Top 5 Music Friday February 3, 2012

I wanted to do a meme but couldn’t find one that I was interested in answering…until I chanced upon The Music Memoirs’ Top 5 On Friday.  Today is friday and since I love music, here we go…

Top 5 songs you never get tired of hearing:

 

1. Don’t Look Back In Anger – Oasis
2. The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get – Morrissey
3. Wish You Were Here – Incubus
4. Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead
5. Cemetery Gates – The Smiths

Top 5 artists you’d like to have to sing you to sleep and what song:

 

1. Morrissey – Asleep
2. Jeff Buckley – Halleluiah
3. Brandon Boyd – I Miss You
4. Noel Gallagher – This Guy’s In Love With You
5. Cho Kyuhyun – Hope Is A Dream That Doesn’t Sleep

Top 5 artists you never expected to like but you do:

 

1. Slipknot
2. Faith No More
3. Queen
4. The Smiths/Morrissey
5. Big Bang/Super Junior

Top 5 songs you’ve liked since forever:

 

1. Your Song – Elton John
2. Ticket To Ride – The Beatles
3. She’s Always A Woman To Me – Billy Joel
4. Woman – John Lennon
5. Always On My Mind – Elvis Presley

Top 5 songs you want played at your wedding/commitment ceremony:

 

1. This Is The One – The Stone Roses
2. Once In A Blue Moon – Sydney Forest
3. All I Want Is You – U2
4. Stellar – Incubus
5. Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton

 

Bangkok Bound! February 1, 2012

Last year I told a good friend of mine that I wanted to do something different for my next birthday.  The answer that we came up with–Let’s Travel!  We thought of several places in Asia that we wanted to see (and that didn’t have a visa requirement–so it makes it easier) and came up with our Top 3–Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.  Hong Kong was the front runner for a while but we eventually decided on Bangkok.

The travel agency has already confirmed our bookings today and I’ll be getting our tickets tomorrow!  Can’t wait!  Bangkok here we come!

Photos credited to: thailandvoyage.com and shutterstock.com

Trippin’ on Trailers January 22, 2012

BFFs

Yesterday was “Round 2” of watching Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows.  I had some time to kill while I was out and since I enjoyed that movie, I decided to see it again.  How can I say no to a second helping of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law?  I also thought about seeing Underworld Awakening but changed my mind about it.  Kate Beckinsale kicking ass will be scheduled instead next Friday night.

Whether I watch movies on my own or with friends & family, I always insist on entering the theater early because I love watching trailers.  Sometimes when a trailer is well made, and I really love what the movie is about, it gives me chills (“Kinikilig ako”)!  Now that summer blockbuster movies will soon be upon us, this geeky fangirl is quite excited.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I love popcorn movies.  It’s quite a general term but usually these are hyped up, big budgeted films with tons of special effects and more often than not, already have a solid fan base.  My personal favorites would include Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Superhero movies like Batman, Iron Man and X-Men.  These trailers which I saw yesterday are making me wish it’s summer already.

1) The Avengers – Robert Downey Jr.’s Ironman just might steal everyone’s thunder in this movie but I am looking forward to Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye.  Release date: May 04, 2012.

2) The Dark Knight Rises – I’ve always loved Batman–from Adam West to Christian Bale.  Despite being a good actor, no, I will forever not accept George Clooney as the caped crusader.  Release date: July 20, 2012.

3) The Amazing Spiderman – Here’s what I think: The first Spiderman was good,  the second one was awesome, hated the third (too long!) and I’m willing to give Andrew Garfield a chance on this one.  Release date: July 03, 2012.

4)  Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (3D) – I’m cheating a bit here because I didn’t see this trailer yesterday…I just thought I’d put it in because I’m a Star Wars junkie.  Release date: Feb. 10, 2012.

youtube video credits go to: MarvelUK, IGNentertainment, nogoodflix, and starwars

Noel Forever January 15, 2012

On my way to watching Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows last friday night, I decided to stop by the Odyssey record bar at Gateway mall.  I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, rather I just wanted to kill time since I still had about 30mins. before the movie began.  Going through their (not so alphabetical) shelves, I saw this:

 

Oh, be still my beating heart!  I’ve been looking for this album since I found out about it’s release almost 4 months ago and being a huge Oasis/Noel Gallagher fan, I picked up the only copy and headed to the cashier.

