When We Were Young

A kid from 2P9 sang Malique's song in class today. I told him that it reminded me of myself when I was his age. My buddies and I performed Too Phat's "Anak Ayam" on Teacher's Day.


Later that night I felt like revisiting my 14-year-old hip hop phase. Downloaded D12's "Devil's Night" and to my surprise, a decade later, I could still rap along to those psychopathic but fun songs. Word for word.

Lead

Noel Gallagher's first words to the band that would later become Oasis : "Let me write your songs and I'll take you to superstardom, or else you'll rot here in Manchester".


RZA from what would later become hip hop legends Wu-Tang Clan devised a 5-year plan in which he promised if he was given total control of the group, he would "bring them to the top".

I feel like as a teacher you'd need to take inspiration from these promises. Earn students' faith and convince them that if they let you show the way, you will lead them to betterment. Hopefully I can do that.

The Benefit of Blogging

and nobody actually following your blog : You can post embarrassing stuffs like this.


Happy New Year, Miss Love of My Life! You're awesome, too.

It's That Time Again

...for my birthday. I got a Nintendo DS from Dzeti two years back and a brand new phone from her last year. It feels like these happened yesterday. When I turned 18, my dad surprised me with a guitar, my first ever. Some irresponsible douchebag borrowed it and lost it in 2007. I still imagine having that thing laying around here somewhere.

But things change and time waits for no one.

"I'm 23 and I'm already hazy,
What am I gonna,
What am I gonna do?"
- The Starting Line.

Astro Rock

...is a term coined by Brave Saint Saturn (another favourite band of mine, consisting of former members of the defunct but legendary Five Iron Frenzy).

It refers to their own breed of rock, which is entirely anchored in astronomical concepts. So far spanning across 3 full-lengths, their lyrics revolve around tales of astronauts’ struggle (and at times, failure) to survive in space, all the contrasting emotions that rage inside them as they hover alone million miles from Earth and the sense of accomplishment and victory in their homecoming. It is not an occupation for the timid and it’s really interesting to hear astronauts' trials and tribulations being told in a form of rock music. (Recommended sample: “Daylight”)

It just dawned on me that a few of my other choice rock bands could be considered astro rock too.

Bad Astronaut is an off-shoot band consisting of punk rockers from different bands. They assembled with deep-rooted spirit of punk rock, took inspirations from places beyond the atmosphere, added some mellow heart-wrenching sensibilities with strings, pianos and acoustic guitars, injected some masterful and versatile songwriting, and poof! – you are gifted with a rare gem of original music. (Recommended sample: “Autocare”)

Growing up in the late-90’s, Blink-182 played a huge part in introducing me to guitar distortion and power chords. Plus, I never imagined such immature silliness from an adolescent’s viewpoint actually had a place in music. It was really refreshing, at least for me. Almost a decade later, Tom Delonge grew way older and his musical outlet widened with Angels and Airwaves. Characterized by uplifting melodies and huge U2-inspired guitar works, layered with futuristic electronica that aliens in space might bop their head to, he seems to do the refreshing thing again. (Recommended sample: “Call to Arms”)

And off course I can’t lecture you about my definition of good music without mentioning Coheed and Cambria. This band bases their whole career on an epic tale of cyborgs, space ships, as well as cosmological conception and destruction as penned by geek-genius Claudio Sanchez. Claudio Kilgannon (his own character in the story) is cursed with a power to bring an end to the Keywork galaxy he lives in. Off course he uses it to battle an ominous army and seek retribution from a high-ranked villain with undisputed supremacy who caused deaths of his semi-robotic parents. (Recommended sample: “From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness”)

So if I ever feel like laying on a field, watching the stars, wondering if there are lives out there beyond our reach, I would play my favourite astro rock music. Maybe E.T. will stop by and have a chat.

While It Gently Weeps

Some incidental benefits of me playing/having a guitar.

