Don’t Despair, Dear I
As much as I worship the ground he spitted on, I am fucking done with Trinh Cong Son’s albums. Seven LPs (“Tinh Khuc Trinh Cong Son”) released in Viet Nam within the last couple of months: two instrumentals from Lang Van production, two from Hong Nhung, one from Lo Thuy, Thai Hoa, and Khanh Ngoc, and let not include an array of albums in which three or four of his songs slipped in. How ridiculous is that? I am sure singers have many respect for Trinh, but they are abusing his work for their own good even if they don’t intend to. And they all have legitimate reasons for singing his music: I am in the stage of my life where I need Trinh’s music; I could feel his lyrics; I get a strong connection with his words, like telekinesis; Everytime I sing his music, I could feel what he was saying and what he had been through. Last year, the trend was how to make Trinh’s music sounds difference by throwing in some jazz and semi-classical elements or screaming their lungs out. This year, they want to stay with the original context and sing his music the way he intended. What a bunch of bullshit. It’s sad to witness his work being desecrated to the point of no control. I am sure Trinh Cong Son’s timeless work will never die, but right now it is becoming diegetic music. It’s really a damn shame.