they are disbanding

APO Hiking Society's music has been part of our lives in the Philippines. This trio of creative musicians have brought inspiration, happiness, hope and humour to life, not only in the Philippines, but also abroad. For me, their music is one of the things I turn to whenever I felt homesick or lonely. Whenever it rains, I remember their song, Pumapatak na naman ang ulan. Whenever I remember my friends in school, I remember their song, Awit ng barkada. Humour in heartbreak? Listen to their Kaibigan song. And many more instances in which their songs can speak to us...It's because we grew up and experienced life listening to the Apo's songs.

When I joined imeem and youtube, their songs were the first to be in my playlist, so I could listen to them whenever I wanted. Recently they announced that they were disbanding. Forty years of creating wonderful music together. Sad to hear that but they have their reasons. At least we still have their songs which we can listen to anytime, anywhere. Thank you, Danny, Jim & Boboy, for the good memories you gave us through your music. May you continue to touch the lives of people through the talents you have been given. The only regret I have is that I was not able to attend any of their concerts. I just did not have the opportunity. Glad to have the internet which gives updates of their activities.

Goodbye Tita

Very touching ...

Linking from Glen Omanio's youtube entry.

Birthday song

I read somewhere that some people esp. here in Asia do not sing the "Happy Birthday" song correctly. We are all familiar with the music. Usually we sing it like this:

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you.

So what is wrong with this? That book said that the words of the 4th line should not be "Happy birthday" but should be "Dear Name of one who has the bday", i.e. if it is Michael's birthday, it should be sung like this:

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Dear Michael
Happy birthday to you.

Yes, I think this is better than just repeating the same line. However, what if you are singing for 2 or more people?

At church we have a second stanza which goes like this:

May the Lord God bless you
May the Lord God bless you
May the Lord God
Bless you
May the Lord God bless you.

I guess it can be substituted with other words as long as it fits the measure. Such as this one which I learned since I was small:

Happy birthday to you
Ginamos kag monggo
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Of course we got scolded at home and at school whenever we sang this version!

Something from a freelance writer

There are lots of interesting stuff to read in this blog called "The Ups, Downs and Sometimes Insane World of Freelance Writing". Today I opened it to read some stuff and to drop some ECs, and there is a post about one gospel song which I really like to sing. You can find it here. Hope you too will feel encouraged as you listen to it.

...Behold He comes riding on the clouds...