It is that time of the year again. No, I’m not talking about the season when people whose souls were removed to make room for more stomachs lament about the plight of the poor during yuletide while they are out cocktailing and networking to death. ’Tis the season of the NU Rock Awards again when it is that gray December in our souls and the only thing that could alleviate it is a dose of maximum rock n’ roll from the home of NU rock. ’Tis the season to be jolly – and smashed silly. Fa la la la, indeed.
The rock awards season officially began on Sept. 12 when NU 107 used its facilities as polling headquarters. For the month of October, mobile polling booths were set up in malls in Metro Manila. Once the votes were tallied, the top contenders for each category were officially nominated. Entered the board of judges to evaluate the artistic and technical merits of each nominee. And the results will be revealed on Dec. 2 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. There will be performances from Bamboo, Barbie Almalbis, Dictalicense, Hale, Imago, Junior Kilat, Kamikazee, Kitchie Nadal, Kjwan, Orange and Lemons, Parokya ni Edgar, Radioactive Sago Project, Sandwich, Session Road, Sponge Cola, Sugar Free, and The Dawn.
One indication that rock is in the pink of health is that 12 songs are nominated in the Song of the Year category. And the guys from NU didn’t consider narrowing the list down and risk leaving the good bits out. These songs did not just lord it over NU; they were also play-list staples in other stations. That’s what you call "killer crossover," which is not associated with Allen Iverson.
"Songs from Bamboo, Hale, Orange and Lemons, Junior Kilat were first played over NU," says Cris Hermosisima, NU 107 network operations head, adding that this is proof of the station’s unwavering commitment to Original Pilipino Music. "The local rock scene is thriving."
Does having a clutch of new bands equal more commercial crap? Not necessarily.
"It is really up to the listeners to decide whether they like something or not," Reyes said, mentioning the great satirist Frank Zappa’s thoughts on music tolerance. What is trash to one person is probably the equivalent of a Mozart piece played by the Mothers of Invention featuring the voices of Jeff Buckley and PJ Harvey to another. Kanya-kanyang trip, pare.
Music is ruled by cycles, the guitarist added. Pinoy rock these days is more melodic and introspective, but this was a response to the screaming, confrontational, in-your-face rock of the past few years (when everything sounded like a sore-throated Korn). "Bands coming out today want more melody. They want to write songs that, maybe, their friends could sing," Reyes said.
Since rock n’ roll is governed by action and reaction, maybe what’s trendy today ("pogi rock" according to grumpy critics) will disillusion musicians and urge them to spark a new trend in rock. Maybe start a revolution of sorts. If every new band sounded like Hale, Cueshe or Orange and Lemons, the last thing you’d want to listen to is another Hale, Cueshe or Orange and Lemons. Everyone knows that (since everyone is a music expert these days).
My former classmate who had the predilection of singing George Michael’s Faith in front of class would call it "saturation of the nation." Don’t you think once-hot singer-songwriters wielding acoustic guitars and remakes of Overjoyed are now plodding like dinosaurs on the eve of the Ice Age?
(According to NU 107’s Diego Castillo, Sandwich’s brilliant guitarist, the next in-thing will be danceable, upbeat, electro rock purveyed by the likes of Pedicab, The Bitter Pill, and bands with laser-gun keyboards that want to give homage to Gang of Four and Franz Ferdinand.)
Nothing’s certain in the realm of rock n’ roll. That’s for sure. The only thing we could count on is that NU 107 will take us straight to the rock n’ roll frontlines and allow us, in the words of David Bowie, to turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes.