Are we really living in an inverted world?

Noel Sales Barcelona

June 19, 2009

MANILA, the Philippines - Musikang Bayan´s new album, with Danilo "Danny" Fabella´s
"Baliktad na ang Mundo," offers a refreshing insight of what is happening to the Filipino
society as a whole. They have creatively analyzed things happening in his society.

The intro of the album´s carrier single, Baliktad, starts with the lines about erratic weather
pattern and aggressive development: Mataas na bundok ngayo'y patag/ Disyerto na'ng
masukal na gubat/ Tag-lamig ay tag-init Tag-ulan ay tag-araw

And the chorus rings:

Ano ba ito ang gulo-gulo ang gulo-gulo

Ano ba ito ang gulo-gulo ang gulo-gulo

Ano ba ito ang gulo-gulo ang gulo-gulo

Baliktad na ang mundo

Song about injustice

Fabella exposed the bias and errors of the justice system in the country through the following
lines: Mga kriminal ang Malaya/Ang nakakulong walang sala/Ang tama ay mali/Ang
masama'y mabuti.

Undeniably, the current justice system has a lot of loopholes. Issues of graft and corruption
and biased judgments hound the "august" halls of the lower courts up to the Supreme Court,
even the quasi-judicial bodies. Justices are being bribed just to give favorable judgment to the
rich and the powerful.

The song is also an observance of MB about "liars" considered as carriers of gospel truths
while the corrupt are considered trustworthy:

Ang sinungaling ang pinaniniwalaan

Magnanakaw ang pinagtitiwalaan

Sa lipunang ito

Sila'y pinararangalan.

The terrorism of the State is not spared by the song and the way that the government is
treating the "executioners" of the innocent civilians suspected to be members of clandestine
organization like the Communist party:

May mamang bugbog sarado

Hawak ng pulis sa braso

Siyaw humihiyaw

Humihingi ng saklolo

Mamatay-tao'y pinupuri

Mga biktima'y sinisisi

Ang naagrabyado

Sinasampahan ng kaso

One cannot deny the fact that alleged human rights violators, that is, the high-ranking officials
of the police and the military, are rewarded with juicy position in the government like cabinet
membership and ambassadorship, after they retire.

All against the "Queen"

Baliktad na ang Mundo is really, anti-Arroyo. No doubt about that. However, the criticism is
carried out in a creative manner:

Matuwid ang nasa impyerno

Baluktot ay nasa Palasyo

Anghel nang tumakbo

Halimaw nang maupo

At minsa'y nagsimba ang demonyo

Lumuhod, pumikit, parang santo

Matapos magdasal

Nagmano kay Obispo

About electoral fraud and other brouhahas

Whether or not it is 2010 elections, Baliktad na ang Mundo did really hit the realities of the
national and local elections:

Ang mandaraya ang parehas

At ang dagdag ay bawas

Panalo ang talo

Ang peke'y ginawang totoo

Taksil ang ginagawang huwaran

Bayani ang pinarurusahan

Ang ayaw ng tao

Ay nagiging pangulo

No, Virginia, Philippine economy´s not developing

On the last part of the song, Fabella sings:

Ekonomiya ay sumusulong

Ang mamamaya'y nagugutom

Ang krisis ay sagana

ang glorya'y pagdurusa

Is this for real? Consider the following statistics:

Unemployment rate among adults, 34.2% which translates to 14 million, based on the Social
Weather Stations (SWS) survey; the highest in the past 16 years.

Self-rated poverty remains high, 47% based on the latest SWS survey in April 2009.

In 2008, 75% of the Filipino populace consider themselves as losers or suffering the worse
economic conditions despite the fiscal changes implemented by the government

2.9 million families are suffering from severe hunger

Last note

Most of the songs inside the album are already old, like the Rosas ng Digma, Payatas,
Pahayagan, The Peace We Want, etc.

Hearing the songs, especially those who has background in activism, one can say, Baliktad
na ang Mundo, has the power to awaken that nationalist spirit within you.

With a good mixture of music and lyrics, the Baliktad na ang Mundo album, is a good to be
added of your music collection, especially if you are looking for a real alternative and
progressive music.

Noel Sales Barcelona

He is the former migrant and international news editor of the Philippines' only progressive
newspaper, Pinoy Weekly, which has circulation in Manila, Hong Kong, and Japan, until the
printed edition folds up in June 2008.

A graduate of e-Governance through the Distance Learning Course of the Asian Development
Bank Institute in 2008, he studied at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila,
with a degree of Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) major in Filipino language, minor in Mass
Communications.

A journalist for eight (8) years, he has written and published numerous articles on a variety of
topics, from arts to politics.

A professional lecturer, he lectured in different universities and secondary schools in Metro-

Manila and the nearby provinces of Southern Tagalog region. His topics include poetry and
poetics, criticism, basic and advanced journalism.

A short story writer and poet in the Filipino language, he received numerous awards and
citations because of his writing.

He is a member of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, National People's

Media and Press Center of the Philippines, Inc., Kilometer 64 Poetry Collective, and the
Artists' Response to the Call for Social Change and Transformation or Artists' ARREST.