School Project

Sometimes as foreign students, we get asked to do random things which, possibly because of the language barrier, we unwittingly agree to do. About two weeks ago, I got asked by our school administrators to learn to play and sing a song in Chinese to represent our school of international students. I agreed.

Later, I found out that the song needed to be recorded and shot on video, and that the video would be submitted to some national talent competition for schools with international students, showing off these students' embrace and learning of Chinese culture. Some show off their Chinese calligraphy. Others read Chinese poetry. Some perform classical Beijing opera.

But for me and one of my classmates here at the school... we decided we would cover a popular song by Jay Chou. Jay Chou, if you don't know, is super-popular in China. He recently also starred as Kato in The Green Hornet.

So here it is. 简单爱 ("Simple Love") by Jay Chou:



If you're interested in the lyrics translated, the Jay Chou Lyrics Blog has them. Personally, I think the lyrics seem a bit strange when translated into English. ("I want to watch baseball with you" and "I want to take you to my grandma's house" for some reason sound perfectly fine in Chinese, but sound kind of hokey in English)

Oh yeah, if our competition entry gets selected for the next round, we apparently get to perform live on some stage in Beijing. I'll keep you posted, but I think it's highly unlikely.

What Millions of People Hear at 5:50PM Every Day

Are you ready for this? It's... Kenny G.

In the last 18 months, Bethany and I only made a minor mental note of this whenever we were in shopping centers here in China near closing time. I remember when we were buying furniture in a giant warehouse. Right around 10 minutes to 6, we heard that familiar soprano saxophone. Another time, I was in a department store mall just before closing. And sure enough, there was Kenny G again. We would look at each other, puzzled, and think to ourselves, "That's weird. Isn't that the same song we heard over at... when they were closing for the day too?"

This last Sunday, we went to check out the city public library. It's a 4-story, well-lit but somewhat sterile-feeling library with book stack rooms, lots of reading rooms, free wifi, and electrical outlets. It has a large and open center atrium, and all of the rooms are separated by glass. We spent about 4 hours there - Bethany did some Chinese studying while I setup a local Rails development environment on my machine.

At 5:45, we said to each other, "Do you think this place closes at 6? Oh well, I guess we'll wait and see." Then, 5 minutes later... the loudspeakers began blaring that familiar song.

Before shutting down, I quickly wikipedia'ed Kenny G. I needed to find out more. Why does everybody play this song?

It turns out that "Going Home" is a very popular song in China, played at many public places when they're about to close. The article goes on to say that in Shanghai and Tianjin, the subway even plays this song when the train is nearing the final station for the line.

We also noticed just how ingrained this song is in the minds of Chinese people. As soon as the song started to play, the people around us just naturally began to pack up their things to go. It was almost like a Pavlovian conditioned response. Kenny G = time to go.

We decided that we are going to keep an mp3 of this song handy in our home. If we have guests over and they're beginning to overstay their welcome, we're going to play this song on the stereo and see what happens.

After the Last Tear Falls

This afternoon, right smack in the middle of a javascript power coding session, this song came on - After the Last Tear Falls, by Andrew Peterson - and, I've never heard it before. I decided to listen to it again. And, for some reason, it absolutely broke me. I'm not too sure why. Is it from watching people around us go through the pain of loss? Or am I simply yearning for the day when all things will be made right?

Play the song above, or read the lyrics below...

After the last tear falls
After the last secret's told
After the last bullet tears through flesh and bone
After the last child starves
And the last girl walks the boulevard
After the last year that's just too hard

There is love
Love, love, love
There is love
Love, love, love
There is love

After the last disgrace
After the last lie to save some face
After the last brutal jab from a poison tongue
After the last dirty politician
After the last meal down at the mission
After the last lonely night in prison

There is love
Love, love, love
There is love
Love, love, love
There is love

And in the end, the end is
Oceans and oceans
Of love and love again
We'll see how the tears that have fallen
Were caught in the palms
Of the Giver of love and the Lover of all
And we'll look back on these tears as old tales

'Cause after the last plan fails
After the last siren wails
After the last young husband sails off to join the war
After the last "this marriage is over"
After the last young girl's innocence is stolen
After the last years of silence that won't let a heart open

There is love
Love, love, love
There is love

And in the end, the end is
Oceans and oceans
Of love and love again
We'll see how the tears that have fallen
Were caught in the palms
Of the Giver of love and the Lover of all
And we'll look back on these tears as old tales

'Cause after the last tear falls
There is love

I Know Where Rock Music Comes From

Alvin and I went to this park two times last week, and as we were walking along, I thought, "what is that music?" I realized it was Chinese Opera sung in the middle of the park. But, the speakers and the microphone were not the best quality, and so it sounded very much like an 80's rock band, like Aerosmith or Kiss. When the operarist would go high, all the feedback in the mic would come out and sound like Steven Tyler at the height of his songs. I thought, man, rock music must have come from Chinese Opera fed through a bad PA system.

