Ways to Die Really Painfully

WAYS TO DIE PAINFULLY

Pic from: http://www.plong.com/MusicCatalog/J/Jennifer%20Lopez%20-%20Brave/Jennifer%20Lopez%20-%20Brave.jpg

1. Listen to Jennifer Lopez’s new album Brave.

It is so unbelievably hard to get through the whole tracklist! Except for Do It Well, Hold It Don’t Drop It, Mile in These Shoes, and The Way It Is (which are just mediocre), the other songs are so phenomenally bad I can’t even describe them.

Plain unlistenable and so dancey-pop-shallow she can actually rival Paris’ or Britney’s albums.

2. Get scolded by Huang jiao lian three times in (less than?) ONE hour.

Goodness. I won’t spare the gory details, but suffice it to say I was picked up, crushed, rolled around, then tossed away like some trash. Though later he actually told me “Not bad” in Chinese (Hai bu cuo) so that it kinda makes up for a bit of the trashing he gave me, I’m still pretty traumatized.

Grateful thanks, by the way, to Vivian, who helped me out at the pontoon, and I guess to John-Paul too, who had the THOUGHT of helping me out. Hopefully next training I don’t trigger off Huang jiao lian’s mood swings so easily.

3. Get cut up on the rocks at the training pond off the lanes at MacRitchie.

Pure pain. The ground there is slippery (clay mixed with water = crap) and there are sharp sheets of jagged rock and concrete lining the ground, so if you capsize there, or slip on the slippery clay crap, you could get cut up pretty bad. Xianchen got slashed up in his arms (wrist, emo-kind) and I got many small cuts on my toes. And by the way, I nearly knocked out a girl from another JC. I don’t remember, was it AC, NJ or HC, but her coach was quite heated up over the would-have-been accident. So so SORRY!

Pic from: http://www.lovefilm.com/lovefilm/images/products/7/43497-large.jpg

4. Get ovarian cancer.

I watched ‘Wit’ and I teared up tremendously in the end (cue Alaric’s bitching and Rita’s tissue-waving at me). It was such a brilliant movie okay!

Emma Thompson plays this professor of 17th century literature, Dr. Vivian Bearing, who specializes in the poetry of John Donne. But she contracts ovarian cancer and she questions the purpose of her life and wonders why all the years, even though she studied poems regarding life and death, she never really treasured her time. It is super sad, and Thompson’s acting is so good I actually FELT the pain Vivian Bearing felt with her Stage 4 cancer. Heartfelt, and so strongly-emoted and acted out.

5. Not saying goodbye.

All the combinations of everything that’s happened this week makes me realize that if anything were to happen to me or anyone around me, I would want to have said or heard the final goodbye or final words.

It’s just so painful for everyone involved (even the deceased, which is why ghosts exist) if those important, final and most impacting words were to be deprived. I can’t even fathom that. Yes I know, people can die suddenly, but it’s just so… tough to imagine his/her family and friends just hanging on without closure.

Damn. I need to stop being depressing.

And be cheerful!

Moolah! :-O

A Winner…?

Yes, Yes.

MR won.

Single of the Week (23/2/08)

NEW segment (another one, I know!)

Single of the Week, one I have decided to include in my blogging (which will be merged later on with adjoining posts) is an indication of the hottest song I think you should catch on the charts this week, just because it IS SO DARN HOT!

Btw, if you wondered why I am blogging so constantly this week, I guess it’s because I foresee next week to be one of my busiest. Even though Drama Feste ends this Saturday, I foresee next week to be chockfull of tutorials, revision, training (which I can go fully for now xD) and SLEEP. LOADS AND LOADS AND ENORMOUS LOADS OF SLEEP. So I’m blogging now, mainly because I have a little bit of time, and because next week is busier.

Anyways…

SINGLE OF THE WEEK

23. 2. 08

Believe Again
Artiste: Delta Goodrem
Album: Delta (Epic Records)

Delta Goodrem’s 2nd single from her album Delta is amazing, and only because her vocals are so perfect. Every note on the song is hit with precision and emotion, and she takes on this song excellently, a song which would, in the hands of lesser artistes, have been reduced to nothing more than pop rabble.

