Save
the Taiwanese's cutesy music for a lazy afternoon.
By
Linda Lee
[eastciti.com,
October 7] The moment I inserted the CD into my PC's E Drive and
started playing it, my engrossed colleague (who usually does not
give 2 hoots for listening to Mandarin pop) beside me stopped what
he was doing and asked: "Is that China Dolls you're playing?"
Good
guess there, but he did not quite hit the bull's eye. But 2 thumbs
up for getting near, though. It just goes to show that techno-like
dance music is so prevalent and widely broadcast that one just cannot
seem to escape from it at all. You hear it everywhere, from local
radio stations to various fashion boutiques and eateries; and even
from the giant monitors-cum-super-stereo sound system down Orchard
Road. And so they go blasting the songs. And on and on. You have
absolutely no choice or other alternatives except to (be forced
to) listen to these frighteningly nerve-wrecking, desensitising
and boggling beats.
Undaunted yet curious, my colleague continued his commendable quest
to seek the truth with whatever humble knowledge (of the Mandarin
music scene) he held.
"Sounds
like the girl who sings those 'children's' songs'? No?" he attempted
again.
"You mean Mavis Fan? No, that's not her," I replied, thrashing his
budding hopes to the pits as he resigned and gave up trying. Tough
luck there!
And
no doubt, Taiwanese singer Yuki Tsu's teeny-popish tunes does sound
coincidentally similar to China Doll's upbeat tracks - both bear
a tired and repetitive rhythmic element and cheesy (and almost meaninglessly
formulaic) set of lyrics - the party animal's new-found addiction
of relentless groovy moves.
The
thing about this kind of music is that it eats into you after some
time. They begin to sound monotonously loud and congruent and you
sort of just drift naturally away. Afterall, it's your body's reflex
and ways of redirecting your senses from external 'noises' you want
to avoid so as to channel the 'harm' away.
The
assemblage is divided into 2 parts - saccharine love ballads and
fast-paced dance numbers. While the former CD is more easy and soothing
on the ears, the latter is slightly more intolerable. I'm not condemning
Yuki here. The attractive idol does have certain vocal qualities
and the potential and makings of a serious singer in time to come
if she works hard enough under the right guidance or direction.
In addition, some songs (just some, like I'm a Girl and who's Not
Obedient?) are actually rather enjoyable to listen to on a lazy
weekday afternoon. But, meanwhile, the lass should work on her strengths
so that she can break away from the chains of temporal and fleeting
market trends eventually.
Okay,
I'm getting a bit carried away here. Let's get back to Earth. Yuki's
compilation, U Want is seriously not at all bad - if you fall under
the category of what's known as - her FANS (because you think Yuki
is o-so-adorable-and sweet). If not, the collection is probably
not worth your time and money. But on the other hand, if you ARE
an advert follower of cutesy dance mix or commercial pop, you can
consider getting the album, only if you have the extra bucks to
spare. If not, just spending it on a good movie with your friends
can give you the same, if not a better sense of fulfillment and
gratification!
Join the discussions in our message board
I
like / do not like Yuki's Album because...
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