Artist	Song
Betty Boop [from Cyndi Lauper]	He's So Unusual
Li Ming-Hui	Drizzles
Gong Li [Li Jin-Hui composition]	The Express Train
The Viennese Seven Singing Sisters	William Tell Overture
Wu Ying Yin	Da Di Hui Chun
Zhou Xuan	Su Zhong Qing
Chen Juan Juan	Cun Zhi Ban
Zhang Fan	He Xing Nian
George van Dusen	the Yodeling Chinaman
Chang Loo	Hulala
Joe Keawe & Lei Momi Sweethearts	My Yellow Ginger Lei
Kazuya Kosake	I Love You
Happy End [w/ Haruomi Hosono]	Tenku iruno kureyon
Shoukichi Kina	Hana
Shoukichi Kina & Champloose	Ichimushigawana Yuntaka [Talkin' About Animals]
Rinken Band	Kansha Sabira
The Folk Crusaders	Yopparai
IQU	Yopparai - a Drunkard Who Fell From Heaven
Giorgio Moroder	Baby Blue
Yoko Kanno	Sora's Song
Moonram Pirai	Ponmeri
? Cambodian singer singing Ros Serey Sothea	?
Carmen Miranda	I Yi Yi Yi
Tokyo Cuban Boys	Shyuusutesun

Comment:

now, i may not know much about vocal music production, but there's something to be said for cultural relativity when a guy stands up and says "How can anyone stand to listen to Asian music when they all sing with that terrible, NASAL sound? It's just not natural!"

So we start off with a snippet of Betty Boop, showing that this popular phenomenon isn't restricted to Asian cultures alone. And then we move onto a truly grating track by Li Ming-Hui, daughter of Li Jin-Hui. According to the liner notes, "Drizzles" was the first Shanghaiese 'yellow music' popular hit, and even the locals had a hard time getting used to it. Superstar Chinese actress Gong Li delivers an over-the-top rendition of another Li Jin-Hui song, from the movie Shanghai Triad. The Viennese Seven Singing Sisters provide a wacky example of the "classical" operatic vocal techniques that early commentators on Asian music were comparing Shanghaiese pop music against. In comparison, the next four Chinese pre-war oldies singers are downright melodic (with excellent backing orchestra, to boot). George van Dusen's slightly racist track loses all offensive edge when one realizes that it sounds NOTHING like real Chinese music. And if you want the masters of yodel-esque vocal breaks, you've got to go to the Pacific Islands... Chang Loo's attempt is entirely too silky when matched against the more authentic falsetto of Joe Keawe. Kazuya Kosake incorporates the "nasal" sound in a beautiful folk country tune, and Happy End complements their twangy sound with straightforward country western, adding lilting yodels and falsettos of their own. After that set, only Okinawa can follow. The Folk Crusaders might be poking fun of the stereotypically "nasal" sound by creating their 60's (or is it 70's?) pop hit with chipmunk vocals. IQU ripped off that song, without credits, on their blue album. Giorgio Moroder is thrown in to remind the listener that DISCO revived falsetto fever across the west. Meanwhile, back in Japan, Yoko Kanno's eerie, high-pitched voice shows that blissful effects can be produced in this kind of Japanese pop. Bollywood and Cambodia are thrown in for some Southeast Asian representation (I'm sorry I could not include more), and finally we top it off with Carmen Miranda showing that "silly" vocal styles don't necessary mean unmusical efforts, and Tokyo Cuban Boys close with another song incorporating chipmunk vocals.

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