MUSIC IN MY MIND (the 2nd best)

9. Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan

There was this African named Terence who lived in Ancient Rome and said, "I am a man. I regard nothing that is human as alien to me."

And then there was this rock n' roll poet who, born hundreds of years after him, who said:

You know something is happening
But you don't know what it is
Do you Mr. Jones?

The poet is Bob Dylan, and the quote was from the song Ballad of a Thin Man included in Highway 61 Revisited which, to me, is the greatest rock n' roll album ever produced.
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The writer Alan Gurganus considered the human breath as one simple gauge in recognizing a masterpiece, where "if you hold your breath till a ravishing relentless emotional sentence's period says, 'you may breathe now'", you have a definite masterpiece before your eyes.

Gurganus wrote this to refer to a John Cheever story, Goodbye, My Brother - although he might as well have said that to refer to Dylan's astonishing 1965 cd. Of course I said before your eyes, and of course I referred to a cd; Highway 61 Revisited is a great read and if Pulitzer Prize were expanded to include song lyrics for selection, this could have given the 1965 winner in Poetry a stiff competition.
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Highway 61 is a long stretch of interstate that begins in Louisiana and runs all the way north to Minnesota. It is a major artery that somehow helped shape not just the economy of the Midwest but its demography - and culture - as well; a material example was the migration of African Americans from the South who moved up north using the highway in the 50's and 60's in search of industrial employment, and corollary to such move, a transplantation of African-American cultural wealth occured. And when we speak of Southern African-American wealth, we certainly have to include the American Blues.

And so the concept of this cd is about that journey, in a much broader sense, to include the existential angst of man in the midst of his diaspora (symbolical of his alienation) - which, again, is diametrically opposed to Terence's declaration of full awareness of man and the human condition. To top it, Highway 61 Rev is a blues album (how else could it be otherwise?) which was his own tribute to the roots of his music, and in revisiting that highway, he uses his musical influence to view what the highway (or human condition) has now become.
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My earliest memory of Bob Dylan was in 1st year in high school when, one morning in our literature class, we were welcomed by these beautiful words written by the teacher on the blackboard. It was the song Blowin' in the Wind which we read and then sang aloud, and out of that session we initially learned the "hows" of reading a good poem/singing a good song. The teacher said that an effective poem is known to have 6 central energies - rhythm, rhetoric, metaphor, story, emotion, and voice, but as proven by that song, she said that there must be a 7th, which is Us, the readers, (or singers) who must recreate the poem with a valid, fresh, and justifying interpretation.

I therefore knew Dylan, up front, as a poet more than as a singer, and I must admit that the first time I heard him sing his own songs, I considered him as a better read. "We did more justice in our literature class."

Then in college I had this classmate who later on became a famous dj. He told me what I now consider as truth: A good singer does not necessarily possess a great voice, and a great song need not necessarily be sung by a good singer to retain its quality. Expression and emotion, he said, are the singer's prime tools. Never the voice, he said, never the voice. And then he completed my education by lending me Highway 61 Revisited, and telling me why Dylan's music, and voice, should be admired in the same breadth as well.
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Highway 61 Rev contains all of 9 songs, and the 2 songs enveloping these - Like A Rolling Stone, and Desolation Row - are probably the singer's most discussed in his musical history. Like A Rolling Stone made it to VH1's 100 greatest rock n' roll songs of all time, and Desolation Row was included in the thick anthology Oxford Book of American Poetry (David Lehman, ed.) - one of only three songs to make the selection.

But now that I listened to this cd, in its remastered form, and in (my, hopefully) much wiser state, I have to admit to the following: Dylan has a great voice (it has tremendous attitude), and Dylan's songs not only have great poetry, they are of great music, too. And Highway 61 Rev proves us true: the songs are electric and electrifying, and the playful correlation between the drums and harmonica, the guitar and the voice, the piano and the organ, tells us that this cd is about rhythm, about meter, about image, about everything that a song must be - and not simply about poetry.
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As music, Desolation Row and Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues are my favorites - listening to them are like sitting around a bonfire by the beach while listening to a favorite philosopher ruminate, in great bluesy form, while you sway and find that life is just like the taste of your beer, bitter and sweet, and knowing that we certainly have to work our way to assess this life's many worries.

As modernist poetry, however, I am so mesmerized by Ballad of a Thin Man - the one song Dylan fans are having a hard time agreeing as to its true meaning. Some says Mr. Jones (the character referred to in the song) is The Intellectual, others consider him The Gay, others yet find him as The Everyman, and in the song Mr. Jones, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows referred to Mr. Jones as The Dream. My take? He is The Prior Generation, and he could be some African from Ancient Rome named Terence.

