"Summer Sunshine" by The Corrs (2004)

Memory of a great Irish folk rock band

I miss summer vacation, and I miss the songs that popped out many summers ago. I'm not talking about the singles of lady gaga or demi lovato.

I'm talking out this one, "Summer Sunshine" by the Irish band The Corrs. One talented lad plus three beautiful and equally talented ladies equal one great band, and they were gone. They make Irish / Celtic music sound cool. Like many artists of the yesteryears, they made good music...real music.

They are great musicians, them Corr siblings: Multi-talented, multi-instrumentalists, and good-looking too. They are one of the best music acts to come out of Ireland. The others include U2, Boyzone, Westlife and to some degree, B*Witched and Bellefire.

Back in high school, we played one of their popular songs for the prom dance. In the summer of 2004, "Summer Sunshine" came out, and a midnight music show played their songs almost every midnight for the whole summer. While going through this classic, I recalled a number of past songs. (They will be featured later in this blog.)

Too bad I hear less of The Corrs on the radio today. People now care about justin bieber, one direction, taylor swift, kanye west, nicky minaj, ariana grande, iggy azalea, etc. Even if these things combine, they would still end up less talented than The Corrs. Music is so relaxing back in the days, and it was all about music. But now... never mind.

Sorry, it's just another bout of generation gap. I have no right to criticize today's youth's choice of music. Blame it on the FM stations, blame it on the record shops and blame it on us elders who fail in our mission to spread good music.

But let today's youth know, music is all about music back in the days, not striptease and good looks.

"Papercut" by Linkin Park (2001)

Longing for the old Linkin Park

Too bad Linkin Park doesn't make music like this anymore, and we old fans are kept wanting for more nu metal or rap metal. We long for Chester Bennington shouting or screaming at the top of his lungs and Mike Shinoda blowing us away with his rap while the rest of the band play their instruments. We still long for the sound that's reminiscent of the songs in Hybrid Theory and Meteora.

"Papercut" single cover

The shift after Meteora

After the release of Meteora in 2003, the band began exploring other genres and experimenting with new sounds. The effort led to the release of their third studio album Minutes to Midnight in 2007. With the release of that record, they had deviated from the signature nu metal sound. More albums followed, with more alternative metal, electronic rock and rap rock, but no more nu metal. Mike still raps, though, like with their 2012 single "Burn It Down" and Chester still has his recognizable vocal.

With rock, particularly alternative rock and nu metal, not getting the sales and airplays they need nowadays, attention is getting scare for Linkin Park, though they still churn out albums and tour around with other bands.

The band doing their stuff

Linkin Park experience through people

First heard Linkin Park way back in 2002, when a classmate recorded "Papercut" and "In The End" instead of the NYSNC songs that I asked for. He even told me "Papercut" is an NSYNC song. After playing the song multiple times on the cassette player, I concluded NSYNC doesn't sound like that and realized my classmate lied to me, but I wasn't angry. I liked what I had heard, and I asked my classmate about the name of the band.

Months later, I bought a bootleg cassette of Hybrid Theory from another classmate and borrowed a VCD of music videos from another. Months later too, my mother sent me Meteora. I then started composing song lyrics and tried rapping too. Years later, I saw Megan Fox in Transformers.

But the nu metal sound is gone. As we should know, nothing is permanent but change. We need to adapt to change. Wherever Linkin Park goes, we go.

What's up with Limp Bizkit?

"Crush On You" by Aaron Carter (1997)

Aaron Carter, a memory of a kid phenom revisited

Before Justin Beiber, there was Aaron Carter. Before Bieber looked like a thug, Aaron looked more like a real popstar than that guy who sang "baby baby baby ohhh" multiple times on YouTube, something which musicians of the yesteryears don't have to get famous or land a record deal. Before Bieber acted arrogant and registered a diva-like attitude, Aaron faded into obscurity and figured into some troubles.

The young Aaron Carter, way back in 1997

Trappings of fame

Fame is such a cruel mistress, and for someone like Aaron who tasted it early on, it always has a dark side. Aaron cheated on his girlfriend in 2003, experienced emotional and spiritual issues (and entered a treatment facility in 2011), was sued in 2006 for allegedly reneging on a record deal, was arrested for overspeeding and marijuana possession in 2008, and filed for bankruptcy in 2013.

Aaron in 2000

Aaron Carter all the way

If I am to choose between Aaron and that dude from Canada, it's no contest. Aaron may run into troubles, but he was never thuggish and never exhibited a diva-like attitude to fame. He was all about music, entertainment and not thuggery and braggadocio. His music videos were far more wholesome, more viewer-friendly, never commanding the thuggish and arrogant vibe that's present in the videos belonging to that dude from Canada. Moreover, his music is more fun than today's so-called hits.

Aaron in 2002

Generation gap? Nah! Who would not hate that dude from Canada who goes around pissing people and creating public scandals? The dude is full of himself.

