The third tennis Grand Slam will commence this Sunday in the famous clay courts of Roland Garros, Paris. Am I excited? Tell me about it! I have already got tickets for QF on June 5 (thanks to the SLB Committee Enterprise). Can't wait for the day. This is going to be my first visit to Roland Garros. Been to Paris Masters in Bercy twice. Wimbledon twice. Missed the Australian Open last year. But no RG so far.
Although I do not quite enjoy playing on a clay court myself or seeing people playing on it - it's slow - yet again, it's a Grand Slam for which every tennis lover will die to be there given the opportunity.
I bet Nadal would win it, despite of his recent loss to Federer last week. I think he will come back much stronger this time. After all, it was his first loss after 81 consecutive wins on clay! A record-breaking achievement! Still, Federer is his main challenger. The guy is incredible. Despite of no coach at the moment, he proved that no one could ever underestimate him.
The dream final is Nadal vs Federer. However, French Open is well known for its surprising champion. Many unseeded or low seeded players have won it before, simply because of its magic clay! Perhaps, it's good to see some surprises this year too.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Justin... Who? What??? I Can't Hear You!!!
Last night was Justin Timberlake's night. It was the second night of his concert in Paris. 
Needless to say, the house was full and filled up with teenagers (I felt really old!). The good news is I still saw a good portion of more 'mature' people amongst the audience. It proves Justin has a pretty good range of audience.
Dita and I decided to go to his concert just for fun. We knew little of his music, particularly on his recent album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (which is, in my personal opinion, less attractive than his first album, Justified). All we knew is that he is a good entertaineur and, in my opinion, is very talented. I started to notice this after he released his big hit, Cry Me A River. The song blew me away! To say the least, I had not heard such a sophisticated yet melodious song for a long time. And he deserves the grammy for that.
He proves he can write good songs, produce, sing and of course dance. Arguably, he is the most successful young pop star these days.
The concert itself was a show-off of his multitalents. The stage split Bercy indoor stadium into two, so everyone can see the performers from 360-degree angle. The dance was fine (I was not too much interested in it though). But there was one big problem... I could not hear his voice throughout the concert!!! Are we supposed to see a music concert or a dance performance? Frankly, I was disappointed with the bad quality of the sound system, at least from where we were sitting. The drum overpowered the vocals and the other instruments. What the heck was wrong with the mixing engineer? Did he not realize that? Was he deaf? Or was it done in purpose in order to 'hide' Justin's vocal behind the music?
Well, Justin is not Lionel. I realize that. I am not here to compare them in terms of their vocalities. What I heard yesterday was an acrobat of drumbeats and songs full of backing vocals (there were four of them), instead of Justin's vocal. I could hear a little bit of his voice during some slow tunes. Even so, the drum was still annoying in there! Why would he need the percussions when he was playing a slow tune on a piano? I bet no one could even hear the piano! At the end, my ears hurt!
What I noticed from Justin's music is it's black! Or he is trying to be black. His collaborations have always been with black musicians. His musicians on stage are mostly black. All his four fine backing vocalists are black! Don't get me wrong! I like R&B and I like black musicians. But Justin, you are not black! You can't deny that your voice lacks of 'blackness' when you are trying to interpret an R&B song. I agree you have written some good R&B songs, but your interpretations are still pop. All in all, I am not saying his vocal is bad. No, he's got a good one, if not mediocre. His consistent falsetto is amazing.
With musicians, backing vocalists and nine dancers, the stage was awfully crowded. There were times when you thought it was a noisy marching band parade with some pom-pom girls rather than a music concert. But still, the stage technology was incredible. The transparent screens, lightings and hydraulic stages were enjoyable. That is the difference between the current pop stars and the oldies. At least, I give them one credit :-)
The night was long for us. Frankly, we did not quite enjoy it as much as we did for Lionel. We left earlier, probably, one or two songs before the end. One of the reasons was of course to avoid the rush.
For all Justin's fans, don't feel offended with my review. I still admire his talents. I can assure you I would still like to listen to Justin's future music or simply see his videos on MTV, but not his noisy and drumbeat concert like last night.
