Top 5@'09

The year will soon be ending in a few days’ time so it just means that I should recognize this year’s bests and worst’s. Just like last year, I am blogging about the top five of any category I could think of under the sun. Also, I am naming it on another show that features a countdown of top fives (last year’s came from Rick Kamla’s Fantasy Insider portion of ‘Low Five’) – the Top 5@5 of Magic 89.9. I know it is wrong grammar to use the preposition ‘at’ to refer to a year (it should be ‘in’) but this will not appear to have any reference on Top 5@5 so I will just make do with the wrong grammar usage for the title.

Almost 365 days ago, the new year started with us having a good set of fireworks. We always lit these up either for the superstition that it could bring some luck or for the fun of it. Guess what happened... we had a non-stop drizzle in New Year’s Eve. It was a bit disappointing because we were not able to use all the fireworks. I have waited twelve years for the Year of the Ox and it had started bad (well, technically, it was not yet the Year of the Ox then). I will be honest. This year has been a sucky year for me – it was either status quo on some aspects in my life or it was for the worse. I do not recall anything that went for the better. So much for celebrating my supposed year (although Chinese horoscope states that people born in the year of the Ox will have misfortune in 2009). I am used to terrible years in the past but what sets 2009 apart from them was my different outlook in life. I call it the delusional optimism. If you are emo, just think of it the other way around. Thus, I just moved on from each setback the past year (well, not all). The thinking was more of, “you’ve already tasted bad luck. Do not make it worse by feeling sad for the following days.” I think I got the perspective from Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother. I can also attribute the thinking from Jack in Lost when he stated whenever he feels fear: “Count five seconds and I will stop being afraid.” Thus, I felt like I celebrated most of the year because of some positive moments. Well, these moments actually are more of collective moments (so in short, I never gained anything but the new outlook in a personal level). But still, I was glad for most of the year so I am here to recognize what were the best things that happened for me this year (since it is collective, you will probably understand it).

Again, these are what I consider as my top fives, thus expect it to have some biases. This year’s version, however, is more objective than last year’s.

Are You For Real? Rating the 2009 Movies

First of all, merry Christmas to everyone! (I am writing this during the last hour of the last Christmas of this decade)

Secondly, I am publishing my second blog entry in just three days’ time. This time, I am going to tackle on the movies that I have watched this year (I shall return to rating the decade’s bests after I conclude on this year’s bests). I have done this stuff two years ago where I rated the movies that I have watched at the big screen.

I am tweaking some of the rules though. I am including the movies that I have watched at home even if I have a good sample size of eight movies that I have watched from the big screen (although that is relatively fewer than before) because of the following reasons: 1) I did not want to spend some cash on cinemas because of our HD TV… if you can wait for two to three months, go for it especially if you have a traumatic experience of burning cash on an 80% probability that the movie is going to suck (yeah that was how watching movies in cinemas went last year). 2) It would be depressing to rate movies that I watched (in cinemas) that sucked while leaving out the awesome ones. The great movies deserve some recognition. 3) I was on save up mode this year… oh wait, did I already mention that?

Here are the new criteria:
•    I am going to rate my top ten movies from the flicks that I have watched this year. Taken and Yes Man are counted in the 2009 movies because these were shown by 2009 in the Philippines.
•    Scores in here cannot be directly compared to the scores in my 2007 list because I think the movies in here are better even with lower scores. I just did not want to give high ratings this year.
•    I am changing my rating criteria since some of the movies were not viewed in the cinemas and I have significantly decreased my dozing off rate from 50% in 2007 to 5% in 2009. Here are the new categories and their respective weights:
   o    Interesting Enough? – 10%. This was the ‘did I sleep during the movie?’ category. It still takes into account snoozing but now it also features the following questions? Did I get bored at some points in the movie? Was I really into the movie that no one can distract me even if someone heavily farted in the audience?
   o    Willing to watch again – 10%. This should be renamed rewatchability but I have not re-watched some awesome movies from this year YET I am still planning to view them again in the future.
   o    Storyline / Movie Structure – 40%. I added ten more percent points in here because it is the backbone of the story. This is where the plot, twists, subplots, climaxes and anti-climactic events fall. I am also putting some movie aesthetics in here as well.

   o    Entertainment Value – 25%. A movie is supposed to entertain. This is why blockbusters cash in despite of terrible story and acting. In short, this is the category where Transformers movies shine.
   o    Awesomeness Level – 15%. This used to be the popularity category. Of course, movies are the talk of the town. However, I felt the need to add more factors in this category with the following guide questions: 1) Is the movie memorable enough? 2) If yes, where there catch phrases, memorable lines, ZOMG moments or were Megan Fox’s boobs bouncing every five minutes?

