We did something naughty last year — that is, myself and two other music aficionados namely Quark Henares and Luis Katigbak. Sensing that not enough local music was being recognized in the media or at the Rock Awards we decided to do something and make up our own awards. Although it did provoke a reaction (and one in the form of an unintelligible monologue in cyberspace) it’s clear that things were just the same as before. As much as there was crap there was still those golden nuggets that our local scene manages to squeeze out, somehow. Much of it still stinks, of course. It might even reek more than last year.
I never imagined we’d do it again this year, when so much has happened and there is very little to celebrate. Plus this year’s NU Rock Awards was the best in its history, a pretty accurate reflection of all that was worth noting this year in local music. Not that anything was any better or even worse in terms of the stuff that was put out there; it just made me realize that even if we didn’t like everything we heard (or most) at least there was still something there. That was enough reason to be optimistic and enough for us to do our part. I think that’s as any good a reason to do it again. (I’ve done other things for less and for people I don’t like — at least Quark and Luis I adore.)
So time to be naughty again. And the fact that this year was even more lackluster than last shouldn’t be a deterrent to having a bit of fun. From the start we’ve stressed that all of our winners are completely our own choices — we’ve ever hid the fact that we didn’t care about being impartial or objective. The only criterion has and always will be that we love whom we’ve chosen. Neither does it matter that a certain song has contributed to our culture in a great way or it’s topped the charts or even if it was played by respectable musicians like Cynthia Alexander, Johnny Alegre or Malek Lopez. Nope, doesn’t matter. We like it — it wins. (As you’ll see it didn’t matter if they fit into our own criteria or rules like being actually released this year.) So shall we begin? (Don’t bother answering. We’ll start anyway and if you start talking to the page you’re holding people might find you weird.)
Best Song I’ve Heard This Year
The Story So Far by Outerhope [Luis]
For the past half-year or so, this song has been a welcome friend. I’ve listened to it in taxis, to calm myself while on my way to deliver lectures I felt ill prepared for; at Outerhope’s gigs, while experiencing what could be described as quiet exhilaration; and at home, singing along with feeling before I could even figure out all of the words. Written with honesty, performed with skill and love, this song is one of the most beautiful stories I’ve heard in a long time.
Superpoke is Nothing Compared to True Love by Us-2 Evil-0
The problem with knowing the artists involved is that it more often than not robs the music of its own personality. Especially true if you actually know them. The success of this song from Us-2 Evil-0 is that it transcends even the ironic humor of its title. Unlike their first single, this doesn’t sound like the Mich Dulce-and-Quark Henares show but rather an affecting anthem, heartfelt and impassioned but deeply introspective. When Dulce sings, “We just fade away,” it’s already happened—only the song remains.
Matina Town Square by Zach Lucero feat. Sarah Marco [Quark]
Best Song I’ve Heard This Year (Not Neccesarily Of This Year)
Clarity (N:ua Remix) by Bagetsafonik [Luis]
The least remixes can do is tweak and transform the experience of listening to familiar material; that’s pretty much their reason for existence. But there are remixes that actually surpass the originals, highlighting the best aspects of a song while folding in new, and better, elements. This is one of those cases: while the song was good to start with, the N:ua reworking_from the 2008 Travel Agents remix album_takes it to a mesmerizing new place.
Line Drawings by Sandwich
Cruelly overlooked even by its makers, this is the one song from Sandwich’s “<X> Marks The Spot” that sounds more alive than any of the popular singles released from the album. It’s catchy, yes, and with an earnest lyric that would only sound profound in a pop song. But it’s got a lot of heart and it shows. Plus, deliberate or not, the reference to Poklong Anading in the song title makes just so appealing even without hearing a note. Plus while we’re at it, I’d just like to berate Sandwich for putting out great songs like Hairpin, Return to Center, Masilungan and still put out crap like Right Now as singles? Please let the madness stop!
Mmm by Arigato Hato [Quark]
Best Song I’ve Heard Live This Year
Medicine by Waya [Luis]
Already known for their stunning performances and cannily chosen covers, the band Waya unleashed its first originals just this November, and they are brilliant_drawing on influences from Blondie to Bowie and beyond, they made me want to hear them again even before they were finished. “Medicine” may have been written based on the lead singer’s experiences with asthma, but it will leave you breathless for other reasons entirely.
Juggernaut by Greyhoundz
Of all the songs ill-served by a recording’s production, this was the most compromised. No matter, Reg Rubio and the rest of Greyhoundz still pull this off to devastating effect whenever they play it live. Juggernaut is the song that I wish they made during the band’s heyday in the ’90s. If anything, it might’ve prolonged the period so that we could’ve bypassed all the “acoustic” acts that followed them.
“Sembreak” by Arigato Hato [Quark]
Best Single That I Did Hear On the Radio
Twenty Years From Now by Outerhope [Luis]
Outerhope handed over their new album to radio stations without specifying a single, so it’s interesting to see which tracks individual stations choose to air. This one seemed a natural; it may be the most immediately appealing of the lot, with its 80s influence, interweaving vocals and insistent beat.
Let’s Make Babies by The Bernadettes
This is what all pop should aspire to. Its music drunk on its own exuberance. A classic if I ever heard one. No stag party without chicks would be complete without this.
Matina Town Square by Zach Lucero feat. Sarah Marco [Quark]
Best Live Act
Turbo Goth
It’s the shoulders. They make music.
