for what it's worth

For the past year of my life: thank you, new york city.

citilights - Sean McClowry

they're building higher
oh, the skyline looks so pretty from this rooftop
and the walk I take from home to my train stop is fine with me
and music plays
there are dancers on the stage next to the fountain
and statues that remind us of our fathers
so long ago

in this city, we are walking next to millions
in this city, we are walking next to nations
though the city life inspires me, it's hard to see
my name in lights while others fade away

over the river
there are pieces of the past I knew from textbooks
and we separate the boundaries from our neighbors
they're tearing down
and it's a race to get the real estate investment
'cause the land of opportunity's expensive
so hard to be here

oh, look around
on the corner of the street next to cathedrals
there's a colony of men who sleep on sidewalks
outside
it's never equal
and the children are too young to know such sadness
if we mourn with those who mourn it makes a difference
for friends in need

feeling just like

funkdefied

I went to a weekend getaway in san diego with paul, roach and butch. I think I spent most of my time playing around with GarageBand on paul's macbook. Here's a love song I composed for him. I'm calling it, Ode to Funk:



So fun. Time to really consider getting a macbook. And a harmonica.

they call her sara b

Sigh. I could listen to her all day. And I regret not getting her autograph when I had the chance at the Hotel Cafe, because she's gonna get huge.

Get her latest album, pretty please.

johnny b. good

Take a wild guess who we came to see. Although I must say that I have a new-found appreciation for sheryl's rock-and-roll voice after hearing it in a non-"soak up the sun" context. It's a shame that such a pretty voice was wasted on a horrible song.

The view from our seats. Or should I say, from our patch of grass. Sorry guys, the VIP room failed to follow through. Shut up paul.

I'm pretty sure he was playing Why Georgia here. I could be wrong though. Here's the set list.

I know for a fact that john was playing Gravity here.. which is easily one of the best songs he's ever written. Since the outro line goes, "keep me where the light is," they added a nice touch by showering beams of white light onto the audience whenever that part was sung.

andy & ester + butch & roy = double date. Or one regular date plus two lonely but unashamed men.

Lastly, please remember to love people of all shades and colors. The End.

song of the week #11

Hello. Continuum's out. And it humbly proves to us that john can reinvent himself over and over again.

"You know, time is moving forward all the time and we know that. But it's kinda like running out of a continually burning hallway, and you can't go back and get your stuff and all I want to do is yell, 'I wanna go get my stuff!' People going, 'You can't, keep running!' This fireball's comin up behind you. Not exactly as Indiana Jones' as that, but it feels like that sometimes.

This is a song begging to go back." -JM

Stop this train
I want to get off
And go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But honestly, won't someone stop this train

song of the week #10

As a follow-up to andy's recent entry, john is back with some new stuff.

I'm friggin looking forward to his latest album titled "Continuum" which will be released 9/12. He recently hosted a program on Star 98.7 during which he plays his cd in its entirety, while also offering a brief commentary before the beginning of each song. I already downloaded the entire show, but because of legitimate pirating concerns, they audibly stamped each song midway through with a female voice that chimes, "You are now listening to John Mayer's Continuum on Star 98.7, in stores September 12th." It gets kinda annoying after a while (but let me know if you want it anyways).

He displays a lot of maturity in his songwriting as he takes on some very difficult topics, and his vocal skills jumped up a couple levels too. He records a soul tune which was interesting to hear. The guitar definitely took a backseat to the lyrics and vocals, an observation that can be attributed to his maturing as a singer-songwriter. I think he's making the statement that quality, intelligent songs can be created without needing his guitar to speak too much.

But seriously, it's good. I think it's his best album yet in terms of quality. I don't know how far up the charts it'll go, but it's a dense, dense piece of work that has a delicate mix of uptempo tunes, hints of pop, somber/pensive stories, and an honorable Hendrix cover.

Here's Waiting on the World to Change.

song of the week #9

edit: Starfield concert was great. Didn't expect body worship performances by the youth group and the multiple alter calls, but all in all, 'twas a memorable night filled with energetic music. Those Delirious covers were certainly a pleasant surprise! Thanks roach, for getting us cheap tickets.

Here's a song from their latest album. This is slowly becoming my new favorite... solely based on one line only.