Needless to say, the house was full and filled up with teenagers (I felt really old!). The good news is I still saw a good portion of more 'mature' people amongst the audience. It proves Justin has a pretty good range of audience.Dita and I decided to go to his concert just for fun. We knew little of his music, particularly on his recent album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (which is, in my personal opinion, less attractive than his first album, Justified). All we knew is that he is a good entertaineur and, in my opinion, is very talented. I started to notice this after he released his big hit, Cry Me A River. The song blew me away! To say the least, I had not heard such a sophisticated yet melodious song for a long time. And he deserves the grammy for that.
He proves he can write good songs, produce, sing and of course dance. Arguably, he is the most successful young pop star these days.
The concert itself was a show-off of his multitalents. The stage split Bercy indoor stadium into two, so everyone can see the performers from 360-degree angle. The dance was fine (I was not too much interested in it though). But there was one big problem... I could not hear his voice throughout the concert!!! Are we supposed to see a music concert or a dance performance? Frankly, I was disappointed with the bad quality of the sound system, at least from where we were sitting. The drum overpowered the vocals and the other instruments. What the heck was wrong with the mixing engineer? Did he not realize that? Was he deaf? Or was it done in purpose in order to 'hide' Justin's vocal behind the music?
Well, Justin is not Lionel. I realize that. I am not here to compare them in terms of their vocalities. What I heard yesterday was an acrobat of drumbeats and songs full of backing vocals (there were four of them), instead of Justin's vocal. I could hear a little bit of his voice during some slow tunes. Even so, the drum was still annoying in there! Why would he need the percussions when he was playing a slow tune on a piano? I bet no one could even hear the piano! At the end, my ears hurt!
What I noticed from Justin's music is it's black! Or he is trying to be black. His collaborations have always been with black musicians. His musicians on stage are mostly black. All his four fine backing vocalists are black! Don't get me wrong! I like R&B and I like black musicians. But Justin, you are not black! You can't deny that your voice lacks of 'blackness' when you are trying to interpret an R&B song. I agree you have written some good R&B songs, but your interpretations are still pop. All in all, I am not saying his vocal is bad. No, he's got a good one, if not mediocre. His consistent falsetto is amazing.
With musicians, backing vocalists and nine dancers, the stage was awfully crowded. There were times when you thought it was a noisy marching band parade with some pom-pom girls rather than a music concert. But still, the stage technology was incredible. The transparent screens, lightings and hydraulic stages were enjoyable. That is the difference between the current pop stars and the oldies. At least, I give them one credit :-)
The night was long for us. Frankly, we did not quite enjoy it as much as we did for Lionel. We left earlier, probably, one or two songs before the end. One of the reasons was of course to avoid the rush.
For all Justin's fans, don't feel offended with my review. I still admire his talents. I can assure you I would still like to listen to Justin's future music or simply see his videos on MTV, but not his noisy and drumbeat concert like last night.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Lionel The Legend
Event occured at Bercy, Paris, 15.05.07
Words cannot express how Dita and I felt after seeing Lionel Richie's concert a few nights ago. The man still can saaaang!!! That night, he simply brought the house down. I mean the whole full house down! He sang and sang. He teased you with some balads on piano, commanded the crowd....
I realize this is what differentiates the old schools with the contemporary musicians. The old schools sing live! Real singing. Out of 20ish tunes he sang, no one was played back. Real live throughout two hours of concert duration! I mean... how old is he now? (according to Wikipedia, he's almost 58!) Yet, what we saw that night was someone much younger in his energy and passion to the music.
Although it is not fair to compare him vocally with his 20's vocal cords (the time when he hit the high notes on Easy, for example, with little effort), overall his 'soul' voice was still there and lasted until he closed his concert with the well-known All Night Long, which reminded me of his oustanding performance at the closing ceremony of the 1984's Summer Olympics in LA. The song was just one of his anthems. I repeat... just one of them! Because throughout the night, the crowd sang along with most of his melodious songs, starting for The Commodores era until his recent album, Coming Home. To name the few (they are also my favorites): Three Times a Lady, Stuck on You, Ballerina Girl, Just for You, Penny Lover, and many more. To me, the guy deserves the title of the King of Soul! Those songs he wrote stick to your mind until you die!
I remember how I was introduced to his music. It was through my eldest brother, Manto, who was once a big fan of his. I was only 11 or 12 then. He used to have a complete collection of Lionel's albums which I used to 'steal' from him and listen to them without his permission! (ahahaha...) It's a pity, Manto was not in the concert with us. I wondered if he still likes Lionel like I always do. Although I have literally never been a big fan, I always enjoy listening to him, like how I love listening to Luther Vandross and all the other old-school alikes.
