Classic New Wave Favorites (compilation series) volumes 1 to 6

compiled by eLf ideas

Volume 1
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980)
The Church - The Unguarded Moment (1981)
Care - Whatever Possessed You (1983)
China Crisis - Wishful Thinking (1983)
Seona Dancing - More to Lose (1983)
Tears for Fears - Mad World (1983)
Echo & the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (1984)
General Public - Tenderness (1984)
Giorgio Moroder & Philip Oakey - Together in Electric Dreams (1984)
King - Love & Pride (1984)
The Adventures - Two Rivers (1984)
The Waterboys - The Whole of the Moon (1985)
The Bolshoi - A Way (1986)
The Chameleons U.K. - Tears (1986)
XTC - Dear God (1986)
Gene Loves Jezebel - The Motion of Love (1987)
Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy (1988)
Three o'Clock - On Paper (1988)

Sample link: (CNWF1)

Volume 2
Joy Division - New Dawn Fades (1979)
New Order - Dreams Never End (1981)
A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away) (1982)
Madness - Our House (1982)
Nena - 99 Luftballons (1984)
Alphaville -  Big in Japan (1984)
Romeo Void - A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing) (1984)
The Psychedelic Furs - The Ghost in You (1984)
Fra Lippo Lippi - The Distance between Us (1985)
White China - Smiles and Jokes (1985)
Depeche Mode - A Question of Lust (1986)
The Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms (1986)
Level 42 - Running in the Family (1987)
Red Flag - Russian Radio (1989)
The Cure - Fascination Street (1989)
The Lightning Seeds - Pure (1990)
The Sundays - Here's Where the Story Ends (1990)
XTC - The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (1992)

Sample link (CNWF2)

Volume 3
Split Enz - Six Months in a Leaky Boat (1982)
Blue Zoo - Love Moves in Strange Ways (1983)
Care - Flaming Sword (1983)
Al Corley - Square Rooms (1984)
Dragon - Rain (1984)
Echo & the Bunnymen - Silver (1984)
Fiction Factory - (Feels Like) Heaven (1984)
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions - Rattlesnakes (1984)
New Order - Thieves like Us (1984)
The Lotus Eaters - The First Picture of You (1984)
The Sound - Total Recall (1985)
Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget about Me) (1985)
The Church - Already Yesterday (1985)
The March Violets - Deep (1985)
Translator - Gravity (1985)
Wire Train - God on Our Side (1985)
Fruits of Passion - Kiss Me Now (1986)
The Room - New Dreams for Old (1984)

Sample link: (CNWF3)

Volume 4
Duran Duran - The Reflex (1983)
Industry - State of the Nation (1983)
Tears for Fears - Pale Shelter (1983)
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983)
Alphaville - Forever Young (1984)
Dear Enemy - Computer One (1984)
Sparks - Pretending to Be Drunk (1984)
The Blue Nile - Stay (1984)
Wire Train - Chamber of Hellos (1984)
Propaganda - Duel (1985)
Vitamin Z - Burning Flame (1985)
Depeche Mode - But Not Tonight (1986)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - If You Leave (1986)
Belouis Some - Animal Magic (1987)
Men Without Hats - Pop Goes the World (1987)
When in Rome - The Promise (1988)
New Order - Regret (1993)
Echo & the Bunnymen - Lips like Sugar (1987)

Sample link: (CNWF4)

Volume 5
Cocteau Twins - Pandora (1984)
Depeche Mode - It Doesn't Matter (1984)
Nik Kershaw - So Quiet (1986)
The Alarm - Walk Forever by My Side (1985)
Cutting Crew - I've Been in Love Before (1986)
Howard Jones - No One Is to Blame (The Long Mix) (1986)
Spandau Ballet - Through the Barricades (1986)
The Chameleons U.K. - Tears (1986)
The Bible - Honey Be Good (1988)
Introvoys - Lullabye (1989)
Red Flag - Rain (1989)
Tears for Fears - Woman in Chains (1989)
Identity Crisis - Will I Ever Know? (1990)
Duran Duran - Someone Else Not Me (2000)
The Lotus Eaters - Can Your Kisses Fly? (2001)
Fra Lippo Lippi - Later (2002)
Half Moon Half Rain - More to Lose (2007)
a-ha - Foot of the Mountain (2009)

Sample link: (CNWF5)

Volume 6

Modern English - Someone's Calling (1982)

Big Country - In a Big Country (1983)

Red Rockers - China (1983)

Ultravox - Dancing with Tears in My Eyes (1984)

Everything but the Girl - When All's Well (1985)

Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians - Heaven (1985)

The Comsat Angels - You Move Me (1985)

Siouxsie & the Banshees - Cities in Dust (1986)

Ten Ten - When It Rains (1986)

The Light - Pride of Winning (1986)

Flesh for Lulu - Postcards from Paradise (1987)

Lloyd Cole & the Commotions - Jennifer She Said (1987)

1927 - That's When I Think of You (1988)

The Mighty Lemon Drops - Inside Out (1988)

The Pursuit of Happiness - Walking in the Woods (1988)

16 Tambourines - Bathed in the Afterglow (1989)

The Ocean Blue - Between Something and Nothing (1989)

The Railway Children - A Gentle Sound (1989)

Sample link: (CNWF6)

Ultimate New Wave Experience vol. 7: Solo Works

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Here's volume 7 of the compilation series Ultimate New Wave Experience. For this set, I chose songs released as solo efforts by members of relatively popular bands. Many of these artists have long gone solo, but some are still members of their respective bands but who have simply released albums under their own solo names.

