Goodbye India - 7 Things I Will Miss

24 hours more and I will be returning to Singapore. Very quickly 6 months passed and I have completed my assignment in Incredible India. As another chapter of my life begins in 2010, here are the 7 things I will miss doing in India..

1. Having a Boxmaster meal at KFC

KFC was one of the items on this list for HK and it's here again. In India, I patronise KFC at least once a week. Its like comfort food for me. Like dining in many restaurants in India, the staff at KFC in India are well-trained and friendly. For a fast food restaurant, the service is top-notched. There is nothing extraordinary about the menu, and 8 out of 10 visits, I will have a Boxmaster, which is a chicken fillet and vegetables served in a wrap. (Strangely, I do not get the same satisfying experience when I dine at KFC in Singapore.)

2. Taking a rickshaw

Even though I was knocked in the knee by a rickshaw a few weeks back, taking a rickshaw is one of the most exciting things I do on a regular basis here. It may be a bit more dangerous, especially at night, but it is also the best way to really experience the surrounding.

3. Cooking my own meals

Even if you are a big fan of Indian food, I bet you will not be able to take Indian food 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. Given the lack of dining options here, I cook my own meals at least 5-6 times a week, something that I have never done before and probably will never do again when I return to Singapore. In these 6 months, I really learned to appreciate and understand the joy of cooking. I am not just a "instant noodles and pasta" person now.

4. Buying groceries at Spencers

Spencers is the equivalent of Fairprice and Shop N Save here. In order to cook my meals, shopping for ingredients becomes a key procedure. Out of the few supermarkets near where I live, this one is the most similar to the supermarkets in other countries. It is spacious, organised, and carries a wide variety of items. Even if I have nothing to buy in particular, I will still have a stroll inside and look around, in case I forgot something. Due to my frequent visits, many staff at Spencers are able to recognise me and will smile when I walked by. I can also have my favourite " Hainanese Chicken Rice" at Spencers. It is not quite the same as the ones in Singapore, but a pretty decent imitation.

5. Seeing cows everywhere


It will probably drive many Singaporeans crazy, but cows are everywhere around where I live. They will roam the streets in the day before being herded somewhere else at night. One of the many things I have to watch out for while walking on the streets and crossing the roads (Other things being potholes, motorbikes, bicycles, rickshaws, cars, carts, trucks, stray rocks). People get annoyed when other vehicles cut into their path but no one ever gets annoyed by the cows. Maybe it will be a good idea for Singapore to introduce more animals onto the streets and bring its overly urbanised citizens closer to nature.

6. Watching Bollywood music videos
6 months ago, the only Bollywood actor I could name is Shah Rukh Khan. Today, I can name the big shots and the few up-and-coming stars of Bollywood and I can tell you the Bollywood box office successes and flops this year. All this without watching a single Bollywood film in its entirety, thanks to all the Bollywood music videos and trailers that are on heavy rotation on TV. Its not just people running around trees. Its the elaborated choreography, the colourful backdrops, the glitzy costumes and the deliberately cheesy expressions. I can just leave the TV on the music channel and soak myself in the music. I even have a favourite actor - Shahid Kapoor.

7. Hanging out with my buddy Carl
We spent many many weekends hanging out at coffee joints, trying out inauthentic Chinese restaurants, exploring new malls, watching movies... I will certainly miss this routine. (Carl - Thanks for being here for the past 6 months. Hang on in there. Your turn will come soon.)

Be Alright - Dissected

The concept: All songs began with a concept or an idea. The idea behind "Be Alright" came to me when I was on a rickshaw on the way home. "How about an affirmative song about the miracle of life and the pointlessness of worrying too much?" The original intention is to have a song named "Fragile" with the key chorus line being "The body's not so fragile". It was meant to be a Jay Brannan-ish acoustic ballad.

