There’s a thin line that separates Boomers and Gen X, such as those born in the early 1960s, since they were both kids in the ’70s and were either in high school or college in the ’80s.
‘I’m a Boomer,’ Menchu Lauchengco says at the presscon for her Gen X brother Raymond Lauchengco, whose concert, ‘We Built This City: A Celebration of Gen X,’ she’s directing on Nov. 21 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati.
Menchu and Raymond, born in ’63 and ’65, respectively, slept in the same bedroom as kids and listened to the same music that they played on Menchu’s cassette player.
‘Sometimes, Menchu and I would argue about what to play next. That problem was solved when the Walkman was invented, and we could listen to whatever we wanted by ourselves,’ Raymond tells SoundStrip.
In this Q and A, Raymond talks about ’80s music and its biggest artists, including Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, the Duran Duran-Spandau Ballet rivalry, and English OPM.
Did you listen to any particular radio station?
When Menchu and I were younger, we didn’t really listen to radio. We were more of cassette tape fans. I guess we liked the idea of being able to choose and collect the music we liked. It was only much later, when we both started driving cars, that we learned to appreciate the radio.
But back when Menchu and I were two kids sharing a room, we loved listening to the albums of The Carpenters, Donnie and Marie, Seals and Crofts, Barbra Streisand, and a lot of Barry Manilow.
What was it like on a typical day at home in the ’80s? Did your parents play music in the living room, or did you listen to your own sounds in your bedroom?
My father would play Spanish records on weekends when he was home. He had a nice collection of vinyl and open reel tapes. He’d wake us up with beautiful romantic ballads we could barely understand. Then, when he’d stop, we’d switch to our playlist from our cassettes, but mostly in our room from Menchu’s portable tape player. Sometimes, Menchu and I would argue about what to play next.
That problem was solved when the Walkman was invented, and we could listen to whatever we wanted by ourselves.
Here’s a random name check of three of the biggest artists in the ’80s. Tell us what you liked about their music.
Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson could sing anything. Fast or slow. And he was the first singer I got exposed to who would use his entire body when he sang. Not just when he danced, mind you. His entire being was his instrument. That’s what made him so great.
Prince.
Prince was the ultimate musician. He could play practically any instrument. He could record all the instruments for every track of every song he wrote and produced without needing much help. He was a musical virtuoso.
Madonna.
Madonna was and still is a master of invention and reinvention. That’s why she’s had such an incredibly long career. Her early hits are my favorites. But I think it’s simply amazing how she has managed to stay relevant to this day.
It was also the heyday of the ‘New Romantics’ such as Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. Did you take sides between them since they were perceived as rivals?
I enjoyed them both. But maybe Spandau a bit more than Duran Duran.
What about punk and new wave, did you like any of the bands of these genres?
Punk, not so much. But new wave, definitely. Especially Tears for Fears. I remember the musical director for ‘Bagets’ included some new wave songs in a couple of tracks for the movie soundtrack, and we all loved it because it was so cool and different.
The ’80s were also the time of English OPM with the likes of Basil Valdes, Kuh Ledesma, Ric Segreto, and many others including you. What do you think of the songwriters of that period, especially Odette Quesada?
I love Odette. She was actually my classmate in college for a while, but I had no idea she would end up writing hits for me as well. Yes, the time of English OPM was special, and I think Odette dominated that time as a composer because her writing was very sincere and honest. She wrote themes of heartbreak, love, joy, and hope so simply yet beautifully. And her melodies don’t age.
‘We Built This City’ is a reference to the 1985 Starship song. Give us a teaser of the concert. Are the songs in the repertoire your personal favorites, or did you include others that truly matter to Gen X?
‘We Built This City’ is a tribute to Gen X – the people, the memories, and the music that shaped it.
Every song is designed to bring the audience back to a very special time in their journey, which includes my favorites and songs widely recognized as having become a part of the soundtrack of our lives.
Think of the careers we’ve built, the families we raised, the friends we gained and kept all these years. Then think of the kind of music that celebrates all of that. That’s what ‘We Built This City’ is all about.