Luis is Reading

Been reading through local music news bits. Some random thoughts:

1. Rockestra could very well turn out to be an amazing show, or, conceivably, the musical equivalent of the Hindenburg disaster. In either case, it'll be a gig to remember. I, for one, want to be there. Who's with me?

2. Following the departure of hypno-guitarist Jerome Velasco (not to be confused with the Hypno-Hustler, from Spectacular Spider-Man #24), The Mongols have renamed themselves Pupil. While there are certainly worse names for a band* than "Pupil," I would have to say that "The Mongols" is not one of them.

*For example, Hoobastank. Or Fulflej. Or Penis DeMilo. Or Shitty Shitty Band Band. No, wait. Shitty Shitty Band Band actually sounds like an act I'd like to see.

3. Am looking forward to the release of Parokya ni Edgar's newest album, even if "First Day Funk" makes me want to take a claw hammer to my skull whenever I hear it. After all, Bigotilyo was a lot of fun, arguably even brilliant, so maybe the PnE peeps made their deodorant-shilling single irritating on purpose: as a way of making a point, perhaps, as a comment on the whole idea of selling out. Maybe.

On a somewhat related note, thanks, Kristine, for pointing out that a photocopying shop near my house is named "Pakopya ni Edgar". He he.

4. Somebody please explain 'soul siren' Nina's chart domination to me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the woman, and I think she's a good performer, and is probably kind to children and kittens and all that. But why does she outsell everyone from fresh-faced pogi rock bands to novelty popsters to a legion of other sirens who also possess a tragic tendency to cover jeepney classic love songs? Am reminded of that scene in the movie "Revenge of the Nerds" where the nerds run a pie-selling booth that enjoys phenomenal sales despite the fact that their product is basically just a mass of whipped cream, because underneath the cream is a photo of a hot topless woman. Not that I'm comparing Nina's music to whipped cream, or implying that lifting her CD from its jewel case tray reveals a picture of her topless. No, it's probably just free LSD tabs tucked into the inlay card.

5. The first time I watched Mojofly's retro new (retro new -- whatta concept) video, I had no idea that people actually did have drag races in front of the Greenhills Shopping Center back in the 80s; I thought it was some odd James Dean movie tribute. Of course, in those days, I was more concerned with Chrishareth's and Filbar's than flashy clothes and fast cars. (The most embarrasing thing about the previous sentence -- which, by the way, still holds true today -- is that I'm secretly proud that it sort of rhymes).

Funny thing is, I don't think I've ever seen the new Mojofly live, but Adam and I did get to watch vocalist Lougee Basabas two years ago at Mayric's, when she was performing with her old band Superlooge. If I remember correctly, our assessment of her then was: not quite there yet, but not bad. Also, cute.

And now, time to sleep.