Album Title : Exasperation /
Restless / Impatience / Frivolous / Annoyance / Frustration
Language : Mandarin
Recording Company : Cinepoly
Release Date : June 96
Total Running Time : 35'17
Total Number of Tracks : 10
Songs :
Sporadic
Exasperation
Imagine
Fractured
Uneasy
Where
Degenerate
Suppressed Happiness
Doomsday
Wild 3 Hills
Exasperation [fu zao] the
most significant album of Faye Wong. her scatting and mummurings betrays hints of
Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins. choosing to sing without the aid of lyrics, Faye
has done it excellently, at the same time, mesmerizing the listener and somehow bringing
them into how Faye looks at the world. her uttering and yodels have been elucidated as
conversations with the unknown phenomena's of the world, the spirits and so on. ever
wondered what influenced Faye into scatting and singing nonsensical [according to 8 days
magazine] syllabuses? it was a total difference from her previous album [di-dar]. the
songs that are sans lyrics can be interpreted and visualized into images, all the listener
has to do is to imagine. the power of imagination is really powerful and beyond words.
Articles
look ma, no words!
exasperation is the name of her latest
album, and boy, is petulant queen Faye Wong dead serious! Ooh-ooh-aah-aah and other
assorted infantile noises throughout some of the songs on offer. practicing baby talk in
preparation for motherhood, perchance?
Significant Mentions
#1 exasperation - Faye Wong
definitely 1996's most avant garde
Chinese pop album. in typical gutsy style, Faye actually does away with lyrics on five of
her songs. despite criticism for her album's heavy Cocteau Twins influence, the lady has
gone where no other Chinese pop artiste ever ventured.
above articles from 8 days
Main Influences
Faye was really influenced by the
Scottish group, the Cocteau Twins. the Cocteau Twins mainly comprises of Elizabeth Fraser,
Simon Raymonde and robin Guthrie. CT's music have yet to be classified into a specific
group. seems that their enchanted songs and titles [blue bell knoll, bluebeard, seekers
who are lovers, serpentskirt, eperdu...] have yet to have a class of their own.
Elizabeth's trademark out of control wails and eerie background vocals and echoes have
been greatly picked up by Faye who has made it her own trademark. the sensuous overlapping
of fracture really sets the mood for the song. I really think that the Cocteau Twins are
underrated and no one has ever heard of them. who else can bring out a sorrow of a song
better than Liz Fraser [for CT aware people]? I really think that Faye has learnt a lot of
valuable singing techniques and song writing from the CT.
Elizabeth Fraser, the lead
vocalist for Cocteau Twins. a really tremendous singer with an attitude to match
Feelings
this album can be considered to be Faye's
most artistic and perhaps "risky" album ever. because of that, I'm worried that
Faye has alienated even more of her listeners. but hey, that's too bad because they are
ones who are losing out. I really like this album a lot. even though, I must admit, my
initial reaction was of disappointment during my first listen through. I knew that there
was going to be a Cocteau Twins feel to the album but I never expected the entire album
(all 10 tracks) to be like the way it is. but now, I'm a changed man. first off, I really
like the title track (#2) "Impatience". it contains only 22 characters of lyrics
and has the fastest tempo of any song on the album, during those "la ja bors".
it's such a fun song and easily my Fayevourite of the album. I also like track #1
"sporadic" (especially the intro of the song with its slow, rhythmic pace of
vocals and guitars) and track #3 "imagine" (the first "lyricless" song
of the album with cute Faye vocals) as well as the 2 songs composed by the cocteau Twins:
track #4 "fracture" (a slower tempo song with a soothing, calming overall feel)
and track #8 "brooming happiness" (the "deliberate" slowed down
rhythmic tempo and Faye's vocals are a perfect match). if I have to nit-pick,I'd have to
say that I wish the album was longer than its 35 minutes, not all the songs were so
"cocteau twin-ish", and they shouldn't have wasted those picture opportunities
in the cd booklet with those "countdown" numbers. but hey, those are minor
details. so give this album a try and I'll bet that after the fifth listen through, you'll
fall in love with "Impatience" like I did. [by Joshua Cheung]
Faye was not satisfy with just putting
out albums that the company demanded on her; she wanted to do an album that she felt good
with and the result is "Impatiences." It has to be Faye's most ambitious and
artistic work up-to-date. It's such an alternative album, it was a very risky move for
Faye. But Faye was at the point of her career where she can afford it. Faye wrote most of
the songs, with the exception of two songs that was written by the Cocteau Twins. Critics
love this album and seem to be ready to proclaim Faye as God sent...I wasn't much into
this album until recent listens. This album is just beautiful to the max. Faye's singing
is at it's best. Many of the songs have little lyrics and two doesn't have any lyrics at
all. It is rather difficult to say that an album so alternative can be said as beautiful,
