Asshole Politicians Beat Up Father and Son Over Golf

"The world has gone crazy. Two politicians beat up a defenseless 56-year-old father and his 14-year-old son. At a golf course. I swear to God, I thought golfers were decent people. You would think politicians were decent people. I guess not. I guess they gang up on 56-year-old men and beat up pleading 14-year-old kids."

Yesterday was the worst day in the life of young Bambee dela Paz. Read all about it on her blog, here. Go, read.

Just a bit of perspective, by the way: former President Fidel Ramos, who, as his title implies, WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE FREAKING PHILIPPINES, also plays golf, and always asked for permission before overtaking anyone on the golf course. But apparently the mayor of Masiu City, Lanao del Sur is above such etiquette. So above it, in fact, that he will beat the shit out of you -- with the aid of his goons, of course -- if you even dare to imply that he is in the wrong. Even if you are pushing sixty, or barely in your teens.

Word about the incident is spreading. From Filipino Voices: "The Philippine State needs civilizing really fast. It is currently run by barbarians, murderers and thieves who cannot even follow simple golf etiquette. What more the moral code of the country as embodied by our laws?" From A Filipina Mom Blogger: "...my heart just went out to both father and son as Bambee describes how they were beaten up. I mean, wouldn’t you feel the same way if that was your father and brother or son? Yes, it could happen to you too."

I noticed that Bambee, a young golfer who has competed in over 25 international events in the past six years, claims Caloocan City as her hometown. Perhaps former Mayor of Caloocan City Boy Asistio, who is a golfer himself and would probably be offended the behavior of these politicians, can do something to help.

Yes, we don't have the whole story yet. And the dela Paz family will have a hard time getting justice, as the witnesses are apparently unwilling to talk about what happened. But it seems clear that major assholery was afoot here.

Also, note to the management of Valley Golf and Country Club, Antipolo City: you could have stopped it. Idiots.

To everyone who plays there, if you too would like to risk getting beaten up over a misunderstanding with a power-mad politician while security guards look on without lifting a finger, by all means, continue to go to Valley Golf.

You Better Watch Out

From Bizarre Adventures #34 (1983). Thank you Marvel Comics for warping my childhood.

Merry Christmas to everyone! Ho ho ho!

Also, Santa, if you're reading this, this one's for you.

Christmas Party at Cubao X

Me, Yvette, and Marian standing in front of Mogwai. Picture courtesy of the talented Miguel N.

May I just say, Furball throws a hell of a Christmas party. Fun people plus loud music plus food and drink galore (including an endless supply of deep-fried squid balls and other street vendor fare, as well as some apparently infamous brownies). We had a great time. Thanks Mads Quark Lyle and all the Furball peoples! :D

"He Offered His Anus To Satan" - The Further Adventures of The QLE

QLE FTW: Photo by Arnold Arre

So the QLE -- Quark Henares, Luis Katigbak (thas me), and Erwin Romulo -- guested last night on a radio show called Headstart on NU 107. For those who were unable to tune in, the high point, for me, was Erwin declaring that even though he didn't like Rico Blanco's "Yugto," it still stuck in his head, me theorizing that Rico must therefore have cut some sort of deal with Satan, and Quark riffing that this deal involved the violent penetration of Rico's orifices by a trio of demons. "He offered his anus to Satan!" Quark said on-air, and then proceeded to sing -- along with Erwin -- the parts of "Yugto" that did, indeed, make more sense in that context. "Lumiyab ka..."

We were also interviewed by FHM yesterday, regarding the year in Pinoy pop culture. Apologies to Kim and Paul for my late late arrival; I sorely underestimated how bad the traffic out there is these days, and how long it would take me to even get a ride.

AND! The Inquirer ran a feature today on the QLE Awards Night, yay! GO GO READ IT HERE: "The point is the music." :D

Okay, this will be my last post on the QLE for a while, I think. Kind of scary that if you scroll down this first page of my blog, it's QLE this and QLE that. To be honest, like Erwin, I'm "All QLE-ed out," especially after yesterday. But it's been a blast, and I didn't think that a midnight rant about a roster of nominees seen on a web page would eventually become... well, whatever the hell it is this QLE thing has become. Thanks to EVERYONE and hooray for Ang Bandang Shirley, Ciudad, Intolerant, Itchyworms, Loss of Control, Markus Highway, Pedicab, Sandwich, Taken By Cars, Up Dharma Down, and Yosha, and all the brilliant Pinoy music-makers out there!

THE QLE AWARDS - See You Tomorrow

So it's really happening: THE QLE AWARDS will be held tomorrow, December 10, 6-9 PM, at Route 196, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City! All thanks to Gang Badoy, Rock Ed Philippines, and Samarami Asia -- and of course the bands themselves, without whom these awards would not only have been highly improbable, but also disturbingly pointless. (Btw, that's not an official poster up there; that's just something I did for funs. Japanese giant robots rock.)

We are very happy indeed that some of the bands that Quark, Erwin and I gushed over will be able to play during the awards: Intolerant, Itchyworms, Loss of Control, Taken By Cars, and Up Dharma Down, woo hoo! (And maybe even more -- we'll see.) Special guest performers will include Juan Pablo Dream and Gasulina.

See you all there! Remember, the whole thing ends at 9, so get there early. :) Admission is free!

Robin in the Rye

Fans of J.D. Salinger and Batman's bare-legged sidekick, please click here. Relive Holden Caulfield's adventures -- this time with Robin as Holden Caulfield. Oddly compelling, even touching. And funny, of course.

Reasons To Buy The Free Press

There are quite a few good reasons to buy the recently-revamped Free Press weekly magazine, beyond the fact that VP Noli de Castro resembles a basset hound (aaaww) on the cover of this week's issue. (Spiffy cover redesign by Juan Caguicla, suckas!)

Reason #1 has to be that Erwin Romulo (former Features Editor of Rogue magazine), is now their new Associate Editor, which accounts for why the century-old publication is changing for the better, inside and out. Reasons #2 and up would be the creative people he's bringing on board -- photographers like Juan, writers like Yvette Tan, Lourd de Veyra, Alexis Tioseco, Tad Ermitano, Armi Millare, Adam David, Philbert Dy, and, ahem, myself, among others.

The new issue has my review/essay about Up Dharma Down in it. Last week's issue (Dec. 6 cover date, Alfonso Cusi on the front) has Adam's first book review for the FP, of Khavn's Ultraviolins -- and it is worth getting for that alone. It pulls no punches, and abounds in insights such as:

"It's an interesting phenomenon, these safe sanctioned transgressions, how we are "given" only a few things to complain about -- GMA, violence against women, corporate churchdom, globalization -- and how we are "given" only a few choice ways to complain about them. It's the height of absurdity, a simulacrum of a rebellion -- corporate punk."

Dig around more in the back issues and if you're lucky enough to find the recent one with the Bayani Fernando cover (mid-November, I believe), get it, because it has an amazing story by Yvette Tan called "Her Room Was Her Temple," another deft mind-mangling mashup of horror, sex and dark humor.

Erwin and I had some conversations about how to change the Free Press before his appointment as editor was confirmed. It's exciting to see these plans -- and more -- actually being implemented. (Everybody used to make jokes about how ugly the covers were -- well, now something has been done about that!) I used to buy the Free Press (and the Graphic) semi-regularly in the 90s, usually depending on who wrote the fiction feature for that week, but I stopped buying both almost a decade ago. So it's a thrill to be looking forward to finding the FP on the stands again these days.

And now I want you all to sing this song, to the tune of the chorus of "Reasons" by Earth Wind and Fire:

Free Press, the Free Press that we need
The Free Press that we read
To improve our thoughts -- and our deeds

Oooooh! And -- after a hundred years on the stands
All of the copies are now in demand
Because the Free Press is now in new hands

La la la la la, etc.

Aww yeah.

Alan Moore and Yvette Tan

Get the October-November issue of Fully Booked online, here! (Link leads to a PDF file.) Not only does it have my feature on the legendary Alan Moore (in which he gives a shout-out to all his fanz in the Philippines -- word), but it also has a feature on the brilliant and lovely Yvette Tan, "an award-winning horror fiction writer climbing the literary ranks." :D Go go read!



