Poem: Release

Nothing could bind his mind,
Even if his body was confined,
His heart soared above the confines,
Of the surrounding lines.

His mind's eyes have been everywhere,
His deepest soul touched every hair,
Despite this solitary lair,
With which he had no care
Despite its limits to a square.

Working within restrictions,
He fought all contradictions,
To live through this situation,
Is the only contemplation.

The moment would soon arrive,
The moment to simply dive,
Into the truth of a genuine life,
Accepting every bit of peace and strife.

He would question the cause,
Of his staying bound by laws,
Created not of physical bond,
But of his hanging on.

It wouldn't matter anymore,
For he'd have so much more,
To fulfil what he swore,
And satisfy his core.

Poem: The Could-Haves

The Could-Haves

We all have wondered,
Those endless possibilities
That if we had simply bothered
Or the right abilities
And captured those few hundred
Wasted opportunities.

Cry as we may,
To whine or to pray.
Nothing will change the past,
Or those that had turned to dust,
But was it a bad decision,
Or simply within reason?

The decisions we've made,
Will have been in vain,
If we choose to wade,
Through memories deep in our brain,
Of the detours we have previously laid,
Which will lead us to be insane.

The best choice,
Is to hush our voice,
Accept our actions,
And all reactions,
To put a foot forward,
Keep moving onward.

The Could-Haves are over,
There's no point to hover,
The most important question,
Is whether you are the bastion,
Of your own beliefs and dreams,
Not simply having whims.

To avoid regret,
Is to come clean,
And not forget,
Whether we lose or win,
We must still set our path straight,
Keep moving rather than to wait.

Psy, Gentleman and Humour

As yesterday's class involved (unsurprisingly) the analysis of Gentleman, the new song by Psy, I decided to read a bit more about other people's analysis of it.

I came by this hilarious one, but more importantly it's interesting to note how Psy is actually always getting interestingly misunderstood.

Before this I had read a couple more articles which did an amazing job missing out the whole point of Gentleman and the MV that comes with it. Haha

A Deep Literary Take on Gentleman 






And the comments:

 

Have you experienced genuine appreciation and acceptance?

Once you've experienced the real experience of being truly and genuinely accepted, you will realise how we should all treat one another as human beings.

It is the fullest and truest acceptance that one feels that can lead to positively motivated change and honest reflection of one's life.

But that is indeed the toughest challenge

Vivid day

"Rundown of my day:

Woke up at 830 after a long night and missed my bus.
Bought 1130 bus and missed it because I couldn't find my passport.
Searched till 1300 and found it in my other travel bag in the house I haven't returned to in 4 weeks. Rushed down to catch 1330 coach.
Coach ride was good. Reached before 7 had Wi Fi and life was good. Was raining cats and dogs but didn't notice until I stepped out to grab a cab an hour early.
Cab coupon lady told me I have to wait another hour to grab a cab so I started my journey by foot in the rain to nbt.
Got massively lost and detoured many times so I spent 1 hour in the rain with my bass and bag wandering. The walk could have taken 20 minutes.
Reached the gig dried off and worked out parts... Forgot to bring tablet charger, probably in the midst of searching for my passport.
Then came the gig. Went superbly well, of course could've done better with the rehearsal but hey I can't really complain, was my fault.
Had an awesome time after the gig too!
Wrapped up my screwed up day with roti double cheese onion and teh o halia kosong.
Who says a musician's life is boring"

You're Special Yet You're Not

So are you special?

Everyone has their way...

Everyone has their own way of explaining everything else, even if it means making up stories that are far from the physical truth.

We just need to know when we're making up stories and when it's the actual truth because with the way that humans think, we have a tendency to screw up the truth with the stories we create.

And it's okay that we're wrong, as long as we learn to correct ourselves and move on. But how do we? I've done so with some, but how about the rest? Isn't life such a conundrum?

Coming out of the Woods

"Ah... The timing where I used to feel massively depressed over the last few months. Now I'm pensive and reflective and searching for questions and answers to preempt my future issues.

It is both good and bad to be single, and I'm learning to really cherish the singlehood only after almost 1 month from what has happened. And the failures I've been experiencing... Well... they are going to be wonderful lessons to keep my heart alert and communicating.

