The end of a chapter

Rivermaya
Atomic Bomb (1997)
BMG Pilipinas

I meant to write this review way back in September but just kind of dropped the bomb...err, ball on completing it. Atomic Bomb is one of those successful albums you're excited to listen to in order to see what the big fuss was all about only to be slightly disappointed when you do finally get the chance to hear it in its entirety. Actually, Atomic Bomb could easily be renamed Trip: Part II except Rivermaya by then were completely swimming in Brit pop-rock waters whereas previously, they were just carefully treading in it.

If this record had done away with overdone, forgettable pop-rock tracks like "Elesi", "If", "Luha" (Tears) or "Fever", perhaps I might have enjoyed it more. It's unfortunate because this was probably Rivermaya's most coherent work to date. The band extended what they did on Trip with "Nerd Kills Goliath" by adding three instrumental tracks to help with song transitions. Songs like "Hangman (I Shot the Walrus)" showcased new approaches to writing. This song seems to be divided into three parts where the beginning sounds like post-grunge/90s alt rock, the middle is a clear ode to The Beatles, and the ending goes back to 90s alt rock with Rivermaya sounding a lot like Canada's own Moist and it worked. "Sunny Days" is another Beatle-esque song except the circus sonic instrumentals remind me of a Canadian indie band that I got to see live this past summer called The Hylozoists.

Rivermaya, however, didn't completely go British. "Mabuhay" (Live)and "Hinahanap-hanap Kita" (Always Looking for You) are classic Filipino pop - while somewhat catchy, they're not the kind of songs I desire to listen to over and over again.

I'm guessing the band played around with adding various sound effects to tracks in the studio but whatever that screeching playing near the end of "Hinahanap-hanap Kita" was just made my eardrums want to cry. Speaking of things tears-related, the violin part of "Luha" is rather wonderful despite what I said about this song earlier. "Tea for Two" is like Atomic Bomb's version of "Lost". Like the latter, there's "ooo"s here as well but instead of Bamboo's vocals rising an octave higher, they slip down an octave lower (the only contemporary vocalist I can think of who Bamboo sounds like is The Killer's Brandon Flowers but even that's not an accurate enough comparison).

Blanco provides catchy hooks galore but it's the most evident in the sensual "Ballroom Dancing" which also happens to contain some of my favourite lyrics in Atomic Bomb: "Don't tell me I'm crazy/I dreamt the sun was radiating blue/But doctors have cleared me/It's just a case of too much missing you". Yes, cheesy but strangely intelligent with the play on words.

Atomic Bomb was both a blessing and a curse. It gave the band a chance to play in the U.S. in 1998 but it was the last one with Bamboo Mañalac. During the U.S. tour, Bamboo remained in L.A. where he stayed for five years before returning to The Philippines to form his own band (named after himself). Even with only three Rivermaya albums in his repertoire, Bamboo had quickly gained recognition for his ability to mould his voice to sing songs of any genre effortlessly. Obviously, Rivermaya survived and remained just as successful without him for years to come but I can only imagine the heart-sinking feeling that the average Rivermaya fan who associated the band with Bamboo's voice felt at the time.


"Sunny Days" - Rivermaya
"Hangman (I Shot the Walrus)" - Rivermaya
"Inst.2: The Chase" - Rivermaya
"Ballroom Dancing" - Rivermaya

This upcoming civil election will be a breeze

That's partly a lie. I have no freaking clue who I'm going to vote for mayor or public school trustee nor do I particularly care. For one thing, mayors always tend to focus on the central part of the city (ie. Downtown) more than anything else and as for school trustees...I'm no longer being educated under the public school system nor do I have children so I can't say I have time to waste on something that doesn't really affect me.

Up till this week, I had no idea what was going on with the city election. I had read The Gateway interviews with the Ward 5 councillor candidates but I don't live in Ward 5 (I'm in Ward 6) so those interviews, while somewhat interesting reads, aren't going to affect my vote.

The main issue I've cared about since I started going to university (and still live in the suburbs) is transportation and even more recently with the economic boom, traffic congestion caused by both inefficient public transportation and too much construction. Not surprisingly, people are going to talk about crime in Millwoods. Personally, I think it's more of an overhyped myth than actual reality (yes, shit happens here but just as long as you don't get involved in it in the first place, it most likely won't touch you).

Going through the list of Ward 6 councillor candidates, I immediately recognized three names: Chinwe Okelu, Amarjeet Sohi, and Dave Thiele - and that's due in part to the number of campaign signage they've sprinkled throughout Millwoods.

Thiele's currently a councillor. I'm not exactly sure what he's done but according to his site, he supported the U-Pass and supports the idea of public transportation as the primary choice for urban mobility. He also wants to get rid of vehicle idling. The site overall isn't very informative. Issues are listed but not really talked about in depth.

I got pamphlets from three candidates today. One of them was Okelu's - who I saw occasionally when I used to go to church. I gotta wonder: Is this guy so popular that he doesn't need to elaborate to get people to vote for him? His pamphlet was the most pointless to read out of the three. His family life, community service, and awards are listed as well as his campaign issues...with no further explanation. At least Thiele has a paragraph for each issue. Okelu has nada. I went to check out his campaign website and the exact same stuff that was in the pamphlet I saw was there. Nothing new.

