Echoes September 2019 by Echoes

Academic Dishonesty by Andi Panaguiton

Unbound by Jiggy Cuenco

Cover Story: Music in Me by Meira De Luna

The Power of Music in Meme Culture by Bel Bernardo

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I Can’t Get No Satisfaction by Harvey Sañga

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Taking Art to The Streets by Bel Bernardo

The Life of Choral Music by Nina Reyes

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Meme Team Assemble! by Andrew Banaag

Universal Languages by Javi Vilchez

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ECHOE S 61B PUBLICATION

E DITOR-IN-CH IEF AS S OCIATE EDITOR STAFF

Echoes is the official publication of the UP Economics Society (UP Ecosoc), a nonstock, non-profit, student organization based in the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Economics.

COMMUNICATIONS E DI TO R IAL ASSISTANT STAFF

Echoes is released two to four times a semester and six times in a year on the months of March, May, September, October, and December. It draws its funding from a subsidy from UP Ecosoc, and small fundraisers. One copy of the issue is produced to be read freely by the members of the organization. This publication is printed by Yza Copy Systems and Trading, located at Katipunan, Quezon City. contact us upecosoc@gmail.com ecosoc.echoes@gmail.com tweet us @echoesph for more information, visit: echoes.ph issuu.com/echoes All errors are corrected when uploaded on issuu.com/echoes. If you spot an error, please email us. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Meira De Luna Mia Cruz Alyanna Basbas Maxine Capili Paolo Jorge Joseph Marasigan Javi Vilchez

Andrew Banaago Jego Agabin Jabby Aurelio Joaquin De Guzman Glenn Guy Harvey Sañga

CONTRIBUTORS Paolo Jorge Andi Panaguiton Lance Cheng Javi Vilchez Franz Cruz Gab Rivera Nica Floro Aleiza Liberato Jiggy Cuenco Steff Menor Meira De Luna

Mia Cruz Harvey Sañga Nina Reyes Miguel Balao J u r i s Tr i n i d a d Marcus Fontanilla Ya s B a s t i d a Joseph Marasigan Bel Bernardo Jem Gemzontan Andrew Banaag

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EDI TOR’S LE T T ER

Making these issues never does get any easier. If I made the analogy of being the Echoes Editor-in-Chief to being the Avatar, and thus the past EICs to being the past avatars, I’d be Korra. (If there are any Legend of Korra fans reading this, no, I don’t accept criticism.) Nonetheless, the creation of the CADENCE issue was a lot of fun, from hearing Nina’s beautiful voice, to marvelling at Harvey’s sound equipment, to using Balao’s camera when mine died, to eventually resorting to an iPhone when his camera eventually died as well. Just a day after an adhoc’s creatives transformed the tambayan into a makeshift photo studio for taking those important profile pictures, it was transformed again for our little photoshoot and sessions, so us creatives owe our deepest gratitude to this little nook of ours. This semester, we go back to the basics, or should I say, the quintessentials. Bluntly said, this is simply the musical issue, where we feature some of our musically passionate members, namely Nina Reyes, Harvey Sañga, and Miguel Balao. I must sincerely apologize to the others who arre just as passionate and as talented as these three for not being featured on the cover along with them, but take comfort in the fact that this issue is dedicated to all of you, across genres and fame. Whether you regularly release original songs on Soundcloud, perform during Ecosoc events, undergo classical training, or simply jam out within the four walls of your bedroom, the CADENCE of music is yours to create, yours to change, and yours to cherish. I used to play guitar back in middle school, but a boy broke my heart, and I’ve never touched my guitar since then. Ironic how instead of pouring out my heartbreak through music, it was that heartbreak that actually led me to never touch my guitar ever again, even to this day. May this never be the case for anyone else.

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A LYA N N A B E R N A R D O ECOSOC MONTH hey, ecosoc! hope ur ready for a jam-packed sem! so excited for all that’s in store— 80+ new apps, EM, NYC, NES, and all the other solid events! plus, a whole new ecosoc party c/o the EM team so get ready for that :P let’s get lit! <3 bel

GAIL GIBE SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE HI ECOSOC hope the sem’s great so far!!! daming ganap ng september — EM + start na roots prep so GET READYYYYY HOPE I SEE U AROUND <3, gail (pero gain daw sabi ng ate sa nomu)

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J O S H UA AG U ST I N ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Hi Ecosoc!! tysm for supporting Book-alikes HAHHA, recog day, statements pati na rin IG+Twitter accounts ni wormy ;) <3 <3 get redi sa acle next month :) E C H O E S | S E P T E M B E R

BETINA SALES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

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hi ecosoc!!! first of all, thank you for supporting SP! youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve filled the hearts of the Pook Ricarte kids, parents and ofc ecosoc <3 continue spreading the love this sem as we prepare for our Saturday ACDCs, Vendors Electives, Caravans and more. see you around! luv, bets (& giffy)

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MEIRA DE LUNA ECHOES Howdy, Ecosoc! Looks like this semester will be a wild ride of foolishness. This August may have been quiet for Echoes, but worry not, the silence will be worth it once we churn out those issue and web releases you’ve been craving for. Hopefully. In the meantime, watch out for whatever Ecosoc has to offer, but more importantly, watch your backs. You never know when you’ll be the subject of a Cursed Image. I’d like to extend my most sincere gratitude for Mia Cruz and Andrew Banaag, my two team heads and meme heads. I’d also like to give a shoutout to my seven interns: Cayenne, Erin, Gabe, Jhoe, John, Juris, and Toby. You know what they say, seven is such a mystic number.

H E AT H E R TA B L A N T E EXTERNAL AFFAIRS hello sige next month namamatay kami d2 nes mowd ! gegege see u october

na tayo

magusap

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NICOLE FORMOSO FINANCE hey there i think ur doing great i think ur gr8 ur amazing i also think my fin apps and fin mems have been so amazing n gr8 shoutout to u FINaka hot babes i appreciate u all v much as in :( pls watch out for our initiatives soon hope u support yay thanks labyu :( :( E C H O E S | S E P T E M B E R

LIA QUERIJERO MEMBERSHIP See you in GT. ;) <3, Lia

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JANO DELEÑA SECRETARIAT hellooo Ecosoc!! Buhay pa ba kayooo?? Lol okay, I just want to say that I’m really proud of my Seccom officers as they pulled off a stressful August-September duties (Internal / External Pubs -> Genmeet Minutes -> Rec Week DP/Cover -> Applicant’s Sigsheet). Be prepared for more creative pubs & infos to be released and executed by our Seccom Apps. Attend kayooo Mini-Workshop namin! Solid yunn promisee! Luv u all and thank u <3 9

N NEWS

News by the Numbers. TGIF. Ecosoc 61B Plansem. 61B First Genmeet. Academic Dishonesty in UPSE. Kyoto Animation. Unbound: AppsOr & Akwe. GW Bidding & Eventology. Do You Hear The People Sing? 南中国海新闻：大国和小国战斗

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NEWS BY THE NUMBERS by PAOLO JORGE

Years of the UP Economics Society

Years since September by Earth, Wind, and Fire was released

Weeks of continuous protests in Hong Kong

Hopefuls running for the 2020 Democratic Party Presidential Nomination

Songs released under Taylor Swiftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new album, Lover

Sports will be played at the 30th Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines

85% increase in wildfires raging in the Amazon Rainforest

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Minute duration of Jose Mari Chan’s Christmas in Our Hearts

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115 Days between September 1, 2019 and December 25, 2019

Songs were included in Barack Obama’s 2019 Summer Playlist

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TGIF

by ALEIZA LIBERATO Thank God It’s Friday! That means we can finally drink, wind down, and destress. Last August 9. 2019 , I must say, was different! Heavy rains caused few suspensions during that week, including that friday. It was a bittersweet suspension honestly, because I was actually looking forward to it, until memcomm mems started messaging if TGIF will still push through (as a kaladkarin…). I was, fingers crossed, hoping it will, and IT DID! Shoutout to memcomm for being so G! So despite the heavy rain, it didn’t stop Ecosocers from going to Walrus. It was a blurry night (of course as a low-tol), but I wouldn’t forget for sure how everyone drank a lot and danced the night away. Of course, 14

one TGIF won’t do for Ecosoc. We had another one last August 16, 2019, given that it was after App Akwe. That night was a different one, yet again, because APPS WERE SO WILD! (can I just say). I literally couldn’t keep up with their energy! Nevertheless, Ecosoc would always manage to have fun, and everyone were all smiles that night. Mems got to meet apps and the apps got experience how Ecosocers have fun. Ecosoc inumans, fyi, don’t just happen on fridays, Ecosocers would frequently call for “spontys” and I’d always be excited to join (emphasis on --- as a kaladkarin) to bond with other members. That’s why I love being an Ecosocer, everyone are just so free-spirited!

ECOSOC 61B PLANSEM by GAB RIVERA

had the chance to relax with a night full of fun, food, drinks, swimming and a fucking pool slide. It rained that night, but that didn’t stop the members from having fun.

