tu hari & seat no satu

Dulu aku kenal satu orang ni, dia cerita dia pegi Genting naik teksi. Ni tahun early 90s. Dia cakap, dia ngan kawan2 dia bayar teksi driver extra. Supaya bawak slow2. Jangan bawak laju2. Dia cakap dia nak gi holiday bukan nak gi hospital atau worse.

korang mesti tau, selasa pagi kul 3 lebih kat 256km nye mark, bas konsortium crash sampai terbalik, satu meninggal.

Actually, aku dapat tahu pasal eksiden ni bila ternengok sokkabar cina kat kedai, gambo front page. terkedu kejap.

Aku dah tergerak nak naik bas yang eksiden tu actually, tapi, aku kalo abis keja 2nd shift, liat tul nak gi Larkin, dah malam2 kan, so aku akan naik dari Beach Road. Alisan ada bas midnite. Double decker beb kalo naik bas midnite. $35. Kalo naik kat Larkin 24RM. Korang tengok dia punye price different. Kecoh kan?

dalam bas, aku tido pengsan, tak sedar langsung, lagipun biasa ah kalo double decker, smooth tak rasa bumping2, bas lak baru, ekon pun sejuk hoho. cuma tu ah aku question mark apsal sampai Sungei Besi kul 6 lebih pagi? Aku ingat driver slow, rupanya ada cerita.

Tapi tu ah, bas ni kadang2 berdesup desup, ye la, aku pun nak cepat sampai, tapi tak mau la laju sangat kan beyond and over the speed limit. Spare a thought for the passengers please.


Anyway lupa lak nak cerita last week gitu, kul 2 pagi gitu ah, aku ngah tido sekali tu bas cam terenjut so aku tersadar, sekali aku perasan bas dah masuk emergency lane tau, sekali tu aku nengok depan, siak ah trepik jam giler.
Dalam hati aku, mesti ada kes besar, dua pagi kalo dah jam panjang gitu, mesti dah lama berlaku dan serious punye kan.

Driver, dia terus reverse. Fullamak driver champion abis.. Dia reverse all the way sampai kat exit S*****g R*****m. So dia terus masuk ikut jalan lama tu yang kecik sempit tu. aku rasa Kimi Raikkonen pun tak bleh bawak cam dia bawak la. Dah la gelap gelita, jalan sempit, trepik dari depan datang menderu lori, dia main potong2 lain nye.. Aku nervous sey. Pax lain semua ngah tido so dorang tak tahu ceta.
So aku nengok, ah ha, seat number satu kosong la, so aku pun gi la pindah duk depan haha.

Best ah, terus borak2 ngan driver dengar dia ceta2, dia pun sorang takde kawan kan haha. pasal drivers ni use handphone untuk communicate with others, kat hiway tadi lori terbalik makan tiga lane semua, jem giler, in fact bus kul 10.30pm , bas kul 11pm semua kena trap ah. ( aku nye bas 11.30pm ). Nasib baik dia sempat reverse dan selamatkan diri before kena stack up kat jem tu jugak. So dah exit lagi satu, bas aku naik masuk balik hiway, kosong. Siap ada satu teksi pun keluar exit sama bawak laju giler, tayar belakang keluar api terus meletup tayar tu, nasib baik, umur teksi driver tu panjang...teksi dia dah buang kiri kanan dah macam ular menggelepar gitu..tapi tak terbabas langgar divider atau buang ke semak dan pokok, last2 dapat berenti tepi jalan. Aku ngan driver bas nengokkan je pasal driver dah slow down kan bus dia...

heran eh, some people.
Keta polis, ambulan, bomba, F1, moto GP, bleh ah bawak laju giler. Yang lain tu laju ikut speed limit dah ler.

Japanese Heavy Metal Army

( photoshoot and review of how the Japanese edition of the year 1981 Iron Maiden's Maiden Japan EP looks like and its content ( minus the obi wan kenobi strip which I dont have as I dont know how many times the vinyl pass ownership before I got it haha ).


