Episode 1495: Macau

Turns out it was Yong Long I saw yesterday. Saw his pictures on Facebook Anyway, we spent today in Macau. It was a tour, so that saved the hassle of trying to work out how to get about the place. Honestly though, I'm not convinced there's all that much more to Macau than the gambling. Still, there's a certain vulgar beauty to the casinos' opulence, isn't there? Is this where Singapore is headed, now that we have our integrated resorts? Hopefully not! Added some new music to my iPod before I came over to Hong Kong, which is all I've been listening to for the past couple of days. One of the albums is Taylor Swift's Red, apparently her poppiest yet. I've never been a huge fan of hers, but I'd say that's about right as an album assessment. It's your standard radio-friendly stuff, with the occasional country inflection. More interesting are Aiden Grimshaw's Misty Eye and Jamie Woon's Mirrorwriting. Both are clearly pop music records, but musically they feel quite refreshing compared to the sounds that tend to dominate the airwaves these days. Purists of the genres they borrow from will probably disapprove though. I've also been listening to Lawson's Chapman Square, which is a solid radio-ready pop record like Swift's. Boybands definitely seem to be experiencing a resurgence this decade, but even though the four Lawson members are predictably ludicrously photogenic, musically they're actually slightly closer to the jangly guitar pop of Kris Allen, rather than One Direction, or even The Wanted.