New albums

Hercules And Love Affair - Blind



Supergrass - Bad Blood



Goldfrapp - A&E

Support a good cause...

My pal, Graham, father of one, has developed an unnatural love for hiking over the past 3 years. He's taking up this cause to raise money.

The four of us friends will be embarking on a challenging 100km mountain trail race from 16-18 May 2008 in Japan.

The objective of this challenge is to "race" fund for the OXFAM charity which is "...an independent development and relief agency that works in around 100 countries....in partnership with local organizations to help people living in extreme poverty and to achieve lasting change, lifting people out of poverty."

For more information, check out this site.

Waffletown

Brian found where the old Waffletown restaurant which used to be at Bukit Timah Plaza/ Shopping Centre (I can't tell them apart...) is now currently. He wrote a nice review about it here. It made me hungry looking at 'em photos...

His band Leeson rocks as well. Check them out here.

I is My Bloody Valentine...

what Creation Records band are you? (complete with text and images)

You Are...My Bloody Valentine.You tend to be a bit distant and reclusive. You are a leader as opposed to being a follower. You are a perfectionist and pay very close attention to detail. You have the tendency to be lazy, which sometimes get's in the way of you achieving whatever it is you may be trying to perfect. You don't really care about what's typically looked upon as the norm. You really don't care about what people think about you at all, or at least so you try and make it seem. You care most about just being yourself.
Take this quiz!








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Got this quiz off Nat's blog. Cute. Well, I guess as much... when I answered the first 2 questions which I picked red as the most distinct colours and picked dreams over waves and shine as the most interesting word.

Well, check out the following album cover.



Yeah. Read the drama here.

Though I must say I'm not that huge a fan unlike Grace, Amin and some of the Documentary In Amber boys who are flying up to catch their reunion show in Spain this June...

Singapore Bay Run/ Army Half-Marathon

I think Billy and Jay-S should be keen on this. Who else would be interested?

Personally, I don't think I can complete a half-marathon. I might just go for a 10km run. Gotta start training soon.

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal

Caught this video a few days ago. It's amazing how this became a game on its own. Played it a couple of times before...

DJ KoFlow

He's probably one of the most talented musicians I know and have the good fortune to work with. Check out his tunes in the player above and here. He rocks my socks off with his turntablism...

Portishead

Nat has a mp3 of 'Machine Gun' off their latest album Third here. I cannot even begin to describe how much I love this band...

Usually, when I love a band, I'll try to find out what the hell the singer is going on about. This was never the case for Portishead which is totally fine. This is really amazing that they actually managed to finish the 3rd studio album...

Have I mentioned that I really love Portishead?

Flight Of Transcendence

After 18 months of production at Snakeweed Acoustic Lab by Leonard Soosay and Zero Sequence, Flight Of Transcendence will be released on 5 April.

Mastered at Scott Hull Mastering, NYC, USA by Scott Hull, the album sees the sextet incorporate their dynamite live performance with top-notch studio wizardry. Zero Sequence pays homage to their influences such as Dream Theater, Yes and Spock’s Beard along with classic rock giants like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, etc.

Hard-rocking and epic, their sophomore full-length outing showcases the band’s strength in crafting memorable riffs and distinct melodies. The ambitious 21-minute, 6-part suite ‘The Devil’s Door’ lulls you in with intricate piano passages before plunging you into a rollercoaster ride of sonic mayhem. Dedicated to keyboardist Ezal’s late father, ‘Gone Too Soon’ is a delicate rock ballad which invokes a sense of loss and tenderness.

Flight Of Transcendence features guest performances from Singapore Idol finalist Mathilda D’Silva, reality TV music competition Live The Dream winners, By Definition’s Yazzit Ismail and Fathullah Ayob, The Goodfellas’ Mang, The UnXpected’s Brandon Khoo and Joan Chew and many others.

The track listing is as follows:

1. Wreckage
2. The Grim Phantasm
3. Transcendence
4. Remember Tomorrow
5. The Devil’s Door: The Escape
6. The Devil’s Door: Breaking Down The Devil’s Door
7. The Devil’s Door: The Dark Tower
8. The Devil’s Door: ?
9. The Devil’s Door: Chasing After The Wind
10. The Devil’s Door: Breaking Down The Devil’s Door (reprise)
11. Gone Too Soon


Website: Aging Youth/ Zero Sequence

The Incredible Hulk teaser trailer

Honestly, I'm not really impressed. Despite what white fratboys would say, I thought Lee An (or Ang Lee *rolls eyes*) did an excellent job, barring the last act, the final fight scene. That was pretty dumb. The Absorbing Man?!? Nick Nolte was too much and too over-the-top. Eric Bana did an great job though.

