Lucky Cat Podcast - 7 Singing Stars of Shanghai 2 - S4 Ep 9 (18/3/2010)

7 Singing Stars of Shanghai - Part 2

Lucky Cat

Part 2 looks at: Chinese cinema’s ultimate bad girl ‘White Light’ Bai Guang, ‘White Rainbow’ Bai Hong (pictured), ‘Big Sister’ Gong Qiu Xia and the controversial star with an identity.
Playlist below.

Playlist - Lucky Cat 25th March 2010

• i-Society - Madtone (http://www.myspace.com/onedeckmadtone)
  
• Media Control - Cha Cha (CD EP Bass Shelter now available to buy from Jahtari shop!)
  
• Drinking Song - Hanggai (Introducing Hanggai CD)
  
• Kargashai - Mamer (Eagle CD)
  
• Rain in London - Michio Miyagi (Masterpieces in Koto LP)
  
• The Love Eterne (aka The Butterfly Lovers opera) soundtrack extract - Betty Loh Ti (pictured) & Ivy Ling Po (from vinyl 10" LP, Shaw Brothers)
  
• Sunny Spring - Chinese Qin Master Wu Jinglue (CD on Silverfox label)
  
• Pussy, Pussy, Pussy - Lighcrust Doughboys
  
• Chinese Soldiers Song - Paul Robeson
  
• The soldier's Sweetheart - Jimmy Rodgers
  
• Wrong Impressions of A Soldier
  
• Moonlight on the Ching Yang River - Chinese Classical Instrumental Music by Chinese Cultural Theatre Group
  
• Buddhist Chanting - as above
  
  

Ann Chen on BBC Radio 4

Check out this recent R4 programme presented by Anna Chen:

China, Britain and the Nunzilla Conundrum

Novelty, humorous, kitsch 'stocking filler' plastic toys and gifts made in China. What does the production of these trinkets and our desire for them say about our culture and our relationship with China?

Chinagrass - Xinjiang musician Mamer on tour in UK

Mamer, whose wonderful debut album Eagle came out on Real World records last year, is in the UK for some gigs. The Chinagrass musician will play in London this Tuesday at The Lumiere in Kilburn. For the other tour dates and venues, check the schedule.
I did a programme on Chinagrass (music from the grasslands of China) for Resonance FM last year when Mamer and Mongolian band Hanggai were over performing at the Union Chapel in London. Mamer sings in his native Kazakh and plays beautifully on the dombra (a lute/banjo like instrument).
A taster of Mamer's music is on Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-7hl4Q6IH4

Lucky Cat Podcast - 7 Singing Stars of Shanghai - S4 Ep 8 (11/3/2010)

The Seven Singing Stars of Shanghai Part 1

7 Singing Stars of Shanghai - Part 1

Lucky Cat

Featuring music from Zhou Xuan (pictured), Yao Lee and Woo Ing Ing. Playlist is below.

The 7 Singing Stars of Shanghai - Part 2

Tonight's programme looks at:
Chinese cinema’s ultimate bad girl ‘White Light’ Bai Guang (pictured, thanks to Durian Dave), ‘White Rainbow’ Bai Hong, ‘Big Sister’ Gong Qiu Xia and the controversial star with an identity crisis Li Xianglan
Playlist:

• If Only - Li Xiang Lan
  
• Candy Peddling Song - Li Xiang Lan
  
• Shina No Yoru (from the film 'Chinese Nights') - Li Xiang Lan
  
• Mei Hua, Plum Blossom - Li Xiang Lan
  
• Sunset - Bai Guang
  
• I'm a Female Bodhisattva (from the film 'Courage in the Spy World') - Bai Guang
  
• Listen Up - Bai Hong
  
• Spring Love song - Gong Qiu Xia
  
• Longing for You - Gong Qiu Xia
  
• The Flavour of Yearning - Zhou Xuan
  

Listen live 7pm Resonance 104.4FM

Further reading:
Beautiful Girls by Lisa See. A historical novel about two sisters who are models (beautiful girls) for the calendars and adverts in Shanghai in the late 1920s/early 30's. The sisters flee to America when the Japanese invade Shanghai. the first part of the book paints a vivid and insightful portrait of Shanghai and its inhabitants.

China Modern by Ou-Fan Lee (Harvard University Press). Contains chapters on early Chinese cinema, novelist Eileen Chang and Hong Kong films set in the Shanghai of the 1920s and 30s.

Websites:
Mirror Cities, Fascination & Nostalgia
Ambuscade from Ten Sides
Shanghai exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco
The Golden Age of Chinese language Cinema
Soft Film: Vintage Chinese Cinema

Drunken Chicken

For last week's Dim Sum Lunch Box I cooked a Shanghainese recipe - Drunken Chicken. I'd never made it before and was pleased with how well it turned out. The chicken was slightly gelatinous and was infused with a subtle sweet,salty and boozey flavour. A perfect dish for a summer picnic I'll definitely be making this one again. I got the recipe from the blog Rasa Malaysia. It was a guest blog by Amy from Nook and Pantry. I thoroughly recommend this one. If you can be patient leave it for 2 days in the fridge, the flavour is even better.

Taiwanese Film Festival

Taiwan Cinefest is at Riverside Studios in London 17th -21st March. (poster for the film Step by Step is pictured). Apologies for not posting about this earlier but I just found out about it.

