Is Mayday's latest album nice?
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My parents say it's shit, but I say it's nice.
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Album Review: 五月天 - 後�春期的詩 / Mayday - Poetry of the Day After
ashih :: aznplay.com | October 31, 2008
Info
Album: 後�春期的詩 / Poetry of the Day After
Artist: 五月天 / Mayday
Release Date: October 23, 2008
Tracklisting:
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çª�ç„¶å¥½æƒ³ä½ (Suddenly Thinking of You)
- ä½ ä¸�是真æ£çš„快樂 (You’re Not Really Happy)
- 爆� (Burst Liver)
- 噢買尬 (Oh My God)
- 出é 天 (Day of Appearing)
- 我心ä¸å°šæœªå´©å£žçš„地方 (An Uncollapsed Spot of My Heart)
- 春天的å�¶å–Š (Spring’s Howl)
- 夜訪�血鬼 (Night Interview With a Vampire)
- 如煙 (Like Smoke)
- 後�春期的詩 (Poetry of the Day After)
- ç¬‘å¿˜æŒ (Laughingly Forgetting a Song)
- 生å˜ä»¥ä¸Š 生活以下 (Survival Above, Life Below)
Blurb
Lately, it seems like all news has been bad news. Pull down your BBC newsfeed and the top stories blare headlines like “Diplomats seek to end Congo crisis,” “US economy officially shrinking,” and “TV star gets three month ban.” It’s times like these when it seems like music is the only thing that makes sense anymore.
Mayday, or 五月天, is one of those special bands that doesn’t come along very often. But their songs are the ones that make sense. Years after their release, people are still uplifted by tunes like Lockjaw (牙關) and Stubborn (倔強). Show Luo (羅志祥) cited Mayday’s 戀愛ing as his favorite song to sing at KTV. And S.H.E recreated the chorus of Mayday’s 溫柔 just last year, 7 years after the original song’s release. Mayday’s concerts, whether they are held in Taiwan or mainland China, are always packed, with fans screaming their heads off and teenage girls professing their love for Ashin, Mayday’s lead singer. All of Mayday’s albums have made it onto the American version of itunes, perhaps a testament to the musical genius of the group. With their latest album “Poetry of the Day After” (後é�’春期的詩), Mayday has been around for almost ten years. Are they still going strong?
“Poetry of the Day After” (後é�’春期的詩) is a daring album, not only in its musical depth, but also in its release date. “Poetry of the Day After” was released almost concurrently with Jay Chou’s new album, Capricorn (see below). The Taiwanese media has already, predictably, started an unofficial “battle” between Jay and Mayday of who can sell more albums.“Poetry of the Day After” (後é�’春期的詩) is a very strong album, incorporating several musical styles into generally feel-good tunes.The album starts with “Suddenly Thinking of You” (çª�ç„¶å¥½æƒ³ä½ ). Although this is a “typical” Mandarin pop song talking about love and one’s significant other, Ashin’s voice makes this one worth a listen. Despite the song’s somewhat somber lyrics, it is still an uplifting song.
“Survival Above, Life Below” (生å˜ä»¥ä¸Š 生活以下) showcases Mayday’s trademark playfulness. Opening with the sound of a toothbrush (strange but charming in a way) and then moving into a happy, exciting chorus, “Survival Above, Life Below” is a fun song that might brighten up a rainy day.
“You’re Not Really Happy” (ä½ ä¸�是真æ£çš„快樂) is another winner. There are times in the song when you can almost predict a loud, rousing, chorus, but Mayday waits until the very end of the song to bring it to a climax. The result is a soothing , inspiring melody.
From the name of the next track, “Burst Liver” (爆è‚�), one can predict that this song is a little weird. Indeed, filled with toots and some wacky lyrics, “Burst Liver” (爆è‚�) is a song that seems a little too repetitive and a little too crazy. It’s worth a listen for the fun tune, but I think it’s one of the weaker tracks on this album.