NOTE: In the file I submitted to the magazine, I thanked Ramon de Veyra and Erwin Romulo for their help with the Alan Moore article. The acknowledgement is missing from the printed version, so I would like to thank them here: Erwin for suggesting one of the questions I used, and Ramon for being the biggest Alan Moore geek on the planet.

Young Girl and Piano Hamster

I was like she was all he was all they were like we were all like oh my God like totally

Go here for the Parry Gripp-penned fun! And here for more one-minute masterpieces. (Yup, that's the Parry Gripp from Nerf Herder.) Do not miss "Hamster on a Piano (Eating Popcorn)." (Nakaka-LSS.)

THE QLE AWARDS - This Is Our Truth Tell Us Yours

The QLE Awards are being held this December 10! :D Click on the image for a bigger version.

So Erwin's QLE article finally came out in the Star today (pages N-1 and N-3 in the print version). However, aside from publishing it later than the Bulletin and Inquirer installments, they also published the wrong version. (Erwin revised his when he realized it would come out a week later than ours.) Also, the pictures they used in the print version were wrong too: there are a lot of bands pictured that were not mentioned in the QLEs at all. (They were, however, NU107 Rock Awards nominees, which means that E's editors confused us with the NU Rock Awards, which is kind of deliciously ironic in a way).

So anyway! On Erwin's request, I post here his revised QLE article in full, along with Quark's uncensored intro (the Inquirer cut some of the best bits out of Quark's intro, in our opinion). Let's start with Quark:

THE QLE AWARDS
Uncensored Intro by Quark Henares

Here come the cranky old men, sourgraping about how the underappreciated geniuses of our time aren’t paid any attention.

You know what I’m talking about—people who blog about how blablabla should’ve won and how blearghiebleargh got the nom simply because they ladidad. But let’s face it—awards based on numbers aren’t exactly the most reliable ones, and I know for a fact that 90% of text votes for a certain band in this year’s Rock Awards came from only two cellphone numbers.

It just so happened that during one party Erwin Romulo, Luis Katigbak and I were sitting around and pointing out people who were really talented yet never seemed to get any loving from the RA. In other words, we were old man sourgraping. We decided to do something about it, and agreed to collectively write small tributes to our favorites this year. Hence, the QLE Awards—the most clever name we could come up with because we write for a living and are filled to the brim with creativity. Most of you might not agree with our choices, but you know what they say about opinions and assholes. It just so happened these assholes write for broadsheets as well.

Before I begin, I’d just like to clarify that I love the NU Rock Awards. Hell, I’ve even written two and directed one. But controversy is always great, so why not use that to highlight and point towards some of the artists who have truly touched us this year?

And now, Erwin's revised version of the QLE Awards article...

THE QLE AWARDS
by Erwin Romulo

To be honest, I’d rather call it the Anton Ego Awards, after the character of the critic in the animated film Ratatouille. If anything, he’s the best character in the film in the sense that all the presumptions about him were overturned in the film’s climax. He was feared and respected but only because he really knew what he was talking about and, above all, honest. Being obsequious or pandering didn’t influence his reviews but only whether he liked what he tasted or not—no matter if it was cooked and prepared by a rat.

It’s the role of the media to call it as they see it (or in this case, hear it). That’s our role and it’s no surprise that we court opprobrium whenever we do express our dissatisfaction at the state-of-affairs. Despite this, we are there to report and, in the case of columnists, to offer opinions on the goings-on regardless of whether or not we’re expected or invited to them. Just as the newsmakers or performers do their bit by making news, we’re there to gather what we can for our readers. In particular, rock n’ roll has a great tradition of journalists going to great lengths to get their stories, writing it as they see it. Some, including Lester Bangs, Greil Marcus, Jon Savage and our very own Jingle staff led by the venerable Ces Rodriguez, are as known and as vital to the genre as the musicians themselves.

This year, there was so much great music released locally that a couple of us—namely, music lovers Luis Katigbak and Quark Henares—decided that we should make up our own awards to point out the stuff that was regrettably overlooked by others. Let me offer apologies that we couldn’t think of a better title for it but let the winners be our saving grace. In any case, we did this for nothing more than love of music—and only that. No, we certainly didn’t agree on everything but that’s how these things go, especially with how opinionated we all are. What’s important is that we explain to you our choices and not just dish them out with no one the wiser. But then again, anyone who still wants to argue can buy each of us coffee and we’ll gladly discuss. After all, this is our truth; what’s yours?

1. ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Ciudad - Bring Your Friends
This is the Wonder Years soundtrack of our generation. Criminally overlooked and under-appreciated, it nonetheless confirms that unfortunate phenomenon that befalls all great artists. Remember, even during the Summer of Love, Engelbert Humperdinck beat The Beatles at the charts. But nonetheless, Ciudad will never need any more affirmation from me or any pundit. Listen to this album. Music like this will never grow old. [Erwin]

Drip - Identity Theft
You will never feel cooler than when you're listening to Drip. I don't mean that smug kind of poser-cool that comes with patronizing the band of the moment―I'm talking about that glorious experience when their music creates a world between your ears, dark and dramatic, a nocturnal urban narrative with you as the central character beset by sudden dangers and unexpected pleasures. With scratches and samples, keyboards and beats, and that relentless, yearning, sensual voice, Identity Theft delivers seeming contradictions―fierce vulnerability, emotional electronica―and changes your life for the better. [Luis]

Taken by Cars - Endings of a New Kind
From the opening salvo "Uh-oh" to the solemn "Shapeshifter," Endings of a New Kind could end up being a classic among the younger set. Credit must also be given where credit is due: producer Mong Alcaraz really pushed the band to the limits in this record, and when compared to the band's earlier demos this sounds like it was made by a completely different artist. Taken by Cars has never sounded so good, even compared to their live performances today. [Quark]

2. SONGS OF THE YEAR

Ciudad - “My Emptiness”
This is undoubtedly one of the most emotionally affecting ones I've heard all year. It deals in a genuine melancholy (and none of this “Take me to the other side” crap) but is never despairing. It's evidence of a settling maturity in the band's music and lyrics, but also proves they haven't lost their sense of humor. Despite its somber sentiment, it’s offset by a disco beat—you’d feel silly shedding tears to that. (You will anyway.) Like the Itchyworms' “Love Team,” it belongs to the canon of possibly perfect pop songs made in this century. [Erwin]

Up Dharma Down - “Unspoken Definites”
It's almost impossible to choose a favorite song off Bipolar―they are nearly all utterly excellent―but still, "Unspoken Definites" stands out, in its almost-painful honesty, in the openness of its music, in the way it takes its influences and shapes them into something new. [Luis]

Taken by Cars - “Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)”
It starts in an ambient, quiet hum that suddenly erupts in Sarah Marco demanding at the top of her voice―"HEART STOPPING-LIAR, ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT JOKE?" Umm, ok, not that great in the lyrics department. However, for me "Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)" is anthemic―the kind of song that makes you scream at the top of your lungs in the midst of traffic or start jumping up and down alone in your room. [Quark]

3. VIDEOS OF THE YEAR

Pedicab - “Ang Pusa Mo”
What else encapsulates best the weirdness and exhilaration of this year's music but a video wherein members of this band get tortured and beaten by a myriad of femme fatales? [Erwin]

Up Dharma Down - “We Give In Sometimes”
It's hard to match the trippy visuals your mind makes up when you listen to this intricate, dreamlike track, but this video does a great job. [Luis]

Pedicab - “Ang Pusa Mo”
16 words: Shawn Yao, Tricia Gosingtian, Kim Marvilla, Alodia Gosengfiao, Ashley Gosengfiao, Roni Callanta, Kat Velayo, Dylan, sadomasochism. [Quark]

…and RA Rivera. And yes, Shawn “Fiction na nga, speculative pa!” Yao will save us all. [Erwin]

4. LIVE ACTS OF THE YEAR

Itchyworms
Excellent musicianship, wicked sense of humor and just brilliant songs. I'd like to personally credit this band’s performances and music from dissuading me from putting my head into the oven this past trying year. Or a plastic bag. [Erwin]

Yosha
When a band gets me on my feet, screaming like a cheerleader, for a type of music I don't even usually like, then I know they've got something special going on. Drawing from soul and jazz, Yosha brings the groove, the virtuosity, and the sheer joy of music-making, straight to their lucky, lucky audiences. [Luis]

