Foxymoron

There's Only Music So That There's New Ringtones

I'm late on this but Sasha Frere-Jones wrote about Brit Pop's forumla for success in America. Why is Coldplay and that awful James Blunt popular there while the Arctic Monkeys and Robbie Williams remain unrecognized relative to their success in the UK?

On what works:

Nevertheless, they have several crucial things in common: their lyrics tend to be uplifting; they lack identifiably English accents, and they avoid British slang unfamiliar to Americans. These attributes are what distinguish their music from another strain of mainstream English pop, which rarely makes it big in the States, even when it should.

And what doesn't:

Logistical factors—the comparative ability of independents and majors to promote acts, the tight strictures of radio—are partly to blame, but the bigger problem is one of accents and attitude. If your songs are cynical, ironic, or misanthropic, and loaded with references to Tesco or “tracky bottoms tucked in socks,” Americans may simply turn the dial.

I'm not sure what the real definition of Brit Pop is anymore. Some might argue that genre in its truest sense left with Blur and the best days of Oasis. All I know is that I prefer my music with drama, saddness and attitude, which is why British music comes second only to CanCon on my iTunes. SFJ is right on when he describes Coldplay's better songs as miniature epics. "Everything's Not Lost" is my favourite of the band's discography. At more than five minutes just like my favourite Embrace song's "Out of Nothing" (5:31), both songs are not simple declarations of one idea or feeling but they are bouquets of emotions, multi-layered in lyrics and composition.

Arctic Monkeys - A Certain Romance (The "tracky bottoms" song and my favourite Monkeys song)
Coldplay - Everything's Not Lost
Embrace - Out of Nothing
Embrace - All You Good Good People (A happy Embrace tune for the Americans)

Photo: Taken on Lantau Island on the Wisdom Path during a hike in Western Hong Kong.

Hot Hot Heat

I took this photo of the Sha Tin Cold Storage and adjacent warehouse on Sunday during my regular walk through Fo Tan in the New Territories. The photograph was actually taken on a hot and sunny (partly cloudy) but it's hard to tell since my camera has a dark side and has only captured gloominess lately. It's getting old and grumpy, my camera.

Now with less rain, going outside in Hong Kong is like walking into an oven but I love flip flops and three-quarter length pants. The romance with heat will only last another week or two before I get fed up and pray for something cooler.

The New York Times had an interesting article, "The World's Cups" about different cold drinks from around the world. Of course, in NYC, it just takes a trip around the city to find them.

Someone point me in the direction of Hong Kong's best lemonade...

I Love You, But I've Chosen Darkness - I Want To Die in the Hot Summer

Luscious Jackson - Summer Daze

Space Raiders - Hot Cakes

Hungry Heart

I want to go to bed, but I couldn't do that without telling you about Sonya Thomas. Perhaps you already know her as the "Black Widow" champion eater, but I just witnessed her eat more than 11 lbs. of lobster in 12 minutes on television. It's old footage from August, but she beat out dudes two, three, even four times her size as she's only 100 lbs. Turns out she has broken a number of world records for eating. As of last month, her favourite records are:

a. Acme Oysters: 46 dozen (552) in 10 minutes.
b. Hard-Boiled Eggs: (1) 65 in 6' 40 seconds. (2) 52 in 5 minutes.
c. Downtown Atlantic Cheesecake: 11 pounds in 9 minutes.
d. Maine Lobsters: 11.4 pounds of Lobster meat (44 soft shell lobsters) in 12 minutes.
e. Buffalo Wings: 162 (5.09 pounds) in 12 minutes.
f. 84 Lumber Baked Beans: 8.4 pounds in 2' 47 seconds.
g. Zocalo's Tacos (Soft-shell Chickem): 48 in 11 minutes.
h. Cheese Quaesadillas: 31 1/2 (four-inch size) in 5 minutes.
i. Phillips Seafood 3-oz Crab Cakes: 46 in 10 minutes.
j. Lulu's Crawfish Jambalaya: 9 pounds in 10 minutes.

I'm not sure how I feel about eating competitions in general but admit I am captivated by this woman and this so-called sport. First, I envy her metabolism (but I don't jog for two hours/day) and second, there's something fascinating about people eating as much and as fast as they can. It's like a car crash: it's sick but I can't look away. Then again, I've been gluttonous so who am I to judge?