The second pamphlet I went through was Sohi's. This guy is hands down the one with the best campaign. He actually explains why there are problems and how he wants to see them resolved. His site is very well put together and it goes further to explain the issues he wants to deal with - he's practically got a mini-essay written out for each one but what he says is actually interesting. His support of rapid transit and LRT immediately makes me want to vote for him. He asks the question of why only 11.4% of Edmontonians are using public transit and attacks the lazy response of Edmonton simply being a car city by pointing out that it's because the city's public transport system, to be frank, is terrible. He also mentions the limited service on off-peak hours and weekends as well as the lengthy one hour trip from Millwoods to Downtown or the University. It's like he's read my mind! If that weren't enough, I read that he lobbied City Council to improve bus service (route 72) into Silver Berry and Mill Creek Meadows (the neighbourhood of yours truly). This really struck home to me because a few years back, I remember waiting for the bus to get me out of my neighbourhood so I could head to school to write a midterm. Basically, the bus went right past the ten people who had been waiting for it (me included). Let's just say I was not a happy camper since by then, it was past peak hours. I don't remember how I ended up getting to school in time to write the exam but I do remember calling ETS as soon as I got home and bitching about what had happened and demanding that the route 72 operate more during non-peak hours. And even though I said I'm not exactly concerned with city crime, what Sohi says about it is worth reading. Basically, he thinks that day-to-day crime needs to be dealt with if bigger crimes are to be prevented but of course, the police are more focused on the latter.

The last pamphlet I read was Chuck McKenna's. He seems to focus a lot on youth crime and gangs. One issue he mentions that others haven't is snow removal and street repair. While not nearly as bad as Okelu, McKenna has the same problem in that he doesn't say more beyond a sentence or two on the issues he lists.

I checked the campaign websites of the last two Ward 6 candidates, Lori Jeffery-Heany and Tomas Denis Vasquez. Heany, like Sohi, gives explanations behind issues but sadly, she makes no mention of public transportation whatsoever. Meanwhile, I take back what I said about Okelu having the worse campaign. I just saw Vasquez's and he doesn't even have a list of issues he plans on tackling! - just this vision: "Enhancing our communities through cooperation and mutual understanding of common goals" and a list of affiliations, jobs, and community service work he's done. I can say with confidence that this guy is not going to get a whole lot of votes.

So after all that agonizing research, I'm definitely going with Sohi for one of the Ward 6 councillors and most likely Thiele for the other one.

The Trip which led to a jump

Rivermaya
Trip (1996)
BMG Pilipinas

First thing's first: guitarist Perfecto De Castro went bye-bye and keyboardist Rico Blanco, well, proved that he could also play guitar. If you didn't know this, however, in all likehood you may never have noticed there had been a change in the musical lineup.

Rivermaya at first appears to continue from where they left off. There are still strong alt-rock/grunge influences interspersed with pop ballads proving that the band is not one to be pidgeon-holed into one genre. So what's different? They manage to rock harder (as well as sound creepier) than they did on their debut with the track "Sunog" (Fire). Rivermaya also becomes whinier than they've ever been with "Out of Reach". Think of some of the most ear-grating pop-punk bands that have infested the radio over the last few years and you'll get an idea of how awful this song sounds. Fortunately, this doesn't become a trend for the band.

Trip also begins to introduce the band's British influences. This is most notable on "Lost" where the song begins with "Oooooo"s followed by Bamboo's high-pitched singing. Everytime I hear this song, I picture someone walking out of their house and onto the streets late at night to find that he/she is completely alone. That is what the lyrics suggest ("And if you'll crash into this party tonight/in this town where there is nothing but dim lights/You may bump into somebody who's lost/Maybe that's me") but like many Brit pop songs, "Lost" only bums you out if you aren't paying attention to the melody, which is nearly impossible given how light and catchy it is. Another track that stands out is the 41-second "Nerd Kills Goliath" which sounds like the sound effects to a video game - you can actually hear the part where Goliath becomes a goner despite the subtlety of the moment (and by "subtle", that means no shooting guns or swinging slingshots are to be expected). "Panahon na Naman" (It's Time Again) is a good finish. It's a straightforward pop-rock tune that ends up sounding like something The Beatles would compose with it's "Na na na na"s as well as an unexpected violin part tacked on at the end.

I have to admit I'm not a big fan of this album (although that means nothing considering how well it sold in the Philippines) but the tracks that stand out are ones I'd listen to over and over again. One that I haven't yet mentioned is "Hilo" (Dizzy) where Bamboo shows again why he's such a great vocalist (he also does the same thing when he continuously sings "Someday I..." near the end of "Flowers") and Blanco maintains his knack for great songwriting. This album also showed that Rivermaya was not a band to stumble when confronted with major changes (although that comes off as an overdramatic term given the truly major changes that would come later).

"Hilo" (Dizzy) - Rivermaya
"Sunog" (Fire) - Rivermaya
"Lost" - Rivermaya
"Nerd Kills Goliath" - Rivermaya

I knew this would happen sooner or later

A certain kind of musical conflict sometimes occurs between shoppers and staff - especially when the majority of shoppers happen to be middle-aged to elderly women and the staff consist of highschool and college-aged "girls".