Sandwich
Though their latest album isn't their best, Sandwich still gives their proverbial 110% every time they perform. Also, as of late they've toned down the improvising and have instead focused on delivering solid performances, occasionally revisiting old favorites such as "Freestyle Analog" and "Cheese Factor Set to 9." It’s ironic how The Eraserheads Reunion seemed to remind Raimund Marasigan how much he loves this band, because his recent performances have a fire and vigor in them that seemed to be absent for a while. [Quark]



5. BEST NEW ARTISTS

Intolerant AND Loss Of Control
Just because they're metal, better than almost all of the bands on the charts at the moment and that, frankly, they don't give a fuck. [Erwin]

Ang Bandang Shirley
They're not rock gods or avant-garde experimentalists―they're the people that you meet, when you're walking down the street, each day. Except that they have an enormous talent for impeccable pop tunes and quirky-heartfelt lyrics. And enormous appetites as well. [Luis]

Taken by Cars
A lot of people accuse Taken by Cars of ripping Bloc Party off. I say they're better than Bloc Party. Endings of A New Kind is the kind of debut that feels like it was made after years of meshing and collaborating as artists, and individually the instrumentalists have that perfect balance of standing out yet sounding completely organic. [Quark]

6. COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

Markus Highway
Whoever would've thought that Marcus Adoro had it in him to make such inventive, winsome pop music? The sojourn from the music scene has certainly made his songwriting talents come to fruition. The first bona fide Pinoy surf album. [Erwin]

7. BEST ALBUM COVERS

Up Dharma Down - Bipolar
Not as genuinely complex and dazzling as the band's music contained within, but it sure does a neat job of inviting us into it. [Erwin and Quark]

Ang Bandang Shirley - Themesongs
C'mon. That Pepper Roxas cover is all sorts of adorable. [Luis]

8. ARTISTS OF THE YEAR

Up Dharma Down
Surely if any artists this year dominated it would be none other than the Eraserheads. But apart from them, it would surely be Up Dharma Down, who've just released their newest album Bipolar. Just for the fact that they seemed to be the only artist to still make an impact and not be swallowed up by the Eheads reunion. Also, the fact that the band is still constantly pursuing myriad ways of conveying and expressing the conflicting forces of human desire―but without resort to cliché―is admirable. Impressive. [Erwin and Luis]

Ciudad
It seems that Ciudad has always had an identity crisis of sorts. Their first album, Hello! How Are You, Mico The Happy Bear had that major-label-trying-to-turn-a-unique-artist-into-pop-fodder feel to it. The second, 'Is That Ciudad?', 'Yes,son, it's me.' saw the band exploring new musical directions and maturing as artists. The third release, It's Like A Magic, can't really be considered an album because it was mostly a hodgepodge of updated outtakes and old songs throughout their then-11 year history. This new fourth album, Bring Your Friends, is Ciudad coming full circle, with the band finally accepting that they can never be pop sensations and unknowingly fulfilling their destiny as one of the most brilliant and unique bands in the country. [Quark]

The QLE Awards - And The Winners Are...

Here, as requested, is the QLE Awards article in full, as it appeared in my Luis Listens column in the Bulletin yesterday. Quark's version is here. Erwin's version will see print in the Star in a few days. Thank you to everyone for all the comments, online and in person. :)

The QLE Awards

Listen up: Quark Henares, Luis Katigbak and Erwin Romulo pick the Best Music of 2008

This was an unbelievably good year for music: don't let anybody tell you otherwise. That's why brash boyish filmmaker/ writer/ rakista Quark Henares, all-around artistic force of nature Erwin Romulo and yours truly decided to shout mash notes to our favorite bands from the rooftops via our own little “awards show.” We're calling it the QLE Awards because, well, those are our initials. (Also, as my Tita Pep pointed out, if you say “QLE” out loud it almost sorta sounds like “Quality”―he he he.)

My column last week, “Rage Against the Rock Awards,” generated a lot of feedback, almost all of it positive―thanks for all the emails and texts, everyone―and now, instead of just complaining about how established shows like the NU107 awards don't recognize all the worthy acts while nominating bands that constitute crimes against humanity, Quark, Erwin and I are presenting the artists and songs we feel strongly deserve your attention if not adoration. (To be fair, as Quark pointed out, a couple of these acts―Up Dharma Down and Ang Bandang Shirley for example―fell just outside the judging period for this year's NU107 Rock Awards, and may well be nominated next year.)

Luckily, we all happen to write for newspapers, so if all goes well, this roster of winners should be in all three major broadsheets this weekend, which must be a first of sorts. And so, ladeez and gennelmen, welcome to the first ever QLE Awards:



1. ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Ciudad - Bring Your Friends
This is the Wonder Years soundtrack of our generation. Overlooked and under-appreciated, it nonetheless confirms that eerie phenomenon that befalls all great artists. Remember, even during the Summer of Love, Engelbert Humperdinck beat [The Beatles] at the charts. But nonetheless, Ciudad will never need any more affirmation from me or any pundit. Listen to this album. Music like this will never grow old. [Erwin]

Drip - Identity Theft
You will never feel cooler than when you're listening to Drip. I don't mean that smug kind of poser-cool that comes with patronizing the band of the moment―I'm talking about that glorious experience when their music creates a world between your ears, dark and dramatic, a nocturnal urban narrative with you as the central character beset by sudden dangers and unexpected pleasures. With scratches and samples, keyboards and beats, and that relentless, yearning, sensual voice, Identity Theft delivers seeming contradictions―fierce vulnerability, emotional electronica―and changes your life for the better. [Luis]

Taken by Cars - Endings of a New Kind
From the opening salvo "Uh-oh" to the solemn "Shapeshifter," Endings of a New Kind could end up being a classic among the younger set. Credit must also be given where credit is due: producer Mong Alcaraz really pushed the band to the limits in this record, and when compared to the band's earlier demos this sounds like it was made by a completely different artist. Taken by Cars has never sounded so good, even compared to their live performances today. [Quark]



2. SONGS OF THE YEAR

Ciudad - “My Emptiness”
This is one of the most emotionally affecting ones I've ever heard this year. It deals in melancholy (and genuine melancholy at that―none of this “Take me to the other side” crap) but is never despairing. It's evidence of a settling maturity in the band's music and lyrics, but also proves they haven't lost their sense of humor. It's got a disco beat but isn't dance punk: rather, like the Itchyworms' “Love Team,” it belongs to the canon of possibly perfect pop songs made in this century. [Erwin]

Up Dharma Down - “Unspoken Definites”
It's almost impossible to choose a favorite song off Bipolar―they are nearly all utterly excellent―but still, "Unspoken Definites" stands out, in its almost-painful honesty, in the openness of its music, in the way it takes its influences and shapes them into something new. [Luis]

Taken by Cars - “Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)”
It starts in an ambient, quiet hum that suddenly erupts in Sarah Marco demanding at the top of her voice―"HEART STOPPING-LIAR, ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT JOKE?" Umm, ok, not that great in the lyrics department. However, for me "Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)" is anthemic―the kind of song that makes you scream at the top of your lungs in the midst of traffic or start jumping up and down alone in your room. [Quark]



3. VIDEOS OF THE YEAR

Pedicab - “Ang Pusa Mo”
What else encapsulates best the weirdness and exhilaration of this year's music but a video wherein members of this band get tortured and beaten by a myriad of femme fatales? [Erwin]

Up Dharma Down - “We Give In Sometimes”
It's hard to match the trippy visuals your mind makes up when you listen to this intricate, dreamlike track, but this video does a great job. [Luis]

Pedicab - “Ang Pusa Mo”
16 words: Shawn Yao, Tricia Gosingtian, Kim Marvilla, Alodia Gosengfiao, Ashley Gosengfiao, Roni Callanta, Kat Velayo, Dylan, sadomasochism. [Quark]

…and RA Rivera. And yes, Shawn Yao will save us all: “Fiction na nga, speculative pa!” * [Erwin]



4. LIVE ACTS OF THE YEAR

Itchyworms
Excellent musicianship, wicked sense of humor and just brilliant songs. I'm pretty sure that this band's performances and music were what kept me from any suicide attempts this year. [Erwin]

Yosha
When a band gets me on my feet, screaming like a cheerleader, for a type of music I don't even usually like, then I know they've got something special going on. Drawing from soul and jazz, Yosha brings the groove, the virtuosity, and the sheer joy of music-making, straight to their lucky, lucky audiences. [Luis]

