first, can i just say that Rivermayawith Bamboo is very different from its time with Rico. it's not better or worse, it's just different. to compare would be unfair, since the time Bamboo was with them is around the time they were all still in school. bamboo-led, i had loved them for Awit ng Kabataan and Ulan. Rico, piece of advice: never sing these songs ever again. Bamboo owns them, and only he can do them justice. (i can be such a purist when it comes to music. there are few covers i can accept do the original justice, but since i am currently in love with Nada Surf's cover of OMD's If You Leave, this is a rant that will have to wait for another day.) Anyway. I also listened to Bamboo's current album, and he is redeeming himself for that insipid "kisapmata" song.
Next: Color It Red. Okay, i have to throw in POT here, because they're the reason i even dug out my CIR cds. when POT started out, i didn't really like them. i was young. the fact that karl roy looked like... there are no words. anyway, they did have one song i've always liked: F.Y.B. if you can come across a copy of this song, good for you. because this is the ultimate song for the dumped (related note: this goes very well with Ben Folds Five's "song for the dumped"). it has cooky chua singing "back up" vocals, but totally makes it her song. i remember seeing them perform this during the 1996(?) NU rock awards, and it blew me away. that same year CIR performed Shadows at the same awards show, and i forgave Color It Red for Paglisan. CiR songs to hear: Need You Here, Dancing and Singing, In My Head. Kahon.
Francis Magalona. Later Francis M., our pioneer rap artist defied all critics and his lame-ass segment on the Alma Moreno show (or something to that effect) by coming up with "songs" that allowed him to prove to everyone he actually really has talent. yes, if i can forgive CiR for that stupid junk food commercial, i can forgive Francis M. for pimping himself for orange soda. He's better when he's not going for straight-rap, when he's not trying too hard (paging Andrew E.) to be a gangsta-rapper. because Francis knows better. My favorite: Girl Be Mine.
Speaking of R&B, there will always be Kulay. Boom, Radha, and Jenny first started as Boom ("Mga Babae", anyone?), then remade themselves and conjured Kulay, the dance act that should have dominated local MTV awards. Delicious, Shout, and Burn were the quintessential samples, all from their Vibestation album. When Jenny died and was replaced by Angel, things just weren't the same. They have since broken up, with Boom and Angel getting married and Radha occasionally showing up to remind us of her power vocal.
Like on Wolfgang's "Matter of Time", from their Acoustica album. Did you know she and Basti are cousins? you do now. One moment.
Wallow first in the disappearance of electikoolaid from the face of the planet. they only have one major contribution, the haunting "bahala ka sa buhay mo", which is the ultimate karma song for exes. it's basically about choosing to wallow in your misery over a break up, or you can show the ex that you not only deserve better than him, but that he will inevitably come crawling back to you.
except for kulay, all the acts i'm mentioning performed wonderfully in the 1996 NU Rock Awards. oh, and bamboo (the band), of course, because Bamboo (the individual) was still with Rivermaya at the time. come to think of it, was rivermaya there? probably.
now for Wolfgang and the Eraserheads. the two bands that dominated Band of the Year for the longest time, exchanging the honor every so often. they defined local music for the longest time, the eraserheads started the boom in band music, and to be honest i really miss them. the bastardization that is the current Eheads, the one without Ely Buendia, is wrong. WRONG. and Wolfgang? basti's cool vocals, with manuel's amazing guitar riffs, not to mention they were both easy to look at... when they broke up everybody knew it was the end of the band era in local music. rock would take on a different color from now on, and boy did i regret not having been there on their "reunion" concert. i use quotation marks because wolf gemora wasn't there. i still would've liked to have been there.
other honorable mentions: Hungry Young Poets, Mojofly, Pinwheel, Sandwich...
it's all just a matter of time before what's new becomes old.
- Wolfgang, "Matter of Time"
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