Uniting Voices

Making a storm

2007-06-12T20:26:00.000+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I hate to admit it, but the Philippines is a land of lost music.

What do I mean by the term? It basically means that if you want an artist's older album, you can't get it because the record company has pulled it off the shelves. Sometimes though it backfires, like with me seeing Chicosci's "Icarus" back on the shelves after a three-year hiatus (it came out in 2004) and the début album of Typecast (released in the same year).

Unfortunately, the vast majority still go missing. A prominent example that I can relate to would be looking for the début album of Kjwan.

Remember that Kjwan is one of my musical experiments (read the related LJ post if you don't). I first saw the album in question at a for-sale bin at Odyssey at Harrison Plaza, but I had to buy my grandmother's (non-functional) typing software. When I returned to the bin, the CD was gone.

Sadly, as I stormed through popular music stores (Music One in Greenbelt, O in Rockwell, Odyssey and Astroplus in MoA, the SM record bar in Harrison Plaza and more to come), as much as I saw the stores awash with copies of "2 Step Marv" (their second album), the one I was looking for is not there. The record lady at O since told me that the album was pulled out.

I find it quite pitiful. I cannot relate to future albums without listening to the older ones, since it will not reflect proper musical evolution (Thrice, Busted, Simple Plan and Hoobastank though all fall in this category). It's a bit unnatural now these days.

So now what do I do? I have to find a way to procure the album without downloading it from the Internet. So if you have seen it, or if you have a copy, please do lend it to me! I promise to take good care of it. That or I petition the record companies to do what they do in the U.S., keep good older albums on store shelves.

And oh yeah, the first potential musical experiment (unknown punk rock band whose record company is based in Japan from the LJ post) is a band named Rotten Boy. Perhaps they're Japanese, since they look the part (and because the title of one of the songs, "The Battle It Continue", exhibits Engrish at work).

And another one (again)

2007-05-03T09:22:00.001+08:00

That for starters is a line from Busted's famous "Year 3000". I think I would not want one boy band after another, although evidence sometimes points to the contrary (Plus One, BBMak, LMNT, North, need I go on?).

Yes, Busted is the topic of today's discussion. Yes also that it is about "Year 3000". However, this is not about Busted by itself. Similarly to the previous post of comparison between Plus One and Jesse McCartney, this one now is about Busted and the Jonas Brothers (of Meet the Robinsons fame).

I see my sister downloading "Year 3000" on LimeWire. As far as I'm concerned, I am staunchly anti-LimeWire, but when I notice that it was not Busted performing the music, I decided to investigate. This, as far as I'm concerned, is fast-becoming a controversy over the Atlantic.

Let me say though first that this post now reflects a great reverse from the previous post. Whereas in the Plus One-Jesse McCartney case Christian music is being pop-ified, Busted's music is being done the opposite (although with significantly less gusto and with virtually no God references), since according to Wikipedia, the Jonas Brothers are a Christian band. Quite ironic, if you ask me.

However, it is not an excuse for altering a perfectly good song. Let's compare the choruses of both versions:

Busted version:

He said I've been to the year 3000
Not much has changed but they lived underwater
And your great-great-great granddaughter is pretty fine

Jonas Brothers version:

He said I've been to the year 3000
Not much has changed but they lived underwater
And your great-great-great granddaughter is doing fine

"Year 3000" was made more kid- and teen-friendly for the sake of young audiences (...girls there with round hair like Star Wars float above the floor from ...triple-breasted women swim around town totally naked)? Even changed so that a younger demographic can relate (...it had outsold Kelly Clarkson from ...it had outsold Michael Jackson)? Although I have respect for this up-and-coming band, I am quite appalled at how much this song was changed from its original. It was made cleaner! If British teens can live with the original Busted version (and love it, by the way), why does it have to be made cleaner for American teens? It makes no sense at all.

Oh well. What's done is done. However, I remain a staunch supporter of the original, and I hate to admit it, but the original version is possibly still more popular than the newer version (the Jonas Brothers have been, as of this writing, booted from the most recent top 50, but unsure if they are still in the top 100, and Busted's version has reached the top 10 in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland in 2003). Unfortunately, we have to deal with the phenomenon of music gone cleaner.

For the love of comparisons

2007-05-01T12:29:00.000+08:00

First of all, greetings from Los Angeles! I'm in the home of some of my favorite bands, like Thrice and Rooney.

