Metals

Feist's latest album, Metals, which dropped a little ways ago, is better than I first gave it credit for. You know how you listen to an album for the first time and say, "Hey, this is nice, I'm keeping it in my library," but never really giving it another listen for a while, then play the entire thing on a commute and discover it's actually better than you thought?

Choice tracks: "Circle Married the Line" (above), "Comfort Me," and "Cicadas and Gulls."

Scars & Stories

I finally have a copy of Scars & Stories, The Fray's latest studio album. Before the purchase, I'd only listened to a few tracks on The Fray's website, and to "The Fighter"a couple of times on Katz's iPod.

I have The Fray's three studio albums in my library, all of which I bought in physical form. This is a distinction unique to The Fray among the artists in my collection. Fall Out Boy has a similar distinction: I bought both of the FOB albums in my library (Infinity on High and Folie à Deux) as well. The Fray, however, is my only complete and bought-on-CD collection. I swore to myself I wouldn't obtain Scars & Stories through any other means. Such is my devotion to them.

Speaking of The Fray, if you follow the band you might have heard that their Manila concert has been moved to November 10 from its original June 21 date. There has also been a change of venue, from SM's spanking new MOA Arena to the Araneta Coliseum. I hear they postponed it because the tickets haven't been selling very well.

On one hand, this doesn't reflect very well on the Philippines' taste in music. Lady Gaga's concert sold out two nights in a row but we can't give the boys from Denver a chance? (Alternatively, I could go the hipster way and say you guys don't know what you're missing out on.)

To be honest, though, I was kind of happy the concert got postponed. See, I only had enough money for two upper box tickets (for myself and Katz). Actually, I only had enough money for two General Admission tickets, but Katz asked me if I really wanted my first concert experience to be from the rafters, and very kindly agreed to chip in the balance so we could afford the upper box seats.

The postponement means we have a good few months more to save up for better seats, hopefully. The news about the weak ticket sales is also exciting, because it leaves the possibility of prices going down as the concert draws nearer!

A couple of years ago, I swore to myself that my first concert experience would be with either The Fray or Coldplay. Seems like my dream will finally come true in five months.

At the fair

It was the last night of the UP Fair on Saturday. Katz and I went, along with her sister Sanse and Sanse's boyfriend. We chose Saturday because that's when all the big bands were scheduled to perform (including Parokya ni Edgar with an "exclusive performance," whatever that means).

There were more rides and games this year than last. We spent a lot of time trying our luck in the shooting games. Katz won a ginger doll, which she named Barry. I won a Winnie the Pooh phone dangler. It wasn't even the bear's entire body, just his head. So I named him Paulo. (Pooh-ulo? Get it? K.)

Katz thought we should try the rusty Flying Fiesta ride (I'm not sure what it's really called but that's the name of the similar ride at Enchanted Kingdom). I was hesitant at first—the ride at EK made me woozy—but Katz was game, so I didn't object.

At the end of the ride, I looked at Katz. She was nauseated, and had her head buried in her arm.

We bought snow cones (apparently, cold food after a dizzying ride is supposed to make you feel better) and stood around as Up Dharma Down played their set. I'd hoped that once she'd rested we could squeeze ourselves into the crowd like we did last year, and hopefully catch Moonstar88 play Panalangin (the only OPM song I've LSS'd on in four years). After a while, though, Katz decided she was too dizzy. We left at a little past 11 and hung out on the Main Library steps.

All in all, though, it was still a fun night. The most exciting part happened before we even got in: Katz and I had four extra tickets, so we scalped 'em for P150 each, P250 for two, P400 for four (we bought them at P90 apiece). Apparently, I was yelling too loudly, and I caught the attention of a couple of the fratmen manning the grounds.

One of them asked how much I was selling my tickets for, and I smiled and said, "Oh, P90."

"P90? I heard P150."

"No, no, just P90," I said, nonchalant.

They asked to see the tickets and, after verifying their authenticity, let me go but stayed close behind us. I continued to hawk the tickets at the original P90 price, and a few guys asked for a discount. "P70 nalang, presyong kaibigan."

The fratmen, still behind us, said, "Hindi pwedeng ibenta ng P50, P90 lang talaga."

In the end, we sold all four of our tickets. It was a great night.

25-34/365

Allow me to dump all my Project 365 photos into one entry. I'm feeling too lazy to create individual posts for each one.

Last weekend, Katz and I went camping in Makiling, Laguna. The trip was a requirement in our Military Science class, which we're taking up to fulfill our National Service Training Program (NSTP) requirement. All college students in the Philippines need to participate in the NSTP as a prerequisite to graduation. The precursor of the NSTP was the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program.

Ooh, and I finally have a new pair of headphones! I bought the JVC Flats upon Ade's recommendation. They're dirt cheap—P410 at Compex in SM North Edsa—and are quite good. The bass can get quite muffled on these, though. Ade says an amplifier might improve their performance, but I haven't any money left. (I'm taking donations, if anyone's willing.)

Mylo Xyloto

Coldplay's latest album Mylo Xyloto is out, and if you're looking for an objective review, this isn't where you want to be.

Some of the feel of the album is carried over from Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends and Prospekt's March. Coldplay still drowns us in iridescent riffs and melodies and takes us from intense to fragile melancholy and back. But what Viva La Vida did against a grim backdrop, Mylo Xyloto does in outer space. Viva La Vida was a daydream; Mylo Xyloto is a fun psychedelic trip.

I was put off at first by the abundance of synths and hard riffs on this one, but Coldplay's done a great job of evolving with this one. They can keep up to date but still stay themselves.

Coldplay kicks ass.