Archive for the 'music' Category

X-List: Horny Music

Would I dignify a blog controversy?  Nah…

There are songs to make love with, and then there are songs that just make you feel… well, horny.

Music has a lot to do with libido.  Carlos Santana’s “Europa,” for example, is the kind of piped music you’d expect in a gay bar (not that I know anything about gay bars).  Anyone who watched porn would have heard of those deep, rhythmic bass sequences followed by the saxophone solos from a guy who plays Kenny G music through a Kazoo.  Speaking of Kenny G, I don’t find it horny at all: “Silhouette” and “Forever in Love” are music better suited for idle days at 7-Eleven, provincial buses, and Japanese movie channels on intermission.  And Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” does not reek of horniness: it reeks of sex.

Anyway, here’s this week’s X-List:

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10.  Boyz II Men, “I’ll Make Love To You”

A lot about what the comedian Pablo Francisco calls “brother music” revolves around the musical celebration of sex.  It all depends on how sexy you can get it.  Like pouring the wine, lighting the fire, throwing your clothes on the floor, so I’ll take my clothes off too.

The 1990s was a time ripe - and rife - with Boyz II Men clones (anyone can remember All-4-One and “I Can Love You Like That”), but nothing beats the original when it comes to overall… horniness.  “I’ll Make Love To You,” like many of the group’s non-wholesome songs (like “Uhh Ahh” and “Four Seasons of Loneliness…” I just find it wrong), is about good old-fashioned fem-dom bitchin’.  It’s so romantic, and at the same time so… BDSM.

My favorite part: “Baby tonight is your night / And I will do you right / Just make a wish on your night / Anything that you ask / I will give you the love of your life / Your life / Your life…”

9.  Keith Sweat, “Twisted”

It may sound so racist, but when it comes to horny jams, you simply can’t beat a black dude.  Keith Sweat’s “Twisted” has horny written all over it.  For one, I think that you can’t get any hornier with a name like “Keith Sweat;” I don’t care if your Keith Urban, Keith Richards, or Toby Keith.

To be honest, I don’t really know what “Twisted” is all about.  On the one hand, it sounds like a dirty love song about making up and making love.  On the other hand, you get reminded of a game of Naked Twister.  “Twisted” also kind of makes you suffer from a bit of bad LSS, if only to sing the song as if you have a sinus problem.  Well, it does sound like it.

My favorite part (except for Keith Sweat doing the second voice things): “You got me twisted, thinkin’ ’bout the way that things used to be / When it was you and me girl, I was so free / See you had my heart from the start like Cupid / And I was just downright foolish and stupid.”  Reprised later on by the Philippines’ own Salbakuta.

8.  Meat Loaf, “I Would Do Anything For Love”

Like many of you, I don’t understand this song one bit.  Some folks find this song romantic, some people find this song alluring, some people find the late Selena sexy, and heck some people even find Meat Loaf sexy.  I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask… you would do anything for love, but what, pray tell, is “that?”

The reason why this song found a spot at the X-List of horny music is that there’s something about the mad, dramatic rush of piano keys.  It’s perfect for karaoke, although there’s always that philosophical question of what’s the “that” in the song.  Is this one of those Brokeback Mountain things?

My favorite part: “Some days I pray for silence, and some days I pray for soul / Some days I just pray to the god of sex and drums and rock ‘n roll / Some nights I lose the feeling, and some nights I lose control / Some nights I just lose it all when I watch you dance and the thunder rolls!”  Give it to ‘em, Meat Loaf!

7.  Sisqo, “The Thong Song”

No list of horny musical tracks would be complete without a mention of the man called Sisqo.  We all laughed watching or even singing “The Thong Song,” especially if some white dude sings it.  Or we “sanitize” the wrong-sounding lyrics and (in the tradition of a classmate of mine back in high school) change it to “Let me sing that song… that song, so-so-song, song song.”

I don’t know what happened to Sisqo, and to be honest, I could care less.  Not that “The Thong Song” ever drove me horny (it drove me insane with laughter, I can tell you that), but it was nothing more than a shameless musical presentation of butts and thighs and a man with a really bad panty fetish.  Well, don’t we all?

