Let’s face it. Marriage kills your sentimental mood. It’s good for a guy like me, but not so for a guy like Quang Dung. I don’t make a living baring my soul; he does. In his new album, Va, he covers mostly heart-rending ballads, but he sounds more pathetic than persuasive.

Right off the opening track, Lam Phuong’s “Mot Minh,” you can tell that he’s not feeling it. When a man, who is married to a beautiful wife and welcomed a cute son into his life, sings about loneliness, do you really believe him? He doesn’t convince me at all. How pitiful is that for a man to cry on a woman’s shoulder: “Anh khoc tren vai em / Anh khoc tren vai em / Mot lan cuoi, mot lan cuoi cung?” He must be her bitch. Some songs you just can’t switch the role and assume that it will sound right.

Musically speaking, Va is just an average work. Le Quang’s productions are generic and sedative. Can’t blame the producer for not feeling inspired when Quang Dung hardly pushes his vocals. Even on a mid-tempo “Tieng Dan Toi” (by Pham Duy), he doesn’t even switch up his flow to ride with the beat. He plays safe throughout the album by delivering only in his comfy range and refusing to take chances. Evaluate between his and Tuan Ngoc’s version of Tu Cong Phung’s “Tren Thang Ngay Da Qua,” and you’ll see clearly why Tuan Ngoc is still irreplaceable.

I am getting a kick out of today’s pop albums in Viet Nam. Even the most heartbreaking tune could make you giggle. Minh Hang’s Mot Vong Trai Dat is a perfect example. The album is filled with real talk like “Long Ich Ky,” “Nguoi Dien Yeu” and “Yeu Lam Anh.” Get past the lame-out rap, range-less delivery, breathy vocals, generic arrangements, and what you get is straight-to-the-point conversation. The duet between Minh Hang and Thanh Dai Sieu on “Chia Doi Mot Trai Tim” cracks me the hell up. Not because of their vocal chemistry, but their shameless approach. You just have to forgive a guy for such a sincere confession: “La tai anh co loi khi anh da yeu ca hai / Khong muon mot nguoi phai buon cung khong muon bo mat ai.” He sounds so damn sweet even with such a wimpy voice. He just happens to love two girls even though he doesn’t want too. Don’t you wish you could get away with shit like that? I envy you, kid.

Sure, Duc Tri continues to collaborate with Ho Ngoc Ha even after they broke up, but does he give her a hundred percent of his effort? Hell no. Judging from her new and previous albums, he doesn’t give a shit. Can’t blame the guy though. Any dude would have done the same. Although he is not totally responsible for her new release, the least he could do was to give her some advice. Khi Ta Yeu Nhau is her lamest album up to date. Sort of like high-end restaurants with tasteless food, the productions are crisp and top-notch, but lack the flavors. Her voice is dark and raspy, but she sounds more sleepy than sexy. The lyrics are so banal that the only line sticks out after listening to eleven tracks is “Cho du anh khong cao lam / Ma trong anh rat duyen.” Thanks for throwing us shorties a bone.

As I sat down to write about “our story,” I couldn’t possibly sum it up without delving into the details. Dung and I met through my website (Visualgui.com). I invited her to a movie. On our first date, she impressed me with her appetite by cleaning up a huge plate of shrimp pasta at ten o’clock at night. The long hours we sat by the Hudson River trading our stories. The first time we held hands and didn’t want to let go. The days filled with continuous emails back and forth. The evenings filled with food, music and laughter.

