On old songs:

It is the 80s weekend on Class 95fm. My brother should be happy. He always professed to be an 80s kid.
I would be one too, except that while he was listening to english songs back in the mid-late 80s, i was listening to 93.3fm.
When he was listening to chinese songs in the 90s, i was listening to the perfect10.

Ultimately, when it comes down to putting a tag on what music period i belong to, i would say i am a 70-80s chinese oldies kid.
For some reasons, i simply can't forget those old chinese songs by teresa teng, zhen ni, yu tian and the younger ones like fei yu qing, cai qin, cai xin juan, out of my mind.

I can never remember exactly when did i used to hear these songs. I don't remember having a radio around when i was young. Did we have karaoka back then? I know my parents love these songs too. The only vivid memory and link that i could possibly have for such songs dates back to the late 70s and early 80s when i was around 4-6yrs old. My dad used to be in the interior furnishing business back in Msia, and he used to furnish resturants and carabet clubs that were so popular in those days. I remember being in this place called the Golden Palace. By day and evening, it was a grand chinese restuarant. In fact it was one of the biggest back then. By night, it was a music lounge and dance hall. The owner used to engage singers and dancers there. I distinctly remembered seeing Fei yu qing there performing once.

As kids, my brothers and i were there fairly often, usually for dinners. My dad had a VIP sort of status then as the owner owed him money for the furnishing and as my dad put it, "we are just eating back our costs". After dinner, my parents would sit around drinking with friends and my brothers and I would run around looking at the live seafood swimming in the tanks and gliding on the dance floor. I can't remember exactly how the singers looked like but my impression of the place was that it was glittery, with red flashing disco lights and red big lounge sofas. Perhaps that is why these old songs are so imbedded within me, due to all those long nights (when i suppose i should be sleeping) of gliding in a glittery music lounge.

These days, i keep one or two CDs in my cars playing these old songs when i am driving. Most assumed that since it is my dad's car, those CDs are his. It sort of drives my passengers crazy but then i have known a few who really liked them too. It certainly makes them wonder why on earth am i listening to these songs and is able to even sing along. Like a memory of a smell, even as you smell it now, makes you nostagic and comfortable, these songs have such effect on me. It sort of brings me back to a time when everything was different and while i cannot remember everything that had happened back then, it was nonetheless, a secure and comfortable feeling, not unlike being in a mother's womb or embrace.