"You want the day to fit to a soundtrack..."

Looking at the date on Blogger's saved draft of this post, it's shamefully obvious that I have been gone far too long. In the meantime, Eliott Smith has put out another album (posthumously), as did Liz Phair (post-attempt-at-a-pop-album); and Luis and I have started working on another show script and on a top-secret project. All we can tell you about those last two is that you all should watch out for: (a) more inappropriate incurable-disease-related jokes and (b) bastard-eating eagles. YAY!

Before I get back to the arduous task of bastard-eating eagle-raising and catching up on my blog reading, I feel I must complete this important tast, posted by Thor and then answered in this blog by Luis, who noted that, as music geeks, this is a bittersweet task that is both more enjoyable and more difficult than it normally would be. Of course, even normal (<--term here used loosely) music geeks don't fantasize about the movie that will be made of their lives. I do. It used to star Winona Ryder, until I gained some weight and she, a shoplifting problem.

Just kidding. I didn't gain weight (it's true! I used to be shaped like an amoeba when I was in college! they lied about adolescence and sports keeping you in shape!) and I never did get around to casting the movie of my life. I did, however, make a soundtrack. To wit:


==============

If you were to create the sountrack of your life, this would be the song playing when you are...

LONELY OR DOWN:
"Sad Loved Girl" Scheer; "Maps" Yeah Yeah Yeahs

IN LOVE:
"Manna" Tanya Donelly. Because, at the end of the day, there really isn't a better declaration of love than the simple statement, "But I'm here now, and I'm staying put."

FIGHTING WITH YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER:
"How Am I Different?" Aimee Mann

HAVING SEX:
I would prefer for there to be no music in these scenes, but if the director insists, threatening, for example, to put a 70s porn soundtrack in the absence of any choices, I would pick: "The Yard of Blonde Girls" Jeff Buckley; "Hey" Pixies; "Hotel California" The Eagles. Fuck you, I'm not explaining that last one.

NURSING A BROKEN HEART:
"Holah" Mazzy Star. "Baby, won't you change your mind?"

IN NEED OF CHEERING UP:
"Think About your Troubles" Harry Nilsson

ABOUT TO EMBARK ON A ROAD TRIP:
"These Are the Days" 10,000 Maniacs. And when the road trip's about to end, "Passenger Seat" Death Cab for Cutie

FEELING GROGGY AND NEED TO WAKE UP:
"Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" Eels

FEELING SUICIDAL:
"Nirvana" Juliana Hatfield. "Should I end it all? Now, here comes a song I love so much."

ANGRY, VERY ANGRY:
"Waitress" Tori Amos. "But I believe in peace, bitch."

SINGING, DANCING, AND DRUNK OFF MY ASS:
"Born Slippy" Underworld

CHILLING ON A RAINY AFTERNOON:
"Mr.Zebra" Tori Amos

REMINISCING ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL:
"Stars" Simply Red, for the high school prom scene flashback; for everything else, there is embarrassing hair rock and some classical music. I was kind of a strange and pretentious kid.

REMINISCING ABOUT COLLEGE:
Choose any song from the following albums:Achtung Baby U2; In My Tribe 10,000 Maniacs; Ten Pearl Jam

GETTING MARRIED:
The string quartet version of "In My Place" by Coldplay. Yes, I've thought this one out.

Charles Darwin Will Fuck Your Shit Up

I love Master Ninja. "Questionable Taste and No Regard for the Human Condition... Please do not betray us, or we will kill you while you sleep."

Here, from an article commenting on The Top Ten Most Harmful Books:

Chuck: Lenin only gets an honorable mention? They've got Mao and Marx up there -- why did Lenin get thrown to the bottom of the heap?

Fred: Kinsey beat him to the punch. He'd be up there if only Lenin had added "...also, sex is awesome. Do more sex."

Chuck: "Make the man sex and the group sex and all the sex you want because it's all good." That'd be a great addition to What Is To Be Done.

Fred: "Communism? More like Cummunism!" And then he high-fives Marx's corpse. And fucks it.

Elephants and Visitors

Missed two events I would have wanted to go to yesterday, namely the launch of White Elephants, Sarge Lacuesta's second book of short stories, and the re-opening of Doi's bar, 77, on the very spot where Millennia used to be, along Kamuning (just after the Burger Machine, across the Pares place -- note that all my geographical reference points are food-related). Congratulations, guys, and apologies for my non-attendance; rest assured it was for very, very good reasons. :)

I did, however, manage to pass by the opening of Gabby Barredo's new show at the Ayala Museum last Thursday night. Couldn't stay as I had to rush off to a meeting, but I will say that it's definitely worth a look. If you pass by, don't forget to get a copy of the program; it's excellently photographed and designed, and contains "Visitors," a short short story I wrote, inspired by the exhibit. Congrats to Erwin, Yvonne, Juan and of course Gabby, and everyone else associated with the show.

In other news: apparently, the Earth-2 Superman has returned. Those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, just move along. The comics geeks among you, however, may have just experienced a slight but pleasant tingling of the spine at the news. And speaking of geeks, and tinglings -- along the spine and elsewhere -- the animated Ralph Bakshi/Frank Frazetta collaboration Fire and Ice is being released on DVD. Here's a true story from the Newsarama thread:

In 1984, I rented this movie for my 13th birthday party. While my friends and I were watching it, one of my friends said that the main girl in the film was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Another friend said something like, "why don't you just go hump Betty Boop?", and somehow a gigantic fistfight broke out in the living room. The point of the story is that I never saw the rest of the movie and now I finally get to buy it. Thank God.

And finally, Jessica Zafra's blogging. (Got the link from Budjette). "Yes that IS my real name, I AM the columnist slash talk show host, I AM the author of the seven Twisted books (eight if you count Twisted Flicks) and this IS my first and only blog."

