writer's block

plastic ono band

Shaved Fish is a collection of singles, some of them hits, released during John Lennon's post-Beatles career. A typically mad collage of literal interpretations of the 11 tracks present an accurate overview of Lennon's confused career since leaving the Beatles. The best tracks are obsessed, as on Instant Karma, Cold Turkey, Mother, Give Peace a Chance and Power to the People. There is a cohesion of style present in these songs which dwindles in the later parts of the record: "Mind Games," "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" and "#9 Dream". This album is a convincing evidence, then, not only of John Lennon's genius but of his continuing career difficulty.

fedex

5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14
four hours eighteen minutes

quadrophenia

Quadrophenia is the Who at their most symmetrical, their most cinematic, ultimately their most maddening. Captained by Pete Townshend, they have put together a beautifully performed and magnificently recorded essay of a British youth mentality in which they played no little part, lushly endowed with black and white visuals and a heavy sensibility of the wet-suffused air of 1965.
Nonetheless, the album fails to generate a total impact because of its own internal paradox: Instead of the four-sided interaction implicit in the title and overriding concept, Quadrophenia is itself the product of a singular (albeit brilliant) consciousness. The result is a static quality which the work never succeeds in fully overcoming. Townshend has taken great pains with the record, has carried it within him for over a year, has laboriously fitted each piece of its grand scale in place. Yet in winning the battle, he's lost the war and more's the pity.
The hero of Quadrophenia is Jimmy, a young motor-scooted Mod in the throes of self-doubt and alienation. Unlike Tommy, to whom he's destined to be inevitably compared, Jimmy is no simplistic parable or convenient symbol. His loner qualities set him apart from both friends and foes, and though he's more than willing to be led, somehow even that security seems to elude him. Torn between identities, Townshend has gifted him with four, all competing for top seed in Jimmy's confused psyche. In one he is forceful and determined, a master of his fate; another finds him full of brazen daring and rollicking jingoism; yet another softens and romanticizes his nature, giving him a quiet inner strength; and still another reveals him as insecure, searching, the promise of salvation granted and hovering over the next hillrise.
Such is quadrophenia, schizophrenia times two, and Townshend maneuvers this conflict on several levels, each to noticeably good (if fairly evident) effect. Most important of these manifold hooks is the Mod generation out of which the Who sprang, and only secondary (though admittedly the most personally interesting) is the Who itself, four themes ("Helpless Dancer," "Bell Boy," "Is It Me?" and "Love Reign O'er Me") wrestling, congealing, splitting apart throughout the album. As for Jimmy, his frustration at being unable to resolve his separate selves suddenly overwhelms him, so that he smashes his scooter, flees to Brighton on the shore, finally putting to sea in a boat with the vague aim of suicide. This is where we find him at the beginning of side one, lost amidst his flashbacks and disjointed memories, and this is where we leave him, on a note of spiritual uplift and transcendence, at the end.
These are not new concerns for the Who, by any means. Whereas the Kinks always seemed preoccupied with the staid and comfortable middle class in an archetypal love-hate relationship, Townshend and Co. early on turned an affectionate camera eye to their contemporaries, culminating in such landmark classics as "Substitute," "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere" and a flailing "My Generation" yet to be equaled in definitive power.
Quadrophenia, in taking that time in retrospect and examining its implications, lingers over the artifacts of the period as if they might in themselves provide a clue. Tea kettles whistle over the ominous voicings of the BBC, hints of the Who in concert cut in and out of Jimmy's fragmented dreamings, slim and checked jackets mingle with seersucker and neatly cut hair. To the American mind, Quadrophenia might thus seem as strange as portions of American Graffiti could appear to English experience, but it's to be assured that the appeal of semi-nostalgic shared memories must perforce work as well for one as the other.
It is to Townshend's credit that his is not a disengaged overview, pious and self-righteous after all these years. In seeking to understand Jimmy, he apparently is also trying to understand the roots of the Who, its attraction as rallying point and its eventual rejection by such as Jimmy ("The Punk Meets the Godfather") and—more appropriately—himself. To set the stage for Jimmy's final leap to faith, Townshend must question why the religion of rock & roll (as well as GS scooters and purple hearts) had to be replaced by something less temporal and untrustworthy, detail the steps toward the higher goal, describe its draining holocaust.
The interior episodes where all this is hashed out are the most successful on Quadrophenia, impeccably outlined by Townshend and stunningly executed by the Who. Jimmy attempts to mesh with his family, his peer group, his girl, and yet remains an outsider, wondering why in his just-so clothes "the other tickets look much better/Without a penny to spend they dress to the letter." Meeting an old idol on the beach, now reduced to subserving as a local hotel bellboy, he is moved to remember: "Ain't you the guy who used to set the paces/Riding up in front of a hundred faces?"
An effective moment, yet when judged against the broader scope of Quadrophenia it seems as if all Townshend has constructed is a series of such effective moments. Pete, for better or worse, is possessed of a logic riveting in its linearity, and if in effect we are being placed in the mind of an emotionally distressed adolescent, neither the texture of the music nor the album's outlook is able to rise to this challenge of portraiture. Despite the varied themes, Jimmy is only seen through Townshend's eyes, geared through Townshend's perceptions, and the aftermath as carried through four sides becomes a crisis of concept, the album straining to break out of its enclosed boundaries and faltering badly.
This is reflected in the songs themselves, vastly similar in mode and construction, running together with little differential to separate them. Only a few stand on their own as among the best the Who have done ("The Real Me," "Is It in My Head?," "5:15," the Townshend theme of "Love Reign O'er Me"), and of those it's interesting to note that several are holdovers from the lost Who album Glyn Johns and the band worked on before the onset of Quadrophenia. Also, given the inordinately complex personalities that make up the group, little is sensed of any Moon, Entwhistle or Daltrey contributions to the whole. Their roles are subdued, backing tracks when they should rise to shoulder the lead, pressed on all fronts by the sweep of Townshend's imagination.
On other Who albums this might be acceptable, even welcome; surely Pete has been the Who's guiding force, their hindsight and hellbound inspiration. It is his mastermind that has created the tour-de-force recording breakthroughs of the album, the realistic and panoramic landscape of pre-Carnaby Street England, arranged the setting so that each member of the band could give full vent to his vaunted and highly unique instrumental prowess. Indeed, it might easily be said that the Who as a whole have never sounded better, both ensemble and solo, proving unalterable worth and relevance in an age that has long passed others of their band's generation into fragments of history.
But on its own terms, Quadrophenia falls short of the mark. Jimmy Livingston Seagull, adrift on a stormless sea, with only his shattered wings and sharded memories to keep him company—so close, and yet so far.

