Loving, loving David

Uploaded sum mag scans in my Webshots, from Iweekly & Uweekly in S'pore. Very quiet this weekend, apparently David's new Love Can mv has been screening in Taiwan but so far not here yet. But can go to the Great Leap site & watch short version. Vry simple & refreshing concept with David all in black. Ppl surprised to see him playing drums, actually haf posted pix of him playing drums b4:

He looked marvellous in the mv, vry beatlesque. Hope MTV hurry up & start screening here. Meanwhile english translation of this lovely song:

Love Can
I always want to say to you
You give me unbelievable happiness
Like the green oasis to the desert
Please say you will always be with me
Support me, give me wings to fly
And a nest to return to
I am willing and I am able
To give you everything without regrets
When we are together watching the time goes by
Please remember the way we love we each other
Loving, loving you, there's pain and joy
With you, even ordinary can become meaningful
Loving, loving you, sweet & content
This kind of feeling is you

I always want to say to you
You give me unbelievable happiness
Like the green oasis to the desert
Please say you will always be with me
Support me, give me wings to fly
And a nest to return to
I am willing, really I am
To do anything to protect you
Oh ~ when we are together as time goes on and on
Please remember how much I love you
Oh loving, loving you, never deserting, never leaving
I don't mind, the road full of obstacles
Loving, loving you, in your hand
You are holding all the pleasure I can give you
Oh ~ loving, loving you, I am always willing
Loving, loving you, I want us to be together
Music by David Tao, lyrics by WaWa, sang by David Tao in The Great Leap 2005

David also appeared onscreen to talk to Liu Xiang, China's Olympic gold medallist hurdler, at some ceremony in China. David send his signed cd & poster to Liu Xiang who wanted them & told him that he also wanted Liu's autograph. David said he will collaborate with Liu on a song if the chance arise. Liu has been performing brilliantly after his Olympic win proving he is no fluke.

But I do hope he stick to sports & not singing until maybe after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He will only be 24, still young enough to launch a career in entertainment if he really wants. Btw noticed the earlier entries in my blog is rather a mess after the change of skin, sry abt that.

Abercrombie

Okie missred, as promised the Abercrombie post although its so yesterday (2002) & also while I agree that A&F promotes an all exclusive white, blond blue-eyed image, its their selling point & u dun haf to get suck into it but apparently a lot of Asians do which kinda troubling. Ralph Lauren also promotes this kinda exclusive blond, all american 'gentile' image but its ok cos he is Jewish so go figure.
Anyway here r the offensive tees & website calling on Asians to boycott A&F which dun seemed to be working cos heaps of them r still wearing them like Lee Hom haha

Ok my point is he called his album 'chinked' cos he said its kinda like the African Americans calling themselves the n word. Its all abt chinese pride & yet he wore a shirt manufactured by a company that made these kinda tees, promote exclusively 'white' image (as well as child pornography) & has been sued for hiring 'white only' staff. Hey he lived in the US & should be more aware & sensitive of these things. Actually I am not against A&F marketing strategy but as an Asian proud of my heritage, I certainly will not wear their stuff. But dun worry Lee Hom, I still love u & yr recent album rocks, esp Astrology!

Well, back to David who I hope dun have Abercrombie stuff in his wardrobe cos if he has, then his recent diatribe sounded really, really stupid. Also he seemed to have stop wearing so much Adidas but have a liking for tees with suggestive slogans like Playboy Squared & Italian Stallion. Really, really weird! And all the accessories he is wearing??????? What happened to his simple classy gold chain? Anyway whatever, I am happy so long as he dun wear Abercrombie heehee.
David has a heavy schedule next couple of weeks going to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanchang, Hong Kong & Malaysia for promos. Look like Singapore not included & can understand why cos David is not so popular here. Plse dun yell @ me cos its the honest truth. Although his albums sell well, seldom reach No 1 status & his songs dun stay on the chart for vry long. F4, Energy, 5566, SHE, Stefanie & Jay r idolised the most here. But plse dun stressed abt it, as I said b4 DT fans r a rare breed so we should be proud we have such good taste.

Message in a song

Comparision is always inevitable & DT fans always fret that David is not more popular or his album is not No 1 or his songs don't stay on the chart longer. Being a fan of cos you want your idol to do well, but you must understand David will always has less fans, only cos the ppl who can appreciate his music are usually more intelligent, better educated and more liberal. Obviously there are less of these ppl around.
In one of his interview, David said that the reason he wanted to write songs that reflect the society today and make ppl think is because he felt songs are not only for entertainment. Yet how many times I have read reviews of The Great Leap that pointed out that he is being preachy again. What is wrong with putting a msg in a song so that ppl can stop and think and maybe learn something? Sure you can give him less stars cos you feel his album is not so good musically, but please dun mock someone's good intentions. There r so few of these kinda celebrities around, surely we should cherish them.
So that's why David will always has less fans cos ppl dun want to think outside the square. They always go for the inevitable. Singer/composer released album with social msgs but nothing 'fresh' or 'exciting', put in bin, go for singer with carefully cultivated image for fun and pleasure. So plse dun stress yourself about whether or not The Great Leap is No 1. The important thing is listen to the album & learn what David has to say.
Here's another great article by a Malaysian writer where David actually lamented the fact that his teenaged fans do not understand his songs, but David, I think you are wrong, I think most of them understand them & that's why they are your fans.