Sandwich
Though their latest album isn't their best, Sandwich still gives their proverbial 110% every time they perform. Also, as of late they've toned down the improvising and have instead focused on delivering solid performances, occasionally revisiting old favorites such as "Freestyle Analog" and "Cheese Factor Set to 9." It’s ironic how The Eraserheads Reunion seemed to remind Raimund Marasigan how much he loves this band, because his recent performances have a fire and vigor in them that seemed to be absent for a while. [Quark]



5. BEST NEW ARTISTS

Intolerant AND Loss Of Control
Just because they're metal and they don't give a f**k. [Erwin]

Ang Bandang Shirley
They're not rock gods or avant-garde experimentalists―they're the people that you meet, when you're walking down the street, each day. Except that they have an enormous talent for impeccable pop tunes and quirky-heartfelt lyrics. And enormous appetites as well. [Luis]

Taken by Cars
A lot of people accuse Taken by Cars of ripping Bloc Party off. I say they're better than Bloc Party. Endings of A New Kind is the kind of debut that feels like it was made after years of meshing and collaborating as artists, and individually the instrumentalists have that perfect balance of standing out yet sounding completely organic. [Quark]



6. COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

Markus Highway
Whoever would've thought that Marcus Adoro had it in him to make such inventive, winsome pop music? The sojourn from the music scene has certainly made his songwriting talents come to fruition. The first bona fide Pinoy surf album. [Erwin]

7. BEST ALBUM COVERS

Up Dharma Down - Bipolar
Not as genuinely complex and dazzling as the band's music contained within, but it sure does a neat job of inviting us into it. [Erwin and Quark]

Ang Bandang Shirley - Themesongs
C'mon. That Pepper Roxas cover is all sorts of adorable. [Luis]



8. ARTISTS OF THE YEAR

Up Dharma Down
Surely if any artists this year dominated it would be none other than the Eraserheads. But apart from them, it would surely be Up Dharma Down, who've just released their newest album Bipolar. Just for the fact that they seemed to be the only artist to still make an impact and not be swallowed up by the Eheads reunion. Also, the fact that the band is still constantly pursuing myriad ways of conveying and expressing the conflicting forces of human desire―but without resort to cliché―is admirable. Impressive. [Erwin and Luis]

Ciudad
It seems that Ciudad has always had an identity crisis of sorts. Their first album, Hello! How Are You, Mico The Happy Bear had that major-label-trying-to-turn-a-unique-artist-into-pop-fodder feel to it. The second, 'Is That Ciudad?', 'Yes,son, it's me.' saw the band exploring new musical directions and maturing as artists. The third release, It's Like A Magic, can't really be considered an album because it was mostly a hodgepodge of updated outtakes and old songs throughout their then-11 year history. This new fourth album, Bring Your Friends, is Ciudad coming full circle, with the band finally accepting that they can never be pop sensations and unknowingly fulfilling their destiny as one of the most brilliant and unique bands in the country. [Quark]



*Yes, this is an in-joke. But yes, it is also an actual quote from Shawn Yao. I will explain someday.

The QLE Awards

Well, we did it. Go out right now and get a copy of the Manila Bulletin or the Philippine Daily Inquirer! (Still waiting on word from the Star). Read the results of... *fanfare* The first-ever QLE Awards! And yes, QLE stands for Quark Henares, Luis Katigbak and Erwin Romulo. "The most clever name we could come up with because we write for a living and are filled to the brim with creativity," as Quark said with beautiful sarcasm. (I wondered out loud if it was a good idea to name it after ourselves, but Erwin pointed out that doing so emphasizes the personal nature of these choices. Good point.)

Excerpts from our respective intros:

LUIS: "This was an unbelievably good year for music: don't let anybody tell you otherwise. That's why brash boyish filmmaker/ writer/ rakista Quark Henares, all-around artistic force of nature Erwin Romulo and yours truly decided to shout mash notes to our favorite bands from the rooftops via our own little 'awards show.'"

ERWIN: "To be honest, I’d rather call it the Anton Ego Awards, after the character of the critic in the animated film Ratatouille. If anything, he’s the best character in the film in the sense that all the presumptions about him were overturned in the film’s climax. He was feared and respected but only because he really knew what he was talking about and -- above all -- honest. Being obsequious or pandering didn’t influence him but rather just whether he liked what he tasted or not. Even if it was cooked and prepared by a rat."

QUARK: "Most of you might not agree with our choices, but you know what they say about opinions and assholes. It just so happened these assholes write for broadsheets as well. Before I begin, I’d just like to clarify that I love the NU Rock Awards. Hell, I’ve even written two and directed one. But controversy is always great, so why not use that to highlight and point towards some of the artists who have truly touched us this year?"

Am very happy with what the Bulletin did with my part of all this. It sprawls over 2 pages (E-3 to E-4) and has pictures and stuff. Many many thanks to Yonina and Section Editor Joyce! :D

UPDATE: It's on pages C-1 and C-2 of the Inquirer. :)

QLE

This is something I'm quite excited about: and yes, it does have something to do with this, he he he.

Explanations (and relevant links) very very soon. Let me just say that it involves all three major daily newspapers -- the Manila Bulletin, the Philippine Star, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer -- but that it is a very personal, undiluted undertaking (or crusade, if you want to be dramatic). It's not an event; no sponsors or budget or anything like that -- just three opinionated bastards who think too much about music.

Kuya and Spaceman

So my cousin Lala got married yesterday! *whoops of joy and wild congratulations* :D

I was sitting next to my big brother during the Mass. The priest was going on and on about the sacrifices and hardships involved in true love. About how you have to suffer and endure and suffer and did I mention suffer? He made it sound like a pursuit for hardcore masochists.

ME: Wow, love sounds horrible.
KUYA: Yeah. It's what killed Jesus.

At one point Kuya informed me that the groom was Opus Dei, which I did not know before.

ME: Is that a problem? They're Catholics too, right?
KUYA: Yeah, but like, Extreme Catholics. Like Catholic terrorists.

And then he mimed whipping himself.

My brother. He iz a funnies. :D

On a totally unrelated note, the new Killers song "Spaceman" is great. Listen to it!

Martial Law Babies

New comics by Arnold Arre are always a cause for celebration. Martial Law Babies is certainly no exception; the fact that it should be in stores by next week should have fans of the medium dancing in the streets. There are no superheroes or supernatural creatures in this one, but don't let that deter you. It's a great read, particularly if you grew up in the 80s. Here's a synopsis from the official site:

"Allan and his friends are Martial Law Babies: born during the Marcos regime, raised by TV, and shaped by 80s music. Their ambitions may be dampened by third world realities and malcontention but they also proudly belong to a generation of dreamers who fight for their voices to be heard. They are among the so-called "Bagong Lipunan" children, trying their best to live up to their name. But over the years, as Allan watches his friends leave one by one and feels his sense of idealism wane, he starts to wonder where they are all headed."

And here's an excerpt from a review I wrote:

"Martial Law Babies is the best novel I've read in a long time."

"Note that I did not modify "novel" with "Philippine" or "graphic" -- though both those words certainly apply. Like the best novels, it has its imperfections; like the best novels, it sprawls a little, and reaches for things that are not easily grasped. And with all of its vivid characters, class issues, pop-cultural archeology, unfiltered outbursts, flights of fancy, and seeming self-indulgence, it is also, like the best novels, deeply satisfying. Reading it makes you realize what conventional Philippine fiction and comics usually leave out."

"And yes, it's partially a nostalgia trip for those of us who grew up in the shadow of Martial Law, those of us who can remember that Sting concert or “Uncle Bob's Lucky 7 Club” or even that apple coin bank toy. Do I love it because I'm a MLB myself? Sure, that's one of the reasons: recognition, identification. I have to admit, when I first read it, I wanted to buy a stack of copies then and there, to give to fellow MLBs who I knew would appreciate all the references. But beyond that, Martial Law Babies is an honest, compulsively readable account of a group of people growing up in the Philippines, dealing with the good times and bad times and sheer madness. Like you and your friends, it's funny and sad and awkward and astonishing."

Check out the site, there's loads of visuals and notes and behind-the-scenes stuff!

