I moved to South Carolina the summer I turned fifteen, after growing up in Singapore and spending four years on a ship. Unknowingly, I stepped into a paradigm where my half-Singaporean Chinese self was now firmly classified as Asian, a title that brought with it very specific expectations. I quickly learned that the best way… Continue reading Self-Hating Asians
Tag: Music
They Changed it And That’s Okay
The band Barcelona enthralled me with their first album, Absolutes, with its soaring melancholic piano-driven sound paired with some soulful songwriting. It was a shock to the system when their sophomore album, Not Quite Yours, instead featured a more rhythm-focused sound and the piano relegated to support in many songs. Their third, Basic Man, sounds… Continue reading They Changed it And That’s Okay
Yellow (流星)
I have A Lot of thoughts about the movie adaption of Crazy Rich Asians. Far more thoughts that I’ve had time to write down. Much of that is wrapped up in the fact that it’s set in Singapore and I have a very complicated relationship with that country, owing to it, well, being where I… Continue reading Yellow (流星)
Some Stuff From 2017 I Wanna Talk About
I did this last year, mostly as an excuse to enthuse about things I really like. I’m gonna do it again, listing some things from last year that I really liked. They mayn’t be the best thing in their category, but they’re really cool and I wanna pay attention to it! The three things here… Continue reading Some Stuff From 2017 I Wanna Talk About
Fast Car
I really like Tracy Chapman’s "Fast Car," and I realize I’m saying this as someone who’s around thirty years late to the party. Beyond its great musicality, there’s the poetry to it. It speaks to a wanting for a life that’s more than you have, one beyond your circumstances; but also to the dashing of… Continue reading Fast Car
Stuff From 2016 I Wanna Talk About
Every year I do a thing on this blog where I list my top nine movies. Thing is, movies aren’t the only things that come out in a year. So here’s a list of a bunch of stuff in a bunch of different mediums that came out last year that I really liked that I… Continue reading Stuff From 2016 I Wanna Talk About
Order, and Narrative Thereof
I’m one of those people who will respect you less if you pick an album to play, and then play it on shuffle. See, there’s a deliberate rhyme and reason for the order of songs on an album. U2’s War needs “Surrender” to be its penultimate song. After an album about war, violence, and fighting… Continue reading Order, and Narrative Thereof
The Reels Are Alive With The Sound Of Diegetic Music
Here’s a word that no one uses unless they want to sound smarter than you: diegesis, that is the type of story that’s told by a narrator. Which means what, exactly? Well, in The Princess Bride the Grandfather is performing an act of diegesis when he tells the Grandson the story. The interactions he has with the… Continue reading The Reels Are Alive With The Sound Of Diegetic Music
Je Ne Sais Quoi
I have an indie band crush. Well, I have a couple. One of them, Run River North, just released their first album this past Tuesday. Now, I have their demo back from July '12, so I've been pumped to get this. Yes, I know, I know, but I go to NYU; most all of us… Continue reading Je Ne Sais Quoi
Essays, Not Rants! 