Archive for category Events
Imagining music in 1969
1969
1969 was such a great year for music regardless of the historic Woodstock which took place at the outskirts of New York state. 1969’s music glory owes itself to the culture surrounding it at that time. The restlessness of Vietnam protests. The counter-culture youth in face with the highly conservative and blindly patriotic generation that had lived through the traumatic World War II. 1969 was the height of hallucinogenic substances which inspired new ways of recognizing the world. It was also a time of repression and therefore resistance.
1969 also inspired indie. That music celebrates loving the street musician or playing the record on mono. Indie was also about Bob Dylan rejecting to play at Woodstock. Indie was making music for the sake of music. Or music to save lives. And that there was something hateful about record companies, especially after what they have done to The Beatles. And speaking of The Beatles, 1969 was the last time The Beatles were seen in live performance at the rooftop of Apple Records. It was also the year when John Lennon performs as a solo artist and cries, “Give Peace a Chance”. There was something so distinctly resounding about those words at that time, which now is just a song that we happen to know and have heard on the radio before.
1969 was when Bob Marley and the Wailers emerged from obscurity and began to popularize Reggae. It was also Elvis Presley’s most monumental and critically-acclaimed comeback. Simon and Garfunkel and Jackson 5 debuts – a mark of the beginning of another era in music which is the 70’s folk or pop ballad.
When I close my eyes and think about the alternative lifestyles and the music and the pleasures so prolific in 1969, I kind of wish I lived at least a day in that year and just have a look-see of what was going on. Just as though the Times they are a ‘changin. Just to feel that sense of wonder as one watches the first man land on the moon.
Faux pas at the VMAs and an outburst on the US Open
Posted by Kim in Events, Foreign, Mainstream, Media, Music, Music Videos on September 14th, 2009
The title pretty much says it: the legendary temper of some bigshot Americans.
The MTV Video Music Awards 2009 is probably the weirdest to date. Supposedly, the highlight of the show was the much-awaited tribute to the late Micheal Jackson by his sister Janet and the queen Madonna herself. But there have been numerous scores that really eclipsed the opening number in memory of Jackson. For one, you get a very interesting medieval rendering from Lady GaGa which shocked audiences (as usual) and then another asshole stunt from (the guy who I thought was scratched off the guest list after the last fiasco), Kanye West took place. Again, acting like a complete hillbilly, he grabs the mic from Taylor Swift as the 19-year-old accepts her Best Female video award to tell audiences that Beyonce’s video was the best of that year. Of course, Beyonce looks shellshocked by this unexpected turn of events and West is booed off the stage, the works.
Kanye the douche
Way to crush a teenager’s self-esteem. West was reportedly scolded by Swift’s mother to which he later apologized on his blog.
In other news, the US Open semifinals concluded with an ugly unsportsmanlike display from Serena Williams, a disruption that caused her a crucial point to the game.
Here’s the report that ran on Yahoo Sports news:
Golden Noises
Eric Calilan on his mobile electronic sound factory. Photo by Andi Baldonado.
All of music comes from sound. Music has no place without it.
Chi’s brainchild is a stark illumination of noise and sound. With the exhibition of “Golden Noises” last Saturday, sound was marvelously deconstructed by several electronic gadgets and makeshift instruments.
Eric Calilan fuses electronic vibrations and crude midi to give his sound set some serious teeth. He severs conventional music bars and devices new time signatures. It’s remarkable what a few twists and buttons can create and express. His renderings are neither crude nor delicate. It is purely alien.
The set was followed by Chuck Fournier’s more melodious but playful sonic renderings. It is truly a sound trip that blows the mind when one follows its unpredictable current and abrupt punctuations. The beat he utilizes toward the end was misleading. There is no rhythm but your heartbeat. Sound has no rhythmic base only fluidity.
Lastly, Toshiyuki Seido has a very direct message. His is an upfront barbaric display. He strikes me as a very sadistic artist, forcing his audiences to painful noise. The volume explodes and reverberates beyond one’s noise threshold. It escalates the body to a shock so great it is only escapable with silence. My interpretation is that he uses his instrument as a torture device, piercing you in strategic points while you are threatened with the knowledge that you can no longer escape. If you stayed and listened, you are secretly a masochist. To some, masochism is a legitimate form of pleasure. And that is probably why I walked out.
Truly, every bit of sound is striking and exhilarating. The concert was both an artistic and emotional exploration.
