Rainbow – ‘I Said You’re The One’ (너뿐 이라고): The only song I like from the new album ‘SO女’

Not a very inspiring headline, I know. If you have come to my website before while searching for K-pop, you’ll notice I quite like rookie girl group Rainbow. I’ve written about them twice in the past — first, when I heard their brilliant single “A” and a second time, when they released “Mach”.

With those two songs, Rainbow became the only other girl group I cared about as a fan after SNSD. So it was with much anticipation that I awaited the release of their new single “to Me”.

Rainbow to Me mini album new kpop girl group Korean So女
DSP Media introduced a flower-y concept for the girls for this album

But it’s not like DSP Media sticks to one concept for a photo teaser and another concept for the actual music video release. They caught my attention before the release of “A” with a futuristic and very fashionable look for the girls. But when the video came out, the girls had to dance as though they were about to take off their top.

-_-

Oh well.

Today, tracks from their second mini album, SO女, hit the web. I went straight to the single “to Me” and quickly hit play… but after a minute later, I had to stop the song. I was disappointed. The song wasn’t very good — and the “Oh-eh, Oh-eh-oh-eh…” chorus was annoying.

I then tried listening to the other songs. “So Cool” was just “meh”. The ‘Engrish’ is what got to me I guess. I then hoped for a saving grace from ‘SO女’.

And it came when I played the third new song on the mini-album:

“I Said You’re The One” (너뿐 이라고)

Now songs like this is what I was expecting! A nice upbeat ballad with a great chorus. Sweet vocals and no cringe-inducing English phrases. “I Said You’re The One” has a melody and song structure that is pure K-pop.  I won’t be surprised if this song will end up being used on soundtracks.

That said, “I Said You’re The One” still wouldn’t have done too well if it had been released as first single to promote this mini-album. It’s a good song, no doubt. But after “A” and “Mach”s success, Rainbow needed to keep the success train rolling full steam ahead with a great track! “To Me” only slows the train down.

All-in-all, I am disappointed with Rainbow’s new material. I’m not giving up on the group though. I’m sure in a few months, they’ll release another mini-album, or who knows, going by online feedback, DSP Media may even release  “I Said You’re The One” as a single with a sweet MV.

I haven’t written about K-pop since November last year and there’s good reason for that. There’s a bit of a lull in K-pop right now. Way too many girl groups and more boy bands are on the way. The only songs I liked in the last 3 months were Seungri – “What Can I Do,” MBLAQ – “Stay” and K.Will’s “My Heart Is Beating” — but I didn’t like them that much to write a post on them.

But hey, 2011 is still young and April couldn’t get more hotter. Jay Park’s finally releasing his debut single and SNSD returns with a Japanese single.

So expect new posts on K-pop in April! 🙂

Batu Caves large Murugan statue steps Malaysia

Malaysia 2010: Day 8 — Kuala Lumpur (Batu Caves, Petaling Street/China Town)

Date: 2nd October 2010

Today we needed to be out and early as we had to head far out to reach Batu Caves, a famous Hindu temple site — and one of Kuala Lumpur’s must-see sights. Since I was up and ready first, I decided to take a few photos of the place where we were staying.

Irsia, according to the Iranians who run the place, is a fairly new hostel/bed-n-breakfast/budget guesthouse.

Irsia hostel shoes Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
You have to leave your shoes downstairs as no shoes are allowed into rooms
Irsia hostel ground floor rooms Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
The place is quite clean though. These are the rooms downstairs.
Irsia hostel dining room Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
The dining room is downstairs
Irsia hostel kitchen Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
The kitchen is where you can make yourself toast and coffee/tea

As was the norm everywhere we stayed on this trip, once you are done with breakfast, you wash the dishes yourself and keep it back from where you took them.

