In no particular order...
STRAITS TIMES LIFE! YEOW KAI CHAI... FOUR F***ING STARS MATE!
In-your-face prefab spouts
Follywood is another brickbat by X'Ho and gang hurled at the face of convention
FOLLYWOOD
Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz
(XY Recordings/Universal)
BACK in February, radio DJ-turned-pop dominatrix Suzanne Walker hijacked the MTV Asia Awards with a chest-baring stunt so hilariously sluttish (and yet coyly not baring any nipples), it added real anarchy to a parade of toothy, 'I love-Singapore' popsters.
Walker - also known as Sue-Sue Law in her rock-star persona - has ganged up with Singapore's very own punk-monk X'Ho and his former Zircon Lounge partner-in-crime Yeow to form a nu electro trio that takes the mickey out of everything, not least themselves.
Which is why Follywood - a glorious spoof of the land of dreams as transposed to Singapore, the 'ultimate land of prefab sprouts' - should be seen as an invaluable entry to the nation's ongoing efforts to loosen up.
As a matter of course, the establishment should view Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz with utmost derision. After all, that is the band's raison d'etre - to push all the buttons of the prude and prissy and get their heartbeats to race a little.
In all departments - from sound to imagery - the Pawn Starz ride the line between glamorous porn-star sleaze and good humour with superb sass. With guest spots by Munich electronic gurus Chicks On Speed, German diva Mia and Thailand's electro-rockers Futon, these guys are cosmopolitan crusaders on a rampage.
X'Ho is in his element mouthing acerbic witticisms in original songs like the pumped-up, motorised diatribe called Mouthless Fish, parlaying his sultry radio-DJ croon to devastating effect: 'They'll arm-lock you but you won't choke.'
So straight is his delivery, it bleeds heart-wrenching empathy.
Such is the subversive appeal of the Pawn Starz: They regularly ping-pong between pain and joy, between pity and irrationality in their decidedly catchy synth-pop anthems against inertia.
Take a listen to the raucous version of New Hampshire pop-punk band The Queers' Drop The Attitude, F***er with added references to reality shows and Channel 8.
Even more salacious is the acidic Nag Nag Nag, where Ms Sue-Sue Law struts as a hardcore school mistress, sounding like, surprise, Suzanne Vega gone to seed.
In short, the Pawn Starz are the mogwai of Singapore pop-culture, wreaking havoc and leaving you not a little breathless.
* Zircon Gov. Pawn Starzperforms at Zouk tomorrow at 10.30pm. Entry is $23 for women and $28 for men. Doors open at 9pm.
* Send your comments tostlife@sph.com.sg
TODAY - ZUL writes...
Shock therapy
New dose of irreverence in store as Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz comes out with debut album
?
Zul Othman
news@newstoday.com.sg
?
ZIRCON Gov. Pawn Starz ?singer/songwriter/DJ X'Ho (aka Chris Ho), singer Sue-Sue Law (aka radio DJ Suzanne Walker) and guitarist/songwriter Yeow (aka Tan Tiang Yeow) ?have to be Singapore's most irreverent musical combo..T
.
The group's notoriety was cemented in February with Sue-Sue Law's "wardrobe malfunction" on the red carpet at the MTV Asia Awards. Sue's picture was splashed in virtually every newspaper here.
.
The reason for the stunt? Sue felt that they were mistreated by the organisers.
.
"If they didn't treat us so badly that day, I wouldn't have done that and taken the piss. We were invited as guests but they made us walk from the car park, no car to drive us to the red carpet and we had to wear our talent pass, unlike the other international bands!"
.
On Saturday at 11pm, Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz launches its genre-bending debut album, Follywood, with a party at Zouk.
.
Grounded in punk rock but decked out in neo-retro electro beats, it's the most entertaining homegrown release in years.
.