Glory that is Wimbledon
Roddick gives his all and falls for the ball
I know, I know, this was supposed to be the beginning of an all-music blog, but while I haven’t got a place to dump all the other fancies in my head, I will always try to come up with a way to squeeze music into the equation.
In the form of a soundtrack.
On a warm sunny spring afternoon at the Wimbledon center court, two heroic figures meet at the finals of the most classic tennis tournament. For either players, it would be a historic bout. One is vying to break Pete Sampras’ record by winning his 15th grand slam victory while the other is a man who used to be the world number one, disappeared into obscurity and decided to get back in shape to reclaim his glory by orchestrating one of the biggest upsets in tennis history. Federer and Roddick had a lot at stake.
They play each other until the 5th and final set, on what seemed at first to be an almost impenetrable gameplay from both sides. Roddick serves splendidly and is stunning his opponent with uncharacteristic volleys. Federer on the other hand holds out even though he appears exhausted, giving it his all when Roddick finally show some cracks at 15-15. I was rooting for Federer at first but seeing Roddick’s spirited and utterly jaw-dropping performance, I wanted him to win in the end.
But like any sport, someone has to win and the other lose.
I am dedicating this post’s song to the courageous fight put up by the American, Andy Roddick. Roddick, I’m sure you’ll remain in the conversation on the next grand slam. We’ll be watching you.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Interview with The Dawn
Posted by Kim in Dailies, Events, Mainstream, Movies, Music, Music Videos on May 13th, 2009
(L-R) Me, Jett Pangan, JB Leonor, Kenneth Ilagan (Truefaith), Ricci Gurango (Hungry Young Poets, Mojofly)
New wave has got to be my unconscious genre. I was born in the late eighties, so most of the music I remember from my earliest living memory is a combination of new wave radio hits and clumsily spurned grunge.
Growing up, I never knew The Dawn but when I did my homework prior to my interview I immediately recognised their songs. Most probably, the only reason I would ever get the chance to hear their music is if someone older than myself had been picking the tunes on the radio and I just happened to be in the same room at that time. The night before the interview, I sent everyone on my phonebook ages 30 up to see if any of them knew the band. I get an urgent reply from my lawyer, our veterenarian, an engineer, so on. People of considerable stature. This is the generation the band sung to. And so as someone who was barely born at the cusp of their prime, my Filipino music history was enriched and had a brush up last friday with The Dawn.
Unfortunately, my record of the said interview was of such poor quality I wouldn’t dare upload it to grate your ears. Instead, I wrote a transcript of the higlights of the interview that fans might appreciate. Viola.
LitOrgy at Durian Bar
Late March and early April was by far an interesting time for get togethers of writers, artists and musicians. The Young Davao Writers guild spearheaded a new version of their four month old poetry readings by infusing other artistic elements. It has brought awareness for the need to confer with each other, as the young literary world faces a crisis of the seemingly lack of creative movement.
Litorgy is the movement of the young: the first of a series of multimedia renderings by different young Davao artists: musicians, visual artists and writers. It was likewise guested by luminaries of the Davao art scene: Macario Tiu, Maria Morales and Chuch Fournier to name a few.
Plans of launching the next soiree are on the works and is believed to be called, Literotika.
Happy Birthday! Oh and some Mindanao Music Awards update
Yep, if you’ve been around this block long enough you know that Southisms.com was born on a July.
And so was I.
You can’t blame me for loving the month of July. This month has been packed with so many things I hardly have time to go online and type one of ‘em posts for the birthday of this brainchild. Anyway, brief history: Southisms used to be and was supposed to be (exclusively) a music blog. The rise of the niche blogging hype had called this space for that purpose initially. However, the writer has transformed over time from the booze-guzzling musicionado to the tube-whirring, film-powered “student” of life, the universe and everything. So now this must be a blog about the universe and everything, as far as my media brain cell is concerned. But can’t help drifting back to music-related events since it’s still pretty much part of my nature.
Say for instance, I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about the upcoming Muzika del Sur Music Awards 2008 for August. Unfortunately I had an ear infection so I wasn’t able to cover their preliminary events.
I’ve heard the nominations have closed and that’s where the fun usually starts.
