Budak Pantai Blog

American Idol 2010 not that great

admin — Sat, 29 May 2010 15:42:18 +0000

Every year, the American Idol competition brings out a good pool of talent. There are talented people all around us if we just take the time and trouble to look for it. And I don’t just mean America. If you have the chance (on cable and Youtube mostly), you will realise that in almost every part of the world, talent in music and entertainment is aplenty. Which is why I personally expect a very high standard from American Idol. Which is also why I consider this year’s pool of talent rather disappointing. This is not to say Lee Dewyze isn’t good….I’m saying he isn’t good enough for a competition this big. But I can say he’s more deserved than the 2006 winner, Taylor Hicks, whom I regard as the least talented in the series so far. Based on the performances of both Lee and Crystal in the Final show, I thought Crystal did better than Lee. But here’s another aspect of American Idol that I sometimes cannot understand - the psyche of the American voting public. With Simon Cowell leaving the franchise, I am wondering what will captivate my interest for the 2011 instalment. Hmm….

3-D TV?

admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:26:27 +0000

At first, the idea of having 3-D TV in the home was enticing. I mean, wow, I’d be watching my favourite movie characters jump out of the screen in my very living room. Then, I thought….I have some 50+ relatives and when there’s a family event, they’d come over to my house and….do I need to get 50+ 3-D glasses so everyone can enjoy my 3-D TV? Maybe 3-D TV’s not for me….

Poor Poor Liverpool!

admin — Sun, 02 May 2010 14:52:47 +0000

I am writing this just after Liverpool played like sissies and lost to Chelsea 0-2 at their “hallowed” home ground Anfield. I could have sworn Steven Gerrard was very happy to gift Didier Drogba that first goal. His last home game, the World Cup ahead, an exemplary captain, earning 100k British pounds a week….I feel there’s more to his sloppy back pass than meets the eye. As a tream, the way Liverpool played today, even our S-League’s Sengkang Punggol could beat them. Liverpool are a poor poor team and all Reds legends - Keegan, Dalglish, Rush, Hughes - should be ashamed of how this current team is turning Liverpool into an average team with no pride or soul.

PS: I also think Chelsea has a special programto train their players to dive (simulated)…I believe Chelsea has the most numer of divers in the Premier League. U don’t belive me, just play back all of Chelsea’s games this season.

Let’s Start From Here

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:50:15 +0000

Those of you who came to watch Budak at blueMoo last Friday (30 April) would have heard our rendition of the new song “Let’s Start From Here”, which we mixed with Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”. Before we performed it, I did say that the boys weren’t too enthusiastic about this song, so even though I’d introduced it into our repertoire for almost a year now, it never got very far….till last Friday. The song - by Taiwanese singer Joanna Wang - captured my imagination the moment I heard it and I wanted to pay tribute to it by performing it. If you were at blueMoo last Friday, do write in to tell me if you liked the song. This will determine if Budak perform this song again in the future. Thanks.

Joe

Cedar moon and the stars

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:23:28 +0000

April is turning out to be a fun month for Budak with schools. Two weeks after performing at the morning assembly of PLMGS, we did a school concert with the Cedar Girls school choir. We thought it would be challenging because Budak doesn’t score our music. Teaching the choir using our method of just listening, was, to say the least, daunting. That was before we actually did it. The session turned out to be a lot easier than we anticipated. In just over an hour, the 50 or so choir girls took to our crude method like duck to water. The song we did was “Angel” from our “Nothing Also Happy” album. The soloist Sharon was great….the choir was superb….we all had a terrific time at the show. We gave each choir member a fabric rose with a tag “Thanks for singing with us”, to show our appreciation of their talent. In return, they gave each of us a teddy bear in the Cedar school uniform. The world has never seemed so perfect.

PS: If you’re wondering about the title of this blog, think of the chorus of last year’s National Day song…

Budak at PLMGS

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:56:55 +0000

At the start of this week (Monday 5 April), Budak Pantai made an exciting appearance at Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School (PLMGS) assembly at the invitation of the school. Waking up at 5:30am was, at my age, a gargantuan effort. I had to be on the road by 6:15am. We had prepared to surprise the school with singing the school song (in Budak fashion, of course), and we were practising it for the first time that morning. We huddled together at a staircase in dim light to get this right. Everything that happened that morning made me realise just how little school assembly has changed in the 30 years that I left school. Our performance itself was a wonderful experience; it was great to be able to bring laughter to the school at the start of another school week. By the time we sang our final number - the school song - we had the teachers giving us a standing ovation. That felt really nice. Thanks, PLMGS, for having us.

