Jay is still evolving_高级精读
let's just get this out of the way: yes, i'm an american who can barely understand when a taxi driver asks me where i'm from. so why, you may wonder, am i writing about jay chou's new album, "still fantasy" (yiran fantexi)?
because i love his music - and because music can touch us, teach us and take us to places, no matter what the language.
"still fantasy", released last friday, breaks new ground. at times, jay sounds like jay. at other times, he sounds grown-up, adult. the guy that rattles away in his own tongue is still present, but a more mature voice seems to have broken through the beats and bass. the variety is melodic.
perhaps the second track illustrates the growing inner maturity of the taiwanese pop star. in "must listen to mother's words" (ting mama de hua), jay wonders why his mum always required him to draw and learn english when his friends read cartoons and played games.
but now that people are reading his cartoons and singing his songs, jay knows the answer. he advises those listening to obey their mothers.
tracks three and 10 capture the pop star's maturing sound. in both songs, jay sings about unsettled love.
"thousand miles away" (qianli zhiwai) laments with ancient imagery the distance between a man and his lover. he wonders whether it's "wise to have long distance love". jay invited taiwan veteran fei yuching to sing the duo. fei's smooth voice was totally different from that of jay.
it seems that fei's presence on the record has added maturity to jay's art - not only in sound, but also in feeling.
in "chrysanthemum platform" (juhua tai), the speaker sighs in restless sadness over the loss of a lover. as he lays in the palace, the wind wipes her face from his memory and leaves him lonely.
though i am essentially deaf and dumb when it comes to understanding chinese, jay's music speaks a language that is neither chinese nor english. it is beautiful.
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bass: 低音
lament: 哀悼
melodic: 调子美妙的
unsettled: 未决定的
veteran: 经验丰富的
bonus points
rattle away: 喋喋不休，神聊。也可以说 rattle on (about sth.)
everybody got bored after nancy rattled away for hours about her love affair with her boss. 南希几个小时喋喋不休地谈论她跟老板的情事，让每个人都感到厌倦。