I'm sure that many of the albums where such songs came from have gone by unnoticed by many people, even by some fans themselves. After all, most of these songs and the albums themselves never really received radio airplay or much buzz in the media arena.

If one is truly in search of new music to discover, one has to look for them himself and not rely on the radio.

I chose the songs meticulously after listening to the whole albums repeatedly. I choose what I find the catchiest and most memorable songs in the albums, based on my personal taste.

I just want to share them with fellow music enthusiasts, in the hopes of inspiring and encouraging them to appreciate music beyond what is commercial and mainstream.

Dig.

A few notes:

* Richard Butler's "Broken Aeroplanes" has a vibe reminiscent of The Wild Swans' "Sea of Tranquility," from this band's second album, Spaceflower (1990).

* Gary Kemp's "Standing in Love" will be great to play before or after "Life in a Northern Town" by The Dream Academy.

* Magne Furuholmen's "The Longest Night" has been reworked by his band a-ha and included the result as the title track of their last album, 2009's Foot of the Mountain.
 

Remembering The Mo: The Progressive New Wave Band behind "Asia"

by aLfie vera mella
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The Dutch band The Mo is one of those groups that many music enthusiasts know only for that one great song--"Asia." Because I don't want to stay limited about my knowledge about this band, I researched about them and decided to look for copies of their albums and to buy them if available.

The song "Asia" has really become a favorite New Wave song of many music enthusiasts. But, who really was the group behind that song?

Formed in 1979, in Netherlands, by the brothers Clement and Huub de Lange, The Mo's activity was rather short-lived. After recruiting Heili Helder as singer and Harm Bieger as drummer, the four-piece The Mo released its self-titled, debut album in 1980, with singles "Nancy" and "Fred Astaire"--with the latter sounding to me now as Indie Pop in the league of The Cardigans. 

"Nancy" starts off with a dark-sounding drums-keyboard melody interplay and then continues with an upbeat tempo with elements of melodic progressiveness.

"Fred Astaire" is a funky, danceable song with the same progressive sensibilities.

The Mo initially disbanded in 1981, leaving drummer Bieger to pick up the pieces by recruiting new members to re-form the group. With him in the new version of The Mo were singer Linda Bloemhard, Ton van der Meer (synthesizer), Hans Nieuwint (synthesizer), Eddie Conard (percussion), and Willem Ennes (keyboards).

I could see how the music of The Mo could easily be described as Synthpop--they practically did not have a guitar nor a bass player. However, the arrangements of their songs, albeit synthesizer-oriented, have definitely elements of Progressive Rock / Progressive Pop music--sudden stops-starts, instrumental interplays, irregular drumbeats, and ear-catching time-signature changes.

"Cheese," from The Mo's second album, has that Bossa Nova feel, reminiscent of songs like "Lovefool" (1996) by the Swedish group The Cardigans. 

The revitalized The Mo was able to release two more albums--Ha! Ha! The Sound of Laughing (1982) and Stop Staring (1984). Unfortunately, the success of the single "Asia," culled from what became the group's final album, did not stop the band from ultimately dissolving, soon after the last album was released.

"Small Talk" is another song taken from The Mo's final album of 1984. The backing-vocal tracks were indicative of The Mo's Pop sensibilities.

The attractive introductory interlude of "Stop Staring," carried by the sound of the bellkit, makes it the song closest to the sonic style of "Asia." It also has a nice vocal-flute interplay in the mid-song instrumental interlude.

The introductory interlude of "ADSR"--which is on 7/8 time signature--for me further exhibits the Progressive Rock predilection of certain member/s of The Mo. The synthesizer melodies may remind a Progressive Rock enthusiast of the music of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. 

Now I could see why, after listening to the other songs of The Mo other than "Asia," I easily got drawn to their music--I would suppose that one or a few more members of the band were enthusiasts of '60s Progressive Rock, particularly of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. This one, "Take Me for What I Am," had a short instrumental interlude that reminded me of ELP's "Fanfare for the Common Man" and "Karn Evil 9."

The short version of the instrumental "Fanfare for the Common Man" (1977) by the English Progressive Rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer; the instrumental interlude of The Mo's "Take Me for What I Am" sounded to have been influenced by this.

