The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

I have come across a band with a rather long name called The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Despite of the name, I guarantee that the band won't cause you any pain. Most of the songs I come across from this band are very melodic. I can sense some shoegazer influenced with a bit of The Smiths' & The Pastels' kind of melody. With proper marketing and distribution, this band has a great potential.

They sound like British but no, they are not British. They are a bunch of New Yorkers that love British music I believe. You can guess their taste of music based on the songs they write.

For samples, please check out the following site. Trust me you won't regret. What to regret when you're not paying anything to listen to their music?

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

- "Everything With You" was the song that I first listened and it caught my interest instantly.

- "Come Saturday" - Very Ride-liked song.

- "Young Adult Friction" is another melodic song with a good combination of backup vocal. The female back vocalist, Peggy, did a good job here. It will be less interesting without her vocal. An outstanding song!

- "Stay Alive" is a slower tempo song - it won't caused any instant addiction but it will grow on you gradually. It reminds me of Morrissey.

No, they don't pay me any penny for advertisement. In fact they're not even aware that I am posting it here. Perhaps I should let them know to collect some cash that I am lack of :) Seriously, I think any music lovers should check them out.

Here's a video clip of the band with the song, Gothenberg Handshake. The video clips are poor quality but who cares when the music is great!!




Another video clip shot at Stockholm, Sweden .......What's this song????

Rotten Formal Clothes

Yesterday, I received a sudden news that I would be sent to Paris for training. Today, I received another news that we were supposed to wear formally in Paris. Being a typical t-shirt and jeans guy working in a company that allows casual wear. I was a bit panic upon hearing the news. The reasons are:

1. My formal pants are all too tight now
2. My formal clothes are all yellowish
3. Very likely I have to spend a fortune on clothings

All the 3 worrying matters listed above came true when I reached home to inspect my formal clothings. To make the matter worse, the jacket that I wore only once during my graduation and I had high hope that it was in perfect condition turned out to be another disappointment - all the plastic buttons have disintegrated and falling apart. I hope the tailor can help to fix the problem. I am not sure how they are going to do it. I definitely have no idea because the buttons are all sewed inside a layer of cloth covering the sewing. I really hope that I don't have to spend a fortune buying a new jacket that I hardly use in a tropical country.

Revive of Podcasting

I have the itch to share the music I discover for the last couple of months. A friend suggested that we start doing podcast recently really gave me the push to start one as soon as I can. I know it will fail if I do it alone - I will lose interest, get bored, run out of idea and become lazy in the end. The same fade happened when I was doing Boleh Rojak Pod years ago. I will be doing this with a few friends this time ...hopefully with better equipments.

So, look out for an alternative/indie/rock n roll podcast in the next few weeks or months if things work out!

Craft Work

The German band Kraftwerk has been very innovative since the 70s. They have created a very unique sound in the world of music using computers, before the invention of electro-pop, techno, electronica and other kinds of computer generated music.

I heard they will be performing in Singapore. I bet no bands love to come to Malaysia due to the Malaysian authorities' fussy requirements. I would not come to Malaysia too if I have to comply to all the stupid requirements and restriction. To see international bands performing, I guess Malaysians have to travel to Singapore or Thailand.

Check out the following video clips of Kraftwerk.

This is from a documentary:



Autobahn:



Die Roboter (The Robot):



Tour De France:




Das Model (The Model):



Trans Europe Express:

Seize The Day

Last night when chit chatting with a friend, Rafil. He made me realise something very important in our lives. It all started with the topic of the concert of The Cure. He advised me that music lovers like us should seize the day to attend our favourite bands' concerts. As hardcore music lover, something is obviously missing if we have never attended any concert of our favourite bands. Honestly, I consider myself in this category of music lover as well. The biggest gig I attended was the gig in Kuala Lumpur by Fugazi in the 90s. For a person beyond 30 years old, a lot of our all time favourite bands are no longer young. Many of them have reached their 50s or even 60s. If you don't attend their concerts, you may not get the chance to see those bands in a few years. The band members may be too old, you may be too old, health issue, etc may prevent us from any future concerts.

Honestly, I am just repeating what Rafil told me. Rafil, I hope you don't mind me being a parrot. :) I think he's absolutely correct. Based on the situation of my parents, they were thinking of going here and there but they're unable to walk (they could have done that earlier). Rafil told me he used to walk pass CBGB but didn't take the opportunity to walk in and it is now closed down...he regrets. I have always been impressed with the punk band, Ramones, but now more them half of the band members are dead - I will never see them perform again.

I have no regret for getting myself involved in the local underground music scene although it screwed up and I declared retirement for myself. I have no regret for getting involved in a radio show of the former Traxx FM DJ, Maya. I was just doing what I enjoyed. I may not return to the local music scene but if given the opportunity, I would still love to get involved in alternative rock show either in the form of podcasting or broadcasting.

We should all seize the day as the saying from the movie, Dead Poet Society!!

The Cure: 4:13 Dream

One of my all time favourite bands is The Cure. A new album called "4:13 Dream" has been released lately but I have yet to check it out. Anyway, it's just a matter of time. How could any music fan misses out on The Cure?

During my university days back in England, I was close to attending a concert by The Cure at Sheffield University. The Goth Society I joined in my university was organising a bus trip to Sheffield and everyone were excited about it, including some non-members of Goth Society willing to join us. Unfortunately, Robert Smith fell ill and had to postpone it. The new date of the concert was the day I had already departed England. I still feel bitter about it today.

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend at Paul's Place (yeah, it was the infamous Paul's birthday party). We happened to bring up the topic of The Cure. This guy attended 2 concerts of The Cure one after another with his entire family by flying from one country to another. Yeah, the entire family including his young daughter who is also a fan of The Cure!! Looks like the addiction of The Cure can spread in different generations in a family. Amazing, right? It's proven how great is The Cure. Sometimes, I even come across cheesy pop music fans who love The Cure. I should have attended the concert of The Cure in Singapore! Now I feel regret! I heard The Jesus and Mary Chain is going to Singapore soon and I've already felt the itch!!!

Meanwhile, here's a video clip of The Cure with the new song, The Only One. This is a live version: