Just this morning I spent almost an hour waiting for a damn jeep that's going to take me to UP Campus, not to mention the glorious heat, the agitated crowd that is as hurriedly agitated as me, the incomprehensible music from the symphony of vehicles; sickening. Lo and behold the idea that tickled my mind to write about this experience. The downside of urban lifestyle. But why bother? When every Manila commuter knows what it's like?? Heck everyone who lives in the National Capital Region knows how exasperating and time wasting getting from point A to B within Metro Manila is.
If music, or art in general could be a reflection of reality, this kind of reality doesn't need to be artistically duplicated. That would be like flashing a concave mirror to someone's face.
Besides I am not the kind of person who doesn't normally yack about what I ate for dinner, or who I met last night, or what I did when I was alone and bored in my marvelous pad. I only open my mouth to make a point. Perhaps that is what I'm going to do. Make a point. Make a damn good composition, that actually has significance. But what point? well that's another million dollar question isn't it?...
Finally I'm in UP College of Music.
Modern music, atonal, serial, aleatoric, spatial, etc. That's what they do around here. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against them, as much as I spent the latest of my nights blasting Schoenberg, or Bartok or Stravinsky to my ears, they are good art.
Speaking of art, I believe that every good art contains a valuable message, whether that be a reflection of our reality, an artist's experience, inspiring a revolution and all that jazz.. just about anything that we want to express to a people. Now, considering that the content of your work are, say, direct attacks against the indecency of the government, who better to be the conceiving audience of your art than the government people themselves? Or perhaps the general public? But really where do these art exhibits, modern music concerts, or performance art take place?
Right. In remote theaters, and wide museums, filled with nobody but the artists and intellectuals themselves.
Point is, if I want to express an ideal to the mass public? I'd best say it in their own language.
Now I am delighted to tell you that I have come to the conclusion whether what music I must write in partial fulfillment for the University of the Philippines College of Music, heroic national ideals sung in the glorious beats of Gangnam Style.