100 Sexiest Female Celebrities of the Decade

My lists of this decade’s bests continue and I am going to delve on an untouched subject thus far. Based on a request from my friend, I am blogging about the 100 sexiest female celebrities of this decade. I know that countless of men’s magazines have performed this type of countdown but that does not stop me from making a list of my own. Magazines normally feature such via a democratic way while I will do mine on a subjective perspective. Biased? Yes, but at least it is not a popularity contest. There is no objective way to determine the most beautiful as the old adage speaks for itself, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The essence of this list is to show you my direction. I don’t care if you will like it or not, what matters is you understand why I ranked it this way.

As much testosterone-charged this blog is, I think this should also appeal to women who appreciate their own kind. That is one characteristic that women have – they can admire members of the same sex and get away with it but if males do that… oh wait, MALES don’t do that, only gays are people with a wang who adore the physical attributes of the same sex.

You may wonder, how is this related to the stuff I normally write about? I usually discuss topics that I am a fan of…whether it be sports, movies, books, music and TV shows. If you have followed some of my earlier works, I have showed great appreciation on some of my female crushes. This is actually the perfect venue to tackle all of those related to my usual topics of sports, movies, music and TV shows as there is always a specific gal that I have been fond of. This blog entry is to have an appreciation for the female celebrities that I have admired this decade.

To start off, let’s define sexy. According to Merriam-Webster, sexy is defined to be something generally attractive or interesting. Sexy is not just about physical beauty. There are some attributes that make other people sexier. Maybe, she is smart or maybe she is a great role model. Heck, I sometimes even consider scheming, nasty women like Blair of Gossip Girl sexy (OK, not all of them though). Just like beauty, sexy is still subjective, but we are going to tackle the different kinds of sexy as we go along the women in this list. It’s a looooooong list so let’s start.

WARNING: This is for mature readers only. (Well, most of my write-ups are anyway) This is mostly about Hollywood celebrities so it would be very normal to see descriptions on sexy, hot, boobs and other body parts as they are advertised for their physical assets. I am just stating facts in here.

The Big Five

I do not know if it is mere coincidence but it seems like I always get acquainted with a new awesome TV series every November/December of each year. For everyone’s information, these were the TV shows that I got to watch for the first time in the past Novembers/Decembers of past years:

2005: Lost
2006: Prison Break
2007: Heroes
2008: How I Met Your Mother

Pretty strong lineup, huh? In my personal (current) Big Four TV Shows, Lost and How I Met Your Mother are part of that list. I got to follow Prison Break past Season 1 to mid Season 2 while I was a Heroes addict from Seasons 1 to 3 until I called it quits a month ago. Before I end the year, it has always been super solid on the TV side. Yes, especially because I am such a TV show addict that I get to watch new shows every now and then. To give you an idea of the shows I have been watching this year, here is the list: Lost, How I Met Your Mother, American Idol, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, Glee, Flash Forward, Lie To Me, 30Rock, Scrubs, Mad Men, Entourage, Gossip Girl, That 70s Show, True Blood, Eastwick and Harper’s Island. No wonder I have not been reading a lot of novels lately. No wonder I get dizzy easily these days.

As I have been watching TV shows crazier than I finished books back in college, I got to have my dose of November/December new series this year. I was not yet aware of having a streak of excellent shows prior to watching these shows but this year is distinct from the previous years because I got to watch not just one, but FOUR new TV shows (should be five but I won’t count Entourage because I watched the pilot episode sometime early this year).

