The Soundtrack of My Life

Kris Aquino has her Songs of Love and Healing. Judy Ann Santos has Musika ng Buhay Ko and Gretchen Barretto just came out with Unexpected.

Now's my turn.

Damdamin (Rico Puno). This was my favorite song in childhood. Z remembers that I used to sing this in the shower. I have a taped recording of my own version of this song somewhere in the house. Maybe I should have it transferred to CD or converted to MP3 for posterity. This is why I think, 30 or so years later, Rico J rocks. I remain a fan of the total entertainer.

Popeye the Sailor Man. I studied piano in childhood along with S1. S1 did wonderfully, won our teacher's affection. I quit after the teacher banged my hands on the keyboard. I never learned to play this song.

Regina Coeli (Daughters of St. Paul). As a child, my sisters, cousin and I would join the choir of angels during the Holy Week. Our duties included going to practices, participating in the Easter Sunday Mass and its procession. I can't remember the songs so I asked the other angels. Tintin recalled Regina Coeli. S3 said Aba Ginoong Maria. All of them asked why. S1 even said Kakanta ka? but did not answer my question. Criteria for joining was not good conduct; otherwise I would not have gotten in. I almost burned somebody's hair by accident during the procession.

I'm Coming Home (Birtles & Goble). I also had a guitar phase, bought songhits and learned to play this song while hanging out with the cousin from Marikina. That guitar phase was short-lived. Though I played in school, I never got comfortable as it was church songs the choir played all the time.

Mother's Talk (Tears for Fears). One of my happiest moments in high school was our batch winning the cheer competition. I was part of the cheering squad. This was not a big deal as all the batch were except for the athletes and the dancers. I still remember most of our cheers, the origins of which are unknown to me. One, however, was adapted from this song by Tears for Fears. Our version went, When the game starts, When the whistle blows, We can work it out.

Breakout (Swing Out Sister). In college, I enrolled in aerobics class to fulfill the PE requirements. I almost dropped the subject as I was always late from lab chemistry and got the ire of the aerobics instructor. I would arrive 2/3 into the class, just before sit-ups and Breakout would be on. I dreaded this song when played at the gym but loved it elsewhere. I did finish the subject after I talked to my chem teacher who let me leave a few minutes earlier to take the IKOT all the way to the gym. She would even remind me to change into gym clothes right away.

American Junk (APO Hiking Society). In 1989, we were in Bolinao for field biology. The culminating activity was the Binibining Bolinao pageant where all groups were required to have a representative. Our guy friend, the same one we left in Mt. Sto Tomas, had to do it for the group. Another group mate taught him to dance the singkil to this tune by the APO. We won. His angry facial expression saved the day. It was just so right for the dance. His sarong triumphed over the others in borrowed bathing suits. He talked to us after and we're friends to this day.

Tuloy Pa Rin (Side A). The Side A were very popular while we were in med school. This song and the others in the album would play continuously during the drive from Quezon City to Montalban and back.

Your Smiling Face (Side A). For our community medicine rotation, we were supposed to stay in Montalban for the week and go home weekends but we would go back to Metro Manila every Wednesday to watch the Side A at the Music Hall. This song reminds me of those days, Joey G, vodka sprite, cheesesticks and hiding from our seniors who thought we were in Montalban.

Two Princes (Spin Doctors). Our last rotation in clerkship was relatively light and so we had the opportunity to hang while waiting for our duties. In the afternoons, we would play this song on the stereo and my group mates would dance to it. I don't remember knowing the dance by heart but the LA walk part was easy enough for someone with two left feet like me to do. We even danced to this during the burning.

Pare Ko (Eraserheads). Burning is a tradition in my med school that happens towards the end of junior internship and before graduation. For a few hours, the entire batch congregates at the site and award honors to the people who mattered (most loved, most hated, etc). Our version of this song by Eraserheads went, O pare ko, meron kaming problema, ____ ang pangalan n'ya.

Laughter in the Rain (Neil Sedaka). This was my favorite song in 1994 when I was a senior intern tending to a group of interns in their community medicine rotation. Most of the days we spent at the site were rained out and so we had to walk in the rain while doing our missions.

Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang? (Freestyle). This was the theme song of my batch in fellowship training. We even sang this during graduation. I am not at liberty to say why this was so. Fortunately though, I have never been at either the giving or receiving end of this song.

My soundtrack is a work in progress. These thirteen songs are just examples.

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This is my 3rd contribution to Thursday Thirteen. My previous entries were How Do I Love Thee? and Thirteen and One Ways to Enjoy Coconut.

thursday thirteen, soundtrack, songs, music