My favorite part (save for Sisqo’s hair): “She had dumps like a truck / Truck, truck / Thighs like what / What, what / Baby move your butt, Butt, butt / I think i’ll sing it again…”  Uhh, no thanks.

6.  Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack, “Tonight I Celebrate My Love”

If you’re a 1990s kid, you know that Peabo Bryson was the voice behind Disney soundtracks like “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World.”  How the man could be able to sing something so dirty, I don’t know.  My parents used to sing this song to each other, and while it sounds romantic, I can’t help but hurl.

While the song is unmistakably about sex oriented towards everlasting love, the horniness comes a posteriori, so to speak.  On many piano instrumental collections, you’re bound to listen to at least one iteration of this theme.  What I remember most is when this was used in Saturday Night Live in a skit featuring (I think) Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell.

My favorite part: “Tonight, I celebrate my love for you / And that midnight sun / Is gonna come shining through / Tonight, there’ll be no distance between us / What I want most to do / Is to get close to you / Tonight…”  Emphasis on “There’ll be no distance between us” part.

5.  The Spice Girls, “2 Become 1″

Horny; definition: Spice Girls.  If there’s any song made for mental porn, it definitely has to be “2 Become 1,” when you need some love like you never been in love before.  As much as any man will profess to hate Baby Spice, Sporty Spice, Posh Spice, Scary Spice, and Ginger Spice… well, we all know the many hits of Girl Power.

I should know: Spice Girls are a karaoke specialty of mine.  And I always had a crush on Victoria Beckham then.  Not now.  Video of “2 Become 1,” anyone?  The brain-dead-ness of Spice Girls songs is bordering on obvious, so much so that “2 Become 1″ is a 100% horny jam.  Although I have to say that as much as I “hate” the Spice Girls, this terrible headache of a song is not without its merits.

Which brings me to my favorite part: “Come on get a little bit wiser baby / Put it on, put it on / ‘Coz tonight / Is the night / When 2 become 1″ may be about condoms.  You go girl.

4.  Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”

You have to wait for that heavy drum cue, that two-second pause, and then scream, “AND I… WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!” to get the full effect of this epitome of wife-beating, cocaine abuse, and all around horniness.

The theme song of The Bodyguard may be relegated to the drunken parts of Friday karaoke sessions, but there’s something about the high-pitched dramatic falsetto that either has to come from the ovaries.  In the case of men singing this song, you just have to draw your pitch from the testicles.  It’s a sad break-up song, but hey, it can get horny.  Sexual Chocolate!

My favorite part: I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the high-pitched Falsetto of Death that makes you either cover your ears in agony, or strip naked.

3.  Paula Cole, “I Don’t Wanna Wait”

Nobody got horny watching Dawson’s Creek back in the day.  No, wait, nobody I know will confess to watching it.  I know I did; heck, I even watched Tabing Ilog. I think that it’s not Katie Holmes that was the absolute product of “Dosong Kriks,” but was that really horny-sounding opening track that, well, none of us want to remember.

In these days of random shrieks by Leona Lewis, Paula Cole did the exact opposite: avoid breathing all together.  I don’t know what’s horny about this song, but I’ve been told that some of my friends make love to this song.  So after some random research on sex, I kind of get it.  Granted that it is romantic, but there’s something about the vocalization (and less-than-satisfactory grammar) that makes it horny.

My favorite part: “I don’t want to wait / For our lives to be over I want to know right now / Will it be yes or will it be / Sorry.”  I kind of sounds like an indecent proposal more than a tragic love.

2.  Creed, “My Sacrifice”

The interpretation of a song has a lot to do with personal taste.  It’s like saying that Lifehouse is emo because of one song (well, they are).  “My Sacrifice” by Creed is one of them; you may think that it’s religious, you may suppose that it’s a song about sacrifices.  I think that it’s a song about masturbating.

I’m not saying this on the basis of lyrics; I hate semiotics.  I’m saying this on the basis of the voice and tooth-clenched singing of Scott Stapp.  You think about the onomatopoeic, animalistic grunting of a man stroking the staff of life, and you suppose that Scott Stapp’s singing is akin to that.  The lyrical kabastusan comes later.

Since I brought that up, my favorite part: “Hello my friend we meet again / It’s been a while, where should we begin / Feels like forever…”  It takes a perverted imagination, but yes, it can drive you into horniness when you just wanna say hello again.