Aaron Carter may never have fans who will bleed and die for him. I believe his fans also feel sad about his demise, but I'm sure Aaron has never embarrassed his fans throughout his whole career. Anyway, he's back in the music scene, though not experiencing the same level of success he had many years ago.

Aaron in 2012

To the fans of that dude from Canada, forgive me. And if you're not angry, please listen to Aaron Carter. You'll be surprised to find out he's way cooler than your dude. You're not too young to ditch that ex of a former Disney Child star (whose song I will write about in some later time.)

Songs For Friday

We sing Friday

The two faces of Friday: One is one of the worst songs ever, while another one is a well-beloved rock classic. So Friday is balanced, huh?

If you are going to sing about a day of the week, Friday is the best. (Monday comes a close second.) If you ask me, Friday is the best day to remember about anything of the past.

Friday and weekend past

When we were still schoolchildren, we looked forward to Friday because next day is Saturday, no school and a whole day to play and horse around, unless teachers bombard us with lots of homework and parents assign us our chores - and there is no escaping them. But at some time of the weekend, we still have fun, right?

I look forward to Friday evenings when I was young. It was the night of Pokemon, Digimon, Super Laff-In, Beast Wars, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Hercules, Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, Power Rangers, and numerous classic TV shows on ABS-CBN and GMA. Those were the times. That was my kind of Friday.

The weekend that followed is more interesting. More interesting TV shows, stress-free day-off for the young, and the house works too. And we did not have mobile gadgets, Internet, and coffee shops then.

That was then.

It was fun.

For the former college dudes and dudettes, Fridays mean dates or late-night parties after school. It also means going home for the weekends or travelling to a place unknown for some kinds of kicks.

Today's Fridays are complicated but laden with more opportunities for fun and socialization. Different eras have their own challenges and opportunities. We cannot return to the Fridays and weekends of our youth, but we can do to bring youthful energy and optimism in today's motion of free time.

Histories

If I'm not wrong, one of the worst earthquakes in mankind's history occurred on a Friday many years ago. Sunny Friday it was then after a week of heavy rain, and I had lettuce for lunch. For my upperclassmen, it was Junior-Senior (JS) prom time.

Speaking of JS prom, the first and last I attended in college was on a Friday too, this time not sunny, but gloomy and rainy. It was a night to remember and a night to forget too. I would later call for the abolition of such an expensive affair that allows teachers to get "additional income". I get trauma every time I remember the affair, and I would gladly make a pact with the devil to change the whole outcome of the event. It was a Friday of mixed feelings, and I was in love too, then.

Many TV shows also end on Fridays, an act which make Friday nights exciting around the TV set. Not anymore today, because we would be fine with catching up on the final episode on the Internet and spend Friday evening painting the town red or get into trouble.

Some Fridays did not change: beer Fridays, payday Fridays, dinner dates on Friday nights, being imprisoned on a Friday night, dying on a Friday night, etc.

Don't forget, Jesus died on a Friday.

What are your memories of Friday? Care to share it with your fellow readers? Juts hit the comment button below!

#Friday

"Nymphetamine" by Cradle of Filth (2004)

It's just a song...and a memory

Before I would proceed with this post, I would like to express my respect and apology to Christians and other people who find the music and stunts of the English extreme metal band to be Satanic and offensive to their faith. I do not intend to insult Jesus Christ and mock the faith of His believers, but to just share memories I have surrounding this song.

image from cradles.90s-fashion.com

The experience

The first time I heard this song was in the year I slowly opened myself to many forms of rock music, like nu metal, alternative and yes, the kind sung by Cradle of Filth, Slipknot and Marilyn Manson. And at the two years that followed, I got "interested" in Satanism, but I never went close to worshiping the devil, though I annoyed certain people by "expressing" "faith" in the devil. That was just that. Nothing serious, seriously.

The matter of church arson, vandalism

While digging deeper into what bands like Cradle of Filth and Marilyn Manson sing about, I have come to read about members of black metal bands and their fans setting fires on churches, some of them important historical landmarks, in Norway. People behind the wave of arson attacks on churches are thought to be Satanists or devil-worshipers, but these are the same people that commit murders and make threats against fellow black metal musicians. They are even thought to be pagans, but devil-worshipers, satanists, pagans or not, they are anti-people, anti-society and evil. Why can they just play for the sake of music?

image from xxsilvixx.tumblr.com

But what about those people who break into churches to steal consecrated hosts for use in their Black Mass? Not good! I won't mind them holding a ceremony that is a mockery of a Catholic Mass, but to steal something from somewhere to use at the ceremony? Why can't they just make their own bread? I won't even mind them sacrificing a child to the devil as long as they use one of their kind (but with the consent of the parents, of course) and not kidnap any other child.

Should you listen to this song?

If you are of strong religious faith, please listen to the song with caution. Know that Cradle of Filth harbors hatred against Christianity. For me, it's the song that matters.

This song will always be one of my favorites. It bring back the memories when Satan still ruled the mind of a former depressive and love-struck youth.

Please listen with care.