Searching the world....the lost will be found...

i'm feeling shitty...and a lil disillusioned to be honest..

i reckon december is always a shitty time for auditors all around the malaysia. not only are your friends back from studying overseas and partying their guts out, you are stuck in the midst of peak period and everybody is just stressed out. plus it's christmas and new year, my favourite time of the year. when you were back studying it meant like full time partying from christmas to new year.

now it's just a sad month for me. but you know what? screw it. you have a choice whether to remain the way you feel or you can either do something about it. i've decided to do something about it and stop ranting and raving about shit i can't control.

On other matters non-emo, I have just been listening to the All of the Above album by Hillsong United. I usually don't listen to CCM to enjoy it. It's either for worshiping or I need to learn a song so that I can play it in church. But I must say that this album is totally different from the rest of the Hillsongs albums out there.

It has a lil post rockish or even a lil shoe gaze feel to it. I would even call it a little dark which is just awesome. When you're listening to a hillsongs album you would usually expect their songs to be a lil Pop Rockish or Pop Punkish but this album is really a big step forward.

It's not exactly Post Rockish Mogwai style (please not i said it has a LIL) but I would call it a gateway for Contempary Christian music to other genres.

Finally I got a camera

So finally the Tay's have purchased a new camera. It's an Olympus Stylus 1040 and I have been madly snapping away at the HSDD launching and PK's wedding....

Pics on the way.....HSDD LAUNCHING GIG PICS UP IN INDIEGOAT SOON....

One word....WICKEDLYAWESOME...

Update! First article up at indiegoat

I've finally posted up my first article for Indiegoat....have an extract of it below....click on the link below for the rest.

(Extract from Indiegoat)

Applying financial concepts and arguments are usually akin to cats and dogs; that is they rarely mix. However reading the above statements in my CPA study materials, made me think on how this is so applicable to how the music scene/industry is in the world today especially in Penang and how people define Great Music

Too many times I wonder whether or not people actually listen to a certain song because they really dig or enjoy the music or whether they are listening to it just because it has been overplayed so many times through out the day and they are subconsciously told by radio, movies and MTV that the song is great.....................

....Click here to continue Reading....you know you want to....

Entertain your callers with David ARBUCHELALALALAta????

I received a SMS from Maxis today that said something along the lines of:

"SMS now. Entertain your callers with David Archueltalalllalaata's new single Crush...."

Don't worry friends,

I will certainly NOT put you through that torture....


And don't let me get started on what I think about American Idol. Don't they have some kind of karaoke contest back there in the states? Fuck, film that put it on national TV and there you go, you have American Idol.

The tagline for American Idol should be

"American Idol. Thrash magnet for lousy karaoke fans. Season 4"

Real musicians perform and write their own songs. Not songs that record labels force them to sing.

I managed to contact Simon Cowell in regards to this. I managed to ask him what he REALLY thinks about American Idol and this was his reaction:-


Nuff' said guys.

Hardcore and Minimalist Rock Combo:- Conquest for Death and My Disco

It is very rare that Malaysia gets a chance to watch really great bands perform live in Malaysia. If you think Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance are GREAT then aren't you a sucker for MTV's bullshit and propaganda. And for any person with 6 inches and balls packed in their crotch think that "Hey but we have Westlife here before what?", I have now struck you off my friends list permanently.........

What Penang got to see on Monday was freakin awesome. A gig featuring:-

Conqest for Death:- A hardcore metal band from the States.

and................

My Disco:- A minimalist rock band hailing from the land down under. I have never heard anything so minimal which was so intense. They sound so freakin good LIVE and much better than listening it off mp3.

Now I must say that I have grown out from all the mosh pits and crowd surfing but It was great to see it all happening on Monday. Reminds me of younger and happier days.

Click here to check it out the gig review, pics and some bootleg concert tracks.

Penang's Ultimate Hangout

Location: Soundmaker Studio, Weld Quay

Probably one of the most chilled out nights ever at the studio according to Alvin. Beers and smokes and a quick jam session followed by a late night supper at Green House is just freakin awesome. Before I let the pictures do the talking, let me first do a little promo for Penang's very own indie scence.

The Soundmaker Studio is most probably the only place where you can go for gigs and check out local bands as well as a few international bands which pop by. If you are sick of the useless crap they bombard on the radio or in the clubs check out Penang's only Indie website by clicking here.

Ok here are the snaps of the night out:-

The "WALL" just outside the entrance of the studio

Chillin in the studio:- Beers,smokes,music and kick ass company what more can one ask for

The "GREEN house":- Supper; what Penangites (and a half Melakan/Singaporean/Aussie?) does best

Guys Beware: Girls sound sexier when they are fertile

It's been awhile and I haven't posted anything up again. Damm aren't we auditors boring people?

I have been listening to a lot of Rage Against the Machine recently and just realised how much music has changed throughout the years. During the late 90s nu metal was the way to go after the grunge scene died down before that. From Woodstock to Ozzfest to Big Day Out nu-metal bands would highlight the tour.

From the Malaysian point of view, I feel that this was the time period where the mid 80 babies (1984- 1987) started a music shift from the mainstream. Now I am not disrespecting the older generation in their music taste but it was in 1996/1997 (mid 80s babies would have just started high school) where the internet hit Malaysian shores where the window to download songs had opened. For the older generation they had to rely on tv and radio and the trip down to the cd shop for their music. Without the internet, I believe it would have been hard to tap in a variety of music. I take off my hat to those who were able to do so and not confine their music tastes to Boyz2Men and Boyzone.

With the internet, youths started downloading all kinds of music. Bands unheard of or who had their cd's banned by our Malaysian government was reaching our homes with no restrictions. Even though Pop music was our staple meal in music (and I even believe so today), the doors to venture into other forms of music was widely opened.


My musical journey started in 1990 when I was a kid in Australia where I had just picked up the piano and played my dad's favourite songs like "Memory" from cats. In school we had music classes and we were taught to sing songs like Inner Circle's sexual song "Sweat" to classics like The Beatles "Let it be." In 1994 I hit the pop stage of my life where I would East-17 and Peter Andre would be played on cassettes during lunch breaks in school. My dad bought me my first album that year too. Billy Joel's "River of Dreams"

When I got back to Malaysia my musical journey continued. When I was 10 and 11 I was listening to stuff like 911 and BSB. The year that changed everything would be in 1997 where I fell in love with a british band called Oasis. "Be here now" would be my 2nd album that I would buy and it would start my musical journey in Rock.

From there onwards my music taste changed from Hip Hop to Punk to Nu Metal to Metal to Hip Hop to Jazz to Alternative Rock to Trance to and too many other genres I can't name here. Today I am happy to say I am cool with all kinds of music. I can mosh with you in the mosh pit. I can wave my hands in the air just like I don't really care too. I can dress up and listen to jazz in a hotel and I can also go indie with you. Once in awhile I'll head to Red Box and sing a moffatts tune just to feel 11 again.

Whatever you listen to, be open, be free. Catch the groove/high/beat of whatever music you hear and enjoy the ride along!