Basurero Art

"Ang init sa labas!!" said Pong Pagong
"Tangina kasing Villar yan eh, ang hilig kasing lumangoy sa basura...kadiri ka!!" replied Kiko Matsing
"Dapat tayong magrecyle at magtipid sa ating natural resources , simula ngayon sabay na tayong maliligo at ang ating pinagliguan ay iinumin natin!" he added.
"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!", the turtle answered.

Don't be a motherfucker...recycle today!!
Below are some pieces I made using brochures from Starbucks, old newspapers and sticker paper.

 

Made from Starbuck Brochures

 

Used the cardboard paper from a used up pad and newspaper cutouts

 

Sticker Paper

 

Used brown envelope

5-Piece Generation X Sushi Roll

   

     I love the 90's!

     What's not to like, the Philippine Peso was 25 to a dollar. We witnessed the return of the Adidas Samba and Gazelle for your daily footwear needs. There's various states of curious experimentation, but that of course is another story.

     Best of all, I loved the variety of music that came out back then. Different genres were coming out from all corners of the globe. Europe had their britpop, shoegaze, twee-tinged music. The US had their Soundtrack Music (Singles OST, Reality Bites OST, Empire Records OST, Mallrats OST, No Alternative Compilations and much much more...) the Philippines had a little bit of everything. 

Back then, Indie would mean Indiana Jones and Alternative Music would range from Reggae, Grunge to Poprock.  Nevertheless, it was a good time for a long-haired, Birkienstock wearing, don't fear the beer drinkin'  music geek like me to collect all of the CDs to fill my heart's content (Back then we had Original Compact Discs that cost around Php 375 and left a huge crater in my chained wallet).
     Fast forward 2010, I'm now sport a beer belly, I'm married with 2 kids, I do longboarding and I still am a music geek. Although I still love the 90's Alternative music scene, I have a love/hate relationship with anything Indie. Love because its mutant offsprings still rocks my socks off and  as I said the variety it has spawned to pushes me to check out all of them (Thank you internet!!). Hate because there is just too much F@cking music out there...its crazy. I really dunno how Cris does it...how do you do it Cris?!?
     Anyway enough chat...here's my 90's Indie List! (P.S. My definition of indie is as long as its not heard on any of our pop FM stations or any of those Pop Music Channels, then everything else is Indie.)

1. Fossil - Moon 

     I was in 2nd year highschool when I first heard of them. I'm surprised that they're on YouTube, while it took me forever to even get a copy of this song through Limewire or Pirate Bay. Not much is written about them except that they are a four-piece band from NY and released their self-titled debut album in 1995. Its a pity that the urge to buy their CD wasn't that great...maybe if they changed their album cover, it would have convinced me otherwise. Why a turtle?!? WHY?!

2. Popsicle - Histrionics 

     Composed of  Andreas Mattsson (vocals, Guitar)  Fredrik Norberg (vocals guitar), P-A Wikander (drums) and Kenneth Wikström (bass), Popsicle is an indiepop group from Sweden and are the contemporaries of similar bands such as Brainpool, This Perfect Day and the Wannadies. This track came out of their 3rd album Abstinence. From what I noticed about Swedish indie bands  is that they are ridiculously melodic. I love how their distortions would compliment the jangly melodies of their riffs, not to mention the tiny, whiny vocals make a perfect mix.

3. Ben Lee + Liz Phair - Away with the Pixies

      Ex-Mr. Clair Danes here recorded this track at the tender age of 16 after disbanding from his former band Noise Addict. This came out of his debut album Grandpaw Would in 1995 which would eventually make him the youngest singer/songwriter to make an impact in Australian music today. This track is actually reminiscent of The Lemonheads' Evan Dando and Belly. The lyrics are, although mediocre ,are honest and direct to the point. I guess its brutal honesty is what attracted me to begin with. Ahhh...the joys of young love! It was a good time to be a virgin.
4. This Perfect Day - Fish Tank

     Once again another indie band from Sweden. This came out of their 2nd titled album C60. I know what youre thinking. Youre probably saying they sound like Teenage Fanclub. More specifically Teenage Fanclub's album Grand Prix. Once again, another prime example of sweet distorted melodies combined with wrist -slashing lyrics on love and relationships  the pressures of hymenal surrender do make an interesting mix, sort of like drinking a heaping glass of Wengweng ( A Pinoy drink which is a combination of 6 different liquors...our version of AMF..AdiosMotherFucker) with Sisig bits on the bottom of the glass. Mmmmmm.

5. Superchunk - Hyper Enough

     Go, go American Indie Rock!! I recently learned about them after an acquaintance of mine compared them to Zach Lucero's Matina Town Square. Got their album, and fell in love. With melodic distortions all around, Superchunk does a great job of complimenting Mac McCaughan's squeaky pitched vocals with melodic punk-laden guitars proving that its not all punk is about anarchy nor rejection.They have a DIY attitude in  recording their music thus making Superchunk's career i a true testament of what it takes to be an indie band in the 21st century.  BTW This song  is also featured in the video game NCAA Football 06.