Up Dharma Now

It's here! It's here! Well, almost. Up Dharma Down's second album launch is nigh. Here are the official details:

Friday, October 24, 2008, 8:00 PM
Hexagon Lounge, RCBC Plaza
Ayala Avenue corner Buendia Avenue
Makati City, Philippines

P150 entrance with drink
P500 entrance with drink + Limited Edition CD + Documentary DVD

(Map here.)

Here's what I wrote in last Saturday's edition of Luis Listens:

"They’re young, they write fantastic songs, and they have a unique sound, drawing from rock, neo-soul, and various sub-genres of electronic music. There are those who see them as the saviors of Pinoy rock, and while that would be overstating the matter (and putting undue pressure on the band), I can see their point -- it’s not hard to imagine them making an unprecedented impact, not just here, but overseas. No less than the frontman of one of my favorite foreign acts, Paul Buchanan of The Blue Nile, is a fan of theirs; in fact he called them his favorite group, and said that they make "beautiful, victorious, elegant, muscular music," which is high praise indeed, especially considering the source.

"The launch of Up Dharma Down’s second album, Bipolar is this October 24, around 8 p.m. at the Hexagon Lounge, 4th floor of the RCBC Plaza. When I first heard some of the new tracks performed live earlier this year, my feeling was that they had pushed the excellent songwriting on their debut Fragmented both ways: they were writing even more appealing, more accessible stuff, and they were also doing more challenging, more experimental material. Hearing some of the new tracks in advance seems to bear this out. It should be quite the album."

Iron Ani

Ani de Leon is the first Pinay (and first registered Filipino citizen) to do the world-famous Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. I think that's awesome. Congrats Ani! :D

Read all about it here!

How To Be Cooler

Read the whole thing here. I'm a hamsterpunk!

"Why I Blog" by Andrew Sullivan

"You end up writing about yourself, since you are a relatively fixed point in this constant interaction with the ideas and facts of the exterior world. And in this sense, the historic form closest to blogs is the diary. But with this difference: a diary is almost always a private matter. Its raw honesty, its dedication to marking life as it happens and remembering life as it was, makes it a terrestrial log. A few diaries are meant to be read by others, of course, just as correspondence could be -- but usually posthumously, or as a way to compile facts for a more considered autobiographical rendering. But a blog, unlike a diary, is instantly public. It transforms this most personal and retrospective of forms into a painfully public and immediate one. It combines the confessional genre with the log form and exposes the author in a manner no author has ever been exposed before."
...
"Even the most careful and self-aware blogger will reveal more about himself than he wants to in a few unguarded sentences and publish them before he has the sense to hit Delete. The wise panic that can paralyze a writer -- the fear that he will be exposed, undone, humiliated -- is not available to a blogger. You can’t have blogger’s block. You have to express yourself now, while your emotions roil, while your temper flares, while your humor lasts. You can try to hide yourself from real scrutiny, and the exposure it demands, but it’s hard. And that’s what makes blogging as a form stand out: it is rich in personality. The faux intimacy of the Web experience, the closeness of the e-mail and the instant message, seeps through. You feel as if you know bloggers as they go through their lives, experience the same things you are experiencing, and share the moment. When readers of my blog bump into me in person, they invariably address me as Andrew. Print readers don’t do that. It’s Mr. Sullivan to them."
...
"Reason is not the only fuel in the tank. In a world where no distinction is made between good traffic and bad traffic, and where emotion often rules, some will always raise their voice to dominate the conversation; others will pander shamelessly to their readers’ prejudices; others will start online brawls for the fun of it. Sensationalism, dirt, and the ease of formulaic talking points always beckon."

Read the whole thing here.

Mapping Invisible Cities

This Friday evening, October 17, I'll be going to the opening of the photo exhibit Mapping Invisible Cities, at the 3/F Shangri-La Plaza, 6 PM. "The upcoming exhibition brings together the works of young photographers from six cities: Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Hanoi and Jakarta. The photographers earlier took part in workshops conducted by celebrated photographer Peter Bialobrzeski."

The photographers from Manila are: Catherine L.Quiogue, Che Katigbak, Cristina Sevilla, Dennis S. Rito, Estan Cabigas, Kidlat De Guia, Maria Virginia Cruz, and Tammy David. Yup, Kids and my Kuya Che were two of the workshoppers/photographers. :) The exhibit has already been shown in Indonesia and Singapore and has finally come to our city. For more details go here and here!

Kidlat's pix for this show eventually became the jumping-off point for his amazing solo exhibit, Sleeping White Elephants. Aside from Kidlat's and Kuya Che's work, I was particularly impressed by the pictures of Tammy David, who took an all-too-familiar subject -- beauty pageants -- and managed to capture images both surprising and affecting.

Stranger Fiction

All this talk online about Speculative Fiction has reminded me of the class I used to teach in UP Diliman: Creative Writing 111. Now, CW 111, or Fiction 2 as it is sometimes known, has always focused on writing stories outside of the usual realist tradition: when I took it under Butch Dalisay in the mid-90s, we studied stories by Eric Gamalinda, Donald Barthelme and Joy Dayrit, among others. When I taught it in 2004, I put Aimee Bender, Paul Auster and Cyan Abad-Jugo on my syllabus (Cyan herself was kind enough to drop by the class when we were discussing her story).

Blogs were a fairly widespread phenomenon by then, and one of the first things I asked my class (after "Am I in the right room?") was if they all had internet access. When they answered in the affirmative, I created a group blog instead of assigning the usual reading journals. This way everyone could read everyone else's reactions, and there would be more give-and-take, more discussion.

I was happy to learn that it's still up. (In fact, there was even a somewhat recent entry dated September 4, the first in four years -- possibly posted accidentally.)

Here's the first post, my intro to the class:

Hello, all. This is our CW 111 blog. I am your supposed teacher, Mr. Luis Katigbak.

According to the course description from the English Department, CW 111 teaches one how to write "experimental fiction," and involves forms such as magical realism, metafiction, and 'sudden' fiction. Rather than refer to the material as "experimental" -- which somehow conjures notions of unreadable prose, of soulless demonstrations of technique -- I will call it, simply, "stranger fiction," a term vague and evocative enough to encompass Auster and Atwood, Barth and Barthelme, Gamalinda and Garcia-Marquez, Murakami and McCormack.

Stranger than the mainstream, stranger than the CW 110 stuff, these are stories that contain entire worlds, that are told in mobius strips and phone conversations, stories where a businessman can befriend a giant talking frog. The idea is to explore the possibilities embodied in stranger fiction, to learn that no subject matter is too ambitious or unusual, that no technique is off-limits, as long as the writer knows what he or she is doing. It is also hoped that we will develop a sense of when certain techniques are appropriate or unnecessary, and that we learn that "stranger" doesn't mean "easier" -- that there are stories written this way because there was no other way to adequately tell them, and not because it's a hassle to write "realistic."

Welcome aboard!

Clicking through the archives reminded me once again of how lucky I was to get a class full of great students. Lines like "Paul Auster is wicked" and "Dan Rhodes seems to be addicted to biatches" would leap out at me and make me laugh all over again. I had fun reading through the reactions to Bender's "The Rememberer" and John Cheever's "The Enormous Radio," among other stories, as well as witnessing someone quote Eddie Vedder to illumnate Banana Yoshimoto and Martin Heidegger to react to Jonathan Carroll.

I gave my students a lot of writing exercises to do. One of them is recorded in this blog, in the early July 2004 archive. It was called "Impossible Objects." Basically I asked each of my students to come up with a real, mundane setting and an unreal, impossible object, and then write them down on pieces of paper. (We had just finished discussing "The Enormous Radio" in class.) We jumbled them up and reassigned them randomly so that each student had a setting and object to work with. Then I asked them to write the end of a story involving those two factors. The results were on the whole well-written, often highly amusing and occasionally even touching.

Gabby's, for example: "For my mundane environment, I got a posh bathroom, the ones usually found in five-star hotels. For my strange object, I got a headband that answers all questions that come to mind anytime it's worn." The result is here.

And then there's Kurt. "The impossible object I got: a spinning wheel that creates smoke and tells the future. The mundane place: Seattle's Best Coffee, Katipunan Avenue." Click here for the full post, but allow me to quote the very beginning: "The two friends hobbled out of the coffee shop, one supported by a crutch, the other dragging his twisted, bandaged right leg. They had it with trying to be superheroes. Finally, after everything that happened, reality sank in on them: the future was not for them to change." Fun stuff. (Kurt, where are you, and are you still writing fiction?)

