BABY, YOU ARE OUT OF TIME

Just the other day I was listening to Maroon 5 singing a song about moving like Jagger. All at once I began to think it's about time we gave some credit to Mick Jagger and his group The Rolling Stones.

 Mick is truly exceptional. If you have been to a Rolling Stones concert you would understand. I was so lucky to have the chance to watch them 'live' in Singapore several years back.

The Rolling Stones are like a flame that was lit in the 60's and which had not been extinguished ever since. Just like the saying 'a rolling stone gathers no moss'. Watching them perform it seems that Mick and the rest of the Stones have never aged.

The Stones always bring back fond memories of my dad. He told me he once had a giant poster of Mike Jagger that said 'STOP DRUGS....JAIL THE FIRST STONE'.  He said Mick was always getting himself into trouble with the law and was never like John, Paul, George or Ringo, which to him were considered all right lads. Not Mick, he was like a black sheep in the family.

My dad said that during his time, his group of friends were so into folk music. So if whoever had a guitar then, it was everyone's expectation that he or she would strum and sing either '500 miles', 'A Place In The Sun' or 'Blowing In The Wind'. One day, when my dad brought a new friend along who played  and sang The Rolling Stones 'Jumping Jack Flash' , several of my dad's mates began to label his new friend a rebel.

After my dad died, I found in our store room a large chest that contained his record collection. The records were so well kept and there were quite some great Rolling Stones ones like Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), Aftermath, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main St.

I always enjoy flipping through all these old albums and looking at the pictures on the covers. Just like reading a book, such wanderings would help me while away the lonesome hours.

I am proud to say  I still love listening particularly to the High Tide and Green Grass album. Well, you will never break a heart of stone, I guess.

All my favourites are in there: Time Is On My Side, As Tears Go By, Not Fade Away, Get Out Of My Cloud, Heart Of Stone, The Last Time, Play With Fire, Tell Me and of course that famous I Can't Get No Satisfaction.

To many fans, I suppose, the licking tongue logo of The Rolling Stones is more than just a fad,  it is a permanent craze. I was so happy when I received as a birthday gift one year a black tee with that logo on it.  I went round town wearing that to profess  I was a true fan of The Rolling Stones and not a poser.

Sometimes I  think Mick Jagger had in a way,  back in 1966,  made a prophecy of his group's everlasting popularity when he wrote these lines.........

'It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Doing things I used to do
They think are new
I sit and watch as tears go by.'

THE NIGHT RIDE

I remember a rainy night a year ago. I boarded a coach at 8.30pm at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China. I was on my way to Hangzhou so I could take the Air Asia flight back to Malaysia the next day at noon.

I was so tired in the coach that I laid my head back to try to sleep. I couldn't as the driver was driving like he was attempting to beat the speed of light.

 Not only was he speeding recklessly, he was also honking at every vehicle that was in his way. I felt I was in a roller coaster either at Universal Studios, Hollywood or  Six Flags, San Diego.

 I looked out of the window just beside me. The rain was pouring down so heavily. I just prayed that the coach wouldn't skid in such speed. The highway was dark and so was the night.

 In the coach, a movie was starting to play.  Despite it being the legendary Bruce Lee in 'Enter The Dragon'. I was too worried about the way the driver was driving to actually concentrate on that movie.

 The coach was packed. Though my ticket had a seat number, it seemed useless as everyone was sitting as they liked on a first board first serve basis. So understandably, many arguments ensued among the passengers, being mainly of chinese nationals. As soon as Bruce Lee appeared on the telly screen with his lightning fists and kicks, everyone shut up and watched the action. I said to myself  "Hooray! Bruce Lee has stopped the commotion!".

I  glimpsed at my watch. It was 9.18. The journey from Shanghai to Hangzhou would take a little more than 3 hours. Though I was dead tired then, I still couldn't resort to sleeping as another worry came into my mind.

 I knew I would be arriving in Hangzhou at about midnight, but would the bus's last stop be in the vicinity of the city, where hotels would be located within walking distance from it, or some remote place along some deserted highway.

  Hangzhou was a place new to me and  I prayed I didn't have to carry my bags and walk around looking for lodging, at that hour of  the night in the rain. One could imagine how broad the roads are in China. I remember the road right in front of Tien An Men in Beijing. It has 10 lanes going in one direction and 10 in the other.

Also, not to mention the coldness too, it was actually 14 degrees C inside the coach, outside it might be around 9C or colder, I guessed.

Somehow or rather, I slept. I was surprised I slept all the way regardless of that action packed Enter The Dragon and the reckless coach driver. Fast as he was, we arrived safely. That was what mattered.

They say 'every cloud has a silver lining'. How true, when I woke up, the bus had reached its destination.

 It was twenty minutes past midnight, everyone on board had reached Hangzhou and it was still raining relentlessly. Everyone disappeared into the night as fast as a bullet. I was the last passenger to alight. And there, surprise!!  Not more than 50m away from where I was standing, was an entrance of a hotel!

