This is going to be my last post on this blog. Now, enter the second life:

http://andrewdarwitan.wordpress.com/

Registered course(s):

COM 201 (FOUNDATIONS OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES)

COURSE TYPE: CORE (4.0 AU)

This course provides an introduction to the basic theories, concepts, principles, and contexts of human communication. It is designed as an introduction to the field of communication studies. It offers an overview of fundamental communication principles and practices applicable to many careers. Students will learn how to reflect and think critically about communication in personal and public contexts and explore how communication has created and shaped our society as well as our personal lives. The course will introduce each of the specialty areas of study within the School of Communication and Information, which include mass, promotional, interpersonal, organisational and intercultural communication, and information technology.

COM 203 (MEDIA PROFESSIONS AND PRACTICES)

COURSE TYPE: CORE (4.0 AU)

This course is an introduction to media industries, including journalism, publishing, television, motion picture, radio, advertising, public relations and research. The course covers the media’s historical development and functions, ownership and organisation, production processes and professional practices, and the social, economic and political contexts within which they operate. The impact of the Internet and other new media on the professions is analysed. Commonly accepted ethical principles are discussed, and ethics controversies are explored.

COM 205 (SPEECH AND ARGUMENTATION)

COURSE TYPE: CORE (4.0 AU)

This course is meant to develop and strengthen skills in constructing and delivering speeches and presentations. The goal is to achieve oral proficiency through a combination of critical analysis and practice. By examining communication strategies, students will see what does and does not work in a given speech or presentation situation. Students will learn persuasive elements, principles of argumentation, speech writing, research and content development, oral delivery and critique.

COM 231 (CREATIVE STRATEGIES)

COURSE TYPE: PRESCRIBED (4.0 AU)

This course focuses on the development and execution of creative and motivating communication. The emphasis is on providing students with an understanding of creative and strategic message development and applying these underlying principles to the media. Students will learn how to use marketing information to develop practical creative strategies. Both visual and written creativity will be emphasised. Students will also learn the requirements for developing advertising messages in different media. Course work includes lectures, discussions, creative assignments, critiques and a final project.

COM 268 (NEWSLETTER PRACTICUM)

COURSE TYPE: GENERAL (2.0 AU)

In this practicum, students will work as a team to produce an SCI newsletter, Connexscions, which is targeted at alumni and the general public. Students will learn to about the different functions of a newsletter, as compared to magazines and newspapers; and they will understand how a newsletter is put together from conceptualisation to publication. This practicum will benefit students who are interested in a career in corporate communications, and who are keen to develop a portfolio.

MB 103 (PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING)

COURSE TYPE: GENERAL (3.0 AU)

A good understanding of marketing by itself and in relation to other disciplines is critical for anyone interested in business. This course aims to provide students with a firm understanding of the basic principles and practice of marketing. It lays the foundation for a better understanding of how successful and sustainable business enterprises can be developed. To enable participants to develop strong analytical skills and to apply the theories and concepts of marketing, a multi-media pedagogical approach will be adopted. In addition to a global perspective, real-life marketing cases and examples will also be drawn from the Asian and local environment.

Dropped course(s):

MB 107 (FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS LAW)

COURSE TYPE: GENERAL (3.0 AU)

The aim of this course is to provide a good understanding of the main principles of law affecting business. As an introductory course, it will focus on the key principles and issues. The course is divided into six parts. The first part introduces basic concepts and definitions relating to the law and the judicial system in Singapore. We then move on to study principles in contract law, viewed at and explained from a business perspective. Part three highlights the essential aspects of tort law focusing on the tort of negligence. Parts four and five look at organisational forms and the basic aspects of intellectual property protection respectively. The final part introduces elements of dispute management and resolution.

God, it is so hard to adapt with drastic changes in your life. Never have I been in full charge to set the path for my own education. And as if things cannot get any worse, I am completely blur (if not blank) about what to do with this responsibility. And what is up with the whole complicated system (Core Courses, Major Prescribed Electives, General Education Requirement Prescribed Electives, Unrestricted Electives, and so on and on and on)? I am supposed to plan all those stuffs to be completed in a period of four years? All planned as soon as possible, in a matter of weeks? And damn, how I wish I were not born as a perfectionist so it would not hurt to see a little defect in my plan! I am so pressured. And clueless.

