Eargasm

Britney's new album electrifies and more.

The seventh studio effort from the Pop Princess herself is her best effort yet. It's as good as "In The Zone" and "Blackout".

If there's any artist who can pull off and introduce dub-step into the mainstream, it's Britney.

Britney loves to experiment with new sounds, and this can be clearly heard in tracks like the first single "Hold It Against Me", "Inside Out", "How I Roll" and the flute-heavy guitar-driven mid-tempo "Criminal".

Yet, there are also radio-ready songs such as the second single "Till The World Ends" written by Ke$ha and "I Wanna Go".

"Drop Dead (Beautiful)" reminded me of the "Blackout" album due to it containing some urban influences. But the heavily auto-tuned rap verse from upcoming rapper Sabi spoilt it all.

"The Big Fat Bass", produced by none other than the Black Eyed Peas' front-man Will.I.Am, seemed like a BEP leftover, and Britney ended up sounding like Fergie. However, the use of heavy bass, drums and piano did kinda make up for it.

The closing track, "Criminal", is one of the most outstanding tracks in the album. It doesn't sound like anything else out there. I bet even Lady GaGa would be pawing over the track, wishing it was her song.

There's just one mistake. "Till The World Ends" shouldn't be the second single. "I Wanna Go" has more potential in the charts as it's far more catchy with the happy whistles. But I'm guessing it will be the third single judging from how popular it is among the fans.

From the standard tracklisting, I would say the mid-tempo ballad "Inside Out" is my favourite track. Billboard did a great job producing it.

Although Britney's voice was auto-tuned throughout, it made the tracks signature "Britney". But if you would like to hear more raw vocals of her, do check out the bonus tracks.

Overall, "Femme Fatale" is a real, solid effort.

Aftermath

ваканция свърши.

That translates to "recess is over". It's Bulgarian by the way. And the end of recess signals the arrival of the examinations.

I'm so screwed for the mid-terms. So, so, screwed.

Let's check what I have accomplished for the past week:

1. Study for 214 mid-term.

2. Study for 211 mid-term (topics 2 and 3 done only).

3. Completed experiment for HW project.

4. Finished my critique (which I thought was kinda crappy).

5. Did my lab report.

6. Slacked.

There you go. It's not a lot of work done.

 Anyway, American Idol Season 10 has kicked off into its Top 12 and I am not at all impressed by it. The judges are useless. I think I can be a judge if it's just praising everyone even if they're horrible. Where's the reality check?? In my honest opinion, NONE of the finalists should be in the Top 12. It's THAT dreadful.

The other source of entertainment for me, Glee, will be on hiatus for an entire month. Bummer. But this week's episode was awesome. I gotta give it props.

So before I end this ranting post, I just wanna wish Japan a speedy recovery, and hope that its numerous victims can get access to food and water as soon as possible.

#prayforjapan

Till The World Ends

The spam messages on my Cbox can be quite amusing sometimes.

As you can see on the image above, I NEED TO THINK AND DO MORE.

I've been slacking weekend after weekend even though the mid-terms for my cores are looming in the near distance. Allow me to cite an example -- All I did this weekend was complete my lab proforma and the risk assessment for next week's lab session, went through a little bit of Electrochemistry notes, and read Chapter 3 of 214 (without understanding a single thing).

There you have it. Pathetic huh?

At this rate I'm going, I'll probably fail both mid-terms.

DO MORE GARY!!!

Anyway, results for my Psychology mid-term were out and I got 82. Then I saw that the average score was 81.79 and the median was 84. So should I be happy or upset? Confused.

Avril's new album comes out tomorrow!! I'll definitely be getting it but I'm gonna do a review now because I've already heard most of the album.

So Avril said this record is more acoustic-sounding, and her first single "What the Hell" was not reflective of the album. Which, in fact, is true. "WTH" sounds out-of-place as compared to the other moody, slightly stripped down tracks like "Push" and "Goodbye".

Can't blame her though, she has been putting her record label on blast over delaying her new album for over a year, and forcing her to include more radio-friendly tracks in the album. As a result, it doesn't sound as cohesive as it can be.

It was told that Avril was pushing for "Push" as the follow-up single to "WTH", but it turned out that the more upbeat and catchy "Smile" was confirmed to be the single.

Label politics.

I bet more and more artists will soon break away from their labels and release music independently. They'll have more control over their creative direction. And that's what true artists want, isn't it?

