twelve states of being
October 5, 2009
someone told me that you could actually tell a thing or two about the state a person is in by the songs currently on their mp3 player. so to ascertain this hypothesis, i thought i’d share twelve songs on my current playlist.
- blessid union of souls – i believe
- bon jovi – these days
- dave mathews band – the space between
- death cab for cutie – marching bands of manhattan
- dire straits – brothers in arms
- green day – 21 guns
- journey – faithfully
- linkin park – shadow of the day
- nirvana – smells like teen spirit
- pixie lott – use somebody
- the script – the man that can’t be moved
- tracy chapman – fast car
so what can you tell about me from this list?
use somebody ~ kings of leon
October 2, 2009
i’ve been roaming around, was looking down at all i see
painted faces fill the places i can’t reach
you know that I could use somebody
someone like you and all you know and how you speak
countless lovers under cover of the street
you know that i could use somebody
someone like you
off in the night while you live it up, i’m off to sleep
waging wars to shake the poet and the beat
i hope it’s gonna make you notice
someone like me
i’m ready now
someone like you
i’ve been roaming around, i was looking down at all i see
fast car ~ tracy chapman
September 24, 2009
you got a fast car and i want a ticket to anywhere
maybe we make a deal, maybe together we can get somewhere
any place is better, starting from zero got nothing to lose
maybe we’ll make something but me myself i got nothing to prove
you got a fast car and i got a plan to get us out of here
been working at the convenience store, managed to save just a little bit of money
we won’t have to drive too far just cross the border and into the city
you and i can both get jobs and finally see what it means to be living
you see my old man’s got a problem
he lived with the bottle that’s the way it is
he says his body’s too old for working
his body’s too young to look like his
my mama went off and left him
she wanted more from life than he could give
i said somebody’s got to take care of him
so i quit school and that’s what i did
you got a fast car but is it fast enough so we can fly away?
we gotta make a decision – we leave tonight or live and die this way
i remember we were driving, driving in your car
the speed so fast i felt like i was drunk
city lights lay out before us
and your arm felt nice wrapped around my shoulder
and i had a feeling that i belonged
and i had a feeling i could be someone, be someone, be someone
you got a fast car and we go cruising to entertain ourselves
you still ain’t got a job and i work in a market as a checkout girl
i know things will get better, you’ll find work and i’ll get promoted
we’ll move out of the shelter, buy a big house and live in the suburbs
you got a fast car and i got a job that pays all our bills
you stay out drinking late at the bar
see more of your friends
than you do of your kids
i’d always hoped for better
thought maybe together you and me would find it
i got no plans and i ain’t going nowhere
so take your fast car and keep on driving
never say never ~ the fray
September 15, 2009
some things we don’t talk about
better do without, just hold a smile
we’re falling in and out of love
the same damn problem, together all the while
you can never say never when we don’t know why
time and time again, younger now then we were before
don’t let me go, don’t let me go
don’t let me go, don’t let me go
picture, you’re the queen of everything
as far as the i can see, under your command
i will be your guardian when all is crumbling
steady your hand
we’re falling apart and coming together again and again
we’re coming apart but we hold it together
hold it together
together again
21 guns ~ green day
September 9, 2009
do you know what’s worth fighting for?
when it’s not worth dying for?
does it take your breath away
and you feel yourself suffocating?
does the pain weigh out the pride?
and you look for a place to hide?
did someone break your heart inside?
you’re in ruins
one, 21 guns
lay down your arms, give up the fight
one, 21 guns
throw up your arms into the sky, you and i
when you’re at the end of the road
and you lost all sense of control
and your thoughts have taken their toll
when your mind breaks the spirit of your soul
your faith walks on broken glass
and the hangover doesn’t pass
nothing’s ever built to last
you’re in ruins
did you try to live on your own
when you burned down the house and home?
did you stand too close to the fire
like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?
when it’s time to live and let die
and you can’t get another try
something inside this heart has died
you’re in ruins
saya anak malaysia ~ sudirman / dr sam
August 31, 2009
1953 bulan 5 aku dilahirkan
di sebuah negeri yang diberi nama negeri sembilan
selepas itu aku dibesarkan di negeri kelantan
aku belajar di sekolah orang putih dekat dengan pasir puteh
saya anak malaysia, saya anak malaysia
saya anak malaysia, saya anak malaysia
lepas sekolah aku merayau, negeri mat saleh aku merantau
tempat orang indah sekali, tapi malaysia dekat di hati
saya anak malaysia, saya anak malaysia
saya anak malaysia, saya anak malaysia
sampai masa aku pun balik, tapi makwe ku nampak pelik
dia kata nak jadi apa, aku kata itu tuhan punya kuasa
saya anak malaysia, saya anak malaysia
saya anak malaysia, saya anak malaysia
lemah lembut sopan santun sudah menjadi darah dagingku
walaupun aku nampaknya kutu, aku hormat orang tuaku
saya anak malaysia, saya anak malaysia
saya anak malaysia, saya anak malaysia
come together ~ the beatles
August 24, 2009
here come old flattop, he come grooving up slowly
he got joo-joo eyeball, he one holy roller
he got hair down to his knee
got to be a joker he just do what he please
he wear no shoeshine, he got toe-jam football
he got monkey finger, he shoot coca-cola
he say “i know you, you know me”
one thing i can tell you is you got to be free
come together right now over me
he bag production, he got walrus gumboot
he got ono sideboard, he one spinal cracker
he got feet down below his knee
hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease
come together right now over me
he roller-coaster, he got early warning
he got muddy water, he one mojo filter
he say, “one and one and one is three”
got to be good-looking ’cause he’s so hard to see
come together right now over me

titik kenai ujan
July 6, 2009

the call came at 4am on sunday and MN set off immediately. i only found out later that morning, uchau bilong just passed away.
the name may be unfamilliar to most of us. but among sape players, he is known as among the greatest. i have had the privilege of only a brief encounter with uchau about a year ago. and i got his CD in my car.
i attended his funeral on monday. while his descendents are into tribal stuff, neither of them took on their father’s sape skills. as his casket travelled to the local cemetary, it was asang lawai (another sape legend) and his son uynes, who played uchau’s signature tune “titik kenai ujan” at the back of mathew ngau’s truck.
uchau is buried near the grave of another great sape player, tusau padan, who died just a few years ago.
sudah tak ramai yang pandai main sape rancak dengan bunga, asang tells me.
thank you for the music
June 26, 2009


i am proud to have lived in the same generation as the thriller that is michael jackson. this man is, and forever shall be, a definitive part of my childhood.
your sudden departure is a tragic loss to a world in desperate need of genuine originality as you epitomise.
thank you for the music and rest in peace.
wonderwall ~ oasis
June 15, 2009
today is gonna be the day that they’re gonna throw it back to you
by now you should’ve somehow realized what you gotta do
i don’t believe that anybody feels the way i do about you now
backbeat the word was on the street that the fire in your heart is out
i’m sure you’ve heard it all before but you never really had a doubt
i don’t believe that anybody feels the way i do about you now
and all the roads we have to walk along are winding
and all the lights that lead us there are blinding
there are many things that i would like to say to you
but i don’t know how
because maybe you’re gonna be the one who saves me
and after all, you’re my wonderwall
today was gonna be the day but they’ll never throw it back to you
by now you should’ve somehow realized what you’re not to do
i don’t believe that anybody feels the way i do about you now