Voice of humanity
David Tao's songs are not just pleasant to the ear, they convey stories, messages and his observations on life, writes NG CHENG YEE who met up with him in Hong Kong recently.

ASIAN king of R&B David Tao is a rebel with a cause and he is intent on making the world a better place through his music.
Always going against the norm, the singer-songwriter wants to project himself as an artiste who is concerned with problems faced by society.
His latest album The Great Leap 2005, which signalled the birth of his new feelings, ideas and struggle as he enters 'mid-life' (he emphasised that it was a mid-life without crisis), also comes with new sounds, stories and more observations on life.
"I believe we can talk more about things affecting our society in our songs instead of just talking about love," he says, alternating between Mandarin and English at a press conference in Hong Kong recently.
For example, the song Ghost, in his latest album, which refers to human beings as ghosts, reflects the worst in people.
"As we grow older, we tend to compromise on certain things and slowly we create a monster within ourselves that is scarier than the real ghost.
"So it is a song that reminds us to differentiate between what is fake and what is genuine.
"At times, we say that ghosts are very scary. But when we look at the damage people bring to the world through wars and terrorism, we find that we are actually scarier than ghosts."
The song caused some controversy when it was released in China and was even banned from the airwaves. "I felt very upset when it was banned as the song was not about something spiritual, but a negative symbol that conveyed a positive message," he says.
Tao explains that the song also conveys his anger and frustration towards the phenomenon that he sees in society, where the rich and powerful are not fighting for people's interests.
Noting this in his album, he says: "Many 'great leaps forward' in history, arguably, have been paradoxical in their outcome and often caused more damage and insult to the people and environment they were intended to benefit."
His song The Art of War, which sees his collaboration with the acclaimed 12 Girls Band, is about the weak ones being unjustly treated.
He notes, sadly, that many people, especially teenagers, do not understand the meaning of his songs.
"And this is like me listening to Sting's The Dream of the Blue Turtles when I was 15 or 16 but when I replayed the album during my university years, I realised there is a certain message in the album that the singer wants to convey," he says.
He says a good album should not be measured by how long it takes to be produced. It should be by how long the singer takes to experience life before including it in the album.
"I think every singer should give themselves some space in order to produce good music. At times, they must also be brave to tell the record company: Sorry, please don't push me any further. I can't do it. Otherwise, we will compromise very easily and our quality will deteriorate."
On whether it is too naive to believe that there will be peace in the world, Tao disagrees and says that most religions look at the world as a world of struggle but that does not mean that people should stop showing their love to others.
"It is a day-to-day activity. We do not have to wait for a natural disaster, a terrorist activity or a war to happen before we show our love," says Tao who has been promoting world peace.
Born in 1969, Tao left Taiwan for the United States after completing junior high in Taiwan. He studied psychology at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a minor in films.
While working in a record store, he met a Taiwanese producer who hired him to compose songs.
And that was briefly how he started out in the music industry, culminating in the release of his debut, Taoism, in 1997 under Shock Records in Taiwan.
The album broke sales records and Tao quickly became a phenomenon. The media wasted no time in labelling him Taiwan's R&B King. Subsequent artistes who attempted R&B have been compared to him, especially Jay Chou.
He established himself as a renowned producer for both Taiwan and Hong Kong artistes such as the now defunct pop boyband LA BOYZ, songstress Sarah Chen Shu Hua and Eric Sun Yao Wei before taking the plunge into the limelight. He also writes songs for A-Mei, Sandy Lam and Eason Chan.
He had four albums to his name before releasing The Great Leap 2005. They are Tao Zhe (1997), I’m OK (1999), Black Tangerine (2002) and Ultrasound (1997-2003).
"As a musician, I need time to experience life and digest what I’ve learned before conveying it through my songs. I do not just sit there for three months and play a musical instrument until I get an idea for a song."
He also reveals that six of the songs on his new album were produced in one evening.
"But I also struggled for three months before these songs were produced that evening. Somehow, they just came.
"It is a much cleaner and simpler album. When you grow older, you do not need to have too many accessories to bring out your character.
"When you reach 35 like me, you will have different views on life, love, your spouse, parents and this will definitely be reflected in your music," says Tao who only used four musical instruments in each song.

