MERDEKA!!!!!!! Favourite 20 Malaysian Songs!

So, as a kid, every 31st of August was a big day for me. I would get ready for 12 o'clock to wish Malaysia (and everyone) Happy Merdeka. As silly as that sounds, I really liked the fact that we actually celebrated our country's freedom and it really amazed me. I remember watching the parade and wanting to be somewhat a part of it. You can imagine as time goes on how that spirit died. Nevertheless, we are celebrating our 56th year of independence and as a tribute, I'm going to do what I do best, making a list of my favourite songs. Oh, just so you know, since I was born till right up to 2007 I was a hardcore listener to Malaysian songs due to my mum and basically my family's interest in Malay songs. Sadly, I feel there was a huge decline in quality to Malaysian music ever since 2007. Anyway, here is my 20 favourites. Happy Merdeka!!!

1. Alhamdullilah by Too Phat feat Yasin
2. Fantasia Bulan Madu by Search
3. Isabella by Search
4. Gerimis Mengundang by Slam
5. Marabahaya by Pop Shuvit
6. Butakah Cinta by Spring
7. Suci Dalam Debu by Iklim
8. Kongsi by Joe Flizzow
9. Keroncong Untuk Ana by M. Nasir
10. Mungkin by Anuar Zain
11. Jangan Lafazkan by KRU
12. Situasi by Bunkface
13. Tekad by Hazami
14. Operator The Line Is Dead by Jason Lo
15. Rahsia Pohon Cemara by Mamat
16. Tiada Lagi Kidungmu by Lefthanded
17. Merpati Putih by OAG
18. Memori Cinta Luka by Nassier Wahab
19. Dekat Padamu by Yusry
20. Kian by Mawi

Monthly: Top 8 Songs of August

1. Neon Cathedral by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat Allen Stone
2. Hive by Earl Sweatshirt feat Vince Staples & Casey Veggies
3. Give Life Back To Music by Daft Punk
4. 30 Pieces of Silver by KA
5. Blue Ocean Floor by Justin Timberlake
6. Chum by Earl Sweatshirt
7. La La La by Naughty Boy feat Sam Smith
8. Same Old Same Old by The Civil Wars

Shield

Flee towards severe dictation,

Craving lust from a blood bath vacation,

The armor shields the silent formation,

Finding faith in a wicked disposition.

Freedom stains the sight of profit,

Redeeming the value of paper instead of blood,

Unity is not a false prophet,

Saving love from the violent flood.

We woke up from the fight,

Believing the war was way far done,

Yet we hear the sigh,

From nations living under a loaded gun.

poem from mervyn richard

ALBUM REVIEW: Doris by Earl Sweatshirt

THE NUTSHELL:

Earl Sweatshirt, member of the wild Odd Future, step bro of Tyler, The Creator, not to mention, an extremely compelling lyricist. What's not to love?


TRACK BY TRACK REVIEW:

1. Pre feat SK La' Flare Rating: 8/10
Remark: Love the synths used in this track. Had an idea how this album would turn out from the eerie theme of 'Hive'. This track was just sick. Great prelude. It stepped up slightly with Earl's verse. Very neat. 

2. Burgundy Rating: 7/10
Remarks: Not really feeling the pitch-shifted vocals in this track, but man, does Earl have an extremely clean flow on this. You can't expect a high end and explosive production on an Earl Sweatshirt project. He has a ear for this hard banging repetitive beat with just a pinch of rawness to it which you can either love or love to hate.

3. 20 Wave Caps feat Domo Genesis Rating: 9/10
Remarks: Just wished this was longer. Domo was really spitting hard on this. Earl sounded a lot like Tyler on this, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

4. Sunday feat Frank Ocean Rating: 10/10
Remarks: What is it with the Odd Future clan that has to get extremely emotional about a relationship at a certain point. However, mad love to how vivid Frank Ocean is on this track, an extremely honest verse by him. It sounded much like what Tyler did in IFHY, but maybe even better. Great.

5. Hive feat Vince Staples & Casey Veggies Rating: 10/10 *ALBUM'S TRACK TO REMEMBER
Remarks: This song is probably one of the weirdest things I have listen to. It is an extremely well thought out track with a very basic hard hitting beat. Did I forget about the lyrics? It's the dopest thing I have heard all year long. Especially the line when he says,"Desolate testaments trying to stay Jekyll-ish, but most niggas Hyde and Brenda just stay pregnant." A masterpiece for sure.

6. Chum Rating: 10/10
Remarks: This is one of those tear jerker rap tracks. From his father leaving him straight to on him being an outcast. It also demonstrates how good of a lyricist Earl is. 

7. Sasquatch feat Tyler, The Creator Rating: 10/10
Remarks: With Tyler slowly losing some vibe, he graciously hands over the prophecy of Odd Future to his step-brother, Earl. Tyler's verse was commendable, but Earls bars though, that was just down right awesome.

8. Centurion feat Vince Staples: 9/10
Remarks: Loving this eerie vibe, it really compliments the flow and the background to what Vince and Earl really tries to paint. Sounds somewhat like a continuation of Hive. 

9. 523 Rating: 7/10
Remarks: Not really getting the placement of this interlude, would probably fit as the opener. Still a very authentic mixture of very roughly twerked guitar strings with heavy beats.

10. Uncle Al Rating: 8/10
Remarks: None. It's a 53 second track demonstrating Earl's ability to make cohesive rhymes.

11. Guild feat Mac Miller Rating: 5/10
Remarks: I don't get why Earl has to do this. With that extremely annoying pitch shifter. Don't really care too much about the subject matter. Having Mac Miller in any song would be a mistake. An extremely dysfunctional effort.

