Transcript of interview with Valerie Sim (conducted by Amanda Lee), 1 October 2016, 11 am, Wilkie Edge.
Valerie is a 45-year old female Chinese Singaporean and is a supervisor at Exxon Mobil. Valerie enjoys listening mainly to English pop music. Some of her favorite artistes include Daryl Hall and John Oates, Barbara Streisand and England Dan & John Ford Coley. She finds the music from the 80s and 90s to be more meaningful as compared to the contemporary pop music of today. She thinks that English pop music is more of a global identity now as people all over listen to the same artistes. Valerie does not listen to any Western classical music. However, she occasionally watches concerts by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. She finds that it is easier to listen to pieces that are more contemporary, or have a jazz or pop sound to it. She also likes musicals like My Fair Lady (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965) as they are pleasant to listen to and are meaningful. She does not think that Western classical music can be considered Singaporean or Asian culture, as her parents and grandparents did not listen to it although the interest in it is increasing among Singaporeans. Valerie does not listen to any Chinese pop songs and only knows 3 songs by Teresa Teng, Sandy Lam and Frankie Kao, as she heard them when she was a teenager. She thinks that there is a cultural connection of Chinese Singaporean with the Hong Kongers and Taiwanese as they listen to the same Chinese or Cantonese music. Valerie does not listen to any traditional Chinese music as she does not understand or know how to appreciate it. She regards it the same as Western classical music, in that she can listen to one or two pieces but not for a long period of time. Valerie used to watch Chinese opera with her grandmother when she was younger but did not understand it. Valerie enjoyed the sample of Chinese crossover music and found it interesting and pleasant enough. However, she did not like the sample of experimental music as she found it too slow and devoid of energy and liveliness. Valerie says that she has not thought of using music to identify with her Chinese heritage and thinks that perhaps she is Chinese more by the cultural practices she observes, and by the foods that she eats and dialects that she speaks. Valerie does not listen to much Singaporean music with the exception of Stefanie Sun as she listens to her Christian songs. She thinks Dick Lee is one artist who is distinctively more Singaporean than the rest as he uses Singlish in his music. Valerie thinks that English pop music is the most important genre which expresses her identity authentically as she listens to it the most. She thinks that traditional Chinese music and Western classical music expresses her identity the least authentically as she does not have any familial history or associations related to it.
“Daryl Hall and John Oates? I don’t mind some of the Barbara Streisand songs. England ... England Dan & John Ford Coley. Quite a lot, lah. A wide variety I think. Is ... if you name it, I may tell you if I like them or not.”
“Okay lah, from your – from your generation it’s the classics. Songs of the 80s, lah. 80s, 90s ... I don’t mind the songs of the 2000s as well. But, you know they don’t evoke the same kind of ... emotion as the songs of the old do. A lot more meaningful.”
“Ya. I think it’s become a global identity, lor. Where people globally listen to the same artiste, and they adore the same artiste. So in the sense, it’s becoming a unifying force. Of course, the bad part is – then people start to lose their own individual identity, lah.”
“I don’t mind those if [Western classical music is] a bit more modernized. You know, sometimes you go for the SSO [Singapore Symphony Orchestra] concerts, they sort of modernize it. Make it a bit more jazzy, more pop-ish. Makes it easier to listen to. And every time I listen to them, I think of Tom and Jerry.”
“Very pleasant to listen to. Meaningful music. And because you’ve seen the [musical], you know at which point’s the start. So even more 14-year-old watches them and sings those songs as well, especially My Fair Lady (1964). I like those.”
“My grandmother certainly never heard of it. Never grew up with it. It’s not her culture. Neither is Western pop. So in terms of globalization, of course not as much as Western pop, lah. But because people hear, they get more affluent, they think that learning about Western classical [music] is very cultured. So I guess there’s a bigger following nowadays, lah.”
“All very old songs. When I was in my teens, and mostly Teresa Teng. And maybe because of my mom. Okay, Qingren De Yanlei [Lover’s Tears] (2010). And that one I like the Dick Lee with Sandy Lam version. Because it’s a lot more upbeat, a bit more jazzy.”
“Three [Chinese pop] songs, I know are all Mandarin. Same as classical, lah. If you sing it, it’s reasonably nice I – I – one song, two songs, ah – quite nice, ah. That’s about it. It’s not something that I will go into and I won’t stalk the singer, or anything of that sort, lah.”
“Um, there are some who are okay I guess but many of them ... actually look quite awful. I mean all the same – similar genres lah, you know. Chinese pop and the Kpop, they all look about the same, lah. You know the – the way the guys look, the way they dance and ... mm.”
“Maybe not China, lah. China seems to be ... on its own lah, ha. But for sure – I mean for the Chinese Singaporeans who like to listen to Chinese and Cantonese [pop music, for sure there’s a connection ... between them, Hong Kong, er, Hong Kong and Taiwan.”
“Guzheng. Erhu. Pleasant lah. Pleasant, lah. But all those songs I tolerate one or two pieces. It’s the same category as the classical. I mean they are classical, right? You play one piece, you play two pieces, it’s – you know, pleasant. It’s nice. And that’s about it, you know. One or two pieces, and then I’m bored already.”
“Ya. I think based on what I see in TV is if they had more acrobatics, a lot more kungfu, along with whatever they were singing, [Chinese opera] might have been more entertaining lah. So it was more of a amuse[ment] – amusement factor than anything else. In fact my parents are also not very keen on those things. Bygone era.”
“Even the kids don’t get to watch [Chinese opera]. So ... how do you identify with something you hardly associate with? Yup. And then I think in this age and time, with all the CGIs, all the special effects, people are used to a lot more action? So if you do the traditional stuff like all those Chinese opera, all those puppeteering ... ya. It’s just lost lah.”
“Oh, [Chinese crossover music is] a mix of Western and Chinese class – classical, is it? Ya. I’m fine. Then they join in – the Indians and the ... some samba thing. Sounds good. Pleasant enough. Quite interesting. Nothing negative.”
“I prefer the [Chinese crossover music]. This [Chinese experimental music is] so stuffy, my goodness. Ya. Even the – even the SSO the conductors are more amusing than this stuffy old man. It’s like “Yes, lao shi [Mandarin for “teacher”].” Took so long for the music to start. Mm. Don’t like. Prefer the first one.”
“I certainly like the Indian Bhangra. And I’m also not Indian. I find that very enjoyable as well. Something more upbeat, you know. Um, ya. And I guess I – like I said – I draw my identity from maybe the dialects that I speak, your practices as a Chinese, some of the cultural practices. Perhaps the food that you eat, the things that you know.”
“Stefanie Sun maybe a bit more because she also records some Christian music. Ya, so get to know her songs through there. And also because she’s featured in, er, you know the national day stuff, you hear her sing.”
“The only one who’s – the only one I know who’s distinctly a bit more Singaporean is Dick Lee lah. And why is he distinctly Singaporean? Because he inculcates local lingo in his music.”
“It’s the older songs which have done it. Not the newer ones. So the older ones somehow are able to be very poignant. Like the very cheesy, Count on Me, Singapore [1986]. But I can still remember it.”
“It goes like “Wo Ai Ni, I love you [Within You’ll Remain, 1985].” Ya, that cheesy song, right. That’s from a Singaporean group, and I think it did us all proud that it came from Singapore. But that one is still pop kind of music, and again they try and mix a bit of Mandarin, a bit of English. Ya.”
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