Planet Markus » Music

Foo Fighters|Wasting Light – Live from Studio 606

Mark Rosario — Wed, 04 May 2011 22:25:36 +0000

The Foo Fighters are finally back! With a new album to boot!

Wasting Light is a kick-ass album that’s sure to satisfy every fan of the band. It’s loud. It’s raw and it’s melodic. In short, this is the Foo Fighters we’ve all grown to love!

Now if you haven’t grabbed a copy from the stores yet, there’s no need to be tempted to download the entire thing.

The good news here is that there’s actually a legal way to enjoy the album without spending a dime.

How? Just go to YouTube and listen to Wasting Lights there – played LIVE at Studio 606. There’s a 49-minute video where the band plays all the songs from the record non-stop. Yes, all 11 of them!

Here are a few images I print-screened from the performance.

No band does it like the Foo Fighters, eh? Now go click the link above and prepare for a satisfying aural assault!

Francis Magalona Clothing Company Gets A New Website

Mark Rosario — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:35:10 +0000

The company started showcasing and selling their products via their Multiply account many years ago and its a great thing they finally come up with their own website!

I stumbled upon this new Francis Magalona Clothing Company site when I was checking my Twitter messages awhile back and after browsing it for a few minutes, I am happy to report that this new online home displays most, if not all, of their existing designs! On top of that, the site is very user-friendly so its pretty easy to navigate too.

Francis Magalona Clothing Company shirts are mostly priced at Php 550.00 but some special releases and limited edition shirts have the tag price of Php 650.00 to Php 750.00. Obviously, shipping fees would also be required as you place your online orders.

Given the chance to choose one shirt, I think I would definitely pick this one:

This limited edition Death Anniversary shirt was designed by no less than Marvel Comics superstar Leinil Francis Yu (whose been a friend and a longtime supporter of the Master Rapper) and I like it much. Given its cost, I’m sure purchasing this one right now would be financially suicidal on my part so maybe next time! Hahah!

In the meantime, here I am with my friends Wendel and Rowel proudly wearing our FMCC shirts while buying a new one at the FMCC Robinson’s Galleria outlet. Thanks to our sponsor! Haha!

Ready to defend the three stars and a sun!

Metro Comic Con 2010

Mark Rosario — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:57:13 +0000

Thanks to good friends Myke and Robin, I got to attend the recently-concluded Metro Comic Con 2010 at the SM Megamall. I was there for the first day and it was absolutely mind-blowing!

I got to meet some cool people, picked up a few comic books, spotted some celebrities and even took the liberty of manning a creator’s booth for a few minutes without even meeting him first. Seriously! Hahah..

Here goes my report – or what I remember most out of the event:

Macoy’s Booth

Shortly after we arrived, I noticed a small crowd starting to gather around Gio Paredes and Macoy Tang‘s table. Macoy was not there though. I guess he was buying his food or something and Gio has his hands full with lots of fans (as usual). I thought I really wouldn’t want a creator to lose potential buyers so my rabid fanboy instincts prompted me to spring into action and seize the opportunity. I talked with the people and did eventually manage to sell a few copies… Yey!

Macoy looked a little surprised when he arrived and I handed him the money – that was how we met! Hahah! Quite funny, I know. And weird.

It was fun chatting with fellow fans though and recommending Macoy’s awesome works to them.

Macoy's still nowhere to be found. Oh wait, he's busy taking this picture!

Deviant People

People from DeviantArt were also all over the place and I got to meet a few friends there – most of whom were superb supporters of Bayan Knights. Here’s a photo with Sarra’s friend (I forgot his name, sorry), Sarra Jean Navorra, me, Robin Rivero and Jaybee Bonus.

DA reunion of sorts

Not in picture were mild-mannered JC Villaverde and cool BK cosplay photographer Mervin Arciaga who were also present during the event.

