monday music: you oughta know ALANIS MORISETTE

Or ...

back when you oughta know she made you swallow that jagged little pill

She came into our lives in 1995 like a blitzkrieg - sudden, strong and from all directions - through her cleverly and aptly titled album, Jagged Little Pill. And while everyone else loved the sound of Hand In My Pocket, Ironic and You Learn, I thought those songs were pretty sucky. The one that I liked - the only song of hers that I liked - was You Oughta Know.

I never was an Alanis fan. I disliked her sound and her fashion sense; I even wondered why producers invested in making her into a recording artist. She sang in a way that that reminded me of mating cats, or nails being dragged down a blackboard. I'd sampled her music months ahead of my friends because I tuned in to alternative radio, and by the time she hit mainstream I was already sick of hearing that whiny voice.

But all that aside, I loved You Oughta Know. It was so raw, the first time I heard it I could totally imagine a punk cover.



(All that angst, hair-throwing and seemingly carelessly put-together look is typical '90s rock. I wonder if Alanis cringes when she looks back at this.)

"It sounds too angry," I'd heard people say. But that's exactly the point. She was angry and she wanted the world to know. At one end it was embarrassing to hear someone spill her guts so poiselessly, at the other it liberating to know that someone could express herself unreservedly; somewhere in the middle it was extremely amusing. You kinda snicker with pity for the bloke who broke her heart (who probably didn't expect a hate-letter to come through the airwaves while the rest of the world listened). Of all her songs, this was the one I found to have the most character.

A bit of trivia: Dave Navarro played the guitars for it.

You Oughta Know came as a shock to most who weren't used to indie and the profanity of pre-existent metal. People remarked they have never heard a b**ch so angry, that her raw emotion and references to sex were startling, that there hasn't been anyone like her before and yadda yadda yadda. But of course it has been done before - and yes, even by dames - and Alanis was even polite compared to some of those I've heard in the early and mid-nineties that she didn't even shock me.

Three years after Jagged Little Pill was released, Alanis came out with Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. A less-angsty version of her came singing Thank You, seemingly nude in the middle of a city, and we thought WTF(?).

Eventually she grew up, cleaned up and slowly faded out. I don't even care what she's up to now.

Here are someone else's thoughts on Alanis and You Oughta Know. You oughta read it too.

A few years back someone did do a punk cover of You Oughta Know. I just don't know who it was.

back when the little mermaid did not have a happy ending

In the Dark Ages, fairy tales were originally grim and macabre to illustrate harsh life-lessons to children (i.e., scare them into behaving properly). Through the years those stories have been cleaned up by the likes of Charles Perrault and Hans Christian Andersen, and then glitterized by Disney in the 20th century. Fairy tales these days are not as much for teaching lessons as they are for making producers rich entertainment.

The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen

Before the year 1989, everyone knew that the Little Mermaid who had no name did not get the prince to fall in love with her and did not get a happy ending. She gambled her life to get three days of silence and unrequited love, afterward she threw herself into the sea and became sea-foam. It had a tragic ending but it was nonetheless a well-loved classic fairy tale.

When i was a little girl, i was familiar with the original, tragic version; it was first told to me by my Aunt (... or was it my grandmother? Anyway ...) and I can still remember how I froze in disbelief when I heard the words "sea foam". Despite the horrible end that befell the mermaid, there was still something compelling about the story that kept me reading and watching different versions of it. And no matter how many times I read or watched, it always left me heartbroken. I particularly fell in love with a beautiful shoujo anime version, featuring a lovely mermaid with silky straight, golden hair that floated like gossamer. The mermaid left her prince two souvenirs just before she jumped: the pearl-flower she wore in her hair, and a scale from her tail. It left me mourning and pining for days.

I think this was it. Han's Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid (1975)
Image from here.

The little girl that I was, I'd daydream of a version where the prince loved her back, where she didn't die and they got married and had children. Sigh

Still the lessons of that sad story were clear: Don't trust wicked people. Don't make foolish decisions about being in love. You don't always get what you want.

Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989) turned the tragedy into a magical musical. When word of its production was going around, it instantly got people excited. For one thing, it had been years since Disney released an animated fairy tale (I think the last one before it was Cinderella, 1950); for another, people were curious about the ending.