In with the New

So I was with some friends a week and a half ago and Karlo asked me: what is your favorite New Order song? (Apparently Electronica Manila, of which Karlo is a member, is thinking of doing a New Order night). I experienced a moment of hesitation -- brought on by the idiotic music-geeky notion that I should name something earlier and more obscure -- and then told him what my tragically obvious first choice was anyway: "Regret," from Republic. Waya, sitting next to him, immediately asked me to sing it, which I refused to do: I once actually recorded myself warbling "Regret," when I was toying with a new tape recorder in college, and listening to the playback was an act of sheer masochism, the aural equivalent of deliberately stapling one's fingers (which, funnily enough, I have also done).

Anyway, through cosmic coincidence, it seems that Ninja Kiss 11 is going to be a New Order covers night too: according to Bernie, it's "going to be our biggest kiss and kick fest evah! see you next friday, october 14, at big sky mind, new manila as we pay tribute to new wave pioneers, new order with a banging six-band line-up starring: orange and lemons, morse, bagetsafonik, sleepyheads, isha, and watari's machine -- it's a night of electronica, britpop and new wave, kaya punta na! gig starts early at 10pm."

Ace of Bagetsafonik has told me that they're doing "Regret," so that's something to look forward to. I wonder if anyone will perform my other favorites, like "Love Vigilantes," or "Every Little Counts," a cute and twisted little song from Brotherhood (the same album the over-covered "Bizarre Love Triangle" comes from), or "Run Wild" from the fairly recent Get Ready. Maybe someone will do the happy-catchy "Krafty" and evoke the guilty giddy voyeuristic adolescent thrill of the video. And I wonder how great -- or awful -- a full-on rock version of "Shellshock" might sound! (Flash back to high school: I owned a Substance T-shirt I bought off one of those clothing stalls near the pier, and I wore it regularly until it was basically floor-rag material).

In any case, it looks like it's going to be fun. So: what's your favorite New Order song? :)

OST: Luis is Listening

From Thor: "If you were to create the soundtrack of your life, this would be the song playing when you are..."

LONELY OR DOWN:

From a Late Night Train by The Blue Nile. Other possibilities: I Live To Fall Asleep by Manic Street Preachers, and the acoustic version of Everything But The Girl's Come On Home.

IN LOVE:

There She Goes by The La’s -- yeah, I know: it’s probably actually about heroin. But hey, love is a dangerous drug too, which, just like heroin, may result over time in scarred and/or collapsed veins, bacterial infections of the blood vessels and heart valves, abscesses and other soft-tissue infections, and liver or kidney disease. Oh, and constipation. And then there's Cole Porter’s Looking at You -- Life seemed so gray/ I wanted to end it/ Till that wonderful day/ You started to mend it -- yay, suicidal depression and unabashed romanticism in bed together! And finally: As The World Falls Down by David Bowie.

FIGHTING WITH YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER:

Messy Shitty by The Spinanes. You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi. And Dare To Be Stupid by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Okay, I can hear you now!

HAVING SEX:

Again, Dare To Be Stupid by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Just kidding. Almost anything from Portishead's first album, To Bring You My Love by PJ Harvey, and Massive Attack.

NURSING A BROKEN HEART:

Buwan by Itchyworms. Far From Me by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: You were my mad little lover/ In a world where everybody fucks everybody else over/ You who are so far from me. And, for real wrist-slitting action, Broken Heart by Spiritualized.

IN NEED OF CHEERING UP:

Livin' It Up by Rickie Lee Jones, Don’t Give Up The Fight by The Magic Numbers, the Built to Spill version of Linus and Lucy, Try Again Today by The Charlatans, and Wrapped in Grey by XTC.

ABOUT TO EMBARK ON A ROAD TRIP:

Several Josh Rouse songs come to mind, but I can't remember all their titles now, so how about Survival Car by Fountains of Wayne? And, for some reason, I've Had It by Aimee Mann has always struck me as the kind of music that would suit the beginning of a really early-morning road trip, like around 5 AM just before sunrise.

SUNBATHING ON A TROPICAL BEACH:

All I Need is Everything by Aztec Camera, Se a vida e by Pet Shop Boys, and Pussy by Brazilian Girls. Beach-tastic!

FEELING GROGGY AND NEED TO WAKE UP:

Discolite by Teenage Fanclub! The Robots in My Bedroom Were Playing Arena Rock by The Soft Lightes! And Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down by Toasters! Whooo! *trips over furniture*

FEELING SUICIDAL:

Without You I'm Nothing by Placebo (tick, tock).

ANGRY, VERY ANGRY:

Grrr! Hulk Smash to the tune of: Speed by Atari Teenage Riot. Stockholm Syndrome by Muse. And One Man Army by The Prodigy with Tom Morello (also good for Tae-Bo workouts).

SINGING AT THE VIDEOKE BAR:

Speak To Me Someone by Gene is, in some parallel world, a bigger videoke staple than "My Way." And maybe that parallel world would also have The Pixies' Where is My Mind? on their sing-along machines. And maybe that parallel world is called "Japan". Here's hoping.

DANCING BY YOURSELF IN YOUR ROOM:

Lotsa stuff. Signs by Snoop Dogg and JT, Super Bon Bon by Soul Coughing, Music Gets The Best of Me by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Cool as Ice (Everybody Get Loose) by Vanilla Ice with Naomi Campbell, not that I'd ever admit any of this in a public forum. Oh wait, I just did.

SINGING, DANCING AND DRUNK OFF YOUR ASS:

I don't believe I've ever been singing, dancing and drunk off my ass, at least not all at the same time (unless you count that wake I attended once). But I can totally imagine the soundtrack for such a scene: Don't Stop Me Now by Queen, 99 Luft Problems (a Jay-Z/Nena mash-up), and Le Tigre's version of I'm So Excited. I'm about to lose control, and I think I like it!