David's 1st post

David posted his 1st msg @ DT forum, its so touching & made me so happy. He also appeared in a few programs to talk abt his visit to Hua Lian for Worldvision Taiwan. They showed clips of his visit where he looked really happy & relaxed. But also slightly haggard as he had some stomach problem when flying from LA.
Read really nice album review @ DFTC forum & the reviewer said that he felt David revealed more loneliness everytime he appeared & also Season of Loneliness was a surprising song for David. I guess what the reviewer meant was David is not the sort of person one think of as lonely. Also he is always so talkative ppl tend to take him for a sociable person. But I don't know cos I think if you look at his eyes even when he is busily talking, they show a certain wariness. I don't think he likes being on air & so he talks glibly just to hide his discomfort. But sometimes he can look suddenly so vulnerable that you want to reach out & hug him. The reviewer also said that even though David kept saying he is 'middle aged', his songs like Fated & The art of war revealed an innocent, childlike side.
Still I do love to see him talking away, he has this really sweet expression when he is being expressive, or I am just carried away as a fangirl haha. Like he went on TVBS and talked so much he forgot why he was there, then the host has to remind him to mention his new Love Can mv. The other program with Patty Hou, he was more serious & Patty talked even more than him. He didn't mention his mv or album either, maybe he just figured if ppl want to buy the album, they buy it anyway, if they dun, well nothing he can do abt it. I love it when he is this blase abt promoting his album.
His 2nd round of promo should include mainland China & think there's mention @ davidcn abt sum activity in Guangzhou. Also he is scheduled to be in Malaysia in March. So more travelling for David, hope he dun get sick again. At the moment it seemed that his China concerts are scheduled for June & he did mentioned another concert in Taiwan towards end of the year. No mention yet of concerts in other parts of Asia or US or any other part of the world. Even though his name kept popping up in strange places like this vry cool page showing Ghost clip, or this

Listen without prejudice

David distributing red packets to kids for Worldvision Taiwan in Hua Lian, dun he look cute in his beret <3 <3 <3
I have changed my blog to something more serious & simple. Those still using 800x600 resolution will not be able to see the sidebar, must scroll down, sry abt that. I feel this blog is more able to express my thoughts about David and his journey in music. I dun know, just have the feeling that David will be bigger soon internationally and if more ppl come to this blog, I want to be able to let them see the best side of David. Btw comments now has popup window, so plse comment away.
He is just so special in Chinese music and there is no one else like him. I think I am a pretty fair person and I will not be blinded by devotion to my idol. If David will to do something that is not reasonable, I will be the first to point it out. Like for instance I think he is extremely coy & smug about his relationships which annoy me intensely. He seems to think he is extremely attractive to girls which he is to a certain extent, but I really don't think he is as attractive as say Lee Hom or Jerry Yan. Of cos only my opinion, you can disagree. But I really honestly dun think he will make a very good bf which could be why he is still single.
But musically, he is just the opposite. He is serious, sincere, focused, talented and just the very best. You can compare him if u like to Jay, Lee Hom, Wu Bai, JJ Lin, Anson Hu, etc, and I will say none of them come close. Yes, you can point to the statistics in votes, in internet searches, in music charts, in sales and say who is the most popular, whose song is most voted, whose album sell more, etc. But no matter what music is not a commodity and it cannot be judged by these methods.
Currently he is one of the few singer/composer whose songs has been covered frequently by other singers. His version of Spring Wind and Tuberose has been sang in concerts by Japanese singers who cannot even speak chinese. Of course Korean singer Cho Kyu Chan covered Melody and Airport in 10.30 in his albums. It is obviously harder to impress your peers than your fans. The songs he has written & produced for others are always solid not frivolously aiming to be hits. He will never betray music not even for others.

With The Great Leap 2005 I feel he has finally broken free from the rat pack of singers he has always been associated with. He is no longer playing with music but playing music. See the difference. Also he now has the confidence to bring together a bunch of great musician and work with them. The musicians on The Great Leap came from Singapore, Taiwan, America and China. Not only that but he sang a song written by an unknown Chinese composer as well as one by a well known American hymn composer.
I guess a lot of ppl dun know what to make of The Great Leap. Is it a change in music direction or is David repeating himself because there is really no change in music direction? There is a great change, but you need to listen without prejudice. If you listen to The Great Leap with a pre-misconception of what good music should sound like, then you are likely to be disappointed. Actually music should always sound this good.