The Japanese do not have the right proper translation for Maiden Japan so the Japanese release was renamed Heavy Metal Army instead.



During that time, only Japanese vinyl pressing got this name Heavy Metal Japan ( I have never heard or seen any photo of a Heavy Metal Army cassette tape so I wont know ), while the rest of the world got it as Maiden Japan ( which I understand was also released on cassette tape back in 1981. In fact, I remember during my school day, my friend has the cassette tape version, though I doubt its an EMI original haha ).


This is a photo taken from the 1st Ten Years series which content I had reviewed quite long ago. So I wont review the album tracks again.



This is how the back cover looks like.



Japanese notes, lyrics, infos and black and white photos.


If only I can get my hands on that Venezuela pressing of Eddie using an axe to cut off Paul Di'anno head. ( Once in a while, someone will let go of it but the prices of Maiden stuffs are increasing at an obscene rate, and I just cant afford them anymore.)
The rest of the world did not have that one as Rod Smallwood had all the pressings destroyed so as not to hurt Paul although at that the rumours and gossips were talking about Maiden getting a new singer to replace Paul. Rod asked Derek Riggs to draw a new Eddie hurriedly and that is how we all get Eddie with a Samurai and his not so pretty blue jeans with black shadows.

Picture Life

A photo tells a thousand stories. Its up to one self to intepret.

Makin aku nengok gambo ni teringat senario cerita kelakar dulu2. Raja kepala botak ngah tido, tak pay attention langsung ngan keadaan sekeliling.


Click all photos to enlarge.



Lipas. Kalo kat rumah, abis semua kena spray baygon. Tapi bila nengok kat zoo, lawa lak. Cam nak buat aquarium satu tapi bukan bela ikan, tapi bela lipas cam gini. Mesti lawa ek. Kat science center punye pun lawa.



Polar bear. Tapi cam tak logik eh Polar bears kat sini, tak dapat merasa salji original walaupun setitik :-(
Anyway bulu dorang cam kuning2, bukan sakit ke hapa k, pasal bila korang nengok dorang kat tv, bulu semua putih melepak kan, tapi ada kena mengena ngan cuaca ke hapa ntah.



BUJANG SENANG!!!! aku suka lagu Wings ni. Anyway tak sabar nak nengok Wings nye live dvd kat planet hollywood kl. vcd dah keluar, tapi cam ada problem kot, so maybe tunggu dvd. Anyway, yours truly ada tu malam hehehe. Best.

Buaya ni nengok cam relak2 je eh, tapi besar giler ah korang. Sekali dia dapat ngap je. Abis ler. Kick da bucket. Anyway, aku suka enclosure ni kasi close up dekat giler cuma ada kaca je blok. Aku pun nervous jugak kalo kaca ni pecah, abis ler buaya semua attack.



Korang agak, sapa tolong ketip kuku dorang eh? nak kena pakai plyer kot ketip kuku dorang. Tapi memang kuat tau buaya2 gini semua. Ekor dia sekali libas, abis ler. Terpelanting. Tapi still ada chance hidup kot. Kalo dia ngap pakai mulut abis ler. Tak bleh imejin.



Gajah.
Korang dulu2 nengok katun tak? Gajah nanti takut ngan tikus. Kalo gajah katun ni nampak tikus nanti dia lari, dia diri atas kerusi semua. Korang tahu tak apa aku ngah bebual?
So, apsal takde orang nak lepaskan tikus kat kandang gajah eh? experimen.



dia nengok aku, aku nengok dia.
penguin, melayu panggil apa eh? tapi kan, serious bebual aku tak pernah dengar bunyik penguin cammana.
Tapi ni penguin pun sama eh, tak dapat merasa salji original..



Ada satu tempat tu kan, biawak2 ni dilepaskan gitu je tau, so korang kena hati2 jangan tertendang. Best. Jalan, tau2 dongak dorang kat dahan2 gitu. Aku nak belajar ler apa nama actual binatang2 ni.. Besar2 tau biawak2 yang ni.. Cantik kalo nengok dekat2..