Irsia hostel bed & breakfast lobby Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
The lobby/reception/living area has books, a TV and two computers with free internet service
Irsia BnB lobby KL Revive Isotonik
They sell bottled water lower than what the 7-Elevens charge
Irsia hostel verandah Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
This is the sit-out area. Smoking is not allowed inside the rooms.
Irsia hostel sit out area Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
This is where we sat yesterday night and had our dinner
Irsia hostel rainbow stairs Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
No elevator. You have take these stairs to go up.
Irsia hostel upstairs rooms Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Upstairs, where our triple room was (Photograph by Loiyumba, taken yesterday)
Irsia BnB F1 triple room Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
How appropriate our room number was ‘F1’ for this ‘F1 trip’ of ours
Irsia hostel upstairs bathrooms Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
These are the bathrooms upstairs

That concludes our tour of Irsia hostel/Bed-n-Breakfast/guesthouse/budget hotel 🙂

Given that our triple room cost us around Rs. 4300 (RM297/$96/€68) for 3 nights, we couldn’t have been more happier with Irsia, given the location. Yes, the walls are a little thin and ventilation isn’t great, but if you are going to be spending more time inside hotel rooms, you best look at proper hotels. By the way, that is Rs. 4300 for all three of us — Rs. 1400 per person, for 3 nights in KL!

Once all three of us were ready and done with breakfast, we stepped out. We decided to take the monorail to get to KL Sentral.

Imbi station monorail Kuala Lumpur
The monorail station in front of Berjaya Times Square is called Imbi
Imbi monorail station Kuala Lumpur morning
At 9:30am, the station wasn’t all that crowded

Monorail view to KL Sentral

KL monorail view city river stream
The ride takes around 15-20 minutes with all the stops

Once at KL Sentral, we asked the information desk how to get to Batu Caves and were instructed to head downstairs to the train platforms.  We bought our tickets (RM2/Rs. 30/$0.60) and headed down.

KL Sentral train station platforms

KL Sentral train station Batu Caves
There are frequent trains to Batu Caves

Unfortunately, in the confusion of which train to get on, I accidentally stepped into the wrong train but was too late to step out as the doors closed with Ramesh and Loi still on the platform.

Kuala Lumpur city train station
I got down at the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, which was the next stop

But by then, Ramesh and Loiyumba were in the right train and already ahead of me.

Kuala Lumpur train station
I soon got the next train and was on my way

Kuala Lumpur houses on outskirtsKuala Lumpur outskirts by trainThe ride took nearly 30 minutes and by the time I arrived at the station (which by the way is the last stop), Ramesh and Loiyumba were already at the temple.

Getting to Batu Caves Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
There is no entry fee for Batu Caves
Batu Caves Hanuman green statue
Hanumanji’s presence isn’t the biggest here
Batu caves Venkatachalapathi temple Kualu Lumpur
Sri Venkatachalapathi temple

Batu Caves Venkatachalapathi temple no shoes

Batu caves Sri Venkatachalapathi temple devoteesBatu Caves temple diyas KL MalaysiaBatu Caves landscape KL MalaysiaBatu Caves Sri Venkatachalapathi temple stepsBatu caves murku mixture shop Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Batu Caves Chinese garden Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
This is a Chinese garden; I believe entry wasn’t free

Batu Caves pigeons Murugan statue KL MalaysiaBatu Caves kids scaring pigeons KL Malaysia

Batu Caves pigeons kid Malaysia
Pigeons must hate kids
Batu Caves adult scaring pigeons KL Malaysia
Scratch that. Pigeons hate humans.

Batu Caves hindu temple Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Batu Caves Murugan statue steps Malaysia
It was time for me go up, Ramesh and Loi were already in the cave

Batu Caves Hindu gods pigeonsBatu Caves base temple hall no shoes

Batu Caves steps Murugan statue height
This statue of Lord Murugan is the biggest of its kind in the world
Batu Caves 272 steps hill climb KL Malaysia
272 steps to climb
Batu Caves monkey stair pillar KL Malaysia
Along the way (as was the norm on this trip), you’ll encounter plenty of monkeys
Batu Caves monkey grabbing banana from tourist
And as usual, monkeys will try and grab stuff from you

Batu Caves monkey by steps looking KL Malaysia

Batu Caves monkey silent KL Malaysia
But they are generally well behaved here

Batu Caves monkey steps Brazil touristBatu Caves monkey on steps shoesBatu Caves Gua Gelap dark cave entranceBatu Caves monkey looking Kuala Lumpur cityBatu Caves entrance to highest templeOnce I reached the top, I met up with Ramesh and Loiyumba who were done and were ready to head back down. They said they would wait for me down below and so, I went in for my photography.