thriller

Off the Wall was a massive success, spawning four Top Ten hits (two of them number ones), but nothing could have prepared Michael Jackson for Thriller. Nobody could have prepared anybody for the success of Thriller, since the magnitude of its success was simply unimaginable -- an album that sold 40 million copies in its initial chart run, with seven of its nine tracks reaching the Top Ten (for the record, the terrific "Baby Be Mine" and the pretty good ballad "The Lady in My Life" are not like the others). This was a record that had something for everybody, building on the basic blueprint of Off the Wall by adding harder funk, hard rock, softer ballads, and smoother soul -- expanding the approach to have something for every audience. That alone would have given the album a good shot at a huge audience, but it also arrived precisely when MTV was reaching its ascendancy, and Jackson helped the network by being not just its first superstar, but first black star as much as the network helped him. This all would have made it a success (and its success, in turn, served as a new standard for success), but it stayed on the charts, turning out singles, for nearly two years because it was really, really good. True, it wasn't as tight as Off the Wall -- and the ridiculous, late-night house-of-horrors title track is the prime culprit, arriving in the middle of the record and sucking out its momentum -- but those one or two cuts don't detract from a phenomenal set of music. It's calculated, to be sure, but the chutzpah of those calculations (before this, nobody would even have thought to bring in metal virtuoso Eddie Van Halen to play on a disco cut) is outdone by their success. This is where a song as gentle and lovely as "Human Nature" coexists comfortably with the tough, scared "Beat It," the sweet schmaltz of the Paul McCartney duet "The Girl Is Mine," and the frizzy funk of "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)." And, although this is an undeniably fun record, the paranoia is already creeping in, manifesting itself in the record's two best songs: "Billie Jean," where a woman claims Michael is the father of her child, and the delirious "Wanna Be Startin' Something," the freshest funk on the album, but the most claustrophobic, scariest track Jackson ever recorded. These give the record its anchor and are part of the reason why the record is more than just a phenomenon. The other reason, of course, is that much of this is just simply great music.

the day the thriller dies

soldier of fortune ?

their best and most original lineup ... blackmore, gillan, glover, lord & paice ... with hits like black night, speed king & child in time ... a classic cover of mount rushmore ... one of the best rock album which i ironically failed to buy ...

temple of the king

Bought a pirated compilation cd the other day at the bus station, and all of the sudden the memory of Ritchie Blackmore's solo guitar licking comes calling ... and the day has just begun.