When I first started working where I work now, I suffered for about two months listening to "store music" (basically, albums the store sold - they ranged from 60s diva music to classic rock tunes which I originally loved but grew to hate by the 17632th time I heard them). So what one of my coworkers and I used to do was bring our own CDs to work when the manager and our older coworkers weren't around. At first, we were sure to select music that wouldn't offend and which would accentuate the atmosphere of a home decor/gift store rather than contradict it. Anything with cursing, sexually suggestive lyrics, and/or aggressive shouting were total no-nos. I think I had a post-punk album in the cd player once that actually got a complaint. My 'new' boss (fortunately with him, we didn't have to listen to store music anymore, he burned his own cds) immediately jumped to the conclusion that my music was "crap", hid everyone's cds, and for about a month or two right before school ended, we were stuck listening to the likes of Lily Allen to the point that if you liked her infectious pop tracks before, you were definitely sick of listening to them after those two months had passed.

Eventually, we discovered the hiding spots of our beloved music so we were back to playing it when the boss wasn't around. I did learn a lesson, though and took my shouty post-punk album out and stuck to music that again, would hopefully be fine for a diverse audience. One day, I accidentally left my discs in the cd player one evening but the thing is, my boss left them there when he came to work the next morning. Success!

Anyway, I'm straying off from my main point - that's just the context of the situation. Over the summer, someone brought in Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, Timbaland's Timbaland Presents Shock Value, and Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad. In other words, we're listening to far more rap/hip-hop/r&b music than we ever have before.

My favourite track off of JT's album, I think, would have to be "Damn Girl". The first time I heard it (I hadn't yet heard the album from start to finish before my coworker brought it in), I couldn't help but find it extremely funny (and at the same time, veeery awkward) to hear this song while old ladies (and sometimes, gentlemen) were shopping or worse, entering the store to hear "Damn, girl!" blasting at them. The irony is highly amusing.

What I knew would happen sooner or later was what happened yesterday.

While I was standing on a ladder precariously hanging chimes, this middle-aged woman came up to me and asked with a slight frown, "Who chooses the music around here?" "The staff...." (Yes, I know now that I should have lied and said, "My boss...") The lady screwed her face even more and said, "I don't think I can stand to listen to this much longer!" About two seconds later, she walked out of the store.

I know I should feel bad when shoppers don't like the kind of music that's playing in the store - but heartlessly, I don't. If you're shopping, the longest you have to hear what, in your opinion, is horrendous music is about half an hour...two hours tops if you're one of those shoppers who really like to take their time. We, on the other hand, are listening to this music for seven or eight hours straight, multiple times a week. Of course, there's validity to the idea of "offensive music" but I also think some people take offense too quickly to things that aren't meant to be offensive. That's one blatant aspect of the generational gap for you. It spoke even more clearly for me early this morning when my mom exclaimed that some song playing on Joe FM (come on! Joe FM??) was "noise" and proceeded to ask, "How can you call this music?!" (Easy...it's NOT Christian radio).

By the way, that song that lady was complaining about yesterday was none other than "Damn Girl".

The album that drove the Filipino alt-rock revolution

Rivermaya
Rivermaya (1994)
BMG Pilipinas

While most Pinoy rock bands in 1994 kept low profiles in the underground music scene, Rivermaya decided to take a chance by releasing a record under a major label.

The success obtained that year was only just the beginning.

There's still some confusion (for me, at least) as to how Rivermaya was formed. Some sources say that managers Lizza Nakpil and Chito Roño were responsible for putting the band together. Others suggest that Nakpil and Roño discovered Rivermaya after some demos by the band had been sent to various record companies. Whatever the case, the fact that keyboardist Rico Blanco was the one writing the catchy hits should have done a fairly good job of keeping Rivermaya away from the manufactured music stereotypes.

Rivermaya's self-titled debut could be seen as many things. In some ways, it was a window into their future. The album is a hodgepodge of different sounds - from the hard-edged "Revolution" to the ballad "20 Million" to the country-influenced "Gravity" - just as the band itself would later go into different musical phases. In other ways, Rivermaya is a mirror image of what was going on in North American rock with the grunge and alternative era. The band's vocalist at the time, Francisco Mañalac (known by many as "Bamboo"), even sported the same bald head as The Smashing Pumpkin's Billy Corgan. Songs like "Ground" were unmistakably influenced by grunge rock. Most importantly, however, Rivermaya's first record showed that rock music (in a country where pop music was "in") could be popular and cool while remaining original and credible at the same time.

Bamboo's voice is difficult to ignore. It's as versatile as the songs themselves. Even in songs that at first appear to border on being so mellow it's boring, Bamboo's voice adds nuances you wouldn't expect. One case in point is the way he sings the outstretched "heh-heh-haaate" in "Bring Me Down".

Meanwhile, it's easy to see how the band's first single ever, "Ulan" (Rain) became such an instant hit. The beginning of the song sounds like someone's changing the dial to a radio before finally coming across a station that is about to play a song by...guess? Blanco not only shows his stuff here through the songwriting but by the little keyboard solo he does at the bridge. He churns out a few dissonant chords and they actually sound nice.

I think I'd have to vote "214" as the best track on this album. I'm not a big fan of pop-rock ballads but this one's so damn catchy I'll have to make it an exception.

"Awit Ng Kabataan" (The Song of the Youth) is runner-up for best track. The way Bamboo's voice goes from calm to shouty without making the shouting headache-inducing like so many who attempt to do the same thing is a feat in itself.

