Vietnamese-Australian Van Nguyen was hanged earlier today in Singapore for drug trafficking. He was only twenty-five years old. My condolence goes out to his family.
Lesson learned: If 400 grams of dope won’t kill you, the Singapore officials will. Please say no to drugs.
Ngo Minh Tri’s “Mua Xuan, Ruou va Toc Dai,” a refreshing jazz performance by Kim Phuong. I am digging the smooth-as-cognac saxophone and the intoxicating vocals. This is the kind of music I am talking about, baby. Please NMT, keep on writing jazz tunes. I am feeling it.
Rock the house for the holidays.
WTF, an amusing exercise.
The Photo Retouch gallery.
After watching Paris By Night 79 (Dreams) and reading my review, a reader, who would like to remain anonymous, challenges me to see if I have the ball to post something he has written. The piece, which based on a verse from Biggie’s “Just Playin’ (R&B Bitches),” demonstrates how a show like Paris By Night can corrupt our mind. I must admit, I was hesitated at first because of the misogynist content, but my ball is as huge as the Epcot Center, so what the heck do I gotta lose? If Nguyen Ngoc Ngan and Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen can read their fan letters on the show, why can’t I post mine on my site? He also sent along a clip of Biggie’s original freestyle. I am feeling it, man!
As I sit back relax,
Poppin’ Paris By Night into the deck
Checkin’ out the sexy singers that I wanna sex
I’d probably start off with Bao Han
Stickin’ that skinny ass just for fun
Then hit her friend Nhu Loan too.
Wait a minute, what about Ho Le Thu?
That lil’ slut can give me head
With Thuy Van and Tu Quyen rockin’ in the same bed.
I wanna do Ky Duyen too, but that bitch talks too much
So I put her in charge of my left nut
While her girlfriend Luu Bich’s on my right
Loan Chau is the one I wanna bone all night
Cause I know that pussy is tight.
Yeah! Minh Tuyet is the cutie with the big booty
I’m ma hit that ass till it gets juicy.
Dreams of fuckin’ all Thuy Nga bitches
I’m just playin’. Know what I’m sayin’.
When Le Hieu was featured on Do Bao’s Canh Cung, he was still in development. His performance on title track was the weakest among the ladies, which included Tran Thu Ha, Khanh Linh, Ngoc Anh, and Ho Quynh Huong. Although his voice sounds mature for his age, I have not yet found its aesthetic and uniqueness. Yet, I keep hearing his name and his potentials. So let’s find out if he has persuaded me on his newest release, Vol.3.
The album opens with Duong Duc Hien’s “Ngay Qua Lang Le,” a sugary pop tune with a catchy chorus. But what keeps us coming back is the sensuous saxophone that works as a foil to Le Hieu’s saccharine vocals. Then guest-star Le Quyen joins in on Trinh Nam Son’s “Con Duong Mau Xanh.” When given the right material, she can soar with her gravel pit of a voice. Even though he has given his best shot, she still manages to dominate the performance with her indelible and powerful delivery. She makes me wish her counterpart were Trinh Nam Son (who could articulate the song better than the writer himself?), and not Le Hieu. I actually heard Trinh Nam Son performed his song years ago on the first Asia video, and I could not find a match until now.
Nevertheless, the duet between Le Hieu and Le Quyen is the highlight of the album because the rest is filled with pop-rock tedium (Van Tuan Anh’s “Trai Tim That Tha”), bland r & b-inflected groove (Ho Hoai Anh’s “Con Mua Mua Dong”), and plenty of Chinese’s syrupy harmonies (Duong Duc Hien’s “Qua Roi Ngay Thang Ben Nhau” and “Mot Lan Gap Em”). Even with the assist of Thanh Lam, Le Hieu could not revivify Duc Huy’s “Nhu Da Dau Yeu.” The two voices don’t seem to connect or complement one another. I have never heard Thanh Lam sounded so rough and raw before—as if she was singing into a bad mic. On Bui Anh Dung’s “Tinh Yeu,” the bossa-nova rhythm is groovy and the piano work is exquisite, but his performance is stilted, even when he switches up his flow imitating Tung Duong’s style on the third chorus.
No, I am still not convinced. His phrasings have not improved, and I can hear his breath. I have not listened to Le Hieu’s Vol.1 and 2 yet; therefore, I don’t know what type of audiences he had targeted. As for Vol.3, he wants to kill two birds with one stone, similar to what Dam Vinh Hung has been doing with his albums, and we all know where Mr. Dam is at now. Let’s wait and see if Le Hieu is heading into the same direction.
