#spongkify

[spongki]

this came on shuffle earlier. i thought this eerily sounded like chino moreno. it really is him, though. i mean, nobody can replicate that voice. i can't believe i've never heard of this side project before. awesome.

[spongki]

it's really laughable,

ah ha ha ha ha ha

ha ha ha ha ha ha

ha ha ha ha ha ha

handa na bang gumala?

paparapa pa pa pa

pa pa pa pa pa pa

pa pa pa pa pa pa

pa pa pa pa pa pa

[insert morrissey interpolation]

[spongki]

SPONGKIFY: January

I feel like I often speak of how much music runs my life but I rarely get into specifics of what I actually enjoy listening to, so here are some of my January 2022 current favorites and new discoveries!

What do I call it... Spongkify? I dunno.

1. ALIAS - Shygirl (EP)

Very unfortunate that Shygirl blessed us with an EP packed with party bangers only for it to be enjoyed during the pandemic. I'm a freak, yeah I know. But how am I supposed to throw it down again under these conditions?

2. Butt Trumpet (band)

A '90s punk band from Los Angeles. I discovered them through Sharon Needles—the winner of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 4—who also happens to share a name with the band's bassist. Sharon Needles (the drag queen) is known for her "punk", alternative image and dark humor which makes total sense for her to be a fan of this group... but she ironically is not. And has never even spoken of this band before.

3. Chick Habit - April March (song)

Loved this song ever since I heard it on But I'm A Cheerleader (1999). 12-year-old me was living for that very-subtly-homosexual opening sequence and I still think about it to this day, especially while listening to this song. I recently found out this was also part of Tarantino's Death Proof (2007) soundtrack so I might go see that film as well.

4. Chihiro - Soft Blue Shimmer (song)

Forgot the source but I remember seeing somewhere that the song title takes after the main character of Spirited Away (2001), Chihiro. I thought that was really cute. Much like Studio Ghibli films (and their band name itself), this song exudes warm and nostalgic vibes. Very modern shoegaze à la Fazerdaze. (Support them on Bandcamp: https://softblueshimmer.bandcamp.com)

5. Not In Love - Crystal Castles, Robert Smith (song)

Crystal Castles and Robert Smith made this beautiful baby together and I wasn't aware of its existence 'til now. 2011?! Really? Fer fack's sake, I would've gone crazy about this during my 2014 soft grunge-ish phase. Oh well, I'm kind of in my second emo resurgence... I guess it's appropriate.

[spongki]

I see people online talking about how they've started to "get" LCD Soundsystem in their 20s and I cannot relate to anything more. His contemporaries (The Strokes, Interpol) have always been part of my rotation but I remember thinking LCD was too "electronic" for me which is funny - I loved Skrillex and dubstep before I even got into indie. And for fuck's sake, I was into '80s new wave. Then again, I hated Julian Casablancas' solo debut. There were just things I didn't get that I eventually would. "oh baby" is a more *recent* song of his, way after I initially passed judgment on his music, but discovering it as an adult is simply magical. Shoegaze and fuzzy pedals were for my angsty late teens. Electronic music, now that I find it, has become the defining sound of my 20s. Massive Attack, The xx, Blood Orange, undescores, Snow Strippers, Caroline Polachek, Arca, Diego Mapa, Kelela, to name a few current favorites. Samplers and synthesizers are the sound of the night accompanied by drinks and good company. There is much pain in this world but not in this room, or whatever that Russian guy said.

[spongki]

SPONGKIFY: October 2025

1. Photobooth - Death Cab for Cutie (Song)

Apparently, I was one of the top 0.001% of listeners who streamed this song on Spotify last year. That should tell you everything. In this same EP from 2000 is a grungier track called "Song for Kelly Huckaby". As a very casual Death Cab listener, I had no idea they were able to sound like this. There's this sound that wraps around Photobooth and I can't tell what instrument it is but I'm assuming it's some sort of string or synth. It feels exactly like cold air. Then Ben Gibbard goes on to sing his beautiful, beautiful lyrics about the summer's end—vivid as ever. Northeast monsoon winds for me, autumn breeze for the other side of the world. Oh, look at me, I'm Ben Gibbard with my heart-tugging filmic words transporting people into another reality. Fuck you, Ben Gibbard!

2. As Lovers Go - Dashboard Confessional (Song)

I think it's obvious by now that I've been into emo music lately. Not that I deliberately seek it out, but I like to think they find their way to me. I've known DC since I was a kid from my cool older cousin, but I've only heard of tracks like Hands Down and Vindicated. This song came on Spotify shuffle while I was reading "Yamato wa Koi no Mahoroba", a romance manga about a chubby college girl sandwiched in a love triangle between two of her club co-members. Please do read it. My summary doesn't give justice to how adorable it is. Now, imagine my shock when I found out this song played in the end credits of Shrek 2.

3. Oregon Girl - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

What possessed them to call their band this name? It's a hipster disease.

There's twee and power pop qualities to this song that makes it an instant hit for me. Other songs in their "Broom" album that I love: "Pangaea" (edit: the song was incorrectly spelt Pangea 🤓) and "I Am Warm and Powerful". I've read somewhere that the band thinks they're mediocre musicians who make mediocre songs. I guess that's totally relative; maybe I just don't understand music theory. I wish I did because I want to know why it sounds special but for that reason, maybe it's good that I'm blissfully unaware. Their music heavily reminds me of Miniature Tigers, particularly their album "Tell It to the Volcano", which actually came out two years after this SSLYBY record. I found out about them through their song "Sink/Let It Sway" playing at an American Eagle store more than a decade ago, LOL.

