(Originally published 17 August 2006)
Apparently, this cound find its way onto the pages of Saturday's Straits Times. It's a letter I wrote in response to an article written by some-some-guy-whose-name-I-don't-even-remember-and-can't-really-be-arsed-to-find-out published last week.
I refer to ...'s article on this year's National Day song, "There's No Place I'd Rather Be" written by Jimmy Ye ("(article title)", Life!, 11 August 2007). The writer questions its validity as a National Day song when its lyrics bear neither the word "Singapore" nor any reference to our country. As a music-lover, musician and basically someone who is not deaf, I am baffled as to why he hasn't asked the more blindingly-obvious question: how on earth did a song so dreadful become the National Day song?
From the lyrics, it is quite obvious what the brief presented to Ye was: Write a song to convince overseas Singaporeans, those who have sought greener pastures beyond our shores, to come home. It's a rhetoric we've heard many times in recent months in its many guises but if the government is counting on this song to instill any sense of longing and belonging amongst those Singaporeans, they would be sorely disappointed. The lyrics are reminiscent of a secondary school poetry-writing assignment, and for a National Day song, they are completely laughable.
Not enough to tickle us silly with the ludicrous lyrics, Ye has decided to bore us to death with the totally uninspiring melody. In "There's No Place I'd Rather Be" we have a poor, poor cousin of Dick Lee's "Home". How poor? Think William Hung claiming blood ties with Brad Pitt. They do sound vaguely similar in parts, but while Lee's chorus is moving and catchy, Ye's version is the epitome of blandness. After all, how many times have we heard the song on the radio and television, and how many of us can actually remember how it goes? Try as I might, I simply can't. The song is utterly forgettable, memorable only in its abjectness.
I can't help but wonder if the individuals on the selection committee come from music-related fields. I feel for the millions of Singaporeans who have had to endure listening to this piece of woefully-poor song-writing, many, many times over no less. But I shall reserve my utmost sympathy to Kit Chan for she has become, for obvious reasons, the face of a very sub-standard song. One can sense that she has tried her best with the song but sadly, no amount of exaggerated vocal emoting can make up for the utter insipidness of the song-writing. And to be its face and voice makes her a very brave woman indeed.
So should the National Day song have the word "Singapore" in it? When it's this bad, who cares?
Happy belated National Day. :)
Apparently, this cound find its way onto the pages of Saturday's Straits Times. It's a letter I wrote in response to an article written by some-some-guy-whose-name-I-don't-even-remember-and-can't-really-be-arsed-to-find-out published last week.
I refer to ...'s article on this year's National Day song, "There's No Place I'd Rather Be" written by Jimmy Ye ("(article title)", Life!, 11 August 2007). The writer questions its validity as a National Day song when its lyrics bear neither the word "Singapore" nor any reference to our country. As a music-lover, musician and basically someone who is not deaf, I am baffled as to why he hasn't asked the more blindingly-obvious question: how on earth did a song so dreadful become the National Day song?
From the lyrics, it is quite obvious what the brief presented to Ye was: Write a song to convince overseas Singaporeans, those who have sought greener pastures beyond our shores, to come home. It's a rhetoric we've heard many times in recent months in its many guises but if the government is counting on this song to instill any sense of longing and belonging amongst those Singaporeans, they would be sorely disappointed. The lyrics are reminiscent of a secondary school poetry-writing assignment, and for a National Day song, they are completely laughable.
Not enough to tickle us silly with the ludicrous lyrics, Ye has decided to bore us to death with the totally uninspiring melody. In "There's No Place I'd Rather Be" we have a poor, poor cousin of Dick Lee's "Home". How poor? Think William Hung claiming blood ties with Brad Pitt. They do sound vaguely similar in parts, but while Lee's chorus is moving and catchy, Ye's version is the epitome of blandness. After all, how many times have we heard the song on the radio and television, and how many of us can actually remember how it goes? Try as I might, I simply can't. The song is utterly forgettable, memorable only in its abjectness.
I can't help but wonder if the individuals on the selection committee come from music-related fields. I feel for the millions of Singaporeans who have had to endure listening to this piece of woefully-poor song-writing, many, many times over no less. But I shall reserve my utmost sympathy to Kit Chan for she has become, for obvious reasons, the face of a very sub-standard song. One can sense that she has tried her best with the song but sadly, no amount of exaggerated vocal emoting can make up for the utter insipidness of the song-writing. And to be its face and voice makes her a very brave woman indeed.
So should the National Day song have the word "Singapore" in it? When it's this bad, who cares?
Happy belated National Day. :)
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