Playlist #18: A delulu at a dead end

I've got a bunch of radio recordings to accompany me as I try to get through a conference in Singapore. It's a nice change of pace, but hotel rooms can be lonely.

I’ve been at this for a year and a half, and I still often find myself stumped with how to fill the playlist. In those cases, the answer is always in the form of a question: “what’s on the radio?”

I mean, obviously. I’ve always been a radio geek. That’s arguably how I stumbled upon this hobby of being a so-called music blogger. A lot of the songs I’ve written about here were first heard on the radio, in the many (many) times I spent station-hopping around the world.

Whenever I’m in Singapore, I have this thing with figuring out what the taxi and Grab drivers are listening to. The last time I was there, it was the classic hits station I sometimes listen to at home. This time around—I was in the country to moderate a panel at an international conference, surprisingly; I ended up writing this too—they’re listening to a station with slightly newer music, and a bit more Singlish. On my way to the event I heard the DJs talk about a handbag from a Singaporean brand that sold out because Taylor Swift was photographed with it. Note to self: I don’t have the money to buy this.

And then I remembered that I can finally listen to this online radio station that the country’s public broadcaster, Mediacorp, established to more or less replace one of my favorite radio stations ever, Lush 99.5. indiego is a geoblocked affair so I could only really listen to it when I visit the country—and in the end I only brought two songs, both perfect as you put on a coat and hope not to be a stupid-looking panel moderator, along to this month’s playlist.

First, Amanda Ong. “Leave Me Alone” came from her 2021 EP About Me, and its gentle vibe belies that all too familiar feeling of being utterly convinced that you’re alone even if others say they’re there. Or is it just me? Anyway, her coo pulls you in no matter what the language is (there is a version with Malay lyrics) and yet I don’t feel like I’m just listening to your typical indie-leaning singer-songwriter. And Singapore has a lot of them.

She’s got a lot of stuff out. Her latest song, “Don’t Tell Me That”, is carried by raw storytelling—this one’s about her previous attempts to get pregnant—while still keeping its charms.

Storytelling also powers aeriqah, who’s based in both Singapore and Melbourne. Her latest EP, House Parties, dropped last September, and is not so much her confessing as her letting us in on her innermost thoughts, all centered on one night out reflected on over and over again. The initial loneliness of “Orion’s Apartment” was pretty striking to me, but the rest of the tracks can stand on their own, too.

Come to think of it, this month’s playlist is mostly filled with songs I heard on the radio (and radio recordings specifically) during my four days in Singapore. The Mount Kimbie track was playing as the plane landed (and bounced, I think) in the country on Tuesday afternoon. The Elbow track was playing as the plane took off 73 hours later, although admittedly I’ve been looking for an excuse to sneak in the swagger of “Grounds for Divorce” for a while now. There’s certainly a languid vibe to the middle of this hour, which plays nicely when you find yourself walking an eminently walkable, but by now slightly unfamiliar, city. I’ll try to explain most of these choices on the socials, as I always do. (Keep an eye on Instagram.)

But not all of it goes in that sonic direction. There’s this song I couldn’t quite escape in the past month: “Hello” from Aussie act Girl and Girl. I’m a little surprised I haven’t heard of this band before in the last few years, when they were still bubbling under. Did any of the J’s play them, or were they one of the acts that got left behind by the mother station’s quest to appeal to the young? I don’t feel like wading into that, but in any case, they’re now signed to Sub Pop and their debut record just dropped, so it’s certain they’re inescapable to a certain American demographic at the moment.

But of course, the month wasn’t all euphoria. I tried, but hotel rooms are inherently lonely (and having nothing to watch apart from Lawrence Wong profiles certainly doesn’t help). In the process of semi-spiraling I rediscovered a song from Jun. K, a Korean singer-songwriter who is also the main vocalist of the second-generation group 2PM. His solo stuff has been really interesting: he has a very adept with with melodies I have a very soft spot for the original version of “Don’t Go”, a collaboration with Lim Jeong-hee which was part of the soundtrack for Dream High. (Why this is labeled as Xia’s song on Spotify, I will never understand.) But this hour’s final song is “November to February”, a pre-release single for his 2017 record My 20’s, which he performed with Jeon Somi.

Very much like the winter romance it sings about, this song twinkles. It’s a lot of happy memories, but also a lot of bittersweet heartbreak, a lot of what could’ve been and what never was. At least there was something in that story. It’s not about a delulu at a dead end.

뜨겁던 1월 지나
As the hot January passes
쌓인 눈은 녹지가 않고
The snow doesn’t melt
내 맘은 더 커져만 갔어
And my feelings keep growing
이별이 올 줄 모르고
Not knowing our break-up has come
겨울이 가면서 널 데려갈 줄 모르고
Not knowing that as winter passes, it’ll take you away too

It’s either this or the Regal Lily track I featured last month, which I am still playing on repeat.

And on a slightly different note, I honestly think this is Somi at her best when she was still under JYP Entertainment. It’s a shame they didn’t know what to do with her and kept her in limbo for so long… but then, I wonder if she would’ve thrived as part of Itzy? I feel she’s doing much better on the path she’s currently taking.

Funny how the Once Monthly now posts an average of thrice a month—and last month I posted four times! Will I even have the chance to slow down? Well, July looks busy, and the months that follow look even less forgiving. But there should still be a Plaka Note on 28 June, and a new playlist on 12 July. And if there’s a song you want me to hear, ping me on the socials, or email me at nicksyoncemonthly@gmail.com.

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On the playlist

• Girl and Girl—“Hello”
  Call A Doctor (2024)

• Agnes Hartwich—“Cult Leader (Golden Retriever)”
  single release (2023)

• Mount Kimbie—“Dumb Guitar”
  The Sunset Violent (2024)

• Tears for Fears—“Head Over Heels” (7-inch version)
  Songs from the Big Chair (1985)

• Amanda Ong—“Leave Me Alone”
  About Me (2021)

• aeriqah—“Orion’s Apartment”
  House Parties (2023)

• Melanie Horsnell—“As The Trees Have Always Known”
  Gold and Carnelian (2024)

• Toneejay—“Lenggwahe”
  Beginning/End (2021)

• Mary in the Junkyard—“Ghost”
  This Old House (2024)

• Washed Out—“The Hardest Part”
  Notes from a Quiet Life (2024)

• Laura J Martin—“Outside at Night”
  Prepared (2024)

• Elbow—“Grounds for Divorce”
  The Seldom Seen Kid (2008)

• Allison Ponthier—“Chasing A Feeling”
  Shaking Hands With Elvis (2022)

• Gerry and the Pacemakers—“Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying”
  Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying (1964)

• Freedom Fry—“Linger”
  single release (2016)

• Jun. K—“11월부터 2월까지” (November to February) (featuring Jeon Somi)
  My 20’s (2017)