Best Of Jay Chou (Part 2)

Read Best Of Jay Chou (Part 1)

Welcome back to the Best Of Jay Chou! Today I'll be presenting #3, #4 and #5 as well as 2 special songs! The 2 other songs did not make it to the Top 10, but deserve awards.

Let's start with #5!

#5) 距离(我不配)
Rating: 4.2 stars
Album: On The Run (我很忙)
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Vincent Fang (方文山)
Award(s): Best Music Video

#5) 距离(我不配),
Distant(Unworthy)

距离, or better known as 我不配, is written for Patty Hou, Jay Chou's ex-girlfriend, after they broke up. The central themes of this song are regret and unworthiness.

This song is undeniably a favourite of many Jay Chou fans and non-fans alike. The MV really stirred up my emotions the first time I watched it. It depicts Jay Chou's life as a celebrity, constantly eyed and surrounded by fans and the media, such that his private life with his girlfriend is intruded. My favourite part of the MV was when Liu Geng Hong shoved one of the paparazzi's face away.

I totally love the lyrics of the song! The author realizes the hardship and sacrifice his partner has gone through, and now expresses his regret not reciprocating the love that was given to him. He is sorrowful that is too late to come back together and feels unworthy to be her lover. The deep feelings of the song and its heartfelt tune makes it one of the best sentimental songs.


#4) 不能说的秘密
Rating: 4.3 stars
Album: 不能说的秘密 OST
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Vincent Fang (方文山)
Award(s): Best Alternative Rock, Best Movie Soundtrack

#4) 不能说的秘密,
Secret

This is the theme song of the synonymous movie, <不能说的秘密>. It won the Best Original Film Song award in 2007.

As I have said before, this is the legendary song that made me a Jay Chou fan, and caused me to be interested in Mandarin. I was (and still is) into Alternative Rock back then, listening to Snow Patrol and Alterbridge. Thus, when I saw an advertisement of this song on an English channel in January 2008, I INSTANTLY FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS SONG!

The very interesting about this song is that the last word of every line of the song rhymes with every other line! Kudos to Vincent Fang!

And now for the Bronze Award...

#3) 蛇舞
Rating: 4.5 stars
Album: 魔杰座
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Huang Jun Lang (黃俊郎)
Award(s): Best Dance/Hip Hop Song, Best Rap

#3) 蛇舞,
Snake Dance

蛇舞 is a fast-paced, sensual dance song with a music style combining Ancient Egyptian music style and contemporary rap and hip-hop.

Surprised? I can hear you thinking "Why not a more romantic or sentimental song, like 彩虹, or 安静, or even 七里香?"

Cause this song is just so catchy and well-produced! And I'm biased!

Well I was struggling very hard to choose between 蛇舞 and 不能说的秘密 for the 3rd place, cause they are both exceptionally awesome songs! Nevertheless, I came to the conclusion that Jay Chou's talents are more well displayed in 蛇舞 - many people can perform 不能说的秘密 well, but few or only Jay Chou can perform 蛇舞 just as well.

Furthermore, the music composition and style was not only unique but well done - making 蛇舞 4.5 stars, which is significantly a notch higher than 不能说的秘密. The Egyptian flute and music, the seductiveness of the lyrics, and Lara's singing brought out sexy style of the song very well.

蛇舞, in my opinion, is the peak of all his combined rapping experience. It is THE BEST rap Jay Chou has ever produced, beating 无双, 藍色風暴 and even 听妈妈的话!


So there you have it! The Third Place! Now for the Special Awards!


★ 发如雪
Rating: 3.7 stars
Album: November Chopin (11月的萧邦)
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Vincent Fang (方文山)
Award(s): Best "中国风" Song ("中国风" = Traditional Chinese Influenced)

发如雪 (Snowy Hair),
Best "中国风" Song

As Jay Chou would say, "越中国越时尚" or "The more traditionally Chinese, the more fashionable."

Every of his 9 studio albums has a 中国风 song. Other 中国风 songs include 菊花台, 青花瓷, 霍元甲, etc...

Somehow, Chong Hui influenced me to like this song. Jay Chou once again infused traditional chinese music with his style, mixing the 琴 with R&B drums. At various parts of the song, he sang with his 'falsetto Chinese opera' voice, as well as adding his trademark rap. My favourite part of the song is the last part where Jay goes "la a la, la a la, la a la a la..."