nightflight to venus

... this probably is one of the best album that comes from the disco seventies, and it has songs like resputin, brown girl in the ring and by the rivers of babylon ... i bought a pirated cassette with a footprint brand at pertama complex for rm4 ...

rolling stones' tattoo you

I first heard this album when I was in form three. The variety and new music put out by the band was quite different from anything before. The paper chase of Alam Shah complimented the slow sway of some of these new tracks, especially, 'Worried About You' and 'Waiting on a Friend'. The number one side was typical rock and roll Stones trademark music but the 2 side was filled with new and catchy sounds and Mick doing falsetto brilliantly.
The album cover is very different and catchy in red and black and green, featuring Mick and Keith in full facial tattoo. It's a wonder it hasn't taken off as a fashion trend for it looks good on both of them. It is done as a symbol of body armour to keep the good spirits in and ward off the bad ones. So that in itself is a good omen for this album for the material is reflective on life and inherently good.

'Start Me Up' was the classic rock song to come out of this album and has been the opener in quite a few concerts ever since. A great song for anyone who needs a boost to get on with things. This one is almost a last hang on to evoke the good old days of sex, drugs and rock and roll.
Tattoo You delivered the essence of the Stones with some ground breaking music also. They delivered and have done ever since. I guess most artists sing about lost love and Mick certainly did his share of that. I think he got it right on this album by singing about the deeper parts of relationships.
All in all a very good album, in fact a classic. If you can get your hands onto it in vinyl, it is a much better and bigger picture of the clever art work on the cover and being in vinyl makes it a true classic.

one eight two

one hundred and eighty two pindrops, tralalalala

its eto and messi

a great team need not be glamorous. it doest even need to have too many stars with style. they just have to play their game with class at the right match. barca is such a team. to be able to beat man-u two nil in the final is a feat only a great team able to achieve. salute to mr puyol.

the red devils ...

They did it in Moscow

they're gonna do it again

in Rome - with style

my prediction would be

Ronaldo 2 Rooney 1 Messi 1

hail to sir alex !!!

My pick as their second best album...

One of the Beatles strangest and most beloved albums, Revolver was the natural outgrowth of The Beatles digesting a number of outside influences. In particular, the band’s fascination with Eastern mysticism and copious intakes of acid resulted in psychedelic experiments that made it clear that The Beatles were not merely the loveable mop tops they were previously perceived as being. In addition, producer and de-facto fifth Beatles George Martin proves himself invaluable, as the band used the studio to a then unprecedented degree, using tape loops, instruments played backward - basically doing whatever it took get the sounds that they sought. This is most famously done on “Tomorrow Never Knows,” which is not really a song proper but a brilliant collage of sounds. Revolver has its own distinct flavor, and it proved that, when properly conceived, albums could be greater than the sum of their parts. That said, Revolver contains some spectacular parts! George Harrison takes on an increased role by penning the catchy rocker “Taxman,” the strange sitar-led droner “Love You To,” and the propulsive piano pop of “I Want To Tell You,” while Ringo gets one of his most memorable showcases in “Yellow Submarine,” a slight but catchy children's song that more than anything is a George Martin tour de force. For his part, Lennon’s acid visions dominate the lazily magical “I’m Only Sleeping,” whose hypnotic effects came from a guitar played backwards. Speaking of guitars, they sound absolutely fantastic on “She Said She Said” and “And Your Bird Can Sing," two more terrific Lennon penned tracks, though his repetitive riff rocker “Doctor Robert” (about a real life drug doctor) pales amid such stellar company. Still, fine though John and George's contributions are on the whole, the best songs here bear the distinct Paul McCartney stamp. Remember, Paul and George were a bit younger than John so it took them awhile to catch up, but whereas John was clearly the band's early leader, by this point Paul was at least his equal. Anyway, Paul delivers the lonely, strings-laden “Eleanor Rigby,” an almost classical sounding classic, while the propulsive horn push of “Got To Get You Into My Life” showed off McCartney’s ever-increasing mastery of pop ornaments. Following a more straightforward path, Paul also penned the feel-good pop of “Good Day Sunshine” and the superb ballad “For No One,” while “Here There Everywhere” is simply one of the prettiest songs ever. The band had so much fun messing around in the studio on this one that they then stopped touring altogether, believing that this was where their future lie. One can hardly argue with the decision's results, as it gave The Beatles the time to really push the envelope on subsequent recordings, resulting in the kind of “anything goes” mentality that punk would later embrace. Revolver is unlike anything else in the rock spectrum and is arguably the band’s most rewarding recording, having in recent years supplanted Sgt. Peppers as the album of choice by winning several “best albums of all-time” critic polls. If you don't like Revolver, then you probably don't like rock music.

