There is a borderline nonsensical song on the first album by General Public (look it up, children; it came out in the ’80s): Hot You’re Cool. The chorus goes “So hot you’re cool, so cool you’re hot” and then continues to express this sentiment in various permutations while you wonder which track number Tenderness is. In pop culture parlance, what is cool nearly always becomes what’s hot (though what’s hot is not necessarily all that cool, as you may have observed over the years).
But enough semantics: here are five cool music-related things that will make your summer hotter (though not literally, because if the city got any hotter we would all be formerly people-shaped puddles on the asphalt).
Wilderness
Here’s a band that should really be seen live: they will attack their instruments in a near-frenzy and have you thrashing around like a caffeine-injected gibbon. They describe their genre as “ADHD,” “tugtugan ng demonyo,” or just plain “EVIL.” They also believe that “music and major corporations are mutually exclusive and should not be mentioned interchangeably.” Learn more at www.facebook.com/ohmywilderness, and listen up at soundcloud.com/wildernessph.
Taken By Cars, Album 2
To be utterly honest, I have yet to listen to TBC’s sophomore offering “Dualist” in its entirety, but the tracks I have heard — This Is Our City and Autopilot among them — sound fantastic. My anticipation built up over the past few months when they would play their new material during gigs, and now the album’s here, and it looks to boast a big shiny sound that will make your hearts pump faster and your brain shoot off sparks. Drop by www.face book.com/takenbycars.
Run&Play Ph
“Our town, our sound.” Who are run&play ph? Basically they’re a team of music-loving filmmakers and photographers et cetera, who go around filming live performances by “the best indie musicians/bands from the Philippines” and uploading the results for all to enjoy. These are not your amateur shaky-hand gig vids shot in the semi-dark; this is good stuff, and will expand your appreciation for such well-loved acts as Ang Bandang Shirley and Outerhope. Not every act may be to your taste, but you’re sure to find something to admire at runplayph.tumblr.com
Irie Sundays At B-Side
I’ll have my fun-loving friend Fran explain why these regular reggae get-togethers are great: “Irie Sunday is as easy and informal as a neighborhood barbecue. It’s free entrance, reasonably priced beer, good isaw, barbecue, grilled corn... everyone who goes likes the reggae. And most nights, the dancing is wicked.” Highlights of these Sundays include bands like Good Leaf and Milagros Dancehall Collective, and visitors like Takashi Kirihara and DJ Apollo. Most excellent.