越中国越时尚

★ 珊瑚海
Rating: 3.6 stars
Album: November Chopin (11月的萧邦)
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Vincent Fang (方文山)
Award(s): Best Duet

珊瑚海 (Coral Sea),
Best Duet

The song speaks about an end of a relationship, describing the pain and sadness of both the guy and the girl. It also identifies the cause of the break up as immaturity and not being honest enough. The author likens the relationship to that of a seagull and a fish, meaning that both parties were not meant to be together. It was just an accidental relationship that took place at the coral sea...

珊瑚海 is one of those songs that would usually be sung in Karaoke sessions. Such an emotional melody coupled with sentimental lyrics. Its the perfect emo song to listen to if you break up. But it makes no sense to get into a relationship that eventually leads to a break up, unless you like to feel sad and miserable. I mean come on, you get attached to eventually get married, right? Okay I sidetracked...

The song would have been better if Lara did not sing 'parts' at the chorus. I believe she should have sung 'melody' while Jay Chou should have sung the 'parts', since Lara's voice stands out in this song. Still, I love this song! :D

Vincent Fang with Jay Chou

I just realized that the main character in the MV is actually Vincent Fang himself! Well, he may not look that shuai but he's an awesome lyricist!


In summary,
#10) 魔术先生: Best Wacky Song
#9) 简单爱
#8) 听妈妈的话: Best 甜蜜 "Sweet" Song
#7) 稻香
#6) 最后的战役: Best Tragic Song
#5) 距离(我不配): Best Music Video
#4) 不能说的秘密: Best Alternative Rock, Best Movie Soundtrack
#3) 蛇舞: Bronze, Best Dance/Hip Hop Song, Best Rap

Special Awards
★ 发如雪: Best "中国风" Song
★ 珊瑚海: Best Duet

Yeah! I'll be unveiling the my top 2 favourite songs in the final part of this series next week! Actually its quite obvious which are they, but no matter; there is still one more special award :D

Till next time!

Revivalists Meeting! :D

Weiren asked me to play guitar for the first revivalist meeting yesterday. When I saw everyone, I was like woohoohoo! These young people are God's chosen generation to bring revival to all the campuses, and the future leaders of the church :D

Among the people there were Weiren, Wanyi, Felicia, Johnathan, Yugene, Jing Yi, Xue Ting, Huiting, Daniel, Ming Hui, Karuna and myself. I think I may have missed out 1 or 2 people. I try to remember everyone and their names but my memory fails me time to time :P

Its like WOW. Weiren believes that most of them will become CGL by next year, meaning we will have CGLs as young as 15?

Weiren's word was awesome x6! Its like 6 of the CGC meetings put together!!! All from this one verse:

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. (1 Tim 4:12)

A revivalist has these 6 characteristics! Time will fail me to explain all these in detail, cos each characteristic can be a sermon by itself. But it really helped me get back my vision and passion for God :)

It was truly a privilege to be part of the revivalist group and witness what God is doing in their lives! Thank God for the opportunity to be there XD

Best Of Jay Chou (Part 1)

After listening to all the 100 over Jay songs a good many times, I have selected my favourite 10! There are like 20 other Jay Chou songs which are pretty good, but I'll be presenting the best of the best!

Awards
I will also be giving out personal awards like "Best Pop Song", "Best Dance/Hip Hop Song", "Best Duet", etc. :D

Without further ado, let's get rolling! Today, I'll be presenting #6 to #10...

#10) 魔术先生
Rating: 3.9 stars
Album: Capricorn (魔杰座)
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Vincent Fang (方文山)
Award(s): Best Wacky Song

#10) 魔术先生,
Mr. Magic

As the name suggests, the song is about a magician performing his spectacular tricks, but with elements of love. The fast beat and jovial style of the song is very similar to 牛仔很忙 from the previous album. The occasional "Yeehaw!" and the "不用麻烦了" part at the end are also taken from 牛仔很忙.

When I first heard this song, I found it ridiculous and didn't like it at all. However, after listening to it for a few more times, I began to find the rhythm and style very catchy and rather fun! This song cheers me up when I'm feeling down :)

My favourite line of this song is "所以他是小丑； 我是大师" or "That's why he's the clown and I'm the Master".


#9) 简单爱
Rating: 4.0 stars
Album: Fantasy (范特西)
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄)
Award(s): -

#9) 简单爱,
Simple Love

This song expresses the simplicity and genuineness of initial love.