My pick as their best album...

Rubber Soul was easily The Beatles most mature and complete album statement. This is largely due to the fact that this was their first album that was thought of as being its own self-contained world rather than being merely a collection of various unrelated songs. Experimenting to a then unprecedented degree and occasionally using uncommon instruments, such as the exotic sitar on “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” the influence of Bob Dylan has also helped The Beatles dig deeper lyrically than the innocent “boy likes girl” concerns that had characterized many of their earlier songs. As usual, almost everything they try works. McCartney's “Drive My Car” starts things off with a satisfying rocker but overall Rubber Soul shows a mellower, more reflective side to The Beatles. McCartney’s excellent “You Won’t See Me” is a prime example of the band’s chemistry and harmonies, a facet of the band’s arsenal that's reprised for Lennon’s lonely but lovely “Nowhere Man,” as this album is another superb showcase for the band's terrific harmonies. “Think For Yourself” is merely a good Harrison song notable for its innovative fuzz bass, but “If I Needed Someone” was a giant leap up in class that announced Harrison's emergence as a songwriter of major potential. Elsewhere, “The Word” is simple but effective flower power, "What Goes On" an obligatory Ringo (country) song that's extremely pleasant for a filler track, and “I’m Looking Through You” delivers confessional lyrics along with some stinging guitar from Harrison, whose guitar playing throughout the sessions rarely satisfied Paul, as the first cracks in the band's armor were beginning to show. Anyway, George also props up the insubstantial but enjoyable “Run For Your Life,” another primitive rocker that harks back to their earlier days, while "Wait" is quite singable if often overlooked. Best of all was McCartney’s lovely “Michelle,” an instant standard that's essential if only for Paul's wonderful bass playing, and Lennon’s contemplative “In My Life,” which he himself regarded as his first major work, while the sitar-enhanced “Girl” was a breathy ballad that also presented acoustic folk of the highest possible standard. Even taking into account the few lesser tracks, all of which are still eminently listenable, it’s not an understatement to suggest that with this thoughtfully planned artistic statement (along with Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited ) rock n’ roll as a genre grew by leaps and bounds.

one seventy eight

using a 13kg houseball

rented shoes

faded levi's

one angry lady

dreamland

This is not a good day to make decisions. Today is a day suitable only for cruising with the flow. Funny how things are getting along, the decision maker is not around, and some of us are left without guidance. Even the sweet-mouth kid is out of bound, so who is gonna be my fall guy? One thing bad about the current setting is the fact that certain staffs have to be shared by a few bosses. Things will get haywire for instance when three programs are being run simultaneously, like what that is happening now. Myself is also to be blamed, for not synchronizing the programs effectively, it would have been better if instead of four weekends, they get compressed to just two weekends.
Me and the new ghost reached to an understanding early yesterday morning during our rare midnite teleconv. No more sneak peeks until August. She doesn’t know it, but I initiated the idea for our own good. Things may cool down the next few weeks, and come August (or maybe June) everything will be forgotten. Life must go on, not good for us to live in a dreamland…

the teachery thing

not many people knows about this blog, sifu ainul and malia ahda might be the only ones who sneak in to read once in a while. part of the reason is the fact that the postings are mostly personal and doesnt attract anyone's attention in particular but myself. another reason is because i didnt tell many people about it. but today i informed the third person about the existance of this blog, let me write a liner about her ...

i met her officially in 1984, one fine sunny morning at the entrance of a sharefarm. but unofficially we knew of each other's existance way back in the seventies. come to think of it, this july will be our 25th anniversary of knowing each other. how time flies ever so quickly. i think she is the longest lasting friend i have, and i dont have many. so welcome sah, have a nice read ...

after the wedding

it was a hectic weekend, with the wedding taking centre stage. everybody works hard for the three functions except me, being lazy and full of excuses i skip the hardship. maybe i'm not a good person after all.

four programs will be held this next four weekends. being a selfish person, i'm more worried about how i'm gonna escape myself from attending the ceremonies rather than how i'm gonna make them successfull and memorable for all. its hard given functions and doing things that you dont believe in.

back from the garden

it was a good experience after all. imagine not having a twin sharing room, it would be hell freezes over. maybe the previous posting commented too much and unfairly on the accommodation provided. its not that bad. the aicond works, the freezer works, the water heater works, room service done though not entirely, transportation provided and you can roam all around the island without worrying about the price of petrol, what else could you expect? come to think of it, we were provided with a free vacation with rm400 pocket money. if asked to join another contingent to the same venue, i would say yes siree i wanna go, gimme a single room and a car please ...

