Road Trippin' Blues

"Kailangan pa bang i-memorize yan???" would definitely be one of the numerous cacophonic greetings I endure in my daily travels. As a certified public commuter, I've been on every PUV known to man -- whether gamely clinging to my dear life while standing on a bus headed to Quiapo; insisting that I'm a student and asking for proper change inside the chintzy contours of a jeep; or zooming "Amazing Race"-style as the doors of the last tram to Central Station closes. Ah, the life.

And more often than not, bad music blares in these instances in the not-so-distant background. It's like the "Soundtrack to Dante's Divine Comedy"... either it's some novelty song or a hit dance tune, or a resurrected Air Supply ballad, or an 80's one-hit-wonder plucked from obscurity; or karaoke staples; or heaven forbid -- that boy band ditty that brings back embarrassing memories of how you once sang that like crazy and you so wanted to have Nick's/Justin's/Shane's/Michael's babies. (Who's Michael? Oh, Michael Learns To Rock!). But of course, I'm exaggerating. Sometimes I couldn't help bobbing my head and sing "Like a Rose" as the little old lady sitting beside me starts giving me weird looks as if I was an incarnation of "Groupies Gone Wild". Sorry, ma'am.

So whenever my MP3 player (the one with a ridiculously short life span of 3 hours daily) permits me, I'd plug it in my ears to beat the morning discordance. Songs like Petula Clark's "Downtown", The Beatles' "Come Together", Michael Bublé's "Everything" and Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me" undeniably gives me a feel-good nudge to start the day right. I'll take 'em over "Papaya" any given second.

But if you start boxing me into Little Miss Sunshine, hmmm... not quite right. I'm Easy Listening Dudette by day, Angsty Teenager (I was still nineteen 16 days ago) by mid-afternoon. Blame it on screwed-up tests, the dread of the next-round exams, the drollness of my non-existent lovelife, the hunger pangs that accompany my already-weary mood... and another round of "Hi pangga!!!" as I ride my way home. As The Player Currently Known As pudPod lapses into a coma and calls it a day, my brain sets into autoplay a repertoire of Muse, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Coldplay, Maroon 5, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, et al. I'd like to drown out the noise, the smog & the sweat and get myself into an pop-rock state of mind. Though it doesn't help when the bus' speaker system is right under your seat that you can't help but give the schtick up...

If there's one song I'd choose as my ultimate road trip soundtrack, it's none other than "Two Of Us" by Aimee Mann & Michael Penn. It's light on the ears, a mix of classic and folk, and gives you the sense that everything will fall into place. Two of us -- a friend, a relative, or just me and my thoughts -- and the optimism of finding happiness. We're on our way home. Getting to your destination is only half the journey... you must learn to love it too.

P.S. I just came home from a medley of "That's Why You Go Away", "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Charing"!

PLEASE SAVE MEEEEEE!!!!

---

Note: This was the winning entry for Philippine Daily Inquirer's 2bu! Lifestyle and Sony Ericsson's "Win a w660i Walkman Phone Contest" last December 21, 2007.