 Drenched as I was from head to toes, I rushed into the hotel. A chinese lady of about 30 years old was sitting at the reception.. She didn't look at all pleased as I was soaking wet and water was dripping all over the carpet.

Nonetheless, I checked in.

MY INNOCENT FRIEND

Your young adventurous soul
touched by a moment of majestic glory
A mysterious stranger falls for you at first sight
whose never ending praises only heightened your beauty

He is not a Greek philosopher he claims to be
though he ravishes mundane scenes of ancient history
Gallantly cool,  basely impressive
wittily romantic, ever so repulsive

You opt for a revolutionary
you get a missionary
Imposter on a quest
for the Holy Grail?

His secrets made you ill
you take it on yourself
You dare say now
believing comes so easy

Your open mindedness
bears no discrimination
When hands reach out for you
like a fool you rush to them.

Hi there, my innocent friend
the world has its illusions
reflected in a maze of dialectic dimensions
At times when I am confused
trusting my heart all ills shall be healed

So believe the one behind it all
always remember the arrangement of the seasons
After winter comes spring
and after summer comes fall

The joy to be loved, the fascination of romance
how young the world is, so why not take a chance?
Memorial conversations with sweet pledges exchanged
noble deeds but with different ends

One is humble, one is bold
beyond acts of submission, two destinies unfolded
Fallen angel with broken wings
how could you ever reach the boundaries of heaven again?

Stronger, you are than me, dear innocent friend
for my heart lies trapped within the hour glass of sand
My passion arises beyond my conservatism
my jealously demands its deserved liberalism

Where is my discipline?
my feelings illiterate
My education lost
for you my thoughts so engrossed

I live my life as you think
my identity becomes yours
Unreal, my dreams will remain till the end
like my wish to be innocent again.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see
It's getting hard to be someone, but it all works out,
It doesn't matter much to me........
(Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles 
 written by John Lennon)


If ever I were to pick the best song of The Beatles, from the several hundreds they have composed and recorded, I would most definitely without a doubt choose 'Strawberry Fields Forever' to be the best.


Paul Simon once said that it is not an easy song. It is not one that we could easily whistle, hum or even sing in the shower. So, what makes it so special and lasting? To me, it is always in the background of my mind throughout the years amidst thousands and thousands of songs from countless other groups whether old or new.


Come to think of it, the song has a profound meaning open for one's interpretation subjectively. I always wonder what John Lennon was thinking about when he wrote the line 'Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see'.


Did John literally mean that, as misunderstanding is all that we see in our life that it is easier to live with our eyes closed instead?


Or did he mean living is so easy with our eyes closed, thereby misunderstanding all that we see? In reality, that applies to many, especially when we were teens turning into adults. During those years, we live selfishly thinking only of ourselves without giving much consideration to others around us...like our parents, relatives and even some dear friends too. Oblivious to everyone around, lost in a world of our own and nothing else matters. Some day when we get older, we could find ourselves miserably alone.


I once overheard a little kid asking his father 'Dad, where are your friends, don't you have any?' To that simple question, his dad just didn't know how to answer.


When John wrote the next line 'It's getting hard to be someone, but it all works out'.....a universal truth is written.


Really, it is not that easy to live our life. Everyday we have responsibilities and expectations of us from our loved ones, family and every individual we come into contact with. For instance, when one doesn't earn enough to pay for one's commitments, it is not easy really, to get by. And when one is married and doesn't earn enough to support a family, it is hard really, to get by.


Through it all, there is one consolation and to that John wrote...'but it all works out'.


How? Naturally or with the help of God, maybe. When you reflect on all the troubles you had been through in your life till today, just be damn grateful that despite them all, you are still standing!! 

THE RING

Wanna talk about a girl who climbed out of a well and frightened the daylight out of us. I must admit I never dared to watch The Ring (original Japanese version) all alone by myself.

And I am not sure how many of us dare to

For the simple reason that the movie spells HORROR all the way. The actual horror doesn't just come out in the final scene. The part where that long hair Samara came out of a well and crept her way out of the telly,  but throughout the movie.

It is in every respect more superior than the slasher movies that Hollywood dished out. Those were never scary but violent

The Ring  carries an aura of unspeakable horror. In every scene you can sense something horrible is in the air
.
The atmosphere of death and of someone dying stays with you throughout.

Quite a masterpiece. Even tonight, if I were to put on that DVD I would still need someone beside me first.

Many Thai movies are scary as well in a way. Shutter is one of them. I could never forget that one scene where the devil was sitting on the shoulders of her male lover as he was walking around the room.. That was so scary because it was so unexpected. Never in a horror movie,  had we watched something like that.

When you walk into any DVD shop, you can find loads of horror flicks but seriously not many are that good. Many times we would get tricked by the pictures on the cover. The more spooky it looks, the less scary the movie ...examples..The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Last Exorcism, Paranormal Activities etc, etc.

