Sunday, November 05, 2006

Laments, Nagsawa na Uli, Etc.

The past few days to start off this November were eventful, to say the least.

Bro. Rafael Donato, FSC drowned while on holiday, while the fathers of my classmates, Lorenz and Logene Laureola, and Nikki Carrascoso passed away.

A recognized face among the La Salle Greenhills Search-In, Jundy Gueco, also passed away this week. His younger brother Jody died a few years back, also from heart disease.

Edit: The father of Vince Tolentino also passed away. I found out too late when I posted this piece.

Life sends us a message that our loved ones will not be with us forever, so it is time to make the most of our opportunities to send them our love.

I'd like to inject a new mood into my blog, so I'm abandoning the old template - I liked the color, but it would be nice to see something bright for a change. Maybe I'll put it back someday. Who knows?

On to the most recent Friday Five (when blog topics are hard to come by):

"Music Soothes the Savage Beast" is the title, but the correct quote from Congreve is "Music hath charms to soothe the savage BREAST, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak."

1) What was the first CD/Record/Album/Artist you ever bought and what format was it in? (Vinyl/Cassette/CD/MP3 Download)? - The first one I remember buying with money I saved was a cassette of "Eroica" (Beethoven's Third Symphony) on cassette, and I think I got Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" together with that. That was about 1986 or so.

2) How do you usually listen to music? (iPod/Walkman/Stereo/Radio) - I pick up my tunes from the Internet, and normally listen through the PC. Formerly, I had a great sound system in my bedroom back home in the Philippines. It has been some time since I went for an upgrade, and I have no inclination since I'm over here anyway.

3) What is your favorite genre of music and why? - The compromise would be big band jazz. I have mixed tastes in music, and only the loudest/most idiotic/most hateful/most whiny types turn me off. Instrumentals turn me on the most, mainly because I'm more visual than I am auditory (I create visual patterns in my brain while I listen). I still like the classics the best as listening material, but the songs that I remember best are standards and 70's/80's music.

4) What is your opinion on music video shows and music television? - In general, they are there to push sales. No harm in that, but with all the studies about demographics, marketing, etc. they are less about value and tend to point to the least common denominator. I'm not saying kids are stupid, since these shows are primarily aimed at them, but these shows tend to make them stupid instead of raising their consciousness. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. Occasionally a good documentary on forgotten stars or some such comes up.

5) Do you usually agree with who the winners of the Grammy Awards are? - I don't follow the Grammys when it comes to popular music. I do look up the winners in some of the less-publicized categories, such as jazz, to see who's up and coming, and in these cases, the jurors' choices reveal gems.

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