I'd Rather Be Lonely Than Happy With Somebody Else.
I never got a chance to watch The Lover when it first came out because I was way too young, but MPIX has been playing it all month so I finally got a chance to watch it. And. um. at least Jane March and Tony Leung are incredibly gorgeous? It was an okay movie, nothing that gripped me, and while the scenery and love scenes were beautiful and erotic, I was strangely unmoved by the whole thing. I wanted to be moved, I tried to be moved, but all the emotional beats seemed off, which threw everything off for me. The only time I was really moved was when the French girl demanded to know why her mother loved her dead husband more than her children and cried when her mother said she didn't know; that seemed to be the only genuine feeling in the whole movie.
I found the whole affair between the Young Girl and the Chinaman (their names are never given) curiously bloodless, lacking any kind of emotion that resonated with me, especially considering that at one point, he says he'll die without her love, but maybe that was the whole point of the movie: she can give him her body, but not her heart because the scandal would be too much if a French girl fell in love with a wealthy Chinese man at that time.
Still, I was never as emotionally invested as I wanted to be, and when the movie ended, my entire reaction was "huh." Well, at least I know what it's all about now.
I tend to express myself through music a lot. Whether it's just posting music that makes me happy or making fanmixes for various fandoms, music is a huge cornerstone in my life and it fills every aspect of it. Sometimes, when something in the world makes me angry, I escape through music (books as well, just for the record), and after yesterday's emotional upheavals, I needed a lot of good music to get me through my anger.
Luckily, I had gone on a huge music downloading spree over the weekend, so I made it through the day just fine with some amazing blues and Chinese pop on my Nano. So I figured I'd share with you all in case you ever need to get your Zen back. Hope you all enjoy.
First up, Fang Tsin Ying. There isn't a lot of information about her out there, but apparently, she was a singer back in the '30s and a practitioner of 'shidaiqu', a fusion of Chinese folk music and European jazz. She has a gorgeous voice and you should listen to her stuff.
Ya Ya Ya Cha Cha Cha
Silver Star
Up next are the Loo sisters, Chang and Xiao Loo. Chang was a big movie star back in the day and had a love for old country and western songs. She once covered Hank Williams' Jambalaya and also sang a lot of gorgeous original Chinese pop music. I'm uploading a few songs that must be heard because Chang had an amazing voice.
Mambo Italiano
Sixteen Tons
Chinese Mambo
I had only heard of Jelly Roll Morton and it wasn't until I heard his music that I realized I had grown up listening to his stuff all my life. Bless my grandfather for his love of the blues. This song made me deliriously happy when I first heard it.
Billy Goat Stomp
The next few songs are all famous blues singers accompanied by Satchmo himself. I guarantee that the combination of his sax and those beautiful, soulful voices will make the day better.
Bessie Smith - Nashville Women's Blues
Blanche Calloway - Lazy Woman's Blues
Sippie Wallace - I Feel Good
Butterbeans and Susie - He Likes It Slow
Sippie Wallace - Have You Ever Been Down?
Ma Rainey - Jelly Bean Blues
Hociel Thomas - G'wan I Told You
So I've listened to M.I.A.'s new album and. I don't really like it all that much. Which makes me sad because I've loved everything she's done so far, but this album is really not doing it for me. But I did like this song, so it's on here.
Lovalot
I have discovered Philip Glass. His music is doing wonders for my soul and my ears. Here are two songs from an album he did with Ravi Shankar back in the day. Yes, he really is that much of a superstar that he worked with Ravi Shankar.
Meetings Along The Edge
Prashanti
If, like me, after you watched that amazing lindy hop video and thought, 'God, I miss the hell out of Sammy Davis Jr. I wish I could listen to that song on repeat for those times that I am not at my computer and can't watch the video again for the song', well, I am here to provide.
Sammy Davis Jr. - Love Me Or Leave Me
No lie, he was my favorite Rat Pack member. Love Frankie, love Dino, liked Lawford, worshipped Sammy.
This song makes me unreasonably happy, even when I am overloaded at work and haven't had enough sleep.