The arrangement and composition of this song is very commendable. This song is so majestic, so marvelously luxurious with a grandeur I have not heard since “Here I Am”, done by Bryan Adams donkey years ago. 03′40″ to 04′10″ is the standout part for me, the part which emanates so much perfection and songwriting prowess that it is bordering on the unbelievable.

This song is worth every single second of the 5 minutes and 46 seconds it consists of,. From the start, where the song is introduced with a classy string arrangement, to the chorus, where it pulses with moderately-synthesized beats, to the finale, with a haunting melodic violin finish, Goodrem keeps her song upbeat, light, and puts all her vocal chops out there in the song.

And perhaps that is what makes this song, and others like it on Goodrem’s 3rd and self-titled album Delta, stand out. The fearlessness of Goodrem is commendable; her gusto in tackling ‘Believe Again’ and going into musical territory few other artistes have gone before makes her a definite frontrunner in both her native Australian music scene and the global music industry.

A must-hear single! (The MV, as included below, is about one of the most amazing MVs I’ve ever watched!) Enjoy!

In An Insufferable Mood

Disclaimer: The following post is borne from fatigue, fury, freakingly dumb asses of taxi drivers and f-words. DO NOT DO NOT read any further if you can’t stand vulgarities, because I assure you, this post is not devoid of them.

I AM IN AN INSUFFERABLE MOOD.

Drama Feste has ended beyond 10.30 pm for two weeks now, and I was forced to take cabs for the past three days.

What I CANNOT BELIEVE IS HOW DUMB AND IDIOTIC SINGAPOREAN TAXI DRIVERS ARE!

HOW HOW HOW is it possible that people INCREASED THE FARE to jumps of 20 cents and surcharge extras when the SERVICE IS STILL SO FUCKING BAD!

And if you think, if you EVER GET THE MISTAKE of thinking I’m a pushover and I won’t yell at you, or insult you, then you are very wrong!

This week, I have had the pleasure of having a driver who is inexplicably rude, another who tries so blatantly to try to earn more money from me, and MANY MANY OTHERS WHO WEREN’T BORN WITH EYES!

Firstly, I am no pushover. (I will cover this point soon in my post about judging others. Haven’t forgotten about that yet, and people don’t let me forget). Don’t think because I say things in a nice tone (because I’m tired and drained) means I can let you just anyhow drive anywhere.

I CANNOT BELIEVE, secondly, that I AM SO FUCKING INSIGNIFICANT that when I stand on the roadside waving and waving and snapping fingers and just doing anything except launching a nuclear missile, FIVE passing taxis CAN MISS ME!

Green-signs too, meaning empty cabs. I’m sorry, but if you’re not going to LOOK OUT FOR PASSENGERS, THEN MIGHT AS WELL DON’T DRIVE RIGHT?! U THINK YOU HALF-ASS DRIVE DRIVE and a passenger will just fall from the sky and into your seat?!

Don’t complain no passengers okay! It may be the fare hikes but maybe these drivers DONT LOOK WHERE THEY ARE DRIVING PERHAPS?!

This same phenomenon happened earlier tonight. Four cabs passed me by though I was practically about to smash their windscreens because i was standing so close to them.

Then I got my cab, last night.

THE DRIVER WAS A DUMB FUCKER.

He starts out with a, “Where you wanna go?”

I give him my address. He puts the car into gear and begins to drive.

“Faster please,” I say, eager to get home and catch what little of 5 hours of sleep.

“Faster? How to faster? I can’t fly, you know.”

DUH. YES I KNOW, idiot, if not you’d be controlling an Airbus, in which case everyone inside is doomed.

“Just go as fast as you can,” I say.

“Why you leave school so late then?” The driver asks.

I want to scream, “I GOT DRAMA FESTE LAH, PIECE OF SHIT! SHUT UP AND DRIVE CAN?!?!”

