Johnnie Walker 黑次元 夜．體驗 @ 世貿二館, 台北 7/15

有趣的派對。昨天和老爸聊了很多，原來他Johnnie Walker的台灣區經理很熟，所以簡單紀錄一下。

禮拜六傍晚陳彥伯打來說應該進的去，因此想說去瞧瞧好了，反正不用為了邀請卡花錢買酒。後來有打給kiwi可是他沒接所以只能一個人去，超苦。摸東摸西大概九點到吧(八點入場)，人超級多的，世貿二館應該會擠爆。從華納中庭一直排到馬路上再轉彎到紐約紐約門口，超誇張。原來台灣人都這麼喜歡喝酒。很幸運的我馬上取得VIP金色手還一只，酒隨便喝，還可以使用二樓的一堆沙發lounge area。看到大家都龜在門外可是自己竟然可以和姚采穎一起走星光大道，而且聽說很多人排了兩三個小時才進去，進去為了換一杯酒又得花兩小時。

不過，我猜想這些排隊的苦主感覺最差的應該是錯過了表演的部分吧。今天的舞台音樂藝術總監好像就是李雨寰，黑色的歌德整個酷斃。一開場是楊乃文的帶電Monster，還有十幾人編製的管絃樂團以及樂隊伴奏。加上比luxy好一百倍的喇叭放送強勁的節拍，非常具有震撼力。乃文全黑的連身皮衣裝扮，不但呼應今日派對主題，搭配著性感的捲髮和長統靴，更是再適合她不過。接著一樣是唱了重新編曲的靜止，全場都很開心。

下一組Soler上場時才真覺得外商真肯花錢在行銷。電梯上上下下就算了，掉鋼絲繩索整個吧台從天而降的show實在很闊。Soler很帥但是搞不清楚他們唱什麼，bartender也實在超強完全沒有miss而且都是超高難度。最後就是莫文蔚在一堆dancer之後登場，她大姐的身材真的很棒，腿漂亮到不像話。fans也很多，但是再多的Karen吶喊也只唱了一首歌就快閃，大牌是也。

之後就是遠道而來的Jazzy Jeff放歌，內容還不錯。雖然crazy in love仍然出現，但是有放sweet dreams。總之放紅歌但水準也算不錯。整個set大概快兩個小時吧，最後竟然把House of Pain接Nirvana，所以我跳的非常爽快，旁邊的辣妹大概覺得我是瘋子。

大概一點左右陳彥伯就開始放techno，而且還是很硬的那種。因此就算是有個MC和李雨環的鍵盤搭配還是鳥獸散清場。台灣的dj還是只有放嘻哈才是生存吧(除非你是DJ XYZ aka 蝦米碗糕)。

今晚vip區的調酒還滿多種的不過都是黑牌當基酒(當然)。有加可樂或蘇打水或檸檬水和蜂蜜，不知道我有沒有漏掉。正妹名模很多我很害羞；陳正飛好像還來主持節目一直專訪很忙碌；王怡人是個很憋的花瓶；劉軒四周圍繞著不停合照的女人；其他還有什麼維多利亞之流的衣服穿很少但是慘不忍睹的洋妞。最後也跟李雨寰聊了兩句，他的mixed album最近會發，有機會應該找來聽看看。

最後，回家路上有點醉還被臨檢。可是我保持一貫沉著冷靜所以沒事，哇哈哈。

English Speech Contest by Rotary Club/Studio Classroom

Just finished the Inter-Collegiate English Speech Contest sponsored by Rotray Club of Taipei and Studio Classroom. it's definitely a precious experience to me. i signed up the contest at the last day and finished the draft 2 days before contest(so much thx to Bobby for fixing my poor grammar). in fact, i saw the advertisement in the early March, but very hesitated about it. 'cause I haven't join the contest like this since i entered the college with a major in computer science. these years i read so much source code but little English stuff(except friends' blog, official website of my favorite bands and ticketmaster/eBay/on-line shooping cart). however since the contest allowed only college students to be contestants. so i just joined it without regret.

Just finished the Inter-Collegiate English Speech Contest sponsored by Rotray Club of Taipei and Studio Classroom. It's definitely a precious experience to me. I signed up the contest at the last day and finished the draft 2 days before contest(so much thx to Bobby for fixing my poor grammar). In fact, i saw the advertisement in the early March, but hesitated about it. 'Cause I haven't join the contest like this since i entered the college with a major in computer science. These years I read so much source code but little English stuff(except friends' blog, official website of my favorite bands and ticketmaster/eBay/on-line shooping sites). However since the contest is for college students only, I just joined it without regret.

The contest was held at the Holiday Inn Asiaworld Taipei on the saturday morning. It's a bit exciting and a lot nervous at the beginning. Everyone seemed well-prepared. I felt very guilty 'coz I spent only two days to prepare. Anyway, contestants were from different places of Taiwan, it's a very serious contest.

