Still crazy (over CDs) after all these years

Think of a dog that catches the smell of a bitch in heat. One whiff and the bastard goes crazy. That’s kinda like me every time I hear of a CD sale going on somewhere. I get overexcited and won’t be pacified until I hump away the itch by visiting the venue, checking out the available titles, and going home with as many loots as my wallet can handle.

So in the age of MP3s and iPods I still collect CDs. So what? Some people like posting #selfies, some blog endlessly about food, some bash gays in the name of God. As the stubborn unapologetic drunk says to the annoyed non-drinker: to each his own, bitch.

That’s why Saturday morning found me at the biannual Universal CD/DVD Sale at the Smart Icon, Universal Tower on Quezon Ave. experiencing mental orgasm as I gawked at stacks and stacks of interesting titles being sold for as low as P20. Needless to say, I emerged from it an hour or two later with a lighter wallet and a heavier bag, and a happy-kid grin stretching from ear to ear.

Dig the artists:  Interpol, Mercury Rev, Bob Mould, Paul Weller, Cowboy Junkies, Moby, Britny Fox, Crowbar, Ian Gillan, Kings of Convenience, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Cracker, Dog Fashion Disco, The New Pornographers, The Cribs, Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem, Black Box Recorder, Grandaddy, Amusement Parks on Fire, OHgr. From dance to indie to electronic to metal. With CDs that cheap, it made sense to experiment and introduce my ears to new music and artists. So I did. And that’s why I’m such a happy camper these days. Nothing beats striking gold when you’re in the process of discovering new stuff. It’s a natural high.

Looking forward to the next CD sale already.

*With apologies to Paul Simon for the title.

Going Android

It could’ve been an iPhone 5 or a Samsung Galaxy S4 or what have you. Hell, it could’ve been that Kindle Fire HD I’ve been drooling over since I saw some lucky schmuck in the MRT watching a Californication episode on it. However, my wallet was not fat enough. With my kid starting school this year, I simply had to settle for something less flashy.

Enter Lenovo S560.

Sitting pretty, like a pro

I didn’t care much for most of the specs mentioned on various tech sites I checked prior to the purchase. I scored this specifically for the Ice Cream Sandwich OS (for Instagram, yo), the four-inch touch screen, the front-facing camera (for #selfies! lol), and—most especially—for the DOLBY DIGITAL PLUS TECHNOLOGY!!! Fuck yeah, for a music junkie like me, that seals the deal there, man. And with a P7,000 price tag this phone, for me, is the next best thing since Internet porn. Road-testing it with the new Alice in Chains album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, one fine Saturday morning last week was a delight.

I can be a materialistic bastard sometimes.

Hopeless

I spent the wee hours of May 14 depressed, stressed out and feeling suicidal. Whatever hope I have for this country was dashed when the results of the previous day’s elections started trickling in showing the same trapos — the same sweet-talking scions of political clans, the same warlords and plunderers and dolts — taking commanding leads early on in the races. This made me feel sick to my stomach. I felt like a fool for believing that this particular election will be different.

May 13 midterm elections: Dude, where’s my precinct?

Even in Antipolo, my last bastion of hope and sanity when it comes to politics, the tides seem to have changed. A member of the Ynares dynasty of Rizal is trying to seize control of the city hall, and judging from what I saw yesterday at our polling precinct, there’s hardly any reason to be optimistic that he will not succeed. There were just too many idiots willing to sell their souls for a price, even for a cheap fast food meal. Sad.

And the Senate race? Forget it. Very little hope there. The fact that millions of voters thought political greenhorns like Nancy Binay and Bam Aquino are fit to sit in a body that crafts and passes laws will baffle me for a long time. I hope they’ll prove me wrong in the near future.

Otherwise, this country is better off at the bottom of the South China Sea.

Rockstar obituary: Jeff Hanneman

Wow. Less than a week after that heavy metal high that was Pulp Summer Slam XIII comes the ultimate letdown: Jeff Hanneman, guitarist and founding member of thrash metal titans Slayer, died Friday (Manila time) due to alleged drink-related liver failure. He was 49.

Really, wow. This genuinely saddens me. I may not be the biggest Slayer fan on the block, but I have the biggest respect for the band and have fond memories of their music.

I remember listening to Decade of Aggression at a friend’s place many summers ago. Nothing really special about that afternoon except the period: I was starting my teenage years, cranked up on that feeling of invincibility that one feels at that age, and Slayer — with Hanneman and Kerry King’s blitzkrieg guitar riffs and face-melting solos — was providing a fitting soundtrack to that. Slayer was also among the first bands I listened to when I wanted to feel “tough” and “evil” and to piss off the adults. Later I’d use their music to get over a particularly hellish day at the office.

They say the most unforgettable music in one’s life is the one he heard when he was a teenager. Hard not to spot sense in that wisdom.

Will be listening to Decade of Aggression all weekend.