Sleepyhead and music takes

It's 3.34 pm now. I should be hard at work, doing everything else I should be doing: SPSS analyses, writing up, reading... Instead, I'm blogging and listing to Stefanie Sun's latest CD, trying to convince myself I need this break cos I'm down with the common cold. Yes, I've caught my first cold of 2005. Am feeling groggy from the cold medicine. Realised that I often talk about how I always succumb to cold and flus on my blog, so hopefully, today's post would be a little different. Today I'm going to talk about music, a very important aspect of my life. =)

Since I'm too lazy to think now, I'll just start by commenting on Sun Yanzi's latest work.

Stefanie's eponymous album makes for pretty easy listening. At first, I didn't think it sounded very good, but I think that was because I wasn't listening carefully to the songs and lyrics. I think some of the songs in it are actually quite well written and meaningful, like the third track "Zhu Ni Kai Xin" (loosely translated as "Wishing you happiness"), and "Wo Ye Hen Xiang Ta" (loosely translated as "I think about him too"). She's blended a lot of interesting sounds into this album--there's banjo, violin, cello, choir back-up, African gospel and tribal beats, R & B hip-hop, and the usual guitars. There's even the sound of the "Shou Feng Qin" (forgot the English name). The accompaniment for many of the songs are quite thoughtful. The accompaniments add depth to the songs because they help bring out the lyrics and the mood of the songs. I dunno if it's me, but I think she also sounds a little more mature, expressive and confident in her delivery of songs in this album. I think the one-year rest probably did her good because she sounds a lot more energetic too, and her vocals sound stronger. Overall, I would think her latest work makes for a good comeback album. More importantly, I think this album grows on someone; the more I listen to the songs, the more I like them.

There. My two cents' worth. Am eagerly anticipating David Tao's new album too. I heard on the radio the other day it is going to be released soon, and apparently, the man himself said that it's going to be a surprise. His last album--"Black Tangerine"--was already a very surprising album, even though it still retained a distinctive "David Tao" flavour. If there's any one who can be called a talented songwriter, it's got to be David Tao. Maybe it's because he takes his time to produce his album; "Black Tangerine" was more than two years' ago. So keep your eyes peeled for another one of his eagerly anticipated albums...

Another album that's going to be interesting to watch is Sylvester's. Since the Singapore Idol finals, not much has been heard from him or about him, nor his supposedly upcoming album. (Taufik's album is already out.) Wonder if it's going to be a purely Mandarin album. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how these Idol people would fare beyond the show. =)

Okie, am feeling sleepy again... Shall take yet another nap. Good morning/afternoon/night!