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The first Genmeet for the Ecosoc 61B had taken place last August 15, 2019 in SE 114. The agenda for this Genmeet included the introduction of each committee’s team heads and members, their plans and reminders for the organization, and updates on the various AdHocs that will take place this semester. The new members and execomm were also inducted during this time. Some committee updates, plans, and reminders include Acad’s book-a-likes, CDC’s counts, Service Project (Ecozania), ACDC 1, and Vendor’s elective, Echoes’ targets, new content, and web releases, Exte’s databases, 1920 privcard, social media recognition, and OSA recognition, Fin’s management and initiatives, Seccom’s pubs, sigsheet info & photos, and locker rental, and Memcomm’s TGIF, tambay weeks, the new grading scheme for 61B, and Grand Trad. Some AdHoc updates include NYC’s official logos, designs, and pubs as well as EM 61’s events like Launch, Service Project, NES, GT, and the final event.

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by NICA FLORO

61B FIRST GENMEET

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Last July 27-28, the UP Economics Society held its Plansem in Binangonan, Rizal. The day began with a meet-up at Econ at around 11 AM, where the members of the organization carpooled to the venue. Arriving there, they began immediately with the SWOT analysis of the previous semester, giving insight to the different views the members have on the organization’s performance the past semester. After an hour of dialogue, the members proceeded to take a breather from the weight of the discussion with an icebreaker. Members were divided into two and played a twisted game of blind Pictionary, with each mistake resulting in a certain amount shots the teams must take. Of course, by the end of it, most were tipsy enough just to get through the next segment – the committee presentations. Each committee was given the chance to present their plans for the rest of the semester, beginning with the Academic Affairs committee, and ending with both Ecosoc Month 61 and the National Youth Congress Adhoc committees. Members were given the chance to discuss and give comments on the plans of the committees, so as to help each team with their operations. After the committee presentations, the members finally

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ACA D E M I C D I S H O N E ST Y I N U P S E by ANDI PANAGUITON

Last December 2018, there were cheating incidents that occured during an Economics 122 examination. Students were seen comparing answers with one another, and this was brought to the attention of the UPSE Administration by several witnesses. The UPSE College Disciplinary council then conducted an investigation on the 2 separate cases, which then both garnered guilty verdicts. The ruling was then confirmed by the UP Executive Council before the cases reached the Office of UP President Danilo O. Concepcion, who acquitted the first case while the second case has yet to be given a verdict. Despite the fact that both cases were clear violations of the 2012 Code of Student Conduct of UP Diliman, the UPSE administration is currently being pressured to release those involved for graduation, prompting them to write a letter of appeal to the UP Board of Regents.

UP President Danilo O. Concepcion’s actions on the cases were met with strong criticism from several student organizations within the university. The UP School of Economics Student Council (SESC) strongly denounced academic dishonesty, stating that “it has no place in a university that prides itself in promoting honor and excellence.” Similarly, the League of College Councils (LCC) affirmed these two fundamental values, asserting that “while we put premium to ensuring that these two coexist, we never compromise the former in the pursuit of the latter” and that academic dishonesty is a disservice not only to the university as an institution, but also to the millions of taxpayers who fund our education. The Association of School of Economics (ASEO) also condemned academic dishonesty and commended the witnesses who stepped forward and brought the act to justice, stating “we stand with

the witnesses who continuously fight to ensure that honor and excellence are being sustained even in the smallest of circumstance”. It takes one person to stand up against wrongdoing in order to seek justice, yet numerous students have risen to the challenge of calling out the UP Administration against the UP President’s decision that threatens the core thrusts of honor and excellence that the university prides itself with. It was the students who gathered in number and held a mobilization last July 31, protesting against the President’s handling of the cases and calling for academic justice. Integrity serves as the foundation for these core values, and we cannot allow this foundation to weaken. As UP students, it is our duty to stand against what we believe is wrong and to hold our administration to the highest standard when it comes to championing the very thrusts of honor and excellence that it preaches.

KYOTO A N I M ATI O N A R S O N AT TAC KS KI L L S 35 A ND D EVASTATE S TH E A NI ME CO MMU NI T Y by LANCE CHENG

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Firefighters found 20 bodies on the stairs between the third floor and the roof, suggesting that they succumbed to burn injuries as they tried to escape. 11 more bodies were found on the second floor with the remaining being found on the first floor. At least 20 (two-thirds) of the victims were female animators, among them color designer Naomi Ishida and animation directors Yasuhiro Takemoto, Yoshiji Kigami and Futoshi Nishiya. The building did not have fire sprinklers nor indoor fire hydrants given its nature as a small office building as reported by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. However, no deficiencies in fire safety compliance were identified from its October 17, 2018 inspection. Aoba fled the scene, but was apprehended by the Kyoto Prefectural Police at a nearby station. Eyewitnesses reported Aoba to have been shouting “die” (shine) as he set the building ablaze. Police and witnesses also reported that Aoba was accusing Kyoto Animation for “plagiarising” his work. Company president Hideaki Hatta confirmed that they received a draft novel from the suspect, however it did not pass the first-stage assessment and bore no similarity to their published works. Hatta also reported that the studio had been receiving death threats and at the time immediately informed lawyers and the police. Aoba is currently at a university hospital in Osaka receiving further treatment for his burn wounds. He is claimed to be suffering from a mental illness, however no further details were specified. More than US$21.5 billion dollars were raised by fans, organizations and businesses across the globe for Kyoto Animation’s recovery efforts. The company also received separate ¥10 million dollar contribution from Japanese musician Yoshiki and game developer Key. Numerous individuals, government officials and businesses also showed their support in their own way for Kyoto Animation. Nevertheless, these efforts are likely not enough to fill the devastating hole left by Aoba’s brutal attack. July 18, 2019 will forever mark a tragic day for the families, co-workers and fans of the deceased animators.

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At around 10:30 AM on July 18, 2019, an explosion and subsequent fire laid waste to the Kyoto Animation’s Studio 1 building located in the Fushimi ward of Kyoto, Japan. 35 people died as a result of the arsonist’s attack, succumbing to burn wounds and suffocation. An additional 33 people were gravely injured due to the fire. The complete destruction of Kyoto Animation Studio is considered the deadliest massacre in Japan since World War II and the gravest fire since the Myojo 56 building fire in 2001. The suspect, a 41 year old man named Shinji Aoba doused the building and several employees with 40 litres of gasoline before igniting it. The initial ignition caused a loud explosion after which, flames engulfed the building entrance. Some employees that were directly doused caught fire and ran out onto the streets. The rest were trapped within.

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N B O U N D : A P P S ’ O R I E N TAT I O N AND AKWE by JIGGY CUENCO

We officially welcomed the Unbound Apps 61B to Ecosoc last August 16 during their App’s Orie and Akwe. Memcomm was targeting to get 80 apps this sem but surprisingly we exceeded that and around 85 apps signed up. We didn’t expect so many apps to go during the Orie and Akwe so some ended up having to sit along the aisle and stand at the back but nonetheless we still pushed through and we had a successful event. We started the orientation with the apps going inside the room with their eyes closed and once they opened their eyes, the mems gave them a big and loud welcome cheer. As with every orientation, we explained to the apps what they can expect from their app process, what Ecosoc is about and what our organization stands for. Each home committee and adhoc got the chance to introduce themselves to the apps in hopes that they would work with them this semester. Afterwards, we had Akwe which was hosted by Gab and Icon. This was my favorite part for the program. For Akwe, we made a mini scav for the apps to play. They were split into 5 teams. Each team had to go through 5 stations, which were manned by Tapps, with a task waiting for them per station. Besides the 5 stations, they were given a list of challenges that they could do for additional points. The mini scav was a success and everyone had a blast. After the game, apps and mems came together to eat and get to know each other. Of course, it didn’t end there. To celebrate the success of the event, we all went to Walrus, along apps, to have some drinks and to end our night. Everyone had an amazing time and it was a great way for the apps to start their journey here in Ecosoc. -Jiggy 18

