MUSIC IS MY DRUG

.
The traffic lights, they turn, uh, blue tomorrow
And shine their emptiness down on my bed
The tiny island sags down stream
�cause the life that lived is,
Is dead
-from the song THE WIND CRIES MARY by JIMI HENDRIX


Last Sunday...

All of the people in the house (mi tatay, mi nanay & mi utols), they went to mass this morning. I decided to attend mass in the afternoon and left myself at the house with the responsibility of fixing the table and washing the dishes. With the decibel level of the house at my control, I gathered a selection of CDs and cassettes of classic rock n� roll musicians. First was the Juan de la Cruz band, which was Mike Hanopol�s and Pepe Smith�s band in the 70�s. I just skipped their overplayed tracks like �Titser�s Enemy No. 1� and �No Touch�, and got into working mood with �Balong Malalim� and �Project�. The mood was so toxicatingly high that I decided to wash the rest of the other dishes, grabbed the mop and began to clean the house, along with the vibes of old Razorback songs and with Led Zeppelin. There was even one point that I mimicked the wailing guitar solos of Jimi Henrix with my mop as his sound filled the house with psychedelic spirits.

I love hippie-style rock n� roll. And if you ask me, Jimi Hendrix is the one who should be recognized as the King of Rock n� Roll. His music embodies the raw, rebellious, and soulful essence of rock music. On the otherhand, Elvis was too much of a crowd-pleasing, chick-peacock, Ricky-Martin-ancestor of a fop. No offense to the fans.

Like the music of the Pied Piper of Hamlin, music can be like a drug. Some people find the quote �Get high on music, not drugs� to be as cheesy and corny as a Chippy on Disney. But that quote holds true on me. Long before I have ever experienced the delights of irreverent vices, I have already experienced the kind of intoxication that is a cross between spirit possession and THC, through listening to my favorite kinds of music. In my youthful days, I have felt the inexplicable sensation of Hendrix�s �Voodoo Child� and the smashing passion of Metallica�s �One�. It�s like an invisible drug injected through our listening senses, through our brains, seeps through our veins and gets online, instantly hamonizes and comprehends what the soul of the song is projecting. At this point, as one hums along, one knows and understands the passion of the musician�s music.

I may not be as well-versed with the many bands and musicians, as my friends who sometimes give me an out-of-place feeling whenever they talk about obscure bands that never rang a bell on my memory banks. But I do know that I am one who really is a simple, yet passionate patron of the arts. So much so that I notice how good at work I am whenever there is the presence of my loved sounds. At my dayjob at the office, whenever I�d be encountered by a mountain of files to be worked on, I�d try my best to find some cassette player or walkman, so that the music could juice up my work energy. Most especially if I�m empowered by bands like Nine Inch Nails and Fear Factory, I am confident that my horse power is robotic. I become a better, more efficient employee. It reminds me of the Propaganda Towers of Red China that make Chinese laborers work with double stamina, for they are inspired by the sounds and the messages evoked by these Propaganda Towers.

As I was mopping the floor that Sunday morning, I can feel the music like transparent dancing pigeons that scattered inside the living room. And by the time I was done, I relaxed upon a chair outside the house, where I stared at the relaxing chickens while listening to Led Zeppelin�s �You�re Time is Gonna Come�.

What�s best about Music as a drug, is that it has no side effects. Shabu leaves you a damaging hole in your brain and turns you into a mindless zombie. Marijuana gives you a nasty appetite for food (munchies) and renders you too high for a normal sky, plus it can get you hooked on other dangerous drugs. Alcohol makes holes in your internal organs. Smoking turns your lungs into a septic tank of ash and burns. Music, on the otherhand, you can just turn it off. The worst damage and addiction with music can do, is giving you a mildly deaf ear. (If you did notice why may pagka BUNGOL ako, that�s coz of all the Sonic Youth and Atari Teenage Riot music). I am pretty proud of admitting that music is my drug. Yours too perhaps�?

(But as not as addicted as I am with coffee! )