Starfield - Unashamed

Here I am at your feet.. in my brokenness complete.
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In lieu of this friday's starfield concert, here's one of my favorite starfield songs. Man, what masters of the delay and effects pedals.

Starfield - Love Break Me

Love, break me now, strip me down
May Your beauty deep inside of me resound.

song of the week #8

Gavin DeGraw - Meaning

I gotta admit, it took some time to really appreciate this guy's music.. a late bloomer for me. But this guy is good. Hear some of his other songs, such as "More Than Anyone" and "Chariot," and you could definitely hear him belt it out.

"Meaning" is one of those anthemic songs you like to sing along to on the way home with the windows rolled down. Unless, of course, you're stuck in traffic.

Sometimes our only way is jumpin'\ I hope you're not afraid of heights

song of the week #7

How can I go seven weeks without paying tribute to one of my musical heroes?

This week's song is Gravity by John Mayer, a singer-songwriter virtuoso whose song-writing skills, god-like guitar playing and soulful vocal chords I tremendously admire.

Some people only know him to be the guy who made a ridiculous move by mixing the electric guitar and pop together (i.e. Bigger Than My Body, Your Body is a Wonderland). Or the guy who makes weird facial expressions when he sings. Well, both are somewhat true. I'm not a fan of all of his pop-ish sounding songs, but you have to respect the ingenius elements that permeate throughout his music. Besides the mind-blowing electric guitar solos and riffs (which he's more known for), there are the less-noticeable elements that are still equally or even more important: his lyrics of substance, clever instrumental and lyrical arrangements, his underestimated vocal control, his passion. Yes, passion is the reason why he looks like he does when he sings. It's because he's in the zone. When you're in the zone, the crowd disappears, you forget about the guys behind you, and you just get lost in the music. His mind's on cruise control, his fingers and heart take over, and voila, he's in the zone. Everything just becomes so much sweeter.

Gravity is a bittersweet number from his latest album, Try!. It is definitely an album that's more true to his musical roots... raw blues and rock. Yet, so much of John's unique style is fused in that this type of blues/rock becomes his own. The John Mayer Trio is comprised of two other world-class musicians as well: Pino Palladino (bass) and Steve Jordan (drums). A while ago, I read an interview in which he admitted that if playing blues is something he could do for the rest of his life, he wouldn't even think twice about it. Even though this album isn't doing nearly as well as Room for Squares or Heavier Things, I think he's most proud of this one.

I'm not ready to say that he'll be next Stevie Ray Vaughan, but his guitar IQ is definitely one of the highest that the music world has ever seen. However, I was quite disappointed that Fender jumped the gun by issuing out a John Mayer signature Stratocaster, because those signature guitars should really be reserved for accomplished legends. John's not quite there yet, though he does have all the makings to be one. He also has all the unique distinguishers that already set him apart as a great artist than an ordinary one. Be assured, he will continue to grow in musical prominence in years to come.

I hope he gives you the chills.

song of the week #6

Starfield - There's a Cry in My Heart (acoustic)

Calling out my name.

song of the week #5

James Blunt - High

No, it's not about getting high off the Mary Jane. It simply describes his relationship with an incredible person. And it's her presence from which he gets high.. and loves the fact that he is. Run wild, free spirit.

What a suitable song to involve the xylophone. Hear it?

song of the week #4

Anna Nalick reminds me of Jewel. How their tones and vibratos are strangely similar. How their lyrics are really left open to interpretation to the listener. But what's even cooler (from what I read in her bio) is that she's strongly influenced by John Mayer's lyrical arrangements and considers Stevie Ray Vaughan as "the guy she plans to marry when she gets to heaven." Kind of a weird statement, but I got excited when I saw that she's an SRV-follower. Definitely one of the first female artists I've heard of who's influenced by those two fellows.

She's more known for her breakout song, "Breathe (2 AM)," which I'm not so fond of. When I heard that song for the very first time, I scratched my head in confusion because I swear it sounded like this other song. It drove me nuts to the point that I went through my entire mp3 list only to come up empty-handed. Am I the only one who thinks this? Someone please alleviate this nagging inconvenience and tell me I'm right.

this week's song: Anna Nalick - Catalyst.

catalyst: something that speeds up a reaction without itself being consumed or transformed in the process. We all have one. Maybe you're lucky enough (or unlucky for that matter) to have already found yours.

song of the week #3

And so my publicity of Korean singer-songwriters continues. Here's Susie Suh (pronounced "soo"). I'm glad I was introduced to her.