It pleased viewers to see a version that did not end in sea-foam, of course. And it pleased them extra that it came with vibrant animation.

... And a catchy soundtrack. It won Oscars for Best Song and Best Score - and it isn't a wonder; the music was spectacular. Little girls who were Ariel-wannabes memorized Part Of Your World. For those who preferred something less girly, they tried to catch whatever lyrics they could understand from Under The Sea (play. pause. write. play.)

Ariel's story was a big comfort to me personally. It's my happy daydream version put to animation. I have since appreciated that story that didn't kill the mermaid in the end.

Disney changed The Little Mermaid forever. Kids who were born after 1989 don't even know about the original denouement involving a murder attempt and a suicide. To them it's Kiss the Girl, shalalala my-oh-my, a happy tale of self-centered values romance and positive vibes. It's easier anyway to embrace the Disney tale because it's more hopeful.

The Little Mermaid changed Disney forever as well. It raised the bar for animated movies. As seen in the following wave of Disney fairy tales - Beauty and the Beast, Alladin, et al - Disney had since then a whole new flavor; it was more upbeat and contemporary.

Ariel and her friends influenced pop culture since they debuted on screen. Heck, to this day I still see her face on merchandise. Little-Mermaid-love has never grown old. There's even a Broadway musical now. Those who were kids back then still love her for being part of their growing up years, kids of today also love her because she can still relate.




The Hubby and I watched The Little Mermaid again today (he was looking for videos to play as "background noise" while he worked and decided to put on a couple of Disney cartoons). It still seemed fresh and current. It doesn't look like something that was released as long ago as twenty years.

Now that I am an adult though, I kinda think I like the original ending better. The Disney version kind of teaches little kids that it is justifiable to compromise with evil people, it is romantic to rebel against your family for reasons of love, and that you will get what you want in the end against all odds. The original tale had lessons that were more moral and practical.

But of course everybody likes happy endings. We like happy endings so much that we keep wishing for ours. We just have to remember through all the romanticism and glitter, we've got to be wise too (i.e., no making stupid deals with evil sea witches). And hey - endings only happen when you die, and I'm sure no one wants to die after marrying Prince Charming.

monday music: beautiful girl JOSE MARI CHAN

I am aware that Jose Mari Chan is supposed to be like one of the greatest OPM composers or something, but I'm really just not a fan of his musical style and his writing prowess. He was particularly prolific in the '80s; his songs like Please Be Careful With My Heart and Christmas in Our Hearts were heavily played on local radio stations. I never appreciated them.

His other popular tune was Beautiful Girl. I revisited it a couple of months ago because I had a to teach a lesson on inner beauty to a group of young ladies, and one of the suggested activities was to have the group listen to Chan's Beautiful Girl. I did not have a CD or mp3, not even a tape of it, so I opted for the easy, free option of playing a You Tube video.

OMG, laugh trip.

I've always found this video pathetic and trying-too-hard; it used to make me cringe, smirk and roll my eyes. I thought that it would be embarrassing to show on MTV Asia, and a downright misrepresentation of Filipino talent. Right now seeing it makes me laugh.

By the way - Nice hair, girls. Especially Ate Vi.

Observe how skinny Mega used to be, and notice how different Regine Velasquez' nose (um, flat) and eyes (er, chinky) were back in the day.



What makes it extra funny is how after he is shown with all the "beautiful girls", it ends with an awkwardly inserted photo of him and his wife.

friday film: before sunrise (1995) / before sunset (2004)

Movie poster from here.

Before Sunrise (1995)
Before Sunset (2004)
Ethan Hawke * Julie Delpy
Directed by Richard Linklater

These are two movies I love so much, I decided to watch them at least once every year.

Before Sunrise was released in 1995. It was a day in the life of American guy Jesse and French girl Celine, young strangers who met in a train and went on a "whim-date" in Vienna. Their unexpectedly meaningful time lasted only until the morning, when each of them parted ways on their trips home. Each one left with a piece of the other.

