Get Here

This delicate ballad sung by American soul/jazz black singer Oleta Adams touched a chord in my heart way back in 1991 when i was still a student. It has stayed there ever since.

A quiet piano track but filled with yearning through the singer's emotive vocals, imploring her lover to get back to her wherever he is. I guess this is how everyone feels when we are in a relationship.


'I don't care how you get here just,
get here if you can...'

- Get Here

INXS

INXS (read as 'in-ex-cess') is one of the most successful rock bands to emerge from Australia and has inspired almost every music band that has sprouted from the Land Down Under since.
Fronted by charismatic frontman Michael Hutchence, their music were well-received all over the globe.

The very first song i heard from this band was 'Never Tear Us Apart' sometime in 1988. This heartfelt ballad is also one of their best and most recognizable song. Michael Hutchence's yearning and sincere vocals are at their best here. Listen and watch the MTV here. Enigmatic and with an innate showmanship, he is regarded as one of the best rock music stars. He also has a string of romances with famous celebrities and stars including Australian female star Kylie Minogue. Unfortunately, his glittering life was cut short in 1997 from an apparent suicide.

Some of my other favourites are 'By My Side', 'Suicide Blonde', 'Disappear', 'Beautiful Girl', 'Need You Tonight'








'In the dark of the night
Those small hours
Uncertain and anxious
I need to call you

In the dark of night
By my side
I wish you were
I wish you were...'

- By My Side

And So It Goes...

This quiet hymn-like ballad by Billy Joel mirrors my thoughts at the moment. A simplistic track with just piano and vocals. There is indeed a song to fit every mood and moment.

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

Pet Sematary (Remembering 'Lucky')

I have always been a fan of Stephen King's novels. Some of the best films i have watched are adapted from his stories. Pet Sematary was memorable as it was the first Stephen King novel i read from from start to finish and it will go down as one of his best stories for me and in the author's own opinion - his most scary novel written.

I recalled the time when i finished reading the novel, it left a disturbing and unclean feeling that lingered for a long time and even till now when i revisit the story often with fondness. Beyond the horror was a deeper issue which every human faces and one which the author hits the jugular spot on - dealing with death. My brother once said to me 'everyone must walk that path someday'. In Pet Sematary, the author crosses beyond that path with a disturbing thought - how far would you go to bring back a loved one from the dead? Read the novel and see the trailer for this movie. This film is slated for a 2010 remake release next year on the big screen and i just can't wait really. 'Cemetary' is mispelled as 'Sematary' as this was a place in the story where little children named and buried their pets when they died.

Renowned punk band The Ramones wrote a memorable song of the same name which was used in the film. Listen to it here.

This novel remains very close to my heart with its emotional depth and memorable characters, in particular the protagonist - Louis Creed and his toddler son Gage. The emotional struggles were something me and everyone else could relate to, especially when i still find death somewhat hard to handle. Interestingly, i had recently asked some friends if they would ever try to bring back their loved ones, if ever there was a way to bring them back from the dead, albeit they will return a little less human and stranger than before - the replies were a resounding yes and we agreed unanimously that it is in all human beings that we all long to see our loved ones again even after they are gone. And i also believe it is in all human nature that we are tempted to cross certain boundaries that are perhaps not meant to be crossed at some points in our lives, even to defy death in this instance.

Fred Gwynne who acted as Jud Crandall (Louis Creed's elderly neighbour) mentioned a line in the movie which says 'sometimes dead is better' and commented in an interview :

"Now what he really means by that is when someone dies who is very close to you - let them go, don't try to keep them alive. it's no good for them, its no good for you and its no good for the people around you. and of course that is the mistake that is made in this film, they try to keep their loved ones alive"

I believe there is an element of truth what the actor says but in reality how many of us could actually not keep our loved ones alive in some way or another? During my uncle's recent death, it was just a sight too common. As all of us witness in the gallery as the coffin was pushed into the furnace, i saw his daughters and wife having to be restrained back while wails and cries echoed around sorrowfully. His wife and my grandma are still trying to come to terms with his departure. As all of us live out a finite number of years on this earth, i believe such attachment in our relationships is a natural way of things. Attachment brings with it joy in togetherness and eventual grief when someone close passes away but it is exactly that which makes us inherently human.

I like to think that if ever there was a Pet Sematary that exist somewhere, i will bury all my disappointments in life, failed relationships, missed chances, along with all my loved ones that had passed on and my own heart which i felt was left dead a long time ago, in a hope that they will all come back to me once again...

'Lucky' my family pet dog is fondly remembered in this blog and on this day of his passing 11 years ago. And yes if there is ever a Pet Sematary, i will bury him in and welcome him back into my embrace again, no matter how he turns out to be.

Finally, i can fully understand why Louis Creed says to his dead son in a most poignant and heartbreaking scene,
"Come back to me Gage...come back to us..."

Come back to us Lucky...


'I don't want to be buried in the Pet Sematary
I don't want to live my life again...'

- Pet Sematary (The Ramones)


















Death is a mystery and burial is a secret


'How do i know a good book?

- One in which i first live inside the story and thereafter the story lives inside me forever...

Especially For You

'Especially For You' was a love duet by Australian pop stars Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. Released in November 1988 as a Christmas single, this sweet ballad was a big hit that swept across Europe and around the world. Listen to it here.