I was on my Ben Harper mode today. I woke up with late, having watch three movies until 2 am, went down to the kitchen and discovered coffee made and French toast on the plate. Nice.
Several things have been lined up and though quite a lot of it requires sitting down and facing the computer, it will nevertheless, be a slow day. Hence Ben Harper.
He was introduced to me by someone special when I was in Vanuatu. She brought loads of underground music and most of them suited my different moods. Cake, when I feel like listening to funny and familiar not-so-mainstream songs (You should listen to their version of Guitar Man and I Will Survive); Van Halen, when I feel uppity; Queen, when I felt I did something good (It’s a Kind of Magic, Under Pressure and We are the Champion); Macy Gray for the cool and romantic in me; Manu Chao and Amadou & Mariam for the humanitarian chap in me; Tenacious D for the wild and hilarious side of me; and of course Ben Harper.
I particularly liked Excuse Me, Mister, Oppression, One Road for Freedom and Another Lonely Day. I have had several albums but I liked Fight for your Mind, the best. I don’t think it is romantic. I can’t really place it if its rock or alternative. It does sound hippie and fresh, though. I liked the guitar and the cool voice (not the best I have heard, sometimes it does sound hissy, but it is certainly nice). Like Janis Joplin gets to you on a nice cold day, or maybe even Joan Baez on a cold rainy day.
I really don’t have any favorites when it comes to moooosic. And though I am a self confessed child of the 80’s (no, I was born in the 70’s), I never really got the hang of Michael Jackson’s falsetto. I admit that there are really good stuff in that decade though. There were hang-on’s from the 70’s (Beatles, Eagles) which formed an integral part in who I am and how I ran my life.
I remember that in one party in Maungdaw, Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar, I was playing Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie, when someone hissed at the repertoire. I was a bit embarrassed and shied my iPod away from their discerning and discriminating ears. So feeling hurt and maligned, I headed for the bar. I could have swallowed the whole beer bottle coz I heard Boney M floating in the air (Brown girl in the rain, falalalala…). Indeed, music is an acquired taste.
Music is also personal. Some may identify certain facets and events of their lives through the songs that they hear and love. Some actually pattern their lives through a song. Music is more than an expression. It is a personal companion, a lover, a friend who never complaints when you change, when you are late or even when you love something or someone else. Life is ineffectual, void and ennui without it.
So when someone asks me what my favorite music – group, genre – is, it usually takes me time to answer. Truth is, all depends on my mood. The other week, I was singing “Big Butts” and yesterday, I was singing the advert song for an efficacent oil (efficacent oil maaasahan….). How is that for versatility?
I still need to listen to a lot of new ones. There are, I know, good Filipino singers and bands out there, but I just need to sort them out and let them pass through my sieve. So much has change in the Philippine music scene these past years. I wouldn’t venture listening to Mystica or April Boy, tough. In the meantime, I’d rather continue with Ben. For now, that is.
Puke. Corny. Music. Life.
Several things have been lined up and though quite a lot of it requires sitting down and facing the computer, it will nevertheless, be a slow day. Hence Ben Harper.
He was introduced to me by someone special when I was in Vanuatu. She brought loads of underground music and most of them suited my different moods. Cake, when I feel like listening to funny and familiar not-so-mainstream songs (You should listen to their version of Guitar Man and I Will Survive); Van Halen, when I feel uppity; Queen, when I felt I did something good (It’s a Kind of Magic, Under Pressure and We are the Champion); Macy Gray for the cool and romantic in me; Manu Chao and Amadou & Mariam for the humanitarian chap in me; Tenacious D for the wild and hilarious side of me; and of course Ben Harper.
I particularly liked Excuse Me, Mister, Oppression, One Road for Freedom and Another Lonely Day. I have had several albums but I liked Fight for your Mind, the best. I don’t think it is romantic. I can’t really place it if its rock or alternative. It does sound hippie and fresh, though. I liked the guitar and the cool voice (not the best I have heard, sometimes it does sound hissy, but it is certainly nice). Like Janis Joplin gets to you on a nice cold day, or maybe even Joan Baez on a cold rainy day.
I really don’t have any favorites when it comes to moooosic. And though I am a self confessed child of the 80’s (no, I was born in the 70’s), I never really got the hang of Michael Jackson’s falsetto. I admit that there are really good stuff in that decade though. There were hang-on’s from the 70’s (Beatles, Eagles) which formed an integral part in who I am and how I ran my life.
I remember that in one party in Maungdaw, Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar, I was playing Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie, when someone hissed at the repertoire. I was a bit embarrassed and shied my iPod away from their discerning and discriminating ears. So feeling hurt and maligned, I headed for the bar. I could have swallowed the whole beer bottle coz I heard Boney M floating in the air (Brown girl in the rain, falalalala…). Indeed, music is an acquired taste.
Music is also personal. Some may identify certain facets and events of their lives through the songs that they hear and love. Some actually pattern their lives through a song. Music is more than an expression. It is a personal companion, a lover, a friend who never complaints when you change, when you are late or even when you love something or someone else. Life is ineffectual, void and ennui without it.
So when someone asks me what my favorite music – group, genre – is, it usually takes me time to answer. Truth is, all depends on my mood. The other week, I was singing “Big Butts” and yesterday, I was singing the advert song for an efficacent oil (efficacent oil maaasahan….). How is that for versatility?
I still need to listen to a lot of new ones. There are, I know, good Filipino singers and bands out there, but I just need to sort them out and let them pass through my sieve. So much has change in the Philippine music scene these past years. I wouldn’t venture listening to Mystica or April Boy, tough. In the meantime, I’d rather continue with Ben. For now, that is.
Puke. Corny. Music. Life.
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