Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You, Part Two

Only about a month to go before my second book, The King of Nothing to Do, comes out from Milflores Publishing! Once again, that cover design you see on the right is just something I whipped up for fun. I love the actual cover design done by artist extraordinaire Elbert, and can't wait to see it in print and hold the book in my hands. It's going to have no less than fifty essays culled from over five years of writing -- stuff about love, city life, TV shows, secondhand books, writing workshops, imaginary friends, the concept of Pinoy time, how not to get your hair cut, the history of horse racing in the Philippines, and lots more. You'll laugh! You'll cry! You'll buy multiple copies for all your friends and relatives! Or at least I hope you will. I have a heroin habit to support. And by "heroin" I mean "pizza."

"The Awwww Song" by Jorel Corpus

Me and The Happy Meals, during the interview I conducted for BURN. That's Jorel on the right.

Here's a fun little song that combines a laid-back, at-the-beach feel with earnest, heartfelt sentiments: it's currently untitled, but its lyrics will make you go "awww," hence the placeholder name. It's by self-described "all-around music guy" Jorel Corpus, who you probably know from one of his many bands: Kjwan, The Happy Meals and Brigada. Go here to download it!

On an earlier post, Jorel has a disclaimer regarding the raw nature of the demos he puts up on his Multiply page ("I recorded them using my very basic set up. Which is ... MY PC, hahaha"), but the strength of this song really comes across. Heck, it's been days -- no, weeks! -- since I first listened to it, and I can still sing the immensely catchy chorus. Would love to hear a fully fleshed-out final version of this song someday. Maybe with a horn section and backing vocals... Okay, maybe not. Still, whether stripped-down or lavishly produced, I'm sure its basic charm will remain intact. Good stuff.

Pill-Poppin' Fun

Photo taken from The Bitter Pill's yahoogroup.

Yvette and I wrote about The Bitter Pill -- the indie super-band with Mong Alcaraz from Chicosci, Mikey Amistoso from Ciudad, Isa Garcia from Cousin Ed, Diego Castillo from Sandwich, and (at the time) Pao Santiago from Join the Club -- for the first issue of BURN. Here's the intro paragraph:

"More! More! More!" everyone in the bar was chanting, heedless of chairs and composure, all sweaty from dancing and yelling and crowding into each other. We had just been blown away by a handful of raucous, joyous, punk-energized, pop-catchy songs, delivered with astonishing attitude, liveliness, and an almost-psychic rapport by the five-piece band known as The Bitter Pill. Formed about half a year ago, they’ve been converting indifferent crowds into on-their-feet fans at every performance, and we were no exception. Alas, there was no ‘more’ to be had: "Sorry -- that’s all the songs we know!" apologized Diego Castillo, before staggering off the stage.

And now, you can feast your ears on one of The Bitter Pill's songs, specifically "You and Me and the Devil Makes Three" -- um, that is, if you join their yahoogroup and go to the "Files" section. (I don't think you can right-click and download it, but you can listen to it via Quicktime.) Though it's deceptively simple and one of their slower songs, I can attest to its hypnotic, near-delirious power when they play it live, and this cleaner studio version has its own charms.

It begins with a simple piano and electric guitar back-and-forth, then builds and repeats and builds and repeats until somewhere near the end when the guitars get all urgent and near-frenzied you can imagine the audience howling and breaking all the furniture in the bar, and then it quiets down and fades out. Very nice. I can't wait for a full album proper from these guys.

"So Hard to Find My Way" by Jackie Greene

I swear to God, if my life were a sitcom, this song is what would be playing over the opening credits sequence. As Lazlo Bane's "Superman" is to Scrubs, as They Might Be Giants' "Boss of Me" is to Malcolm in the Middle, so this song is to the nonexistent, award-winning, cult success series based on my life:



I've played this song so much over the past two days that the stray cats who occasionally wander into my garage can sing along to it now. I air-guitar to it. I air-horn section to it. I air-handclap to it. No, wait, scratch that last part: I actually do literally clap my hands to it. Because that requires no actual musical ability. It's "a fantastic upbeat, retro-sounding tune combining piano, banjo, and Memphis horns," as Heather of I Am Fuel, You Are Friends says; what more do you need to know? Go here and get it already!

