Living It Up

Before there was Five for Fight, before there was Daniel Powter, there was American singer-songwriter, pianist and writer, Joshua Kadison.  Here’s another 2 lovely songs from him. 

  "Jessie" - Joshua Kadison

"Beautiful in my Eyes" - Joshua Kadison.  (I read that this is also a popular wedding song though I haven’t heard it at any weddings myself.)

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Argh.  I’m not sure I’m going to recover in time for work tomorrow.  Had a really bad headache in the evening and took a nap till 10:40pm.  No appetite for the beef noodles my dad bought so I’m just eating some raisin bread so I can take my medicine.  I think the fever’s back. 

When I went downstairs to get the raisin bread, I saw this postcard my mom sent me from the UN headquarters from New York.  Heh.  She said she was enjoying herself.  Yeah… with 7 Coach bags… I’m sure she is. 

The postcard reminded me of a song which I’m going to leave with you.

That’s Joshua Kadison’s "Picture Postcards from LA".

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Just checked my email for the songs we’ll be singing for service this Sun.  The worship leader is thinking of having the backup singers (it’s my turn this weekend) to do this song, "Jesus Will Still Be There", as an item.  I’ve heard it a couple of times some years back… so it was vaguely familiar.  Listening to the song reminded me of 2 friends who’re going through a breakdown of relationships now.  I don’t think they really believe in Jesus as the only true Saviour but I thought this was a comforting song nonetheless (beautiful prose).

Jesus Will Still Be There - Point of Grace

Things change
Plans fail
You look for love on a grander scale
Storms rise
Hopes fade
And you place your bets on another day
When the going gets tough
When the ride’s too rough
When you’re just not sure enough

CHORUS:
Jesus will still be there
His love will never change
Sure as a steady rain
Jesus will still be there
When no one else is true
He’ll still be loving you
When it looks like you’ve lost it all
And you haven’t got a prayer
Jesus will still be there

Time flies
Hearts turn
A little bit wiser from lessons learned
But sometimes
Weakness wins
And you lose your foothold once again
When the going gets tough
When the ride’s too rough
When you’re just not sure enough

CHORUS(2x)

When it looks like you’ve lost it all
And you haven’t got a prayer
Jesus will still be there

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This is the song that inspired the musical and later the movie, Mamma Mia!.  Wonderful lyrics.  No one writes lyrics like this anymore.

I don’t wanna talk
About the things we’ve gone through
Though it’s hurting me
Now it’s history
I’ve played all my cards
And that’s what you’ve done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play

The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That’s her destiny

I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I’d be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules

The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear

The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It’s simple and it’s plain
Why should I complain.

But tell me does she kiss
Like I used to kiss you?
Does it feel the same
When she calls your name?
Somewhere deep inside
You must know I miss you
But what can I say
Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide
The likes of me abide
Spectators of the show
Always staying low
The game is on again
A lover or a friend
A big thing or a small
The winner takes it all

I don’t wanna talk
‘Cos it makes me feel sad
And I understand
You’ve come to shake my hand
I apologize
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense
No self-confidence
But you see
The winner takes it all
The winner takes it all…..

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Another catchy wedding song recommended by a friend.

Stevie Wonder’s "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)".

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This song has to be in the wedding!  Good for photo montage?  Heh… listen to the words!  Even the video’s (by Lauren Turner) cute.  Maybe I can use snapshots of it (or do something similiar) interspersed with Iceman and my photos?  Hmm…

This is great!

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Gosh.  Finding songs that are meaningful for the wedding is tough!  Was talking to Iceman about what songs we can use for the march in and during the dinner and it’s hard to come up with a list that’ll last even an hour.  The problem probably stems from our repertoire of songs - Iceman likes Linkin Park type of songs (which I find a little too loud and not happy enough for a wedding) and I listen mainly to Chinese music - of which I don’t really want to play mandarin songs at the wedding. 

We both agree that soppy, run of the mill songs e.g. "For the First Time" is out, and cheesy songs like "Fallen" (by Lauren Wood) is a no go.  That really limits the songs we can choose!  Off the top of my head, I’m thinking perhaps we should use Jason Mraz’s "Lucky" and "I’m Yours" for the photo montages (despite the latter being a very common song now) and Jack Johnson’s "Better Together" for the march in.  See the type of songs I’m aiming for?  Happy, Caribbean-calypso sounding, with meaningful lyrics (read: the couple gets together).

Other songs I shortlisted are songs from my favourite movie - My Best Friend’s Wedding:

- Diana King’s "I’ll Say a Little Prayer"

- Ani DiFranco’s "Wishin’ and Hopin’"

- The Exciters’ "Tell Him"

- Tony Bennett’s "The Way You Look Tonight"

- Jackie DeShannon’s "What the World Needs Now is Love"

- John Denver’s "Annie’s Song" (aka the Helium Song in the movie).