Lionel is a true legend. He has survived the test of time. Although at some point, he was missing from the industry for whatever reason, he proved that the traditional R&B music still has place in the world music map these days amid strong waves from what I call non-melodious music like what we can hear today. Now that he is back and everyone in the house loved him. The true legend obviously knows how to deliver a good concert and makes people feel good about spending their money for such an entertainment. He also knows how to communicate with and command the crowd. It seemed an easy task for him to command all the ladies in the house to sing Diana Ross's part on Endless Love. Such a joyful ambience! In brief, the concert was superb. The only disappointing part (at least for Dita) is that he did not sing her favorite song, Tender Heart (don't worry baby, I'll sing it for you 'live' when we get home! Ahahaha....)
So far, there is no sign whatsoever from him to put his microphone down in the near future. So, I can still look forward to her new album and possibly seeing him live again. A bientot, Lionel! Thanks for such a brilliant concert!
Words cannot express how Dita and I felt after seeing Lionel Richie's concert a few nights ago. The man still can saaaang!!! That night, he simply brought the house down. I mean the whole full house down! He sang and sang. He teased you with some balads on piano, commanded the crowd....
I realize this is what differentiates the old schools with the contemporary musicians. The old schools sing live! Real singing. Out of 20ish tunes he sang, no one was played back. Real live throughout two hours of concert duration! I mean... how old is he now? (according to Wikipedia, he's almost 58!) Yet, what we saw that night was someone much younger in his energy and passion to the music.
Although it is not fair to compare him vocally with his 20's vocal cords (the time when he hit the high notes on Easy, for example, with little effort), overall his 'soul' voice was still there and lasted until he closed his concert with the well-known All Night Long, which reminded me of his oustanding performance at the closing ceremony of the 1984's Summer Olympics in LA. The song was just one of his anthems. I repeat... just one of them! Because throughout the night, the crowd sang along with most of his melodious songs, starting for The Commodores era until his recent album, Coming Home. To name the few (they are also my favorites): Three Times a Lady, Stuck on You, Ballerina Girl, Just for You, Penny Lover, and many more. To me, the guy deserves the title of the King of Soul! Those songs he wrote stick to your mind until you die!
I remember how I was introduced to his music. It was through my eldest brother, Manto, who was once a big fan of his. I was only 11 or 12 then. He used to have a complete collection of Lionel's albums which I used to 'steal' from him and listen to them without his permission! (ahahaha...) It's a pity, Manto was not in the concert with us. I wondered if he still likes Lionel like I always do. Although I have literally never been a big fan, I always enjoy listening to him, like how I love listening to Luther Vandross and all the other old-school alikes.
Lionel is a true legend. He has survived the test of time. Although at some point, he was missing from the industry for whatever reason, he proved that the traditional R&B music still has place in the world music map these days amid strong waves from what I call non-melodious music like what we can hear today. Now that he is back and everyone in the house loved him. The true legend obviously knows how to deliver a good concert and makes people feel good about spending their money for such an entertainment. He also knows how to communicate with and command the crowd. It seemed an easy task for him to command all the ladies in the house to sing Diana Ross's part on Endless Love. Such a joyful ambience! In brief, the concert was superb. The only disappointing part (at least for Dita) is that he did not sing her favorite song, Tender Heart (don't worry baby, I'll sing it for you 'live' when we get home! Ahahaha....)
So far, there is no sign whatsoever from him to put his microphone down in the near future. So, I can still look forward to her new album and possibly seeing him live again. A bientot, Lionel! Thanks for such a brilliant concert!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Borat, The Queen, Chris Gardner and Ms Sunshine
I have just recently watched those 4 movies on DVD. Outdated, as some of you may say. The truth is I have not been to a cinema for a while. The last time was for Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. These are my personal reviews on those 4 movies with which you may or may not agree.
