Tuwa naman ako at nagparamdam (sa wakas!) si Erin na hindi ko alam kung nasa Idaho o Iowa nung huling nag-iwan ng sulat sa TOPS e-groups. Akala ko nasa Idaho. Kinorek ako ni durga, sa Iowa daw at ano naman ang gagawin ni Erin sa Idaho, magtatanim ng patatas? Sagot ko, Idaho, schmidaho.

At least alam kong buhay pa naman siya at hindi na ulit nagkaroon ng aksidente sa daan at kung anu-ano pang kababalaghan. Pero medyo lang - nanood siya ng concert ng U2! Ano ba? Parang ako na lang ata ang hindi nanonood! Wala na, magdidisband na sila, hindi pa rin ako nakakapanood! Ate ko, si Erin - who's next? I'm the bigger fan, hello! Wait, si Jason pala ang biggest fan na kilala ko. Sa sobrang fan, kumpleto ang tape collection starting from Boy. At ang tape collection na ito ay nakarating sa akin, na ewan ko ba kung bakit ko pa binalik. At sa sobrang fan siya ng U2, tama bang ginamit ang Bullet the Blue Sky (from Rattle and Hum) na pang-score ng classroom skit?

I almost forgot he sang, as part of our annual music class 'exam,' Love Rescue Me (again from Rattle and Hum) na, sa nakakaalala ng kantang ito, ay mala-gospel. Kaya pagdating ng gospel chorus portion na shalalala, nagtataasan na kaming lahat na magkakaklase ng kanang kamay (ala Testify!) at nag-Praise the Lord! Alleluia!

Which led me to think - what would be the top five all-time fantasy concert tours I'd kill for tickets?

(In no particular order at anong kanta ang gusto kong marinig)
1) U2, basta kantahin ang Stay (Faraway So Close), All I Want is You (na malabong mangyari), One (puwedeng mangyari at kakagamit lang sa sandamakmak na tsunami benefit concerts), Pride (In the Name of Love). Puwede na yan. The rest, I don't care kung galing pa sa Pop o Zooropa albums.
2) R.E.M. - what U2's Achtung Baby was for me, R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People did it in this case. Breakaway na sa early years (aka embarassing yet nostalgic 80's) nila pero hindi pa ganung ka-weird at pa-epek (kahit na siguro in their heart of hearts hindi naman yun ang iniisip nila).
3) New Order - a very, very belated discovery, though anyone who has had a healthy dose of high school parties would be saturated with Bizaare Love Triangle. I only got to understand their influence in rock with their Best of... release.
4) Tori Amos - isa pa itong nagkaroon ng weird phase, so much so that I flat-out stopped buying her albums (stopped with Boys for Pele which I technically did not buy, only conveniently forgot to return to Grace). Thank goodness and she returned to her senses with The Beekeeper. Still the only pop/rock artist I know who can play the piano and the harpsichord within a song.
5) Audioslave - medyo pilit na ito for lack of a # 5 pero eto, ginagawan ko na ng rason - alam ko na! Kasi 2-in-1: I get both Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine in one stage. Beri gud! I love Chris Cornell for his wailing voice! I love Tom Morello for his political science degree from Harvard!