[spongki]

I used to be a huge Brockhampton fan in high school. I think a lot of Gen Zs were. Hearing this line now makes me think of Class of 2020 and how they continue to mourn that they weren't able to celebrate prom and have their graduation ceremony. Luckily, I got to celebrate prom three years beforehand (Filipino schools hold prom during 9th and 10th grade) but I fully understand the frustration of not being able to march on the stage, then having the next few years of your late teens robbed from you. It's crazy how this album was released the year Class of 2020 entered high school, like it was a premonition of some sort. How do we shake off the nagging feeling that we were forced to move on quickly when things resumed to "normal"? Now we're stuck in some sort of arrested development.

We're all still seventeen, aren't we?

[spongki]

Spongkify: January 2025

Happy Chinese New Year! I haven't done this in a while.

The Garden - Ballet (Song)

Listening to this track then going back to their old stuff from haha era made it apparent how much their music has evolved over the years. I don't think their songs sound the same at all, but the new sounds they incorporate never feel out place. It helps that they're tapping into (what I assume are) adjacent genres/subcultures. I love love the techno direction with this one. Seems like fan reception on Reddit isn't too warm, though. There are criticisms about it that makes sense to me, but expecting good mixing from a punk band is not one of them.

Japanese Breakfast - Kokomo, IN (Song)

Spotify recommended this song to me on shuffle while I was on my Michelle Branch and Fearless era Taylor Swift binge last December. I was reaaaally into Clark Kent at the time, if that explains anything. Michelle Zauner's voice reminds me of Dolores O'Riordan's sometimes and I think that contributes to the '90s feel of the song. I love the strings as well--very Corrs-y. Just the sweetest frigging song ever.

Talking Heads - Houses in Motion (Song)

I recently saw a spectacular documentary film called "A Rustling of Leaves: Inside the Philippine Revolution" by Canadian filmmaker Nettie Wild about armed rebels during the Philippine Martial Law era. I had never heard this song before, but it played in the midst of the film and I knew that voice unmistakably belonged to David Byrne. The chanty topline melodies march (or in this case, walk, as he sings in the hook) along on what seems to be an endless uphill line, like a Sisyphean allegory to capitalism. And if there's anything you need to understand about Filipino militants, it's that all they want is to reject that kind of life.

Blood Orange - The Complete Knock (Song)

This. This is the sound of my 2025. I can make out the mood I want to establish this year with vague images this song evokes in me: disco balls, the ride home from a party, excessive bangles on my arm, scent of dark cherry hookah, red nails, red lipstick. Distinctively Dev Hynes in its production, it sounds directly taken from a time I was not fortunate enough to have been an adult for. This is the kind of nostalgia that makes me want to look forward, that makes me obsessed with the present and what's to come. In order to blog, it is imperative for me to get older.

[spongki]

10/11/23

Pero seryoso, sobrang saya last Saturday. Everything went seamlessly during my commute. Thank the gods for the existence of the r/HowToGetTherePH subreddit, whose purpose is pretty self-explanatory (the internet isn't a cesspool of profit-hungry users and AI bots, after all). I often wonder how commuters in the Philippines used to fare back then under these hellish conditions without the use of internet, but it's essentially just the same principle of asking strangers for directions if you think about it???

From Imus, Cavite to Quezon City: I had a tricycle take me to the bus terminal, took a bus to the MRT, rode from Taft station to Araneta-Cubao, then walked to Cubao Expo for about 900 meters with a phone in hand, reading a step-by-step instruction how to get there written by a redditor (backbone of society, ika-nga). Then, I booked an Angkas to Mow's in Matalino.

'Di ba nga kasi ang motto ko, "wala akong pera, wala akong kasama, 'di 'ko alam ang papunta don, pero pupunta ako." So that's what I did. Charot. Sa mga ganitong sitwasyon lang malakas ang fighting spirit ko. 'pag may gala, laging may gana. Charot x2. Huy pero sa totoo lang, 'di naman ako basta-basta lumalarga nang walang plano. Sinisikap ko talaga munang pag-aralan 'yung ruta ko bago ako pumunta sa isang lugar, which honestly has been part of the fun for me (or have I successfully manipulated myself into thinking of the horrific Philippine public transportation system as a fun little challenge?).

This tweet pops into my head every time my friends ask me to go out with them 😭 As a non-NCR girlie, ganito talaga ang pagdadaanan mo kung gusto mo maka-gimik mga Metro Manila friends mo 😔 Sabi nila nung nakaraang taon, magkakaroon na raw ng extension ang MRT/LRT hanggang Cavite sa taong susunod na rin agad. But Filipino math means 1 year na ang nakalipas sa pangako = 'wag ka nang umasa.

Oh well, na-enjoy ko naman ang commute ko kahit palipat-lipat. I'm not romanticizing it or anything; alam ko naman pakiramdam ng mga taong nakikipagsapalaran mag-commute araw-araw. Masaya lang ako kasi tuwing umaalis ako (which is napakabihira), pakiramdam ko para akong ibon na nakalabas sa hawla.

Obligatory song insert:

(Wala namang sumama sa'kin magpunta sa Kyusi 😒)

📍Cubao Expo, Gen. Romulo Ave., Cubao, Quezon City