Adlin says:
i don't like how CG the creatures look
Adlin says:
looks like resident evil

Precisely! The Abomination looks pretty bad like the Swamp Thing suit in the 80's TV series. And the big reveal of the Hulk? Er, honestly I thought it was pretty pointless cuz everyone knows he looks like. But yeah, I'll probably still catch it. Hopefully, the story would be good.

Nice... part 22

Lolo sent me this link: "NUS sex survey: 64 per cent of undergraduates have sex more than once a week".

Unfortunately, I was NEVER that happening but many of my friends were. Y'know, during exam periods, times are more stressful. So peeps grab a quickie in the toilet to de-stress while I just smoke and have a coffee.

*sobzzzz*

Spiritualized - Broken Heart (live)

Fucken amazing performance. I can't believe the album Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space which this song is from is already 11 years old. Came out in the same year as Radiohead's OK Computer. A great song to slit your wrists to...

Edit: I love the wistful sarcasm Jason Pierce has, especially one of the lines in 'Think I'm In Love': "Think I'm in love/ probably just hungry". I almost printed a T-shirt with the Abbey Road EP pill in the front and the lyric at the back. I probably should submit the design to Threadless.com. Heh.

Singapore Film Festival 2008

It's back again. Here's the official site.

I'm definitely up for 'I'm Not There', the Bob Dylan weird-ass biopic which is screening on Wed 9 April at 915pm. Anyone? There are a couple of shows which look pretty interesting. The Singapore collection doesn't seem to disappoint as well. I hope they are as good as their synopsis.

There are a couple which are pretty good but falls on April 6 which is the date we are releasing Zero Sequence's album. Ah well.

The Western Trunk Line
Li Jixian | Japan / China | 2007 | 101 mins | PG

It is 1978, and the arrival in a small Northern Chinese town of a pretty young music student, Yu Xueyan, from Beijing rouses a pair of brothers from their aimlessness. Eighteen-year-old Li Siping, prefers listening to music and spying on female factory workers to thinking about his future, while his 11-year-old brother Fangtou is a cause of anxiety to their parents.

When Xueyan moves into the house across the road from their family, Siping's yearning for her is stirred. Prior to this, his only distraction was secretly receiving radio signals from foreign countries in an old warehouse around the Western Trunk Line. The two of them start a romance, which has to be put on hold when Siping is drafted into the army. He returns to find that the relationship and other circumstances have changed in unpredictable ways.

Wang Yu’s gorgeous cinematography lends an ethereal quality to the muted lives of these young people living in a tiny industrial community.

6 April | 21:15:00 | Lido 3


Truth be Told, The
Pimpaka Towira | Thailand | 2007 | 110 mins | PG

In 2003, Shin Corporation, one of the wealthiest corporations in Thailand owned by the family of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, filed a defamation lawsuit against an individual. They demanded compensation of 400 million Baht (US$11 million) from a media rights activist who draws a salary of 14,000 Baht a month. Her name is Supinya Klangnarong, and this documentary chronicles her journey over the subsequent three years.

Made independently through private investments, prominent female director Pimpaka Towira adds a human dimension to the widely impersonal and turbulent political situation in Thailand. Focusing on the story of an individual’s fight against the establishment, this classic David vs. Goliath film depicts the mild-mannered Klangnarong as she copes with her situation with her family.

This timely and amazing film records the shifting political landscape of Thailand in recent times. The Truth Be Told: the cases against Supinya Klangnarong questions the price of the freedom of speech, the role of an individual and her power to affect the political climate of a nation.

7 April | 19:00:00 | The Substation


Bakushi
Ryuichi Hiroki | Japan | 2007 | 90 mins | TBA

Only the Japanese could aestheticise the tying up of women, known as kinbaku. Ryuichi Hiroki, whose roots lie in Japan’s “pink film” industry (namely erotic films that are released theatrically), explores the world of those who possess this fetish, namely the Japanese bondage masters, known as bakushi. Three of them, and three of their favourite models, are interviewed for this documentary.

Bakushi shows these practitioners in action, binding their whimpering models with elaborate knots before proceeding to the ritual chastisement for S&M specialist stage shows, photo shoots and videos. We also get a look at the history of S&M practices in Japan, and the visibility of rope-play spectacles in various media, including periodicals, films, and erotic manga. This film illuminates one of the more bizarre instances of the very Japanese attention to detail and taste for ceremony.