PLAYING AIR GUITAR:

Basically, 80s hair metal: Slip of the Tongue by Whitesnake, Photograph by Def Leppard, Dreams by Van Halen. Although that last one might result in Air Keyboarding rather than Air Guitaring.

CHILLING ON A RAINY AFTERNOON:

Life Goes On by The Sundays, Lonesome Reply by The Whiles, 1992 by Isha, The Build-Up by Kings of Convenience, and One For Sorrow, Two For Joy by The Innocence Mission (thanks to Robyn for introducing me to that last one).

REMINISCING ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL:

Days of hanging out in the front lobby and the canteen, requesting songs on NU and dedicating them to girls we yearned after secretly, sharing mixtapes, discussing lyrics, paging through shitty yet compelling music zines. Gravity by Translator, Little Paradise by The Dawn (although, actually, anything from The Dawn's first three albums will do), and anything from The Seeds of Love by Tears for Fears. And of course, The Smiths, The Cure, New Order... all the usual suspects, for someone my age.

REMINISCING ABOUT COLLEGE:

All of Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos and Automatic for the People by R.E.M., as well as Waiting for Somebody by Paul Westerberg, and the first three Eraserheads albums. Stayed too long in college, worried too much, did too little. Still, music, a handful of new friends (and a handful of old ones), and monthly installments of Neil Gaiman's Sandman saw me through.

GETTING MARRIED:

I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness. At that point in the song which basically demands that people clap their hands above their heads in time with the beat -- you'll know it when you hear it -- I expect the congregation to behave accordingly. The priest can do the guitar solo. Alternatively, We Go Together from Grease. Shoowop shoowally wally yippity boom-de-boom!

What fun! And what fun to go through other people's soundtracks: like Thor's, Margie's, and Jovan's. Now I want to see lists from more people. Yes! That means you. ;)

I Should've Known From the Start

Going to the Alliance Francaise later for a group exhibit opening. You should, too. This is the same group of happily pop-culture-drunk lunatics who did Go Chopsuey Go! last year at Big Sky Mind, so it'll be worth it. Hell, the title alone should make you want to, as they say, check it out.

QUIT PLAYING GAMES WITH MY ART

featuring works by: clint catalan | bernie sim | ronald caringal | marcushiro | brian vallesteros | dave yogore | jordan santos

opening night: oct3, monday | alliance francaise | total gallery | cocktails and good wine at 630pm | band performances at 8pm

performances by: bagetsafonik | chillitees | morse | enemy of the enemy

exhibit runs till oct 28 alliance francaise is at: 209 nicanor garcia st. (formerly reposo), bel air II, makati city

gallery hours: M T TH 9am-6pm | W 9am-9pm | F 9am-12pm | Sat 9am-5pm | Sun 2pm-5pm

From the press release:

Man's evolution has been blessed by "the gift of immaturity itself, which has enabled us to retain in our best, most human moments the capacity for play." So said Joseph Campbell, an author of mythology and comparative religion, whose work has inspired a certain George Lucas to create the Star Wars galaxy.

In the same vein, a group of seven 'gifted children' -- who moonlight as graphic designers, visual artists, independent filmmakers and illustrators -- present imagery which retraces their own childhood, and their penchant for everyday play. In Quit Playing Games with My Art, subtitled "Ay, Pwede Pala," the audience is encouraged to interact with Jordan Santos’ man-made toy pieces and Marcushiro’s unhinged interpretations of second-hand literature. Brian Vallesteros explores the randomness of art through an indiscriminate and mindlessly enjoyable play of found objects. Likewise taken with games of chance, Cubicle Gallery curator Clint Catalan lets the vertical tumble of a pachinko ball decide the fate of its willing vassal. Dave Yogore also toys with destiny, as he reinterprets the cards of Tarot with painted humor and childlike tomfoolery. In the end, while Cubicle Gallery curator Ronald Caringal’s favorite childhood characters invade each other’s worlds and wreak even more gratuitous pop art havoc on the canvas, Bru burrows herself in the soft shapes of candy-colored ponies, and dissects how play can awaken one’s sensuality through her installations of fancy fantasy.

Although play has its own structure, it exists to become our escape from logic and causality. In play, we are free to create our own endings and, in a roundabout way, our own realities. Needless to say, it's also a lot of fun.

Slice Like a Ninja, Cut Like a Razor Blade

Had a great time at Ninja Kiss 10: Ninja Ka Ng Ina Mo!, which, unlike most ninjas, struck in loud and nonlethal style last night at SaGuijo.

First up was mainstay band Bagetsafonik, who mark their third year together as a band today (congratulations Ace Doi Marcus etcetera!). As usual, they rocked the place with their electro-dream-hip-pop-rock-tronic music; old favorites like "Halogen" and "Song for the Sunlight (Back in the Day)" were highlights, and somewhat newer, almost alarmingly radio-friendly tunes were featured in their set too.

Reggae band Hemp Republic provided the production night's fantastic finale: mixing popular hits like "Pass the Dutchie" and No Doubt's "Underneath it All" (not to mention the obligatory Marley stuff, and a perhaps ill-advised cover of Sting's "Love is the Seventh Wave") with their own excellent material, they got everyone up and dancing by the close of their set, at around 3 AM.

