We had our Courtesy Call for Neurology yesterday. It signalled the end of our 'vacation' this internship. Goodbye, Family Med. It has been 2 months of relaxation and sleep. I will certainly miss waking up at 8 in the morning.

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"Whoever said life was fair?" Dr. Palacio, the acting Neuro Interns Monitor, said at least three times yesterday. Indeed, life was never fair.

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On another note, I've been enjoying listening to the APO Tribute Album (Kami nAPO Muna) for the last couple of days. ASTIG! Although I must say the original versions are really better (long live the classics!), but I think there are some noteworthy renditions. My favorites are: 01 Pumapatak na Naman ang Ulan (2:57) by Parokya ni Edgar, 04 Awit ng Barkada (3:29) by Itchyworms, 07 Batang-bata ka Pa (5:58) by Sugarfree. The adlib guitars in Pumapatak is simply amazing. It works!!! It starts mellow as the original (and on classical guitar, always a plus) and then it becomes heavier as the song progresses. Ang galing talaga! Itchyworms' version of Awit is I think the closest to the original, save for the scale (the original is 2 frets lower) and the tempo. I love the guitars of this one. They added funk on the third verse of the song. And you have to hear the bass line! It's so pretty I am in love with it! Batang-bata by Sugarfree also remained faithful to the original (which I think is my bias for liking this rendition) but never failing to showcase the Sugarfree-sound that we are all familiar with.

Kamikazee's 04 Doo Bidoo (4:03), is also worth mentioning. I think it is the most fun of all the tracks in the album, especially on the last minute of the song where there is a long 'heto na, waaah!' (a la Slapshock), a pause, then 'Doobi!!!' Hahaha.

I am disappointed with Barbie's When I Met You rendition. I think it deviated so much from the original that it didn't sound right. One thing you love about Apo songs is their melody. It's distinct. It's calming. While I like Barbie and her sound, her rendition in this album just doesn't cut it for me.

All in all, I think the CD is a good buy. Which makes me regret why I didn't get hold of the Hotdog Tribute album some 5 years ago. Hay...

Mabuhay ang OPM! And if I'm not mistaken, it was the Apo Hiking Society who coined the term 'Original Pinoy Music' I think it was called 'Manila Sound' (which I believe is coined by Hotdog) before. Somebody teach me some history if I got it all wrong. But whoever was responsible for the term, Apo surely did leave a great legacy behind. Astig!