Before Sunset was filmed and released nine years later, featuring the same two characters, also set nine years later. Jesse and Celine bump into each other again in Paris - all grown up, i.e., less romantic, less idealistic, more cynical due to the seasoning of age and experience. They had only a little over an hour to spend with each other since Jesse had to fly back to the US in a while. As they caught each other up on what happened in the past nine years, they revealed that their previous and only other encounter was a landmark in both their lives.

In the time before Facebook, it was next to impossible to find people you've been estranged from - particularly a beautiful stranger you serendipitously meet in a foreign land - and especially so if the only thing you have to go by is a first name. These stories play on the what ifs that so many people are familiar with - what ifs concerning chance encounters and the one that got away.

They aren't your usual romantic flicks, by the way. For one thing, they don't have the usual gush-and-shudder cues, and there are no i love yous. They quite "feel" like art films because of the pregnant silences and the long, philosophical, tartly humorous [but no-nonsense] dialogs.

The scripts have a singular basic, linear plot - it's just two people talking while walking around. But the viewer's interest is captured by the intelligent exchange between Jesse and Celine, as well as the things that they didn't say. Both Hawke and Delpy were excellent at the non-verbals.

Ethan Hawke has always been one of my favorite drama actors since I saw him in Dead Poets' Society around two decades ago (I love how he does facial expressions, especially that yearning-pining thing he does with his eyes). He was pretty hot stuff back in the '90s and did a couple of youth-oriented movies; he's practically a Gen X mascot. He's gotten quite skinny and wrinkled up lately (which is very apparent in Before Sunset - the lines on his forehead and around his eyes kinda suggest he's done a lot of worrying or has not invested in a good moisturizer). He's not as good-looking as he used to be, but he's still quite attractive.

Delpy and Hawke in "Sunset"
Photo from here.

By the way, it's so hard to admit that that haircut used to be cool. Most guys looked like that in the '90s,

Got it here.

And watching Ethan as Jesse reminded me of how guys used to tuck their shirts into high-waisted jeans (I mean, if they weren't into the low-waist thing). They completed the look with sneakers or sandals worn with socks. But seeing it now makes me gag.

Julie as Celine wore a long, casual, spag-strapped dress with a plain shirt underneath - which is sooo markedly '90s too. She even threw over that ratty-looking, button-down long-sleeved plaid shirt a la Seattle grunge band that wouldn't normally go with a dress.

Image from here.

It looks ludicrous now, but that actually used to make sense. That's how we used to dress, and yes, that was absolutely cool. It is now considered ugly to wear a shirt under a sleeveless dress because the in thing is to show off your shoulders. And to wear a plaid dishtowel is a crime.

[SPOiLERS HERE] Sometime during their all-night conversation in Sunrise, Celine and Jesse agreed to preserve the mystery of their chance encounter by not keeping in touch. But then they seemed to have developed some sort of attraction, and at the very last moment, just before Celine's train departed, each of them confessed that they wanted to see the other again. I don't know how or why anyone in a similar situation would not consider getting the other's phone number. Instead they came up with a not-so-simple plan of meeting again the next year. Naturally, that open-ended goodbye was more romantic and mysterious - and gave a premise for a sequel. The sequel in turn fed on the heartbreak of the second date that didn't happen.

I was thinking that if that first movie was set in 2010, that whole conundrum could be more easily avoided with today's social networking sites. If Jesse didn't have time to produce a pen and paper to get her number, Celine could have just given Jesse her last name and said in her cute little French accent, "Search for me in FB, s'il vous plait," and there, problem solved. It would have then been easier to give each other a chance. But of course there wouldn't be anything tortured and dramatic enough for a second movie, hahaha.

I know some real people who have used FB to find the one that got away, or an ex from an abruptly-ended relationship - not really to try date again, but mostly just to get some closure, apologize, forgive, explain what really happened and so on. Wait ... coming to think of it, I do know a guy who tried to have a long distance relationship with the one who got away, relying on FB to contact her. Like Jesse and Celine's, it was a last-minute thing that sparked just before the girl had to move to another continent. It didn't work out, but at least they don't have to grow old suffering those what ifs, because they were actually able to give each other a try.

