Is This The Blues I'm Singing? The Binky Lampano Companion Playlist

Who the hell is Binky Lampano?

Ask this question right this very moment and what you might be getting are incredulous stares from your "in-the-know" pals. If you know your original Philippine music, you OUGHT to know Binky Lampano, they might even hasten to add as they irritatingly wag their crooked fingers. Point well-taken, the best antidote to situations of these sort. Binky Lampano has indeed reached a cultish popularity. Not as deafening popular as The Eraserheads, but a byword in the subculture just the same. His is a very interesting career, spanning two decades, starting with the new wave band Deans December, taking two steps forward to try his luck at a solo career, then responding to his blues calling via the Newly Industrialized Combo, and, presently, Lampano Alley.

So, we, your good friends over here at Trash Radio Manila, deem it fitting that we devote a playlist that roughly traces the musical travails of this charismatic man. Binky has left Manila after some shows with Lampano Alley just recently. Heaven knows when he is coming back, much more, when he is performing. For the meantime, contend yourselves with this little collection of his songs. You might even want to guess whose voice is it doing a spiel at the start of the set list, impersonating THE Ferdinand. :) And yes, do yourselves a favor. Get the original works. The search may prove to be a bit daunting, but it will be very well worth it.

DEANS DECEMBER - First Light
DEANS DECEMBER - Healing
BINKY LAMPANO - Kuwentong Looban
LAMPANO ALLEY - Messed It Up
LAMPANO ALLEY - Ganyan Lang

Have a great Sunday, luv. And do pay attention to the blues.

Photo credits: First two photos from the Lampano Alley website. Third photo from ye reliable catalogue.

Is This The Blues I'm Singing? Listening To Binky Lampano's Blues

The blues have not exactly played a role of significance in my life. More than twenty years ago, my only reference to the blues was a line from a song done by, ironically, Echo and the Bunnymen. That is how I remember my blues then. Hearing Ian McCulloch sing "Is this the blues I'm singing?" over and over, in his feeble attempt to be heard and rescued. (Anytime, Ian ;))

But a couple of decades have passed, and I have played a generous host to life's numerous playlists. Has my understanding of the blues changed? I admit to the fact that I will never fully understand the blues, no matter how honorable its evolution is. The birth of what was to become blues music has been attributed to hollers in the slave fields, later transforming into emotional song solos; its elements (i.e. blue notes, 4/4 rhythm, flatted thirds and sevenths, a 12-bar structure, and lyrics in a three-line stanza in which the second line repeats the first) derived mostly from African music.

The blues may have personally become more listenable with time. As a genre the blues seems difficult for me to fully fathom, but then it should be remembered that it is a music borne out of struggle, "...an expression of anger against shame and humiliation", to quote B.B. King. If this is so, then there must be hope for me to understand the language of anger, sorrow, and struggle of the human soul.

Which brings me to the topic of Binky Lampano. The man to whom, together with harmonica player Tomcat Colvin, the formation of the Philippine blues band Newly Industrialized Combo, and later on, Lampano Alley, is credited.

There is no denying that Binky possesses one of the most distinctive voices in Philippine music. Raspy, almost guttural, bespeaking of brewing extremes of emotions. He could actually turn a bland song into an emotionally wretched musical excerpt. Binky will always be remembered as the hyperactive frontman of Deans December, a new wave band that enjoyed considerable popularity in the late 80s. To the best of my knowledge, Deans December was the only chong band that got to play in the punk joint Katrina's (included in their set was The Smiths' "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now") --- and came out surprisingly unscathed. Binky was a livewire, swinging off the ceiling of Red Rocks while covering The Lords Of The New Church's "Method To Our Madness", providing one of them humorous adlibs, or simply, just simply, belting out a gut-wrenching original. A precursor to the blues he is singing right this very day.

Binky Lampano was in town a few weeks ago, and I saw Lampano Alley perform on two occasions. They were at 70s Bistro last April 3, 2008. Around a week later, they were at Mogwai Bar at Cubao X. Their repertoire consisted of original materials from the Songs From The Alley album, as well as some tunes by Muddy Waters and Van Morrison. In both performances, Binky appeared physically more settled (I say more settled, for I still cannot get over his past ceiling-swinging and boot-throwing antics), though some habits tend to persist, like the obligatory towel, or the obligatory bottle of beer that he held on for the most part of the gig. The spiels have remained just as humorous.