Here's part 2 (or the "Second Impression") of the instrumental "Karn Evil 9" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

The introductory interlude of the song "Distant Early Warning" (1984) by the Canadian Progressive Rock band Rush sounds similar also to that of The Mo's "Take Me for What I Am" (1980). However, this time, The Mo's song predated that of that Rush's single. Considering Rush's admittance of having taken New Wave influences from some of the New Wave artists/bands of the late '70s to the early '80s, Rush might have been the one to be influenced by The Mo.

In 1993, a compilation of 24 songs by The Mo, including "Asia" and their other singles, entitled 'Remembering Mo,' was released. This would be a great addition to my record collection. Now is the time to look for a copy of this.

A nice song to end this tribute with is "Horse Race," a slow ballad that still carried the synthesizer-oriented progressively melodic music of The Mo.

Final Note
After having listened just now to as many songs by The Mo available on YouTube, I could now see why I got drawn immediately to the rest of the Dutch band's music. While many music reviewers and listeners have long described the band as Synthpop, I personally was able to glean a wealth of Progressive Rock influences in their music. The song arrangements and the synthesizer melodies reminded me of Progressive Rock bands such as Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Yes in particular. And because New Wave and Progressive Rock have long become my two most-favorite music genres, I came to love The Mo's music for that. I now really need to have copies of their albums!

The Ultimate New Wave Experience (vol. 5)

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Here's volume 5 of the compilation series of songs classifiable as New Wave that I started. 

01 The Boomtown Rats - Like Clockwork (1978)

02 The Cure - Grinding Halt (1979)

03 Split Enz - Give It a Whirl (1979)

04 The Glove - Like an Animal (1983)

05 The Armoury Show - A Sense of Freedom (1985)

06 Lulu Kiss Me Dead - The Ultimate Solution (1985)

07 Peter Coyle - Yours, the Spirit that Soared (1985)

08 Wire Train - Love, Love (1985)

09 Cactus World News - Years Later (1986)

10 Adrian Borland & the Citizens - Brittle Heaven (1992)

11 Rumblefish - What You Do to Me (1992)

12 Antarctica - Absence (1999)

13 Fine China - For All Centuries (2000)

14 Bad Lieutenant - Shine like the Sun (2009)

15 Elephant Stone - I Am Blind (2009)

16 Freebass - It's Not Too Late (2010)

17 Ocean Blue - Sad Night, Where Is Morning (2013)

18 The Primitives - Lose the Reason (2014)

Get it here!

If you enjoyed the set, then start checking out the discography of each of the bands featured in this compilation. Support the artists by listening to all their albums and songs.

New Wave music is not entirely rooted in Punk Rock

Contrary to a popular belief that was based on the claim of many music journalists, New Wave music is not entirely rooted in the American and English Punk Rock music that originated in the mid-'70s via bands like The Ramones and Sex Pistols. An immense number of what came to be regarded also as New Wave took their cue from the '60s Art Rock, Folk Rock, Baroque Pop, and Psychedelic Rock of bands/artists like Pink Floyd, Soft Boys, Love, David Bowie, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and even The Beatles--at least in a musical perspective.

To think that the thousands of bands whose music has become classifiable as New Wave originated from only the small contingent of '70s Punk Rock bands apparently triggered by The Ramones in New York, USA, and Sex Pistols in London, England, in the early to mid-'70s is a ridiculously narrowminded perspective. 

Examples of bands whose respective music has also been considered part of the genre New Wave that are more musically related to the finesse of '60s Art Rock and Baroque Pop than to the abrasiveness of '70s Punk Rock:

China Crisis, Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians, The Pale Fountains, The Lotus Eaters, Care, This Final Frame, Spandau Ballet, The Lightning Seeds

Aha! a-ha!

(The Return of a-ha...Again)

Formed in Oslo, Norway, in 1982, the band a-ha--led by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Morten Harket, and Magne Furuholmen--had disbanded five years ago. A sad news especially for those who love a-ha's music, which may be classified as New Wave / Synthpop.

Many New Wave enthusiasts certainly have in their collection a-ha's debut album, Hunting High and Low (1985), where the band's most popular songs may be found--such as "Take on Me," "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.," and "Love Is Reason."

However, to those who have a longer attention span and who are able to follow the development of a-ha and New Wave music in general, a-ha is more than this first album; a-ha's studio discography is actually comprised by nine albums:

Hunting High and Low (1985)
Scoundrel Days (1986)
Stay on These Roads (1988)
East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990)
Memorial Beach (1993)
Minor Earth, Major Sky (2000)
Lifelines (2002)
Analogue (2005)
Foot of the Mountain (2009)

And while many fans thought that the last album was indeed the final one, here comes a great news item that says the trio have decided recently to reunite once again not only for a tour but also with a new album in the works (entitled Cast of Steel), slated for release in September 2015.

I'm excited. This should not be surprising. After all, what fan of a-ha, or New Wave music for that matter, will not be stoked about this?

To those who wanted to catch up before the release of the 10th album, I recommend the following compilation, The Ultimate a-ha Discography Experience, which is comprised by two of my most favorite songs off each album.