While searching for "Annie’s Song", I came across some other songs of his that’re quite nice - like "Perhaps Love".  Heh.  Iceman and I are going to compile the songs we think are suitable and do a second round of shortlisting.  Well, we have now till next July to shortlist so if you know of any suitable songs as per the criteria mentioned, please let me know!

Meanwhile, enjoy these videos I found on youtube. 

Any other suggestions?

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Two videos I uploaded after waiting for a very very long time.

Sigh… the quality dropped after the upload… stupid youtube.. sigh… the sound’s a little poorer than videos captured using my nokia N82… but on my pc, the visual’s actually much better.

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Managed to catch the FIR concert on 8/8/2008 courtesy of ASA Tours (and my lovely mom and aunts who bought expensive tour packages from them).  :P  The concert was fantastic - a high octane performance and good audience interaction.  I was impressed with Faye… she could sing with a steady voice even when there were tears streaming from her eyes.  Heh.

The usual FIR hits like "Lydia", "Fly Away", "Get High", "Wo Men De Ai" were played to rapturous applause from the audience.  I was disappointed though that my favourite songs - "Love Love Love" and "You Make Me Want to Fall In Love" were not sung.

The audience also gave tremendous support (screams and applause) to guest star, Jam Hsiao Jing Teng.  Such tremendous was the support that I nearly forgot it was an FIR concert I was attending.  Heh.

Here’re the photos taken with the Panasonic Lumix FX33.

Am trying to upload 2 videos onto youtube so I can post them here.  It’s taking a very very long time.  Sound on the videos wasn’t very good either… guess the N82 has better sound capture, being a handphone.  *Shrugs*.

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I think finding the right person is akin to finding that glass slipper that fits, like how the prince found Cinderella.  Another description for it would be like wearing that person’s ring and having the ring fit perfectly.

Was having a chat with a church friend recently when she brought up - hadn’t I considered marriage with my ex-bf before?  I told her that he considered it.  I didn’t.  Yes, I’ve mentioned before that the ex wanted to settle down.  However, anyone who listened carefully would have realised that I always said that was what he wanted.  I never said it was something I agreed to or wanted.  If anything, I felt stifled by his constant badgering to settle down.

I’m not one who will commit to something without careful thought - be it agreeing to something or disagreeing, I will always take my time to think about things carefully before I give a commitment.  Just because I don’t say "no" to someone’s persistent planning doesn’t mean I agree to the plan. 

The ex and I once bought "couple rings" from HK before.  Truth be told, I used to like the idea of having a "couple ring".  However, when we did buy them eventually, I felt there was nothing special about it.  I chose the design of the rings… and it fit sort of ok when I was trying it on.  But once I started wearing it, the ring often felt too tight and it gave me a rash.  It was certainly symbolic of how I felt about the relationship - stifling.  I don’t even want to go into what a pain the rash was…

Anyway, I love the engagement ring Iceman gave me.   It fits perfectly.  Definitely not too tight and the size 5 probably won’t fit on anyone else’s ring finger but mine.  Haha.  I suppose the song Better Together would capture how I feel pretty well.  (Now if only darn Singtel would stop ignoring my repeated "Tune Request" and include this song as part of its Colour-Me-Tones database!)

Am thinking of using this song in 1 of the 2 photo montages I hope to have at the wedding dinner.  Remember you heard it here first!  So in the many weddings that will happen from now till August 2009, if someone else uses this song too, I didn’t copy that person!  Heh.  Am a little sore that my cousin wants to wear a cheongsam for her wedding in May 2009… ‘cos people (relatives) will think that I copied her… when I’ve ALWAYS intended to wear a cheongsam at my wedding.

Shared with her about my favourite combination of engagement ring/wedding band too.  I like either an engagement ring with small diamonds like mine, matched with a plain band with perhaps a single small diamond on it, or a plain engagement ring matched with a wedding band with paved diamonds along the top half of the band (aka the "eternity design").  The reason why I didn’t go for the 2nd combination is ‘cos I already have my mom’s eternity ring so I didn’t want a wedding band the same design.  Now I’m waiting to see if she’s going to go for the 2nd combi.  Ok ok, I know I’m being paranoid and petty but hey, that’s the thing about being a single child you see.  We enjoy being unique - one of a kind (well, at least for important things that matter!)

Anyway, here’s the lyrics for the song Better Together. 

