WTF: The Eraserheads Are Reuniting This X-Mas!

After the pandemic-fueled delay, finally, Pavement are having their “much awaited” reunion, their second since their breakup in ’99, touring parts of the world. They’re coming to Australia next year! And that’s probably the closest they’ll ever be to this god-forsaken country of ours. We had beabadoobee, however, just last week, in Manila. And she’s probably the closest we’ll ever got to getting Pavement-adjacent artist or band on our shore — I mean, she’s a Pavement fan — so, maybe, “adjacent” isn’t even accurate at all. And the latest juice? The Eraserheads are reuniting again, for the nth time, this coming (near) Christmas, whether they’re really “friends” or not, whether “Spoliarium” is about the dead actress or not, or you’re stance on the Marcus Adoro issue notwithstanding.

So, what do I say? Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal was a massive disappointment. Though I think that was expected already. I’m not a big fan of Terror Twilight anyway. Comparatively, Farewell Horizontal has the worst set of extra materials among the five reissues in the band’s catalog. Sordid Sentinel Ed. is second worse but it’s actually a lot better than the former. The Pavement tour? Well, the band introduced me a “new” song called “Witchi Tai To” by Jim Pepper and I was listening to it on repeat for awhile after the first time I heard it.

beabadoobee? Not sure how popular she is now, if she’s more popular than when I first learn about her “I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus.” Well, she’s cute. I like some of her songs. But upon browsing her IG account and seeing more of her stuff there, my strict Catholic upbringing tells me that she’s prolly not a virgin anymore, with all those tats and wearing bikinis and stuff. Y’know, we want our idols to be chaste and pure, just like Britney Spears was back in ’99, before it was later revealed that she had a boyfriend even before she became a pop star. Of course, I’m just kidding. I just hoped beabadoobee didn’t say “Mahal ko kayo!” in her fake Filipino accent, during her concert here.

Eraserheads? News like this doesn’t make me excited anymore. Curious, yes. I was thinking, it’s probably gonna be a reunion concert, more likely than any other thing, like a new CD, or vinyl, or picture book or coffee table books that’s worth a trip to the movies for the whole family (depending on your family’s size of course), with the possible risk of contacting COVID by the way. The last time I was excited or had a case of FOMO, was when they released two songs on an issue of Esquire magazine. But it was mainly because I was overseas then. And I read the news a few days late, maybe because I was so busy at work. I thought the magazines would be out of stock in a few days, just like when Jinri Park released her first gravure. But boy, I was wrong. When I came back to the country few months later, there were still a few untouched copies of that Esquire mag in National Bookstore. I didn’t sold like pancakes. Contrary to what some people say, contrary to what was expected. Maybe because the songs (and the music videos) were also out on YouTube, the next or on the very same day. People aren’t going to buy stuff that they can get for free.

Why bother buying something you wouldn’t read anyway? No one likes reading anymore. That is, most people don’t like long reads, they just want information dump, just like most MCU movies. Trivia, tidbits, Easter eggs, whatnots. Why bother purchasing the magazine for the CD? I’m not sure but maybe people don’t play music on CD players anymore. In fact, I haven’t even played that 1995/Sabado CD since I bought it. And I don’t have a CD player either. But I like reading stuff about the band. I like what Erwin Romulo wrote about Eraserheads on that Esquire issue. Even if Erwin Romulo inserted himself in the picture and wrote about his wife divorcing him, which ended up with him writing a song with Ely Buendia. Which is then called “1995.” So, if you’re thinking, that “1995” was about the peak of the ’90s music scene, you couldn’t be any more further from the truth. It’s about divorce. It’s about Erwin Romulo and his ex-wife. And if you wanna know the truth, go search for that Esquire mag on second-hand shops. And read. You can probably get it cheap — since no one wants to read magazines anymore. Unless there is a centerfold.