"Living a Boy's Adventure Tale"
"The Sun Always Shines on T.V."
"We're Looking for the Whales"
"Maybe, Maybe"
"Touchy!"
"You Are the One"
"Early Morning"
"Waiting for Her"
"Dark Is the Night for All"
"Angel in the Snow"
"Velvet"
"The Sun Never Shone That Day"
"Afternoon High"
"Dragonfly"
"Don't Do Me Any Favours"
"Analogue (All I Want)"
"Riding the Crest"
"Real Meaning"

Eu-reka!

The music of a-ha has been classified as New Wave, Synthpop, and Pop Rock. With the band's nine-album discography, the suggested genres are indeed befitting. However, what gives a-ha's music its best distinctive characteristics are Harket's wide-ranging silky voice, Furuholmen's melodic keyboards and synthesizers, Waaktaar's subtle guitar parts, and the band's overall flare for writing songs with meticulous arrangement and instrumentation infused with strong pop sensibilities and penchant for soaring and catchy choruses.

Final Note
This year is the 30th anniversary of Hunting High and Low, a-ha's first album, which certainly continues to enjoy a 'no-skip, repeat-mode' treatment from any New Wave music enthusiast. Let's celebrate the Norwegian band's music by listening to it now on our respective media players...

And by purchasing a copy of the new album when it finally comes out in September 2015.

Writing Album Reviews

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Writing album reviews excite me very much. It obliges me to listen to music--whether new or old--in a very objective manner and in a more focused and multidimensional approach.

I began writing professionally as early as in my highschool days, in the mid-'80s, that if we would consider writing for the school paper professional writing. After all, there was a chief editor who ensured we followed grammatical standards, so I supposed that it counted. My passion for writing, which really started when I was six years old--by way of listing things that amused and interested me in that little journal that my father gave me--became a lifelong preoccupation--both professionally and as a hobby.

In my university days, I contributed articles and poetry for school papers as well as for national publications and music magazines. When I was already working, I also had the chance to start and write for the corporate newsletter of the company where I worked. I also made newsletters of my own that I distributed to friends and acquaintances, almost similar to fanzines, only that the contents were more professionally written, grammatically speaking.

However, my life as a proper, professional writer really began when I got hired at Diwa Scholastic Press in 2000. I handled academic textbooks and magazines on Science & Technology and English Grammar & Literature specifically.

Here in Canada, where I have been living since 2003, my writing flare simply continued. I have been maintaining a number of columns in the local community newspaper Filipino Journal since 2006. I have also been able to maintain my blogspots for my other more personal writings and other literary interests. But these are just hobbies of mine, for my fulltime work is really as a nursing aide at a hospital or health center.

Writing simply makes my day exciting and worth living. Through this, I am able to express the countless ideas floating in my restless head every day.

Now, back to writing music reviews...

Recently, I've embarked again on writing music reviews professionally. So far, I've written six articles for the websites Jazz Corner and All about Jazz and three articles for CrypticRock.

Michael Sarian - Subtitles (2014)
Sehrang - Dar Lahze (2014)
J.Q. Whitcomb & Five Below - Tales of Enchantment (2014)
Apostle Fractal - The Ichabod Suite (2012)
Rija - Silent Heart (2013)
Ross Prior - Heavy Sheddin' (2014)

Simple Minds - Big Music (2014)
Morrissey - World Peace Is None of Your Business (2014)
Midge Ure - Fragile (2014)

The Ultimate New Wave Experience (vol. 4)

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Here's volume 4 of the series of compilation of songs classifiable as New Wave that I started. Choosing the songs to be included in each volume is both challenging and engaging. Foremost, I ensure that the style of music flows smoothly from song to song, to further illustrate that the genre of music that has long become New Wave really has identifiable characteristics.

As usual, I picked three songs for each decade except the '80s, which has six.

01 Nick Lowe - (I Love the Sound Of) Breaking Glass (1978)

02 The Knack - Oh Tara (1979)

03 The Slits - Typical Girls (1979)

04 B-Movie - Switch On Switch Off (1985)

05 Cyndi Lauper - The Goonies 'R' Good Enough (1985)

06 Indochine - A l'Assaut (Des Ombres Sur l'O) (1985)

07 Eyeless in Gaza - Welcome Now (1986)

08 10,000 Maniacs - Like the Weather (1987)

09 The Sugarcubes - Motorcrash (1988)

10 9 Ways to Sunday - Restless (1990)

11 The Sundays - Hideous Towns (1990)

12 Shelleyan Orphan - Burst (1992)

13 Camera Obscura - I Don't Do Crowds (2001)

14 Trashcan Sinatras - It's a Miracle (2004)

15 The Magic Numbers - Forever Lost (2005)

16 Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work (2010)

17 The Cranberries - Tomorrow (2012)

18 Morrissey - Staircase at the University (2014)

Notes:
The Knack is not only about "My Sharona." It's about time to revisit the band's music. "Oh Tara" is actually a far more romantic fast ballad.

