NIN Live In Singapore

Got too excited when I saw this poster and took the pic almost immediately... After the Slayer concert back in 2007, now we get to have Mr. Nine Inch Nail, Trent Reznor himself doing his retirement impression here as well... Check out the real deal...

Who Wants to Be Filthy F#&%ing Rich?

In light of the real life's all-consuming "Final Crisis" and the heavily acclaimed film, "Slumdog Millionaire" that is all the rage these days, one can't help but brings to mind Rage Against The Machine's iconic music video in 2000, Sleep Now In The Fire. Directed by then relatively-unknown (pre-Bowling For Columbine) Michael Moore, the video interweaves scenes from a caricature of the then-popular TV game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", aptly named, "Who Wants to Be Filthy F#&%ing Rich", with footage taken when the band played right in front of the New Year Stock Exchange with Michael Moore and cinematographer Welles Hackett in helm. The infamous performance resulted in the detainment of Moore (for an hour and slapped with threat for arrest) and the unprecedented impromptu lockdown of the NYSC's Doors for fear of crowd gathering. Oh, and there's a real cute quote by Gary Bauer (a Republican Politician doing their routine shit-stirring) at the end of the video, "a band called 'The Machine Rages On' - er - 'Rage Against the Machine', that band is anti-family and it's pro-terrorist"

My ZENith Moment - Currently Listening

Been listening to the outstanding cover of Massive Attack's now-classic Teardrops in particular after watching the literally heart-breaking season finale of House's Season 4.

Monkey: Journey To The West

Remember the previously post on Gorillaz Meets Monkey God? There is now a full-fledged website for the musical as the original soundtrack was out last week. Do check out the galleries page for some interesting take on the Chinese Folklore. The album cover.

"Szomorú Vasárnap" AKA Gloomy Sunday

While browsing through all the "could've, would've" Urban Legends in Wikipedia for research (and admittedly inhumane leisure), there's one that kinda stands out. Probably better known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", "Gloomy Sunday" (Szomorú Vasárnap) is a song written by Rezső Seress (3rd November 1899 - 11th January 1968), a Hungarian pianist and composer in 1933. There have been several urban legends regarding the song over the years, mostly involving it being allegedly connected with various numbers of suicides, and radio networks reacting by purportedly banning the song. Sources propagating the legend fail to provide substantiation for claims of suicides or radio bans. The legend may have inspired Spider Robinson's short story "The Law of Conservation of Pain", part of the Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series. It is also rumored the music played without lyrics will put the listener into a deep sleep and induce vivid dreams and nightmares. The nightmares usually consist of falling or flying sensations. Certainly adding more unnecessary intrigue to the tale's already notorious reputation, Rezső Seress jumped to his death from his apartment in 1968. Cause of suicide, from the mighty wikipedia; Budapest, January 13. Rezsoe Seres, whose dirge-like song hit, "Gloomy Sunday" was blamed for touching off a wave of suicides during the nineteen-thirties, has ended his own life as a suicide it was learned today. Authorities disclosed today that Mr. Seres jumped from a window of his small apartment here last Sunday, shortly after his 69th birthday. The decade of the nineteen-thirties was marked by severe economic depression and the political upheaval that was to lead to World War II. The melancholy song written by Mr. Seres, with words by his friend, Ladislas Javor, a poet, declares at its climax, "My heart and I have decided to end it all." It was blamed for a sharp increase in suicides, and Hungarian officials finally prohibited it. In America, where Paul Robeson introduced an English version, some radio stations and nightclubs forbade its performance. Mr. Seres complained that the success of "Gloomy Sunday" actually increased his unhappiness, because he knew he would never be able to write a second hit. - New York Times, 1968 Given the notoriety of the song, it's no surprise that it has been covered by artist of various distinctively different music genre from Billie Holiday, Christian Death, Sarah McLachlan to Anton Szandor LaVey. Yeah, you read that right. And of course, one can't end an entry on this without providing the killer (literally!) lyrics. Here goes... It is autumn and the leaves are falling All love has died on earth The wind is weeping with sorrowful tears My heart will never hope for a new spring again My tears and my sorrows are all in vain People are heartless, greedy and wicked... Love has died! The world has come to its end, hope has ceased to have a meaning Cities are being wiped out Meadows are coloured red with human blood There are dead people on the streets everywhere I will say another quiet prayer: People are sinners, Lord, they make mistakes... The world has ended There's a comprehensive website out there on this song available, provided you're fluent with Mandarin. Oh, it happens to be Rezső Seress's fifty death anniversary today.

