Her music is catagorized as R&B but in my opinion hers is leaning more towards sophisticated pop. Whatever it is, I like the beat and melody of this song. I was in the States when I heard this song and quite surprise and happy to see a Brit made it big in the US. Not many made it to US song charts. Her album went platinum in the US in 1992.
(credit to You Tube)
If I could change, the way I live my life today
I wouldn't change a single thing
cause if I change my world into another place
I wouldn't see your smiling face....
The song inspired me to love myself and accepted myself just the way I
am. I was far away from home and had only few close friends who I can
rely on.
But I wonder why is it necessary to have a UK and US version. They are the same song, hmmm...
First of all I would like to thank to YOU TUBE. They do wonders. I cannot image the man behind this website,...such genius. In this modern age of information technology, we get to watch concerts, video clips, movie, and lots of other on YOU TUBE. Only in recent weeks I find that YOU TUBE is actually addictive...one video after the other and another. So tonight I am watching David Foster and Friends. Mr Foster is on piano while his guest artist performed. Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Peter Cetera, All for One, Earth Wind & Fire just to name a few.....Then there was Brian McKnight. This reminded me of my sister, Sheri. Mr McKinght is her all time favorite artist. She will never misses any Brian McKnight's CD/Albums. She is a true #1 fan.
(Courtesy of You Tube)
Listening to Brain McKnight made me missing my sister. I wonder if she has a special moment song of me.
Sheri is my one and only living blood relative from the same mother and father. I have no other sisters nor brothers. In comparison, my sister is smart, friendly, independent, and molds herself to be a perfectionist. A Superwoman said Karyn White.
Our biological mother passed away when I was 8 while Sheri was 3. We once spoke what can she remember about mommy...she said she barely could remember anything....You know, I pity Sheri,...yes I do. She was too young to understand about losing a mother. But we turn out well, right, even without a mom to raise us. No one to explain to us about pimples, period, boyfriends, love, the birds and the bees.... We practically raised ourselves. Its nature's way taking its own course.
While going up, we mind our own business. You do your stuff and I'll do mine. The 4 years age difference could be the factor why we have a wall between us. She was a little bit tom boyish because she likes to wear pants and as far as I can remember, she always had short haircuts.She is tough, well, of course, she took Teak Kwan Do lessons when in secondary school. We do connect at some level but I cannot withstand her Bossy attitude. Most times I can tolerate with her. She likes to bosses other people around but she cannot take it when other people does that to her. I know that she sometimes does not understand that her words and actions can hurt other people's feelings. Please bring yourself one level down. To her every actions must have a reasoning behind it. Her favorite
question is WHY? Why this, why that. Yes, but not all reason can be
explained.....it could have just happened! As simple as that. Couldn't it? People makes mistakes over and over again. Some learn and some keep on repeating them.....Why then?
I missed my sister tonight but I am in a "not talking period" to her. It was that something happened a few weeks ago. Things must go her way, as she suggested and planned. I am not here to criticized her but I guess I am growing old and getting very sensitive on issues I would laughed off, if it this were 10 years ago. I feel she should be taught a lesson. So that she knows why I acted the way I am acting now. It has been almost 3 weeks since we spoke to each other. Ha ha ha....we're acting childish. I know that. Well, we deserve it!
Even though from time to time, I am pissed off with my sister, I do love her. What can I say.... I am a reserve person and I do have problems letting my feelings out when expressing how much I love them. Isn't it a waste? My stepmother once wrote to me, "Shera, if you want to know your dad, ask yourself and look into yourself. Your are a reflection of who your dad is." Yeah, on certain aspect dad and myself have our similarities...
Sheri's 1st birthday. My mom and me.
Well Sheri, you won't be reading this after all. We have gone through so much in life, and I know this will not last long. Blood is thicker than water.....To my one and only sister, we only have each other and I dedicate this song to you... love ya sis.
In 1989 I entered Sunway College. It is a private college located in PJ New Town or more known as PJ State. I assume it is because of the old cinema building by the same name. Several years later, Sunway College shifted to the current location in Bandar Sunway. They are now known, Sunway University.
After my STPM I took a year off and travel to Australia and later upon returning, I did nothing after the STPM results came out. Abah wanted me to enter the famous Vanto Academy to study law and do my final year in UK. Hmmm not sure if Vanto Academy is around today. I refused just because.....I prefer not to disclose the reason. I did nothing basically in 1988; didn't work,...just lepak.
I was in a very desperate situation.I don't know what I want to pursue. Pressure from all directions. What do I want to do? I jump to the opportunity after coming across an advertisement about courses offered at Sunway College in the newspaper. I always wanted to go and study in the States just like my 3 cousins. It took a while and lot to convinced my dad that there is where I want to continue my studies.They offered several courses under a twinning program with Western Michigan University. You do the first 2 years in Malaysia and carry forward your credit hours to continue with your 3rd and final year at WMU. Initially I took up Business Administration but in my 3rd semester I switched to Mass Communications since I did not excel in Economics and Accounting courses.
The deal was, I must stay with my grandmother in Klang. Without hesitant I accepted. So for 2 years I commuted from Klang to PJ to attend classes. Normally my classes ended by 3 pm except for my Public Speaking class. It ended around 7:30 pm, once a week.
Traveling alone 4 days a week you get to see people from all walks of life be it on the bus or at the bus stop. And this is how it began.....All I wanted was to get to college soon as possible. My stop was at Asiajaya and from there I either take the cab (in front of PJ Hilton) or walk to college. For over 45 minutes bus ride, I had my earplugs on and listen to my walkman. By the way there were no MP3s or Ipod back then.....