The memories are endless; therefore, I would like to do something a bit different instead of writing a novel about us. One of the things that connected us is music, particularly Vietnamese intimate ballads. So we wanted to put together an album with the songs we have loved and shared. And instead of writing the sleeve notes, I put together the “love notes” for the seven tracks that recollect glimpses of our story:

Tình Tự Mùa Xuân
Music & Lyrics: Từ Công Phụng
Vocal: Tuấn Ngọc

I can still remember the fresh vibe of the clear, breezy summer night like yesterday. On a dark, lonesome throughway, I was driving Dung home from our first date. We glanced at each other as “Tình Tự Mùa Xuân” began:

Em lại đây với anh
Ngồi đây với anh
Trong cuộc đời này.
Nghe thời gian lướt qua
Mùa xuân khẽ sang
Chừng như không gian đang sưởi ấm
những giọt tình nồng.
Come to me,
Sit by my side,
Share this life with me.
Listen to the time glide by,
As the soft approach of spring,
Warms the air
And our tender tears of love.

I didn’t need to say a word. Tuấn Ngọc’s romantic voice said it all.

Bài Ca Hạnh Ngộ
Music & Lyrics: Lê Uyên Phương
Vocal: Thiên Phượng

Although the journey ahead could be rough and treacherous, we can make it if we hold on to each other’s hand. We promised never to get go like Lê Uyên Phương had suggested:

Rồi mai đây đi trên đường đời
Đừng buông tay âm thầm tìm về cô đơn.
Later, on the journey through life,
Don’t let go of my hand to seek your quiet solitude.

Vì Đó Là Em
Music & Lyrics: Diệu Hương
Vocal: Quang Dũng

Dung used to call me “dẽo miệng” (slick mouth) when I lip-synced the following lyrics to her:

Không cần biết em là ai
Không cần biết em từ đâu
Không cần biết em ngày sau.
Ta yêu em bằng mấy ngàn biển rộng
Ta yêu em qua đông tàn ngày tận
Yêu em như yêu vùng trời mênh mông.
Who you are doesn’t matter,
Where you’re from, I don’t wonder,
What you’ll be, I don’t worry.
My love is a thousand oceans strong,
My love will fight winters and eternities long,
My love, like the sky, will always be.

Sure my dear, I love you just the way you are.

Nụ Hôn Gởi Gió
Music: Hoàng Việt Khanh
Lyrics: Hiền Vy
Vocal: Quang Lý

Besides Hoàng Việt Khanh’s composing skill and Quang Lý’s gorgeous delivery, what makes this contemporary folk tune irresistible is Hiền Vy’s playful poetry:

Môi em mọng đỏ, là đỏ như mơ
Cho anh nhờ gió hôn vào là vào môi em.
Your full red lips, crimson like a ripe apricot,
Let me summon the breeze to give them a gentle kiss.

Dung pointed out how folks back in the days revealed their feelings in such a graceful approach. I wanted to sing this tune dedicated to Dung on our wedding day but my voice fails me.

Niệm Khúc Cuối
Music & Lyrics: Ngô Thụy Miên
Vocal: Thụy Vũ

We danced to this romantic ballad together for the first time and we knew it has to be the theme song for our wedding:

Cho tôi xin em như gối mộng
Cho tôi ôm em vào lòng.
Xin cho một lần, cho đêm mặn nồng
Yêu thương vợ chồng.
Be the pillow I embrace,
Let me hold you in my arms,
Let us share warm nights together,
Loving one another as husband and wife.

Rồi Đây Anh Sẽ Đưa Em Về Nhà
Music & Lyrics: Phạm Duy
Vocal: Mộng Thúy

A lovely ballad from Phạm Duy reminds us of the days we sat in the Eastman Park talking about life, family, music and everything else until two in the morning. Accompanied by a simple, elegant piano, Mộng Thúy’s sensual soprano brings back the memories:

Rồi đây anh sẽ đưa em trở về
Về nơi công viên yên vui lặng lẽ.
Hãy ngồi đây, ghế đá ngày xưa
Dưới hàng thông có gió lửng lơ.
And I will return with you
To the quiet park of our youth,
Where we may sit on the old bench
Under pines caressed by the breeze.