Second, I'm here because of the beautiful word comparison. Yes, we will be comparing two songs that are virtually identical, with different lyrics and completely opposite messages.

Some time ago, I listened to "Let Me Be The One" by Plus One. A few months later, I got to listen to "Come To Me" by Jesse McCartney. I did not notice it then, but sometime much later, I finally noticed that these two seemingly-different songs with two different messages are in fact one and the same. The writer of the original must have also gone for the derivative, I say.

Let's take a comparison at the lyrics. The music is almost exactly the same; the difference being that the version of Jesse McCartney is more polished than that of Plus One. However, their messages are different, as shown in their respective choruses:

Plus One version:

Let me be the one leading you through the night
Sharing the smiles and tears you cried
Let me be the one loving you when you're weak
For all of the strength you need, you can come to me

Jesse McCartney version:

Let me be the one telling you it's alright
Sharing the smiles and tears you cried
Let me be the one loving you when you're weak
For all of the strength you need, you can come to me

Even at the chorus level, the messages are quite different: both are romantic, although this is emphasized with slightly more gusto in the Jesse McCartney version. The differences are even more stark in the rest of the lyrics, although I will not post them here because I don't have the lyrics.

This is an example of the "pop-ification" of Christian music. I understand that Plus One is a boy band-turned-rock band-turned-disbanded band, but then again, since they don't own the copyright to their music (the writer does), we can bear witness to how helpful music can become romanticized and in turn become another bubble gum pop song.

Oh well. What's done is done. Unfortunately, there's nothing good on Denver Harbor except that two members are former members of Fenix*TX. I wonder now what to write next? Try cluing me in.

Protest hype

2007-04-25T08:05:00.000+08:00

They say that in general, there is a growing anti-administration movement within punk rock (in Pittsburgh, which is my adopted home, this is led by no more than Anti-Flag). It may as well be true; you have anti-Bush compilations ("Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1" and other volumes line within that category), anti-government songs, etc.

But no more can I find a song that embodies the value (?) of protest more than in "All That's Left" by Thrice (if you don't know who Thrice is, read the previous post). To exemplify, here's the music video:

Music Video Code provided by Music Video Zone

And here's the lyrics:

One day the dreamers died within us
When all our answers never came
We hid the truth beneath our skin
But our shadows never looked the same

CHORUS:
A ghost is all that's left of everything
We swore we never would forget
We tried to bleed the sickness
But we drained our hearts instead
We are the dead

And when we couldn't stop the bleeding
We held our hearts over the flame
We couldn't help but call it treason
And after that we couldn't fill our flames
After that our shadows never looked the same

CHORUS

In summers past, we'd challenge fate
With higher pitch and perfect aim
And standing fast, we'd radiate
A light we loved but never named
But the answers never came
Our shadows never looked the same

CHORUS

CHORUS (addendum):
We are the dead
A ghost of everything we thought but never said
We are the ones who lost our faith
We dug ourselves an early grave
We are the dead, can we be saved?

If you compare the lyrics with the visuals provided in the music video, there are some stark realities: we have repressed protest rallies, protesters running away, and water cannons. Repression as such means that protest is hopeless, as shown in these two lines from the chorus:

We tried to bleed the sickness
But we drained our hearts instead

Sickness here means social sickness, and "hearts" means ideal. These youth want change, and they might as well not get it. From a year context, the video was released in 2003 and the album that same year, a time when Iraq was under way and there was still popularity on the President's side. However, look at where we are now: conservatism wins the day and God knows what direction we're going to take.

There's also three more lines that resonate the concept (from the addendum to the chorus at the end of the song):

We are the ones who lost our faith
We dug ourselves an early grave
We are the dead, can we be saved?

They generate the same response. And quite naturally, we all have no more faith left, and we might as well wait. But life is no "wait and see". We need action.

Then again, lookn at the bridge. We spoke out, but nothing came of it. So now what do we do? Do it louder? Well, we need a miracle now. For better or for worse.

I think I'll move from Thrice now. Next, I want to do something with Denver Harbor and "Picture Perfect Wannabe". That, though, will be hard. So wait and see what Uniting Voices has next. Enjoy!

Waiting for a sign

2007-04-19T08:57:00.000+08:00

(Cross-posted from Welcome to Sky Harbor)

Yay! For the first time in quite a long time, I have a super-long post.

But that's not what I'm here today. I feel like I need to introduce to all of you the band of the first CD I bought in the United States. I don't care if the CD is used, just as long as I have it. I really wanted it, even if I bought on impulse.