Freebies, Freebies

Days before Metro Comic Con, Jon Zamar asked me to write a short foreword for Codename: Bathala and I did. So he gave me my complimentary and I’m just proud and happy to somehow be a part of Bathala’s history. Its a cool comicbook, I tell you!

I also approached Rommel “Omeng” Estanislao and it was a delight to meet him in person at last. He seems to be a very cool guy and he became even cooler in my eyes when he gave me a copy of Lipad. Haha! That book blew me away. I think I’m reviewing that wicked, little title soon.

Fellow BK member and MCC-organizer Heubert Khan Michael gave me free copies of Unstoppable #3 and 4 too, the remaining isues of the first story arc. And oh! Erico Calimlim also handed me copies of Pag-Asa #3 and 4.

You guys are too kind. Thanks much really!

Man, you just gotta love the Metro Comic Con! Haha!

Celebrity Geeks

Several rockstars were also seen roaming around the event for some comicbooks. There’s guitarist Led Tuyay and drummer Bords Burdeos from Kamikazee plus Parokya Ni Edgar guitarist Gabs Chee-Kee. That was cool. I wonder why Chito Miranda (another self-declared comic geek) wasn’t around though.

Manila Man meets Led Tuyay

I guess RJ Ledesma was the biggest celebrity geek of the day, hosting the Marvel Panel and going around to buy local indie comics, to the delight of both the fans and creators. He’s also been Twittering endlessly about these local titles and that’s just awesome!

On A Side Note

The family that reads together

I’m just happy to see lots of kids accompanied by their parents (or was that otherwise? Eheheh…) during the event. I personally think local comics deserve more younger readers so the industry could keep going. Here’s hoping for more kid-friendly releases too!

Dinner Time

The day ended with us, Bayan Knights, having our 2nd year anniversary dinner later on at Mang Inasal. It was absolutely fun being with these guys again. We’re more than a comics group. We’re family! Yey! Congrats to us, guys. More comics and more 2 years to come!

Unlimited rice?.. Bring it on!

Metro Comic Con 2010 was really wild. Hope to make it on the next event/s again!

Urbandub – First Decade | Online Concert Review

Mark Rosario — Tue, 18 May 2010 06:54:23 +0000

This week, I finally got to watch the Urbandub online concert – the first of its kind here in the Philippines. Aptly titled First Decade, this is indeed a celebration for the band’s 10th year anniversary.

Anyway, here’s what I think about the gig – and some screen shots too:

Quite appropriately, their first song was taken from their debut album. After not hearing it for some time, “Come” sounded fresh to my ears again – perhaps most especially because of the synth noises provided by IQ of Switch (which was awesome). As usual, the band is in top performance but I kinda sensed there’s something wrong with vocalist/guitarist Gabby Alipe‘s voice. He just couldn’t do the chorus’ falsetto parts (the troubles of steady-gigging, no?). To his credit though, he gives it his all and does his best with what he has. Fortunately, bassist Lalay Lim‘s “La-la-la-la-la” backing vocals for “Gravity” saves the day, melts my soul and sends me to outer space. Hahahah! I just love her voice.

“Guillotine” was also awesome. I really like how the band grooves and dances with their instruments (with the exception for drummer Janjan Mendoza, of course) when playing this song. Its always fun to watch. They’ve really come up with a unique sound for this song and its obvious they enjoy playing it live.

“A New Tattoo” was quite a surprise as Gabby loses the guitar (plus the band) and he’s just left on the stage with a microphone and the Manila String Machine backing him up. Its a cool rendition of the song. I’m hoping they’d release a recorded version for this one. And hey, Gabs! Do something about that posture and lose that beer belly hahaha! Kidding, of course.

“First of Summer” remains to be the crowd favorite. After all, this is the song that put the band on the map, so to speak. Guitarist John Dinopol always flies as high as he can each time they play this song and you can count on him to do that again.

