In his exceptional biography of Louis Armstrong, Terry Teachout pointed out that jazz was in everything that Pops recorded. Even his poppiest hits including “Hello, Dolly!” and “What a Wonderful World,” Pops incorporated jazz elements into them. Pops is an engaging read as Teachout unfolds of the controversy of Armstrong’s “old-fashioned way of mixing high art with low comedy” and the dark side behind his happy face.
Dan: Daddy, you! Get off my face (as I tried to rub Vaseline on his face)
Dan: Daddy, stop before police catch you (as we were driving home)
Dan: Daddy, the fries smell good (in the car).
Dad: When we go home, don’t tell your mom that I gave you fries.
Dao: Why?
Dad: She’ll yell at me.
Dao: Don’t worry. Her voice isn’t that loud.
Dad: Dao, we’re in Pennsylvania.
Dao: Yes, Pennsylvania looks like a pencil.
Dad: Huh?
Dao: Pencilvania.
Dad: Oh I get it. (LMAO)
Hồ Hoàng Yến is like a bird trapped in Asia’s cage. She can’t escape the production’s unimaginative direction even though she has so much potentials. Her third release, Dù Tình Yêu Đã Mất, is just another cover of ballads with recycled arrangements. From the opening title track to the closing “Yêu,” she interprets these standards like a copy machine. She sings right off the page and never deviates from the melodies. They are not bad by any means. They are just boring. It’s sad to witness such a sensuous of a voice being wasted. Fortunately, it is still not too later for her to break away from Asia and to take on a more challenging moves with her music career. If she keeps heading down this same path, however, she’ll be soon forgotten.
Dan: Donuts! (as we passed Dunkin’ Donuts)
Dad: Not this morning buddy.
Dao: That donut place was not there when I was a baby.
Dad: You’re right. It was built when Dan was a baby.
Dao: Yes. I went to the hospital to see mommy and Dan when he was a baby.
Dad: Do you want another baby brother or sister?
Dao: I want another baby brother.
Dad: You don’t want a baby girl?
Dao: No, I already have a girl?
Dad: Who?
Dao: Mommy!
In his previous Cánh Diều Lạc Phố, Nguyễn Đình Thanh Tâm was under the influence of Tùng Dương. In his new release, Gặp Tôi Mùa Rất Đông, Thanh Tâm has completely stepped out of his idol’s shadow by putting a restrain on his vocals and making pointless dance music that Tùng Dương would never record.
After almost two and a half minutes of an unnecessary intro, the title track, which written by Mew Amazing, begins with an atmospheric backdrop and then progressed into some inaudible rapping. “Nghe Ta Hồi Sinh” (music by Đỗ Hiếu and lyrics by Thanh Tâm) picks up the club beat with annoying ad-lib in the background. Then the catchy “Liêu Trai” (Nguyễn Hải Phong) makes you want to register for a Zumba class. Đỗ Hiếu’s production is infectious.
Still, highlights of the album are the none-dance tracks like the electric excellent “Bóng Tối.” The dark, hunting vibe brings to mind the Chemical Brothers. The second version of the title track is also way better than the first. The orchestration, which includes guitar, zither and strings, is astonishing. With only seven track on the album, Thanh Tâm should have concentrated on electric music instead of dance shit. It’s a missed opportunity.
The first assignment in Professional Design Practices, an advanced studio course on special topics, was a do-over project. After looking at my portfolio, my professor who also taught the branding course last semester suggested that I redo Sketches of Miles. It would give me a chance to finesse the typography. At first I was not thrilled because Sketches of Miles was a side project to teach myself HTML5 and CSS3 a few years ago. The typography was rough because it use design using CSS rather than Photoshop or Illustrator. The do-over project was to take a few sketches and make them into a series of posters.
After spending the weekend thinking deeper into the project, I came up with a different concept. Rather than going from the web back to print, I wanted to go forward to an app, particularly for the iPad. Instead of me making the sketches, I wanted to design an interactive app that would allow Miles’ freaks like myself to create their own sketches.
The app is very straightforward. Once fans downloaded the app, they could sign up using Facebook, Twitter or Google credential. Once they logged in they become the users. On the home screen they could see a gallery of sketches that other fans have created. They also have an option to create their own. I designed a set of very simple user interface to let the users play around on their iPad. They could change the texts, draw their own sketches or import graphics into the app. Once they are done sketching, they could share their work with other fans as well as other social media networks.