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by STEFF MENOR

HE WEEK AFTER: GW BIDDING AND E V E N TO LO GY

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As August ends, the Unbound applicants dove straight into knowing more about the organization and how it works. There were two events combined to not burden them into letting them go to events on separate days. The GW Bidding and Eventology events were held from 4 to 6 p.m. in SE 105. To start the atmosphere bright, the GW Bidding took place first. There were ten families and everyone was thrilled to bid because of the announcement that there were only nine families that they could bid on. Everyone was shocked by the amounts that the applicants were bidding just to get the family they wanted. One family nearly reached the 10,000 mark and that drove other families jealous and crazy. Despite the competition present, everyone had smiles on their faces at the end of the GW Bidding. Everyone was satisfied because each family had a GW family at the end because there was a twist to the bidding. On to the more serious note, everyone gathered to listen to different members of Ecosoc share their insights, knowledge, and experience about the specific fields that were chosen, particularly Programs, Creatives, Corporate Relations, Finance/Sales, and Logistics. This was particularly important for the app officers that will ensure the execution of their app project along with the other apps later in their app process. The two events would help the applicants in their journey ahead in Ecosoc. As they continue, may they find the home that the members see in the organization.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock and sealed in a snowglobe-type dome with no access to technology or social media, you’ve probably heard about the recent civil turmoil going on in the special administrative region of Hong Kong- one of the world’s oldest trading outposts and one of the last freeholds of democracy and liberal thought under the jurisdiction of the rapidly expanding oriental hegemon, the People’s Republic of China. But perhaps, in the age of information and with the shame that comes with the prevalence of #CancelCulture, you may have been too afraid to ask your supposedly well-informed and “woke” peers what exactly is going on in the Asian city that never sleeps. Fret not, dear readers. This is the article for you. The root cause of the protests is a controversial proposed bill floating around the legislature of Hong Kong that would allow local authorities to detain and extradite people who are wanted of crimes in mainland China. The name of the bill in question is the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation Bill 2019, and it was filed by the government of Hong Kong in February as a response to the murder of Taiwanese tourist Poon Hiu-Wing by her boyfriend, Chang Tong-Kai, who was avoiding extradition in Hong Kong where the murder took place. Many people feel that the passage of such a bill would be a dangerous precedent for Hong Kong’s political and economic freedom from China’s ruling Communist Party, a freedom that has been guaranteed

D O YO U H E A R T H E P E O P L E SING? by JAVI VILCHEZ

under the Handover of Hong Kong agreement of 1998 which promises a separate government and laws for the island-state until 2048, 50 years after it was turned over from British jurisdiction to that of mainland China. Simply put, the British government gave Hong Kong back to China under the condition that they would now be under a “two systems, one country” principle. Protesters want to voice out at least five main concerns: a complete withdrawal of the bill from all legislative processes, retraction of the term “riot” to describe democratic protesters, the release and exoneration of arrested protesters, establishing an independent commission of inquiry to investigate police abuses that took place during the protests, and the resignation of Carrie Lam as Chief Executive of Hong Kong’s government-- with the next Chief Executive to be elected through universal suffrage rather than through a 1,200 legislative tribunal. While initial protests around 130,000 strong began as soon as the bill had been filed on March 31, riots swelled to 1.03 million by June 12, just as the bill was opened for reading. Over 100 international and local businesses suspended work for the June 12 protests in support of the protesters. Currently, 900 protesters have been arrested by local police-whose highly-controversial crowd dispersal methods have resulted in over 2,100 protester injuries as of August 2019. Five dissenters have died during the protests, but all of them were suicides in protest of the bill-- which Carrie Lam decided to suspend by June 15. However, Lam’s decision to not withdraw the bill and keep it in circulation has spurred on protesters to continue their staunch opposition. Led by the pro-democracy group Civil Human Rights Front

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being so intimidated by protests that one officer fired a warning shot into the air-the first time a live round was fired by authorities, which was met with widespread condemnation from the protesters.

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the cancellation of over 200 flights at Hong Kong International Airport. By August 6, the Hong Kong police began making key arrests amidst the protests-starting with student and union leaders, including prominent student leader Joshua Wong. To condemn the “unlawful’ arrests and police brutality, protest numbers peaked at 1.7 million-- the largest numbers to date-- who assembled in the historic Victoria Park on August 18. Around 210,000 of the participants decided to form a 50-kilometer long human chain extending from Hong Kong harbour to Lion Rock, while chanting “Return the eye!”. The chant was in response to a protesting nurse who had lost her left eye to a police baton in previous protests. Police reported

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(CHRF) and various student, senior citizen, religious, entrepreneurial, and civil organizations, protesters continued to boast a 550,000-strong daily number well into July as they besieged Hong Kong’s legislative building, police headquarters, and public parks. Rumors and viral videos began to spread of masked and white-clad anti-protesters, supposedly under the employ of mainland China, launching violent attacks on protesters in train stations-- whacking the crowds brutally with batons and launching fire crackers at crowds from speeding cars-- although both the Hong Kong government and mainland China have denied any involvement. A host of 350,000 protesters, enraged by the violence shown by both police and anti-protesters, marched into Cross-Harbour Tunnel, even throwing a Chinese flag into Victoria Harbour. The commotion caused by the uproar caused

As of August 31, protests have reached their 13th week with no sign of slowing down. Many, including US President Donald Trump, have voiced their concern about growing presence of Chinese military troops and vehicles by the Hong Kong border. Despite this, the international political and business community has thrown overwhelming support behind the prodemocracy protesters. With no clear end in sight, both justice and security remain elusive in the freedom’s final frontier in China. 21

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昨天早上八点有多只虫子在一条船想挑战中国自己的领土。虫子没有力量和情报，只有心和胆。可是我们是中国！中国就是最好最强大的国家。没有国家敢挑战我们吧！这只虫子是我们非常好的朋友，菲律宾。菲律宾向中国提起诉讼. 这个动作很有意思因为Spratly就是中国的。中国人祖人说的是中国有九段线。中国知道还有别的国家在南宗过海所以也是中国的！

南中国海新闻：大国和小国战斗卢钦铭

在这个事情，中国是受害者，只想希望在亚洲和平与繁荣。这是为了告诉菲律宾停了因为我们感到脆弱。虽然中国比菲律宾强大，中国不想跟你们战争。如果你们给我们Spratly，我们两国家都赢了，不会发生战争。谢谢菲律宾！希望能和平地见到您们，不太实在战争中！

by F RA NZ C R U Z

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Thank you all! China hopes to meet the Philippines in peace, not in war!

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SOUTH CHINA SEA NEWS: BIG COUNTRY AND SMALL COUNTRY S TA N D O F F

In this situation, China is the victim. Peace and prosperity in Asia is all they want. This statement is to tell the Philippines that China feels vulnerable. Even though China is bigger than the Philippines, there is no intention of waging war with them. No war will happen if they give us the Spratly Islands. It is a win-win situation.

The Philippines filed a case against China. This action is very interesting because Spratly Islands is really China’s. The ancestors of the people of China said China has a 9 dash line. China understands that there are other countries in the South China Sea, which means they are also China’s ownership!

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Yesterday at 8 am, an insect tried to challenge the sovereignty of China. This insect has no strength nor intelligence, just bravery. However, we are China! China is the most powerful country in the world and no other country should dare challenge us! Of course, this insect is China’s good friend, the Philippines.

F F E AT U R E S

Unsolved. Taking Art to the Streets. Meraki, Money, & Maslow’s. Music in Me. The Life of Choral Music. I Can’t Get No Satisfaction. The Power of Meme Culture in Music. Plunge. Rubrics.

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The revival of the true crime genre has awakened everyone’s inner detective, with conspiracy theories starting to gain traction on the internet. While a lot of them are pretty crazy and hard to believe, a handful of them are quite convincing due to the amount of “evidence” conspiracy theorists claim to have. I occasionally enjoy putting my tinfoil hat on, and obsessively read articles or watch videos about these in my spare time. With that, I’d like to share some of the theories I personally believe could be true:

U N S O LV E D YAS B AS TIDA

Stevie Wonder isn’t blind

Avril Lavigne is dead

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The famed sk8r girl has reportedlY been using a body double named Melissa that eventually ended up taking her place permanently after her “death” in 2003. Theorists claim that her facial structure, handwriting and style went through obvious changes after her alleged death, and that Melissa left a hint in the song “Slipped Away”, where she sings, ‘The day you slipped away was the day I found it won’t be the same’. So much for a happy ending.

The cover of Bowie’s album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars features a sign with the words “K. West” written on It and was released 5 years before Kanye’s birth. His final album, titled Blackstar, iS also an obvious reference to his heir apparent as he sings, ‘Something happened on the day he died. Somebody else took his place, aNd bravely cried, ‘I’m a blaCKstar, I’m a blackstar!’’ This could be true, but then again, it could also just be a part of someone’s beautiful dark twisted fantasy.

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Some people are 100% convinced that Stevie Wonder, famous singer-songwriter, has 20/20 vision (for the most part). An incident often cited as proof is Paul McCartney’s White House performance in 2010 where McCartney knocks over a microphone stand only for it to be caught by Stevie Wonder. He’s also been caught looking at a phone, taking a photo of Michael Jackson, and wearing watches he would technically hAve no use for. Why would Stevie Wonder lie about such a thing? I guess we’ll always be left wondering.

Kanye West is David Bowie’s reincarnation

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It’s difficult to fully prove any single one of these theories, but it’s also hard to disprove them since not a lot of their subjects have acknowledged them. Till then, I’ll just be here waiting for the day the reptilians led by Beyonce take over.

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TA K I N G ART TO THE STREETS BEL B ER N A RD O Art, in its traditional convention seems to be very passive, hung up on walls for people to simply look at and admire. But beyond this, art can be more. It has always been an avenue for expression, a call to defy the norms and to continually challenge the status quo. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s controversial and politicalâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; representing the marginalized and underrepresented, calling out social injustice, becoming the voice of the people. Art exists wherever there is something that needs to be talked about, and protest art is exactly that. Their visuals are just so haunting and so striking, that you have no choice but to look closely and think about them. Here are some pieces of protest art, both local and international, that aimed to call people to action and inspire change.

