Personal : What ever happen to Math

This semester i'm taking math, the subject which quiet a little disturbing for me, anyway i wish to score this subject with flying color. Suprising to see just six student attend the class, including me, and the class was held on lecture hall which can hold up around 200 students. The lecture, which i've happen to hear was a contract lecture, are more suprising. She starting the lecture looking at the monitor and start talking, lecturing without, i repeat, without looking at the student. I think she just thinking about lecturing these six student and whatever happen around her it doesn't matter. No wonder my friend even sleep during her class. I think for other lecture, this situation might not happen for their concern more about student attention during class are more important than what they are teaching. Less student to teach, more easier to get attention from student. I'm a little confident about what she was teaching, furthermore i wish to score this paper to escape the unfortunate spell of this subject.

Music : beautiful melody

The Legend of 1900: (Ennio Morricone) It's essential to judge this score while keeping the film in mind, since Ennio Morricone's music plays such a major role in The Legend of 1900. The film tells the tale of a young man dubbed "1900" (Tim Roth) who is born, raised, and lives his entire life on board an ocean liner. 1900 has never set foot on land, and he makes a living as the ship's 'piano man,' entertaining the passengers with his remarkable gift at the keys. The music 1900 performs is at the heart of the film, and so is Morricone's score. Here, Morricone covers a vast area of different musical genres: 1900 features early American jazz, some ragtime, elements of classical, and Morricone's orchestral touch. In some respects, 1900 is a showcase of American music spanning from the turn of the century to the 1930s. Regardless of Morricone's Italian background, he is skilled enough as an orchestrator to capture the sound and enthusiasm of American music from that era.

Morricone's skill as an orchestrator is in top form in The Legend of 1900. His blend of jazz, ragtime, and classical makes 1900 a unique and refreshing listening experience. Tracks 4 and 13 make up the score's ragtime, the latter cue sounding similar to Marvin Hamlisch's rag arrangements in The Sting. The score's emphasis on 20's and 30's jazz comes in tracks 5, 10, and 18. The last two jazz cues deal with "1900's Madness," and the main character's eccentricity is obvious in the music. Tracks 6 and 8 spotlight the score's remarkable piano performances, both tracks making up the classical element. Overall, the score is jovial and upbeat, though it also has its share of more somber, heartfelt moments.

"1900's Theme" is a strong opening for the score; it's a beautiful piece of music performed primarily by the strings. What gives "1900's Theme" an element of the American spirit is the sudden appearance of a George Gershwin-esque piano performance. The theme is the among the best pieces of music the album has to offer, and one gets the feeling that it will appear in countless, yet-to-come movie trailers. Track 16, a piano solo, provides a final restatement of the full theme. Track 2, appropriately the longest cue on the album, keeps the promise that the score will be as great as expected. Here, Morricone's music evokes tremendous size, almost dwarfing the listener as would the film's ocean liner. The entire orchestra gradually builds up to a glorious melody, creating a very exhilarating listening experience. The piano performances in the "crisis" tracks seem unusual at first, but the broken chords really evoke the sense that the main character is experiencing his own personal crisis.

One of the score's few imperfections is its conclusion on an abrupt and dark note. A score of this caliber deserves a more memorable finale. Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame performs the subtle and poignant end song "Lost Boys Calling." Though Waters' vocals are sincere, he restrains his singing voice and doesn¹t hold a note. His lyric-reading is unsettling at first listen, and the song makes a less-than remarkable use of Edward Van Halen's talents at the guitar.

In late 1998, the film and score album received simultaneous release in some foreign countries under the title "The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean." Arriving on American shores, the film took on a new title, a shorter film length by 45 minutes, and a different score release. The American Sony Classical CD has different packaging and is approximately 20 minutes shorter than its foreign predecessor. For 1900, the Sony Classical label backs Morricone's music with an unusually strong promotional campaign as far as score albums are concerned; the record label advertises the album alongside the film's theatrical, television, and radio trailers. From 1900's promotion to its reviews, Morricone's score continues to generate a great deal of attention, even outside the arena of film score fans. It's hard to hear about the film without hearing of Ennio Morricone's name and his score. The score fulfills those high expectations, and it is a recommended purchase.

Some film critics compare 1900 to James Cameron's Titanic. Just the same, comparisons between Morricone's score and James Horner's Titanic are inevitable. Though difficult to determine which score is "better," Morricone's is definitely more versatile in its blend of early American music. His score isn't legendary or groundbreaking, but it is beautiful nonetheless. With The Legend of 1900, Ennio Morricone adds another gem to his astonishing volume of work.

Original Review, by Mike Dougherty

Music : Rise of the local band

I can say that Malaysian music was like "durian session". It come and go with the flow. I remember when our local music industry was "struck" by hip-hop, it was like everyday was hip-hop day. Radio station plays hip-hop song and also the rise of hip-hop group. During that time, I'm not even interested in hip-hop music. Maybe its not my kind of music. I'm preferring listening to "outsiders" than local band and thats the reality. I'm tired listening to all the "jiwang karat" song and i don't think they realize that there's no creative music flows in the local music industry. I think maybe our local music doesn't improve like what i was expected. Recently, maybe i was wrong because this session, it is the rise of the local band.

As i wrote this blog, I'm listening to our local indie band : Hujan & Meet Uncle Hussain. They were great indie band who was recently going mainstream. For those who follows the underground band i think they were pleased to see Hujan and Meet Uncle Hussain was accepted by public. Their music was not something new to our local scene because OAG was there in the past but with the combination of good lyric and creativity in music, i can see they will go far and become one of the best indie band like OAG. Hujan already have tight schedule of gigs and performance. Meet Uncle Hussain have been doing soundtrack of "Kami". Local radio station often plays their songs. I think this is good for the local music industry because with the rise of local indie band, we can stop the dominance of Indonesian band. Not to say that Indonesian band wasn't good but we have to support local band and also our local music industry. I wish to see more creative band like this indie band rise from underground scene and shows public what great music are.

Personal : Dream comes true after 4 years

It's been a trully unforgetable moment in my life at university malaya. Festival Seni 2008 surely are full of suprise when my band, Amplimix Tune of 11th Resident College manage to win the Pop Band Competition. My expectation earlier was, we manage to go to final round and not even close to be a champion. Of course i want to win but looking at others band might make me think twice. Melvin and Fathri have their faith at highest when we manage to go to final. After all, Melvin deserve "the best basses" and Saiful with "the best drummer" award.
I remember when Ali says that "i can graduate peacefully", it's true...after 4 years i'm taking part in Festival Seni with 10th college, 17th college and now 11th college, it's really worth a wait. I feel greatfully to have known my band members, Mary-Saiful-Melvin-Fathri-Irfan and ex-band member, Esam and "legendary" Abg Wan. I really hope that we can do the recording since we have our own song "Kembalilah". Maybe someday we can play together as sessionist. Thanks to all for making the dream comes true..