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| "All that's missing are my earphones..." |
Those who know me know
that Marine life is my passion, but
only those close to me know that music is
what makes me tick. I pay little to
no attention to who or what is in the
charts and rarely find what the radio is
trying to force down my ear holes to do
anything other than annoy me.
I can’t help but feel
that music is losing its soul and
increasingly I find great new music harder
and harder to come by. As such
I follow my ears; whatever it is that I
can’t sit still to when I hear it,
whatever makes my foot tap, my head bounce
and what I invariably end up
serenading my neighbours with when I sing
loudly in the shower. Nothing is
off limits what sounds good sounds good
regardless of genres and as a result I
am led to believe that my taste in music is
broad and sometimes unexpected. While
my top 5 selection for 2013 may not hold
any surprises for many of you I hope
that somewhere in here you can find
something new and exciting, perhaps you'll give
something a try that you haven’t
before.
Right then enough gab!
I’ll try to keep words to a minimum, I’m
sure you’d rather be watching and listening
than reading my guff...
5.
Kings of Leon's first 2
albums; Youth and Young Manhood (2003) and Aha Shake Heartbrake (2004) are
amongst some of my favourites of all time. They were raw, basic, and
shamelessly fun. But since then they have transitioned to be more polished and more
marketable and as a result have blown up in popularity. However this isn't
necessarily a bad thing, the 'new' Kings of Leon still have great
songs.
Their latest offering may
not be the same mass chorus inducing floor filler as previous albums have been,
it seems looser, slightly more generic and perhaps a little rushed, but the
tone of the guitars and emotion in each song carries it. For me its not been an
album I'm itching to play over and over, it's filled the niche of something to
play when I'm busy, something enjoyable but not distracting.
5 other tracks
to try: Genius, Velvet snow, King of the rodeo, Joe's head, Use
somebody.
4.
Nine Inch Nails (NIN) are
certainly a marmite band, you either love or hate them, they're a bit unusual
but in a creative way. I missed out on seeing them live in 2007 because I'm an
idiot, they then promptly broke up and I kicked myself...hard! Trent Reznor
went off an decided he fancied winning an Oscar and a couple of Golden Globes
for his movie soundtracks... as one does of course, BUT! luckily they're back
and as explorative as ever.
On first listen
Hesitation Marks can be a little alienating, but once you let your guard down
you'll start to feel the groove of the digital rock combo. They key to the
brilliance of NIN
is that unlike most pop releases today
technology is not a mask or a tool for 'perfection', whatever that is? but it
is an instrument like any other and Trent bends it to his will with maximum
effect.
5 other tracks
to try: Hurt, Head like a hole, Hand that feeds, Closer,
Wish.
3.
Sound City: Reel to Reel is the child born from Dave Grohl's (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) amazing documentary; Sound City. It documents the history of one of most infamous recording studios in rock history where some of the greatest ever rock albums have been recorded. Seriously if you claim to like rock music chances are one of your favourite albums or artists recorded there, the list of talent is just ridiculous. The film goes on to explore how music today is losing its human element and to exemplify how things should be done Dave calls on a bunch of past artists to record a new album.
The album is a collection
of all the songs they wrote together. Expect some interesting collaborations, a
personal highlight was Sir Paul McCartney writing and performing a song with
the remaining members of Nirvana.
This film is a must watch
and you can find it here, it's worth
every penny and more.
5 other Sound City artists to try: Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Johnny Cash.
2.
Queens of the Stone Age
(QOTSA) were MIA for years prior to this album, each member off pursuing other
projects, most notably Josh Homme (the coolest man in rock) working on Them
Crooked Vultures with John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and Dave Grohl. QOTSA have
always been one of my favourite bands, the line ups change but some things
remain constant; (i) they always have a beast of a drummer (ii) true rock and
roll guitars that are greasy, grimy and leave you wanting to wash your dirty
dirty body (iii) Josh Homme!, one of the great artists/producers of our
generation, the man is a true wordsmith and can shred a guitar unlike anyone
else, all while giving zero f**ks and looking like hes not even
trying.
I've always loved their
balls to the wall style however ...Like Clockwork adds a whole new dimension to
the QOTSA repertoire, the band has matured and it creates a much more complete
musical experience, especially their live shows. Additionally some music icons
contributed to this album; Alain Johannes, Dave Grohl and Sir Elton John to
name a few. This album is like a journey, a story, with headphones on
its truly immersive, I've repeatedly lost 46 minute chunks of my life over the
past year and appear to have developed a habit of uncontrollably gyrating my
hips like Elvis...
Finally ...Like Clockwork had the best pre-release teasers I think I've ever seen, animated by Boneface they're creepily awesome, check the medley out below!
Finally ...Like Clockwork had the best pre-release teasers I think I've ever seen, animated by Boneface they're creepily awesome, check the medley out below!