MUSIC IN MY MIND (continuation)

7. The Rhythm of the Saints (Paul Simon) - coming off the heels of his successful experimentation with the haunting sound of South Africa in Graceland, Simon ventured further and deeper into similarly hallowed musical grounds in this 1990 cd and in the process made him beyond the reach of other great singers/songwriters of our time (Prince, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen) in terms of innovation. Simon could have written The Rhythm and nothing else all his life and will still be justified to knock at the doors of Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame - in about the same way The Metamorphosis alone would assure Kafka a place in world literature.

Simon's voice, though lacking the quality and timbre of Art Garfunkel's, is winsome and manifests a unique aspect of likeability - something that sounds amorous and seemingly fragrant. But on this cd the real star is the concept, which somehow made it branded as anthropological (sad, really, because this cd is art, not science): it basically speaks of the life of Native Americans and of the elements surrounding them - the skies, stars, rivers and moon, and the daily philosophy they go by - of trying, flying, dealing and moving. Further to Fly provides a classic verse:

A broken laugh a broken fever
Take it up with the great deceiver
Who looks you in the eye
And says baby don't cry
Further to fly

The Rhythm of the Saints has strong Brazilian (Amazonian) influences, too, and the combination is adroitly magical: lots of percussion and what I suspect as indigenous Brazilian and Carribean instruments playing huge part in the recording. But if you were to ask for the cd's defining moments, I will offer three: the opening sound which is a distinct beating of drums that symbolizes the great American Indian experience, and the twin songs Born at the Right Time and Spirit Voices - probably the two most beautiful songs the world has not heard of.

8. Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (Alanis Morisette) - This is the choice that may deliver me to the most impetuous contempt of even the staunchiest Morisette fan. Jagged Little Pill, after all, is The Alanis Morisette CD and the sole reason why female angst is within the level of pop. Very well then, bite me, and for good measure sing, You from New York, you are so relevant.

The truth of the matter is (and this is my truth, not pop music's, which is false) Supposed Former is way above Jagged Little Pill in all aspects that extol their contents: song as expression, song as intention, song as medium of emotion, song as opener, song as encloser, song as conqueror, song as liberator. In Supposed Former, Alanis is angrier, and since anger is what she is and what supports her, the cd becomes more fully expressed and justifyingly true.

I like Alanis Morisette and I further beg to disagree with claims that she is an acquired taste. She has a beautiful voice; even her speaking voice is awesome, without intonation you can still detect her sense of urgency and transparency. "Use me", she said calmly in one interview, urging new songwriters to follow their pain, like money in a bag, and you see the apotheosis of her advise in those plain words, use me. Which is what Supposed Former is all about. Pain as element of counsel, personal demon as element of song.

Final word: in the exremely haunting song That I Would Be Good, Alanis has shown - subconsciously - that she has another ace up her sleeve (or throat). She emits the beautiful sound of hyperventilation.

MUSIC IN MY MIND (continuation)

4. All That You Can't Leave Behind (U2) - Released some months before 9/11, I can't help but always think if this cd was somehow visionary and remedial, both foretelling the event of that incredible destruction in Lower Manhattan (beginning with the 1st track, Beautiful Day - which was what that September morning was) and counseling New Yorkers on the best way to rid of a bruised psyche (through Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, which is a testament to the nobility of change). I, too, was heavily depressed by that event, and this cd, no doubt, aided me to move on.

5. Blue (Joni Mitchell) - Melancholy is my favorite emotion, and sad songs (or songs that dwell in the spirit of loneliness) make me happy - and these facts make the cd of my favorite Canadian "poet laureate" an easy pick. From the title alone which is indubitably about loneliness (this track was dedicated to the melancholic James Taylor), there are 3 songs in Blue that make it one of the greatest in my mind, whether in the category of loneliness or anywise: Carey, California, and River.

6. Live at U.P. (Gary Granada) - I was still a kid when Gary Granada first came into the national scene via a song entry in the Metro Pop (Maari Ba?) sung by Florante, and he created quite a stir by appearing on stage wearing camisa chino and bakya (of course he wore pants, too). He struck me - despite his attire, despite my age - as a snob that very obviously carried the air and weight of intellect. Then I had forgotten about him when I came here in the States until 5 or 6 years ago when a friend sent me this tape. The recording was of very inferior quality (you can hear babies crying in the background), but just like Granada's plebeian appearance at the Metropop, the main product - his music - came out as triumphant. Kapag Sinabi Ko Sa 'Yo remains to be the most beautiful love song ever written by a Filipino - more charming than Dahil sa 'Yo, more progressive than Sangandaan, and more romantic than Kapantay Ay Langit - and the underlying fact is, this is just one of many memorable songs in that tape.

(to be continued)

THE MUSIC IN MY MIND

...decides to stay there, eternally, (as in I'll be loving you...), for music, in my case, is an elemental thing: like earth, like wind, like fire, even if not necessarily by Earth, Wind and Fire, and definitely not by Air Supply. I may have said it before but I'll say it again: the house I grew up in was a house of music, and the music was varied, never vapid, even if some of us who lived there can't carry a tune or read a note or play a chord with sufficient accord.

