Nas’s “Where Ya’ll At?” from his upcoming Hip Hop is Dead. Yes, hip-hip indeed is losing her touch. I haven’t feel anything from her lately.

Busta Rhymes’s “Untouchable” featuring Rah Digga and Spliff Star. Ra Digga spits, “The only thing tighter than my rhymes is the puss.” Not all puss are tight, alright!

I am not ashame to admit that this kracker was the one that got me hooked into hip-hop. How ironic? Don’t tell me that you didn’t like that “Ice Ice Baby” shit. It was so damn groovy. Also check out his rendition of Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor.” Looks like fans outside the States are still feeling him. Maybe he’s the cat that could bring back hip-hop, and not Nas, Jay-Z, or Common.

Anyone who is familiar with Flash interface should get a kick out of “Animator vs. Animation” by Alan Becker. Even if you have never worked with Flash, it shoud be entertaining as well. The video reminds me of Xiao Xiao’s stick-figure fighting.

Jackson Pollock is kind of kool!

The Two Chinese Boys just published “Don’t Lie” from the Black Eyed Peas. They have definitely lost their humorousness.

Got a real copy of Ngo Minh Tri’s Buon C Major this morning. The final mix is way better than what I got for the review version, which took me quite a long time to appreciate its aesthetics. The arrangements are crisper and the vocals are much clearer. The album is fantastic.

Vuong Dung, winner of Sao Mai Diem Hen (Vietnamese Idol) in 2005, is under the influence of Thanh Lam. No harm in that, as long as she could carry her individual style. And she has with the rendition of Pho Duc Phuong’s “Khong The Va Co The” in her debut Trai Cam Mat Troi. Although her flow and phrasing are drawn heavily from Thanh Lam, she knows how to steer her performance away from the queen of pop, and makes it her own.

With a powerful, light-scratched voice and a marvelous intonation, Vuong Dung brings a new aroma to the Vietnamese pop fragrance, and her distinctiveness can be found in Nguyen Cuong’s “Thanh Pho Mien Quan Ho.” She rides skillfully in and out of the up-tempo arrangement, takes her time crooning the folk essence, and recites naturally the witty rhymes. On top of all that, she isn’t afraid to play around with her delivery, which makes her performance so elating. Furthermore, her northern style is so damn seductive that listening to her accent makes me want to sleep with her. And when she pours her heart out on the jazz-flavored “Bao La Buon” (also a Nguyen Cuong’s composition), I wish I could fly to her and take away her immeasurable loneliness by touching her hair, face, and whatever sad parts on her body. But when she gets rough and rocked-up in “Trai Cam Mat Troi” (another song from Nguyen Cuong), you know she is no weak soul. If a woman wants to pick the “orange sun” just to give it to you, what more could you ask for? If you could have that woman by your side, the world is yours.

In the album-closer “Ben Song” written by Nguyen Hoang Ha, songbird Vuong Dung completely changed her flow, and yet still giving the tune a heartfelt presentation. Besides the captivating vocals, what leaves listeners yearning for more is the striking orchestration from Duc Nghia who is the main man behind album’s productions.

It’s time for a bit of visual change. Back to white background. Goodbye Google’s AdSense as well. The experiment is shorter than what I have expected. Enjoy the new look!

Off topic: Connie Chung sang “Thanks For The Memory.” Was she on crack or something?

Jazz was originated in America, but has been embraced worldwide. Musicians around the globe have been using her rhythms and syncopations to introduce their own music to the world. Lately, the blending of eastern and western sound is becoming a new trend. The Twelve Girls Band is being recognized for weaving traditional sounds (Chinese instruments) into pop and jazz styles. Recently, the Mezcal Jazz Unit from France has teamed up with Vietnamese musicians to bring us Tim Gio (Looking For the Wind), a collaborative effort between two cultures.

As much as I appreciate the attempt from these musicians to bring something new to the table, I don’t experience a smooth fusion connecting the two groups. But instead, each instrument fights for your ears, like the whole Wu-Tang Clan is spitting in one mic. The reed section blows its own horn. The traditional instruments (dan nhi, dan bau, dan tranh) strike their own chords. The weak rhythm section does not swing. The saxophone improvisation is monotonous or lacks humanistic expression most of the time, but when it gets dissonant (on the title track for instance), it becomes John Coltrane’s sheets-of-sound imitation.

The biggest problem with Tim Gio is the chaotic sounds coming out of multiple directions. That’s not the way jazz-fusion works. When Miles Davis recorded Bitches Brew, the sounds came together coherently even though he had multiple electric keyboards, multiple drums, multiple basses, and multiple horns playing at once. The end result was an organic sound that felt so damn natural to the ears.

The album also has tried to provoke conversations between eastern and western instruments, but the outcome is like one speaks Vietnamese while the other speaks French in a mashup dialogue. The exchange is not even close to what avant-garde Ornette Coleman had produced forty-five years ago in The Shape of Jazz to Come. Coleman’s sax and Don Cherry’s trumpet were carrying on a call-and-response effect provided by the incredible rhythm section from bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins.

Too bad Tim Gio didn’t find its wind, but at least it is a perfect album to relax with. And I am feeling the dan t’rung (a musical instrument of the minority people in the Central Highlands of Vietnam) vibration in “Cent Pour Cent” played by Cao Ho Nga.

I love you, daddy!

I have been wanting to tryout AdSense to see if it works. Since the right side of this site has some empty space and the ads box does not interfere with the main content, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. Maybe I could get some extra bucks from it to buy real CDs so that I don’t have to harass singers’ PR. In fact, I might not have to pen any more reviews, but just share the albums for you guys to do the justice. I’ll place the ad for a month or two, if it is worthwhile, I’ll keep it.

By the way, mad props to Hoa for the delicious albums. I’ll give them a spin when I am on the road. Have a great weekend y’all, and try to click on the ads while enjoying the games.

Ange Maya’s digital illustration is what I see when I listen to Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew, which has been on heavy rotation in my car. The two-bar ostinatos from the mixture of acoustic and electronic sounds, especially on “Spanish Key,” run down your spines like pumping cool waves into your vein with a needle. Davis’s organic, space, chillout flavors gave jazz and rock a beautiful marriage as if they were meant for each other. The album released in 1969, yet it still sounds fresher than ever. Don’t care what the critics said, Prince of Darkness was an inventive genius and Bitches Brew is a masterpiece.

On my way to work this morning, I needed some heavy beats to keep me going as I am kicking my caffeine habit. As I was vibing with Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up,” suddenly a bird smacked right into my car. I tried to brake, but it was too late. Sorry birdie! The incident has changed the way I feel about the song. Progidy has created one of the most hardcore-lovemaking tunes. Just put that shit on and drawers drop mighty fast. But now, all I can think about is the poor bird lying dead on the street. The whole perception just fucked up.

For all the soccer fans. Nice bounce!