5 other tracks to
try: No one knows, Go with the flow, Make it wit chu, The lost art of
keeping a secret, Little sister
1.
Biffy Clyro are with out
a doubt one of my favourite bands...ever. Back home they top charts and
headline festivals yet outside of the UK they are perhaps one of the most
unrecognised and underrated bands out there. They have it all, from songs that
can make you cry to songs that make you want to punch your friend in the face,
melancholy ballads to screaming choruses, Earsplitting riffs to orchestral
ensembles. With each album they only seem to get better and better, Opposites
is no exception and the cherry on the cake is that its a double album...and its
all killer no filler.
'Mon the
Biff
5 other tracks
to try: Mountains, Livings a problem because everything dies, Many of
horror, Machines, Glitter and trauma
Before I go (and assuming
you made it this far) you may have noted the shameless plugs
to iomoio.com, no they're not paying me.
However I'm sure you go
to work everyday and expect to get payed for it, so don't be a d*ck
pay for your music! iomoio charges 16 cents per
track, that's way less than itunes, less than what you'll pay for the
pirated ones at the market and the artists get paid :)
I hope you all enjoyed the journey, now be free, free to ignore the top 40 charts!!!
I hope you all enjoyed the journey, now be free, free to ignore the top 40 charts!!!
Risus,
James
*You can find James goofing around on Instagram (there are instavids no one should ever have to see), or showing off his equally amazing pyjamas on facebook HERE. Drop him a friend request and enter a world of wacky! Also, drop us a comment if you want James to be our guest blogger again! =D
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| The entrance to Da Keng Leisure Farm |
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| From top left: Chicken in herbal tea soup, bamboo shoot and leafy veggie rice porridge, Vegan rose pasta, free range roasted whole chicken, baked sweet potato, pork veal roasted sausages, sauteed fish in herbal gravy, deep fried veggie fritters and fresh bamboo shoots. |
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| Ka Mei was so excited she started to dig into that chicken, but we called the expert out before she ruined it =P |
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| Lobby / Restaurant Source: Da Keng Facebook Page |
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| Eluba House Boat, Da Keng's bar where we got to try Eva's special cocktail, which includes white sugar on a lemon slice - which goes up in flames! (The burnt sugar with lemon is so good though!) Source: Da Keng Facebook Page |
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| These steps are an example of Papa Tsai's hard work - he laid them himself! |
After dinner, we were taken up to the bar for *posh English accent* a spot of tea before bed. Ana, Sherrie and I tried True Love Flower Tea (真爱茶), Peppermint Milk Tea, and Floating Pretty Lady Tea (飘飘美人茶). Not a fan of milk tea or peppermint in general, but the flower teas were to die for! Definitely recommended! Would have liked to sit there and just enjoy it a while longer, but we were all quite tired from our long day...
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| Yes, there are huge teddy bears just sitting at the end of this gorgeous bar! |
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| These - Lemons - On - FAIYAR~~!! |
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| The room was really comfy! Ours was a room for 3, so Ana, Sherrie and I shared. Photo credits: Sherrie aka Cutebun |
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| The first rays of light breaking through the misty morning. |
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| Waiting for the perfect shot, or just taking in the breathtaking view |
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| A rather misty morning; on a clear day you can see right across the valley to the mountains on the other side. |
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| Packed into the back of an old pick-up truck~ Could be lyrics to a country song =P |
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| It was a fun ride back, but I was literally freezing in the cool morning breeze! |
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| After feeding some free-range chickens, that is! Da Keng is known for its hormone-free poultry and pesticide-free vegetables - health is wealth, as they say! |
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| As expected, the scenic hike up the steep slope was a challenge in itself for me, and luckily I wasnt alone! ;p |
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| An obstacle course on the side - for those of you who are about 10x fitter than I am lol |
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| To reach the observation tower, you still have to climb steep steps (bottom right), but the view is definitely worth it! After catching our breath for a few minutes, someone suggested the girls do a lil jumping shot - this is why I dont do anything exercise-related: it makes me look SO attractive. Not. |
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| No prizes for guessing which mode of transport I chose |
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| A hilarious sight just before we boarded our bus - a real live chicken had somehow gotten into the toy vending machine! He looked quite content, but Ruby was racking her brains trying to figure out how he got in! |
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| Souvenirs from Da Keng! The dried mango is to die for! =D |
Da Keng Leisure Farm
Tel: +886 65760121
Web: www.168big.com.tw
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Dakeng520
Address: #82, Dakeng Li, Sinhua District, Tainan City, Taiwan
Til next time,
Group photo with the Tsais! AirAsia flies from Kota Kinabalu (BKI) to Taipei (TPE) once daily and twice daily from Kuala Lumpur (KUL).
Calista xx
*Once again, all photo credits to Ana Jonessy & Chun Tak!
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