Anyway. I don't really know how to wrap this entry up, so lemme just end with this:

The not-so-moral lessons of this story are:

• Have a Facebook account because that's how people connect these days. If you don't have time to get a person's number, a last name may do fine unless it's a really common name.
• Take good care of your body because you may not be half as cute as you were when you were a young adult.
• Don't fall in love with random beautiful people in a train crossing Europe because it will end up in heartbreak.
• Do grab your opportunities as they come by because they may not happen again until after nine years, and by then it may be wrong for you to.

back when the a-team was a weekly habit

What is it with movie makers these days? There seems to be a load of remakes and rehashes - they've either run out of ideas or they don't want to take a risk with new ones so they just use the tried-and-tested formulas that already have a large, sure market.

Image from here.

Just this week, I caught The A-Team (2010) - a movie version of the well-loved '80s series. It's not bad as a stand-alone movie; it's kinda like most action/spy movies of the time - complex plot with a lot of twists and double-crossing, high-tech machinery, a lot of explosions, a hot babe on the side, a fast pace and a whole lot of action. Not bad.

Image nicked from here.

... But if you've got memories of the original A-Team, it kinda feels like something's missing.

Bradley cooper was a nice choice to play Face, the Murdock guy was okay. But Liam Neeson as Hannibal kinda didn't work for me; he's too morose, and kinda ... too dry. I didn't like the choice for B.A. Baracus at all - he's like a poor copy of a poor copy of Mr. T., and as far as I know B.A. is supposed to stand for badass, but he was far from.

Still it was fun to be sort of reunited with "childhood friends".

Back in the mid-eighties, Col. Hannibal Smith, Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck, Sgt. Bosco "B.A." Baracus and Capt. James "Howling Mad" Murdock were regular guests in everyone's home. On Wedesday nights at 8 pm, we'd turn our TV sets to channel 7 - it was a weekly ritual for my dad, my older brother and I.

Image from here.

I was too young (and probably, too female) to understand all the technical and military jargon, but I nonetheless enjoyed watching it every Wednesday night. It was entertaining to see them work their complex plans and blow things up.

The original Hannibal was so badass. The cigar habit was so cliche for an older military man, but it worked. It also interested me that Hannibal was played by George Peppard, the guy opposite Audrey Hepburn in the classic romance Breakfast at Tiffany's (he was pretty gorgeous as a younger man).

Mr. T is B.A. Baracus. He made that persona his own and that will forever be cemented. I pity the fool who got cast to play Baracus / Mr. T, because I don't think anyone can do the role justice, not even if he wore a mohawk and ton of gold.

Murdock was just fun in all that howling madness. The name Murdock became synonymous with crazy, especially after it was also used by McGyver's psychotic nemesis. The role was played by Dwight Schultz - I never forgot that name because I found it so unique. I recently caught some entertainment news that showed where he is now; apparently he's more into being a voice talent for animation these days.

And the former Lt. Starbuck in the late-70s series Battlestar Galactica (reruns of which I caught as a child), Dirk Benedict, was just eye-candy; I didn't care if he was old.

I never knew why the show was canceled; I remember feeling a wee bit disappointed when it stopped showing. I kinda missed it - so I guess that's why I felt like I had to watch the movie, even if it did have Liam Neeson as Hannibal.

A-Team Lego bricks.
This is from here.

BTW, I did a quick IMDB search to find out where those guys are now:

• George Peppard passed away in '94. He will forever be remembered as a TV and movie legend.
• After a recurring role in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, Dwight Schultz has done voices for some hundred animated movies, series and video games. I didn't realize he did Mung Daal in Chowder and Dr. Animo in Ben 10. His voice was also in The Animatrix, The Wild Thornberrys, Family Guy, Afro Samurai and the English version of Mononoke-Hime. He supposedly was one of the German doctors in the recent A-Team movie, but I didn't spot him.
• Dirk Benedict has been in a few B-movies. He was also in the 2010 movie, but again, I was not able to identify him
  
• Not much info on Mr. T.

back when the original karate kid movies showed

I kinda think that everybody loves a good underdog movie.

The Karate Kid (1984) is in my opinion one of the best feelgood movies of the '80s. It's a classic coming-of-age, character development plot, a sort of Cinderella story complete with a Fairy Godmother type, but with a lot of testosterone.