1. Protruding fingernails make it really unpleasant to play. I'm forced to keep them well-groomed.

2. Sweaty and grimy body leaves dirt ingrained in the guitar surface. I'm forced to bathe often.

3. Oily palms can harm the finish. I'm forced to wash my hands regularly.

4. Guitar hates humidity. I'm forced to close the windows. So, no more runny noses.

5. Guitar is a powerful dust-magnet. I'm forced to tidy up my room.

Now I just need another hobby to force me to do about 1450 other things that I need to do.

Let Me Bring Her There

I don't care about anyone else. Not even myself. I don't have the need to attend the convocation there. It's just that it has been my dream to bring her there. After all that she's been through, nobody deserves it more than her. I remember driving in the midst of unparalleled beauty along South Island lonely roads and each time I saw something like this, ...


... I thought "My mom would love this in front of her eyes".

Big Head and Small Shoulders

Dzeti gave me a bottle of mysterious shampoo (No, not the one referenced in the title of this post. Or is it?) before I left IPBA since my hair had grown unpleasant visually and aromatically. Now, my hair looks silky smooth and smells glorious, though the fact that I had shaven it nearly bald might have given it an additional shine. I also love how the shampoo eases my headaches no matter how bad or why, be it overheating, oversleeping or overthinking, among other things. It works wonders!

My niece is having a time of her life lately. I guess any 2-year-old single child would be. I watch her receiving undivided love from people surrounding her, getting new toys and enjoying these prized precious possessions until she's all exhausted and sweating. It reminds me of myself at her age. I got everything that I wanted and I owned the world. I'm glad she has the chance to experience such wide-eyed joy and excitement. I just desperately hope that it never comes with a price that she'll have to pay later when she's all grown up.

The price that I have to pay.

Perhaps I need to go shampoo now.

"Cliche Guevara"

I spent the day reading Tom Gabel’s blog, tracing my way through the posts in rewind. I recently got into Against Me! and found the man to be quite interesting. I don’t want to be singing praises or displaying my (totally heterosexual) fondness of the guy here, though. It just that it reminds me of how I did the same with Claudio Sanchez’s (for a brief period since it hasn’t been updated) and Jason Mraz’s blogs. They really got me hooked and I enjoy reading about their yarns, opinions, personal struggles and fun times as much as I do watching movies and TV series.

There’s something about the fast-paced life of a touring musician that fascinates me. It’s not just about earning money doing something you love, visiting new places and making new acquaintances each day. I want to know about the unpredictability of life on the road, the changes it causes to the artist as a person and how the whole experience teaches them and defines their overall outlook on life and everything.

I also love reading about the attitudes and philosophies that they stand for. These people are autonomous men who think on their own feet. While influences from others are apparent, they don’t actually seek for endorsement from others since they truly believe in themselves. For so long, this has been my ultimate hope of my upcoming adulthood. I desperately ache to change. I want to be the guy in the future who, when he meets my 23 year-old self, would be ashamed that he knows me at all. I want him to shake my 23 year-old self and scream at my face ruthlessly, “What the hell are you doing!?”.

At this point, my lifestyle is the direct opposite of sophistication. I am not social person, I don’t read, I haven’t got my finger on the pulse of the world and I don’t think much except for morbid destructive things. In short, I am a little useless sad guy who resides in the lowest and furthest rank possible from successful touring musicians. Even if they just happen to have an interesting job and are actually ordinary people with their own everyday ups and downs.

Like a kid wishing to be their favourite superhero, I really like to live these people’s lives. At such time when (for undisclosed reasons) I feel my life has already been dragged to a halt before it commences, I feel the need to daydream about something real that someone else is experiencing at this very moment. Being a touring rockstar is certainly not a fairy tale and this resonates with me. The interesting eventful life is something that I wish for but on the other hand, the frustrations and hopelessness that they can’t escape reminds me that my own frustrations and hopelessness might not be exclusive to me.

Sullivan

We don't share continents
Or worlds for that matter
But he gave me something
It pulled myself together

He never did know my name
Or a name like mine
The other day he died
It made me think for a while

I read about it out of nowhere
I was silenced by a phrase
It didn't freeze my blood
But my sight dimmed for a day

Saw his life through a peephole
Felt his energy through sound bites
The other day Sullivan died
It made me think for a while