LEKAN WANG

Year: 2005 The first time I heard of Mae, it was when Alex and Munika mentioned that they wanted to go to a Mae concert. Alex said he was surprised that Munika liked Mae, so I thought Mae was some classic rock group that had a punk-ish sound, since Alex was into classic rock, and Munika into punk and indie stuff. So going off my assumptions, I didn’t really ask who Mae was. (Random thought…I’m not sure if they actually went to that concert or not.) It wasn’t until this school year that I’m rooming with Alex that one day I hear a few songs in a row that I really like, and I’m wondering who the artist is, that [more . . .]

Year: 2002 First time I heard it, it was when Colin Callander played it during the EPHS Variety Show senior year. I’m not sure whether it was because the playing and singing was a little sloppy (sorry Colin), or whether it was because my musical tastes were radically different back then, but I didn’t like the song enough to even Google “Ben Folds” when I got back home, even though I like piano-based rock and pop. Today, Ben Folds is one of my favorite artists, and this is my favorite song from his collection. I think most or all of his songs are better live simply because he improvises constantly and tries daring feats and adds some intense solos. If [more . . .]

Origin/Composer: Frédéric Chopin Year: 1834 It’s been a while since the last classical SOTW, so this week, I present the glorious Fantaisie-Impromptu by Chopin, his 66th opus. I first learned about this piece when I was in 11th grade Advanced English: Classics when we read Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening.” In the book, she describes a piano impromptu by Chopin that was extremely emotional stirring. I did some research on the piece and compared it to all four of Chopin’s impromptus and decided it most closely resembles this one. It is one of my favorite piano pieces currently. The four on three rhythm in the beginning to the amazing prestissimo tempo to the beautiful middle section will blow you away.

Year: 2003 The first MC Solaar song I’ve heard and still my favorite. If you don’t know French, this will just sound intensely amazing. If you do understand this French, though, this will be one of the most emotional songs you have ever heard. The lyrics are extremely fast and has a lot of argot, so follow along the lyrics here. The song is strongly anti-war and raps from the perspective of a civilian in the “Axis of Evil,” a cruise missile, and an American bomber pilot. Lyrics Seul dans ma chambre, un jour normal J’apprends dans les journaux que j’suis dans l’Axe du Mal Je lis entre les lignes et j’comprends qu’on veut me “kill” Donc j’ferme la serrure [more . . .]

Year: 1998 Using the beat from Tupac’s “Changes,” this song captures the plight of the Asian in an angry rant… Right… I have a lot of mixed feelings about this song. Tupac’s “Changes” is one of my favorite songs, and as much as I like the wit and humor in this song, bastardizing “Changes” and the messages contained inside it seems almost morally reprehensible. I guess if you’re not familiar with “Changes” or Bruce Hornsby’s “The Way It Is,” it’ll just be good clean (or not so clean) fun.