My childhood bud once asked me to choose between television and stereo, and I told him, You can have our tv, and I'll throw in the ref, too, but don't you dare touch the stereo with a 10-foot pole. For in that little corner of the living room where the vintage stereo sat was where I developed these qualities I now possess: the love for music, the ear for poetry, and the perpetual kabag due to lotus-sitting on the floor while listening to my records, hours and hours on end.

But let us say I'm so fixated with cliche (I really am) and felt the strong pull of doing a best list. Very well then, I'll do it with music, verily, on my mind. And so, with all the music I've listened to all these many years, I may have found a schtick to select my best, my greatest, albums of all time.

1. Rubber Soul (The Beatles) - I once heard a music mogul say he knew of great artists who spawned entire careers out of this one Beatles album. I may not know any of them, but I did not doubt him. Beatles music, after all, encompasses generations and geopraphies, as if, in the creation of music, the musical god said "Let there be Beatles music", and there was Beatles music, the first day. But of all their wonderful albums, I choose this one because I consider it their most definitive, and best representative of their - poetry (Nowhere Man); melody (Michelle); eccentricity (Girl); and over-all musicality (In My Life).

2. The Dark Side of The Moon (Pink Floyd) - The quintessential trip album, there are many facets in this recording worth mentioning, including the cleanest record engineering known to me, if not to man (Alan Parsons, of the Alan Parsons Project, was its record engineer). Here's a little story: one day in college when I was having booze with friends and listening to the track Great Gig in the Sky which begins with a narration "I have a friend who died...", a classmate came to us and said a girl-classmate died. We were all so stunned, then looked at each other forlornly, and from that day on till many months later this Pink Floyd album became our grief companion. The Dark Side of the Moon also happens to have some strange parallelisms to the movie Wizard of Oz.

3. OK Computer (Radiohead) - the most complex cd I have ever listened to, this one, I think, resonates more anti-establishment sentiments than Pink Floyd's The Wall cd. I get a different kind of sensation, and entertain a different kind of thought, each time I listen to the songs in this album, and these are, I must say, the precise reactions to music that ultimately ends up as classic. No Suprises, no surprises there, happens to be my favorite Radiohead song, even if the lyrics do not seem to contain the loneliness of the melody.

(to be continued)

VAMOS A VIVIR!

Noong araw na naglalakad ako sa suburbs ng Miami, may nakasalubong akong mama, binati nya ako, Kumusta, sabi ko naman, Mabuti po. Natigilan sya, kunot ang noong nagtanong, Que?

Malay ko ba na Hispanic yung mama, bumati ng Come esta, at malay ko rin ba na uso pala sa Amerika ang batian ng mga nagkakasalubong kahit di magkakakilala (pwera lang sa New York dahil kung lahat ng makasalubong mo e babatiin mo, tigbak ang lalamunan mo pagdating pa lang ng tanghali.)

Tapos minsan naman (sa Miami pa rin), may tinawagan akong tindahan ng gulong, ang sagot ba naman e Espanyol, kahit isang salita sa Inggles, wa. Buti na lang baon ko pa yung 24 units ko sa Spanish nung College kaya nagkaintindihan kami ng hinayupak na nagbebenta ng gulong kahit nahirapan ako ng konti kasi di ko alam ang gulong sa Spanish (kung sa Japanese pa, alam ko. Gurong.)

Sabi ng isang nakakaalam, (which means, hindi ako yun) 70% daw ang foreign-born sa Miami, at halos maliit na porsiyento lang dun ang hindi Hispanic. Kaya tipong nakakagulo nga sa kwentahan ang Pinoy dahil ang tingin minsan ng iba e Hispanics din tayo base sa pangalan natin (pwera na lang kung ikaw si Magiting Dimagiba, saksakan ang tibay mo tsong!)

Dun naman sa malaking porsiyento ng Hispanics sa Miami, majority dun e Cubans. Kaya nga may Little Havana sa Miami na isang mahabang kalyeng puro Cubans ang nakatira, mga expats na malaki ang galit kay Fidel, at nitong mga nakaraang araw na napabalitang masama ang lagay ni Balbas, ayos, nagkakagulo ang mga Cubano sa Little Havana at parati silang napipiyesta dun habang nag-aantay ng isang morbid na balita.

Pero ano ang tayo (o stand) ng isang Pinoy sa kaganapang ito sa Cuba?
Maaari sigurong alamin natin ang kwento ni Juan, ang quintessential na Pinoy, na minsan ay napadpad sa isang sulok ng Havana.

