沒有靈魂的軀殼 The Soulless Tribute
今年的三月尾至四月初的香港彷彿傾刻回到八十年代。由黃凱芹演唱會，到張國榮逝世十週年的一連串紀念活動，過去的數星期重溫了不少金曲，拾回不少童年回憶。
我不是黃凱芹的歌迷，但當W邀請我去看他最近的＜黃凱芹再遇伊利莎泊＞演唱會時，也難掩心中的一點點興奮。雖然我不是remember黃的作品by heart，但小時候的我倒也蠻喜歡他，覺得他歌唱得好，人也長得俊俏，跟周慧敏合唱的＜情未了＞更是我少有喜歡的流行合唱歌。
話雖如此，當到達會場時心裏也存有些少懷疑：究竟我會否覺得悶？畢竟我真的說不出黄的作品的名字，而且在場館的周圍都是比我大起碼十年的中女和麻甩佬（何解有這麼多男人鍾意黃凱芹？我以為得女仔會迷呢位曾經有啲王子feel嘅黃凱芹），我會不會瞓覺甚至中途離場？
開始時黄凱芹在歡呼聲中於台上的大銀幕現身，清唱一段很熟悉而我又說不上名字的歌曲，突然掛在我頭頂上的機關啟動，一大個亮了燈的箱子徐徐降下，黃的歌聲也響起--原來黃早已偷偷的藏身於箱子之中，箱子就是黃的小舞台。身邊的「芹粉」瘋狂尖叫，我眼角瞄那中年男人一眼，心想：駛唔駛呀？
不過數秒後我已把心中的doubt忘得一干二浄 -- 黃唱著一首我說不出名字的歌曲，但我驚訝自己可以一字不漏的跟著唱；我還記得，小時候十分喜歡這首歌！
往後的兩個幾三小時，我好像上了超光速的列車，穿梭時空，回到那個黃金的八十年代：那個除了有哥哥，梅姐等巨星外，還有很多優秀的歌手和創作的年代 -- 陳百強，Beyond的家駒，羅文，等等。
但當聽著這些金曲，重看以往的片段的同時，那黃金年代的香港已一去不復返；我懷念那些逝去的巨星，但更懷念那個還有希望和很多可能性的年代。那個八十年代，好似只要是你想得到，就有可能做得到，對自己做的事總是有點要求；歌是最好聽的，戲是最好看的，至於錢，只要你肯努力，必定搵得到，縱然中英聯合聲明弄得人心惶惶，香港人活在當下，也不覺完全前無去路。
相比之下，看著哥哥的那個所謂紀念show，頓然明白 what is meant by 沒有靈魂的軀殼。歌星們輪流演唱張國榮的經典金曲，似星光熠熠耀保良，又或者博愛歡樂傳萬家，只覺各人在自己做自己的事，有多少是真懷念哥哥？在家中看著電視轉播，我不只覺自己的時間無端端被騙去了，彷彿在台上的歌星們有多少也好像有點上了當的感覺，快快的唱完卡拉OK便將咪高風交予下一位便算。咁樣hea唱，我不如播隻CD聽張國榮自己唱，重看＜倩女幽魂＞、＜日落巴黎＞、同＜春光乍洩＞？嗰啲歌星究竟點諗？係唔係唔出現等如唔懷念？個個都有頭有面，又唔係等錢洗（講真做哩啲騷都唔知點收錢，但飛就照賣），點解要作賤自己？
懷念又是否要真的用出show這種方式來懷念？坐在山頂的觀眾，你是付錢買飛來看雜錦show還是懷念張國榮？台下喝著樽裝水的「貴賓席」倒也可能是懷念逝去的老朋友，但私下在家中搞紀念飯局，訴說往日趣事，不是更有意思嗎？還是另有原因他們必要出席，灑淚於人前不可？
付錢買場外那些無關痛癢的紀念品跟懷念張國榮到底有啥關係？買了張國榮會再站在台上為大家唱歌嗎？為慈善？搞手都站了出來說是商業活動而不是做善事。搵錢無問題，但付錢是為了請你班友幫我懷念張國榮？我唔知你幫到我咩咯！
這樣的懷念方式，或多或少也反映了香港變成甚麼模樣：做事只為了型式，交功課，沒有思考做事的意義，就算思考了，也不敢發問，因為問問題是會容易得罪人的。
懷念張國榮，我更懷念梅艷芳。今年年尾將會是梅艷芳的十週年紀念，我寧可自己去卡拉OK唱一晚梅姐的歌，重看梅姐的電影，也不要看到再有這樣型式化而又無意義的show，我反而唔會怪Beyond三子唔做家駒紀念騷（六月就是家駒逝世二十週年），不過此等低水準的紀念騷還是會因為各種原因而繼續。
可能最好的懷念方法便是活在當下，或是趁來得切的時候，把過去變成當下，像黃凱芹的演唱會。
呀！最後我還是看畢了黃凱芹的演唱會，愉快滿足的離開，縱然到現在我還是說不出他歌曲的名字。
A series of recent events have taken Hong Kong back to the 1980s. From Christopher Wong's concert to the series of events commemorating the 10th anniversary of Leslie Cheung's death, spring in 2013 is all about reliving the past.
