09
Sep
moving… moving…
Albums that shaped my existence:
Foo Fighters - There is Nothing Left to Lose
Alanis Morissette - Supposed Former Infatuated Junkie, Under Rug Swept
R.E.M. - Up
Natalie Merchant - Ophelia
Lene Marlin - Playing My Game
K’s Choice - Almost Happy
Tonic - Sugar
My Best Friend’s Wedding Soundtrack
Ally McBeal Soundtrack Vol. 1
Message in a Bottle Soundtrack
Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up the Girl
Semisonic - Feeling Strangely Fine
Jude - No One is Really Beautiful
Bryan Adams - MTV Unplugged
Sarah Maclachlan - Mirrorball
Does it mean anything that the most unforgettable songs in my life I listened to when I was in high school, the only time in my life that I was perceptive, uncorrupted, and introversive?
I hate myself. I’m shallow and I now listen to what people say and care what people think. Should listen to more music and connect to myself and dayream more again. Note to self: buy cd changer
02
May
The Best Duet Ever?
Okay okay, first of all, I don’t wanna be one of those people who embed way to many vids, music clips, etc. in their blogs (or even in their profile). But this one I just have to share with all of you, simply because it may very well be the best duet I’ve ever heard… and that despite some flaws I’m going to talk about later.
So this is the video of the song "Leave" by Bela B. and Lula. Lula, then still an up-and-coming chanteusse from France, wrote the lyrics to the song and recorded it for her solo album. After Bela B., a German rock icon (for me THE German rock icon) heard Lula’s singing talent he convinced her to rerecord this particular song and to collaborate with him on other projects. Later on, the song came to be included in the soundtrack of the German film "Kaliber Deluxe" (2000), hence the video with snippets of the movie.
Now let me first elaborate on the mini-flaws. There are just two: Lula’s sentence construction and Bela B.’s pronunciation. Again, Lula is French and Bela B. is German, need I say more? There are no lyrics of the song online, but ever since I first saw this video I’ve understood the words as "you’re the one who leaved perfume in my bed". Who leave? Me leave? You leave?
Plus, "a thousand doorbells buzzing in my head" will definitely sound a bit off in a song where the lyricist obviously focused only on the sonics and not on meaning, depth, or even grammar. (Although sonics and depth are easily interchangeable for some.)
Ultimately though, and I don’t mean to romanticize or euphemise, all these minute details put together make up something very, very special, namely the entrancing words and sounds coming from Lula’s mouth and the equally intense singing of Bela B. The first time I saw this video I was literally transfixed 
and sent into perpetual sigh-dom.
*SIIIIIGH*. This is the only expression I can use to describe what this song does to me. It’s especially the video that I think is so awesome, I think without the catchy video the song wouldn’t be as moving. Well, see for yourselves folks.
That I Would Be Good - Alanis Morissette
Promise Me This - Pancho’s Lament
Bless the Broken Road - Melodie Crittenden
Your Congratulations - Alanis Morissette
Life is Sweet - Natalie Merchant
Frozen Charlotte - Natalie Merchant
I Do - Jude
She Spreads Her Wings - Semisonic
Gone to the Movies - Semisonic
King of Yesterday - Jude
Live for Real - K’s Choice
Always Everywhere - K’s Choice
South Central Rain - Hem (not REM, this is a remake)
The Longest Story - Daphne Loves Derby
Carry this Picture - Dashboard Confessional
At My Most Beautiful - R.E.M.
Why Not Smile - R.E.M.
You Could Make a Killing - Aimee Mann
Leave - Lula & Bela B.
06
Dec
picks and finds
EYE IN THE SKY BY ALAN PARSONS PROJECT - Just as you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you shouldn’t judge a song by its genre either (or in my opinion, its use of synthesizers).
I first noticed this song when I heard the Jonatha Brooke revival. That’s also when I first really got the meaning of the song, and it’s so heartbreaking.
I dunno which version moves me more though: the original one because the sadness is not overt but it somehow comes through in the vocals, or the ballad one which brings out the true emotion of the song. Well, all I know is that Jonatha Brooke is now my new Lene Marlene. =)
KURT COBAIN’S JOURNALS - This is the new edition with new material I’m talking about. I’m not really sure which or how many entries they added to the first one, but whatever.
If you read Kurt Cobain’s journals, it should not be to understand Kurt Cobain the legend.
It shouldn’t be to intrude his self or “rape his thoughts” as he so rock god-ly puts it.
It shouldn’t be an attempt to know more about the mystery that is rock music (or grunge, in this case).
It should be read to understand the genius behind people. Random people. Losers, Extremists, Anarchists and all other kinds of -ists. Nobody’s perfect. But to discover the magic and inspiration behind those misunderstood by most people is a real blessing.
THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN - Thanks to Drei, I’ve come to understand and appreciate the value of 80s graphic novels. You really become intimate with small details like strokes and facial expressions once you’ve exposed yourself to and immersed yourself in comic books.
Take Archie for example. Everyone who has hidden an Archie digest from teachers inside their Science/English books in elementary will recognize the difference once they read the newer issues.
REVEL BARS - Call me stupid, but I’ve never heard of revel bars before I discovered them at Ministop. And whoa, it hit my taste buds only the way half-boiled eggs and tortellini could.
How could I have never heard of revel bars before? How could they not have it in Germany? And how could we not have mulled wine over here… or do we? (God I miss mulled wine at Christmas bazaars.)
