Damien Rice

Damien Rice is a very creative and talented Irish musician. He is poet in the musical world. His melodies are often mingled with a sense of sadness. Here is his Blower’s Daughter in the album O. My words simply not powerful enough to express the emotion in his music; so just click and listen!

Another hit from Damien Rice, 9 Crime from album 9.

Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson is another guitarist/singer/surfer. Different from Damien Rice’s music, most of his songs are playful and happy. One of my friends used to say to me, we’ve got Damien Rice, so we need Jack Johnson to balance it. The song I chose is not his most famous hit, but a short and playful piece, called Belle.

Here is Do You Remember also by Jack Johnson.

Jason Mraz

Last but not least, a singer I was recently introduced: Jason Mraz. He is more of a happy type, but also can be very touching and moving. Listen to his major hit I’m Yours from the album We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.

Last song is my personal favourite in the album, a beautifully written ballad called A Beautiful Mess. Jason has sung this song on the Nobel Prize Ceremony this year.

Inspiring? Yes! There is nothing better than the montage style to tell a story of reminiscence. And the general set is the house of family, which add in the sense of happiness and a nostalgic feeling towards the golden days. Instead of simply putting pictures all around the house, the director make use of the 3-D space, the hero may go standing up, diving in, taking escalator, riding hot air balloon and skydiving. At last, the young boy finally becomes an old man, returning his old spot, joining taking the picture of the reunion. It leaves a lasting impression of the journey of life. There’s no better time introducing their product, Olympus PEN, a witness of this life.

However, this technique of moving around in the house is nothing new, some artist in Japan have made a similar video before. Only it is more amateur but still fun to watch. You can click here to view their youtube video.

Last, a very exquisite music video also using the stop motion technique (I’m guessing). It’s called Her Morning Elegance, by Oren Lavie, a very talented songwriter, singer and director. Experience his music, vision and dream.

The Levi's 501 Campaign - Rebellious look

Denim mainly originated from America. In the 18^th century, worker wore denim because it’s strong and it did not wear out easily. It is still one of the best things about denim. In the 19^th century, the gold in California drew millions of workers to the west and a cloth company was born to supply jeans for the gold miners, which has later transform to Levi’s. In 1930’s, denim became very popular due to the rise of western films. The cowboys who wore jeans and denim jackets have transfer their “tough man” quality into the clothes. In 50’s, denim became popular with the youth in America, for it is somehow associated with being cool and rebellious. Later the rise of rock bands has further push the fad about denim. From then the design starts to diversify. Different colours appear, along with different way to treat the fabric. Pre-wash, stone-wash, sandblasting, shabby, rotten or dirty look. There’s always something about denim that keeps it in the game. That’s another good thing about denim; you never worry your jeans is old or worn out, it’s always casual, it’s cool.

Last, a very innovative video to share, it is a Diesel campaign, showing various jeans, in a very cool and fresh presentation.

Placebo is another very productive band, and a highly controversial one. The theme of their music is more R-rated; a lot of songs involve sex and doing drugs. And the band has often been criticized for their excessive lifestyle and Molko, the lead vocalist’s androgynous image. Putting all their issues aside, we’ve got to admit that Placebo after all is a really talented band. Their creativity in using instruments and the unconventional way of songwriting did grant them a very high place in the Britpop world. What they really trying to express in most of their music is a melancholy feeling and a sense of loss and pain. Here is Follow the Cops Back Home from one of their very popular album Meds.

Peter Doherty/The Libertines

Peter Doherty is an English musician. He first came into prominence with the band The Libertines then after join the band Babyshambles. Besides being a very talented songwriter, he is very famous in tabloid for his excessive drug use. We may focus on the band The Libertines to explore the philosophy of Pete. The style of their music can be very independent, yet in a true sense, uniquely English. For the album The Libertines, the band successfully demonstrates a chaotic, careless, and somehow boyish yet melodic style of music. For this reason, The Libertines has often been compared to the legendary British band The Beatles. The song below is a very melodic piece of work called Music When the Lights Go Out in the album The Libertines.

Besides the bands I have named here, there are many more excellent Britpop bands. Like Keane, Radiohead, Suede, Arctic Monkeys and the Arcade Fire from Canada. Some of the key characters you can find in a Britpop band are cynical, liberal, anarchic, chaotic, emotional, and for a few very popular bands (Placebo, Suede etc.), vague in sexuality and excessive drug use. I say they are dreamers, the criticizer of our time. With a guitar, a bass and a set of drums, they write their pains and desires. Somehow it’s like they are not bound in the machinery of our society, that’s why they always can provide a fresh look on the way life is on this planet. May the Britpop continues to thrive and amuses, enlightens, educates all of us.