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BANKSY’S ART BANKSY’S ART BANKSY’S ART

Banksy has become one of the most intriguing and mysterious artists out there, not just because of his controversial art, but his secret identity. Many speculate about who he is, and this only brings more attention to his work. His style is heavily graffiti-based, seen around random walls and tackling many different social issues like capitalism and war. He’s even branched out into more installation related pieces.

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THE FEARLESS GIRL THE FEARLESS GIRL THE FEARLESS GIRL

Placed in front of the raging bull statue on Wall Street, this statue is a symbol of women empowerment and a call to place more women in power. By facing the bull, she reasserts her place in society and is not backing down. 30

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Nothing is as shocking as photos like these, depicting the pain and sorrow of the families of those killed in President Duterteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drug war. To see real people mourning over their loved ones, evokes such raw emotions from the audience. It just goes to show how horrible the current situation is.

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As seen on the news and on social media, many young people have taken to the streets to protest the injustices in the country, and with this, comes their art. Many have made satirical and imaginative pieces depicting national leaders, with some even being set aflame. These eye-catching installations really make you think and reflect.

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M E R A K I , M O N E Y, & M A S L O W ’ S by MIA CRUZ

legalistic about it, there’s the input of hours, resources, and learned skills, with the opportunity cost of stability for the sake of one’s passions. Thus that part of the soul desires its recognition, and that too is simply economics - price being the signal of demand and desire. Money is easily a language that can make anyone feel compensated. And if there isn’t money, well. There’s always the word-of-mouth. And social media. Putting credit where it’s due. But money is always the preferred means, because compliments feed egos, not bellies. There is a word that the Ancient Greeks used to describe the part of the soul that the artist imbues in everything they create - the word is “meraki,” which in the more modern tongue actually translates to “taste.” And in essence, it is a taste of the artist’s soul that you are given when you look, read, watch, or listen to a creative work, isn’t it? With every brushstroke of yellow Van Gogh paints onto his canvas, his bitter desire for happiness; with every word penned by Barrett-Browning, the overwhelming sweetness of her love and devotion to her husband; with each shout to the crowds for freedom by the Les Amis of Les Misérables, the hot burning passion Hugo held for his homeland; and with each note and lyric of an Eraserheads song, the hazy, bittersweet nostalgia of a UP viewed through faded, sepia brown images. When you ask for a taste of that soul, you must at least compensate for the gaping hole its absence leaves behind. “Gaping hole” can be a bit of an overstatement, but the concept behind this isn’t rocket science - it’s literally economics. With one piece of art, or intellectual property if you want to be 32

What then makes it so goddamn difficult for people to compensate artists - visual artists especially? The answer is simple: Maslow’s. The arts are viewed as unnecessary to life because they’d fall on the higher end of the pyramid, with self esteem and actualization. Oscar Wilde, himself an artist, waxes poetry about what art does at the beginning of his novel The Picture of Dorian Grey, but ends it satirically by saying “All art is quite useless.” There are a handful of quotes out there that easily counter this, and the best of them is none other than Robin Williams’ famous line from the now thirty-year-old film Dead Poets Society:

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”

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The frustration experienced by most artists in lack of compensation stems from this belief however, and ends up leading to how most tend to view the arts as something that can be easily learned and done. This happens the most with commissioning and - dare I say it - publicity work. Tell the Fine Arts major who spent years of their life honing their skills that art is easily learned. Tell the animator and the pub person who has to cram their works due to unreasonable deadlines that what they do can be easily done. Materials may be cheap, but time isn’t. Effort isn’t. And that piece of their soul that they give at the end of it? Priceless.

It goes without saying that artists deserve compensation. That I write of this however attests to its tragic insufficiency - not only in financial terms but also in moral rights. With this my own meraki, given to me by numerous experiences, I don’t expect to change the way things are now. But I’d be damned if I didn’t think it was worth it.

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ROBERT BROWNING VISITS ELIZABETH BARRETT AT 50 WIMPOLE STREET. Painting by Herbert Gustave Carmichael Schmalz 33

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Interview by MEIRA DE LUNA

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Photography by MEIRA DE LUNA & MIA CRUZ

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USIC IN ME 35

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Last August 26, 2019, three people came t o g e t h e r, u n l e a s h e d t h e i r m u s i c , t o o k t h e i r photos here and there, and pondered on their unique yet unifying journeys as musicians. Ta k e a l o o k a t t h e s t o r i e s o f a c h o i r s i n g e r , a s e a s o n e d g u i t a r i s t , a n d a n e c l e t i c s i n g e r.

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How did this passion and dedication to your music begin? Balao: I had been interested in music ever since I was a toddler. My mom would tell me that whenever songs start playing back then, I would start dancing and smiling; sometimes with my diaper full and drooping. Years later I started competing in singing competitions and talent shows in school. I had briefly taken guitar and piano lessons but wasn’t as dedicated to learning more shortly after these lessons ended. For the rest of my high school I had joined the school choir with Pompeii by Bastille being my iconic song. Then came college I started focusing on a specific genre which was Jazz. This was a genre I was into since it seemed fitting for my BassBaritone natured voice. Harvey: I hated having music lessons, whether formal or informal. However, there was this one time my grandmother enrolled me in a beginner guitar class as a summer program at our local church and they later grouped us into bands. I loved the process of getting together and making music with other people.

Nina: It started off as something my mom wanted me to learn as a child, and as I took voice lessons, I realized “wow, I actually like this” and began pursuing classical music and similar genres.

Who are, or were, the biggest influencers of your sound? B: Perhaps I would be able to say that my parents were big influencers to my singing style and preference. Although my mom never really played instruments and my dad only played guitar, they did expose me to a lot of Jazz music and bossa nova/ coffee shop music. This would eventually introduce me to artists such as Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra, then eventually Brandon Urie. I would also like to add that both my parents could sing and had been singing in a choir since they were teens.

H: My greatest influencers were my mom and dad. They were both musicians (though they were what I would consider polar opposites). My mom loved playing soft and subtle organ/piano pieces while my dad introduced me to straight up metal. I dedicate my wide spectrum of interest in music to both of them. N: The person who influenced me the most was my mom, since she herself was also part of a choir growing up. She shared stories with me of her time performing in UP and would always tell me that if I wanted to join a choir, that I should join UPSA. We’ve incorporated music into our lives as something we practice regularly. From church music to Broadway songs, she became my personal coach and helps me train my voice.

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For Nina, what was it about choir that made you gravitate to the genre? N: It was the sound of voices harmonizing and having that clean tone that drew me towards choir. I was attracted to the classical type of voice early on, and that helped me appreciate choral music.

For Balao, what made you decide to branch out from jazz and explore other genres? B: In truth, jazz was never a genre I stayed in to â&#x20AC;&#x153;branch out ofâ&#x20AC;?. It was more of a genre that I thought that my voice seemed most fitting given voice and style compatibilities. I generally explored a lot of genres with jazz being a focus at one point. However, I may say that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m looking more into other genres now namely bedroom pop and asian rap/ hiphop with the likes of Rich Brian and Joji. I was intrigued by how this rose in popularity and the factors that had eventually lead to its trending recently.

For Harvey, is there a genre that you would like to explore or experiment with? H: Honestly, it would have to be nursery rhymes. I know some technicalities that could help me make complex musical pieces but it really boggles my mind how nursery rhymes are so simple yet so timeless and legendary.

Who are/were your biggest supporters in pursuing your sound? B: My grandmother. She believed that my voice had potential. She also loved the low note registers I could hit with my voice. H: My parents and friends would be such supporters. Personally, the best thing you could get from other people as a musician is their appreciation.

N: Everyone in my community supports me in this endeavor. They all have heard me sing in church and that’s what they love hearing. It humbles me whenever I hear someone appreciate the music I sing.

Is it more fun to collaborate or to go solo? In Nina’s case, is it more fun to be part of the choir or to perform alone?

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B: Solo’s boring af unless you know how to produce solid beats on a music software. I see collaborations as essential especially when you’re in a band or need someone to provide instrument accompaniment.

H: Collaboration is the way to go! I have a few tricks I came up by myself but I could do so much more by learning other people’s tricks as well.

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N: It’s definitely more exciting to sing in a choir because you get to interact with everyone throughout the performances. Sometimes there are solo performances, but we still sing together in the background to support that soloist.

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For Balao and/or Harvey, what did it feel like to finally collaborate with each other? B: I first knew about Harvey’s capabilities with the guitar via a Facebook video where he made a guitar cover of Mundo. It was at that moment that I felt eager to see what else he ould do because he seemed like a person with a lot of musical potential. H: Balao was my GG during our OrSem. He sang “Fly Me to the Moon” and he was the very first person I wanted to collaborate with. I was really happy with the opportunity to play with him and I’m looking forward for more.