but it is true. The singing is emotional, powerful, and rather very light. If you don't
know Faye, you learn why many has fallen in love with her, her music and voice. the album
deserves nothing less than an 10-perfect! It's amazing that Faye was able to convince the
company to let her do such an album and actually release it; [if you realize the nature of
the HK music industry], it is equally amazing that even though people didn't like it, Faye
is still on top of the Asian music world. It is great to be able to heard an album so
innovative as this one--"impatiences." [by Chris]
This album, overall, has a highly
alternative, ethereal feel. The tracks on this CD on the whole are on the
"short" side, but one must remember that it is the quality of the tracks that is
most important. It is quite obvious that Faye has spent countless hours in preparation for
"Impatience", particularly in the areas of composing and finding which
nonsense-sounds (e.g. lar, bor, far, shar) "fit" into wherever best. The concept
of lyricless songs, although hard-to-grasp, is very fresh and Faye deserves a lot of
respect for such a creative idea. I enjoyed "Sporadic" and
"Impatience", the two opening tracks very much. The two are rather similar in
the way that they are composed, a very alternative acoustic-drums sound with Faye's
beautiful, delicate voice over top. "Fracture", composed by the Cocteau Twins is
very Enya-esque, with dreamy overlapping Faye vocals. "Decadence", composed by
Faye, is worth noting, as are the "fun" tracks of the album: "Imagine"
and "Where". The packaging of "Impatience" is highly imaginative, with
retro 1970's looking photography. Faye is looking luscious as usual in the pictures within
the booklet, full of smiles, and rightfully so because she did such a great job with the
album! There is an attractive mauve tinge to this CD (box, booklet and CD itself) as well.
"Impatience" brings Chinese pop into a new era of creativity. I am extremely
happy that this CD was priced at only $15.99, a bonus for this die-hard Faye fan! I will
be honest and say that this is not a "love at first listen" CD. In fact, you may
even be disappointed at first listen. I can hear myself thinking: "What??? Three
songs without lyrics? What a rip-off! It's only 35 minutes! However, over the course of a
few listens, you will surely love this CD to "death" like me! [by William Wong]
Well, like Will, I must say
I was a tad disappointed when I first heard the CD. After previous mandarin CDs like
"Sky" and "Mystery", it's kinda hard to get use to Faye singing songs
with no lyrics or only "sounds". However, I must give Faye a lot of respect for
her creativity, cuz HK pop has probably never heard of this type of music before. After
listening to it several times, I've grown to like it, especially the first 4 tracks. The
others are also quite artistic and enjoyable in their own ways. In the end, it would be
nice to see Faye return to her style in "Di-Dar" or other past albums, maybe
while incorporating her taste for alternative music. [by Thomas Lo]
Interview with Faye
on Exasperation
Q: Let's talk about your latest album,
Exasperation. This album - where you wrote all but 2 songs - seems to marl the start of
'Faye Wong's Creative Era'. So we can say goodbye to the old Faye Wong! Looking back now,
how do you feel about your early songs?
Faye: It wasn't that bad then. But the way I'm now, my mental
state and mood being totally different, I feel I'm artistically much better now.
Q: You used to cover alternative songs. And now you're writing
them.
Faye: I've always wanted to do
something like this. But the timing wasn't right until now.
Q: Your lyrics seem to give the impression that you are a
despondent person by nature.
Faye: Taken at face value, my lyrics
might seem pessimistic with song titles like 'Degenerate' and 'Doomsday'. These are parts
of me like that, a 'greyish' kind of personality. What I wanted to do was to express a
kind of inner struggle. Sometimes I see something in myself which I don't like, so I write
about it hoping that this way, I can change it. But it's not so easy. Human beings have a
lot of weaknesses which are hard to overcome. And it's also mixed with a sense of
helplessness.
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Q: A line from the song
says, "Desire buys everything." That sounds very 'Hon Kong' but why the tittle?
Faye: I named the song 'Doomsday'
because I wanted to write about the uglier side of life.
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Q: Your songs in Exasperation make the
listener feel like that's a good state of mind to be in...
Faye: ...It's not a state I want to
be in, but it's something I can't run away from. I feel that being exasperated is a human
emotion, so it's neither good nor bad. Mentally, we all have our ups and downs. When
things become too mundane, we start getting grouchy..
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Q: I especially like your last line:
"Everything is fine; the only lacking is trouble."
Faye: I actually meant the opposite.
When your life is uneventful, you begin to yearn for trouble.Q: How do you create your music? Do you jam with
the band?
Faye: We usually start with a music
'base', then follow that by writing the melody. In most cases, the lyrics come last.
