Thank you for the muzak

FOR a while there, electronic dance music (EDM) was my daily go-to muzak. But after a friend noted how loud it was while we were talking over the phone, I began to notice, too: Yup, it’s noisy. And boring.

So, I listened to Garbage for a while: “I’m only happy when it rains/I’m only happy when it’s complicated/And though I know you can’t appreciate it/I’m only happy when it rains.” Hmmm. Was this switch a sign of progress?

Better listen to Linkin Park, INXS, The Cranberries, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, and Soundgarden on a rainy morning although that could mean it’s not only the weather. These are the bands whose lead singers (or drummer for Foo Fighters) decided to leave this oh-so-cruel world.

By the way, Dave Grohl used to be the drummer of Nirvana and is now the lead singer of Foo Fighters.

I prefer loud music. The noise helps me focus. This must be the result of living downtown at Corrales Avenue, Cagayan de Oro for so long. The street has since morphed into a center for traffic, restos, bars, cafes, stores, malls, and condo buildings, making a good night’s sleep impossible unless you’re drunk.

I used to listen to Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, and Angela Bofill when I was in Manila. And then, I came back home and realized I had zero chance of using the house’s sound system.

All I had then was this Sony whose cute speakers couldn’t compete with the huge ones dominating the living room. At breakfast time, there’s Dad’s favorite music ranging from Ray Conniff, Air Supply, and Abba to Matt Monro, Earl Klugh, and Chuck Mangione. Once my bros were back from school, it was time for U2, The Police, The Cure, R.E.M., Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pet Shop Boys, INXS, Tears for Fears, you know, ‘80s bands except, uh, Bon Jovi.

The ‘90s arrived, and the likes of Pearl Jam and Nirvana were added to the house’s muzak.

Excursions to Cagayan de Oro’s record stores were the family’s bonding moments to search for more: Garbage, Rivermaya, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Green Day, Oasis, No Doubt, The Cranberries, Blur, Matchbox Twenty, Hootie & the Blowfish, Blind Melon, Coldplay, Suede, Morrissey, etc.

And Mama was playing the piano with her daily playlist and always granting Dad’s requests starting with their theme song, “All the Things You Are.”

Our house was always filled with music, that is, if my daily Hanon piano exercises could be considered also as music, with clueless me not realizing that Mama was listening until she’d comment from upstairs, “Net, sayop to!” Oops!

People prefer to listen to their favorite artists, of course. But my sis and I watched Bruno Mars’s concert even though I wasn’t familiar with his songs. She assured me we’d have fun. And we did.

As for Madonna’s concert, we asked youngest bro if he wanted to join us, and he said, Bisag bayaran pa ko ninyo ug P1 million, di ko. Haha.

Like anything else, music preference is also to each his own.

I realized listening to Garbage for two days could be boring, too. I kept switching to other bands until my niece started suggesting to me other EDM DJs, styles, and genres on YouTube and Spotify. So, I’m back to EDM again.

But that doesn’t mean I will never switch to Seal: “But we’re never gonna survive, unless/We get a little crazy.”

Or to Macy Gray: “I try to say goodbye and I choke/Try to walk away and I stumble/Though I try to hide it, it’s clear/My world crumbles when you are not near.”

Or to K.D. Lang: “Constant craving/Has always been.”

Sigh.