Harper’s Island. After all the hype that my colleagues and friends have given me about this show, I finally gave in. I was supposed to watch this last May but I did not have the first three episodes when I copied from my officemate. My laptop crashed last July so all of the episodes were gone. Fortunately, I got to copy the first eight episodes from another generous officemate. I began watching it last month and it has been good so far. It was good as advertised (quite a number of hot chicks and full of gore). The execution was great because you would contemplate as to who the killer is (I stopped thinking after Kit spoiled me the effin’ ending… friends… they always spoil the ending for you). However, Harper’s Island did not have the flair that the past four TV shows in recent years had. The TV series has become a prolonged mystery movie which could be summarized in two hours. Thus, I found myself dozing off numerous times while watching. Rating: 7/10

Flash Forward. As a huge Lost fan, Flash Forward is the supplement show because of the idea of time traveling. This show actually has promise – the effects were astounding in the pilot episode. You have two ex-Lost stars in the set as well. It was interesting to see how the story unfolds to May 2010. However, I still found myself snoozing as early as the second episode. Do not get me wrong – I am still following the show (but with less eagerness). However, I think Flash Forward failed what Lost capitalized on the time traveling part. Lost had series of time travel which had knit the messy plot into one piece. Lost did not have to give WTF and Holy Shit endings in every episode (unlike Heroes) but the show had a rapidly moving plot that is enough to amaze the audience. Flash Forward, on the other hand, banks on one huge event and their investigation on it. Just like Harper’s Island, you can summarize the show in two hours via a movie. It was just a month and I cannot even recall all the important things that happened per episode. Blame my dozing off or the too many shows that I got to watch, but Flash Forward is miles away from Lost. Rating: 7/10

Glee. Ladies and gentlemen… the most hyped new TV series of the year… Glee! Glee fans, admit it – this show was so hyped that it got a lot of attention early on. I got to borrow Glee episodes from my colleague out of curiosity and voila! I got to watch this TV show as well. What’s the verdict? I must say that it deserves all the hype that it gets. Tell me: how in the effin’ hell will I watch a TV show that portrays high school losers and has no hot chick that would entice me to watch it from its pilot episode onwards? The show must be superb. The kids are talented and the performances were well-executed making me end up craving for the next episode. Glee is not overdone but looks very well-prepared at the same time. The character development is also above average (some get the spotlight mostly but that’s how it should work or else you will not get to have varying degrees of exposure and empathy for the characters). However, Glee has one huge downside – its overall plot seems mediocre for me. It is already well-laid out for the rest of the season. Of course, they can have some twists and all but there is not much room they can work on. Also, I am not certain if the show will age well for me. The show has blockbuster start written all over it but what lies ahead after the first season is a big question mark. But then, Glee did not disappoint when I first watched it. Rating: 8.5/10

Mad Men.

MAD MEN A term coined in the late 1950’s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue. They coined it.

It was actually funny when I first learned of this show. I was listening to Bill Simmons’ podcast on Fantasy NBA when he randomly thought of Fantasy Draft on Boobs. He picked Christina Hendricks first. I wondered then – who is Christina Hendricks? I browsed in IMDB and found out that Christina Hendricks is a redhead celebrity chick in the TV series Mad Men. Does she have big boobs? Absolutely Yes! Did she ever had a nude scene? Definitely No. Simmons continued to pimp her status by having a ‘rate this from 1 to Christina Hendricks Nude Scene’. I got curious and since I found out that Mad Men has a superb rating (and has bagged numerous awards that my mainstream shows never had), I tried downloading Season 1. Its setting is about advertising and marketing so it entices me further.

After 3,875 years, the Season 1 download finished and I finally got to watch Mad Men. Due to my excitement, my expectation level went sky high. The first scene featured the main guy hanging out in an old-fashioned restaurant/cabaret and the atmosphere was 1960s. He was talking to a boring looking waiter about cigarettes. I felt disaster was going to happen as I might end up dozing on a 1960s boring scene. Rating: 0 out of…
…wait for it…

For some weird reason, I was able to watch the whole pilot episode and liked it. There was no interesting turn of event right after the initial scene but I was able to appreciate the 60s mood onwards. My expectation level was 10 out of 10 but Mad Men was still superb. How come? It was like 1950s to 1960s slow paced style and there were little WTF moments in it.

Was it because Christina Hendricks sizzled? Hell, no! Hendricks’ role in the pilot episode was just a cameo appearance.

Why was Mad Men that good?

Mad Men’s plot is well-executed and is superb. It is filled with subtleties as witty lines are thrown out every now and then (without the help of the spoonfeeding laugh of an audience). The 60s may have featured a slow-paced life then (yes, even in Manhattan) but it evokes the mood that you are in another era which will eventually make you want to belong with it. My marketing communications and brand management background also helps as advertising concepts are usually the main topics in their discussions. But just like Grey’s Anatomy, you do not have to be a doctor to understand the full context of what they are talking about. The way they presented their ideas makes you think ‘hey, this is awesome if this was how they thought of advertising before because that is how it is known now.’ The main character – Donald Draper – is just so amazing in conceptualizing that his ideas will make you agree at the end.

