when rock needs a rest

It's quite possible that you've "heard" what happened to the Eraserheads concert last Saturday. I am at least a thousand miles way but watching the you tube videos that shortly came out, I had goosebumps like everyone else after the final countdown and saw the fab 4 being elevated into the stage. Truly historic. It had all the makings of a good drama right from the start, and I have a funny feeling this isn't finished yet. Remember that feeling of a sudden break up you didn't quite see coming? It leaves you with a weird, floating feeling because you still have a lot of energy and emotion about it to dispose. Until you're done, you can't just "shake yer head and walk away"... I guess that's how everyone else feels right now. BUT, considering how things went down it feels almost selfish to suggest a part 2 this soon. Has anyone else noticed how well-behaved Eheads fans have been after the concert was cut short? They have treated it very sacredly with the collective message being, "just seeing them all in one stage was enough!".

The E needs a rest before the final rock out, and i think everyone is more than willing to give him that. In the meantime, read what the man has written below a few years ago in his column called "Cursor" for one of the broadsheets. As usual, his patent unfazed disposition mixed with silent rebellion over all things regular and expected shines through. Isn't that what we've always loved about him?


A Dystopian Holiday
By Ely Buendia

The skies have turned black. The wind is howling. It picks up your skin’s scent. Raindrops the size of bowling balls bombard your little nipa shelter. Everyone fears that a tsunami is coming. It’s only four o’ clock in the afternoon at the beach but already the signs of the impending apocalypse are everywhere. And this is not just any beach, and not just any day. This is Boracay in the middle of summer. You gotta feel really special.

Admittedly there’s nothing like swimming in the ocean while a storm rages all around you. A major existential conundrum presents itself: Should you bring an umbrella out into the sea? Our banana boat driver cowers beneath his speedboat’s dashboard, in a vain attempt to escape the rain. Nobody wants to get wet on the beach.

It was the third day of Pupil’s stay in what can only be described as a dystopian holiday at the country’s most popular beach resort. Of course, I was probably the only one in our party who considered a bleak future for this trip. I was never an outdoor person, definitely not a beach person, not a people person either. So why was I riding a rickety jetprop all the way to where I most certainly not rather be? Well, there’s certainly room for an exception. This one being a business trip, it’s quite easy to forego any other considerations. Plus, it was an MTV and Motorola gig, so you know you’re in good hands. Who knows? You might actually enjoy it.

On the airplane though, you actually remember why you hate traveling right smack in the middle of summer in the first place. There are simply too many people going to the exact same place that you are. There’s no exclusivity at all. Well I guess it was asking too much.

Upon landing in Caticlan, the first of many tests on my resolve began. You see, I didn’t pack anything that resembled beach attire at all, partly out of laziness, partly out of protest, mostly to see if I could get away with it. This was purely a business trip, dammit. I was a businessman, and I was going to dress the part no matter what.

But I could not stand the thought of getting sand in my pristine white Pony shoes. I secretly inched my way to a nearby store and bought a pair of cheap sandals. Well, who looks at feet anyways?

After freshening up at the hotel, we were told by the producers to go to the beach immediately for soundcheck. I put on a black shirt and jeans, feeling a bit too casual than necessary. I was in for a surprise. Walking along the well kept strip mall that served as the main pathway to the beach, I came to recognize how much people took summer seriously. Everyone was practically walking around half naked, while yours truly struggled to keep his chin up in the face of utter displacement. Frankly, I had never felt so naked by being overdressed. It was The Blue Lagoon everywhere. I bravely pushed on, thinking that what really mattered was that Diane was walking alongside of me and she was wearing a beautiful swimsuit. No one would notice how ridiculous I looked. I was wrong. Practically everyone I met at the soundcheck commented on my out-of-place outfit. Okay, they had a point. But I wasn’t going to perform in a pair of skimpy Speedos.

By nighttime, everyone was used to The Guy Who Liked Wearing Long Sleeves and Jeans To the Beach. The food was great, the weather lovely, the music out of this world and the crowd, primal. It was, as the song goes, almost paradise. I made it through without breaking a sweat. Like I always say, clothes make the man. And without it, are we not animals?

all roads lead to the fort tonight

The guys had their soundcheck 2am this morning. They sound good! OMG!!!

wala ng atrasan

For some reason, R has told me many times in the course of the past week when the BKK idea came into fruition, "wala na tong atrasan, J ha ib-book ko na." (of course, mixed up plane schedules, life schedules, upcoming nesting partner birthdays, credit card glitches etc got in the way of the final booking - until today). Her neuroticism and control freak-iness aside, I love her and well let's put to paper what walang atrasan means so the rest of the world can be witness and call me on it too ( btw, i have a total of 3 readers to this blog, R, R and myself).