I was a college freshman when my good friend JodiesMommy told me about Oasis and I’ve loved them ever since.  True, they weren’t exactly role models and people criticized their music, but I didn’t care.  I loved what I heard and it’s no consequence to me what other people thought.   I enjoyed that whole 90′s era of Britpop…or as I prefer to call it, Britrock because Oasis became the reason that I started checking out all these other cool British bands like The Stone Roses, Suede, Pulp, Blur, Stereophonics, Ash, The Bluetones etc. Later on I discovered The Smiths/Morrissey and Paul Weller.   To this day, a large portion of artists on my ipod are the Brits!  And here’s a fun trivia: Remember when you used to put posters of the bands that you like on your bedroom wall?  I put up a poster of Noel in the 90s…and it was only about 2 years ago that I took it down since the room was being repainted.

Oasis is no more and Noel has since moved on and I’m quite happy about that….I think he’s quite happy about that too.  I’m still a fan of Noel and whether he’s in a band or doing his own solo thing, it’s still good music to me.  And that’s what keeps me listening.

Check out his video for If I Had A Gun.  (with killer lines that go: “If I had a gun, I’d shoot a hole into the sun and love would burn this city down for you.  If I had the time, I’d stop the world and make you mine, and everyday would stay the same with you.”

ps: The movie was pretty good btw.  Could Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law be any more adorable? =)

video credit to NoelGallagherVEVO on youtube

My first date for 2012 – The Dentist. January 6, 2012

Yes, I admit it.  I’m one of those adults who absolutely loathes visiting the dentist.  Come to think of it, I hate seeing any kind of doctor but for this post, I’m sticking to dentists.  As a child my trips to the dentist (then a scary, old man) was always punctuated with tears and screams which forces my parents to hold both my arms down on the chair so that the dentist could then proceed to do whatever he needs to do using his shiny metal tools.

Fast forward some years later when a nagging toothache forced me to see my new dentist (now a sweet faced & gentle voiced aunt) and was told that I have an impacted tooth that needs to be taken care of…asap!  Despite it being considered a surgery, it went well (save for a tear or two).  I saw her about 3 or 4 more times after that.  In my last visit she discovered a molar that needed to be extracted and told me to do 3 things before 2011 ended: 1-get an x-ray, 2-have the molar removed and 3-have my teeth cleaned.  I only did the first one (because I’m such a procrastinator when it comes to dental appointments) but now that 2012 is here, I’m determined to change that.  I’m not kidding, promise!

Two days ago I’ve experienced my first ever cleaning/stain removal procedure.  I wanted to use my dental benefits at work so I had to see a company approved dentist and what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be when she also had a sweet face and a gentle voice…quite similar to my aunt who speaks to me like I’m a ten year old.  Being earlier warned that most people find the sound of the cleaning machine annoying & loud, I braced myself for some kind of pain.  So there I was, on the chair, waiting for it…but nothing came.  It wasn’t bad honestly.  To me the loud, grinding sound was quite tolerable compared to the shrill sound of the drill.  Apart from the occassional gagging sensation caused by the metal instruments, it didn’t hurt at all.

This whole experience may seem shallow (to those who don’t fear the dentist) but I’m happy seeing my “new” pearly whites again without the coffee stains & whatnot.  She even commended me by saying that I did well & was not at all fussy considering it was my first time to have it done.

I’m already working on the next dental appointment.  I’m determined to remove my fear of dentists.  It may take a while more but it does help when your dentist doesn’t remind you of Sweeney Todd.  Ok, so he isn’t a doctor…but you get the picture.

The Doctor is in.

photo not my property

Writing again November 15, 2011

It’s been a while since I last wrote about anything. Originally, I’ve been quite busy at work…arranging the travels of several bosses…but also a few months ago I received a hurtful comment on my blog. It wasn’t particularly directed at what I’d written but since she put it on a blog post I’d written about coping with the loss of my mother, I became all the more affected by it.

