Parokya’s Musikahan

The past five years has seen Parokya ni Edgar build a solid following on the strength of its devil-may-care attitude and mysteriously funny take on just about anything. Being creative is what the band is all about and in the case of these guys, this can mean quoting or singing gibberish, cross-dressing, poking fun at themselves and moments of pathos in the most unlikely tunes.

Who would have thought of concocting words for album titles that spell like the unreadable Khangkhungkherrnitz? "We didn’t know what to call the album the first time around," they reason. Or what about the title Buruguduystunstugudunstuy for the one that followed. "The first album was so successful, we just had to come up with another one with a similar title." And that also means let alone come up with a decipherable meaning.

Who would have thought of making a Christmas album titled Jingle Balls, Silent Night, Holy Cow? "Well, there are Christmas balls. There was a cow in the stable. Besides, we do eat beef." The third album was Gulong, Itlog, Gulong. That title is definitely readable and sounds tame when compared to the first two. Still, the very image of somebody watching an egg roll, down, of course, because nothing rolls up, or to and fro, certainly denotes the absurd or at the very least the ridiculous.

And what about the songs! These are more likely than not to have too creatively thought-out titles and while some are conventional enough, don’t let them fool you because there are also surprise humorous twists in the lyrics. Some of the most memorable are Lutong Bahay, Nakaw ang Wallet Mo, Buloy and Trip from Khangkhungkherrnitz, Harana, Please Don’t Touch my Birdie, Sampip, Silvertoes, and Magic Spaceship from Buruguduystunstugudunstuy, Olops and Simbang Gabi from Jingle Balls.

And so here comes the fourth album. Maybe because the Parokya guys are older and now have several gold and platinum album awards plus the 1999 MTV Southeast Asia Video Music Awards Viewers’ Choice Award for the Harana video, their choice of title is Edgar, Edgar Musikahan. Edgar is the name of the still unknown guy they picked up for the name of their band and Musikahan came from that old TV musicale hosted by Ryan Cayabyab, Ryan, Ryan Musikahan. "He laughed," was their description of Mr. C’s reaction to the album title.

Maybe because of the Musikahan in the title, Parokya ni Edgar’s latest is the group’s most musical effort. It is also the group’s most coherent with melodies that flow and more confident arrangements. The lyrics can at times be sophomoric. You and me we’re a family/whenever we’re together we are happy, they sing in Family Dinner. Kalimutan muna ang problema/kalimutan muna ang iba, goes Madapaka.

But they make up for turns like those with so much enthusiasm in the music and you just have to conclude that in the case of this band, it is not the poetry but the strange, the unexpected flourish that really matters. Besides, there is really no sense trying to make sense of something like Swimming Beach.

The guys offer up simple pop tunes, hip hop, metal and its trademark sort of any which way rock and roll. As always, the songwriting is a communal activity and the members share the credits for Madapaka, Sige Na Naman, Superstar, Sorry Na, Family Dinner, Chuerva Gold, Nanjan, Tungkol Sa ’yo, Y?, All Right, It’s OK, ’Wag Kang Mag-alala and Swimming Beach, the first single release.

Aside from the new original compositions Parokya ni Edgar pays tribute in this album to two of Philippine music’s most influential groups from the ’70s, who coincidentally are also blessed with a great sense of humor and feel for the absurd. These classic tunes are Pumapatak ang Ulan originally by the Apo Hiking Society and Beh Buti Nga by the Hotdog. If I remember right, these are Parokya’s first ever cover efforts and they score quite well with their interpretation.

Those who have copies of Parokya’s other albums would do well to add Edgar, Edgar Musikahan to the lot. As for those, who still have to get their feel for the band. This album is a very good place to start.

Parokya ni Edgar is made up of Chito Miranda and Vinci Montaner on vocals, Darius Semana and Gabriel Seekee on guitars, Buhawi Meneses on bass and Dindin Moreno on drums. They were schoolmates at the Ateneo University who found their life’s career out of a common love for music, hanging out together and having fun.