About a month ago, I indicated in this blog that the cello is one of my most favorite musical instruments. This post further proves why I love the sexy looking cello.
Only did I recently discovered that there is a magnificent duo who performs music covers of cool mainstream songs using the cello. They are the Croatian cellists Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, together known as 2Cellos.
2Cellos (photos grabbed from 2cellos.com)
now i’m a fan of luka and stjepan
Aside from playing magnificent music that ranges from smooth classical to mainstream pop to heavy acid metal, what is so extra cool about the 2Cellos is their stage presence. Their playing the cello is so infectious and electrifying. Their intense facial expressions, head-banging and feet-stomping are all incredibly virtuosic. Their playing is so passionate you could at times hear their deep breathing and actually see how the hair of their bows gets so torn. Moreover, it doesn’t hurt that both looks adorable.
Now you listen to these and get sucked into some melodic vortex!
Here’s a rare mash-up of classical tune mixed with heavy metal…
Here’s the eccentric yet enjoyable routine…
Here’s their latest, something stylish and sophisticated…
It’s like a bunch of angels went down from the heavens and played us some awesome music!
This is the general feeling I felt after having watched and listened to the concert of no less than the Philippine pride, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO). Held at the outdoor amphitheater area of the Bonifacio High Street Central in Bonifacio Gobal City (BGC) the concert was entitled “A Holiday Symphony”. It was organized by the LJC Group, the BGC and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
This PPO event was free to the public that is why I did not let this rare chance pass by. What is so good about the concert was their chosen repertoire. It was pop and popular to the ear and not the usually highfalutin sleep-inducing classical tunes.
high culture in high street…
cellos and the cellists… (photos by patrick uy)
Though the program started with a classical piece – to the beat of William Tell Overture – it was nevertheless fun and exhilarating to the ear. It is because the tune was reminiscent of the background music of a Looney Tunes cartoon chase scene. I initially thought Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner would suddenly appear on stage!
One of the highlights of the show was when a good friend Edwin Santos sang two songs in the concert. He started with Pasko Na Cinta Ko (a Tagalog Christmas love song) and capped it with an explosive operatic performance by singing the Mexican song Granada. I was super proud and was cheering like mad for Edwin!
explosive performance by edwin santos…
PPO played Donna Summer songs, tunes from Star Wars plus a lot of Christmas songs crafting a very Christmas-ee feeling in the crisp November air. When the orchestra played the gorgeous tunes from the movie Titanic, I initially held on to my seat for I thought a humongous ocean wave would suddenly appear bringing Rose and Jack on the stage! But nothing beats the couple of Beatles songs they played. People in the audience were actually singing along with them!
It is not the first time I heard PPO played yet still the emotions they drew from me was something unexplainable. The nearest words that I can think of is it’s a mix of magic, glee and pride.
Aside from learning how to ride a bicycle, my other childhood frustration was learning to play a musical instrument. If I be given a choice the two musical instruments that I would love to learn would be the piano and the cello.
Though it’s impossible to carry around, I chose the piano, because of its versatility. For me it’s the all around instrument. There have been a lot of magnificent songs and great musical masterpieces that were composed using the piano.
On the other hand, I chose the cello not for anything else but its aesthetics. Since I am more of a visual person, I like the cello because it looks so classy and sophisticated. However, I actually have yet to know a hit song or music that originated from exclusively using the sound of the cello.
Here are four beautiful but less known songs that I have been listening to during the weekend. These are under-praised tracks that are magnetizing to the ear as well as penetrating to the core of the heart. Makes me wonder how come these swoon-worthy tunes never made it to be mega hits!
These are the types of music that you would listen to if you wish to laze around. It is best to listen to while lying in bed and staring at the ceiling thinking of nothing. The very thing that I have done the whole day of Sunday.
Maybe the reason why these tracks failed to make it big is because these are heartwarming songs that people would rather keep for themselves and would not want others to hear about. The beat, the sound, the message and the emotion it evokes are so deep-seated you would rather not share it.
Super proud and in love with my first SoundCloud playlist!
This is a four-year old song but yet its message hits me. I guess if you have been trampled on or down trodden because of your personal conviction which is an unpopular choice or decision, this would be the best song for you.
Strip Me is the type of catchy music that I want to wear everyday…
Never did I posted anything about the new X Factor Australia winner, Marlisa Punzalan, while the show was running. It is because I don’t want to cause any sumpa (curse) or negative effect to her fate and universe.
x factor australia 2014 winner
But honestly, I have been watching this young lady ever since the X Factor Australia has started this year. I know for a fact that she is actually the first one featured during the audition segments of the show. I followed this newly concluded talent show, maybe because of the reverberating feelings of joy and my overindulgence in its 2013 version when the superlative Dami Im won.
A week before the grand finale, I already had the impression that this young lady will win. The reason is not because of her tender age, nor her looks and neither her amazing talent. Three coherent reasons rolled up into my mind right after the semi-final round.