It had two of the most memorable movie characters - the nice-guy antihero Daniel played by Ralph Macchio; and the steady, wise sensei Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita. Morita's Oscar-nominated Miyagi became a sort of legend; he set the tone for movie sensei roles.

It became so popular that wax on, wax off and the crane pose became a sort of Gen-X inside joke.

A sequel came out in 1986 and a Part 3 in 1989 - those probably weren't as inspiring or compelling as the first movie (Part 2 was particularly mushy) but were just as loved.

(In fact they were so loved, producers coughed up The Next Karate Kid in 1994 to milk the fans - sans Daniel and starring a then-unknown Hilary Swank. An utter flop. I don't even consider it as part of the franchise. The trilogy is fine)



I think one reason why The Karate Kid was / is so lovable (despite it's unimaginative title) was because everyone could relate to Daniel, the underdog. We were drawn in by Daniel's nice naivete and were hooked by his need to be something more. It tickled the dreamers and idealists in us as we watched him grow with the aid of an unlikely but awesome mentor, until in the end he kicked a** and showed those nasty rich guys who used to pick on him - all while still staying unbelievably nice.

Weren't we all tense and inwardly cheering with the crowd while he was doing that crane thing in the end?



And of course, the lovable antihero got the girl (played by Elisabeth Shue, who always seemed to play leading man's girlfriend in '80s and early '90s movies).

The movie even came with an unforgettable pop-rock soundrack - how much more '80s could you get than Moment of Truth? It was really fitting for the story. But the hopeless romantic in me liked Peter Cetera's uber-cheesy Glory of Love in the sequel: I am a man who will fight for your honor ... I'll be the hero you've been dreaming of ... Tsss. I don't even remember the theme song for the third movie.

The Karate Kid is forever enshrined; it had / has the right combination for a must-watch, must-have family classic. (It's been Robot Chicken-ed, and that says something). It's one of those movies I wouldn't mind marathoning over and over again. It's something from my childhood that I would love to bequeath to the next generation of children.

But wait - the plot thickens ...

Some time ago when I heard that Will and Jada Pinkett Smith were producing a Karate Kid remake, I was less than excited. Remakes have often been cataclysmic letdowns.


On top of that, I felt like they were defiling a well-respected memory, taking advantage of an already-existent fanbase and attempting to milk Gen-Xers by playing on their nostalgia. The movie was even using the same title though it featured kung-fu and not karate. I was especially offended when I found out that it was starring the Smiths' own son Jaden, who I thought awfully young for the lead -- and was this kid supposed to be a bigger star than Mr. Jackie Chan to be given top billing? They were even using Jackie Chan to draw viewers.

I made up my mind that this Kung-Fu Kid movie was going to utterly suck and I wasn't going to watch it.

It's just that the Hubby and I were hanging out with his parents last Sunday and they wanted to watch it, so we gave in and bought tickets.

... And boy, I was not disappointed.

The Karate Kid (2010) rocks! Props to! [NO SPOILERS HERE] Finally, a remake at par with the original.

This 2010 movie works on the same plot, and I'm glad for that, even if it was about kung-fu. It's minus the corny '80s dialogue of course, but I noticed it stuck with a huge bulk of the script, infused with some elements that were obviously Will Smith in attitude. It paid homage to original Karate Kid trademarks such as wax on, wax off and the old catching-a-fly-with-chopsticks trick, but those were not presented at all in the expected cliche way. Dre Parker (the new Daniel, played by Jaden Smith) did not have a crane thing at the end, but he did have something else that might be a little less dramatic but just as good.

And yes, it's fitting for Jaden Smith to have top billing.

It's just as entertaining and inspiring as the original Karate Kid, but perhaps a bit more exhilarating because of the faster pace. I'd love to watch it over again, even just for the martial arts sequences (and those Chinese boys really steal the show - those kids are unbelievable). I've been telling my friends to watch it.

But nothing will ever compare to the tandem of Daniel-San and Mr. Miyagi of course.

friday film e.t. : the extra-terrestrial (1982)

image from here

image from here

A Steven Spielberg film
4 Oscar wins and 4 nominations

28 years ago today, E.T. was released.