the whispers done undercover in the heat of the nights and early in the mornings was done with consent from both parties with both eyes closed, sweet deceit come calling, what more can you say ... some things are too sweet to be turned away from.

a note from the garden

The journey was a stupid one. All the fools look foolish and acted foolishly. Lucky for me they left me alone to text away with the night. Maintain my diet with care to avoid dehydration and lost of energy. Sugar is the name of the game. How much have I burn out? Four plus two plus fifteen plus two plus twelve. Thirty five out of fourty five is not that bad for the first day, ten bucks to save for the rainy days.
The accommodation provided is worse than we expected it to be. With no breakfast and no café, no pool to dip in, no cable tv to cherish, no wifi to surf, we were left stranded in the middle of nowhere. The two Chinese guest agent are a real son of a bitch, no wonder God created hell, its to burn those two Chinese to ashes.
I wonder how mr. F gets the idea to put us into this kind of hotel. He should have a better taste than this, this is the worst hotel I ever been for a long time. Well to be fair, the accommodation at unimap two years ago is worse, but this one comes close.
Visited the alley last night and to my surprise I did quiet well for the first practice, at least I fare better than a few stars in the team. The trick is to play hard and to avoid making mistakes under pressure. One thing for sure is I’m in no pressure whatsoever, win I cherish, lost I try to avoid but its no avail. My aim is to equal the 170 records and to eclipse the 190 unofficial record, that would be a victory I strive to achieve here in maybe my last tourney for the uni.My roommate is surprisingly nice, and we share the same attitude towards a few aspects of how the show is and should be run. My manager is surprisingly mellow compared to the bullman. The two girls are cheap, no doubt about it. Plan to drive to the beach this afternoon for lunch and weathering the time to avoid boredom. At the moment I think boredom would be the thing to avoid at all cost. Its about time to go survey the bags now ciao.

island bound

this would be my last posting from the main land for this month. tonight the couch will take us up north before we embark across the sea to the isle. have a mixed feeling towards this whole affair, having to leave le ol' lady alone is hard enough, having to mix with those i dont really like is another thing. but everything have a price, for the love of the game. heard rumours that they are talking behind our back about the selection system done by the tg. they are gonna make it more open for the next game, and most probably i wont make the cut, unless they throw up the veteran category. so better enjoy this last opportunity while i still can. also some are murmuring among themselve questioning my inclusion into the squad. even the penguin asked me about it, not to say that he is not satisfied, but its a way of presenting the silent protest. all said and done, i have a feeling this would be my final representation for the uni, which i get from the back door, and i better cherish it starting tonight when we travel island bound.

mr. m is not happy with the decision to order the lot from one supplier. he is trying to divert the lot, i hope it wont make the whole affair gone haywire. mr. f is running the secretariat thing way too fast its hard for me to catch up. one thing he has to do urgently is to get the written approval from N before proceeding with the three projects. may fifth will be a hols for me, applied for it fair and square. its not good to sleep on the job, so i take a leave with dignity. theres a time for everything all the time.

the x files

the exam was preety easy on the first day, i think im gonna get flying colours for my efforts. but the second day was rather tough, and the confidence level is only 65 %. hope everything will turn out to be just fine and i can get moving on with my life.
the calls from the ghost keep on coming, and its getting me worried a bit. well sometimes too much of a good thing is bad for you, and we might get careless if its done too casually. those calls can change the way we see things in life, how it came to be like it is today, and the pain we both have to endure.

being secluded within these four walls is getting to my nerve. lucky today is day five of the week, and next week there will only be one day for the four walls to see my face. not sure what's install for me in the island, but its for me to find out for the sweet sake of life experience.

twist of fate

its very suprising to hear the boss mention yours truly to be the one in charge of the spending spree schedulled in june. i mean he has other trusted generals to handle this spicy affair but then he chooses this poor chap who hardly meet him even once a week to do the dirty job. like what ringo used to say, theres more to this than meets the eyes. i was left thinking what's the catch.

the exam is due tomorrow and the day after. the confidence level is very low and the preparations are not as good as the other two, if you can cay that the past twos are good. taking the same exam once too many is not good for the poor chap.

the mrs is going away for yet another week, and i will be left guarding the poor kids in one of the most crucial week of late. with the exam looming, the night trainings schedulled and the preparations for the island trip, its gonna be a challenging week for this poor chap. its a test of preserverance with a twist of fate.