*~ bLog II ~*

Album Review

Tu Quyen: Trong Em Tinh Van Sang

I am diverse in many things and music happens to be one of them. Although I listen to a variety of different music from different cultures, vietnamese is my favorite language to listen to. The one particular viet singer who has always been my all time favorite is pop female artist Tu Quyen. I started admiring her back in 1998 when she still looked youthful and was still very energized; most of her songs were lively and up beat. In 2001, her CD "Trong Em Tinh Van Sang", which means in me love is still bright, came out and grabbed me even more. Although, the song was not up beat like her usual songs but the lyrics and the rhythm of this song was very warm and heart touching.

In "Trong Em Tinh Van Sang", Tu Quyen was trying to express that even though her loved one had to leave, her love for him would always stay strong. The meaning of this song can relate to a myriad of people in the world. Unfortunately, a myriad of people would not be able to understand the song in the world since it is in vietnamese. Therefore, it would not be as meaningful to non-viet speakers, but however, the warming rhythm of the music itself would still have a deep affect towards them. One other country that the song was translated in, which was also popular in during the time, was China.

Tu Quyen also has songs in english in some of her CDs; therefore, for those who are not viet speakers would be able to enjoy not only the music but also the lyrics of these songs.

*~ bLoG I ~*

Music Review

"Britney Spears' Greatest Hits: My Prerogative"

"BRITNEY SPEARS", who has not heard of her? Those who are optomistic and not bias would agree with the fact that she is an attractive female pop artist who is very unique with her work. She is one of a few artists who made her own music category pop popular. According to critic Andy Battaglia, however , one of Britney's newer album " Greatest Hits: My Prerogative" is more "decorative" than "declarative". This statement is not entirely true; if Andy actually listens to the lyrics to the two songs that he has such a hard time with "My Prerogative" and "Toxic", they are quite similar by stating how the singer has grown. Although those two songs were not written by her, but one was actually written for her, she used them as her own words by twisting them with her voice and music to fit her stage of life, which clearly stated that she was declaring how she has changed. Even though she is not labeled unique when it comes to her using someone else's words, but the fact that she was able to use them to make them her own statements is the unique of it. Andy also criticized that her older albums were "creepy" while her new ones were "plain crazy". This just clearly states that he is a so call "hater". If her old albums were as Andy stated "creepy", than how could Britney have made it to the top list.

Just like any singer or, to be more general, any star, she has develop and change throughout her life along with her work. This is the explanation for the reason her music as Andy thought has changed. The lyrics have totally changed from happy-go-lucky like "Baby One More Time" and "Drive Me Crazy" to facing difficult things in life such as "My Prerogative" and "Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman", which can relate to mostly everyone in the world while growing up. Therefore, there is no reason for Andy to give such labels towards her albums, and although her lyrics have changed, her music still managed to stay the same, which is the reason why her audience still loves her music. Overall, Andy Battaglia is, clearly, not a pop fan and dislike Britney as a person, which is the reason for his negative comments towards her music.

http://www.avclub.com/content/node/15736