Nangangatal sa gutom si Juan habang nasa loob ng isang restaurant sa Havana at pinanonood ang mga taong nagkakainan doon. Matagal na syang di kumakain at dahil Pinoy si mokong, kailangang gumawa ng paraang tanging si McGyver lamang ang kayang pumantay. Sa kanyang pagkakaupo, napansin ni Juan ang isang grupo ng kalalakihang balbas-sarado na panay ang order ng mga pagkain. Kuha sila ng lengua estofado, afritada, ropa vieja, arroz con pollo, at kung anu-ano pa at nung ibigay na ng waiter ang kanilang check, "Su cuenta, senores", nagalit yung isa at tumayo sabay sabing, "No cuenta, soldados de Fidel Castro".

Boink! sabi nung ilaw na nagsindi sa ibabaw ng ulo ni Juan. Nekmati talaga, syempre Noypi ata toits, sabi ni Juan na binaligtad ang salita para di maintindihan ng mga tao (???). E di kuha sya ng lahat ng masasarap na nasa menu, camarones, calamares, chicharones de pollo con mojito, bistec a la Havana, pescado frito, at kung anik-anik pa, kulang na lang kumuha ng estopadong au-au ang tarantado, buti na lang at nakapagpigil pa sa kanyang katakawan.

Isang oras ang nakalipas at lumapit na ang waiter dala ang check sa bundat na si Juan (na kasalukuyan ay nagtu-toothpick pa). "Su cuenta, senor", sabi ng magalang na waiter.

"Har-har", sabi ni Juan. "No, no, no cuenta para mi, senor, mi, soldado del Fidel Castro".

"Har-har-har, tambien", sabi ng waiter. "No, no, no, senor. Soldado del Fidel Castro, barbudo", dagdag nito habang hinahagod ang baba bilang pagtukoy sa balbas ng mga sundalo.

"Naleche na", sabi ng walang balbas na si Juan. "Di ko nahuli yun, ah."

Maya-maya, nag-isip si Juan, tas biglang tumayo, binuksan ang zipper, binaba ang pantalon, binaba ang underwear, sabay sabing -

"Secret Agent de Fidel Castro!"

INVENTORY

I never owned an MP3 or an iPod nor have I downloaded any songs from the Internet, and the only time I ever witnessed the burning of cd was when irate Catholics set to fire Sinead O'Connors records for maligning the Pope. I am so technologically stagnant when it comes to music that if you tried to play prank with me by, say, changing the ring tone of my cellphone with a Britney Spears ditty, I will probably die of embarassment for not knowing what to do.

Call me old-fashioned, fine. I'm stuck with my era? Sure, why not? At least I didn't have to participate in this stupid meme where you name the 10 songs on your panel (?) after shuffling the whatever chuva in your computer eklat.

Long after the cds came, I was still playing my vinyls. How sad is that? Well, not very, considering that these vinyl records have very cool album covers. Besides, with 45 vinyl that you play on a turntable, you get to hear the music on three different speed levels: 33 or a la funeraria; 45 or normal; or 77 a la chipmunks.

But when it comes to actual music, I'm in baby, I am so in, and pop music to me is so out, baby, so out. And so if you happen to pass by my pad for some wine and music, make sure you have a strong liking for red and rock (and classical, too).

And so here's a sampling of music from my library, aside from (practically) the complete cds of Paul Simon; Jars of Clay; Alanis Morisette; Counting Crows; and U2 (including the limited edition "7", which carries an acoustic version of Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of; and "Please", a live recording of their 1997 Rotterdam and Edmonton concerts):

1. Campfire Songs - 10,000 Maniacs (cd #2 has this killer duet between Natalie Merchant and Michael Stipes of REM of a very old Petula Clark song, To Sir With Love);
2. Sister Hazel's 1994 indie demo cd;
3. Mi Sangre - Juanes;
4. Urban Hang Suite - Maxwell (Whenever Wherever Whatever is my favorite R&B song);
5. Under the Iron Sea - Keane;
6. Retriever - Ron Sexmith;
7. Want One - Rufus Wainwright;
8. Stand Up - David Matthews Band;
9. Eveningland - Hem;
10. Surfing with an Alien - Joe Satriani;
11. X&Y - Coldplay;
12. Duper Sessions - Sondre Lerche and the Faces Down Quarter (which carries a terrific cover of Elvis Costello's Human Hands);
13. Paganini for Two - Gil Shaham and Goran Sollscher;
14. Push Barman to Open Old Wounds - Belle and Sebastian;
15. Cantos De Agua Dulce - Marta Gomez
16. Legendary Recordings, 195-78 - Rostropovich
17. Rearviewmirror - Pearl Jam;
18. Samu't Saring Gary Granada
19. Obrigado Brazil - YoYo Ma;
20. Persuasions Sing U2 - Persuasions.

and many, many more.

O ano pa, tara na! toma na! palitan na (ang pop music)!