First round was preliminary, and i chose the topic,"what will I pass on to the next generation in Taiwan", which could be easier than the other one. I was assigned in the group F. After the contest started, contestants could neither go to the bathroom nor having a drink. I was almost the last one to make the speech in the group. When it's my turn, I was so thirsty. Fortunately, it's worth waiting. Though i did forget some sentences and made some mistakes, I was still one of the 3 who were qualified to enter the next round.

Meanwhile, I already thought that i won the contest, 'cause I never thought that I could pass the preliminary and entered the next round. My speech was just like chatting and sharing some personal stories. Thx to all the honorable judges, you guys encouraged me that not only students who majored in English or international trade could join the contest and be recognized.

The semi-final was cruel, everyone was so excellent but only few can pass through. You could barely find them made mistakes.(except me, haha) The judge picked 3 from 6 contestants for the final. I got pretty bad luck, because two of them won the first and second place in the end. Yet to win or not is not the issue at all. These girls were so brilliant. So glad that i could have a chance to be on the same stage with them.

Thx my mom for taking these pic, someday i'll find my own stage and win the contest, I Promise.

PS: A girl from THU said I look like 任賢齊 after the preliminary. Man! We just met for about 30 mins. There's no way to hide, isn't it?

不安靜的數學方程式 -- Mute Math

實在是個相當動聽的樂團。雖然對他這個來自美國紐奧爾良四人組合的背景尚未熟悉，但他們的確巧妙地融合了許多元素，音樂性格明確，非常有style的indie sound。

漂亮的吉他riff下編排著靈活的bassline，輔以post-punk那種16beats的鼓點，大量的切份音和ghost note過門。加上許多效果的推疊出來的IDM聲響，搭配著有些類似 Sting + Bono 般的歌聲，許多曲子都讓人回味，讓整個人會陷進去的那種，充滿影像的音樂。


有機會必定要親臨它們的現場一瞧究竟！希望他們被更多人聽見！

相關連結：
purevolume
Myspace(目前的官網 orz)

The Prodigy @ 中山足球場, 台北 2/21

上禮拜去中山足球場看了了The Prodigy，實在是太美妙了。雖然表演只有一個多小時，但是已經大大的飽足。除了已離團的Leeroy，原班人馬加上客席吉他手和鼓手，Liam所泡製的強悍低頻和猛烈節奏，伴隨著Keith和Maxim的叫囂，從頭到尾都是高潮，不停的用力跳舞。

許久沒有出現的爽快，像是回到高中那個龐克小子一般，當Maxim在Voodoo People的前奏大喊“All the Taipei people！...” 我知道這是美夢成真。


感謝專業攝影師Bobby的照片。美好的音樂加上朋友的陪伴，將是繼續前進的動力。

SONY Hi-MD, MZ-NH1

前幾天在奇摩拍賣購入一台二手的MD隨身聽，型號是MZ-NH1，似乎是第一台也是目前最後一台Made in Japan的Hi-MD Walkman。考慮許久，終於在iPod和一堆flash mp3 Player中做出決定，一切都是因為考量到自己需要的功能，當然其中也參雜不少工業設計上的外觀考量：p

在購買之前其實做了很多功課。除了從評論了解優缺點，還有網路上朋友們的使用心得。簡單來說他的缺點就是沒有那麼人性化，和iPod比起來，不是那麼簡單的好用。最致命的一點，不得不使用寫的很爛的程式：SonicStage來做電腦連線時的音樂管理，以及一堆有的沒的版權限制和強制轉檔來傳輸音樂。當然，既然是MD，少不了類似MO先天技術上的傳輸寫入限制(只有usb1.1的速度)。上述缺點也是造成MD的使用者一點一滴流失，市場越做越小的原因。

不過其實在自己開始認真研究MD，發現周遭不少朋友仍在使用。我想最根本的原因還是：音質。特別是錄音的音質，不要說mp3隨身聽，連同價位錄音筆可能都望塵莫及。想到以後可以錄練團和創作，以及一堆亂編的吉他riff隨手錄起來，實在相當興奮呢。

保留光纖傳輸的選擇，對於擁有許多正版CD的朋友們，更是音質保證。加上鎂合金拉絲的銀色機身，邊角弧型圓滑設計，還有側面黑色金屬邊條。SONY紮實的的工業設計底子，怎麼說仍不是韓國做音樂撥放器公司可以一夕之間趕上的。

不過也許讓我做出最後決定的一點，是使用上的感覺。雖然我也認同iPod的確是個很棒的設計，觸控圓盤的操控真是棒。但是想到隨時可以能無預警掛點的硬碟，無法自行更換的爛電池(蓄電力差一顆又要上千)，以及脆弱到隨時會被刮傷的外在。我還是選擇可自行置換的輕薄鋰電池，1GB兩百元可複寫100萬次的儲存單位，還有可以安心使用的金屬表面。

