Tuesday 8 February 2011

Songs you might not like to hear at 2 in the morning

I'm bored, so I made a list. It's quite famous among people nowadays. Apparently it's supposed to help with "organising" thoughts or something.


Usually people will have a Top 10 list of stuff, but the minimum would be 3, and I'll go with the latter. Way easier for me.


Now imagine. You unexpectedly woke up after deciding to hit the pillows at 12. It's 2 AM, but you're not feeling as sleepy as you should. It's dark, a cold wind blows into your room, and quiet (except for cicak, but then again, when are they ever give up their tut-tut-ing?).


At this moment, it would be a bad, and I mean baaaaaaddd moment for your ears to pick up one of these songs. And I speak from experience:


1) Waiting for You (等著你回來, Deng Zhe Ni Hui Lai), by Bai Guang.

Don't get me wrong. The song was probably originally meant to describe a woman's yearning for a beloved who was off to war or something. It's probably romantic and sad in a way.

But I heard this song for the first time like 9 years ago. In a story called "Time After Time". Which is a story of forbidden love. Between a guy. And a female singer. Who wore a traditional blood-red qipao. And is a ghost...and the line' waiting for you' has a new meaning...


2) Pulangkan, by Misha Omar.

Ok, Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam was not scary. I mean, seriously? A vampire without fangs? And after Ringu's Sakako, every white-clothed lady-ghost seems like a rip-off.

But Misha Omar has this voice. Like, mendayu-dayu voice, maybe the voice you would like to see win AJL or Akademi Fantasia. But it's not one you would like to hear at 2 am in the morning. Because in the darkness, white stands out...

Not one to listen to if you're planning to do a last-minute study of the paper you're supposed to sit for the next morning at 8.30.


3) Ulik Mayang, Malay traditional music

This song is what they call a lagu berhantu. Because it's haunting. Seriously, it is. Listen to the lyrics. It's the story of forbidden love between a man of land and a princess of another dimension. And it's what Supernatural fans call a summoning spell. It's so haunting, I heard it being played once on RTM at 6pm and it popped into my head the moment night lights are out.


And finally...


4) The soundtracks of the Arrivals...

Yes, I am talking about the latest craze to hit Malaysia since "Mawi World". You Don't want to listen to this song playing at 2am.

And not because it's scary. But because it's freaking annoying. I mean, pilfering the soundtracks from The Fountain and Saw is one thing. But the soundtrack also means a congregation is watching the documentary in your room. With the lights on. Right when you feel you needed proper rest for a presentation tomorrow. You'd actually wish for the existence of an Illuminati-Freemason-Vatican-Jewish-Zionist-American-NWO-Antichrist who would destroy half the world. You'd actually get some rest.


Yeah, that's about it.