David in the news

Just to clarify David did not say Maggie Cheung is 'stupid' but using Nazi symbols in fashion is 'stupid'. Anyway dis quite long ago, think way back in 2003 so dun understand why he is talking abt it now, but again it could be just media sensationalizing like the Elton John episode *sigh* But dis kinda reminds me of Lee Hom wearing Abercrombie shirt in his mv, just wonder why Asians like Abercrombie stuff so much. Don't they know anything abt this brand & how they promote the ideal Aryan image? Not to mention those 'two wongs don't make a white' tees? Not trying to criticise Lee Hom or anything, but on the one hand his album is 'Chinked Out' & on the other he is wearing Abercrombie, sumthing not quite rite.
Anyway sum more David news update - he flew back to LA on Monday after spending CNY with his parent in Shanghai. He promised to attend a friend's wedding & even sang When I fall in love for them. He said that this song has special meaning as when he was 17, a girl sang & recorded this song as a gift for him, she later became his first love. So romantic! Actually when I heard Love Can, was wondering if he was writing abt first love as it has an innocent feel to it.
Oso watched another episode of the program hosted by 5566 as David was guest once again (why? why?) altho wasn't as bad as the other time & David was quite sporting but can see his heart wasn't into it. They got him to write calligraphy again *sigh* & he managed to write a few chinese characters. One of the 5566 hosts said to write properly cos 'young kids' r watching which revealed the target audience for this show. Later they played game where had to guess his songs fast forwarded, slowed down & remixed. David guessed correctly for all except Let's fall in love which they all mistaken for Shanghaied. Funny thing is both hosts guessed a couple of songs correctly - Ghost, Melody & Rain - revealing that they actually knew his songs. One of them even sang lyrics of Rain correctly & David teased him & gave him chance to be guest at his concert. David oso said quite possible he will have another concert in Taiwan end of the year.
Then he went on Small S & Xiao Chu's program for a mini concert. Xiao Chu sang Blue Moon & didn't do too badly altho David had to pitch in at the end. Small S sang Small Town Girl & it was ok. David sang few lines of Who do you love, medley of I Love You & Everything's Gone. Then he did a DT version of Beatles's Yesterday which was so nice, wish he sang the whole song. David played the keyboard for all the songs & it was so good.
Kinda unavoidable David had to attend so many silly programs just to publicise The Great Leap cos unfortunately its the norm for chinese entertainment. Still he really was vry sporting & patient, nvr losing his cool & always polite & nice. He's alredi on his way back to Taiwan to start his second round of promotion, but hopefully dun have to attend too many programs. I mean its nice to see him & all but could be too trivial for him.
I feel sumwhat sad when he kept stressing that he will nvr betray music or his fans. In his 1 of his msgs he was a bit upset & puzzled ppl said The Great Leap is 'commercial'. I find it strange too but after reading sum comments, I think its prolly cos nowadays albums r so overproduced, each trying to outdo in quirky arrangement & layering in the effort to sound 'different' & 'outstanding'. Cos The Great Leap has vry little of this, it is regarded as not innovative enough & thus 'commercial' & 'pop' appealing to ppl who cannot appreciate the kind of 'quirky' music that is now so mainstream. Yeah, sound kinda ironic.
Its true that David used to be leading exponent of this kinda quirky music but as he said in his msg, he feel that music should go back to being simple & I am glad dat he did cos The Great Leap may not featured great outstanding songs but I am alredi tired of music that tries too hard. Sumtimes all u want is a bunch of musicians getting together to produce what they want to do, not what the market demand. Its like Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company which won big at the Grammies. Of cos its not Ray's most outstanding album & yes some of the duets did not come off rite but this is what music is all abt, ppl jamming their hearts out.
Its not always abt music sounding cool, innovative, quirky. Its not abt wanting to be different & wearing swastika cos its cool (David is rite as usual, wearing symbols that reeks of killing ppl for no other reason than their race is nvr cool no matter what). So yeah, David go on, keep on travelling the route you map for yourself. I may not quite understand it all, but I will always support you.
He looked so serious but cute here.

A Valentine rose for David!

Vry special Valentine rose for David which is not red, white or pink. Hope you can find your rose whatever color & live happily with her for the rest of your natural life. But in the meantime you have us, your loyal fans, to stay by your side so you will nvr be lonely.
I expect David will spend Valentine in LA with Lucky, his beloved dog which he said belong only to him. Hopefully he get lotsa rest as he seemed to have recorded quite a lot of programs for the New Year break.
He went on Azio wif Patty Hou again, but dis time with his dad, & they sang in harmony which was vry nice. Then played charade & both of them sucked heehee but maybe better at english than chinese.

Then MTV where he talked abt The Great Leap & introduced 5 mvs - Who do you love?, Susan says, Ghost, The art of war & What's Love. The art of war looks interesting wif special effects & David jumped & somersaulted in a harness. The 12 Girls Band oso made an appearance. Then they showed few mins of What's love mv which is really lighthearted with David strumming guitar wif 2 young girls, 1 dressed in black & 1 in white. David looked really good, vry carefree & young.