Instead I say, “I got projects. I got things to do.”

He replies, “Next time you wanna go home you leave school early.”

OH YEAH. SURE. I DIDN’T KNOW THAT.

He continues, “Later ask the driver to fly, then how? The driver is not super you know. He cannot speed if not police can catch him. You know nowadays traffic police…”

By this time I wanted to whack him over the head and let him go fly kite.

Just now, in tonight’s taxi, I tell the driver to go by Lorong Chuan way, which is way faster, just a couple of kilometres from Junction 8. He goes instead by the OTHER Lorong Chuan route, which cuts across Bryan’s condo district and into many intersections and primary school zones.

I at first didn’t say anything.

Then the further he went, the more I noticed he was slowing down. Like, from 70 to 60 to 50 that kind.

Like, what the fuck can?!

He want to earn money from me also can don’t earn so blatantly can?! Already fare increase like shit WHAT ELSE YOU WANT KNN?!?!

I INSTRUCTED him EXPLICITLY where to go next. And at the next traffic light stop I asked him why he took a longer route.

He said, “This one not so many traffic lights. So no need to stop so many times!”

I replied, “You slow down so much we might have well have stopped in the middle of the road!”

He looked at me blankly.

I got so annoyed.

I gave up.

God, this day sucks.

Hopefully things’ll get better.

The 27 Complex

Okay, so recently I’ve had the weirdest possible dreams ever. I’m not one to remember my dreams when I wake up.

It’s kinda hard to remember your dreams (it’s been proven scientifically) and the only times I ever remember them is when I wake up halfway to go to the toilet, or when I need to roll over or something. Apparently this sudden jolt from sleep breaks the dream response pattern or something, so you would still remember what you were dreaming of.

Anyway, I would like to say beforehand though I have not watched 27 Dresses yet, I did some Googling work, and I realized I may now have what I coin is “27 Complex” otherwise known as “Weird Valentine’s Syndrome.”

I keep dreaming about my friends getting married. And I’m the best man in ALL of them.

Let’s recount them all.

It could because it’s Valentine’s Week, or maybe because this week every Drama Feste rehearsal ended at 11 pm and by the time I got home and was able to sleep it was 12.30 am.

But the point is, in each one of my dreams that I remember this week, one of my good friends was getting married. If it was any indication of any precognitive power I might have, then I, for sure, will be hearing many many wedding bells in the coming years.

I dreamed of Bryan Nah’s wedding on Monday night-Tuesday morning. He was in a tuxedo, and so was I, and he was complaining about his fiance to me. I don’t remember the complaint, but all I know was that it had something to do with her not letting him ‘be himself.’ And then he laughed, that choky-hokey laugh he always does, and I was woken up by the alarm clock.

Kenneth Quek’s first wedding appeared next. It was on Wednesday night-Thursday morning. He was being married, and it was to TESS!!! I don’t know why I would dream of that, but Tess and Kenneth were in the matching gown-tuxedo set, and I could see the other best man and bridesmaid.

The other best man (besides me) was Yao Guang and the bridesmaid was Zeslene! I don’t remember anything else besides the people and the fact that Tess and Kenneth kissed, and some champagne was popped.

Next was Leonard’s wedding. Leonard Lee, of course, the tall, dark and questionably-looking guy in my class. He was being married not to one woman, but to two. One was Si Cong, the other was Kevyna!

This was undoubtedly weirder than before, and I vaguely recall seeing a scene where Zi Cong and Kevyna started catfighting on the dance floor and I ran around trying to stop them. Then I woke up to go to the toilet, and when I returned to sleep I didn’t have any dreams which I remembered. It was on Thursday night-Friday morning.

After Take 5, on Friday night-Saturday morning, I dreamed of KQ again. This time around his wedding was with Jian Rong, who is, by the way if you don’t know, one year older than him. Jairus and I were best men, while I remember Stacey as the bridesmaid.