In between, we had Switch (a decent industrial rock act that reminded some of my companions of Nine Inch Nails and "a more electronic Korn"), and Sino Sikat. I expected to appreciate the sets by Bagetsafonik and Hemp Republic -- both bands whose performances I've enjoyed immensely before -- but I was surprised, and blown away, by Sino Sikat. Despite their throwaway name, they're amazing to watch, and not just because of the good-looking members. Their brand of Pinoy soul -- spiced with dashes of funk, pop, jazz, and a strong sense of fun -- is sensual, skilled, beguiling, and will have you moving like a mofo. I was wondering why vocalist Kat looked familiar: turns out it's because of the striking photograph of her taken by Juan Caguicla, which takes up a whole page in the May 2005 issue of PULP. Rereading that brief feature on them, I'm surprised by how bland it is, how little it makes me want to go out and watch the band. Luckily, I know better now. (And lest people think I'm always bashing the magazine I used to work for, I will say that their recent Bamboo-covered issue was definitely a good one).

Aside from the outstanding music, it was great to see old friends. My cousin Carlos reminded me once again that I have yet to watch his new band, the Milagros Dancehall Collective. Joey D. gave me a mini-review of the movie he had just seen, Land of the Dead (so bad it's good, in a nutshell). Gracie enumerated the people from her batch in Ateneo who've ended up in the band scene. Margie kissed a complete stranger to bag her second Ninja Kiss T-shirt. And so on. Hitched a ride out with M., and had a Jollibee longganisa meal at around half past 3 AM -- a good end to a good night's gig-going.

A Very Pretty 6-Minute Song

"I See You, You See Me"
by The Magic Numbers, from The Magic Numbers


I never wanted to love you, but that's okay
I always knew that you'd leave me anyway
But darling when I see you, you see me
I asked the boys if they'd let me go out and play
They always said that you'd hurt me anyway
But darling when I see you, I see me

And it's alright
I never thought I'd fall in love again
It's alright
I look to you as my only friend
It's alright
I never thought that I could feel there's something
Rising, rising in my veins
Looks like it's happened again

I never thought that you wanted for me to stay
So I left you with the girls that came your way
And darling when I see you I see me

I often thought that you'd be better off left alone
Well throw a circle round and ... with broken bones
But darling when I see you, I see me

It's alright
I never thought I'd fall in love again
It's alright
I look to you as my only friend
It's alright
I never thought that I could feel there's something
Rising, rising in my veins
Looks like it's happened again

You always looked like you had something else on your mind
When I try to tell you, you tell me "never mind"
But darling, when I see you, you see me

I wanna tell you that I never loved anyone else
You wanna tell me that you're better off by yourself
But darling when I see you, you see me

Oooh, oo-oo-oooh...
This is not what I'm like, this is not what I do
This is not what I'm like, I think I'm falling for you

This is not what I'm like, this is not what I do
This is not what I'm like, I think I'm falling for you
(repeat)

I never thought
This is not what I'm like, this is not what I do
I never thought
This is not what I'm like, I think I'm falling for you
(repeat)

I never thought that I could feel there's something
Rising, rising in my veins
And it looks like I feel there's something
Rising, rising in my veins
Looks like it's happened again

Isn't It Ironic?

Last week, in my En210: Language and Literature class, one of my classmates reported on Verbal Irony. Today, Luis and I Spoke briefly about self-aware superheroes. Hey! That's a non sequitur! you might say, hoping to impress us with your knowledge of Latin expressions. Well, we're not impressed, particularly because you would be wrong in thinking that the two sentences aren't related to one another.

Behold, The Hero Santon, my favorite self-aware superhero ever, from the self-titled but woefully short-lived comic strip on Salon, taking on Irony. (How does this relate to music? Because the cartoonist was listening to Pavement while he drew this strip. And also because of Alanis Morissette, of course.)

Click the image for a larger, perhaps easier-to-read (but not any less ironic) version. Click here for The Hero Santon archives.

The Rain, Darkness, and DVDs

So it's been raining nonstop here since yesterday, and I'm thinking, screw work. If floodwaters are rising outside my very doorstep, it's probably a lot worse over in farflung Padre Faura, and I'd rather not risk getting drowned, or stranded, or eaten alive by other stranded people driven to cannibalism by hunger and desperation. Admittedly, the last scenario is somewhat fanciful, given that I work near several decent Italian restaurants. But you just know that when the calzones are gone and all the carbonara is used up, my fellow strandees are going to look at me and think, hmm, that's enough meat to sustain us for a good number of days... So I'm staying home, and working on an overdue freelance writing gig -- a gig which, by the way, I would have finished last night, if the power hadn't gone out.

Strange to think that blackouts used to be such a regular thing in our lives. When I was a child, we always used to have a stash of board games and candles ready, but we didn't even have to use the candles much: when the power went out, my father would hook up a flourescent light to a car battery and give us decent illumination for however long the darkness lasted. Last night, I was alone and sitting in the sala when everything went black. Immediately I remembered every Japanese horror movie I had ever seen, and sat there quietly going insane for a few minutes before stumbling around and somehow finding a box of matches. Every time I lit one, though, the howling wind would blow it out, as if I were starring in some black comedy routine that would eventually end in my evisceration. Even when I managed to get a candle lit, it didn't help so much -- I imagined crouching, skin-flayed fiends in every corner a shadow danced. Yay.

And speaking of music, which I wasn't, Yvette and I bought a bunch of music DVDs recently -- a live performance by the Pixies from last year, a couple of Joni Mitchell docus, and Tears for Fears' Scenes from the Big Chair, all great stuff. Also, a collection of Sonic Youth videos and a set of performances from The Old Grey Whistle Test, but I haven't gotten around to those yet.

More than ten years after they broke up, the re-formed Pixies are still amazing -- all visibly older, of course (except for Joey Santiago -- yay ageless Asian genes), but still able to floor an audience with a tight, heartfelt performance. Kim Deal looks so cute and happy. Frank Black looks so fat and sweaty. All together, they, undeniably, rock. I wanna grow up to be, be a debaser! (Debaser).