I was four or five years old and in kindergarten. It would have been the first movie I saw in the cinema if I had watched it in the cinema, but my uncle somehow acquired a pirated Betamax video so I watched it in my grandmother's house with my cousins. I was probably too young to appreciate the movie anyway. I mean, things prolly wouldn't have made that much sense to me even if the screen wasn't fuzzy and mostly blue and if the dialogues didn't sound so honky. All I could tell was there was this kid named Elliot who found an ugly little alien with a glowing finger and super powers, and there was this other kid who was cute and blonde and she screamed, and this little alien wanted to phone home until his parents came over and picked him up.

E.T. has been played on television over and over through the years and I've eventually grasped a better understanding of the story. I believe there's supposed to be something heartwarming in there, but the sight of the little brown extraterrestrial is just too distracting.

Before I go on, let me just make it clear to the host of Gen-Xers who most likely count E.T. as one of their favorite movies of all time that I am not dissing the movie. I'm just recounting my experience as a preschooler who first watched it on a poor Betamax copy... and incidentally remembering the trauma of when my yaya told me that E.T. was taking me away to another planet because I was a bad girl. :p

Anyway.

From the start, I thought that alien was freaking ugly. Freaking nightmarishly ugly.


I couldn't quite get why people around me seemed to think he was adorable. First of all, he was brown - the color of muck, crap, lizards and flea-ridden stray dogs. And he was wrinkly, like my great-grandmother whose idea of recreation was to terrorize kids. I didn't care that his eyes were blue, he was ugly (my great-grandma's eyes were blue too, by the way). He was especially disgusting when Elliot found him dried-up and near-dying by a ditch, skin all flaky and ribs sticking out like tuyo. If not for the children in it, I would have felt like I was watching a horror flick. I kinda thought that if those movie-makers designed a make-believe alien for a family movie, they could have at least made him smooth, furry and not brown.

I did not understand why kids would want this looking back at them as they went to sleep.


I did not want one, but we had one.

Likenesses of the bug-eyed alien were ubiquitous. Scenes from the movie were spoofed or referenced everywhere - and since the flick was so vastly popular, the referencing went on for years. Everyone was raving about E.T. and I couldn't understand why. My classmates at preschool would narrate their own versions of the movie, including ones in which they inserted themselves (or ones in which they inserted the movie characters in their own lives), and I just couldn't appreciate it. Every kid wanted a bike with a basket just like Elliot's, just so they had a place to stow an alien in case they found one and needed to drive him around.


Some unforgettable scenes from E.T.

Stills from AllMoviePhoto.com

It makes me wonder - where is that kid who played Elliot now?

We all know how that blonde cutie who played Elliot's kid sister turned out. Drew Barrymore went from child star to underaged drug addict to denim ad model to soft-porn star to one of today's hottest leading ladies.

Anyway.

To this day, when I see old pictures of E.T., I still think fried chicken. Maybe because Kentucky Fried Chicken (now known as KFC) gave away plastic E.T. toys back in '82 - I'm not sure.

E.T. is legendary. But I'm still not a fan. I still think he's disgusting, and just to avoid seeing his pathetic, wrinkly face, I'd rather not look at the screen directly. I've eventually gotten over my fear of being picked up by aliens and shipped off to another planet of course. But in two years when the movie's 30th anniversary comes round, I don't think I'll be purchasing the digitally-mastered commemorative video, nor be watching it with friends who want to revisit their happy childhoods. I'd much rather re-watch Annie, which was released a week after E.T. and was eclipsed by the Spielberg sci-fi smash. I loved Annie much more than E.T. as a little girl - and I think I'll be reminiscing about Annie next Friday.

back when there were color-coded hero teams

The staple colors are red, blue, green, yellow, pink and the additional black. Every team has got to have one of each.

Who could forget the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers from the 90s?

Click to view larger image.

Power Rangers was kinda painful to watch. I could not believe teenagers (or adult actors pretending to be teenagers) willingly put themselves through that public humiliation just for a B-list TV career.

Anyway, on to other color-coded teams ...

How about the original Japanese "Rangers" - Bioman from the late 70s / early 80s?



