Songs from China

 Hello! Ni hao!

 As you may know I spent three weeks in Beijing over Christmas and the New Year as part of a project called Study China, which is managed by my university. I have a blog about all my adventures there, which I hope you will enjoy.

 However, I also wanted to write a post on this music blog about songs I encountered in China - songs from China and also from other parts of the world - which I now cannot listen to without amazing memories flooding back of those three weeks in Beijing.

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 Firstly, I had a long journey to get there - three flights, which took me nearly a whole day. I travelled from Manchester to Amsterdam, which was a relatively short flight, then Amsterdam to Moscow. I then had a huge, eight-hour flight from Moscow to Beijing.

 I have trouble sleeping on planes - or on any kind of transport for that matter. I kept falling asleep then waking up and not knowing where I was and that wasn't very pleasant. One time I fell asleep and in waking up managed to spill my drink on myself.

 The bottom line is that it wasn't the most comfortable journey I've ever undertaken, but it was certainly an interesting experience, and it has made me feel more prepared for if I ever want to go to Australia or Canada or somewhere else that involves a really long flight.

 I tried to pass time by listening to some music, and there is one song that I listened to almost by proxy, as it came on my mp3 player after a song I liked and I couldn't be bothered to move past it, and I realised I liked this song more than I remembered. It is Desert Moon by Dennis DeYoung.

 My main criticism of this song in the past has been that it is cheesy - however, there are some occasions when cheesy music can actually make you feel better, and on this tiring flight, this song brought me some comfort. 

 My mp3 player was being odd and kept restarting it in the middle, so I became very well-accustomed to the first few bars of this song! (By the way, am I the only one who thinks the beginning of this song sounds very like that of "You're in Love" by Wilson Phillips?)

 It is inevitable that I will never be able to hear this song without remembering my voyage to China; sometimes you can preserve memories in a song better than just about anywhere else.

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 When I finally got to China, I got a taxi to our apartments within Beijing Normal University, found my room, slept a lot, and gradually got used to my immediate surroundings - a few shops and a student canteen which has the best yoghurt drinks I've ever had.

 I arrived on Saturday, and on Monday we had our Opening Ceremony. This song was playing, which I really liked - Liekkas by Sofia Jannok.

 If you are wondering, as I was at first, what language this is, it appears to be Sami. I liked this song when I first heard it and it has grown on me even more as I have listened to it since getting home - maybe because of all the memories it brings back. Thank you to Sally for letting me know the name of this song ♥

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 We settled into the routine of Mandarin language lessons in the morning, economics lectures some afternoons and activities such as calligraphy and tai chi in others. One afternoon when we were free we decided to go to the Silk Market, a big shopping centre/mall.

 A song that played on their sound system was Sitting Down Here by Lene Marlin.

 Another song I'd liked but not been passionate about, but hearing something familiar in such an unfamiliar place was somewhat reassuring, and I like this song a lot more now. I have also learnt through writing this that Lene Marlin is Norwegian; I had thought she was American.

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 At the end of our first full week in Beijing, a group of us went to a karaoke bar, and we had a great night. Hai, one of the BNU student volunteers, looked after us well, so Hai, if you're reading this, xiexie ♥ (to the non-Mandarin speakers, that means thank you).

 There were memorable renditions of many songs, but one song was especially interesting for me as I had never heard it before and really liked it, and that was 1973 by James Blunt.

 I don't know who chose this for karaoke (everyone kind of sung along to everything rather than someone picking a song then singing it by themself), but whoever you are I am very grateful as you introduced me to a song that I now really love and which enters my head at odd times and reminds me of Beijing and that night at karaoke ♥

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 Another song that featured at karaoke is L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. by Noah and the Whale.

 I had known and liked this song before Study China, but now I love it, and it has so many memories attached to it of good times in Beijing. It got properly stuck in my head for the rest of the trip and I kept absent-mindedly singing it... It's a brilliant song.

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 We then had Christmas, which was wonderful, if a bit surreal. We went to a restaurant and then played pool, and it was a lovely night.

 Boxing night I went with some friends to a bar on campus called Laker's. The lads danced to Gangnam Style - about which I will talk more later on! - and another song that played was a Korean version of Maria by Blondie. 

 I was not keen on the Korean version - the key was changed which I felt affected the whole feel and dynamic of the song. However, it reminded me of how much I love the original, which I will share here.

 I talk more about this song in my blog post, "Four songs and a dragon" - feel free to check it out.