Winning the Toughest Battle
This is because during the semi-final bout she defeated Reigan Derry, the most excellent and the most seasoned among all contestants in this series. I cannot imagine how perennial favorite Reigan Derry being beaten by the other 2 finalists, Brothers 3 and Dean Ray. Reigan with her incredible pipes would easily beat these two other finalists to smithereens in case Dean or Brothers3 would be at the bottom two and perform back-to-back with her.
best showdown of the series!
Thus, before the grand finale, Marlisa Punzalan has already successfully hurdled the hardest challenge she would be faced with during the entire run of the series. For me, the semi-final round was actually more exhilarating than the grand finale. The grand finale was just a matter of confirming Marlisa’s crown.
Australia’s Enduring Love for the Underdog
When Marlisa got into the finals, everybody thinks that she would simply end up being a third placer. Even judge/mentor Redfoo after the semi-final round immediately predicted that Dean is the one to beat. Even online betting website SportsBet predicted that Dean would be bestowed the 2014 title. Dean Ray exhales the funky rock of breath trough out the show that is why everybody expects him to win.
the three rays of sunshine…
funky rocker!
Nonetheless, the whole Australia was gearing Brothers 3 to possibly snatch the title from Dean because these “three rays of sunshine” got the ever reliable cutey-boyband formula. Also, they have been identified halfway through the live shows to have received the most number of votes. Moreover, it would have been a very good promotional angle of story in case the first ‘wild card’ contestant wins the show. Thus, Brothers3 and Dean Ray prior to the grand final were considered the un-proclaimed winners. They were simply the Goliaths of the program!
But Australians (like Filipinos) love an underdog. They would not let a simple-looking lady lacking of self confidence be simply in the side light. It is of human nature to feel that those who have less power are deemed virtuous and noble. Human beings in general love the underdogs because each of us knows what it feels like to be a loser, to be brushed aside or to be a David in a world full of Goliaths.
Let me cap this reason with Ronan Keating’s beautiful wisdom when he was commenting on Marlisa’s performance during the semi-final, which illustrates Marlisa being an underdog. That he is still faithful on the thought that not all good girls finish last. That statement I suppose struck a nerve to the whole of Australia.
Shining at the Right Moment
At the initial phase of the show, Marlisa exhibited good performances but nothing spectacular compared to other contestants. I particularly loved her performance during the boot camp portion of the program, Jessica Mauboy’s Never Be The Same. But during her performance in front of John Legend, who would assist Ronan on picking his top 3 contenders for the live shows, she faltered big time.
During the first few weeks of the live shows, she was simply sailing through. Viewers and even other judges/mentors were particularly concerned because Ronan could not seem to tap the right song that would best fit Marlisa’s age, tone and range.
She was lucky enough that other contestants gave inferior performances compared to her. She even performed the worst performance in the whole show when she sang Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi while suffering from severe illness, in which, she was nevertheless praised by the judges for her guts and professionalism. During these times, other contestants were delivering the best performances of their lives. They were peaking at those moments.
Unfortunately for these other contestants (except for the shoo-in Reigan Derry), they failed to sustain the high points in their performances while the show near its end. Fortunately for Marlisa, she seems to simply just starting to oil up. She was gaining confidence in her stage presence, she was starting to feel the mood/s of her song/s and Ronan is commencing to realize and tap the exact songs for her. She was slowly peaking up!
She only sparkled at the last four or five weeks of the entire series. I totally agreed with Danni Minogue who was stuck to her seat and would hardly stand up after every Marlisa’s performance week after week. That Marlisa’s rendition of Sia and David Guetta’s Titanium performed on the 9th week of the live shows was truly Marlisa and Ronan’s game changer. The Titanium performance of Marlisa made Danni stood up to her feet and cheered for the young lady!
All throughout the TV show, Marlisa seem to be the last contestant to shine. And what is so amazing about her shining is that she was able to sustain it and even progressed further every week! Australians then realized that something special was with this young lady.
Cancer (not the horoscope but the ailment) in which ever form, type, category or origin it is has gained the reputation of being a deadly and dreaded disease. It has claimed a considerable percentage of the human population. This disease is so deadly, it does not only attack the physical being, it also plagues the human emotion as well as drain a family’s bank account. Cancer nowadays is so prevalent everybody seem to know someone who had or have it.
Because of this, people in groups – may it be a foundation, an organization or a company – has come up with noble and novel ideas on how to help those affected. Case in point are the two ongoing projects situated at two ends of the planet. Their strategies may vary but their aim is the same. To kick cancer’s ass.
One is located in Manila, particularly the LJC Restaurants’ ‘Good to Dine’ promo. It is a strategy that lets you donate to the needy yet at the same time let you enjoy a penchant palatal experience. It is because for every ordered special dish included in the campaign, the patron gets to donate ten (10) pesos of his payment to the Philippine General Hospital’s Cancer Institute.