There's only one song in the current album where I wrote the lyrics first.
Q: Which was that?
Faye: 'Doomsday'. I wrote it one day
while lying in bed in Hon Kong.
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Q: Is the world
'ugly' to you?
Faye: Perhaps I'm more sensitive to
the less pleasant things in life. The more material desires you have, the more spiritually
empty you feel. Which leads some to look for instant gratification. I'm quite pessimistic
about things. |
I n c o n s t a n t
Night breeze's cool
Tree sways, Moon shakes
Clouds are flying
I'm thinking
Water flows
Flowers are fragrant
Keep the night scene in my heart
Worries amidst joy
Light amidst darkness
How to value
How to measure
Farms and fields
Valleys and hills
Melancholy behind beauty
Inconstant
See the mountains and lakes
See the blue sky and white willows
Can't see a single thread of confusion
Next see the ocean and jade-green waves
Next see the setting rays at dusk
Can't help rushing
Leaving hope to despair
E x a s p e r a t i
o n
In September, the weather is hot
I'm impatient
In September, it's plain and boring
Everything is fine
Except the absence of troubles
F r a c t u
r e d
Breaking up, breaking up, smile
innocently but I realize everything
Breaking up, breaking up, love until tired but I don't care of anything
Because of me, have holding you
A little and a little, left in my hands
Because of you, have holding me
With no space, for me to breathe
Breaking up, breaking up, strong enough to face everything but I need to flirt
Breaking up, breaking up, guarding one's world, two people's blood is flowing inside
Because of the disaster of hugging, half hot, half cold
Because of the disaster of hugging, half sky, half ground
[The cells of missing split up continuously ...]
Because of the disaster of hugging, some of me, some of you
[The cells of missing split up continuously ...]
Because of the disaster of hugging, some of men, some of women
Because of the disaster of hugging, one side red, one side green
Because of the disaster of hugging, seems nothing happened, screaming wildly
[The cells of missing split up continuously ...]
Because of the disaster of hugging, rock the world but nothing's special
[The cells of missing split up continuously ...]
I saw the familiarity on your face
I opened my eyes but I saw your contempt
My soul has followed you to fly into another world
When I saw you, I'll become arrogant
When I can't see you, I'm afraid to face myself
Breaking up, breaking up, strong enough to face everything but I need to flirt
Breaking up, breaking up, guarding one's world, two people's blood is flowing inside
Breaking up, breaking up, smile innocently but I realize everything
Breaking up, breaking up, love until tired
D e g e n e
r a t e
This world appears to be very happy, not
a sign of sadness
Smile and be silent from the beginning, you don't hurry
You're natural and frank
Take off the disguise, give up the belief
You don't want to talk anymore, you want to relax
It's nothing terrible, it's nothing to be worried about
Entertain with pain, hesitate to fall
You can't stop the temptation, so you refuse to be lonely
You're not doing wrong, coz nobody has done it right
You don't feel guilty, so you fall
Come here, come here, I'll be with you
Come here, come here, continue, continue
I've got nothing to say
I can't think of the consequence clearly and I don't prepare to blame myself
I'm not in a hurry, to be natural and frank
Climb up against the tide hopelessly, willing to fall in trap
I don't have other thoughts, I just want to relax
Pretending haven't discover, the falsity behind the goodness
Deceive the soul, compel to struggle
Nothing is missed, actually nothing can be gained
It's not a lost, excitement and unconsciousness mixed together
Start from here, fall without mind
Come here, come here, I'll be with you
Come here, come here, continue, continue
S
u p r e s s e d H a p p i n e s s
stacking stacking cards you a move of
hand to have me falling
drinking drinking cola you a turn of head to have me crying
disguising disguising happiness you a look to have me unable to disguise
forgetting forgetting solitariness your a question to have me thinking
oh always not wasting a blow of ashes you have me from that dream world
running away[oh] always so effortlessly you tell me from where
the depths of white clouds falling
cautious patience you without paying attention to have me hurdling
very easily amused your one sentence to have me turning bad whole life waiting
your within a second to have me awaken freely induce in boredom
your a pan of cold water thrown towards me
oh always not wasting a blow of ashes you have me from that dream world
running away[oh] always so effortlessly you tell me from where
the depths of white clouds falling
cautious patience you without paying attention to have me hurdling
very easily amused your one sentence to have me turning bad whole life waiting
your within a second to have me awaken freely induce in boredom
your a pan of cold water thrown towards me
oh always not wasting a blow of ashes you have me from that dream world
running away[oh] always so effortlessly you tell me from where
the depths of white clouds falling
D o o m s d a
y
'Dream' wanders on the
cross-road, doesn't know which way to go
'Confidence' bows its head, counts the stones under the feet
'The sunshine is a little bit too vigorous, the air is a little bit not fresh
