Cover Song Syndrome

Cover songs today is all part and parcel of the music entertainment industry. Many times we hear different artists singing the same song, both fresh and old. Covers are not only bound to a region itself, but going international even and changed into different languages;English to Chinese or Spanish, and vice versa too. Most recent one I could remember was the same tune for Purest of Pain by Coco Lee in Chinese.

Lately I fumble across numerous numbers of covers. While some covers are good or not bad, the rest simply turn stale sour. What is it that drives some bands to sing covers over and over again 'til they sound like a new parrot?

Take the best example, Westlife.

First, the Uptown Girls. That was fine- it was catchy, energetic, and gave fresh air to the aging version by Billy Joel. Who knows, next came Seasons In The Sun. It was a hit too but if look down the memory lane from there, sniff around and you'd smell trouble. We have fun, we have joy, we have seasons in the sun. But the wine and the band, like the season have gone foul.

After a series of originals, they're at it again. You Raise Me Up, then Home. If you listen to the radio and reach the part they sang "I wanna go HOoOo-OoOo-OoOomMme!!!" you can somehow imagine the singers sang out to their hearts content, full of emotions with their forehead scrunched, like a wrung towel while going nearly on their knees, wanting to go home. I definitely prefer Michael Buble's over theirs.

Not that I dislike Westlife, but where has their originality gone to? Raised Up by them then met Uptown tune and went Home? I remember those good old days of If I Let You Go and Unbreakable- so sensational, so ooomph!, so Westlife-ish. Now they can change their name to WEST-PARROT-LIFE instead.

*Squawk* The Parrot Award goes to.....Westlife.

Covers sang properly are fine. Some even pulled off with a brand new twist and flavour to the song like Britney to I Love Rock 'N Roll, Jessica to Take My Breath Away and best of all, Goodnight by Destiny's Child. Hmmm... (3 singers, shouldn't it be Destiny's Children?) Perfect. Bravo, bravo, brovissimo...

The latest one I came across is Beat It by Fall Out Boys.

They're good rockers, with fine personalities but this is nothing personal, just business- it was pretty, erm, lame. Rock bands today tend to drown their vocals with heavy metal music, perhaps to cancel out any slight off-pitch voices. After all, the spotlight is on the music, not the vocals. Necessity falls on guitar and drum skills, not much on vocals instead.

Where was I?Oh, F.O.B. Their guitar skills are definitely top-notch in the song, perhaps that explains the inspiration to perform the song.

But dear boys, the song you picked was sang by Michael J, who is unbeatable in choreography and vocal. If you want to cover for Beat It, somehow please polish up your vocal a little more. I know, you are trying to rock-size the song but the cover compared to the original production is like a Petaling Street's faux LV (for Louis Vuitton, in case you wonder) to the authentic one from France.

Mm-mmm...a bag every girl just wants

The beat it, beat it part has an obvious off pitch-tempo there, no can do, boys. Definitely falling out, boys. My hats to Michael J. I just love him singing that song. But you wanna be baaaaaaaad! So, beat it!! Uumph.

Had tough time choosing MJ's picture. There are so many and the difference is HUGE. Kinda like series of evolution in Biology books.

Just when I thought these artists are pretty bad, then the video by William Hung came on air right at the exact moment. I stand corrected, Westlife and Fall Out Boys are GOOD. This is catastrophe, fiasco. She bangs, she bangs. Before you know it, she'd bangs her head hearing this song. I wonder how it felt to be Ricky Martin to have his song mutilated so baaaadly.

I mean, come on. Just listening to it makes you want to cringe and give his face a good slap. That's not music, its NOISE. Definition: UNWANTED random sound in the human audible frequency range.

AAAAARGH. RUN! Its Hung-zilla!!