PS. CONGRATULATIONS to Indira! :D Yaaay! You rock.

PPS. Welcome back, Kristine F.! Now post something with words! ;)

Seeksfens Nunna Ritzer

Poptastic! Too: Absentee, Casper & The Cookies, The Bees (U.S.)

More songs to put a spring into your step and a hum into your heart! (Yes -- hearts can hum. Some of them are often off-key, though.) This time, instead of solo artists, it's a buncha bands. If three can be called a buncha.

First, you must go here and download "You Try Sober" by Absentee. It sounds happy and jaunty -- and Dan Michaelson's ridiculously deep voice is a treat -- but listen to the lyrics and they tell a tale of a relationship fucked up by alcoholism. "You can't just come here when you're drunk," Michaelson grumbles; and keyboardist/vocalist Melinda Bronstein answers (I love boy-girl tradeoff vocals in pop songs, btw) -- "I wanna make things right." "Why don't you try sober, if you're so sure?" Michaelson retorts. Great stuff.

Then go here for the 70s-sounding "Learn How to Disappear" by Casper & the Cookies. Yes, I know, horrible name. Good song though -- like "You Try Sober," the tune will get your toes tapping while the lyrics get your brow furrowing. "Better learn how to disappear, get yourself away from here. Change your name and your address, and get a brand new face. Erase the memories from your head and act like someone else instead." It's so catchy you'll be singing along to the paranoiac chorus as if it were "You Are the Sunshine of My Life."

Finally, my current favorite -- go here and get "The Country Life" by The Bees. No, not those Bees -- The Bees U.S., apparently. This piano-enhanced country-pop-rock song has even more of a 70s vibe than "Learn How...", and it rollicks. It is rollicking. It will have you hand-clapping and harmonizing and forgetting you are a city boy (or girl). "I just wanna sing my song. So long to city lights, so long to neon signs -- I'm gone!" Sweetness. Over much too soon. Hit the repeat button.

Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You

It gives me great pleasure to announce that my second book, "The King of Nothing to Do," will be out very very soon, from Milflores Publishing! In July, most likely. Here's the brief intro I wrote:

Hi there.

This is a collection of nonfiction pieces that I wrote, for various otherwise reputable publications, over the past five-plus years. (To my horror, the earliest of these essays dates back to over a decade ago; talk about time flying.) Many of the pieces collected here -- particularly the ones dated from 1999 to 2001 -- originally appeared in the much-missed online magazine LegManila, either as features, contributions to the Urban Shoes section, or installments of my column, "Where is my mind?"

The more recent pieces are from "The King of Nothing to Do", my current column, which appears on a biweekly basis in the i section of the Manila Bulletin. A handful of these essays came out in magazines like MEGA and the Philippine edition of Cosmo. Those of you who have followed what could be jokingly referred to as my career (hi, Mom) know that I wrote a truckload of stuff during my years as a staffer on PULP and MTV Ink -- interviews and reviews and events coverage -- but, though I’m rather proud of that material, I decided not to include any of it here; perhaps it will be gathered in a future collection dedicated to music-related matters.

Anyway, I hope you have fun reading this. I had fun writing it, for the most part, but I imagine that the real fun will be when the royalties start coming in. Thank you for helping to make that happy experience possible.

Those images on this post (clickyclick to make 'em larger) are my attempts at mock covers for my book. Rest assured that the final cover will be much snazzier, as it will be designed by the very talented Elbert Or, who is also doing interior illustrations. YAY!

PS. The 26th installment of my column will be out this Friday, in the Manila Bulletin. That's right -- 26th! I've been writing my latest column for exactly a year. Yahoo!

Poptastic! : Lily Allen, Nelly Furtado, David Mead

Here are songs to make you smile! Unless you see your life as unending black bitter torment only occasionally relieved when you stop to drink the blood of infants, in which case they may only make you twitch a little.



