THE IDENTITY OF THIS GENERATION THRU IT'S MUSIC

Earlier I was watching this contest on MTV, sponsored by Colt45. It was a contest on the next rock star. Parang American Idol pero pang rock star ang hinahanap nila.

Contestants were selected from all over the Philippines (I believe 12 contestants yata; 9 male and 3 female). Superpanalotothemaxasin yung judges. Si Zach ng Imaga, si Lourd ng Radioactive Sago Project, the girl from Put3ska (for some reason lagi ko nakakalimutan pangalan nya; I always refer to her as Mia but I know it's not her name because time and time again ico-correct ako ng mga kaibigan ko). Raymund Marasigan ang host and shempre Sandwhich ang backup band.

Good. So at least the people working for that contest know what they are doing. At least hindi nila kinuha ang isang pa-cute para sa project (*uboRicoBlancoubo!*)

The show itself was... well... average. Though they got probably the best of the best of the judges and host, the contestants themselves were average performers. May guy doon na dinadaan sa lakas ng boses yung performance. Meron din na parang epileptic kung gumalaw, hindi suave. Kasasabi lang ni Lourd na wala sa lakas ng boses or sa antics na ginagawa mo sa stage yung energy element ng isang rock star; it's innate. Sometimes nga daw nakatayo lang walang ginagawa pero you feel the energy flowing thru him. Tapos meron kang weirdo contestants. labo.

Pero to criticize the show isn't what this blog post is for. Meron silang exercise where they had to perform in front of the judges either of the following songs:

1.) Beep Beep by Juan dela Cruz Band, dahil sabi ni Marasigan ito daw yung kanta na naging battlecry ng mga manggagawa o ng labor force ng Pilipinas noong Martial Law.

2.) Mangarap ka by AfterImage, dahil daw ito ang awit ng 80's people. Heto daw yung nagdedefine sa 80's Filipino Youth. May pangarap. May ambisyon. May gustong maabot.

3.) Awit ng Kabataan by Rivermaya. Dahil daw ito daw ang para sa 90's generation. Ito daw yung battlecry ng 90's Filipino Youth: na despite of all the hype and all of the changes that's happening that's getting the adults worried, may pagasa pa ang Pilipinas with the 90's generation.

That made me think. Ano kaya ang awit ng Millenium Generation? Those who grew from 2000 onwards?

Bamboo played the opening number sa contest na yun. Could Noypi be it? Strong contender; everybody loved Noypi, from the intellectual youth because the lyrics spoke of truth and of culture; to the conyo youth, because it had the spunk of a rebel, which is one thing they are trying so hard to get; to the masses, because it spoke of them as the Pinoys; and even the others.

Last year because of the TV sensation Pinoy Big Brother almost every radio played the song of Orange and Lemons. Now that I think about it, I'm really not sure what the title was but it's the one with the chorus "Pinoy ako, Pinoy tayo..." Again, the declaration of identity.

And who can ever forget our very own Allan Pineda from the Black Eyed Peas, who with his songs Bebot and the Apl Song tell the story of a probinsyano who went abroad to make a living but has not forgotten where he came from. The Apl song, as it stated in the beginning, is a tribute to the Filipinos. Pineda said that everyone tells the story of their ghetto, of where they came from and the beauty of the culture they grew up in. So it was his story to tell. Bebot on the other hand was a celebration of Filipinos Filipinoness: it became a sacntuary song for the generation of hiphoppers who before have been branded as copycats of the western hiphop culture. It's a testament of what, despite of the borrowed or shared influence of American rap music, the Filipino identity is.

For several months Kamikazee's NARDA reigned MTV and MYX and radio stations hit charts. Could Narda be it? It's a love song. The voice of the song is supposedly in love with someone whom he couldn't even fathom to reach. It can be, simply because Filipinos are sentimental shmucks.

And let's not forget that recently they've been doing tributes and various artists collaborate to pay homage to those who paved way for the development of the music. Ultraelectromagneticjam gives thanks to the Eraserheads, dubbed as probably the greatest band that ever existed; Kami NAPO Muna is a tribute to the Apo Hiking Society. (I know there are also tributes to The Hotdogs and the Juan dela Cruz Band, but my mind can't really think of the name right now.) At last year's MTV awards some artists also joined together and performed old Gary V songs because he received a lifetime achievement award. Putangina, lumaban nga sa Cinemalaya yung Tulad ng Dati, isang tribute sa The Dawn eh!

Andami dami ng banda these days pero still wala pang iisang kanta na nagdedefine sa kultura ng makabagong henerasyon. Pwede tayo magturo: we can blame it on all the artists na ni hindi gumawa ng sariling kanta; we can blame it sa isang apathetic audience. Palibhasa wala na rin identity ang masa.

ang pinakatangang krimen sa lahat

para sa akin (para sa akin lang ha; hindi ito general truth or batas) eh ang paglabag sa intellectual property rights ang pinaka-tangang krimen sa lahat. Ang mga lumalabag nito ay pathetic. Kung pulis ako mas matatanggap ko pa yata ang kriminal na nahuli dahil naglalakad sa kalsada ng walang t-shirt o yung mga nahuling umiinom sa kalsada (sori Gelo ang Cholo!) kaysa sa maparusahan ka dahil sa paglabag sa Intellectual Property Rights.

Because people who are proven to have stolenother people's ideas are guilty of three things:

1.) They crave for fame and glory that's why they stole that good idea. Palibhasa hindi sila pinupuri sa bahay or hindi sila binobola ng mga asawa o gelpren o boypren o nanay o tatay nila kaya they wanted the 10 seconds of fame. So in short depressed sila at hayok sila sa atensyon. Kawawa naman.

2.) Kung may pera man involved (which is MOST unlikely, especially in a country such as the Philippines where ideas aren't usually met with huge paychecks. Trust me; take the penniless Palanca Award Winning Writers or the moneyless advertisers, for example), nabuking rin sa buong mundo na magnanakaw sila. At sa public na hindi nakakaintindi ng value ng idea na yon na ninakaw nila, mas okay pa yata kung cellphone ang ninakaw kaysa sa idea.

3.) at aing pinakaimportante sa lahat, inamin rin nila sa buong mundo na TANGA sila. dahil hindi sila makaisip ng ganoon.


So ayan. Ang thesis ko sa pinakatangang krimen sa mundo. wehehehehe Ü