Batu Caves view from top KL cityBatu Caves entrance god statueBatu Caves inside stalactitesBatu Caves inside pigeon stare

Batu Caves inside view

Batu Caves inside main cave area
It only got better once inside
Batu Caves roof gaps in rocks
There were gaps in the ceiling through which water was dripping down
Batu Caves inside steps to second temple
There are two temples in side the cave
Batu Caves inside main temple Swami Sannathi
This. apparently, is the ‘main temple’

Batu Caves inside steps to other temple Batu Caves inside monkey looking at people

Batu Caves inside cave open area water drippingBatu Caves inside monkey climbing stairs

Batu Caves inside monkey begging food
This monkey was a spoilt one. When this Indian couple gave hims some food, he dropped it and picked up a burger instead.

Batu Caves inside limestone rock

Batu Caves inside temple vertical shot
I was glad I had my wide angle lens with me

Batu Caves inside main cave open airBatu Caves inside limestone formationBatu Caves inside monkey eating coconutBatu Caves inside three monkeysBatu Caves inside templeBatu Caves inside Indian statues

Batu Caves inside temple writings on wall
Apparently they should have also mentioned ‘No Scribbling’
Batu Caves inside temple rock colours
I liked the photos I clicked in here

Batu Caves inside temple designBatu Caves inside monkeys on rocksBatu Caves inside staring monkeyBatu Caves inside monkeys on limestone rockBatu Caves inside monkey praying eyes closedBut even with a wide-angle lens, trying to capture the scale of the caves from the inside (without distortion) was near impossible, so I took a few multiple shots and merged them into one using Photoshop.

Batu Caves vertical panorama
Vertical panorama comprised of 10 shots

Batu Caves inside monkey on lightBatu Caves inside limestone rocksBatu Caves inside monkey on steps

Batu Caves steps dark inside vertical panorama
Vertical panorama comprised of 11 shots

Batu Caves worship temple

Batu Caves stairs inside lighting panorama
Vertical panorama comprised of 8 shots

Batu Caves opening light coming inBatu Caves limestone walls

Batu Caves water dropping on steps
I was trying to capture water dropping on to the steps
Batu Caves steps way out
After nearly 20 minutes inside the cave, it was time for me head down

Batu Caves tourists posing Indian godsBatu Caves stepping outBatu Caves steps down

Batu Caves view of Kuala Lumpur
It was a cloudy day, so I couldn’t see the Petronas Towers from here. Actually, I’m not even sure if they are visible from up here.
Batu Caves large Lord Murugan statue Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Vertical panorama comprised of 5 shots

Batu Caves entrance to steps

Once down, I caught up with Loi and Ramesh and we decided to have lunch from here itself.

Batu Caves Dhivya's Cafe jain food Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
This is where we ate. There aren’t too many options actually.

Post lunch, we just sat outside for a while and observed the crowds. We were even approached by some PR team for Sony, and asked to pretend we were using Sony camcorders. In return for doing so, we asked them if we could keep them — but they said no. 🙂

Batu Caves wedding couple photography
Not sure if this couple were shooting for their wedding album or not
Batu Caves large Murugan statue steps Malaysia
I took one last look at Lord Murugan before leaving (This is a single shot)

Batu Caves Indian Swami Malal Thiru ThaniBatu Caves pigeons on top

Batu Caves train Komuter station
This is the Batu Caves train station
Batu Caves inside station
(Photograph by Loiyumba)
Batu Caves train station public sign Malaysia
In case you wanted to know the Malay words for public signs (Photograph by Loiyumba)
Batu Caves Tandas Lelaki
Tandas = toilet (Photograph by Loiyumba)

We bought our tickets (RM2) and boarded our train.

