music reviews, with the occasional book and film reviews

I’ve kept myself away from reviews, from Youtube, from virtually anyone who already has the album, from anyone who had listened to the album, before I actually listened to mine. Anyone following my Tumblr will know it has arrived this morning.

The first thing I did was take out the lyrics book and flip to the page which had information on who wrote which lyrics. Apart from 說了再見 (which was written by the duo who wrote 花海), Vincent Fang wrote most of the lyrics. Jay himself wrote 3 of them and 黃俊朗 took the last two spaces.

I have people asking me why don’t I just hear the album over the Internet already, and what I thought of it. I even told my mother with all this anticipation building up inside me, the only thing I fear is it doesn’t meet my expectations.

Music is a very subjective thing. Some like it, others don’t. Just like how chocolate ice-cream is well-received, but I absolutely hate it. Likewise, there are people who love this album because it’s purely from Jay Chou. There are people who don’t think it’s as good even though they adore Jay Chou.

Album: 跨時代 The Era
Artiste: Jay 周杰倫
Released: May 18, 2010
Company: JVR Music, Sony Music TW

#o1. 跨時代

The lyrics of this rap-rock song is written by 黃俊朗, who is known for having unusual themes. One song I really liked from him was 以父之名 (In the name of Father).This time round, he uses a vampiric theme. I’m not saying this because of the music video. These lines 我跨越過時代 如獸般的姿態 琴聲喚起沈睡的血脈 不需要被崇拜 如獸般的悲哀 只為永恆的樂曲存在 醒過來 clearly infer the vampiric theme without actually scream vampire.

Look, not everything revolves around Twilight, okay? Vampires exist before Twilight existed. Vampires that do not take blood existed (i.e. 我和殭屍有個約會 My Date with a Vampire) before Twilight existed. So go stuff yourself, whichever reporter you are who said Jay Chou jumped onto the Twilight bandwagon.

Unfortunately (or not, depending on your preference), this is the only song with a stronger beat.

#o2. 說了再見

I knew I was going to like the song before I hear it because of the lyrics. Written by the pair who wrote 花海, I find that this ballad sounded like Jay Chou, but not like Jay Chou at the same time. I don’t know how to explain this contradiction I have.

The piano is the main accompaniment, so that makes it very Jay Chou. But this was the first time he pronounced his kind of ballad as clear as this, so there’s a difference too. I can not look at the lyrics and know what he’s singing about. I like the song because it breaks hearts. It’s sad. It’s melancholy. It makes me want to stand in the rain and cry. I like the piece, but I’m going to pick one line.

This line 說了再見 才發現再也見不到 stirred something in me because when I was in Taiwan, I typed a blog entry using goodbye. 那時後我問了自己，再見是再見不見還是再見以後再見. In a way, I could relate to the song.

#o3. 煙花易冷

A guitar-driven song, which is classified as 中國風 because of its lyrics. Jay sings this song much like the way he did with 青花瓷 (Blue and White Porcelain). I see those period dramas in my head when I hear the song.

This would have make a great theme song for a martial arts drama or film. The male lead would be running away from enemies. He would live in a wooden hut in the middle of the forest with his beloved. There’d be stacks of hay on their land, and a lake nearby.

Just by reading the lyrics, I guessed Jay would use the same effect as he did with 晴天 (Clear Day) and 彩虹 (Rainbow), with the talk-rap at the end of the song. I like the lyrics because they’re just beautiful. You can see how they’re related to each other. For example, in the first part of the chorus, Vincent Fang straightforwardly described ‘alone’ with 妳始終一個人 and during the second part of the chorus, to describe the same thing, he however used 妳仍守著孤城. I guess my favourite line from the entire lyrics is 緣份落地生根是我們.

I do have something to complain about this song though. The song would have been perfect if Jay had sang 人 properly, with a ‘r’ instead of an ‘l’.

#o4. 免費教學錄影帶

I heard the song when I watched the DVD that came along with the metal case version. I will admit that if I had heard the song before I saw the video, I wouldn’t have liked it as much. This is the blues song Jay was talking about when he said he tried something new. It’s reminiscent of music from Elvis Presley, rock ‘n roll, those 1940s, 1950s times. I was reminded of Hound Dog.

For a genre like this, it is no surprise the main accompaniment is the guitar. Jay mostly performed on the piano and three times with the cello in various music videos. For this particular one, Jay performed a guitar solo, which he played using the tapping technique. I like the music video for its colours and the dance, really. It’s cute.

The lyrics for this song is once again written by 黃俊朗. When I first saw the lyrics, I went, “Okay …” Then I realised why the song was titled as such, because the theme of the song circled around teaching someone how to do blues. Right, if you don’t know or is curious to know who 黃俊朗 is, he plays 阿朗 in the movie, Secret.

#o5. 好久不見

I was reading the lyrics, and I went, “A ballad?” Then I went further down and I saw those Taiwanese pinyin which I absolutely do not understand, I scraped the idea of a ballad out of my head.

This song is surprisingly idol-pop. There’s pop and then there’s idol-pop. There is a difference. Once again, you hear the guitar dominating as the accompaniment. I like the relaxing tune and I think because it sounds like idol-pop, it’s really easy on the ears and it’s the kind of song which you can repeat constantly.

Jay wrote the lyrics for this, and I really like the chorus especially 慶祝你打死不連絡的毅力 冷戰早已經不流行 趕快回來到 我身邊. I smiled when I first read the lyrics, but laughed when I heard the song and I said to myself, “How can the girl not run back to you after she hears this song? This is just pure sweetness!”