I checked out her gig in Hollywood yesterday night with the Pok. Very cool, mellow, sip-your-beer-and-tap-your-foot-to-the-music kind of night. Many would characterize her voice as "hauntingly-beautiful." I agree. I left with a tremendous amount of respect for her ability to perform at a studio-recording level and yet make it seem so effortless. I think that's the absolute test of true talent.. performing well in an environment where you can't depend on the take-two's.

She used a really cool effects pedal that would harmonize to a third above and a third below the note that's sung which, of course, gives the effect of background singers joining her in the chorus. I've got to check out one of those!

It did seem like she rushed through her set a little bit (seven songs in thirty-five minutes). I had hoped that she would tell a story behind the song before playing it, or at least explain what it's about because I'm always interested in how songs came to be. But we got nothing more than, "here's a song about my mom" and one-line explanations like that. But hey, it's her show, she's signed with Sony, and she can do whatever she wants. But after chatting with her a couple minutes afterwards, she really is a cool person.

Susie Suh - Light On My Shoulder

This song is about being dependent on someone for the right reasons.

song of the week #2

I generally don't listen to rhythm & blues music. In fact, I could count on one hand of the number of R&B songs that I even like. And Mister Brian McKnight takes four of the five (you can guess the last one). From his latest album that never really took off, "Everytime You Go Away" is this week's song of the week. While it has the typical R&B elements like the syncopated bass line and synthesizer, the foundation of this song is built on a simple piano riff. Strings add a nice touch, but surprise.. electric guitar interlude in an R&B song? Very impressive Brian, especially since he produced this song by himself.

What really amazes me about him is his ability to sing the way he does while playing the piano or guitar. I've come to the conclusion that he has two biological metronomes ticking in his head. We know him by his amazing vocal skills, but geez, he plays a mean piano. You can see him on the keys here. His guitar-playing is very polished. He apparently plays trumpet too.

I did a random YouTube search and found a "One Last Cry" duet performance with Brian McKnight and Kim Jo Han. Kim Jo Han did a pretty good job hiding his accent as he sang, but he should have left the stage once Brian started singing. He showed Korean Boy how it was done. Near the end of the song, the Korean guy was so blown away by Brian that he laughs in disbelief.

"Everytime" is about missing someone so much that even the promise of returning home isn't enough.

song of the week #1

Music takes up a huge chunk in my life. Good music is a lot like what they say about love -- it isn't really music until you give it away. Or in this case, share it with the public. Despite the really bad analogy, I figure that I might as well broadcast my musical tastes on this dang thing, which by doing so, might strike a chord (no pun intended) in someone to cause them to say, "Hey, that's pretty good." Or at the very least, provide a home for these songs in someone's ipod. But hey, good music should be revealed to and appreciated by as many people as possible, right?

Couple disclaimers before I start: my musical tastes are pretty limited and specific, so whatever I put up here in the coming weeks might never appeal to the majority of you. In which case, you can save yourselves a couple precious megs of hard drive space and skip downloading the song. Secondly, I rarely listen to FM radio (im a CD-junkie), so in the event that I post up a song that has been up on the Billboard 100 for the past three months, stick it to the man.

This week's song: Jinny Kim - Ophelia.

Who's Jinny? I dunno. I randomly found her stuff from someone's xanga the other day, but boy, am I ever glad that I did. She's an up-and-coming indie artist who's recorded her album with Koo Chung's (pretty well known singer-songwriter-producer on the east coast) label. And she's got a voice. As per her bio, you really can hear hints of Sarah McLachlan and Fiona Apple in her. But I use the McLachlan comparison sparingly.. there's only one other person in the world who I would compare McLachlan to. Anyways, this will be pretty much be the extent to my reviews, at least for now.

Alluding to Hamlet's Ophelia, who was apparently a woman troubled by her deep capacity to feel and love, "Ophelia" is about a disillusioned girl who found life not to be what she expected.