Jay Chou's new album.
written: 3:31 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17, 2008

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT. It's like that Cowboy Song Redux. OMGOMGOMG. WTF was he thinking?!?!?!?!?!

I wanna die. Now.

Okay, it's not as bad as Cowboy, and it's actually getting better as the song rolls along.

Actually, I kind of like it.

Oh no, what's happening to me?!

I do think, though, that Hua Hai (Um, Ocean Flower?!) is utterly boring and bad.

OKAY SHIT I OFFICIALLY LIKE THE STUPID MAGICIAN SONG. Where in the world has my taste level gone to? Mag, is this the song you thought I'd hate? Hahaha it's so like his stupid Cowboy song, but MUCH BETTER, and omg, I LIKE IT. Kill me please!

Since I'm typing this entry anyway, I'm going to write a running commentary of my thoughts as I listen to the CD.

Track #6: Nice staccato strings in the background. Chorus doesn't really pick up. Kind of bored. His singing gets worse and worse with every CD he releases! Keep hearing 'le'. Who wrote the lyrics? Oh my god, Fang Wen Shan, what did you do?! A bit like Hei Se Mao Yi in terms of mood and tempo, but more boring, less poignant. I can't get past the 'le' overload. The lyrics fails the music. Then again, the music isn't that great either. I have no idea what he's singing about, but what else is new? Argh, WTF is with all the 'le's! Is that the only word in the Chinese language worth repeating?!

Track #7: Nice Chinese-sounding intro. Reminds me of old Chinese songs...which I like. Oh my god, I really like this one! The er hu in the background is really nice. A bit of a cross between Fa Ru Xue and Dong Feng Po, only more reminiscent of Chinese serial dramas and shit. The verses are nicer than the chorus. Hmm good, I like it! I can't pronounce the title.

Track #8: Vaguely Spanish-sounding, kinda reminds me of "Smooth" a bit. Okay, not anymore, the minute he starts singing. But I like it! Nice mid-tempo, lazily catchy number. OH MY GOD DID I JUST HEAR TAIWANESE? I think I did! OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SONG! This is utter genius! OMG HE'S SINGING IN TAIWANESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, some lines at least. OMFG HIS ONLY ALL-TAIWANESE SONG IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE JAY CHOU SONGS OF ALL TIME, AND THAT APPEARED IN HIS THIRD ALBUM! I FUCKING LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SONG!!!!!!! Omg this song is the best song yet! I love love LOVE it!

Track #9: More of the same, especially after the previous song. Can't quite tell it apart from the other slow numbers in the CD. Not jumping up and down over this one. On second thought, the lyrics make it a lot more interesting, so props to Fang Wen Shan for that.

Track #10: (I think this is the song that Mag raved about) Sounds a bit like Hong Se Mo Fang. But better. I like the touch of deviousness to it. Shit, the chorus is fucking amazing. I can't believe this song isn't the leading single! It's much better than Track #2, some soppy love shit crap, and it'll have the same impact Yi Fu Zhi Ming did! I LOVE THIS SONG. IT'S AMAZING. Did he go to Spain recently or something? This song is so Spanish-influenced. I LOVE IT.

Track #11: I've heard this one before already, and I love it. YAY! I love its simplicity and earnestness and the strength in the simplicity of the lyrics. I love, love this song. LOVE!

Okay I've listened to the whole thing. I think the CD only gets better around Track #7. The ones in front are pretty average, nothing much to rave about, and I prefer his older love songs. There is no Jie Kou/An Hao/Qing Tian/Hei Se You Mo/Long Juan Feng in this album; the love songs are dispensable, predictable, formulaic and boring. But the mid- to up-tempo songs (minus the first track which is typical Jay Chou rap-and-song) are fantastic. My favourite is definitely Liu Lang Shi Ren (#8), if partly because of the fact that he sung some lines in Taiwanese. But even if he hadn't, the song is just fantastic.

I still prefer his older materials though. This album is much better than previous one...but the previous one was really, really bad. It's sad, though, that I no longer like every single song he puts out. Then again, maybe it's not so much a matter of his declining song-writing, but a matter of my evolving taste in music. I have been listening to him ever since his third album (which is probably my favourite Jay Chou CD of all time), and I have just listened to his ninth. To his credit, though, I still care enough, am interested enough, to buy his albums, despite the shattering disappointment of #8.

Have I mentioned I love Track #8? I LOVE IT!

before sunrise // before sunset

Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010