SOUNDTRACK OF MY HIGH SCHOOL

I HAVE very fond memories of listening to Whitney Houston. So it shocked me, like it shocked so many of her fans, to learn of her death on February 11. I also felt this way when they die: Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Pinoy rap master Francis Magalona, and other great artists whom I admire or whose songs provided the soundtrack of my youth.

FM radios revisited Whitney Houston's music (like what they did with Michael in 2009) by giving her signature songs ample air time. The number of hits on YouTube videos featuring her songs and performances multiplied by the thousands after her death, thanks to her fans who went all out to show their respect to this great singer of her era.

Listening to these songs now and watching her videos linked by my Facebook friends on their posts brought with them a flood of memories. So what do you expect when songs from your past, which when heard, have the power to transport you back to a certain time and place of your life? 

With that, I started thinking back to the soundtrack of my high school days during the latter part of the 80’s. Songs I included here usually make me feel good when I hear them again. Okay, I’m getting a little sentimental here, but while I was coming up with this playlist, I realized that I can never really escape high school memories. Do you?

Here are some of the songs so that you can see what I mean.

“Light and Shade” by Fra Lippo Lippi

High school awakened my passion for music discovery. And those were the days before the Internet, MP3s and IPods. It was the time I started learning to play the guitar. And one of the songs I’d loved to play with was Fra Lippo Lippi’s “Everytime I See You”, which was immensely popular in the Philippines in the 80s. I love playing with its rhythmic base from the intro to the end, and the tune was easy for my pitch. But the song would rather introduce me to many of this Norwegian new wave band’s remarkable songs, and I picked “Light and Shade” as the best for me. I consider this song anthemic of my salad days, what with this meaningful lyrics: Be proud to wear the colors that you call your own/ Be loud, speak out when the world to know/ Be strong, hold the flame for everyone to see/ Be weak, if you want to love…

 

“All at Once” by Whitney Houston

Blame it on my many first-times—first time to court a girl and to have a girlfriend, to shave, and to drink alcohol (er, sorry, Dad). And during this period, Whitney Houston’s soulful ballads dominated the airwaves. And they played so many Houston songs during our JS Prom, and I could easily remember the song when I had my first dance with a girl, a shy but radiant classmate of mine named Myrene. I remember her asking me teasingly if I feel nervous dancing for the first time (damn, I told her so). “Me, nervous? Bah!” I just hummed along with the song to cover up my uneasiness, not for the awkwardness of my first dance, but seeing my girlfriend not far away dancing with another guy, who was much better looking and much taller than me: All at once,/ I started counting teardrops and at least a million fell/ My eyes began to swell,/ And all my dreams were shattered all at once. For that was the song. But I was in high school then, see? And I have yet to learn how to count teardrops.

“Foolish Beat” by Debbie Gibson

I usually gravitated toward popular love songs when I was young, and I was especially attracted to the sweet voice and music of Debbie Gibson, who was about 16 or 17 then. Two of her songs, “Foolish Beat” and “Lost in Your Eyes,” were played heavily on radio during my high school. I remember my younger sister telling me many years after, that every time she hears “Foolish Beat” being played on the radio, she was reminded of our rowdy senior batch. The seniors, especially those on the higher sections, as expected, had a dominant presence in the campus, every extra-curricular activity, politics, journalism, sports, romance, you name it. My sister, who was in freshmen class that time, looked up to us with wonder.   

“Maghihintay Sa’Yo” by DingDong Avanzado 

I also delved into OPM songs during this period. Pinoy rock had begun to mellow and it was the era of OPM radio hits by the likes of Randy Santiago, Louie Heredia, Martin Nievera and Richard Reynoso. But I would pick Dingdong Avanzado, a much younger balladeer than those I mentioned, as one who made the songs that gave me some special memories. I remember my female classmates going gaga over him. Some of my classmates even had the chance to watch him perform live in a concert and they were insatiable, talking so much of that experience to the envy of those who hadn’t. Among his many hit songs that got stuck in my head even to this day were “Talong Biente Singko Lang” and “Maghihintay Sa ‘Yo”.

