wise men say, "only fools rush in"

x-posted from my lj.

So, as the "corollary", as my brother leiron put it, to my best friend's post, I'll post my Top 10 Songs the Pope Has To Hear [Immediately].

However, my list almost doesn't look anything like his, and is more concentrated on a smaller number of artists.

And so, it begins:

10. Chicago - Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?
From the album The Chicago Transit Authority

"Does anybody really know what time it is? / Does anybody really care? / If so I can't imagine why / We've all got time enough to cry"

This song is here to let the Pope know that rock songs are not just emotional, but also socially conscious. So, does anybody really know what time it is?

9. Audioslave - Show Me How To Live
From the album Audioslave

"Nail in my hand / From my creator / You gave me life / Now show me how to live"

A song sung by a lost soul. What is life when you don't know how to live it? So you turn and ask how to live.

8. Roger Taylor/Queen - Heaven for Everyone
From the album Shove It/Made In Heaven

"This could be heaven for everyone / This world could be fed, this world could be fun / This could be heaven for everyone / This world could be free, this world could be one"

Like another Queen song goes, "peace on earth, and an end to war." World peace, everyone. Oh, how Satanic the message!

7. Eagles - Learn To Be Still
From the album Hell Freezes Over

"We are like sheep without a shepherd / We don't know how to be alone / So we wander 'round this desert / And wind up following the wrong gods home"

We, as a people, are never satisfied with what we have, admit it or not. This is why we constantly complain, constantly wish for something more, in turn, constantly forsaking what we already have. Dear Pope, could you get that from any "Satanic" rock band?

6. The Who - A Man in a Purple Dress
From the album Endless Wire

"How dare you be the one to assess / Me in this godforsaken mess / You, a man in a purple dress / A man in a purple dress"

Okay, maybe not the best song to play for the Pope, but it's one of the most humbling. The song questions why people have to be of cloth just to be called men of God. More like, why do we have to listen to the Pope when he says all rock is bad?

5. Queen - Jesus
From the album Queen

"Then came a man before His feet he fell / Unclean said the leper and rang his bell / Felt the palm of a hand touch his head / Go now go now you're a new man instead / All going down to see the Lord Jesus"

This one I'm sure His Holiness will like. It's a pretty straightforward song, made up of parts of the Gospel. I can imagine it now: "But the lead singer's gay!"

4. The Beatles - All You Need Is Love
From the album Magical Mystery Tour

"All you need is love, love / love is all you need."

Now if the Beatles were "demonic", all instances of the word "love" would be replaced with "war".

3. Eagles - The Last Resort
From the album Hotel California

"Some rich men came and raped the land, / Nobody caught 'em / Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, / people bought 'em"

The demonic band is telling us that we're raping the Earth. However, a true demonic band would encourage us, not warn us.

2. The Who - Two Thousand Years
From the album Endless Wire

"Two thousand years / Have I waited / To ask if I have loved you /To know if I have served you / To find if I've obeyed you / To know if I've betrayed you"

A song somewhat from Judas's point of view. It's a kind of song that makes theologians think: did Judas really betray Jesus or was it all part of Jesus's intricate plan to save all humanity by dying for us? He also has to wait another two thousand years for people to actually think about that explanation, since, you know, medieval thinking is quite narrow-minded.

1. Queen - Somebody to Love
From the album A Day at the Races

"I get down on my knees and start to pray / Till the tears run down from my eyes / Lord, somebody, somebody / Please can anybody find me, somebody to love?"

I wonder what got the Pope thinking that all of rock is evil. Sure, you hear one anti-Christ song and you apparently hear them all singing the same song. But this is not the case, friends! Of all the band's catalogue I have never heard a song that sang about the devil. No, in fact, Somebody to Love is actually a prayer in itself.

If anyone has anything to add, feel free.

losing my edge

one summer night, after watching RV (jojoooo...) we went into a nearby borders (for the uninitiated, that's a chain of bookstores in the US). funny thing is that while borders is indeed a bookstore, they sell music cds as well. however, that's not my point.

so i went to the store's second floor and quickly found the books about wrestlers. (it's annoying how our bookstores don't have a lot of books in that genre.) browsing through the autobiographies of HHH, shawn michaels, eddie guerrero (which i vow to purchase when i return to the US), and ric flair, i thought i would never find what i was looking for, until...

i found it, sitting there in the shelf, lost in other books, what seemed to be the last copy of "adam copeland on edge", edge's autobiography! it was in paperback (i always wanted it hardbound) but what the hell, who cares!

once i found the book i could not drop it. i immediately went out and bought it. i was enthralled with it, and quickly found that the book's reviews were indeed true - it was fresh and down-to-earth, complimented by edge's writing style that is witty and untainted by technology (he wrote the whole thing in longhand, on paper). it was full of euphemisms and similes that just plain amused the hell out of me. trust me, it's a good read and i'd be willing to lend it to anyone who's interested.

the book would become my bible for the rest of the summer, eventually becoming the inspiration for my own writing style, before it was blunted by hundreds of essays on quizzes and long tests. (i used the "candid" writing style on every test that had an essay part back then... and then LCLE happened.)

and now, i want to incorporate that style again. summer is the time. i've got to practice and keep reading new material from edge, thanks to his blog which i've just discovered tonight. it's now.

'til then, friends.

turmowil

i know i turn 18 next year, but let me just say: when i do, i'm not gonna register myself as a voter.

i know political apathy is a bad thing, but i'm a pretty laid-back kinda guy and politics just stresses me out, especially with the political atmosphere here in the philippines - full of liars, thieves, and cheaters. let me tell you that the only liar, thief and cheater i adore is named eddie guerrero.

i will probably be like this until our generation takes over. i mean, until the system doesn't change, until the old folks remain on top, there will be little, if any, good change in this country. sadly, for one good person in government there are a hell of a lot more people taking money that is supposedly for the country.

haay, politics. there are better things to worry about in life.

radio ga ga

Thank you for your comments about DWLS and we commend your loyalty and patronage of its former format. The decision to change our programming was based on research studies and was driven by the objective of reaching a bigger audience. As a matter of fact, DWLS has lost a significant amount of revenue from advertisers who were supportive of the previous format. GMA Network is absorbing that revenue loss only because it is in exchange for providing more listeners with programming that research shows they prefer. We respect and thank you for your strong disagreement with our decision but we hope that it will somehow be tempered by your knowing that DWLS now provides listening fun to more listeners. And we certainly hope and wish for you to continue enjoying radio no matter what station you listen to.

All the best.

Mike Enriquez
GMA Network, Inc.
Senior Vice-President For Radio

of course, the need to reach bigger audiences is due to the need for more revenue. it's always been that way, hasn't it?

why can't they be the rock in a raging river and stand against the flow? must they really conform with the rest of the horrible stations? what makes them think that they will attract new audiences when such audiences have already a lot of crap to choose from? their [former] loyal fanbase would account for a lot more than "new audiences".

the move to remove what was their only strength against abs-cbn was a move of stupid greed. it didn't do anything but raise even more negative sentiments towards gma. i mean, it's already considered the b-channel of the country with what used to be the a-radio station.

quoting freddie mercury, "all we hear is radio ga ga, radio blah blah."

we really need a classic rock station, folks. 96.3, 97.9, nor 107.1 (is it that? i'm not sure) isn't going to cut it. we need the pillars of rock.