Ladies and gentlemen, readers of Uniting Voices, I bring to you Thrice. If you have not heard of it (I don't want the Saosin redux with James and Lesly in IDeA 2), here is the lead from their Wikipedia post (oooh...one sentence in italics):

Thrice is a post-hardcore band that formed in Irvine, California in 1998 and later signed to Island Records.

Now, with physical additions, they are, if I got the proportion correct (they are four in all), 1/2 Japanese (or Japanese-American, whatever suits your boat). And while they are metal by most standards, I would group them with Story Of The Year in the emo-metal category.

And, in memory of the Virginia Tech massacre, I have one of their songs: from their third album, "The Artist In The Ambulance". (If these words match the profile of Cho Seung-Hui, then this is the correct song)

Stare At The Sun by Thrice

I sit here clutching useless lists
And keys for doors that don't exist
I crack my teeth on pearls
I tear into the history
Just show me what it means to me in this world
Yeah, in this world

CHORUS:
'Cause I am due for a miracle
I'm waiting for a sign
I'll stare straight into the sun
And I won't close my eyes
'Til I understand or go blind

I see the parts but not the whole
I study saints and scholars both
No perfect plan unfurls
Do I trust my heart or just my mind?
Why is truth so hard to find in this world?
Yeah, in this world

CHORUS

I know that there's a point I missed
A shrine or stone I haven't kissed
A scar that never graced my wrist
A mirror that hasn't met my fist
But I can't help feeling that I'm

MODIFIED CHORUS:
Due for a miracle
I'm waiting for a sign
I'll stare straight into the sun
And I won't close my eyes

Well, I have quite a vacation left. I'll go with other Thrice songs later in the week, or even in May. If you want a listen, show me how to use Meebo, please! Enjoy!

Listen and learn

2007-04-11T07:23:00.000+08:00

Throughout the world, we cannot escape the reality of political campaign jingles: those catchy tunes where politicians try to promote their political image to the people en masse. Well, one of the places where this proliferation heavily takes place is in the Philippines.

Politicians in the Philippines for some reason love to use campaign jingles as a way to attract the masses to their voter base. Some can be quite funny, and some are just stupid by way of their music videos.

Here are just some of those familiar jingles (for those who do not know the politicians, their name is linked to the respective Wikipedia article):

-Manny Villar: "Sasakyan Kita" (insert artist here)
-Juan Miguel Zubiri: "Boom Tarat Tarat" by Willie Revillame
-Vicente "Tito" Sotto III: "Itaktak Mo" by the Sexbomb Girls
-Vicente Magsaysay: "Taralets" by Imago
-Francis Escudero: "Sugod" by Sandwich
-Michael Defensor: "Para Sa 'Yo Ang Laban Na 'To" by Manny Pacquiao

As far as I know, the jingles in terms of their aims are fine. I find some though a bit questionable. For example, I would not like groups of professionals, even a priest, performing the "Boom Tarat Tarat" on TV for Zubiri, or Manny Villar doing his funny "dance".

I do know of people who also question their lyric content: a friend of mine asked me how Zubiri is the "Amigo ng Bayan" (Friend of the Nation), and I wonder why Prospero Pichay's (possibly) original campaign jingle has to repeat the same line, which is getting so tired. I probably don't want to hear any more "Tutuparin ko ang mga pangarap niyo. Ako po si Prospero Pichay, pro-Pinoy!" (I will make your dreams come true. I am Prospero Pichay, pro-Filipino!).

Politicians sell themselves to the electorate. Whether or not campaign jingles are effective is up to the campaigners themselves. I would place Escudero's and Magsaysay's jingles as the most comprehensive platform-wise, while Defensor's borders on the non-sensical.

Oh well. That's the life of Philippine (musical) politics.

Under disguise

2007-04-10T22:19:00.000+08:00

Let me clarify first where I get most of my music these days: LAUNCHcast. And for some reason, I have reason to both rely on and question their genre classification system.

First, some artists are not where they're supposed to be. Example: the band Slick Shoes, a punk rock band, is also classified by LAUNCHcast as one also affiliated with contemporary Christian music, or CCM. Same with MxPx, although the common perception as far as I'm concerned is that I would shun the CCM label, especially with the latter.

Second, as much as they love classifying many genres, they do not specify which genre the song or artist primarily belongs to, to the point where some of the genres overlap. Take another example: Simple Plan. According to LAUNCHcast, they belong in the following genres: pop, mainstream pop, modern rock, punk and punk pop.

