cheers to love and friendship

i thought i was getting over leehom (cue gasp!) - but i think it's more like reaching a point of saturation - i've got too much of his songs coursing through my veins hehe.. and i still can't believe how some songs ended up on his albums. those were mediocre in the least! i had half a mind to write him off, but when i saw his concert videos, i got the goosebumps again. he's one consummate performer, and as I am writing this, tomorrow (4.14) will be his Beijing Bird Nest Stadium performance. it's a 90,000 capacity venue, which he's shown us with some photos on his weibo account. it's massive! how i wish wish WISH i was going to be there! *runs to a corner and sulks*

but surprise, surprise, today's song is not wlh's. i've been checking out a few of sodagreen's songs on youtube, and i must say that i really like what i see and what i hear.

"see", because their MVs are quite aesthetically pleasing.. there's a certain mood, certain colours, certain feel to their videos that i find attractive. not because any of them are good looking (i would politely say that they are rather unassuming in appearance; i don't think i'm able to pick them out from a crowd yet), just that the videos are well made *clap clap clap* as for "hear", the band really has it going for them. main vocalist/songwriter QingFeng 青峯 is a class act in the songwriting department and with his trademark androgynous voice, i'm hearing some of the better songs i've heard in a long time (admittedly i haven't heard much).

maybe i'm heaping undeserved praise, as i've only heard a handful of their work. i am really interested but i don't really know where to start. there isn't much updates in english, as compared to lh's which i attribute to fan demography.. i'll share more as i go along.

anyway while the words to this song [無與倫比的美麗, Unrivaled Beauty] are relatively simple (hence only two entries here), i love the whole song comes together very well, both vocal and instruments alike.. i also like how they don't rush to finish a song when the words are over. i also love it because qingfeng apparently wrote this for his best bud 張懸 shiuan chang (not sure who he is), and i'd like to dedicate this to my friends who have enriched my life in ways big and small. :)

拼 pīn - go all out/spell/piece/stake/disregard/join together/reject/risk
掩護 yǎnhù - cover/screen/shield

天上風箏在天上飛
地上人兒在地上追
你若擔心你不能飛
你有我的蝴蝶
above the sky, kites are flying
on the ground, people are chasing after them
if you are worried that you are not able to fly
you have my butterfly

天上風箏在天上飛
地上人兒在地上追
我若擔心我不能飛
我有你的草原
above the sky, kites are flying
on the ground, people are chasing after them
if i'm afraid that i'm not able to fly
i have your grassland

嘿 嘿 你形容我是這個世界上無與倫比的美麗
嘿 嘿 我知道你才是這世界上無與倫比的美麗
you likened my beauty to be unrivaled
but i know that it's yours that's incomparable

嘿 嘿 你知道當你需要個夏天我會拼了命努力
嘿 嘿 我知道你會做我的掩護 當我是個逃兵
you know that when you need a summer day, i will go all out and give my all to get it
i know that you will be my shield/cover me if i were a deserter


ok, my translation does the song no justice! the poetry is lost in translation, and it makes you wanna go 'huh?' i'm sorry! it's really better in its original language. ah well.



無與倫比的美麗
蘇打綠 sodagreen

天上風箏在天上飛
地上人兒在地上追
你若擔心你不能飛
你有我的蝴蝶

天上風箏在天上飛
地上人兒在地上追
我若擔心我不能飛
我有你的草原

嘿 嘿 你形容我是這個世界上無與倫比的美麗
嘿 嘿 我知道你才是這世界上無與倫比的美麗

天上風箏在天上飛
地上人兒在地上追
你若擔心你不能飛
你有我的蝴蝶

嘿 嘿 你形容我是這個世界上無與倫比的美麗
嘿 嘿 我知道你才是這世界上無與倫比的美麗

嘿 嘿 你知道當你需要個夏天我會拼了命努力
嘿 嘿 我知道你會做我的掩護 當我是個逃兵

嘿 嘿 嘿 嘿

嘿 嘿 你形容我是這個世界上無與倫比的美麗
嘿 嘿 我知道你才是這世界上無與倫比的美麗

嘿 嘿 嘿 嘿

天上風箏在天上飛
地上人兒在地上追
你若擔心你不能飛
你有我的蝴蝶

我若擔心我不能飛
嘿 嘿 我有你的草原

a song that sings a thousand words

i've not heard of sodagreen before this (now i have, thanks to a link from onedayinmay.net), but if this song is any indication, i might just end up being a fan. :) they are a taiwanese folk-rock-pop band that has been around since the beginning of this century, and released their first album in 2005. according to wiki, the band's main vocalist and songwriter is known for his "poetic lyrics, unique performing style and wide vocal range". you had me at poetic lyrics. what is there not to like about that! :) oh well, we shall see.

this one of those songs i liked at first listen. maybe i was intrigued by the title 城市 (City). working up here on the 42nd floor of one of the taller buildings in KL makes me heady sometimes. it's a strange mix of emotions, a simultaneous affinity and repulsion for its sterility (i just bagged me another paradox)(i only have pure repulsion for the city's filth). this song somewhat embodies my sentiments neatly with both its melody and words. i love it.