Best Second Album
Back to the Nut House by Hilera
Though it was good, I wasn’t too keen on Hilera’s debut. But there was obviously talent there already. With their second effort, they’ve grown in ambition as well as skill, delivering a modern rockabilly experience that’s even angrier but more focused than its predecessor. It still sounds as if teetering towards collapse, which just makes everything all the more enjoyable. Raucous fun.
Best Guitar Playing On An Album
Kris Gorra-Dancel
If there’s one thing to marvel at from Duster’s debut it’s the solid playing of guitar player Kris Gorra-Dancel. It’s worth mentioning just because it’s an example of what to do when you know your band-mates are already awesome—you give them the extra push. Many of our so-called guitar heroes could learn a thing from listening to Gorra-Dancel, who doesn’t need to resort to a single solo to show that she plays with balls.
Best Frontperson
Katwo Librando-Puertollano, Duster [Luis]
No offense to her husband (hi Nico), but guys and girls alike, we’re all a little in love with Katwo: she’s not the most skilled nor the most famous singer on the scene, but when she takes the stage, her passionate performances make for electrifying experiences, gig after gig. With undeniable style, spirit, and occasionally slightly off-kilter spiels, she charms and confronts and conquers.
Best Cover Sleeve
The Dingdong Dantes Experience
Self-explanatory.
The Distinktive Sounds of Pasta Groove [Luis]
The cover accurately — and attractively — represents the glorious mash-up of elements inside. You know, much like the Dingdong Dantes album cover does.
Peryodiko [Quark]
Best International Act
Ciudad
Our favorite band is still at it and now they’re playing in Manhattan! The fact that they also got ex-Versus, now Plus Minus’s James Baluyot to fill in on some dates for Justin Sunico as well as playing in the prestigious CMJ Festival just proves what we’ve expected all along: only people with taste like Ciudad. But apparently that doesn’t apply to music video directors.
Nine Inch Nails [Quark] (“Thanks Splintr!”)
Pasta Groove’s Give Bearth directed by Paolo Garcia [Luis]
Flickering and unfolding like a dream, splicing in vintage film clips with new footage made to look archaeological, the video enhances rather than detracts from the Pasta Groove experience.
Us-2 Evil-0’s “Mighty Heart Attack” directed by J.A. Tadena [Erwin]
Standing as an antithesis to all the rest of the videos gaining airplay today, J.A. Tadena’s video for Us-2 Evil-0’s first single is not a patchwork of pegs strung together from the director’s favorite videos but rather a sincere piece of filmmaking. It trusts the music enough, and isn’t too clever with the visuals to a degree that smothers everything else. Understanding that the song’s heart lies within the group camaraderie (as well as Mich Dulce’s bosom), Tadena isn’t insecure about giving them the spotlight. Thank heavens for that.
Up Dharma Down’s Taya directed by Nic Reyes [Quark]
Best Live Album
Shuffle Union
Recorded at a tribute gig to the late Luis “Weslu” Guiang in Cubao, this is certainly a testament to the spirit of the statement of its producer, Betrayed’s Je Bautista, that “ska is reggae on beer.” It proves that a genre like ska thrives in environments wherein the equipment sounds as if it’s only held together with tape but where the interaction with the audience is never distant. In this case, only the music proves to be above the street and, in its most inebriated moments, reach glorious heights.
Best Collaboration
Giving Bearth by Pasta Groove
This track is a demonstration of how adept afro-Filipino stalwart Pasta Groove is in making diverse elements work to his advantage producing music that’s uniquely his own. Featuring Up Dharma Down’s Armi Millare, Rubber Inc’s Malek Lopez and Third World Project’s Allen Umali among others, Giving Bearth is nonetheless Pasta Groove’s distinct achievement — a colorful Jeepney amid the parking lot of local hip-hop’s imitation Chevrolets.
Best Protest Song
Ah, the protest song, something we’re supposed to be tired of after the Marcos Years and the lackluster Rage Against The Machine-abees. Well, this year, we heard this song from unlikely heroes, Kamikazee. Wala is what’s it all about now; and where it’s at — a defiant album saying that for all the bluster our pop stars and Ilac Diaz has promoted himself with: what does it really amount to? Wala.
Best Album
“A Day for the Absent” by Outerhope [Luis]
“A Day For The Absent” only hit the stores at the end of October, but thanks to MySpace uploads, an EP, live performances, and the band themselves, I’ve been listening to the songs from the album for most of 2009. What can I say? I never expected to love it this much. I liked their debut “Strangely Paired” well enough, and it is definitely worth checking out as well, but with this second album, their material is even better: their sound is still spare-but-lush, still based on their brother-sister harmonies and guitar and keyboards, but the songs, from the childlike yet brilliant Lost in Numbers to the jaunty Anna Gabrielle to the drum-machine driven Twenty Years From Now and the deeply affecting The Man With The Pipes, are just the best songs I heard this year. This is one album I will be introducing to others for some time to come.
Travel Advisory by Archipelago [Erwin]
“It’s not where you’re going, it’s where it’s at,” said someone cool from some cool band in a bygone era of cool music. Listening to Archipelago’s debut, one can only agree. It isn’t made of groundbreaking material nor is it faultless but it certainly carries a vibe all throughout. The fact is, the music sits well with itself, so assured of its own strength that it needn’t try to do anything else.
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The 2nd Awards will be held tonight at Mag:net High Street. BE THERE! Send comments and questions can be forwarded to www. rockedradio.com.