PS. I know I will get over this eventually, as the time goes by. After all, the majority intelligent-being inhabitants of the Earth did. But in the meantime, I am waiting for a post-freshmen university life as I suffer a terrible sleeping session with a never-ending nightmare.

Goodbye, Medan! I will depart this Thursday, leaving for Singapore to pursue my university life at NTU. I am filled with anxiety of discovering a brand new life with, damn, brand new responsibilities. The biggest realization of all, though, is that I fear it. I fear to be independent. I fear to deal with circumstances with these two hands of mine. Previously, I could always count on my family to bear with those little things that I often overlooked or avoided. Now that I am gazillion miles apart from them, I have to learn to carry the shit by myself. And there is no one to ensure me not to be misguided by this whole new environment. Man, I hope that everything is going to be just fine. =(

I am recently reminded of someone who arrived in my life about three years ago. She was not someone that special, actually. But wait, she was supposed to be! And deservingly so! After all, she was my *swallowing saliva* girlfriend.

I do not really know how to begin this. Either I was too green about the abstract thing called love or I was just being a total jerk. But anyway, what would you do if a girl is always misbehaving whenever you are around? What would you do if your love radar keeps on beeping to tell you that she is at least 80% attracted to you? Come on, you are bound to solve it by yourself whether the remaining 20% is the right piece of puzzle to fit in what you already have or that the 80% is a sign of an exhausted love radar in need of immediate lubrication at your local garage/workshop. To keep it short, curiousity would be waltzing in your mind. Basically, that is what I did as well. So I lured the fish to my bait through a conversation via short messaging service and I got her to express that she was falling in love with me. I think that it was more of an innocent (and misguided) puppy love than the one dealing with passion and commitment, but what can you expect? She was around 14 years old back then (I bet JoJo had no clue what she was singing about when she debuted with “Leave (Get Out)”). And for adolescents, puppy love practically counts. I repeat, it counts!

Okay, now that the girl has asked you to be in a romantic relationship with her, what would you do? A wise man might choose to put it on hold while keep on developing a regular relationship before he would assume that they belong together. At the very least, he might want to ask his deepest heart whether he loves her in return or not. Well, I did ask myself to know if I loved her as much as she did. Being a dumb teenager, however, I got no precise answer to my question. First of all, she was the one who demanded for the relationship. I have to admit that it was hard to evaluate how I felt about her. Stuff like this actually needs time to be comprehended. Second, I was certainly intrigued by her. How could I not care when I was well-awared of her feeling on me? Besides, is it not nice to know that someone is in love with you? Am I particularly sinful to have a positive emotional response on someone who loves me for free (regardless whether it is puppy love or true love)? Maybe not. Okay, so I finally approved the relationship without really being sure about my own feeling. I thought that I would learn to love her as we continued our relationship. Man, how wrong I was! To make things worse, I decided that only a few selected people were allowed to know about us. Geez, what the hell was I thinking? Perhaps I was not ready yet to be open about our relationship, but that is not an excuse. If you are not ready yet for something, then do not go for it. What is the point of dating somebody if nobody shall know?

At the end of the day, both of us felt really uncomfortable. I tried, but I was unable to treat her properly like a girl of mine. Although we did go for lunch and stuffs, there was no real desire to share the times together. It was more of a tedious routine that I did simply because I had to. I had my own limitations, of course, and I was not used to being compelled that way (despite that it was, uh, my own fault). Unsurprisingly, the break-up was inevitable. I was the one who suggested it and she was inclined to it, although I was able to sense that she was somehow reluctant (anyway, she went on to date with another man about a month later, now what did I say about her love being the innocent puppy type one? PS. And she left him within the range of months as well, perhaps even weeks, but that is a whole different story, fellow readers!).

Recently, I came in contact with her again (and that is the exact reason why this post existed at the first place). She seems to have changed, but I am yet to decide whether it is a massive change of personality or just a teensy-weensy bit and whether it is for the better or the worse. Oh well, I forgot to mention how her behaviour was three years ago. Despite my description of her being inclined to accept the break-up and stuffs, believe me, she was anything but well-behaved. She was rather childish back then, to the extent of immaturity. But so was I! What right do I have to complain, then? Based on a brief chat we had via an online messenger service, I guess that she is nicer now. She seems to have growned herself up. What a way to get in touch back with an ex-girlfriend!