Sometimes I come across, printed on the covers of pirated dvds of entirely different movies,  the same line  "Masterpiece, shocking...not to be missed!"

I got a pirated copy of the sci-fi horror "The Thing" but on its cover there is this line "A Hilarious Must-See!" I wonder what that means.

 Later, I bought another scary dvd "Rosewood Lane" and also, the same line "A Hilarious Must-See!" appears on the cover. I could hardly find anything hilarious  in both the movies!

Everyone one of us has high expectations of getting a good fright watching horror movies. But many are just let downs. To name a  few.....Fright Night,  The Rite,  Don't Be Afraid of The Dark, Apollo 18 and the worst ...Dylan's Dog.

Recently, i watched The Cabin in the Woods, The Woman in Black and The Innkeepers. All are disappointing. I would say The Woman in Black is quite a classic horror movie though not scary enough. Anywhere, the actor is good. Why not?.....he is Mr. Harry Potter himself!

Anyone looking for a solid horror dvd to take home, should consider 'Insidious'. If you still haven't watched that, do not miss it. Warning: Don't watch it alone!!

THE LONESOME DISAPPEARANCE OF A QUIET BLOGGER

The world he had created for himself was not like yours or mine. Working through the night in the dark corner of his  room. He disturbed nobody and  stood in nobody's way.

 Just another peace loving person with some views to share.

He had his own ideologies but not the courage to voice them out. Afraid they might hurt somebody's feelings unintentionally.

He realised  many people were hypocrites, doing precisely the things they themselves despised of. Funny though, these people were never caught. So, they remain innocent in the eyes of you and me.

An idea of his, was that everyone was selfish, seeing only what that matters to oneself and always picking out the imperfection in others.

He said if a person puts a pair of purple shades on, he would see everything around him purple. That would be his perception of the world and he would think that's real.

 That would be what matters, only to him, while others see the world differently and in different colours.

You would hear a wife bragging to everyone about her successful husband,  but you will never hear her telling you of her husband's impotence or his affair with another woman.

He said we came from a mould. Everything and everyone came from a perfect mould.

 Even if some are physically imperfect like the blind, deaf or mute, however,  the mould from which they came is perfect. It was the transition from the mould to human form that caused that imperfection.

 Because of that, in dreams the blind can see and the lame can walk.

Imagine that you baked 100 gingerbread men from the same perfect mould. Some would still turn out missing a hand or leg.

When I asked if he thought of himself as perfect, he answered no. He said he had done bad things that no one except himself knew of.

The last time that I saw him, he looked disillusioned. On his face you could somehow tell that he was going somewhere.

The last thing he said was that he just wasn't meant for these times.

WE ARE YOUNG

Horrible song, horrible singer. If not for the now famous chorus."tonight..we are young..so let set the world on fire.." it would be the worst song of 2012.

As anyone can guess, this song may be the next most sung song in the karaokes and clubs around the world...' from Ibiza to the northern boards' ....David Bowie ( Life on Mars?)

That 'we are young' catchy and infectious chorus, however, is inferior to that previously outstanding ' we are young, we run green, keep our teeth nice and clean, see our friends, see the sights, feel aright' ...by Supergrass and which was so disappointingly and mercilessly slaughtered and exploited by that sweet candy man, you know who, Bruno Mars, who altered the lyrics to 'we are young, we run free, stay up late, we don't sleep, got our friends, got the night, we'll be alright'. What a rip-off!! He made that great indie song sounded so cheap.

Back to the present, owing to its formidable few words like ..'.tonight, we are young'... it could be the perfect anthem exclusively suited for all the elderly die-hard members of The Sargeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band or some runned-down old folks home.

This song will definitely not get to be sung in football stadiums though,  as it is not that motivational, hopeful or encouraging,  nothing like that 'when you walk through a storm, hold your head up high,....with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone...'.by Gerry and the Pacemakers and rightfully adapted by Liverpool Football Club. You will never miss to hear it from their fans, whenever or wherever Liverpool plays. Great song, that!

Fans are very particular when come to choosing an anthem . Oasis, the British group from Manchester,  is brilliant. This group comes out with not one but two great numbers chosen by its fans to be their anthems .."Don't Look Back In Anger" and "Live Forever". Whichever one is played during an Oasis concert, the fans would feel really gratified. And for them, just by hearing and watching that played live by their group, would already have worthed the price of the ticket.

Another British group as brilliant, is Queen. Their "We are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You" can bring down any stadium anytime. Truly miss Freddie Mercury..great voice and great performer. Needless to say,  what a rock classic his Bohemian Rhapsody is and remains to be. No other rock group in the world dared to better that one.

Talking about great voice, one must say Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees did have a truly marvelous one. Listen to his "I Started A Joke". Though you may have heard many on the internet doing a cover version of that song but none ever comes close to the original. I guess its so sad that Robin passed away a few days ago and all the Djs on every radio station just pretended that didn't happen. Where's the tribute. guys? We owe him one. Truly.