I fell in love with the song almost instantly when I heard it. I just love how the lyrics describe the feelings of someone in love. The simple and sweet melody brings out the feel of the song. This song would have won the "Best 甜蜜 Song" award if not for song #8...


#8) 听妈妈的话
Rating: 4.1 stars
Album: Still Fantasy (依然范特西)
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Award(s): Best 甜蜜 "Sweet" Song

#8) 听妈妈的话,
Treasure Your Mother's Words

"听妈妈的话" is a tribute to all mothers. It is a song in which Jay Chou attributes his success to his mother.

Everyone would agree that this song is one of Jay Chou's best works. Meaningful yet colourful; sweet yet stylish. This is the result of one of Jay Chou's best rap, mixed with a cute and attractive melody. Most of all, it presents a touching message in a very contemporary manner: 听妈妈的话.


#7) 稻香
Rating: 4.1 stars
Album: Capricorn (魔杰座)
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Award(s): -

#7) 稻香,
Fragrant Rice

A song of encouragement to those in crisis. It is call to stand up strong in tough times, and to cherish the things that matter most, like family.

This song was really timely; it was released towards the end of 2008 when the financial crisis struck. This song is both soothing and meaningful. It displays Jay Chou's creativity in using unconventional sounds and instruments, like the cricket/bird sounds and the bottles or whatever you call those. What's more awesome is that he managed to integrate the meaning of the song so well with these unconventional music, a style that belongs solely to him.


#6) 最后的战役
Rating: 4.2 stars
Album: 8 Dimensions (八度空间)
Composed By: Jay Chou (周杰伦)
Written By: Vincent Fang (方文山)
Award(s): Best Tragic Song

#6) 最后的战役,
The Final Battle

This song is the heartbeat of those who have fought in a war and lost loved ones. It describes the thoughts and feelings of a loyal friend as he remained with his dying buddy to the very end.

Once again Vincent Fang (方文山) has proven himself as an outstanding lyricist, vividly describing the battlefield and expressing the feelings of sadness. Jay Chou has employed gun and artillery fire, as well as the bagpipe which signifies the death of a soldier in battle. The song combines the best lyrics with Jay Chou's creativity, producing a truly marvelous and touching piece.

I translated the song, so go ahead and take a look :)

In summary,
#10) 魔术先生: Best Wacky Song
#9) 简单爱
#8) 听妈妈的话: Best 甜蜜 "Sweet" Song
#7) 稻香
#6) 最后的战役: Best Tragic Song

That's number 6 to number 10! Read part 2 for the top 5! :D

Best Of Jay Chou (Part 2)

A Poll about my blog

I heard from Sheryl that she couldn't see the nice background image of this blog. You should see this:

Do you see this at the blog's background?

If yes, click the 1st option.
If no, but you see the red "Vampire Knight" words, click the 2nd option.
If no, and you don't see the red "Vampire Knight" words, click the 3rd option.

Do you see an illustrated background image with 2 anime characters and my face on it?

Yes

No, I only see the "Vampire Knight" words and a black background.

No, and I don't see the "Vampire Knight" words either.

ugg boots

Thanks!

Re-Vampirism

Yea! Finally a new outlook! Took lots of annoying hours to get this done. The blogskin couldn't be simply copied and paste, so I had to scrutinize Blogger's code and search the web like crazy to get all the stuff in. Most frustrating was the lag that frequently occur, due to my lousy connection :/

It turned out well of course, though I couldn't change my YouTube player to MixPod like Zoe's blog T.T
Of course I added my own touch *winks and points to the picture at the top right

Now for the serious stuff.

I hereby officially rename
"Knight's Quest" to "Vampire Knight".

*Applause
*Standing ovation
*Accolade
*Mad screaming and shouting
*Cat-calls

Let's pop champagne and celebrate!

So why Vampire Knight? Maybe 'cause New Moon is coming out? I dunno. Vampires are kinda cool. And so are Knights. So viola, Vampire Knight.

Do comment on my new tagboard :D

Knight's Quest Revamp

Hi all! I decided it's time for a new look, so I'll be changing this blogskin pretty soon :) I'm already working on it! Get ready, cos its gonna look great! XD

My Harry Potter Rant

The following post will be ramblings and rants about Harry Potter, stuff that I have to get off my chest once and for all ^^

HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
I'm a real fan of the Harry Potter series, but I didn't have the chance to read the 6th and the 7th books until recently. The Half-Blood Prince captivated me, as with all Harry Potter books. I took an approximate of 13 hours over 3 days to complete it, staying up as late as 6a.m. to read it.