Joni Mitchell rocks too, in a completely different way. She rocks because she's so smart and articulate and brave and artistically uncompromising, and watching her early life unfold on that biographical DVD almost made me want to cry, for all the hardship and tragedy she endured as a young woman. I'll never listen to "Little Green" the same way again.

As for Tears for Fears -- the DVD contained a docu from the 80s and a concert from the Seeds of Love era, which was late 80s/early 90s, and it was interesting to compare their live performances from the time of Big Chair, when they were still years away from breaking up, to the later stuff, when Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith never nod smilingly at each other or even, apparently, make eye contact, through the course of an entire concert. Also, funny how you can watch the whole docu and never quite figure out what Curt Smith contributes to the band -- Roland is obviously the main songwriter, and the more powerful singer -- but as any fan knows, the past decade or so seems to have proven that they're kind of useless without each other. Together, they had a certain chemistry, and watching the docu reminded me how much I like so much of their output. Made me want to listen to my copy of their recent reunion album, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, again -- maybe I missed something.

And now, back to work. Not work work, but myother work -- well, you know what I mean.

PS. The new installment of my column, The King of Nothing To Do, should be out in today's Manila Bulletin. I know, it's usually Wednesdays, but they're still retooling the 'i' section, I think.

PPS. Happy birthday, Kitchie! :)

Convergence/Divergence

This may not have anything to do with music, but it looks like a good exhibit (hi, Tita Pep!), and besides, I know that many of you are tired of having Karl Roy's leer be the first thing you see whenever you visit this blog. ;) From the press release:

Convergence-Divergence
Recent works by Pep Manalang and Datu Arellano
September 13 to October 1, 2005

Pep Manalang and Datu Arellano merge their contrasting styles in their first exhibit together, titled Convergence-Divergence. Featuring their recent works in mixed media and in acrylic and modeling paste on canvas, respectively, the exhibit is on view at the West Gallery in West Avenue, Quezon City from September 13 to October 1.

Pep Manalang, who has been exploring textural possibilities in her abstract works, thinks it is quite interesting to do a show with someone whose style is so different from hers. She also likes the idea of collaborating with a younger artist, one whose point of view is different as a result of varying backgrounds and influences. She loves working spontaneously, and even finds that the act of painting itself can be so emotionally charged, especially when she just lets the elements fall into place. "I try not to think [so much during the process]," notes Manalang. "I want to try something different, see how paint settles, and then find a structure or framework to hold the paint."

Datu Arellano, for his part, draws his ideas from cluttered university bulletin boards. He collects as many magazine cutouts and book pages as he can, and composes them into a 'chaotic' collage, sometimes even adding his own drawings. Then he leaves the collage for a while until he decides on which elements to leave as they are, keeping only a few of them visible. He challenges himself even more by working on Pep Manalang’s unfinished pieces. Manalang has done the same to Arellano’s collages, resulting in a total of six collaborative works. "At the end you get something more interesting," observes Arellano, upon seeing what Manalang has done to his unfinished collages. "One similarity we have is that we both give importance to the process."

West Gallery, now part of the new Mary Santos Artcade, is at #48 West Avenue, Quezon City. For inquiries, call 411-0336.

West Gallery's website: www.westgallery.org
Datu's website: www.datuarellano.com
Pep's website: www.geocities.com/artlife98

Pilipinas Pix; or, Why is Karl Roy Grinning?

We weren't able to take any pictures of the chaos backstage (or onstage, for that matter) at MTV Pilipinas. Luckily, there are some great ones over at Niña's LJ. :) Those looking for pictures of Juliana Palermo and Francine Prieto backstage, however, should contact the Furball people.

Wencing Cornejo; or, More Fun at MTV Pilipinas

Got a good laugh out of this entry over at Quark's LJ.

- HALE AND artofvalidation's all-time faves CUESHE PERFORMED ONSTAGE TOGETHER! holy moley! i almost wet my pants! and KC introduced their set by giving a definition of Pogi Rock. whoever wrote the show's script is a genius. does anyone have a pic of what Cueshe was wearing that night? brilliant! 'truly madly crazily' guy was wearing a trenchcoat and 'if you stay i'll understand' guy had A PIN ON HIS CROTCH. to quote GVSB, "amazing! sensational!"

- and then to cap it all off they both do a rendition of Pogi Rock Legend AFTERIMAGE's "we are next in line" and Champ was actually hanging his head in shame (i swear i have never seen him so wistful). the poor guy was wencing while playing the chords (wencing... get it? wency cornejo? no? fuck you.)

- Mitch said he saw Cueshe backstage and asked them if they were ok. and they said (well, according to Mitch) "siguro inaapi kami dahil mga Jeepney driver lang kami" whaat? are they inventing this whole 'jeepney driver' background to make people guilty about hating them?

BWAHAHAHA!!! :D In other news, apparently "SCREAMING ROOM is proud to present "Good Stuff"... a retrospective of music videos, short films, TV clips and other oddities by the recently awarded MTV VMA Best Director R.A. Rivera. Mag:Net Katipunan, Monday August 29 at 9pm. only 50 bucks to get in, and that's consumable." That's tonight!

Kristine and Luis are God

...well, okay, not really. But it was fun to be able to bend a stadium full of people to your will. Make fun of yourselves, Borgy and Georgina! Flirt with the Philippine Boxing Team, Phoemela! Dance for me, VJs! Make stupid jokes, hosts!

I remember sitting in the audience at the VJ Hunt, Luis, and you coming over once in a while to visit. I peeked at your script and was amazed to see how the words you wrote would actually come out (in slightly mangled form) of people's mouths onstage. Imagine--being able to get Sarah Meier to say a whole line about Wittgenstein.