Kuala Lumpur Petronas Towers from far Malaysia
It was a cloudy day, but we could still see the Petronas Towers from afar

Loiyumba sleeping in train Malaysian flag glass

Dynasty Hotel Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
If you were looking for nasty hotel in KL. (J/k, it’s quite fancy: http://www.dynasty.com.my/)
Ramesh Mithun train Kuala Lumpur
(Photograph taken by Loi)

Once we got back to KL Sentral, we decided to head to the IKEA store as Ramesh was keen on picking up some stuff from there. The outlet was located in the area called Mutiara Damansara and we asked around on how to get there by bus. We waited at bus stop outside KL Sentral and hopped on to one that went that way.

Kuala Lumpur city highway flyoverThe journey took us through a lot of residential areas in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur residential area highway MalaysiaPapparich Livingportal Kuala Lumpur Malaysia(These were taken on my Nokia E72)

Kuala Lumpur houses MalaysiaKuala Lumpur residential area MalaysiaAn hour long journey later, we were in Petaling Jaya. Even though it was a long journey, it was quite a relaxing one for me as I got to see residential areas outside of the CBD (Central Business District), something I wouldn’t have seen given where we were staying.

Ikano Power Centre mall Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
The IKEA store is right adjacent to this

Once we entered the IKEA store, we were hooked! There was soooooo much that we felt like picking up, but just couldn’t, because figuring out how to carry them home was something we couldn’t comprehend.

Regardless, we still picked up quite a bit of stuff and by the time were out, it was well past sunset.

Ikea store Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Technically, the IKEA store is not in Kuala Lumpur, it’s in neighbouring district

Since we had quite a lot of stuff with us to carry, we decided to just take a cab.

Kuala Lumpur tunnel underpass Malaysia
Though bus only cost us RM2.60 for 3, taxi was much required to save time

And save time it did, the taxi took the highway from the IKEA store into KL  and we were back in our rooms in just half-an-hour. (IKEA store directions)

For dinner, we decided to head to Kuala Lumpur’s China Town, which was also accessible via monorail.

Kuala Lumpur traffic at night carsFrom Imbi, the monorail stop for getting to China Town was only two stops away, at Maharajalela.

Chinese Guan Yin temple night Kuala LumpurPawn shop way to Petaling Street Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Jalan Petaling street China town entrance Kuala Lumpur
If you ask locals around for “Chinatown” and they don’t get it, just ask for Petaling street

Once inside, it was a just one street (probably covering two blocks) with a lot of stores and street shops. No vehicles allowed.

KL Petaling Street shopping handbags
You have the usual gamut of fake goods, pirated CD/DVDs and clothes
Petaling Street Chinatown crowds Kuala Lumpur
But I didn’t really find anything particularly interesting about this ‘Chinatown’
Petaling Street shops Chinatown KL Malaysia
Plus, the prices were quite high considering the stuff they sold weren’t what you would call “genuine”

A lot of the t-shirts were from Thailand and so, cost a lot more than what I saw them for in Bangkok. Yes, you have to haggle, but even when Loi did so for a backpack, the price they came down to was still too high. We soon left Petaling Street.

And just as we left, it began to rain all of a sudden.

Plaza Warisan bricked streets rain night Kuala Lumpur
Fortunately we had umbrellas

We saw an Malay Indian restaurant and jumped in for a quick dinner.

Roti parota beef curry Kuala Lumpur
The place was run by Malay Tamilians; food was simple and decent enough taste-wise

Ramesh didn’t find anything on the menu that was pure veg, so it was just myself & Loi. Once we were done, we headed back to Berjaya Times Square by taxi (cost RM5) as it was still raining.

Berjaya Times Square Krispy Kreme Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
It was dinner at Krispy Kreme for Ramesh
Loiyumba penchant pose Kuala Lumpur night
It stopped raining by midnight

We headed back to Irsia, calculated our daily expenses, sorted out who paid for what, and who owes whom how much — pretty much a daily routine for us on this trip, before hitting the sack.

I was quite happy with some of the photos I took inside Batu Caves and rate the caves highly as one of the “must see” sights in Kuala Lumpur. It only costs RM 2 for the one way journey to Batu Caves by train and is a nice break from the city.

Tomorrow morning, we planned to get up early (again) and head to Petronas Towers to try and get a ticket to visit the observation deck. We only had one more day left in the capital.