Coldplay

You cannot skip Coldplay if you want to talk about Britpop. It is an English alternative rock band formed in 1998. Lead vocal and guitarist is Chris Martin, also a very talented songwriter. Their style is very unique and avant-garde when first came out. Their music is meditative, exquisite and charged with powerful emotions and helpless romantic. I love almost every song in their first album Parachutes. Fix you is my favourite in the second album. Enjoy this innovative video Strawberry Swing of Coldplay’s latest album Viva La Vida.

Travis

Founded in Scotland in the 90s, Travis has been active for more than a decade, and has been a major influence for bands such as Keane and Coldplay. I haven’t listened to all their music. But I love their work. Their style is different from Coldplay in a way that it is boyish, care-free (not all sullen and blue like the CP), and somehow melodious similar to those ballads. The song I chose is Love will come through by Travis in 2003.

Muse

I was introduced to Muse by a friend. At first their music seems very cold and bizarre. But gradually I started to appreciate it. Muse is a very creative and talented band. Their music includes some elements of Metal and Goth yet maintains the Romanticism of Britpop. This great mixture has made Muse very popular in the UK. The song I chose is their famous hit Unintended, which was beautifully written and sung by the lead vocalist Matthew Bellamy.

(To be continued)

Signature design of Paris Métro gate

The first rapid transit ever is built in London, called the London Underground, which opened in 1863. It now has 11 lines running under the city. London is the first to use the comprehensive Tube Map to illustrate the underground, which has been followed by most cities. Many stations also feature design of local significance to promote and identify the region.

Paris Métro is definitely a symbol of the city. It has 16 lines and is the second busiest rapid transit system in the world. Paris has the most closely spaced subway stations in the world, you can go anywhere in the city just taking the metro. Somehow I feel that the reason of all this is because the city is very crowded. The streets are too narrow for the bus system so the city has to move its public transportation underground. The most notable feature of Paris Métro is its architecture design of the station.

In terms of annual passenger ride, the most used subway system is Tokyo Metro. There are 9 lines in total. I remember a friend who has been there told me once, during the rush hour, the metro system is always so crowded that there are special workers standing beside the metro door, pushing people into the metro until no one can get in anymore. I guess it can’t be an enjoyable ride.

The New York City Subway is one of the world’s oldest and most extensive metro systems. Among the world’s busiest metro systems it is the only one to run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; worthy of the name of “the city that never sleeps”.

New York Metro Sign

London Underground Sign

Trompe l’œil furniture by Nieuwendijk and Oirschot

Yesterday I came across a few pieces of very interesting furniture. One is an all-purpose cabinet with its façade paint with a stack of newspaper. The other is a curtain that separates the bedroom and the living room giving an illusion of neat and spotless space.

I was greatly amused by the tricky yet stylish design, and it got me read about this “trompe l’œil”. “Trompe l’œil” is simply French for “trick the eye”. Usually the artist paint some extremely realistic image on a two dimensional surface so as to create the optical illusion that the objects appear in three dimensions. It is not something new. It has been there for many years ever since the Renaissance. I remembered reading about it on the trip to Europe. If memory serves me well, the Italians were first to use this type of technique to create a sense of perspective, on the paintings, and in their indoor décor. That’s why the Vatican Museum, which was built in that era, had a lot of ceilings painted as domes that full of angels from the Bible.

Curtain by Bauke Knottnerus

 In modern times, this technique is still widely used in lots of applications. Like the furniture I just talked about. The use of trompe l’œil is innovative and very interesting. Others like the other day I watched on TV show on a British painter. His expertise is to paint realistic image on the garage door. It gave a few example of his work. Too bad I can’t find it on the internet. His imagination is unlimited. It can be a Rolls-Royce, an airplane, or a butcher’s shop. These images are so real that people actually walk towards the door and trying to get in. Eventually, they will end up appreciating his mischievous work or getting a bump on the head. 

In Singapore, there are also lots of trompe l’œil. I remember seeing the on the MRT once an advertisement for a salon. It drew a very exaggerating hair or wig on the window just in over the head of the passenger sitting below it, giving the illusion that the passenger was wearing that hair. It’s cheap, but it got the attention and people were greatly amused. Anyway, life is already hard on itself, why not we use a little bit of harmless joke to make it a little more interesting?

Unknown artist creating illusionary muralPainted doors to create a sense of space

Painted doors to create a sense of space

Hello World!

Even the most sophisticated programmer in the world starts his course printing this phase: “Hello, World!”

If you have ever involved in any course related to computer programming, you will know this. No matter what programming language you use, no matter what guide book you follow, the first program ever is to print this simple yet delightful phase on the screen. And there is no word big enough, at least for me, to describe the feeling when I first saw these ten letters, a coma, and an exclamation mark flickering in a white-crude-looking font on the dark screen.

It’s a start, a commencement for something new and exciting. This small sense of accomplishment might keep you going deeper into intricacy of logic and algorithm.

Hope “Hello, World!” would be a great start for the new blog of mine.