Joey’s solo Tough Hits

The Tough Hits series of albums from the late ’70s brought a modern approach to novelty recordings. Featuring Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon, Tough Hits was inspired by the trio’s wacky take on current hits that was such a hit on TV. With the use of new lyrics that were mostly gross, amusing or double entendre, Tough Hits helped establish Tito, Vic and Joey as top drawing comedians on TV, recordings and eventually motion pictures.

Now that came about 30 years and was followed by many successes since. To this day, Tito, Vic and Joey remain a fixture on GMA 7’s noontime variety show Eat, Bulaga! But this is the only place where they bring on the laughs together. Tito is in politics. Vic is better known as Enteng Kabisote of the December Filmfest’s blockbuster series. And Joey stars in an assortment of shows. He is also the only one among them who continues to write and record Tough Hits.

Joey’s latest album is Joey To The World 2. Joey To The World 1 came out three years ago and had hits like Pa Epek Epek and Canton. Joey had not done any recording for several years back then, but, the Sex Bomb Girls, who were Eat, Bulaga!’s resident dancers at the time asked him to guest in their recording of Spagheti. Joey played the girls’ T’yo Pot. As all of you out there, doubtless know, Spagheti was not only a monster seller. Truth to tell, the song sparked a huge demand for novelty recordings that kept the music industry earning and happy within the next two years.

Of course given his funnyman reputation, that led to the offer for Joey to record his own album. And that was what became Joey To The World 1 and now we have Joey To The World 2. Just like what the cover illustration suggests, the contents are Joey’s opinions about all sorts of things from the perspective of a naughty angel seated on a toilet bowl that is located on top of the world. It is an absurd vantage point but it cannot be denied that given his quick wit and crazy way of looking at things, the album is one funny collection.

Joey keeps close to the Tough Hits formula of using his new lyrics on melodies from hit tunes. In this case, these are all works by Filipino composers. Amoy comes from Cueshé’s Stay; Hikaw Lang from Ikaw Lang by Chad Borja; Maliit Na Syota and Singkit Na Pag-ibig from Brownman Revival’s Maling Akala and Lintik; Itlog and Sexy from Sige and Sandalan by 6Cyclemind; Namputsa comes from Sa Aking Puso by Ariel Rivera; Not So Hot is from Hot Na Hot by the Barako Boys; and Ulam is from Ulan also by Cueshé.

Given the Pinoy’s penchant for the embarrassingly ridiculous, I can say that each of those cuts have the potential to become a big hit. Truth to tell I have a feeling that Joey’s Volume 2 will sell more than the first one because of a song that has replaced Boom talak talak as today’s favorite nonsense phrase. Joey has two original songs in the album. These are Tawa by Jonathan Ong and Mark Guevarra and the now ubiquitous Itaktak Mo by Josephous Ybañez with lyrics by Joey himself.

I cannot think of an accurate English translation for Itaktak Mo. We say itaktak when we want to get the last drop out of a bottle of ketchup. We say itaktak after washing our hands and before putting these under the drier. I can think of other instances but I do not think they inspired Joey’s song. This Itaktak started in Eat, Bulaga! as a dance step that kids are now imitating the way they did Spagheti. From there, Itaktak has developed into a catch all term that cheers, jeers and denotes the strangest of things.

Pendulum of Time

Now ongoing at the Pasilyo Vicente Manansala in the second floor Hall Way of the Cultural Center of the Philippines is Pendulum of Time. This is the first solo exhibit by Raphael D. L. Gregorio and it features crucifixes of various sizes on which are painted events and actions of society. That is not all. These deeds are also classified as good or bad. The good deeds go to the right of the crosses and the bad deeds to the left side. Would be interesting to find out what events or deeds landed on the left or the right.Gregorio studied at the University of the Philippines and teaches at the Louvre Gallery in Makati City. His works are mostly mixed media with predominant use of sawdust and oil paint.