There is also the team behind the Defender of the Universe. Form feet and legs ... Darnit, I can still hear the music and the opening spiel in my head.

Image from Voltron.com

Their team (Let's go, Voltron force!) didn't seem to know what color-coding was for. The guy in the red suit went into the black lion, the blue guy took the red lion, and the princess in pink got the blue lion.


Let's not forget these guys. They may not be wearing bright, tight uniforms but with their powers combined they saved the planet more than once. Aside from the color-coded shirts, consider the varied tones of their skin:



But when it comes to color-coded groups, these creepy guys have got to be one of the most popular:



Isama na natin ang mga ito - look, they even have the staple colors right:

back when he raised the horned hand

I just learned that Dio died a few days ago (May 30, 2010) of stomach cancer at age 67.

Image nicked from this blog.

Ronnie James Dio is a rock icon, one of the (grand)fathers of heavy metal. He was the guy who replaced Ozzy Osborne as frontman of Black Sabbath and is heralded as one of the greatest heavy metal vocalists of all time.

A younger Dio
Image from MarkBult.com

Yes, I used to listen to Black Sabbath, and I'm not ashamed of that. Well, I listened though I was taught in church that rock is demonic and those metal lords are devil-worshippers, and I learned about all those Anti-Christ / Satanic worship symbols hidden in their album covers and lyrics. :p I didn't want to burn in hell of course - but that didn't stop me from listening to more "acceptable" forms of rock. xp

Speaking of "demonic symbols" - ever wonder why this hand-gesture is fashionable among rockers, metalheads and wannabes? IT'S BECAUSE OF DIO!


Dio is among those who popularized the cornato or "horned hand" (also called the devil's horns). He was one of the first - if not the first - to use them at performances, permanently relating the gesture to rock music. I don't think he intended to promote Satanic worship with it though - at least, not originally (that could've just come later, haha) - especially since he got it from his religious grandmother who believed it warded off evil. As far as I know, he just wanted to create a statement pogi pose that was different from Ozzy's.

If you've ever seen Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006), he stars in the kickarse opening sequence as himself - or rather, his younger, early-'80s self with a bit of a receding hairline.






From the time he started in the 1970s, he never retired and just kept on rocking. In fact the news says he was working on a Black Sabbath project just before he passed away.
.

monday music: take on me A-HA / REEL BIG FISH / A1

Take On Me was a big 1985 number one single by Norwegian pop-rock / New Wave band a-ha. It had then-avant-garde ultra-catchy synthpop instrumentation that can't so easily be erased from the minds of '80s youth.

I don't think anybody understood what the phrase "take on me" meant, but combined with the other lyrics, it became apparent to everyone that it's supposed to be romantic.

The music video that came with it was equally avant-garde. It's a romance-fantasy story with animation (rotoscoping) - it's a quick chick-flick actually. It had several wins in the 1986 MTV Awards: Best New Artist, Best Concept Video, Best Concept Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects and Viewer's Choice. It was also nominated for Best Group Video and Video of the Year. It was that hot.

It's still one of my favorite music videos of all time. The pencil-drawings were done so well, and I had wondered if ever could learn to draw like that. I remember being so impressed by the whole video - the idea of a girl walking into a comic book and interacting with pencil sketches was so cool. Besides, the guy's so cute. Every time it came on Video Hit Parade, I'd totally watch it, no matter how many times I've seen it; when it came to the end, I'd always wish there was a part 2 to the story.

Take On Me
a-ha

We're talking away
I don't know what I'm to say but I say it anyway
Today's not my day to find you Shying away
I'll be coming for your love, OK

Take On Me, Take me on,
I'll be gone In a day or two

So needless to say
I'm odds and ends So I'll be Stumbling away
Slowly learning that life is OK
Say after me, It's still better to be safe than sorry

Take On Me, Take me on,
I'll be gone In a day or two

Oh the things that you say
Is this life or Just to play my Worries away
You're all the things I've got to remember
You're shying away
I'll be coming for you anyway

Take On Me, Take me on,
I'll be gone In a day or two

Sometime in the late '90s, the Ska band Reel Big Fish came out with a cover. Covers don't often do the originals justice, but this take of Take On Me takes gold. I used to turn the volume up whenever it played on NU 107.