I cherish the friendships that I still have. I cherish the friendships that I've lost due to massive understandings. I miss the good old days of innocence but love the ability to have perspectives.

As shared by Trevor Sze, it is the transition between ignorance and facing reality that is happening at this age - coming to terms with our inflated delusions of grandeur with the harsh reality. I love this learning and I shall not lose my drive to fight for what I've always believed in. But at least now, it has to face reality."

Poem: Just Maybe

If there was a chance we could've given it a shot,
But if there's something better, then it's better not,
It is not about the wasted chance,
It's simply what we had once,
The romance might has lost its heat,
But it was still a powerful meet,
Life goes on in its powerful stride,
It's time to grow up, we cannot hide.

Little Crisis

"Had a little crisis this afternoon regarding who I am, what I am and where I'm going to go.

Interesting how just observing others and going through one's own reactions can give you so much about yourself. I finally understood what it meant when I was asked regarding my big picture - the lacking of it and the feeling of complete loss when you realise you might have lost what you thought was your big picture.

What hurts more is the fact that you've been covering up all your insecurities with everything else rather than finding the meaning of your own life, even if you champion it. I guess that's why the more experience you get (ie older), you inevitably have to either a. chuck the experience aside, or b. face the truth and grow the **** up.

Again, Growing Pains."

Quote 3

"It doesn't take much to change a life. A true connection, a true understanding, and the ability to accept fully, is the key to changing a life - to help the person be himself/herself.

Lovely." - Seow Yi Zhe

Will Smith Quote and Thoughts

"I once thought this was rather angry and unfair of Will Smith to say this because we should all be good people... But after what I've been through I finally understand why he said this... And it's more of a truth of the matter because when we had to fend for ourselves we need to know how to separate who are the true partners and who are the opportunists."

Poem: Release and Reach

Release me from this cage of inability
To read and understand
Release me from the shackles of my mind
To imagine the worst of my life
But for now I'm released
Because I know our disease
Is forever gone
For we have won
Against our own thoughts.

We're free from each other
We're free from our demons
Of uncertainty
And hope for eventuality.

Alas, peace has come
But the work has just begun
To create my life
And be my ultimate self.

Exclamation 1

Caught in the middle of two great things
Can't get either.

Caught in the middle of too many ideas
Can't execute any.

Caught in the middle of the perfect opportunity
Can't finance it.

Caught in the best position to create something new
Can't wait to make it happen.

Java Jazz Reflections

"Some things learned from Java Jazz Festival Day 1:

1. Sound quality is imperative - it can make a really good performance really horrendous for the audience
2. Live is the true test of how good an act is. There's no true substitute to experiencing music live.
3. Letting yourself go into the music fully is a very powerfully liberating feeling for a person who thinks too much
4. Always sleep well the night before a festival because you'll tire yourself out dancing to the music.
5. In order to reach the highest levels possible, a positive and unpretentious energy is needed for a musician.
6. Any negativity saps an experience, even if it's in your head."

 

"Some things learned from Java Jazz Festival Day 2:
1. Audiences can kill the music majorly.
2. Sometimes the least expected places give you the best music.
3. Groove is the key to your soul
4. Dance through all music - you'll really know what music makes you move and what you are moving to.
5. Some shows are worth waiting for, ESPECIALLY RH Factor
6. Music can inspire you to get off your tired bones and just get out there to live life and enjoy
7. Fodder for compositions and arrangements!"

 

"Lessons learned from Java Jazz Festival Day 3:
1. Even if you're awesome, a so-so band will kill your music
2. Even if you suck, a great band will make you sound damn awesome
3. Musicians work incredibly hard to create a cogent setlist and practise really hard to get to where they are, do NOT think it is easy to reproduce what they do
4. The audience might not kill the music of a great band, but they still can kill your mood
5. The amount of work that goes into organising a festival AND livestream it AND be able to give quality that stuns people is incredible. Only the strongest can do it.
6. Anything is possible if you build it slowly. Just keep working." 

Dream Tattoo (If I'll ever get one)

This was designed by Joe Tan, and is quite representative of me...

