Sticker Happy | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 11, 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1997 | |||
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Genre | ||||
Length | 67:13 | |||
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Producer |
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Eraserheads chronology | ||||
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Eraserheads studio album chronology | ||||
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Singles from Sticker Happy | ||||
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Sticker Happy is the fifth studio album by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads,released on September 11,1997 by BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc.
The album saw the band experimenting with techno and experimental rock genres,incorporating a wide range of instruments and guitar effects. Vocalist Ely Buendia wrote cryptic lyrics in songs such as “Kaliwete”,“Spoliarium”,and “Para sa Masa”.
The band previously released their Christmas-themed fourth studio album Fruitcake in December 1996 to mixed reviews. [1] [2] They started touring outside the Philippines the following year,first performing at BMG Records' Sentosa Pop Festival in Singapore on March. [3] They made their American debut in May,playing several venues in California. [4] [5] [6]
In September,they received MTV Asia's Viewer's Choice Award for their music video for "Ang Huling El Bimbo" at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City,making them the first Philippine artist to receive such a distinction. [7] [8]
The band returned to the studio in January 1997 to record songs for Sticker Happy,recording as many as 20 tracks. Some of them,such as “Harana”,were released on the promotional EP Bananatype in June. The band also mixed the songs “Milk and Money”,“Hard to Believe”and “Andalusian Dog”at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City,subsequently releasing the mixes as a promotional single. [9] [10]
The band used a lot of musical gear for Sticker Happy,including synthesizers,samplers,and electronic drums. Buendia called it their most personal to date:“Most of our songs speak about our own experiences…Nag-iba ang takbo ng utak namin because of all the traveling (Traveling [overseas] opened up our minds).” [9]
Some of the tracks in Sticker Happy,including “Balikbayan Box”and “Downtown”,were inspired by the band’s recent US tour. Written and performed by drummer Raimund Marasigan,“Downtown”and “Everything They Say”have techno elements. [11] Another Marasigan composition,“Maalalahanin”,was inspired by trip hop and drum and bass,particularly David Bowie’s album Earthling which was released earlier that year. [12]
“Milk and Money”was rerecorded from the Pop-U! demo tape which had a reggae version. [13] Described as a “violent little ditty”,“Andalusian Dog”was also an early composition from the band and named after the 1929 silent short film by Luis Buñuel. [14] Buendia wrote the lead single "Kaliwete" ("left-handed") as well as "Kananete" ("right-handed") and "Ambi Dextrose" (a pun on "ambidextrous") as a challenge to himself after drunkenly telling his friends at a party. [13] “Bogchi Hokbu”was inspired by Santana and features irreverent wordplay spoken by guitarist Marcus Adoro. [13]
“Spoliarium”features a mix of live drums and drum loops. With its cryptic lyrics describing a drunken night out,it became the subject of an urban legend referencing Pepsi Paloma’s rape case in 1982 until Buendia disproved the theory in a podcast interview in 2021. [15] The piano ballad “Para sa Masa”was said to be influenced by the Beatles. Buendia later revealed in a Manila Bulletin interview in 2018 that it was his least favorite song that he wrote:“I’m embarrassed of that song. It’s pretentious. It’s like me telling the masses,‘I am your savior,but you don’t want to be saved.'” [16]
The band composed the cartoon-themed filler tracks “Prologue”and “Tapsilogue”after they had finished the album. [17] They also added soundbites and inside jokes throughout the record. [18]
In an interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer ,Buendia revealed that the original title was Trigger Happy but that the band wanted it to be less violent. "We all have this hobby of collecting stickers so we called it Sticker Happy," he said. [9]
The cover art of Sticker Happy features Filipino-Iranian TV personality Joey Mead King posing nude in front of Buendia's piano full of stickers and holding a red balloon on an open grass field. [19] Buendia later set fire to the piano at the end of the band's second reunion concert in 2009. [20]
Sticker Happy became commercially successful in the Philippines,where it has sold 120,000 copies as of 1998. [21]
In 2008,BMG reissued Eraserheads's back catalogue,including Sticker Happy. [22] After the band's reunion concert in 2022,it was re-released on streaming services to include 360-degree spatial sound. [23]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
In a retrospective review,David Gonzales of AllMusic gave Sticker Happy three out of five stars. He wrote:"While the album is not as enjoyable nor the melodies as uniformly strong as on Cutterpillow ,which remains the band's best album,Sticker Happy has its fine moments." [24]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Prologue" |
