Today’s song of the day can be found on this album and this single. However, neither studio versions can compare to this version, which plays it at a considerably slower pace more suitable for the melody (at least in my opinion). It’s Shiina Ringo’s Sakuran.

Why? This cover is my favorite arrangement out of the 3 versions I’ve heard because it plays to the melody the most. It’s not meant to be fitted with a fast-paced big band symphonic arrangement, but rather with this type of sublime bossa nova beats. This, to me, is the definitive version of Sakuran, too bad it’s never going to be released as a studio recording.

Today’s song of the day needs little introduction. Seriously, just go to the Wikipedia page on it and read up all you want. On the album “Faster Than the Speed of Night,” it’s Bonnie Tyler’s classic “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

Why? Because it’s the ultimately 80s pop epic that wasn’t done by a large man named Meatloaf (turns out this song WAS written for Meatloaf, according to the Wikipedia page). I know it’s chessy 80s pop, but the video is so far out, and the song is so…unnecessarily epic that you can’t help loving it. Honestly, I don’t even know what the hell it means to have a “total eclipse of the heart” anyway.

Today’s song of the day is the first single from their first album. Considered their first hit, they’ve actually since come to resent it, which is sad, because it’s a hell of a song. It’s Radiohead’s “Creep.”

Why? It’s emo as hell, but it’s also so self-deprecating that hey, it’s kinda true.

Too bad the only version of the MTV I can find is the clean version (without my favorite line “You’re so fucking special/I wish I was special”)

It’s ok, though, there are plenty of live versions that have that line, including this one in Japan, where Thom Yorke inexplicably makes up one of the lines.

Today’s song of the day was inspired by the 5th track of this album. A comment from yesterday predicted that Justin Lo, a protege of Hong Kong’s notorious Mark Lui, maybe become a new version of the man. Fate would have it that a Hong Kong radio show I was listening to played the previously mentioned Justin Lo track, and I realized the intro is ripped off from today’s song of the day. While the melody doesn’t resemble the song of the day at all, someone (maybe arranger Ted Lo) over there must like Jamiroquai enough to rip the intro from them and put it in the Justin Lo track. From A Funk Odyssey, it’s Jamiroquai’s Corner of the Earth.

Why? Because Jamiroquai rarely goes into bossa nova territory. Plus, I found it funny that Ted Lo even transported the out-of-place hindi-opening to the Justin Lo track. Even without me finding about the copy job by Lo’s team, I would’ve used this song some other day anyway.

Today’s song of the day is a Japanese classic by an artist who lived a little too much. You can either find it on an ultra-expensive compilation album or just simply get the single for it. The song was so good that a songwriter even ripped it off for an Aaron Kwok song several months later (more later). It’s still a big hit at Japanese Karaoke, and it’s been covered by many Japanese artists (two of which will be included in this entry). In fact, the Utada Hikaru cover was how I discovered this song in the first place. It’s Yutaka Ozaki’s “I Love You.”

Why? It’s just one of those catchy pop ballads you can’t resist. Who expected something this tender from a guy who died getting drunk?

The live version

The Utada Hikaru version (without the blunder from her first attempt that’s in the concert DVD)

The Mika Nakashima cover on her latest album (honestly, I thought it was a pretty weak cover)

And the controversial rip-off by songwriter Chan Fong-Lu (not credited in the video) and sung by Aaron Kwok from 1991 (one can find it on this compilation) AFTER the release of the Ozaki single.

Today’s song of the day is from their album “I Love You.” Out of the all the MTVs from the album, I can argue that this one is the most innovative. But it’s not only the MTV I like, the song is not particularly original, but it’s great too. It’s Mr. Children’s “And I Love You.”

Why? Who can resist the lack of enunciation and that falsetto?

Today’s song comes from now-defunct British rock band Suede. This was from the first album of theirs I ever bought (I missed out when they hit it big in Hong Kong with Saturday Night and Everything Will Flow) A New Morning, and it’s my favorite song out of that album. It’s Obsessions.

Why? I chose it in(dis)honor of the Andy Lau stalker/dement family of Yang Lijuan, especially this line:

“Obsessions in my head/ don’t connect with my intellect.”

I, for one, agree.

The song for today first appeared on the now out-of-print “Nothing Really Matters” album, and can now be found on various compilations. I remember this album because it was his last at the now-defunct Capital Artist label. Even today, many many albums and hit singles later, this song remains my favorite of his singles, though not a favorite of fans since it’s not a particularly Karaoke-friendly tune. The theme song for the underrated film Twelve Nights, it’s Eason Chan’s “Dark Nights Never Come Again”

Why? The lyrics, the bare piano arrangement, the masterful vocal roller coaster Eason manages to pull off are so rarely seen in HK pop anymore. In fact, even the once great Chan Fai Yeung haven’t done more than repeat old tricks for the last 4 years. This song is sadly a “once upon a time” type of song.

Today’s song of the day comes all the way from the 1990 album “You’re the Only One,” when her name was still Shirley Wong. That album contained three cover tracks, and this is the biggest hit. Originally “Superwoman” by Karyn White from 1989, it’s Faye Wong’s “Thanks to Him.”

Why? Next to the fact that Faye Wong hasn’t even released an album in about 4 years now, it’s even more rare to hear her going into R&B territory. The lyrics are also a vast improvement in terms of style since it no longer tries to cram in a bunch of words into the melody, even though it becomes just another Cantopop break-up song in the end. Although listening to the original does ruin Faye’s rendition when you realize Faye just simply does everything Karyn does in the original. Still, it’s rare to hear the queen of the falsetto in Asian pop to do American Idol-style scream-sing, which makes this song rewarding enough already.

Here’s the original.

Today’s song of the day is a classic. I’m sure many people have heard the organ hook at some point in their lives, and it’s an addictive hook. First appeared on the 1967 album (note to self: track may be even better while on drugs), it’s the title track to Procol Harum’s album “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” Name doesn’t sound familiar? Just listen to it.

Why? I honestly don’t know why I should explain why classic songs are songs of the day. You mean, aside from the nostalgic organ hook and great blend of blues and soul into its melody, I have to further explain why A Whiter Shade of Pale is awesome? If your answer is yes, then you should stop your daily diet of Avril Lavigne and Nickelback shit mix.

Here’s one way to cover it.

And here’s a way not to cover it.