Sunday, April 20, 2008

Do You Remember?

The days when we anticipated the release of the next issue of magazines where we could browse through what happened last week in the entertainment world? Maybe not you, but I remember the good o'l days when my best friend Leslie and I would rush to Kinokuniya on Thursday afternoons after school because that was the day the Japanese magazines would be out. The anticipation ...

The days when we went to the CD shop to check out new releases and debate on what we should spend our pennies on? We didn't have the internet, so we relied on newspapers and magazines to tell us what releases are due and how we can only place orders via the vendor and pray that it would eventually arrive. The lingering ...

The days when we listened to an album on our cassette or CD player more than once. This seems impossible in today's world where everything is just so transient. I love my iPod and its ability to carry my entire music catalogue (all 70 GB of music - yes I'm obsessive), but I realised recently that I rarely listen to a full album in its entire glory more than once now. I chanced upon some old albums that I loved when I was younger and remembered how many times I listened to it over and over again. How did I do it then? Didn't I get sick of the repetition? Maybe it was having the time to savour till the next best thing came along, but I recall the many times I easily dismissed something and then learnt the value of it later along with repetition. The perseverance ...

I guess we all move along with these times, where nothing is moving fast enough, and we are constantly rushing from point to point, rushing to be the first to post a piece of news, the first to comment, the first to review, the first to join. In this process, are we forgetting the value of slowing down, and the many discoveries we can explore with time. Are we too fast to judge?

I just hope that we will never ever judge a book just by its cover, give it time to nuture, and savour the colours of goodness that may take some time to blossom. When I look back at the memorable times of my life, it is the tougher or touching moments I savour that I remember, not the fleeting moments of happiness that I can never recall.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

your entry reminds me of the days where I will make special trips to linger around HMV orchard...for Akina's latest release ( it has to be 今夜、流れ星!)...懐かしい!!

JameZ said...

You are lucky because it is less prominent that you are a "regular".

During Danny (sorry to drag you in if you are reading), Leslie and my days, after Familiar Music Library closed its doors, we could only linger around Plaza Singapura waiting to see if there are any new singles and albums.

My first single purchase from there was 「ミ.アモーレ」 and since we never had an idea when the singles are released, it will always be "误打误撞" or what I call an accidental purchase. It wasn't cheap as well and I didn't have much pocket money, so it depended on how much money I had. If I try to save some money and wait for a week or two, it would usually be sold out by then.

I also remembered that we went and pestered the cassette store owners at Chinatown to get us the older cassettes that they didn't stock anymore, especially those of Seiko.

I think Leslie was a more frequent shopper than I was, so he was more recognised than I was. LOL.

Anonymous said...

Talking about music - I love to recommend two albums, which I have been listening often recently.

1. Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin'

2. Joanna Wang - Start From Here

JameZ said...

Thanks Patrick. Is the Shelby Lynne album the Dusty Springfield covers album?

If you like oldies, then you should get Anne Murray's new album of duets. It's really good.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jamez,
Yes, it was the Dusty Springfield's cover album.

I'm not sure if I would call myself as oldies lover. It's really based on case by case basis. I will check Anne Murray. Thanks for the suggestion.
Patrick

JameZ said...

I love oldies, Jpop, Cpop and HK Pop. I have just been reminiscing on some albums that I finally got hold of that I used to own on cassettes as I was growing up, and it is interesting to relive those memories again.

I have changed my mind on some of them for the positive, but it is also interesting to note that I have also moved on with the times on being more adventurous with my listening, but not necessarily more tolerant.

I love 70s and 80s Jpop, but albums are really a hit and miss in the 70s, while only Akina and Seiko managed to release consistently great albums in the mid to late 80s.

Cpop and HKpop really blossomed for me in the late 80s and 90s. I don't keep up with the current trends anymore, so thank you for your recommendation.

I have so much music that I am now unable to store all my iTunes music into my 80GB iPod anymore. Sigh. LOL