Thuy Nga’s latest video, Dreams, boosted up more provocative visual than innovative music. From the sexy trio intro, which featured bosomy Nhu Loan, luscious Loan Chau, and juicy Ho Le Thu, to Tu Quyen’s lingerie and bed-rocking presentation to Thuy Van’s skin-to-skin bump-and-grind, the show was a big dream of orgies. Thuy Nga’s chicks were so disgustingly seductive that we would have a hard time concentrating on the music. I had no clue what Thuy Van and Tu Quyen were singing nor I could recall what their male partners (Nguyen Hung and Luong Tung Quang) looked like next to them. Who could pay attention to the lyrics when Minh Tuyet’s bubble butt and Nhu Loan’s fake but firm breasts occupied our mind? And just when we were about to get tired of looking at the same old girls, Thuy Nga slapped on some new ones to keep us coming back for more. Ngoc Lien was the latest protégé who brought more appearance than voice to the production. But hey, I am not complaining. I don’t mind watching them.
When the sex was not present, the video got boring and stale. We know the drill: get rich on dead writers. Thuy Nga loved to recycle old songs. The problem was their musical production hardly revived the ageless standards. The most disappointing arrangement was in Trinh Cong Son medley. The plain and colorless production weakened the performance. Khanh Ly and Tuan Ngoc were undoubtedly two of the most successful voices in covering Trinh’s work, but their selection for this medley was not so convincing. Khanh Ly sounded aged on “Hay Yeu Nhau Di” and Tuan Ngoc was banal on “Tinh Sau.” The only striking coverage was “Phoi Pha,” in which Tuan Ngoc gave a heartfelt delivery.
I am not sure why Huynh Nhat Tan wasted his time writing idiotic song like “Yeu La Chi?” Even though the chorography was cleaver (specially the creative use of glow sticks), the Chinese/hip-hop/trance mix along with Linda and Tommy’s Vietnamese rap were just incredibly unpleasant. But that performance was not as awful as “Street Dreams” by Van Quynh and Adam Ho. Thuy Nga had turned these two young and innocent kids into pathetic punk rockers. I am sorry to say, but watching them gave me nightmares instead of sweet dreams.
Paris By Night 79 is another typical product from Thuy Nga. I am getting tired of watching it, and I have no motivation of writing it. This is my last piece on DVDs music review, not only from Thuy Nga, but other productions, including Asia and Van Son, as well.
A fellow designer lends me Thich Nhat Hanh’s Being Peace, and I read from cover to cover in a couple of hours. In a nutshell, the book shows us how to find peace within ourselves and bring peace to the world around us. One of the forms of Buddhism that strikes me the most is the Tiep Hien (Interbeing) Order, which is to live and to appreciate the moment. The word “Tiep” is “to be in touch” and “Hien” is “the present time.” This practice is something I have been striving for the last couple of years. I have tried my best to not worry about the future and to free my mind from unnecessary burdens. I still haven’t found that peacefulness inside of me yet, but I am much calmer and mellower than before. So turn off television, log off cyberspace, kick back, relax, and enjoy a mindfulness experience of Being Peace.
About a month ago, I received an email from Adam Bray, “a big white guy” (in his own words) who loves Vietnamese popular music, complimented on my review column. Bray took a trip to Viet Nam and loved it so much that he ended up staying in Phan Thiet for two years. He spent his nights at local bars and hang out with the singers. The most intriguing part was that he did freelance Web design to get by. I envy him for his courageousness to live in a place that he just happened to love, and made a living with what he liked to do. I have thought of that, but never have the heart to go forward. As much as I love to live in Viet Nam, I don’t know if I can survive without a steady income. In addition, I don’t even know if I can find a job in Viet Nam. I don’t want to end up doing construction work for my uncle just like the rest of my cousins. Back to the subject, I found an interesting interview with Bray, “Mot Nguoi My Yeu Nhac Viet” (written in Vietnamese), on Giai Dieu Xanh. Bray is back in Maine now for family’s matter, but he hopes to get back to Viet Nam soon.
I am plowing my way into Visions of Jazz: The First Century. The 690-page text featured 79 essays on jazz musicians and their works written by Gary Giddins, one of the finest jazz critics. Although I am only up to the eleventh piece, “Louis Armstrong (The Once and Future King),” I like what I have read so far. Giddins’s passion for the music and knowledge of the history make his writings personal and informational. In the introduction, he states, “Everyone has his or her vision of jazz, and this is mine.” His vision is an inspiring if not an important one.
Cao Thai Son is yet another new kid on the block who tries to recover matured music with his recordings, Le Da. Unfortunately, his baby voice—small, sugary, shallow—does not make the standards, such as Trinh Cong Son’s “Roi Doi Di Nhe,” Ngo Thuy Mien’s “Ao Lua Ha Dong” and Pham Dinh Chuong’s “Mong Duoi Hoa,” stand out. Even though he has pushed his delivery on the title track, his restricted vocal ability doesn’t allow him to reach deep into the sentimental ballad. The worse performance is when he switches up his flow on Tu Vu’s “Gai Xuan.” The syrupy phrasing combined with the emphatic singing is simply infuriating. Nice try, Son.