[Spoilers Ahead]

Speaking of characters, Mad Men thrives in its character-driven story. You have real and flawed characters. Draper is at the top of his game when it comes to work but he is a womanizer. He also contradicts himself on one of the biggest plot twists of the series. Peggy the secretary is an ambitious woman who quickly moves up the corporate ladder but had one serious mistake. Pete Campbell is the ambitious young employee who strives to please his well-learned parents and his extravagant wife but does it the wrong way by resorting to politicking and other unprofessional manners. Joan Holloway (Hendricks) is the clever vixen who uses her physical assets to her advantage. As there were limited WTF moments in the show, I got to appreciate and understand the distinct qualities of each character from their punchlines to their reactions. And in a bigger layer, I observed that the Mad Men characters move in the behavior of people in the 60’s – women are mostly housewives or have low positions; men have chauvinistic tendencies; people smoke thousands of cigarettes a day; and women start to realize their inner strength on how to cope with the dog-eat-dog society. I find the story coherent and consistent as well. Mad Men depicts reality with the help of social context and imperfect characters. Drama scenes are not over-the-top as well.

Defining Quote of Season 1:
Donald Draper: “Stop talking. Make something yourself.”
Drug Addict: “Like you? You make the lie. You invent want.”
Donald Draper: “I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.”

[Spoilers End]

All in all, Mad Men impressed me as I finished Season 1. Having a chronologically-dependent series also helps. Yes, I love chronologically-dependent TV shows more than stand-alone ones because the former has the craving factor and has the overall plot getting molded as its episode gets shown. Mad Men has the element that makes me like TV series better than movies. TV shows are like novels were the character develops over time. This makes you relate to it, or –even better – this makes the show a part of your life. This is the very idea of escapist. You watch week by week to take in part with the imaginary world you share with the characters. It being realistic makes the show experience ten times better. I first got enticed because of Christina Hendricks but it is not anymore what I am looking for by the time I finished season 1. You know a TV show is special if you crave for it even if there is no shallow element that entices you to watch.

With these, I am now going to have a Big Five for my favorite TV shows and Mad Men is definitely part of it. Rating: Christina Hendricks Nude Scene (even though there is none)

What's The Best Month Of The Year?

Two months ago, Bill Simmons a.k.a. The Sports Guy wrote a mailbag article on what is the best month of the year. It ended with him concluding that October is the best as it barely toppled February due to some factors like Halloween and the major sports. However, that was the American perspective (or just the Sports Guy’s viewpoint). Thus, here I am asking the same effin’ question on the most awesome month of the year. In the Philippine point of view (or just my perspective).

I thought of doing this because I realized that there seems to be no lame month as there’s always something cool every month. I will try to be objective as much as possible (don’t worry, I won’t include my birthday because I do not celebrate it anyway). Weather matters as well. When I was a child, I love summers but because the temperature my body was accustomed to got screwed up when I went to America last year, summers became dreadful as I got flu and (f*ck Global Warming) super dry (parang beer ah). However, TV shows are just those that I consider to be in my Big Four: Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, American Idol (so much for being objective! Haha)

January
Weather: Cold but not rainy (+1)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5), American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA (+1)
Total Score: 4.25

February
Weather: Cold but not rainy (+1)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Lost (+0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5) American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA (+1), Valentine’s Month (+0.5), February Sweeps (+1), NBA All-Star Weekend (+0.25)
Total Score: 6.5

March
Weather: Hot (+0.5)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Lost (+0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5) American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA (+1), Wrestlemania (+0.5)
Total Score: 4.75

April
Weather: Hot (+0.5)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Lost (+0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5) American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA Finals (+1), Beach time! (+0.5), NBA Playoffs (+0.5), Light Traffic in the streets (+1)
Total Score: 6.25

May
Weather: Hot (+0.5)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Lost (+0.5), Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5) American Idol (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Beach time! (+0.5), NBA Playoffs (+0.5) May Sweeps and Season Finale (+1.5), Light Traffic in the streets (+1)
Total Score: 6.75

June
Weather: Rainy
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: None
Other awesome things: NBA Finals (+1), Summer Hollywood Movie Blockbusters (+1)
Total Score: 2.75