First off is the appropriately named "Smile" by Lily Allen. Go here and download it now. "What can I say? I can't resist fun, summer-y pop made by pretty girls," says someone named Matt. You and me both, my friend. And speaking of pop by pretty girls, go here for "Glow" by Nelly Furtado, produced by Timbaland. "Are you fucking serious?" raves Rollie. "BRZZZZZZZZT that synth just gave me freezer burn... Can anyone agree that Timbo is like 20 years ahead of anyone else producing pop music today?" Let's see hands! Up in the air like you just don't care! Finally, go here for "Chatterbox" by David Mead, who is not a pretty girl, but has his good points anyway. "This is pretty much the most ridiculously infectious and happy pop song I have heard in a while," saith Ms. Browne. Woo, say I, followed immediately by hoo!

Talking Ducks and the Kama Sutra

Hey hey! I've got a new short story, called "Anas Luzonica," in the June issue of Manual magazine, on sale now. Here's a brief description of it, from the magazine's site:

"What's a guy to do if his best friend is a talking duck and his girlfriend, a potential aswang? Why, sit down to dinner, of course, in this amusing tale of love in the time of the bird flu."

The funny thing about Manual's monthly "Quickie Fiction" is that EVERY story they feature must make use of the following three concepts/elements: the Kama Sutra, aswangs, and bird flu. I know: how insanely random can you get? But sometimes it's fun to work with such oddball restrictions. The EIC told me that sometimes the writer just mentions one or more of the elements in passing, without really working them into the story, so I was determined to make each seemingly incompatible concept integral to "Anas Luzonica." I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Yay!

BURN #2

Been sick for a week; came down with a fever and spent a whole night throwing up, which, as all-night activities go, is not one of the funnest. Have also not been online in almost that long; just been resting and reading, mostly. I can keep my food down now, but I still don't quite feel well enough to venture out into the world, which is why I don't have my own copy of THE NEW ISSUE OF BURN yet. But YOU -- you HAVE NO EXCUSE! Go out and buy it NOW NOW NOW. As you can see from the pix above (click on 'em to make them grow magically), the second issue of BURN has two covers, one with The Dawn (Happy 20th Anniversary!) and one with Pink.

(Thanks to Denise for the jpegs; since these were early versions that Dave laid out, the actual covers on the stands may look slightly different.)

This issue features Indira Endaya's lengthy interview with The Dawn, a feature on hot young bossa nova singing star Sitti by Yvette Tan (who also writes about industrial band Interlace), Eric Melendez interviewing Slapshock AND Cheese, a Kapatid feature by Denise Mallabo, a Chillitees feature by Cris Ramos, Inky de Dios giving samba percussion lessons, the debut of Sarah Meier's column (and second columns by Quark Henares and Lourd de Veyra), me writing about Bagetsafonik, The Happy Meals, and Swing Out Sister (corresponding with Corinne Drewery was a thrill), and more, more, including of course the FREE CD hosted by Zach Lucero, with tracks by the Chillitees, Bagetsafonik, Giniling Festival, Concrete Sam, The Happy Meals, etcetera. Wahoo!

BURN Like That

Here are a couple of links to things that have nothing directly to do with BURN the magazine, but which remind me of it anyway, because of the titles and the music connection and various other less easily explained reasons. Go here and download Rainer Maria's "Burn," an excellent song. Then go here and read "Desire to Burn," a short essay about poetry, Kurt Cobain, and "the true lesson of creativity".

She believes if she could only overtake
The riding rhythm of things,
Of her own electrons,
Then she would be at rest
If she could forget school,
Climb the tree,
Be the tree,
Burn like that.

Shaolin Robots Attack!

Look! Chinese superheroes! They're called The Great Ten, but considering that one of them is "Mother of Champions, who can give birth to a litter of 25 super-soldiers about every three days" and another is called "The Seven Deadly Brothers" and is "a martial arts expert who can divide into many," it seems to me that there are a whole lot more than just ten of them. You would think that since Marvel already has a crappy Chinese superhero called The Collective Man -- who "can call on the collective strength of all of the people of China," which should make him one of the most powerful comics characters of all time, but instead just makes him utterly sucktastic -- DC would steer well away from these similarly 'collective' concepts.

