Epic Videoke (May 2010)

Among my friends, I’ve always been known as a karaoke aficionado. I take pleasure in singing my heart out in front of all my friends, preferably intoxicated. Power ballads and slow romantic songs are my specialties! For me, the ideal party is supposed to have a higher girl-to-boy ratio, crates of ICE cold beer, good company and, of course, the proverbial karaoke/videoke machine.

During my high school barkada’s yearly sojourn to the beaches of our fine, tropical country, I experienced the best ever videoke to date.

We went to Zambales to enjoy its isolated coves. After an entire day’s worth of island hopping, the gang was dog-tired but ready to partake of the provincial Bacchanalian festivities! By the time we returned to our sub-standard accommodations in Pundaquit, I had already drunk an indeterminate amount of beer. Hence, I was in high spirits.

Read about our trip to Nagsasa Cove

Despite the many drawbacks of our rustic cottages, one particular area stood out – the videoke hut. No Philippine beach trip (except for those high-end resorts)  is complete without a videoke night. After getting around P400 worth of 5-peso coins, I started off the night’s debauchery by singing a new found staple of my videoke repertoire, Lionel Richie’s “Hello” – thanks to the popularity of the infectious musical/comedy/drama known as Glee.

The night started slow, with most of my companions still hiding underneath a thin sheath of shyness.

It was one helluva night! A wide variety of alcholic drinks were available, from tequila shots, the omnipresent San Miguel Beer and the few bottles of Beer-na-Beer I bought just for the occasion.

As the night progressed, the inherent shyness gave way to one’s inner yearning to be a rock star (or a pop star). I had loads of fun since I got to sing almost all of my favorite karaoke tunes. From Jose Mari Chan’s signature tunes like “Beautiful Girl” and “Please Be Careful With My Heart”, to those powerful Side A hits “Set You Free” and “Forevermore” – I sang it all!

When one is drunk, one seems to be able to reach the high notes easier (or at least gets the impression of doing so!). That night, I performed by best ever rendition of Cliff Richard’s “Ocean Deep”!

My apologies to Gaita for being a human towel to my sweaty body. An entire night’s worth of merry-making is indeed tiring, that bucket loads of perspiration becomes inevitable. And of course, on behalf of the D2003 family, I sincerely apologize to the 10 or so guests we deprived of a good night’s sleep.

Nowadays, my benchmark for a great videoke night is that epic seven hours we spent on that (once) quiet cottage in Pundaquit!

Photo credits:

Jeric Angeles

Rafa Moreno

Old Songs

How do you define "old"? The concept of age, after all, is relative not absolute. What is old for one, may not be necessarily old for another. Take for instance Magic 89.9's Friday Madness. Back in high school, they used to play those New Wave hits all day long. In one of the rare times I tuned in to the radio, I heard one of Lenny Kravitz's bad-ass guitar solos. For me, anything released before the 90's will always be old. Conversely, those produced after the 90's I'll always consider new.

I'm an oldies man to the core. I love stuff that are tinged with time's tender (and not-so-tender) travails. From surplus Japanese electronics, retro track & field outfits, pre-War Manila to cougars like Cory Quirino and Jane Seymour, I love 'em all! Perhaps it's due to the warm fuzzy feeling brought about by nostalgia. All things old evoke that homey emotion.

Nothing reflects this deeply-wrought appreciation than my taste in music. For as long as I can remember, I've always listened to the so-called "mellow" and "slow rock" radio stations such as 94.7 and 96.3, respectively. As my musical horizons widened, I became exposed to various types of music. I had a long alternative music phase in grade school, wherein I listened to great bands such as Garbage, No Doubt and Suede. In high school, I explored the alien sounds of the defunct NU 107's brand of rock only to end up belching out those immortal Side A hits like "Set You Free" and "Forevermore" at the latter years of my secondary education.

Since I had lots of free time for the good part of the 2008, my musical appreciation widened considerably. I discovered a hidden liking for Jazz (swinging jazz, big band jazz and piano jazz). Perhaps it was the years spent listening to my dad's Smooth Jazz radio stations that did the trick. Jazz is an entirely different world from my old power ballad, mellow songs, John Mayer-laced playlist of yore. Although I learned to enjoy instrumental music from my favorite classical composers, Jazz stands out.

As a self-confessed videoke afficionado, the standards are an integral part of my repertoire of songs. I absolutely adore listening (and singing) songs like "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "The Way You Look Tonight" in my own style of crooning! It's like being in a time warp to a time long gone - a time of Humphrey Bogart-accented American English and World War II, an era without WiFi and 24/7 business news. It certainly feels like looking at a black & white world through the lenses of color.

Music is so wide and diverse to be constrained by taste, preference and prejudice. Living in this day and age where huge amonts of information flow freely across the globe is the perfect time for one's musical longings to be poked, rattled and turned topsy-turvy with an eclectic approach in writing one's playlist.

Reposted from my old Multiply blog