我選擇了SONY Hi-MD。

--

I finally made a decision between iPod and those dazzlingly flash mp3 player from Korea. before buying it, I've done research about pros and cons on the internet, and discuss the issue with some friends like Jessica and Bolan, who are still MD users. The conclusion is quite simple -- the music transfer and management software call SonicStage sucks! Compared to iTunes, it seems very unfriendly for Walkman users. Additionally, due to the technology limits of MD, magneto-optical recording layer can not write and read data as fast as flash or hard drive, which means the speed is approximately USB 1.1 only when connecting to PC.

However, I found reviews on the internet have different viewpoints on this gadget. The advantages still attract me a lot： Recording! I saw a review form a website of China, indicates that most advantage of NH1. Besides the quality of music, the powerful recording function still rules in today's market. When using PCM linear recording and better external mic, it's like portable studio. On the other hand, using a MD Walkman is not like using an iPod. I don't need to worry about the hard drive will die someday all of a sudden or the battery's dead when going out. And of course, the industrial design of SONY is still amazing, all-magnesium body and an ultra compact design construct the beautiful Walkman.

Maybe after 20 years, I can tell my son your dad have once own the first Hi-MD Walkman which was made in Japan.(Well, it's probably the least...)

五年五百億？

這幾天網路上看到很多抱怨的文章，針對教育部的五年五百億研究經費補助，出現很多不一樣的聲音。特別是中正大學的朋友，非常不滿，因為他們一點補助款都沒分到，反觀台大成大各拿了30億和17億。

雖然我不是念中正大學的(我念中正國中...)，我所就讀的元智甚至都有領到補助款(鄉民不要揍我阿)，只是覺得我門的政府真是沒sense到一個極致。先提一下我自己的學校，說真的同屬私立大學的長庚元智，都有拿到補助的一部分原因可能就是私立學校。因為要是只有公立拿到補助款，私立都沒有，這個焦點會被放大。然後只要有私立大學拿到補助，這樣的聲音就不會有人去理會。所以我覺得只要某種程度不要被放大焦點，上面的人就會認為這些雜音就不會有過多的影響力。因此，成大拿了那麼多錢，就不能說重北輕南囉?南部的學校努力研究也是可以得到關照的呢，多麼政治正確的做法。

不過我覺得，這樣的作法真的很鳥。事實上這種分發研究補助款的方式就很難做到公正，可惜的是們的政府官員永遠比想像中的還要更糟糕，無能到一個極致。天曉得這樣的補助會對一個學校未來招收學生，產生怎樣的負面影響？真的很不公平，什麼都是你說了算，標準不足以取信於人，這樣的政策正確嗎？

突然想起Rage Against The Machine的歌詞,“Ya gotta bullet in ya fuckin' head”

1976 @ Riverside Cafe

昨天晚上臨時起意，加入幾個中秋節沒回家團圓的朋友行程，一同去河岸留言看1976。

這個文藝氣息非常濃厚的樂團，兩個set的演出，阿凱整個晚上講不到十個字。大麻一直是專注的低頭彈奏著吉他，不時蹲下來玩玩效果器，流洩出的delay聲響製造出滿滿的white noise。大師兄的鼓點編得總是很有感覺，一段又一段的16beats的pattern。搭配著阿凱有點歇斯底里的唱歌模樣，用看的還以為台上的是在模仿Ian Curtis哩。整個河岸留言擁擠的人們和滿滿的聲音，貝斯吉他鼓一起營造出美麗的音色，非常喜歡這樣的氛圍。除了影子幾乎聽到了所有熟悉的曲子，中間還翻唱了New Order的最新主打krafty。

昨天也是很巧合的一個晚上，表演開始前剛上台大機研所的葉小拆突如其來的招呼嚇了我一跳。從畢業典禮後就沒遇到他，神采奕奕的和我聊著大麻許多類似U2的編曲。表演結束看著扶風上車，心中鬱悶我的236怎麼沒來的同時，竟然在漫步回家的路上遇到阿澤！超久遇到他說。原來他剛去幫別人彈貝斯參加比賽回來(這傢伙老幹這種插花的事)，聊著好像半小時就過去了。從雲門舞集贊助的流浪者計畫回來後，他似乎有了更多的心得和體悟。下次有空在去聽他哈拉在印度的那段日子，一定是精彩可期。

阿澤的西尤印度融合樂團，不定期在週四晚上的敦南誠品戶外廣場演出。由西塔琴為主、大提琴、手鼓和鍵盤交織而成的演奏音樂團體。融合了許多流行-爵士-搖滾及民謠等等的音樂元素，滾石可樂有音樂可以試聽。