It’s funny to hear how Truong Ky keeps reemphasizing that Tuan Anh is differ from everyone else, and no one else is similar to him, in a VOA broadcast. Like we haven’t already known that Tuan Anh is an oddball. As queer as he is, Tuan Anh is a wonderful PR himself. He had successfully convinced the audience to accept him for who he is or what he projects on stage. Who could have a much harder time than him in doing that? Just when I thought pointing out PR to a Vietnamese singer is like playing chess with a retarded kid, he proves me wrong. He is wise enough to recognize that showing his face on every video is not a good thing. Listening to him in live concert is quite an experience. Not only he could pour his heart out into a song (his performance of “Mot Lan Mien Vien Xot Xa” still stuck in my head), but he could also interact with the audience. He is quite an entertainer, and a clever one too.

It’s funny to read an article on pirating music, yet no one knows who is the original writer. What even funnier is when listening to both of the demos embedded in the article they called hip-hop. I call them Vietnamese Milli Vanilli.

It’s funny how every time I write a post on Trinh Cong Son album, readers always refer back to Khanh Ly. I am not being offensive here, but let me get my point across. There is no innovation in Khanh Ly’s performances. That’s not a bad thing at all. She sings his music the way Trinh wanted his music to be sung. That’s good because I can use Khanh Ly as a based model to hear how other singers break free from his original intention. Even Thanh Lam admitted that no one could sing Trinh’s music better than Khanh Ly; therefore, she had to find her own niche.

After a long delay, Ngo Minh Tri’s Buon C Major, a Vietnamese semi-classic, jazz, and bossa-nova album, is now ready to be shipped. Sample audios and purchase information are available at his Web site.

I have managed to create a blog (another one?) on Yahoo just so I can interact with Luat Danh, Dieu Hien, and Diem Thuyen—the 360’s circle. And I am not ashamed to admit that I rape both of Luat’s and Dieu’s site to get the latest goodies. They are my weed suppliers. As for the name, why Jazz Me Boo? Beat the hell out of me. I really don’t know what to do with the blog either. So I just post up whatever pleases my eyes. So far only pretty chicks catch my sight.

I have designed a new theme to celebrate iLoveNgocLan.com‘s 3rd anniversary. Ngoc Lan was simply magnetizing.

Let’s “Samba” with Ngoc Lan (even the drummer went buck-wild) and share the sentiment she brought to Duc Huy’s “Xin Mot Ngay Mai Co Nhau.”

Interview clips of Nguyen Khang and Thanh Lam on RadioVNCR. Nguyen Khang is handling himself much better in this interview than the one he did with Truong Ky. Keep it real, man. Don’t sell your soul to those trendy tunes. As for Thanh Lam’s piece, nothing special, just a day in her life.

The New Yorker’s music critic, Sasha Frere-Jones, called Stephin Merritt, a rock musician and songwriter, a “rockist cracker” because Merritt dismisses hip-hop. The controversial issue has been heated up among the critic’s circle. Even The New York Times has mentioned it in an article entitled, “One Man Musical Tastes as Fodder for a Flame War” written by David Carr. Even as a fan of hip-hop, I have to disagree with Frere-Jones’s accusation of someone being racist just because that person doesn’t appreciate hip-hop. I don’t listen to cracker music either, but that doesn’t mean I am a cracker-hater. Merritt dislikes hip-hop not because he is a racist or a rockist, but because he is gay. I would be offended by hip-hop too if I am a fagot. In addition to their ignorance toward women, rappers are a bunch of homophobic thugs and pimps who aren’t afraid to admit so. Furthermore, the gay representation in hip-hop community is equal to none; therefore, Merritt, who embraces ABBA, doesn’t value the aesthetics of hip-hop is nothing new.

“I’m like fuck critics; you can kiss my whole asshole
If you don’t like my lyrics, you can press fast forward.” – Jay-Z

When reading a pathetic piece like Clive Davis’s “Hip-hop: 50 Cent Short of a Dollar,” I understand why Jigga disrespects critics, especially from an old, white, bigoted head who knows shit about the music. I don’t consider myself an expert in hip-hop, but anyone who only uses Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent, and Kanye West to desecrate hip-hop is a joke. Mr. I-am-too-old-for-hip-hop should listen to lyricists like Rakim, 2pac, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, Common, and Ghostface before making such a foolish, generalized statement. Better yet, he should just stick to jazz, blues, and his Motown collections.

Oh, what kind of dumb shit is this? A bunch of Asian chicks spitting white-trashed lines with screwfaces, real cute!

What a great sucking commercial.

Do me a favor folks. Listen to the lyrics in this kick-ass video then transcribe them for me. Go! Go! Go!

Hoang Viet Khanh’s “Bien Dong” (Raging Sea) peformed by Bich Van. What a gorgeous voice she has. Dig the mid-tempo arrangement by Hoang Cong Luan too.

“Ho Nhu,” music by Nguyen Minh Chau, lyrics by Quynh Huong, performed by Quynh Lan. Beautiful voice melts inside the intoxicating piano and violin works.

Pham Duy’s “Tam Su Gui Ve Dau” and Vu Thanh An’s “Tinh Khuc Thu Nhat” showcase Nguyen Khang’s live performance: raw, rough, and rugged. Dusty style, baby!

“Nguoi Yeu Dau” Ngoc Lan. Live video.

Duy Manh is incorrigible. His vol. 3, Kiep Ban Do, is another distasteful, disdainful piece of crap. He needs to leave the saxophone alone because he’s using it wrong. He desecrates the instrument and rapes the culture. Manh, if this is a sickness, get some help pulling your shit together.

I have heard quite a few negative comments about song-writer/song-lifter Quoc Bao. To be honest, I only know his music (not that impressive) and not his personality. Not that I am interested in getting to know him, but when I came across his interview, I am more than shock to read his view on women. The sucker said that he’s afraid of women who have confidence in their talent. If women only talk about their “talent,” they will miss many things they wouldn’t know. He suggests that women should only be confidence in their beauty instead of talent. What a sexist bastard!

Every Vietnamese magazine I flip through these days, there’s coverage of Ngoc Lien. Yes, she’s the one that makes The Son looks like her dad in their duet on Paris By Night. No disrespect to The Son because I would look like a grandpa next to her even though I am much younger than The Son. That’s how good and fresh she looks. In a broadcast she did with Truong Ky, she told him that she is influenced by Khanh Ha, Tuan Ngoc, and Ngoc Lan, but she won’t perform music of Trinh Cong Son, Ngo Thuy Mien, and Tu Cong Phung because their music only attracts a small chunk of listeners. So she decided to go for more popular music for the mass audience. You want to slap her, but you sympathize her. Her voice isn’t strong enough to carry out those tunes, and she knows damn well that she can’t express these songs to their fullest potential. Basically, what she saying is that she has a good taste, but her listeners are idiot so she has to dumb down her music for them. Well, good luck. When people get tired of looking at your face, they won’t listen to your voice either.