I'm not a die hard fan of Christopher Wong, a popular radio DJ and singer-songwriter from the 1980s. But when W invited me to see come back concert at Wan Chai's Queen Elisabeth Stadium, I had to admit that I was a little excited. Although I could not remember all his titles by heart, I do remember that I liked him a lot in my childhood days - he was a good singer and he had many great songs, and he was good looking. The duet he did with Vivian Chow was one of my all time favourites.
Having said that, I had doubts when I arrived at the concert venue: Would I be bored? After all I could not even name one title of Wong's songs at the time. The venue was packed with middle-aged women and MEN (just why Wong has got many male fans? I thought only girls liked this singer who always portrayed himself as a white knight). Would I even fall asleep?
As the show began, a video of Wong singing a very familiar verse was projected onto the big screen at the back of the stage. Then suddenly a "box" descended from above - it was Wong hiding in that box singing. The middle-aged men sitting next to me jumped up and began screaming. I was like, stop overreacting!
But as the show progressed my doubts were all gone. Wong was singing a very familiar song which I forgot what it was called, but I was astonished by the fact that I could sing along without missing one single note. Oh now I remember I liked this song very much in my primary school days! It was a concert that was full of life.
Then it was like travelling back to the 80s through out the rest of the night. I was back at the golden era of Hong Kong, a time when there were plenty of other super stars and great talents. Besides Leslie Cheung, there were also Anita Mui, Roman Tam, Danny Chan and Beyond's Wong Ka-kui.
Listening to these Canto-pop oldies, however, reminds me of a golden era of Hong Kong that's long gone. I miss those deceased stars, but I miss an era that was full of hope and opportunities even more. I imagine that in the 80s, you could succeed just by doing whatever you wanted to do, and people back then had high standards for themselves. Canto-pop was at its best. Hong Kong movies in the 80s were appreciated by a world audience. Despite the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and Hong Kong's fate was a bit up in the air, it was not the end of the world.
Comparatively speaking, the Leslie Cheung memorial concert was soulless. Singers took their turn to
perform Cheung's classics, but it seemed more like one of those TVB meaningless charity shows. Everyone was just minding his own business. Were they merely paying a tribute to Cheung? I couldn't feel it. Watching the delayed cast on TV at home, I felt that I was cheated, and I guess the singers performing on that night might have felt more or less the same. It felt like they all wanted to finish their karaoke and hand over the mic to the next victim. If that was the quality that I had to endure (let alone those who actually paid to see the concert), I'd rather listen to Cheung's original voice from CDs or re-watch his classic films like A Chinese Ghost Story, TVB music movie Sunset in Paris and Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together. And I'm curious of what the singers were thinking - they were all famous, and it wasn't like they were in need of money (and how do they charge this kind of show anyway?), why did they have to do this to themselves?
And is this the best way to pay tribute, express condolences or commemorate a legendary star? Those who were sitting at the Coliseum on that night, did you pay to see the concert or to pay to commemorate Leslie Cheung? Those VIPs sitting at the tables in front of the stage drinking bottled water might have turned up for their long lost old friend, but wouldn't it be more appropriate to have a dinner privately at home and talk about their cherished memories of Cheung? Or there were other reasons that they had to show their faces and shed their tears in front of millions of TV viewers?
The souvenirs were even more infuriating. They had nothing to do with Cheung. Buying these souvenirs will not bring Cheung back to life and sing in front of the fans. For charity? Even the organisers said it was a commercial not a charitable event. It's totally fine to make money, but paying cash as a way to pay tribute to the late star? I don't think so.
This kind of stagey memorial events somehow reflect how Hong Kong has become: everything is just a show. No one cares about what it means and whether it means anything. No one would ask any questions, because asking questions will get you into trouble.