The app turned out to be a fun project. After creating the interface for the app, I also created a handful of sketches to show what users can do with the app. With the timeline as well as the scope of the class, which focuses only on design, I only get to do the prototype of the app. Besides, I don’t have the mobile development skills to create a robust app like that. It is definitely a great project to learn iOS programming. Maybe that would be down the line. Still, the prototype is worth checking out.
Teachout’s Duke is an engaging biography of an accomplished composer, renowned bandleader and skillful pianist who loved music, food and women. (Duke referred to himself as a “pussy freak.”) As an admirer of his work, particularly the Ellington effects, I find his composing process, which based on what he heard from his musicians, to be inspiring, but his way of treating women and his collaborators, especially how he took credits from the talented Billy Strayhorn, to be appalling. Then again, it is reassuring to know that even a great genius is deeply flawed just like the rest of us.
On an unrelated note on book design. Setting italic on long block quotes is quite distracting and hard to read.
Dao: Daddy, today is show and tell.
Dad: Did you bring anything?
Dao: Yes, my train.
Dad: What are you going to tell about your train?
Dao: My train is very very fast.
Dad: Is it reliable?
Dao: No, it’s just a toy train.
Dad: Do you know what reliable mean?
Dao: No.
Dan: Daddy, are you OK?
Dad: Yes.
Dan: Daddy, are you OK?
Dad: Yes.
Dan: Daddy, are you OK?
Dad: Yes. I am OK.
Dan: Daddy, are you tired?
Dad: Yes.
Dan: Daddy, are you tired?
Dad: Yes.
Dan: Daddy, are you tired?
Dad: Yes. I am tired.
Dan: Daddy, are you sleepy?
Dad: Yes. I am very sleepy.
Dan: Daddy, you’re a sleepyhead [Smurf reference].
Bằng Kiều and Minh Tuyết aren’t just pop singers. They are pop savvies. Their latest collaborative effort, Lâu Đài Tình Ái, is the proof once again that they know exactly what their fans want and they deliver just the way their fans desired. They don’t challenge their listeners and they ruffle no feathers.
Like most new releases coming from Thúy Nga production, Lâu Đài Tình Ái is an album filled with old popular ballads. Both Bằng Kiều and Minh Tuyết are on-the-page vocalists; therefore, they bring nothing new to these new tunes. In fact, they stay as faithful to the written melodies as they could. The result is safe but sincere. For instance, Minh Tuyết’s solo rendition of “Đừng Xa Em Đêm Nay” (Đức Huy) is the only cover that comes closest to Thảo My’s original. While her vocal delivery is straightforward, Đồng Sơn’s elegant Latin arrangement makes the tune sounds fresh.
As for Bằng Kiều’s solo performance, his take on “Nha Trang Ngày Về” (Phạm Duy) is reflective and nostalgic. In addition to Tùng Châu’s simple, sensational arrangement, what made this version works is that Bằng Kiều has restraint himself from belting out his falsetto. I was expecting to hear him wailing out on the last bar, but thankfully he ended the song in the low register.
Out of their four duets, “Tình Bơ Vơ” (Lam Phương) stands out. Their vocal deliveries are what fans from both camp would anticipate. What new is that Tùng Châu gives the song a Latin rhythm with sprinkle of bluesy keyboard licks. Without a doubt, the productions make Lâu Đài Tình Ái enjoyable for at least one or two listens.
At dinner last night, I shared with my wife a few things about Duke Ellington I have been reading. I said that he was a spoiled child. Dao asked me, “What does spoiled mean?” My wife replied to him, “What do you think it mean?” He said, “It means when you get a lot of toys.” My wife and I both know that Dao is a bright kid and he’s also very stubborn. The combination makes him a hard-headed child to deal with.
I notice his behavior has changed drastically in the past year. He enjoys going to school and interacting with his friends. At home he plays well with his brother except when Dan plays with the toys that he liked. For instance, when Dan played with a garbage truck he tried to take it away from Dan. If Dan wouldn’t give it up he would start a fight. I stepped in tell him that Dan is playing with it at the moment he needs to wait for a bit. He would start to lose control if he couldn’t get what he wants. When that occurred I sent him to timeout.
Once Dan is done playing he would give it to Dao. Dan usually doesn’t play with a toy for too long. Dao thanked him and then he moved on. As soon as he grabbed a train, Dao wanted that train as well even though we have ton of trains in the house, he had to have the one Dan was playing with and then we go through the same timeout again. This behavior of his is driving me off the wall and I can’t seem to get through to him at the moment.