Kenneth started blowing kisses in a fake-acting way (his usual extra persona) to everyone. Then Jianhong and KQ kissed, a long, drawn-out smooch that was really really heartwarming. That was about the weirdest wedding dream I had all week. And by far one of the realest…

Then the final dream which prompted me to blog about this almost immediately after I woke up was the wedding of Chris Fang. He was walking down the church with AN AMERICAN WOMAN! Or British, or Australian. All I knew was that she was blonde, and very tall and muscular. And Chris was tall and muscular. It was like Xena and Hercules finally getting together without that lesbian Gabrielle.

Somewhere along the way I also accidentally dropped Chris’ wedding ring onto the floor, where it proceeded to roll and roll and roll off out of the door and into the sunset.

When I woke up, I wondered to myself what was up with all these dreams. It took me some time, but I realized that I really really wanted to ’see’ (like, literally) the futures of my friends. if you know, I already wrote two or three ‘A Day in 2020′ posts (go Search this Blog if you don’t believe) where I placed my present friends in their future lives. I’m presently also trying to write another Day in 2020.

Why I do all this is because I think I really want to know where my pals, my friends, my buddies and people I’ve interacted with will end up. You know how all those class Yearbooks will show a bunch of “titles” for the students, like “Most Likely to Succeed”, “Most Likely to Be a Rock Star”? Something like Facebook Superlatives, if you know what I mean.

I guess I’ve always thought of KQ as the kind of fellow that is “Most Likely to Marry an Older Woman”, while Chris was “Most Likely to Marry an Angmoh.” This blog is really a testament to the times we have now, and not just a tool for venting of frustrations and nonsensical writings.

If anything, THIS BLOG HERE is like a time capsule. What I’ve written here and previously for close to 3 years before, will serve as testament to the future, when each one of us HAS a career, HAS a wife/girlfriend and HAS something to look forward to. Nothing could be as fulfilling as reading all these posts I’ve spent time in typing out and in a few years’ time, seeing which ones really do match.

That point right there, I think I’m going to use to commemorate the 3rd birthday of http://fineattitude.blogspot.com/ coming up in a coupla months’ time.

And since it’s Valentine’s Week, and now that we are all in a co-ed school, it’s even easier to see how relationships will go and how things will pair up between people. It’s all that more easier to visualize those futures, as from now on we will start breaking up and branching out and going different paths and taking on different occupations and lives.

I’m not exactly a Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses, but what I do know is that sometimes, we just want to see a new future, a hopeful time, because we just don’t have that in our lives. Heigl’s character wanted to look for love, wanted to find someone, and that naturally made her the best bridesmaid.

I’m not pessimistic about my own future. For the most part, I see my life being very successful. I still want, however, to visualize the scenes of everyone, and to see how people have CHANGED, and to see if they will be like what they are now.

I think I see myself as Best Man in all of the weddings, because I WANT TO BE THERE. I want to see their lives. I want to see their happiness. I want to be present in all of that.

All that love is in the air. Surely we all can find some bit in it for ourselves.

CHANGE. HOPE. LOVE.

A Damn Short Post

ADSP, a new segment of this blog, where I post 3 short anecdotes or thoughts I have on things that are going on around me. Expect to see ADSP during exam periods, when I’m superly immensely busy/lazy/tired, or when I have nothing good to post about (it happens, but RARELY).

1) Valentine’s Day is upon us! And I promise a countdown of the top movies one should watch in this week for maximum lurrrve!

Although I have my own reservations about this supposed day of love, I can’t speak for those who genuinely enjoy this time. That post coming up soon!

2) I’m seriously, genuinely, amazingly impressed with these bunch of people: http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season7/

This season’s American Idol contestants are perhaps the best in the entire history, now and forever. Last year’s one was talent in the women and soul/rock genres, but this time round the talent comes across all platforms and displays itself in all genres.

Look out for my favorites:

Carly Smithson, a stylish female rocker, who sang a beautiful rendition of Heart’s “Alone”.

Michael Johns, who crooned “Bohemian Rhapsody” in a Rod-Stewart style, but with more pop influence.

