I Am The Walrus

My Ate is a big influence in my life. Though I’m technically an only child, I was raised a middle child, between an older girl cousin, Ate Chinchin and a younger boy cousin, Bojie. I grew up worshipping the cool older “sister” who was (and still is) pretty and smart and hip. She was such a big influence in my life that once upon a time, I was ten years old, and my little cousin (her brother) approached her to ask for her help with an essay and from across the room I hear her say “Si Ajie na lang, mas magaling siya sumulat kesa sa akin“. And I was like “Wow, really?”. So that kicked off my (pseudo) writing career.

(She probably just wanted to pawn off our annoying little brother to me, but why would I want to think that?)

My Ate was also a big musical influence to me. Because of her, I loved Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Gene Loves Jezebel. In 1990, as she went off to college and me to high school, she brought in the household rap music.

Of course the adults of our home absolutely loathed Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer and Andrew E, save for one artist. “Ah, yan ba yung anak ni Tita Duran at Pancho Magalona?” my mom would say.

My Ate introduced me to Francis Magalona.

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Between 1994 to 1995, there were three cassette tapes (yeesh!) that I wore out until it sounded like the artists were singing with a pillow over their faces. Those albums were Ultraelectromagneticpop, Circus and Cutterpillow.

Interchanged with those three was Francis Magalona’s Freeman.

The Freeman album would first explode with Baw-waw-waw, my favorite Francis Magalona song (for some weird reason). I’m not fond of dogs. I don’t eat dogs. I’ve never been fed dogs. But that song just has a way of invading your consciousness with great acoustic, great percussion and of course, great good ole Tagalog rap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvaSUXecPzk

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My Cutterpillow cassette tape was purchased along with two free tickets to the Eraserheads concert at the UP Sunken Garden. My parents were morally pissed off because I said I’d be home by 12 midnight but instead came home at 1am. Eh, it’s the Eraserheds, damn it.  I was turning nineteen.

As Baw-waw-waw was to Freeman, Superproxy was to Cutterpillow.

Even if 80% of Superproxy is Ely Buendia, that tail-end 20% rap of Francis M. was the upgrade.

Superproxy was the theme song of the angsty 90s generation, just with its starting line. “Sawa ka na ba sa mga hassel sa buhay mo? Ayaw mo na bang mag-isip para sa sarili?” It was the soundtrack of my early college years, spending days and nights solving math problems I doubt anybody really cares about. (The integral of a cubed plus b quared plus c? Who the f*ck gives a sh*t?).

Then Francis Magalona goes “I play video games all day. Zipidee doo dah, zipidee day,  hip hop hooray”. And you quietly snicker as you purposely screw up your calculus quiz. Ah screw it, I’m going to Masscomm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pDeR3SfvFk

(When news broke that Francis Magalona died, I didn’t cry. I was at lunch with some friends. When I came back to my desk, the guy sitting next to me started to play Superproxy on his computer, and that’s when I cried.

The next day, Saturday, during the Eat Bulaga tribute, the same first few bars of the song played and I thought “Ely’s in Bulaga? Ely can’t be in Bulaga! The E-heads concert is tonight!”. You know who came out to do the song? Chito Miranda. He couldn’t sing at first, he was choking back the tears, he was obviously crying. At which I bawled like an infant.)

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Francis M also collaborated with another of my favorite bands, Parokya ni Edgar. It was entertaining to see Francis work with Ely and the rest of the E-heads because they were equals — like Frank Sinatra dueting with Elvis Presley. Parokya ni Edgar on the other hand, was like Frank Sinatra and … Justin Timberlake heehee. As much as they tried to look cool, it was obvious how much Chito and  the others worshipped him.

In Inuman Sessions, Francis M infused the bordering-on-moronic (but enjoybale nevertheless!) song Yes Yes Show with hard core Rock N Roll just by starting off his rant (along with awesome electric guitar — thanks Darius!) with “Ang magkaaway ipagbati, gumitna ka at huwag kumampi”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjJnQoRAiE8&feature=related

He also did the song “Bagsakan” with Parokya ni Edgar and Gloc 9 which was the higlight of the album Matira Matibay.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8HHNIlcsek&feature=related

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Gary Valenciano brought with him footage from his Major Impact concert in 1990, of Francis Magalona singing Mga Kababayan and I got goosebumps. Well, of course, because he’s gone. But…. because I looked at his backup dancers, and I distinctly remember those steps hahaha…..

“Di ko alam kung pano tatapusin ang kanta, kaya ganito na lang bigla na lang mawawala….”