For your listening pleasure

If you love music, finding more music to love is a lifelong process, often involving hours online, recommendations from wise friends, reading reviews, the occasional regrettable purchase, and the eureka moments that make it all worthwhile. As with many things in life, one of the best ways to go about it is to have a good guide; luckily, Diego Castillo — “music fan, professional guitar player, radio announcer, producer, basketball lover, sneaker freak, movie director and DJ” — is here to introduce you to a lot of Really Good Music, through his online audio show Foaming at the Mouth. He’s done seven episodes so far, and each one is a glorious mix of tunes and talk and Diego’s eclectic and impeccable taste.

YOUNG STAR: Why did you start “Foaming at the Mouth”?

DIEGO CASTILLO: The truth? Is boredom too honest an answer? Hahaha! I think part of it was just missing having my old show with (musician/DJ) Myrene (Academia) and (filmmaker) Quark (Henares). Missing geeking out with them about music. But another part was this idea of sending my girlfriend, who happens to be in school halfway around the world, this weird mix tape of sorts with me talking on it. Since I knew I’d be visiting her in x number of weeks, it was also a good way of realizing I was coming closer and closer to seeing her. Although, after the second or third episodes, I started getting a bunch of e-mails from listeners, telling me how much they enjoyed this song, or thanking me since they’ve never heard a particular one, or how it even made their Sunday! Which of course I thought was so awesome. It got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t just making myself happy, but a few other kids in the process.

What is your ideal state of mind for making a Foaming at the Mouth mix?

Ooooh... That’s a good question! Our mutual friend Erwin Romulo said that he finds the rambling, more spontaneous episodes more entertaining. So... I just try and not think about it too much and avoid self-editing in the process. Which for me is easier said than done! I’m afraid that if I hit record I’ll never stop talking! Hahaha! But yeah, in the beginning I would play back the spiels and try to fine-tune what I was saying, but in the process it would lose the spontaneous and overall irreverent feel. So as of late, I’ve just been winging it. I try to also just choose songs or bands that I feel I have some sort of interesting take on and already have some general knowledge or trivia about them, which just makes it more fun for me. For the talking parts and other little stories within the show, I usually think of them during the week. Like say the episode about YouTube and what I thought about its comments section and how it has that “suggested for you” tab. I immediately knew this would be something funny to talk about on the show.

Do you have any “rules” or criteria you try to abide by?

None whatsoever. Just whatever I think is good music.

So far you’ve run the gamut from Erik Satie to DJ Shadow (twice), with Detachable Penis in between. Are there genres or eras or artists you have a particular affinity for? And conversely, any that you avoid?

I’ve played Shadow twice? I didn’t even realize that! Talo mo pa ako Luis! I think growing up in the late ‘80s and ‘90s I do have a particular affinity for the burgeoning indie rock scene of that time. The Pixies, Pavement, Guided By Voices, Superchunk, The Spinanes and the like bring me back to a time when I first discovered what I considered “my” music. I love The Kinks, Stones, Beach Boys, The Beatles, and Dylan to death, but those are my parents’ bands, not exactly mine. I mean, yes, they are too in a way, but I didn’t grow up “with” them like I did with the bands mentioned above. I caught them all when they were still coming up in the scene. (Maybe not GBVS, hehehe.) I was able to follow their musical careers in an era before the internet. Which meant you really had to be in love with that type of music to not just get ahold of a CD, but to actually gather info on them. With that said though, the older I get, the more well rounded my musical tastes have become. If you told me 10 years ago I would be going crazy collecting ‘60s and ‘70s soul and ‘70s/’80s disco albums, I would call you crazy! But that’s where I’m at now. I’ve actually been getting into the sampling aspects as well. Not actual sampling, but trying to train spot, for example, what Shadow, Cut-Chemist, Madlib or J Dilla have used in various tracks. In the process I’ve learned soooo much more new music. In the end, I guess, it just makes for a better musical experience to be as diverse and as eclectic as possible, which for me is also true for film and books that I like. 

Who is the audience you have in mind for FATM?

No one is excluded. Anyone who is willing to listen. 

Any particularly memorable reactions so far from your listeners?

I was surprised that many kids thought the “trading tapes/pump up the volume” episode was cool. I had some kid e-mail me that he watched the film for the first time because of the show and loved it! Another one said she wished she caught the time when people still traded tapes and actually met new people this way. That made me simultaneously feel like saying “No, you don’t wanna... walang Internet non...” and “Man, I’m getting old! “ Hahaha! Oh, and I was pleasantly surprised that some kids agreed with me when I said the Talking Heads This Must Be The Place is quite possibly the best love song ever made. I mean, it’s such an unlikely song to be considered as such. But really, just all the nice things people say about the show are memorable and make it much more worthwhile doing.

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Get your Foaming at the Mouth fix at Mixcloud and Facebook.