Quang Dung is Not Mr. Dam

When I read a piece in Dep magazine slaughtering Quang Dung, I thought he overreacted for suing them. I just read another article in the same publication titled “Quang Dũng chứ không phải Mr. Đàm,” I could see why Quang Dung got offended. Comparing to Dam Vinh Hung sure is a blow in the face and the writer is completely goofed up on this one. True, DHV also covered standards like Quang Dung, but there is a different between reinventing old songs and fucking them up. DVH has done the latter. His Trinh Cong Son album is a sacrilege. His other covered albums are horrendous from the mechanical productions to belt-out vocals. The writer simply doesn’t understand the art of reinterpretation. To him, singing louder and fucking up every note is better. To me, that is disrespectful. Although Quang Dung hasn’t been creative, at least he has been respectful to the timeless ballads and I am glad that he is not Mr. Damn.