“Love’s Grown Deep” by Shalamar

As we travel down the road/ Side by side we’ll share the load/ Hand in hand we’ll see each other through/ Though we’ve only just begun/ Let’s count our blessings one by one/ I thank God for life, I thank God for you/ Love’s grown deep/ Deep into the heart of me …. I’ll probably always have a bit of a soft spot for this Shalamar’s song. It was the R & B band’s signature song, but it was actually their revival rendition of Kenny Nolan’s original. I love the melody and lyrics, and it was always the first song that I would sing or whistle along every time I rode my bike for an afternoon leisure trip to the Sta. Maria Bridge or along its river bank not far from our home in the barrio. Why, of course, I had myself imagining about this girl, the apple of my eyes, walking hand in hand as we go down the road…

“Always” by Atlantic Starr  

Think about this: You have easily learned to love this song since it had become a radio hit. It has an easy tune and lyrics that can be a source of sweet phrases or expressions for love letters (ah, those were the days of scented stationery). Suddenly you came to know that your girlfriend had hated this song because it reminded her of a former boyfriend. Probably their theme song, or an unwelcomed background music during a painful parting. Dang, that was my real story! So for a time, I stopped liking this song by the Atlantic Starr. My dislike, however, was as brief as my relationship with the girl. We broke up for a reason I couldn’t remember now. But high school memories can be tricky. What I felt about then hardly mattered to me now.

“Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley

New Wave sounds, epitomized by Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran, had taken over the airwaves with its radio-friendly tune. But Rick Astley’s dance-pop songs also stood out, riding on the popularity of New Wave, with his distinctive rich, deep voice and boyish look, sans the funky hairdo of the 80s. Don’t kid yourself, you might have loved Rick Astley’s songs and his voice, too, long before his style of music was sampled by Roderick Paulate on a TV show and claimed himself to be Astley's Pinoy version.

“Pop Goes the World” by Men Without Hats

Some friends and I did this dance in our senior year. It was for a campaign rally of the candidates for the student government elections. As a candidate for a high position, I was required by the party to present a dance number. A friend chose this song for our dance, which he also choreographed. We practiced a lot in another friend’s house, but hours before our performance, a classmate suggested that we take a sip of alcohol to make us feel confident. My assent to his suggestion, though I was confident of our preparation, had resulted in a near tragic episode of my last year in high school. It was, however, an experience rich with lessons, and I got this song to remind myself of what I learned.

“Take Me Out of the Dark” by Gary Valenciano 

Gary Valenciano has been my favorite singer way back in high school. Not so much of his high-energy dance moves, but his unpretentious voice and uplifting music that touches your heart and soul. I had loved listening to his ballads, such as “Sana Maulit Muli” and “Di Na Natuto” and some of his original gospel songs, especially “Take Me Out of the Dark,” whose touching lyrics had pushed me to cling on to God during a turbulent period of my teens. I also loved his rendition of “Pasko Na Sinta Ko,” a song that has become absolutely ubiquitous during Christmas in the Philippines since it first came out in 1986. I can sing this song in karaoke, or any of his ballads, like nobody’s business.

“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship  

This was Starship’s most popular single back in the 80’s. I was fond of the song, I even copied its chord pattern, but tinkered on the tempo, for my first composition, a love song that I particularly dedicated to a special friend. The song also reminds me back to my freshman days where I was part of a dance group in our class performing an earlier hit of the band entitled “We Build This City,” or other dance tunes of the era like Jane Wiedlin’s “Blue Kiss” and Breakfast Club’s “Rico Mambo.”