I may teach again someday. I had a good experience with my students. And besides, I got a kick out of being called "Mr. K."

Book Clubbed

Last Monday was fun. Attended the NBDB Book Club discussion of my first collection of short stories, Happy Endings. Answered questions and dispensed writing advice and ate pancit. Thanks to everyone who went --


Thanks to all the Book Club and National Book Development Board people, especially Andrea, and Dianne!


Thanks as well to erudite Erwin Romulo and marvelous Mookie Katigbak! (Pictured here stabbing her iced tea with a fork.)


And of course, terrific Tara Sering, and Yvette my love! :D

Hard to believe my first collection of fiction came out almost eight years ago. (That second collection is way overdue.) Am happy that people who read it now seem to feel that it hasn't dated much, except perhaps for a few stray references to PC XTs and pre-millennial fever. And am very happy that people still respond to its tales of messed-up love, bicycles passing in the night, and postcards from other worlds.

PS. Watch Rakista tonight (Thursday, Oct. 2) at 7 PM on TV5! It's the special Eraserheads episode, he he. :)

Let's Talk About Happy Endings

If you happen to have read my first book, the short story collection called Happy Endings, and you're free next Monday afternoon, September 29, around 3 PM, it would be great if you could drop by Sweet Inspirations on Katipunan Avenue (it's sort of across Ateneo/Miriam, alongside Teriyaki Boy and Chicken Bacolod), in Quezon City.

The National Book Development Board has a little reading group called the NBDB Book Club, and they meet once a month to read and discuss Philippine-authored books. This September, their pick is Happy Endings, described on its back cover as a collection of "stories about reinvented identities, lost loves, thermoacoustic engines and Wednesday afternoons." The Book Club will be gathering at the aforementioned time and place -- and I'll be there as well, to answer any and all questions anyone may have about the book, from the writing process to whatever else. The session is open to anyone who's read the book; no registration required, just drop by. It'll be fun. (For more details, call the NDBD Secretariat at 9268238.)

On a somewhat related note, am very proud and pleased to point out that, thanks to my insane friends in television, Happy Endings plays what could be called a pivotal part in an upcoming episode (Ep. 9) of Rakista. (The show airs every Thursday night, 7 PM, on TV5, as if you didn't know already.) Thanks, guys.

R.I.P. DFW

Holy crap, David Foster Wallace just killed himself.

More on the author here.

Some quotes from DFW.

"Fiction-writing's lonely in a way most people misunderstand. It's yourself you have to be estranged from, really, to work."

"I had a teacher I liked who used to say good fiction's job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable."

"I 've found the really tricky discipline to writing is trying to play without getting overcome by insecurity or vanity or ego."

"The problem is that once the rules of art are debunked, and once the unpleasant realities the irony diagnoses are revealed and diagnosed, "then" what do we do?"

"...To be willing to sort of die in order to move the reader, somehow. Even now I'm scared about how sappy this'll look in print, saying this."

How To Be a Freelance Writer

You're going to the Book Fair, right? If not, then I don't know what to say to you... Except, perhaps, "Go to the Book Fair!" If not for the books, then at least to attend Trouble-Free Freelancing, which is all about, and I quote, "How to Succeed at Freelance Writing with power freelancers Luis Katigbak, Erwin Romulo and others." Yup, we're giving away all the secrets, including all the dark rituals involving limerick chanting, unemployed editors as human sacrifices, and fatted calves (mine; I really need to exercise).

It's happening on Sunday, September 14, 2008, 4:30 to 6 PM, at the Manila International Book Fair, at Meeting Room 4, SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia. And then it's happening again, same time and place, but on the day after, Monday. The second session will be even better, because then we'll be joined by the lovely and talented Yvette Tan. Yihee!

So many great events to go to. Later tonight at The Podium, 8 PM, is Drip's last gig for 2008, since lead singer Beng is gloriously pregnant and will be taking a break for a while, 'til about March of next year. (The gig also doubles as a baby shower, for those inclined to gift-giving.)

And then tomorrow, at the Book Fair, is the launch of my brilliant award-winning cousin Mookie Katigbak's first collection of poetry, The Proxy Eros, from Anvil Publishing, around 3 PM. Congrats Mookie! :D Afterwards there's the opening of Frailty at Cubao X, around 7 PM, a must-go-to for fans of the visually arresting. Starring Bernie Sim! Lala Gallardo! Cynthia Bauzon-Arre! And many many more! :D


CORRECTION: Our Book Fair talk/s are at 3:00 PM, not 4:30. Apologies. We were just informed of the mix-up yesterday, right before we went to the Fair.

Happy Birthday Yvette!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YVETTE!

There is not enough space on teh Internetz to describe how wonderful you are. :D

Pic taken at the launch of Cyan Abad-Jugo's "Leaf & Shadow," and stolen from Panch Alcaraz, illustrator of said book

Leaf and Shadow by Cyan Abad-Jugo

"In this book you will find stories about some strange but essentially friendly creatures: a homesick anito stuck behind an old aparador; a musical rocking horse carved out of a very special block of wood; a poor kapre blamed by Old Manang for all the misdeeds in Lola’s house; and a shadow man who hosts parties in his shadow world." (Description from the Anvil Publishing page.)

The launch is tomorrow, September 6, Saturday, 3 PM, at Powerbooks Trinoma. Congratulations Cyan! :D

Kermit the Bale

Some of you may have seen this already but if not... go, go look.

I think my favorite is the one where's he's standing opposite Russell Crowe.

Rakista Rocks

So I've plugged Rakista, the new comedy on TV5 about a group of college kids who form a band, on my music column and on my Facebook status updates. (Fourth episode airs tonight, September 4, Thursday, 7PM on channel 5!) Now you can read an entire article -- written by Philbert Dy -- on the show. Some excerpts:

"First, you might notice that the voice of the narrator is Lourd de Veyra of the Radioactive Sago project, which is insanely cool. Second, you might start to get a whiff of a twisted sense of humor that has never been present in local television, one that’s somewhat self-aware, and ready to poke fun at all the tropes of the genre. And lastly, you get the strange feeling that the inmates are running the prison, that for once, the creative people have been given free rein over what they want to put on screen, without interference from the station.

"The end result is something part John Hughes movie, part The Adventures of Pete and Pete, a little bit of Joss Whedon, and all Pinoy. It’s a striking alternative to what’s usually offered to young people on television."

The show was created by quirky Quark Henares and dandy Diego Castillo, and features a wonderfully talented/demented array of directors and writers, including a certain (ahem) Yvette Tan. I got to sit in on a couple of meetings and co-write episode 3 (which aired last week) with Yvette, and I can attest to the fun, freewheeling nature of the work behind the scenes, which of course doesn't mean that these people don't work their asses off.

Philbert goes on to say, about the show: "We follow these characters as they go through the ups and downs of college life, band life, and life altogether. Every episode is a little bit different. The pilot feels most like a school dramedy, something akin to Fast Times at Ridgemont High. [...] The fourth [episode] is completely off the rails, following Sven as he tries to become part of the Cubao art scene. At one point, the episode becomes a heist flick, before turning into a zombie freakout." (Or, as Rakista writer Ramon de Veyra puts it, the episode is "utterly batshit crazy and works as a complete stand-alone, practically.")

Read the whole article on Click the City, here. And DO NOT miss the show tonight! Yeah boyee.

This Reminded Me Of My Old Job

This made me LOL, and reminded me of my old job at Smart/Wolfpac. Because when we were putting together Pulse.ph, Rad wanted to add a button that said "Download The Internet."

(For those interested in reading Google Chrome comics, click here.)

And check out Cris Ramos' account of the E-heads reunion on Pulse here!

24 Postcards In Full Colour

Listen.

Lovely little shards of song, wordless and wonderful. And yes, they're ringtones.

"The title comes from the idea that when a phone rings we have an expectatiion of news from another place -- much as we do on receiving a postcard. These 24 postcards come from locations across the globe -- real and imaginary."

The photographs are excellent as well.

Some of the pieces remind me of Graeme Revell's work on my favorite soundtrack of all time, for Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. And maybe it's just me, but listening to these 24 postcards makes me want to write stories. (Perhaps that's because they seem to be the musical equivalent of flash fiction.)

