jap band... 'So Young' and 'I for You' my favourite Jap songs...
X-Japan - Say Anything
Yellow Monkey - So Young
Glay - Zutto Futari De
Luna Sea - I For You
The Brilliant Green - Tsumetai no Hana
index - my back pages - before the dawn - paperback writer - some might say
