Ngoc Lan’s “Ben Nhau Ngay Vui,” a gorgeous, cheerful song for a beautiful, shiny day.

Elton John’s “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word” is a fine tune, but I find it a bit soft and saccharine, especially when the gay man himself sings it. The song has been widely covered, even within the Vietnamese community, but no one brings it up a notch the way Nguyen Khang does. His English is imperfect, but his flow is so unique that he has given me a different view about the song. When he kicks off the first verse, the roughness in his voice changes the song’s entire perspective. It is no longer a man crooning to a woman or, in John’s situation, a man to man, but a thug pouring his heart out to his love: “What have I got to do to make you love me / What have I got to do to make you care / What do I do when lightning strikes me / And I wake to find that you’re not there.” So when a thug apologizes, sorry has to be the hardest word. He was able to convey that vibe, but the other two guys who featured on the track fucking sabotaged it. Nguyen Khuong’s bitch-ass vocals works against the toughness Khang built, and Tien Dung’s weak-ass voice plus the computer manipulation ruined the song.

Damn Khang, you have to re-record this tune by yourself. You owe me this track, man!

Jin ethered Rosie O’Donnell with “You’re Fired.” That’s my boy!

It’s like club opera up in Cardin Nguyen’s new Se Mai Mai. He sure knows how to keep your ass bouncing while telling you his prosaic love stories from one episode to the next like Korean TV series.

Despite his elementary lyrics and rangeless vocals, Cardin makes me feel like I am a heartless bastard. He seems to weep on every track—the cover of Steve B.’s “Waiting for Your Love” in particular—begging for his lover to come back. As if we couldn’t tell through his male-less singing, he recruits his boys—Chosen One and Phong Le—to drop nursery rap verses on “Ngay Thang Troi Qua” to get his point across. The joint comes off like three hopeless fools who just got dogged by the same trick. Through his breathy delivery, Chosen confesses, “Then you [were] getting jealous because they said ‘I get around’ / but honestly baby I was working on my sounds.” The real reason she left his ass because his sound is wack, and let’s not getting into Phong Le’s laughable verse in Vietnamese.

Why being so unsympathetic on the hommies who try to make the ladies happy? Looking upon the positive side, at least Cardin pens his own shit, and he writes in Vietnamese too. I give him props for making a step further than Trish who still writes kiddie English pop tunes for Vietnamese boys and girls, but he’s 26 now (according to HisSpace), not 16. So step up your game, and be the ladies man, not the ladies bitch.

To practice her Vietnamese, a reader translated my review of Ngoc Ha’s Nuoc Mat Mua Thu. It’s such a great idea that I asked her permission to share it. What intrigues me is that she doesn’t translate word for word, and sometimes expanded further details with her own understand of what I wanted to say. I am impressed.

Trong dĩa nhạc riêng thứ tư, Nước Mắt Mùa Thu, do trung tâm Asia phát hành, Ngọc Hạ đã làm mới lại những ca khúc đã từ lâu được khán thính giả yêu thích với giọng hát điêu luyện và phong cách trẻ trung. Lắng nghe từng ca khúc Ngọc Hạ thể hiện, tôi tự hỏi từ cái vóc dáng nhỏ bé kia sao lại có thể là nơi phát ra cái giọng hát mạnh mẽ ấy!

Với nhạc chủ đề “Nước Mắt Mùa Thu” của Phạm Duy, một lần nữa Ngọc Hạ khẳng định chổ đứng của một trong những giọng ca nữ hàng đầu hiện nay. Sự nồng nàn pha lẫn chút buồn trong giọng ca cùng với cách ngân, Ngọc Hạ như gửi gấm tâm hồn mình vào trong ca khúc. Nếu được nghe bên cạnh giọng ca của nữ danh ca Lệ Thu thì thính giả khó tánh nhất cũng khó có thể so sánh. Hãy lắng nghe Ngọc Hạ thở dài “Trời ơi” để cảm nhận được nổi buồn cho thân phận của một kẻ cô đơn, lẻ loi trong cái lạnh lẽo quạnh hiu của một đêm mưa cuối thu.

Bên cạnh giọng ca, phần lựa chọn ca khúc cũng đóng góp vào sự thành công của dĩa nhạc lần này. Ngọc Hạ đã chinh phục thính giả qua nhiều thể loại nhạc khác nhau: lúc ngân vang tựa tiếng chim hót trong âm điệu quê hương qua nhạc phẩm “Hồ Trên Núi” của Phó Đúc Phương, lúc sôi động trong vũ điệu paso của Khánh Băng “Ngày Về Quê Cũ” cũng như lúc hoàng tráng trong âm hưởng bán cổ điển của Phạm Duy “Kiếp Nào Có Yêu Nhau.”

