This was an album of a guy who once said that music-wise, we as humans were better off about ten years ago, when the medium of music was the cassette tape and as such, to avoid causing damage to the tape, people did not pass forward to or skip to a particular song; people listen to entire albums. And maybe, just maybe, because of such, artists in turn, took great pains in making great albums, not just singles slid-in in a haystack of “pwede na.”

Having heard/read that from him, yep, I just knew I had to get a copy of his first album. And because wishes often do come true in my side of the planet, I got hold of an authentic, fresh off the ovens of creativity copy of Middle Class Sensibilities straight from the hands of The Man himself: Mayo Baluyut. “This is so indie”, (referring to the way we were transacting) was his words when he handed me the CD in front of Diwa ng Tarlac more than a year ago. Knowingly or unknowingly to him, that it is “so indie”, is part of its entire appeal.


But that is not the whole picture, what makes the album appealing, is not just the freshness it offers (although at that alone, it is a very, very welcome respite from all the commercialized clutter invading not only our music but all of our media.), what makes it appealing is that it is a promise of a knowledge that there was someone in the planet who grew up with middle class sensibilities that are probably not unrepresentative of your sensibilities (being a part of the middle class minority yourself), and that this guy, this guy was making music.

It’s appeal is the same appeal that Tarlac City, my adopted city, exudes on me: it is sincere; almost unadorned but rich with things we love when we are just with our old selves no longer wearing our coat and ties and fiddling our black berries.


Its appeal are the stories behind this album and behind each song: How a man at this age and time can still pursue his Calling not just in spite of (things, the world) but more importantly, because of. In one word, what the album is, it is Self Affirmation. I am a musician, and I do music, otherwise what is (else) there?


It inspires me in many ways to pursue my own callings, and I’m listening to it right now, as I’m about to embark on a freelance project that I accepted in answer to a Calling.


As I end this, I would like to borrow the words from a really great movie, Ratatouille:
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends.

Listen for yourselves.