Then he went on TVBS to play Monopoly with the 2 hosts. It was hilarious & David really showed his playful, mischevious side. Not only dat but he wore a checked shirt (same as in Azio) & looked incredibly hot (plse wear more checked shirts). First he sang sad version of CNY song, nvr knew this song can sound so nice. Then he looked so adorable throwing the big dice. They made him do pole dance & he managed to look both sexy & mischevious. Finally the two hosts had to enact kissing scene in Who do you love & David directed them. He kept laughing so much but the 3 of them really sporting.
If u wanna watch Azio & TVBS shows, I think bt links available @ davidcn.com. Get the TVBS one as its really hilarious & u see a side of David seldom seen. Nvr believe dat he is alredi 35 as he looked & acted like 25. Btw was watching Keanu Reeves & he said he is 40!!!!!!!! OMG he looked even more yummy than he was in Speed. I think sum guys just looked better & younger when they get older.
Anyway Happy Valentine to everyone out there. As special Valentine gift, haf upload Who do u love & Susan says mv in my briefcase if u still haven't seen them by now, details @ blog forum.
U know like to believe David made all these excuses to go back to LA like miss his dog, his house, cars, etc, when the real reason is he want to spend Valentine with sumone special! I really think he is a romantic guy at heart heehee. Btw SHE was funny when they appeared on Patty vs David, esp Ella when she asked if she haf chance to be his gf & David jokingly said no.

The power of love

David gave hugs to friend & workers b4 flying to Shanghai to spend CNY wif his parents. After dat he fly back to LA to attend friend's wedding & be reunited wif Lucky, his pet dog whom he missed vry much. He lately bought new property in LA & he looked forward to spending time there. In fact David been vry successful @ real estate & made quite a lot of money buying & selling properties. He now haf quite a few properties all over the world & one of them prolly where he will live wif his future wife.
Anyway watch his interview wif Patty Hou where he made the remark 'can be without woman but not cars', actually it was Patty who said it first & he kinda agreed. Basically Patty was saying his fans eagerly awaited his new album no matter how long & asked if there was anything dat he eagerly awaited, & he said the latest model of Porsche Turbo. Then he said cars give him security & excitement, & Patty said, "So you can be without woman but not cars" and he agreed but kinda jokingly.
Elva Hsiao, Ah Mei & Charlie Yeung appeared to give comments on David as producer & all said he was vry serious abt music. Then David said dat he considered retiring from music after 2 more albums to produce movies but not really confirmed, only in the planning stage. But he said not to worry as his movies just a continuation of his music & oso there could be movie soundtrack.
I noticed David vry good at avoiding personal questions. Like Patty asked if he could ever love 2 women like in his song Who do you love, and he went on & on abt history & kings in both west & east having concubines. Then Patty asked if any women ever expressed love to him & instead of answering he encouraged women to express love to the men in their lives. Basically I suddenly realised dat even tho we know a lot personally abt David, its usually just his relationship wif his dad, his childhood, his love for cars, his dog Lucky & lately his business acumen for real estate.
He hardly ever elaborated abt his relationship wif his mom even tho he wrote a song abt it but it raised more questions. Even his 5 yr relationship wif ex gf Melody is a mystery even tho he wrote a song for her. Despite his strong dedication to Joanna in his album, he still said he will not be getting married soon & has not met a suitable mate. And when Patty asked him what kinda personality he said must be independent, sensitive, healthy, etc, etc, which sounded more like choosing a car than falling in love.
I really believe David is not like dat regarding love else how can he write & sing so emotionally & touch so many hearts. Maybe even tho he said he is exposing more & more in his songs, in his interviews he still maintain distance between the real him & the public image.
If as he said dat we can find out the real person in his latest album, then from the songs Love can, Susan Said & Fated, its seemed David looking for old fashioned definition of everlasting love where 2 persons fated to be together bounded by a red thread. But then his second last song questioned & laughed @ the power of true love.
But take heart David, look at Prince Charles & Camilla, getting married despite all the 'wind wind rain rain'. U may hated dis couple & find them comical cos of their age or less than perfect looks, or felt dat Prince Charles should remain a widower in memory of the gorgeous Princess Diana. But the fact is they remained true & loyal to each other, or maybe the power of love is mocking us wif the couple of the millenium being dis 2 old imperfect personalities rather than the beautiful idols of Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston.
As David said half jokingly & half seriously to Patty Hou that men will not selected short, fat, ugly, stupid, insensitive women as their mates. But yet one of the most eligible men in the world gave up one of the most beautiful women in the world for a frumpy matron. Anyway no matter I do hope David will meet his 'Susan' the one true love that he will condescend to wait forever like the Porsche Turbo.
Sumtimes I wonder if dat is why I oscillate between David & Wu Bai. Altho admittedly Wu Bai is not as good a songwriter or singer as David, there is just so much raw power, earthiness & strength in his songs & delivery which come in part from his deep commitment, love & respect to his wife.