Gorillaz Meets The Monkey God

Monkey: Journey to the West is a stage adaptation of the Chinese legend Journey to the West, by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the co-creators of virtual band Gorillaz, and Chen Shi-zheng. It received its world premiere at the 2007 Manchester International Festival, on June 28, 2007 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester; it was the Festival's opening show. "Whether you understand a single thing that is happening on stage or not (and hopefully the subtitles will work much better after these teething problems), Monkey: Journey To The West is a feast for the eyes and for the ears."

The Rage Returns

Militant rap-rock group Rage Against the Machine reunited after a seven-year absence during a California music festival over the weekend, offering a sharpened version of their old message: fight the power. The group's reunion gig was the most-anticipated performance of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the desert town of Indio, about 120 miles east of Los Angeles. The three-day festival drew 60,000 fans and took place in temperatures reaching 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius). De la Rocha and his colleagues, guitarist Tom Morello, drummer Brad Wilk and bassist Tim Commerford, treated the crowd to a healthy dose of anti-war and anti-establishment songs such as "Killing in the Name," "Freedom" and "Guerrilla Radio." The front man addressed the crowd only once between songs, when he likened the current U.S. administration to Nazi war criminals. "They should be shot as any war criminal should be," he said.

My ZENith Moment - Currently Listening

Not exactly a ZENith moment...yet, as Nine Inch Nails' Halo 24, Year Zero, will only be launched mid April globally, thus does not count as one as it is still not in my Creative Zen, but you can enjoy the album its full entirety, via free streaming at NIN's Year Zero Player.

Delicate

Damien Rice at Four Seasons -Delicate - Exceptionally great performance by Damien Rice.

My ZENith Moment - Currently Listening

Particularly, "The Animals Were Gone" is in the phantom zone of endless loop now.

My ZENith Moment - Currently Listening

You and I were lovers. Our dreams were not soured by life. And then my friends betrayed me meant you never would be my wife. Capturing the spirit of The Count of Monte Cristo in a not-so-subtle way but nonetheless a nice touch...

My ZENith Moment - Currently Listening

my frazy music, movies and books!

陳綺貞 表面的和平

陳綺貞 表面的和平 The award-winning video. Awesome stylistic animation. And of course, yet another brilliant piece of music from Cheer Chen 陳綺貞.

My Musicube Tower Via BBC

With Teeth

Nine Inch Nails dropped out of the MTV Movie Awards after clashing with the network over an image of President Bush the band planned as a performance backdrop. The Bush image was to accompany the song "The Hand That Feeds," which obliquely criticizes the Iraq war. It includes the lyrics: "What if this whole crusade's a charade / And behind it all there's a price to be paid / For the blood on which we dine / Justified in the name of the holy and the divine." MTV said in a statement to its news division that the network was disappointed the industrial rock band would not perform but had been "uncomfortable with their performance being built around a partisan political statement." The Foo Fighters will perform in place of the Trent Reznor-led band at the awards being taped June 4 in Los Angeles. Reznor said in a statement posted on the band's Web site Thursday that the image of the president would have been unaltered and "straightforward." "Apparently, the image of our president is as offensive to MTV as it is to me," he said. Nine Inch Nails' fourth studio album and first in six years, "With Teeth," debuted this month at No. 1 in sales.

Best British Songs Of All Time?...$(*&%@

Britpop group Oasis' 1995 hit "Wonderwall" topped a radio station's poll of the best British songs of all time on Monday. Listeners to Britain's Virgin Radio voted the anthem by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher's band their all time favorite British hit. Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" came in second place and Led Zepplin's "Stairway to Heaven" placed third. Queen and the Beatles had the most entries of eight each in the poll of the best 100 songs, as voted by 8,300 listeners to the radio station. Best British Songs, as voted by Virgin Radio listeners: 1. Oasis - Wonderwall 2. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody 3. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven 4. The Beatles - Let It Be 5. John Lennon - Imagine 6. The Police - Every Breath You Take 7. The Jam - Going Underground 8. Verve - Bittersweet Symphony 9. Robbie Williams - Angels 10. The Stranglers - Golden Brown What transpire here? "Wonderwall" is the best British song ever? What has this Virgin radio's 8,300 listeners been smoking at?