The Chieftains - The Morning Dew
I can't believe I found this song on Til's Anna/Ludo fanmix the Zweiohrküken soundtrack, although it does showcase Til's good taste in music. You really do end up bopping along to the song too much for your own good.
Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life
I shall be going out to Lone Star later on this evening so that the family can celebrate my sister's first paycheck and my new job. Fajitas, here I come!
I found the whole affair between the Young Girl and the Chinaman (their names are never given) curiously bloodless, lacking any kind of emotion that resonated with me, especially considering that at one point, he says he'll die without her love, but maybe that was the whole point of the movie: she can give him her body, but not her heart because the scandal would be too much if a French girl fell in love with a wealthy Chinese man at that time.
Still, I was never as emotionally invested as I wanted to be, and when the movie ended, my entire reaction was "huh." Well, at least I know what it's all about now.
I tend to express myself through music a lot. Whether it's just posting music that makes me happy or making fanmixes for various fandoms, music is a huge cornerstone in my life and it fills every aspect of it. Sometimes, when something in the world makes me angry, I escape through music (books as well, just for the record), and after yesterday's emotional upheavals, I needed a lot of good music to get me through my anger.
Luckily, I had gone on a huge music downloading spree over the weekend, so I made it through the day just fine with some amazing blues and Chinese pop on my Nano. So I figured I'd share with you all in case you ever need to get your Zen back. Hope you all enjoy.
First up, Fang Tsin Ying. There isn't a lot of information about her out there, but apparently, she was a singer back in the '30s and a practitioner of 'shidaiqu', a fusion of Chinese folk music and European jazz. She has a gorgeous voice and you should listen to her stuff.
Ya Ya Ya Cha Cha Cha
Silver Star
Up next are the Loo sisters, Chang and Xiao Loo. Chang was a big movie star back in the day and had a love for old country and western songs. She once covered Hank Williams' Jambalaya and also sang a lot of gorgeous original Chinese pop music. I'm uploading a few songs that must be heard because Chang had an amazing voice.
Mambo Italiano
Sixteen Tons
Chinese Mambo
I had only heard of Jelly Roll Morton and it wasn't until I heard his music that I realized I had grown up listening to his stuff all my life. Bless my grandfather for his love of the blues. This song made me deliriously happy when I first heard it.
Billy Goat Stomp
The next few songs are all famous blues singers accompanied by Satchmo himself. I guarantee that the combination of his sax and those beautiful, soulful voices will make the day better.
Bessie Smith - Nashville Women's Blues
Blanche Calloway - Lazy Woman's Blues
Sippie Wallace - I Feel Good
Butterbeans and Susie - He Likes It Slow
Sippie Wallace - Have You Ever Been Down?
Ma Rainey - Jelly Bean Blues
Hociel Thomas - G'wan I Told You
So I've listened to M.I.A.'s new album and. I don't really like it all that much. Which makes me sad because I've loved everything she's done so far, but this album is really not doing it for me. But I did like this song, so it's on here.
Lovalot
I have discovered Philip Glass. His music is doing wonders for my soul and my ears. Here are two songs from an album he did with Ravi Shankar back in the day. Yes, he really is that much of a superstar that he worked with Ravi Shankar.
Meetings Along The Edge
Prashanti
If, like me, after you watched that amazing lindy hop video and thought, 'God, I miss the hell out of Sammy Davis Jr. I wish I could listen to that song on repeat for those times that I am not at my computer and can't watch the video again for the song', well, I am here to provide.
Sammy Davis Jr. - Love Me Or Leave Me
No lie, he was my favorite Rat Pack member. Love Frankie, love Dino, liked Lawford, worshipped Sammy.
This song makes me unreasonably happy, even when I am overloaded at work and haven't had enough sleep.
The Chieftains - The Morning Dew
I can't believe I found this song on Til's Anna/Ludo fanmix the Zweiohrküken soundtrack, although it does showcase Til's good taste in music. You really do end up bopping along to the song too much for your own good.
Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life
I shall be going out to Lone Star later on this evening so that the family can celebrate my sister's first paycheck and my new job. Fajitas, here I come!