Looking back, I regard our relationship as an utter failure. I know that the girl I mention on this post might be reading this blog one day. Well, I have to tell you that this is really what I think about it. But I beg you not to feel upset! I respect whatever we had and I will never regret anything that has happened. The past is in the past and I am not going to make a big fuss over it. There shall be no hard feeling between us at all. I truly appreciate your existence and I am grateful for the whole experience that you brought into my life. I sincerely wish we can be good acquaintances again.

Sometimes I think it is funny how everything works out the way I planned it to be. If I take a peek into my 15-year-old mind, I can see me picturing myself as a soon-to-be General Chief of Student Council Board. I knew exactly what I needed to do: “Just walk the road that was already pathed for you, Andrew.” So I did. Recently, I had to set my university goal, just like any other third-year-students of senior high school. After several discussions with my parents, I had NTU imprinted clearly on my mind. And guess what? Not only that I am the only non-plus/acceleration (though I was in plus class during my first year at senior high school, but that is another story) student from my school that made it through, but I was also invited for a scholarship interview at Jakarta, which was exclusively offered for about 80 Indonesian best students. I had doubt in myself and I thought that there are better and superior people out there. And the result is, well, I did not get the scholarship. For additional information, I who did not plan to study at NUS yet applied for it just to “try” was not even called to attend the university entrance examination.

Amazed with these “coincidences”, I jumped on the bandwagon and purchased a copy of Rhonda Byrne’s “The Secret” to find some explanations. Truthfully speaking, I am disappointed. The book is merely sending the same old tired message that can be found on your regular self-help psychology books (the likes of “9876543210 Ways to be a Successful Leader”), which is, duh, “be optimistic”. After reading the book, I have as much understanding of “the secret” as reading through the lines “There can be miracles / When you believe / … / You will when you believe” from the famous Whitney-Mariah duet. The law of attraction is nothing new. Although a clever woman she is, Ms. Byrne has camouflaged the exhausted message in a cryptically inviting package to ensure that the “best-seller” title is around the corner.

According to the book, we can utilize “the secret” through three simple steps. Ask. Believe. Receive. What was missing from the book, though, is the critical fourth element: Act. “The Secret” makes reference to the success of several prominent figures from Alexander Graham Bell to Ludwig van Beethoven. Sure, Bell must have visualized while he let his creative ideas run. But he did not just go to sleep believing that he has invented something and wake up the other day with the prototype model of a telephone on his hand, ready to be patented. He worked hard and experimented for years to invent it. Let us assume that Beethoven aimed to be one of the greatest composers of the century. He asked for it, he believed that he would, and he would be more than willing to receive. What sets him apart from hundreds other forgotten composers with the exact same aim, though, is that he took an action to achieve it. With every preceding piece of music, he attempted to outdo what he has previously composed before he could reach the height of the Ninth Symphony.

I do agree that the power of believing (plus asking and receiving) is a force to be reckoned with, indeed. The fact that we believe in something helps us to struggle for it. A terminally-ill patient who believes that he has no chance of recovery will be pressured and, at the end of the day, he does not make as much effort as those who want to recover. If you think that you have no friends, you will be more aware of the situation when you are alone and subconsciously focus on it. But if you believe you have friends, you will be affected to join in the conversation when your friends are around. In a speech competition, someone becomes the winner because he wanted to and, therefore, he presented a speech of a winner quality (instead of the poorly-attempted ones by the “I-am-just-trying” contestants). Looking back, I would not have been elected as a General Student Council Board Chief if I did not bring out the best in me. I am now admitted to NTU because I aspired it and, therefore, studied hard for it. I would not have been able to answer those damn math questions if I relied only on the Universe to work its positive energy on me. For God’s sake, some of the materials are not even studied on Indonesia’s high school curriculum. There is no way that the answer could have sprung miraculously into my mind if I did not study enough.

As simple as that? Or would you differ? Feel free to submit your own opinions.

“Put more non-music stuffs, Andrew!”