With contributions from electronic musicians Chicks On Speed, Peter Christopherson, Case and Futon, Follywood revels in irony and stands as a diary of a "trashy band that laughs at the ugly Singaporean", in Yeow's words.
.
"It's a social commentary," he said. "I think we're here to probe and ask because nobody else bothers."
.
Thanks to the participation of Chicks on Speed and Thailand's Futon, the album has even been selling in Bangkok, where the group is little known.
.
"We also might be heading to Berlin for a gig soon," said X' Ho. "We have to do all this because, sadly, the market here is small and unappreciative."
.
The group will play a one-hour set at the launch party.
.
"We're even doing an earnest tribute to the baby-making campaign," he said. "Seriously, lah, I think people expect us to be outrageous. We're happy to oblige, of course. Can you imagine what would happen if we came across as tame?"
Aloysius writes....
Monday Sessions Live @ Bar None : Session 3
The Observatory, Zircon Gov Pawn Starz & Stone Revivals
© LuRgEE 2003
No photographs were allowed during Zircon's set and the the Stone Revivals pix were too blur. It was a freakin crowded nite and view was really limited and blocked!
ALBUM REVIEW IN TODAY
Don't judge by its cover
ONE look at the cover of Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz's debut album, Follywood (picture), may leave you wowed by its audacity.
.There's an adaptation of the Singapore crest, featuring two scantily-clad women (who look uncannily like Sue-Sue Law), with a banana in the middle.
.The cover artwork hits you in the face — the band's controversy-seeking name does the same — so much so that you are bound to miss the glaring typographical error.
.And the error is not in the album's title, which is an obvious pun on Hollywood.
.The bottom of the cover reads: London, New York, Berlin, Toyko.
.Toyko? Is that another pun, perhaps? No, says X'Ho.
."I know you don't often get to hear this in Singapore, but let me put up my hand and say: 'It's an honest mistake'."
.Well, who'd notice with a name like Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz and such un-PC additions to the cover as the cigarette butt in the bottom right corner? — Razali Abdullah
STRAITS TIMES LIFE! YEOW KAI CHAI... FOUR F***ING STARS MATE!
In-your-face prefab spouts
Follywood is another brickbat by X'Ho and gang hurled at the face of convention
FOLLYWOOD
Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz
(XY Recordings/Universal)
BACK in February, radio DJ-turned-pop dominatrix Suzanne Walker hijacked the MTV Asia Awards with a chest-baring stunt so hilariously sluttish (and yet coyly not baring any nipples), it added real anarchy to a parade of toothy, 'I love-Singapore' popsters.
Walker - also known as Sue-Sue Law in her rock-star persona - has ganged up with Singapore's very own punk-monk X'Ho and his former Zircon Lounge partner-in-crime Yeow to form a nu electro trio that takes the mickey out of everything, not least themselves.
Which is why Follywood - a glorious spoof of the land of dreams as transposed to Singapore, the 'ultimate land of prefab sprouts' - should be seen as an invaluable entry to the nation's ongoing efforts to loosen up.
As a matter of course, the establishment should view Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz with utmost derision. After all, that is the band's raison d'etre - to push all the buttons of the prude and prissy and get their heartbeats to race a little.
In all departments - from sound to imagery - the Pawn Starz ride the line between glamorous porn-star sleaze and good humour with superb sass. With guest spots by Munich electronic gurus Chicks On Speed, German diva Mia and Thailand's electro-rockers Futon, these guys are cosmopolitan crusaders on a rampage.
X'Ho is in his element mouthing acerbic witticisms in original songs like the pumped-up, motorised diatribe called Mouthless Fish, parlaying his sultry radio-DJ croon to devastating effect: 'They'll arm-lock you but you won't choke.'
So straight is his delivery, it bleeds heart-wrenching empathy.
Such is the subversive appeal of the Pawn Starz: They regularly ping-pong between pain and joy, between pity and irrationality in their decidedly catchy synth-pop anthems against inertia.