At first listen, the album doesn't seem all that extraordinary. As mentioned before, the constant change in sound throughout could make you wonder if Rivermaya was being marketed to please everyone or if they were simply being versatile because that's who they really were. During this time, people were still comparing them to the Eraserheads, a band that had been around a little longer than Rivermaya and which had already established a loyal following. But unlike The Eraserheads (who mainly stuck to mellow, subtle pop-rock), Rivermaya went in many different directions with their music.

Another reason I felt underwhelmed listening to the album the first time around is because the music I was hearing was music I haven't really touched since I was in junior high. But when I took the songs at face value, I started to find more things worth praising. And when I remember the context of the album's release, I can't help but appreciate the effort even more. "Revolution", for example, isn't my cup of tea but hearing the ensemble of guitarist Perfecto de Castro, bassist Nathan Azarcon, drummer Mark Escueta, and Bamboo - it's amazing how such a classic rock sound was finally shouting out from a country that had, up to that point, a tendency to silence the rockers.

Ulan (Rain) - Rivermaya
214 - Rivermaya
Awit ng Kabataan (Song of the Youth) - Rivermaya

Coming Up: A Tribute to Rivermaya

Yes, I know that the Philippine's arguably best music act in the past decade and a half hasn't broken up - its backbone only walked away.


Rivermaya's lineup has consisted of many changes over the years (four different guitar players, for instance) but Rico Blanco, up until two months ago, remained. Drummer Mark Escueta barely missed the birth of Rivermaya (he was part of the second line-up) and while he can now claim to be the longest bandmember standing, it was Blanco who saw Rivermaya take its very first steps. He was also largely responsible for the band's repertoire as the chief composer/lyricist, spawning out hits that will undoubtbly leave marks in the Filipino music scene.

And by most accounts, isn't the identity of a rock band formed largely by the kind of music it produces - regardless if the music is being written by songwriters record companies hire or by one lone man who is part of the group? In Rivermaya's case, it was Blanco who defined what Rivermaya was about. In the second half of the band's tenure, he became an even more dominant presence when he took over the vocals from "Bamboo" Mañalac.

Management tried to ease rumours of the band breaking up by saying that "No one member is greater than the whole." I couldn't disagree more. With a new vocalist and someone else taking over the reins of songwriting, Rivermaya will simply never be the same band as it was before.

At this point, you may be wondering if this is more a tribute to Rivermaya or rather, Rico Blanco. No, it's still about Rivermaya. The real tribute comes later in the form of album reviews starting with their 1994 debut Rivermaya.

In the meantime, though, I had to explain why I thought a tribute was warranted for a band that still remains.

"Bye Bye Na" video

The day I waited for hours

There have been two things I have been meaning to do for months but didn't do due to lack of time or laziness: renewing my passport and getting an RRSP.

So during my day off on Monday, I made it my mission to, once and for all, complete these tasks.

While I have no plans to go anywhere outside of Canada until December, word on the street is that it's taking months to get a passport now. I wasn't too sure if passport reissues fell into the same category but I wasn't going to take any chances.

It was already 4 when I arrived at Canada Place (Passport Canada closes at 4:30). I stepped right in and was utterly confused as to where I was supposed to go. A bunch of people were sitting...obviously waiting. I saw a lineup and decided to line up as well. Guess there must be such a thing as gut instincts 'cause it turned out that that was where your application and other necessary info had to be checked out by an officer in order to be assigned a number. You know...the process would be a LOT less complicated if they actually had a sign that said something to the effect of "Obtain number here and sit down". Geez. Even the people in front of me looked a little confused. One man clearly had a problem with waiting. I know this because his wife constantly kept trying to assure him that once their info was checked, they would get to go to a booth right away. The wife was right. This couple ended up finishing over half an hour before me and even before the lady in front of them.

I wonder if there's a list of professions that include a high percentage of uptight people. I remember having a discussion with a former coworker once about how accountants definitely fall into this list. Well, on Monday, I realized that those working at Passport Canada - specifically the ones who have to go through all the applications - should be added to the list as well. They're some of the most uptight people I've ever met - or maybe I'm just unlucky and just happened to have my info checked by the uptight ones. Some of the other checkers seemed pretty nice.

Around 4:15, I got my number and sat down. In the meantime, I wondered what exactly was going on when people got up to go to the booths. I noticed some people took 15 or 20 minutes. Were they being bulldozed with questions? Did they not fill everything out? Finally, around 5:30, my number appeared on the screen. The lady at the booth I went to quickly checked off sections of my application. For the most part, it was silence. She asked me ONE question and that was simply to verify the name of my guarantor. After only five minutes, I was done! If I had to guess why, it's because I had all the requirements done but if that's the case, wouldn't people who went to the passport officer with uncompleted info be turned away? Anyway, glad that's over and soo looking forward to doing it again in five or however many years a passport is good for. Ha.

I know I've bitched about ETS numerous times before but one thing I hate is idling. Why do busses stay at one spot for ten minutes? I know, I know. They want to arrive at the bus stops at the time mentioned on the schedules but in my dream world, they should just cut their losses (or better said, cut the gas emissions) and drive on.

So apparently, my main TD Bank branch only has two financial advisors working evenings. With the number of people coming in literally every minute, they need way more. I arrived at the bank at 6:30ish and didn't leave until after 8. At least the lady I spoke to wasn't uptight.

