The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (2002)

Last Song Syndrome with Renzie.

Aw man, I just love The Flaming Lips. While their first ever hit was 1993's alternative hit, "She Don't Use Jelly", this hard-working band had been around since 1983, and to this day, has released some twelve studio albums already.

Other than "She Don't Use Jelly", two other personal favorites from The Flaming Lips are "Bad Days" (which was featured on the Batman Forever (1995) OST), and of course, 2002's "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots".

Check out The Flaming Lips here on a video clip of the band performing on the Top of the Pops, shared by pollutiongirl on YouTube.

Enjoy!

The Flaming Lips
"Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (2002)

Her name is Yoshimi
She's a black belt in karate
Working for the city
She has to discipline her body

'Coz she knows that
It's demanding
To defeat those evil machines
I know she can beat them

Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me
But you wouldn't let those robots eat me
Yoshimi, they don't believe me
But you wouldn't let those robots defeat me

Those evil-natured robots
They're programmed to destroy us
She's gotta be strong to fight them
So she's taking lots of vitamins

'Cause she knows that
It'd be tragic
If those evil robots win
I know she can beat them

Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me
But you wouldn't let those robots defeat me
Yoshimi, they don't believe me
But you wouldn't let those robots eat me

Yoshimi

'Cause she knows that
It'd be tragic
If those evil robots win
I know she can beat them

Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me
but you wouldn't let those robots defeat me
Yoshimi, they don't believe me
but you wouldn't let those robots defeat me

Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me
but you wouldn't let those robots eat me
Yoshimi, they don't believe me
but you wouldn't let those robots eat me

Yoshimi

Can't get that song out of your head? Then check out more of Renzie's Last Song Syndrome Project, the only blog service dedicated to getting that persistent tune out of your system- by giving you lots more of it!

Cheers, everyone!

Eric Carmen - "Make Me Lose Control" (1988)

not-so-known 80's favorites with Renzie Baluyut.

A sudden wave of nostalgia made me remember a whole bunch of songs I was listening to back in High School. Among those old favorites was this one- Eric Carmen's "Make Me Lose Control", which never really got much local airplay when it came out in 1988 (or, um, ever), except on Metro Manila's 99.5 RT, and later on, on 103.5 KLite.

This song remains one of my favorites to this day, and always brings back memories of high school and summer in the 80's

YouTube video of Eric Carmen's "Make Me Lose Control" courtesy of LuiscmckI, who just like me, is a great fan of this song.

Enjoy!

Make Me Lose Control (1988)
Eric Carmen

I run a comb through my hair
And step out in the street
And the city's the color of flame
In the mid-summer heat
Oh yeah

Jennifer's got her daddy's car,
She's playing uptown on the stereo
We go cruisin' so close,
The way they did long ago
My darlin'

(Turn) Turn the radio up for that sweet sound
Hold me close never let me go
(Keep) Keep this feelin' alive
Make me lose control
Baby, baby

(When) When I look in your eyes, I go crazy
Fever's high with the lights down low
(So take) Take me over the edge
Make me lose control

We put the top down and park 'neath the moon in the sky
And the wind is so hot in our hair, like a fire in July
Whoa yeah

Jennifer's singin' "Stand By Me",
And she knows every single word by heart
Was love always this good?
Or could this be just the start?
Whoa darlin'

(Turn) Turn the radio up for that sweet sound
Hold me close never let me go
(Keep) Keep this feelin' alive
Make me lose control
Baby, baby

(When) When I look in your eyes, I go crazy
Fever's high with the lights down low
(So take) Take me over the edge
Make me lose control

"Be My Baby" comes on, and were movin' in time
And the heat from your touch makes me feel
Like I'm losing my mind
Whoa yeah

(And then they played) "Back In My Arms Again"
(We close our eyes) We start rememberin' when
(We start to kiss) and now the feeling's intense
And we just pray that this night never ends
Woah oh oh, my darlin'

(Turn) Turn the radio up for that sweet sound
Hold me close, never let me go
(Keep) Keep this feelin' alive
Make me lose control
Baby

When I look in your eyes, I go crazy
Fever's high with the lights down low
(So take) take me over the edge
Make me lose control
Baby, baby

(Turn) Turn the radio up for that sweet sound
Hold me close never let me go
(Keep) Keep this feelin' alive
Make me lose control

When I look in your eyes, I go crazy
Fever's high with the lights down low
(So take) take me over the edge
Make me lose control
Baby, baby

(Turn) Turn the radio up for that sweet sound
Hold me close never let me go
(Keep) Keep this feelin' alive
Make me lose control

Can't get that song out of your head? Then check out more of Renzie's Last Song Syndrome Project, the only blog service dedicated to getting that persistent tune out of your system- by giving you lots more of it!

Cheers, everyone!

The Philips Bandwidth Virtual Battle of the Bands

The Philippine music scene with Renzie Baluyut.

Okay, so you and your homeboys have been jamming at home each week, trying to get your sound just right. You play the occasional school gig, maybe even land a set or two at some nightspot somewhere.

If your band of fledgling rockstars has been hanging out for a while, but ready to take the next step, you and your dogs might want to check out the Philips Bandwidth Battle of the Bands.

Here's something we tore right off the official press release:

Leading consumer electronics maker Philips is this year looking to help these undiscovered talents with the Bandwidth Virtual Battle of the Bands. The contest is meant to help unsigned bands take full advantage of new digital multimedia technology in sharing their music with the rest of the music community.

Bandwidth participants will each be required to upload recent performance videos to the competition’s Youtube channel. Each band will be asked to perform two original songs, with one video uploaded for each song. Videos will be cross-posted to the Bandwidth website where visitors will be allowed to vote for their favorite performances.

These performances will then be screened by Bandwidth’s three mentors and judges, all of whom should be very familiar to fans of Filipino rock: Francis Reyes (a DJ on NU 107.5 and guitarist for The Dawn), Cookie Chua (singer for Color it Red), and Raimund Marasigan (singer for Sandwich, keyboardist for Pedicab, drummer for Cambio and The Eraserheads). The final crop of bands will then receive special one-one-one mentoring with the three judges prior to the final phase of the competition.

The competition will culminate in a final performance night where the winning band will be announced. The grand prize winner will take home a prize of P50,000 worth of cash and prizes.

Wanna know more? Head on over to the official contest site, and check out the contest's very own YouTube channel here. Also, check out the Philips' very own line of mp3 players, the Philips GoGear series, on my main blog, The Status is NOT Quo.

Cheers, everyone.