blackshama's commentary on Philippine issues

This year my high school class celebrates its 25 year anniversary. On Facebook, many classmates expressed sadness in Michael Jackson's passing. Michael Jackson is one of two pop culture icons that defined Pinoy teens of the mid 1980s. During our senior prom, almost all the hits from the Thriller album were played on the dance floor. In a sense, Jackson's fusion of R&B, rock, pop and ballad styles signified a departure from the past. This is why Jackson's music became a hit among us teens at the time. The other pop culture icon (or better yet icons) that defined Pinoy teens most especially the high school class of 1984 was "Bagets". However it is plain to see that the Bagets gang, played by William Martinez, Herbert Bautista, Aga Mulach, JC Bonnin and Raymond Lauchengo represent an inculturation of Michael Jackson into Pinoy pop. Bagets launched into stardom, Aga Mulach and Herbert Bautista. Bautista was further catapulted into politics where he serves as vice ...

The Eraserheads mean much to my generation since they became a big hit after emerging from the alternatative music scene of UP Diliman in the late 1980s. For those who graduated from college at that time, things were very uncertain. Gringo had his failed coup against Cory. The betrayal of EDSA 1986 was in full force (recall that the college students were at the barricades) The half-a-day brownouts were the rage. Jobseekers had very little opportunities. There were no call centers. There were no cell phones(where you can text to express your rage via text jokes) and there was only one library in the country (it was located in Makati) where you can send email in the just emerging Internet. The Eraserheads encapsulated all these angsts in their songs sans the political colour (But one of the last songs before the breakup "Para sa Masa" had that typical UP Diliman angst and political commentary). That would a years later be done by another band from UP Diliman, "Yano" T...