My boss once asked me, "If all the lines were long, what's the maximum amount of time you would wait in life to pay for your groceries?" Ummm...25 minutes. "What?? No way!!" Okay, 45 minutes max! He gave me another incredulous look and told me that shopping for groceries at the Superstore in Fort Mac can be a 3-hour chore. I told him that if that was the case and I lived there, I'd move to a different town (err..city). Hahaha.

But in all seriousness, I think patience is more innate than golden for many. Sometimes you have to be patient. Just looking at the situation over at Passport Canada, only 2 people whose numbers were displayed were MIA during the time I was there...meaning, the rest stayed and waited. I highly doubt people were debating in their heads, "Gosh, this is taking really long. Should I stay or should I go?" I don't think it's a choice so much as it is a sense of obligation.

Tracking back to my boss's question, I hate to admit it, but he was right. I definitely would stay more than 45 minutes in line for mandatory groceries if such a case as he described arose.

The beautiful disaster known as the Daytime Emmys

I hate award shows in general.

I used to look forward to watching the popular ones such as the Grammys and the Oscars. I got even more excited about those that were less known such as the Junos and the MMVAs (I caught some of it last Sunday and the nominees for Best International Group were enough for me to turn off the TV). But the Daytime Emmys are different. I ALWAYS have nominees to root for.

No doubt that I'm in the minority but daytime television to me is far more fascinating than that of primetime and more often than not, the world of Hollywood films...that is, if you're a bigger fan of acting rather than writing. If you wanna know how good an actor really is, go watch a soap opera where they appear almost every day of the week for several years (some, years on end) and often, have to make subpar writing somewhat entertaining. I mean, Hollywood seems to looove Orlando Bloom. That's because viewers aren't subjected to his dry acting almost every day of the year (although nearly three hours seems torturous enough)! If they were, I'm sure critics and movie buffs alike would be singing an entirely different tune.

Unfortunately, the voting process for the Daytime Emmys is just about as invalid as those of other awards. People don't win based on their work for the entire year but on two episodes. This year's results just goes to show how people who don't necessarily deserve a trophy can win.

Of course, tapes can be disregarded altogether. As exciting as Genie Francis's (Laura, General Hospital) win for Outstanding Supporting Actress may have been for the actress herself and for anybody else who wished that she had won an Emmy years ago, it just wasn't fair. I caught some of GH during Francis's big return last to see what the big fuss was all about but I was underwhelmed. The win was clearly a sentimental vote. Francis's speech said it all. She mentioned how she had been waiting 31 years for that moment. What does that say about the Emmys??? Hmmm...that they should start handing them ON TIME rather than rip off other talented, well-deserving people because they want to make up for the stupid mistakes they decided not to prevent the first time!


Another thing that bugs is repeat winners - who, in reality, aren't that exceptional. Ellen Degeneres's multiple wins have become tired and predictable. Is this woman really the best talk show host out there? Ellen herself must be phoning in her acceptance speeches by now. And I can only imagine how the View ladies must feel.

Then there's the Outstanding Younger Actress category - becoming well-known for its obsession with repeat winners and even eerier, girls named Jennifer. Jennifer Landon (Gwen, As the World Turns) won again this year. Before her, Jennifer Finnigan (ex-Bridget, Bold & the Beautiful), won three years in a row. Landon, the daughter of one of TV legends Michael Landon, is currently ATWT's darling as can be seen by the amount of airtime she dominates. Sadly, I see her as daytime's version of Mischa Barton - monotonous, overexposed, and way overrated. To be fair, though, Landon had surprisingly good performances in the tapes she submitted. It's too bad that the other nominees who deserved wins for their work overall last year kicked themselves in the foot by submitted bad tapes. Julie Berman (Lulu, GH) has been the one to get the most buzz in her category but the fact that her tape would have been a better submission for Genie Francis (her onscreen mom) resulted in a loss. Stephanie Gatschet (ex-Tammy, Guiding Light) also made the same mistake by submitting scenes that could very well have gotten her onscreen mom, Nicole Forester, a nomination.

I'm still in disbelief that the kid who used to play Richie on Family Matters won Outstanding Younger Actor. I'm usually in the camp that says, "If they submitted two great tapes, they deserve it". I don't know what Bryton McClure submitted but from the little I've seen of him on The Young & the Restless, the guy lacks the charisma that Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan, GL) obviously has in spades. Speaking of Pelphrey, what is it with him continuously losing to 'nobodies' from Y&R? In 2004, his loss to David Lago (Raul, Y&R) practically had everyone in the daytime industry in shock. Pelphrey played a huge part in rejuvenating the dinosaur that is Guiding Light for two and a half years. He should have easily won three years straight. And while I'm not a big fan of Van Hansis (Luke, ATWT), I think him winning would have made more sense. There's been so much talk about how his portrayal of a gay character is one of the most realistic ones ever done on television but if Reva having cancer didn't matter, if Lulu's abortion didn't matter, then Luke being gay, unsurprisingly, didn't matter.

Ric Hearst (Rick, GH) winning Outstanding Supporting Actor was one of two acting wins that didn't make me go WTF...mainly because I've hadn't watched enough of the nominees in the category to really have an opinion as to who should win. Hearst's win, followed by Francis's, however, had me worried for two seconds that a GH streak might happen.

The other acting win that I was fine with was Outstanding Lead Actress. I was praying for Kim Zimmer (Reva, GL) not to win again. She's good but she's also on my list of overrated daytime actors. GL loves her but it's become obvious in the last few months that she alone cannot carry the show. So I was happy when Maura West (Carly, ATWT) won. I'm surprised that this is actually her first win.