Definitely there are certain ingredients that you just must have in your cover songs such as not making a cover too soon for the song like Jojo and Sean Kingston and also to change the style into one that's unique and not end up stale-cold. For example the accoustic of Rihanna's Umbrella (ambik Payung tu..nak hujan dah ni) in You Tube was great whereas Mandy Moore's too plain.

Looks like the coversong-itis disease will never come to an end.

Song Without Words

He has always been in my heart and mind. As for his photo, it has always been in purse.

Somehow I could never bring myself to gaze at his picture long enough lest the inevitable urge to break down and cry will follow. Thus, for days it lay hidden in my purse, behind layers of cards or sometimes when I look at the picture, it will only be a flash and that's it. Not long enough to trigger the tears reflex response, I'm spared from another cry-me-a-river session.

Funny, because last night I seemed to forget about all the consciousness and I pulled out the picture to have a good long stare at it. As I gazed more and more, the familiar sense that I have not been faced in ages came flooding over me- his face that identifies him. All the sudden I can see him smile back to me. Instead of suppressing the wave of warmth, I let it all flush down on me. I was afraid of losing the sense of warmth, was afraid of losing the familiar look that gives a thousand assurance. Quickly, I sought to learn him by heart as much as I could.

In the midst of worries, there came a whisper from my heart that I need not try to learn him by heart but came no reason why to explain. Finally from deep down the bottom of my heart, I finally realised that I didn't have to learn him because I have already known him by heart. Just, not much enough...and at that exact moment I realised that I love and miss him so much.

Undefined by words but by intuition instead, that was the answer I have been searching all the while.

The inevitable gush of salted geyser soon followed..probably due to bad formulation of hormones. Drat.

Reject

This is hard for me to talk as to think about this. Here we go...

I have mailed out all my high hopes and soaring dreams when I sent in my application to NUS for MBBS programme. How naive of me of thinking that I am actually close to reach my dreams of being a doctor in a highly reputed university. I've waited for days and checked my mailbox everyday, looked into my e-mails every single hour, and thought of the matter every single moment but in the end, it all came down to nothing.

Alas, time has drawn near and I was not one of the 250 shortlisted candidate called for interview. Perhaps the admissions staff were even chuckling at my futile attempt.

*SIGHHHHH.....*

Rotten Trip

Today has been a day which successfully increases my blood pressure and test my patience to a brand new greater heights so high that Edmund Hilary would find conquering Mount Everest as a mere peanuts munching compared to the ordeal faced through today.

I have two simple extra work to do for the office I work for today.

1. Pay water bill.
2. Pay phone bill.

Such seemingly simple work, yet the sagacity involved would be so complicated that it would just put Einstein and Newton's Physics formulation combined to shame.

Originally with only one task, I went to settle water bill first. Alas, as I reached Bank Simpanan after a long walk that seem to take eternity, it was closed for lunch. I then had to walk back the route of eternity to the office.

Then when time's up, the boss asked me to pay up the phone bill along but has to be settled in another bank. Alright, then I walked to Bank Simpanan and halfway through, I realised I brought with me the phone bill but forgot the water bill. Took a deep breath and say to myself it's OK and so I walked back to collect the water bill.

This time I chose to settle the phone bill instead. Alright, then I paid it and headed to Bank Simpanan. Halfway through the Route of Eternity, I sniffed trouble and searched my pockets. Much to my dismay, the water bill wasn't with me! I had to run back all the way through the Route of Eternity, again to the other bank and luckily I found it on the floor..thank goodness the cleaner hadn't cleaned it up. Phew.

This time, no screws up. Cash, check. Bill, check. Then in to Bank Simpanan to get my turn for solid 20 minutes. Passed the bill to the cashier and guess what? "Payment not accessible through this centre because the bill statement is overdue".

I feel like being in Archie's Comics.

The Road Not Taken

I thank Robert Frost for his beautiul melody of words, having expressed in best about various predicaments that most of us would face in our lives.

The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.

I, too chose the road less travelled by...

It has been...

1 hour since I smsed him.

