8)

8) I think this is exactly how I look like now. Panda eyes. Why? Because I slept at almost 5am this morning, and couldn't sleep back after Subuh because I had to be at Yishun for a football kickabout with my army mates at 9am! So I made my way, bleary-eyed all the way to Yishun, where as it turns out, I wasn't the only one late since none of them kept to the 9am timing anyway. Typical. Haha.

Was really flying just now. As in, my body felt light as a feather, and you know you don't have enough sleep when your body feels like you're flying. At least, that's how my body usually reacts to insufficient sleep. And my performance will always suck because of that. Like just now =(

Had a guest join us today! Nas came down to join me and my buddies main bola. Since she's staying in the area anyway, and she's a football nut just like me, I thought why not. My friends were rather curious about a girl playing footie, but as it turns out, she's not bad at playing football. Not bad at all. Better than most girls I've seen play.

Left to sembahyang Jumaat at Darul-Makmur and lunch with Amir and Syaadiq, before leaving for home. I'm quite honestly shagged out. Feel too lazy to even eat, much less blog. Bah.

8)

Earless Rabbits!

Oyeoyeoyeoyeoyeoye!

Today, I watched Earless Rabbits. Or to be precise, Rabbit without Ears, with some random chick. It's a movie err documentary in German about how people cut the ears off rabbits and then leave them... or something like tat. But this movie I loike!~ I paid a good 10 bucks to watch at GV Europa @Vivo. Pretty bunnies in there too =)

Rabbit Without Ears playing now at a cinema near you =)

My Review of Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy

I was tentative about what to expect from the first album from Guns since the departure of all the original members, with the exclusion of Axl Rose, since it was Axl's desire to make the music of Guns more industrial and electronic which lead to former lead guitarist Slash, who wanted to keep GN'R to its bluesy hard-rock roots, leaving Guns.

I must admit, I was surprised by some of the tracks, some of it are so typically old-school GN'R, that you can just imagine Slash and Co. jamming alongside Axl. However, I could really tell what it is that makes GN'R sound like no other, and it's Axl's writing of the song structures. Some tracks, like Streets of Dreams reveal Axl's penchant for piano-driven epic rock ballads, reminiscent of past epics like November Rain and Estranged. However, the lack of some really hard, raw bluesy guitars on this album really highlights the absence of Slash. There is no single track which has a distinctive, lead-guitar intro like that on Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child O' Mine. And I really miss the tone of Slash's guitar, which is just so uniquely... Slash! Axl uses a combination of guitarists here including Buckethead, Robin Finck, Bumblefoot and Paul Tobias, and while they do a decent job, with Buckethead particularly outstanding, NONE of them can play with 'feel' like Slash can. It's alright for Buckethead to shred at Godspeed on the guitar, but to shred WITH 'feel'? No one outdoes Slash. Plus the tone! Again, there is the absence of THAT 'Slash' tone, with all the guitarists not having their own unique tones. And Slash IS the reason why I picked up the guitar in the first place at 15, having grown up listening to Guns since Kindergarten... and that is why Slash is my favourite hard-rock guitarist.

Axl's voice is still outstanding though. He sounds as young as ever. You wouldn't know it's been almost 2 decades since Guns last released their last album, Axl's voice still has that raw, grating edge on the heavier stuff and smooth, creamy soprano on the ballads, AND the ability to let rip a primal scream which no one except maybe Sebastian Bach, formerly of Skid Row, can pull off... and that is why W. Axl Rose is my favourite male rock vocalist.

Here, is my pick of the album. It's not often that I hear a song that immediately makes an impact on me on the 1st listening, usually they grow on you over time. But this track is just too beautiful, too typically... Axl. A haunting piano ballad, melody-wise, vocal-wise, and lyric-wise, it just melts me. I close my eyes and listen....

Guns N' Roses - This I Love

Song Words by Artist / Band : Guns N' Roses (GN'R)
Lyrics Title : This I Love
Writer : Axl Rose
Available on Album : Chinese Democracy
Released : -
Music Genre : Piano Rock

And now I don’t know why
She wouldn’t say goodbye
But then it seems that I
Had seen it in her eyes
And it might not be wise
I’d still have to try
With all the love I have inside
I can’t deny

I just can’t let it die
Cause her heart’s just like mine
And she holds her pain inside
So if you ask me why
She wouldn’t say goodbye
I know somewhere inside
There is a special light
Still shining bright
And even on the darkest night
She can’t deny

So if she’s somewhere near me
I hope to God she hears me
There’s no one else could ever make me feel
I’m so alive
I hoped she’d never leave me
Please God you must believe me
I’ve searched the universe and found myself
Within’ her eyes

No matter how I try
They say it’s all a lie
So what’s the use of my
Confessions to a crime
Of passions that won’t die
In my heart

So if she’s somewhere near me
I hope to God she hears me
There’s no one else could ever make me feel
I’m so alive
I hoped she’d never leave me
Please God you must believe me
I’ve searched the universe and found myself
Within’ her eyes

Guitar Solo

So if she’s somewhere near me
I hope to God she hears me
There’s no one else could ever make me feel
I’m so alive
I hoped she’d never leave me
Please God you must believe me
I’ve searched the universe and found myself
Within’ her eyes

And now I don’t know why
She wouldn’t say goodbye
It just might be that I
Had seen it in her eyes
And now it seems that I
Gave up my ghost of pride
I’ll never say goodbye

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read that Axl Rose got his inspiration for this song from a Russian song from the soundtrack off Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Check it out... they sound remarkably similar!

Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy

Finally I've laid my hands on Chinese Democracy, an album I've been waiting for the past 7 (SEVEN/TUJUH/SAB'AH) years! I first read in Straits Times' Life! section that Guns were gonna release it in 2001, along with a tour of Singapore, but after scouting the local CD shops I've been disappointed to find out that not only is it not on sale, the Sales people haven't even heard of it! No wonder. It was only going to be released in 2008.

I left for City Hall's HMV alone, to get the album... only to bump into my BMT section-mate Amir Abidin, so we hung out awhile. Visited ******, and to my great pleasure the hot girl who helped me the other time was still working there... and she remembered me! She saw me, came from far, and approached me. We made small-talk, and again like the other time, she spent almost 1.5 hrs talking to me, while Amir was making his selection. Ooooh. Though she's not Malay, she looks like an intoxicating mix of Malay, Eurasian and European, and like a younger version of Kak Muni's friend Kak Hajar. Nice shoulder-length straight hair, fair alabaster skin, sharp features, pretty girl-next-door face, slim and taut figure, a cute but natural accent, a cheerful personality, and a nice height for me. And the best part? After much small talk, I found out that she lives in Tampines, very much near my house... and best of all, she gave me her no! Ooooh mannnn. Amat menyetimkan. How often do hot girls give you their names on the first encounter, their place of residence, phone no. , work schedule and break times on the 2nd meeting? Wahahaha. Not bad for someone who's nawaitu for leaving home is to purely purchase a CD, to end the night with a chick's no. Heh.

Listening to Chinese Democracy.