The structure: Right from the beginning, the song adopted the structure that can be heard in the finished product. The song will be directed at a 2nd person "You", and the verse will be singing bout the things "you" do that are not so beneficial, where the chorus will be the lesson "you" need to learn. As the writing went on, the verse became a random list of things "you" do not do, to contrast with the positivity of the chorus.

The lyrics (verse): This was the most fun part. I brainstormed the words and rhyme scheme that could be used, and decided eventually to confine the verses to health related behaviours to make the message clearer. It would be a mixture of more common health conscious behaviours and extreme ones. Once I settled on my first line "You don't like to run, you say its bad for the knees", the rest of the lines pieced together quite easily, even though I wanted each pair of lines to rhyme both in the middle and at the end. The line that took the longest time was the 4th line of the 1st verse, which originally was "You won't eat a fishball cause you don't trust processed meats", which i threw out in the end because my friend commented that it was factually wrong. (FYI: Fishballs can be made from fresh meat as well.)

The lyrics (chorus): While the verses were a lot of fun, penning the chorus was tough, as within a couple of lines, I need to effectively depict the message of the song in response to the verse. For many days the only line I had was "Life is a miracle". Then, within a span of few hours, the whole chorus just came to me, including my favourite line of the song "A life is not a life unless you give living a try". I remember I was at the gym about to take a shower when this line showed up in my head. A light bulb lit up and I knew I got the line I wanted. It was then when I decided the song's logical title "Be Alright".

The melody: The melody was put together after writing the 1st verse and the chorus. I realised at that point that the slightly humorous lyrics would not turn into an acoustic ballad. I decided on cheerful folk rock instead and the singer that came to mind immediately was Sheryl Crow. I wanted this "Soak Up The Sun" + "All I Wanna Do" sound for the songs. After listening to a couple of the happier songs from her most recent "Detours" album, the rough melody of "Be Alright" was created. Like I did with all my previous compositions, I would sing the song in my head again and again until a particular melody stuck in my head. That was when the cheesy "Ah Choo" was added to the song.

The Youtube clip: All these while pursuing my interest in songwriting, I had this principle of not wanting to sing my compositions, fearing that my less-than-competent voice will ruin my songs. I wanted the layman listener to pay attention to what I painstakingly wrote, and not be distracted by my pitchy singing. So I always had my demos arranged and sung by someone else. For this song, I was so satisfied with the completed product that I decided to forego my principle and record a video clip of myself singing the song. I did not want to go through the process of arranging and explaining my precise ideas of the song to a 3rd person.

So using the simple Windows Movie Maker and my webcam, I recorded the clip on a very cold night. As the software was limited on editing features, I had to sing it through from beginning to end. I got a good (less than 3 mistakes) take on my 3rd try. (Once again, it was a moment where I wished I was a better singer.)

A raw mp3 version can be downloaded here: http://www.mediafire.com/?m2y3wiimlkh

The aftermath: Like a choreographer who came up with a new dance, or a chef who concocted a new dish, writing a new song is like giving birth to a baby for me and I want everyone to like my baby. I am very grateful for the encouraging feedback I have received so far and will keep on improving my craft.

Coming up next: The painful story of Demo No. 7. Stay tuned. Have a merry Christmas.

Be Alright

You don't like to run, you say its bad for the knees
You avoid the sun, for it brings deadly skin disease
You can't sweep the floor, cause dust makes you sneeze (ah choo!)
You won't walk near a dog, you're worried bout fleas

All over the body
The precious body
The 100 other rituals you follow religiously
To protect the body
The sacred body
Please step out of your bubble, and say this after me

Chorus
We all live in a wonderful world
Being alive is a miracle
We got to where we are with no instruction manual
We can take all the knocks in life
We may fall down but we will survive
A life is not a life unless you give living a try

So tell yourself
You'll be alright
Take some chances
For you will be alright

You don't talk to those who smoke, secondhand smoke is a risk
Not even one can of coke, you're afraid of diabetes
You stay away from the park, cause you're allergic to trees
Only boiled chicken not roast duck, you care about calories

