Killer Opening Songs (Bitterheart by Zee Avi)

A five-star review of a recent concert in the local newspaper, an interview with the singer where she waxed lyrical on her sources of inspiration and that feeling of 'easy like Sunday morning' that casts a spell on holiday-makers, were the only reasons Killer Opening Songs needed to make his way to the nearest shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur and buy Zee Avi's debut album 'Zee Avi'.

Lured by the sound of her voice when the shop assistant played the CD in the music store, it took Our Regular Rendezvous with Introductory Tracks with Homicidal Tendencies just one nanosecond to decide that this record would have to be added to his music collection.

A sleeper hit that has been making inroads and garnering plaudits since its release last year (and hopefully this post will contribute to raising awareness of the existence of such a beauty), 'Zee Avi' showcases the songwriting prowess of this twenty-four-year-old who hails from the island of Borneo, eastwards of Malaysia.

And at the heart of this success is the Killer Opening Song: 'Bitterheart'. K.O.S. confesses to having missed the core message of the track and only 'got' it when he put it on his mp3 player recently. By which time, he'd already decided to give it a slot on his blog.

Upbeat tempo, refreshing voice and perkiness. Not the combination of words and phrases that comes to mind when you think of songs about disappointment, disillusion and let-downs. And as if to confuse the listener even more the first four lines promise a bright start: 'Sun rays come down/as seen when they hit the ground/Children spinning around/Til’ they fall down down down'. But then we're faced with the real dilemma: 'I wait for you/It’s been two hours now/and you’re still somewhere in town/your dinner’s getting cold'. Oh dear.

'Bitterheart' is that type of composition whose brevity belies its intensity. At just over two and a half minutes long, it's one of the sweetest tongue-lashings K.O.S. has ever heard; a sharp contrast to Kelis's 'Caught Out There' for sure. The track mixes angst with self-containment ('Bitter heart, bitter heart/tries to keep it all inside') and there's even a semi-ultimatum at the end ('so tell me what’s her name').

'Bitterheart' is also the open sesame of a cluster of mesmerising melodies that will have you humming them for days on end. On this very space, we've already had 'Honeybee', a song that manages to be defiant and romantic at the same time. 'Poppy' is a sad, jazzy tune about the effects of heroine on a loved one ('My baby he don’t act like himself no more/he lost that smile I used to adore/he spent his nights slapping his veins/he lost that glow he used to have in his face'). 'Kantoi' is a ukelele-driven track sung in both Malay and English that tells an amusing modern story of deception. And although Killer Opening Songs is not a big fan of The Smiths or its frontman, Morrissey, Zee Avi's cover of 'First of the Gang' is superb. Pared down to the bare minimum acoustic accompaniment, a guitar in her case, the song had K.O.S. repeating the last lines long after it'd finished: 'And he stole from the rich and the poor/ and the not-very-rich and the very poor/and he stole all hearts away/he stole all hearts away/he stole all hearts away/he stole all hearts away '.

Ironically, Zee Avi was last seen carrying K.O.S.'s heart away.

© 2010



Next Post: 'Living in a Bilingual World', to be published on Thursday 27th May at 11:59pm (GMT)

While My MP3 Gently Plays

Still on holidays, but still clocking in on my blog. Even though my physical self is not here, enjoying these tunes together with you, my spiritual and musical one is.

If I'd been a piano when Thelonious Monk was around, I would have sued him. How can he treat such a highly respected member of the stringed family in that way? Then, again, a different part of my wooden structure would have felt equally honoured to have been given the opportunity of being caressed by the dextrous fingers of Mr "Blue Monk". Heartfelt.



There's a nice segue here in that Thelonious Monk was renowned for having a natural mystical aura about him. That's why Bob Marley's "Natural Mystic" is the ideal follow-up after the previous improvisation feast. Bob's groovy melody is a marvellous foot-tapper that has a "reserved" seat on my mp3 player. Rock on, Bob!



Paul Weller's version of "All Along The Watchtower" is one of the better ones I've ever heard, including Hendrix's. It's his voice, the arrangement and the delivery. Fabulous.



