Tag Archives: rare talent

Himig Handog Song Finalists: Review (Part 2)

Posted on by
Reply

himig handog p-pop love songsUnlike the past year’s Himig Handog, there is no group or band performing this year.  I wonder why.  Anyway, here’s the second part of my review for this year’s song finalists:

Kahit Na words and music by Bojam De Belen and sang by Toni Gonzaga.  The song’s beat and lyrics are age inappropriate for a 29-year old Toni Gonzaga.  This song could have been fine if it was sung by a singer in her youth.  It is in the same genre of Urong Sulong Ka sang by then 17 years old Regine Velasquez and Mambobola by Zsa Zsa Padilla when she was just 22.  What was Toni thinking when she accepted this assignment?

If You Ever Change Your Mind words, music and vocals by Marion Aunor.  It is an impressive song.  This may be the dark horse among the roster of finalists.  Marion (not Nora) Aunor’s vocal technique can be equated to that of the great Regina Spektor.  Her voice has poignant soul that gives life to the soothing rhythm and spunk of the lyrics.  Moreover, the song has international appeal since it is in the English language.  This high caliber song has universal sentiment which can cross cultural borders.  The song actually can be a potential international hit.

One Day words and music by Agatha Morallos and sang by Angeline Quinto.  The song is simply forgettable. It’s a typical song of the sawi (disheartened).  This is another case of including the song in the finals so as to boost the sales of the CD compilation because of the star power of the artist. Quinto sings great with Tagalog songs but for me she needs to train on proper diction and annunciation of English words.  I can hardly comprehend the lyrics of the song she’s singing.  Good thing the song was in lyric-video form when I saw and heard it on YouTube.

Hanggang Wakas words and music by Soc Villanueva and performed by Juris.  Juris has sweet affecting voice but the lyrics seem old.  “Pag-ibig ko’y wagas”, does this statement still being spoken by the people of today?  This song must have been composed 20 years ago.  Moreover, the lyrics of the song has specific notion and/or subject matter which may not be applicable to some listeners (I perceived it as a certain terminal disease or illness).  For me the song is too sad and too tragic.  In which, you would immediately turn off your radio and shy away from listening to it especially when your suffering from a terminal disease.  It’s too dreadful, this song may fast-track your being tsugi (dead).

For this batch my personal pick would be If You Ever Change Your Mind…

Yan ang perst raner ap! Abangan ang Part 3 at ang winner para sa ‘kin…

 

Himig Handog Song Finalists: Review (Part 1)

Posted on by
3

himig handog p-pop love songsI already accomplished my pre-Lent Season penitensya (penance & self-sacrifice).  I achieved it by successfully listening to the roster of songs announced as finalists in this year’s Himig Handog, the Philippines’ biggest and premiere songwriting competition.  I was able to carry it out because all songs in its lyric-video form were posted on YouTube by Star Records Inc.  Here’s my review for the first 4 songs I listened to.

This Song Is For You music and lyrics by Jude Thaddeus Gitamondoc performed by Erik Santos.  The rendition is the usual Erik Santos in histrionic mode.  After listening to this more-than-four-minute song, I wonder what succeeding song Erik would sing.  This tune I thought is merely an introduction for a supposed good song.  Because usually, singers when they are introduced to sing a great song they would initially tell the audience, “This song is for you” then proceeds with his/her singing.  Whatever that song is, listeners will forever wonder.  It’s actually some kind of an idiotic composition.

Alaala words and music by Fe Mechenette Tianga, Melvin Huervana and Joel Jabat Jr. performed by Yeng Constantino.  Prolific songwriter herself, Constantino’s past songs which she herself wrote, composed and sang were way better than this one.  It’s too dry and too ordinary making it so forgettable.

Pwede Bang Ako Na Lang Ulit words and music by Jeffrey Cifra sang by Bugoy Drilon.  Overall, the song was actually good.  It’s an okay of a song.  I can listen to it for a couple of times in a day but the rendition seems to lack the required sincerity.  The singer’s rendition was fine but he seems to be deficient in sending the correct affection of the song.

Nasa Iyo Na Lahat words and music by Jungee Marcelo and sang by Daniel Padilla.  It sounds like a low-class and artificial impersonation of Jason Mraz.  The score is amateur-ish and the lyrics are dizzyingly redundant. There’s nothing great about the song.  It’s actually diabolical.  I suspect that this composition was included not because of the song but because of the artist.  Daniel being a popular celebrity today can be a great sales booster of the CD compilation.  Besides, one explicit measure for this year’s Himig Handog to be considered successful is if it reaches the multi-platinum status.

