Funny how our views about things change over time and expanding girth size.
When I was a kid, no, make it when I was still a student back in the 80s to the mid 90s, I looked forward to this two month hiatus between school years to take a break from the daily school grind and do the things I’ve always wanted to do.
Back in grade school, this meant playing in summer basketball tournaments, attending parties and sleepovers, and hanging out with my buddies to admire the opposite sex at play in the playground or in the porn Betamax tapes we rented without let-up. In high school, it was beach and bar hopping with the boys, enjoying a case of cold SMB by the creek side at the Greenhills car park, and climbing up to Antipolo right before midnight to track some heavenly booties. Due of its graphic content, I’m leaving out the details of my college summer months. What happens in Stealing Heaven stays in Stealing Heaven.
Now that school’s been over for a decade and a half (and with no two hedonism-filled months to look forward to), summer has lost its appeal to me. Gone were the days when the sight of blue skies, white clouds, and salt water spray would send my heart racing and spirit soaring. Nowadays, when summer rolls in and hits me in the face with a thick cloud of tropical steam, I lock myself inside a room, crank up the air con, and dream about skiing down the snow-capped slopes of Aspen commando style. Now that I have lost the spring and muscles of youth, the summer heat has been nothing but a source of irritation, perspiration, and hissy fits.
I created this two-volume mix back in the summer of 2006 not only because it was the year the country rode on the crest of the 2nd wave of the Pinoy rock explosion but also because it was the time the centralized air conditioner of our office bogged down for a month. To make my life (and the lives of my staff) a little more bearable, I played this mix over and over again in the office. The mix may have not stopped me from sweating and losing my temper but at least it kept my ear drums cool…chilled in an icebox of cool riffs, easy beats, and smooth vocals.
Like New York, Aspen is a state of mind.
Tracklist:
Disc 1
01 Sound - Habulan
02 Bamboo - Much Has Been Said
03 Stonefree - Scar
04 Up Dharma Down - Hiwaga
05 Hale - Runaway
06 True Faith - Dreams With You
07 Brownman Revival - Dahan Dahan
08 Rivermaya - If
09 Sandwich - Homerun
10 Orange and Lemons - Heaven Knows (This Angel Has Flown)
11 Itchyworms - Buwan
12 Mojofly - I Don't Want To
13 Narda - Kusina
14 Cueshe - Hump Ahead
15 Bridge - Kahit Na
16 Menaya - What If
17 Pupil - Beautiful Machines
Disc 2
01 The Members - Sana'y Naroon Ka
02 Kala - Manila High
03 Mayonnaise - Home
04 Urban Dub - A City of Sleeping Hearts
05 Kjwan - Someday
06 Kapatid - Hangin' Out
07 Sugar Free - Los Baños
08 Soapdish - Dahil Sa Ulan
09 Sheila and The Insects - Maude
10 6 Cycle Mind - Naghihintay
11 Paramita - A Dreamer's Lullaby
12 Barbie's Cradle - Pag-Ibig
13 Rocksteddy - Magpakailanman
14 Join The Club - Lunes
15 Twisted Halo - Asan Na
16 Nerveline - Sunday Paint
17 Spongecola - On The Floor
Check it out:
CD1
CD2