Well, when we finally got to the middle of the park, we saw that it was not a bunch of rowdy teenagers in a mosh pit.

Here is us trying to take a discreet picture:

A Song Worth Knowing

There may only be one song out there such that - every time I hear the song - I stop to listen, breathe a deep sigh, and am moved to emotion... sometimes to tears. Elijah, by the late Rich Mullins, is worth listening to and worth reflecting upon.

These days, I'm learning about perspective. Lessons about how the big things we go through in life, though they are big in our eyes and validly so, are so small compared to the core stuff of life and death and existence. That's for a later blog entry. But Elijah reminds me to hold tightly to that which is worthy, and to hold loosely... everything else.

---

The Jordan is waiting for me to cross through
My heart is aging I can tell
So Lord, I'm begging for one last favor from You
Here's my heart take it where You will

This life has shown me how we're mended and how we're torn
How it's okay to be lonely as long as you're free
Sometimes my ground was stoney
And sometimes covered up with thorns
And only You could make it what it had to be
And now that it's done

Well if they dressed me like a pauper
Or if they dined me like a prince
If they lay me with my fathers
Or if my ashes scatter on the wind I don't care

But when I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye

There's people been friendly, but they'd never be your friends
Sometimes this has bent me to the ground
Now that this is all ending I want to hear some music once again '
Cause it's the finest thing that I have ever found

But the Jordan is waiting
Though I ain't never seen the other side
They say you can't take in the things you have here
So on the road to salvation I stick out my thumb and He gives me a ride
And His music is already falling on my ears

There's people been talking
They say they're worried about my soul
Well, I'm here to tell you I'll keep rocking
'Til I'm sure it's my time to roll
And when I do

When I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye

Flight of the Bumblebee - on the Erhu

I have a short list of things that I hope, at the end of my life, I can say without a doubt that I have pursued. This is a short list, and in my mind is only partially defined up until now. I have some more good thinking and reflection that I need to do on this.

I have a much longer list of things that I hope to do in life but have conceded that I may never do before I die. Everyone has this kind of list — run a marathon, see the Mona Lisa, swim with dolphins, etc.

On my long list of things I hope that I can do someday is... learn to play the erhu. Maybe I'll get my chance someday. Or who knows, it may just be another passing interest that will wane after a few months.

In the meantime, here is a good example of what I'd like to be able to do someday:

Grooveshark

A few weeks ago, misteravery turned me on to Grooveshark. It's similar to Pandora, in that you can search for music and play it on demand. But I never used Pandora, and Grooveshark came into our lives at just the point in time when I wanted to search for and listen to Christmas music - but not the traditional Bing Crosby Christmas music... I was looking for the remixed loungy stuff, like what you would hear if you were shopping at Williams-Sonoma or Old Navy during Christmas.

So, we began using Grooveshark. Search for songs, build playlists, save. Yes, you need to be online to listen to the songs, and you can't download them nor rip them (can't as in 不可以 rather than 不会) ... but I'm practically always online. And now I get to hear the whole song instead of just 30-second samples from itunes.

So since then, I've put together a playlist of songs that were on the radio back when I was in high school - Counting Crows (Mr. Jones), Ace of Base (All That She Wants), The Proclaimers (500 Miles), Pearl Jam (Daughter). And then, another playlist of songs from Wii Rockband... just so that I can build familiarity.

The interface for Grooveshark could use some work. It looks like it's built on FlexBuilder, and menu transitions run a little slow. On top of that, searches that yield multiple results of the same song get a little bit unwieldy. I just want to build quick playlists without repeats, and then let my music play. I'm looking to see how Grooveshark will improve in the days to come, or to see how long it'll last. In the meantime, it sure is nice to be able to bring back the music - but only the music - of my not-so-fond high school years.