12. Molasses feat RZA Rating: 4/10
Remarks: I was extremely hyped when I heard RZA was going to be on this project. So, you can imagine my disappointment when I heard this. The beat was lazy, the rhymes were lazy, most surprisingly, RZA's verse was just bad. Very disappointing.

13. Whoa feat Tyler, The Creator Rating: 6/10
Remarks: Wasn't really a fan of this track when it initially dropped. My views have not change. I think Earl's verse was awesome, but the ridiculously irritating semi-moaning sounds in the background just gives it away.

14. Hoarse Rating: 9/10
Remarks: Earl's flow was good. One of the better production efforts in this album. A good step up from those chain of below avearge tracks

15. Knight feat Domo Genesis Rating: 10/10
Remarks: Love the subject topic of this track. One of Domo's most emotional efforts. Don't really get why this is a closing track but, nevertheless that doesn't take away the fact that this is a great song.



ALBUM SCORE:

8/10 (B+)

QUICK ALBUM REVIEW: In A World Like This by Backstreet Boys

THE NUTSHELL:
Our childhood/high school favourite boy band is back with a new LP. The question is, how polarized are we from Brian, AJ, Howie, and Nick? From this effort, the answer is, very. The struggle for them to fit in extremely evident here. With a glimpse of a One Direction tone, maybe? Nevertheless, none of the songs are really that bad, but with that said, Backstreet Boys have made a name for themselves as one of the biggest boy bands in history. I think the time has come to call it a rest and enjoy the high life of more than a decade of making music.


LOVED TRACKS:

-Breathe
-Madeleine
-One Phone Call

HATED TRACKS:

None, but everything else is just border average at its best.



SCORE/GRADE:

5/10 (C)

QUICK ALBUM REVIEW: Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke

THE NUTSHELL:
The guy with the biggest single of the year is set to impress with this brand new album but falls quite short. The thing I can't wrap my head around is the fact that this album is 'messy'. The best way I can describe it. For some odd reason, Robin had the urge, at the halfway mark, to leave his signature sensual tone and abandon it for a more personal perspective. Frankly, that was the best part of this album. The songs were average, nothing too extravagant  The production was borderline. The fact that this album is a chart topper really shows how overrated 'Blurred Lines' is.


LOVED TRACKS:

-Feel Good
-4 The Rest Of My Life
-The Good Life

HATED TRACKS:

-Take It Easy On Me
-Ooo La La
-Give It To You feat Kendrick Lamar



SCORE/GRADE:

4/10 (D)

Quick Album Review: The Civil Wars (Self-Titled)

THE NUTSHELL:
The Civil Wars is a Nashville folk-country outfit that has been widely praised for their 2011 debut LP, Barton Hollow. The duo couldn't have released this self-titled album at a more relevant time where indie music is starting to become a norm amongst listeners. Certain tracks here may be too country for my preference but must I say, every song that is in this project is very well written and thought out. The execution is far from futile and has a subtle yet eager feel. It is a brilliant effort from the Grammy winning band. 


LOVED TRACKS:

-The One That Got Away
-Same Old Same Old
-Dust to Dust
-Eavesdrop
-Tell Mama
-Disarm
-Sacred Heart


HATED TRACKS:

-Devil's Backbone



SCORE/GRADE:

8/10 (B+)

QUICK ALBUM REVIEW: Something Else by Tech N9ne

THE NUTSHELL:
Tech delivers his 13th full length LP since Boiling Point. This quick slurring rapper goes darker with an extremely brilliant production. Sinister rhymes may be the concept of this project, however, his execution to a number of tracks do feel a bit off.That doesn't hold Tech from spitting out bezerk verses. It's safe to say the mass amount of features really did the Kansas rapper a world of good, not to mention shacking up Strange Music's name in the hip hop scene.   


LOVED TRACKS:

- Straight Out The Gate feat Krizz Kaliko & Serj Tankian
- Fortune Force Field
- Fragile feat Kendall Morgan, Kendrick Lamar & ¡Mayday!
- Priorities feat Angel Davenport & Game
- So Dope (They Wanna) feat Snow tha Product, Twisted Insane & Wrekonize
- That's My Kid feat Big K.R.I.T., Cee Lo Green & Kutt Calhoun
- Believe


HATED TRACKS:

- Dwamn
- See Me feat B.o.B & Wiz Khalifa



SCORE/GRADE:

7/10 (B)

10 Worst Songs of 2013 (So far..)

As much as I love the songs of '13, there are really equivalent songs that grinds my gears. Here are the top 10 tracks that really irritated the sh*t out of me. (Warning: Teenagers will definitely hate me for this)

1. We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus
2. Come & Get It by Selena Gomez
3. 22 by Taylor Swift
4. Afterwards (Bring Yo Friends) by Kid Cudi feat Michael Bolton & King Chip
5. Something That We're Not by Demi Lovato
6. Let the Groove In by Justin Timberlake
7. #thatPOWER by will.i.am feat Justin Bieber
8. Started from the Bottom by Drake
9. Live It Up by Jennifer Lopez feat Pitbull
10. Here's To Never Growing Up by Avril Lavigne

Monthly: Top 10 Songs of July

1. Hive by Earl Sweatshirt feat Vince Staples & Casey Veggies
2. Neon Cathedral by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat Allen Stone
3. Give Life Back To Music by Daft Punk
4. Blue Ocean Floor by Justin Timberlake
5. Otherside by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
6. Don't Lie by Vampire Weekend
7. Clarity (Remix) by Vicetone (Unofficial)
8. 30 Pieces of Silver by KA
9. The One That Got Away by The Civil Wars
10. Straight Out The Gate by Tech N9ne feat Krizz Kaliko & Serj Tankian