1.  Ricky Martin, “Maria”

I think it makes sense: Ricky Martin = horny.  I think it has a lot to do with the gyrating, the use of Spanish, or that you just want to scream “Heppa!” at the mere mention of his signature horny hit, “Maria.”

I don’t understand Spanish, and to be honest, I don’t know what “Maria” is all about.  But the “Heppa!” ad lib has to take the cake; it’s either a demand for a doctor because of a hepatitis-caused seizure, or that you’re just mad about the idea that Ricky Martin gets all the babes even if there’s ongoing speculation - ten years running - that the guy is gay.  You can only imagine how to attract chicks with this song because you had one too many shots of tequila or Goldschlager at some swanky club somewhere in Makati or Malate.

My favorite part: well, it definitely has to be “Heppa!”

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So you see, there are a lot more important things to talk about than blog controversies.

More Lyrics Translations

I was at a bus when I heard an OPM translation of Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” which went something like, “Para di ka na mabasa ng ulan / ulan / ulan / hindi, hindi / di mabasa ng ulan / ulan / ulan / hindi, hindi…” Needless to say, I was pissed.  Last I checked, I began this whole schtick of translating lyrics: fine, I’m delusional and selfish.  For two, my philosophy of translating lyrics is to capture the essence: to stick to the original as much as possible.

Which means I would have rather have had it that whats-her-face sang “Payong / payong / yeh, yeh, yeh / sa ilalim ng payong / payong payong / yeh, yeh, yeh…”

Peeved as I was, I still wanted to translate lyrics of a popular song… like, “Always Be My Baby.”  Not the Mariah Carey version, but the David Cook “American Idol” version… here goes:

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IKAW PA RIN ANG IIBIGIN
Translation of “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey/David Cook

Minsan sa ‘ting buhay
Naging tayong dalawa
Akala ko’y habambuhay
Pag-ibig natin sa isa’t isa

Gusto mo nang lumaya
Handa ‘kong magparaya
Dahil sa aking puso
Ikaw pa rin ang mahal ko

Bahagi ka ng buhay ko
Ikaw pa rin ang nasa puso ko, oh
Kahit ako ma’y iyong lisanin
Alam kong ikaw pa rin ang iibigin
Narito ako
Hihintayin ang pagbabalik mo, oh
Pilit mo man akong kalimutin
Alam mong ako pa rin iyong iibigin

Di kita iiyakan
Di kita pipilitin
Kung gusto mo na ‘kong iwan
Dapat ko lang tanggapin

Ngunit panahon lang
Aking hihintayin
Dahil balang araw
Babalik ka sa aking piling

Bahagi ka ng buhay ko
Ikaw pa rin ang nasa puso ko, oh
Kahit ako ma’y iyong lisanin
Alam kong ikaw pa rin ang iibigin
Narito ako
Hihintayin ang pagbabalik mo, oh
Pilit mo man akong kalimutin
Alam mong ako pa rin iyong iibigin

Balang araw babalik ka rin
Lalamig ang gabi na hindi mo ako kasama
Balang araw babalik ka rin
Konting panahon lang, ‘king mahal, maniwala ka…

Bahagi ka ng buhay ko
Ikaw pa rin ang nasa puso ko, oh
Kahit ako ma’y iyong lisanin
Alam kong ikaw pa rin ang iibigin
Narito ako
Hihintayin ang pagbabalik mo, oh
Pilit mo man akong kalimutin
Alam mong ako pa rin iyong iibigin

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Renz Verano, I have your next big hit.

Aegis Cruising: The Best Hits of Aegis Translated to English

It’s a weekend and as usual, I’m bored.  You know what they say about the idle mind being the cradle of evil…

Evil, of course, is when you translate songs by Aegis into English.

Say what?  Lemme explain: when you’re trying to figure out what to do on a weekend, you start to think of rather unusual ways to pass the time.  For all intents and purposes, you descend into madness.  You can only read so many books, smoke so many cigarettes, and walk so many miles that you want to do something different, except for recreational drug use and discounted rooms at Sogo.