I miss Leslie, but I miss Anita Mui even more. This December is the 10th anniversary of Mui's death. I'd rather going to karaoke for an "Anita Mui Night" and sing all of Mui's classics or re-watch Mui's best films. I don't want to see another soulless memorial concert. This June will be the 20th anniversary of Beyond's Wong Ka-kui's death. In fact I'm kind of glad that the three surviving band members have no intention to do another memorial concert.
But then, this kind of low standard concerts luring fans to buy tickets in the name of commemorating so and so will never end. Perhaps the best way is to live for the moment, or when make the past become the present when it is still possible, like Chris Wong's concert.
Hmm...so in the end I watched the entire Chris Wong concert and left happily for a mid-night hotpot, despite I still can't name his song titles.
我不是黃凱芹的歌迷，但當W邀請我去看他最近的＜黃凱芹再遇伊利莎泊＞演唱會時，也難掩心中的一點點興奮。雖然我不是remember黃的作品by heart，但小時候的我倒也蠻喜歡他，覺得他歌唱得好，人也長得俊俏，跟周慧敏合唱的＜情未了＞更是我少有喜歡的流行合唱歌。
話雖如此，當到達會場時心裏也存有些少懷疑：究竟我會否覺得悶？畢竟我真的說不出黄的作品的名字，而且在場館的周圍都是比我大起碼十年的中女和麻甩佬（何解有這麼多男人鍾意黃凱芹？我以為得女仔會迷呢位曾經有啲王子feel嘅黃凱芹），我會不會瞓覺甚至中途離場？
開始時黄凱芹在歡呼聲中於台上的大銀幕現身，清唱一段很熟悉而我又說不上名字的歌曲，突然掛在我頭頂上的機關啟動，一大個亮了燈的箱子徐徐降下，黃的歌聲也響起--原來黃早已偷偷的藏身於箱子之中，箱子就是黃的小舞台。身邊的「芹粉」瘋狂尖叫，我眼角瞄那中年男人一眼，心想：駛唔駛呀？
不過數秒後我已把心中的doubt忘得一干二浄 -- 黃唱著一首我說不出名字的歌曲，但我驚訝自己可以一字不漏的跟著唱；我還記得，小時候十分喜歡這首歌！
往後的兩個幾三小時，我好像上了超光速的列車，穿梭時空，回到那個黃金的八十年代：那個除了有哥哥，梅姐等巨星外，還有很多優秀的歌手和創作的年代 -- 陳百強，Beyond的家駒，羅文，等等。
但當聽著這些金曲，重看以往的片段的同時，那黃金年代的香港已一去不復返；我懷念那些逝去的巨星，但更懷念那個還有希望和很多可能性的年代。那個八十年代，好似只要是你想得到，就有可能做得到，對自己做的事總是有點要求；歌是最好聽的，戲是最好看的，至於錢，只要你肯努力，必定搵得到，縱然中英聯合聲明弄得人心惶惶，香港人活在當下，也不覺完全前無去路。
 |
| 還是應該由八十年代的人 做回八十年代的事： 娥姐唱儂本多情 |
懷念又是否要真的用出show這種方式來懷念？坐在山頂的觀眾，你是付錢買飛來看雜錦show還是懷念張國榮？台下喝著樽裝水的「貴賓席」倒也可能是懷念逝去的老朋友，但私下在家中搞紀念飯局，訴說往日趣事，不是更有意思嗎？還是另有原因他們必要出席，灑淚於人前不可？
 |
| 梁朝偉："不如我哋重頭嚟過？" 我睇過咗去真係好難重頭嚟過 |
這樣的懷念方式，或多或少也反映了香港變成甚麼模樣：做事只為了型式，交功課，沒有思考做事的意義，就算思考了，也不敢發問，因為問問題是會容易得罪人的。
懷念張國榮，我更懷念梅艷芳。今年年尾將會是梅艷芳的十週年紀念，我寧可自己去卡拉OK唱一晚梅姐的歌，重看梅姐的電影，也不要看到再有這樣型式化而又無意義的show，我反而唔會怪Beyond三子唔做家駒紀念騷（六月就是家駒逝世二十週年），不過此等低水準的紀念騷還是會因為各種原因而繼續。
可能最好的懷念方法便是活在當下，或是趁來得切的時候，把過去變成當下，像黃凱芹的演唱會。
呀！最後我還是看畢了黃凱芹的演唱會，愉快滿足的離開，縱然到現在我還是說不出他歌曲的名字。
A series of recent events have taken Hong Kong back to the 1980s. From Christopher Wong's concert to the series of events commemorating the 10th anniversary of Leslie Cheung's death, spring in 2013 is all about reliving the past.