“The Way You Make Me Feel” by Michael Jackson 

I grew up listening to and dancing (but to no avail) with Michael Jackson songs. Among my favorites of his many hits in the 80s were “Bad” and “The Way You Make Me Feel.” I will never forget MJ, not only because he was ultra famous as I entered adolescence, but the music he created was imbued with a sense of freedom to express oneself, to move, to shout (Hee-hee! Aoww!), to feel, and to dress, which in some way had given me the sense of what it meant to live in the world. I admire his natural talent as total entertainer, the kind of music he created that touches every one’s heart, and his hardworking attitude.

THERE are other songs that can be easily included here if I would extend my list, most of them beautifully moody music for a teenager back in those days: “Say You’ll Never Go” by Neocolours; “Changes in My Life” by Mark Sherman, “Honestly” by Stryper, “Leaving Yesterday Behind” by Keno, “With You All the Way” by New Edition, and “Papa Don’t Preach” by Madonna.

There were other songs from my high school days that I loved. But the ones I mentioned here could sum up pretty well that particular part of my youth. The fact I don’t listen to them as frequent as before makes them all the more appealing for me now.

GOODBYE, MJ!

I GROANED when I heard from a female officemate, her eyes glued to her eMac, about Michael Jackson’s untimely demise. It was early morning in the office that day (June 26, Philippine time) when the news came in via the Internet. Elizabeth Taylor would be saying then: “I still can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. It can't be so.” And I felt the same way that moment.

In a wink I joined millions of people—fans, die-hards and just curious—who utilized the worldwide web to confirm the death of the King of Pop, and just like them, I Google about Michael Jackson’s life. I made broadband-quick flashback from the 70s when the popular quintet The Jackson 5 with the prepubescent Michael and his brothers singing “I’ll Be There,” to the zombie dance in the “Thriller” video and space walk-inspired move in the 1980s, up to his startling physical transformation and allegations of child abuse, and to his reclusive years in the latter part of his life. I was born when Michael released his first solo single “Got to Be There” and since I was a kid, I have enjoyed listening to every chart-topping hit he churned in his long career.

I’m sure, people like me, who were born during the peak of the early part of his career, along with the bell-bottomed pants and afros and hippies of the 70s, who had spent teenage life in the turbulent 80s—fashion-wise, and who had matured along with musical fusions and crossovers in the ‘90s, cannot escape from the looming presence of Michael’s music in their lives.

I myself love many of his songs and some had remained a significant imprint in my life. “Give Love on Christmas Day,” as ubiquitous as parol, Christmas trees, and puto-bumbong during the yuletide season, was an early favorite Christmas song of mine. I’d love singing it from the moment I heard it from our old vinyl record. “Ben” was also an easy favorite, not only for its melody but also for the reason that I have a very dear brother whose nickname is Ben. “Beat It” made me dance and sing during my elementary days, trying every way I can to copy his eye-popping dance moves and be popular in school. “We Are the World,” his collaboration with Lionel Richie and other topnotch celebrities of the decade, opened my eyes to starving multitudes in Africa. “Heal the World” made me feel the same civic feeling at the time when I was contemplating with what to do with my life after college.

Now I can only think of his 750 million records and record-breaking albums and complicated dance techniques, not for whatever he had become or for whoever he was. I must say that his pedophile cases, his penchant for plastic surgery, and his Wacko Jacko persona are just sidelights of his stunning musical versatility that I admire, and loads of sheer star power that had entertained music lovers around the world.

Wacko or just plain wacky, pedophile or not, black or vitiligo white, I don’t care, because Michael has always been one of my idols in music. What he had done to music—our soul, his legacy, is far-reaching. Look at how many artists, from Mariah to Usher to our very own Gary Valenciano, he had influenced. And as one blogger puts it, MJ made the world a better place for a lot of people.

His music, from his boy soprano to his androgynous high tenor, will live on in my playlists.

Thanks, Michael!

SOME MEMORABLE APO SONGS

THE APO Hiking Society will always be one of my favorite Filipino artists.