You only want healthy
It has to be healthy
The 100 other types of food that you will never eat
Cause they are unhealthy
So very unhealthy
While you chew on your salad, say it say it after me

Chorus x2

So tell yourself
You'll be alright
Take some chances
For it will all turn out alright
So tell yourself
You'll be alright
No need to worry
It's gonna be alright

Louboutins

24 hours ago, I have never heard of this word and would probably read it as "Lobo Teens". Thanks to Jennifer Lopez, now I know the meaning of the word (see picture) and a sentence containing the word was stuck in my head all day.

You have to give it to Jennifer Lopez. Although her shine has since faded, she had a successful career earlier in the decade singing these glossy pop songs about nothing particularly important. Her lyrics are often cheesy and deliberately simple, resembling something that could be penned by a 10-year old.

Take the chorus from Play for example:
Play, come'on play that song
Play it all night long
Just turn it up turn it on
Play, come'on DJ play that song
You know it turns me on
(DJ Just play that song cause I wanna be dancing all night long)

Thats her winning formula: A catchy hook with non-consequential lyrics. She doesn't attempt to be dark or profound, and doesn't take herself too seriously. She just want to sing commercial pop songs, and I admire her for that.

With the new single Louboutins, she took her winning formula to the next level. The chorus of this song has only 1 line. She repeats it 8 times using the exact same melody. Still, she pulls it off with a minimalistic arrangement and the song sounds ultra cool. And with her untimely fall on stage during the American Music Awards, I think she will be able to successfully make a comeback on the charts (and probably launch her own shoe label) with this one. In the meantime...

I'm throwing on my Louboutins
I'm throwing on my Louboutins
I'm throwing on my Louboutins...

My Top 10 Songs of 2009

As 2009 comes to a close, its time to round up my favourite tunes of 2009 and why these songs appear on the list. In random order..

Om Mangalam - RDB & Nindy Kaur

This song is here because the music video was on heavy rotation on TV the week I came to India and it got me started paying some attention to Bollywood music and movies. Only through this song, I realise the Bollywood actors and actresses do not actually sing the songs themselves. They just prance around with 100 other dancers and mouth the lyrics in the videos (like Milli Vanilli).

I Know You Want Me - Pitbull
Gives You Hell - All-American Rejects

These 2 songs are here because of Tap Tap Revenge, one of my favourite games on my iPod. These 2 songs have amongst the best choreographed tap sequences.

If A Song Could Get Me You - Marit Larsen

This song is here because I happened to be watching TV when I was holidaying in Spain and the video for this song came on. Best song title of 2009.

Insomnia - Craig David

This song is here because it was frequently played in my gym in Hong Kong.

Peacemaker - Green Day

This song is here because I read a review on itunes saying that the 30-sec preview of this song does not do it justice and I am a supporter of the underdog items. Credit goes to lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and the word "Serrrrrenade".

Doesn't Mean Anything - Alicia Keys

This song is here because I read a wonderful review of the song and its available on dirrtyremixes.

若你碰到他 - 蔡健雅

This song is here because I love Tanya and 99% of those melancholic ballads she does.

Can't Have It All - Jay Brannan

This song is here because my dear Gor Gor in HK recommended it to me. No doubt the most beautiful voice I heard this year.

Sweet Dreams - Beyonce

This song is here because I decided to cut Beyonce (one of those singers whose "kao peh kao bu" way of singing I dun quite appreciate) some slack and give this song a try. Best command of 2009: "Turn the lights on!"

Special Mention:
Eh Eh Boys Boys Love Game Fame Dance Dark Summer Bad Paparazzi Romance - Lady Gaga

This super song (consisting of 8 songs) is here under special mention because there really isn't one particular song of her that stands out from the rest. They are all pretty good. Nobody can talk bout pop music in 2009 without mentioning this particular lady.