Cyndi Lauper may have been associated more with Pop music, but much of her early outputs were obviously oozing with New Wave sensibilities. 

Compare the introductory interlude of B-Movie's "Switch On Switch Off" with that of Cyndi Lauper's "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough."

The Philippine FM radio station WXB102 used to play Indochine's "A l'Assaut" and Eyeless in Gaza's "Welcome Now" back-to-back. Every time I play them now, I get suck back to 1986.

I got to discover 10,000 Maniacs and The Sugarcubes already in the late '80s, via another Philippine FM radio station, NU107.

Many people automatically think of "Here's Where the Story Ends" when asked about The Sundays. This is the reason I picked a different song for this compilation.

If the music of The Sundays may be regarded as New Wave, then why couldn't the music of Shelleyan Orphan, Camera Obscura, and The Cranberries?

Many fans have long forgotten The Cranberries. To them, the band is only "Dreams," "Linger," and "Zombie." To me, I do my homework--I keep myself updated. If you've been doing your homework too, then you shouldn't miss "Tomorrow."

Personally, Morrissey's latest album is the best, lyrically it's still Morrissey being Morrissey; but musically, the songs are more well-structured and the instrumentation is more intricate. 

GET them here and listen to the songs yourself.

Fixx Me with Your Secret Reformation

(On the Return of The Fixx)

by aLfie vera mella

The Fixx is a British band that became popular during the peak of New Wave music in the 1980s for the singles "Red Skies," "Secret Separation," and "One Thing Leads to Another."

The band disappeared from the commercial radar as the 1990s loomed, just like many other New Wave bands before and after them; but unbeknownst to many, The Fixx has released albums in the ensuing decades.

In 2012, The Fixx returned with an album of new materials—with the classic lineup of Cy Curnin (lead vocals), Rupert Greenall (keyboards), Jamie West-Oram (guitar), Adam Woods (drums), and Dan K. Brown (bass). Entitled Beautiful Friction, the 10th album was their first since 2003.

The Fixx has so far released 10 studio albums.

The first single off Beautiful Friction was “Anyone Else,” which sounded unmistakably New Wave—owing to the repetitive staccato guitar melody in the intro, the slow buildup of the rest of the instruments, the synth sound in the background, and the distinct vocals that conjure a nostalgic image of familiar red skies. Other songs from the album that I personally liked were “Just before Dawn,” “What God?”, “Second Time Around,” and “Follow That Cab.” The overall music of The Fixx shared a similar feel with that of fellow New Wave bands like U2, Simple Minds, and Babybird.

"Anyone Else" is the first single off the latest album of The Fixx ( Beautiful Friction, 2012).

The complete studio-album discography of The Fixx is as follows: Shuttered Room (1982), Reach the Beach (1983), Phantoms (1984), Walkabout (1986), Calm Animals (1988), Ink (1991), Elemental (1998), 1011 Woodland (1999), Want That Life (2003), and Beautiful Friction (2012).

The Fixx in 1982, with a performance of their classic single "Red Skies"

Another personal favorite The Fixx song, "Secret Separation"

Here's perhaps the most popular song of The Fixx, "One Thing Leads to Another."

Final Note

The college friends Curnin and Woods formed The Portraits in 1979. After recruiting additional members, they changed their name to The Fix; then became The Fixx through the suggestion of the recording company that signed them—to dissociate the band’s name from the drug innuendo of the word fix.

Songs for Moonlit Nights by The Rain (plus bonus tracks)

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In 2006, my former bandmate in Half Life Half Death, our lead guitar player and cosongwriter Rain Paggao released independently a full album of original songs with a couple covers using the band name The Rain. In the album, entitled Girl in Mind, he played all the instruments and sang most of the songs. Some songs were sung by his brother, JB Paggao. The album included Rain's solo guitar instrumental version of the song "More to Lose" by Seona Dancing. Fancying it, I asked Rain if I could make a version of it by adding keyboard and vocal tracks. He said yes. So, I made a new version of the said song. In addition to that, Rain and I collaborated on another song, an original, "My Brilliant Friend." We worked together using the moniker Half Moon Half Rain. The original plan was for us to finish a full album, but we failed to pursue it.

Feeling that the two songs we made together might just be lost in musical oblivion, I have now decided to repackage his solo album, change the album title, and include two songs we made as Half Moon Half Rain.

Perhaps the only recorded rearrangement of the song "More to Lose" by Seona Dancing; this was me on vocals and keyboards and Rain Paggao on guitar, as Half Moon Half Rain. 

I am planning to release this properly on physical CDs soon. In the meantime, I want to share a digital copy of this new project of mine. 