1 week since we talked over the phone.

22 days since he left.

138 days since I last saw him.

Never a moment I stopped wishing to see him again.

Inner Turmoils

I have a series of choices to make but when come down to the end, all I can make is only ONE decision.

The possible outcomes of Rebecca's career. And yes, diagrams make our life simpler.

Thus, the mother of all questions: Medicine or Pharmacy? Sometimes when I voiced out my wish to be a doctor, the reaction I got is somewhat similar to as how Elizabeth Blackwell's scenario. In a nutshell, most people think that women are not meant to be doctors.

Even if the prospect of studying medicine is eliminated away, Pharmacy itself is as complicated itself as the labyrinth. Which university should I go? To UK or Malaysia? Not only the Battle Of Profession is enraging, now there is constant Variation War going on.

Under the skirt of Medicine, there are not much choice to make. I shall explain.

1. One word tells it all: PRICEY. Never mind if it's expensive, but on top that, I cannot afford at all. Good universities do not often come cheap.



2. The best catch I could get for myself is INDIA, the country as complicated as CHINA itself. It would be fun to tackle the new challenges of the cultural web there but in case anything goes wrong, I shall be buried deep down in layers of indian norms, geography, history, politics and never ever get out of it.



3. I don't need much reasons, having inadequate amount of finance is already a full stop to my dreams.

Being pro-pharmacy (at this moment), I have permutations after permutations to choose from: UK or IMU, then break more down to another two universities under the branch of UK.

Why IMU:

1. Its pharmacy faculty is steel-strong, gaining recognition and high reputations from Universities all around the world. I myself can foresee that IMU will very soon outshine many universities in the world. NB-refers to pharmacy only. For Medicine, I am not sure.



2. IMU not only produces pharmacists, but also prepares and expose students into postgraduate, while encouraging students to head their voyage further.



3. Convenient and closer to home; all facilities are ready and all their students need to do is move in.



4. i) I want to move in and live with Kah Yee. ii)I will be able to see P.Russ when he returns for holidays. And these are not stupid reasons.



5. Lower tuition fees compared to UK , thus preparation for postgraduate trainings would be smoother.



6. I can't really stand cold weather.

But, IMU may have its drawbacks too.

1. Having to reach to high standards, rigorous regimes are enforced to ensure their students to study, study, study.(Look, this statement flowed out of the mouth of the dean himself. I think he's going to kill me soon.) Examinations are good, but if they are too frequent as how they were in college, personally it's not going to do any good to me. It'll only demotivate students and soon students might not take examinations as seriously as it should have been.



2. I have the impression that its syllabus is rather modular, or similar. If constant tests are held right soon after lessons are taught and they will be included into my final scores, I am seriously a goner. I CAN'T JUST STUDY AND SIT FOR A TEST STRAIGHT AFTER!



3. Nota Bene-These two reasons are enough to ruin my whole life from here.

How about UK?

1. Nice four seasons to experience, that's thrilling enough to lure me there.



2. Sunderland's syllabus are more into presentations and groupworks and though tough, the university has put in effort to ensure students venture into pharmacy without weighting down much pressure. Uni's life is supposed to be like this right??



3. Got to experience another culture of its own.

So what's the problem?

1. I'm not sure if the universities prepare their students well enough for postgraduate studies.



2. I'm ABSOLUTELY UNSURE WHICH UNIVERSITY SUITS ME BETTER. One will work like magic, the other kills yet I dunno which do so. I am playing coin tossing games here. Heads, Malaysia. Tails, UK.



3. UK is too pricey compared to tuition fees in IMU. The worst possible ending is stamping in too much cash for bachelors degree that equals as good as IMU's.

Add up together, I have series after series of combinations to choose from and I need more time and space to think...did I tell you I don't have these?

Another wave of...

...nostalgia hit me again this time. Thanks to the same old song and another by Avril Lavigne's When You're Gone.