I have already written about Zee Avi in this space before. This time around I'm uploading another soulful and meaningful tune from her debut album "Zee Avi", "Honey Bee". Enjoy.



Next Post: "While My MP3 Gently Plays", to be published on Sunday 28th August at 10am (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs ("David" by Nellie McKay)

It's been a good beginning of the year for Killer Opening Songs, the regular music section on this blog that deals with those album melodic starters that display murderous tendencies. All the CDs K.O.S. bought recently had the right combination of creativity, inspiration and quality.

As an example of the above Killer Opening Songs brings you Nellie McKay's 2004 debut record "Get Away From Me", an eclectic collection of eighteen songs, in a two-CD set, showing off the influence of at least a dozen different music styles. K.O.S. hasn't been this excited since listening to the Malay singer-songwriter Zee Avi's self-titled album back in 2010.

What catches the listener's attention straight away on Get Away From Me (apparently a wordplay on Norah Jones's Come Away With Me) is Nellie's talent for music-playing and songwriting. She's not only an excellent pianist, but also dallies deftly in vibes, organ, chimes, recorder, glockenspiel, xylophone, and synthesizer. Her lyrics are witty, humourous and sassy, just like a very clever teenager, which is what she was when the album came out. She was only nineteen. This mix might come across as a tad chaotic, as if a child's just been given a watercolour set and a piece of paper and he or she has set to work without a clear idea of what they want to achieve,

Yet, the result at least for K.O.S is not mess but the opposite: musical maturity that belies Nellie's years. Hers is unbridled energy that oozes innovation and risk-taking on almost every track.

It's always refreshing to see a young person escaping to our musical past and paying respectful tribute to styles that might not be other artists' cup of tea. In Nellie's case, this approach comes in songs such as It's a Pose and Manhattan Avenue. Both tracks have the right mix of bluesy 50s New York with a more contemporary, urban touch.

The Killer Opening Song sets the right tone for the rest of the record. David is a tirade against... David? (who else?) that takes on aspirations, politics (Mister Bushie says/I'm your president/I have lots to say/Hey hey hey/And click goes the remote/There you have my vote/Catchin' the next boat out of here) and disappointment. It's probably the most "straight-pop" song of the whole set. It's also a good  introduction to Nellie's idiosyncratic approach to song-writing. What follows thereafter is enough to make you believe in the power of popular music again, even if it means that you have to press the "mute" button of the remote control as soon as X Factor starts on the telly. Quality, not quantity, that's what K.O.S. wants. And this song shows how to do it.

© 2012



Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 5th February at 10am (GMT)

Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music

I don’t often pay attention to political slogans. Sloganeering was almost a way of life in Cuba when I was growing up and it still is, so, in a way I have become inured to the standard big billboard bellowing platitudinous political messages.

However the caption ‘1Malaysia’ rings true even before you set a foot on Kuala Lumpur. Mixed with the western tourists escaping the still chilly spring days, plenty of Malays were on board of the Air Asia flight that took my family and me to KL recently. The various tonalities of their skins, their facial features and their accents hinted at diversity. Having been to that Southeastern nation before in 2008, I wasn’t surprised of this element but still it was a good reminder of what’s made Malaysia a success story in latter years.

I wouldn’t be doing KL any justice if I attempted to sum up its charms in a few hundred words. My only advice is, get on a plane and visit it. The experience of mixing with the locals, riding on the public transport and enjoying its out-of-this-world.cuisine is unique beyond description.

Whether you go to a local joint like Suzi’s Corner, where Malay, Indian and Chinese dishes are served in a mirthful atmosphere or you nip out for a quick lunch at one of the many ‘chicken and rice’ restaurants that populate the corners of KL, you’re in for a treat. As long as you’re not a fussy eater, like yours truly. My first discovery this time around came the day after we arrived when we went to the aforementioned Suzi’s and I had lychee juice. This fruit has a large single seed with an edible aril. After gulping down my juice I kept nibbling at the flesh (the staff usually leave the actual fruit at the bottom of the glass), turning the sweet, jellylike pulp around my mouth and milking it for all it was worth. Needless to say lychee juice became an accompaniment in many meals out.