I'm not a die hard fan of Christopher Wong, a popular radio DJ and singer-songwriter from the 1980s. But when W invited me to see come back concert at Wan Chai's Queen Elisabeth Stadium, I had to admit that I was a little excited. Although I could not remember all his titles by heart, I do remember that I liked him a lot in my childhood days - he was a good singer and he had many great songs, and he was good looking. The duet he did with Vivian Chow was one of my all time favourites.
Having said that, I had doubts when I arrived at the concert venue: Would I be bored? After all I could not even name one title of Wong's songs at the time. The venue was packed with middle-aged women and MEN (just why Wong has got many male fans? I thought only girls liked this singer who always portrayed himself as a white knight). Would I even fall asleep?
As the show began, a video of Wong singing a very familiar verse was projected onto the big screen at the back of the stage. Then suddenly a "box" descended from above - it was Wong hiding in that box singing. The middle-aged men sitting next to me jumped up and began screaming. I was like, stop overreacting!
But as the show progressed my doubts were all gone. Wong was singing a very familiar song which I forgot what it was called, but I was astonished by the fact that I could sing along without missing one single note. Oh now I remember I liked this song very much in my primary school days! It was a concert that was full of life.
Then it was like travelling back to the 80s through out the rest of the night. I was back at the golden era of Hong Kong, a time when there were plenty of other super stars and great talents. Besides Leslie Cheung, there were also Anita Mui, Roman Tam, Danny Chan and Beyond's Wong Ka-kui.
Listening to these Canto-pop oldies, however, reminds me of a golden era of Hong Kong that's long gone. I miss those deceased stars, but I miss an era that was full of hope and opportunities even more. I imagine that in the 80s, you could succeed just by doing whatever you wanted to do, and people back then had high standards for themselves. Canto-pop was at its best. Hong Kong movies in the 80s were appreciated by a world audience. Despite the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and Hong Kong's fate was a bit up in the air, it was not the end of the world.
|
Let those from the 80s
handle revive the 80s:
Kiki Sheung rare performance
of Leslie Cheung's classic
|
perform Cheung's classics, but it seemed more like one of those TVB meaningless charity shows. Everyone was just minding his own business. Were they merely paying a tribute to Cheung? I couldn't feel it. Watching the delayed cast on TV at home, I felt that I was cheated, and I guess the singers performing on that night might have felt more or less the same. It felt like they all wanted to finish their karaoke and hand over the mic to the next victim. If that was the quality that I had to endure (let alone those who actually paid to see the concert), I'd rather listen to Cheung's original voice from CDs or re-watch his classic films like A Chinese Ghost Story, TVB music movie Sunset in Paris and Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together. And I'm curious of what the singers were thinking - they were all famous, and it wasn't like they were in need of money (and how do they charge this kind of show anyway?), why did they have to do this to themselves?
|
Tony Leung: "Should we start
all over again?" (Happy Together)
Well perhaps it's best to
let bygones be bygones
|
The souvenirs were even more infuriating. They had nothing to do with Cheung. Buying these souvenirs will not bring Cheung back to life and sing in front of the fans. For charity? Even the organisers said it was a commercial not a charitable event. It's totally fine to make money, but paying cash as a way to pay tribute to the late star? I don't think so.
This kind of stagey memorial events somehow reflect how Hong Kong has become: everything is just a show. No one cares about what it means and whether it means anything. No one would ask any questions, because asking questions will get you into trouble.
I miss Leslie, but I miss Anita Mui even more. This December is the 10th anniversary of Mui's death. I'd rather going to karaoke for an "Anita Mui Night" and sing all of Mui's classics or re-watch Mui's best films. I don't want to see another soulless memorial concert. This June will be the 20th anniversary of Beyond's Wong Ka-kui's death. In fact I'm kind of glad that the three surviving band members have no intention to do another memorial concert.
But then, this kind of low standard concerts luring fans to buy tickets in the name of commemorating so and so will never end. Perhaps the best way is to live for the moment, or when make the past become the present when it is still possible, like Chris Wong's concert.
Hmm...so in the end I watched the entire Chris Wong concert and left happily for a mid-night hotpot, despite I still can't name his song titles.