7 April | 21:15:00 | Lido 3


Finishing the Game
Justin Lin | USA | 2007 | 83 mins | TBA

Finishing the Game is a hilarious, eccentric and whimsical mockumentary directed by Justin Lee (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift). The scenario: In 1973, the sudden and unexpected death of Bruce Lee, iconic martial arts phenomenon of the 70s, caused a sudden halt in production of his last film, uncannily titled Game of Death.

Finishing the Game (the title should be self-explanatory by now) picks up from where work was left off and reproduces for audiences the hypothetical situation faced at the time by the producers and directors of that fateful movie. With only 12 minutes of usable footage at hand, the producers make the brave decision to forge ahead towards the completion of the film.

Thick with irony and satire, Finishing the Game documents the producers’ search for the “next Bruce Lee”. They are presented with an array of implausible, wannabe candidates, each replete with his own list of idiosyncrasies and quirks. There’s Breeze Loo, an ethnic Asian who hops around in a blue suit, there’s a White Anglo-Saxon Sinophile who is an activist for Asian rights in his spare time, and the list goes on.

Politically incorrect jokes, all versions of strangely accented English and multiple deadpan moments pervade this piece. Watch to find out who ends up with the coveted role as Bruce Lee’s stand- in!

7 April | 21:15:00 | National Museum


Lou Reed’s Berlin
Julian Schnabel | USA | 2007 | 85 mins | TBA

Born in 1942, New York, Lou Reed first found fame as guitarist and principal singer-songwriter of The Velvet Underground, a short-lived but highly influential avant-garde rock band in the late Sixties. Shortly after embarking on his solo career, Reed catapulted to mainstream popularity with his hit single, Walk on the Wild Side, a title-turned-catch-phrase now more commonly used without its original accompanying tune.

Yet, being more of an artist than a celebrity, Reed released a third solo concept-album Berlin which had a radically different style with eclectic musical arrangements. It was tragically received and the harsh reviews of his work annihilated any hope of performing the album live. His efforts were only consummated some 34 years after the release of the album – Julian Schnabel, art and stage director of Lou Reed’s Berlin World Tour 2007, is the director of this documentary which chronicles the tour.

Berlin’s world-tour was also made possible by a turnaround of critics’ reviews on the album- once castigated and condemned by the mainstream, critics now deem certain songs such as Sad Song and How Do You Think it Feels? from Lou Reed’s third album as classics. Reed was always ahead of his time and Julian Schnabel has now captured him in a moment in time.

9 April | 19:00:00 | Lido Classics


Romulus, My Father
Richard Roxburgh | Australia | 2007 | 103 mins | TBA

Romulus, My Father is based on Raimond Gaita’s critically-acclaimed memoir. Romulus (Eric Bana) and his wife, Christina (Franka Potente) have fled Yugoslavia after World War II to start a new life in Australia and bring up their son, Raimond (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

The story tells of Raimond growing up with his father amidst the beautiful natural landscape of rural Australia, and how Romulus teaches Raimond the meaning of a compassionate, decent and moral life. At the same time, the family struggles with the depression of Christina, and her increasing neglect of the family. Romulus, My Father is a celebration of the unbreakable bond between father and son, and the depth of love for family, against a background of coping as new immigrants in a foreign land.

11 April | 19:00:00 | National Museum


Dreams From The Third World
Kan Lumé | Singapore | 2008 | 86 mins | M18

Dreams From The Third World concerns a man who is trying to make a porn movie and believes he is hearing the voice of God. He meets a prostitute and begins putting his belief into effect. His wife lambastes his idealism and acts as the voice of reason. When his life begins to crumble, he goes in search for answers and discovers it in an unexpected place.

12 April | 11:00:00 | Sinema


Milky Way Liberation Front
Yoon Seong-ho | Korea | 2007 | 95 mins | PG

Korean Director Yoon Seong-ho represents the new wave of digital filmmakers in Korea, and he impresses with this film, imbuing it with a compelling visual style, mixed in with his trademark humour arising from the most absurd circumstances thinkable.

In this film, geeky Young-jae aspires to be a prominent filmmaker. He has a vague idea of making a film about the condition of aphasia, which is a condition of a sudden loss of the ability to speak or understand language. His ever-patient girlfriend decides she has had enough and finally dumps him. To add to his woes, he is unable to secure funding and he is struck with severe writer’s block. Enroute to the Pusan film festival with a bid to convince popular Japanese Punk star Ray Kimura to be his lead actor, Young-jae is ironically afflicted by aphasia himself. Even with the help of his loyal pal, a ventriloquist, the situation turns for the worse and gets out of control.