For this batch my personal pick would be Pwede Bang Ako Na Lang Ulit…

Yan ang sekond raner-ap!  Abangan ang Part 2.

The Fab Les Miserables

Posted on by
Reply
young cosette

young cosette

Les Miserables being an excellently rich and emotionally charged material (music by Claude-Michel Shonberg and English-language lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer) any actor may he/she has an average or excellent singing voice will for sure be driven to do a first-rate performance.

This is what turned out the 2012 movie to be.  The whole cast were simply magnificent in showing off the explosions of emotions.  No wonder Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actor awards respectively and as of this writing are nominated in the Oscars for the same categories.  I was intensely overwhelmed by their performances.

gavroche

gavroche

Aside from these two great actors, the three other thespians that blew me away were: Eddie Redmayne (who played Marius); Isabelle Allen (as young Cosette); and Daniel Huttlestone (as Gavroche).

The kids Isabelle and Daniel were so endearing.  Isabelle I suppose had the best singing voice among the cast.  Her representation of young Cosette was raw yet captivating.  Her singing voice and facial features perfectly fit her role.

Daniel on the other hand was simply charismatic.  Not to mention his thick British accent was so adorable.   I was rendered speechless and was totally dazed by his performance especially when he was shot and was shown lifeless on the floor while being honored by the villain Javert.

marius

marius

Eddie Redmayne for me was the biggest surprise.  I was stunned by his performance.  He was particularly brilliant when he was singing “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”.  He was so good I can even feel the freckles on his face acting out the volcanic grief Marius (his role) was feeling.

Overall the movie was great and magnificent.  However there are two silly points I did not like.

First, there were too many facial close-ups.  From my own observation, 85% of the movie was a close-up of the actors singing.  There were too many of it, I already had the longing to count the number of wrinkles and skin pores present on Hugh Jackman’s face for every close-ranged shot he had so as to check if it is the same number on the next or previous scene he had.

Second was the quality of the singing voice of Russell Crowe (who played the interesting character of Inspector Javert).  Crowe’s singing voice for me was a bit weak bordering to being quite gentle.  He can carry a tune alright but for me villainous Javert’s tone of voice is supposed to be rougher, deeper and oppressively frightening.

I guess it’s not new to everybody that I love “contravidas” (villains).  I have written quite a number of them here in this blog (press: link1 or link2 or link3).   That is why I was excited to hear the commanding singing voice of Inspector Javert when he sings “Stars” in the movie (one of my favorite songs in the musical version).  But for me Crowe fell short of my demanding expectation and was actually a bit of a disappointment.

Yet overall, Les Miserables (the 2012 film) is what a Hollywood movie should be.  Touching, entertaining, superb and charismatic!

Ibang klase ‘to.

Ate Gay: From Basilica to SM Arena

Posted on by
Reply
super funny ate gay

super funny ate gay

The first comedy bar that I have been to was more than 2 decades ago.  It was in (the now defunct) Basilica, an old house turned into a comedy bar located in Malate.  I can clearly recall that one of the night’s hosts during that time was Ate Gay who was wearing Darna costume introducing herself as the Nora Aunor’s version of Darna (though Nora never was a Darna character).

Ate Gay (Gil Morales in real life) was a total riot during that night.  He sings, acts and speaks sounding truly like Nora Aunor. He sang Laura Branigan’s upbeat “Name Game” song in a slow ballad-ic way ala Nora Aunor style. I and my friends so enjoyed that night, it paved the way for us to often visit comedy bars which starts to flourish within the Malate area during that era.

ate gay on mid air

ate gay on mid air

But last night, after more than 2 decades, Ate Gay has moved to a much bigger venue.  I guess ten thousand times bigger than Basilica.  He packed the humongous SM Arena!  And as anticipated, Ate Gay’s repertoires continue to be riotously hilarious.  The gut-busting short film at the start of the show and when she entered the stage harnessed across the end of the venue, I knew the concert would be a blast.

ate gay doing mash-ups with his friends

ate gay doing mash-ups with his friends

His adorable Darna monologue is still there and it remains exceptionally humorous.  His skill at mixing up various tunes and lyrics received hysterical uproars from the audience.  He is one great genius on extemporaneous mash-ups.  His incomparable declamation entitled “The Door” was also featured which when delivered by others would for sure not be as funny as that of Ate Gay.  Of course, his camp impersonation of Philippine showbiz icon, Nora Aunor, has always been a side-splitting classic.

