Sometime last year, Chien leaned over during Physics class and said, “I notice you don’t listen to much music one hor?” I was like, “Yameh? I do have about 1 gig worth of songs in my computer..but ..you’re right..”
Most people have appreciation for specific music genres. Somehow or other, I have not quite found mine.
Just last Saturday, while on the way to Kota Kemuning with Chee Kiang, he suddenly asked me, “Actually, I don’t think I know what songs you like. What type of songs do you like?”
I found the question rather odd, as we’ve known each other for like 6 years. Even Chien’s question was rather odd. She’s known me for about 7-8 years and yeah, they’ve all watched me grow from the teeny bopper with the herd mentality.
I told Chee Kiang that these days, I usually get hooked onto songs that are in the movie sound tracks. A few examples would be like Vienna from 13 Going on 30 and When Christmas Comes To Town from The Polar Express.
He asked, “Not even Good Charlotte?” I shook my head. I think the “in” music now is no longer considered to be in my generation. I come from the days of Backstreet Boys, The Moffatts, Westlife.. yes, the boyband period.
Perhaps it was due to pressure. I remember back in standard 6, my then best friend Foo Siew Li would ask me if I’ve heard “Miss You Like Crazy” on the radio. I would put on an enthusiastic smile and suggest that she sing it to me and see if I can remember the song.
The truth was I did not even listen to the radio back then. I was at that age where I was eager not to lose any friends due to our difference in interests. So she would sing the chorus of “Miss You Like Crazy” and I would still have this fake smile plastered onto my face and just shake my head slowly and say, “No, I don’t think I’ve heard that one…..Any others?” I just wanted the conversation to continue.
Our other best friend was Jocelyn Toh and it was quite difficult.. as three is a crowd. I was the least happening one because I didn’t listen to any music at all. I felt abit peeved when Siew Li said to me, “How come you don’t know any of the songs one??”
That weekend itself I went to the shops in SS19 and bought The Moffatt’s Chapter One: A New Beginning. It cost me RM39.00 but no worries, listening to songs will make me appear cooler. I stuck it into my ancient cd player and the jingle to “I’ll Be There For You” flooded into my ears.
After the first few songs, I became a full fledged Moffatts’ fan and started imagining meeting Dave Moffatt in Australia for our university education when we’re older. The funny thing is that I read somewhere that he really went to Australia for education last year.
I went back to school sang some Moffatts song to Siew Li and she got excited that we’re finally on the same wave length. She then asked me, “Eh, Backstreet Boys’ songs leh? Come! We sing together!”
Drat. Off I went to the bookshop to buy this cd that had BSB’s picture on it. I went home to stick it into my ancient CD player and was pretty upset that it wouldn’t play any songs.
I went back to the shop and complained about the cd.
Back in 1998, vcds were not popular yet. -_-;.
For a wider variety, I decided to learn how to tune the radio. I sort of forced myself to litsen to it whenever I’m free. I was doing it so much that it had become a habit.
The love for other bands like Westlife, N’Sync and etc slowly grew. By the end of standard 6, I genuinely loved pop songs and Siew Li and I would sing along to the songs in the MAX 4 album. (Anybody remember that?)
1999 came around and Britney Spears, LFO, Christina Aguilera and the likes became the themesongs to my puberty years. I met Melody that year and she had all these really nice lyrics to oldies like Eternal Flame and Right Here Waiting.
I was still listening to the radio alot back then.
My favourite year would be 2001. I especially love Poster Of Love, Can’t Fight the Moonlight, We Could Be In Love etc. Mun Teng, Esther, Li Peng and I would sing and sing the whole day to the tunes from Hitz.fm. Sometimes we’d introduce a new song to each other and we’d get hooked on it.
Perhaps my appreciation for the chart topping hits stopped shortly after the release of Hot In Herre in 2002. I’ve become cool enough. Hahaha just kidding.
Still, I find it strange that these days I don’t need to listen to music, that I don’t need to turn on Windows Media Player and proudly display by musical tastes on MSN. Maybe I’m just embarassed about the amount of TVB songs I have playing. Tee-hee. And old school pop songs.
