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A dozen years ago, four brilliant but then underrated musicians cast rocks into a pond.

Then lo' and behold! Instead of causing ripples, it created a tsunami that swallowed everything in sight.

They were the Eraserheads. The pond was Original Pilipino Music.

And the tsunami was pop alternative; proudly Pinoy, made flesh then and has dwelt among us since. The end. Not.

Years after Ely Buendia, Raymond Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcos Adoro a.k.a. Eraserheads has parted ways, the music of the acknowledged flag bearer of Pinoy pop alternative music continues to course through the veins of the very generation they defined.

It's all because they made nine groundbreaking studio albulms collectively sold more than a million copies; churned out, oh, only just about dozen or so hit singles that composed the collective soundtrack of a nation and; won every imaginable award the industry could give them.

And though some of their disciples seem to have move on to R&B or acid jazz, trance or acoustic music and maybe even other pop alternative bands, make no mistake about it:

All still feel "Ligaya" and welcome "Toyang" "With A Smile" when they see her "Minsan" during "Sembreak;" standing under a "Maselang Bahagri" in the "Alapaap," just above the "Tindahan Ni Aling Nena" beside the "Magasin" stand where she dances "Ang Huling El Bimbo" in "Overdrive."

Who's "Toyang?," "Wag Mo Nang Itanong," "Pare Ko."

More fantastically, The Eraserheads still serves as shining example to today's new artists, whether they admit it or not.

They admit - hence, " ultraelectromagneticjam."

Slated to become the biggest OPM album of 2005, the 17-track album produced by Jam 88.3 and distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment is composed of refurbished Eraserheads' tunes done by an all-star roster tapped from diverse genres in the current OPM umbrella.

These are Paolo Santos (who did "Magasin"); Radioactive Sago ("Alcohol"); Imago ("Spolarium"); Isha ("Torpedo"); MYMP ("Wag Mo Nang Itanong"); Orange & Lemons ("Wag Kang Matatakot"); Rico J Puno ("Ang Hulinh El Bimbo); Kitchie Nadal ("Ligaya"); Barbie Almalbis ("Overdrive"); Sponge Cola ("Pare Ko"); 6CycleMind ("Alapaap"); FrancisM with Hardware Syndrome ("Super Proxy"); Cueshe ("Hard To Believe"); Brownman Revival ("Maling Akala"); South Border ("With A Smile") and; Sugarfree ("Tikman").

Eric Perpetua, Associate Program Director of Jam 88.3 who masterminded the tribute album for this unlikely radio station to bankroll it, says pulling together " utraelectromagneticjam" would've been a Herculean task had things not fallen into place.

"When I started doing this album, there were so many difficult hurdles," says Eric. "Will Eraserheads give their imprimatur? Will Sony BMG Music Entertainment allow it? How will artists to the project? Which Eraserheads song will each do? And how does one give the justice to E-heads' songs without being derivative?"

Fortunately, the gods of alternative music were listening and so sent friendly arrows along the way. When Eric broached the idea to Sony BMG Music Entertainment that owns the band's catalogue, they readily gave their go signal - provided only named bands do the work " as befitting the stature of the Eraserheads." So one down. Somewhat.

Next, Eric spoke to prospective top artists. You know, the ones who don't need to be 'bothered' at this point to contribute to a compilation are already busy plotting their next albums, promoting their current touring all over and / or going back and forth to the bank.

The response Eric got from them floored him.

"Everyone jumped at the idea!" says Eric. "It's as if, they, were waiting for something like this to happen. All were excited; couldn't wait to hit the studio. Like us, the only question on their lips was 'But which Eraserheads song?"

Unknown to them, Eric ha been reviewing the works of The Eraserheads. See, he was hoping of suggesting the right songs to them if they so much ask.

Unknown to him, no one had intentions of doing so - after all, each artist already has his own favorite E-heads' song long before "ultraelectromagneticjam" came up.

These choices would tickle a smile from any The Eraserhead' fan and, maybe, even from the boys themselves.

Isha, known for her Tori Amos-eque piano-and-vocals ways, lets it all rock a change while adding a quirk to 'Torpedo;' a song with lyrics that predisposes it for a male!

Ditto with Kitchie Nadal who couldn't keep a straight face (caught on record) while mouthing the line "ilang buhok pa ba ang aahitin?" from "Ligaya." To this day, she won't say which crop from which part of her body she was thinking of then.

As for Imago and Radioactive Sago Project, who would've foreseen them doing unreleased E-heads' singles? The first dredged up "spolarium" from the album "Sticker Happy" and made it single material. The second did "Alkohol" circa-"Circus" in fashion that provides liquid, even if that be liquor, seeks its own level.

And remember "Superproxy," that Eraserheads and Francsis Magalona team up? This time, they turn the tables on each other with Francis doing the singing and Ely busting the rhymes!

Wild. Crazy. Out of the box. But then, did anyone really expect different from anything that involves Eraserheads music?

"People have asked me, 'Why the Eraserheads?' The reasons are simple: No other band has made an impression and impact as big as they have on the music scene. No other band can create musical magic the way Ely, Marcus, Raymund and Buddy do when they come together. No other band is as witty, cheeky, spunky and as Filipino when it comes to lyrics. No one comes close to the Eraserheads, then and now," says Eric. Amen.

To the credit of all who participated in this landmark album, these (approximating all the above) were never an issue, anyway. Instead, all went into the studio with a mind to pay tribute to greatness - the essence of which is universality and, most of all, individuality that allow it to be remodeled successfully any which way.

Indeed, there's simply no right way of doing Eraserheads music. All are valid; all can only add to inexhorable, inexhaustible template.

By the way, Eric did get the blessings of every Eraserheads member. Maybe not as quickly as he wanted. But he did.

"Maybe approval was not as forthright because they did not think I was serious. So many have attempted to pull this off in the past in vain, that's why. But we were lucky. And now that the album is out, we say that we are honored." Says Eric.

And where better to launch the album on Nov. 29 than in UP Diliman, the alma mater of Eraserheads?

To be participated in by all of those involved in the fruition of the album, one can rightfully suspect it will turn out to be event of the year, too.

Now, nobody's sure if the Eraserheads would be there, of course.

But nobody doubts it would be one "ultraelectromagneticjam."

November 27, 2005

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