I deleted it of course.

Unfortunately that small thing has made me scared and not want to write…for the time being at least…though I did consider deleting the entire blog altogether. Thoughts of “why even bother” came running through my head. I spoke with a friend of mine who has been doing this for quite some time and she said that I should be strong and not let it get to me…we all have our little space in the cyberworld and as long as we don’t offend or hurt others we should be free to write what we think and feel. Plus, she’d really miss hearing my stories if I deleted this account because we hardly see each other and in a way it helps her keep up to date with what’s been happening with me.

This is my attempt at trying to get my groove back. I’m not aiming for “most number of hits” or “most number of followers” here…I just want a place where I can share my stories with my friends. If I don’t know you and you happen to be a reader of my stories (and somehow not hate them), thank you. I really appreciate it.

 

Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz

 

 

 

Father. Stranger. August 8, 2011

It’s never easy talking about my deceased mother. It’s even harder discussing my estranged father. I try not to if I could help it. It’s pretty much a good day if I don’t hear from him–no miss calls, no text messages.

Yesterday wasn’t one of those days.

Around 9pm, I received a knock on my bedroom door telling me that he was on the phone waiting for me. This didn’t sit well with me as there’s nothing more I want than for him to leave me alone. Normally, I’d make up some excuse but I eventually went downstairs and took the call.

Suffice to say it wasn’t a very long conversation. It’s not even much of a conversation as he did most of the talking–asking me questions like how was I doing..how’s work..how’s life without him (not exactly phrased like that of course).  So many questions and all I ever answered each time was “opo”–which is the polite Filipino way of answering elders though it doesn’t necessarily mean yes. I haven’t spoken with him nor seen him in 5 years…I almost did 4 years ago during my grandmother’s wake…but of course, I figured out a way to get out of that one as well. Even when we used to live together and my mother had already passed, we were like strangers. We hardly spoke to each other and I couldn’t even stand being in the same room with him.

There are times in my head when I’d just like to give it to him straight…tell him the things I never liked about him even when my mother was alive…stuff I didn’t like when she died. I can’t even bear to say it here as the very thought of those things irks me. Unfortunately I’m not that kind of person who gives it straight to people. I’m not a fighter and I don’t like arguments. I’ll probably end up looking like a villain if I do tell him. Why? Because he’s already a senior citizen and in this society you should never talk back to your elders.  I’m keeping everything in at the expense of my sanity.

I know I’m doing something wrong. These things…even when you feel hurt or sad there’s always someone, somewhere who’ll tell you, “well, it’s sort of your fault..at least some parts of it”…and I know I’ll be the first person to admit that as well. Well, my father’s faults are his…and the fact that I get annoyed everytime he tries to get in touch because I wouldn’t make peace with him is mine.

All I know is, right now…I’m not yet ready. Sometimes I think I don’t know if I’ll ever be.

 

photo not my property

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If not now, when? August 6, 2011

 

The title of the new Incubus album also happens to be the perfect way of describing my views whenever bands that I like are scheduled to perform in Manila…if not now, when?  Better grab the chance of catching them live because it’s very rare that they ever come back (sadly).

Not for Incubus though.  Their July 28, 2011 concert at the Araneta Coliseum marks the band’s third visit to the country.  They first graced these shores last March 12, 2004.  I even took a leave from work that day and my then fellow office slave / good friend Gae can attest that I couldn’t concentrate on my work that entire week because I was so excited to finally see them.  It was even bassist Ben Kenny’s birthday that day and the crowd serenaded him with a rousing “Happy Birthday” song.  That concert also happened to be the first time I ever got squished in a mosh pit.

Their second visit in 2008 was also quite memorable for me because it coincidentally fell on my birthday–March 9.  I kept telling my friends that Incubus came because they wanted to celebrate with  me, which they didn’t contest since it was my birthday after all and  they’ll let me get away with anything.  So far, that has been my favorite birthday–a celebration with my good friends, my favorite band and….23,000 other people sharing the love for Incubus’ music.