On several occasion I notice a tall guy always in blue shirt who would walk the same path as mine. He had his 'Top Gun' Rayban on...Once in a while we exchanged glances and that was it. Things at college was happening and I never took much interest in the guy. I was in my the final semester at Sunway and will be leaving for the states by end of the year. I will complete 33 credit hours and it already qualify me to continue at WMU. But then the 'occasional bumping into each other' became frequent. Only then I noticed that we share the same bus, same route and his stop is 2 stops after mine (which later I got to know from him) along Palm Groove, Klang. Wowww, what do you know? Coincidence?
Why am I telling all this? About this time, I love listening to various selection of music genre and one of it is a blues number by Gary Moore's Still Got The Blues. One morning, I hopped on to the bus and try to find an empty seat. It was 8:30 am and the bus was quite full but I was lucky enough to catch a seat way in the back of the bus. I pause. It's that tall guy in blue (at the time, that's how I referred him as-don't know his name) and the seat next to him happened to be empty! Should I or should I not? May be I should just stand,...and hoping to give the seat to an older lady....eerrr old lady? where are you?....but why to that extend? Oh well, just sit la......and I did. I played Gary Moore again and again and did not utter a single word to the tall guy in blue shirt. As they say, its a beginning of a new friendship and the rest is history......hehehe...We became friends and I found out later he was studying interior designing at Saito Academy, Menara MPPJ.
As time past we finally got to know each other really well. Then in December 1990 I left for the States. What happened to the tall guy in blue? Ours was not meant to be...we just withdrew from each other. Long distance relationship can't last? Perhaps. Who knows.....
To the late Mr Moore thank you for sharing your blues with me.
She has been one of my favorite artist. Queen of R&B, SOUL and JAZZ. Anita Baker sings from the heart. Each word in every line was define to the fullest. She understands what the lyric means and meant to her. She is very expressive. That is what differentiate a singer and a performer. Anita Baker is BOTH.
Anita Baker showed me R&B.
I started listening to her while I was studying at Sunway College in 1989. My group of friends were from up scale families and they only listen to selective type of music, R&B being one of it. So I pun terikut and listening more and more of R&B. I have the highest respect in her whenever she performs. More often I find that she is among the few who could sing 99% accuracy when comparing to what we hear on the stereo or CDs. I know they could do a studio sound editing but she sings just like how it was recorded in the studio. Particularly, Sweet Love which she co-wrote. It became an instance hit. It was at the top of my listening pleasure.
Her songs are all about love. Romance songstress? Well,....you tell me. When you watch the video below you see a performer at her best. Powerful and a touch of purity in her song. She takes us to another level - the desire to be loved.
(Credit to You Tube)
This song was nominated in the 1987 Grammy's and won her the Best Song for R&B category.
In the mid 90's I started working in Petaling Jaya. When I started
earning my own 'dough' I bought myself a 25" television and a Laser Disc player
and stationed them in my room. Movie on laser disc capture a sharper image and better sound effect. I rented most of the movies and I also bought a few for my keeps. Mostly second hand and at the time it cost me RM80 a piece. An original piece can cost up to RM150 - RM200. For those who haven't heard of laser disc, it was the size of a 7" vinyl record but much heavier in weight. I still keep my discs which now, is collecting dust all over the cover. I don't know what the hell I am gonna do with it. With the invention of compact disc which is smaller and lighter, laser disc are non-existence today. The thought of throwing it away crossed my mind several times but yet they have some sentimental value to me.
These are my collections:
Only You (Marisa Tomei/Robert Downy Jr.)
Backdraft (Kurt Russell/William Baldwin)
X-Files the movie (David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson)
When A Man Loves A Woman (Meg Ryan/Andy Garcia)
While You Were Sleeping (Sandra Bullock/Bill Pullman)
French Kiss (Meg Ryan/Kevin Kline)
Pulp Fiction (John Travolta/Uma Thurman)
Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood/Meryl Streep)
Once Around (Holly Hunter/Richard Dreyfus)
The song I selected tonight is Fly me to the Moon and it was the 'it' song for Once Around a romantic comedy movie.
The original title for this song was In Other Words and recorded by Kaye Ballard in 1954. There have been various version by strings of other
artist such as Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, and Amy Winehouse, just to name a few. But for me this song is synonym with the late Frank
Sinatra. Music arrangement was done by Quincy Jones with a swing tempo. In a 1969 television performance, Frank Sinatra respectably dedicated this song "to the 3 brave man who flew
to the moon". He was referring to Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Then it became a trademark for other astronauts to play or sing this song while in space to gain their 3 minutes of spotlight. However,
the performance by Danny Aiello in this movie, has a lasting impact on me. The below is my
favorite part of the movie.
(Credit to You Tube and Universal Pictures)
It was also the ever first time I heard Fly me to the Moon. Lyrics were simplest ever and straight forward. It only took less than two and a half minutes. No hidden meanings and when you have this song sang by your dad on your wedding.....ooo so touching. It reminded me when dad and I danced at his official retirement function in Bukit Aman.
Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars
In order words hold my hand
In order word baby kiss me
Filled my heart with song
And let me be forever more
You are all I long for all I worship and adore
In order words please be true
In orders words I love you
You may get slightly bored at the beginning of the video, but once Bella gave the song's introduction,....you will start to smile, enjoy the movie scene and sway to the beat. It works with me every time..........