Ni apa cat tu, yang aku taruk gambo feberet aku tu yang dorang ada dua ekor ngah baring peluk2.. I love that photo.
Ni lagi seekor. Bertenggek atas kayu. Cute.

aku ni dah tua ni asyik pelupe je keja aku.
Tapi orang cakap kan, nak elak pelupa, nak elak nyanyuk, mesti mengaji banyak2. Yes its true. Orang banyak mengaji ni untung. Anyway tu hari aku nampak pakcik ajar aku ngaji time aku kecik2 pegi rumah dia ngaji 10%, main ngan budak2 ngaji lain bawah blok 90%. Kalo ngaji nye 30minit, main bawah blok berjam2 sampai malam2 buta. Dia mesti dah berumur lanjut sangat, tapi dia looks so healthy siak, kulit dia putih bersih je, tua tapi tak krepot, if you get what i mean. Tu ah, rezeki dia. Aku belum pernah buat blog time dulu2 budak2 pegi ngaji cam mana eh, ngan kain semua serempang kat bahu ngan seluar pendek, bawak quran. Main2 tipu2 time ngaji, saje2 je ambik getah padam rub kat mana tok guru tanda, buat tanda kat page lain wakaka. Bukan jahat kot, ni dinamakan childhood. Kecoh ah tu jam. Happy je. Oppss terofftopic again.
Tapi paling kelakar, depan semua orang, kain terburai, tangan tak sempat nak save kain pasal dua2 tangan ngan pegang rehal ngan quran hehehe. Budak2 mana reti ikat kain ye tak, main simpul sebarang je. Nanti ah lain kali cerita eh. Kalo ada time ler.





si kecik tu saje je jalan2 gitu, kang sapa2 tangkap, taruk dalam beg bawak balik, abis ler.




white tiger
korang agak, rimau putih ni tido, dia ada mimpi syok tak?
i mean mimpi makan daging steak ke or dia ngah mimpi ngah makan orang eh. Or dia ngah eksen tido je eh?



last but not least, bekas pelakon cilik ceta BJ And The Bear dan bila dah dewasa jadi extra ceta Planet Of The Apes lak.


K, nanti lain kali senang aku sambung merapu k.



Paint...
me right.
Can you feel the heat in me tonight?
Oh I,
I'm the pearl...
Paint your love all over my world.

things are not what it seems sometimes..

kadang2 eh, sesuatu tu tak seperti yang kita sangka..
contoh - korang nengok gambo ni, korang in general sekali tengok mesti ingat " ada penceroboh puaka jahat datang dari belakang nak serang dan nak buat benda tak baik kat awek ni yang nampaknye macam dah nak masuk tido ".

Sometimes things are not what it seems, at one glance, this photo shows an evil being trespassing and going to attack the lady who seems to be going to bed soon.

Tapi sebenarnye, lukisan ni menggambarkan, Eddie ( lelaki kat belakang pompuan tu ) ada lah mata air ( boipren ) kat si awek ni ( nama dia Charlotte ), dia dah mati selama tiga tahun dan dia sangat rindu kat awek dia, tu ah dia datang jengok awek dia yang tak tahu dia ada kat belakang, dan kalo ikut sejarah, Eddie lukisan ni, dibunuh Perdana Menteri Britain zaman awal 80an Margaret Thatcher ngan mesin-gan :-).

But actually, it shows Eddie visiting his beloved Charlotte. Dead for three years and this specific Eddie I presume was killed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with her machine gun. Drifting in between this world and purgatory, Eddie is reflected as heart broken, and even contemplating bringing Charlotte earlier to the next life.

Kat meja tu jugak awek Eddie masih taruk foto si Eddie. Kalo korang click gambo ni kasi besar, nanti bleh nampak tulis kat gambo tu " To Charlotte, all my love, Eddie "
Dan kalo korang nengok betul2, kat belakang foto Eddie tu ada Mickey Mouse. Ada cam kuku tu aku tak tahu apa.