Having only two hours to get through the awards show compared to last year's three, this year's Emmys felt very rushed. However, kudos has to be given to showing acting clips for all the acting categories. Actually, they missed one: Outstanding Lead Actor. I don't think it was so much that the technical staff forgot, but because someone wasn't timing those embarassing fan videos or Tyra Banks and Elmo's flirty conversation and cutting them short (speaking of Tyra, what the hell was she wearing??? She may have been a model, but no way could anyone pull that disaster off). Nevertheless, the result was greatly disappointing. Christian LeBlanc (Michael, Y&R) over Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R) and Ricky Paull Goldin (Gus, GL)??? From what I've heard about LeBlanc's tapes, he would have been better off being in the Supporting category. I happened to watch RPG's submissions, an episode dedicated to showing his pain med-addicted character going through withdrawal, when they aired and while I didn't become an RPG fan after watching them, I was convinced that the man could really act. RPG looked a tad pissed (along with Bergman when they announced who won. Can't say I blame them.

Bob Barker was in the same boat as Genie Francis in that he got a sympathy vote with his Outstanding Game Show Host win but unlike Francis, Barker made it more about the staff from The Price is Right rather than about him. The man couldn't be any classier.

There needs to be some kind of rule to prohibit drinking before an awards ceremony. The director from ATWT who got up to make the acceptance speech for winning Outstanding Directing was sooo wasted. What was even funnier was how the camera panned to two ATWT actresses to show their "OMG..she's tanked!" reactions as the director stumbled over her speech and movements.

Despite an overall lack of creativity and sense in GL's writing last year, I was still rooting for them to take Outstanding Writing. They submitted two very well-written episodes so I think they deserve the win if that's what the rules are.

Ditto with Outstanding Drama Series. I was almost certain that One Life to Live was going to take it home (really, what beats an episode based around an innocent man's execution?). So it was definitely a shocker when Rachael Ray revealed that there was a tie. Guiding Light was the first one announced. Now, I admit sympathy played into this win since this is GL's 70th anniversary year but again...two well-written and acted episodes equals deserving win. It's really too bad that they had to share the spotlight with Y&R, which used the worst episodes as submissions out of the four shows nominated. What a great irony, however, that the two winners for Drama Series are the highest-rated AND one of the lowest-rated soaps. It's also very ironic that the two shows GL submitted heavily featured three of their nominees (Gina Tognoni, Tom Pelphrey, and Stephanie Gatschet)...who didn't win. It seems illogical how a show can win but lose out on all the acting awards. Doesn't a great show require great acting?

Thanks to this article, I feel better knowing that I'm not the only one who thought the results of this year's Emmys were seriously flawed.

Taking a Look at Pinoy Rock

Growing up, I always had this notion that Filipino (aka Pinoy) music consisted mostly of pop music - so heavily saturated with unoriginal dance tunes set to cheesy love lyrics. I'm sure if you ask any Filipino who grew up in North America to name one Filipino music artist or band, almost every single person asked would mention Regine Velasquez. She is to the Philippines as Mariah Carey is to the States and Celine Dion is to Canada. So it's not surprising as to how I formed my somewhat misinformed idea of what Filipino music is all about.

But maybe I wasn't so misinformed. It seems that the Philippines has in the past decade experienced a resurgence of OPM (Original Pilipino Music) bands after having been dominated so long by American music. Not all of them are good. Some are quite bad, actually, and many are clones of each other just as many bands here in North America uncreatively sound like Nickelback. But there are some remarkable bands that deserve to be mentioned.

Originally, I planned on doing a chart of what, in my opinion, are the best Filipino bands out there but that would just be just as difficult as ranking Canadian indie bands. I know far less about the former and am still just beginning to scratch its surface. So what I'll do instead is review bands/albums as I go.

Here's review numero uno:



Hale
Twilight (2006)
EMI Philippines

The sophomore album of this Manila-based quartet (Champ Lui Pio, vocals & guitar; Roll Martinez, vocals & guitar; Sheldon Gellada, bass; and Omnie Saroca, drums) is a vast improvement over their self-titled debut from 2004. While they are still injecting an overdose of romantic love themes into their lyrics (Hale, after all, has been classified in the pop-rock genre known as pogi-rock). the music itself has become more innovative.

Champ is quite the lyricist, however, and it's a shame that he doesn't venture outside of his usual self-proclaimed "melodrama" and write about other topics. Really, how many times can someone sing about unrequited love? It gets old by song #4. But even with all that melodrama, his vocals do a great job of revealing genuine emotion instead of coming off as something you'd want to respond to with an eyeroll - that is, until the instrumentals are mundane enough to pull the song towards unforgettable territory. "Empty Heart, Empty Tears" is an excellent example of this.

As catchy as "Waltz" is, Champ seems to have lost his lyrical talents when he comes up with the lines "And now I am outraged/As if we were engaged". What's worse than too much rhyme is rhyming without having it make much sense.

Hale does have loads of potential as can be heard with "Hide and Seek". Champ is able to show off his vocal range and the instrumentals are interesting to listen to. There's a part in the bridge where it sounds like someone is repeatedly firing a gun. Meanwhile, "Starting Over" shows a great shift in energy as it starts off quite mellow and speeds up with its uplifting chorus. Later, the chorus itself provides the background to vocals that almost seem to bounce.