Bài Không Tên Số 28
Music & Lyrics: Vũ Thành An
Vocal: Tuấn Ngọc

Our story is long and filled with memories and this is just the beginning. Each day our love grows stronger than the day before and we’re looking forward to sharing our lives together like Vũ Thành An had written:

Cho đến trăm năm vẫn còn say
Xin đến trăm năm không rời tay.
Until a hundred years pass, our love shall never end,
For a hundred years more, never letting go.

The big day is coming, so I won’t be blogging much. After the wedding we will head to Jamaica for a short honeymoon; therefore, I am going to leave you with the album we have compiled for you to enjoy while I am away. Thanks everyone for being such wonderful visitors.

Thanks to Trong Do and Anh-Chi Do for all English translations.

Mr. Narcissist transforms himself once again from the queen of drama into the angel of drama in his new release Hanh Phuc Cuoi. Moved by a gay relationship in a Chinese soap opera, Dam Vinh Hung penned the lyrics for the title track. The romantic ballad turns out to be as campy as it gets. But that’s nothing compared to his rendition of Bao Long’s “Nuoi Tiec Muon Mang,” a pop-trash ballad ruined by the smooth saxophone and his wimp-out whine. With cheap productions accompanying a badly deteriorated voice, this album, from concept to design, is garbage. In an interview, he bragged that Dam Vinh Hung never allows himself to put out bad records. True, they aren’t bad, just fucking suck.

Phan Dinh Tung wants to take a step beyond his comfort zone, but at the same, he doesn’t want to abandon his fan base. So he drops two albums at once to accommodate both. Tung Ballad is a poppy record to fulfill his obligation while Tung Trinh is his take on Trinh Cong Son’s standards to reach more mature listeners.

Ballad is clearly not so hard for PDT to pull off. In fact, he delivers the pop tunes without breaking a sweat. His flows are effortless, but much more important than that, he knows the value of the hooks. Once you got the hook down, the rest of the song will follow. In Minh Khang’s “Nguoi Ra Di La Anh,” he kicks off with the hook that will stay in your head for at least a month. Once you heard it, you can’t help humming to it. That’s how ridiculously catchy the tracks on Ballad are and his voice—clear, powerful with sugarcoated tone—is perfect for them. “Anh Phai Lam Sao,” also penned by Minh Khang, is an instant hit. When he sings, “no one will love you more than he has,” you almost believe him.

Unlike Ballad, you could hear that PDT tries really hard on the Trinh record. The transition from Ballad to Trinh isn’t quite a smooth ride. The first half of the album is just passable. “Diem Xua” is where he started to sound relaxed and began to feel the lyrics. His version of “Ha Trang” is surprisingly convincing because he just let his soul float with the simple picking guitar. The jazzy-flavored “Toi Oi Dung Tuyet Vong” is well executed. The intro, which featured a female vocalist that sound like Hong Nhung, is novelty and the minimal piano tinkling in the arrangement gives the tune a bluesy touch.

Both albums showcase two different sides of PDT. If he were to combine the two together to catch all, it would have been all over the place like a buffet. With the two separate, each album sounds focused and crafted. So this is not a bad move at all.

On the cover of her new album, Hard Candy, Madonna rocks a championship belt around her waist and sits with her legs spread open. She sure deserves the champion-of-sex title. No one could eye and mind fuck us longer than she could. She did it when she was “Like a Virgin.” She is doing it again like a MILF.

Right off the opening “Candy Store,” she wastes no time offering us her raw sugar (“sticky and sweet”). Then in “4 Minutes” she flirts with the young Justin Timberlake: “Just say the words and imma give you what you want.” In the next track, “Give It 2 Me,” she follows up with more seductions: “If it’s against the law, arrest me / If you can handle it, undress me.” While she does all these sizzle talks, a handful of hot, clubbing beats (courtesy of Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Nate “Danja” Hills) are backing her up. The only problem is that you don’t take a fifty years old woman to a club, even though she is Madonna. You want to take her somewhere else away from the crowd. Know what I mean?