By that i "think" she means:

1) walang mangiiwan sa ere
2) walang biglang magkakaron ng rason for not going (work, sickness etc.)
3) walang magbabago ng isip and suggest to go to Macau instead (sino kaya?)
4) walang biglang mawawala ang interest to go to BKK
5) walang maiiwan ng flight
6) walang magbibigay ng rason na "i'll be there in spirit"

I swear, with the cyberworld as my witness, wala ng atrasan ito. I think I just sealed my commitment. What do you think?

good, better, best ... and the part I hate

The good news is that ****** ****** is out of the picture.

Even better news is that next time tobacco companies will probably think twice when they try to push the limits of the law again. It happened with the Alicia Keys concert in Indonesia, it happened with the E-heads concert in the Philippines. They are not invincible, not with their deception, not with their lobbying.

The best news is that THE CONCERT OF THE YEAR is pushing through!!!* I feel exactly the way i felt when I heard Sting was playing in Manila. And I was in high school then. All I got was a Sting fan souvenir (which btw, I kept for years) and well, images of the man shirtless and oh-so-hot under the red light. It still haunts me to this day! Remember those giddy days, R? The E-heads concert makes me feel like a fangirl again.

And the part I hate is that I have a passport but cannot use it! One night only and I'll be stuck in Saigon wishing the whole weekend that I was back in Manila, in the Fort grounds listening to the opening riffs of Alapaap...

My state of mind right now agrees wholeheartedly with "Ang daming bawal sa mundo, sinasakal nila tayo". Gusto mo mag leave, pero di naman pwede!

Can't be all that bad, my optimistic self says. Ill read about it and with my intense imagination, it will feel like I was almost there. Rakenroll!




*If you have to ask "which concert" then you:

1) must be living under a rock. and it doesn't rock.
2) must be a die hard hiphop fan and you think Akon is the bomb
3) must be boy band fan circa 90's, meaning you're still stuck on the Backstreet Boys (I know someone who is)
3) were born in 21st century and too young to know and care about the E-heads. In that case, ask your ate or kuya, or hell, your parents for some rock edu.
4) must be a foreigner who thinks that when we say Eraserheads, we mean the David Lynch movie. Can't say I blame ya!

iamninoy

limited choices

The human race is faced with a cruel choice: work or daytime television.
- Anonymous

I took a sick leave last week and I realized that "The Bold & The Beautiful" was still running. Brooke was still alive and still in love with Ridge (I think). She has a full grown daughter whose boyfriend she snagged and now has a child with. Of course her daughter hates her.

They were older and bulkier, but the plot hasn't changed. It's also really easy to follow the storyline even if you just watch a scene for five minutes flat. I have this nagging suspicion that if I watch it again a few months from now, it will feel like I never left.

So I flicked the TV and decided to watch Ellen dance instead.

tres año amorío

Thanks to our fave chica guapa, the unwitting matchmaker. You know who you are, emba girl. :p

it's NOT just about the music

Yes, I was one of those people who moved from shock to disbelief to giddiness, when I first heard of the Eraserheads reunion concert. And I had to admit i flitted from getting a booking in cebu pac to checking the website of ****** ******, the supposed sponsor. So they say you have to be a smoker to register, be more than 18 years old, and you have to submit a valid ID. This whole fiasco has a name: viral marketing, or to be really straight about it, it's ****** ******'s way of getting around the Tobacco Regulation Act which bans them from advertising effective July 1st, 2008 (including sponsoring shows among other things).

Not a smokin' idea. While i love the music of the E-heads, let's call a spear a spear: this deal with ****** ****** is a sellout. Helping a tobacco company circumvent the law, allowing them to use your music and stature as one of the legends of Pinoy rock (yes we can call them that) is not acceptable and the E-heads must put themselves above that.