Whereas two years ago we spent four or five days in Redang, an island to the east of Malaysia, this time we stayed in KL the whole time. That was partly due to the civil unrest in Thailand, a country included in our itinerary. However, rather than allowing ourselves to be browbeaten by a situation that was out of our reach, we decided to spend more time walking the city and admiring its culture and history. Yet, as parents of younger children will know, what interests adults, hardly ever holds any special significance to a member of the younger generation. So, in order to take advantage of Malaysia's rich heritage we also had to include visits to the Aquarium and the Watersports Park.

Still, we had plenty of fun in the city of the ‘muddy confluence’. That’s the meaning of Kuala Lumpur’s name and as if it was trying to prove that point on the same day that we visited the Thean Hou Temple – a building that boasts the richest features of Chinese architecture in Malaysia, according to its brochure - KL also gave us a call to prayer in a nearby mosque in one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard (in fact, the man who intoned the prayer could have given the contestants of American Idol a run for their money). Just the day before, we had gone to Brickfields, a stronghold of Indian culture, which was a short walk from KL Sentral station. Whether this cultural assemblage was swampy, I don’t know, but to a person with an inquisitive nature like me, it helped me understand better the country’s ethos, 1Malaysia.

To me markets are one of the ways of measuring a city’s beating pulse. And KL never disappoints. Whether it is a local – mainly Chinese – fruit'n'veg one like the one in Yulik, or a crafts one like the more famous Central Market, the visitor will be exposed to a wide variety of products that cater to all tastes. In Central Market’s case, this is a building that could be considered to be the equivalent of Covent Garden in London, but with lower prices. The stalls combine antiques, beautiful, hand-made local products and the usual stuff for tourists that exists in any major city.

The road infrastructure is pretty good (plenty of A-roads and flyovers that circumnavigate the city), so, moving from place to place is not that difficult. At first the sight of motorcyclists wearing their jackets back to front was puzzling, until my brother-in-law’s wife explained to me that they do it because of the dust. It’s nice to know that human beings always come up with effective solutions to turn up looking nice at work. The little experience I had with the train network was satisfactory with the staff always willing to help.

Going back to the Malaysian cuisine, I suffered a major casualty because of it. On the day we were due to return, I received a resignation letter from my nose. In it my organ of smell informed me that it’d sooner stay amongst the fragrances of spices such as turmeric, chilli and sambal than return to the vapours emanating from the factories near my house in London. Fair enough, I could see its point. My nose also had made new friends whose names betrayed the pungent roots on which much cooking in Malaysia was based: galangal and ginger. So, now, I am the Cuban in London With a Prosthetic Nose. My only hope is that I can do a Nicole Kidman and take an Oscar home with me.

For some reason I kept thinking of Cuba whenever I was downtown or in a working class area. The buildings, the people and the roads, they reminded me of my country of birth. Even the architecture was similar. Some of the edifices reminded of the famous ‘cajitas de fósforos’ (boxes of matches) that were the butt of many jokes amongst people of my age. These were Soviet-style buildings that appeared in the Cuban landscape at the tail end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s. In KL, I saw a few. Some other areas were the total opposite. For instance, Bangsar is an affluent neighbourhood with gated houses and guarded blocks of flats.


‘I wasn’t looking for anyone, and yet I saw you’. That line was part of a song I posted a few weeks ago. The melody was written by the Argentinian pop and rock singer, Fito Páez, and on that occasion, I uploaded a version by the Brazilian performer Caetano Veloso. The refrain came to me again in Malaysia because I wasn’t looking for music and yet I came across one of the more refreshing and vibrant voices I’ve heard in recent months. Zee Avi is a Malay singer whose debut album has been playing on my stereo almost everyday since I returned from KL. A review of the album will follow soon but in the meantime I shall leave you with this charming and beautiful song. Have a great week.

(all photos by the blog author)

Copyright 2010



Next Post: 'Once' (Review), to be published on Tuesday 4th May at 11:59pm (GMT)