December Love Song: A Mix of Opposites

Two weeks ago, I was sitting in a computer cafe in the U-belt area, having the time of my life downloading MP3s from different Asian artists. Despite the muddle which was the World Wide Web, I was able to come across a website which could be considered a treasure trove for an MP3 hunter for Asian songs like me. *Looks around cautiously* The computer cafe was powered by a DSL connection so I was downloading more MP3s than usual - A*Mei, BoA, Tamaki Nami, Cherry Filter, The Pillows, Maaya Sakamoto, Twins and even the opening and closing songs from several anime titles. Asian songs are very difficult to find in local record bars. Scouring the shelves would just yield albums from the following artists: F4 (including their solo albums), 5566, Harlem Yu, Jolin Tsai, Utada Hikaru (naturally!) and (the sole representative from Korea) BoA.

Having a preference for Mandarin pop, I scrolled over to that section of the website. To no surprise, my favorite Mando pop singer Wang Lee Hom was listed. Having fallen deeply inlove with his songs, I shall dedicate one entry to him and to him alone. Hehehehe...I sound like a inane teenager. Anyway, I still checked the list to see if there were any songs there which I had not yet heard. I basically had all...except one. It was a song entitled Shi Er Yu De Qing Ge which in English means December Love Song. I read the artist credits and saw that it was actually a duet with Gackt (pronounced Ga-Ku-To), a popular Japanese singer and former vocalist for a visual kei band, with whom Lee Hom co-starred with a few years back in a movie called Moonchild.

Wang Lee Hom (center) and Gackt Camui (second from right) with their co-stars from the movie Moonchild, including Gackt's fellow J-Rock icon, L'Arc-en-Ciel frontman Hyde (second from left).

My ignorance of J-Rock (or K-Rock for that matter) is really deplorable. Having listened to a few songs from that genre, I still gravitate towards songs from local alternative and indie rock groups. Add to that the fact that in my junior year in college, a classmate of mine loved J-Rock and once carried a magazine which featured one of her crushes. I was looking through it and found myself half-curious, half-shocked that the people in the magazine pages looked androgynous. Pop is definitely more universal, despite the language...thus the name. I was fifteen when I first saw Utada Hikaru on MTV and I felt a certain affiliation for her music even if I didn't understand a single word she said...well, except the lines "It's automatic." But as for rock and alternative music, I prefer to stick to songs I can understand.

My hesitation to listen to the song was fuelled by the fact that I knew that the song was an original by Gackt (originally entitled 12 Gatsu no Love Song in Japanese). Given his visual kei background, I was wary about how his duet with Lee Hom, a hip-hop/R&B pillar in the Mando pop music scene, would come out. But despite the fear of disappointment, I was also interested in how the voices of both would blend. I started visualizing Ashanti doing a duet with Steven Tyler. Later on I gave in and decided to listen to it, rationalizing that I never heard Gackt sing in the first place. Dragging the song into Media Player gave me the best musical journey I had ever been on.

The song starts out with the familiar intro of a typical Christmas song - faraway bells. Then a soft, short instrumental (I'm suspecting it's violin) makes an entrance followed, finally, by Gackt singing the first verse. His voice is deep and dark with an interesting mix of classical tremolo roughened up by a bit of rock flair. It was like listening to a father sing a song to his little daughter that I soon found myself closing my eyes to further absorb the emotion Gackt was putting into the song.

Then my eyes fluttered open when I was jolted by sudden beating of drums to signal the start of the chorus. I immediately heard a various array of instruments, their respective sounds blending with each other, intertwined in a haunting melody - guitars strummed, drums pounded, violins bowed, piano keys struck. As if that were not enough for my poor heart, Lee Hom joined Gackt in singing the chorus. Together, their voices sounded with such exquisite richness I almost forgot to breathe. It conjured images of Gackt singing in a stage with curtains drawn, all drab and dark except for a lone spotlight focused on him. Then all of a sudden, floodlights are switched on in a split second and the curtains are raised, revealing a full orchestra in the background and Lee Hom somewhere near him. Everything seems to be drowning in the brightness of light in the entirety of the chorus.

After the chorus, the song flows into second verse, reverting into its former quiet nature. Once again the Yuletide feel was ushered back thanks to the soft chiming bells. Softer percussion follows along with plucked guitar strings. Lee Hom sings the second verse and knocks me off my seat. I have listened to this song countless times that had it been recorded on magnetic tape, there would be none left now but shreds of it, yet everytime this part comes, I always cannot help but smile. Lee Hom's smooth, lush voice greatly contrasts yet perfectly complements Gackt's rougher rendition, it seems like watching water cascade over a rock - soothing and quiet, almost like sunlight streaking through a canopy of trees.

The entire song itself is a harmonious blend of opposites: rough and smooth, loud and soft, faraway and imminent. However if there is one constant thing about the song, it would have to be the intensity. The alternating entrance and exit of opposites would give the impression that the energy dips and rises in every available opportunity but it does not. The instrumental portion even allows this showcase of contrast - melodious interlude from possible woodwind instruments punctuated by heavy percussion.

Gackt and Lee Hom sing their hearts out until the end, even belting in the climactic portion of the song. Lee Hom's signature "Ooooohhhs" make several appearances. Gackt even seemed to be influenced a bit by Lee Hom as evidened by his occasional "Heys" and "Nooooos." The ending of the song is not entirely sudden though not completely anticipated. It was like slipping slowly into nothingness but getting the chance to bid farewell. As the last strains of the song disappeared, I was only too disappointed to know it had finally ended - after seven minutes and 2 seconds of auditory rollercoaster.

POSTSCRIPT: Lee Hom fans loved the collaboration with Gackt. Gackt fans however were apalled by the temporary on-the-verge-of-pop transformation of their rocker idol and openly declared they preferred the original Japanese version. *smiles* These are the English lyrics of December Love Song. I have been searching the Internet for the Pinyin version of the lyrics so I could sing along to Gackt and Lee Hom too. After two weeks, I was met with success...IN AN AYUMI HAMASAKI FORUM of all places!!! *laughs*

December Love Song

The evening lights, coloring the night's busy avenues,
down the street brings back memories of you.

Now I am watching, as lovers pass me by,
finding your shadows, in the views of my eyes

Now I am here, all alone
Remembering the time we used to laugh together
in the fall of the cold
I still think of you,
Wondering if you feel the same

CHORUS:
Save, your smile for me,
even although you cry for me
Remember me and love me always

Love, and smile for me,
Hold on to all that we had
remembering and love me again

I'm so depressed living , a quiet life now,
There is no one here, in which to hold hands,
or protect me from the cold
Feeling like this loneliness will tear me apart
I am waiting and looking for you voice
To get me out of the dark

Snowflakes fall like the tears that running down my face
I wanna hold you just one more time
I think of you night and day
Wondering if you feel the same

Being in the silence of the night
Fall into my arms and I'll hold you so tight
My kiss will guide our missing hearts
and tell me you'll love again

Save, your smile for me,
even although you cry for me
remember me and love me always

Love, and smile for me,
Hold on to all that we had
remembering and love me again.