Chick Flix for Guys

Yesterday was Valentines day and if you're like me, you don't really give a crap on what it stands for. Its over-rated and leaves a huge gaping whole in your wallet. Malls would peddle flowers, hearts, dinners for 2 and commercialism at its finest. Love - as media portrays it..is over-rated. Sincerity gets blurred in the details and all you have is a huge ball of sickeningly sweet Crap. Check out the commercial crap Pinoy directors put out...(how many Piolo Pascual's or Richard Gutierrez will it take for us to have something as original as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...Never because we prefer to copy rather than innovate! Star Cinema I hope you're reading this..probably not...)

The list below are films that I actually like and will admittedly gush after watching it:

1. Some Kind of Wonderful - One of my all-time fave movies. Written by the late-great John Hughes (of Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink fame) and starring Mary Stewart Masterson (my ultimate crushpuppy in the 80's...then it was Carmina Villaroel in the 90's..but that's another story) who plays a tomboy who is secretly in love with his bestfriend played by Eric Stoltz ( he's the angel-dude in Prophecy). Now how can you fuck up a premise like that? You can't bro...that's why this movie tops all of them. Back then, I was secretly wishing that I can have a best friend as hot as Watts who would give me hands-on kissing (Best scene in the movie!!) advise and bangs the skins like nobody's business. It also has an epic soundtrack which takes you back everytime you listen to it. Good luck getting a DVD copy...got mine in the States, at the discount bin..RIP John Hughes...

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - At first I was skeptical prior to watching this film, I mean I'm not a big fan of "How I Met Your Mother" (but I heard its good) and I have no idea how funny the guy is. The weiner-wagging scene convinced me otherwise. The plot is about this miserable musical director who goes to Hawaii to forget the girl who broke his heart while on his birthday suit. Mr. Lucky finds himself in paradise with his ex with her GlamRocker boyfriend. I think every guy would have experienced this kind of awkward situation in one way or another and would wish someone like Mila Kunis (its fake..google it, looks good though) to help him out. Sometimes its nice to see a movie that its the guy's turn to get his heartbroken and how he keeps up with it. Get a copy of this one now....

3.Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - I saw this movie twice, the last one was yesterday (which was Valentines day) and I guess has almost the same theme as Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The story is about Nick (who is played by Michael Cera whose dry humor cracks me up every time) and Norah (played by Kat Dennings), who meet when Norah asks Nick to pretend to be her boyfriend for five minutes. Over the course of the night, together they try to find their favorite band's secret show and search for Norah's drunken best friend. The highlights are: dirty toilet bowl + used gum + drunken friend = excellent girlfriend/ wino(use your imagination). It has a great soundtrack which I downloaded today and will be added to my playlist for years to come.Watch this movie and make your own life's playlist.

4.Singles - Now this is the entry from Wikipedia.."Singles centers on the lives of a group of young people, mostly in their 20s, living in an apartment block in Seattle, Washington, and is divided into chapters. It focuses on the course of two couples' rocky romances, as well as the love lives of their friends and associates. The film stars Bridget Fonda as a coffee-bar waitress fawning over an aspiring musician (Matt Dillon) and Kyra Sedgwick and Campbell Scott as a couple wavering on whether to commit to each other. The events of the film are set against the backdrop of the early 1990s grunge movement in Seattle."  I guess this was one of the best movies that came out of the 90s and probably captured a snapshot of life back then. This movie actually tackles serious issues which I guess still applies nowadays. Maybe we can learn a thing or two from this movie. One would be to never setup your crappy old car with a high end sound system and that saying Gesundheit might just make your day. It has an excellent soundtrack, especially my personal fave "Drown" by Smashing Pumpkins. Go out and rent it...

5.Reality Bites - Winona Ryder was hot in this one (one of my ultimate crushes in the 90s). Now do I have to explain why I love this movie...Watch it!! Buy the soundtrack!!

Can't get enough? Check these out...

6. 500 Days of Summer

7. Something About Mary

8. Chasing Amy

9. Can't Hardly Wait

10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

11. Amelie

12. Say Anything

Obscure Filipino Indie Music - 5 Picks of the Week

I am not VJ Lucky, VJ Sib, VJ Wu-Man, VJ Mike Casem nor VJ Danny McGill...I am not advocating any of those music channels in Skycable. (Sayang wala nang MCM - its this french music channel)
I am not in a band nor work in the local music industry...I only play 1 instrument, and my wife is an expert with it...

I am a music geek. I love music. I need music to do my art, clean the house, to go from point A to point B. to be inspired, to inspire someone, to enjoy a bucket of Red Horse Beer and to tolerate this F*cKing Goverment!

Here's my list..Enjoy!! 

1. Ang Bandang Shirley - Sa Madaling Salita
Here's an 8 piece band that has captured my interest a few a years ago with their track Togetherforevers. This song was used for "Endo" an independent movie between 2 Filipino contractual employees who face love and heartbreak in-between jobs. The track, however talks about love with no pretenses, barriers nor inhibitions..I think...The real kicker in this track is the melody. I dunno I guess I have this penchant for sappy, sickly sweet melodies...