Take a listen to the raucous version of New Hampshire pop-punk band The Queers' Drop The Attitude, F***er with added references to reality shows and Channel 8.
Even more salacious is the acidic Nag Nag Nag, where Ms Sue-Sue Law struts as a hardcore school mistress, sounding like, surprise, Suzanne Vega gone to seed.
In short, the Pawn Starz are the mogwai of Singapore pop-culture, wreaking havoc and leaving you not a little breathless.
* Zircon Gov. Pawn Starzperforms at Zouk tomorrow at 10.30pm. Entry is $23 for women and $28 for men. Doors open at 9pm.
* Send your comments tostlife@sph.com.sg
TODAY - ZUL writes...
Shock therapy
New dose of irreverence in store as Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz comes out with debut album
?
Zul Othman
news@newstoday.com.sg
?
ZIRCON Gov. Pawn Starz ?singer/songwriter/DJ X'Ho (aka Chris Ho), singer Sue-Sue Law (aka radio DJ Suzanne Walker) and guitarist/songwriter Yeow (aka Tan Tiang Yeow) ?have to be Singapore's most irreverent musical combo..T
.
The group's notoriety was cemented in February with Sue-Sue Law's "wardrobe malfunction" on the red carpet at the MTV Asia Awards. Sue's picture was splashed in virtually every newspaper here.
.
The reason for the stunt? Sue felt that they were mistreated by the organisers.
.
"If they didn't treat us so badly that day, I wouldn't have done that and taken the piss. We were invited as guests but they made us walk from the car park, no car to drive us to the red carpet and we had to wear our talent pass, unlike the other international bands!"
.
On Saturday at 11pm, Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz launches its genre-bending debut album, Follywood, with a party at Zouk.
.
Grounded in punk rock but decked out in neo-retro electro beats, it's the most entertaining homegrown release in years.
.
With contributions from electronic musicians Chicks On Speed, Peter Christopherson, Case and Futon, Follywood revels in irony and stands as a diary of a "trashy band that laughs at the ugly Singaporean", in Yeow's words.
.
"It's a social commentary," he said. "I think we're here to probe and ask because nobody else bothers."
.
Thanks to the participation of Chicks on Speed and Thailand's Futon, the album has even been selling in Bangkok, where the group is little known.
.
"We also might be heading to Berlin for a gig soon," said X' Ho. "We have to do all this because, sadly, the market here is small and unappreciative."
.
The group will play a one-hour set at the launch party.
.
"We're even doing an earnest tribute to the baby-making campaign," he said. "Seriously, lah, I think people expect us to be outrageous. We're happy to oblige, of course. Can you imagine what would happen if we came across as tame?"
Aloysius writes....
Monday Sessions Live @ Bar None : Session 3
The Observatory, Zircon Gov Pawn Starz & Stone Revivals
© LuRgEE 2003
No photographs were allowed during Zircon's set and the the Stone Revivals pix were too blur. It was a freakin crowded nite and view was really limited and blocked!
ALBUM REVIEW IN TODAY
Don't judge by its cover
ONE look at the cover of Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz's debut album, Follywood (picture), may leave you wowed by its audacity.
.There's an adaptation of the Singapore crest, featuring two scantily-clad women (who look uncannily like Sue-Sue Law), with a banana in the middle.
.The cover artwork hits you in the face — the band's controversy-seeking name does the same — so much so that you are bound to miss the glaring typographical error.
.And the error is not in the album's title, which is an obvious pun on Hollywood.
.The bottom of the cover reads: London, New York, Berlin, Toyko.
.Toyko? Is that another pun, perhaps? No, says X'Ho.
."I know you don't often get to hear this in Singapore, but let me put up my hand and say: 'It's an honest mistake'."
.Well, who'd notice with a name like Zircon Gov. Pawn Starz and such un-PC additions to the cover as the cigarette butt in the bottom right corner? — Razali Abdullah