Palo

I've been browsing through some Eraserheads tracks in Youtube and I just realized something.

"Para Sa Masa" off Sticker Happy (1997) might not be that harmless after all. Not because it has an insidious, subliminal message telling you to recite "Natas" eighteen times or shoot up large quantities of narcotics hidden in the seeming tribute to the masses that paranoid fundamentalists wold have no difficulty in spotting (if some of them can declare Return Of The Jedi as anti-Christian, it would be a breeze doing that to a record with a naked woman in the cover). Nothing as controversial as those.

It is not harmless because in my opinion, that song is a pointed critique to the group of people it appears to glorify. In most parts the song is more hurt than actually reprimanding, as what these lines, as I understand them, say:

"naaalala nyo pa ba/binigyan namin kayo ng ligaya..."

And then veers toward this direction:

"ilang taon na rin ang lumipas/mga kulay ng mundo ay kumupas/marami na rin ang mga pagbabago/di maiiwasan pagkat tayo ay tao lamang..."

And this caps it all:

"mapapatawad mo ba ako/kung hindi ko sinunod ang gusto mo..."

That last line may have been brought on by the lukewarm reception the band got for songs that were way out of their usual fare. In other words, "fans" did not like it when their favorite band went over its head and decide to do experiments with their sound. As I recall the album's predecessor (Fruitcake) sold well, but did not sell great as their previous releases. It was totally different from the rest--all English songs, even had a book with it--and none of the daily college/juvenile shenanigans the band's most popular songs became well known for.

And finally:

"pinilit kong iahon ka/ngunit ayaw mo namang sumama..."

And:

"huwag mo hayaang ganito/bigyan ang sarili ng respeto..."

I am no Lit major but those lines might as well say they'd given up trying to elevate the average person's taste by giving them something different. Of course that smacks of arrogance and downright condescension on the band's part and I may also be mistaken since that's how I interpret it, but even if that was indeed their sentiments, then so be it. As long as that was how they felt during that time, then fine. Phoniness is worse. The band went on to record two more excellent albums (Natin99--is their best in my opinion) that were sadly overlooked by most of their fans until their eventual dissolution in the early part of the century.

But everyone got one hell of a spanking with that song.

Variety

I have been browsing a number of blogs these past days and I really am amused at how much some bloggers actually put in their entries to advertise themselves. Just a few of the archetypes I noticed:

• D' ARTISTE

"I am a very artistic, adventurous, and sensitive person. I love books, I love reading, and I love writing that's why i'm a writer. I'm an artist. See the very long piece of crap I wrote about me that can be summed up in two sentences? And don't forget the higfallutin' words I use that'll make you and the thesaurus the best of friends when reading my piece. I know  'fire' is a perfectly recognizable alternative for 'conflagration' but it's so pedestrian and too common a word fit for pederasts. I won't lower myself to that level, thank you very much. That's the mark of a true artist. Uncompromising. Bold. Brilliant. Like me."

• THE ANGST-RIDDEN SENSITIVE SOUL a.k.a  highschool whining redux

This is the most cringe-worthy type of journal entries that'll make even Trent Reznor blush with embarrassment. You get gloom-laden titles like "in pain", "denial", "depressed" and the like with this person. As if real depressed people actually like sharing their disillusionment and misery in a very public domain like this. I'm no psychiatrist but i know real hopeless individuals are up to their armpits with thinking about their problems I doubt the thought of logging on and surfing the net even occurred to them. Unlike the pompous posturing of the people who belong to the group above, this type also likes show a little literary weight by going the tortured soul routine. These are the types who think subtlety is their forte and gives an amused "oh really?" when commended with being able to write 'beautifully' by fellow miserables who are also waiting for commendations from the person they gave one to. Hey, man, if Hemingway and Kurt Cobain did it, so can I...!

• BLANCO Y NEGRO

Bloggers who opened an account without writing anything on the blog.

• APRIL FOOLERS

At first glance, you'd think the blogger is a prolific writer. More than five entries in a month? Wow! That's a great feat considering I myself can barely eke out one entry in 30 days. Until you opened the articles and discovered they were just copy+pasted entries probably taken from their Friendster bulletin board. Haha! joke's on you, twerp! Add 100 damage if it's one of those lengthy proses about love and the Chicken Soup-type of crap that is a very common favorite among forwarded messages

• ECONOMISTS

.

I am guilty of this practice. Putting in less than 30 words for the sake of having an entry. I'll even write about how i brushed my teeth if it came to that.

Ortigas station

If you take the MRT and go down the Ortigas station right beside SM Mega A between 9am-5pm, you'd find people utilizing assorted methods of collecting alms. There's the old woman at the bottom of the stairs of the overpass connecting the South and North-bound stations; sometimes I wonder if she knows me considering i always pass by her post practically everyday. Just ahead her post, located right in the middle of the overpass are the slightly more opulent blind musicians. compared to the beggarly appearance of the old woman, the musicians look more moneyed and well-nourished. They should be, considering the equipment they're using aren't worth peanuts in the first place. They do covers of Rey Valera, Air Supply, Freddie Aguilar, and all other music acts that achieved musical stardom before the first People Power Revolution. After their post, going down the stairs towards POVEDA and Robinson's Galleria is the mother and daughter team. when I first saw them several months ago as I started on my current job I had an overwhelming urge to stop and ask what's wrong with the girl.

The girl is probably between 8-10 years old, and had healthy-looking frame far better than the emaciated looks most of the poverty-stricken kids here suffer from. The mother looks like she's 45 but I suspect she's a lot younger than that. Her daughter has half her face swallowed by a huge lump that looked too much like a tumorous growth to an average person without any medical background. Just looking at her made my entire face ache as if I had it myself. I was walking relatively fast but the first time I passed them time slowed to a torturous slowness and stop-motion clarity.

I stopped to stare. It wasn't a few seconds but I know they noticed. They stared back pleading. I passed by them accelerating my pace; I never felt fear and pity so potently mixed into a tasteless brew that ate you up so fast. One can get used to it. I should know. I pass by them everyday.

Callousness is the word of the day.