Since Trinh Cong Son composed his songs on a guitar, they are best to be performed on a guitar. Too bad I haven’t have the fortunate of experiencing the artist himself strumming his heart out to Khanh Ly’s soulful vocals, but I suppose I could settle for Ha Tran and Thu Phuong in Loi Cua Giong Song for now.

Not that I need to kiss up to Ha Tran for what I have castigated her Doi Thoai 06, but I must give her the propers she deserves. Her rendition of “Mua Hong” proves that she doesn’t need all the hi-tech shit to be innovative. Accompanied by simple-picking guitar and subtle-plucking bass, she reinvented one of Trinh’s lyrical compositions with her effortless verve and harmonic sensibility. Now that’s the youthful Ha Tran I am rooting for. The one that could give me nostalgia with her unadorned interpretation of “Tinh Xa” and “Tinh Nho.”

In contrast to Ha Tran’s luscious sweet, Thu Phuong’s brooding quality is charming in its own way. Her streamlined approach in “Co Mot Dong Song Da Qua Doi” is both exhilarating and touching, like she could come out and swing even though it rains inside. And when she rains, she pours on “Nay Em Co Nho,” “Roi Nhu Da Ngay Ngo,” and “Tinh Sau.”

Mad props go to the guitarists—Huynh Huu Doan, Dang Huy Hoang, Do Dinh Phuong and Nguyen Xuan Thao—for bringing back the minimalism in Trinh’s work. And of course, can’t forget Vu Anh Tuan for those dope-ass bass lines.

oh, don’t forget… to text your girl telling her how much you love her or else she’ll get a fist. Ask Tim, he knows what’s up! Thanks for the link, man.

A year ago, I acquired William Zinsser’s On Writing Well at a garage sale. Last week I took a crack at it and couldn’t put it down because, obviously, he writes so well. His advice on “Who am I writing for?” alone is worth the price of the book:

You are writing for yourself. Don’t try to visualize the great mass audience. There is no such audience—every reader is a different person… Don’t worry about whether the reader will “get it” if you indulge a sudden impulse for humor. If it amuses you in the act of writing, put it in. (It can always be taken out, but only you can put it in.) You are writing primarily to please yourself, and if you go about it with enjoyment you will also entertain the readers who are worth writing for. If you lose the dullards back in the dust, you don’t want them anyway.

I feel like an idiot for leaving this book in a box all these times without reading it, but at least I am not the one who sold it for a buck.

The new Brown University homepage is slick, edgy, clean, and organized. Nice work, Brown and Pentagram!

Aimi Kobayashi, an eight-year-old (at the time of the performance) pianist, knocks the amazement out of me with her unbelievable talent. Watch for her hand gesture and facial expression on the Mozart Concerto.

Trinh Cong Son’s lyrics are damn near impossible to grab, especially for those who weren’t around his time to comprehend his references. I’ve been listening to “Chi Co Ta Trong Mot Doi” and still not sure what was the man up to. My only conclusion is that he was producing a musical painting with this composition. Because he was also a painter, he could have wanted to connect the two art forms together. The first stanza, “Doi ve toi ten muc dong / Roi ve them con ngua hong / Tu do len duong phieu linh,” painted quite a dreamy, fantasy image. I would love to hear your view on this song, and if you come across any articles, please share.

Too fat for camera? No need to worry, HP cameras “instantly trim off pounds from your photo subjects with the slimming feature.” What a fantastically sick artistic effect! What worse is that the demo shows both women (no men) who look great without the slendered illusion.

In Dieu Huong’s “Tinh Xua” (performed by Quang Dung), the chorus begins, “Yeu de dan vat nhau suot ca kiep nguoi.” Is she refering to mental abuse or physical pleasure? I prefer the latter, and can see why most guys (Quang Dung, Tuan Ngoc, Nguyen Khang, and Don Ho) love to sing her songs.

As blogging gains its popularity (even people with Yahoo mail can blog), fun and worth-reading contents are hard to find. No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog aims at providing you tips on how to make your entries more enticing than your mundane life. From “Fifteen Minutes to Fame” to “Think Like A Writer,” Margaret Mason who is the owner of MightyGirl.com (used to be one of my frequent stops) presents her ideas in a short, concise, witty with the blog-formatted approach to help people write down their own experiences. Although my main interest for Visualgui.com is “unprofessional criticism” on music, design, or whatever interests me, I could use some of Margaret Mason’s advices to juice up my posts. So flip through the book, find something provokes your head, and set your blog on fire.

Fuck Christina Aguilera. Diana Krall’s From This Moment On is what I call “Back to Basics.” With a dark, raspy voice, Basie-inspired piano (sweet and tasty), and real accompaniments (full orchestra and quartet), Krall takes us back to the big-band swing and soulful blues. She not only knows how standards should be sung, but also how they should be reinvigorated. She doesn’t croon over trip-hop or high-tech beats and exaggerate her style as groundbreaking. The inventiveness is in her piano solos and scat-singing improvisations. From bossa-nova “How Insensitive” to sensual-swinging “Day In Day Out” to mellowed-out “Willow Weep For Me,” Krall keeps the good old jazz spirit alive with a contemporary sensation.