Fortunately, I was able to share this power with you this year at the boxing-themed P ilipinas Awards. We were able to sneak in at least one Monty Python tribute (the other got cut), and got KC and Epy to poke fun at their receding hairlines. "If I've got a forehead, you've got a five-head! Or even a six-head!" I went to bed, about twenty minutes away from having my head explode from lack of sleep, still chuckling about the funniest parts of the awards script--which of course, never made it onstage. Why? Well, for common human decency, for one thing:

"For creating an entire career's worth of pop songs that stays in the heart of every Filipino; for his energy; for his integrity; for being an inspiration for us all, we present Mr. Gary V alenciano with...a cure for his diabetes! Just kidding. There's no cure for diabetes. We just have an award.

And speaking of diabetes, here to perform in a special tribute number for Gary--Sugarfree!"

We're kidding, of course. But you knew that, didn't you, discerning readers of this blog? The biggest frustration of the whole thing was having the cleavage-baring marketing team take a hatchet to our original script and fill it up with such helpful comments as "We're not sure what 'face-melting'means"[1] or "****WHY ARE WE WASTING TIME ON SUCH THINGS AS TOILET TRAINING AND FAKE MTV CERTIFICATES? THIS IS AN AWARDS SHOW, GODDAMMIT!!!!! LET'S FOCUS ON THE AWARDS!!!!"[2] and [3], (Come to think of it, it wasn't phrased like that. The original was much nastier, and had a few mistakes in grammar and spelling.)

I knew that we were going to have to compromise to make way for MTV marketing's wishes, of course, but I think things would have been much more pleasant had they just stuck to their jobs and left us to ours. Tell us what you want to achieve, and we'll do the writing for you, kiddies. That's why you hired us. When you try to rewrite entire parts of the script for us, the director just sends it back and tells us to put in the original. Look at all that wasted computer time and printer ink. Tsk-tsk.

Other than that, it was a great experience. It was wonderful to work with a talented professional like Kokoy Jimenez and his staff, and be able to sit backstage and see the entire crazy carnival before it goes and puts its makeup on. It was absolutely mindbending to see Champ of Hale conferring with Pepe Smith ("Tell me, Pepe, how do I get rid of my good looks and end up looking like a dessicated corpse like you to earn respect in this industry?"), or Francis Reyes standing straddle over Marc Abaya lying prone on the ground, or Radioactive Sago Project's brass section playing sexy-comedy music when Francine Prieto and Juliana Palermo walked by. Onstage, more presentors surprised us pleasantly than those who disappointed us. Hats off, in particular, to Phoemela Barranda for talking the entire national boxing team into doffing their shirts and training jackets; to The Late Isabel, for injecting so much sincerity into their presentation that what I feared would be an overly serious portion of the script became touching and memorable; to Parokya ni Edgar, for being able to pull it together despite being (as far as I could tell) very, very drunk.

On a more personal note, Lourd de Veyra came over to apologize for a little email tiff we had years ago (already forgotten, but it was classy of him to apologize anyway), Kitchie Nadal expressed surprise that I wasn't taller and more-evil looking than she envisioned, and Lizza N and Rico Blancoldplay exchanged a few words with me before they remembered that they hated me. In all, a good night.

Of course, like any great god-like power, it was not without its share of responsibilities and frustrations, but on the whole it was at least very interesting, if not 100% percent fun. Would I do that again? Hell, yeah. But only if you were there, too, Luis! YAY!

---

[1] A well-known term applied to really good rock guitarists, unknown only to people who don't know anything about rock. For example, the marketing people at M T V.

[2] Part of the beginning spiel, with a tiny bit stolen from Monty Python's "Fish License" skit. Apparently not funny, since, you know, what the hell do Monty Python know about funny?

[3]"Okay," I said, ever helpfully. "What do you want me to write in about the awards?"
Replied marketing woman, "That it's the coolest, hippest, biggest."
"Hm. How about something quantifiable? Do we give out the most number of awards? Is this the oldest awards show? Broadest?"
"Just write, 'coolest, hippest, biggest.'"

and the follow-up:

"We're the only awards show to honor music videos. Focus on that."
"I've been requesting a copy of the nominees reel. Can we have that? So we can write in a bit about the nominees?"
"That won't be necessary."

YAY! My brain hurts.

"Knockout Ito!"

"Joey "Pepe" Smith, Ely Buendia, Francis Reyes, Karl Roy, Nino Avenido, Mike Elgar, Wendell Garcia and Marc Abaya all jamming together on "Tao". HOLY CRAP." -- from a text message I sent to Yvette and some other people

Has it been over a year already? As I write this, the latest installment of the MTV Pilipinas Awards has just ended -- well, give or take a handful of hours -- and I'm tired but still sort of buzzed, and happy that it's all over and that things went smoothly for the most part. I had almost forgotten the excitement and frustration and exasperation and satisfaction that all comes with working on a big event. I really didn't feel that I was up to doing Pilipinas again this year, what with my gotta-wake-up-at-5:30 AM full-time job at the Supreme Court, but thanks for deciding to take the scriptwriting gig, Kristine, and for insisting that we do it together. :) Writing and rewriting spiels and speeches at the last minute and zipping around like a wind-up toy gone berserk would have been a lot less fun without you.

Will blog more about this night later. For now, the nominees, and the winners:

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS

FAVORITE NEW ARTIST
1. Hale - Broken Sonnet
2. Juan Pablo Dream - Nice Place
3. Kitchie Nadal - Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin
4. Kjwan - Daliri
5. Urbandub - A New Tattoo

Who I thought should win: Kitchie Nadal
Who actually won: Hale

Had the Pilipinas awards been held a couple of months earlier, Kitchie would have ruled this category, no contest. But the pop-rock princess* has been overtaken, at least in this instance, by the relatively recent rise of Hale, a band whose popularity has the power to transform the crowd of a place like, say, Saguijo, into a bunch of frenzied screaming kolehiyalas.