On her dressing table , Charlotte still displays Eddie's photo. Click it to see whats actually written on that photo. So its kind of showing her true love for him, even after three long lonely years. And Mickey Mouse is peering from behind that photo. I dont know about what seems like claws at the table tip.

Lain2 benda dalam lukisan ni adalah majalah Cosmopolitan si Charlotte ni dah bis baca dan dia buang dalam tong sampah, kucing hitam mungkin peliharaan si Charlotte kat atas katil dia, ada patung kucing kat bawah meja solek dia, jam loceng ngan cermin dia ngah pecah, kat luar tu ialah pemandangan street scene kat London zaman tu, bulan mengambang dan ada bayang2 Grim Reaper kat luar.
Lastly, Derek Rigg nye signature tu kat tepi laci tu.
Yang si awek tu pegang tarot card " death ", aku serious tak tahu apa motif dia pegang kad tu hehe. Saje2 je kot. Lagi satu aku konfius, Eddie ni tak bleh wujud dalam apa pun bentuk " cant take no shape or form ", tapi kat bahu Charlotte bleh nampak bayang jari2 dia lak.


Other things on this artwork is the Cosmopolitan magazine which I believe Charlotte had thrown to the dust bin after reading it, a black cat which should be Charlotte's pet, a figurine of a cat below her dressing table, the alarm clock with the cover exploding, street scene of London at that period, full moon, and the image of the Grim Reaper. Derek Rigg signature is beside the drawers. I dont know how his shadow appears on Charlotte's shoulder when he is supposed to not take any shape or form for this specific song.


Jadi, sama macam lukisan Derek Riggs untuk artwork single " Twilight Zone " tahun 1981 ni, kadang2 sekali pandang, kita tak bleh nilai sesuatu tu, cakap tak serupa bikin ler aku tahu, tapi aku kena try jugak ler tak mau jump to conclusion or always think negative. Aku really nak kena put in effort untuk perbaiki diri dalam benda ni hehe.


She lays in bed at night and that is when I make my call.
But when she stares at me, she can't see nothing at all,
Because you see I can't take no shape or form.
It's been three long years since I've been gone.

I can't get used to purgatory, you know it really makes me cry,
I'll never know the reason why I had to go.

I'm crying,
Deep inside me,
Can't you see me?
Can't you see me?

I'm looking forward to her spirit coming over to me.
I feel so tempted to bring her over to see,
Just what it's like to be hanging on the other side.
I feel so lonely, it's a long time since I died.

I try to show her that she's never gonna be alone,
Because my spirit is imprisoned in the Twilight Zone.

I'm crying,
Deep inside me,
Can't you hear me?
Can't you see me?


( All photos are from the Iron Maiden's Twilight Zone 12 inch and this is my intepretation and review of what the artwork and lyrics means )

book review - Spectacle Of Death

Dalam hidup korang, korang mesti ada baca buku2 yang korang tak bleh lupakan. Best sangat sampai korang simpan dalam gerobok buat kenangan atau nanti nak ulang baca2.

Spectacle Of Death including Glimpses of Life Beyond The Grave by KM Islam. My version is an early 90s edition. I think this book is made in India or Pakistan, I am not so sure.

Deifinitely one of the most frightening books I ever read.

Ni ada satu buku aku beli time aku full time NS mid 90s dulu. Aku tahu buku ni bila kawan aku tunjukkan, then aku nengok, siot ah brutal abis. Seram giler ah.
So aku pun nak aku punye own copy, terus gi kedai Haji Hashim kat Joo Chiat Complex. Terus sambar satu ni buku. Worth it.




Buku ni memang ambik contoh dari kisah2 zaman Nabi, dari Al Quran, hadith all that, written in English. Tapi cara penyampaian dia tu menusuk kalbu aku.
Cuak giler siak baca buku ni. Menginsafkan pun ada jugak. Ceta2 pasal orang2 buat jahat, then apa akan jadi kat dunia, balasan kat akhirat nanti, cammana nanti kat neraka. D A H S Y A T in capital letters ok. Anyway, untuk peminat buku2 Hidayah dan seangkatannye,tentu suka giler ler baca buku ni hehehe.



