Rocking The Cute Voice

I don't usually listen to girls with cutesy voices. Don't mind me and take no offense, I am perfectly fine with them having such tones, but when they sing they often give me that saccharine feeling that I never like having.

(And I listen to Gee.)

But Cheer Chen 陳綺貞, a Taiwanese pop/folk rock cum indie artiste is actually very tolerable. In fact, I think I would buy her latest album.

Why do I say that?

First, she's a singer-songwriter. That, in my book, goes very high in the list.

Secondly, she's does pop rock with some indie flair, which is the music I totally dig now.

Third, I've read her lyrics. If I have recommended you Shadya Lan previously and even Jisun, I obviously have missed out a gem. Her lyrics are so deep that you have to really study it to know what she's writing about.

For example, an excerpt from 魚 Fish (the edge) from her latest album Immortal 太陽:

我坐在椅子上，看日出復活。
我坐在夕陽裡，看城市的衰弱。
我摘下一片葉子，讓它代替我，
觀察離開後的變化。

曾經狂奔，舞蹈，貪婪的說話，
隨著冷的濕的心，
腐化。

帶不走的丟不掉的，讓大雨侵蝕吧!
讓它推向我在邊界，
奮不顧身掙扎。

如果有一個懷抱，勇敢不計代價，
別讓我飛，將我溫柔豢養。

The English translation would only ... translate but not interpret fully.

I sit on the chair, looking at the resurrection of the sunrise
I sit within the sunset, look at the city's weakness
I pluck a leaf, let it become me
To watch the changes when I leave

Once running wildly, dancing and those words filled with greed
Following the cold and damp heart
Rot away

What I cannot bring, what I cannot throw, let the rain corrode it!
Let it be pushed to the relentless struggle me standing at the edge of the world

If there is a hug that is brave enough and unconditional
Don't let me fly away, gently take care of me.

Please tell me if you understand this. At third glance I still don't understand it. I must be very dumb. I would need 5 years at least to learn how to write like she does. Not to mention she pens and produces most of her songs, taking the most unconventional ways like recording in the open (her 4th single 'Pussy') or recording in the wardrobe of her house (her latest album)!

Fish is one of her ballads, and the reason why I let you all listen is to see how cute her voice is. But don't be fooled. She is 33 this year, and has debut since 1997.

Self an older song (from the album Beautiful Adventure 華麗的冒險), is a more rock song, 2nd song I've heard of her. First was her duet with Mayday 五月天 in Elope To The Moon 私奔到月球. I thought she was a new singer, due to her cute voice, and that she is just a pop singer. Turns out I was VERY wrong. This means, never to judge the book by its cover.

Mayday (ft. Cheer Chen) - Elope To The Moon

Overall, on first glance, I think Cheer Chen is the same kind of people I group under the "gem" section. They are incredibly hard to find, but once found, they are like gems, difficult to forget. She might turn into pop later in life to satisfy Mandopop though I wish to say to her "stick to what you do best!". I know if I become a singer, I wouldn't want to conform to pop-sy norms. Thanks to Kpop, I've learned to scurry through the fake plastics (haha. fake plastics.) to the real stones.

Now, I just need to earn some money to learn guitar and buy an electric guitar and a Mac with Logic Studio installed...


Edit: Cheer Chen is a fully independent artiste. But her albums are distributed through mainstream record labels.