Cantonese opera in English

Back to the grindstone after a great two-day conference on Asian popular music here in Hong Kong. My paper turned out to be about Cantonese opera as modern popular music in its day, which just made me realize how little I know about Cantonese opera. This is a clip I used at the end - the best part of the presentation by far. The one and only, late, great Sik Kok-sin being modern in a 1947 Hong Kong movie, New White Golden Dragon. Around 3:10 you will hear him speak a little English (translation courtesy of the adventurous hedgehog).

Sit: I am going out, prepare my clothes.
Servant: Which jacket do you want to wear?
Sit: Sportex.
Servant: Which shirt?
Sit: Man-hat-tan.
Servant: Which pairs of shoes?
Sit: Flor-sheim.
Servant: Which hat?
Sit: The light colour Hat-s-man.
Servant: Which cigarette case?
Sit: Ron-son.
Servant: Which kinds of cigarettes?
Sit: Big Capstan.
Servant: Which car?
Sit: Lin-coln.
Servant: Everything is ready, sir.

City Beat

A while back, I mentioned that the likes of Metro - four gwailos singing in Cantonese - haven't been seen in Hong Kong since the days of City Beat. This is City Beat introducing their own video of Tolo Johnny, probably on Fizz Bizz in 1988. Tolo Johnny came out on their first album, which was interesting because side one had five Cantonese songs and side two had the same five songs in English. I believe City Beat never mixed languages in a song, but eventually they released most of their songs in both Cantonese and English versions. The guy you see introducing the video is John Laudon, who is the only one of the four still in Hong Kong, where he still works in the church and the music business. A year or so ago we did an interview with John, where he has a lot of interesting things to say about City Beat and singing in Cantonese.

Os Mutantes - Baby

This is inspired by my favourite radio DJ, Vicky on WFMU's Do or DIY with People Like Us, who played an English version of Baby by Fantastic Plastic Machine on her first show of 2010. Like me, Vicky has a penchant for singers who use English as their second language. Here are the originals by Os Mutantes in Portuguese and English. Baby was written by Caetano Veloso (I believe he wrote both sets of lyrics) and both versions here are sung by Rita Lee.

The lyrics don't make much sense in either language because they were meant to be a parody of a certain kind of Brazilian middle class culture that was around at the time. The line It's time now to learn Portuguese... is a kind of mirror translation of Você precisa aprender inglês... (You need to learn English). There is an interesting New York Times article on Caetano Veloso's use of English on Caetano's website. It says that the Baby, baby, I love you that ends the song is a quote from Paul Anka's Diana, which is not exactly true because that line isn't in Diana. But I guess he quoted the melody.

Crazy Lion again

The hedgehog adventurer emailed mouse from Crazy Lion with a few questions (which is what we do when we come across HK bands who write songs in English). Here's what he had to say...

Can you share your lyrics?
Sure. We got YouTube links on our Crazy Lion Facebook page. Lyrics are included in the descriptions on YouTube.

Crazy Lion posted both Cantonese and English songs, do you compose in both languages?
Yes, we compose in both languages. Mainly Cantonese and English, with some Mandarin also.

What are the reasons for writing lyrics in English or Cantonese?
Being a Hong Kong guy, Cantonese is my mother language and English is my second language.

Can you share the process of writing English songs?
By habit, I note the ideas like words, melodies and rhythm almost everyday. Those accumulated ideas from daily life and feelings can be used as rough works/elements of songs. Some songs come from free jamming. Sometimes we compose with the help of computers.

Why reggae?
I love reggae music and I am interested in the Rastafarianism behind it.

Why reggae? What a question! Crazy Lion play at Hidden Agenda in Kwun Tong on 17th and 24th June.

Thank you mouse, and now for a little Cantonese reggae.

Metro

Here is something not seen since the days of City Beat - four gwailos singing in Cantonese. This is a cover of a Joey Yung song and, in fact, they start in English and then switch to Cantonese, which I believe City Beat never did.

It seems Metro used be The Dapper Dans of Main Street, a barbershop quartet performing at Hong Kong Disneyland. This doesn't necessarily mean there are now no Dapper Dans at Disneyland. It is more of a franchise performing at several parks, and even in different parts of the same park at the same time. There must be a name for that kind of group - wish I knew what it was.

Kim Jung Mi

After a friend sent me a paper he has written on Korean underground rock, I went on a fruitless hunt for music by the legendary guitarist, Shin Jung Hyun, especially his full length cover of Iron Butterfly's In-a-gadda-da-vida. Instead I came up with my musical discovery of the week, two 1973 albums by singer Kim Jung Mi on the Mutant Sounds blog. Folky vocals with lots of echo and some great guitar work by Shin Jung Hyun.

Breakfast in Shek Kip Mei

A Saturday morning breakfast at Nam Shan estate in Shek Kip Mei. French toast, a luncheon meat and egg sandwich, iced milk tea, iced yin yeung (coffee and tea), and what is that thing in the middle called? In Hong Kong, French toast is usually two slices of bread with peanut butter to stick them together and a slab of butter on top to go with the syrup. In Cantonese, ask for Western toast (sai dosi).