monday music fix: iisang bangka THE DAWN

I remembered this because our noisy neighbor was playing it on his radio. For once I was thankful for the clamor that comes from beyond the perimeter wall, a welcome change from his '80s love ballads.

The Dawn is one of the best Philippine rock bands ever (some thirtysomethings and fortysomethings would even argue they're the best). They started in the underground scene and broke into the mainstream with their innovative and advanced sound. There was just no one like them at that time, and no one since. It's a pity there just aren't any local bands as good these days.

Iisang Bangka is one of their best songs, me thinks. It's been a rocker anthem and it still is today. It came at us with a then-unique sound, even for the Dawn themselves (I mean, none of their other songs sound quite this way). It was very modern with a touch of ethnic, with an aggressive quality which was at the same time ethereal. And Wow guitars. At that time that sort of thing wasn't really common anywhere in Asia, you couldn't help being so impressed with Francis' Reyes guitar playing. Hanep talaga. Intro pa lang!

The lyrics are amazing too; contemporary Tagalog poetry sung very rhythmically in Jett Pangan's unique, easily distinguishable voice. It's a testosterone-laden (very strongly male) song of comradeship, with references to the ancient Filipino ancestors' arduous journey through the sea.

If you were alive in the Philippines in the '80s, you would remember it from a San Miguel Beer commercial. Apparently San Miguel produced this video for them for use of their song on a TV ad (great choice, San Miguel!). It aired periodically every day for a time on local channels - there was the shorter "jingle" version and the extended music video. That's partially why it's so part of us Pinoy Gen-Xers - the repeated play ingrained it in our minds, and made it the background music to our growing-up days. So when we who heard it back then hear it today, it evokes a slew of memories and emotions.

(I have to confess. While I blogging this, I have Iisang Bangka playing over and over and over. After the fifth or sixth time, I for some reason started to feel like crying -but not in a sad way. It's like I'm feeling a confusing surge of emotions. Darnit.)

I was around twelve years old and I remember waiting for the video to come on as I watched television; the mere sound of the intro was exciting and the visuals were captivating (especially since hardly any local artists had a music video, and no one had one this well-made; and for a twelve year old in the '80s this was AWESOME). It was so cool. At that time teenage boys swore to someday sing like Pangan or play like Reyes.

Listening to it again, I still think the sound is pretty great - I mean, even for today (I don't mean the sound quality of course but the instrumentation, lyrics, et al).

Below is the same video I used to see everyday. They look so young here; I never realized they were that young. Just ignore the late '80s / early '90s fashion and the pre-grunge moves ... actually, just close your eyes and give a listen.

Kay dilim at kay ginaw sa kalawakan ng dagat
Ubod lakas kung humiyaw ang galit na hanging habagat
Ngunit buo ang puso mo'ng ang daluyong ay susugurin
Magkasama tayong katahimika'y hahanapin

Saan ang tungo mo mahal ko'ng kaibigan
Saan sasadyain hanap mo'ng katahimikan
Basta't tayo'y magkasama laging sasabayan kita
Pinagsamaha'y nasa puso kaibigan kabarkada
Iharap natin ang layag sa umaawit na hangin
Kapit-bisig tayong ang gabi ay hahawiin

[CHORUS 1]
Dahon ng damo, tangay ng hangin
At di mo matanaw kung saan ka dadalhin
Ngunit kasama mo ako, nakabigkis sa puso mo
Daluyong ng dagat ang tatawirin natin

Saan ang tungo mo mahal ko'ng kaibigan
Saan sasadyain hanap mo'ng katahimikan
Basta't tayo'y magkasama laging sasabayan kita
Pinagsamaha'y nasa puso kaibigan kabarkada
Iharap natin ang layag sa umaawit na hangin
Kapit-bisig tayong ang gabi ay hahawiin

[CHORUS 2]
Ating liliparin, may harang mang sibat
Ating tatawirin, daluyong ng dagat
Basta't kasama mo ako, iisang bangka tayo
Anuman ang mithiin ay makakamtan natin

Ating liliparin, may harang mang sibat
Ating tatawirin, daluyong ng dagat
Basta't kasama mo ako, iisang bangka tayo
Anuman ang mithiin ay makakamtan natin

Below is The Dawn as they came together for the 2007 NU 107 Rock Awards. They played an excerpt of a faster, fiercer version of Iisang Bangka updated for the new century. You'd notice that playing the bass for them is Buddy Zabala from the Eraserheads.

friday film fix: full metal jacket (1987)

Image not mine.