Now I always find “Evidence” to be mesmerizing. It surely amazes me how this band can rock it out real hard one minute and then easily slide into a more relaxing number such as this one.

The show then ends with “Stars and The Sun.” I’m guessing this will be their next single.

All in all, Urbandub First Decade was a fine viewing experience for me. They’re really a great live act, technical and performance wise, and its a treat that the sound system is really awesome. You can clearly hear every instrument.

Urbandub First Decade offers you three options when viewing this online gig, by the way. There’s the Standard, the HD and the MultiCam (where you get to choose from four different camera angles). Problem is my slow PC wasn’t cooperating quite well with the MultiCam feature so I settled for the other versions instead. Its still worth it, mind you.

Go to Pelicola.tv for more details about how you can also watch the gig. And yeah! Thanks to Rockerfem.com for my free Concert Passkey

Urbandub Plays Bangus Festival 2010

Mark Rosario — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:04:13 +0000

Nice! One of my favorite Pinoy rock bands are coming over here at Dagupan City for this year’s Bangus Festival street party.

I’ve been an Urbandub fan for sometime but this is just the first time I’ll get to watch them perform. Needless to say, I’m really super excited! They’ve got a reputation for being an intense live act and their gigs are always the best – check out some clips at YouTube just in case you doubt that.

Anyway, I’m hoping to get my Apparition CD signed by the band. Wish me luck, guys!

Francis Magalona Tribute

Mark Rosario — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:25:25 +0000

I got surprised when I started hearing about an Eat Bulaga TV ad for an upcoming Francis Magalona tribute episode the past week. Time flies too fast and I didn’t notice its already been one whole year ago when the Master Rapper returned to his Master.

Countless Pinoy artists have been paying tribute to this great man since then and I am just awed with what they come up. Here are some of the most unique and most amazing Francis Magalona tribute pieces I’ve seen online these past 12 months.

This is FrancisM Tribute by Dexter of DeviantArt. I instantly feel in love with the piece. It became my desktop wallpaper not just for days and weeks but for several months.

When I wanted to write an entry about Kiko’s passing, this was the tribute image I decided to use. I liked it so much and thankfully, artist Jannus Llaneta was cool about it and gave consent. This remains as one of my top favorites. For me, this captures not only his love for the country but also his courage in facing the Big C.

Featuring the infamous Three Stars and a Sun logo plus Kiko’s Happy Battle era image, I’m guessing your reaction as you saw this was the same as mine – “Wow, that’s cool! I want one!” Ayin Gurling customized this using fabric paint and permanent markers… Really awesome!

This one’s inspired by one of my favorite songs from Francis – Cold Summer Nights, just in case you missed it. Its a cool wall vinyl created by another DeviantArt user who calls himself Supermanisback.

As the image indicates, this one’s by Edgar Tadeo and was done way back 2005. For those wondering, Francis once had an album called The Oddventures of Mr. Cool. On top of that, Kiko is also a huge comics fan himself so an Iceman caricature is simply appropriate.

Speaking of comics, here’s a panel from the pages of X-Men Legacy #266, also inked by Edgar Tadeo.Of course, this isn’t the first time the FMCC logo appeared on a Marvel title. Super star artist Leinil Yu also managed to insert it at other books such as Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk plus the best selling Secret Invasion. Any DC sightings I might’ve missed, guys? Post it on the comment section below, just in case. I’m really not aware if there’s one.

Now to cap it off, here’s a heart-warming video from Perf De Castro, a friend and frequent collaborator of Francis M himself which he recorded just a few hours after hearing about Francis’ passing. This almost drove me to tears. The emotion’s there as he plays the entire song. After watching this, I think I now know better what it means when they say “play it with feelings”.. Thanks for sharing this powerful piece with us, Perf.

Supermanisback – Cold Summer Nights (wall vinyl)

http://supermanisback.deviantart.com/art/Cold-Summer-Nights-Wall-Vinyl-117838932

Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

Mark Rosario — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:50:48 +0000

After 5 years of waiting, Gorillaz finally announces a new album. Plastic Beach, their third studio effort, is set to hit the market by 09 March 2010.

