The evolution of some of our favorite superheroes.
Showing posts with label icons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label icons. Show all posts
happy birthday, john lennon
I love it when Google dresses up its logo to commemorate some event or another. Today it celebrates John Lennon's 70th birthday with a very cute and inspirational animation clip.
I know John Lennon isn't exactly Gen-X territory, but he isn't strictly just for the Baby Boomers either, since shockwaves of his life, work and death reverberate long after his passing. Alas, I was three years old when he died, too young to remember any actual memory of him, so I don't have much to write that hasn't already been written by someone else.
I know John Lennon isn't exactly Gen-X territory, but he isn't strictly just for the Baby Boomers either, since shockwaves of his life, work and death reverberate long after his passing. Alas, I was three years old when he died, too young to remember any actual memory of him, so I don't have much to write that hasn't already been written by someone else.
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.
.
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 DioImage 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.
.
back when he made us look in the kaleidoscope
So it's been a year since he went away.
Image from here.
I'm not about to make a memorial entry like those that have sprouted all over in which I recount all the ways he changed the music scene and impacted lives, or I make a list of things that people already know about him. I just know it's his first death anniversary today, and I want to give him a place in this blog.
I don't remember how I heard the news of his passing; I just remember feeling a sense similar to but not quite devastation when I did. I was one of those cheesy pathetics who listened to old FrancisM hits and suddenly joined his Facebook fan page just to cope with the grief.
There's even this ambitious sense of "too bad I never met him".
I remember crushing on him as a teenager; I didn't even believe the reports that said he was arrested for possessing meth. Around that time (circa 1996) I was fortunate enough to see him up close at a Consortium (now known as a rave party) - he wore a leather vest, tattooed bare arms and his hair all spikey; he held a bottle of Blue Ice while he chilled. He was much better-looking in person, though I recall being surprised that he was, um, of Filipino height.
I first heard of Francis Magalona sometime in the mid-'80s (I was in kindergarten). He was in the cast of Bagets II (his first movie). He must have been fifteen or sixteen then, just one of those cute virtual nobodies known mostly for having famous parents. I suppose what gained him more popularity was being in Kuya Germs' That's Entertainment.
I guess what cemented his star status was his 1987 Wednesday night gig on Alma Moreno's Loveli-Ness. Through that variety show's Top Ten segment, Francis introduced rap to the Philippines and cultivated a fan base for it as he filled the air with his yes-yes-yo's. Honestly, I always found those yes-yes-yo's annoying - but I gotta admit I tuned in to that segment every Wednesday night. Eventually and naturally, he was acknowledged to be the Master Rapper and was later called FrancisM. Despite being associated with Alma Moreno, he defined a new breed of cool and created a niche for himself - and one only he could fill at that.
FrancisM was the first Pinoy rapper - and the only one among his contemporaries who lasted. Andrew E and Michael V have turned to comedy (which I think they are better at), lesser '90s rap artists like Lady Diane, Denmark et al are now nowhere.
In the early '90s, he came out with Mga Kababayan, which was groundbreaking in that day. He put an edgy spin to makabayan with his clever words and then-unique instrumentation. The singles in that album were heavily played and quick to become hits. People danced and created production numbers to the carrier Mga Kababayan; it was practically the themes song for every school's Linggo ng Wika.
Oh crap... I'm having a memory of that song and sarongs and a school presentation ...
Though Philippine Hip Hop is attributed to him, he sorta transcended genre - he had hits from old school rap to hip hop to funk metal to hardcore rap. In the mid-'90s, when hip hoppers and rockers couldn't bear to be within 50 meters of each other, FrancisM did the unthinkable: he made hybrid music with his Pinoy strain of rap metal - and succeeded.
He even did sappy R&B. Though his most popular "love song" is Cold Summer Nights, my personal fave is Be Mine.
It's been a year today, and I see people wearing FrancisM shirts in memory of the Man from Manila. His family and friends on Channel 7 sang his greatest hits including the poignant Kaleidoscope World. Though the production isn't powerful enough to move me to tears, I gotta admit it almost did.
Image from here.I'm not about to make a memorial entry like those that have sprouted all over in which I recount all the ways he changed the music scene and impacted lives, or I make a list of things that people already know about him. I just know it's his first death anniversary today, and I want to give him a place in this blog.
I don't remember how I heard the news of his passing; I just remember feeling a sense similar to but not quite devastation when I did. I was one of those cheesy pathetics who listened to old FrancisM hits and suddenly joined his Facebook fan page just to cope with the grief.
There's even this ambitious sense of "too bad I never met him".
I remember crushing on him as a teenager; I didn't even believe the reports that said he was arrested for possessing meth. Around that time (circa 1996) I was fortunate enough to see him up close at a Consortium (now known as a rave party) - he wore a leather vest, tattooed bare arms and his hair all spikey; he held a bottle of Blue Ice while he chilled. He was much better-looking in person, though I recall being surprised that he was, um, of Filipino height.
I first heard of Francis Magalona sometime in the mid-'80s (I was in kindergarten). He was in the cast of Bagets II (his first movie). He must have been fifteen or sixteen then, just one of those cute virtual nobodies known mostly for having famous parents. I suppose what gained him more popularity was being in Kuya Germs' That's Entertainment.
I guess what cemented his star status was his 1987 Wednesday night gig on Alma Moreno's Loveli-Ness. Through that variety show's Top Ten segment, Francis introduced rap to the Philippines and cultivated a fan base for it as he filled the air with his yes-yes-yo's. Honestly, I always found those yes-yes-yo's annoying - but I gotta admit I tuned in to that segment every Wednesday night. Eventually and naturally, he was acknowledged to be the Master Rapper and was later called FrancisM. Despite being associated with Alma Moreno, he defined a new breed of cool and created a niche for himself - and one only he could fill at that.
FrancisM was the first Pinoy rapper - and the only one among his contemporaries who lasted. Andrew E and Michael V have turned to comedy (which I think they are better at), lesser '90s rap artists like Lady Diane, Denmark et al are now nowhere.
In the early '90s, he came out with Mga Kababayan, which was groundbreaking in that day. He put an edgy spin to makabayan with his clever words and then-unique instrumentation. The singles in that album were heavily played and quick to become hits. People danced and created production numbers to the carrier Mga Kababayan; it was practically the themes song for every school's Linggo ng Wika.
Oh crap... I'm having a memory of that song and sarongs and a school presentation ...
Though Philippine Hip Hop is attributed to him, he sorta transcended genre - he had hits from old school rap to hip hop to funk metal to hardcore rap. In the mid-'90s, when hip hoppers and rockers couldn't bear to be within 50 meters of each other, FrancisM did the unthinkable: he made hybrid music with his Pinoy strain of rap metal - and succeeded.
He even did sappy R&B. Though his most popular "love song" is Cold Summer Nights, my personal fave is Be Mine.
It's been a year today, and I see people wearing FrancisM shirts in memory of the Man from Manila. His family and friends on Channel 7 sang his greatest hits including the poignant Kaleidoscope World. Though the production isn't powerful enough to move me to tears, I gotta admit it almost did.
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