The year of David

Happy Lunar New Year to David & all his fans over the world! This is the Year of the Rooster, and also the Year of David cos his chinese zodiac is the rooster. Here is an amazingly accurate synopsis of the rooster characterstics for David lol, wonder if I should post @ davidtao.com for his amusement heehee!
The Rooster
Roosters are the most eccentric of the Chinese zodiac. They are full of dreams and romantic ideas. They are colorful and attractive, radiant and dashing, and they are quite proud of themselves. Roosters are organized, precise,and their sharp eyes seek out fine details in everything. They are perfectionists and leave no room for human error. To Roosters, a difficult task is a challenge. They dearly love starting controversies. Roosters express themselves very well both in writing and speech. They are knowledgeable in most subjects you wish to discuss. When you challenge them you must be prepared for a long fight. Their stamina is amazing and they win their point at all costs. Even when they are wrong, they will still be right in one way or another!
Roosters can be blunt and brutal. Their direct approach to life makes them poor diplomats. They speak their minds with little regard for the feelings of others.Why should others be upset? Roosters are right, aren't they?
Roosters are good at handling money and their self-control with keeping budgets is phenomenal. They are not miserly, and in fact, they can be extremely generous and giving. They simply want their finances in complete accord, and yours, too. If you have trouble, Roosters quickly straighten you out whether you want them to or not. Don't be ungrateful either, you should be glad they condescended to help you at all. Roosters are careful with their time and you only deserve so much, so plan things well. Roosters are sincere in their desire to help and no one can carry out important tasks like them. Just be certain your orders are explicit and don't expect them to improvise for you on their own time.
Roosters are ambitious and they reach for the sky. They have a deep passion for their chosen fields, and they are very creative. They usually start out young in life and enjoy success early in their careers. They do well in their own businesses. They are meticulous and competent enough to make things work. When they set out to accomplish something, they leave no stone unturned. They probe deeply with their inquisitive, busy minds. They never remain still. Roosters must learn that some things take time. No matter how competent they are, they can't reprogram the whole world to fit their schedules! They achieve the most amazing things, but Roosters always become eccentric over the final details.
Never underestimate Roosters. They are optimistic and dauntless. They never change their course of action even if the world thinks they are wrong! They are so determined to make some of their wild and idealistic plans work that their plans often do work. With their many splendid talents and eccentric ways, Roosters hit it big!
(Reposted with thanks from www.rainfall.com)

If you're in S'pore and have cable, you can look forward to two programs abt David, @ 7.00pm on TVBS-Asia Ch 54, David Tao Music Special, repeat 12.30pm & 6.00am 2/10, @ 11.00pm on Azio Ch 49, Patty vs David Tao, repeat 4.00am & 3.00pm 2/10, 12.00pm 2/13.
If you dun have cable, nvr mind log on here, select 3 & get to watch David attempting to speak in Cantonese (really cute) & singing two lines of John Lennon's I am a jealous guy (so adorable). Link courtesy taozeehk.com

Story with a moral

Alrite u asked for it mmax for sending me he got 10 platinum records compared to David's one email. Oso when I said they were not rivals, I meant in music not album sales.
Ok, going to tell u a story abt King Solomon, 2 women and a baby. Both women claimed the baby was hers, so King Solomon suggested cutting the baby into half to share. One woman agreed and was pleased the other woman will not get the baby alive. The other woman at once cried out dat she will give up the baby, only plse dun kill it, and so revealed herself to be the real mother. A very simple story abt justice, right and wrong.
I am alot like David who believes right is right and wrong is wrong, & I get real annoyed when someone is doing wrong to someone else for no other reason than he dun want dat someone else to have the 'baby'.
Ok he alredi released his album & got his No 1, sales, awards, concerts, etc, but he is not satisfied. So he cynically released his live concert cd on the SAME DAY as the singer/composer he is always compared to. It dun matter when he released his live cd as it will not affect sales nor his income as the concerts has alredi earned him a bundle. So the only reason he released the live cd is to create an impact on the other singer/composer, to steal his thunder so he will not be able to have the baby (No 1 status). & for good measure, he even released his live concert vcd & dvd around the same time.
But the singer/composer actually did quite well so what did he do? He got the caucasian head of the record company he hasn't even signed a contract with to award him a TEN platinum records plaque in front of an international press. So does dat mean he sold in excess of a million for 10 albums, or 10 million albums, & for which record co? Sony, hah, wouldn't even touch him wif a 10m pole. Then he claimed to sell a million but would dat be the combined sales of his live cd, vcd & dvd?
Its all so deliberate & cyncial just to claim the No 1 spot, the 'baby'. Oso plse dun whine & tell me dat it not his fault, not his doing but his co. He is 26, a superstar, cocky & u want me to believe he will be forced to do sumthing he is not willing to do.
David has never wanted to be No 1, of course he wants his album to do well but its nvr for the status but dat his music is still being appreciated. He has said dat a 'healthy' market' should be able to accommdate all kinda albums. In fact he would rather lose the 'baby', the No 1 status, and haf a healthy market dat is fair to consumers than killed it with the sort of unethical, underhanded methods practised by other singers. So David is the real deal by King Solomon standards & mine.
Just treat it as a fairytale with a moral.
On a happier note review of The Great Leap 2005 posted @ forum.