What I like most about Ate Gay is that he does not need to mock and deride other people to make people laugh.  He actually ridicules himself (his wardrobe, his looks, his voice, his English and even his mole) to elicit laughter from the audience.  He is unassuming, self-effacing and was never “boastful”.  Being able to laugh at one self without conceit and pretensions makes Ate Gay an excellent comedian.

Grabe ang sakit sa panga sa katatawa!

A Message From Paula Cole

Posted on by
Reply

I own two CD albums of Paula Cole.  Until now the resonating range of her voice and magical lyrics in these CDs is a common sound inside my house.  From time to time, I would search for Paula Cole music on Youtube and without missing a single line of the songs, I would sing along.

Dawson’s Creek hit soundtrack I Don’t’ Wanna Wait, three-time Grammy nominated song entitled Where Have All The Cowboys Gone, the upbeat I Believe In Love and the sexy Feelin’ Love are some of her hits.  But my two most favorite Paula Cole songs would be the chilling Nietzsche’s Eyes (which I have written about more than a year ago, press this link – Wailing Woman In My Room) and of course the excruciating I’m So Ordinary.

Today, I received a personal message from Paula Cole through my e-mail account.  It is a thank you note from Paula after I have pledged in helping her produce her next indie-album entitled Raven via kickstarter.com.

Dear Neil,

 Thank you very much for your pledge! So appreciated.

 Your contribution makes Raven possible and makes our team a success. Please continue to share the link, the word, the enthusiasm so that friends will know too.

 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulacole/paula-cole-new-independent-album-raven-0

 Warm wishes, 

Paula.

I pledged because I miss the Paula Cole music and I would definitely be looking forward to listening to her next album.  Peace out!

Aktwali, prends na kami ni Mareng Pawla…

Nengkoy on Facebook, Ella on Youtube

Posted on by
Reply

Its official! At 75, Nengkoy (my mother) is now a netizen.  She is now an official Facebook member.  Miggy, one of her grandsons signed her up while me, my sister Joy and elder brother Wreigh patiently taught her how things are done in Facebook.  I can’t believe how fast Nengkoy gets the heck out of Facebook.  She was actually chatting with my niece Erika who’s based in Japan in minutes after she was signed up!

nengkoy’s present profile picture

Being so used to snail mail, she was so surprised how fast a message can be sent and received by the recipient who’s at the other end of this planet.  We were laughing when she remarked, “Ang bilis naman dumating sa Japan!”

While teaching her how things are done on Facebook, we were watching the X Factor Philippines 2012.  I was a bit disappointed with the judges and the contestants considering that the show is already on its last stretch.  I don’t want to sound like a sore thumb but I do not feel the X factor vibe from the contestants and I find the judges too corny, retardedly emotive and enormously cheesy.  I wanted to throw my expensive slippers on the TV screen.

The show is so unlike the 2012 British version.  Their version doesn’t look for the best singing voice, the most gorgeous looking neither the financially-challenged contestant who gains mercy from the viewing public to win. They are looking for the elusive X factor!  The judges are naturally cool and their show has more soul and essence.  They were looking for somebody like the 16-year-old, Ella Henderson.  She does not possess a pretty face, a drop dead gorgeous body neither a spotless singing voice.   But when she sings you know you she exudes the brilliant X factor.

Watch how Ella moved the judges and wowed the crowd…

I’m pretty sure, Nengkoy will post Youtube videos like this in her Facebook account in the future.

Congrachuleysions kay Nengkoy at Ella.  Pareho kayong may eks paktor.

Sgt. Diosdado Carandang

Posted on by
Reply

vic silayan as sgt. diosdado carandang

Ten years before Hannibal Lecter was introduced in the Hollywood motion picture Silence of the Lambs (1991) there was an even scarier movie character.  His name is Sgt. Diosdado Carandang in the classic 1981 film entitled Kisapmata.

Kisapmata, a Filipino movie directed by Mike De Leon must really be a very good film.  I tried telling a couple of people that this was the film I saw last weekend and it seems that all people who has seen it in the past can actually recall without difficulty the events that transpired in the story.  This 31-year-old movie must really be an excellent film that it actually made a mark in the memory of those who has seen it.

