No one knew it at the time, but when the quartet of Ely Buendia, Marcus Adoro, Buddy Zabala and Raimund Marasigan—collectively known as the Eraserheads—emerged commercially in 1993, Original Pilipino Music (OPM) was on the threshold of a new and exciting era. The band churned out hit after hit after hit.
In 2002, however, the most successful and influential local rock band heaved its last breath after frontman and chief songwriter Ely Buendia left the group due to personal and creative differences with his bandmates.
Six years later, on August 30, 2008, the Eraserheads momentarily set aside their differences to re-group for one night only as a gift to the thousands of fans who tirelessly clamored for the band to get back together.
As a tribute of our own, PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) listed ten of the Eraserheads most recognizable singles from 1993 to 1995. While it is important to take note of the band's stellar number of well-loved songs during this period, these are only some of the songs that left an indelible mark in the hearts of the majority, even those non-hardcore fans.
PARE KO. Even before "Pare Ko" became the national tambay anthem, the song had already achieved a considerable cult following among University of the Philippines students who frequent campus gigs. Even when they were just starting out, "Pare Ko" had always been the rabbit on the Eraserheads hat—a secret ammunition made to cover up the quartet's sloppy technical chops and amateurish live set during their startup years.
The song's magic continued to carry the band when they were admitted at the now defunct and legendary club joint, Club Dredd. According to local rock scene veteran Jing Garcia, "Pare Ko" instantly caught the attention of club patrons the moment they heard the song.
"The song had turned into an all-time club hit, endlessly requested until the band had enough of the classic tambay song and stopped playing it altogether," wrote Jing in Tikman ang Langit: An Anthology on the Eraserheads.
"Pare Ko" was included in the Eraserheads' crudely recorded demo Pop-U! and later on in the band's debut album, Ultraelectromagneticpop! The song's straightforward and unpretentious lyric about spurned love complemented by a simple melody was simply too much for the mainstream listeners to resist.
Now hailed as an OPM classic, "Pare Ko" is being considered as the song that best defined how unique and fresh the Eraserheads was when they first appeared commercially way back in 1993.
WITH A SMILE. Eraserheads chief songwriter Ely Buendia's love for The Beatles evidently shone through in this optimistic love ballad. The song's innocence pushed the right buttons among the young listeners who were either riding on the afterglow of a puppy love or those mature enough to know the difference.
During the time, the Eraserheads were not known to write straightforward love songs and the band's second album, Circus, found the band sharpening their cutting wit and trademark irreverence even more making "With A Smile" a revelation in terms of Buendia's sensitivity and versatility as a songwriter.
TOYANG. A ditty about young love crafted in a nursery rhyme-like fashion. The Eraserheads shamelessly borrowed line snippets from Sylvia Dee and Sidney Lippman's "Too Young," Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs" plus a potpourri of popular Filipino folk songs mixed with original lyrics to create a modern pop-rock tune.
"Toyang" is a reminder of how wonderful plain love is sans the trappings of material objects. But it also represents how blinding love can be particularly to people too young to realize how hard and trying life can be in the long run.
Though the song is credited to both Ely Buendia and Marcus Adoro, insider revealed that "Toyang" was largely inspired by Buendia's college sweetheart, Vicky, with whom he reportedly sired a daughter.
The band rarely played this song as they matured in the scene and if they do, the quartet usually include "Toyang" as part only of a medley along with some old materials.