If you don't know David by now

Hey english speaking fans its time to rally & get yr voice heard kekekekekekekekekeke, yeah kinda frustrating u guys r so inactive, dun hurt to post sumthing u seen or heard to share wif others. Anyway tangerine slice has sumthing to say & I think its great, go tangerine slice! Yeah so if sumone can plse post the whole review so we can then post both @ dt forum so maybe he will see & know that we english speaking fans r just as active & passionate abt his music. If David take the trouble to build a website, I think u should at least let him know u support his music & care what others think abt him.
Like there was a vry spurious news report dat he insulted Elton John, Simply Red & Eagles in a radio interview. Actually he was just being funny, imitating Elton's voice & then later saying that the Taiwanese media can be a bit too much. So he never did insulted Elton. Anyway he loved the works of all these musicans especially Mick Hucknall's memorable 'If you don't know me by now' from their It's only love album. Can go 2 their website to listen. Oso how can anyone believe David will insult such an American legend as The Eagles, btw there's fabulous live vid of Hotel California on their website. So there u go, the more I write abt David, the more I discovered.
Anyway rambling again, but alredi lotsa chinese fans haf posted to protest dis untrue report. Cos always I read english remarks abt David being arrogant & bigheaded & other untrue things abt him, & all it takes is just one untrue report being repeatedly posted 4 ppl to think dat its true. I haf seen many live interviews & David was always polite & tried to answer all the questions. He haf nvr directly made comments on Jay, other singers, GMA, the chinese entertainment unless asked. Usually he just talked abt his music & his goals. The chinese media just like to ask these questions so they can write dat he made these comments.

But not all media r like dat fortunately, sum r like Rick, dj @ Joy FM & his comments on David:
I first met and interviewed David Tao in 2000. I remember how articulate he was about music; as a songwriter, performer, and producer. From that meeting we managed to stay in touch by email for the past few years. So, it was a treat to meet him and interview him again in January. Catching up with him after a few years made an interview easy to do. I walked into the room and was greeted with "Rick!" and we spoke of some personal things. He looked good, refreshed and alert and ready for the interview. It was in the same hotel room that I had interviewed Tension a month before, a group that David produces. Then we turned on the recorder and began the interview. Of course, we spoke about his new album and what we could expect on it. He spoke about what inspired a few of the songs and what was behind the new album. He also spoke of his plans as a performer and that he does plan on holding concerts in China to support the new album. He promised to make more time on his next visit for dinner and basic "hanging out." The interview can be heard on Joy FM.
Oso u can vote for David & request his songs @ hkvpradio.com, at least u can be proactive & make sure others know dat his music if not as popular as others, still being appreciated. Oso there so little reviews @ Yesasia, if u bought his album & love it, let others know so they can go & buy it. Good music must be shared. As David said many times - without his fans, there will be NO David Tao. David not like sum singer who will do anything to be No 1 including releasing live cd on the same day to steal his thunder, claimed to sell 1 million to offset his 900,000, haf ten platinum records presented to offset David's 1 platinum record *roll eyes* Basically if u r so incomparable u will not be changing record cos so often or sue a puny magazine for saying yr American concerts did not sellout as reported. And if u r his fan, u can leave abuse if u like on my shoutbox, but understand u can fool most ppl sum of the times & u can fool sum ppl most of the times but cannot fool everyone all the time.

David's ride

David's new love - 2004 Porsche Turbo. Vry nice, much prefer Porsche to Ferrari. Anyway apparently in his indepth interview with Patty Hou, the exceedingly sweet talkshow hostess, David said that while he can be without women in his life, cannot be without his cars & they must be high end cars, none of your Toyota. To him cars give him pleasure & excitement, & r a lot less trouble than women.