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 I was ill for a few days, and listened to a lot of songs on my mp3 player while I lay in bed wishing I was well and could join in the cool excursions the others had planned to the Temple of Heaven and Tianjin.

 New Year's Eve came, and found us in Laker's, which was by now a favourite haunt of many of the group. 

 I spent some time there and then headed back to our apartments, where some of the others were watching a film - Miss Congeniality - so I joined them and enjoyed a really lovely night.

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 In the next few days we climbed the Great Wall, went to a Korean restaurant, visited Olympic Park and the Bird's Nest and saw a Kung Fu show. 

 We finished our presentations for economics class, had one last meal out together, sat our mock HSK exam - I got 195 out of 200! - and then, suddenly, it was the Closing Ceremony. Time had flown so fast.

 Again, Liekkas was playing, which made for a nice full circle from the Opening Ceremony and the start of our adventure. We could reflect on all we'd achieved. Then each of the three Mandarin classes performed a song we had been practising. Here is each of our performances with the original song:

Beijing Huanying Ni

This is my group!

Dan Yuan Ren Chang Jiu

 There are various versions of this song, but the one above is by Chinese singer Faye Wong. The name she was born with, however, is Wang Fei, which is also the name of one of our brilliant Mandarin teachers!

Dui Mian De Nu Hai Kan Guo Lai

 After the formal ceremony, there was a lot of taking photos together, and then we set off for - where else? - Laker's! 

 We had a lovely last night, with lots of music and dancing, and two songs stuck out for me. 

 One was Lonely by Akon, which was played in the bar and which suited how I felt at the time - not that I was lonely; I was surrounded by friends. But it was the last night and I felt really sad that it was ending. I felt like my mixed feelings were reflected in the bittersweet song.

 The other song was, of course, Gangnam Style. Here is the original:

 Here is our, far superior, version.

 I have about four different Gangnam Styles recorded from our time in Beijing, and I think I will make a mash-up of them; should be fun!

♥

 The journey home was a lot more comfortable than the journey out, I am pleased to say. I watched American Beauty on the aeroplane's entertainment system, except the end was cut off because the plane landed before I could finish. So I will have to finish that film sometime.

 Then I was home, sweet home and I slept for a long time. I have so many wonderful memories of my three weeks in Beijing, and would encourage anyone who is thinking of applying for Study China to go for it as it really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience ♥

 Thanks for reading!

 Liz x

Songs: Desert Moon - Dennis DeYoung - 1984

Liekkas - Sofia Jannok - ????

Sitting Down Here - Lene Marlin - 1999

1973 - James Blunt - 2007

L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. - Noah and the Whale - 2011

Maria - Blondie - 1998/9

Beijing Huanying Ni - various artists - 2008

Dan Yuan Ren Chang Jiu - Faye Wong - ????

Dui Mian De Nu Hai Kan Guo Lai - Richie Ren - ????

Lonely - Akon - 2005

Gangnam Style - PSY - 2012

The best of British!

 Hello people!

 Today is Tuesday - in my part of the world anyway.

 The Olympic Closing Ceremony was on Sunday night, as you may well already know, and I found it very enjoyable. For me, it was definitely as good as the Opening Ceremony, if not slightly better because it was more music-based and, as you may have guessed from this blog, I love music!

 The emphasis was on British music and I was very glad to see Queen, John Lennon (I'm not a massive Beatles fan, but I have to admit that they are icons of British music) and George Michael (Freedom '90 is stuck in my head now! And his second song seems to have attracted controversy, but I liked it).

 I also enjoyed the performances by Emeli Sandé (how much coverage did she get these Olympics?! But she deserves the attention because she is amazing! ♥ ), Elbow and Madness.

 I even liked the music by Blur and Muse, neither of whom I'm usually a fan of, because I just felt that they fitted into the ballot of music so well. Overall, it was a great show.

 I was pleased that Annie Lennox featured in the show, but I wish she had sung Why, which I love. However, I understand that it's a bit too sad to have at a Ceremony which was billed as having a "party" vibe. Still, I have always loved this song.

"I may be mad, I may be blind, I may be viciously unkind, but I can still read what you're thinking.

And I fear I've said too many times that you'd be better off; besides, why can't you see this boat is sinking?"

 It is a very sad, beautiful song that I was lucky enough to know from quite a young age as it was on one of the compilation tapes we used to play in our car. These tapes were also how I discovered the great band Niagara, who were supposedly often compared to Eurythmics, Annie Lennox's band. 

