My Sad Republic: Cremains

Kurt Cobain's ashes stolen, Courtney Love said.
Inventor of the Pringles can now stored in a Pringles can

The Dave Tabligan Quartet

Natayen ni Manang Dave

Dave Tabligan died today. Here's my original story on him:

BAGUIO'S PIANO MAN

"He says, "Son can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes"
Piano Man, Billy Joel

Robert David Tabligan was 23 when this song came out. He had been playing the
piano for 17 years when he got his first piano lesson at six. He was already working
as a professional piano man in 1973 for seven years.  

Billy Joel may have composed that song for himself but people who know or
were touched by Dave and his piano-playing would always equate that song to him.

"I can not imagine being anything else," Dave said.

We, too, can not imagine Dave anything else but a piano man.
Born February 10, 1950, Dave was only six when he first got his piano lesson.
His mother sang and also a piano player. His grandfather was also a musician.
Other than these, there was no answer from nature how Dave got his ear for music
and how he can effortlessly play your memories.

He was 16, a high school student of SLU Boys High and already playing for the 
University of Baguio Science High and PE Department when he was recruited to
play at the A&D Inn in what is now Nevada Square.

There was a casino there or maybe a clandestine one because the chips,
roulette tables and other paraphernalia can easily be hid and the whole place
transformed into an instant birthday party when the police raided, Dave recalled. 

Dave played then for Helen Cruz. 

I was so naïve then. I asked Helen if she had a husband," Tabligan said.
Helen Cruz as it turned out was one of the first transgender siren who later dated
famous people like Indonesia's President Sukarno and celebrities Troy Donahue,
Ricardo Montalban and Matt Monroe.   

 Dave played for Helen at the La Playa and Trader's Hotel in Manila. That's where
he met a band that was about to go to Japan. Dave told the manager that he, too,
wanted to go. He was fitted with the same suit as the band and they played at the 
Riviera's Club at the Roponggi District in Tokyo. Dave went solo while the band
went back to the Philippines and played piano at a bar near a US military base in 
South Korea. Then he went back to Japan. The rest in the comments

It Now Seems Easy being Green

Despite losing in the finals of Britain's Got Talent, Charlie Green, 11, is going to be signed by BMG Sony along with Faryl Smith and Andrew Jonston. But as of now, George Sampson who did "Singin' In The Rain" the way Gene Kelly would want it to be, is the odd-on favorite. But my favorite are the Cheeky Monkeys because they dance like monkeys and are indeed cheeky and Gin, the dog.

REM's Hollow Man

Yes, nice video. Great music

Joy/Division

When routine bites hard, and ambitions are low
And resentment rides high, but emotions won't grow
And we're changing our ways, taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again


Bakit? Feel ko lang.

Jologs in Concert

Read the Jologz' Ten Commandments of Concert Viewing in my other blog

Gnarls Barkley Does Dracula

I believe that G.B. is the best there is right now and the videos are so clever



Here he does retro Motown


As a louse


As a sock puppet


Not to forget the classic "Crazy"
And the craziest version of Crazy, crazier than the Star Wars version in MTV Movie Awards

Bjork's Wanderlust

Quirky but thought-blasting

The Ting Tings

Yes, there's such a band. Vocalist/ guitarist Katie White and drummer Jules De Martino began the Ting Tings in 2006 after an ill-fated career in Dear Eskiimo, and after their fair share of underground hype, signed to Columbia for the release of debut We Started Nothing in May. Their yet unknown records include "Great DJ," "Shut Up & Let Me Go," and "That's Not My Name".
I think they would be better off with Tingting Cojuangco on brass knuckles and Joey Marquez, convicted for overpricing walis tingting while mayor of Paranakyu, on timpani.

Stipe in Stripes

Rick A Finally Gets Respect

You've been Rick-rolled if you clicked on my Rick Astley post last year. And of course, he will never gonna give you up.

Tucker Tinkers Toys

I have a CD of Tucker, DJ par excellance, but I didn't know he was Japanese. He is not only a wizard in the organ but he also sets it on fire (his organ). Here, he uses toys to come out with an amazing smash-up. I didn't know your son's 1-2-3 can be so funky!

I'm Currently Listening to Vinyl

Let's Surf Before the World Ends at the End of the Month

because according to NASA, the Asteroid 2007 TU24 will closely approach the Earth to within 1.4 lunar distances (334,000 miles) on 2008 Jan. 29. So we better surf the end, man. Let's party like its 1999!

Art on 45 and 33 1/3

Daniel Elden paints portraits of singers on their vinyl records. I don't know if they are still playable but definitely they are frameable.

Kid Millionaire

This picture and about 12 others had come out in the Internet wormhole. In the other pictures, Paris Hilton (that's her) was said to be wearing no underwear. There were even closeups. But my main preoccupation is the Japanese DJ in the picture. He is Steve Aoki, the premier DJ of the sans panty crowd. Aoki, more known as Kid Millionaire, came to Manila last August and again last December to play for the chi chi crowd. Hey, I also know some DJs for the sans panty crowd. They play in really dingy bars and their English is so-so incomprehensible. If you're not deaddrunk, you can sometimes make out the words "Isabel Ayala" or "International Modelzzz."

Eraserheaded

It was said that the Eraserheads were our Beatles. It's not hard to see why. The Pub Four were influenced by the Fab Four. They were into concept albums just like the latter Beatles. They did songs with reference to drugs although only Marcus and Raimund seemed to look like hippies. Then they split. Some said Ely just texted the three that it's over. He said he graduated (why then would Ely call his new band, Pupil?) That's why the three were bitter, even when Ely suffered a major stroke and benefit concerts were organized in his behalf. One magazine featured Marcus Adoro saying he would have wanted to see Ely but he got lost or his guide deliberately lost him. He said he will surprise Ely one of these days. He played though while Raimund and Buddy Zabala made themselves scarce throughout all these charity-o-rama. B,R and M called themselves the new "Eraserheads" and played in Makati last April with a girl, Kris Dancel of Fatal Posporos, as their new lead vocalist. Then later, Marcus also quit and Buddy and Raimund, the original Molave Dorm Boys, got two others to form Cambio. Buddy also joined The Dawn. I saw Marcus one time surfing in San Juan, La Union. He seemed to be at peace with himself. I think he even organized a Dec. 26 gig in San Juan featuring Mike Hanopol, the Jerks, Pepe Smith etc. I forgot all about it and never saw a thing in the papers. Until today when I read a newspaper and a famous someone asked Ely about his share of crazy fans. Part of the question was: I remember a fan letter from a girl who said that if you wouldn't sleep with her, she would kill Marcus.
Ely's answer was: To that fan I now say, "I AM NOT GOING TO SLEEP WITH YOU."
He is not going for marital fidelity, my friends. He is going for the jugular, and that particular vein happens to be Marcus's. Sad. Bitter. Erase.

Caninus

Caninus or K9-us is as their MySpace would have it, "The World's First Ever Animal-Fronted Band." Yes, the house band of The Muppets has Animal chained to the drums but he is not fronting. On the other paw, Budgie and Basil, both pitbulls, are the vocalists of Caninus, the death metal band. The rest of the band members are Vegans and they rescued the two dogs from euthanasia.

Bublehead

How can you recover your day when the first thing you hear during breakfast is Michael Buble singing "What A Wonderful World." Suddenly my eggs were soggy, the toast damp and everything else seemed to line up my veins with fat. I liked him when I first heard him but somebody has to muffle this guy. Thank God there's still Frank.