If you are a real E-heads fan, you know that the band is more than just the music. At one point in time, it became bigger than them and they have evolved into the voice of the youth as they spoke so truthfully about growing up in the 90's. The themes weren't new: love, heartbreak, experimentation, awareness of the world (and rebelling against the world), but the E-heads' spin on things was charming, simple, humorous, tongue-in-cheek. And we loved it, we lapped it up like our parents lapped up anything by the Beatles. They can do better than this. In fact I think they should just tell ****** ******, to go f*** off.

***

What's your E-heads story? Everyone has one, something like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. I met Ely once in 70's Bistro because he was my papa's friend. I think they were then rehearsing for Beatles Night. I don't really remember much, except that I shook his hand and his hand was just very noticeably soft. Like maybe he lathers lotion on them every night? :) Not typical for a guitar player. Pretty weird because that was such an exciting night for me and all I could remember were Ely's soft hands. I remember though that my papa had only good things to say about him, insisting "maayos si ely, di mayabang." On one of his trips to the states, my papa had asked him to look for a music gadget (i forget what) and he came back buying it for him and refusing to be reimbursed. Perhaps there is a kinship amongst musicians that the more successful ones would help others who were still struggling out there. Or maybe some people as really just nicer than others.

I'd see Ely from time to time, but not in the music scene (one time i saw him in Smart paying for his bill), but I was too shy to approach him and teel him we had met before. If I did I know he'd be gracious. I met Buddy once too and remembered that he was a very down-to-earth guy, makes you feel comfortable and he has none of the "suplado" vibe Ely can sometimes project (even without meaning to).

What's your favorite E-heads song? Let me just say I loved every song in Ultraelectromagneticpop and Circus. My all time faves are "Wag Mo Nang Itanong", "Ang Huling El Bimbo" (classic!), "Ligaya", "Alapaap", "Overdrive", and for some reason "Julie Tearjerky" also get to me. It will be priceless to hear them play again, let the curtain fall properly for this band that shaped the best times of our lives. Maybe that will finally give us closure.

So I really wish somewhere out of the blue, some company would step up and sponsor this instead.

Yes to the reunion, No to the (rumored) sponsor!

5 years

* "Bagyo, Bagyo" released by Grupong Pendong in their Panahon CD. Music and lyrics by Jovi Abella. Reggae version remade by Tropical Depression (some people think original was by Trop Dep, it's not). Has been sung at weddings, funerals, jamming sessions, rallies...

I found this on the net:

"Bagyo (storm) is a song of hope. The song espouses solidarity to pursue collective ideals. The lyrics is (sic) inspired by the plight of fisherfolks in the Philippines during their hardships for survival during stormy seasons."

I don't know if that's true (I never got the chance to ask). Ang pakiramdam ko, masyado atang literal yung pagka interpret. It may have been inspired and meant to describe many, many things as some songs are capable of doing. Personally, the song just makes me sad. It brings back memories of cold, dark, hopeless nights in the hospital bargaining with God and fate for just a little bit more time.

We found his notebook of unfinished songs and poems a few years ago. Maybe one day, one of my brothers will put music to the lyrics.

When a person dies, they live.

The Gall

I didn't bother monitoring the SONA, knowing it would all be lies. But I couldn't help myself today and read some parts of it in inquirer.net (I could spare some energy for scorn today, i figured).

She didn't say some things, and i took the liberty to share what really goes on in her head.

***

I address you today at a crucial moment in world history.

Just a few months ago, we ended 2007 with the strongest economic growth in a generation. Inflation was low, the peso strong and a million new jobs were created. We were all looking to a better, brighter future. (And I was looking to get away with the NBN deal plus many others but damn that Jedi).

"Neither we nor anyone else in the world expected this day to come so soon but we prepared for it. For the guts not to flinch in the face of tough choices, I thank God (Actually I thank the Devil but we are a Catholic country and i must pander to the Catholic Church so it would be scandalous to say that).

For the wisdom to recognize how needed you are, I thank, you Congress. For footing the bill, I thank the taxpayers." (And helping me get away with murder again, I thank my friends on my payroll who have been covering up for me all these years).


"How do we solve these many complex challenges?" (At this point, I will regale them with my economic know-how, mixed here and there with my so-called compassion to appeal to their hearts).


The result has been, on the one hand, ito ang nakasalba sa bayan; and, on the other, more unpopularity for myself in the opinion polls. Yet, even unfriendly polls show self-rated poverty down to its 20-year low in 2007." (My numbers of course, come from the same people who counted my non-votes).