There goes the general complain of my fellow bloggers and blog-readers. Uh, okay. And I do not want people to think of me as “a very serious baldy professor or loony music scientist”. *cough* Now the good news, people. I have decided to start sharing my personal feelings and daily randomness with you guys. =)

I am already 17 years old (6725 days, if you care). I have entered a new phase of my life and I am pretty sure that there will be a lot of new stuffs I am going to encounter in near future. Who knows if one day I discover the Atlantic? Who knows if I can share my experience of being abducted by two green aliens from the Andromeda galaxy? Who knows if I get a girlfriend next week? Who knows if I go to Sun Plaza this weekend? Who knows if I catch an influenza tonight? Whatever they may be, I suppose it would be wise to have them well-documented on this blog, exposed to the general public for them to read. Geez, I feel like I am becoming a celebrity now. Haha… Just kidding. In addition, knowing that I am leaving my high school life behind, gradually losing regular contact with my old friends, soon be living in Singapore for my tertiary education at NTU, and so on… I believe it would be nice to keep everyone (family members, relatives, friends, acquaintances, et cetera) updated with what I am doing. I am still not sure how often I am going to update my blog, but I will try to share when I have the time (and when I am not too lazy to type).

I will still be writing Ph.D. music essays, but I promise that you will see more and more other stuffs soon. Please be there to read my useless silly stories about my future crushes and comfort me when I am sobbing over simple things. =)

Well, it has to happen again. Your favourite self-proclaimed music critic has written yet another obscure Ph.D. music essay that no one gives a shit about. But you are reading this right now, are you not? Uh, okay. So what the hell is music identification?

Now go and sit in front of your television. If you are unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of Fergie’s “London Bridge” on MTV, you will get what I mean. First, the song is hardly pleasant to the ears. It does not take a genious to figure out that the music is obviously ugly, if not vomit-inducing. The beats are slightly more beautiful than the sound of me farting on a microphone, but that is not saying much. Second, the song serves no meaningful purpose whatsoever. Even the cheesiest ballads on Earth, to name “My Heart Will Go On” among others, resonate with you if you happen to be one of the sensitive type of boys/girls who love watching tear-jerking soap operas. But the Fergie’s song does not even evoke any kinds of feeling/reaction, apart from the urge to mute the volume at instant speed. Third, the song is a far cry from originality. “London Bridge” is not a musical revolution combining fresh new ideas with sharp mass appeal. Nelly Furtado experiments on the weird commercial-pop spectrum long before the Black Eyed Peas became a household name and she did it much better than Fergie can even dream of. Inarguably, “London Bridge” is a horrible insult in the name of music. At best, it passes barely as a shamefully-admitted guilty pleasure. But wait a minute, the song is a smashing hit single. And Fergie the millionaire is laughing on her way to the bank as another thousand of fools download the aforementioned “London Bridge” on iTunes. For curiousity alone, I gave the song a proper listen for several times. And guess what, the more that I listen to it, the harder it is to get the annoying tunes out of my head. Not because I am starting to like the song, but rather because I have begun to identify the song.

If you are still confused, let me share a story. Looking back to 2002, when my music knowledge was still undeveloped, my top five favourite music acts were: Avril Lavigne, Bon Jovi, Shakira, Kylie Minogue, and, God forbid, Las Ketchup. If I have to re-analyze, it happened due to my premature identification with hits like “Everyday”, “Objection (Tango)”, “Come Into My World”, or “Asereje (The Ketchup Song)” (NOTE: I do not mention an Avril single since it has been proven that she survives the test of time.). Sure, some of the songs that I identified with back then are still worthy. But most of them, take Las Ketchup as an example, are disposable garbage shoveled down my throat through excessive/non-stop MTV airplays so I would be willing to spend my pocket money (that my parents have worked hard on) and trade them for the album “Hijas Del Tomate” that I never listened to again. Nowadays, I have somehow developed my music knowledge a little bit so not to be spoonfed by the greedy recording industry. But most casual listeners still have the mentality to prematurely identify (or misidentify) themselves with anyone they see on MTV, spending their hard-earned cash on various random records and never knowing whether they truly like their outputs or not. Years later, they would be listening to Jamie Lynn Spears’ debut album and they would forget “Asereje (The Ketchup Song)” just like how Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” faded away from their memories (who’s still listening to Last Ketchup in 2008, anyway?). We all know how varied people are. So they have Linkin Park for the pseudo-macho fraternities, Justin Timberlake for the screaming fangirls, James Blunt for the hypersensitive razor-cutting audiences, 50 Cent for the “cool” teens, et cetera. Just about anything from Fall Out Boy to Paris Hilton to Crazy Frog. Now you know how smart the record industry can be when they utilize their marketing strategy well, eh?