The campaign will run until the end of the year (2014) and the accumulated fund will be used to finance treatments of cancer patients. So when you plan to dine in a restaurant, might as well settle for these restaurants and order for these items…
order na! (photo grabbed from ljc restaurants webpage)
The other is located in New York. That is Hoda Kotb’s (host of The Today Show) direct-to-the-point fundraising and donation campaign. Usually quirky Hoda and her group tickle viewers’ sentiments and emotion by letting them watch and listen to a beautiful mashed up songs of two of pop superstars Sara Bareilles’ ‘Brave‘ and Cindy Lauper’s ‘True Colors‘.
Indeed, the song and the music video touches the heart. It will make you realize that you haven’t seen what a true character of ‘brave’ is until you’ve seen kids kick cancer’s ass.
All proceeds of Hoda’s campaign will go to grants for pediatric cancer research via the American Cancer Society. Click HERE if you wish to donate.
It is again the season when sizzling hot sexy bodies of the human species – photoshopped or genuine – would bombard almost all forms of media. No thanks to the upcoming denim and underwear mega-produced fashion show entitled The Naked Truth of a local clothing brand Bench (set on Sep 19 at the SM Arena).
Those pretty damn photos released on all visual forms of media make me feel like a wrecked low-class yappy loser. It’s like those photos are voicing out a soundless question “What happened to you?” They are so gorgeous it actually hurts to look at them! Here’s a couple of (still subtle) photos which I grabbed from the B/Blog on bench.com.ph website.
even the ‘go-see’ event was a huge one
effortless…
so gorgeous, it hurts to look at them! Hahaha!
But all these feelings simply fades away every time I hear the pop and somewhat throwback rock & roll track ‘All About That Bass’ by Meghan Trainor. I feel so boosted everytime I would sing along with Meghan the portion of the lyrics that says, “Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top”.
This song I guess will never be played on a fashion run way. That is why let this song be my paralyzing message to all those eye-catching Bench models with such stunning corpus. Here’s a fun fun version with Jimmy Fallon and friends…
I don’t remember when was the last time I purchased a magazine or a CD for myself. This is because these items are slowly waning and fading away from the realms of present humanity. These are soon to be extinct.
This is due to the ever growing popularity of the reliable internet where everything that everybody seem to need is available. Today’s magazines are already easily available online in the form of blogs, e-zines or webzines. While songs can easily be purchased and downloaded via iTunes, Amazon MP3 or Google Music.
But last Sunday, I know that I just got to have these soon-to-be-inexistent stuffs. However, with such a purchase, I have yet to establish if I purchased a magazine with free CD or if I purchased a CD with free magazine. Whichever freakin’ way you may want to put it, one thing is for sure, I have with me a cool piece of Philippine pop rock history.
a soon-to-be-precious-collectible
I’m pretty sure this magazine with enclosed complimentary CD or a CD contained inside a free of charge magazine will – in a couple of decades – be considered a valuable collectible. This is because these incorporated items enfolds the reemergence of one of the greatest Filipino bands of this country, the Eraserheads.
CD containing “Sabado” and “1995”, the two new songs of eraserheads
a very interesting read
As a proof that I am breathing fanatic, here’s a six year old post I wrote in the past. Press this link: ERASERHEADS
From my own personal observations and from what I have seen so far, pink movies usually have tragic or sad endings. It usually has too much or prolonged erotic scenes, it is fully packed with emotional wallop and it’s either too heavy or too flamboyant in terms of plot and characters. Everything seems too extreme making gay movies too cinematic.
Glad to note that all of these observations about a gay movie are not present in the Brazilian feature length film entitled The Way He Looks (original title: Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho) directed by Daniel Ribeiro.
About two or three years ago, I saw on YouTube the short film version of this movie where it was adapted and directed by the same director. That is why when YouTube recommended on its page the full length movie’s trailer I initially got confused. I was telling myself I already saw that adorable film but the images of the movie and the appearances of the characters seem to have changed. I thought the teaser was a continuation of the short film version and that the characters have grown a bit. Out of curiosity, I searched for the film online. I only realized that the director did a re-make of the short film into a new full length movie after I have clicked and searched YouTube.
Luckily for me but unfortunately for filmmaker Ribeiro, the full length version is available on YouTube. This enabled me to watch and appreciate the beauty and excellence of the film. Everything about this movie (both the short and the full-length versions) though simply expressed and executed, seem so brilliant – the light, lovable and innocent quality of the storyline, the captivating fineness of the actors, the distinction of the editing and production design and of course the cleverness of the director.
Even the endearing soundtrack is so merit-worthy. I am now so in love with the song ‘There’s Too Much Love’ by Belle & Sebastian. My favorite scene in the film includes the playing of this song! For me it was not the light kissing scene that is the most tender and most charming part of the movie. Rather it was when Gabriel was teaching the blind Leo how to dance while ‘There’s Too Much Love’ tune is playing.
Another appealing and impressive things about the movie is that it is not just about young gay romance. It is also about delightful family relationship, super friendship, boosting of self-worth and the quest for independence.
This movie deserves to be released commercially here in the Philippines. And if it does, expect me to be queuing at the box office and I would definitely be the first person in line.
Nengkoy 