Your Life Is A Song

Those really into music will know that today’s blog title is an adaptation from the song by Switchfoot called ‘Your Love Is A Song‘. I’m not exactly sure when in my life I fell in love with this thing called Music. What I know is that when I was 9 years old, my brother and me discovered Duran Duran and the freakin’ world changed. They exploded onto the scene and took us right along with them. Cool guys, scintillating, modern-feel pop music and blistering hits. We were taken alright. What I do know is that Tears For Fears followed (with ‘Shout‘ and ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World‘) and then along came Billy Ocean and then Belinda Carlisle.

But there also came a time when I was in Junior College (JC) when I inexplicably lost touch with music and radio. I’m not sure why but somehow it did happen. I remember when I was in National Junior College (NJC) and that period, every single day they were playing Gregorian’s ‘Once In A Lifetime‘. I liked that song, and one day I was sitting in the canteen and I asked my friend what song was that. He looked at me like I was from outer space and queried whether I actually listen to the radio? Haha, that was then I realised I was pretty clueless at that stage. I also remember asking another friend the name of ‘When I Look Into Your Eyes‘ by Firehouse…. those were the days when rock ballads ruled the world… Damn Yankees, Warrant & Cinderella all…..

Before too long though, I believe during my NSF days, I started really digging into music, in a big-time kind of way….. all the way until now. So I’m gonna give you right here a brief summary of some of my favourite songs that have touched me in my life so far…….

In the early years, Duran Duran was my fav group and ‘The Reflex‘ was one of my early favourites. I remember going ballistic when I saw them perform on TV for the first time in some Montreal Pop Festival. Remember, this was when I was about 9 years old. Along came a-ha, and ‘Take On Me‘ hit me like a sledgehammer. What a synthesiser melody and pop-beat to that song! I also remember liking ‘All This Time‘ by Tiffany, ‘If Wishes Came True‘ – a romantic number from Sweet Sensation and then ‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth‘ by the ravishing Belinda Carlisle. ‘Summer Rain‘ was another early fav of mine – what a sensational chorus!

In my Army Days, I remember liking ‘I Believe‘ by Marcella Detroit, who was previously part of the duo Shakespear’s Sister. The melody to that song was great and I always treasure that line ‘Give a little bit of love, and you’ll get it back. Give a little bit of pain, you’re caught in a trap.’ Another song was ‘Feels Like Heaven‘ by Fiction Factory – one of those typical Brit-industrial angst kind of song. Erasure still featured strongly at that time, and I was one of the first to get off my seat and run to the stores to buy the CD single for ‘Always‘. And in the early university days at NUS, Michael Learns To Rock ruled the world with mega-hits such as ‘25 Minutes‘, ‘That’s Why (You Go Away)‘ and ‘Paint My Love‘.

In recent times, music has remained an integral part of my life and I just can’t do without it. I love driving around in my car with my iPod connected with over 2,000 songs (and growing) in its arsenal. In fact, one of my fav past-times is sampling music on iTunes and downloading them into my iPod. When I was staying alone in my own studio unit, I remember being crazy about Owl City’s ‘Fireflies‘. I mean, I played it practically every day and just could not get enough of it. There was something magical, mystical almost, about that song’s unique melody. Another song I went crazy about was Kevin Rudolf’s ‘I Made It‘ – talk about an inspirational, powerful song! I also digged ‘Heart Skips A Beat‘ by Olly Murs as the beat and tune were so catchy.

Also among my all-time favourite songs are these: ‘Tears And Rain‘ by James Blunt (appeals to the darker side of me). I introduced this song to a couple of good friends from The Philippines & Laos at the IATSS Forum in 2008 and they absolutely loved it! In fact, I think for the next 30 days, they played it in their rooms non-stop! I also love ‘Silver Blue‘ and ‘Reveal‘ by my fav group Roxette; what alluring and sentimental songs they are. Another song I need to mention is ‘You And I‘ by Secondhand Serenade (feat. Cody Groves); what an absolutely masterful melody! Then there’s ‘Another Heart Calls‘ by The All-American Rejects, a group I like very much for their no-holds-barred, noisy style. Other luminaries on my list are ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You‘ by Guys Next Door (going retro now), ‘Stay‘ by Hurts (evocative is the word) and ‘Alejandro‘ by Lady Gaga (possibly my favourite Gaga song). Oh, and how can I forget ‘Life Goes On‘ by Poison…… one of my all-time favourite songs….. a breathtaking rock ballad, that is.