Episode 1 (The panting menace)

From Okinawa to Taipei at a perfect 26 degrees....Manila Airport...the last door on the way out ...final baggage number check...as I stepped out from the last guard, the last continuity of my flight, whoooshhh the heat~~~ tangina and inniiiiiitttt!!!!!!! (sonofabitchy hottt!!!(I dont curse..but this time it was even an understatement).

Well, its Manila's way of saying "welcome my prodigal son, welcome to the hard reality of your past". "Sir mineral water??" a stranger blurted. "Taxi Sir??" I nodded, "Thank you Sir...a few gifts from your kindness would suffice for our mid-day snack"..the porter said in a rehersed tone. I gave him $2.00. As I eased myself in the cab, I requested for the AC to be in full blast, the driver replied "todo na po ser" (its in the max sir, ..honorifics included) then a funky slogan plays in the radio "kailangan pa ba ime-morize yan"..then the slogan is rejoined with a jingle.... a jingle that will eventually haunt me to all my taxi-riding days in Manila. Day one, objective: get to my buddy's place before i get killed with the high-speed, non-regulated driving in EDSA, or dehydration... whichever comes first.

New Order / Waiting for the Siren's Call


They're back!! they might be gramps now but heck you cant tell the difference. I heard "Krafty" when I was shopping at a shoe depo and I was like.. eyyy thats my band...(like its mine)...which album?? ... then it struck me...could it be... no, really could it be???

As soon as I got home I frantically searched for NO fresh released album...and there it was. Dernit! Its been more than 25 years... i wonder what their grandchildren think...grampa has a techno what??? or...my grampa plays the bass in New Order..cool!! and these guys can still kick techno-post punk music. I immediately scheduled my after-work hours to a CD quest at Book Box or Tsutaya Music for this album...dang! in Japan...what are the chances of them havin it....zero.

Luckily, this week my girlfriend went on one of her Tokyo trips, having access to US mil PX, she managed to find it..fforward >>... After downloading it to my iPod, I let it blow on my PC speakers ...whew, unmistakenly New Order, the familiar bass melody and rhytm guitar, the techno punk effects, electronic drum beats and that close-to-wailing-off-tune voice of Bernard Sumner. It was just like any other NEW Order album, un-aging, worth every penny, uneasy to get sick of and fun...its like "Techno-kids, I am your Father" music.

I cant share my glee enough with my peers...what peers?? Im in Japan. Im surrounded by older-than-me people who thinks Hawaiian music is Jazz, I have a few younger-than-me friends... but they think anything from the 80s is a Classic. Suddenly I find myself in my mom's shoes as she tries to convince me that the Beatles is the coolest ever. period.

The Cure, New Order...the 80s - this was my era. .. as the 60s, 70s, 90s, etc. .were for other people. My music is welded in me, no matter how good the old were and the new ones become, the music that I grew up with will always be the best. It doesnt just bring me back old memories, it confirms my bonafide membership to the world...which there was an era I can proudly say that I belong. Confirming Existence. Check.