Love Song from No One ...from John

Today I wanna talk about music, the kind of music I really like. But since it's pop music, so it's not so special to get into long conversation with anyone (at least people in my circle of friends), unlike Bossa or Jazz.

Yeah, like I said, it's just pop, but so beautifully written and soulfully sung. I'm talking about John Mayer in particular. I really like many of his songs. It's hard to describe why... I guess it's the lyrics and how he sings it...that connects me. I accendentally browsed to a web page talking about this. This girl went to John's concert and she talked about a conver John mentioned that ticked her. I think she put it better than I do why we like John's work so much:-

But there was one moment that really caught my attention, that cemented me as a fan. John started talking just before starting up the song Love Song For No One (which is about writing a song for someone not yet met but yearned for and hoped for). He said, "You know, there's certain parts of the body that need a little more attention than others." Hoots and woo hoos from the crowd. Then John gestured to the inside of his elbow. "See this little area, right here? This part has been lonely. You know how you'll go out to a party or whatever and you hold it like this (gestures walking arm in arm with someone), then a little later on, you hold it like this (hangs his arm by his side as though walking hand in hand with someone). Then when you leave the party and you go home, you hold like this again (back to arm in arm gesture). That's what I've really been missing lately."

He could have been full of shit or beer or anything, but it didn't matter. That little monologue was something every person, male or female, single or coupled, could relate to, and you could feel it in the crowd. The chorus to the song follows like this:

I'm so tired of being alone So hurry up and get here
So tired of being alone So hurry up and get here
You'll be so good
You'll be so good to me

John's songs aren't all about love, but those that are inspire a sort of maturity about love, a realization that things seldom work out, but without much malice or anger or rage in his words. His songs about growing up, living in Georgia, and being on the road share the stage with this sort of feeling, and you realize that so many things in life deal with love. We just neglect to believe it.

Listen to "Comfortable" & "Daughters" and you'll get what I mean. The total package of his is subtle, simple, and very touching. And he's got so many fans because there is a segment of men & women who are like him, but could never really put their feelings into words and the sound of guitar. There are more than enough sentimental love songs, so when John Mayer came with a breathe of fresh air like this, he was so welcome. His good look definitely didn't hurt :P It's like..now you have an excuse to really like him not because of his cute face, but his talent.

Aside of John, I also enjoy other pop artists of similar kind of music. (I wonder if there's a genre for it, coz calling it pop doesn't do it a justice.) I like Jack Johnson, Sting, Tuck & Patti, Aimee Mann, Chantal Kreviazuk, Shawn Colvin... And the soulful Simply Red, Seal, Sade...

YABJS: A new trend in jazz of 00's

I discovered this new term from Entertainment Tonight. I love the show. It's got so many British dark jokes about celebs and entertainment industry. In one show it talked about how music industry is now full of YABJS (pronounced as 'yabs') or Young and Beautiful Jazz Singers. That show mentioned the likes of Michael Buble', Jamie Cullum, etc. I think that this is so interesting, coz I also thought that nowadays the popular jazz singers are so young, and cute! Apart from Michael and Jamie, how about Stacey Kent, Jane Monheit, Jacky Allen, etc? So I googled YABJS, and the results are 2 very interesting articles.

All swings bright and beautiful Perfect teeth, perfect albums, perfect appearances on Parkinson ... jazz singers are taking over the planet
John L Walters
Friday November 5, 2004
The Guardian

Suddenly the world is full of YABJS - Young And Beautiful Jazz Singers, an excess of them, with their perfect teeth and hair and ubiquitous posters and carefully timed Parkinson appearances and beautifully recorded albums - Gwyneth Herbert and Peter Cincotti and Clare Teal and Kathleen Willison. Not to mention Andra and Cassandra and Claire and Diana (Krall, at the Albert Hall tonight) and Dianne and Eliane and Jacqui and Juliet and Liane (Carroll - terrific at the Barbican gala concert for Ronnie's) and Molly and Niki and edgy, sexy Patricia and Rebekka and Silje and Stacey and Tina. And Michael Buble - not so much a jazz star as a bad, sad Frank Sinatra tribute act. YABJS as in Yet Another Bloody Jazz Singer. [full article]


New Crop of ‘jazz’ Singers
A Bland Lot
Howard Reich l Chicago Tribune, April 2004

They’re young, glamorous, beautiful, talented, evocatively dressed, sumptuously photographed
— and, oh, so boring to hear.

Packaged to appeal more to the eye than to the ear, the new jazz singers — or at least the vocalists being marketed as such — have sold millions of records and, therefore, have redefined the art form for listeners around the planet...

...Stack up the pretty boys, and girls, against fierce and fearless individualists such as Elling, Barber, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Lizz Wright and Philip Manuel, among others, and it’s clear that the 21st Century has ushered in a bland new world of watered-down jazz singing, a pseudo-chic Muzak for a new millennium. “I think we’re very oriented toward image, toward a certain kind of `look’ these days,” says Michael Friedman, whose Chicago-based Premonition Records released several of Barber’s breakthrough albums, including “Cafe Blue” and “Modern Cool.” “There’s not much attention paid to a Kurt Elling or a Patricia Barber or people who are doing interesting things in the vocal area — people who are trying new ideas.”

...“It’s driven, instead, by image. Peter Cincotti is a handsome dude. Jane Monheit is a beautiful young singer. Beautiful singers singing beautiful songs in very non-confrontational ways — that’s what seems to work today.”

...For jazz devotees and musicians, however, the rub comes when artists such as Jones, Krall, Cincotti and the rest are marketed by jazz and pop labels as the real thing, the new stars of swing-based music. [Full Article]

Very true indeed. But at least these YABJS have opened doors to many listeners who stayed away from jazz and thought jazz is too much to digest. After they're bored of the YABJS, then they can explore deeper into the classy ones later. BTW, I agree that Patricia Barber is awesome, watched her perform live at Green Mills a couple of times. And I also don't like Michael Buble', somehow I think his music is bland, and his jokes in the concert not so funny.

Discovering my soft side with flower arrangement class

This year I celebrated my birthday in a new way, by taking flower arrangement lesson. Oh convinced me to take the lesson with her. And having been an amateur on this field for quite some time myself, I agreed.

We took the lesson with P' Orm, Ormkwan Sanasen. She's an up-and-coming flower arranger. And we went to Park Nailert for it. (I'll have to write about shops in Park Nailert seperately later.) The class took a bit longer than half a day, and it was lots of fun. I discovered an activity I really enjoy and really want to continue, though not certain which venue it's gonna be.

Nowadays classes like flower arrangement are becoming more popular. In Bangkok, you can find such classes as creating soaps, candles, painting, etc very easily. In the post-modern era, life's got to be not just about work (according to...well...someone who set the trend), so the concept of do-it-yourself is 'in' now. And these classes prosper. People seek for new knowledge more, indulge themselves more, travel more -- in short, spend more.

I, for one, would never be able to open a florist shop. But I did pay quite an amount to study this 1-day flower arrangement class, at will too. I felt that at least I did something beyond work & work & work, at least I gave myself a shot at something I also wanted to pursue, though not professionally. And now I feel that I spent money wisely, knowing someone is laughing and disagreeing with me. Oh well...