Songs for Moonlit Nights

by The Rain

(with Half Moon Half Rain)

01 Ben's Magic

02 Girl in Mind

03 Singing My Pain Away

04 The Ghost in You

05 I, Sisyphus (instrumental)

06 Pourin' Rain

07 Cold Rooms

08 Perfect Moment

09 Shouldn't Spoil the Day

10 More to Lose (instrumental)

11 Games

12 Back to the Old House

13 I Won't Be There

14 Pilgrim (instrumental)

15 My Brilliant Friend (by Half Moon Half Rain)

16 More to Lose (Cold mix) (by Half Moon Half Rain)

original album recorded in 2006

tracks 1-12, 13-14: recorded by The Rain
tracks 15-16: by Half Moon Half Rain

"The Ghost in You" was originally by The Psychedelic Furs
"More to Lose" was originally by Seona Dancing
"Back to the Old House" was originally by The Smiths

tracks 1-3, 5, 7-9, 11, 13-14: written/composed by Rain Paggao
tracks 2, 6: written by Rain Paggao and JB Paggao
track 15: written by aLfie vera mella

guest vocals on track 12: Rudolph "Pogz" Paz of Dead Pop Stars, of which Paggao became also the guitar player
vocals and keyboards on tracks 15, 16: aLfie vera mella
vocals on 2, 3, 6: JB Paggao
vocals on the rest of the songs: Rain Paggao

a modified version of the album in CD format will be released soon.

GET a digital copy of Songs for Moonlit Nights by The Rain.

'The Woes of Emong Payaso' (2006) by haLf man haLf eLf

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I was the lead of vocalist of the Filipino Alternative Rock band Half Life Half Death (1988-2003; 2012), which was able to release one full album, Pymyth Prahn (1995, Viva Records). Some of our songs that enjoyed respectable radio airplay on a number of FM radio stations in the 1990s included "Alimango," "Kapit-Tuko," "Butterflies," and our original arrangement of the Filipino traditional Pop ballad "High School (Life)" (sung by Sharon Cuneta, written by George Canseco).

Half Life Half Death, in 1994

We disbanded for good in 2003 when I immigrated to Canada.

After a few years in Canada, I met some fellow musicians who inspired and helped me pursue again making and playing music. With the help especially of a new friend, I was able to make my first musical project in Canada.

The Making of and the Components of The Woes of Emong Payaso
My first musical project in Canada was the EP entitled The Woes of Emong Payaso. I released it under the name haLf man haLf eLf, in collaboration with a multi-instrumentalist friend, Abelardo Sarao. We recorded the project using his recording equipment in his home basement. Instruments that we used were guitars, bass, synthesizer, keyboards, and drum machine. We rendered the string, horn sections, and other sounds and effects using a synthesizer.

I practically composed most of the melodies and came up with the conceptual and the instrumental structure of the song. I did the vocal and keyboard tracks, while Sarao did the rest. I made the cover design. Additionally, in keeping with the female/child vocal bit part style that I used in many of the songs of Half Life Half Death, I also invited a female friend (Karen Capuno) to render the female vocals and the son of a former schoolmate friend (Grace Abratique-Jiao) to provide the kid's voice. Capuno was also living in Canada, whereas Abratique in the U.S. so we exchanged files via email.

I also used a vocal melody line from the Filipino song "Sana" (originally written and sung by Florante de Leon; popularised by a version by Kristina Paner); as well as a melody from "Send In the Clowns" (written by Stephen Sondheim for the 1973 musical A Little Night Music).

The EP is comprised by one long 14-minute song, conceptually divided into 4 parts. The main song, segment #3, was actually a reworking of an old song ("Buhay-Karnabal") that I wrote in 1999 when I was still a member of an obscure Filipino band named Dream Kitchen.

The Woes of Emong Payaso
by haLf man haLf eLf 
(eLf ideas / Kalabasa Records, 2006)

1. Mahiwagang sapatos ni Emong Payaso
2. Parang karnabal--ganyan ang buhay ng tao
3. Tuluy-tuloy ang palabas sa entablado
4. Sa likod ng bawat tagumpay ay kalbaryo 

This is especially interesting for music enthusiasts whose favorite genres are New Wave, Classical, and Progressive Rock and who have patience in listening to music with focus on instrumentation.

Get a digital copy of the EP for free.

The Ultimate New Wave Experience (vol. 3)

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Here is volume THREE of the compilation series that I started to illustrate the development and existence of what many music enthusiasts regard now as New Wave music. Some of the songs included in this series may not necessarily be New Wave proper, but their sonic characteristics qualify them to be considered closely related to or extensions or offshoots of the broad genre. After all, many artists regarded as New Wave may fall also under other genres or subgenres, especially those who have released so many albums and have explored different musical styles. Furthermore, their respective music has sonic similarities with their predecessors or was most likely offshoots, albeit in a musical sense, of the Art Rock, Baroque Pop, or even Psychedelic Rock of the earlier decades.

At the end of the music appreciation, genres are but mere guidelines made available by music reviewers like me to help listeners make their music listening experience more organized, focused, and enjoyable. I am not imposing anything here; I am the type of music reviewer who is just merely describing, guiding, and suggesting; and most of all, sharing my musical taste and keenness for sound details with fellow enthusiasts.

