Lin Xi enjoys a restless life
Changing jobs
Early days of writing lyrics
Best lyricist of the year
Sense and sensibility
Open your heart
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Working 20 hours a day
Lin Xi enjoys a restless life
Changing jobs
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Name: Lin Xi High: Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) University: HIU, majoring in Chinese and Translation Interests: Listening to music, chatting with friends, dating |
Changing jobs
“I quit after 3 years because I found the academic life not suitable for me,” he said. “I’m not a very disciplined person. I felt very impatient with the need to write reference lists.”
Work related to advertising and music production interests Lin Xi most. He had worked at Express News, in the Programme Promotion Department of Asia Television and at the Music Factory. At present, he is a creative director on the Commercial Production and Programme Development team at Commercial Radio.
Early days of writing lyrics
Lin Xi started writing lyrics informally when he was in Form 4. His first album appeared in 1986 when he wrote lyrics for a local band called Radius. From then onwards, people began inviting him to write lyrics.
On average, Lin Xi writes 10 to 20 lyrics a month. His record time for writing one piece is 1 hour.
“Generally, I write lyrics at night as I have to work during the day. I only sleep 3 to 4 hours a day. That’s why I sometimes feel very sleepy,” said he.
Lin Xi thinks that he is not a picky person. When others ask him to write lyrics, he usually accepts the job.
“If you refuse doing the job, people will not ask you to write the next time,” said he.
Among the pop singers in Hong Kong, Lin Xi prefers writing lyrics for Miss Faye Wong and Mr. Anthony Wong Yiu Ming because he likes their characters. Among them, he regards Mr. Wong as his best friend in the music industry.
However, it seems that he seldom speaks or smiles when receiving awards. Some people may think that he is a quiet and solemn person and wonder whether he likes the awards ceremonies or not.
“No one hates receiving awards. They are indications of popularity and give me encouragements to work,” said he.
He also emphasized that he is not a quiet person.
“How can I be quiet when I need to face so many clients every day?” he said.
Within the 1 hour it took for this interview, his telephone rang at least four times.
“I don’t know how to smile in front of the camera. Besides, people behind the scenes are seldom given the chance to speak in those ceremonies. It’s simply meaningless if the organizer doesn’t give you the microphone,” he said.
When asked to comment on Hong Kong’s music industry, Lin Xi said that it is gradually improving as more variations in the singing and music styles are discovered. However, as the market, audience and mass media are comparatively conservative, people who try hard in exploring new topics may not get what they deserve.
Sense and sensibility
“My sense and sensibility share half. I am a sensitive and strong person,” he said.
Lin Xi regards writing lyrics as both his interest and career. He exclaimed, “If I have to do a job that I’m not interested at all, I had better die.
“Life is short and time is scarce. It’s stupid wasting time doing things that you don’t like. I simply can’t imagine how I’d look like if I were a financial consultant or a banker.”
Working 20 hours a day, he strikes one as a workaholic. However, of love, friendship, career, and family, he actually ranks love as the most important.
“To me, the ideal life is to live happily and sweetly with my lover,” said he. He portrayed himself as a conscious person even when he is in love. “I am conscious about what I’m sacrificing, whether I’ll be happy with my lover and whether we’ll have a good ending. But despite all these, I’m still willing to sacrifice for love,” said he.
Open your heart
To him, the most important quality of being a good lyricist is to keep a sensitive and youthful mind. “Be alert to things around you. You don’t need to travel around the world to get inspirations. All you have to do is to open your heart and always willing to explore new ideas by all means.
“A lyricist must be able to stay alone, as no one can teach you during the creative process. You need to discover the techniques by yourself,” he added.
Lin Xi likes listening to music and watching movies. He enjoys reading different kinds of books, especially love stories of I-shu. He also gets inspiration from reading contemporary Taiwanese poems.
Though he has written a lot of love songs, he does not feel bored with the topic at all. “Love has so many facets. It’s so splendid, colourful, complicated and delicate. There is still a lot for me to explore and I enjoy writing love songs.
“I’m still very young and energetic. If I could choose, I would like to be a lyricist my whole life.”
Chen ying Hoi
Best lyricist of the year
April 1997
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