Well, I have been an avid supporter of Avril since her debut album wayyyyy back in 2001. And I really like most of the songs in this new record. My favourites would be "Push", "Wish You Were Here", "I Love You", "Stop Standing There" and actually "Smile" as well. Haha.

"Goodbye Lullaby" will be the first CD I'm purchasing in 2011. Next up, BRITNEY. Just another 3 more weeks to go......

Big Upset.

2nd selection is totally bullshit.

You have 5 spots and CBC students can't apply???

Damn you.

Now there's not even a sliver of hope left for me for the rest of this year.

I'm done.

I-I-I Wanna Go-o-o

Away from here.

I just wanna chill in a quiet, serene place. With soft breezes.

And have nothing to worry about.

How nice that would be huh?

I'm kinda sick of everything right now. I've lost the drive, the motivation to do anything.

No INSTEP, no summer research. No nothing.

Life is so boring. Mundane.

If I ever have kids in the future, I'll fully support and encourage them to pursue their dreams. Do what they want to do. But of course they must be 100% sure about the path they want to take, and actually have the talent to do so. Practicality, right?

I've lost my chance. I don't want them to lose theirs too. Be an artist, a musician, a dancer. Whatever they want to be.

Back to me.

If you think I'm a strong-willed, cheery kid who doesn't really care about anything, you're wrong.

I just appear to be. Truth is, I'm trying. Trying to stay happy, trying to help make others happy, trying to do the best I can, to do everything I can do, as me.

But sometimes, constantly trying is a really tiring job. Especially if it brings no success.

So I pray. I fantasise. I wish. I think of things worth looking forward to (albeit not a lot). So I can get past every single day.

Came across this quote, "Sometimes, giving up does not mean you are weak. It means you are strong enough to let go."

Is it true? Or is it just some comforting words?

No don't worry. I'm not giving up my life, that's for sure.

But giving up something is really really tough. Don't you think?

Today, I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything.

I just wanna lay here in my bed.

So the application results for exchange were out......and I didn't get a placement.

Well, I kinda expected it though, judging from the huge number of applicants for that particular university. Still, I'm disappointed. Really wanted to escape from this island for a good few months...but that's not happening now.

The system is flawed, in my opinion. Might as well raise the minimum GPA to 4.5, so people like me wouldn't have to waste their time and effort to apply, wait and then get their hopes dashed. Giving opportunities for students to experience exhange?? Bullshit.

Sigh. What's decided has been decided. 2nd selection round isn't going to be of any help as well. I guess I'm not fated to go.

Everything happens for a reason. Pravin, if you're reading this, let's try next semester. And this time I sure hope we get to go for real. Who knows we can match other universities too! :D

Not My Intention

Kind of random but I would just like to apologise to anyone that I may have offended either through my spoken words, written comments or statements, be it on your blog, Facebook, or in person. I really do not mean any harm and have no intention of hurting you or making you angry.

I'm quite a straightforward person so I may come across as a guy who just says what he wants, but do know that I'm working very hard on being as sensitive as possible before writing a comment or saying something to you. I'm human and I'm not perfect, so there're bound to be slip-ups here and there sometimes. But please please don't get offended because I have no intention of offending you. :)

That said, I'm truly sorry, kindly forgive me for my mistakes and cheers to everyone! :D

Forget About The Price Tag :)

I'm currently hooked on this song. It's so carefree and fun! Jessie and B.o.B totally rocked it.

Stung.

This was such a fun movie. Made me forget my troubles for a moment. Jay Chou was honestly quite good!

As with "Burlesque", if you're looking for plot, this is not for you.

Rating: 4.5/5

Anyway, school just started this week and I'm plagued with stupid problems regarding course registration. Haven't really been happy these few days... I'm praying they will get solved soon Edit: They just got solved!! Woot! On another note, I submitted my application for overseas exchange last night. Here's hoping I can get a placement. Fingers and toes crossed!!!

People always ask what others have done for them. Yet they didn't think of what they themselves have done for others in the first place. Sad.

Show Me How You Burlesque

What can I say? The critics hated it, but I love it.

Christina's voice is just so powerful. And Cher certainly has acting chops!

Yea I know the plot kinda sucked, but the burlesque numbers and awesome soundtrack more than made up for it.

Do yourself a favour and catch this!

Rating: 4.5/5