01 David Bowie - 'Heroes' (1977)
02 The Records - Starry Eyes (1979)
03 Bruce Woolley & the Camera Club - Video Killed the Radio Star (1979)
04 The Go-Betweens - Head Full of Steam (1986)
05 Stan Ridgway - The Big Heat (1986)
06 The Bolshoi - T.V. Man (1987)
07 Immaculate Fools - Tragic Comedy (1987)
08 The Jesus & Mary Chain - Darklands (1987)
09 Railway Children - Over and Over (1988)
10 The Church - Metropolis (1990)
11 Deep Blue Something - Breakfast at Tiffany's (1993)
12 Love Spit Love - Am I Wrong? (1994)
13 The Mission U.K. - Happy (2001)
14 The Cure - Taking Off (2004)
15 Echo & the Bunnymen - Everlasting Neverendless (2009)
16 The Cars - Blue Tip (2011)
17 Ultravox - Brilliant (2012)
18 Robyn Hitchcock - Strawberries Dress (2013)

Notes:
1) The sonically observant would notice the similarity in the vocal melody of The Jesus & Mary Chain's "Darklands" with David Bowie's "'Heroes'," especially the introductory part.

2) Stan Ridgway was the original vocalist of the band Wall of Voodoo; I noticed a vocal similarity in his voice and musical approach with that of The Bolshoi's Trevor Tanner.

3) Many music enthusiasts think that The Buggles' version of "Video Killed the Radio Star" was the original; while the song was actually written collaboratively by Bruce Woolley with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, both of whom eventually formed The Buggles, it was Woolley who first released a recording of it (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) via the debut album (English Garden, 1979) of his own band. The Buggles' version was released already in 1980, as part of the album The Age of Plastic.

4) Love Spit Love was a band formed in the 1990s by Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs.

5) I used the genre "New Wave" only as an umbrella to cover almost everything from Synthpop, Gothic, Post-punk, to Indie Pop and even Britpop and some melodic Alternative Rock. Nothing imposing; just merely suggesting.

Enjoy the New Wave music experience!

Sample the compilation; if you liked the songs, hunt for the albums where the individual songs came from.

The Metamorphosis of "Butterflies"

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Butterflies" is included in my former band Half Life Half Death's one-and-only solo album, Pymyth Prahn (1995, VIVA Records / Neo label). That was the song most beloved not only by all of us members of the band but also by many people who have had the chance to listen to it either at any of our live performances in the past or on their cassette or CD players.

A video of Half Life Half Death's original song "Butterflies," made by the band's bass player Ramil Aznar.

I don't know the exact reason many people were enthralled by "Butterflies"; perhaps because of the wonderful, violin-sounding guitar tracks that complemented the seemingly jaded vocal parts, the combination of which resulted in a melancholic mood of the song. So, how did "Butterflies" come about?

April 1995, at the backyard of our former house in Carmel Subdivision, Project 6, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

OVUM

The year was 1993, Half Life Half Death was in a lackluster stage—primarily because each member was busy with his/her own professional work/job and also because the Philippine music scene during the period was dominated by Grunge-influenced bands.

Despite being represented by the presence of bands like The Cranberries ("Dreams," "Linger," "Ode to My Family"), The Cure ("Friday, I'm in Love," "High," "Letter to Elise"), New Order ("Regret"), Toad the Wet Sprocket ("All I Want"), New Wave music was silently lurking in the scene's shadows.

Half Life Half Death was less active during that period, save for a few small-venue and get-together gigs.

One early morning after breakfast, while on a sleepover at our rhythm guitarist Pet's house in Sucat, Parañaque, Metro Manila, I took my pen and journal to jot down a few phrases which suddenly popped up in my mind. Intending to compose a poem, I wrote the following verses:

The sky is cool

Cool as your eyes

Rainbow smiles

Butterflies

I believe that these lovely lines were inspired by my fondness for the book Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus (©1972), my copy of which I have been reading occasionally since discovering it in the late '80s.

Pet saw what I was writing; he got his acoustic guitar and strummed some chords.

Strum...strum...strum... Along the strums I began to hum as I went on adding some more lines to the poem...

There they soar high in the skies

The only hope for flowers now to bloom

You're the only reason for my existence

So fly, fly me high with all your love and persistence

"That would be the chorus," Pet said with an excited look in his eyes.

April 21, 1991, Pet and I and the rest of Half Life Half Death; first ever gig at Club Dredd on Timog Avenue, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

After several hours of singing, strumming, and cutting words and lines from the lyric to fit the measure, we finished a new song I initially called "Butterflies die in silence." I eventually dropped the "die in silence" because, at that time, I usually preferred one-word titles. Given the chance to travel back in that specific moment, I would revert the song's title to the original, which to me now has an introspectively darker and more melancholic effect.

CATERPILLAR

On the next band practice, Pet and I presented the song to the rest of the band. As always, Rain, our lead guitarist, brought home a cassette-recorded copy of what Pet and I were able to compose. After a few days, during the next jam—Rain amazed us all with the stellar guitar sounds that he was able to weave, to complement the sadness of the song. Ramil, on the other hand, made his presence felt by concocting a haunting bass intro, which eventually became the song's memorable backdrop. For his part, Bimbo succeeded in complementing Ramil's basslines by weaving a tom-tom-based drumbeats.