What’s the hardest part of pursuing your music? B: Admittedly, I have started to lose an interest in pursuing my music because of the lack of time for developing my craft. Nowadays, I spend more time on academic and project-based work. H: Insecurities. There will always be a person out there who will make something so good and make you think of yourself as trash. N: I think the hardest part right now is getting new people to join. A lot of people don’t audition because they’re either shy, uninterested, or too intimidated by existing members. It’s not a race to be the best singer though, we all go through training to improve our techniques.

If you could change anything about the way you create your music, what would it be? B: I would like to learn more about music production using software applications and input a mixture style of bedroom pop and asian hiphop. H: I wish I could go beyond my rock and metal roots. N: I want the music I sing to perfectly blend elements of both classical music and contemporary music.

“Collaboration is the way to go! I have a few tricks I came up by myself but I could do so much more by learning other people’s tricks as well.”

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Lastly, what is the ONE song you’d recommend to anyone reading this?

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B: Everytime by Boy Pablo. See how he used the rise of 80s culture to his singing style and video production and the way he managed to gather a following from adding all these together. H: Thing of Gold by Snarky Puppy. It’s a pop jazz instrumental which I like listening to with my eyes closed. There’s so many weird things happening in the track but I’m amazed at how it all comes together and how it induces certain emotions even though it doesn’t have lyrics N: For anyone who’d like to learn more about choral music, I’d recommend listening to “Lux Aeterna” by Ily Maniano, a Filipino composer. It’s everything that makes choral music absolutely beautiful.

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THE LIFE OF CHORAL MUSIC by NINA REYES

My mom loves telling me stories about her days in college as a member of the UP Singing Ambassadors, and how they’ve come to participate in several competitions in the Philippines and abroad. Upon entering UP, I joined the same choir my mom belonged to in hopes of sharing the music she once did. I’ve learned much since then and hope to share the appreciation for choral music with everyone Training in this category of music is a practical skill to learn. Vocal coaches will train you using classical techniques in breathing and projecting your voice. I’ve heard countless times from voice teachers that it helps to know how to sing with classical training, because it provides versatility and flexibility in your voice. These techniques can be applied in pop music, Broadway, and other forms of singing, and I do believe the same. It helps to train oneself to use their voice appropriately, otherwise injuries may occur. Given that choirs meet at least once or twice a week, everyone in the group receives that training regularly. Choir members need to keep their vocal chords in check and healthy enough to sustain performances. Aside from techniques taught by teachers and coaches, it takes even more effort to take all that advice, apply it, and then blend their voices with one another. It’s one thing to sing very well as a solo performance, and it’s another to be able to harmonize with thirty-something other people in the same room. One slight off-key note could bring down the entire song and distract someone from the melody. I can’t recall how many times we’ve had to sing from the top of the song over and over until we fixed that one note that stood out. Because of that, we get to learn little by little how to distinguish different notes and help each other improve them if necessary.

One way I like to think about the genre is that it is a marriage between classical music and performing arts. Combine the techniques of classical training and the elements of choreography, expressions, and theatrics, and you get a choir performance. There are days dedicated to rehearsing choreography, while others are spent practicing with a voice teacher. It shows dedication to the craft to be able to embody the song through all forms of expression. The genre of choral music is also gradually shifting as the trend changes. We now have choral renditions of pop songs, arrangements for musical numbers, and the like. I interpret this as a way to connect the art with appealing to newer generations, the people who may not have grown up listening to this music. Choirs have to find more creative ways to attract people to their music, and that in itself is a talent. I also believe one of the most important parts of Philippine choral music is the use of it to preserve cultural pieces and promote local composers. We have an array of talented composers like Ryan Cayabyab, Ily Maniano, and others who contribute to the repertoire of local music. Through choral music, we are able to enjoy the craft of Philippine compositions. Aside from modern day composers, choirs also make use of traditional music like the kundiman and incorporate them into performances that tell stories. The Philippine choir is a binding agent that connects various elements of art and culture. It is a hope to support the arts and show that the Philippines has a lot of cultural treasures to offer.

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UPSA DURING THE 2019 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX TOUR. Photo by Ryan Arbilo

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I CAN’T GET N O S AT I S F A C T I O N

So, you happen to have a knack for singing or playing an instrument? Great, just great. You probably already imagined a billion scenarios of a “what-if?” of your making it to the big stage (don’t tell me you haven’t). Fueled by this sudden hope that your current music skills will get you somewhere far if you start investing in them right now, you make your first record. You take out that phone of yours with the full glory of its cracked LED screen, you press record, and play or sing your heart out. At this point, there are only two 46

MICHAEL HARVEY SAÑGA

possible roads for you to take. The first road involves you thinking of your recording as garbage. You’ve immediately disappointed your hopeful self, never to record again. The second road involves you (again) thinking of your recording as garbage, but you know that you can make something out of that garbage. (on the side note, a small part of you thinks that your recording sounds pretty decent) If you took the second road, well buddy, you’re in for a long, bumpy ride. [At this point, I urge you to listen to the Rolling Stones’

“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”. Just let the first line stick to you.] You’ve listened to your first recording a day after and then you realize two things. Your record sounds like crap and your playing/singing sucks. I guess you’ll say something like “This sounded great yesterday, what happened?”. Awesome. Don’t worry though, it gets better. You think of ways to improve. You look for lessons, software, YouTube videos. With everything right in front of you all at once, you just don’t know what to do. Well, let me help you out with that.

With that, I think you’re pretty much ready to go on the bumpy second road. Let the Rolling Stones’ song be your road trip jam. You’ll probably never be satisfied with what you can make because YOU ARE ALWAYS CAPABLE OF MUCH, MUCH MORE.

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3) Invest in the Small Stuff You don’t need to buy an audio interface worth P14k or a microphone worth your monthly allowance to sound good. Sometimes, the small stuff is what truly makes

2) Remove the “I have to buy this and that” Mindset While investing in good gear is the easy and suggested way to go, trying to improvise will do you good as well. I used to have no money to buy gear but that didn’t stop me. It meant putting adapters on adapters, learning how to make my own cables, and borrowing stuff from various people. Gear isn’t free, it’s actually pretty expensive. But do you know what’s free? YouTube videos. Watch as much as you can because you can get tons of DIY ideas.

4) Accept that It Won’t Come Easily At this point, there are two things that could affect the quality of your output: your actual musical skill and your recording skill. Sometimes, musical skill radiates through low quality recording equipment. At times, certain recording techniques can make a person sound better. But imagine if you had both? Now that is what we want. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts in music. If there were three most important concepts in music, they would probably be practice, practice, and practice. If it means doing finger exercises for hours and hours, then do it. If it means having to memorize a bunch of scales, then do it. It would also help if you’d ask other people how they make their music. Learn from experienced people and beginners, anyone could come up with a new trick every once in a while.

5) Be Your Biggest Fan Today, and Be Your Greatest Critic Tomorrow While in the recording process, enjoy it. Think that you are amazing for being able to make and record your own music. Dance to your own recording or whatever. You are great. Be your biggest fan as you make your music. But, when the recording process is done, don’t be afraid to criticize your own work. If you think that something doesn’t sound good or could sound even better, do it. Yes, you are amazing, but you also have rooms for improvement.

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1) Find a Good DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) A DAW is basically the software you use to record. There are some paid ones professionals actually use but there are also free ones like Audacity and Reaper. Don’t be overwhelmed with all the buttons because you’ll familiarize yourself with them soon as you go. It would be best if you could spend some time tinkering with all the nice things there.

the biggest difference. If you play guitar, new strings will give that deadsounding hunk of wood a bit of spark. Maybe a new kind of pick would allow you to discover a new way of playing? Sometimes, people like to focus on the big stuff without even considering any of the basics. For example, how the heck would your guitar recording sound good if you don’t even have a proper set of strings?

Let n a be today, n-1 a a be yesterday, n+1 a be tomorrow

T H E P O W E R O F M E M E C U LT U R E I N M U S I C by MIGUEL BALAO

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Oftentimes we see ourselves indulge in entertaining content on the internet ranging from perfectly cut screams compilations to Tiktok videos. Yet one often tends to overlook the importance of music in such content and vise versa. Take for example Lil Nas X and his music Old Town Road. Lil Nas X was just some teenager living in Atlanta, Georgia USA and dropped out of high school. He had no sense of direction with an exception to the music he makes while constantly moving. He was like any other hopeful artist with original content in his SoundCloud. Basically, nobody expected this person to achieve a solid reputation in any industry let alone music. However, one fateful meme resulted to another and eventually lead to a chain reaction of memes in Tiktok. The meme exponentially grew from Tiktok and spread to other social media platforms and so did his song and the rest is history. Now, Old Town Road managed to gather 327 million views from one music video alone, several millions in other remix spinoffs with other artists, and a life-changing deal from a reputable record label forever changing the life of this former teenage nobody from Georgia. Similar results occurred for other cases such as Joji with “Dancing in the Dark” exponentially gaining popularity from Tiktok’s microwave challenge, Rich Brian’s “Dat Stick” gathering millions in following from his meme-worthy music and personality, and Two Door Cinema Club’s Undercover Martyn with the Tiktok boobslap challenge. This now begs the question, “Is Meme culture the next innovative way to rising in popularity and reputation in the Music Industry?”