Budak at the SPH e-awards

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:43:56 +0000

Saturday 13 March 2010: SPH’s e-awards show at the Float (ie. Marina Floating Platform). Budak was invited back to perform at this event for the second consecutive year. While last year, we performed with Stefanie Sun, this year, we collaborated with Liu Lingling from 881 fame. Also, this year is different for a very prestigious reason - Budak actually RECEIVED an award for being the Favourite Local Indie Band album for our CD “Nothing Also Happy”.

Getting to perform at this regional event is already a privilege; winning an award for an album we enjoyed producing so much, is really icing on the cake. For me, personally, I find the local Chinese music audience and media more supportive of local talent. You see, “Nothing Also Happy” is predominantly an English album, yet it is the Chinese press and radio stations that gave Budak the award. So, we are very honoured.

Working with Liu Lingling for the show was such a joy. She is so talented, positive and a true professional. When we arranged our collaboration song along the lines of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”, Lingling went to google at Lady Gaga’s outfits and, in the 10 days we had before the show, went to tailor-make a Lady Gaga-esque costume JUST for the song.

We had a blast that night at the Float. Thanks, SPH for believing in Budak and thank you, Lingling for creating another memorable experience in Budak’s history as a local band.

Joe

Random Thoughts

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:14:33 +0000

I made a phone booking for a taxi yesterday from my mom’s place, which is a terrace house in a private estate. The automated voice said the cab would arrive in “3 to 5 minutes”. It came after 15 minutes. Instead of apologising for being late, the cabbie’s first words were “Wah lau…this area damned confusing!”. What did he want me to respond with?

Yesterday, too, I attended Sunday service in church. Since it was the first day of the Chinese New Year, many parishioners wore red. There was this family of non-Chinese who also got into the spirit by wearing all red. The mom and dad were in red t-shirts while the three kids were in traditional Chinese attire. I thought it was rather cute. Until I saw waht was printed on the back of the parents’ t-shirt. It said “United States Marine Corps” and had the picture of a pig’s butt right in the centre. I pity all those people seated behind this family….they all had to endure the view of the pig’s butt throughout the service.

I don’t see families really taking the trouble to dress up for Chinese New Year like we traditionally did in the past. In fact, I saw more people in BLACK attire yesterday - the first day of the new year - than I’ve ever seen in all my life. And it wasn’t just young people; even adults were wearing black. I thought black was considered bad omen, especially for ushering in the new year. And there were entire families that wore just t-shirt, bermudas and sandals while going visiting!! Maybe it’s the weather or maybe today’s generations doesn’t treat the new year as significantly as our ancestors did.

Astounding your Peers

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:07:43 +0000

I was watching the 2010 Grammy Awards and as usual, there were great performances by some of the biggest names in music today. With talent such as Beyonce’s breathtaking performance of “If I were a Boy” and her incredible vocals ringing in the hall long after her song was done, I could feel what it might be like to be in the audience. But these are all fellow singers and musicians gathered for this annual event. As well as Beyonce did to wow her peers, I felt the evening’s accolades truly belonged to Pink, who performed “Glitter in the Air” suspended in the air like a Cirque du Soleil act. As if all that twirling wasn’t eye-popping enough, she emerged for the second half of the song completely drenched and did body spins over and over…while singing. Wow! Now THIS is what I call a performance!

Joe

Questions I’d ask my Maker - Part 1

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:46:23 +0000

When I eventually get to meet my Maker, I have a few questions to ask Him. One of them is why we (mortals) only learn our lessons when we grow old(er). It’s more than just about wisdom. What about those raging hormones we have (given and triggered by the Maker, no doubt) that make us do/say stupid things? Why couldn’t He make wisdom kick in a lot earlier in our lives?

As for old people who still make early existential mistakes today…well, maybe you shouldn’t even be allowed to meet the Maker…how about meeting His counterpart across town instead?

Joe