I don't know. These character designs and names remind me strongly of those idiotic multicultural Superfriends that no one liked. Remember Apache Chief, El Dorado and Samurai? (Click on the links, lots of funny stuff there.) I mean -- "Accomplished Perfect Physician"? "Socialist Red Guardsman"?! Jesus. But apparently mad genius Grant Morrison is behind all this, so... benefit of the doubt.

Luckily, we'll probably be spared the ordeal of outsiders imagining Filipino superheroes based on mistaken assumptions and cliches -- not just because outsiders don't freaking care, but because even if they did want to, they'd be too ashamed, considering Arnold Arre has already successfully created contemporary Pinoy superheroes that are fresh, exciting, and draw on Pinoy mythology and pop culture -- in other words, totally kick ass. Yes, that was a plug for Andong Agimat, which I finally read last weekend, and which I liked a lot.

Just had a thought: I post about comics so much that I'm thinking about starting another blog altogether and just posting about music here. Because, of course, the world really needs another comics blog.

Isha Plays

Will be in Ortigas this Wednesday, May 31, to catch a performance by Isha (a.k.a. Peach Abubakar-Quebral) at Kenny, the jazz bar near Pier 1 along Julia Vargas. The set starts at 9:30 PM; Peach will be playing covers of beloved jazz and new wave songs, as well as her originals, in her inimitable Tori Amos-influenced style.

To find the place -- which is walking distance from Antel Global, where our old office PULP is -- Peach says "Just go to Home Depot, sa gilid may strip na puro bar at resto, nandun yung Kenny." She describes Kenny thus: "There's a baby grand, low lights, the works! Perfect for smooching away." Heh heh. Cover charge is a mere Php50.

Good news is, she'll be playing there every Wednesday night from now on -- "My first regular puesto, yehey!" So people who can't make it on the 31st will have at least one chance a week to experience Isha's stuff. See you there!

PS. Happy Birthday to my Mom, belated Happy Birthdays to Avel and Kidlat, and an advanced Happy Birthday to Emon!

PPS. Go here to download TV themes galore, from the A-Team to the X-Men. :) Just grabbed Duck Tales and the surprisingly regga-ish Care Bears theme.

BURN at SaGuijo's 2nd Anniversary

Okay, back to music-related stuff! Denise informs me that BURN Magazine is one of the media partners for SaGuijo's 2nd Anniversary gigs, and I couldn't be happier. I mean, check out these lineups:



May 26: Friday (That's tonight!): SaGuijo 2nd Anniversary, Part 1

FEATURING: Ciudad, Pedicab, ChicoSci, Soapdish, Blast Ople, Boldstar, Sleepyheads, Monkey Spank, The Bitter Pill, If Disco Is A Crime, Sandwich, Sugar Free, Imago, and Angulo

(That's at least seven bands I really enjoy watching, and seven bands I'm okay with, or curious about.)



May 27: Saturday: SaGuijo 2nd Anniversary, Part 2

FEATURING: Up dharma Down, The Christmas Lights, Daydream Cycle, Bagetsafonik, Makopa, Sino Sikat?, Sound, Sun Valley Crew, Chillitees, Nyko Maca, Kompressor, Sheila and the Insects, and Severo

(Another excellent lineup. Yay for UdD ddc Bagetsa SS? Sound SVC Chillitees Nyko Maca etcetera!)

Looks like two nights of lots and lots of great music. Congratulations to SaGuijo! We'll be selling BURN magazines at the venue, for those of you who (shame, SHAME) haven't picked up copies yet. And our second issue should be on the stands very, very soon.

SaGuijo is at 7612 Guijo St., San Antonio Village, Makati City, Tel. (02) 8978629

PS. Some of the BURN core staff is going to be interviewed on NU 107 later, at 3 PM. Tune in!

Scenes You Won't See in X-Men: The Last Stand #3

from The Uncanny X-Men #153, one of my absolute favorite issues

The X-Men as Pirates. Yes, Pirates.

