Why I'm Doing This

My sister and I, on our knees for freebies (or in the words of Djimon Hounsou in "Amistad": "Gives usss usss free...iPod")


My elder sister's been dateless for, uh, most of her existence. But being decidedly single doesn't equal being loveless. (Just crabby and cynical and makes you quote movie lines like, "Valentine's Day was invented by greeting card companies to make everyone else feel like crap.") So the dutiful younger sister *bashfully blinks eyes* took it upon herself to make this year's V-Day a little different.

Below are 10 songs that best capture the quirks, oddities and personality defects of my bloodiest valentine--my sister. We're not exactly "Hallmark" sisters, i.e. we don't braid each other's hair, call each other "Sis" or share a bowl of ice cream on a hot afternoon, as sisters are often depicted on greeting cards. I complain when she forgets to wash her hair, she regularly calls me "eejit" ("idiot", inspired by Frank McCourt), and we goad each other into violence by stealthily leaving the largest, crustiest pot in the sink for the other to wash. Our relationship swings from brutal and rough, to funny and hysterical, to mean and viciously witty. Having lived with her for the past 23 years has left me with weakened eardrums, assorted scars, and, well, a unique perspective on life and survival. After all, the reality is that any love relationship has got to be bittersweet and make you a cartwheeling cripple, I guess.

The great thing about Valentine's Day is it isn't just a time for romantically-involved couples; it's also an excuse to say a few words to people who mean so much more to you than they think they do.

So, dearest sister, if you ever hear me scream "Leche kang bruha ka!!! @%^$#!" from time to time, don't ever believe me, ok? To my eternal roommate and most lovable hag who's given me hernia and memories: this one's for you.

Song # 10: "Beauty and the Beast" (Angela Lansbury version) on the Disney OST

"Beauty and the Beast" was one of two songs my tone-deaf sister ever bothered to learn to play on the piano (the other was "Blue Moon"). This movie about courage, sacrifice, and love that transcends physical appearance ("and species," she would often snicker) so struck a chord in her 11-year-old heart that she braved the city's dirt and grime, dodging buses on EDSA all by her lonesome, to see it at Megamall one more time.

Song # 9: "Excuse Me, Mister" by Ben Harper

This song is a rebuke of environmental exploitation and degredation at the hands of the human race. Growing up, my sister had always been socially and environmentally aware, which naturally cultivated in her a passion for conservation. This led her to take a master's degree (less thesis) in Marine Science (before changing career gears to Education).

Song # 8: "Zombie" by the Cranberries

I got my love of '90's alternative music from my sister, who always kept the radio dial on NU 107 in high school. Every time her friends came over, they would call up the station and request "Zombie". They even formed an all-girl band and played this song at their school fair (my sister was the drummer). She rocked.

Song # 7: "Always" by Erasure

Every single time she hears this mid-90's near-novelty song, my sister squeals, calls out to me urgently, gets up excitedly from wherever she's seated, and, uh, dances the butterfly dance (popularized by the now-defunct Universal Motion Dancers on That's Entertainment) while happily singing along to the damn song. I pretend not to know her.

Song # 6: "Itsumo Nando Demo" from the Spirited Away OST

"Spirited Away" always brings out my sister's inner child (who, like the rest of ours when unbidden, hides in a closet of adulthood and responsibilities). She absolutely loves this fantastic masterpiece of moving drawings and never fails to cry at the ending, when Haku and Chihiro finally go their separate ways.

Song # 5: "Lightning Crashes" by Live

Live remains one of my sister's earliest favorite acts. "Lightning Crashes" is one of the simplest yet most moving rock songs about the fragility of existence, the binding ties of relationships, and the hope new life brings.

Song # 4: "Teardrop" by Massive Attack

My sister loves to watch "House, M. D." for three things: it has the wittiest dialogue, the most offbeat characters, and the coolest intro ("Teardrop" is one brilliant hook). Had my sister pursued her Biology degree into Medicine, she would've also made one highly analytical, acerbically funny doctor.

Song # 3: "Not Enough Time" by (pre-J.D.) INXS

If there's anyone else who knows how fleeting life is, it's probably the band that played this song (ex-vocalist Michael Hutchence hanged himself in his hotel room sometime in the 1990's, hence the search for Rockstar INXS). Hearing it reminds me that like love, time takes hostages, too. And that I have to be nicer.

Song # 2: "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel

One fortuitous night, my sister and I saw an old movie from the '80's on cable called "Say Anything", which was perhaps the best thing that ever happened to John Cusack's career. It was the crowning glory of the teenybopper prom flicks of that decade, the happy-go-lucky-dude-wins-gorgeous-overachiever kind (fittingly enough, "Say Anything" was released in 1989). A particular scene indelibly imprinted on our minds was one in which John Cusack's character, desperate to win back Ione Skye's, stood under her window and held over his head a boombox playing "In Your Eyes". This song is already on my sister's wedding playlist.

Song # 1: "Perhaps Love" by Howl & J

Time and again, my sister begs us to watch her favorite Koreanovelas with her. When her pleas fall on deaf ears (as they most often do), she turns the living room into a mini theater: she barricades the front door, plops herself down on her rocking chair, puts her feet up on her favorite footrest and cranks up the TV's volume to levels from which even the neighbors benefit, until we cry for mercy and join her, grudgingly.

Taken from the "Goong" (locally known as "Princess Hours") OST, this song in the original Korean makes my sister delirious and incoherent every time. (She abhors the Christian-Rachelle cover, though.) I guess the Koreanovela bug brings out my sister's own desire for romance and relationship (not to mention fantasies of whazizface Juk Muk Bong or Bi Bim Bap). I must admit, I was singing along to the chorus before I knew it.