Other posts in this series:

Singapore & Malaysia 2010: Planning and preparing for the trip

Singapore 2010: Day 1 – Little India, CBD, Clarke Quay, China Town… and a lot of walking

Singapore 2010: Day 2 – Orchard Road, mall-hopping… and already shopping

Singapore 2010: Day 3 – Singapore Zoo, Marina Bay Sands; leaving Singapore for Penang

Malaysia 2010: Day 5 — Langkawi (Ferry ride from Penang, Cable car & Sky Bridge)

Malaysia 2010: Day 6 — Langkawi (Island hopping tour, Pantai Tengah beach, Night market)

Malaysia 2010: Day 7 — Kuala Lumpur (Low Yat Plaza, Petronas Towers, Jalan Alor)

Malaysia 2010: Day 9 — Kuala Lumpur (KLCC Aquaria, Merdeka Square, KL Tower observation deck)

Malaysia 2010: Leaving Kuala Lumpur… and about going back

Re-living the 90s: My favourite songs from 1991

This is the second of 10 posts. One post for every year of the decade that was the 1990s. For an introduction into this series and why I felt like doing these blog posts, read this first.

As 1991 came along, my interest in music grew. So did my favourable appreciation of rap music. As you’ll read below in my conclusion, the following songs were favourites of mine at the time — not necessarily the best in popular music 1991 had to offer.

Rap pop 1991 biggest hit artists
L-R Clockwise: Naughty by Nature, Fresh Prince & DJ Jazzy Jeff, Marky Mark, Heavy D & Wet Wet Wet

EMF – “Unbelievable”

This was one of the most memorable hits from the 1990s. A number 1 song in the US and top 3 hit in their home country UK, EMF are largely known as a ‘one-hit wonder’. Still, given how often this song is still played and used on soundtracks, the band members are probably still living off of royalties from this song.

Naughty by Nature – “O.P.P.”

Sampling the hook from the Jackson 5’s “ABC,” this song was first big hit for Naughty by Nature.  Of course, back then as a 9-year old, I assumed “O.P.P” was an abbreviation for “Other People’s Party”… until Wikipedia told me otherwise. With this song, Naughty by Nature was officially on my ever-expanding rap radar.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – “Summertime”

Fresh Prince a.k.a Will Smith was one of my favourite people in entertainment during the 1990s. Not just for his music with his friend DJ Jazzy Jeff, but he was also popular at the time for his sitcom “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air“. I even memorized the lyrics to the opening intro song. “Summertime” is still a fresh ‘Good Morning’ song!

Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch – “Good vibrations”

Before Mark Wahlberg became the badass actor he is now, Mark Wahlberg was a Calvin Klein underwear model, and before that, Mark Wahlberg was rapper Marky Mark. Funny, I know. Back then, he was famous for being the brother of Donnie Wahlberg (of NKOTB) and was one of the few white rappers on the pop scene.

Heavy D & The Boyz – “Now That We Found Love

I used to love the chorus for this song! Heavy D was one of the biggest rappers back then — both literally and otherwise.

Wet Wet Wet – “Goodnight Girl”

Though rap ruled my world back then, I wasn’t incapable of appreciating melodious songs from Scottish bands like Wet Wet Wet. “Goodnight Girl” was a UK number one hit back in 1991 and one of the many good songs from the group that were hugely popular in Europe, but never made it in the US.

———–

It’s funny, when I look up some of the biggest hits that came out in 1991, I found so many songs that ended up becoming favourites as I matured into the 1990s. Songs like:

Bryan Adams – “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)”

Nirvana –  “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Extreme – “Hole Hearted”

Genesis – “No Son Of Mine”

Chris Isaak – “Wicked Game”

Metallica – “Enter Sandman”

Roxette – “Fading Like A Flower”

The Scorpions – “Wind Of Change”

Queensryche – “Silent Lucidity”

So yeah, mostly rock. I guess I was still into easy pop and rap at the time. Many of these songs still rank as some of my favourite songs ever, but looking at the above list of songs, 1991 surely was one heck of a year for music!

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