All in all, Hard Candy is nothing more than a dance album with Madonna’s sex touch lost in the beats. Though her words are filled wit lust, suggestive metaphors, her delivery lacks the passion. Even when she sings, “Sex with you is… uh… incredible,” she comes off like a kindergarten teacher who offers her kids some candies for their cooperation. In the closing “Voices,” Timberlake brings up the questions: “Who is the master? Who is the Slave?” Not sure if she still holds the whip.

As long as Asia Entertainment still around, the war will forever be reminded. Its new release, La Thu Tu Chien Truong (Letters From Battle Fields), conceptualized around the theme that the production has beaten to death already; therefore, it would be pointless to hear what the MCs had to contribute.

Musically speaking, the show only had two or three standout performances. It’s about time Asia brought a real talent on board. Not all that physically attractive, but Bich Van (whose voice mesmerized me two years ago) gave an exceptional rendition of Pham Dinh Chuong’s “Anh Di Chien Dich.” She hit the high notes right on the spot and her enunciation was flawless. By the time she finished, there was no room left for Y Phuong to match up. It’s the musical director’s fault for the unfair pairing. Bich Van’s performance should have been grouped with Nguyen Hong Nhung’s version of Hoang Trong’s “Nguoi Tinh Khong Chan Dung.” Again, Nguyen Hong Nhung was so damn hypnotizing that she left Thien Kim out in the cold. Nguyen Hong Nhung looked great too, but the sexiest chick of the show went to the new-but-blazing-hot Ho Hoang Yen. If there were a dress (military-inspired color with plenty of open space to display cleavage) like what she had on in the army, there will be a lot of jerking off in the boot camp. What song was she singing anyway?

That’s all I could walk away with from the show. The rest were just same old shit.

Mariah Carey’s new album E=MC2 uses the same formula from her big success The Emancipation of Mimi: party first; pray later. Although the same ingredients were applied, E=MC2 sounds more generic than her previous work.

The album kicks off with a club-friendly “Migrate,” a Jermaine Dupri production, in which her voice and guest appearance T-Pain’s were digitally distorted. Both of their vocals are equally annoying. In addition to JD, she also brings in hitmakers like Swiss Beatz and Scott Storch on board to assist with the production, yet what the album is lacking is octave-grabbing Carey. “I Stay In Love” sounds robotic until near the end where Carey battles out with Carey on the simultaneous low and high vocals.

Like her previous effort, Carey likes to crossover to give her music more flavors. On here, her collaboration with dope-rapper Young Jeezy is much more effective than with reggae-crooner Damian Marley. Jeezy actually puts his crack tales aside and offers Carey some words of advice as she deals with the “Side Effect” her ex-husband left her with.

After all the bumps and grinds and dramas, Carey closes out the album with “I Wish You Well,” in which she flights her high range over the accompanying piano with a gospel choir backing her up. Still E=MC2 couldn’t hold up to Mimi, but more like leftover from Mimi.

People have their own ways of dealing with a broken heart. Most folks cry all day and stay up all night; some eat until they’re fed up; and some just go to sleep. Ever since “Tinh Yeu Lung Linh,” Tuan Hung sings like a lovesick puppy that just wants to drift off to bed.

Six albums later, he still sounds super snoring. His new album clocks in at forty minutes, yet he puts you to sleep at fifteen the most. In track one, he lays in bed counting stars and falling asleep; in track two, he gets up asking himself “Tinh La Gi” and then falls back to sleep; and on he goes. He has a strong, raspy voice, but like most of his peers, he is either too lazy to explore new sounds or he is afraid of stepping out of his limited range. On “Tinh La Gi” and “Anh Muon Noi,” the arrangements are so boring that as soon as the traditional instruments, which sound like Chinese TV series, kick off, you just can’t help to yawn.

So if you want to take nap, this album will do the job efficiently. One good thing, though, is that he has not gone down to Dam Vinh Hung’s path—at least not yet.