Released 1995 Writer(s) Ely Buendia | Genre Pinoy rock Producer(s) Robin Rivera | |
Length 7:30 (full version)
5:30 (radio version) Label Musiko Records
&
BMG Records (Pilipinas), Inc. | ||
"Ang Huling El Bimbo" (English: "The Last El Bimbo") is a song composed by Ely Buendia of the Philippine pop/rock band Eraserheads, for their 1996 studio album Cutterpillow. It received extensive airplay after its release and ranked #2 on RX 93.1's "Top 20 OPM Requests of 1996". It is the only Tagalog song included in the band's international compilation album, Aloha Milkyway (1998). The song's music video catapulted the band's success outside the Philippines by bagging the 'International Viewer's Choice Awards for Asia' at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.}
Contents
- Background
- Composition and structure
- Music video
- Other versions
- Video reception
- Covers
- In other media
- Impact and legacy
- Personnel
- References
The song has been covered by many other artists, including Rico J. Puno for the 2005 Eraserheads tribute album, Ultraelectromagneticjam!: The Music of the Eraserheads and by Jay Durias of South Border for another tribute album, The Reunion: An Eraserheads Tribute Album, in 2012. Buendia also sang an orchestral rendition of this song under the baton of Gerard Salonga with the Manila-based symphony orchestra FILharmoniKA, for the 2008 anthology album, FILharmoniKa - Kumpas: An Orchestral Celebration of Pinoy Music.
Background
According to Buendia, "Ang Huling El Bimbo" is a melodrama about one of the famous dances of the '70s. It was written in a semi-biographical fashion because when Buendia was a young boy, he had a teacher who taught him the El Bimbo dance. Additional elements were placed to adorn the narrative and build the final storyline of the song: a first-person point of view of a man's unrequited feelings for his childhood friend whose life unfortunately comes to a tragic end.
Composition and structure
Most popular music of the '80s to early '90s in the Philippines were known to follow a certain pattern: slow-tempo intro which builds to a progressive refrain, eventually leading to a loud and emotional chorus. "Ang Huling El Bimbo" forged a trail of its own by opening the song with a couple of chorus chords (F♯-A♭-B-F♯) in full blast of Buendia's rhythms, Buddy Zabala's tight basslines, Raimund Marasigan's energetic beats, and Marcus Adoro's eccentric leads.
Music video
The song's accompanying music video was directed by Auraeus Solito and completed filming within two days at Solito's ancestral house in Sampaloc, Manila. As a theatre director, Solito used several experimental shots and symbolisms in the video despite being a literal translation of the story contained in the song. According to Buendia, this was the first major production music video of the band since it involved big budget due to casting; and being treated as a short film due to the song's playing time and storyline. This also marked the first time the Eraserheads produced a music video for their song.
Other versions
The instrumental part of the music video was omitted during its broadcast on MTV Pinoy. After the music video fades to black, the music video ends.
Video reception
At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the video won the 'International Viewer's Choice Awards for Asia'. The video was up against "Kirana" by Dewa 19 of Indonesia, "Fun Fun Fun" by Joey Boy of Thailand, "Fanatik" by KRU of Malaysia, and "Family" by Lee Seung-hwan of Korea. The Eraserheads accepted the award themselves. The recognition was the first Moonman award received by any Filipino artist, and further made the band known in Asia which paved way to the release of Aloha Milkyway.
Covers
In other media
Impact and legacy
Because of the simplicity of the song's structure and chord progression, many local bands and artists—amateur and professionals alike—perform this song either as a cover or in their own renditions.