Cant wait for it?.. That’s not a problem at all. Head over to NPR.org now and listen to the whole album for free.

Yep, you read that right, the whole album! Not just a few tracks or a few-second snippets but all the 16 tracks of Plastic Beach. Go click the link now. The album’s available there for just a week so don’t delay, my friend. Just don’t forget to come back here and tell me your thoughts about it, ‘kay?… Okay.

As for me, I noticed Gorillaz relied more on their hiphop and electronic influences than their alternative roots for this album. So more synthesizers and rhymes than guitars for the band this time around. Expect to hear tons of guest artists throughout Plastic Beach too (Snoop Dogg and the likes).

This is a cool Gorillaz album and could provide some good background music for me as I do my work. I’d have to admit that “On Melancholy Hill” stands out pretty well among the other tracks though. But don’t let the sad title deceive you. This one’s a really bouncy song. It takes me back to the 80′s for some reason. Haha!

And before I forget, carrier single “Stylo” features Bruce Willis on the video, yes. So go ahead and check out Plastic Beach now. You know you want to. Who doesn’t love the Gorillaz anyway?

Viva La Revolucion

Mark Rosario — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:07:12 +0000

If you love watching indie bands and you happen to be here at Pangasinan, you might want to drop by at Urdaneta City this coming Saturday for the Viva La Revolucion concert.

The poster here has the details about where and when will this happen (plus the name of the participating bands) so if you have the time – and some fifty bucks on your pocket- you might want to check this out.

Actually, this is a shameless plug since our new band, Fireside, has been invited to play as well. Yep, we’re pretty excited to rock it out.

Maybe I’ll show you some pics and/or videos of the gig just in case we get to bring a camera along.

So hope to see you there, guys… Raise your fist and support the scene!

Soundgarden Announces 2010 Reunion

Mark Rosario — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:21:35 +0000

I was 15 when I discovered Soundgarden. I’d say I instantly fell in love with the band and immediately wanted to hear their songs over and over. I have clear memories of walking into a record bar to buy Superunknown (where I previously saw it) and the saleslady told me they’ve ran out of copies already. I insisted I saw the album there just days before and asked her to look for it in their stocks perhaps. So the girl disappeared for a few minutes and, to my delight, came back with a cassette tape in hand – yep, this was long before the days of CDs and MP3s, haha!. The tape’s case had a prominent crack in front and they were hesitant to sell it to me – but heck, I didn’t mind! For me, my mission was accomplished and I happily went home.

Imagine my horror when a few months shortly after that, my bestfriend showed me a magazine announcing Soundgarden has just disbanded. It was really a sad day for me to know that they won’t be making music together as a band.

Now imagine my delight when rumors about an upcoming Soundgarden reunion has recently been announced and confirmed – by no less than Chris Cornell himself! Cornell’s latest Twitter post plainly stated “The 12 year break is over & school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!” and then left a link that lead to SoundGardenWorld.com.

WOW! Finally! What a way to start the year! I am getting too excited for this. Of course, being from a far country, I may not be able to catch them on tour once they go for it. But still, I am anxiously anticipating to hear some new music from the guys. I really wouldn’t mind walking at a record store once more to buy a new Soundgarden album.

“Feel the rhythm with your hands, steal the rhythm while you can”
- Spoonman (Superunknown, March 1994)

The Dangerous Pedicab Band Toy Launch

Mark Rosario — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:00:11 +0000

The poster pretty much says it all.

So if you love Pedicab or you love toys – or better yet, you love both Pedicab and toys – then it’s the perfect time to drop by at Sputnik this coming December 16.

Hhmm.. It’s really starting to look like Sputnik has the coolest events lately. So be there, kids.

Darn, I wish I could go but that’s impossible.