Discussion of Why Do We Like Bad Boys/Girls?

"I believe I understand the psyche of the usual reason why girls like bad boys and why guys like bad girls.

It's simple. Girls like to believe they can make a bad boy good, and make a positive change. Guys like bad girls because they believe they can tame the girl. Both include egos sadly.

Best way to love and like someone is to accept the person as he/she is and let the person be. That's when whether the person is good or bad you'll still know how to appreciate the person.

Would I be accurate to say that?"

• Tan Wen-Bin It's a huge sweeping statement, but in the gold, basically

  
  
• Yunos Erksan Girls just want a challenge. Its like a mind game or tug of war.
  They feel great if they achieve what they want. So guys should give them what they want and they will comibbg running for more.

  
  
• Meryl Joan Lee Cliched points, but neither can you "tame" a "good" boy/girl. So date whoever and roll with the punches.

  
  
• Yunos Erksan Typed wrongly. "Shouldnt give"

  
  
• Jens Bunge Actually, I love nice girls...but right, most girls like "bad guys", and not the "nice guys"...

  
  
• Jason Benedict Cruz "Bad" girls with tatoo and pink highlights in their hair..not bad,I like.

  
  
• Julianne Toh hmm. real bad boys get tiring very fast (not dependable, too much drama). so personally, i don't think it's about being bad or good. i think it's about the excitement of being with someone fun? it's enough being cheeky, knowing when to play hard to get, being spontaneous and pushing things just a little bit. so, mostly good but a little bit bad?

  
  
• Reeve Sim Guan Ze Oh man. U got it all wrong. It all boils down to individual preferences. Most would love to have some fun and excitement and anticipation in their love lives. Just happen that most 'bad' boys n girls are more obvious with providing those things. Doesn't mean 'nice' boys n girls can't give u all of those.
  
  Bottom line: doesn't mean u gotta be bad to get the girls. But being sincere and true to yourself will get you the right ones.
  
  Food for thought, please.

  
  
• Jason Benedict Cruz Wanna woo a girl? Do trhis song for her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udZ_o727M68 - them birds gonna fall for the Funk. Get yo Funk on bruthas!

  

  Super Bad James Brown

  
  
• Max Averi Teng Good or bad don't matter when I can give a girl averi teng

  
  
• Jason Benedict Cruz Good one

  
  
• Jason Benedict Cruz MAXimum BFE

  
  
• Yi Zhe Seow Btw in case you haven't noticed I am overgeneralising in most sense and kinda talking shit

  
  
• Jens Bunge Hahaha...but actually, studies revealed that women during ovulation, due to their hormones, prefer more "masculine" ,"alpha-type" men (what you can call the "bad" boys), because this ensures their offspring will get the strong genes of such a potential mate. Outside of ovulation time they seem to prefer the less masculine looking and behaving men, who display more of the caring qualities, because those are more likely to stay by their side and help them raise their children....and of course, self-confidence and sense of humour are also some of the features that women like in men, which the "bad boys" (humor = laughing = showing teeth = an expression of aggression and is quite different from being nice = smiling = an expression of appeasement in animal life) show more often than the "nice guys" who too easily land in the friend zone...

Poem: Shades

Shades

Let’s make this straight,
There isn’t any way,
To justify this wait,
Or the price we pay.

There isn’t a cause,
Worthy of one’s scrutiny,
That should throw you off your horse
En-route to self-discovery.

We are taught about virtues and sins,
About all the rights and wrongs,
All we care about are the perceived wins,
To decide who belongs.

But is it really black and white?
Where not good is bad,
And not wrong means right,
Then where’s life to be had?

We exist in shades,
Not only in bold.
Not well-defined crates,
Stacked up in the hold.

Shades mean uncertainty,
Shades mean diversity,
Shades are our hope,
To be able to cope.

Accept our lives,
As a series of accidents,
As each strives,
To reach our own excellence.

Love the shades,
Exist in the gray,
Drop the charades,
And just live today.

Quote 2

"Gratefulness is one of the most important things to equip yourself with to living a fulfilling life." - Seow Yi Zhe

Eagerness

"This is what it's like to start a business: Haven't stopped working since 3 weeks ago.