I can jump to the conclusion that “the broader our music knowledge is, the more our taste truly reflects our taste and not what is exposed to us”. If we look beyond what is offered, we will be rewarded with the real deal. Geez, I did not know what I was missing back then in 2002. Sure, I could have chosen to continue chewing on those bubblegums and buy another pack of bubblegums when they have became tasteless. But why not have tenderloin steak or spaghetti bolognese instead? They keep us really satisfied and full for a long time. The first time I listened to Tori Amos’ “Little Earthquakes” was years ago. Though I do not put it on consecutive repeats like I used to (say, six times a day), sometimes I play the album and I am still amazed with the musicality that she shows on that album. It goes to show that “Little Earthquakes” stands while “Hijas Del Tomate” is collecting dust on my drawer now.

PS. On this essay, I mention about my tendency to identify with the likes of Tori Amos, but that does not mean you have to go through the same way. Like I mentioned before, people have varied tastes. If your taste leans on heavy metal, you might find yourself at home with early Metallica or Led Zeppelin. If you are willing to try some mad experiments, you might head yourself to Pink Floyd or even Frank Zappa. The list goes on ad infinitum.

Personal Thank You To My ELDS Friends

The Academic Year of 2007-2008 has been a remarkable period of my life. Formality aside, I would like to sincerely thanks several people whose presence have been vital to me, especially during my leadership as the president of ELDS (English Literature and Debate Society). Therefore, I dedicate this whole thanks section for the aforementioned vital people.

Mr. Hapis Dapalil Walid - This list would not have even existed if it was not because of you. Thanks for having the faith on us to continue searching for potential young talents and shape them to be skilled public speakers.

Paulina Tandiono (Vice President) - The chemistry that we have while working together is beyond words. Never will I regret for having such a great person like you as my partner. I look forward for you to inform me with interesting news about this society after I leave this school.

Christine Lestari (Secretary) - I know that I have been keeping you occupied with many sudden tasks, yet you are always able to handle all the things well. I should be thanking you a lot for it.

Nancy (Treasurer) - I am glad that you can manage this year’s treasury without much problems. You are still young and you have a lot of things to learn ahead. I wish you the best for years to come.

The sectional leaders - Mr. Hapis Dapalil Walid, Li Pei Jung, Paulina Tandiono, Stevensen, Christine Lestari, Michiko, Johan. Well, you guys have spent approximately fifty-two hours of your life this year for ELDS. This society would not have run so well without all of you. Thanks a lot!

The P2S1 debate competition committees - Paulina Tandiono, Stevensen, et cetera. What a tired two days of hardwork, eh? I have to demand retribution from you guys for having located adjudicators-with-unjustly-high-expectations on my room, though. Oh, and you guys owe me for the misannounced motion as well. =)

The P2S1 speech competition committees - Christine Lestari, Nancy, et cetera. I hate to be politically correct, but I have to say that the “oral achievement event (read: speech competition)” was “professionally accomplished (read: successful)”. Well, I myself am not sure why those two terms are offensive and need to be politically corrected, though. =)

The P2S1 newsreading competition committees - Vincent Rodely, Ivana Polim, et cetera. I want my mobile phone credits back! I bet you guys still remember the countless hours we spent on the library contacting dozens of people with no certain confirmation? But we have it done by the D-Days and nobody knows but us. =)

The committee members - Angelina Chandra, Arief Raja Jacob Hutahaean, Catharine Tanara, Caroline Jayalie, Christine Lestari, Fennie, Fransisca, Ivana Polim, Jaslyn Pratiwi, Jesiska, Johan, Lodi Salim, Michiko, Nancy, Paulina Tandiono, Richard Fernando, Ricky Wiriady, Roberto, Steven, Stevensen, Vincent Rodely, Widiana, Winny. For your hardwork and assistance, dedication and devotion, I have to utter a gazillion of thanks.

PAS (Paulina, Andrew, Stevensen) - Now you guys will have a hard time finding an accomplished and credible first speaker who is as well an expert reply speaker, haha. But anyway, all the experiences that we share together have convinced me that PAS is really a solid team and I am grateful to have you guys as my fantastic teammates.

Special thanks to - Heriyanto, Tracey Yani, Jessica Sugito, Sandy Xinsi Hartono, Juvenco, Fensuny, Li Pei Jung, Nora, Amelia, Harjo, et cetera.

To everybody else that I have not yet mentioned - Buddies, you guys are wonderful. All of you has made this such a marvelous year. ELDS rocks!

Last but not least, allow me to quote something that has a lot of impact during my four years in ELDS, for Andrew is not Andrew without the famous three words: “Chicken is cute.”