I guess that no wrist-slashing emo kid will ever admit to it, but Aegis is the local version of emo.  Granted that “Luha” and “Halik” are songs you would hear on weekend karaoke sessions in the provinces, but after a few bottles of San Miguel Pale Pilsen, you feel the urge to wail out into the microphone.  Proof: translate Aegis songs into English, and you have the general theme of crappy emo songs.  Or maybe Dionne Warwick and Tina Turner.

If you’re a long-time reader, you probably already know that I have this really disgusting habit of translating jologs song lyrics (especially whenever I have absolutely no idea what to write about).  Jologs?  Hell no: leave it to me to make something sound even cooler.  And yes, even more jologs.  So here are my translations of some of Aegis’ most popular hits over the years.

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KISS

Translation of “Halik” by Aegis

Verse 1
I don’t want you to know
It hurts me to see you go
Without you my world will be torn apart (oh no)
But whatever can I do
I start to cry when I’m missing you
Without you by my side, it really breaks my heart

Verse 2
Now that you’ve gone and you set us free
I know how much you have meant to me
So I’m singing this song for the memories
Of a love story that was meant to be

Refrain
‘Coz you are, my body and mind
My heart and my soul
You make me complete, you make me so whole

Chorus
Let me kiss you, ‘coz I’ll miss you
Let me hold you, ‘coz I love you
Why did you ever let me go…

Bridge
You really break my heart oh baby
Everytime I see your face
You make me break to tears oh baby
When it’s someone else that you embrace

Repeat Bridge, Refrain, Chorus 2x to fade

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ALL DRENCHED IN THE RAIN 

Translation of “Basang-Basa sa Ulan” by Aegis

Verse 1
Here I am again, on my own
Making my journey, in the middle of darkness
Here I walk again, I keep on falling down
But here I am, I keep on rising above

Refrain
Here I am, all drenched in the rain
No place to go home to, not a friend to talk to
I hope I still have tears, ‘coz I cried them all out
My heartaches and my sorrows, I hope they’re gone tomorrow

Verse 2
Dirt and the filth on my body and soul
Chilling, howling winds, and the dreadful silence
Every drop of rain, the awful cold
All are telling me to let go of my love

Repeat Refrain

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MY LOVE 

Translation of “Sinta” by Aegis

Verse 1
My love for you, is real and oh so true
Love as sweet as wine, it’s as bright as sunshine
Open your door, let me love you once more
Heaven’s what I feel, everytime that you are near, my love

Chorus
Dreaming of you all the time, I see stars in your eyes
These feelings deep inside, are things I cannot hide
I go crazy over you, my heart beats for only you
From this corner of the room, I sing for you
My love…

Verse 2
Feel the rhythm of my heart, let’s make a brand-new start
Love, look at my lips, I thirst for just one long kiss, my love

Repeat Chorus

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NOW THAT YOU’VE GONE AWAY AND BROKE MY HEART 

Translation of “Luha” by Aegis

Verse 1
I thought you were the one for me
That you were real and true as can be
But when time came to hold you
You went out into the dark
I just wanted to be close to you
Oh, I just wanted you to know
All the pains that I went through
Mean nothing to you at all

Refrain
Oh I loved you with all my heart
I even made a brand-new start
But then I realized that I’m such a fool
To have ever loved someone like you

Chorus
I don’t love you anymore
Go on away, walk out the door
All I ever felt for you are now all but gone
And if there’s one thing you should know
You hurt me once and hurt me some more
A love and an affection that even in tears
I’m willing to let go

Verse 2
Take a look at this reality
We’re the same, oh, both you and me
We both feel pain, we both get hurt
But you treated me like dirt

Repeat Refrain and Chorus

Coda 1
I don’t want to dream
I don’t want to be seen
I’m somewhere in between
Now that you’ve gone away and broke my heart
Oh, life’s a wheel
Life just keeps on spinning
Once I was pulled under
Why am I still under the wheel?
Oh, life’s a wheel
Life just keeps on spinning
Once I was pulled under
Someday I’m gonna rise above

Love in a Time of Extreme Annoyance

I was listening to some performances of Shooter Jennings, but “Electric Rodeo” is not the Video of the Week.  I personally would nominate “Sweet Soul Revue” by Pizzicato 5, but I opted against it considering last week’s video, which was “Saigo No Iiwake.”

