LATELY this has been trending both on social and mainstream media, so for the heck of it let’s dip our hands and have a bit of fun at the expense of their “loyal followers”.
So the members of ‘90s pop rock band Eraserheads were not close, not even friends. Really, who cares? The truth is I haven’t even heard their “music” until someone told me it’s just “tagalized” versions of the music of pop icons, the Beatles.
So out of curiosity I checked out their music on YouTube and listened to it with an open mind. At best it was lame, mediocre, “pa-cute”, trying hard to be progressive when it was just another pop almost “boy band” desperately trying to identify themselves as a “rock band”. A complete waste of time listening to them, so typical of the so-called alternative trash that came out of the Philippine music scene during the ‘90s.
Someone, obviously a “loyal follower”, told me that their music is meaningful and has social relevance and “very deep”. Yeah right, meaningful to who? And what do they mean? And the so-called social relevance their “loyal followers” perceived their songs have? But when the members of the band themselves where asked about this so-called social relevance, they were non-committal or simply denied it.
Trying hard to sound like the Beatles doesn’t really make for “deep music”.
As I said, the music is mediocre, guitar is very much ordinary while bass is almost non-existent. The drums were typical of any band you hear playing live in the now defunct “Barracks” or “Sugbahan”.
So don’t expect guitar riffs from Marcus Adoro in the mold of, say Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour or the late Bob Aves. He does not come even close. Nor funky bass lines from Buddy Zabala ala Weather Report’s the late Jaco Pastorius or the late Dondi Ledesma, and drum solos reminiscent of Led Zeppelin’s the late John Bonham or the late Edmund Fortuno from Raimund Marasigan.
Admittedly, front man Ely Buendia was at his cutest best during the heydays of the Eraserheads in the ‘90s hence the “loyal followers”.
It would be safe to say that he was the “Paul McCartney” of his generation so the “boy band” would be the right description of them rather than trying to identify as a progressive alternative rock band which they’re not. At best, they’re just a rock influenced pop band.
But it’s just me. Different strokes for different folks. Some people like alugbate while some don’t.
And we segue to the other stuff:
A Makati court convicted Antonio Trillanes IV of libel from a case filed by Junjun Binay. I suppose this means democracy is dead (sic) again, another assault on press freedom and it’s Duterte’s fault. Wait, can we also blame China for this conviction and somehow link it to the “West Philippine Sea” silliness? Perhaps even stretch it some more and link it to the pandemic.
Antonio Carpio said China does not possess the “West Philippine Sea”. Of course west of the Philippines is the South China Sea, the so-called West Philippine Sea, just like the Negros Island Region, is a product of the imagination of then President Noynoy Aquino created by an administrative order. But there’s no law as such and it is not found in any official map recognized by the international community.
Meanwhile some interesting and helpful news in our fight against this pandemic – excerpts from a June 1, 2021 issue on www.manilatimes.net:
Study: VCO can speed up recovery from COVID
A study by the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DoST-FNRI) found that adding virgin coconut oil (VCO) to meals speeded up the recovery of those suspected to have Covid-19.
“VCO could be used as an adjunct supplement to probable and suspect cases of Covid-19 due to its antiviral and immunomodulatory properties,” the FNRI said.
The study involved 63 participants from two Covid isolation facilities in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
One group was given a standardized meal and the rest of the participants a meal mixed with a predefined dosage of VCO.
Changes in clinical markers were measured before the meals were given, and 14 days and 28 days later.
On the 14th day, the group receiving VCO-mixed meals showed a significant decline in the C-reactive protein (CRP) level, normalized to an average of fewer than 5 milligrams per deciliter.
CRP levels in the blood rise when there is inflammation in the body.
The result of the study has been published in the Journal of Functional Foods, an open access international journal.
“It is important to have this published in a scientific journal,” said DoST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña during a weekly briefing.
Finally, the vaccines will not make you COVID proof but it will keep you from being seriously hospitalized or die from COVID-19. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com)/PN)