DIGEST OF PHILIPPINE GENRE STORIES - You just have to see it for yourself. Too hard to elaborate on. Keywords: slipstream - speculative fiction - kafkaesque. If you like Kafka, Murakami, Lovecraft then you’ll definitely like the short stories included in here. If only I knew where I could grab the second issue.
12
Oct
Brad and Suzy
Brad and Suzy lived in a movie. They were cardboard cut-out superheroes and paragons on barstools. She was a professional teller machine user, he was your basic beautiful loser. They had no worries, all they ever had was cool.
The Sigma Chies imbibed, decried and tried to pry him from his Little Delta Tri-Omega Chi Fi Mu Hoddi Toddi A-D-Pi and Theta, but she wouldn’t let them… idiot. Cos her heart was as big as the world and she was his first loving girl and he swore he’d stand by her forever, yeah.
Late at night, drunk on wine, they’d fall in bed and intertwine and they’d make love then like nobody never.
Brad and Suzy finally took off for the Florida Keys. The better to exercise their collections of clothing by J. Crew.
Convertible rabbit.
A cooler and some coozies.
And six years of college course credit they’ll probably never use.
I wish that I was Brad or Suzy, I wished that I was in a movie.
10
Oct
status quo
time: 33 mins. before my next lesson; 2 hours and 33 mins. before I’m with dada
listening to: everything but the girl… and looking for natalie merchant and jann arden’s red blood cherry on imeem
today i woke up thinking i was tired. when i came to the office i figured out it was just another it’s-that-time-of-the-month kind of mood. turns out it isn’t.
when i was getting ready for work i was thinking of how i’d love to just stay home today and watch movies all day.
when i got to work i thought i was thinking of how lazy i’m feeling today.
when i started playing music i thought of how i missed going out of town and just being free. free to do anything. free from work. yeah, that and free from a semi-monthly salary too.
then i realized that my favorite part of the day is the morning where i get to watch a movie and a half before getting ready for work. but then again i think i like late nights after work are better. in the morning all i think about (when not deeply involved in a movie) is how i’m too lazy to come to work. after work, though, all i have to worry about is who gets to choose the movie to watch and whether to take a few shots of tequilla while watching.
i think it’s worth recording that what i’m actually thinking - and have been thinking all along - is that i miss dada. i miss spending days of doing nothing with him. the past week has been quite eventful - for our standards - and it came back to me what an extraordinarily perfect couple we make.
and that is why i’m too lazy to come to work today. and why i’m itching to go out of the city. and why i flinch when i see that i’ve still got eight lessons ahead of me.
31
Jul
slipstream anyone?
Thank you, Joseph Nacino, for introducing me to the world of slipstream. Or rather, for making me aware of such a category. =)
I happened to come upon a copy of PGS in my office today. Then I read “Insomnia”. Very creepy. I guess in the world of slipstream, creepy is good. Strangely enough, I happen to be the only person at work today - I’m the only one with a Saturday shift in our company, together with the security guard of course =) - so I had to make sure that my fiance who stays with me at the office every Saturday doesn’t leave the lobby. (Which leads me to the question: does one have to be chill-resistant to be a maker/reader of slipstream? But then again, I’d say that’s the whole and only point of such literature, right?)
Then I remembered Kafka. Kafka’s a good writer, but after reading several biographies, etc., I found out that it can be painstaking to read his several works knowing these are merely manifestations of the complexes and feelings of inferiority caused by his father - painstaking because now I partly think of him as a loser and that’s really not how I want to think of the author of my favorite short story. That’s how I interpret it at least. (I’m a Psych student and I like, or tend, to view all forms of behavior and expression as products of inner conflicts. Haha, I bet I’d make a lousy slipstream (artist? writer?).)
Anyways, I’m writing this email to tell you how much I liked “Insomnia”. Very much. In fact, I wanted to avoid having to write this paragraph because it would make me recall the whole story once more. And that’s not the best idea right now because I’m sitting alone at the farthest end of the office with only the sound of the airconditioner accompanying me. Too late.
You wrote the story very well, it was very disturbing (I hope you realize that that’s a compliment).
P.S.: I just realized that it can be a bit difficult to write to someone who writes well… you could get all conscious about what you write and how you write it… in short, O.C. =)
We love good food and the list of places where we wunna eat never ends, eto ang most often updated list namin sa lahat… Bellini’s, Treffpunkt, Moksha and, and, and.
We love good movies just as much. Or basta movies lang talaga, good, bad and unbearable (think Ghoulies). We watch everything from The Godfather to Ella Enchanted to La Visa Loca. We got some all-time faves though. Memorable movies either because we’ve watched it a thousand times and never get tired of it, or because we always quote the characters, or because we haven’t watched it together yet but we both know it’s good (wala lang talagang mahanap na DVD kahit VCD kahit VHS, as in)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
- Good Fellas
- Corky Romano
- Mickey Blue Eyes
- American History X
- Scarface
- Seven
- Empire of the Sun
- H A R R Y P O T T E R S E R I E S !
- The Long Weekend
- The Usual Suspects
- Batman Series
- Pirates of the Carribean Series
Music is a major factor in our relationship, with a capital TUG-PAK-TUG-TUG-PAK. I’ve always wanted to have a drummer boyfriend. He listens to anything that has a beat. From Soul Train to Andrew E., from Jimi Hendrix to Snoop Dogg. I’m more of a casual listener, so sometimes his soundtrips really bug me. Most of the time though I just admire him for his talent.
Food. Movies. Music. That pretty much covers most of our relationship. Oh, and milkshake of course…