July 28 may have been visit number 3 but the vibe was still fever pitch.  The love that Pinoys show Incubus…man, you’ve got to see it to believe.  Sure, it could be the same elsewhere but it’s amazing for me to see and experience this because Calabasas is quite a long way from Manila and for their music to have such an effect on a group of people living on the other side of the planet? It’s magical.

Check out my videos & pictures.

Incubus June 29, 2011

One of my favorite bands of all time (see above photo) will be gracing Manila’s shores for the third time this coming July 28…and being the ardent fan that I am, I already secured my tickets 2 months in advance!  But this story isn’t so much about the band..or the concert..but rather on a particular incident which highlights the ridiculous stereotype some people still have over rock music.

One of my younger friends–literally “younger” as she’s 13 years my junior–Maknae Zoe, was originally supposed to join me and my concert partner Ava to the show.  She’s a huge Incubus fan but when the band first came to Manila in 2004, she was 14 years old and was too young to be allowed by her parents to go…plus she didn’t have anybody to go with either.

Fast forward to 2 months ago, she excitedly tells me “YES!” when I asked her if she’d like to watch the concert with us.  She happily added, “Hindi na ako bata!” (I’m no longer a kid).  So I quickly bought our Upper Box A seats to avail of the early bird discount.

Not 2 weeks later, I received a text message from her saying that she’s sorry because she can no longer go.  I asked her why and she said she didn’t want to have a long argument with her parents.  Uh…ooookay.  I initially thought she was referring to going out on a weekday (the show is on a thursday) or perhaps not having someone pick her up after the concert.  When I finally got to talk to her at work she dejectedly said, “I didn’t want to explain anymore to my parents.”  I asked, “Explain what?!” ROCK MUSIC.

Say whuuuut???

Apparently, someone texted her father (coincidence or not) what “Incubus” literally meant which is “a male demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women and hence, a nightmare”.  And that was it.  I don’t know if it’s because of their religious beliefs, or because he’s strict…either way, she’s forbidden to go.

I know I don’t have any right to meddle in their affairs but…for crying out loud!  Seriously?!  Do people actually think that on July 28 fans will convene at the Araneta Coliseum to worship a demon?  People are going there for the music!  It’s always been about the music.  You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that Incubus puts out some of the most beautiful, inspiring and positive songs out there…songs like Drive, Warning, Make Yourself, A Certain Shade of Green, Redefine–I could go on you know.  They sing about love, believing in yourself and non conformity.  They love music and art and poetry.  Guitarist Mike Einzinger is even a student at Harvard!  Honestly, it’s ridiculous to me how people who don’t know them (not that I do personally, but you know what I mean) can judge them or their music just because of their band name.

I’ve been listening to rock music for a long time–rock, alternative, emo, metal…whatever you want to call it…anything and everything from The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Smiths, Morrissey, Nirvana, Faith No More, Soundgarden, Guns & Roses, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, Incubus, Weezer, Linkin Park, Slipknot…and I’m happy to say that I’m doing just fine, thank you very much!  Last time I checked I still don’t have any urges to build an altar in a darkened room where I would offer sacrifices, drink blood and kneel down in front of a goat-like figure.

The music has gotten louder…but despite this, apparently some people are still not listening.

photos not my property

Top Takes Two! May 27, 2011

축하해요 Chuka haeyo!!!

I would like to give a shout out of congratulations to my favorite Big Bang member and (in my humble opinion) the hottest man in Kpop, Choi Seung Hyun aka TOP for bagging two awards yesterday at the 47th Baeksang Arts Awards in Seoul.

He was honored with the Best Male Rookie Award and Male Popularity Award (for film) for his role as the teenage soldier Oh Jung Bum in the critically acclaimed war movie 71: Into the fire.

 

Though I’m a huge fan, I must admit that I haven’t completed the film yet.  I’ve watched bits of his scenes on youtube just so that I could witness his amazing acting…but the scenes are so hard to watch at times…as scenes from war movies always do. 

But for now…here’s to you TOP!  Cheers!!!