*Earlier, we were discussing when this label was first applied to Kitchie. I thought Bernie came up with it for her Ink article. Am I right, Bernie? :)

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
1. Arnee - Araw Gabi
2. Kitchie Nadal - Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin
3. Kyla - If the Feeling is Gone
4. Nina - I Don’t Want to Be Your Friend
5. Rachelle Ann Go - Love of My Life

Who I thought should win: Kitchie Nadal
Who actually won: Rachelle Ann Go

Man, I'm glad I didn't place any bets here. I seriously underestimated the voting power of Rachelle Ann Go fans. I mean, seriously. She would have been my last guess to win. Well, her or Arnee.

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
1. Artstrong - Jazzy Monday
2. Christian Bautista - Hands to Heaven
3. Erik Santos - Pagbigyang Muli
4. Luke Mejares - 214
5. Paolo Santos - Coffee Cup

Who I thought should win: Artstrong
Who actually won: Christian Bautista

Artstrong didn't win anything tonight, which is a shame, but that's okay, since I'm sure there's no room on his shelf anymore what with all the Awit Awards he won last summer.

FAVORITE GROUP
1. Bamboo - Masaya
2. Radioactive Sago Project - Astro
3. Rivermaya - You’ll Be Safe Here
4. Session Road - Suntok sa Buwan
5. Sugarfree - Hari ng Sablay

Who I thought should win: Sugarfree
Who actually won: Rivermaya

Big cheers from the crowd for Bamboo and Rivermaya, but as they say, there can be only one. Wish it had been Sugarfree, though. ;p

FAVORITE SONG
1. Rivermaya - Balisong
2. Sugarfree - Hari ng Sablay
3. Kitchie Nadal - Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin
4. Dice & K9 - Itsumo
5. Sandwich - Two Trick Pony

What I thought should win: "Hari ng Sablay" or "Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin"
What actually won: "Balisong"

"That's my ringtone!" host Karylle said, as she went up the steps and onstage to deliver her next spiel. Rico Blanco trivia learned from the hosts: Rico is, apparently, starring in an upcoming movie. He was also, apparently, crowned Prom King at some prom Karylle attended.

JURY AWARDS

BEST INDIE VIDEO
1. Monsterbot - Epekto
2. Valley of Chrome - Forever Young
3. Orange and Lemons - Just Like a Splendid Love Song
4. Juan Pablo Dream - Nice Place
5. Drip - Song No. 9

Who I thought should win: Drip
Who actually won: Drip

Yes! I kind of like the Juan Pablo Dream video too (fun song, funny cameos), but I really like the Drip video. My only small complaint about the video (which I believe Waya echoed, once) is that we should see more of Beng and less of the female extras lounging around the sala. Still, great song, great video, and, hey! free recipe.

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Boom Dayupay - Artstrong’s Jazzy Monday
2. Diego Castillo - Cambio’s DV
3. Marie Jamora - Kjwan’s Daliri
4. Pedring Lopez - Rivermaya’s You’ll Be Safe Here
5. RA Rivera - Radioactive Sago Project’s Astro

Who I thought should win: RA Rivera
Who actually won: RA Rivera

The sad fact is, I have yet to see the DV video in its entirety, but I hear good things about it. Was impressed by Kjwan's video too, but the serial-killer angle was perhaps not as interesting as it could be (great shots of the band in action though). Astro with its quirky cinematic humor is enjoyed by most sentient beings, and deservedly so.

BEST VIDEO
1. Radioactive Sago Project - Astro
2. Kjwan - Daliri
3. Cambio - DV
4. Artstrong - Jazzy Monday
5. Rivermaya - You'll Be Safe Here

What I thought should win: "Astro"
What actually won: "Astro"

See above. Isn't it strange when whoever wins for Best Director doesn't win for Best Video as well? That didn't happen this year. Yay!

Wolfmann, fondly remembered

My only substantial meeting with Wilfrid Hernandez--known to the music scene as "Wolfmann"--was a comedic pool table faceoff for MTV Ink, but since then he'd never failed to wave me over at gigs and exchange a few words. Wolfmann was, as Bernie texted me while she was at the hospital visiting him, a "good good guy."

We're going to the wake later today, to pay our respects. I've also written in a short bit in the MTV Pilipinas Awards script (more on that later) to give his fellow indie musicians the opportunity to salute him. I hope they keep it in.

Wilfrid also shares a couple of close friends with K2, and she sort of knew him from high school, and so we'll pay a visit together. She's put off breaking the news to their mutual friends (although Luis helped take the task off her hands), not knowing what to say.

Keep it simple, I guess. This short tribute from Myrene Academia of Sandwich, posted on their band's mailing list, is so touching and poignant because it's so simple and therefore so true. It's a good goodbye.

I want to start off by thanking everyone who came out to the Folk Arts Theatre to see Rockestra. Hope you were as thrilled as we were to be playing with the MSO on such a historic stage. we could feel so much love from the crowd. It was unforgettable and it was special. Thank you.

It's even more meaningful now that it was the last show that Wolfmann saw. It makes me smile to remember how pleased he was as he greeted each and every one of us as we came out of the theatre. we all take some comfort in the fact that we had the chance to share that with him, and that he was celebrating with us before things took that fateful turn.

What do i remember most about Wolfmann? That he loved music, and he was a generous friend. He was my Gameboy buddy. He was a member of Subsandwich--he played guitar for us once for a gig in Bulacan. He made fantastic remixes of our songs. He never turned down a chance to jam and he could play any song you can think of. And he would go to the ends of the earth to come out to see you play.