The Dark Phoenix saga, retold as a fairy tale of sorts involving pirates, wizards, and bamfs. "Who DARES?!" "Who else, babe?" "Talk is cheap, star mama!" Should be read to be believed.

PS. For those of you who are wondering what a bamf is, please click here.

Scenes You Won't See in X-Men: The Last Stand #2

from The Uncanny X-Men #183

Colossus Dumps Kitty Pryde

Aaarrgh! Stop breaking her heart, you big stupid fucker! STOP IT!!

Scenes You Won't See in X-Men: The Last Stand #1

from The Uncanny X-Men #169

Callisto Kidnaps Angel

Talk about kinky. Not only does Callisto have Angel bound and helpless, she slapped some diapers on him too. Come to mommy Callisto! *shudders*

Ten Things About X-Men: The Last Stand

Holy crap, Brett Ratner pulled it off.

Yvette and I watched X-Men: The Last Stand at the Podium last night. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much. I mean, X-Men was pretty good and the sequel was even better, but everyone knows that Bryan Singer, the director of those two flicks, decided to run off and do Superman Returns instead of a second X-sequel. That left someone whose main claim to fame was the Rush Hour movies, starring Jackie Chan and whatsisface, to chronicle the next -- and quite literally most explosive -- chapter in the Marvel mutant saga.

And yeah, Ratner pulled it off. It's not award-winning artsy stuff, obviously, but it is a hell of a ride. Since the first two movies established all the rules, this one hits the ground running. And now here are Ten Things About X-Men: The Last Stand:

1. Yes, Stan Lee has a cameo (it comes early in the flick).

2. And yes, fellow comics geeks, there is a fastball special.

3. Also, there's a scene where Rebecca Romijn is nake-- *sound of readers stampeding to movie theaters* Hello? Hello? Is anyone still out there? Oh well. I guess I'll go ahead and do the rest of the list anyway.



4. I am so glad that they got Kitty Pryde right. Growing up, reading writer Chris Claremont's run on X-Men (and yes, regarding his artistic collaborators, I prefer the Cockrum/Smith/Romita Jr. era to the Byrne stuff, and of course to the 90s stuff as well), despite the fact that to my knowledge I was never a teenaged girl genius with phasing powers, I was totally, totally into Kitty's story: the ups and downs, her triumphs and heartaches. (The issue where Colossus dumps her because he had fallen in love with some dead alien woman -- oh, man.) She was the soul of the X-Men, for me. And she may not have gotten much screen time here, but what little moments she did have were great -- particularly the one where, in time-honored X-Men comics fashion, she defeats a foe she should have absolutely no friggin' chance against. Plus, Ellen Page is such a cutie. I would have felt slightly creepy about typing that last sentence, but a quick IMDB check confirms that she is, in fact, of legal age.

5. Storm does have much more to do here: aside from gaining a few cool new tricks in battle, she's portrayed as more essential to the team and the school. In fact, in one scene, Prof X tells her that she is the one he envisions taking over the school in the event of his passing on. It brought back nice comics memories of when Storm became the X-Men's field leader after Cyclops/Scott Summers left. Made for many many good stories by Chris Claremont, way back. However, the movies will never, ever get her hair right, ever. It may be that it's not humanly possible to get that mane of white hair right outside of the comics. Funny, because I would have thought it would be Wolverine's hair that would be impossible to portray onscreen.



6. And speaking of Wolverine -- of course he gets the best lines and the key scenes. The movie audience has spoken, and they likes 'em some Jackman (why that sounds vaguely dirty, I don't know). Even in the comics, he's by far the most popular, so there may very well be something inherent in the character that appeals to people. However, like most fans who have been reading comics since the 80s, I'm pretty sick of him getting the spotlight all the time -- but the interesting thing is, Wolverine-as-pivotal-character does work better in the movies, probably because Jackman-as-Wolverine is funnier, less angsty, and yes, more domesticated than the comics version. Also, he was established in the first movie as being the audience's POV character: the one with the irreverence to remark to the Prof, "So, she's Storm... he's Cyclops... who are you, Wheels?" Having said all that, I am amazed at how many people they depict him eviscerating onscreen. Total disregard of the usual "only kill when there is no other option" comics rule. So in a weird way, movie-Wolvie is both more candy-ass and more bad-ass.