( click to enlarge )
Best eh cara description dan English words dia, takde la bombastic english or english sekolah tinggi2.. Simple je. Tu ah best dia. Buku ni untuk semua orang.

K ah, korang kalo gi kedai buku ke, gi kedai buku 2nd hand ke, jumpa buku ni grab k. Worth it, wa tak bedek.

nota kaki - Blog ni ditulis sambil dengar bootleg Scorpions kat Wacken yang A Night To Remember tu ngan Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker, Herman Rarebell join in dan main punye la banyak lagu. And this is the original broadcast, takde edit tak potong lagu k. I love it!!

review - X Japan Blue Blood 2007 Remastered double cd

My review and photos of the out of print remastered X Japan's Blue Blood rereleased in 2007 with the 2nd cd of instrumental versions.


Dah lama aku tak cerita pasal album2 yang aku anggap perfect. Those yang special gitu untuk diri aku. So nari aku cerita sikit pasal album X Japan - Blue Blood. Dikeluarkan tahun 1989. Aku ada versi cetakan Taiwan pasal nak beli Japan print mahal giler ler. Tapi bila keluar ni special edition remastered tahun 2007 aku berjaya tangkap jugak, tapi cdjapan dah sold out tu jam, so memang susah sikit nak carik. Special nye release ni ialah dia ada bonus cd, lagu2 album ni tapi versi instrumental.



I discovered X Japan very late (after they disbanded, and Hide had died ). I think it was around 1999 when I was reading a european metal message board discussions about some of the better heavy, power melodic metal songs. One guy vouch for a song called 'Silent Jealousy' by X Japan from their album 'Jealousy' which was after Blue Blood. He sounds convincing so I took the trouble to find and listen to that song...



Its one of those moments where all the planets seems to be aligned together. This song has everything in it, piano sentimental intro, dual Iron Maidenish guitar harmonies, superb lyrics even if more than 50% are in Japanese, loud drums, everything is loud, and with that passion that only Japanese bands can have.

Its a love song but it has metal written all over it, the kind of metal that I like. I try to find a few more X Japan songs, like what I hear, on my trip to Kuala Lumpur at that period I bought the X Japan made in Taiwan boxset of all their studio albums on cd, and the rest is history. I do have a few of their dvds but being Japanese bands, their releases tend to be super mega expensive and hard to get, so it is difficult most of the time. Seeing them play to a capacity crowds at Tokyo Dome is something.

Anyway, X Japan is actually known as X till the Jealousy album. Then they add Japan behind it when they have a proper global release for the next few albums to prevent any confusion. This is why the covers are all identified just as X for the earlier albums including this one.



If I have to choose only one Japanese band that I like, I'm so sorry Loudness, but X Japan it will be. They have that Manowarish attitude in them, to do what they like - fast,chaotic speedy songs one moment, and a slow ballad with only a piano with vocals the next.
Not forgetting they look good whether in the early days of weird hairdos and 'overdressing' in the costumes they choose, or in their latter days with Hide being the coolest, and Yoshiki is just being Yoshiki haha.


The songs on this album are
Disc 1
1. Prolouge ( World Anthem )
2. Blue Blood
3. Week End
4. Easy Fight Rambling
5. X
6. Endless Rain
7. Xclamation
8. Kurenai
9. Orgasm
10. Celebration
11. Rose Of Pain
12. Unfinished

Disc 2 ( instrumental tracks )
Features- Blue Blood, Week End, X , Endless Rain, Kurenai, Celebration, Rose Of Pain , Unfinished.


