Reframing

Let me begin by sharing one of my favorite quotes to you, so as to set the tone of what we will be talking about in the following paragraphs. This comes from Henry Louis Mencken (Hmmm Louis. Sounds like a black man’s name), one of the foremost American satirist in the early twentieth century. Try to read his biting (albeit at times annoying) witticisms if you have the time. Well, it’s no Mark Twain when it comes to literary tickling, but it’s just as equal, if not more, on impact in his niche, that of social critique.

"The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is very apt to spread discontent among those who are."

-H.L. Mencken
Smart Set Magazine
December 1919

If there’s one graphic novel that I wouldn’t mind reading over and over again (well, apart from Gaiman’s Sandman, and Strazynski’s Rising Stars), it has to be Ellis’ Transmetropolitan. It’s set on a cyberpunk dystopian America where allusions about American and British politics in the past decade are well abound. Each time I flip through it, I learn a new opening, a new perspective, a new level of meaning. Anywho, I took the preceding quote above from the said novel.

Segue.

There’s a song that’s been playing in the airwaves and making a positive stir as of late - for its pulse-rising beat, quality, and most importantly, its poignant socio-political relevance.
Do not take this negatively if you’re a rabid fan of Cueshe, Hale, Protein Shake, or what other sprouting alternative rock band I forgot to mention, but I’m observing a hyperbolic decline in the local music industry’s lyric quality - hence, the countless mind-numbing remakes and bossa nova raping. Oh, you don’t believe me? Try visiting the local music store and see the collections if you wouldn’t mind stopping your music piracy for a second.

Of course, not all remake CD’s are fated to be drink coasters. There are still jewels in the mainstream ocean of retarded music gunk. Yup, I’m talking about Bamboo’s remake of Tatsulok.

Segue.

The following text is taken from Renato Reyes Jr.’s blog (http://natoreyes.wordpress.com):

“[…]Originally, the song Tatsulok was part of Buklod’s second album of the same title. The song deals with militarization in the countryside, and the root of the armed conflict in the country. It was released at the time of the Total War policy of then president Corazon Aquino. The Total War policy then, as is with the “all-out war” policy of current president Arroyo, intended to crush the insurgency. But instead of defeating the armed revolutionary movement in the countryside, the militarization campaign’s first casualties were civilians.

Totoy bilisan mo, bilisan mo ang takbo

Ilagan ang mga bombang nakatutok sa ulo mo

Totoy tumalon ka, dumapa kung kailangan

At baka tamaan pa ng mga balang ligaw

At the time of the song, memories of anti-communist vigilante groups were still fresh in the minds of the people, especially with the rise of such infamous groups as the Alsa Masa and other “death squads” tolerated by the Aquino administration and the militarists in the regime.

Totoy makinig ka, wag kang magpa-gabi

Baka mapagkamalan ka’t humandusay dyan sa tabi

Totoy alam mo ba kung ano ang puno’t dulo

Ng di matapos-tapos na kaguluhang ito

Quite interestingly, the same incidents of death squads have come to the fore again with the rise of extrajudicial killings under the Arroyo regime. Those killed have been conveniently called “NPA supporters”.

Hindi pula’t dilaw tunay na magkalaban

Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan

Hangga’t marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan

At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman
[Chorus]

Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok

Di matatapos itong gulo

Lumilikas ang hininga ng kayraming mga tao
At ang dating munting bukid, ngayo’y sementeryo

Totoy kumilos ka, baliktarin ang tatsulok

Katulad mong mga dukha, ilagay mo sa tuktok

In the end, the song tells us that the armed conflict is not just about fighting between the NPA and the Aquino regime at that time (pula’t dilaw). The root causes of the fighting are poverty, the social pyramid.

The song is tight, lyrically and musically. Hands down, it is one of the best songs by Buklod […]

I only hope that the impact transcends the traditional rock song airplay-sales-awards cycle. I do hope the song raises questions about how things are being run in the country today. Tatsulok does not mince words in describing society and the justice system. It is straightforward in “sticking it to the Man”.

Bamboo does an excellent job in covering the song, though I personally feel that the intro sounded too much like the intro of Hallelujah. One misses the original Buklod strumming and flute background. The vocals are great and invoke strong emotions and are almost like the subdued anger of the original Buklod. The percussions seem to be holding back, unlike the guitar riffs which are let loose, almost like in a fit of rage.

The remake of Tatsulok raises the bar in socio-political songwriting and performances for this generation’s rockers. A trail has been blazed anew for the current crop of bands and singers. This is no longer uncharted territory for mainstream acts. […]”

Segue.

Here’s another, this time, taken from Maria Clara Rowena (http://mariaclararowena.spaces.live.com):

“[…] Mistakenly, the Philippine government has equated leftists to communists, to rebels, to armed insurgents, to terrorists and used the naming to go all-out. This […] shattered my faith in the Arroyo administration. Naming also justified Bush's exercise of his self-declared right to destroy Iraq and the Iraqis whom he has labeled terrorists. Yellow, on the other hand, is for the liberals. Since 1986, yellow has been the colour of the country's democratic reborn; this, after EDSA I championed PEOPLE POWER.

[…] In the song TATSULOK, the triangle is a socio-political structure where the strong and influential is above the law. The word ‘mayaman’ (rich) should not be taken literally as it is unreasonable to denounce all rich people. The song, particularly, denounces politicians who have become rich by succumbing to public offices they have failed to uphold and others who defy the imperatives of justice. Graft and corruption, partisan politics-- name it, we had it, we have it.
Ours is a country where a congressman admits he could have voted ‘No’ for Con-Ass but has voted otherwise because his political party wills it. Ours is a country where a former President charged with plunder has the nerve to dictate who are those politicians we should vote for. Ours is a country where a military general bound to protect the Filipino people says ‘sorry na lang’ when asked what if innocent people get caught in the crossfire [what the hell happened to the art of double-speak as a means of deception?]. Ours is a country where actors, boxers, basketball players are wooed to run not because of capability to serve the country but because of popularity.

The message of the song is clear to every Filipino especially to those who have the chance to vote this coming elections-- that is to choose our leaders. I don't personally like cliches but yes, I should say, ‘choose wisely.’ […]”

Segue.

Parallelisms can be drawn between the socio-political state a decade ago, to the incumbent regime (http://misteryosa.com):

“The release of the song might be very timely because of the upcoming elections, but look beyond that. Rampant political killings. Social injustice. […] ‘Oplan Bantay Laya,’ which is said to be the president’s ‘all-out war against the terrorists’ - the term terrorists used loosely because it surprisingly includes journalists, and people and students from legal leftist organizations, and even civilians. The song is not timely just because of the elections; it’s timely because everything happens right here, right now.” [The catch-all anti-terrorism bill will be signed within the week by the president and hence be enacted as a law. Aren’t you just a bit interested to peep at its contents and by-lines?]

Segue.

Since his first album, the band has been very vocal about issues concerning the government and its people Take Mr. Clay for instance. It’s an expression of disgust over the US-Iraq war, and Alpha, Beta, Omega, of the local socio-political conditions (http://bamboo.com.ph).

To summarize, I think all the plagiarism here today has said volumes. This morning, all I want is to share with you the private truth, and hope that I’ll be able to elevate everyone’s consciousness a tad bit higher.

Let it consume you.