I grew up listening to their pop hits. Their simple yet catching melodies were laden with romantic, and at times, funny lyrics—all distinctly Filipino in mood and outlook. I admire their chemistry, their friendship that spans more than three decades, their advocacy in promoting Original Pilipino Music (OPM), and their involvement in socio-political issues, with the song “American Junk,” and “Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo ” among others.

I have lots of favorite APO songs, but there are some that dwell in my memory box, because they form part of the soundtracks of my college days, particularly my four-year stay in a boarding house in Vigan more than a decade ago. And I have no one to blame for this but this APO-crazy co-tenant of mine, a scrawny engineering student, who loved to listen to his compilation of APO songs on his cassette player for almost every day in a span two or three semesters. Having owned the only cassette player with a booming speaker, he had the monopoly of sounds in the house.

The guy also played an unknown Leo Valdez’s album, a slow rock compilation, and some New Wave songs, but the APO songs stood out because he would play them with gusto when he was in a good mood. No one would raise hell over this one because the folksy APO music was rather the best alternative or a fitting middle ground between an overly sentimental Pinoy ballads (it was the era of April Boys and some copycats) and a barrage of slow rocks, punky songs or crossovers that dominated FM channels during that time.

The most memorable song for me, or perhaps, for most of my boardmates is “Pag-ibig.” There is a line in the song that some naughty boys (inspired, I’m sure, by a daily dose of APO songs) would love to use in teasing every female boarder who broke up with a bf: Hindi mo malimutan kung kailan mo natikman ang una mong halik, yakap na napakahigpit. And there were lots of break-ups during my stay there, and lots of teasing and warbling of the song in off-tune keys.

Next on the playlist is “Kaibigan” which has lyrics that the boys would use in their awkward attempt to comfort every guy who was spurned by a girl: Kaibigan tila yata matamlay ang iyong pakiramdam, at ang ulo mo sa kaiisip ay tila naguguluhan... They would use this also to accost those who sulk in a corner for varied reasons—a failing mark, a cancelled date, a delayed allowance, a quarrel with some rowdy boys in the house—either to offer some unsolicited advice or just to meddle in their affairs. And, there were lots of sulkings during my time.

Another one is “Paano,” with its catchy opening: Paano mo malalaman itong pag-ibig ko sa’yo, paano mo mararamdaman ang tibok ng puso ko. I had a secret crush—okay, it’s love at first sight—on a female boarder, and I couldn’t muster the nerve to tell her how I felt. She had one problematic relationship while I had a risky long-distance affair. But we remained very close friends, and every time I would hear this song, I wished I was singing it for her until the last line: ‘Wag ka nang mangangamba, pag-ibig ko’y ikaw, wala nang iba. But the naughty guys would rather intone the line to tease some pretty boarders, or to court them in jest.

“Kabilugan ng Buwan” is another memorable tune. The same boys would sing “Kapanahunan na naman ng paglalambingan...,” to josh a pair, a male and a female, visitors or boarders, caught in some moonlit nights chatting under the santol tree in front of the house. It was any pair’s bad luck to have pestering members of the male tribe in the boarding house whose sole weapon to ruin (or encourage) a diskarte, was a set of cheesy lines from APO.

There is also a serious theme song for everyone. “Awit ng Barkada” was then a good piece for guitar and beer sessions with the naughty boys. With some sort of a samahan in the boarding house, we can easily relate with the lyrics of the song. Boarders would leave the boarding house as a school year ended, but some would take their place for another set of barkadahan.

And the best thing about each APO song is its ability to transcend and connect one generation to the other. It’s no wonder then that when some of their popular songs were revived by today’s popular bands, they become instant hits even to the younger ones.

Take my 10-year-old son, for instance. He really likes Sugarfree’s “Batang-Bata Ka Pa” and Kamikazee’s “Doobidoo,” both from APO’s tribute album, and he can sing these and other songs in the album with gusto. In due time, I’m sure, these songs would also dwell in his own memory box. And I’d be the one to blame because he and his younger brother were around when for a time, I played the songs from the album almost every day in my playlist.