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T WO TRAIN RIDE S AWAY JU RI S T RI N I DA D

People always ask me how I manage to maintain a relationship with someone from a different UP campus for almost two years now. For me, it is those two train rides. One going from Katipunan to Recto, and another going from Doroteo Jose to United Nations. However, it doesn’t always feel like two train rides because it is so difficult to commute given the metro’s public transportation crisis, and you have these masses of everyday commuters filling in all the train cars almost every minute because of rush hour. Yes, it has always been a struggle for me to travel, and yes, we are technically miles away from one another, but would I go so far as to call it a long distance relationship? Over its course, a lot of people have been asking me how we manage to have a functional relationship despite being from campuses that are relatively far away from each other. To be really honest, sure you will struggle for a bit, although it isn’t as hard or hassle than people imagine it to be. During my freshie year back in UP Manila, I already had a goal in mind of transferring to UP Diliman. And all these upperclassmen were telling us not to “fall for your blockmate”, but guess what’s the first thing I did? You guessed it, I fell for my blockmate. I won’t get into the cheesy and intricate details of how and why we got together however I want to focus more on the general experience of what it is like to date your blockmate. Contrary to popular belief, dating your blockmate is actually pretty great. We got to see each other every day, go on dates before or after classes, study for exams together, and all that wonderful stuff. However, we refused to see each other 24/7. We didn’t want that, so we made sure to always leave space for one another because we both valued our personal time. This 50

was pretty much our freshie year life - our relationship was pretty stable, and everything else that came with it was beautiful. Although it started becoming wobbly by the latter end of the school year. This was because I began applying for transfer to the Diliman campus which I eventually got accepted into. My first few months in UP Diliman were spent trying to adjust to the new campus and environment, meeting new people and getting used to going to classes that are in different buildings. At the same time, I was adjusting to being in a relationship with someone who doesn’t go to the same classes, or in the same university, or even in the same city as me anymore. It was a struggle for the both of us, from seeing each other everyday to seeing each other once a week. There were even times when we didn’t get to see each other for several weeks. But this was when we realized that being more distant from each other only strengthened us. Since we both didn’t drive at the time, we had to resort to riding the train during rush hour for at least an hour and a half. But I always told myself that those long hours were always worth it if it meant seeing her again. Realizing this made things easier for me, but there were also other problems at hand. Finding time to see each other was also a struggle for both of us since we started engaging more with extra curriculars. Academics and organizations ate up so much of our time that we were seeing each other a whole lot less. This had me worried because I didn’t want to let go of any of my priorities, especially her, and I didn’t want to continue seeing her infrequently. Because of this, we both decided to put aside all our other priorities so that we could meet up to talk about how we were going to push

through with our relationship. That was when we realized that all we really needed to do was to have better time management, and that we could manage even without letting go any of our other priorities and obligations that semester.

one thing I’ve realized is that relationships don’t always have to be perfect, and that it’s all about growing and learning together every single day. It’s about becoming better people not just for each other, but for others as well. Those two train rides eventually became a routine for me, because it always meant seeing my favorite person who means the world to me. (We should really do something about our public transportation though).

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After this, we struggled a little bit but eventually we were able to see each other more often, which we were able to cherish our time together a lot more. Furthermore, we got to

spend time with each other’s families whenever one of us would visit. This just shows why communication is key, whether it is during the good times or bad times. For these two years, we have held on to the power of communication, and it has worked wonders for us. However, we still needed to work on a few other things, but that has always been a part of the relationship. I am not the best with relationship advice (since this is only my first), but

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Plunge is the first song I released after a two-year-long hiatus. It’s also the lead single to my first full-length EP, Safe Space, which is going to be out on September 18. As most of you may know, I’m a music producer, beatmaker, rapper, and multiinstrumentalist who releases content as Joseph Gregory on Spotify, and I make electronic, synth-funk, R&B, & hip-hop stuff. Now, Celina Pacana and I have collaborated since 2016, and we already got featured on radio stations and blogs, including 88.3 Locals Only & Maroon FM, with my first single, “Right Thru You,” and we followed it up with my song “Running” got some attention on Soundcloud and Spotify as well. At long last, we debuted “Plunge” on Spotify last September 8, as both a follow-up and a comeback. While the single barely clocked at the fourminute-mark, “Plunge” took an entire hiatus to put together, and was so close to not being released. The song was initially an rough vocal idea that Cel sent to me a couple days after our last single, “Running,” finally took off on streaming services, way back in mid2017. She wrote the song about an upperbatch guy she had a crush on for about a week (name withheld, for obvious reasons), and how she was initially willing to take the risk of falling for the aforementioned crush, despite past experiences. Sadly, in a couple of weeks, Cel fell out of the situation, and I was waaay too busy to work on another “Running” sequel. In short, she didn’t take the plunge, and I didn’t work on the track. A couple of months later, I was trying to write after a long break due to my heavy academic workload. Of the dozens of drafts I had been working on at the time, I found myself working on the draft Cel gave me, layering it with this beat that mixed Asian and African World instruments with EDM, just because it seemed like a crazy idea at the time. The result wasn’t particularly amazing in any way, and although I performed the rough demo once or twice, it ended up in the oblivion of ideas I probably wouldn’t get back to, at least for a while.

PLUNGE JOS E P H MARAS IG AN

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In a span of two years, everything can happen all at once. I, for one, shifted out of my first college and went through a deep writer’s block. When I finally felt like it was the right time, I yearned to get back to my music and find my sound again; I started talking to artists, finding promoters and gigs, buying new gear, routinely making beats, and doing literally anything I could find time to do despite my tight schedule, in order to get back on track.

I finally had a couple of ideas to make into a full-length EP, and it was then that I came across the same old demo I kept coming back to. It was weird and imperfect at best, cringeworthy at the worst, but this time the meaning of the song was completely different—when I made Celina listen to the demo for the 93568th time, we both realized that “Plunge” was no longer about shooting your shot in the name of love; it was about taking a risk, knowing that you could be shot down or ignored, and the spirit of us releasing music again and being respected members of the industry was that risk. That desire to jump out of my comfort zone and release music that had my craziest ideas became the theme of my EP, and what fueled me to finally finish the track and make it really memorable.

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Fast forward to 2019, and as I am writing this, I still despise the track a little bit. To me, it’s crazy and imperfect, and I’m not sure the ideas on the track made sense to me as much as it made sense to everyone else. But hey, forget it—it’s out, and for what it’s worth, I took the Plunge. Check JOSEPH GREGORY out on Spotify, Soundcloud, FB, and Instagram.

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RUBRICS JER EM Y GEM ZON TAN

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Another speech, another presentation. And like any other output, I am graded, Delivery, disposition, presentation material,

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Ease of understanding, cadence, non-verbal cues A set of standards. A rubric if you will. But instead of As and Bs and Ds and Fs, I am instead rewarded with bright, inquisitive eyes.

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I am rewarded with questions, with clarifications. Instead of grades, I chase understanding and knowledge, But not my own. And each day, I see the fruits of my labor. No more honors or cum laudes to chase. Here, I lay the foundations of dreams, But not of my own.

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Meme Team Assemble! Universal Languages. Life With MaK. Annyeong ASEO. The Big Day Was Not The Big Flop. Tweetable Tweets. Intern Picks. BLOOM Merch. Cursed Images.

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MEME TEAM ASSEMBLE! AUGUST EDITION A N DR E W B A N A AG

And we back. Another month gone by, a plethora of memes for the gang to review/ explain/go over once again. If you’re looking for explanations to these cunningly crafted internet images, want to share them with your friends but have no idea what the memes are called, or just want an honest-to-goodness laugh, you’ve come to the right place! So what’re you waiting for? Get in loser, we’re reviewing memes.

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First appearing on First We Feast’s “Hot Ones”, the YouTube channel dedicates itself to getting celebrities and sports icons alike to make hot takes while literally eating spicy hot wings, which get progressively spicier and spicier as the takes get “hotter”. At first it seemed that the ever-stoic Elba would not be taken down by a mere chicken wing, but the meme itself is a testament to his failure. It has now since then become a meme, as people have taken his reaction to the “Da Bomb” hot sauce (which rates a whopping 135,600 on the Scoville scale) as relatable to many different everyday situations such as this one:

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I too feel Mr. Elba’s pain on a spiritual level, and for that, I’m giving my hot take and rating this an

8/10.

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“ w h e re y ’a l l s i t t i ng? ”

What’s this? A meme that’s fairly simple AND relatable to just about everyone at the same time? You bet your a**! It works like this: you get a picture of an empty cafeteria (preferably the one everyone’s been using) and start grouping people into the benches. The catch, however, is that you make sure that picking between any of the benches is difficult, as all of them are seemingly just as good as the other! Below are some examples:

These spark quite the conversation in the Twitter replies, and some exchanges are more interesting than others. Now personally, I do enjoy a good, simple meme, but I feel this just doesn’t cut it for me (considering there are way funnier memes available). 5/10.