| 0:27 |
2. | "Futuristic" | Buendia | 2:51 |
3. | "Kaliwete" | Buendia | 3:07 |
4. | "Milk and Money" | Buendia | 4:41 |
5. | "Bogchi Hokbu" |
| 4:18 |
6. | "Maalalahanin" | Marasigan | 3:13 |
7. | "Balikbayan Box" | Buendia | 5:13 |
8. | "Andalusian Dog" | Buendia | 5:01 |
9. | "Ha Ha Ha" | Buendia | 4:42 |
10. | "Downtown" | Marasigan | 4:31 |
11. | "Kananete" | Buendia | 3:17 |
12. | "Hard to Believe" | Buendia | 3:31 |
13. | "Everything They Say" | Marasigan | 3:54 |
14. | "Spoliarium" | Buendia | 5:26 |
15. | "Ambi Dextrose" | Buendia | 4:56 |
16. | "Para sa Masa" | Buendia | 4:57 |
17. | "Sticker Happy" | Marasigan | 2:29 |
18. | "Tapsilogue" |
| 0:39 |
Total length: | 67:13 |
Adapted from the liner notes. [25]
Eraserheads
| Production
Design
|
Eraserheads is a Filipino rock band formed in Quezon City in 1989. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Ely Buendia, guitarist Marcus Adoro, bassist Buddy Zabala, and drummer Raimund Marasigan. Regarded as “the Beatles of the Philippines”, the band is considered as one of the most influential and successful bands in the country.
Ely Eleandre Basiño Buendia is a Filipino musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the alternative rock band Eraserheads, with whom he has released seven albums since their founding in 1989.
Natin99 is the sixth studio album by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads, released on May 18, 1999 by BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc.
Cutterpillow is the third studio album by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads, released on December 8, 1995 through BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc.
"Ang Huling El Bimbo" is a song by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads from their third album Cutterpillow (1995).
Circus is the second studio album by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads, released on November 4, 1994 through BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc.
Ultraelectromagneticpop! is the debut studio album by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads, first released on July 1, 1993 by BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc. It was produced by the band and Ed Formoso.
Fruitcake is the fourth studio album by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads, released on December 6, 1996 by BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc.
Bananatype is the second extended play by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads, released in June 1997 through BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc. It serves as promotional material for the band’s fifth album Sticker Happy, which was released three months later.
Carbon Stereoxide is the seventh and final studio album by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads, first released on March 10, 2001 by BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc.
Aloha Milkyway is a compilation album by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads. It was released on August 12, 1998 under BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc. in Southeast Asian territories and in the Philippines on October 14.
Please Transpose is the third and final extended play by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads. Released in August 2002, it was self-produced by the band with their new vocalist Kris Gorra-Dancel, who joined the group after Ely Buendia left earlier that year.
Eraserheads: The Reunion Concert 08.30.08 is the first live album by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads, released on November 3, 2008 by Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Philippines). The live album recorded the band’s reunion concert at the Bonifacio Global City Open Grounds on August 30, 2008.
Pare Ko is a song by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads. A censored version of the song titled Walang Hiyang Pare Ko was released as the second promotional single from their debut album, Ultraelectromagneticpop! (1993).
"Alapaap" is a song by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads from their second album Circus (1994).
Eraserheads: The Reunion Concert is a 2008 concert film documenting the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads' reunion concert on August 30, 2008. It was released on a limited run in Philippine theaters on November 26, 2008, and on DVD on January 31, 2009. A live album was also released by Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Philippines) in the same month.
"Ligaya" is a song by Filipino alternative rock band Eraserheads. It was released as their first promotional single from their debut album Ultraelectromagneticpop! (1993).
"Kaliwete" is a song by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads. It was released in August 1997 as the first promotional single from their fifth studio album Sticker Happy (1997).
"Spoliarium" is a song by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads from their fifth album Sticker Happy (1997).
"Para sa Masa" is a song by the Philippine alternative rock band Eraserheads. It was released in April 1998 as the third promotional single from their fifth studio album Sticker Happy (1997).
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