And then there were the blues. Am I finally able to recognize what the blues is, without being coaxed? I am not quite sure, honestly. I can say however, that Binky sang "Ganyan Lang" with shimmering poignancy, in spite of its positive message to let life's hurts pass; or that he empathically stressed "You messed it up!" as if one really did. Many times Binky made his rounds from table to table, singing, or getting the audience to chant with him ("I don't care how you sing it, so sing with me: Got my mojo working!") The voice is and will always be unforgettable; the emotions it carries however, are unmistakeably richer, imparting a much more mature texture to that unforgettable voice.

I definitely enjoyed both gigs. BUT.

Alack, there is little use in pretending that I understand the blues, even after more than twenty years, and in spite of Binky Lampano. But as have been said, while there's life, there's struggle, and as such, there's reason to sing about the blues.

For more about Lampano Alley, visit http://www.lampanoalley.com

Photo credits: Deans December pic courtesy of Ourpeboritpinoypop. Second photo shows Binky Lampano and Tomcat Colvin. Third photo, Lampano Alley in action. Fourth photo, Binky and Simon Tan.

Trash Radio Manila Episode 11 Part 3: Nagugutom Ka Na Ba?

"Let me tell you 'bout your blood, bamboo kid.
It ain't Coca-Cola, it's RICE."

- The Clash, "Straight To Hell"

The Philippines happens to be the 8th among the world's top rice-consuming countries as of 2003 , and continues to be so till now. We definitely know that this country is still largely agricultural (but this may not be the case over the next few years, what with the rapid conversion of farm lands into subdivisions, industrial compounds and the like), and rice is and will always be a staple crop. That the Philippines used to be self-sustaining as far as rice production is concerned is practically a thing of the past, as it now relies on rice imported from its neighboring countries.

Pathetic, yes? Rice shortage is definitely one of the issues that hit us hard , for isn't food one of man's basic needs? Thus we have given this segment the nagging title "Nagugutom Ka Na Ba? (Are You Hungry Yet?)"

The playlist:

1. RADIOACTIVE SAGO PROJECT - "Foodtrip"
2. PAN - "Kawatan"
3. URBAN BANDITS - "Do You Rebel Rebel" (1984 demo)
4. THE BEAUTY OF DOUBT - "Death To Us All"
5. DEANS DECEMBER - "Things Are Getting Complicated"

For high bitrate version of this playlist, click here.

Radioactive Sago Project say it all too well and eloquently in "Foodtrip" ("Ang dali-dali nang maggisa...ang bansa natin dahan-dahang ginigisa, ang taongbayan piniprito sa sariling dugo at pawis, pero di bale, masarap naman..."), while Pan's "Kawatan", which is another term for "thief", is self-explanatory.

Third on our list is a 1984 demo of Urban Bandits' "Do You Rebel Rebel" (or, as some people call it "And I Know Why"), which I daresay has never been played elsewhere. The Beauty Of Doubt comes next with the angry "Death To Us All".

Finally, the sorely missed Binky Lampano can be heard here with his band Deans December; come to think of it, when was the last time you heard "Things Are Getting Complicated"?

That's all we have for this episode folks. See y'all next week, and do stay away from complications. ;)

Pic at right: The Beauty Of Doubt live at Center For Arts, Timog Ave, QC, last Nov 2006

Trash Radio Manila Episode 7 Part 1 (22 YEARS, 1000 WORDS, 1000 PICTURES)

1. DEAD ENDS - "(Ano Ba Ang) Kalayaan?"
2. THE WUDS - "We (Just Like Before)"
3. TAME THE TIKBALANG - "Doubt"
4. DEANS DECEMBER - "I Read The News"
5. THE JERKS - "Rage"

They make no sense. Does justice prevail? You be the judge of that. Insane, insane, this is insane. You try to put shit inside my brain. Fools! You try to cover up the fuckin' truth. But my eyes are wide open, I can see through the lies. Because our new world had never been too loud. What happened to our generation? They're always looking in confusion. We're fighting just for you. We're doing this for you. But you're looking at us like an underground criminal.Welcome to the Dark Ages, the era of lies. Darkness indeed, dressed in blue. Sing a song against this terrible sight. And the names and the faces of the tyrants change, but poverty, pain and murder remain. Ano ba ang kalayaan? Ito ba'y katotohanan o panaginip lamang? One thousand pictures, one thousand words. They make no sense.

Photo credits: EDSA 1 picture from http://www.seasite.niu.edu. Picture 2 shows Egay dancing during last Friday's gig at Ten-02 Bar.