Time will tell if Hale will grow away from its high school phase and create the kind of great music they clearly have the ability to make.



Hale - Last Song
Hale - Hide and Seek
Hale - Hide and Seek (video)

The Tyde's Three's Co.

I've actually never heard of The Tyde before. But just based on the band's name, along with my discovery that they're from California, as well as seeing a picture of big signs saying "swim" and "surf" on the CD booklet, I was pretty much prepared to drown miserably in sickeningly happy pop tunes.

But this band surprised me.

The album opener, "Do it Again Again", actually misled me to believe that my expectations were true. However, sometimes, it takes time for things to grow on you and this song has quickly transformed from a mediocre dance song into something rather catchy.

Songs like "Brock Landers" and "Separate Cars" drive me crazy. Not because they sound horrible, but because they're eerily similar to songs I love. Unfortunately, I can't for the life of me remember which songs those are, nor can I remember what band The Tyde is channeling that it's difficult to say if it's just being an unoriginal ripoff.

The first few seconds of the last song on the album, "Don't Need a Leash" sounds just like "Let it Be" by the Beatles only to veer off into the tune of another very familiar song...which again, I sadly can't remember.

Ultimately, Three's Co. is surprising because it is an album that will make you forget that it's "music for surfers" conjured up by a band from sunny California. Instead, it will make you desperate to recall all the bands and artists you've ever listened to. And now that I think about it, maybe The Tyde doesn't just sound like one particular band but a number of bands, and possibly has influences which span more than one decade - all these aspects molded to produce a unique sound while remaining to sound strongly familiar.

I dunno but I'm kinda digging the new ATWT opening...

New ATWT opening

...and dare I say that it's actually better than the show right now?

I don't understand what people are harping about in regards to the music. I think it's gold. It totally bulldozes the awfulness that was in the previous opening. The new sound has a classic, old-time feel to it and it ends on a really nice note.

The folks in the forefront look a little cut-and-paste and some of the people they decided to put in shots together lead to some questions. They've made Alison & Luke and Brad & Meg look like romantic interests when the former have never had a scene together if I recall correctly (not to mention that Luke is gay) and the latter are cousins (unlike Guiding Light, I highly doubt that As the World Turns will 'go there'). Nevertheless, I think the format is nice.

The new opening also made me laugh out loud at the 25-second mark where Brad (played by Austin Peck - some might recognize him as Austin from Days of Our Lives) looks like a deer caught in headlights. Hahaha! I can't believe the opening makers actually decided to keep that shot. Still, it isn't enough to make this new opening any worse than the old one which should win an award for Worst Cut-and-Paste Job Ever in an Opening Sequence.

How I loathe Edmonton's public transport system

Living in the most southeastern part of Edmonton sure does have its disadvantages.

It seems like everytime I get driven home by people who don't live in Millwoods, comments about feeling unsafe or "being in the 'hood'"(Millwoods...Millhoods..haha, yeah, I think that's a bad one, too) have to be made. To this, I simply chuckle as there are things faaar worst which accompany living where I live besides juvenile delinquents and numerous cul-de-sacs that will leave the Millwoods visitor (and resident) wishing they had been road designers. Namely, the God-awful public transport system in this city.

On Monday, Wednesday, Fridays...I have my first class at 9am. If I were to bus all the way from my house, it would take an hour. There's a university express bus that avoids 111th street completely and gets to the university in 40 minutes but the only time I ever use that route was if I had a class to go to at 9:30am on a Tuesday or Thursday.

Ever since I started driving, I've ditched taking the bus all the way from my house and opted to park n' ride at Southgate instead (despite the ridiculous "no park 'n ride" bylaw and having been caught twice for trying to break it). Speeding through the Whitemud (10 min.) + bussing from Southgate to the university (15-20 min. give or take) = 30 min. aka half the time that bussing all the way would take.

Yesterday was an exception, though. I drove to Southgate and arrived at 8:40 and hopped on the 44. Strangely enough, a ton of people boarded to pack the bus. I was so sure that I arrived too late to get to school on time and so felt some relief that maybe I hadn't.

The deaf school was in sight...stop for 5 minutes...inch half a meter forward...stop for another 5 minutes...inch less than a meter forward...I start to doze off (as do others)...jerk my head back up...nooo, another red light? I'm late for sure now...wow, this is taking kinda long...really, REALLY long...

At some point, I was wishing that they'd completely ban having people drive to the university altogether or at least reserve the right lane for busses and taxis during peak hours. We finally reached the University Hospital (still didn't know what time it was) but I finally found out what was dragging traffic down to turtle pace - one lane had been blocked so that there was only one lane left to use. Brilliant. I finally looked at the clock at Health Sciences to check the time...9:33am. Wait, 9:33???? I have an assignment to hand in today! CRAP!!! By the time the bus had reached the university, it was almost 9:40am. What normally is a 15 min. bus ride took an hour. The same amount of time it takes to bus all the way from my house.

I wanted to complain. But to who? ETS? I guess I can't really blame them this time since an hour vs. 15 min. is quite a huge discrepancy. Construction or whoever else was responsible for giving us southside folks only one lane to work with?? Maybe motorists for polluting air and space instead of taking public transport? After all, I could have driven all the way to the university but the amount of gas (and money) I'd waste idling makes me shudder. And one lane or two lanes, I think it's safe to say that if less people drove all the way to the university, busses would be reaching campus faster.