I for one do not only consider this movie a drama but also horror.  No, the movie does not have freaky ghosts as characters nor this film would scare you by jolting you off your seat.  The storyline, the crisp snuffcolored sepia-like cinematography, the monotone quietness of sound as well as the whole ensembles’ fine acting will actually haunt you.

I particularly was very impressed by the performance of Vic Silayan who played Sgt. Diosdado Carandang.  The mere tonality of his deep bass voice when he speaks will make you so terrified and start blaming yourself why you even dared started watching this film.  Silayan’s haunting characterization is so scary you wouldn’t want to meet that character ever in your lifetime.  Silayan was so eerie you’d prefer to talk and spend your time with Hannibal Lecter.

Katakot!

Artistas Quest For The Elusive Olympic Gold

Posted on by
Reply

a videograb from youtube featuring the judo powers of baretto and greco-roman wrestling ability of santiago

Philippine telecommunications magnate Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) has been a longtime supporter of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), the duly recognized organization by the International Olympic Committee for the Philippines’ representation in the Olympic Games.

Hours ago, the country’s dream to win an Olympic medal faltered when Pinoy boxer Mark Barriga lost his fight to a Kazahstani fighter.  Thus, another 4 long years again the Philippines will have to wait for a chance to finally pull it off and achieve that elusive Olympic gold.

It has always been a well known fact that the POC lacks the modern equipment, cutting-edge facilities and expert trainers to hone Filipino athletes who would slug it out during the Olympics.  Many people say that the answer to this long running Olympic medal draught is money.

If a lot of people are saying that money is the solution, I just wondered, what if the 4-billion-peso losses of TV5 the TV network owned by MVP was instead spent to buy modern sports equipment, construct cutting-edge sports facilities and train, feed, clothe and shelter the Filipino athletes, would the Filipinos today be united and are already rejoicing for the triumph of the country’s first Olympic gold?

Yeah, if I were MVP I would have spent the 4 billion pesos to these sports related venture.  This would clearly be one great patriotic endeavor.  Too bad I am not MVP.

But if I have the wealth and power of MVP mixed with lunatic neurons and neurotransmitters of Nengkoy’s son (that’s me,) I would spend the 4 billion to Philippine sports but will have to have specific conditions to further ensure the success of obtaining the Olympic gold.  I would dole out 4 billion pesos to Philippine sports only if the following artistas (Filipino entertainment celebrities) will compete for the following Olympics event:

  1.  With the expertise she has shown during her NAIA Terminal 3 airport showdown with Mon Tulfo, actress Claudine Barreto will have to compete in women’s Judo and Taekwondo
  2.  Corollary to item number 1, actor Raymart Santiago will compete in men’s Greco-Roman Wrestling event
  3. Since the Aldeguer Sisters would be too old already by this time, I will demand that the Wea Twins who now for sure are adults must compete in the duet competition of Synchronized Swimming
  4. Corollary to item number 3, the Sex Bomb Dancers will compete also in Synchronized Swimming but in the team competition event
  5.  Since he has done two Panday movies and is planning to film a third one, senator/actor Ramon Bong Revilla must vie for men’s Fencing event
  6. Corollary to item number 5, Anabelle Rama who showed great potential in Fencing during the wake of the late Dolphy by using a cane in trying to whisk her nemesis must compete in that event
  7. Yet corollary to item number 6, Chito Arceo who ran like a scared rat when threatened by Anabelle with a cane must compete in the 100-meter dash
  8. For the country to have more chances of winning the Olympic gold in athletics, Vice Ganda who is a self-confessed horse must also compete in the 100-meter dash
  9. Marian Rivera, Charlene Gonzales, Alice Dixon and Alma Moreno must compete in the various Swimming events since all of them played the role of Dyesebel in the movies and on TV in their respective eras.  They can even vie for the 4×100 meter medley relay.  They will of course will be coached by Vilma Santos who ones played the same role during the ‘70s
  10. Too bad FPJ and Rudy Fernandez are no longer around, they could be our best bet in Shooting events.  These legends never miss a shot in their movies.   Nevertheless, I will give the opportunity to action stars Robin Padilla and Cesar Montano to compete in Air Rifle and Rapid Fire Pistol events
  11. Lastly, Kris Aquino.  She will not compete in any game – she’s to lame – but will instead be the Philippine flag bearer during the big opening ceremony to be escorted of course by Baby “Bimby” James

Talo nanaman kasi tayo kaya kung ano-ano nanaman ang naiisip ko. Go por gold!