Tonight, let me write about something that calms me–music.

Music has been part of my life since childhood. From the staircase-style audio cassette storage of the 80s; to our reliable and durable old radio from which we listened to FM radio stations (as well as the famous radio drama “Zimatar,” which made us breathless, and “Gabi ng Lagim” which spooked us out); to MTV Philippines; to my brief choral stint in my elementary years; to the current YT channels and Spotify (I subscribed to Spotify for a very limited time; it was a gift); to my membership in the church choir when I was in college; to self-studying the guitar in my early college years, to resurface almost two decades later, during the pandemic period when I was in Paris, and so on.

I believe that music runs in the family. My late lola was a musician, not in a commercial way though. He could play various instruments. He was excellent in playing the violin. He played the guitar, cello, banduria. My younger brothers are excellent guitar players and singers. One of them was a vocalist of a band in high school. My Ate was part of a banduria group in high school. Several family members can sing really well during videoke sessions. My late Dad’s voice was amazing; he could sing Nat King Cole’s and Matt Monro’s and some other singer’s songs really well, although he rarely did.

But wait…I’ll just shift to a list, since writing a full-blown essay seems to tax me right now, as it is getting late and I’ve been up and about for 18 hours. So, here it goes:

• Singers I first became acquainted with as a child – Songs of Nat King Cole, Matt Monro, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Crystal Gayle (she had this photo where she looked ethereal), Lionel Richie (my mom’s favorite), and several others; and some Filipino singers like Eddie Peregrina
• 1st song I danced to (in kindergarten or Grade 1′ can’t be too sure now) – Gosh! I can’t recall the exact title but it’s a disco music with Electrocute in the title. (will edit if a remember)
• 1st song I sang to an audience when I was a student involved in activism in UP Diliman – “Wala Nang Tao sa Sta. Filomena” by Joey Ayala
• 1st song I played in the guitar at a park in Paris (not to a group; just with someone)- “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• 1st song I played with my guitar in the DFA during a Despedida for a Colleague – “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King: I was with my staff, a group of young, brilliant, promising team in their early 20s; the performance sucked, but we had fun ^_^
• My go-to songs when I’m forced to sing in videoke – Because of my voice range, I can handle Carpenters’, Anne Murrays’, some Abba Songs, some OPMs (I wrote about this in a previous blog entry), some Tiffany songs, some lively music, but mostly sad ones.
• Songs my board mates and I jammed when we were in college – Songs by Bread, America (esp. Inspector Mills), Beatles, and of course, Eraserheads
• Song we practiced and sang with an OPM artist – Kanlungan by Noel Cabangon
• Songs that were dedicated to me or sung to me at some points in my life years back (Hahaha! Oh my gosh!) – “The Search is Over,” “Groovy Kind of Love,” “Di Na Natuto,” “Something New in My Life,” “Reality,” “Basta’t Kasama Kita,” “Because” (by Dave Clark Five)
• Songs I could play with a guitar then – I haven’t graduated from the basic and my plans to improve my guitar skills haven’t materialized, relying instead on a chord book; Lover’s Moon, Stand by Me, Knocking on Heaven’s Door, Have You Ever Seen the Rain, Leaving on A Jet Plane, Annie’s Song, I have to Say I Love You in a Song (this one’s a bit difficult), What A Wonderful World, Comme D’habitude, etc. Perhaps, I could gift myself with an acoustic guitar at the end of year to revive guitar-playing and practice a bit daily.
• Favorite songs and singers – It’s hard to choose; my mood changes and my song/singer choice for the day, actually for the minute changes 😀 ; But I do like Apo Hiking Society, Asin, and some Aegis songs, and several Filipino singers I listed in my OPM blog entry; I think Beatles is cool; Dishwalla’s voice is sexy (listen to Angels or Demons); I like Kenny G; I like Eraserheadsa and Rivermaya; I like Sarah G.; I love Bruno Mars; Arctic Monkeys is interesting… (to be continued)

But I can’t listen to the same genre all throughout the day. Like Bossa Nova is good. But to listen to it for several hours? I can’t…