Actually dun find his views vry controversial or sexist, lotsa men r like dat abt cars. Oso if David dun haf relationship problems wif his mom & gfs like a normal 35 yr old bachelor, then he won't be able to write & sing with such real emotion. Most great musicians actually led rather troubled lives from Mozart to Ray Charles to Bob Dylan to John Lennon to David Tao.
Prolly most Asians not used to celebrities so frank & honest abt their true self like David. Most of them put on a front to appear sweet, shy & innocent on camera cos most fans like them dat way. Western celebrites r allowed more freedom to appear more their real self. So yeah dun get upset just cos David is not dis perfect image of a faultless man. If he were to appear always polite, innocent & without problems, I think we will not believe this is the real David rite?
A vry cool pix of David @ Tom, lots more here, oso indepth Tom interview. Actually David haf been appearing everywhere & its great cos can see him & hear him. For those who haf not seen or dun understand chinese, here's a brief rundown of sum of the programs:
Happiness 100
Taozi hosted dis one hr program with guest celebrities. They first talked abt the song Ghost &how it was mistaken for writing abt the media & David explained dat its not. Lotsa ppl still dun understand what this song is abt. Ownership of media esp in US is extremely political & news reports r hardly neutral but obvious as to which party they support. Actually quite surprised David making such a political statement. Talking abt his love life, David again mentioned Charlie Theron as his 'ideal'. Then his dad appeared & they talked abt how naughty David was as a kid, almost burning down their house. David's dad oso talked abt how he almost set an island in the Philippines on fire. Vry funny, the 2 of them. Oso appearing on the show were Jimmy of Tension, Jammy-makeup artiste, Jamine/Fish Leong, SHE & Jay Chou to talk abt David & wish him well. Jay was the cutest as he told David he is afraid of ghosts & not to write such scary songs. He oso said sumthing like "feelings are the best inspiration for a composer so hope you get married soon" to which David replied, "You too, Jay." So can see they r not rivals as reported, but understand each other all too well. Overall a nice program.
Kangsi Come
Dis the now famous Little S touching David's chest episode. Vry funny & again David's dad appeared. They asked if David ever brought home any girls to stay overnight & his dad was quite adamant dat David nvr did such a thing. David said dat his parent dun like PDA - public display of affection. Talked abt the special way David gave his dad a present of his dream car. How his dad coped wif the fact David now more famous than him & his dad said vry simply & frankly dat since David is his son, he has nothing to get upset abt. Vry funny & light episode.
Jacky Go Go Go
Vry strange choice for David, but it was actually vry enjoyable. Can see David vry relaxed & enjoying himself even tho it was vry early in the morning. Jacky was less wacky & revealed himself to be actually vry cultured as he wrote a couplet using David's name on a huge lantern to be released. When David bashedly said he dun know how to write his album's name in chinese, Jacky kindly helped him by writing the characters for him to copy (David's level of chinese comprehensive must be worst than me cos at least I can write the first two characters).
There was extremely hilarious part in the bar involving juggling bottles & fire. Jacky was really nice & respectful to David, kept mentioning his album. Oso proved again Jay, who is Jacky's protege, & David were nvr rivals as reported.
Again David's dad appeared in dis program hosted by Little S & Siao Chu. They showed lotsa of David's younger pixs & talked abt David's younger days when he went rumbling & oso when he was in LAPD. At the end David & his dad sang his most famous hit song, Friend's song. Vry nice & enjoyable.
Dong Feng Music
David as vj as he played his latest mv, Susan Said where he appeared in ancient clothings. The director selected red as the color & longhaired look for David to make him look like a martial hero. For the background they chose a look similar to Zhang Yimou's Hero, a film dat used colors expressively. The mv described a psychoanalyst who discovered his patient, a beautiful young lady, was his lover in a past life, & even tho they r both reincarnated, they could not forgot each other. Dun think any meaning in writing on the girl's back, cos think its just for visual effect as it looks very nice & romantic. But reminded me of a very sensual movie called Pillow Book by Peter Greenway.
He oso played Who do you love mv which included sum 'making of' footage, but the mv was the shorter version in which a gold pendant from the jewelry store he endorsed featured prominently. In Susan Said, there was oso product placement. I am not too concerned altho guess sum fans may not like it but David now @ EMI haf to compromise to bring us better music. So far the 3 mvs r extremely well done & does justice to his songs. Finally he played the longer version of Ghost, Black Tangerine & Season of Loneliness which were requested by fans. He was quite adorable when he was puzzled dat ppl want to hear such heavy & sad songs for the lunar new year. And oh a song by 5566 which was prolly payback for appearing on their program.
Lotsa ppl haf said oh its ok & dat 5566 was being playful & they r always like dat, etc, but the fact is David was really willing to impart his singing techniques. He even wanted them to try to beatbox to Ghost, would haf been interesting if they haf cooperated, such a lost opportunity for the audience. Basically if u r good hosts, would haf recognised dis golden opportunity to record really different & interesting episode for taiwanese entertainment which is usually so fluffy & superficial.