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THE FISH TUBE

So this one’s a bit of a, dare I say, fish out of water! Whooshh Innovations, the ingenuity behind this fish tube rationalized that man made dams have been interfering wish fish populations for some time now. According to Vox, the fish tube, or “fish cannon” as it’s sometimes called, is a safe way for the fish to cross over man made dams in the future. Think of it as a sort of express way for the fish to the other side! It’s reportedly being implemented in Norway and in the United States. Naturally, however, the internet always reacts brilliantly to such odd and peculiar inventions such as this. And, as per usual, this is where memes are born: in the weird and unthinkable.

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I’m a big fan of this meme because although seemingly inefficient and perhaps even a waste of money, at least it’s towards a good cause. Secondly, the video of the fish going through the cannon is too hilarious to miss out (which unfortunately can’t be added here for obvious reasons). 10/10.

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KO M B U C H A G I R L TikTok is a goldmine for memes these days, and this one is no exception. This particular user (@brittanyt455), nicknamed the “Kombucha Girl”, and aptly so, became an internet sensation in one night with a video she released on TikTok that depicted her tasting Kombucha and making various faces and going through various emotions all the while. Netizens have now used these comical faces in a number of other real life situations. Now examples for the meme are terribly hard to show here, as it is in video form. Hopefully the picture provided above is enough for you to visualize what it might look like. I any case, I really feel that this meme’s relatability and comicalness are enough for any onlooker to smirk or even giggle a bit. I think it should also be mentioned that I rate these too on the “popularity” of the meme (a.k.a. If I saw it on Twitter or not), and I’ve been seeing this quite a lot! With that being said, my final rating for this meme is a solid

8/10.

SPIDERMAN L E AV I N G THE MCU

This one is one of the more tragic memes to surface this August. A falling out between two media giants, namely Sony and Disney, has led to the removal of Spiderman from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unsurprisingly, the Internet (a.k.a. Twitter) got straight to work and began memeifying it. Talk about a mourning period, huh?

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Honestly, major F for the boys over at Sony and Spiderman as a franchise. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s terrible to see capitalism as a major contributor to what could have been a brilliant piece in the MCU. Not a funny meme man.

1/10.

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U N I V E R SA L L A N G UAG E S JAVI VILCHEZ

Dearly beloved, We are gathered here today before a society of witnesses to celebrate the marriage of two universal languages: basketball and hip-hop music. Never before have these two disciplines been so intertwined. Some of today’s most iconic musicians own stakes in professional basketball teams, some of the sport’s most recognizable players have ventured into the multiverse of music. As Aubrey “Drake” Graham once proclaimed, “Music and sports are so synonymous because we want to be them, and they want to be us.” To celebrate the ongoing union of two worlds, to commemorate their ups and downs, this history seeks to trace the beginnings of their flirtations with each other, the affairs they had, and the foundation they built that carries a doubtful future til today. It all started with Sony’s Epic Records-- one of the

world’s legendary record labels, known for signing some of our civilization’s most treasured musical artists: Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, George Michael, and Fifth Harmony, to name a few. It was Epic Records that was first to jump on the bandwagon of advertising larger-than-life sports stars as mega-marketing phenomenons. And to kickstart this trend, this multidisciplinary marriage, they could not have picked a larger star to flirt with than 1992’s NBA Rookie of the Year, Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq was a media darling, with a killer smile and a genocidal set of postmoves. He was rambunctious and beloved for his on-court and off-court antics, so much so that Epic Records signed him to a five-year deal that produced four albums! (Shaq Diesel, Shaq Fu: Da Return, You Can’t Stop The Reign, and Respect). His debut album, Shaq Diesel, even went platinum, featuring collaborations with The Notorious B.I.G. and The Method Man. Shaq’s meteoric musical rise was so unprecedented, Sony enlisted

him to star in two major motion pictures, “Blue Chips” and “Kazam”. The absolute horridity of these films is so notorious that it pretty much convinced everyone that the marriage between movies and basketball was doomed to fail. And so, basketball settled for music. Later in 1993, Epic Records released the iconic “B-Ball’s Best Kept Secret”,which featured NBA stars rapping including the likes of Cedric Ceballos, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Dennis Scott, and Brian Shaw. The compilation was a huge hit and catapulted hip-hop culture and the urban nature of basketball to the front page of American society-- it set the tone for what cool meant in the 90’s. Like any marriage, not all ventures panned out well. Take Allen Iverson’s debut album, Jewelz, which thankfully remained unreleased-- with Iverson later on saying he was glad the world never got to hear his misogynistic, violent, and homophobic lyrics. Yuck.

Damn, Dame. Bieber could even murmur “aggravated assault”, Artest, in 2005, was already recording his debut album, “My World”, which would later go on to feature the iconic 2010 Los Angeles Lakers championship anthem: “Champions”.

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And don’t even get me started on Mason Plumlee’s “4500” track, which features the salient chorus: “It’s ya boy Plums, that’s my name money gun, uh uh uh, I’m plum dog millionaire.”

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“I see the world from the lens of my own perspective I see the anger driven by color and the recession Sad to see the reality of our regression Cops killing, drug selling in the state of depression…”

Dumb, Drummond.

NBA player Troy Hudson even tried to convert his athletic career into a rap album, and the 78 copies he did manage to sell were, at the very least, 78 more than the number of good NBA teams he got to be a part of.

The marriage really started looking up in the 2010s, when NBA superstar Damian Lillard recorded his debut album “Dame Dolla”, which dropped fiery lyrics like,

“Rich n***a joggin, opposite of bargain, b*****s give me noggin, while I’m parallel Parkin” & “word to my accountant doing numbers like an auction/boy you f****n with the squad gon’ make my thing (pew, pew) get to sparkin”

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Perhaps an even bigger relationship blunder was Kobe Bryant’s not-hit single, “Thug Poet”-- maybe one of the few times Fox News “journalist” Laura Ingraham’s iconic ignorant soundbyte, “Shut up and dribble” can be applied. (This statement was directed towards NBA superstar LeBron James after his criticisms of US President Donald Trump. Basketball and politics is a whole different, dysfunctional marriage we can get into another time).

Since then, players have ventured into music without having to beat up fans. Superstars like Kevin Durant, Stephen Jackson, Tony Parker, and Louis Williams all recorded rap singles to their credit in the late 2000s.

Of course, not all NBA stars have shared the same success. Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond’s single, “No Scrubs Cover”, peaks with a disappointing:

With around 41% of all marriages ending in divorce, time will tell us how this one pans out.

But the tide began to turn in favor of this marriage, however, when Ron Artest did some soul-searching during his one-year suspension from professional basketball following the Malice at the Palace incident, where he tried to beat up a few opposing fans. Before Justin

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*EDITOR’S NOTE: Even though news of Life with MaK quitting Youtube circulated last June, her channel still appears to be up and regularly uploading.

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Being an online personality is tricky and certainly not an easy job. With lo-fi hiphop beats, there’s no human face behind a camera, just an anime girl studying with her headphones on. Nonetheless, props to her for making it out there.

What’s unfortunately controversial is Life with MaK’s vulnerability to online predators. Even if her videos aren’t intended to be sexual, they are ultimately sexualized by predatory viewers. This led to Youtube taking down several of her videos, eventually leading to Life with MaK quitting Youtube altogether.* The situation is complex because lines can get blurry. On one hand, we should refrain from victim blaming Makenna Kelly, while on the other hand, we should be reminded of the fact that the Internet is not as strictly regulated as we think it may be, and so the need for caution remains, no matter the user.

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Most, if not all of the other ASMR channels have almost little to no character in their videos, which may not always be a bad thing. Maybe for these channels, their purpose is really just to trigger the ASMR, and reveal as little as possible about themselves. Life with MaK does not do this. She triggers the ASMR, while unleashing her personality. More importantly, this personality does not come off as a cry for attention. She isn’t controversial herself, despite what Youtube thinks.

ME IRA DE LU NA

Makenna Kelly, the mastermind behind the channel, asserted dominance with her Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) that just stand out from the rest. Apart from the fact that she is one of the youngest ASMR channels, her videos manage to creep their way onto Twitter and metamorphose into memes. Among her most popular videos include eating honeycomb, drinking soda with a straw, and her rude flight attendant role-play. Thus far, her only known rival within this context of exposure would be ASMRTheChew, run by Spirit Payton. She is known as the pickle lady, or alternatively, the lady who types, scrolls, and chews gum.

L I F E W I T H M A K : T H E O N LY ASMR CHANNEL TOEVER EXIST

Amidst the lo-fi hiphop beats and teen youtubers, Life with MaK reigns supreme over the pile of broken bodies. Trump wants what she has.

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A N N E YO N G A S E O by MIA CRUZ

A definitive list of things that triggered these character sheets:

1. 2. 3.