This week's re-watch is Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (many thanks to friend J for lending me his collection!) It's one of the best movies ever made, i.m.o.

It's a single film dissected into two parts, a sort of a visual-criticism-through-a-narrative on the experiences of a Marine in the Vietnam war. It's linear all throughout, so it feels so simple through the profundity (Think of it this way: It's like Kubrick baked this great, big cake and served it in little bit-sized pieces at a time, and before we knew it we'd finished off most of the cake).

I first watched it when I was around twelve years old, via Betamax, with my parents (I was kinda surprised my folks let me watch it all the way through without their censorship; it's not the kind of movie kids should see), then saw it again a few years later in my teens. Even if I first viewed it some twenty years ago, I never forgot about it and it remains one of my favorite films ever.

Now I'm not giving credit to my memory, but to Stanley Kubrick's genius. This is the kind of movie that you will never forget. Especially if you watched it as a kid. If you've seen it before, you'd know what I mean. Some of the scenes in there aren't just memorable, but indelible.

Such as:

This scene.
Who would forget This is my Rifle, this is my gun ... ?

And this scene. And the whole happening just before it. Wow.

And this scene. Especially what comes after it.

And this one. WTF, it's a young girl?!

It also has a memorable set of characters, played by an amazing cast. Vincent D'Onofrio was remarkable in there as Pvt. Pyle. R. Lee Ermey was the quintessential Drill Sargeant.

There's also this unforgettable bad**s Marine with an equally unforgettable name, Animal Mother, played by Adam Baldwin - who we would recognize today as Jayne Cobb in Firefly (and Serenity) or John Casey in Chuck.

Adam Baldwin as Animal Mother, 1987

As Jayne Cobb, 2005.

Full Metal Jacket has that quality about it that is the right mix of thought-provoking and slightly disturbing. Even if I've seen it before and knew what was going to happen next, it still made me cringe, smile, jolt and/ or go ohmygosh.

Really good flick. Watch it. If you're at least 15 years of age, I mean.

back when before there was a tv comedy about musically-inclined teen misfits

... there was this television comedy about these musically-inclined teens.

"Don't wake me up when I'm dreamin' ..."

California Dreams is an early '90s TV series about high school kids juggling school work, coping with growing-up issues and pursuing their dreams.

Bands were big in the early '90s. This group of friends got together to form their own musical group and called themselves (a very cheesy name) California Dreams. They wrote original songs, played gigs and hoped to get signed up to release a recording. Since music was a huge part of the characters' lives, there was a musical number every now and then - no dancing about; just singing, smiling and posturing with their instruments. I think most of the cast members did their own singing for this show.

My friends and I used to watch this as often as we could back then. Saturday afternoons, channel 9. My best friend and I fussed over the limited info we could about the show's cuties (this was of course before the dawn of fansites and widespread internet use, so limited meant very limited). I had scrawled Michael Cade on the top margin of my notebook to remember the name of the guy who played Sylvester "Sly" Winkle, and that was pretty much the only info I ever gathered about him.

I don't remember much of the plotlines but I do remember California Dreams was a positive, feel-good kind of teen-oriented show that promoted good moral values. In true early '90s teen sitcom fashion, the clothes were unrealistically colorful, the songs unbelievably positive and the teens too cute to be true. It was a definitely more wholesome alternative to that other show about high schoolers that made parents nervous, Beverly Hills 90210.

As with most television series centered on the young, the characters had to grow up sometime; California Dreams had to graduate. Which was probably just as well, since viewer tastes evolved in the mid-'90s. The colorful, cute and cheery were soon considered corny because real high school life was no longer just about peer pressure and trying not to get caught running in the halls. Teens wanted something more like 90210 - edgy, allegedly more realistic, honest about life's struggles (i.e., what about those people who don't say no to drugs or premarital sex?), and packaged with an up-to-date pop-rock soundtrack. Moral lessons were no longer valued, and choice became a popular concept. Producers gave in and pretty soon there was an influx of Dawson and Joey types who slept around, got wasted onscreen and had almost-useless parents. It's still pretty much the pattern of the most popular teen TV series these days - including the supposedly "wholesome" one with musically-inclined misfits that break into song every now and then.