July
Weather: Rainy
Sports: UAAP Basketball (+1)
TV Shows: None
Other awesome things: Summer Hollywood Movie Blockbusters (+1)
Total Score: 2

August
Weather: Rainy
Sports: UAAP Basketball (+1)
TV Shows: None
Other awesome things: None
Total Score: 1

September
Weather: Awfully Stormy (-0.5)
Sports: UAAP Basketball (+1)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5)
Other awesome things: UAAP Playoffs and Cheerdance Competition (+0.5)
Total Score: 2

October
Weather: Awfully Stormy (-0.5)
Sports: UAAP Basketball (+1), NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5)
Other awesome things: UAAP Finals (+1), MLB World Series (+0.5), Fantasy NBA Drafts (+1.5), Octoberfest (+0.5)
Total Score: 5.75

November
Weather: Normal (+1)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.5), How I Met Your Mother (+0.5)
Other awesome things: Fantasy NBA (+1)
Total Score: 3.75

December
Weather: Cold (+1)
Sports: NBA (+0.75)
TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy (+0.25), How I Met Your Mother (+0.25)
Other awesome things: Holiday Season (+1), Movie Marathon Month (+1), Fantasy NBA (+1), Vacation (+0.5)
Total Score: 5.75

So there you have it… May is the best month of the year thus far with a score of 6.75 barely edging February (6.5). This could change though as Lost will be at its final season next year. Nevertheless, May tops the list for me as you have the season finale of the major TV shows, you get to watch the NBA playoffs in full gear (as there is always a playoff game shown everyday in Cable TV) and the traffic is not that terrible. I may have missed some important events in here so if you could think of one, feel free to reply to this blog post.

No Music, No Life ‘09

Ladies and Gentlemen. People of all ages. I present to you the annual edition of my favorite songs per month… No Music No Life ’09! (Oh wait, I am having this ‘grand’ introduction even if nobody reads my blog… bah! Who cares?) Anyway, for those who have been following my blog through the years, you should know by now that I write about my songs of the month from December of the previous year to November of the current year. Why not the usual January to December format? Uhmmm…to be honest, I have no idea why when I started it in 2006. It grew into a tradition and by now I am sort of thinking that I like it this way because it is unique or it is something similar to how NBA and NFL have their seasons (i.e., in NBA’s case, season starts at October/November and ends in June the next year). It is ‘cool’ this way. But for this year, I think that doing such fits well in my blogging schedule as it gives room to my plan of writing about several topics about ‘the bests of the year and the decade’ starting this December 2009 to January 2010. This will serve as the pilot blog to ‘the commemoration of the bests’ stretch.

(You may have/haven’t noticed that I have been blogging less frequently in the past month. I guess it always happens after the peak season of my blogging – the UAAP season. Nevertheless, December is always a strong journal writing month for me so get ready… to read.)

Enough of the blabber. Here are my songs of the year.

December 2008: Paramore – I Caught Myself
Back-to-back Twilight soundtracks for November and December 2008. It is quite ironic because I did not like Twilight the movie at all. This did not stop me from appreciating Paramore’s semi-emo song about ‘stopping oneself from saying something foolish’. The song starts with a clean plucking pattern that progresses as the bass line starts. I loved this song because it was executed in a simple manner but it still succeeds in invoking strong emotions from its lyrics. This song is actually a good foreshadow of Paramore’s musical direction in their upcoming album then. The band is starting to dwell on acoustic and less hard-hitting tunes. This appeases their alternative-loving fans and I must say that they are maturing very well.

Other Highlights of the Month: Couldn’t think of any so for every time I could not think of a highlight, I will just state the most striking quote of the song of the month: “I know in my heart it’s not you.”

January 2009: Paramore – My Heart
Wow! I just could not get tired of listening to Paramore from November 2008 to January 2009. And, they did not release an album then. You know a band is special if you did not get tired of listening to them months after they were your last year’s best band. But the actual reason why I was still listening to Paramore was because I saved myself from listening their first album All We Know Is Falling up to this point. Of course, I already listened to some hits like Pressure, Emergency and Here We Go Again last year but it was only in January 2009 when I really paid attention to listening to the whole album.

What made this song great? Think Hallelujah. The song is hard-hitting yet it releases strong positive emotions. This is actually a great love song but I soon found out that it fitted as a religious song better. Since this came from Paramore’s first album, Hayley was easily belting long, high notes especially in the climax of this song. Add that to Josh Farro’s background screams and what I got was instant eargasm.

