The soundtrack of my college life would be set with Erasherheads tunes. My sister, who studied in UP, would play Ultraelectromagneticpop at home incessantly. I didn’t complain. Their music was fun. The sound was fresh. And I found myself hooked on their garage band sound. The first time I watched them live was at an end of school shindig in junior year. I even managed to score their autographs too! Heheh!

I am not a die-hard fan. In fact, I only have the first three albums–Ultraelectromagneticpop, Circus and Cutterpillow. But I most certainly have a fondness for them, like a childhood friend you grew up with. As I matured, their music did too. When their creative genius could no longer be contained by being just part of the Eraserheads, they went on their separate ways to pursue solo careers. On their own, I think they’re doing quite well. Ely has Pupil. Raimund has Sandwich and makes an appearance with bands he’s mentoring like Pedicab. Marcus has Markus Highway. Buddy plays bass for The Dawn.

Even if the band’s demise was mired in controversy, fans dreamed of the day they would reunite to play the good old songs. The first one in August 2008 ended abruptly as Ely was rushed to the hospital. The Final Set last Saturday at the MOA concert grounds performed to a record crowd of 100,000. The huge number of people there didn’t really hit me till I felt reclaimed ground shake after Ely yelled “Talon!” to the audience during the encore.

During the 90s, they were just a band. Fifteen years later, the Eraserheads and their music have eveolved to represent a generation. How did they do it? They simply wrote clever lyrics, played good music and had fun onstage. There were no pretensions of loftier ideals. Even if the band’s fantastic four have gone their separate ways, I will forever be a fan.