He thinks in this way, and being undecided
'Beauty' cries and says farewell to myself
'Falsity' shows its smiling face, shuffling in the crowd
'Truth' couldn't convince itself, decided to give up
'Desire' has bought everything but still can't fulfil the emptiness
Rules and custom, are meaningless
Only hesitation, is the charm
Arrival of doomsday
Some curiosity, curiosity
No one will care
back to top
there are many ways and
ideas that may be used to interpret the lyricless songs in exasperation. for me, careful
listening is a must. then the atmosphere. as atmosphere changes your emotions and
feelings, I prefer to hear these songs in pitch darkness, just letting her vocals echo in
the still of the night! [hehe pity my family they had to bear with it] then I needed to
really boarden my mind and try to be more aware of Faye's music and her vocal transitions,
bcoz I am sure that the title itself plays a heavy role in the song, it gives the song
that particular feeling and ambience whenever played! my imagination was stretched to the
limit as I repeated each and every song, to get the feeling right! however, my
interpretations are definitely not the definite one. different people have different views
on exasperation but I hope some of the websurfers would agree with me and some of my
visualizations! my visualizations are sometimes quite abstract and meaningless but they
mean quite a lot to me! [contradicting eh!?] basically most of the songs are told as in a
tale told by singing... so expect a few Cinderella and the Big Bad Wolf. stories. again
some of them might just be an image with a few added captions..or better both.
imagine...thats the first song on exasperation that has negligible lyrics! what a start!
making the listeners "imagine" what is Faye singing about and the different
emotions brought about by Faye. this song really needs the vivid imagination from the
listener as to most of the mainstream listeners have never ever heard infantile sounds
I m a g i n e
rain drops are pattering on
a zinc roof top. intervals of raindrops are heard as a girl tries hard to get to sleep on
a bed. as it was pitch dark, her train of thoughts were kinda disrupted as her imagination
gets the better of her. she started seeing ghostly images that are in fact only shadows
casted by objects. as she tries hard to get some sleep, the more frightened she was of the
dark and the dark silhouettes.
U
n e a s y
the sky is not illuminated.
hoards and thousands of people are gathered in a large barren field looking up at the sky.
heartbeats starts to go faster and almost everyone was more excited and anxious that
anyone else. it was a mass gathering...suddenly a comet shoots across the sky illuminating
it for a spilt second! people get very excited as more and more of these shooting stars
started to make their way across the skies. everyone felt uneasy as more and more of the
comets started crashing down. there's tension everywhere as everyone started panicking!
then suddenly, a really gigantic one falls and hits the land leaving all too little time
for the people to hide for cover and thus all humanity perished!
W h e r e
in a densely wooded forest,
2 pixies are lost and can't find a way out. they can't fly up, the only way to move was
forward. one pixie doesn't want to be lost and started pushing the blame onto the other
one, saying that it's all your fault that we are lost in this forest. blames are pushed
between the 2 young pixies with each of them having a different stories of their own. the
argument heated up as the further they traveled into the forest they more they become.
overwhelmed by sheer exhaustion, the 2 pixies took a break under a gigantic pine tree. one
of them noticed that there was a broken branch and thus decided to fly up through the
gaping hole to get a better view of the surroundings. as she flew up, she saw a narrow
litted path that led to the open plains. she felt so happy that she shouted to the other
pixie to go according to her directions. when they finally got to the plains, suddenly the
2 pixies vanished as quickly as they appeared!
W i l d 3 H i l l s
[somehow can be
interpreted differently]
maybe this song might be
about Faye and her releasing the one of the most avant garde album. the 3 hills might be
the 3 obstacles she has, the media, the listeners and her fans, the Fayenatics. maybe the
3 hills might also stand for speak no evil, hear no evil or see no evil. all these
possibilities are up to the listeners own imagination. Faye wanted to end the song as
strongly as she started it. with her scatting, she might be wondering if what she has done
is the best that she has done or she might be wondering if the listeners enjoyed the album
as much as she did. when she suddenly wails, the music will gradually take place of her
ethereal voice, meaning that music may be more important that the lyrics. however this
could also be interpreted as Faye screaming on top of a hill to let out her bottled
emotions and saying that this exasperation album is what she really wanted to do!
back to top
Links
caFaye's Homepage - great site for in-depth of Faye's
exasperation...from lyrics to feelings...
Restless - excellent clean cut site with visualizations
[high 5 meg!] and interesting stuffs...
Credits - Josh Site's for providing the
information for the album, 8 days magazine for the articles, All About Ah Faye for the
lyrics!
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