music much maligned

picture this.

you're sleeping soundly late into the morning, dreaming about the girl you like, just plain dozing off. it's quiet in your room, with only the aircon softly buzzing, but that does nothing to wake you up. you're halfway through your dream when suddenly, in your sleeping state, you hear the first few notes of a somewhat decent-produced song blaring from a megaphone, piercing the silence and bringing you to a state of being half-asleep. it's not the ice cream man, you think, while half-asleep, the song isn't simple. you then hear a familiar name thrown in amongst lyrics that heap loads of praise at someone you couldn't care less about.

you finally figure it out: this is a campaign jingle. you wake up, frustrated that the song rudely awakened you and you can't get back to sleep because, well, you're up.

honestly, philippines, is this what the so-called elections for your so-called government have come to? as if the tv ads, radio commercials, and endless flyers weren't enough, politicians are now tapping into the resource of music and turning songs that aren't already novelty into one more for the masa.

it was tolerable before. i mean, only the bigwigs used jingles, but emphasis was placed on advertisements. now, everyone and their mother who's running for office now has their very own jingle, either original or bastardized, and they're not afraid to send a truck to go around town and play the song as if anyone actually wants to listen. the really bad part about this phenomenon is that everyone, even those who are running for positions that no one really knew existed or gave a rat's ass about are apparently important enough to warrant their very own jingle.

it's as if this strategy was brought about by the concept of whoever has the most catchy tune gets the most votes. honestly, if that was true, then the state of the philippines is something to feel sorry about. but that's not the case. i know the filipino is smarter than that. LSS is not, should not, and will not be a means of winning elections.

don't even get me started on my personal tastes. one such politician butchered crazy little thing called love and i don't think what he's running for is that important.

i'm still waiting for the day when flash and flamboyance finally takes a back seat to true credibility in philippine politics. showmanship belongs to the arts, not the science of running a country. right now, the flash dominates the whole show, leaving substance as a lot to be imagined. this is why i refuse to participate in the elections until our generation takes over. at least, for the time being, that holds some sort of promise.

and for the record, the only politician who is worthy enough for the right to having a campaign jingle is president ramon magsaysay.