Drat.

Nostalgia

It has been a long time since I searched for the song "With You" by Chris Brown on the radio but never get to catch it on air. Then this morning the song finally came on air and I remembered how often P.Russ told me to switch on the radio to catch the song but I was never with the radio.

Feeling a little nostalgic right now. Correction, VERY nostalgic. *sigh*

Nostalgia describes a longing for the past, often in idealized form. Nostalgia may or may not also be known as homesickness.-Wikipedia.

Med vs Pharm. PART TWO

Before anything else, read PART ONE first..


The saga continues very soon after...
We've seen the good, the bold, and the beautiful. Now brace yourself for the ugly truth..again, in my very own twisted, baseless grounds.

Reasons NOT to choose medicine as your career:

1. EXPENSIVE career. Even before you begin, it has already completely burn off your pocket mercilessly. Typical scenario applies to paying money for exams merely for application process such as UKCAT *meow*, ICAT, entrance exams, eligibility certificates and more to empty your wallets. That's only starters. Light starters, mind you. Next comes the main course, guarantee to cultivate wings on your money. As if it's not enough, you'd have to pay additional costs for living expenses, examination papers, external posts, course works, researches, etc...all for a BACHELOR DEGREE. By then you become a GP, alongside with pride and glory, your bank account would have depleted to the extend until you're reduced to a pauper, albeit the new knowledge to save lives. More to come: Specialisation, postgraduate trainings, information upgrades and bla bla bla...tell me, do you still expect your mum and dad to boost your studies??


2. So many to learn, yet so little to be used when put to practice. Medicine students have to learn all about human bodies, yet the depth of knowledge learnt is somewhat shallow (think spreading butter over a wide surface of bread as the analogy) This is why specialists exist and they get to earn more comfortably to exxhange with their knowledge.


3. Working time being inflexible. Doctors make time to for other activities to their work schedule, whereas generally pharmacists make time for their work schedule to fit their life. Long story short, a doctor's life revolves around their work as their centre, being enslaved to their patients.
4. For those who needs straight eight hours of sleep and clean, state-of-art environment to study and work in, do think twice. Take some time to visit public hospitals and their ERs. If that's not your cup of tea, don't even think of being a doctor. That's how a hospital should look like and be and that's where doctors must take as their second home. Please, don't tell me you expect to work in hospitals like House's.


5. If you face cadavers every single lesson in medical schools and even after 30 days the sight of them still make you feeling nauseous as though you're pregnant and are having morning sickness, just pack your bags and head home, cause it means that's not your cup of Milo.


6. It is a known fact: Doctors today are increasingly growing in quantity. The rate of growth is not linear or directly proportional, I tell you...it's growing with a positive high power index exponential rate. Medical schools booming everywhere in every single corners in the world, with Malaysia being no exception. In our nation's own case, it is indeed a sore sight for any eyes. Ready or not, local institutions recklessly carry ahead with courses bearing the names MBBS, sometimes even without proper facilities while conducting classes in shop lots before moving to new campus. Don't ask me which university is that. DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK. Anyway, back to doctors' factories...soon doctors will be over-supplied in the world, in a sense, though logically speaking...such thing is impossible.

Reasons NOT to choose to be a pharmacist:

1. Scope of work in pharmacy may be diverse and wide but the range of knowledge involved may not be as dynamic as medicine, thus if you have sudden lose in interest in Chemistry, you're a goner. Work will be boring, and boring.
2. Does not apply to the future or the next few years to come...only for NOW. In Malaysia, even doctors have dispensing rights. It seems in Sarawak particularly, the only thing left for present pharmacists to do is (i) open a pharmacy shop selling health paraphernalia (example, vitamins and lotions). Prescription drugs, forget it. You can always get them in clinics, from doctors, not pharmacists. or (ii)work in the public hospitals. Mind you, even then some of my friends working there complain of being subjected to hierarchy of staffs, doctors being more superior than they are.
3. You miss all the drama and actions that only doctors have in their work life. But fret not, if you're bored, get into the lab and watch some bacterias.
4. As general pharmacists, basically all you do is dispense drugs and interaction with patients are limited. To some it's an advantage, for me, as a pharmacist you just lost the main key in treating patients.
   

