Aural Abuse

The music played in my gym's locker room is a mixture of Cantopop, J-pop, C-pop and North American tunes (an agonzing blend of sappy oldies and second-rate covers), which combined is worse than the mind-numbing low-rent house music blasted in the gym itself.

Whether it be a Cantopop song based on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (I'm not joking) or Toni Braxton's ridiculous Unbreak My Heart, the music chosen is anything but the relaxing blend it's supposed to be.

Not all songs are horrible, though; I've noticed that male C-pop singers have emulated the American R & B singing style to an amazing degree. Were it not for the Mandarin, you'd never know the difference.

With few exceptions, female J-pop singers go for what can only be described as the "cute" angle: they sound like 10-year-old girls, which is natural coming from the land of Hello Kitty.

Given Hong Kong's love affair with all things Korean, I'm surprised K-pop hasn't been included in the rotation.

On the positive side, I haven't been tortured by Minnie Ripperton in recent memory, but then I've been working out at a different location.

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