Or the bands I want to see live.

Expanded version (see reduced version):

1. Alanis Morissette was about my age then during her Jagged Little Pill stopover in Manila. I was 13 and I was there. I am now 21. I should be touring the world, harmonica in pocket, writing music, getting away with unbrushed hair on stage, but my creativity in composing just can’t provide me that kind of fun. She doesn’t have an excuse not to be great, because she IS from Canada.
2. A Perfect Circle. My first published piece of high school journalism was a review on Mer De Noms (2000). Some unheard of guy from school who I came across online years later actually remembered my name for that article.
3. Bjork, ever since Chou made me watch this DVD.
4. Bloc Party, ever since hearing “Banquet” in early college.
5. Bone Thugs ~N~ Harmony, with Mariah Carey, they will do “Breakdown”. No, I am not fucking with you with this.
6. Dream Theater. fuseboxx should open for these guys.
7. Explosions in the Sky, ever since Chou lent me his The Earth is Not A Cold, Dead Place CD in college. I sure didn’t go “WTF?” over a CD of a band with an unknown origin, cos I wasn’t saying much WTF back then. Nobody was. I did say something similar, though. But ever since I played that CD, I’ve never doubted this guy’s musical taste again.
8. Feist. I would be this woman in an alternate universe. “If you could be a singer or musician, be her,” my Mom would say, only she hasn’t really heard of this Leslie Feist woman and she hasn’t really said that to me either. I’m only imagining what she’d say. I love imaginary conversations and I hope knowing that doesn’t weird you out too much to stop reading on, no?
9. Jimmy Eat World, because “My Sundown” makes me cry. A lot.
10. Klaxons. This discovery was by pure accident, and hypem.com would be the suspect.
11. Minus The Bear. Our locals from Taken By Cars will open for these guys. If they don’t, hell, I’d still watch.
12. No Doubt, ever since Gwen appeared with an Indian Bindi.
13. Oasis, and make my boyfriend’s life complete.
14. Paz Lenchantin wouldn’t be in this list if Alanis M. isn’t always damned angry with everyone. Paz Lenchantin shines in her own pacified way, in high heels.
15. Radiohead, ever since this smart person took this footage.
16. Silverstein is one of the finest discoveries I made back when I would whore music.download.com’s Emo section for hours, longer than I could ever remember doing in a music site.
17. Smashing Pumpkins, if I couldn’t touch Billy Corgan’s baldness, I would like to at least see it in RL.
18. Sunset Rubdown. On “Winged/Wicked Things”: if this song were a guy, he’d be that asshole who swept me away with words and made me cry in perfect rhythm. This song caught me in one of the weirdest moments in my life.
19. System of a Down’s the only rock concert I will wear a black printed shirt in.
20. The Ataris‘ the only concert I will wear my carnation pink Chucks in.
21. The Cure, but why not?
22. The Velvet Teen. I’ve only just begun liking them. I was corrected that TVT is just a ‘him’, not ‘them’. I cannot believe my ears with “Gyzmkid.” It’s the kinda song I want to wake up to at 7am daily (weekends included), if I had a musical alarm clock. It gets me going. “Forlorn” lulls me to sleep.
23. Thursday burned this city down in one night. It was May 30, 2008.
24. Tool, ever since they started making these videos and the music that go with them.
25. Wolf Parade, ever since this Tweet.
26. Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the jawdropping Karen O. I just love how she weirds me out.
27. Zwan, if only to see Paz Lenchantin.

Would be cool to see Foals, Miracle Fortress, Menomena and Titus Andronicus, too, but I have come to know them only recently.

Reduced version:

1. A Perfect Circle
2. Sunset Rubdown
3. Jimmy Eat World
4. System of a Down
5. The Ataris

It’s hard to follow who’s disbanded, who’s with whose band, or who’s gone into politics or jail (I, too, have a life to catch up with, you know). This is just a dream list, anyway. The day at least 5 names in this list come down to the Philippines BEFORE OR WHEN I AM 30 is the day I’m ready to turn myself in rehab and give up beer. Of the 27 bands, I am proud to say I have only seen two, one of which I could vaguely remember (I was in grade school when I saw Alanis). If I have seen 5, I have lived my life.

Finally, Something Corporate should do a one song, one night gig here. That song is Konstantine and that night is my wake.