The Wheel and Axle

I was planning to write my full thoughts around the current Taylor Swift slash Kim Kardashian and Kanye West recorded call controversy, but then I came upon the Facebook comment to the left on Taylor’s page. It summarizes my thoughts extremely well, so I’m just going to leave it right here.

P.S. I despise Kanye and the Kardashians, but hell just froze over because I actually agree with them on this one. The problem with Taylor is that she always plays the victim card and the innocence card, but she’s now proven to be a lying manipulative person. A hypocrite, too. Yes, in that 2009 incident she was the victim, but since then, she’s just unravelled her true Regina George self. At least the Kardashians don’t pretend to be sweet and innocent.

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My years serving in Days with the Lord in Ateneo High School were some of the best of my life. Some people found it strange, considering it was a Catholic retreat and I’m a Methodist Protestant, but DWTL was a different experience. It was an inclusive experience, run by one of the most popular Jesuits of the school and supported by a diverse set of students that ranged from the jocks to the nerds to the gays. It had such an impact on me that in my senior year I even became rector for AHS DWTL Batch 107. My memories of this era are largely happy and quite uplifting.

So I could not help but smile (there may have also been some slight tears) when I recently came across this video:

A flash mob in a mall in Chile is singing a Spanish version of I Will Sing Forever.

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You can have your John, Paul, or George…

… but Ringo is mine.

Happy 76th birthday, Richard Starkey!

You are a true living legend, Sir Ringo Starr, and may you have many more years to come.

My first encounter with Jim Morrison was twenty years ago in my Humanities 1 class in UP Diliman. My teacher, bless him, included Morrison’s poetry in the curriculum (alongside Rilke, Lovecraft, and Phaedra – you cannot accuse him of lack of diversity). Then he ensured we got exposed to songs from The Doors.

Since then, I have been a huge Doors fan. Hell, even more so than a Beatles fan, and that’s saying a lot.

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It’s that month of the year again where we raise our lovely voices and bring out the sequins and feather boas. Or the white boxer briefs, depending on where you are in the spectrum.

Today, Metro Manila proudly cries out: “Let Love In! Kahit Kanino, Kahit Kailan!” Because love is love, no matter with who and no matter when. Everyday is love. Everyday is pride. As with IDAHOT, everyday should be a celebration of our diversity and our power.

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Recently, I’ve been revisiting my music collection and came upon my digital copy of the 1994 release of Marvin the Album, which brought back such laidback memories of me listening to the cassette tape (yes, kids, from the Stone Age) in the car on the way to school in the 90s.

Marvin the Album was the debut album of Australian alternative rock indie group Frente! (Exclamation mark required. This was the 90s.) It was originally released in 1992 then had an international release in 1994. With lovely, quirky vocals from Angie Hart, the sometimes-emo, sometimes-psychedelic, and always-playful acoustic music was a sharp contrast to the typically-loud garage/grunge sound of other rock bands of the time. Even the album cover seemed to be a challenge to their usually dark and angsty contemporaries.

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Just because it’s been a busy week for me (and damn, it’s not even halfway through), I’m just going to leave a couple of music videos for your pleasure.

First up is one from Culture Club’s concert in Manila last Saturday night. I’ll review the event soon (spoiler alert: it was awesome!), but for now, enjoy this great song which they themselves aren’t fond of but which I love. Also, it’s still pretty relevant for the times.

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Oh, my God, Bamboo. Marry me!

Video from the official Facebook page of The Voice of the Philippines.

Yes, because Bonaparte would actually celebrate Waterloo.

… was apparently the Battle of Waterloo, where the Brits and Prussians handed Napoleon his ass. This also led to an unfortunate new meaning for the name of the village near where it all happened.

It was apparently timely, then, that I coincidentally also wrote about ABBA yesterday.

In honor of this historical event, I present to you this special commemorative song that no one else but ABBA can really do justice to.

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I am of the belief that everyone is either an ABBA fan… or a closet ABBA fan.

Come on, admit it, you love them.

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