Even the hype about the iPod. I never quite got around to understanding why the need for so many songs whenever and whereever for RM1000(is it cheaper now?). With RM1000 I’d put it with my other savings and get a nice 3G phone or a nice camera.
I suppose each to his/her own.
I do listen to the radio these days but only when I’m driving. It’ll be Mix.fm for me all the way because it plays the songs of my yesteryears and it’s got a good dose of the current chart toppers for me to appear “in the know”. Hitz.fm is just too noisy for me. I don’t do alternative rock. If my poser-ish years happened to be around these few years, I’d be listening to Linkin’ Park, Simple Plan etc just because everyone’s listening to them as well. Just so we can sing together. Maybe I’m aging, that’s why. Hahaha.
I believe that songs in one’s formative years are the ones that sounds the nicest.
As I’m no avid music fan, I couldn’t come up with good enough answers for this blog meme that April sent to me. But I’ll see what I can do.
*
Total volume of music files on my computer/ Handphone:
Computer:1.31 Gigabytes.
the last CD/ringtone I downloaded/bought (I’m not giving any leads man):
CD:Mariah Carey’s Charmbracelet. Yes, so long ago.
Ringtone: …Get Over You By Sophie back in 2002.
Song/ringtone playing right now.
None.
Five songs/ringtones i listen to a lot/ringtones that I use a lot on this phone:
Songs: None
..aiks, that didn’t go so well. I’m not much of a music person.
I’ll tag ..
Kristine
Lancerlord
Bren
synical Jul 08, 05 Delete
I’ve got the Kopitiam theme song as my current ringtone… old, I know – but damn difficult to get good ringtones of songs I like lah.
Jayelle Jul 07, 05 Delete
fer: hahaha not yet not yet.
jean: ahaha see.memang old liao
c.ho: it plain sucks..hate it. yuck
c.ho Jul 06, 05 Delete
i’d have to agree with you. and the local scene tends to.. lean towards the rock side don’t u think? loud.. loud music.
jean` Jul 06, 05 Delete
hehe i am like u in that music sense..i used to takenote of wat song was by whom etc until f3 only..so now i’m always “never heard of it i think” until i listen and then i’m like OHH U MEAN THAT !!
FeR Jul 06, 05 Delete
eh? you’ve been blogging thru letters?
Jayelle Jul 06, 05 Delete
arshana: ahah.hello.. i c..:) no herd mentality for u huh
fer: hehehe… that makes the both of us!!
sush: you had herd mentality. ne ne ni bu bu. yeah. go buy your iPod laaaa… i know you’ll be happy.
narrowband: haha did it develope into an interest for u then? all the actors and all:)
peer pressure is tricky.. 🙂 i’ve succumbed to it before. nothing evil though….and LOL yay you’re getting old too!!
bawangmerah: hahahahha you’re my friend then. but maybe u might change ur taste again hor?
lynnee: ahhaha. yes.yes. i just missed that one by a few years.
lancerlord: OHMIGOD.. so much…. nearly an entire computer..
expectation: ehe.. yay! *high 5* at least u know what i am tlaking about.
c.ho: it’s got loads of local bands. and they play sucky music or rather music that i cannot relate to. boring.
spectakria: you didn’t enjoy yourself? I’d love to go to the middle east before i die though..:) it’s a must-do.
killuminati: feng tau music for work?!! lol..icic.. so even when you’re on drugs u have ur own special selection of songs? interesting. 🙂
..i can only imagine what you’re describing…. like really intense beats.. ..
i suppose different people different interests.:) oh!! ur coming down again? i’m afraid i’ll have to take a rain check on this one..till after september. National Service, my friend. 🙁
ZZ: a sign ur growing old as well! “not bothering with the trend”. ehehehehe. yeah… just listen to what u like.
SHee: yeah it’s pretty old but one of my friends sang it in 2001..and it got stuck throughout the year. i dun really listen to other chinese song if it’s not on TVB. 🙂 strange, i know.
justin: hahaha exactly. i suppose it’s just a different in interests.
