Music Ho

I feel so dirty.

Yesterday, I went with a few friends to look at music CDs, DVDs, software and video games. All of which were "fan ban" or illegitamate copies. They were sooooo cheap. I refused to buy anything. But a guy from Singapore told me I won't be able to hold out. When he first arrived in HK, he went on a buying spree. But I'm different. This is my industry. I'm only hurting myself, right? So after seeing my buddies gleefully grab some prime CDs, I ... broke down.

I feel so dirty. Yet, I'm not entirely guilty I did it. When I moved here, I said I'd try to immerse myself into local culture as much as possible. I've looked and bought stuff legitamately @ the HMV. It's more expensive than US prices for CDs and DVDs here. The average Hong Kong person earns far less than an American, yet their media costs more. If I were a local, I'd probably indulge in a bit of "fan ban" purchasing too. Well, I guess I just did that.

So putting the dirty feeling aside, I am enjoying the discovery of new music. I love music! And since coming to HK I've discovered some awesome world music through co-workers. So what have I discovered?

Jay Chou: Taiwanese pop star. I understand the mainland no longer listens to HK Cantopop that was so dominant there in the 90s. It's all about Taiwan talent and Jay is at the top. I believe he's classically trained. I'd say he's a mandarin verison of hip hop/r&b mixed with Western classical and occasional traditional Chinese melodies. Yes, he indulges in the pop ballads that are popular here, but I like how he uses Western music, but keeps a fresh distinctly modern Chinese air to him. My co-worder says he doesn't listen to him, but all the teeny boppers do. Out of all the teeny bopper artists out there, I like Jay most.

Lisa Ono: I just discovered her from another co-worker. Apparently she's Japan's top French Jazz Bossa Nova artist. She covers a lot of French Bossa Nova, but apparently writes her own too.

St. Germain Des Pres Cafe: The St. Germain district of Paris is booming with innovative electronic jazz. A coworker gave me a copy of the vol. 6 compilation. This one is my absolute favorite discovery so far. Jazz is my favorite genre of music and I'm so glad to see that it's alive, well and evolving with the electronic DJ scene. SF is known for some great electronic lounge DJ's, but this stuff is awesome! Too bad Paris is burning. If things get better there, I'd like to check out this area of Paris.

Shanghai Lounge: More electronic lounge jazz, but the stuff that's playing in Shanghai. I love Shanghai. Unlike Hk, there's so much culture and history there. Walking through the streets, you can see the 30's Euro coffee, movie star, jazz culture mixed in with the booming modern buildings. This album marries those two sensibilities by blending jazz with electronica. How perfectly fitting!

OK so after getting so much free music; I actually bought a legit copy of Jay Chou's latest album. See? I became a legit paying customer. If only, the big bad media companies would stop fighting the digital media age. Fortunatetly, one of the people I'm working with is an entrepreneur dealing with this issue. But I'll write about that in a future blog entry...