My favorites are "Cascade NW by W," "H thinks a journey" and "This picture of us. P."

This Was Our Eraserheads Reunion

So I wasn't at the Eraserheads reunion concert last night. For people who know me as a big (no fat jokes, please) music fan, that takes a bit more explanation than I'm willing to get into right now. But I was happy that Yvette and I got to be at soundcheck the night before, to watch and listen to the reunited E-heads go through several complete songs from their repertoire, as well as bits and pieces of their other songs and even a couple of covers (I almost swooned when they did a bit of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust"). That was enough for me, really. And I was happy for the people who were going last night, who would be witnesses to the most highly anticipated concert in this country since... well, ever.

Around the time the concert was starting, I was having dinner at Pancake House with Kidlat and Lissa. Our talk naturally turned to music and bands and motivations and dynamics and the Eraserheads, just as I was getting texts from friends who were at the venue. A little over an hour later, Kids and Lissa had gone home and I had walked to the nearby Eunilaine supermarket to buy some groceries. That was when the texts about Ely being rushed to the hospital started to reach me. It was a very weird sensation, getting the news and having absolutely no one near me to share it with, to freak out with.

Walked to the Burger Machine down the street to buy food to take home. While I was waiting for my order, this fresh-faced couple dropped by. The girl was toting a Stephanie Meyer novel, the guy had that day's Manila Bulletin. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't checked yet whether my Saturday music column had come out on time (I had submitted it rather late), so I asked the guy where he had bought it. He ended up giving it to me (thanks, man, whoever you are), and I ended up talking to the two of them, complete strangers, about the E-heads concert and Ely's collapse. (They were E-heads fans, of course; the girl more than the guy. I think almost everyone in a ten-year radius of my age is an E-heads fan.) That was how much I needed to talk to someone about what felt like a triumphant/tragic moment in Pinoy music history.

By the time I got home I had learned that Ely was in Makati Med, in stable condition, reportedly. Denise called and gave me a first-hand account of the show and we talked 'til my phone battery died. I went online early this morning, and sure enough, everything was Eraserheads: aside from the official news stories on Ely's condition and the concert, more than half of the recent status updates on Facebook had to do with the Eraserheads, and friends were posting lengthy and in many cases quite affecting accounts of the night, on their blogs. Already quoted Sarah earlier, but two more posts in particular deserve mention:

First, Oli's evocative and extremely well-written account: “It was a transformative show. A countdown timer had people chanting, as if it were New Year's Eve, the seconds before the E-heads would be together again at long last. A drumburst from the darkened stage let us know that they were there and when the familiar chords to Alapaap broke through, we all felt tearjerky. The songs rolled out like old intimates welcomed back into our lives after years of absence. From my vantage point in the middle of the Patrons section, I captured some videos on my old point-and-shoot. What the official DVD release will not be able to capture is Ely's voice remixed with the voices of countless fans singing along -- in low intensity during less familiar lyrics, in full throated throttle during the choruses. The Eraserheads seemed to realize this, and at moments, Mr. Buendia would lay back, content with accompanying the fans who were doing the singing for him. This was our reunion concert too.” [Full post here.]

And then there's Katwo's amazing post, which covers her personal history growing up with the E-heads' music, all the way to yesterday's concert and the now-legendary follow-up jam at saGuijo right after. "This was the eraserheads. This was OUR eraserheads reunion 2nd set, because this was just US. Everyone in the room sang, it didn't matter who was at the mic. The band was just there to assist everyone to purge all feelings, memories and to commemorate the greatness that is the eraserheads. And the gig was such a contrast to the Fort stage. No state of the art stage production, raims and buddy didn't even have their complete instrument set up, there was no 5 meter barricade from the artists, there were only a about, at the most, 200 hundred people in the crowd, free beer getting served, there were no SVIP sections, no security guys, no swanky buffet food, no press. But there we were shouting Tang Ina to Pare Ko, singing Tito vic and joey with Aia on Spolarium, doing our lalalala-la-las to El Bimbo." [Full post here.]

Is it strange that I don't regret not being at The Fort for the first set, but sorely wish I had been at saGuijo for the unofficial second? For a glimpse of the sweaty shouty blissful fun, click here for "Magasin" (thanks to Quark) and here for "Ang Huling El Bimbo" (thanks to Mark).

I'll end with another quote from Katwo. "I finally gave in to my fan-girl self and told Buddy that they've changed my life in more ways than they can imagine. They might have inspired me, but I still did all the legwork to change my life." Well said, well said.

Awesome, Rocking, Surreal

"Tonight was one of the most fun, awesome, rocking and... surreal nights of my life."

Here's an excerpt from Sarah Cada's account of last night's reunion concert of Ely, Raimund, Buddy and Marcus (or, as I like to call it, "E2: Eraserheads United.")

*

The crowd was going crazy (myself included) because... well, this was just the band that pretty much left a HUGE dent in Philippine music and helped shape it as we know it today. Those guys are legends. And they pretty much shaped my musical preferences, too, since I grew up listening to them since I was in 3rd grade.

They played my three most favorite songs: Minsan, Huwag Kang Matakot and, finally, LIGHTYEARS!!! My ultimate favorite song EVER!!! That was their last song for the first set, and they went backstage for a 20-minute intermission.

[...]

Twenty minutes passed, and the band wasn't back on stage.

Another minute. And another. And another.

I was starting to wonder what was going on backstage.

And then some people went on stage. Crew people attending to the instruments. and then some more people came on stage. Buddy, Marcus, and Raymund. And they were not making their way to their instruments. And Ely was not on stage with them.

No way.

*

Read the whole account here.

Last we heard, Ely was in stable condition at Makati Medical. Our sympathies and best wishes to him and his family.

Ultraelectromagneticsoundcheck

So wow; it's really happening, and it's really happening tonight.

Just got home half an hour ago; the sun's up and I'm hoping I can catch enough sleep before a meeting I have scheduled for noon, but am all jangly-awake in a good way. It's like I'm all hopped up on caffeine. Which I am, actually, but the real reason I'm jangly-awake is this: We got to watch the Eraserheads soundcheck last night at the Fort's Open Field.

I think it took a few moments for the fact to sink in: Ely, Raimund, Buddy and Marcus were performing together, again, right in front of us.

Tonight should be great.

Ben and Rose and Archie and Betty and Veronica

I never, ever thought I would read an article about Archie comics that would bring me to tears. (Though the advance press for Archie vs. the Punisher came close.) But, well -- here you go.

"They breezed in one Sunday afternoon, wide eyed and cheerful. Both must have been in their late 70s or early 80s. I watched as they casually walked the floor, browsing and whispering to one another. The one thing that immediately struck me was that they were holding each other's hands. I remember thinking about how lucky it must be to get to that stage of life and not only be with someone you love, but also want to hold their hand."

Of course, it's not really about Archie comics. But of course, it also is. Just read it.

The Best of Pulse.ph

Kjwan triumphant at the Philippine IKON Finals sponsored by Pulse.ph

It's been almost an entire year since I decided to leave my position as Senior Web Editor of Wolfpac Mobile Inc. -- or more specifically, Editor-in-Chief of the music site Pulse.ph. By September 2007 I was out of there, though I did continue to write and upload articles through the CMS until 2008. I have some regrets, but I think I made the right decision. I did love putting together Pulse.ph though, and I do miss working with the Pulse people and the rest of Wolfpac: Joelle especially, and of course Pats, Rad, Richard, Deo, as well as Eric, Jaja, Mitch, Arvin, Ian, Bona, Coy, Butch, Jojit, Trish, Anna, Sweet, Rexy, everyone. They're great people.

So anyway, thanks to Aldus' recent interview with Marcus Adoro, I found myself clicking through the Pulse.ph archives -- and man, I don't mean to sound too self-aggrandizing, but there is a lot of amazing stuff there. It reminded me of the best parts of my old job. Suddenly I missed brainstorming with Joelle and Pats about artists to feature and events to cover and all that, and I missed choosing and assigning and even editing freelancers, not to mention covering and writing stuff myself. I missed impromptu lessons on hip-hop lore from Arvin and Rad's daily doses of sheer insanity.