However, most of the story has already been spoilt by others, so it wasn't that enjoyable as I hope it to be. I already knew who the Half-Blood Prince was, and that Dumbledore was gonna die, and who was to kill him. Although it had a well-written story, it left me wondering, "What's the big deal with Half-Blood Prince?"

That question would be answered in the 7th book, but the Half-Blood Prince and his textbook should have taken a more significant role in this story. Its still a pretty good book though.

But that was the book. The movie is entirely different.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,
The Movie

Against my better judgement, I watched the Half-Blood Prince movie with my brothers. As expected, the movie was bad, had poor cast and acting, with much of the story cut short and distorted.

I really hated the way they portrayed Dumbledore. Dumbledore is supposed to be kind, gentle, extremely wise (almost all-knowing), without a hint of pride or worry. Only once did I remember him fearful, battling Voldemort in the 5th book. Dumbledore wasn't afraid of Voldemort one bit, but he feared for Harry's life, who was in mortal danger.

In the movie, however, Dumbledore made a proud statement when Harry told him that he thought no one can Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts grounds. His reply was "being me has its privileges", which is complete rubbish. Firstly, Dumbledore would never make a proud statement, even though he is the most powerful wizard of his time. Secondly, no one, not even Dumbledore, can Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts, save for the House-Elves.

In the movie series, Dumbledore seems to enjoy talking about the love lives of Harry and his friends, making him look sort of gossipy. Dumbledore isn't like that at all in the books. I only remember him asking Harry once whether he was in a relationship with Hermione.

Once in the movies, Dumbledore grabbed Harry and start shaking him, being very worried for him, which is in a complete contrast to his calm and gentle personality described in the books.

I imagined Horace Slughorn as fat and chubby teacher, as the book described him. However, the guy who played his role wasn't convincingly fat, not to mention his poor acting.

Many of the scenes were horribly wrong. The first scene at the subway where Harry met Dumbledore, did not exist at all. There was no train, no poster about magic, no girl to date Harry, nothing. Dumbledore did come to fetch Harry, but the scene was the Dursley's House, and Harry already knew that Dumbledore was coming.

At the final scene at Hogwarts, there was supposed to be an escalated battle between Death Eaters vs Ron, Hermione, some of Dumbledore's Army and The Order Of The Phoenix. However in the movie, the Death Eaters arrived and exited Hogwarts without any resistance, save for Harry. Snape was supposed to be in a deranged fury when Harry tried to use "Sectumsempra" on him, but he was rather calm as he dueled Harry.

I rate this movie 2/5. The book is so much better.
The only thing worth watching, as many would agree, would be the stunning Emma Watson.

Emma Watson

DEATHLY HALLOWS
I had doubts about how good would the 7th and final installment of the Harry Potter series would be. My friend Leroy said that he didn't like the ending. However, as I began to read the book just a few days back, I fell into the mesmerizing trance which had engaged me the day I set my eyes on the 1st book.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
That's the Slytherin locket, a Horcrux.

I think it took me about 18 to 20 hours to read the whole book over 3 days. This book, is the most exciting and action-packed of the series. Even in the early chapters, Harry's and his friends were threatened with mortal danger. Many friends and loved ones died in this book. Harry also faced Voldemort many more times compared to the previous books.

I thought I could predict what was going to happen, but I was wrong. Many more secrets were revealed and the story took twists that I did not expect, much to my delight :D

I totally relished the idea of the Hallows and Horcruxes, and was very much pleasantly surprised by the epic Battle of Hogwarts.

As with all fans, I wish the story could have ended better, but it was still better than I expected it to be. I wished that Harry would possess all the Hallows, becoming the master of death, before the final fight with Voldemort. I also wanted Ron and Hermione to accomplish something more significant like defeating Bellatrix in a duel or something.

Nevertheless, I am sufficiently satisfied at how things turned out, and I must say that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is possibly my favourite book of the series.

I trust that the movie would not be up to the book's standard, which is very sad. One can only hope for the best :D


Man I gotta be more careful about reading books! Reading Harry Potter books totally messed up my bio clock - I'm sleeping at 5am and waking up at 12nn.