Borat... it's simply an overhype! Maybe I put my expectation too high prior to watching it, having read the reviews and the fact that it won the Golden Globe (am I correct?). I thought I was going to see a Michael Moore type of movie or a superbly hilarious movie at the least. Frankly, I was only laughing for the first 5 minutes. I watched the rest with some wrinkles on my forehead. I was disappointed and simply disgusted with the screenplay. The dialogues are so indecent! The script is too vulgar with a tendency to cheap and cheesy sex jokes. (Borat, be mature! If he could have ever made it more thoughtful, I think it would have been much better and enjoyable.) The scene I hated most was when he and Azamat were wrestling naked. Only one word can describe it: disgusting! It forced me to fast forward to the next scene. Needless to say, the DVD is now in the trash bin.
The Queen... I enjoyed Helen Mirren's performance here. Like many non-British audience, it was the first time I heard about her. In fact, in this movie, she succeeded in creating that royal character. Not an easy job to do, I guess. As a result, one can see "the Queen" throughout the movie. Brilliant acting! Well deserving for all the awards. Regardless whether or not the whole story is true, it is always interesting to see the life of a royal family. No matter how hard the Queen was trying to hide her feelings, the movie reminds us all that at the end of the day she is only human.
The Pursuit of Happyness... (No, it's not a typo! Happyness with 'y', instead of 'i'). For some people, it may be a simple drama inspired by the past life of Chris Gardner. But to me personally, there is a lot of lessons learned out of it . The fact that I always like movies based on true stories made it easier for me to enjoy and digest it. To me, it's more than just a short excerpt of Mr. Gardner's biography on how he struggled to be successful in his past personal and professional life (he is now the owner of an investment company and a sought-after motivational speaker in the US). As a father, I was touched by his strong determination and commitment to be a good father (and a good husband) even when he was broke. Trying to put myself on his shoes, I bet it was not an easy job. If the movie pictured him right, as an individual person, the guy has a full swing of the integrated character ethics in him and undoubtedly he deserves what he earns now.
Little Miss Sunshine... I would give 2.5 out of 5. Lightweight drama, in my humble opinion. A little too Hollywood. However, I must admit the screenplay is different. The author successfully developed a simple story to describe different characters in that movie. The ending is unexpected, though rather flat. Still, it's enjoyable.
Borat... it's simply an overhype! Maybe I put my expectation too high prior to watching it, having read the reviews and the fact that it won the Golden Globe (am I correct?). I thought I was going to see a Michael Moore type of movie or a superbly hilarious movie at the least. Frankly, I was only laughing for the first 5 minutes. I watched the rest with some wrinkles on my forehead. I was disappointed and simply disgusted with the screenplay. The dialogues are so indecent! The script is too vulgar with a tendency to cheap and cheesy sex jokes. (Borat, be mature! If he could have ever made it more thoughtful, I think it would have been much better and enjoyable.) The scene I hated most was when he and Azamat were wrestling naked. Only one word can describe it: disgusting! It forced me to fast forward to the next scene. Needless to say, the DVD is now in the trash bin.
The Queen... I enjoyed Helen Mirren's performance here. Like many non-British audience, it was the first time I heard about her. In fact, in this movie, she succeeded in creating that royal character. Not an easy job to do, I guess. As a result, one can see "the Queen" throughout the movie. Brilliant acting! Well deserving for all the awards. Regardless whether or not the whole story is true, it is always interesting to see the life of a royal family. No matter how hard the Queen was trying to hide her feelings, the movie reminds us all that at the end of the day she is only human.
The Pursuit of Happyness... (No, it's not a typo! Happyness with 'y', instead of 'i'). For some people, it may be a simple drama inspired by the past life of Chris Gardner. But to me personally, there is a lot of lessons learned out of it . The fact that I always like movies based on true stories made it easier for me to enjoy and digest it. To me, it's more than just a short excerpt of Mr. Gardner's biography on how he struggled to be successful in his past personal and professional life (he is now the owner of an investment company and a sought-after motivational speaker in the US). As a father, I was touched by his strong determination and commitment to be a good father (and a good husband) even when he was broke. Trying to put myself on his shoes, I bet it was not an easy job. If the movie pictured him right, as an individual person, the guy has a full swing of the integrated character ethics in him and undoubtedly he deserves what he earns now.
Little Miss Sunshine... I would give 2.5 out of 5. Lightweight drama, in my humble opinion. A little too Hollywood. However, I must admit the screenplay is different. The author successfully developed a simple story to describe different characters in that movie. The ending is unexpected, though rather flat. Still, it's enjoyable.
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