Mindanao film makes it to Cinemalaya 2008
Photo courtesy of http://morofilm.blogspot.com
My friend Jun Macarambon, who co-wrote “A step for my dream” had their film officially selected in this year’s Cinemalaya, inevitably the most prestigious film festival in the Philippines. I haven’t seen the film myself, but the fact that it made it to the festival should keep everyone’s heads up. It was directed by Monalayn Labado, also a Mindanawon. Hopefully, their producer Teng Mangansakan II, also a documentary filmmaker from Mindanao, would allow to screen the said film for this upcoming Mindanao Film Festival for everyone to see. Lately, the influx of critical Mindanao filmmakers shaking the national and international scene have grown since, perhaps, Lav Diaz. Other films to watchout for that are made by a Mindanao filmmaker include Sherad Anthony Sanchez’s film (director of Huling Balyan ng Buhi) “Imburnal”, which was recently shot in some parts of Bankerohan and Dumalag. It is an entry for this year’s Cinema One Originals. Also, an advocacy film was recently made entitled, “Hunghong sa yuta” which has already run on local cinemas. Noticeably, most of our fresh breed of filmmakers have done stories on Mindanao, treating these stories with a fair sense of what Mindanao truly feels like.
www.kim.southisms.com
Valedictory Speech (an illusion)
Posted by Kim in Dailies, Events, Foreign, Music, Social Comment on March 19th, 2009
Dear (omit: fellow) graduates,
How do you make a graduation march look cinematic? That long arduous function that ushers in a new generation through a new threshold of social expectations. What an irreplacable joy it is to have the discipline and diligence indeed to have come this far! Congratulations to all my friends whose paths I’ve crossed and are now crossing a path still ahead of me. Bid your farewells to the academe, by all means do so, you truly deserve that goodbye! I commend your determination and above all your courage. If anything, the university life is but a riddle to the Life that often eludes our temporal meander in this world. And let me tell you something about the world: it is teeming with opportunities, strife, crooks, unemployment, interesting colleagues, friends, traitors, money, happiness, struggles, creativity(!), companies, countries, dinner parties, society, love, hate, poverty(!), TAXES, obligations, governance, subordination, family, documentation, promotions, post-graduate, independence, boredom, youth, etcetera etcetera etcetera… Take it from someone who took on the world before taking on herself. We all have our answers to own one day with a strong heart and mind, charateristics of heroes and heorines. And that my friends, is truly cinematic.
My deepest gratitude to all my teachers who showed no tolerance for my indolence and for that, evicted me from across disciplines to teach me a more important lesson. I may not be your most studious student but I have learned indeed! Thank you to the tertiary institution for its stubborness and legitimization of my rebellion, and having such a dry sense of humor: it has the last laugh, for now. Thank you to my parents for worrying (sometimes, needlessly) for my future. Mothers and fathers wish their children to grow up strong for they have the wisdom of the damage caused by powerlessness. It may seem like an obvious choice, but we must learn to accept strength instead of weakness. And tread our own path with fearlessness and zeal!
To those who are left behind, such as myself I have something to say to you: What now? NOW, that we have the upperhand. They just don’t know it! All the choices we’ve made and the mistakes many people have said we’ve made, to them we say: So what! I know, I know. But know that there is no reason to feel defeatist when we’re really the ubermench! This simply means that we are not easily defined by society instead we let society be defined by us. We are a huge chunk on the neighborhood which gives us the leverage of the minority. History has taught us that the minorities are the activists and the activists are the agents of change. As most people proceed through life comfortably and are unaware of the dangers, we have already become masters of our own discomfort and have skillfully laid out our options. We are the troubleshooters with a unique point of view.
Finally, thank you to the universe! I have graduated from that social and psychological torture called a “god” and I thank the masters Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beuvoir, Michel Foucault, Sigmund Freud, Ayn Rand, Robert Green Ingersoll, Bertrand Russell, Jean Meslier, Michel Onfray, the Zeitgeist and many other freethinkers I have met in this young life and have inspired my post-christian secularity. To take care of humanity is a soulful task yet an immense responsibility that we do entirely alone. No earth, no heavenly consultation, no tradition is the sole basis of our personal, ethical, biological, artistic, intellectual evolution. Borrowing the thought of this important adage, the Captain of my ship, master of my soul: is The “I“.
March, you graduates. I offer you a line from the song written by a great man by the name of John Lennon. The last song he ever recorded moments before he was gunned down is a very apt anthem of a struggle for existential pinnacle. And thus, the master spoke:
Cheers and good luck to you all.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Yoko Ono feat. Spiritualized – Walking on thin ice [Download] [Lyrics]
Ayn Rand, Bertrand Russeel, Graduation, Jean Meslier, John Lennon, Michel Onfray, Nietzche, Robert Green Ingersoll, Sartre, Sigmund Freud, Simone de Beuvoir, Spiritualized, Yoko Ono, Zeitgeist
2 Comments