7. Famke Janssen really throws herself into the role of Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix. Her acting's almost too much, at times; but then, hey, this is super-powered soap opera we're talking about. The story calls for her to be -- by turns -- vulnerable, savage, detached, ambivalent, and fucking scary, and she does it all convincingly. There's a certain scene where you won't know whether to be turned on, or horrified, or, God help you, both.

8. Magneto will fuck your shit up. You will believe that a man pushing 70 can tear apart a city with the power of his mind (and some fancy shmancy hand gestures).

9. As you may have already gathered, there are a lot of characters here; literally dozens of them, mostly based on the comics, though you wouldn't know it to glance at them. Recognition usually comes when a character calls another character out by name ("That's Arclight?!"), or in some cases, when the end credits are rolling ("Where the heck were Psylocke and Jubilee?"). Certain characters that had major roles in the first two movies have either had their roles reduced or are completely absent this time around. Nightcrawler is nowhere to be seen; presumably he rejoined the circus. And, this may be a bit of a spoiler, but Rogue doesn't have much to do here either. Comics fans will realize that she played such an active role in the Claremont and post-Claremont stories because she had already permanently leeched off Carol Danvers' powers of flight, super-strength and near-invulnerability by the time she joined the X-Men, and thus was much more handy in a fight; that hasn't happened -- and most likely never will happen -- in the movies. Still, despite the huge cast, many members are given a chance to shine.

10. The story, despite weaving together no less than three major plotlines/themes from the comics and a whole bunch of other subplots and sub-themes, is remarkably simple and easy to follow. Motivations dovetail nicely; setpieces spring out naturally. The people who put together this movie knew what to use and what to leave out: it is, after all, possible to do the Dark Phoenix concept without involving the Shi'ar (and thank God, because Lilandra's hair is more impossible than either Storm's or Wolverine's. And can you imagine the giggles that Gladiator's space mohawk would have garnered?) There are some relationships that originated in the comics but are handled slightly differently in the movie (like the enmity between Storm and Callisto), and some that for the most part belong to the movie alone (the Iceman/Pyro rivalry); as noted, these guys knew what to leave and take and what to invent. In terms of juggling, many balls are tossed into the air, and it's amazing how many of them are caught once again by movie's end, though there are one or two that end up falling to the ground.

And that's all for now. So, is X-Men: The Last Stand worth seeing? Let's ask Kitty:



X-Men: The Last Stand -- a film about prejudice, equality, power, responsibility, and hair.

Two in One

From Cynthia's blog:

"These four albums from SonyBMG are just the first batch of a series of 2-in-1 cds that feature the music of 90s bands like Yano, Sugar Hiccup, Sandwich and Color it Red. Don’t mistake them for greatest hits collections though -- they’re actually a repackaging of two original albums per artist that came out in the last decade. So buying one cd will actually give you two albums for the price of one, neat-o!... The cds go for P285 each, and please stay tuned because there are six more coming."

Very nice work! Am definitely getting the Sandwich set. I only ever had a cassette copy of grip stand throw (and even that is missing now). Will have to think about Sugar Hiccup though, since I do have a CD copy of Womb. Then again, I think P285 is actually less than the first CD originally cost. :)

Am wondering what the "six more" that are slated for release are...

Dan's Top 10

Calling Colin Farrell a "Boyzone reject," naming Sex Lives Of The Potato Men as one of his favorite films, and oh yeah, writing over a hundred excellent short stories -- gotta love Dan Rhodes. I'd like him even if he didn't marry one of my favorite friends from college. Go here for his "Literary Top 10" in the May 2006 issue of Pulp.net. No... not that Pulp.

And speaking of matters literary, today's the deadline for The Bridport Prize and I'm going to miss it! Just like I missed the Palanca deadline last month. *slashes wrists* Sometimes I really just want to drop all this other writing crap that I do -- well, maybe not my column -- and just try to seriously get back into writing short stories again. Oh well.