A big slice of Big Brother

• Pinoy Ako, Various Artists

• Star Records, 2005

It’s pointless to state the obvious, but here goes anyway: Pinoy Big Brother mania is sweeping the country like the Mexican telenovelas of yore, like the pearl shakes of legend, like the mini 4wd of recent memory, like… well, you get the idea.

You hear people engrossed in spirited conversation in the streets, in elevators, at the water cooler, in the office pantry. And people shed tears over the hyped, inevitable "evictions" pitting province against province.

In quite a sordid way, we are probably more concerned about who gets to stay in Big Brother’s house than the other house along the Pasig River. Oh, well.

But then again we Pinoys are renowned for being stubbornly resilient and for being famously short of memory. I mean, have you seen the throngs showing their support to eviction "nominees"? They certainly now outnumber the people used as target practice by foul-tempered anti-riot police.

Lest we stray further, let me say that the release of an album with the omnipresent Big Brother theme was a forgone conclusion – another vehicle by which ABS-CBN can cash in on the stellar showing of its franchise. A dedicated, 24-hour channel has even been set up for subscribers craving for a non-stop fix on the lives of the "housemates." Product placements within the show itself make for an eerie study in reality crass-vertisement.

Nonetheless, anyone can get an amazingly accurate view of trends by the actions of the network giant. The Pinoy Ako compilation (released through the company’s Star Records), for one, is proof of what we have long expected – the eventual resurgence of the country’s band scene that had been unceremoniously pushed aside by a glut of acoustic performers.

Band of the moment Orange and Lemons (O&L) further bolsters its stock in the national psyche as the artist tapped to craft the PBB theme. O&L guitar player Clem Castro weaves a catchy tune around the lyrics of Jonathan Manalo, in turn given crisp voice by Mccoy Fundales. The trademark O&L treatment ensures a track that is both memorable and accessible.

The Pinoy Ako compilation gives more value via twin MTVs (in VCD format) that accompany the Big Brother theme and the song Makita Kang Muli. The latter, performed by Sugarfree, is the theme song of Panday starring Jericho Rosales and Heart Evangelista.

Also included in the compilation are familiar artists in the country’s band scene, delivering easy-listening new material, alongside rehashes of familiar faves.

Rico Blanco of Rivermaya, Session Road, Parokya Ni Edgar, Sandwich, Barbie’s Cradle are some of the featured artists. Kevin Roy of Razorback and Cooky Chua of Color It Red conspire for a guilty pleasure of a duet entitled Jam, penned by Mike Villegas. Gloc 9 and ex-Yano Dong Abay render a polished version of The Teeth’s hit Laklak, punctuated by a rap spiel. Stagecrew contributes two tracks: Cinderella and a near-faithful cover of After Image’s Next In Line.

However, one may take umbrage over Michael Cruz’s overproduced cover of JDC’s Beep Beep, taking the everyman accessibility of the original into an excessively varnished mélange for commercial consumption.

Still, one shouldn’t really expect to tread rough, unproven ground with Big Brother taking him by the hand. So savor this album on a safe, sunny day and – if Star Records had its druthers – between servings of Pinoy Big Brother.