The next song on the album, “Oh My God” (噢買尬) is another fun song. It’s not quite as repetitive as “Burst Liver” and features a cool guitar part in the middle, making it a decent track. It sounds like Mayday tried to bring back the “戀愛ing” feel here; it succeeds to an extent but still nothing can quite compare to that rush you get when you’re sitting with friends in a ktv room scrambling to sing 未來æŸ�å¹´æŸ�月æŸ�æ—¥æŸ�時æŸ�分æŸ�秒…
I can’t even begin to describe how much I like Mayday’s newest Taiwanese language song: Day of Appearing (出é 天). Even if you can’t understand the lyrics (and this includes myself), the song gives you a warm, hopeful feeling, something the whole world needs right now. Although it’s a different, more mellow feel, because it’s in Taiwanese, this song brings back wonderful memories of “Jack and Jill” (志明與春橋), the Taiwanese song that made Mayday famous almost 10 years ago. 出é 天 is a rousing song; with Ashin leading the way and background voices giving us lalalas and singing the chorus together, this one is a winner.
Mayday’s Taiwanese language songs continue into the next track- An Uncollapsed Spot of My Heart (我心ä¸å°šæœªå´©å£žçš„地方). While I don’t like it as much as 出é 天, this is still a solid track. The song is relatively soft throughout, giving us some more of that homely feel that can be found in Mayday’s classics like “Wen Rou” (溫柔) and “I love you 無望”. The song is over 5 minutes long and can kind of drag on. Stick to 出é 天 if you are looking for a happy Taiwanese song.
“Spring’s Howl” (春天的å�¶å–Š) has a very “rock and roll” style. If you’re looking for a loud song with a lot of background, then this one’s for you. For fans of rock, this will probably be a standout. Personally however, I prefer Mayday’s softer melodies.
Taiwan doesn’t celebrate Halloween but Mayday certainly got into the spirit with the next song :“Interview at Night With a Vampire” (夜訪å�¸è¡€é¬¼). Actually, the song isn’t very “scary;” rather, it’s pretty calm until the final seconds of the song. I think the same couple of chords are used a little too much over the course of the song, but it is still a wonderful display of Ashin’s vocal abilities. This song incorporates some elements of rock into it as well, but less so than the previous track, “Spring’s Howl” (春天的å�¶å–Š). If you’re looking for soft rock this might be the song for you.
“Like Smoke” (如煙) starts with the soft strumming of a guitar and maintains that kind of plain but charming feel throughout. I didn’t take to the song the first time I heard it. As I listen to it now however, I think it’s a pretty soothing song that is definitely worth a listen. While this could be said of many of Mayday’s songs, if you listen to this one with a pair of nice headphones, you can really hear the depth of the instrumental side of Mayday.
The title track of the album, “Poetry of the Day After” (後é�’春期的詩) is only a little over 2 minutes long. This might be a song that you listen to before going to bed…it’s quite calming. Once again, one gets a sense of unity from the song; I love the voice in the middle that whispers “è¦�å’Œä½ …一起走å�§.”
Mayday’s final contribution to 2008 is “Laughingly Forgetting a Song” (笑忘æŒ). The song is really upbeat and reminds us to well…smile and forget. It’s an apt ending song and I think it sums up this album’s “theme” really well.
Unquestionably, Mayday went above and beyond with this album. There are 12 songs on it, 2 more than is standard, and I can’t say I genuinely dislike any of them. According to official statistics, this album has sold slightly more copies than Jay Chou’s newest album, which is a great feat. Mayday is truly a unique band-producing good music, escaping the prying eyes of the media (for the most part), all while maintaining a clean, down to earth image. “Poetry of the Day After” (後é�’春期的詩) is a joy to listen to. Let’s hope Mayday’s upcoming concert is a success and that they can keep producing these sorts of masterpieces.
Recommended Songs
Track 1: Suddenly Thinking of You (çª�ç„¶å¥½æƒ³ä½ )
Track 6: Day of Appearing (出é 天)
Track 12: Laughingly Forgetting a Song (笑忘æŒ)
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Some are not bad....
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As a fan of mayday myself, i find that their latest album is not that nice compare to their past album like 爱情万�，疯狂世界，人生海海...etc. They always give me the kind of 知识�年 impression that put their inspiration, dreams, feeling and how they view the world, all in the album. The best thing is I feel related to their songs, and it felt like its as if they are singing my life. I felt as if they r like my friends.
Mayday rocks!
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i got tian shi