people are like stars that search for another to complement their light. we are two stars that shine so bright on the galaxy’s either sides. and it hurts to float in darkness alone while knowing that there is someone who will make you glow so much better beyond that vast horizon. maybe we have such…
Move over, 2010. 2013 is the best year so far.
Today is the second day of 2014, and I am jumping on the bandwagon that travels backwards. Someone asked me how the past year was for me, and I was like “Meh, it was okay.” Not very fabulous. Not something I’d write a blog entry for. Not worthy of the title “The best I’ve had…
A LinkedIn summary inspired me to write this.
As a Sourcing Specialist, I am being paid to find people that are fit to do what the organization requires. In doing this, I have become an unexpected visitor to a lot of professional profiles and an unwelcome critic to most of them. I knew a lot of things about people I only know by…
Love at First Gig: The Killers Live in Manila
Two months ago, the closest encounter I have with the Killers is their album being near Kasabian’s in a music store rack. I thought of them as a Vegas spinoff of The Strokes. I don’t know where I got that idea, but I kept it for a long time. ———— But since the Killers will…
Put your camera down.
It’s a sad reality that some people are too preoccupied with capturing moments rather than making them count. When you shoot loads of photos or videos throughout a concert, you can’t sing along with the band/artist because your camera will capture your own voice (worse–the voice of the person beside you!) instead of theirs. You…
Sampung Taon: The Kjwan Experience
One of my resolutions for this year is to explore musical styles, learn about music, and most especially, to support local bands. I can pretty much say that I’ve been keeping up with the first two, by taking a class on Rock Music History and being open to suggestions on what to listen to. However,…
Anak ng putek!: The Mt Gulugod-Baboy climb
Comrades, it’s been a while. So let me tell you something about my second climb. Yes, my SECOND climb! I told you there’ll still be something after that killer but enjoyable Batulao adventure. This time it’ll be a trip to Teletubby land… …or so they say. Located in Mabini, Batangas, the mountain is—quite amusingly—called Mt…
I don’t think a first job anniversary should be celebrated, but…
If I am to follow the plans I have laid out for myself when I got here, this is the part where I’ll be leaving. But I won’t. I have realized that a year is just too short to accomplish a lot of things you have set up. A year just flies. Like that. I…
Let me tell you about one of my little adventures…
I’ve always wanted to climb a mountain. On December 2011, I posted a status message that I’d go mountain climbing once I get my job done to sh*t out the stress before entering the new year. Because my team mates are supportive, they wanted to join me. We made plans. We selected a mountain (Mt…
A Reaction on my Trip to the Record Store
How do you know when a music artist is good?
It’s when you just started listening religiously to this band for about a month ago, and you got so hooked that you tried stealing their music off the internet. However, the musical orgasm you had while listening to it made you feel extremely guilty that this heavenly sensation was actually illegal, and you decide to buy original records.
Having said that let me tell you a story, morning glory.
When I was a kid, I knew that piracy is the demon that will kill the career of my favorite boyband Westlife, and so I had to save up to buy original records to support them. But as I got older (and I thought wiser), downloading via torrents became the better (and oftentimes only) option for me. A lot of people are doing it and no one gets punished anyway. Plus, they’re of the same quality as the original.
And then Oasis—oh boy, Oasis—came into my life and things changed. You know what they say about drugs and pot and cocaine and stuff like that? That’s Oasis. It feels good and you don’t mind spending for them because they keep you sane. It’s weird and unbelievable. Not to mention 100% legal. Imagine, you can have eargasms in public and still be accepted by the society! What can be better?
Now here’s the catch: what makes Oasis similar to drugs is that it is almost impossible to obtain it legally, a sad truth that I have learned when I had a trip to the record shop last week to obtain my drug. The new releases rack was half-filled, and that half-filled was 1/2 filled with “OPM” records—nothing but a fat lie. The songs are not original, the singers are not exactly Pinoy nor the most of the songs are, and this is not what I freakin’ call music. Knowing how to speak do not give you a license to sing but heck, things like this are what the Filipino music scene offers the audience nowadays. The other half was filled with Korean and Japanese pop-rock artists.
Heading over to where the foreign (non-Asian) acts are gave me much dismay— Having been arranged alphabetically, seeing Miley Cyrus in between Maroon 5 and Nirvana made me cringe. I never imagined finding Dashboard Confessional and Coldplay as the same rack as Jay-Z and the overrated Bieber guy. Same. Rack. IN. THE. FREAKIN. SAME. RACK. Good heavens. What happened?! The last time I happily perused these aisles to make a purchase, Rock and Pop are two entirely different things with two different racks. Alternative is another thing. Hiphop is another. Now they are all in the same freakin’ rack, under the label Rock/Pop.
It is disheartening to admit that the last time I happily perused record bars to make a purchase was during the cassette tape era, almost ten years ago. In between then and now, this is what happened.
I don’t know if the quality of music is degrading or I am just getting old with the records that half-fill the racks on the record shops today, but the fact that most of the artists of my era are virtually invisible on these shops today sadden me. Oasis, Dashboard Confessional, Incubus, and Goo Goo Dolls to name a few—the artists that ruled the glorious era of the 90’s! Yet when you look for them in record shops, you’re lucky enough if you find a copy of a box set. No Definitely Maybe or (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? I may be young during the 90’s, but I remember that music back then speak so much more than euphemisms for getting laid or bling blings or feeling like a plastic bag. That is exactly the reason why my sound trips were actually remembering the artists I used to flip channels on while waiting for the snail mail I sent to MTV’s Most Wanted to be read.
So where the f*ck am I going with this?
There are a lot of reasons why music ended up like this. First, the existence of iTunes reduced the production of physical CDs, which could mean that the music industry is not losing as much as I thought. However, a second, and more obvious reason for this is illegal downloading which we all know is illegal yet no one gets arrested. I am guilty of this, but like the polar bears in Antartica or the barren forests of the Amazon, I wasn’t aware of how bad it was until I saw it myself.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eRsN6IWPS8&w=560&h=315%5D
I am not here to suddenly act holier-than-thou, telling everyone who downloads illegally are criminals and we should instead buy original records. But when you really support an artist or a band, buying their records is the least you can do to show your appreciation, innit?
I shall end this sad story by saying that I have gone to at least five record shops and only found two copies of Oasis’ box set, one of which I mentally reserved my next pay day for. But still, I am pleased to say that I have supported the wisest man in rock by purchasing his first album as a solo artist. Yes, I am referring to the better Oasis sibling, Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds. The fact that they have Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds gives me hope for this generation’s music.
While I am waiting for the revival of the nearest record shop, I shall check if my Visa card will be able to transact successfully with Amazon.
One Week Notice 