There can be no question in the
minds of Filipino music fans with regards to the place of rock band Eraserheads
in the history of OPM: they are absolute legends. Perhaps the most iconic
symbol of the band’s grip on the country’s musical library is their 1993 debut
album, the immortally-titled “Ultraelectromagneticpop!” which features some of
their most famous songs. As part of the album’s silver anniversary, there was
to be a limited-run vinyl print of “Ultraelectromagneticpop!” records in 2018,
though the special event was grossly delayed by technical problems, only
announced in October to happen at last this week.
Eraserheads front-man Ely Buendia
had remarked last month, during the reveal of the album’s vinyl reissue this past
Sunday that they were concerned about lack of interest in buying records of “Ultraelectromagneticpop!”
due to the long-ago phasing out of record-playing turntables. As ABS-CBN News points out however, the
band need not have worried. As it turned out, fans of the Eraserheads were only
too eager to get a copy of the 25th anniversary vinyl that they have
resorted to the time-honored tradition of camping out at Eastwood Central Plaza,
Quezon City to wait for the items to come on sale.
When November 24 arrived, there
was said to already be 10 people minimum lined up at Eastwood Central Plaza
Mall. According to security personnel, that number would balloon to anywhere
from 800 to a thousand eager fans by around 11 in the morning. That was to be
expected on account of the limitations: the “Ultraelectromagneticpop!” record
release there will only have 2,500 copies total, all of them available onpreorder for P2,999 apiece at first, though eventually the tag also skyrocketed to
P3,360, and there was a strict one-copy-per-buyer rule.
While the prospective buyers of
the Eraserheads’ vinyl reissue were waiting at Eastwood Central, there was also
a clothing stall selling shirts printed with the album cover of “Ultraelectromagneticpop!”
Furthermore, several music acts would also perform for the fans on a makeshift
stage in the mall. Among the performers is the band Nobody’s Home, the vocalist
of which, Eon Buendia, was the son of Ely Buendia himself. For all intents and
purposes it was a wonderful tribute to Eraserheads and their first big album,
even if the anniversary reissue was delayed while the band located the analog master
tapes and had the pressings done overseas.
“Ultraelectromagneticpop!” included
memorable Eraserheads tunes such as “Tindahan ni Aling Nena,” “Ligaya,” and “Pare
Ko.”
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