The Beginning - Circa 1990

I first heard Ligaya by the Eraserheads in 1990. I was in the office and it was playing on the radio. An office mate was singing along so I asked him who the artist was. He couldn't recall but I thought the song was quite catchy.

A few days later, I was riding in the car with my family, when the song came on the radio again. I was seated at the back with my two younger siblings and I recall tilting my head back to get close to the speaker during the fadeout so that I could hear the DJ mention the artist - the "Eraserheads" - weird name.

About a week later, I bought their first album on cassette. Ultraelectromagneticpop, kind of an out-of-this-world name for a debut album. Images of the blue, white & red giant robot, Voltes 5, spinning one of his trademark weapons - a pair of "electromagnetic tops" flashed through my mind. So these guys are, more or less, part of my generation. Back then, I thought that that was already something different in terms of image for this new band.

I remember lying in bed, listening for the first time to Ultraelectromagneticpop. The recording quality was "so-so". The sound was a bit tinny but these guys sounded like they were just jamming and having a lot of fun doing their thing.

I was not prepared, however, for track number three. In Pare Ko, the Eraserheads sing about the pain of unrequited love. The lyrics are simple, conversational, and are woven into a very likable melody. So there I was just enjoying the song when the chorus hit. Whoa! Did he just sing what I thought he sang!?! The sheer surprise at what I heard caused me to sit up in bed and press the rewind button to confirm what I just heard. Yup! Haha! These guys really are different.

I found the rest of Ultraelectromagneticpop a very enjoyable mix of witty songwriting and comedic self-expression.

And so I became a fan of Buddy, Ely, Marcus & Raymund; collectively known as the Eraserheads.