Bloc Party - Like Eating Glass

Jason Mraz - Too Much Food

Arrested Development - Give A Man A Fish

God, Put Down Your (Drill) Gun

Soraya is still giddy from her meeting with Natalie Portman at the Tilly and The Wall show in Toronto Sunday. This is a big deal for her. She's basically been stalking admiring Portman since the beginning of time. Of course, Portman is one of my favourite actresses too. Afterall, she has brains, beauty AND good taste in music. Last fall, Keiyu saw her at the Stars show in New York. Unlike Soraya though, he didn't talk to her or collect her used chewing gum.

Back in Hong Kong, I'm enjoying the fair weather. After weeks of rain, sunshine is back. It hit my face for the first time in weeks when I left my apartment in search of lunch this afternoon. Everyone was out on Kings Road — the old ladies collecting cardboard, the big bellied man selling fruit from a cart, the school children skipping back to school — it was a glorious reminder of what summer in Hong Kong should be (without the extreme humidity).

My happiness was dampened by my upstairs neighbour who is drilling and hammering so loudly, I could barely think. Instead, I'm playing music at a higher volume than  before. It's the only way to drown out the unbearable noise and retaliate in my own way.

Suffering from a similar problem or you just want to be obnoxious? Blast these:

Tilly and the Wall - Bad Education

Tilly and the Wall - Nights of the Living Dead

Stars - Death to Death

Photo: Taken last summer in Central over Connaught Rd.

Celebration Guns

The Hong Kong kids don't go to bars as much as they go to arcades to play games. There are two within a three minute walk of my apartment building but I've never ventured inside either of them. They're dark and smokey inside and I've only seen rough-looking dudes come in and out of them. But last night, my friend Mike took me to Wonder Land on the top floor of the World Trade Centre. It was smoke-free and the kids were clean-looking geeks like us (only younger). Holy funness!

I haven't owned a video game system since Super Ninendo and I had no idea arcade games have become so interactive and diverse. The days of Pac Man are gone and have been replaced by drumming games, motion-sensored shooting and samauri games — there are even games in which you can be a dogwalker or master sushi chef. We spent most of our time playing Time Crisis 3, though. I don't like guns at all, but shooting games always rope me in. After the first time I played it, I had to go back and so we did, spending another $20 HKD on saving Astigos, the peaceful Mediterranean island from an invasion. Unfortunately, we ran out of tokens before we could save it. You haven't won yet Wild Dog and Giorgio Zott, next time we'll get you! Next time...

The Beastie Boys - Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun

Gomez - In Our Gun (love the last 1:35)

The Cardigans - My Favourite Game

On My Way...

I booked my flight today. I fly out (via Tokyo and Chicago) on August 6th, the day after my birthday.

Toronto's skyline may not be as impressive as Hong Kong's, but it's not about the tallest building, the brightest lights or the amount of money put into it all. It's about the quality of life and although the GTA has its own battles, I see the green grass on Centre Island, the cloud dotted blue sky and imagine the familiar faces inside the buildings, I think there is where I want to be. Not permanently, not now. Maybe not even in a year. But Toronto is home and always will be and I will one day return for good. In the meantime, I'm already imaginging the great city with all of its wonderful tastes and smells I've missed this year. Oh, let's not forget about the sounds...

Broken Social Scene - Our Faces Split the Coast in Half

King Cobb Steelie - Lady Toronto

Matthew Good Band - Running for Home

If You Have a Heart...

...and can spare some money, please sponsor my friend, Chelle as she takes on the Becel Ride for Heart this Sunday in Toronto. Some you don't know her, but let me tell you, this is a pretty big deal for Chelle. In recent weeks, the event has motivated her to quit smoking and exercise for the first time in years. And from what I hear, it's going pretty well.

If that's not enough to encourage you to give a lil, consider the fact that you or someone you love will have a stroke or suffer from heart disease at some point in your lives. Maybe you're a healthy young person now, but one day you'll be thankful for the medical research that could save your life.

Remember, "you got to give it up, if you want to live it up"...

LCD Soundsystem - "Give It Up"

Photo: I took this photo when Chelle and I went to Monreal about three years ago. I think we had just had some delicious poutine in Old Montreal. She's probably holding a cigarette in this photo, but you can't see it.