 However, I really can't see much similarity except that both groups consisted of a man and a woman, and that the woman in both groups has a distinctive, strong voice and that they both produced quite adventurous music videos. But otherwise I don't think the groups are alike at all - they each have their own unique style of music and of performing. And I like them both!

 Here is one of my favourite songs from Niagara, "La vie est peut-être belle," and you can decide for yourself if they and Eurythmics are a bit alike.

 I will probably do a blog entry all about the brilliant Niagara, but for now I will get back to British bands (Niagara being French) for this "Best of British" blog entry. The Closing Ceremony was a celebration of British music, and I want to celebrate British music too, in my blog.

 In my opinion, you can't talk about British music without mentioning David Bowie. He has given so much to the music world over his long and wonderful career. Life on Mars was always my favourite of his songs, although I came to really like Let's Dance as well, as my family seems to possess a lot a of 80s compilation CDs that involve Let's Dance and we usually end up listening to it in the car!

 I'd never seen this video, and I must say there is rather a lot of David Bowie in it, and not a lot else! It may seem a tad self-indulgent, but I don't mind because he's gorgeous as ever! But I do think that with such interesting lyrics he could have created a more elaborate video; however, maybe the point is to leave the lyrics open to the listener's interpretation. Hmm.

"Let's sway, under the moonlight, the serious moonlight..."

 This makes me want to go and visit Australia ♥ It really does seem like a magical place. And I would love to experience the Aboriginal culture - at high school we did a lot of Aboriginal art and I really enjoyed it. I love discovering new ways of life and new ways of seeing the world. I've never been to Australia, but I'd love to go some day. There are many places I'd love to go and people I'd like to meet... One day I will travel the world! One day.

 I am also quite fond of Modern Love by David Bowie, but now it has got stuck firmly in my head and won't go away! Still, it's a good song so I don't really mind.

 Next, we have to have Rod Stewart - I was quite surprised and disappointed that he wasn't a performer at the Olympic Closing Ceremony. I would have loved for him to have sung Baby Jane - that would have got the crowd on their feet!

 

 This is one of those songs I have loved for a long, long time and I never seem to get tired of. It is just so good! And I feel this is perhaps the best of his songs for showcasing his unique and fantastic voice. I love Rod!

 Also, a bit of Dire Straits would have been great at the Closing Ceremony - my favourite songs by them have to be Brothers in Arms and Romeo and Juliet. Maybe not completely suitable for the Closing Ceremony, but amazing songs nonetheless. 

 I did my last blog post on Christine McVie, another wonderful British musician... She seems to have stepped out of the public eye a bit in recent years but I wish she could have been at at the Closing Ceremony... she is truly amazing and inspirational.

 We have so much talent here in Britain! I am becoming quite proud to be British; seeing all the amazing musicians this country has produced (and some of the great Olympians as well, although I would rather be a musician than an athlete any day). 

 I have mentioned this next song on my blog already, but I have to say I think it would have been great for the Closing Ceremony: Shake it Out by Florence + the Machine.

 This song would just fill that stadium so easily, and sweep everybody up in its power and emotion. It is one of those songs that means something to everyone. And perhaps she and Dizzee Rascal could have performed their version of You've Got the Love - two great British artists merging their talents, and a sure-fire crowd pleaser. 

 Finally, of course, I would have loved to have seen The Cure - I love The Cure, as any of my regular blog readers will know. Friday I'm in Love would have been amazing, if only the Ceremony had been on a Friday! In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, Love Cats and Close to Me would all have been good. Oh, I wish there had been a bit of Cure in that Ceremony!

 But still, I can't complain, because it was brilliant and I really enjoyed it. It was a lovely night and one I will remember for a long time. The London 2012 Olympics have been sensational and I have enjoyed every minute. 

 I'm sad that they're over, but who knows what the next big excitement will be... Hopefully something amazing.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

 If you enjoyed this post I recommend: My top songs lyrics-wise, Strictly good music, Alison Moyet, "Shake It Out" and the final week of college, Pictures of You, Sign of the Times and The Songbird from Bouth. 

Songs: Why - Annie Lennox - 1992

La vie est peut-être belle - Niagara - 1991

Life on Mars? - David Bowie - 1971/3

Let's Dance - David Bowie - 1983
Modern Love - David Bowie - 1983

Baby Jane - Rod Stewart - 1983

Shake it Out - Florence + the Machine - 2011