Ramiele Mulabay, a pretty young thing who has alternative-pop-styled vocals.

Asia’h Epperson, who aspires to be the first Asian American Idol.

Syesha Mercado, who sung Aretha’s “Chain of Fools” with strength, gusto and emotion even though she was down with flu.

Chikezie Eze, who has a good personality and strong identity.

Also, there’s this guy on American Idol, the guy who slept in a car, the teenage blond who sounds like he belongs on McFly, and HE CRIES SO DAMN MUCH! Not the ‘tearing up in a movie’ kind, which is excusable, but full-out brawling and sniffling afterward! I’ve seen him weep four times already. Not tear, but weep! Geez, wait until you see his clips yourself, if you haven’t.

3) Today’s Drama Feste rehearsal was like the best so far! Everyone brought their ‘A-’ game, and we actually did a lot of good reads and coordinations, along with talking to a bunny, freaking out over a ‘ghost’, and the more-than-usual amount of bitching. I was really tired in the end (and still am, hence this ADSP at 1.04 am) but knowing that tomorrow was Take 5 we kinda slacked off a bit.

CCA training was the usual. Nothing overly strenous YET (hopefully no seniors read this) with the usual warmup, upper body training sets, dry row technique mastering, but I had to leave slightly before the 4 km run started (or so according to Marcus). And Kenneth Quek taught me something really really really stupid. He knows what it is. =.=

Phooey. While doing the last set of upperbody I accidentally tore the skin of my left hand, below my middle finger, and also scraped off bits of the skin below the ring finger. Some rust also rubbed off on the meaty side of my left hand. Compare to right hand. Now I know which is used more dominantly in pullups. Ahhh hurts crazy.

P.S. I managed to find Johns’ Bohemian Rhapsody version. Enjoy!

A Grammy 2008 Forecast

*UPDATED!!!!! With Results!!!*

Grammys 2008!

Yep, the 50th Grammy Awards, the only thing this awards season perhaps, that isnt badly affected by the soon-to-end (thank goodness) WGA strike, is upon http://fineattitude.blogspot.com/.

And it’s time for a few good ol’ forecasts from the All-Seeing Eye. Though, admittedly, the Eye hasn’t been used for quite some time.

Let’s get right into it!

BEST ALBUM FORECASTS:

Best Alternative Music Album

Lily Allen – Alright, Still
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Bjork – Volta
The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
The White Stripes – Icky Thump

And the Grammy Goes To…
Volta, by Bjork!

Earth Intruders is perhaps the best bit on the album, catchy and mysterious and ghetto-thug all at the same time. A perfect example of ‘Alternative”, Volta combines commercial tastes with underground indie styles, resulting in music that is full of flavor and independence.

The Real Winner: The White Stripes – Icky Thump (X)

Best Country Album

Tim McGraw – Let It Go
Brad Paisley – 5th Gear
George Strait – It Just Comes Natural
Vince Gill – These Days
Dierks Bentley – Long Trip Alone

And the Grammy Goes To…
Let It Go, by Tim McGraw!

Country is all about the stories. If the country song don’t have a story to tell or nothing unfolds at the end of it, it don’t belong in the country genre. Tim McGraw’s latest offering has an entire collection of stories in it, from realistic, emotional account of a hardworking man in “I’m Workin’”, to the upbeat energizer of “Let It Go”, Tim gets his points across, and what points they are!

The Real Winner: Vince Gill – These Days (X)

Best R&B Album

Chaka Khan – Funk This
Ledisi – Lost & Found
Musiq Soulchild – Luvanmusiq
Jill Scott – The Real Thing
Tank – Sex, Love & Pain

And the Grammy Goes To…
Funk This, by Chaka Khan!

The, some say, Queen of R&B is back, this time with a good mix of crooning and screaming. Ledisi comes close to claiming this prize (she’s my best bet if Chaka don’t win) but I think Chaka still proves, with this new album, that she’s in it to win it.

