Category: Music

Pagi ini sambil kerja dan pilih album secara random malah dapatnya Imitation of Life-nya REM. Unplugged! It’s like the best version of Imitation of Life.

Imitation of Life ini ada ceritanya. Dirilis tahun 2001 dan lagu ini sempat jadi favorit di zaman kuliah. Genre alternative rock-nya REM ini sama dengan genrenya Matchbox Twenty. Dan Imitation of Life populer berbarengan dengan Mad Season-nya Matchbox Twenty (album dimana mereka ganti nama dari angka ke huruf).

Dari judulnya saja, sudah unik: Imitasi Hidup. Ini ternyata sangat relevan dengan apa yang terjadi saat ini. Begini, REM menggunakan istilah ini untuk mereka dan kita yang mungkin selama ini hidup dalam kepalsuan. Mencari hal yang salah, menjalani hidup yang salah. Imitasi dari hidup yang nyata. Berat 🙂

Coba perhatikan liriknya:

Thats sugarcane that tasted good.
Thats cinnamon, thats Hollywood.
C’mon, c’mon no one can see you try.

No one can see you try. Kita hidup dalam kepalsuan karena ingin terlihat sesuai dengan apa yang kita ingin orang lain lihat. Tapi itu bukan kita. Kita akhirnya mencoba keras, melakukan ini itu, padahal semua orang tahu: fake.

Lalu,

You want the greatest thing
The greatest thing since bread came sliced.
You’ve got it all, you’ve got it sized.
Like a Friday fashion show teenager
Freezing in the corner
Trying to look like you don’t try.

So, what life are we living?

I wasn’t a Teresa Teng’s fan until few years ago when I listened to Tian Mi Mi. It was covered by one band and I like that song very much. Later on, I figured out why I like that particular song: memory. It was one of several songs my mother listened to. Probably because of the frequent plays of the song, it stays in certain part of my brain.

To better understand how some songs became popular, we need to do some research. This is an important thing to do during holiday in this festive week (yeah!). Few days ago, i happened to spare some of my precious time looking for the translation of Tian Mi Mi 🙂

I just realized how romantic it is. It is a very simple lyric, check this out:

As sweet as honey
your smile is so sweet as honey
just like the way flowers bloom
in the spring breeze
in the spring breeze

i wonder where on earth
where on earth i’ve seen you?

your smile is so familiar to me
but i still can not remember where

Ah….. in my dreams!!!
in my dreams,
in my dreams i’ve met you

Sweet, isn’t it? 🙂

When you checked on Teresa, the other popular song is Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin. And, while it is again very simple, it is very romantic as well! Check this out:

You ask me how deep my love for you is,
How much I really love you.
Go think about it.
Go and have a look [at the moon],

The moon represents my heart.

Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin is translated “The Moon Represents My Heart”. While browsing around, i bumped into a dude (Donn Lee)’s website. He wrote about this song, and I love how he put the moon in to the context!

I went out to take a look at the moon, hmm… it was a moonless night! Sheesh, some love song. On a moonless night it would be a stupid song for a lover. Then it struck me. On a moonless night, one cannot see the moon, and yet one knows the moon is there — somewhere out there, but out there somewhere. Gosh, there was more to this metaphor than meets the eye.

Too bad we can not hear more sexy voices from this soldier’s sweetheart. She passed in 1995. She was called soldier’s sweetheart because of her frequent performances for servicemen. Read more interesting stories here.

Shit, it is now 11pm and I’m writing about this! While reading this, don’t you think you would like to look out the window and look for the moon?

I did. See none! 🙂

Image is property of xinhua.net 

I admire Johnny Cash ever since I watched ‘Walk the Line’. I briefly blogged about it here. I love some of his song, and one of my favorite is Walk the Line.

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

and…

You’ve got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can’t hide
For you I know I’d even try to turn the tide
Because you’re mine, I walk the line

If you like it, you might love a performance by Mr Cash himself:

Lagi dengerin I Walk The Line-nya Johnny Cash jadi ingat film biografi Johnny Cash – Walk the Line. Dan ternyata, saya sudah pernah menuliskan tentang film ini 5 tahun lalu! Ini dia. Nah, lagu-lagunya Johnny Cash memang luar biasa. Yang bikin lebih luar biasa lagi adalah hampir semua lagu-lagunya punya arti sesuai dengan apa yang dialami Johnny. He’s a legend!

Favorit saya tentu saja I Walk the Line dan Ring of Fire! 🙂 Try them!

Kembali ke posting 5 tahun lalu, ternyata saya menggunakan kutipan percakapan Jerry Lee dan June Carter:

Jerry Lee Lewis : We’re all going to hell for the songs we sing!
June Carter : And what about me, Jerry Lee; am I going to hell too?
Jerry Lee Lewis : No, June, you’re beautiful.

Ini lirik I Walk the Line yang powerful, tentang June yang sangat “khawatir” dengan Johnny. Lagu ini diciptakan oleh June dan dinyanyikan Johnny.

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you’re mine
I walk the line

I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I’ll admit I’m a fool for you
Because you’re mine
I walk the line

As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I’ve known proves that it’s right
Because you’re mine
I walk the line

You’ve got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can’t hide
For you I know I’d even try to turn the tide
Because you’re mine
I walk the line