JuZtiN Jul 06, 05 Delete
Yeah babe!! Totally agree with you about buying an I-Pod for RM1000!! Don’t think so its worth the cash..Better use the cash upgrade sound system in my car..Hehe..
sHee Jul 06, 05 Delete
We Could Be In Love – by Lea Salonga and Brad Kane. Loved that song 🙂 but I think it was sung earlier than 2002 because I have heard that song before during my primary school days (before year 1999).
Try downloading Emil Chau and ???’s duet of You Are The Love Of MY Life. Thats really nice too.
Zz Jul 05, 05 Delete
haha.. i never really had all those music craze back when i was a kids too..
I only do sentimentals and sometimes some fast music..
but now i listen to more blues, jazz, j-rock, cant be bothered with the trends nowadays.. *shrugs..*
killuminati Jul 05, 05 Delete
hmm…i’m a big fan of certain kinds of music, depending on what i feel like. i always put oh hk trance (aka feng tau music) when i want to work.
the repetitive beats really gives you concentration.
i listen to nofx (group with great songs) and a lot of psytrance and hard trance as well. psy is good for when you’re on drugs. hard trance is good for when you’re out clubbing and on drug.
i used to listen to more music, but i always feel that the beat is not fast enough (when i want to work), i want really, really hard trance with repetitive beats so my find can focus. not the gabba/gabber shit thhat i was into when i was 16 but hard trance as in real hard trance (not the label dj’s who call their shit hard trance).
you don’t listen to music much? strange, but hey, we all got things we lile! take care jolene, will be heading out to kl probably the week after, meet up?
Spectrakia Jul 05, 05 Delete
Internet is a joke as everything is filtered off. Forget about chat, pron, online csaino etc. We can only do those after office hour at the hotel.
Weekend is fun, at least we could do boring stuff such as eating dates and Kapsa (grilled lamb/camel with rice) at the desert.
…2/2
Spectrakia Jul 05, 05 Delete
I am not particularly a music person. However, during an overseas posting to the Middle East a couple of years ago, the only private amusement we had in the office was music.
Everybody will be bringing along their portable external HDD with 30GB worth of Mandarin, English or Hokkien songs. You just have to learn to like it. …1/2
c.ho Jul 05, 05 Delete
last time i went back to m’sia i did not listen to hitz.. i think its playing more and more.. er.. heavy songs nowadays.
haha… i like anything that doesn’t rub me the wrong way.
expectation Jul 05, 05 Delete
me too. i’m kinda universal and not a devoted music fan.
Lancerlord Jul 05, 05 Delete
Hey thanks for passing it to me.
I’ve got this arrow from Cowboy Caleb already.
…/2005/05/of-musical-arrow-baton.html
Don’t be surprised of my 13GB of songs. kekeke…
lynnee Jul 05, 05 Delete
during my time it was nkotb 🙂
BawangMerah Jul 05, 05 Delete
My music taste has been changing too for the past two years. Back then it was more grungy, rock, nowadays, I go for anything that has good melodies other than R&B and those mushy mushy love songs 😛
narrowband Jul 05, 05 Delete
Ahh… peer pressure. The same thing happened to me when it came to actors and actresses’ names. I didn’t know anything or anyone! Then i started doing some research, pretty much like what you had gone through.
I guess being “cool” is, to most people, being in the same “wavelength” as your peers. OR something like that. Back then, anything seem strange to you would make you think “damn, is it the artiste or is just me.. How come i nvr hear b4 one”.
Yes Hitz.fm too noisy for my liking. Mix is just right for me!
Sush Jul 05, 05 Delete
heheh. shamefully, i had max 4. kakakaka. I listen to mainstream AND so-non-mainstream. honestly, i’m happier with my opera music. hehe. i am one of those who could do with an iPod right now…can’t possibly bring all my cds to UK now can i?
FeR Jul 05, 05 Delete
*ehehe*
I think it’s “getting old” symptom when you feel hitz.fm is too noisy for you. Most of my friends would also turn to mix.fm now. *haha*
Aijojorrr…getting old, jo!
arshana Jul 05, 05 Delete
I get to be the first to comment. Again. Haha…
I never really got the hype about boy bands.