The inspiration for the Video of the Week is a conversation with an old friend: among the many love songs out there, what song are you guilty of listening to that is completely off your personality?  Oh boy.

So it’s not “Perfect” by Alanis Morissette, “Crash Into Me” by The Dave Matthews Band, nor is it “Wonderwall” by Oasis.  Not “Linger” by The Cranberries, and certainly not “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton.

To a probable stalker, the Video of the Week is useful Marocharim trivia.  Just what love song can make this cold-hearted jerk with arteries of stone and ventricles of concrete weep with the passion of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez protagonist?

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You may now descend into meaningless, inconsiderate, ego-deflating laughter.  Yes, the original soundtrack to “The Lake House” is the song that never fails to make me cry.

“This Never Happened Before” is the kind of song that I would like played on my completely hypothetical, theoretical wedding (I had to emphasize that).  After all, a lot of possible ocassions can call for my rather weird interpretations of songs.  Consider the following examples:

  • On my funeral: “Staying Alive” by The Bee Gees.  Everyone should wear tight bell-bottomed polyester pants, and two dancers should do the scene from “Dirty Dancing” right on top of my mirror-encrusted neon-lighted coffin.

  • On the day of my daughter’s wedding: “Bitch” by Meredith Brooks.  I am very certain that my daughter will be a sexy lesbian dominatrix in leather and lace.

  • On the day of my son’s wedding: Those country guitar twangs from “Brokeback Mountain.”  I am sure that my gay son will be asking for a honeymoon with his husband and ask me for two horses, a tent, and a big flock of sheep.

It’s not like I’m Keanu Reeves material (though I can imitate his voice), but I am very certain that you have to agree with me: this is one pretty nice song.  But my appreciation for this song is offset if I translate it into Filipino, since it sounds like it could be the next (oh boy) Willie Revillame hit.

I won’t go that far.

No Excuses

This week’s video comes not from Alice in Chains, who did sing “No Excuses.”  Nor is it the I-wear-eyeliner-and-slash-my-wrists-emo bullshit that I don’t listen to (even if the key is to annoy myself enough at work to actually do some work).  Here it goes… my random thoughts after the video.

Yes, Hideaki Tokunaga’s “Saigo No Iiwake” (roughly translated: “Last Excuse”) is the Video of the Week.  You may remember certain renditions and reprises of this classic Japanese hit, like that of 1990s Filipino balladeer Ted Ito, 1990s pop icon Jocelyn Enriquez, and Keempee de Leon (way before he became a popular noontime show host where chismosa housewives of the “Kapamilya” camp constantly question his sexual orientation).

If my memory serves me right, “Saigo No Iiwake” is the audition piece of many Filipino entertainers auditioning for a job in Japan (the derogatory term is, of course, “Japayuki”).  I don’t mean to make this come across as an insult, but I think nobody would dispute seeing provocatively dressed women singing this in a Japanese recruitment agency or at a nightclub.  Or that no philandering nightclub patron would ever dispute the fact that even in sobriety, the only word they can sing confidently is “Ichiban.”  For us kids, this song was in the finale of that classic TV hit, Maskman.

Had I been a singer, here’s my reprise:

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Now that you have gone, I don’t know what to say
What do I do, now that you’ve gone away
A love that I betrayed
What would I need to do to make you stay?

I hold my head up high while I walk in the rain
Hiding my tears, but it’s all in vain
I can’t stand the pain
What would I need to be in your arms again?

Everything I did, and everything I said
I can’t help but look back, though I should look ahead
Sorry for the things I ever said and done
It’s my last excuse, for you’re my only one

All that remains is just one picture of you
I remember all the things we used to do
The pain I can’t undo
Whatever happened to a love that’s so true?

Oh my love, I’m so sorry, for breaking your heart
A mistake I’ll regret, ‘coz it tore us apart
I can’t bear to watch and see you depart
My last excuse, you’re always in my heart

Everything I did, and everything I said
I can’t help but look back, though I should look ahead
Sorry for the things I ever said and done
It’s my last excuse, for you’re my only one

What happened to a love that was etched in stone
Oh my love, please don’t leave me, on my own…
If there’s one sin that I need to atone
It’s my last excuse, for leaving you alone.