Best regards,
Andrew Darwitan

I have been planning to redo a personal music chart that I used to post regularly on this blog. Unfortunately, I never kept the data so I have to start all over again. Since 2008 will be a start of a new year, a start of a completely new musical journey for me, I figure out it would be an appropriate moment to bring back the music chart.

In the meantime, as we wait for a new year to arrive, let us have a recap of what has been good and what has been overhyped in 2007. In order to make everything fair, I will limit to only allow one single from one musical act to be listed on the list. To be honest, 2007 is not much of an interesting year for the development of music. The early half of the year was actually pretty good, but the other half does not have much to offer. There are a lot of singles that I would love to be listed here but they were released a little too early (Damien Rice, Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguilera, et cetera). And even when they do release another singles on 2007, they were either too mediocre or much inferior. Without going any much further, here are the 20 singles that top the 2007 music scene for me:

20. Lil’ Mama | “Lip Gloss” |
What the hell is this bland and cheesy song doing here? Well, you know it. Every once in a while, there is something you called as guilty pleasure. “Lip Gloss” may appear to be unoriginal, hookless, and uninspiring. Nevertheless, this is just one little harmless ear candy. One look at the song title works well as an analogy to the glossy production this slick song has.

19. Kate Nash | “Foundations” |
Last year, we have Lily Allen who embraces a unique spectrum of music under the pop umbrella. This year, Kate Nash channels her inner KT Tunstall crossed with an unusually delicate and tasteful indie approach.

18. Scissor Sisters | “She’s My Man” |
In the reminiscence of 1980s disco of Bee Gees type and all its glory, there comes the successful wake of lush dance-pop in the mask of Scissor Sisters. Despite having released better singles like “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” and “Land Of A Thousand Words” in 2006, the sheer upbeat nature of “She’s My Man” remains fun and hips-shaking, not to mention the irresistibly sexy falsetto in courtesy of lead singer Jake Shears.

17. Travis | “Closer” |
Britpop scene always has its own share of good moments each year. But the fact that the likes of Coldplay or Keane are way too overacknowledged plus that those bands did not release enough handful of decent materials in 2007, a senior act called Travis catches my extra attention thanks to their warm and gentle delivery of this love ballad.

16. Annie Lennox | “Sing” |
Most of you might remember Annie Lennox as that quasi-masculine vocalist of Eurhythmics. But gone is the duo’s synth-pop formula as the lady went solo and slowly became more Sinead O’Connor as time goes by. “Sing” is a charity single where this lady gathers countless number of chick singers with various musical backgrounds for two purposes, voicing out the ignored and for the love of music itself.

15. Carrie Underwood | “Wasted” |
Coming from the country side of the popular music market, American Idol Carrie Underwood delivers an instantly appealing and memorable single. By the chance, “Wasted” is also my favorite song from her debut album. It is as close to pop-rock as she could ever get.

14. Kanye West | “Stronger” |
I know good music when I find one, despite my general dislikeness to mainstream rap music. And when I do, I am willing to recommend it to anybody. “Stronger” positions itself on a delicate electronic-oriented environment. Mainstream rap has never been this creative and clever for the past half-decade or so.

13. Radiohead | “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” |
Here comes Pink Floyd of the modern generation, or some might even say The Beatles. Regardless, Radiohead is a very prominent band coming out post-1990, churning out a lot of brilliant songs. “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” sounds like an outtake of OK Computer incorporated into the production value of Hail To The Thief, minus the entire melancholy factor.

12. The Bird And The Bee | “Again And Again” |
This duo makes bright electronica-oriented music enhanced through studio magical polishing of the lead singer’s vocal. Sounding like a fairytale-dreaming sister to Imogen Heap, the lead vocalist naively sings about misbehaving boyfriend with a cute and innocent manner on “Again And Again”.

11. Suzanne Vega | “Frank & Ava” |
The folk-pop singer-songwriter is back and is still as sophisticated as ever. This number is a well-written poetry performed calmly yet quite upbeat at the same time, making it one hell of a graceful stuff.

10. PJ Harvey | “When Under Ether” |
PJ Harvey goes 180 degree from what she used to be. If her previous outputs are organic and totally in your face, her latest ones are held back and personal. The rough shrieking has been replaced with breathy yet haunting vocal reciting over the tinkling piano that picks up where the guitar and drum left.

