The way it used to be

Things around us just weren't the way they were in the 90s. Okay, the way I started out was like some old fart living out the reality of the mantra "the older i get, the better i was". Nonetheless, it just struck me that whether you want to call it evolution or development, definitely the social landscape and the environment around us has changed/deteoriated since then.

For starters, music. Modern day popular music largely is pure garbage, derivative, cliched and worse still largely electronic in nature. No offense to the masses (then again, totally no conviction in that statement) but I can't imagine why would people want to listen to dance/house/trance/jungle/cacophony when they are not high on drugs, liquor or sex. All those sounds like the neighbouring construction site to me, with repeatitive rhythmic beats akin to that of a whatever-you-call-it-machine pounding on the ground. The limited semblance of melody brings to mind a cat in heat. When I just flipped through Guitar World the other day for the first time in maybe 8 years, seems to me that they are talking about the same people they did when I religiously bought every issue. Then again, its not surprising since its not Electronica World or whatever is the equivalent of it. Technology can actually be a curse when any tone deaf guy/girl/guygirl can just put together some beats on their Mac and add some absurd noises, string it together, repeat ad infinitum and cut an album. Gone were the days were musicians actually had to had to combine talent with raw diligence to achieve anything. Ok, to be fair, in the past you had people like Kylie Minogue who achieved fame with neither of that, which probably explains her comeback. I would rather listen to my lousy Sunny roaring/whimpering then to tune to 98 or 98.7 while driving.

Another point of contention, ah bengs. Yup, they don't make them like they used to do they? When was the last time you saw the once ubiqitous blondie with overlap hair and the signature orange comb with the long spike? Even more sacrilegious, many a self-professed modern day ah beng quarrel in Australian accented English. Blame in on affluent parents who allow their children to be forcefully educated beyond their intelligence by sending them to Australian universities.

Also, how about the Hong Kong movie scene? The 90's was chock full with great movies like the Young and Dangerous Trilogy, The Mission, The Longest Night just to name a few. The last five years, less movies are coming out from HK and lower in quality. Apart from Running out of time, SPL and Infernal Affairs, nothing of note comes to mind. I love Twins-se but seriously almost all their movies are garbage derivative crap that gives HK movies its bad name. Of course the past year there was Election (just the first one) and lately Exiled. Yet, you can see that even Korean movies seems to get more screens than Hong Kong movies in our local cinemas.

Sigh, decline is in the air.