RANDOM QUOTES, RANDOM THOUGHTS



Saturday, March 6, 2010

OakSongs 162/500




Date: 28th Feb 2010
Loc: Polymath & Crust, a.k.a. Books Actually.......on Club Street
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23 March 2010 01:58 hrs
Actually did not intend to put any words with this post because nothing needs to be said or written. The pictures above of the OakSongs package speak for itself!
Enjoy the songs (they were the essence of what local alternative folk rock was and still is all about), use your imagination.....shrink yourself to fit into the box (learn from Alice in Wonderland, perhaps) and see what ths piece of art is all about. Size doesn't matter, Substance does!
But seeing things small is sure a good change from the Big-Bigger-Mega concept of today's world and maybe we are all seeing things too big or too far ahead and missing the small things around us that really matters. No one is bigger than life itself.
I only realize minutes ago that my little blog post got linked on Humpback Oak's facebook and "Jeff" and "Elizabeth" (whoever they may be) like the pictures/post. Thank you "Jeff", thank you "Elizabeth" and thank you most of all, Humpback Oak -- for keeping the spirit alive and proving once again that you don't need a label to release your own records!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

MY FIRST COMPACT DISC (circa. 1989)


The very first CD I owned was Technique by New Order back in 1989 purchased from Cost Plus at Scotts. It was purchased with a friend's credit card together with a Sony CD Player. That was how my brush with the age of digital music began.
Some things just defies any explanation, call it coincidence or something. Memories were recalled when I happened to re-listen to 2 tracks from Technique today - "All The Way" & "Love Less". They still sounded as fresh as they were back in 1989, this is the yardstick I use to define music as classic collectibles that are age-defiant.
I first bumped into New Order oddly enough in Taiwan R.O.C. during an army attachment. "Love Vigilantes" came on the radio and I was immediately hooked because it was like "a breath of fresh air" from the numbing pop music that were played to death repeatedly over the Singapore airwaves. At that time I knew not a thing about Joy Division, Ian Curtis or the cult classic - "Blue Monday", all of which I went backwards and pick up the history. This is the magic of music and the education you get digging deeper.
In 1989 there was no internet to search for the lyrics and artistes rarely print the lyrics on the CD cover. Nevertheless the words heard in "All The Way" & "Love Less" remained stuck in my memory and funnily enough they do have some direct reflections to what I have experienced since 1989........
There was a time I call before
When all I knew was what I saw
I worked hard
To give you all the things that you need
And almost anything that you see
I spent a lifetime working on you
And you won't even talk to me
Can't you see
Why don't you look at me
It's not your right to be
So much my enemy
I knew that I could never give
You knew that you could not forgive
No price or pride would fall before
A ten foot wall without a door
But you know
I watch every step that you make
To find some other fool you can take
And I don't know why I even try
Because it all comes down to this
Can't you see
Why don't you look at me
It's not your right to be
So much my enemy
Can't you see
Why don't you look at me
It's not your right to be
So much my enemy
I worked hard
To give you all the things that you need
And almost anything that you seeI spent a lifetime working on you
And you won't even talk to me
.................. from "Love Less"
It doesn't take a genius
To tell me what I am
Or lecture me with poetry
And tell me that I can
I don't remember
What happened yesterday
But I don't give a damn about
What all those people say
It takes years to find the nerve
To be apart from what you've done
To find the truth inside yourself
And not depend on anyone
It takes years to find the nerve
To be apart from what you've done
To find the truth inside yourself
And not depend on anyone
It don't take no Houdini
To tell me what I am
Parasites and literasites
They'd burn me if they can
But I don't give a damn about
What those people say
They pick you up and kick you out
They hurt you every day
It takes years to find the nerve
To be apart from what you've done
To find the truth inside yourself
And not depend on anyone
It takes years to find the nerve
To be apart from what you've done
To find the truth inside yourself
And not depend on anyone
It takes years to find the nerve
To be apart from what you've done
To find the truth inside yourself
And not depend on anyone
It takes years to find the nerve
To be apart from what you've done
To find the truth inside yourself
And not depend on anyone
............. from "All The Way"

Monday, February 8, 2010

FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD BIRDS






.....not only talks but also likes being scratched behind the head too!

Monday, November 30, 2009

BUZZCOCKS AT ZIRCA 27th Nov 2009




A buzzing good time with the Buzzcocks!

Monday, November 16, 2009

THINKING OF YOU

I keep thinking of you
You're on my mind
For the fifty-seven thousandth time this morning
I keep seeing you in sheets of white
I can't change anything
I can't change
Anything - Anything

I was out on my own
For the first time
It was here all alone, that I cracked
Now it won't happen again
Til the next time
Now I think I can do this all by myself

I've been thinking of you a lot this morning
For the fifty-seven thousandth time today
I will see you in pictures
Dressed as I am
I can't change anything
I can change
Anything - Anything

I would like to tell you
Where I'm going to
I've seen it before
I've seen it before
I would like to tell you
This is not about you
I've seen it before
I've seen it before

I've been thinking of you
You're on my mind

(Thinking of You - Pete Yorn)

Thursday, November 12, 2009

IKEA



It has been a long while since I last visited an IKEA store. Went to one 2 weekends ago to look for a simple dining set and this was what I ended up with:
At only $125, I think it is hard to beat in terms of value and practicality.
Where else but IKEA that one could look at the item, pick it up from the racks, pay at the counter, brings it home and have a dining set fully assembled in an instant and ended up a totally satisfied customer?
IKEA thinks about the customer experience in its product design as its starting point, that I think is their forte all these years.
The dining set above took me less than half an hour to fix it all up and I ended up feeling so great to have a dining set that is nice to sit on and easy to clean (it's a tempered glass top) and could also be used as a working table!
I do not think there is any kind of mega store that could engage a customer to walk through its entire store and not feel bored. That is the IKEA experience that sets it apart from the rest. The layout of the store and the flow from one theme to the next is seamless and kinda inspires the customer with ideas to re-decorate one's home!
IKEA to me represents IDEAS and INSPIRATION.
"IKEA : INSPIRING IDEAS" - that would be quite some tagline!