There’s no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart,
our dreams, and they are made out of real things
like a shoebox of photographs
with sepia-toned loving
Love is the answer
at least for most of the questions in my heart, like
Why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it’s so hard?
It’s not always easy and
sometimes life can be deceiving
I’ll tell you one thing, it’s always better when we’re together

Mmmm, It’s always better when we’re together
Yeah we’ll look at the stars and we’re together
Well, it’s always better when we’re together
Yeah it’s always better when we’re together

And all of these moments
just might find their way into my dreams tonight,
But I know that they’ll be gone
when the morning light sings
and brings new things
for tomorrow night you see
that they’ll be gone too,
too many things I have to do
But if all of these dreams might find their way
into my day to day scene
I’d be under the impression
i was somewhere in between
With only two,
Just me and you,
Not so many things we got to do
or places we got to be
We’ll sit beneath the mango tree, now

Yeah It’s always better when we’re together
Mmmm, we’re somewhere in between together
Well, it’s always better when we’re together
Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together

I believe in memories
they look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up,
you look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
There is no, no song I could sing
and there is no combination of words I could say
but I will still tell you one thing
We’re Better together

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Booze Queen introduced me to this song, "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and featuring Colbie Caillat.  Didn’t really grab my attention the first time I heard it.  But the more I listened to it, the catchier I found it.  :)  I know I’m jumping the gun here but I think it might make a good song for the photo montage at the wedding dinner… haha.

Do you hear me
talking to you
Across the water
Across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky
Oh my, baby I’m trying

Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

Lucky I’m in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Ohhhohhhohhhohhohhohhhohh

They don’t know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I’ll wait for you, I promise you I will

Lucky I’m in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Lucky we’re in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I’m sailing through the sea
To an island where we’ll meet
You’ll hear the music fill the air
I’ll put a flower in your hair

Though the breezes through the trees
Move so pretty, you’re all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now

Lucky I’m in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Lucky we’re in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday
Ohhhohhhohhhohhohhohhhohh
Ohhhohhhohhhohhohhohhhohhohhohhohh

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Went for David Tao’s concert earlier this evening.  It was 3 hours of solid singing.  I love his voice!  Such a talented musician, songwriter and singer.  Wanted to take more photos… alas I forgot to charge my hp last night and my hp died after a couple of photos and videos. 

I was very impressed with the entire tour.  The musicians and vocalists were really talented - the female vocalist from Taipei also played the flute, trombone and violin!

I think I’m going to get his "Best Of" album.  Hehe.  It’s kind of odd that I’ve been to 2 of his concerts but I don’t have any of his CDs.  Heh.

Here’s a sample video I took at the concert.  You can find loads of his MTVs on youtube if you do a search.  I must say that David Tao’s singing live is as good as his singing on his CDs!

A real musical genius!

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Another lovely song from Fan Wei Qi’s "Our Anniversary" album.

Here’s the rough English translation…

As each day passes
From "unsure" to "the answer"
Just like this
I pause at the direction which you go
Everytime you appear at my side
I feel the weight (amount) of love
The more i care, the more diffcult to measure
The more i can’t put down
The more i don’t think, the more it’s him

I think i love you
Love is like this ‘cos i miss you
Like your kindness
Keep you company as you go about
Occasionally will quarrel
Quarrel till tired, will say something sweet

I’m falling for you
Love is like this now i need you
Wait for you to be on leave
To enjoy the night’s stars together
When you say to guard happiness
I’ll never stop

The more we see, the more we’re alike
Can understand each other without speaking
Draw the same picture
Dream the same dream
Happiness is a big lighted pavilion
Without you the world won’t be the same
You will definitely give me strength
Actually it’s not complicated to love me
Sincere words
Is enough for happiness to take off

Love often makes 2 people hurt
Love also makes 2 people stronger
We will not know
How long the future is
In my world
You will stand shoulder to shoulder with me

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Was surfing Youtube this afternoon when i came across this really funny video that Sammi played at her 1999 concert.  I love the ending.  It was hilarious watching it at the concert.  The video was played in several parts at the concert… during Sammi’s costume changes.  Contains a lot of the HK celebrities that i like - Sammi (of course), Andy Hui, Louis Koo, and Jessica Hsuen.

Here’re the clips for your viewing pleasure.

P.S. I tried to download them using Firefox’s videodownloader extension but i keep getting an error message.  In fact, i’ve not been able to download anything from youtube the psat 2 months or so.  Anyone knows the solution?

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The concert was excellent.  There was also a very touching part when Sammi shared about how her dad had a stroke while on holiday and how her family has a habit of writing letters to each other, etc.  Sounds a little disparate when repeated like that but… it was good.

Here’s a video clip of the guest star segment featuring Stefanie Sun.

Wanted to post another clip with a medley of fast songs but youtube can’t seem to process it after uploading.  Not sure why. 

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