Here are ten of my favorite features from the Pulse.ph archives (and yes, I did not exclude my stuff). The site's search function is a little off -- run a search on mine or Joelle's name, for example, and only a handful of results pop up (as opposed to the million jillion articles we actually wrote). Plus the Lowdown feature seems to have disappeared from the drop-down menu. But anyway, here are the ten favorites I came up with by clicking through the years on the right-hand side. (Click on the article titles to read them in full.)


Noel Cabangon and Hannah Romawac photographed at an Earth Day concert for the Pulseparazzi section

1. THE PULSE.PH TOP 10 SONGS OF 2006
by Joelle Jacinto and Luis Katigbak

“From dramatic death-obsessed screamo epics to Celeste Legaspi-sampling hip-hop: here are the best songs of 2006.” (Can you tell I had fun writing subheads for all the articles?)

I loved writing these "Best Of" features with Joelle. I wish we had done this again for 2007, but of course, by the end of that year, both of us had left Pulse.ph. Dividing the labor was fun. ("You write about Scissor Sisters, MCR and Muse, I'll take Lupe Fiasco, Lily Allen and Up dharma Down...") And of course, there's the companion piece:

THE PULSE.PH TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2006
by Joelle Jacinto and Luis Katigbak

"From sexy, dancepunkish self-reinventions to sexy, distinctively Pinoy R&B... You can tell that we like us some sexy. here are the best albums of 2006."

I might change some of the rankings and maybe replace one or two choices now, but on the whole, it's still a list I'd stand by.

2. LUNATICS LET LOOSE IN THE ASYLUM: PINOY ROCK IN 2006
by Erwin Romulo

"Music critic, film director and all-around creative force Erwin Romulo talks to old punks, looks at Pinoy rock's past and present, and identifies the most important acts of our time."

An overview of the lively 2006 scene, from mainstream to underground, that somehow manages in the end to be more inspiring than cynical.


Pulse people! L to R: me, Joelle, Pats, Rayna, Richard of IKON Singapore, and Jojit

3. SOMETHING VERY WRONG: ROBERT SMITH AND THE MALADJUSTMENT QUOTA
by Terry Gonzales

"Last July 30, legendary rock band The Cure played in Hong Kong for the first time. Terry Gonzales shares her thoughts on the matter."

Pulse.ph featured a lot of great events coverage, from people like Jewel Regal, Aldus Santos, Kristine Lim, Maniel O'yek, Nina Sandejas, and of course Joelle and myself. There are two events pieces that I particularly enjoyed though. Terry's sole article for Pulse.ph was one of them; had I stayed on as Pulse EIC I would definitely have bugged her for more. Here's an excerpt: "I arrived in Hong Kong in the perfect state to see a Cure concert: restless, lovelorn, and slightly unwashed. It was a day for an excess of eyeliner and melodrama."

4. NOFX IN MANILA: PUNK CLUNKS ERRORISM
by Paolo Enrico Melendez

"Eric Melendez reports from the front lines of the NOFX concert at the Amoranto Theatre last April 18: from slow start to fiery frenzy."

And here's my other favorite event coverage feature, by Eric. That last paragraph still gets me every time.

5. CHICOSCI: BLOOD BROTHERS
by Yvette Tan

"Their music may be dark and dramatic, but these guys have a sense of humor: Chicosci talks about haircuts, gayness, giant billboards along EDSA, and other bands' lyrics."

Yvette has written many an excellent article for Pulse.ph, but this one stands out for me: interesting, informative, amusing; even people who don't like Chicosci will have fun reading it. Here's Miggy and Mong explaining their appeal: "'Androgyny,' Mong adds, 'Or let’s just say it straight up. Our gayness,' he deadpans. 'Our gayness!' Miggy laughs. 'What’s up, bitches?'"


The Radioactive Sago Project: the only band to ever get a perfect score, 10/10, in the Pulse Reviews section

6. WISHING I'M FINE: 10 SONGS FOR HEALING
by Joelle Jacinto

"There are songs that can provide comfort from the literal and metaphorical storms in your life. Joelle Jacinto lists ten of the songs that do that for her."

Joelle, being a Pulse.ph writing staff of one, wrote tons of stuff, all of it good. I could make a list filled with "greatest hits" by Joelle alone: the Helen feature, her Lowdown piece on working at Sony, her piece on Jesus Christ Superstar, and so on. This one's special though. An excerpt:

"Sometime in mid-June, my friend Kathy put together a playlist for her friends. I listened to it and felt embraced, comforted, as if it were raining outside and she provided me warmth. I told her it sounded like a playlist for healing and she admitted that it was. [...] I've been broken before—by relationships, by lost career opportunities, by sprained ankles at the height of my dance career—and I've been healed by music."

7. DIVINE WRITE: SONGWRITERS AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
by Aldus Santos

"Dong Abay, Ely Buendia, Vin Dancel, Owel Alvero, and Aldus Santos take turns in a slippery show-and-tell: how are these damn songs made?"

And speaking of people who could fill up a "greatest hits of Pulse.ph" all by themselves... Ladies and gentlemen, Aldus Santos. Excerpt: "There is nothing more elusive than the artistic process. Often, being asked to speak of one’s craft is like being asked to describe the sun, the stars, or the wind: you’d be right, but you’d be terribly mistaken as well."

8. MAKING A MIX TAPE
by Kristine Lim

"Heir to her dad's mad mix taping skills, Kristine Lim gives us rules for making awesome mixes (updated 04.23.2007 with a sample post-breakup mix.)"

Kristine, one of my favorite freelancers, no matter which magazine we're talking about. Always a joy to read. Excerpt: "Making an awesome mix tape can get you laid. I'm proof-positive. I wouldn't be here today if it weren’t for my dad's mad mix taping skills."


Eating at IKON: L to R, Cris Ramos Jr, Mitch Baylosis (both were there to cover the event), me, Pats (who seems incapable of not twisting his face for photographs) and Joelle

9. THE NU107 ROCK AWARDS HIT 13
by Luis Katigbak

"Who rocks? Who rules? Year in and year out, rock radio station NU107's awards show salutes the best bands, albums and songs: this 2006, they get their teenage kicks. (Updated with winners and commentary.)"

For this monster article, I interviewed almost everyone at NU about the history and purpose of the rock awards, and then covered the event itself as a follow-up. Exhausting but I'm proud of it. It may be the single longest feature Pulse ever ran.

10. NARDA'S LAST FLIGHT
by Joelle Jacinto

"Well-loved rock band Narda has fought the good fight for over four years. They've given us amazing performances and many wonderful songs: We're going to miss them."

What better way to end this list than with Joelle's farewell-to-Narda piece? It was originally just supposed to be a Narda feature, and then the band broke up. Sad, but well, it's not as if the members stopped making music.


The IKON contestants: in this picture are Julianne, Skarlet, Vina Morales, members of The Dawn, Truefaith, Kjwan, Kapatid, and more

There's a lot more good stuff in there: Nina Sandejas' feature on styling rock stars, Jewel Regal's Rock Ed coverage, Margarita Gomez on her gig-going history, Betty Tianco's stage girlfriend confessions, Denise Mallabo's story of a music video extra, a whole lotta reviews, and more. And of course there's a massive photo archive with pix by Eric Fernandez, Richard Garcia, Nina Sandejas, Kidlat de Guia, and others... though am not too happy with the new Pulseparazzi interface. Anyway, maybe I should come up with another top 10 sometime. But for now am just glad to reread this stuff and pat myself -- and my former officemates -- on the back.

All pix by the amazing Eric Fernandez.

25 Albums

So I recently wrote the 25th installment of my music column at the Manila Bulletin (Luis Listens, every Saturday), and to mark the occasion, I started counting down my favorite albums for each of the past 25 years. As I wrote, "personal rocked-my-world significance trumps all considerations of pop-historical significance at every turn," so this is not a catalog of the most influential or critically-acclaimed stuff. ;p And I didn't want to repeat any artists, which resulted in, as Kidlat observed, a lot of "horse trading," so to speak.

There were some years (1989, 1992) where it was really really hard to choose just one album. Then there were others where no choice really gut-level appealed to me (1995, 2001 I think, and 2007 to some degree), but then I can hardly claim to have listened to everything worthwhile -- or even everything I might have enjoyed -- for a given year. ;p

Anyway, here you go: part one is here, part two is here. Part three should be up this Saturday... assuming I meet my deadline, mwahaha.