"Nag-aalala ako para sa naka-aawang maybahay na pasan ang pananagutan para sa buong pamilya. Nag-aalala ako para sa magsasakang nasa unang hanay ng pambansang produksyon ng pagkain ngunit nagsisikap pakanin ang pamilya. I care for hardworking students soon to graduate and wanting to see hope of good job and a career prospect here at home." (I say this with barely contained insincerity).

Edwin Bandila, 48 years old, of Ugalingan, Carmen, North Cotabato, cultivated one hectare and harvested 35 cavans. Thirteen years na ginawa iyong Malmar. In my first State of the Nation Address, sabi ko kung hindi matapos iyon sa Setyembre ay kakanselahin ko ang kontrata, papapasukin ko ang engineering brigade, natapos nila. With Malamar, now he cultivates five hectares and produces 97 cavans per hectare. Mabuhay, Edwin! VAT will complete the San Roque-Agno River project. (My tactic has always been to drop the names of the hoi polloi and pretend that I know them and are one with them in their triumphs. I think it works, but that's just me).

Sa sunod na katas ng VAT, may P1 billion na pambayad ng kuryente ng mahihirap; kalahating bilyon para sa matatandang di sakop ng SSS o GSIS; kalahating bilyong kapital para sa pamilya ng mga namamasada; kalahating bilyon upang mapataas ang kakayahan at equipment ng mga munting ospital sa mga lalawigan. At para sa mga kalamidad, angkop na halaga. (Of course for all my efforts it is only right that some of those VAT billions go to me).

We released P1 billion for the victims of typhoon Frank. We support a supplemental Western Visayas calamity budget from VAT proceeds, as a tribute to the likes of Rodney Berdin, age 13, of Barangay Rombang, Belison, Antique, who saved his mother, brother and sister from the raging waters of Sibalom River. (Here I drop names of the masa again, for more effect).

Mula sa buwang ito, wala nang income tax ang sumusweldo ng P200,000 o mas mababa sa isang taon - P12 billion na bawas-buwis para sa maralita at middle class. Maraming salamat, Congress. ( 10 more mentions of Congress and then I would have reached my quota for my friends in Congress. I hope they are noticing it).

"The Land Bank has quadrupled loans for farmers and fisherfolk. That is fact not fiction. Check it. For more effective credit utilization, I instructed DA to revitalize farmers cooperatives." (This line I must say it with righteous indignation lest they still think of questioning my numbers).

To our investors, thank you for your valuable role in our development. I invite you to invest not only in factories and services, but in profitable infrastructure, following the formula for the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway. (I invite you to invest directly with the Office of the President so I can "grow" your money, and mine).

"I ask business and civil society to continue to work for a socially equitable, economically viable balance of interests. Mining companies should ensure that host communities benefit substantively from their investments, and with no environmental damage from operations" (Because God knows, I do much damage already).


"I call on all our government workers at the national and local levels to be more responsive and accountable to the people. (Kayo na lang, kasi ako di ko keri yang mga ganyan).

We are three branches but one government. We have our disagreements; we each have hopes, and ambitions that drive and divide us, be they personal, ethnic, religious and cultural. But we are one nation with one fate. (And your fate lies with me *insert evil wicked witch of the west laugh* and if I can extend that fate beyond 2010, i will!)

"As your President, I care too much about this nation to let anyone stand in the way of our people's wellbeing. Hindi ko papayagang humadlang ang sinuman sa pag-unlad at pagsagana ng taong bayan. I will let no one - and no one's political plans - threaten our nation's survival." (Unless they tamper with my survival of course. Damn that Jedi talaga).

Our country and our people have never failed to be there for us. We must be there for them now
Maraming salamat. Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat. (Thank God this show is over, a little more of that expressed compassion I might gag in front of millions. I must ask my advisors next time if that much drama is really necessary).

***

And that this point, the country collectively sighs in gratefulness too that the great big show of lies and gall is over. Of course some people at home may have destroyed their TVs and radios, and then start a spirited discussion with their friends and family, wishing her bad, bad things.

And then they proceed to watch their afternoon soaps to erase that terrible memory of yet another useless State of the Nation Address.

I say the next one must be ended with a revolution.