An open letter to Gary V.

Dear Mr. Valenciano,

Sir, I am a fan of yours, not as devoted as I’d like to be – but a fan nonetheless. No, I haven’t been to any of your biggest concerts but I grew up listening to your music on the radio back in the 1980s on my way to and from school. (Though my family lives in Pasig, I went to school all the way in Alabang.) Like many of my generation, I also grew up watching TV and witnessed your many appearances in more variety shows than I’d care to remember. My sisters – bigger fans than I – did go to see your shows and they had nothing but praise for your showmanship and the power of your voice. I think it’s good that I was too young to go to any of your shows because instead of being taken in by your charisma and stage presence I became a fan because of your songwriting – something you’re rarely properly credited for. Without the flashy moves or your rapport during your performances, I had nothing else but your songwriting to admire. To put it simply, you made great pop music that was instantly recognizable within the first few seconds. (Whenever I hear those two notes that make up "Min-san…" I’m surprised at how the rest of the song unfurls effortlessly in my mind.)

Lately, I’ve been buying all your old albums that have been reissued at very good prices. I guess it’s a part of me that’s trying to reclaim a memory because those were very happy times in my life, listening to your songs during those car rides, finishing homework early to be able to watch TV. Hearing those tunes again, it makes me sentimental and happy but your songs really reveal your craftsmanship and skill at creating pop gems. It’s even more impressive finding out that you weren’t only the performer but also the producer, writer and arranger of your best songs like Wag Mo Na Sanang Isipin. In particular, your skill as an arranger is simply brilliant. (I can remember my classmates and I between our grade school classes imitating that funny and catchy horn you put in to punctuate the chorus of that song.)

Songs like Di Bale Na Lang, Mahal Na Mahal Ko Siya, Eto Na Naman to mention just a few are all great songs that even upon cursory listening will validate what I’ve spent the last 400 words to say. You are not a mere performer but a songwriter of the best Filipino songs of the 20th century. That is, up until we hit the 1990s.

To put it bluntly, after the magnificent "Faces Of Love", everything you put out until now is…sorry to say, crap. What went wrong? You barely wrote anything really worth your previous work or – more distressingly – nothing at all. You concentrated on being a performer and released material that I guess would showcase that facet of you the pop press likes to call "Mr. Pure Energy". A shame, but I imagine it was a wise financial decision on you and your handlers’ part given that the big bucks are in live performances and not in album sales. During the 1990s, The Eraserheads came and changed the whole landscape of pop music in our country. You went the opposite way and pumped out dance anthems that were disposable. Or churned out lamentable ballads like what your so-called peers were doing at the time ("terrible music of whining, sixths and relative minors, lots of melisma…").

Maybe the message wasn’t bad but the music certainly was. Nothing you’ve done recently has come close to the poignancy of Sana’y Maulit Muli or Take Me Out Of The Dark, My Lord. In the same sense, no remixing of Hataw Na will ever be as euphoric to this listener as Look In Her Eyes. That stuff just won’t stand up.

But the point of this letter isn’t to bash your integrity or your work. (No one music reviewer can ever do that.) But I’m writing this to call your attention to the wonderful music that the younger bands are now making and playing. Have you heard Bamboo’s new album? There’s a track there called, Much Has Been Said that I’d think you’d like, a real emotional R&B song cut by a rock band that has a vocal strongly reminiscent of the guy who made a hit out of Di Na Natuto. There’s another outfit that you might have heard of called Sugarfree. They’ve got two albums out already and they boast a pop sensibility and sensitivity as you when you sang, "Just waiting for the daybreak/ Expecting the sun to shine/It doesn’t shine all the time". (You’d be happy to hear that I’ve done a poll of people my age from call center managers to death metal guitarists to fashionistas and they all say that that song – if not the movie – always makes them smile. For a time, I had a dear friend in the movie industry that made it his ring-tone. Pity that the version going around is only from a cassette and thus leaves much to be desired. Can I buy a copy off you?) You might wanna check out the impressive roster of talents on the independent label Terno Records. Those bands will never admit it but I can tick off tricks they must’ve learned from your example in constructing 4-5 minute pop symphonies.

You must’ve noticed that I’ve been citing "rock" acts or "indie" music but I think that it’s these groups that have really appreciated your mastery of the pop format – whether it be a conscious debt or not. Everything is pop, nowadays, and it just so happens that the best music these days is coming from stations like NU 107.5 and maybe 103.5 K-LITE. Listen to the local chart toppers and hear for yourself. Whether you like it or not, you’re probably as much as a rock godhead as Ely Buendia. Check out The Itchyworms’ newest album called Noon Time Show (one of those listed in my column’s best albums of 2005) and, in particular, a track called "Love Team" and, if the song’s melody reminds one of The Eraserheads, the arrangement and hooks are all you.

Put simply, I’d like to hear you sound inspired again – and not just with your words but with your music. I hope that by pointing out how much you’ve influenced the best music made today you’d get back to making great music again. I’d really like to hear a more raw, fresh Gary V. pop tune to help get through the drudgery of getting up in the morning. (To be sure, I’m not at all suggesting an "acoustic" album — the concept is so 1990s.) It needn’t be anything "deep" lyrically – just a song about a guy in love will do just fine. It’s more uplifting in these times than any praise song, I assure you. With all that’s happening in our country, it’ll be nice to hear a familiar voice singing about how "we can bring back yesterday." We all need a reason to smile again.

Sincerely and with much respect,

A Fan.

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If you don’t hate me, you can send your reaction or comment to erwin_romulo@hotmail.com.