List Of Shame

Being a list-crazy person, I loved Rob O'Connor List of The Day blogposts. I almost agreed with all his 25 worst rappers of all time but I was gasping for breath as I read through his list of Ten Most Annoying Singers. Note: Annoying doesn't mean bad singing, just plain annoying to the ears. So, you have a look at the list and see whether you agree or not, k? hehe

The Ten Most Annoying Singers by Rob O'Connor
10) Celine Dion: I know there are millions of people who would beg to disagree, but let's get real, people. She sings 15 notes where one would suffice and turns every song into an anthem for self-empowerment. It's like getting an hour of Oprah condensed into four minutes. She sings. It's time to start the lawnmower.

9) John Mayer: Young people are impressionable. I'm not sure where John Mayer learned his vocal craft. I hesitate to call it singing. It's more like whimpering. And for some reason, this has become a trend not stopping anytime soon. As you'll sadly learn as we go further down this list.

8) Conor Oberst: As the wunderkind who leads Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst was given a certain amount of leeway since he was a young teen when he started out and his precious singing--so sensitive and intimate you could hear the post-nasal drip--was mistaken as precocious. Well, he's in his 20s now and he still sounds like he's swimming back to the womb for protection from this hard, harsh world. Come on buddy, stand up straight and stop trying to imitate the Cure's Robert Smith. He got there first. And even he must know he sounds a little silly.

7) Lily Allen: Contrary to this column, I want to like fresh, young talent. I want to hear singers bring true commitment to their material. The first time I heard Lily Allen I thought it was quaint. Then it seemed every young female singer was determined to sing just like her, as if they're running out of air in their lungs and have to get back to the respirator before the next verse begins. Sure, she's bouncy and spunky. But if I might quote what Lou Grant once told Mary Tyler Moore: I HATE SPUNK.

6) Devendra Banhart / Tiny Tim: I'm not convinced they're not the same person. Tiny Tim was a novelty item singing with that stupid ukulele something about tiptoeing through the tulips. Anyone with any half sense would know it was novelty item that shouldn't be used as the basis for an entire recording career. And for thirty years, it wasn't, until freaky-folk dude Devendra Banhart showed up and started warbling in that unlistenable, untrained vibrato the kind of nonsensical lyrics that didn't sound all that great back when people were taking the kinds of drugs you're supposed to be on in order to enjoy it.

5) James Blunt: All this talk in the media about whether or not waterboarding is torture is moot. Forcing anyone to listen to "Beautiful" on repeat constitutes torture. You want my darkest, deepest secrets? This guy's quivering voice gets you my social security number, my mother's maiden name, my personal PIN and any random government secrets I'm currently harboring.

4) Frankie Valli: Frankie Valli was a hero to some back in his day. I grant you this. He was consistent! He consistently sang in a voice designed to send dogs running for cover and perfect for breaking glass. "Rag Doll, " "Sherry," "Dawn," "Big Girls Don't Cry," the list is enormous. He very well could be tried as a war criminal. Who would object? Seriously? Who?

3) Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins): Yes, despite all his rage he's still just a rat in a cage. Unfortunately, that cage came with a microphone for him to transmit his Smashing Pumpkins hits to a helpless, hapless world at large. While Billy could orchestrate grand walls of guitar and write albums of endless tuneage, he insisted on singing it himself. Except this is not singing in any conventional sense, but rather the sound of a petulant, whiny child. This is what happens when parents don't tell their kids to shut up often enough. Children need to know you don't like them.

2) Scott Stapp (Creed): We could probably start laying the blame on Bono, Eddie Vedder, Jim Morrison and that guy from Blood, Sweat and Tears, but in the end it's Scott Stapp who epitomizes that macho bellow that sounds like a man who's gone overboard at the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet and has just received spiritual orders to let everyone know they're going to hell if they don't save themselves somehow. His spiritual torment becomes your problem. Thanks, pal.

1) Michael Bolton: OK, this was easy. C'mon, you knew Mr. Bolton would top the list. Who else can take a love song and turn it into a hernia? When a man loves a woman he doesn't do so by screaming in her ear--so why should it be acceptable for a man to sing a sensitive love song as if he's directing traffic for the hearing impaired? R&B classics deserve their place in musical history and should be protected from this man's desecration of all that is holy. It's only right. Let's make it a law.

I only beg to differ number nine and two which I would personally replace with Rihanna & Lou Bega... others, pretty true :p

Nisa Loves Me Too Much

that she tags me into answering all these questionnaires all the time :p

1. Yourself: Confusing
2. Your partner: Non-existent
3. Your hair: Layered
4. Your mother: A Gem
5. Your father: Missed :(
6. Your favorite item: book
7. Your dream last night: all smiles
8. Your favorite drink: kickapoo
9. Your dream car: Audi T4
10. The room you are in: Kelam Kabut
11. Your ex: Confused
12. Your fear: Losing Loved Ones
13. What you want to be in 10 years: A wife and mother
14. Who you hung out with last night: the hockey crowd
15. What you’re not: ignorant (hopefully)
16. Muffins: gardenia
17: One of your wish list items: a Marc Jacobs Mika bag :)
18: Time: is too short to be spent wrecklessly
19. The last thing you did: washed my face
20. What you are wearing: my not-so-huge-tshirt
21. Your favorite weather: spring
22. Your favorite book: interpreter of maladies by jhumpa lahiri
23. The last thing you ate: Kuay teow
24. Your life: is almost beautiful
25. Your mood: grateful
26. Your best friend: nabil
27. What you’re thinking about right now: what time i should leave for home?
28. Your car: is in the wait list
29. What you are doing at the moment: listening to Sergio Mendes' new album

30. Your summer: was great
31. Your relationship status: Single.
32. What is on your TV: nothing
33. What is the weather like: gloomy
34. When was the last time you laughed: last night
35. Cats: sneeze
36. Music: escapism
37. Life: beautiful
38. Love : Lollipop :)
39. Friends : Completes Me

I have to add one, so here goes

40. Food: abundance

Since nisa tagged mass and nisha', i would tag soya, nina and tash... sekian

Loyalty

Loyalty is very, very important in a relationship. If you can't be loyal, you probably don't deserve all the people you're involved in. Mungkin I'm not open minded enough, mungkin I'm too idealistic. Kesian, semua orang pun tumpang pening sekali

Realisation

It has finally come to an end, my undergraduate years that is. 5 1/2 years seemed like just a momentary dream, you wake up and it's over. To mark the occasion, I went out with Nina and Aimi (Durra, wished you were there too) to The Curve to have lunch at Marche and followed by watching Ironman together(super cool movie). After that, we had coffee again at The Apartments (nice macchiato.. hehe). It was great to finally just sit down and talk with these friends, although good coffee does not seem count as reward nowadays. Maybe I should think of reducing the amount of coffee I consume daily..

Anyway, the most prominent issue that we talk about is (surprise.. surprise) Marriage! You see, after graduating, we're all finally going to be independent beings wit our own incomes and taxes to pay. Thus, we can't avoid to think about planning the future. I have set some plans and getting married doesn't seem to be in the cards anytime soon. Yet, I do find myself being a tad envious of my friends who have found their partners and achieved that maturity to advance into marital stage. I reflected on myself and realised that I do not have that sense of responsibility to build a family yet. I still think about myself and my mother too much to commit now, rasanya boyfriend pun mungkin bosan mendengar my cerita about my mother.

Thinking about the future makes me shiver sometimes... I fear the possibility of making the wrong choice and regretting it for the rest of my life. I guess I still need to know people and understand the world a lot more better. Though, to my friends who have been recently married or made such plans in the near future, I congratulate you upon your courage and responsibility. I know that you have thought about it and that surely means you are ready to face the challenges :)

But I accept The Mother's challenge to buka permohonan kat blog ni. Kepada sesiapa yang berminat, bolehlah masuk boranglah sekarang... hahaha

Introducing

Dr M has established his own blog, have a read at chedet.com for his brilliant and forefront thoughts :0