Other Highlights of the Month: If you were wondering, was this the breakup song? No, it is not. I won’t be putting any breakup song in this list.

Before the year 2008 ended, I got to have two concert CD’s: Paramore’s concert in Chicago and Eraserheads’ First Reunion Concert. These played routinely in my newly bought iPod Touch then. If there is such a thing as my runner-up song of the month, that would have to be Eraserheads’ With A Smile.

And if you are wondering, was I in love this month? Definitely not. I just loved listening to these love songs.

Other awesome songs: Alicia Keys & Jack White – Another Way To Die; MGMT – Electric Feel; MGMT – Time To Pretend; Paramore – Decoy

February 2009: Foo Fighters – Everlong
I always have a knack of making old songs as my song of the month. Everlong was my favorite Guitar Hero song. My very limited vocal range fit this song well that I could easily finish Expert Mode even if I turn my back from the TV screen. Other than which, I enjoyed the progression and raw energy this song brings. Also, this is easily one of those songs that have aged well.

Other Highlights of the Month: Runner-up song is Foo Fighters’ My Hero. This is also the month when I got into LSS mode on Lady Gaga’s Just Dance (Yup, there is no typo error there). I was in a club at Valentine’s Day when that song boomed from the DJ’s sound system and I could not help myself but dance to its tune. Yes, it is so mainstream but I could not care less.

Another great song this month was Death Cab For Cutie’s Soul Meets Body. I discovered this song when I was watching a rerun of HIMYM. It was played at the end of the episode. I was already familiar to the song so it became easier to appreciate it then.

March 2009: Fall Out Boy – America’s Suitehearts / Fall Out Boy – The (Shipped) Gold Standard
Fall Out Boy strikes again! Folie A Deux was released some months then and it took me until March before I got hold of my copy. FOB is indeed mainstream now but I do not effin’ care. To be honest, it actually made them better as they evolved into a distinct band. Patrick Stump continues to be one of my favorite vocalists in both of these songs even if I did not care about the meaning of the lyrics that much. The main reason why I liked these songs? Melody. That is what the mainstream Fall Out Boy excels at.

Other Highlights of the Month: Runner-up song would have to be Alexis Grace’s studio version of Dirty Diana. I overplayed it in my iPod Touch even if she was already eliminated from American Idol.

“You can only blame your problems on the world for so long until it all becomes the same old song.”

April 2009: Katharine McPhee – Somewhere Over The Rainbow
American Idol month! Even if my fave got eliminated way too early, I was so into watching America’s most watched show. I found myself listening to past AI songs (…I did not watch the show that much then…) like Carrie Underwood’s Alone, Clay Aiken’s Bridge Over Troubled Water and Kelly Clarkson’s A Moment Like This. YouTube for the win. But the performance that stood out the most was the awesomely beautiful Katharine McPhee’s rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It mesmerized me a lot that I listened to it before I fell asleep.

OHM: As usual, April is the weakest month when it comes to new songs. I always find myself listening to a wide variety of old songs during this month. Just like last year, I went into Beatles mode during this month as I downloaded the whole discography of The Beatles.

May 2009: Snow Patrol – Crack The Shutters
May is Snow Patrol month. For the third straight May, my favorite song is a Snow Patrol single. After I listened to their album A Hundred Million Suns, I could not help but play this particular song repeatedly. Great lyrics. I think this is a close second to the lyrics of the year. As I am not into emo anymore, any positive love song with great poetry like this entices me to listen.

OHM: Runner-up song is The Beatles’ Let It Be from the Let It Be album. I was accustomed to the mellow version of Let It Be. This version, however, has the electric guitar element that made it refreshing to listen to.

Another runner-up song would be Lady Gaga’s Pokerface. Goddamn LSS! I played this song in the background while I was playing hours of Plants vs. Zombies. Yeah, I think I danced to the tune of Pokerface whenever I escape a round when the zombies are supposed to eat my brains. Damn that game… it ate up so much time especially when I finished almost 200 rounds (I should’ve reached 200 but I let it finish because my fingers were already numb and it was already 3 AM just like now when I am typing this. Insomnia sucks!)