Ngoài cái chưa trọn vẹn của Văn Phụng “Giã Từ Đêm Mưa” mà phần lớn do phần hòa âm với vũ điệu cha-cha kém phần lôi cuốn, sự phối hợp giữa Ngọc Hạ và trung tâm Asia lần này có thể cho là chặt chẻ và thành công. Còn điều gì mong đợi từ Ngọc Hạ? Nghe lại một lần nữa Ngọc Hạ Nước Mắt Mùa Thu và Đức Tuấn Ngậm Ngùi… Chiếc Lá Thu Phai và hãy thử hình dung một dĩa nhạc kết hợp của hai giọng ca qua dòng nhạc Phạm Duy.

When I was reviewing Nguyen Dinh Phung’s albums (Da Khuc, Y Biec, and Ao Mong), I couldn’t find any information on the songwriter. His website was, and still is, inaccessible through Google; therefore, I wrote my pieces based on my own ears. Yesterday, an anonymous commenter pointed out NguyenDinhPhung.com (Duh, why didn’t I try that?). Even though the site is straight amateur, Dr. Nguyen is so generous that he shares all of his albums in high-quality MP3 for free. I suppose when a man can pull in six figures as a medical doctor, he doesn’t need to sell any CD. Music is just his hobby. Mad props to you, doc!

In my brief commentary on Le Quyen’s Giac Mo Co That, I wrote, “The young Le Quyen has a captivating timbre —powerful and perspicuous—with no breathe or pitch issues. While her technical skill is promising, her music selection is disappointing.” I doubt that she read my criticism, but still give myself the credit for helping her stepping up her game. On Mat Biec, her new release with Tung Duong and Tuan Hiep, the dark, gruff sensuousness in her voice is a wonderful complement to the nocturnal mood in Pham Dinh Chuong’s “Xom Dem,” Nguyen Van Thuong’s “Dem Dong,” and Tuan Khanh’s “Chiec La Cuoi Cung.” Even though she still needs to work on her delivery, the soul is there.

Speaking of soul, Tung Duong is the soulster, and he’s always switching up his style. Although it doesn’t always work, he has not been shied away from experiencing with his voice. To give Ngo Thuy Mien’s “Mua Thu Cho Em” a soft and gentle vibe, he holds back his vocals, which ends up sounding like he tries too hard to be effortless. As a result, his voice works against his flow, and the heavy breathing makes him sound huskier than calm. Fortunately, he brings back the ferocity and intensity on Doan Chuan and Tu Linh’s “Gui Gio Cho May Ngan Bay” and “La Do Muon Chieu.”

As for Tuan Hiep, he just got a free ride. With such a mundane voice, he has no business being on the album. Ngo Thuy Mien’s “Ban Tinh Cuoi” should have been a duet between Le Quyen and Tung Duong, not Tuan Hiep. Another disappointment of Mat Biec is the musical arrangement. Except for the little jazziness in “Xom Dem,” the rest are pretty colorless and liveliless.

According Em & Lo’s “The Bottom Line,” sticking up the ass is getting popular. The article also points out that, “… the straight-male fear of reciprocal anal play is a potent mix of sexism and homophobia; a straight man can do it to someone else, but having it done to him isn’t okay.” Ladies, try to poke your finger up your man’s ass and see if you get a smack down. If you don’t, then he must have enjoyed it. You never know how freaky your partner is until you try.

Tuan Ngoc’s rendition of Doan Chuan and Tu Linh’s “Gui Nguoi Em Gai” from Thang Bay Chua Mua. Besides his marvelous skill of grabbing notes on the high register, what makes Tuan Ngoc a singer’s singer is his attention to the lyrics. Gotta love the way he throws the accent on “be” in “Canh hoa tim tim be xinh xinh bao xuan nong.” I have heard many versions of this tune, yet no one puts the emphasis on that little word the way he does.

Like mama says, “Mo coi cha an com voi ca. Mo coi ma lot la ma nam.” That’s why I still have the banging Ca Chien Tuong with Rau Muong (Vietnamese Spinach) and fresh sliced mango marinated in fish sauce even though pops has not been around. He’s still chilling in Viet Nam all these years. You can preach all you want, mama. Just feed me your food.