Bobo ang mga bata ngayon

Dong Abay reportedly said “bobo ang mga bata ngayon,” regarding the new crop of bands. While I was unable to catch the particular “Maverick and Ariel” show, I believe it’s well within Abay’s character to say something as candid as that on TV.

And I agree with him. A lot of the new kids ARE pretty stupid, and not just in the rockstar way Pepe Smith and Abay messed up. They are really just dumb songwriters. The bands are like cliché factories spewing lyrics that string text and YM status messages together.

A picture of you reminds me
how the years have gone
by so lonely
but why do you have to leave me

I'm saying I love you again
are you listening?
open your eyes once again
look at me crying

-- Stars, Callalilly

Two stanzas of basically nothing. He sees a picture and he’s reminded of someone who left him years ago. Then in the next stanza he’s still saying “I love you” again (years after they broke up) and asks her to open her eyes to see him crying. Unless they’re in a desert island, the lyric makes very little sense. And it ain’t symbolic. Those aren’t metaphors for anything.

Or take this little gem:

Tomorrow never comes
The day will end today
You come to change the truth
Forget it anyway

I'll never be a man
So take it as i am

Make me alive
Make me suffer
Make me feel

-- Alive, Frio

I don’t even know what they’re trying to say. Compare this to anything by the Eraserheads or Dong Abay (even the filler stuff) and you know who’s owned. Not that they’re perfect. Even the best albums by the best bands have their clunkers, but the sad thing about these new bands is that this is their A-game, the best they have to offer.

Of course, there were bad songs and inane lyrics a decade ago, but they didn’t hit it big and vanished quickly. Today, the better songs are still being made by carryovers from the previous generation.