June 2009: Gin Blossoms – ‘Til I Hear It From You (Studio or Acoustic Version)
I have been listening to Gin Blossoms for years and this song was already part of my playlist then. However, this fact did not stop me from immersing myself to this good old nineties alternative song. I made a personal vow to avoid listening to emo songs this year (although I still listened to some but I never paid attention to lyrics), thus the next best thing was to listen to lighthearted alternative songs. I was actually listening to ‘Til I Hear It From You in my iPod since Holy Week but I played this song the most this June. Nevertheless, this song amazed me because of its simple acoustic/clear guitar sounds. For the second straight year, my second most favorite tune comes from the month of June.

OMH: I should be putting a good line from the month’s song because there are no other special songs from this month but I did not pay good attention to the lyrics. The music was just simply satisfying in itself.

July 2009: Paramore – When It Rains (Demo Version)
Even if I am already complete on Paramore’s albums, I still downloaded their discography in hope of discovering something new. And boy, was I right! I have been listening to When It Rains since January 2008 but I never fully appreciated the song then. It was just another song in Riot. The demo version, however, has brought the song to a higher level. Its raw nature made it appealing. It was like listening to Paramore perform in your music room. The distorted-yet-not-that-heavy guitar riffs made the song very refreshing. The title itself fits the current weather condition as I listened to it while driving in the busy streets of Makati as the rains kept pouring. The song message is also splendid because it exudes some optimism from a sad person. OK, that’s how I felt from it because the song is really about someone hiding from everyone (without any explanation) because of a sad experience. July was my worst month this year because I had a string of terrible luck then, but this song serves as a reminder to me ‘not to hide or run away’ even if it rains. In short, I tried to do the opposite of what was in the song’s lyrics.

OMH: Another demo version also played in my iPod Touch this month – Death Cab For Cutie’s Title and Registration (Original/Demo Version). It is another raw song where I can clearly hear unedited guitar riffs. It is just great to listen to such stuff because it feels ‘real.’

August 2009: Green Day – 21 Guns / Paramore – Ignorance
August marked the death of the late president Cory Aquino and for some weird reason, I found it appropriate to use 21 Guns as my theme song for the event because of the 21 gun salute. I actually got the idea when someone requested this song in the radio using the same reasoning I had. I like this song because of its message and its instrumental progression. I like it the best when the song climaxes on the part when Billy Joe Armstrong sings “Did you stand too close to the fire like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?” even if I do not know what he means there. LOL. As for Paramore’s Ignorance, that would have to be a no-brainer for a Paramore fan like me. I have been thirsting for a new Paramore single for months. I did not actually like Ignorance when I first heard it but it slowly grew into me. Powerful lyrics. It happens to be one of the very few hard-hitting songs in Brand New Eyes.

OMH: “Well you treat me just like another stranger…”

September 2009: Panic! At The Disco – New Perspective
I do not exactly know where I first heard this song but all I can remember as of the moment is that it was tweeted by Ateneo’s courtside reporter and hours after that, I heard it in the radio and the song instantly clicked to me. It was like PATD’s Northern Downpour last year – the song delivers a positive note that makes me crave it further. In other words, a feel-good LSS. Like most of the lyrics that I liked this year, New Perspective delivers optimism. If I am not mistaken, the song’s meaning is to change for the better by having a new perspective/direction in life. I read from sites that the persona in the song plays along his relationships by just appreciating the shallow things. The song reveals that he realizes that he wants to change these wrong habits by having a better appreciation in life – to be more serious in his relationships. All in all, this is a great song from the vocals, melody and replayability. So far, it has aged well as I can still listen to it without the ‘sawa na feeling’ as of the present time.

OMH: Having a Tap Tap Revenge 2 version of New Perspective makes me like it further. It is the only game where I can see Megan Fox’s image while playing. Awesome! I have to admit that I got LSS on Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me this month as well. For me, she sings mediocre but her beauty and charisma in her music video was undeniable. Damn, she pulled off a girl look which you could rate as 2/ 10 to become a 10/10 by just removing a pair of eyeglasses. Although, brunette Taylor Swift is hotter.

October 2009: Fall Out Boy – What A Catch, Donnie
At early October, I thought that Paramore’s Brick by Boring Brick would be the flavor of the month but I was mistaken. What A Catch, Donnie hit the radio airwaves and I suddenly fell into the spell of LSS. It is quite strange because I usually skip this track whenever I was playing songs from Folie A Deux last summer. Maybe, it was the ‘Soul Meets Body effect.’ The song usually gets drowned by other great songs when I listen to them but when it gets played on a medium where my favorite songs seldom get played, I start to realize the beauty of the song. Music video was also great because Stump gets more exposure than Pete Wentz. Talent needs to get the spotlight more than popularity sometimes.

