Eraserheads Tribute Album

When an old familiar song plays, it could either bring back memories or make you want to turn the blasted radio off. With the music of the Eraserheads, I could only remember the old fun times I had in college when people got drunk or did nothing at all but smoke and stare at freshmen as they walked about the campus looking timid and confused and stupid. Those were great times.

It was in 1995 when I first got hooked with the music of the E-heads. The Cutterpillow Era. I even knew all the tracks in that album in chronological order. I went so far as buy its minus-one cassette tape (ha!) version after I've memorized all the lyrics. I'd play it and wail my lungs away to the tune of Poorman's Grave while I did my laundry on late nights, much to the horror of the neighbors. It's the best Eraserheads album in my opinion, having Superproxy, Waiting For The Bus, Ang Huling El Bimbo, Overdrive, Torpedo, Huwag Mo Nang Itanong, Poorman’s Grave, Walang Nagbago, Yoko, Fine Time, and Fill Her among several other not-so-popular-but-similarly-great tracks. Play the Cutterpillow album and I'd sing along automatically. Did so just recently with Koryn's copy in Ainna's car on the way home from watching the bouldering exhibition match at the 2005 SEA Games. It has been a decade since but I still remember. Weird, man.

It's a pity that in the period when I learned to appreciate the band's songs, you would never anymore chance upon Ely Buendia doing even a single live rendition of his song that did not sound like crap as compared its album counterpart. I've not heard of any great Eraserheads concert either but their songs kept coming and more people continued to love them.

Just recently, I was on my way out of the house when I heard a familiar intro from the radio. I was about to close the door behind me when the vocals came. It definitely wasn't Ely's so I went back and stayed until the track finished. Turns out it was Rico J. Puno for the Eraserheads tribute album entitled Ultraelectromagneticjam. The song's arrangement was superbly done and it suits Rico J. (to the point that I could almost vividly picture him dancing to the El Bimbo in the old days when photos were done in sepia). Best line: "nanini-GAS and aking... katawan..."

I made a mental note of the album's title and bought it on my next trip to the cd store.

With respect to "suitability," rendition, and arrangement combined, the tracks that sounded great were (with 1 as my personal best choice):

1. Ang Huling El Bimbo - Rico J. Puno
2. Para Sa Masa - Various Artists
3. Ligaya - Kitchie Nadal (Best line: "ilang ahit pa ba ang aahitin...")

The tracks that did not quite make it to my top three but whose remake is notably great are (in no particular order):

1. Alkohol - Radioactive Sago Project
2. With A Smile - South Border
3. Superproxy2K6 – FrancisM

Alkohol turned out great with the style that's uniquely Lourd de Veyra's, more said than sang, rendered in funky ska genre.

With A Smile also came out well, after I've listened to it several times, mainly because South Border made the song as though it was their own. The R&B way. South Border's vocalist Jay Durias did the arrangement himself.

The new Superproxy2K6 is edgy. It amused me how Ely Buendia did backup vocals for this particular track. Remember how it was Francis M who did the rap part in the original Superproxy?

The ladies did a good job: Barbie Almabis for Overdrive; Aia de Leon of Imago for Spoliarium; Chin Alcantara of MYMP for Huwag Mo Ng Itanong; and Isha for Torpedo.

Torpedo and Huwag Mo Ng Itanong would have been great if they weren't sang by women for obvious reasons. Just listen to the track and hum along and not pay the lyrics mind because the renditions are actually nicely done. As for Barbie, I don't get her vocal style enough to actually give her cover version justice. I find any smallish-horny-like-voice-style annoying but she managed to pull it off with her remake.

I am not familiar with Tikman Ang Langit so I'll skip the track. It's never been a personal favorite. I'll do the same for Alapaap by 6 Cycle Mind and Maling Akala by Brownman Revival which I feel indifferent towards .

Now for the tracks done so bad that it makes me want to burn myself a copy of the CD without them:

1. Magasin - Paolo Santos
2. Huwag Kang Matakot - Orange & Lemons
3. Pare Ko - Sponge Cola
4. Hard To Believe – Cueshe

Paolo Santos does a hard-accent in pronouncing the words making it sound mediocre (i.e. naki-TA kiTA sa i-SANG maga-SIN). Cueshe and Sponge Cola did not have a hard time desecrating the two tracks via cheap-and-amateurishly-videokelike singing and slang-tagalog accent, respectively. Orange & Lemons did not give the song any distinction from any of their other popular songs from the way it was sang to the instrumentals. Listen to Pinoy Ako and you could already pretend to have heard it. Also, lets face it, anyone who tries hard to sound like the Eraserheads when doing a cover track for the band will fail. Nothing beats the real thing.

I haven't listened to any other CD aside from Ultraelectromagneticjam from the time I bought my copy last week until the time I'm doing this post. Last I heard, stocks were running out fast. Go get yourself one and let the good times roll. Again.

The last of the thank you's in the inside portion of the front cover summarizes what everybody else who have grown up with the company of the E-heads music would also want to say, which goes:

posted by Fritz @ 6:30 AM