這座城市一般
讓你在夢中不停的衰老
人像落葉一般
冬天的空中冰冷的容貌
this city, for most part, makes you continuously degenerate in dreams
we are like falling leaves, our appearance icy as the air of winter

城市面目猙獰 駕著光速奔跑
我們是沉默機器 對照著時間表
the facade of the city is ferocious
running away by riding on its lights
we are silent machinery, running by schedule

我們就像溫室的花朵
麻木的心 刷白的瞳孔 彩色的臉
混亂的慾望和顫抖
we are like a flower blooming in a greenhouse
our hearts are numbed, our pupils whitewashed, our face colourful
desires that are confusing and we are trembling

現在是謠言侵略事實的時代
必須偷看哪個誰是不是在偷看
this is a time of aggressive rumors and facts
there is no need to take a peep at who is or is not peeping
(現在是現在侵略過去的時代
必須悲哀快樂所帶來的更悲哀)
(v2)(this is a time of past intrusion
there is no need for more sorrows brought by grief and joy)

這座城市一般
享受著奢侈卻莫名失落
人像稀釋一般
在鬧區列車上逐漸沉默
in this city, we are experiencing luxury and an inexplicable loss
our lives are diluted
in a inner city train, there's a gradual fade to silence
我們囚禁在格林威治的規則裡
在數位的銀色浪花中喘不過氣

這座城市裡面
試著讓自己沒有那麼糟
人像落葉迎面
在一座ㄧ座孤獨島中間
我微笑
in this city, i try to make myself better
we are like leaves falling head on
in the middle of a cluster of lonely islands
i smile


like wow, i'm practically 喘氣 from this whole exercise. :) hope you'll enjoy the song as much as i do. ok, a longgg list of new words ahead:

衰老 shuāilǎo - senescence
(wow, i don't even understand the english word! but here it is:

se·nes·cence /səˈnesəns/
- the condition or process of deterioration with age
- loss of a cell's power of division and growth)

容貌 róngmào - appearance
猙獰 zhēngníng - hideous, ferocious, savage
駕 jià - drive
光速 guāngsù - light
奔跑 bēnpǎo - run
機器 jīqì - machine
麻木 mámù - numb/ness
刷白 shuàbái - whitewashed
瞳孔 tóngkǒng - pupil (eyes)
混亂 hǔnluàn - confusion
慾望 yùwàng - desire
顫抖 chàndǒu - tremble
謠言 yáoyán - rumour
侵略 qīnlüè - aggression, invasion, encroachment (also, verb)
奢侈 shēchǐ - luxury
稀釋 xīshì - dilute/ion
鬧區 nào qū - district/downtown
逐漸 zhújiàn - gradually
囚禁 qiújìn - captivity, imprison, chain
格林威治 Gélín wēi zhì - Greenwich
規則 guīzé - rules
數位 shùwèi - digital
喘氣 chuǎnqì - breathless, panting
糟 zāo - bad, waste




城市
蘇打綠 (sodagreen)

這座城市一般
讓你在夢中不停的衰老
人像落葉一般
冬天的空中冰冷的容貌

城市面目猙獰 駕著光速奔跑
我們是沉默機器 對照著時間表

我們就像溫室的花朵
麻木的心 刷白的瞳孔
彩色的臉 混亂的慾望和顫抖
現在是謠言侵略事實的時代
必須偷看哪個誰是不是在偷看

這座城市一般
享受著奢侈卻莫名失落
人像稀釋一般
在鬧區列車上逐漸沉默

我們囚禁在格林威治的規則裡
在數位的銀色浪花中喘不過氣

我們就像溫室的花朵
麻木的心 刷白的瞳孔
彩色的臉 混亂的慾望和顫抖
現在是現在侵略過去的時代
必須悲哀快樂所帶來的更悲哀

這座城市裡面
試著讓自己沒有那麼糟
人像落葉迎面
在一座ㄧ座孤獨島中間
我微笑