It's funny hearing my expatriate friends' comments about Canto-pop. 'Canto-pop sounds really ****. The melodies are so sappy,' says an American, who has been living in Hong Kong for more than three years.
'OK, so how often do you listen to Canto-pop? Who sings those 'soppy' songs, and how many have you actually heard so far?' I ask.
'Not very many ... once in a while,' he says. 'Everyone says it doesn't really matter who sings them. They all sound the same. I always read about Nicholas Tse, Faye Wong and recently Cecilia Cheung, but I don't know any of their songs. By the way, is there a singer called Kelly Chen Wai-lam? Who is she?'
I'm shocked by the American's generalisation in the first place. Then he is asked if he has ever tuned in to the Chinese channel or tried to listen to their songs at those record stores, which are, after all, free.
'Er . . . ' he says, then keeps his mouth shut for the rest of the night.
'Hey, but Canto-pop is all sad love stories which are kind of stupid,' says my Chinese friend, trying to rescue her buddy.
'Where have you learned that from? Do you read Chinese? How well do you know Canto-pop?' I ask.