DJing at MESSY this Friday (19th March)

I'll be DJing some of my 80's and 90's Ragga/Reggae records this Friday at the lovely Arts Bar in Camberwell. I will also be doing a Lucky Cat night at the bar on the 30th April.

25 years ago the King Jammy's Sleng Teng rhythm was created so expect a bit of that, a bit of Bam Bam and a bit of butterfly-ing and bogling on the dancefloor. Don't forget your beer mat sweat rags! Nice.

7 Singing Stars of Shanghai (Part 1) Playlist

• Ye Shanghai – Zhou Xuan (Shanghai Divas Lounge CD)
• Clip from the film Street Angel, the song Four Seasons is sung by Zhou Xuan.
• The Wandering Songstress – Zhou Xuan (Shanghai Divas Lounge CD)
• When Will We Meet Again – Zhou Xuan (Pathe 100 CD)
• Tell Me – Zhou Xuan (Pathe 100 CD)
• Picking Betel Nuts - Zhou Xuan (Pathe 100 CD)
• This Love is Not For Me - Yao Lee (Shanghai Divas Lounge CD)
• Who Does Not Care – Yao Lee (Miss Yao Lee Sings, vinyl LP)
• Kiss of Spring – Yao Lee (Miss Yao Lee Sings, vinyl LP)
• 3 tracks from the Woo Ing Ing Pathe 100 CD
• Jin Xi He Xi - Bai Guang
• Forgotten Woman - Bai Guang

Youtube resources:
Hsiamoon’s Channel
Durian Dave’s Channel
Clip of Tang Wei singing the Zhou Xuan song Four Seasons to Tony Leung in Lust, Caution.

Modern Chinese films set in Shanghai:
Shanghai Triad dir by Zhang Yimou

In the Mood for Love dir by Wong Kar Wai

*Lust, Caution dir by Ang Lee
*Eighteen Springs dir by Ann Hui(Anita Mui’s last film role)

* These films are adaptations of novels by Eileen Chang. Eileen is a 1920s Shanghainese novelist. Translated versions of her books are available. Find out more about her here.

The Seven Singing Stars of Shanghai Part 1

Tonight's episode of Lucky Cat looks at the music of the Seven Singing Stars of Shanghai. Chinese chanteuses from the early 20th century.
Part 1 starts with Zhou Xuan, Yao Lee and Wu Ying Ing.
Listen live on 104.4FM or via www.resonancefm.com 7pm Thursday 11/3/2010.

Anna May Wong tribute by Chinatown Arts Space

I missed the outdoor screening last year on the Southbank, hoping to go to this performance at the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House on 30th March.

More info @: www.chinatownartsspace.com

Lucky Cat Podcast Series 4 Ep 7 (4/3/2010)

Lucky Cat Series 4 Ep 7 (4/3/2010)

Lucky Cat

Playlist:

• Everybody Wants to be a Cat - Phil Harris from The Aristocats Disney film
  
• Wu Tang Kung fu sample - RZA Liquid Swords album
  
• Hung Tsai Girl - Stephen Cheng (Traditional Chinese Folk Music cassette)
  
• Wet Look Crazy - Macka B(Reggae Steady Go LP)
  
• Anita Mui Yim-Fong medley: (taken from her greatest hits 2xCD):
  
• Marriage Fat is Detained
  
• Don't Envy Goddess, envy Mandarin Ducks
  
• Love You 1100 Times All through Life
  
• The Season of Wind
  
• All will Love
  
• Ital Stew - Augustus Pablo(Meets Rockers Uptown CD)
  
• White Snow in Early Spring - Wong Ching (CD of same name)
  
• Baby, Shame on You - Wynonie Harris
  
• Howling at the Moon - Hank Williams
  
• Ye-Ye - Eiko Shuri (Nippon Girls CD)
  
• Wa Do Dem - Eeek-A-Mouse
  
• Women - Zhou Xuan (Pathe 100 CD)
  

Lucky Cat Podcast Series 4 Ep 6 (25/2/2010)

Lucky Cat - Series 4 Episode 6 25th February 2010

Lucky Cat

Here's the podcast of the Park Chan-Wook special. Not much music this episode but lots of interesting discussion of the Korean film maker's work from Mira Stout and Alex Fitch.
The lunch box contains Korean vegetable and crab stick sushi rolls, baby anchovies in a malt syrup and some rather strange looking chilli pickled vegetables (rhinzomes, carrots etc). All food was purchased from the Centre Point Korean supermarket.

Mira Stout's best selling novel One Thousand Chestnut Trees in soon to be republished.
The film that Mira mentions at the end of the programme is Treeless Mountain, by female director So Yong Kim, find out more here.

Alex Fitch interviewed Park Chan-wook for Wheel Me Out magazine, now available online.

Playlist:

• Chang'gu Dance (Dance Solo) - Chung Woong ('Traditional Music From Korea' CD)
  
• Vampire - Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra ('Ska Para Toujou' CD)
  
• Korean folk song from a vinyl LP of a trio of female Korean singers.
  
• Jesus Gave Me Water - Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers ('Gospel 1939-1952' CD)
  
• While The Blood Runs In Your Veins - Josh White ('Les Triomphes du Blues' CD)