Independence Day 2010: Muli, Ang Paggunita Sa Araw Ng Kalayaan

Patawarin ninyo ako kung magsusulat ako sa aking sariling wika at hindi ninyo ako maiintindihan. Sa aking palagay ay nararapat lang na sa pagkakataong ito na malapit na ang araw ng kalayaan ay magsulat ako sa salitang sariling akin (sa pagkakataong ito, magsusulat ako sa Tagalog dahil ito ang pinakaalam ko at hindi dahil may kinikilingan akong diyalekto).

Pero, tama na ang mga mabulaklak na mga salita. Nakaugalian na namin sa Trash Radio Manila na maglabas ng isang programa ng mga awiting Pinoy. Ngayong taon, eto ang aking handog. Hindi ako sumablay, hahah! Kasi naman, ispesyal ang pagdiriwang na ito ng Araw ng Kalayaan. Magtatapos na ang halos isang dekada ng pagkapangulo ni Ginang Arroyo, at ang masasabi ko lang ay ...

Hay salamat.

Hindi maikakaila na marami pa rin ang naniniwala sa demokratikong paraan ng pagpili ng ating mga pinuno, at marami pa rin ang umaasa na magbabago ang Pilipinas, na may pag-asa pang magamot ang mga karamdaman ng ating lipunan. Sana nga ay magkaroon na ng pagbabago. Hindi madaling gawin ito. Palasak man ang mga salitang ito, subalit kailangan pa ring maging mapagmatyag, mapagmasid, mag-isip, gumalaw, bantayan ang ating kalayaan. Tayo rin ay nangangailangang maging mapagsuri ... maging ng ating mga sarili. Ano ba talaga ang ating pakay sa buhay?

Narito ang listahan ng mga awitin. Palagay ko, di na kailanagn pa ng pagpapakilala sa mga banda. Naisip ko lang, di ko pa pala napapatugtog rito ang Cocojam at Indio I. Sana ay maibigan ninyo ang mga ito.

1. Lady I - "Freedom Intro" [Siya rin si Irene Tengasantos, anak ng mag-asawang Chong at Chang ng Reggae Mistress.]
2. ETHNIC FACES - "Balikbayan"
3. COCOJAM - "batang Maynila"
4. COFFEE BREAK ISLAND - "Pakikinggan"
5. PINKCOW - "Changes (Justice Not Politics)"
6. INDIO I - "Mag-Ingay" [Kasama sa mga nagsulat at umawit ng awiting ito sina Myra Ruaro a.k.a. Skarlet at Bing Austria ng Juan Pablo Dream]
7. INDIO I - "Harana"

Mabuhay tayong lahat! Kita kita sa tugtugan.

Trash Radio Manila Episode 17 Part 2: Nalugi Na Ang Barberya Sa Dami Ng...

If you can finish the above statement, which happens to be a line off Bentot's "Jeprox", then you must have been around for quite some time, when long hair was still in vogue, jeepneys were sporting Kiss posters, Rizal Avenue was wide and bright, and a hundred peso bill was more than enough for shopping at Good Earth Emporium and snacks at a nearby ice cream house....

Those were also the days when a former army draftee turned jeepney driver turned bus driver decided to form a rondalla with his fellow drivers, and wrote a song about a very significant event in Philippine history. The song, "Magellan", was released under Kinampay records courtesy of the owner of the bus company, and the rest of this talented man's story is history.

For this segment we pay homage to Yoyoy Villame and Bentot, two artists from an era slowly slipping away from our consciousness, as we play some of their songs that we digitized from the records which come straight from our vinyl collection. (Yes, we are very lucky to have that rare original pressing of Yoyoy's "Magellan" out of Kinampay Records in our possession. Bentot's record, too, for that matter.)

Also in the playlist is Lolita Carbon of the folk group Asin and her session band Nene. The song "Bayle Ta" was written by Cocojam's Rolly Maligad (who also shared vocals with Lolit) and was released in the early 90s, shortly after Carbon's stint with the musical supergroup Lokal Brown.

Shuffle Union is in the list with one of those Long Island Dub permutations of their hypnotic song, "Batty Boy." Up next are tunes from two bands who had played in some editions of Skamax. Steady Movin' Beat, as far as I can remember, derived their name from a line off Put3Ska's "Short Stories", and are said to be singing about a rather unpleasant real-life situation in "Corporate Fool". On the other hand, Hopskatch, who started out covering Operation Ivy songs, did their take on a Deceased original titled "Abandoned Youth". Deceased? Covered by Hopskatch? Sounds interesting? Keep it here and find out how the boys fare. :)

Yes, yes. It's the start of another "jeprox" week. Glad to have you around, as always. Playlist is as follows:

1. YOYOY VILLAME and the MB LINER RONDALLA - "Magellan"
2. BENTOT - "Jeprox"
3. NENE (with COCOJAM'S ROLLY MALIGAD) - "Bayle Ta"
4. SHUFFLE UNION - "Batty Boy"
5. STEADY MOVIN' BEAT - "Corporate Fool"
6. HOPSKATCH - "Abandoned Youth"
7. YOYOY VILLAME and the MB LINER RONDALLA - "Tsuper ng Jeepney"

Photo creds: Battle of Mactan from this site. Pic of Pugo and Bentot care of this site. SMB logo from their MySpace site. And the photo of the Magellan vinyl comes from my personal album ;)