The Real Winner: Chaka Khan – Funk This (O)

Best Contemporary R&B Album

Akon – Konvicted
Keyshia Cole – Just Like You
Fantasia – Fantasia
Emily King – East Side Story
Ne-Yo – Because of You

And the Grammy Goes To…
Because of You, by Ne-Yo!

This award category is a bit biased for me, because I detest Akon a lot. I detest him. Even on “The Sweet Escape”, I found his role far too annoying for me. And needless to say I won’t be supporting his album, even though he stands a damn good chance of winning. My pick, however, is Because of You, because of the fact it is a piece of work with many gems on it, all written and performed by the extremely talented Ne-Yo. Give this man his dues already!

The Real Winner: Ne-Yo – Because of You (O)

Best Rock Album

Daughtry – Daughtry
Foo Fighters – Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
John Fogerty – Revival
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
Bruce Springsteen – Magic

And the Grammy Goes To…
Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, by the Foo Fighters!

Daughtry puts up a good fight; so does Bruce Springsteen’s Magic, which is undoubtedly one of the best in recent times. But when it comes to the best rock album, ESPG has the right mix of attitude, rock style, singing and production that makes it a high standard.

The Real Winner: Foo Fighters – Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace (O)

Best Pop Vocal Album

Bon Jovi – Lost Highway
Feist – The Reminder
Maroon 5 – It Won’t Be Soon Before Long
Paul McCartney – Memory Almost Full
Amy Winehouse – Back to Black

And the Grammy Goes To…
Back to Black, by Amy Winehouse!

All contenders for Best Pop Vocal Album are respectable, and this is perhaps one of the biggest showdowns in the whole Grammys this year. However, Amy Winehouse clearly stands out, because of her outstanding vocal prowess on B2B, and the masterful production of Mark Ronson which has brought the Soul/Motown funk to a whole new level.

The Real Winner: Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (O)

GENERAL FIELD FORECASTS:

Best Pop Collab with Vocals

Tony Bennett & Christina Aguilera – “Steppin’ Out”
Beyonce & Shakira – “Beautiful Liar”
Gwen Stefani & Akon – “The Sweet Escape”
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant – “Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)”
Timbaland & Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake – “Give It To Me”

And the Grammy Goes To…
Beyonce & Shakira, for Beautiful Liar!

Tony and Christina stand a good chance with the powerhouse Steppin’ Out. If Beyonce and Shakira don’t win, my next best bet is Bennett and Aguilera. But otherwise, Beautiful Liar is hot hot hot, with sizzling bootypumping and hipthrusting along with an infectious beat and Arabian influences! The combination of two hot women with powerful lungs make for a great duet!

The Real Winner: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant – “Gone, Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” (X)

Best Pop Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocals

Bon Jovi – “(You Want to) Make a Memory”
Daughtry – “Home”
Maroon 5 – “Makes Me Wonder”
Plain White T’s – “Hey There Delilah”
U2 – “Window in the Skies”

And the Grammy Goes To…
Daughtry, with Home!

Again, all of the contenders here are worthy of the prize. But Plain White T’s lacks the “oomph” of the other contenders, while Maroon 5 packs too much of a synthesized punch. Bon Jovi comes close to winning this, but ultimately Daughtry is the big kahuna, with a song that is heartfelt, commercial and rockin’ all at the same time.

The Real Winner: Maroon 5 – “Makes Me Wonder” (X)

Best Female Pop Performance

Christina Aguilera – “Candyman”
Feist – “1234″
Fergie – “Big Girls Don’t Cry”
Nelly Furtado – “Say It Right”
Amy Winehouse – “Rehab”

And the Grammy Goes To…
Amy Winehouse, for Rehab!

They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, no, no, no. ‘Nuff Said.

The Real Winner: Amy Winehouse – “Rehab” (O)

Best Male Pop Performance

Michael Buble – “Everything”
John Mayer – “Belief”
Paul McCartney – “Dance Tonight”
Seal – “Amazing”
Justin Timberlake – “What Goes Around… (Comes Around)”

And the Grammy Goes To…
John Mayer, and Belief!