Afflicted with problems of love and work, can this fledgling director and his ventriloquist pal find a way out of this hellish situation? This unconventional film- within-a-film about the art and perils of filmmaking was shot entirely on HD.

13 April | 21:15:00 | Lido 3

I'm keen on catching the shows mentioned above. Let me know if anyone else is interested.

Radio Station Forgot To Play My Favourite Song

Billy, Gavin and Jason did this rockumentary back in 2002 when they were finishing up their final year in NTU. And they never mentioned me in the credits. Bastards. I still use this sore point to wrangle a beer off them time to time...

Hurhurhur...

But what's still pretty consistent is the fact that the music scene might have moved forward in terms of more younger kids being interested in performing and playing their own tunes. Of course, they are still not supporting what they are supposed to be taking from. Hey, what's new? Happened years ago. Will be this way again.

What's most astonishing is how the landscape in Orchard has changed vastly over the short span of 5 - 6 years. And how young some people like Joe and Patrick look in the video. Hehehe...

BT & The Roots - Tao Of The Machine (live)

Kinho sent me this track. Fucken insane! Check out BT's keyboards!

The Roots - Here I Come (live)

I can't fucken wait man! This Friday! I love that 'fro! Check out ?uestlove slaying the drums!

Hmm... part 28

This is fucked up.

I'm probably going down to pick up my laptop from the repair centre in a bit. The hard disc has crashed. I was able to boot it up once in every 5 - 6 attempts previously. I really hope I still can do so later and extract my drum samples and the working files for up to 10 demos.

Sigh, the days of not having a notebook is really boring. I've some ideas which I want to put down as soon as possible. Crap, I think the earliest I can get a laptop is another month's time. Anyone has any suggestions on what I should be getting? I'm looking for a high-performance type with 2GB processing speed and at least 2 GB RAM.

No, I'm not looking at a Mac.

The Tattoo Boutique

Noel just started a new venture which provides airbrush tattoos. If you are in need of such services, you can find him and his website here.

Italian Spiderman

This fantastic gem of an Italian z-movie from 1968 was recently unearthed and is being restored to its original non-glory. The restored film will hit the interwebs in April 2008. Even the bio of the actor is campy.

"Featuring Franco Franchetti of 'Mondo Sexo' fame in his last ever role before being killed in a spear fishing accident in 1969."

Got this off Nat. The Italian chicks in the late '60s are pretty hot too. But the killer bit is the soundtrack... Good stuff.

Word...

Though we is hip-hop, we is still have no street cred like 'em brothers from da hood. Check this out yo!

Oh Mas, where art thou?

Got this from Nat. It is actually a fucken serious incident. Somehow, it is turning out to be a huge joke amongst ourselves, not just in the international arena.

And yeah, I subscribe to the notion that he has dug his way out with a spoon. Old skool, I know!!!

Test a vibrator...

My boy Noel seems to have an answer on how you can spend a Sunday afternoon fruitfully...

Testing a vibrator.

I love my friends but it amazes me what kinda sites he visits... especially for a married man... -_-"

Jack and Martin

Joe started a new project Jack And Martin as a tribute to Hong Kong director Johnnie To. His song is hosted here.

We are probably asking him to help out on The Lard Brothers' cover of The Padres' 'Radio Station'. We've tried it with Billy, Yeeyong and me. Something is not quite right. But it'll be quite interesting, I guess. We will not be meeting him to record his vocals.

He suggested we do it ala how The Postal Service does it these days: Yousendit.com.

Love the guy!

Ghosts

Nine Inch Nails releases their 3rd album (remix albums not withstanding) in 5 years! Something's amiss. Frontman and the main brains Trent Reznor seems to have more time to actually do work. Hmm...

It's available for free and pay-as-you-want download too. Read about it here.

Moan My IP

Seriously, I've no idea how Robin keeps coming up with these URLs. Here's a site where you can get porn stars (?) to moan out your IP address. Honestly, I'll be more impressed if it's my mobile number.

The Roots - 75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)

The first single from their upcoming album Rising Down which I believe they will be performing quite a few tunes from next Friday. ?uestlove's drumming in the tune is phenomenal!

I can't wait for their show at the Esplanade!

Iron Man full trailer

I can't fucken wait!!!