Or maybe I should blame city council for not coming up with a better public transport system. There's really no fairness when people in Clareview can reach the university in about 25-30 minutes (I'm sure that's about right) while those in Millwoods (an area with enough people to be Alberta's third largest city) have to spend twice as much time on the road to get to the same destination.

Foreign music does not equal bad music

The other day, I arrived at work and noticed "Day-O" (or however the heck you spell it) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers blaring. Oohh...new song. I asked Jody (my boss) if he had made a new CD and he replied, "Yes, I did! That's because no one could understand your music! Some old lady came up to me once and asked, 'What is this???" Defiantly, I said, "I don't understand all my music.I just think it sounds good." After that, Jody admitted that to be fair, he added one French song to the new CD. Ha!

I have one coworker who never fails to say how much she hates French music. Supposedly, it's because she hates listening to something she can't understand but for some reason, she's perfectly fine when something's sung in Spanish or Italian.

Like I said, I don't understand every foreign song I fall in love with but some of their approaches to certain genres and some of the tunes foreign artists/bands come up with are far catchier than the mainstream coming out of North American radio.

It's really a damn shame that albums don't make it to the Billboards or Canadian Soundscans just because they're sung in different tongues.

Below is a list of non-English artists/songs worth checking out.

Mickey 3d (mickey3d.com) - A French band with one of the most original sounds out there...particularly their middle eastern influences which can be heard in songs such as "Yalil". My favourite songs include "La Mort du Peuple" (The Death of the People), "Les Mots" (Words), and "Le France a Peur" (France is Scared).

André - I came across the video to "Station Balnéaire" when I was watching MusiquePlus in Montreal. I've just recently tried finding his other songs and I really liked "Comptoir Postal" and "Tsigane et Sara".

Juli - "Perfekte Welle" is FAR better than most pop crap playing on the radio here at home. And I don't understand German at all!

Xavier Naidoo - Again, I wish I could understand German because I absolutely love his song "Was Wir Alleine Nicht Shaffen"! I haven't been this into an R&B song in so long! "Bevor Du Gehst" is also another notable song, in my opinion.

Le Vibrazioni - This Italian band was introduced to me by a friend. They play rock music bordering on pop which I tend not to like but the falsettos get me everytime. "Raggio di Sole" and "Dedicato a Te" are some of those inner conflicts for me.

Sandwich - While doing research for a final sociology paper last semester, I came across this article talking about Korean and Russian rock. This all of a sudden got me curious to find some Filipino rock as I really know next to nothing about it except for the classic Freddy Aguilar who's best known for his song "Anak" (Child) and The Eraserheads who were huge in the Philippines in the 80s and 90s (I had tried listening to the E-heads in junior high but just couldn't get into them...I recently tried listening to them again and have come to appreciate their music more). Anyway, the guy who used to play drums in the E-heads, Raimund Marasigan, is now the lead vocalist of Sandwich. They have some rather interesting tunes including "DVD X", "Sugod", and "Walang Kadala-dala"

Winter, go away

To travel in a snowstorm sucks but to work during one...not so much.

So yesterday (err..2 days ago), I was running late for school - I decided to drive to Southgate and then hop on a bus headed to the university. Bad idea.

There was what looked like a blanket of death shadowing the entire Whitemud freeway. The worst part of the Whitemud in such a snowstorm isn't even the Whitemud itself but just trying to enter it. There happened to be an accident by the intersection I was trying to make a turn in to get into the Whitemud so I was stuck on this one street for 15 minutes.

Eventually, I get on the Whitemud and I can't even see the car ahead of me. Just its taillights. Yes...I feel totally safe driving in this condition. Anyway, I made it alive to Southgate, hopped on a bus and ended up being half an hour late for French.

Two and a half hours later, I'm done classes and waiting for the bus to head over back to Southgate. The road by SUB loves to make people slip. The scariest being when this guy riding a bike by this bus suddenly slipped and fell off just when the bus was no where near being able to stop. The biker was only half a ruler length away from being run over. Even the bus driver admitted that if the guy hadn't gotten back up when he did, he would have ran him over. So lesson here is: don't ride a bike when the roads are made out of icy snow much less, in that said condition beside a motor vehicle!

Unfortunately, I had my own little scare on the way home. I almost got into an accident when I couldn't stop at a red light and this other van was turning. I was literally 2 seconds away from crashing into it. Fortunately, that's when I managed to stop and back up. No doubt, that moment was just as frightening, if not more, than seeing a biker almost get run over.

It was completely dead at work today. My boss gave me and my coworker a bunch of stuff to do which was good. After my boss left, there were probably only 4 or 5 people who bought something.

Thank God for being able to bring our own music to work (no more Christmas music!). I managed to get my coworker into Pilate and Hawksley Workman. We also had a long talk about music. I always got the impression that she only listened to hip hop and r&b so it was kinda interesting to discover that she grew up listening to rock music. We happened to have both gone to certain shows such as Our Lady Peace (back in gr. 11 and which we agreed, rocked) and Sum 41 (same year, she loved it while I thought it was one of the worst concerts I had ever been to). What's even more bizarre is when I found out we shared the same birthday! She's only 3 hours older than me. Coincidence like that just never ceases to amaze me.

Anyway, work was so dead we ended up copying Quiznos and closing 2 hours early. Probably one of the few (but more than welcome) blessings a snowstorm brings.