In a field of old souls and nearly-has-beens like Seal and McCartney, Mayer and Timberlake are nearly outnumbered. But what Mayer has that the others don’t is a grittiness to his voice and music. While Timberlake laments about the cycle of karma and Michael Buble croons about the representation of his love, Mayer’s song about faith and doubt is clear, gutpunching and bold.

The Real Winner: Justin Timberlake – “What Goes Around…(Comes Around)” (X)

Best New Artist

Feist
Ledisi
Paramore
Amy Winehouse
Taylor Swift

And the Grammy Goes To…
Feist!

Amy Winehouse might be a big bet here, but in terms of overall clearheadedness, Feist is still best. She has the talent to match, plus less knack for getting in trouble. Taylor Swift, Paramore and Ledisi are all equally outstanding, but in this year’s battle where big names thrash it out, they are unfortunately outclassed.

The Real Winner: Amy Winehouse (X)

Song of the Year

Before He Cheats
Hey There Delilah
Like A Star
Rehab
Umbrella

And the Grammy Goes To…
Umbrella! (performed by Rihanna)

Again, the contenders are powerful and outstanding in their own right. But Umbrella boasts something the other songs don’t exactly have… The ability to stick in people’s heads and repeat themselves on autoplayback again and again and again all throughout last year. Um-ber-ella, ella, eh, eh, was the defining catchphrase of 2007, and it deserves the honour.

The Real Winner: Rehab (X)

Album of the Year

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (Foo Fighters)
These Days (Vince Gill)
River: The Joni Letters (Herbie Hancock)
Back to Black (Amy Winehouse)
Graduation (Kanye West)

And the Grammy Goes To…
Back to Black (Amy Winehouse)!

The entire album of Back to Black screams out to be inducted into the Grammy hall of fame. The concept and direction is clear, a pop-jazz-soul album that has roots in Motown and subtle influences of electronic music.

From the attitude-laden “Rehab”, to the slow crooning of “Me and Mr Jones”, from the painful “Love Is A Losing Game” to the cheeky-challenging “Some Unholy War”, Amy expands her vocal range and her emotional take, all the while keeping her growls constant and impactful. Mark Ronson, talented producer that he is, put the finishing touches on the album, elevating it from a good one to an excellent one.

The Real Winner: River: The Joni Letters (Herbie Hancock) (X)

Record of the Year
Beyonce – Irreplaceable
Foo Fighters – The Pretender
Rihanna & Jay-Z – Umbrella
Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around… (Comes Around)
Amy Winehouse – Rehab

And the Grammy Goes To…
Umbrella, by Rihanna & Jay-Z!

The Record of the Year is one that has stuck itself in people’s heads, time and time again, with the essence of it existing in everything you come across. It was a battle between “To the left, to the left” and “Ella, Ella, Eh, Eh” for this great honour. A battle that some might find tough to pick a winner, but a battle which I found relatively easy.

Ultimately, Umbrella would win, not just for the song itself, but for the whole cultural defining moment of the concept. From the rain-splashed MV where Rihanna stood on the tips of her toes for most of it, to the (trust me when I say this) COUNTLESS covers of Umbrella with varying keys and instruments that can be found on Youtube and MySpace, Rihanna and Jay-Z have planted in the world a song that took root quickly, and proved itself to be the unrivalled Record of the Year.

The Real Winner: Amy Winehouse – Rehab (X)

Hopefully all my picks are realized! I think this year’s Grammy nominations are excellent! Don’t forget to catch the show!


*UPDATE* I wasn’t quite spot on for the General Field, but I guess that was my own wishes were my own undoing.

I kinda knew Amy would win Best New Artist and Song of the Year, but I just factored in my resentment toward her constant appearance in the tabloids. However, I’m quite shocked Back to Black didn’t win Album of the Year. Hancock’s jazz work wasn’t quite as strong, I felt.

I was, however, rather spot on with my individual genre album picks, only missing two, and one of them was alternative, which I don’t even follow that closely.

Till next year, the 51st Grammy Awards!