MED VS PHARM

Medicine vs Pharmacy

The battle of two professions in young Rebecca's brain-unfortunately, based on her shallow, imaginative, and illogical reasons...

Why medicine:

1. Let's talk noble first: Doctors possess the knowledge to save lives, being able to think quickly on the spot on what to do..or at least, something right enough to do. Doctors know how to save, heal, bla bla bla...make the world a better place..bla bla
2. Academic wise, it's a dynamic combination of chemistry, biology and physics. Learning human body will never bore you, from learning about enzymes to dissecting dead bodies. And talk about exploring them too. Approaching cadavers are already a challenge itself to tickle the fear factor in you. Will never get bored with learning medicine.
3. The*OooOo...wAaaAa...* factor: Rating from 1-10, the oo-waa from the society towards medical doctors is rated 11. All attention to goes to you, the moment public finds you're a doctor, you're a hero from zero in one nanosecond.
4. Easy ticket to make good first impression to your parents-in-law-to-be. Whether they'll love you as their own daughter very much depends whether you can cook, wash, dust, and do all other primitive female work...in short, back to pre-historic basics. As for males, all you need to do is dress smart and be gentleman...rest assured, the entire family will love you to the extend they forgot they have a daughter to marry.
5. Society used to say that doctors will have to work 24-7, practically leaving no time and room for social life. Apart from that, there'll be no space for a good snooze, a proper bed: all work work work. OK, folks. I feel it's the best ever work schedule: Out of routine, always exciting, and never boring. (Blame it on me watching too many ER series..ya ya, call me crazy)
6. You work in CHAOS. Hospital staffs running around in all sorts directions and speed, patients reeling in and out...there's no where else as mind-boggling as working in ER.
7. Who needs an elite social life when you have such fun work??
8. You get to touch patients (not that way, wipe off all your dirty thoughts), directly communicate with them in a more direct assuring manner.
9. Oooh..not to forget, if you're handsome you can be ANGKASAWAN CUM MODEL TOO.. And when you finally get bored, join the BN team and venture into politics. Who says you must treat patients only? Be creative, don't be shy. Young, hot doctors out there. Do export your beauty and get endorsement from giant health corporations for some vitamins products. Yes, you can even be the next Malaysian Medical Council Idol and beat Jaclyn Victor.

So: why pharmacy?

1. Its the profession for smart girls. Ok, ok..boys too.


2. Main stream of pharmacy involves chemistry, something that will never bore you down
3. Ooo-waaa factor's rating definitely will be lower than medicine, but good enough to make your nose look good.
4. Doctors have no proper drugs dispensing knowledge. It's true. Thus, pharmacists have important significance in the medical field.
5. Pharmacists invent drugs. No use able to diagnose but have no cure for it.
6. Wide range of specialisation field: immunology, clinical pharmacy, food technology, bla bla. If not, just dispense drugs or work with the health ministry.
7. UK and Australia are open to foreign pharmacists. Not sure if I can say the same for the next few years to come. (Conversion of Sterling and OZ Dollar to Ring-It. is greeeaaat)
8. Not sure how will it be exciting but I believe pharmacy has a charm of its own.
9. While my peers all flock in towards medicine, I'd better head for the other way to ease traffic flow. Future partnership with doctors will make my cash register *ka-ching* even more.

Boredom is....

1) Something very capable of driving me nuts

2) A nightmare return from my adolescent past.

3) Gobbling on me like a lion feasting on a fat, juicy zebra.

4) Worth to be killed. Like in 300 movie, killing mercilessly.