Left to Right - PATA on guitars / TAIJI on bass ( who will later join LOUDNESS ) / TOSHI the singer who from what I understand caused the band to disband and should have been hammered by Yoshiki on stage during that Last Concert LOL! / YOSHIKI the drummer whom I so like to see and hear, and the piano player too, and of course the most prettiest or should I say most good looking :-) / HIDE the guitarist, the best dresser, who accidently died because I dont think he meant to commit suicide, and cause a wave of hysteria of schoolgirls crying and wailing on the streets of Japan ( check out the youtubes of the footages, I hope these can be found in Youtube ).







My song by song opinion
1. Prologue - Orchestra like intro. Very majestic instrumental. Very bombastic. Suits that World Anthem title well. About 2 and a half minutes long.
There are words being whispered, trust me I didnt realise Toshi was actually saying them in English till I carefully check the lyric sheets. Ooo the beauty of Japanese rock bands singing in English.

2. Blue Blood - Fast tempo song. Mixture of Japanese and English lyrics. Depressing type of lyrics. The break in the middle is very melodic. Helloween-like instrumental break. About 5 minutes long.

3. Weekend - Reminds me of Roxette. I always think Roxette as a heavy rock band trapped in a MTV pop channel body. Their songs are very melodic, catchy, full of harmonies ( just like Iron Maiden or Lost Horizon who are also from Sweden like Roxette ) but there is a sense of heaviness in them that I prefer compared to Poison, Warrant or any other so called Rock bands that I am scared even to give them a try. Motley Crue? still around? vomit blood, but I do like the Dr Feelgood album, a bit.

4. Easy Fight Rambling - What a silly title isnt it? Sounds like a very happy jovial song. The lyrics ( the English portion that is ) sounds weird.

5. X - Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath all have their own self titled songs, and X Japan has one too and its great. Fast and exciting. I really like watching their live performance on dvds on this song, with all the Japanese fans ( mostly girls ) shouting together on the chorus " X !!! X!!! X !!!! ".

6. Endless Rain - One of the most famous X Japan song. Yoshiki is really brilliant. He should write with Steve Harris LOL!!. Toshi's voice is a bit rough, so when he sings these sad slow heartbreaking ballads, it dont sound wimpy but instead makes the song even more realistic.
This is a song to be heard. The song to be played for all the lovers out there who's hearts are broken. " I am a rose blooming in the desert " \m/
The English translation for this song is so lovely, that I often wonder how touching it is for those who understand Japanese when listening to this song. No wonder some in the audience cry when this song is played live.



7. Kurenai - I think the translation is Red Blood.
One of my most favourite X Japan songs. Starts slowly and all hell break loose type of song. Very fast but melodic. This is the type of song that I love. The instrumental part is very Maidenish , very Helloweenish.

8. Xclaimation - Instrumental. Seems each member has a chance to be in the spotlight for this song. Different moods during the 4 minutes of the song.

9. Orgasm - Fast song but I dont really get the idea of what this song is about haha. With this kind of title the meaning must be interesting.

10. Celebration - This album is a mix of very happy and sad songs. Another cheerful party sounding song.

11. Rose Of Pain - 11 minutes 50 seconds of a roller coaster ride. Slow moments, speedy moments. Remember, this was in 1989. The impact would have been more for me if I had listened to this song back then. This song begins with that classical melody that Yngwie Malmsteen also did. I forgot the title.

12. Unfinished - This song first appeared on their 1st album, and as the title say, this song was actually unfinished. But on the Blue Blood album, I guess they finally complete it.
The only song from this album with 100% English lyrics. Nice love song with simple but memorable lyrics. Its one of the lyrics I used to sing to myself when I am alone haha. As an asian, I do enjoy the way Japanese bands sings and write lyrics in English.

The 2nd cd features what seems the exact recordings minus the lead vocals, except for unfinished intro vocals before the piano kicks in.



All Blue lineup.. The one beside the Blue Blood cd is the promo of Iron Maiden's No More Lies. Very nice yes..

I always dream of seeing the X Japan live spectacle for myself. I know its near to impossible as they tend to play only in Japan and it will be beyond what I can afford, but it took me 25 years to see Iron Maiden live, so maybe just maybe, my dream to see X Japan live will come true one day.