2. Prank Sinatra - Yesthurling Egg
I really don't know much about this band  except that they are into experimental shit. What the hell is an Yesthurling Egg? Is it good with Chicken Pork Adobo. Can you scramble it and make Sinatran Deviled Eggs? You decide..

3. Lourd De Veyra feat. Raimund Marasigan - Egis Er'p
Mr. De Veyra is the lead singer for Radioactive Sago Project, a spoken word-jazz fusion band. Raimund Marasigan is the former drummer for the Eraserheads and now lead singer for 5andwich. Both of them do rap in their albums, but what do you get when you mash them together. You get a song that sounds like that its been backmasked in a good way of course. This track was used for the movie Pisay which is about a day in the life of several high school students in a State Run University during the time of the Marcos Regime in the 1970s (google it). It was custom for students/activists to reverse several tagalog words..I'm not really sure why. "Egis Er'p" is "P're Sige" in reverse which means "Go for it, dude"!! Serious!

4. Zac Lucero - Matina Town Square
 The multitasking  Mr. Lucero of Imago, produced an  album featuring this track. He recorded all of the songs in his own recording studio in his house and played with almost all of the guitar, drum, analog synth parts as well as providing his voice to all of them. He also produced this album from his own pockets. Although it didn't really get much airplay, the album is a prime example of Filipino ingenuity at its finest.

5. Ciudad - My Emptiness
This guys from Ateneo have been together for several years now. They didn't really break through the local music scene which is a pity because no one sounds like them. Most of their songs are melodic at best and their lyrics are poignant and depressing at the same time.  Pinoy shoe-gaze music for nerds. I'm a nerd. You're a nerd. Were all nerds...

I LOVE THE 90'S!!!

Do you still have those pair of scruffy, old DM boots stored somewhere in your "baul" together with your mangled Trapper Keeper and your lil black filo fax filled with women you will never call or called with heavy breathing on the background?

Congratulations! I think its save to say that we finally saw the last of Batman's nipples, the sperm-filled voice of Lance Bass; his band and their offsprings ( O-Town, 5ive, Backstreet Boys...I could go on-and-on..but that;s another story), the Ramos energy crisis/fiasco and The McDo Pork Teryaki meal (which I did like..).

But inspite of all the failed relationships that I had back then (EPIC FAIL would be an understatement...), drugs (I got wasted eating Marijuana leaves, seed and even the stem..I was fucking hallucinating after a few hours, everything I saw were in this weird green grid..yes, like in the matrix..actually maybe Tron), and 

Lets face it...if you are in your mid 20s to early 30s,
the 90s would probably be our Renaissance...

Here's my  TOP TEN LIST for now...

1. A&W's rootbeer float/coney dog meal - I remember having a rootbeer float, a coney dog and a smile in Robinsons, Galleria. While enjoying my meal, we'd bask in cigarette smoke mixed with teenage girls from Poveda, Miriam and Assumption while having conversations that start with "pareh", "shit", "putang ina" and
end with "pare" again. Fast forward 2009, had the same meal in Malaysia, creamed my pants in the process...man i miss the 90s..

2. Palibhasa Lalaki - I fucking loved that show...the cast actually reminds me of my barkada back in high school and I would be Anjo Illana's character then. Who could ever forget their buddy-assisted flying kicks back then...Good times!!!

3. 90s Alternative Music/ OST/etc - Singles OST, Reality Bites OST, The Crow OST, the No Alternative   Album, If I Were A Carpenter Tribute Album...the list goes on and on and on...More on this soon.

4. The "Old" Robinsons Galleria - the "new" Galleria blows...big time!!

5. UPD's Greenhouse Roast Beef Sandwiches with chips - I went back to UP Diliman last year to visit my old college at AS, and lo and behold...the Greenhouse isn't really green anymore, and the food court's gone..and no Roast Beef Sandwich. Man, those were so good you have to buy t2 of em to make you happy. They used to have this mushroom gravy to make it moist and potato chips for that crunch. I had that sandwich for lunch for 4 1/2 years...dapat nagoverstay na lang ako...

6.ABG's/ Groove Nation Consortiums - what is wrong with the electronica/rave scene nowadays? Back then it was all about the music, and it came in all kinds of varieties..Jungle, House (real house not that Eurocrap), Tech-House and techno... Nowadays its all Crappy House and Trance ( tototoootootooo with glow sticks!!!) We didn't have any Tim Yap, Manolet Dario Superstar DJ, world class DJ Bigfish etc. We had Josh Wink, Goldie and Plastikman....Thank you Toti!!

7.Baggy Pants - nuff said!!

8. Adidas Sambas - goes will with anything..baggy pants, baggy cargo shorts, even your momma's duster ( FrancisM wore that in his Freeman Album)

9.Old McDo Greenhills - LSGH breakfast tambayan!!

10. 90s precable shows (aside from Palibhasa Lalaki)- Ang dami nito! Remember Parker Lewis Can't Lose, In Living Color, Doogie Houser MD, My Secret Identity, etc...