Interestingly enough it feels good."

Loudness Wars

"Loudness Wars isn't something that is exclusive to the production side of things, where we compress every recording to make it "pop" more.

It is also in live performances where the instruments are really blasted at the top of their volumes to have an impressive sound, which seems great at first but it really limits our abilities to appreciate things with dynamics because everything is basically thrown to us at maximum.

We need to be able to appreciate dynamics and different levels of emotional intensity, and what better way to do that than to come for Pulse of Music's Free Music Appreciation sessions?

That being said, here will be one this Thursday for Listeners. Those who are curious about music appreciation through Pulse of Music method and have absolutely NO musical experience please let me know!"

Taste and Junk Food

"Music is like food: when you get the really best of food, but it isn't something you're ready for, you tend to shun it and avoid it. When it's something actually really trashy, one dimensional and simply strong tasting, it really seems to get most of the people who claim to be foodies.

As we advance in taste we actually will realise that the superficial benchmarks of what's good and what's not are often going to deprived us of what's really good in the long run.

So train people to think for themselves and develop their tastes when they are young, do not just feed them meaningless junk in our textbooks and MacDonalds. It's time for a change so that we can save ourselves from our own superficiality."

Comments:

• Tan Wen-Bin It's time to outlaw RnB

   
• Jun Hong Loh Lol people don't wanna be saved

   
• Yi Zhe Seow Hahaha tell me about that....

   
• Andrea Chew Just a thought here... who decides what's 'good', who sets the benchmark? What may sound trashy to one may actually sound melodious to another, and vice versa. Hence if one happens to like and develops a kind of inclination towards some particular kind of music that ranks poorly against this benchmark, does it mean that they are 'wrong' or misguided (then again are we really in a position to make this judgment)?

   
• Yi Zhe Seow What is good in music/food/anything at all, to me, is simple. Everything that is a form of art, is about genuine expression of love or a genuine cathartic medium to share emotions. It is okay to like any genre as long as it is ELOQUENT, because what's more important is that you find the values adhering to yours.
  
  It's like knowing who are the people who are clear-minded and can explain why they do what they do and their processes, are reflective enough about it to really have a good grasp of the execution and the expression of it, while understanding enough about the feelings behind it to crystallize it into a tangible medium.
  That's what good is. To identify it is like being able to identify a good, genuine person. Most people can't until they meet the person and is transformed by that person.

   

  Oh and just to put it in an interesting way... There are levels of internally generated joy in humans before reaching the state of nirvana. As you go higher up in the levels, it is very very hard to come down again if you have developed a taste for that joy that wells up innately, even if circumstances are extreme. It is the same with any form of art. Truthfully after you really go deeper into things and learn more about what can really allow you to extract the most amount of genuine emotion and joy, and more importantly for individuals values that they agree with, that's what's truly good. There's no subjectivity to good, just subjectivity in preferences of what of the good, much like the best of Chinese food vs best of Italian food.

   
• Andrea Chew Hmm, I see, interesting replies there. so I guess it's not so much the choice of what you think is good but rather the underlying reasons why you think what you chose is good if I'm getting you correctly..

  
  
• Yi Zhe Seow Yes to me the power is in the process and the clarity of reason, not the end result. Like if one actually has good reason to choose PAP vs WP or vice versa and has CLARITY about why is more powerful than a person who simply does so just to follow the trend. It is an unconscious act of following but until the person has good concrete reasons, it is not a good time to act.
  
  That being said, everyone is privy to different levels of information as well so it is more about what decisions we make at that time, and the clarity behind it, together with the openness when dealt with new information, than about the choice

Hard Work > Shortcuts

"What I'm learning repeatedly, through my own system of music appreciation and from meeting many great musicians, inspirational speakers, leaders, artists, professionals and most importantly, normal people, is that being genuine is more powerful than anything in forging a meaningful life.

One can cheat, steal and lie through life to get the riches, fame and comforts, but the most important thing in my opinion is meaning, without which, the others are meaningless.

So the question is - why are we so easily tempted by shortcuts which removes meaning from our lives?"