09. Feist | “My Moon, My Man” |
If you still remember how soothing the lady’s previous album is, then you are in for a big surprise this year. Feist moves a step into the indie-pop territory, utilizing her silky vocal to create a slightly jazzy lounge feel on the irresistibly sultry “My Moon, My Man”.

08. Vanessa Carlton | “Hands On Me” |
Vanessa Carlton’s sophomore album flopped pretty bad in terms of commercial success, despite the progression of her artistic integrity. Now she is in for a comeback, with “Hands On Me” as an addictively smashing and catchy piano-driven single.

07. Rihanna | “Shut Up And Drive” |
The fact that Rihanna has been so overplayed this year could have made me pigeonholed her as one of the most annoying acts of 2007 instead. Okay, let us see. On the year alone, she released two worthless mediocre singles, one okay sing-a-long guilty pleasure that goes “ella, ella, e, e” for God knows how many times, and one delicate pseudo-rock song called “Shut Up And Drive”. It is the latter that managed to hook me up with its husky yet sexy vocal delivery.

06. Evanescence | “Lithium” |
Despite the fact that Evanescence is having a sophomore slump this time, there is something about the angry mope rock song that “Lithium” is. Amy Lee’s vocal is as strong as usual and the instrumental aspect of the song rocks really hard. Adds in the charming piano playing and occasional elegant strings arrangement and you get yourself a striking power ballad.

05. Bjork | “Earth Intruders” |
The endless experimentation has led the Icelandic pixie to release unique and inventive albums all these years. Her last two albums preceding Volta might be a little too serious for casual music listeners, although they are intriguing to me. “Earth Intruders” is a return to form where she shows her fun side again. As her strong vocal is accompanied with abstract marching beats and cute keyboard lines, this song earns itself a top notch on my end-year’s list.

04. Tori Amos | “Bouncing Off Clouds” |
Tori Amos finally returns to the full band formation since exactly ten years ago. If I have to describe this song with two words, I will say that it is upbeat and delicate. The piano blends in perfectly with the excellent electric guitar and the addictive drum pattern. Not only that it works well as your basic pop-rock sing-a-long, but it can also make you party on the dancefloor just like a disco number.

03. Kelly Clarkson | “Sober” |
Kelly Clarkson’s offering of “Sober” might be her best ever since “Since You’ve Been Gone” hits everyone right in the head. This charming power ballad slowly starts from an acoustic guitar as the spine-tingling timpani comes in and builds into climax with terrific drumming. Not to mention the message it conveys and the way it is delivered truly making it a hypnotic minor masterpiece on its own.

02. Alicia Keys | “No One” |
Before 2007, Alicia Keys have always gone to me as an artist to be respected but not to be loved. The neo-soul singer offers a very strong song only with a very simple approach. There goes the husky vocal and the unforgettable hooks, making it one of my most favorite mainstream singles of the year.

01. Avril Lavigne | “Innocence” |
I guess it is surprising that I pick an Italian-only radio-single as my single of the year. But none of the gorgeous “Keep Holding On”, the monster hit “Girlfriend”, the emotional “When You’re Gone”, and the catchy “Hot” manage to grab me as much as the outstanding “Innocence”. This is where Avril Lavigne’s vocal is showcased at her best and the music simply brings me to utter amazement. Quoting from the song itself, I regard this breathtaking effort as “the state of bliss”.

Sometimes a list of dishonorable mentions would be adequate to balance the nice aspect of music, considering I need to voice out my thoughts on which singles were the most teeth-grinding, overhyped, irritating, or offensive. I would have included Paris Hilton since she appeared to be the biggest mistake the music industry ever saw recently, but good for her that the only single she released in 2007 is the only decent song entitled “Screwed” from the otherwise awful album. So she is saved. But anyway, let us peek at the top 10 most atrocious singles of 2007:

10. Linkin Park | “What I’ve Done” |
Okay, so what happens when a supposedly cool band with electro-rap-rock combo steps into the modern rock territory that people misidentified as alternative rock? They sound like everybody else on the business. And what happens when that band starts rotten political and social commentaries? Predictably, they garner more attention on them. Additionally, the fact that such a ridiculous random ordinary everyday song like “What I’ve Done” has been overdone a thousand of times before would not help at all.