After we had finished arranging "Butterflies" and two more compositions, "Alimango" and "A Feast in Pastel Castle," we excitedly planned for the studio recording of the songs.

In 1995, at a gig at Mayric's Music Bar, on España Avenue, Manila, Philippines (Rain, Bimbo, aLfie, and Ramil)

We finally recorded the songs at Greenhills Sound Studio in San Juan, Metro Manila. I could very well remember the childlike smiles on our faces when we finally got to listen to the final mixed copy of the songs. "This is it!" I remember myself uttering to Pet.

We submitted copies of the songs to DWLA 105.1, a now-defunct FM radio station based in Metro Manila that supported local Alternative bands by playing their independently released recordings and interviewing them on-air.

CHRYSALIS

LA 105 first played "Butterflies" in 1994. To our surprise, it got a fairly positive reaction from many listeners, amidst the domination of songs with Filipino lyrics during the decade. In fact, according to one of the station’s DJs, he got calls from listeners’ inquiring about the song because they thought it was a foreign song, so they were wondering what band was it from.

In retrospect, "Butterflies" and "Alimango"—aside from our version of Sharon Cuneta / George Canseco's "High School (Life)," which perfectly defined our band's history—were the songs that really gave Half Life Half Death the chance to return into and soar again amidst the highly competitive Alternative-music scene in the ’90s. We formed in 1987, but by the early ’90s we were already jaded and hopeless of ever going on. So, the opportunity LA 105 gave our band was really a turning point for all of us.

In 1995, at another gig at Mayric's, with our female vocalist Carol Pobre, who at the time joined the pageant Binibining Pilipinas '95, winning the first runnerup place

Perhaps if not for the airplay of our songs on LA 105, we would have disbanded much earlier without having the chance to contribute at least an album to Philippine music history. Despite failing to achieve what many Philippine bands before and after us had achieved, I am still glad: My band Half Life Half Death left the scene but not without leaving a legacy of songs—obscure or popular these songs might be.

The Catalyst

The book I used as a springboard in writing "Butterflies," Hope for the Flowers is the tale of the caterpillars Stripe and Yellow, who yearn for something more from life than eating leafs and growing bigger. They get caught up in a 'caterpillar pillar,' a squirming mass of bodies, each determined to reach a top so far away it can't be seen. Finally disillusioned, they discover that the way for caterpillars to find their particular 'more'—who they really are—is to enweave themselves in cocoons eventually to emerge as beautiful butterflies.

I wrote the lyrics of "Butterflies" for an old friend of mine, Quelle Gutierrez.

Butterflies

lyric: aLfie vera mella

music: mella, de Jesus, Paggao, Aznar, Ballesteros

The sky is blue

The sky is cool

Cool as your eyes

Rainbow smiles

Butterflies

The prairie's soft

Soft as your skin

Fuchsia dreams

Butterflies

There they soar high in the sky

The only hope for flowers now to bloom

You're the only reason for my existence

So fly, fly me high with all your love and persistence

siahl frettåb, o'lieh

Butterflies die in silence

Sweet caress touching dreams

Far away they may seem

Gentle strokes of your wings

Seven-eleven, heaven

There they soar high in the purple skies

The only hope for flowers now to bloom

You're the only reason for my existence

Fly high, butterfly, against all resistance

Now fly...

Blue is the sky

The sky is your eyes

Smiling rainbows

Butterflies

Blushing dreams

Touch me to sleep

Transcend me

Away from here

There they soar high in the sky like dreams

The only hope for dreamers now to fly away

You're the only reason for my very existence

Fly high, fly me high with all your love and persistence

Fly...with all your love and persistence

Fly...against all resistance

During my first vacation in the Philippines in January-February 2012, Half Life Half Death had a number of reunion gigs, one of which was a stint during the set of fellow Filipino Alternative Rock band Color It Red at Tiendesitas, Pasig City, Philippines

Credits

vocals / sound effects: aLfie vera mella

lead guitars / keyboards / backing vocals: Rainald "Rain" Paggao

rhythm guitars / backing vocals: Ruperto "Pet" de Jesus

bass / backing vocals: Ramil Aznar

drums / percussion: Robert "Bimbo" Ballesteros

female's voice: Caroline "Carol" Pobre

child's voice: Jade de Jesus (Pet's nephew)

from the album Pymyth Prahn, 1995, Viva Records / Neo label

Executive Producer: Jett Pangan

Record Producers: Half Life Half Death, Francis Reyes, and Jim Sarthou

Sound Engineer: Jim Sarthou

Recorded in late 1994 at JR Studios, Makati City, Metro Manila

DOWNLOAD (courtesy of the owner of the song) an MP3 file of "Butterflies"--the album version plus the unedited demo version.