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about Asia Buzz
Culture on Demand: Groove Baby Groove
Working out of the office now takes on a very different meaning
By STAN STALNAKER
May
6, 2000
Web posted at 3 a.m. Hong Kong time, 3 p.m. EDT
Summer's coming, which means you'll need some groovy new music to play on your laptop as you work on your quarterly profit numbers, poolside. Due to our nice little rebound recovery and the upswing in regional business travel, corporate Asia has almost reached the point where one can again justify "working out of the office" an extra couple of days in an exotic location.
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Unlike the last boom times, when no actual results came from these extended trips, today's WAP phones, PDAs and IBMs can mean time spent under the rays is time profitably spent. This is a good thing, even if it does mean you never REALLY get a break. At any rate, a day at the pool/beach/home patio is always more fun than the office.
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This sort of poolside mobile conversation does annoy the French, who are used to six weeks of holiday a year, and don't actually work during their vacations. And yes, the French are often found poolside in these Asian locations that we so love to frequent. The next time they complain, just remember that their inactivity must be why places like Hong Kong and Singapore have higher GDPs and more Audi TTSs (have you seen the new convertible--hot!) per capita than France. Which is not to imply that quality of life is directly proportional to income, or poolside rudeness.
Anyway, regardless of whether you are working on your PowerPoint document or your tan, some good music is definitely in order to catch that early summer vibe to full effect.
First on the playlist is the new Pet Shop Boys compilation album Nightlife, which will take you back to the '80s without leaving you feeling like a punk rock weirdo. Fortunately, the back beats and mournful ballads have been mercifully updated to the current electronic era.
For that luxurious "I'm just back from Bali feeling," check out Chill Out Ibiza, a two CD-set that manages to collect in one place those songs you hear in swish and fabu* locations but can't remember the name of them when you get back home. Fortunately it is downbeat enough to play poolside, where throbbing dance music is not exactly the highest order of the day, unless of course, you're French.
For the ultimate experience in ambient relaxing music, buy the triple CD-set CHILLOUT2000. With the horribly cheesy prefix, "...now the party's over," you know right away this thing has risks, but the good news is that all three CDs totally deliver in the maximum relaxation category.
Modern, slightly funky and with enough faint air raid sirens to remind you of your last night out on the town, this set will calm you down without putting you to sleep. These discs would also be great for the Tokyo-LA sector, where the in-flight playlist just doesn't cut it.
Finally--even though the movie was a repeat of that OTHER movie (something about a best friend and a wedding?)--The Next Best Thing soundtrack is simply fantastic. Not only does it contain Madonna's new American Pie rendition, at track four, the disc has more fabu tunes than you can fully absorb in an afternoon of poolside or in-flight listening.
Now if you've gone through all of these and still have work to do, don't heap the blame on me. And what if you've still got time because you're on a Star Alliance long haul? Pop in Groove Armada's new Vertigo and anything by Asian Dub Foundation, which will get you through.
Enjoy your flight, lounge in peace, and remember to hit save every 10 minutes so you can show head office you weren't goofing off the whole time.
* fabu: word of the week, short for fabulous without being quite so...annoying.
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