09. Hilary Duff | “With Love” |
Hilary Duff was never a talented artist, though I admit that she hits it when she is given the right songs to sing. But to the balance, she is downright cheesy when given the wrong songs. Now imagine her thin vocal going over stupid and corny electro beats that pretend to be a Kylie Minogue dance anthem, that is the insipidly titled “With Love”, a direct reference to her new perfume line. Great, now she is a narcissistic Hollywood artist just like Paris Hilton. Stick to your pseudo-rock persona, at least that one is entertaining.

08. will.i.am | “I Got It From My Mama” |
I do not understand why practically everyone in the business want to have their own solo careers. In my humble opinion, will.i.am is one of a very few humorous rappers out there, which is a positive thing. Black Eyed Peas, though occasionally churns out abysmally-arranged songs, is always nice to be watched thanks to will.i.am’s appearance. But when it comes to his solo debut, he is just dumb. This is just a poor excuse for a solo career. Rushed out and pointless.

07. Fergie | “Big Girls Don’t Cry” |
What could be worse than a Black Eyed Peas personnel releasing his solo career? Well, guess what! Two Black Eyed Peas personnel releasing their solo careers. Obviously dumber than will.i.am, Fergie copied her own version of supposedly unique Gwen Stefani’s approach and turned it into hellish mess. Good for her that “London Bridge” and “Fergalicious” is 2006’s product. Otherwise, I could have dumped her into #1 and not #7.

06. Backstreet Boys | “Inconsolable” |
Do not get me wrong, I do like Backstreet Boys. But seriously, do not attempt a comeback at the music industry if you do not have any decent single on your hand. The whole Kevin Richardson leaving the boyband thingy is perhaps one of the reasons why. They feel like they need to mend the hole and everything just to hold back the momentum. Previously, the boys were very good at making silly but tantalizing romance-flavored guilty pleasure. On the other hand, “Inconsolable” is just a poorly-written sappy ballad that simply lacks everything good about them.

05. Mika | “Love Today” |
Okay, so the guy knows how to do falsetto. But so what if he does not utilize it gorgeously like Thom Yorke of Radiohead or engagingly like those Bee Gees guys? To make things worse, the critically-misacclaimed Mika ruins everything that is so good about dance music. His music is not even the like of which can make me move to its rhythm. It is plain rubbish! Without the dyslexia trouble he had as a child or the homoerotic controversy of his song “Billy Brown”, he would have been recognized as nobody. If you want some really cool glam music, look no further than Scissor Sisters.

04. Timbaland feat. Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake | “Give It To Me” |
Timbaland is a creative producer and I will not deny it. At the same time, he is a horrible singer and nobody will be able to prove otherwise. Thrown in a sissy-ass vocalist named Justin Timberlake for bad measure and voila, you get yourself an atrocious jumble set in repetitive vomit-inducing beats. Nelly Furtado is actually a good singer, but let us not start to argue that her singing in “Give It To Me” is anything but fooling around. There indeed should exist a law preventing producers from ever sing a song and release it to the public. Additionally, capital punishment should be given to any producers who exploit a gifted singer like Nelly Furtado or an already awful singer like Justin Timberlake for his own publicity.

03. 50 Cent feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland | “Ayo Technology” |
If the previous song at least has one decent singer on it, then “Ayo Technology” removes her and injects a horrible crapper-rapper on a dull hybrid of electronica and rap. The nature of this song is that kind of a horribly disgusting and perverted sexual innuendo which has been done at least a thousand of times before by numerous other equally-crappy rappers. Geez, now I know why sometimes people confuses the word “rapper” from “rapist”.

02. Justin Timberlake | “LoveStoned/I Think She Knows” |
How on Earth can such a pathetic wishy-washy performer be claimed as the next king of pop is beyond my understanding. I cannot think of anything remotely close to decent about him. I guess it just shows that nowadays, prepubescent teens who do not know to differentiate a good music from a godawful one are dominating the buying people. Justin Timberlake needs to be shot in the head, and I meant that.

01. Fall Out Boy | “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race” |
To top the cherry of the pie in 2007, here comes the total suckitude spawned from hell that is the Fall Out Boy, a bubblegum emo-wannabe dressed up in a rock band format but is practically playing some kind of an unbearably annoying pseudo-dance muzak. Their ridiculously-titled songs are absolutely meaningless and serve no purpose. What irritates me more is the overexposure attention the band received from the media, the critics, and the listeners. Everything about them is just so wrong.

So that concludes my view of the 2007 music scene. Be waiting for January to hit the calendar so I can start posting my personal chart.