This weekend has been a rollercoaster of emotions for Sandwich, and all of our friends. I've been trying to write this post for the past couple of days but it's hard to get it down. It's a little difficult to express how in one minute you're heart is soaring and then in the next it's breaking. And after that your world as you know it is changed.

I will miss you Wilfrid. We all will. Rock on Wolfmann.

Bye, Wolfmann! I'll enjoy the thought of you in the Great Gig in the Sky, remixing the Buddha's original compositions and urging Jesus to come to your next gig. Save me a seat.

Orchestral Manoeuvres

M. on Rockestra:

Last night may have been the most musically moving experience of my life, which is saying quite a bit. This means that last night surpassed the Sting concert, which I watched standing on a rickety rattan chair, eight months pregnant and having contractions from the sound of the bass. Last night was more bittersweet and more poignant than watching Radiohead perform in a tent in Wales, with a husband who it turns out would leave me in a few weeks’ time. Last night, emotions surged and churned within me and I realized fully what inadequate forms of expression applause and screams and laughter and tears are.

(Read the full entry here).

Abusing Google, Part One: Stylistics

Betcha By Golly Wow:
The Stylistics as a Semiautonomous Discipline Beyond Normative and Prescriptive Descriptions of Styles and Towards an Analysis of Language

Treatises devoted to the study of style can be found as early as Demetrius's On Style (C.E. 100). The Stylistics, however, were formed in 1968, from the fragments of two Philadelphia groups, the Monarchs and the Percussions. At their peak, the Stylistics were perhaps the most consistent hitmakers in Soul Music: while most pre-twentieth-century discussions of style appear as secondary components of rhetorical and grammatical analyses or in general studies of literature and literary language, the Stylistics definitely staked out their own musical territory, largely due to the fact that they had the best producer in the business in Thom Bell, some of the most infectious material of the early 70s, and perhaps the smoothest falsetto lead vocalist in Russell Thompkins, Jr.

The appearance of the Stylistics as a semiautonomous discipline is a modern phenomenon, an ongoing development in linguistic description that is closely tied to the similar rise of literary criticism and linguistics as academic subjects and departments, as well as the American public's need for some sweet, sweet Soul music. The Stylistics first achieved some regional attention in 1971 with the simplistic “You’re A Big Girl Now,” most notable for its contrast to the luscious work they would record a year later with Bell. Whatever the limits of previous approaches to style, or the difficulties that have arisen from the practical application of linguistic methods to stylistic analysis, the desire to begin with a set of well-defined terms and procedures lies at the core of the initial formation of Stylistics as a discipline, not to mention a set of individuals possessed of sufficient talent and experience to deliver the goods to an eager listening public.

Their Avco Records eponymous debut was a masterpiece, containing marvelous compositions by Bell and co-writer Linda Creed that would become soul standards covered by other artists for the next 30 years. “You Are Everything,” “Betcha By Golly Wow,” “Stop Look Listen” and “People Make the World Go Round” all rocketed up the Pop and Soul charts, and immediately made the Stylistics the most sought after Soul balladeers. The group’s seamless harmonies and Thompkins' silky falsetto blended magically with Bell’s lush production. Such work in Stylistics reflected a larger trend occurring within literary criticism as a whole during this period: Riffaterre's particular interest in a systematic, formal description of literary style mirrored a growing awareness among literary critics in general of the possibilities provided to literary study by trends and theories available from formal linguistic study, as well as the infectious Philly Soul sound.

Material for this nonexistent term paper was stolen from here, here and here.

The King of Nothing to Do #8

Yes, it's time once again for my twice-monthly column to come out in today's Manila Bulletin! (Assuming you're reading this on Wednesday, August 17). What happened to #6 and #7, some of you may ask? Well, my full-time job happened, is my reply. While those installments did come out in the paper, I didn't have the time to blog about them. :p Anyway, #6 was basically a reworked version of my "Imaginary Indie Awards" post, and #7 was about "the internets" and how it's changed our lives without our really noticing it. For reals!

The more observant amongst you may wonder why my column is coming out on the 3rd Wednesday of August, since it's usually scheduled for the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of any given month. All I can say is, life can be confusing sometimes. And so we just shrug, saunter down to the newsstand, buy the Bulletin, turn to the "i" section, read my column, and trust that the old schedule will be reinstated next month. Today's theme is, oddly enough, Men's Fashion, and the title of today's column is "Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion; or, The Cartoon Bear Wears No Pants".

You know how in cartoons or comic strips, everyone always has the same outfit, day in and day out? I mean, Charlie Brown always rocks his jagged-stripe T, Bab of Pugad Baboy always has his amusingly outdated peace-symbol necklace and sleeveless thingie ensemble, and Winnie-the-Pooh has no pants. There was a time I wished that was the norm: not the pantslessness, but the idea that each of us could somehow determine a single outfit that best represented us, and wear just that, perhaps with minor variations in color or cut, day in and day out. No more fuss or bother or fashion faux pas: just the everyday paradox of an individualized uniform.

I was not alone in harboring this notion: in fact, a couple of people I know took it further, into actual practice. J., a college friend of mine, had a closet full of plain navy blue T-shirts. He claimed that every morning, he would just reach in, pull one out, and pull it on: no thought, no worry. He could then free up his mind for other, more important stuff, like trying to guess winning Lotto numbers or fooling girls into going out with him.

Yay Comics!

1. Sir, step away from your nut sack
2. I drink because I'm too scared to kill myself by traditional means
3. The gang was so close back then
4. OMG I [HEART] SURPRISES
5. Is it truly as erotic as advertised?
6. You ain't got to imitate Jack White
7. Don't make me count to three!
8. Someone owes science an apology