on the behest of dearly beloved drama-related friend, Lian Jiayuan, i attended one of the current Singapore Fringe Festival's events: GUILTY PLEASURES. it's basically a really cosy listening party set in the glass porch at the Singapore Art Museum. the glass paneling at the porch was all coated with whitewash for that intimate sense of privacy. and everyone was free to inscribe their guiltiest confessions on these panels. the deal for those that RSVP-ed for the party was to bring a piece of music to describe their guiltiest pleasures. something that's oh-so-embarrassing and yet oh-so-good.

i didn't bring any music to share actually. simply because i don't have any embarrassing music that i listen to. or maybe it's because i'm so thick-skinned that everything i listen to seems to be damn cool or something. and besides, everything i listen to is just an aural orgy between left ear, right ear and the headphones. i make it a point to not intrude the intangible aural space of the public. back in the 70s or 80s or 90s (i have no idea), you always see those african-american breakdancers carrying their gigantic boomboxes around the streets of New York, playing i dunno.... Play That Funky Music White Boy? well, now we have the infestation of the secondary school mats who carry cheap Nokia handphones and play Smack That. and the song is really pushing the limit given that Akon is the highest-pitched rapper i've ever known (and a very irritating one at that, and his acting in the MTVs are really atrocious). i mean i don't go round irritating the world by blasting Britney and her attempt to go against the music, so you keep that Akon in your recycle bin where it rightfully belongs, and i'll keep Britney in mine.

still, if someone were to ask me 'what do you normally listen to if you think that everything you listen to is so damn cool?', the condensed version would be 'everything lor'. but since we've got time, here's the 500 word limit answer.

there's the gay staples like Madonna, Kylie, Scissor Sisters, Whitney, Mariah, etc. then throw in some Indie bands for a good measure of emo in oneself: Deathcab, Arctic Monkeys, Aqualung (can consider as indie or not?). and when there's Indie bands, you've got to balance it out with the 'oh-so-in-these-days' genre of punk/alternative/emo rock like My Chemical Romance, All-American Rejects, Snow Patrol, The Fray, Coldplay. a spoonful of pop treats so that i can relate what i read in the entertainment magazines (sprinkles lots of Pussycat Dolls, Gwen Stefani, Justin). and because i club, i need to train the ears with plenty of Hed Kandi, Cafe Del Mar, MOS compilations. plus the melancholic stuff that you can get depressed to like Portishead, Damien Rice, Kings of Convenience, Cat Power, Telepopmusic.

now that is the elaborate version. and i was actually looking through my entire music collection while typing the previous paragraph. and i think i've found the ultimate guilty pleasure. and if a certain someone is reading my blog, i apologize first and foremost. but this performance artiste in question is really trashy. she's married and divorced to and with useless men. plus she's already had babies and ballooning with her weight. and like litter around the garbage bin in a heartlander estate, you realize that all the trash gathers around more trash. yes, Britney (who used to hang around Paris, who is pretty much trash also), we're talking about you. but take away her hedonistic lifestyle and you've got a very talented dancer and singer (term used very loosely when i say 'singer'). the song in question? 'My Only Wish (This Year)'. apparently, i've put it on my general playlist in itunes. ok, i admit i have something for christmas songs with plenty of those ding-dong bells ringing in the background. plus it always makes me want to open up presents for some reason.

yeah, it's not even christmas and it's not like she has released any albums recently. and yet, i'm listening to her. i ought to be shot. or smacked by Akon.

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