The video isn't that impressive, but it's still fun to watch nonetheless, it's like a party in there. They didn't have any typically cute guys (like the one in the a-ha video), but I do find something attractive about a guy who can sing + plays instrument + is into punk ska + is slightly geeky.



I can't believe that's been more than a decade ago. ^_^

Maybe it's due to the fact that I love (still do) '90s third-wave ska and punk-ska, but I find the Reel Big Fish version waaaaay better than the lamer-than-lame A1 copy cover that came out in 2000. The A1 version did better on the mainstream though, and not that many people knew about the Reel Big Fish one. Tsss. I blame the boy band mania associated with so much cheese and corn in that era. Still, props to them for the sci-fi-ish music video that tried too hard to be cool by adding elements of VR and The Matrix, and for bringing back the love (albeit massacring) for an '80s favorite.

friday film fix: kramer vs. kramer

Every Friday beginning today, I thought I'd look back on a movie from my growing-up years (or maybe earlier) - maybe re-watch something and write an entry for this blog (That is, if/when I won't be too occupied elsewhere :p ). It's not going to be a review. It's just going to be a bunch of thoughts and reminiscing.

I thought I'd begin with Kramer vs. Kramer.

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Dustin Hoffman * Merryl Streep
Directed by Robert Benton
5 Oscars - Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Writing

I first watched it on television as a kid (obviously years after it was released); I remember thinking that it was a really good movie though it left a heavy feeling and I wasn't sure I understood everything.

It's pretty significant to me because I learned how to make french toast from seeing it.


I just re-watched recently it and I still think it's awesome, and I still think it leaves a heavy feeling.

It's about career-driven Ted and his wife Joanna, and their divorce. Their separation affected not only each other, but their child. I think that child-in-the-middle element really rocked it. Without that, it would have been just another war of the exes.

The dialogues were simple but loaded. I love the camera angles. The acting was no-wonder-they-both-won-Oscars wow. I liked that it didn't have too much drama - no screaming and ostentatious weeping, but the story was piercing nonetheless.

And I couldn't help noticing that Meryl Streep was so beautiful.

jejemon na pala ang bagong jologs?

Ang dami yatang ingay tungkol sa mga j3j3mOn ngayon - mula sa balita, sa mga comedy show hanggang sa pag-Twitter ni Justin Bieber. At affected na affected ang CHED sa kanilang mali-maling spelling. Jejemon na ang bagong jologs.

Pero hindi tungkol sa mga jejemon ang post na ito. Gusto ko lang balikan ang "jologs".

Una kong narinig ang salitang jologs noong mga 1994 o '95, mula sa kaibigan ko na nagme-metal-metalan noon. Tawag niya sa mga hiphop na squatter, jologs.

Walang nakatitiyak kung saan o paano nagmula ang salitang jologs. Sabi sa Urban Dictionary, daing + tuyo + itlog daw yon, pero tingin ko mali kasi wala namang "s" ang itlog.

Mas maniniwala pa ako sa theory ny pinsan ko, na ang jologs daw ay mula sa pangalan ni Jolina, at tumutukoy sa mga masang tumatangkilik sa kaniya.

Ayon naman sa kaibigan kong dating hiphop na sosyal, pinuna daw kasi ng mga bading ang mga trying-hard magpaka-hiphop, at sabi nila in gay linggo, "Naju-jologs ang jantalon nila" (translation: "Nahuhulog ang pantalon nila").

Sumikat ang salitang jologs it ginamit ito para tukuyin ang tao, lugar o bagay na baduy o maka-masa. Naalala ko pa na may test na umiikot sa e-mail na How Jologs are You? (wala pa kasing FB noon), na puro tanong tungkol sa That's Entertainment at mga Pinoy movies.

Naging pamagat pa yun ng isang pelikula ng Star Cinema, tampok ang mga sikat na mga batang artista. Wala namang kinalalaman sa jologs.

Ngayon, tulad ng salitang "bakya" at "baduy", parang nawawala na rin sa uso ang salitang jologs, na tipong pag ginamit mo magmumukha ka nang matanda. Kasi nga, jejemon na daw ang bagong jologZzz.