Oh, and he subtly advertised his restaurant in the lyrics. I would recommend the place to anyone who stops by Taipei. They have two locations though. My family loved it. I celebrated my birthday there too. It’s pretty and I really love the dessert.

#o6. 雨下一整晚

This was the third and final song I heard before I stopped myself from spoiling my anticipation. Another very obvious song with the guitar as an accompaniment, I like how Jay sounds with the simple background which opened the song. He sang with a clearer enunciation and background sounds are at a minimum for the first half of the song.

The interlude is my favourite part. The erhu comes in first, with some percussion, then the flute enters. It built climax. Jay changes his way of singing for the second half of the song. It’s like the way he sang 青花瓷 (Blue and White Porcelain) previously.

I like the simplicity of the song. I like the lyrics. I didn’t like it on the first instance when I watched the music video. It grew on me as I repeated the album today. Oh, and Jay played the cello in this music video!

#o7. 嘻哈空姐

I don’t remember Jay Chou using this much auto tune and synthesising in his previous albums (I might be wrong). Strangely enough, I don’t hate it. I don’t even dislike it. It amuses me to some extent, but it doesn’t make me want to skip it. I do like the lyrics. Vincent Fang wrote it. His lyrics depicts. I don’t even have to see Jay Chou do a music video to see what he’s trying to expression because of his description.

This song is banned in China because they claimed it was explicit. I’m as baffled as you are, Jay.

#o8. 我落淚 • 情緒零碎

I was expecting this to be another 中國風 song because of the title, so I was very surprised when the orchestra started playing, what’s with all the percussion. I think this song is very typical Jay-styled ballad. It’s along the lines of 說好的幸福呢 (Where’s the Promised Happiness) but with a bigger sound. It’s a ballad, though it doesn’t tug at my heartstrings as much as 說了再見. I do like the part where the piano chords appeared in the background during the second part of the chorus. Beautiful, absolutely. This is yet another lyrical piece of work from Vincent Fang.

#o9. 愛的飛行日記

Gary was first featured in 流浪詩人 (Wandering Poet) and here he is again! This song gives me the 時光機 (Time Machine) feeling, but it’s different. I like the lyrics, which was again penned by Vincent Fang. This time, he described love using the universe, Milky Way, the equator, planetary sort of things. Very pop rock, not very Jay Chou, but I like the refreshing sound that is this.

#1o. 自導自演

Jay wrote the music and the lyrics for this R&B piece. Reading the lyrics, I thought it was going to be a rap, since apart from 跨時代, I haven’t heard another rap-rock kind of thing. But no, so again, the surprise is there. I did get to the lines after that, and I realised it wouldn’t be a rap song since there are ballad elements like 被我看見妳上他的車這麼不小心.

I like how Jay added sounds on the road, and the honking to the song to reflect the lyrics. I like this song because it is heart-wrenching. No, it doesn’t break my heart almost immediately. It twisted and turned and just wouldn’t let you off.

You know what they say about writing lyrics. People either imagined a scenario and wrote them, or they wrote it out of their experiences. I wonder.

#11 超人不會飛

This was the first song which was promoted and got me anticipating the entire album. I adore the lyrics, which was written by Jay himself. He described the song as a song with a warm tune because lyrics like these are usually accompanied with heavy rap and metal music. The second time I heard this song, tears formed. Fine, I do cry easily. Images of what he sang just appeared in my head, remembering all that had happened.

If you watched the music video and went “What the heck?”, there’s a meaning behind it. For me, I think it means Superman is just like you and me. Anyone can be Superman. I standby his mother, when she lectured him on spending so much on the Bat Mobile, something he cannot use. I mention this because if you’ve watched the video, it’s placed behind Jay throughout the video, but is used only when he sings 開的車不能太好 住的樓不能太高, which is one freaking sentence in the entire lyrics.

I see your point totally, Jay’s mum. I understand why you need to take control of his finances. He’s like my little brother when it comes to spending money.

Overall: One major difference in this album is the guitar becomes a much more prominent accompaniment, compared to his past albums. There are much more surprises in this album, note the rock ‘n roll 免費教學錄影帶 and the very idol-pop 好久不見.

Few days ago, I said Fantasy is my favourite album to date. Unfortunately, nine years later, that’s going to change. It’s a good thing, I supposed. I finally found an album from Jay, I can repeat from front to back, one that I cannot even pick just one song as my favourite out of the entire album I can now.

I give this album 4.5 or 5 out of 5. There are things I’m disappointed with, namely Vincent Fang’s lyrics. One reason for this is probably because this time round, Jay’s lyrics reached into my heart since it’s more straightforward. However, I really like 煙花易冷 for the 淒美 feeling it portrays.

Please, if you have a few minutes to spare, leave me a comment. I would like to know why you like or dislike the album, or which songs you prefer or you don’t.

It’s his tenth year in the industry. He’s done so much. He’s been through so much. He’s changed. Yet at the same time, he’s stuck by his music. His songs are used in schools. He’s even filmed a Hollywood production (though it’s only scheduled for release on my birthday this year~). One secret (pun intended), Secret 2 will start filming next year.

It’s not as easy for a singer-composer because he writes his own song, as opposed to people who collect songs. People who collect songs sing anything that’s of their genre, occasionally venturing new tries. For a singer-composer, however, he has to make sure he doesn’t sound repetitive, while sticking to his kind of sound.

I look forward to each Jay Chou album every time, not just because he is Jay Chou. I anticipate because I want to know what else can he come up with. Oh! And did anyone notice 周杰倫 ❤ came up instead of 周杰倫 when you import the CD into iTunes? Cute.

May 28, 2010: I edited the review slightly and top three songs I recommend are 免費教學錄影帶、好久不見 and 自導自演.