OMH: Runner-up song is easily Paramore’s Brick by Boring Brick. It actually aged better than Ignorance but What A Catch, Donnie constantly played in my iPod Touch (and has aged well).

November 2009: Paramore – Turn It Off
After waiting for Paramore’s Brand New Eyes for more than a year, I only got hold of an album copy a month after it was released. Some kind of fan I am. Nevertheless, better late than never – BNE is one of the special albums where I instantly fell in love with the tracks in just my first play. Hayley’s voice really has an everlasting charm on me. I first liked The Only Exception as the track-that-I-never-heard-before in the album but I eventually went into the Turn It Off craze. This has single written all over it just like the way I felt on That’s What You Get when I listened to it in January 2008. Turn It Off has the upbeat element that past Paramore songs have but it also blends with the Brand New Eyes concept of toning down and being more alternative than punk. The most important thing in this song is that it has the element that most of the songs in this blog have: great progression. Listening to Hayley belt out the high notes at the climax of their songs never gets tiring as well. This song actually has the makings of the song of the year because it has excellent vocals, melody, rhythm, progression and LYRICS! Song lyrics is usually not Paramore’s strongest suit but I have to say that they pulled it off here as their theme was not cheesy and they used strong metaphors in delivering their semi-religious message. This band has definitely matured as they crack my all-time five greatest bands list.

OMH: When I learned about Paramore’s concert in Manila more than a couple of weeks ago, this was how I felt: giddy-excited-speechless-mark-out-like-a-schoolgirl-OMG-is-this-for-real. If you translate that into Filipino, hindi ako mapakali. Yes, the moment was so priceless because it was a dream come true. Watching a live Paramore concert is one of the things that I should experience before I can die in peace. That and get a picture with Hayley Williams. I just hope that Hayley is back to being a redhead when they perform this coming March 9. Paramore is my most YouTubed band and I know from it that they perform the best (yes I just said that) because they have talent, skills and stage presence wrapped up in one package. They are so charismatic and energetic that they make a way to involve their fans. They top performances by Led Zeppelin, Smashing Pumpkins, Incubus, and Jimmy Eat World whenever I watch their live performances. Yes, I just said that.

So much for overhyping them. I am now starting to temper my expectations because I do not want to get heavily disappointed when I see them live.

Runner-up songs of the month: Kings of Leon – Use Somebody; Paramore – Use Somebody (Acoustic Cover). Other than which, I also liked these songs: Dashboard Confessional – Belle of the Boulevard; Owl City – Fireflies; Boys Like Girls – Love Drunk; Noelle Cassandra’s cover of pop songs in Good Times with Mo.

Album of the Year: Fall Out Boy’s Folie A Deux / Paramore’s Brand New Eyes

Band of the Year: Paramore
Back-to-back years of band of the year. This is how special Paramore is to me. Easily a no-brainer.

Song of the Year: Panic! At The Disco – New Perspective
I was supposed to have Gin Blossoms’ ‘Til I Hear It From You as my song of the year but I figured that it is not good to have an old song as my song of the year. And besides, I listened to New Perspective for three months so it fits quite well. Lyrics-wise, I liked New Perspective better than ‘Til I Hear It From You as well. This year is about optimism, progression and having a new perspective for me so this song fits well in this category.

Other Notable Songs That I Forgot To Mention: The Beatles – With A Little Help From My Friends; Eraserheads – Sembreak; The Beatles – Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds; The Beatles – Dear Prudence; The Beatles – We Can Work It Out; Kris Allen – Heartless; The All-American Rejects – Gives You Hell; Muse – Plug In Baby; Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name; The Carpenters – I Won’t Last A Day Without You; Coldplay – The Scientist; Death Cab For Cutie – The Sound of Settling; Death Cab For Cutie – Crooked Teeth; The Fray – You Found Me; Gin Blossoms – Follow You Down (Acoustic); Katy Perry – Hot N’ Cold; New Radicals – You Get What You Give; Paramore – Stuck On You; Snow Patrol – Planets Bend Between Us; Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma; Paramore - Brighter; Paramore -Franklin