Voices
One third of our lives is probably spent searching for that one elusive thing referred to as voice. This even gave birth to the well-celebrated theme in pop culture - the coming of age. As for me, I was Dorothy, Holden Caulfield, Toru Watanabe and William Miller were my Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion. We’re all off to see the Wizard who’s supposed to make us braver and more clever, but not necessarily wiser.
But as I accumulated birthdays, the pastiche of pages from my teen magazines saying “Be yourself.” (in red Futura Extra Bold) wore out of its potency. The recent years were of shock, struggle and eventually, acceptance (some may see it as giving up) that real life is a long winding road made of bricks of compromise.
I came to realize that having a voice is not enough anymore. Sadly, sometimes, my voice can work against me. And no matter how brilliantly Dave Grohl defends me, the Christina Aguileras, Adam Levines and other American Idol judges (I’m mixing my references, aren’t I?) of real life will still find my flaws and “immaturities”.
Thank God for music though. Thank you, Fiona Apple and Zooey Deschanel. Constantly listening to both of you guided me to the answer - modulation. My voice is too valuable for me to just throw away (I’m not as stupid as Little Mermaid!) so I’d rather learn how to modulate it. As much as I want to stay Machiavellian, I’m figuring it’s less painful to get to the end you want with a well-modulated means. Sometimes, singing your life song in soprano sounds like a whine.
I’ll be singing in alto from now on.
***
But let me thank one of my heroes, Dave Grohl, for making growing up more exciting though sharing with you these free iPhone and desktop wallpapers. Spread the inspiration!
Musical Time Machine: After All This Time by Itchyworms
I always believed that just like how water refracts light, that is how the heart perceives time. The heart doesn’t recognize chronology, it may only knows two things: stability and brokenness. And we don’t realize it, but the heart could be the time traveling vehicle we’ve all fantasized all along.
Even just by hearing the intro of Itchyworms’ new single After All This Time, I can’t help but get transposed to my vague memories of the 80’s. (I’m born in ’87 but I’ve lived vicariously through John Hughes’ films. Some Kind Of Wonderful is my favorite.) But this musical DeLorian just didn’t take me back to the 80’s, it took me back to the most painful heartbreak of my life. And it’s no aged film, every memory is Blu-ray clear.
But every thing (and every person) has its limits - even heartbreak. After all, a heartbreak is just a memory. Yes, you can come back to it any time you want but there’s nothing you can change about it. You can only navigate your life now and the decisions you will make, pixels that make a clearer picture of the future. Like what Ely Buendia’s character in the movie San Lazaro said:
Thus, make art.
Make art that could possibly get used for your favorite band’s new single.
Nakakakilig, it’s available in the iTunes store, all ready and easy (and affordable) for download.
Thank you so much, Itchyworms, especially Jazz Nicolas. You don’t know how much happy this made me, it actually glued together some of the cracks of my heart!
The Marty's
I cannot say no to music. Some have shrinks, some go to parties, I have music to keep my brain screws in place.
Whenever I’m asked to design a gig poster or an album art, I do not think twice. That’s why when I got invited to contribute an illustration to The Marty’s, I was so excited to do it!
Wait, what is The Marty’s anyways? Two things: The Marty’s is a band and it is also Oishi’s vegetarian chicharon we all love. In www.themartys.com.ph, we can actually create our own band. Choose from the 8 finalists (from different schools) who gets to become your vocalist, guitarist, bassist and drummer.
Mix and match and you will get to see different artworks too!
Here’s the combination assigned to me!
oming up with an idea was a bit of a challenge at first but I decided to just make it simple and sincere - a thank you piece to all the musical geniuses that kept me sane. This artwork is basically filled with riddles and clues to my most loved bands.
Enjoy guessing! It would be so much fun if you put your guesses as comments!Clue: simply name the things you'd see. Example: Beetles - The Beatles.
And please don’t forget to create your own The Marty’s at www.themartys.com.ph! For updates, follow the Oishi twitter @oishi_tweets and Like their Facebook Page!
You Snoopy Keds!
I’m back from a month-long wedding planning and I’m trying to enjoy the last few days of my leave. I decided to be productive and start on my Thank You gift to my ever-reliable and sassy web developer, Dianne. She’s been fantastic at work (check out our latest work here!) and she has also been helping me with personal stuff like our (me and Wincy) wedding website so I thought of customizing a pair of Keds for her.
Dianne adores Snoopy, bunnies and the color combination of baby pink and black. So here’s what I came up with! And I’m sharing it with you so you’d know how easy it is!
Materials:
- A pair of black Keds
- Mixing pan
- 00 (zero-zero) nylon brush - I use this to make fine lines.
- Acrylic paints - to get the baby pink color, here’s the red to white ratio - approximately 1:40.
- A small bucket of water - a 1 gallon container of ice cream is ideal.
- Rag or maybe an old ratty shirt you can use to clean your brush.
Of course, I asked Dianne for some reference images.
After mixing the paint, I dipped my brush and started painting the line art. I tried sketching using white pencil but it was too messy for me, so I just concentrated and painted straight on. It’s a bit scary but with focus, you can do it. (Walang hingahan moment nga lang!)
And I finished everything with a spray of fixative, so Dianne can still wash them and the paint won’t come off!
I hope Dianne likes it.
The Witty Winner!
Unang-una, maraming salamat sa lahat ng sumali. Hindi ko in-expect na may papatol sa mini pakontes kong ito. Pero maraming salamat. Pangalawa, sobrang nakakaaliw ang inyong mga sagot! As much as gusto ko kayo lahat bigyan ng Witty Planner, dahil lahat ng sagot ninyo ay winner, isa lang ang pwede kong bigyan. Nahirapan ako pumili, I swear. Kaya nagpatulong narin ako sa mga friends from Witty Will Save The World sa pagpili ng mananalo. Tutal, sila naman ang tunay na witty. :)
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