If I ever find a need to specify a dominant genre, I would go with the fifth one at best, or come up with this genre: pop rock (so reminiscent of Tower Records/Music One classification). And people know that almost (or even virtually) all pop is mainstream. That's why it's pop in the first place!

However, that's not why I'm here writing today. I would love to delve into the wonderful world of Christian rock.

Christian rock almost always belongs to the CCM label, and as such I would expect something inspirational. True, there are songs of inspiration, but I would love to question the labels of bands labeled such by LAUNCHcast, namely Anberlin, Falling Up and Sky Harbor.

There is one thing in common with these bands: they sing good punk rock by my standards. However, the CCM label is somewhat questionable: Christian songs in my opinion (being in a country where gospel is the main Christian musical norm makes this opinion quite subjective) should have some mention about God, or even have religious undertones, which I find notoriously absent in much of all three bands' material, although there is some semblance of religious undertone. At least the bands are recognized as CCM bands by the community (for example, I saw the music video to "Escalates" by Falling Up on JCTV last summer).

Unfortunately, the way I see the material makes me believe that they lean more towards the punk rock classification, but that's just me. The lyrics give some strong suggestion, but the religious undertones are somewhat visible.

Then again, Christian rock is a very mysterious world, ranging from the light (Anberlin, Sky Harbor, Stellar Kart) to the medium (Dakona) to the heavy (Underoath, Devil Hunter).

Oh well. Tomorrow, I'm up with Philippine political campaign jingles. Enjoy.

Watching everything unfold

2007-04-09T14:16:00.000+08:00

Well, as everything goes with the laws of nature, having two blogs at the same time can be quite a hassle to do. But it's summer. Virtually any law of nature can break with just the flick of a finger.

But anyway, I have a new refuge for other interests. That's why, I introduce you to Uniting Voices. As is the law with every blog, I would presume you, the reader, to be completely uninitiated to this brand-new blog.

But before I even bother to introduce the blog, you might want to know the blogger first.

Well, I'm James Joshua G. Lim (Joshua to family and Filipinos, Josh usually to foreigners, especially Americans), a sixteen-year old person from somewhere over Makati City in the Philippines. I am Filipino by birth, but I am a dual Filipino-American citizen, a product of my residence there for five years of my life (2000-2005).

I am a student at Colegio San Agustin-Makati and a debater and vice-president for training with the CSA Debate Organization. I do not know my average score, but it leans somewhere in the seventies. I did get the honor of thirteenth best speaker in the Philippines, something I honor dearly.

Secondly, I am a Wikipedian by other profession (by the way, I'm Sky Harbor there). I officially joined Wikipedia on April 4, 2005, and it has been a happy two years since then. I am the main creator and contributor of two featured articles (both on the Manila LRT and MRT), and I have a lot of projects slated for the summer.

As a person who takes spiritual well-being into perspective, I am one who is quite down-to-earth (sometimes, as far as I want to admit, it does backfire) and kind-spirited. However, I have a double-sided approach to conflict: I can be your best friend (good diplomacy) or your worst enemy (bad diplomacy or violence). As a Wikipedian, I highly place consensus and ethics in regard, and I highly believe that flaming is bad.

I'm a political moderate, but a liberal-leaning Roman Catholic. There are things that should be changed for the betterment of the community (divorce, same-sex marriage, contraception, abortion, etc.), while others should not. Also, governments should be all-serving but not self-serving (so no to graft and corruption). I am from a family of my politicians: my father, grandmother and uncle are or were politicians.

But now, why do I have this blog?

I am, first and foremost, an audiophile. I have extremely diverse musical tastes, consisting of three years of musical evolution. I listen to everything, and you'll see that unfold in my posts throughout the life of this blog.

Uniting Voices in itself a blog for everything musical (in the way I dictate it...lol). You'll find everything here from album and song reviews to band insight, and everything in between, although expect the blog to be a bit personal, so be sure to come with your own point of view if you plan to read and comment. Expect both Filipino and foreign bands to come appear here, so you can get a taste of everything (Filipino music to the world and the world's musical bounty to the Philippines, and all the other good stuff).

I think that's comprehensive enough for you. If you want more, visit my LiveJournal instead.

Now, you have a choice. You can walk out the virtual door, or you can face the music (no pun intended) and open up to all I have to say.

Very well. Once again, welcome.