Muzu music

By Ajarn Helen Jandamit
Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post

University Tips is here to help you prepare for the English exams and tests that are coming your way. It gives you practise answering questions similar to those you may have at school and also on the University Entrance Examination.

Read the following story by Duangkamol Panya from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.

The name of 38-year-old Muzu can be found all over local pop charts and songwriting credits. The singer-songwriter is on the list of top male artists of his generation with hit singles like “Kao Gun Mai Dai (Don’t Get Along Well),” “Never” and “Kon Took Ting (The One Who Got Dumped).” He has also written songs for many famous singers such as Thongchai McIntyre, Tanakrit “Wan” Panichavit and Pongsak “Aof” Ratanapong. But so far, he has not become famous himself.

Muzu, born Bandit Sae-Ngow, first ventured into the music industry when he was 19 years old, when he was recruited into RPG Records after being introduced to acclaimed producer Prompong Sanidvongse Na Ayudhaya.

His music career didn’t officially take off until the single “Don’t Get Along Well” was released in 2006, as part of a project called Xperiment. Many people then started to admire Muzu’s vocal work.

The bitter lyrics of “Don’t Get Along Well” make it one the greatest Thai heartbreak songs of all time.

“I was very new to songwriting back then, so when I was assigned to write a song about heartbreak, I did it with the feeling that I had nothing to lose,” Muzu said. “I tried to envision the situation in the song like a scene in a movie.”

Muzu then came up with “The One Who Got Dumped,” which was inspired by his personal experience.

“I remember crying and writing this song on my bed after getting dumped by my girlfriend, who kept telling me to get over it and move on,” he said. “The lyrics to the song describe everything I felt at that moment.”

After writing a number of tracks about painful break-ups, it’s hardly surprising that Muzu has been labelled the master of heartbreak songs. However, Muzu said that he has not always been unlucky in love, despite what his music might suggest.

Muzu is frank about his career, acknowledging that he is known as a guy whose voice is widely recognised but whose face remains unfamiliar to the public. Contributing to this phenomenon are the many bands that have become famous as a result of Muzu’s songs. A cover of “Don’t Get Along Well” by Room 39, for example, made the band famous after they posted it on YouTube.

“Many people say that my songs are more famous than me, but be honest, it doesn’t hurt me at all,” Muzu said. “I’d be lying if I told you I knew these songs would become so big. When I started writing songs, I had no idea they’d have such a lasting impact.”

Muzu said that when he started working with Grammy, they wanted him to keep his indie image.

“Since the name Muzu has gained some recognition from the public lately, I guess my next step is to let the masses know what I look like,” he said.

Muzu originally tried his hand at accounting and visual arts at the request of his family, but he later realised that he could not do anything else for a living except singing and producing songs. “People always said that being a singer would be an unstable career, but I don’t want to live a regretful, soulless life, always thinking of what I should have done when I got the chance,” Muzu said.

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Exercises

Section 1

Read the story. Then, answer the following multiple-choice questions.

1. Which genre of music best describes Muzu’s songs?

a. Hip-hop..
b. Country.
c. Pop.

2. How old was Muzu when he entered into the music industry?

a. 15 years old.
b. 17 years old.
c. 19 years old.

3. What directly inspired Muzu to write “Kon Took Ting”?

a. His childhood memories.
b. His broken-heart experience.
c. His imagination.

4. Hold old is Muzu?

a. 38 years old.
b. 35 years old.
c. 30 years old.

5. Who covered the Muzu’s song, “Don’t Get Along Well”?

a. Clash.
b. Room 39.
c. ETC.

6. What kind of image did Grammy want Muzu to keep?

a. His pop image.
b. His indie image.
c. His playboy image.

7. What did Muzu’s family want him to learn?

a. Singing and dancing.
b. Science and medicine.
c. Accounting and visual arts.

8. Muzu said, “Many people say that my __________ are more famous than me.”

a. songs
b. books
c. bands

Section 2

Specify whether each of the following words is used in the story as a pronoun, adjective or adverb.

9. whose ………….

10. frank ………….

11. else ………….

12. lasting ………….

13. himself ………….

Section 3

Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the correct words from the choices given.

When …..14….. whether there will be anything special about his Green Concert show …..15….. Royal Paragon Hall, Muzu said that he will perform the single “Samakarn (Equation).”

“The version I’m going to perform …..16….. different from the studio version …..17….. the first note until the last one. I hope it will turn out …..18….. better than the original version. But that’s as much as I can say for now. For the rest, you will need to see it for …..19….. .”

14.

a. ask
b. asking
c. asked

15.

a. at
b. on
c. from

16.

a. will
b. will be
c. be

17.

a. for
b. from
c. forward

18.

a. even if
b. even though
c. even

19.

a. your
b. you
c. yourself

Section 4

Read each of the following sentences and underline one grammatically correct word in each from the choices given.

20. I had no idea that they would have such/so/that a strong impact.

21. He couldn’t do anything for a living but/because/despite sing and write songs.

22. The band posted it at/for/on YouTube.

23. He was assigned to writing/wrote/write a song about heartbreak.

24. Since then, he has gained numerous/some/many recognition from the public.

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