A pub for the ASEO Org Fair earlier this sem, The desire for a comics section in Echoes this semester, and Various experiences with my group of friends from the different orgs, coupled with a series of interviews and bureaucratic work so as not to offend anybody

If these characters happen to resemble anyone you know real life, that’s because they probably are based on that someone, but I’m putting the disclaimer anyway so that I don’t get sued. Does stating it here then make that disclaimer useless? Maybe so. I swear I will turn this into a legit comic next issue! And add the other org characters as well, since this was all I was able to get around to doing. Think of this feature then as a teaser of things to come. Special thanks to: Luis Orallo, for making me do the pub in the first place; Emmanuel Guiam, Patrick Tecson, and Nicky Solis, my contacts and friends, for giving me their opinions and helping me with the character designs; Gabie Domino and Jelyn Hizon, for giving me more insights and the go signal to publish these; and Meira De Luna, for supporting the idea of a comics section in the first place.

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T H E B I G D AY WA S N O T T H E B I G F L O P : A C O M M E N TA R Y ANDREW BANAAG & JOSEPH MARASIGAN

Let’s face it: Chance the Rapper’s latest album The Big Day was not particularly well received by his fanbase. Given that his album previous to this one, Colouring Book, was a brilliant and artistic wonder of sorts, with unforgettable pieces such as Same Drugs, No Problem, and All Night, it’s hard to believe Chance could put out something as, for lack of a better term, questionable as his latest drop. But let me be the first to say it: The Big Day was definitely NOT a “Big Flop”, as some music critics would term it. To say that it can compare to his other albums, such as 10Day and Acid Rap is almost laughable, but to quickly disassociate from Chance simply because of The Big Day is unacceptable! This “hot take” of ours serves as a platform for all y’all “haters” to sit down and take in the positives, rather than just accept all these critics critiques as fact. Now let’s get to the nitty gritty. Production wise, it’s what you would typically expect from a Chance album: high energy beats with his ever-famous “Ack!” adlib but always with a flair of his quirkiness that every Chance the Rapper song he has, and we don’t mean this as a bad thing. If you listen closely to his other albums, that quirkiness and oddity is what makes Chance the Rapper, well, Chance the Rapper! He’s unique in the way that he can put together all these weird sounds and little tinges of his personality into the words and music he puts out, but despite all of this, he still makes it work. Lyrically is probably where The Big Day lacks more than anything. You’ll have multiple critics screaming “All he does is talk about his wife” and to be honest with you, the album probably took heavy inspiration from his wife. On songs such as All Day Long, he

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raps that his “next tour, it got eight legs like daddy long”, implying that his second child with his wife is on the way. In Hot Shower, Chance uses Jupiter and Saturn to allude to his marriage once again, even apparently turning down advances of other women as seen in the lyrics “Now I got a few rings on, Jupiter skating (Yeah, yeah, yeah); I meant to say Saturn, switched up the pattern (Blaow)” and “Thanks, I’m flattered, my baby mama badder (Yeah)”. Now lyrically, many other “music analysts” might find some of these “bars” of his weak, and we can somewhat agree. It seems that Chance tries too hard to use metaphors for his wife, and many lines seem almost forced. But all of this makes sense when you think of the context of the album as a whole. If anything, The Big Day was a sort of consummation of what Chance believed to be an ode to his wife. Anthony Fantano, the “internet’s busiest music critic”, and widely regarded as a respectable one at that, rates albums on a scale of 1-10 and mostly, as we

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observe, by way of how the album was able to get the message across. Now he straight up gave this a big fat 0 out of 10, but we feel this is unfair. If you think about it, all these jokes and memes of The Big Day boiling down to a parody entitled “I Love My Wife” are probably what Chance wanted all of us to remember: that he indeed loves his wife. Strictly speaking, the album really did get that message across, albeit not necessarily in Chance’s most creative way, but it got the job anyway. We firmly believe that on Fantano’s scale, it should have been a strong 3 or a weak 4, given that it was lyrically quite garbage but production and we guess context wise it saved it. So hey in the end, not totally a flop? We’d like to believe so. Besides, he met Kanye West, he couldn’t have failed… right?

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T W E E TA B L E T W E E T S @vinanaomi_: TANGINA ANO TO HAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHA

@jmr59n: PLUNGE (Single) - 9/8 SAFE SPACE (EP) - 9/18 MARK DAT SHIT

@unwashedundies: puhrung la naman conyo sa econ ha.... s.. K... S.. K... S.. K.. S..

@celinameshell: My mom’s best friend got married today and she just messaged their tita viber chat “alam niyo na kung saan nanggaling yung lindol” and I — @EcosocPls: app: no moer spez n tmbyan, i maek tmbay n lownj excm: no tmbay hrs app: excm pls RT f u login eniwei

@AndrewsonPaak: Upperclassmen before me used to always tell me that freshies had this sort of “spark” in their eyes which would fade over time and boy I must say they was RIGHT it does fade help me God @julliaq_: College friendships are always weird u never know if ur closeness carried over the next semester skskks

@memecosoc: 85!!

@MaykelHerbeh: Saying “Ang traffic ngayon sa Pasig” does not do justice to what you can experience. “Sobrang lala ng traffic ngayon sa Pasig”, pwede na kaso kulang pa. “Bukas na ako makararating sa paroroonan ko.” There.

@jarogaba: Puro graph will shift to the right bahala kayo ako shift to the other building walang charot!

@agalau_: Editing and emailing 150+ invitations on a shitty laptop [] @/ parents baka naman ehem

@EcosocPls: app: pls syn my sigsht ecscr: i hab rqrmnt app: y u do dis ecscr?

@BetinaSales: Editing and emailing 150+ invitations on a shitty laptop [] @/ parents baka naman ehem

RT f u r faeld n mdsim intrveiw

@Kyla_Balita: pagod level: nakain ko foil ng shawarma ko pero lampake na

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@ joshquimboo: Kung hindi pa halata, walang sistema sa Bo Perasol. Palitan na dapat coach natin. He ruined Ateneo for a season, pucha he’s ruining UP’s.

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@maizconcielo: glad to know my reputation carried on to law school:

execm: hu is ur mem crux? app: execm pls execm: app pls

@unwashedundies: SE RVC:

rt f u cryed @jabbyaurelio: brb magpapakatanga muna ako para sa pag-ibig

@EcosocPls: >mdsim intrveiw

@_belbernardo: love urself and rename ur photoshop layers !

@jabbyaurelio: Saw someone wear a Cuervo jacket at church @markorano12: I hate my WF sched ugh [] 5:30-7 class and walang cute. WHAT A NIGHTMARE [] [] [] haha

Leave me alone satan

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@_davidbass: Flight back home at 8 then gonna land hopefully by 2:30! Then off to school for an exam and my prof said I have to be there by 4:30 or else no exam sooo..... ABANGAN ANG AMAZING RACE BUKAS !

@EcosocPls: ecscr: pls feechur me n ekows nxt monht pls ekows: ur nt spexal ecscr: y u do dis ekows? rt f u cryed @ramielanude: let it be known that ma’am tp has a juul

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INTERN PICKS THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK - MARK MANSON It is part of human nature to always give a fuck about something but in this ephemeral lifetime, we’ve got only limited fucks to give. So, the question is: What do we give a fuck about? I loved the book because it teaches a counterintuitive approach to living a good life (contrary to those motivational/positive talks or pieces of advice about life) which makes complete sense right now since most of us give a fuck about almost everything.

Recommended by JHOE

MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING - VIKTOR FRANKL “Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete.”

Recommended by JOHN GLENN REYES

L O V E R - T AY L O R S W I F T Just when you think you can’t get enough of T. Swift, she brings out this symphonic masterpiece that takes you on this rollercoaster of emotions which ultimately proves why she’s one of this century’s queens. Recommended by ERIN BUENAVENTURA

CASTLES MADE OF SAND - JIMI HENDRIX This Hendrix classic manifests how beautiful yet fragile life really is.

Recommended by JURIS TRINIDAD

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It has a great plot, asks philosophically challenging questions about life, and delivers great comedy without being offensive.

Recommended by GABE APOSTOL

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Possibly the Album of the Year for 2019, Tyler’s most cohesive and mature work to date laments heartbreak and the ebbs and flows of falling for the wrong person. Fav tracks: GONE, GONE/ THANK YOU, I THINK, RUNNING OUT OF TIME Recommended by TOBIAS VEGA MAGSAYSAY

F E A R O F F LY I N G - E R I C A JONG It’s a very interesting book that I think stays relevant until today. It talks about sexuality and feminism but in a very intricate and delicate way. I love it <3 Great with coffee or during those sleepless rainy nights.

Recommended by CAYENNE TORRES CAO

BLOOM

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bit.ly/LitnightMerch2019

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Disclaimer Echoes does not own some of the images used in this issue. No copyright infringement is intended. The images are copyrighted and courtesy by there respective owners. Its use is for a non-profit magazine for private use and entertainment purposes only, and is not intended for sales of any sort. 98

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