To Strip Down a Ghost

‘“Multo”’ is described by music critics as a synth-pop, pop-rock ballad that evokes a melancholic sense. At first listen, you wouldn’t think the song is about reminiscing, regret, and introspection because of its lively and welcoming beginning beat. That is, until the lyrics begin, and suddenly, painful memories of someone or promises to yourself you didn’t fulfill return to bedevil and annoy you. With that, the song became a popular track for users to share their own ‘Multo Stories’ on social media and connect with others in the same process of healing while dealing with their ghosts.

In short, “Multo” did an excellent job in guiding people to explore their vulnerabilities and pain.  So, imagine if you could further strip down a ghost; what would you find underneath the frail and translucent veil?

Cup of Joe released the stripped-down version of ‘Multo’ as part of the official soundtrack of the film The Loved One. While the lyrics remain the same, this rendition features rawer vocals and acoustic-driven instrumentals, a stark contrast to the original version. The reduced heavy production brings the spotlight back into the song’s emotional and aching core, which is why listeners describe it as “more hurtful.” The raw, less refined vocals also add to the quiet ache of the song. In some way, this “bareness” reminds listeners that the artists are human too and that they relate to the yearning for closure and healing.

At face value, the stripped-down version of “Multo” seems like relapse repackaged with a familiar yet stronger flavor (kind of like the variations of Tongits Go rewards promos for different players). But once you get a taste of it, you’ll realize that that vulnerability is painful and humbling—a truth that continues to haunt humans in various shapes and forms.

Why “Bareness” Hurts More

Ghosts in Philippine folklore are often described as pale and thin and met their dreadful ends without finishing their stories. As beings who no longer belong to the world of the living, they attach to humans, perhaps trying to find meaning in their lifeless journey and closure to why they can’t find peace; they linger in doorways, dark corners, or the spot where their heart beat last.In a way, vulnerability looks and feels like that. When you open up, you remove the curated parts of yourself to expose an unfiltered identity, kind of like stepping inside a haunted house without a crucifix, sage, and a bottle of Holy Water. Because psychologically, being exposed meant danger. Showing fear meant someone could exploit your anxieties; showing love meant someone could take advantage of your affections; showing softness meant someone could use and abuse you.

We equate bareness with risk. And if we look at it through the lens of “Multo,” the pain that comes after a connection has ended still lingers in memory, even if the person is gone.That pain prevails in spaces you used to share, and you’re left with the aftershock of regret and guilt that maybe you should have tried harder to make them stay. Alternatively, the song could also reflect unsaid words, unresolved feelings, and the terrifying fear of acknowledging your emotions. To recognize your iniquities is spiritual nudity. Exposing yourself to someone means giving them the keys to your soul and a map to your inner being. To leave yourself bare means surrendering control and comfort to let them in. And like some ghosts who only want to be seen—and not really scare people—some vulnerabilities need to be acknowledged to be resolved. 

It needs to be met with openness; repressing it turns it into a painful wraith that will continue to haunt until it is felt.

The Other Side of Vulnerability

“Multo” might encapsulate the scary feeling of baring yourself to people and dealing with the aftermath of ending things, but it also highlights the possibility of moving on and healing.

The line “pasindi na ng ilaw” (lit. please turn on the light) hints at one way to diffuse the dark shadows that haunt you. As we mentioned earlier, some emotional wounds stay unhealed because we refuse to recognize that they exist. We tend to bury our emotions and pretend everything is fine. Instead of going through the healing process properly, we magnify our pains, allowing them to manifest in other ways that could further damage us and others. Letting yourself feel the hurt and grief slowly diminishes the potency of the event in your life, one day at a time. Just like turning on the lights, you still see shadows, but you have a beacon guiding you in your direction.

Another line, “Hindi mo ba ako lilisanin?” (lit. When will you leave me be?) could be interpreted as the person talking to the emotional wound haunting them. They may have started acknowledging their ghosts and taken steps to move forward and find new beginnings with the fragments they’re left with.

In folklore, most ghosts stay vengeful and angry because they never found closure with their deaths. But in real life, closure doesn’t always have to be in the form of getting your ex back or receiving the apology you believe you deserve. Sometimes, closure happens when you forgive yourself for wearing armor for too long, reconnect with your emotional truth, and choose to move to a new beginning instead of relapsing and ruminating.

Final Thoughts

The stripped-down version of “Multo” by Cup of Joe highlights the human need for connection and intimacy. We don’t like exposing ourselves, yet, in the same breath, we want people to see us for who we truly are, bare bones, soul, inner thoughts, and all. The song’s spooky undertones remind us that it is human to be terrified of change, risk, and awareness. That said, it is also a deeply beautiful human experience to feel emotions—because discomfort is what makes us grow and heal.

After all, ghosts only ever thrive in stale, dark places.

The post ‘Multo’ Stripped Down: Looking at Why Vulnerability is Terrifying Through the Lens of Cup of Joe’s Song first appeared on buffaBLOG.

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This brings me to the band slowshine, an Albany-based three piece that I first discovered when researching the 17 Best Bands to check out at Move Festival.  Consisting of the songwriting partnership between Noah Bondy and Cameron Castan, and a rotating drummer, the duo seems to be on the bill for every great indie show coming to the capital region. In late June, slowshine released a new demo, “Solid State,” coming off a forthcoming release yet to be named. “Solid State” continues with the band’s dark shoegaze sound, accented by Bondy’s desperate howls. Fans of The Cure, Yuck, Dinosaur Jr., or Buffalo-based band Zealot would dig “Solid State.”

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With Cap’n Jazz like vocals and a touch of Tim Kinsella-esque depression, “Poetic” is a perfect little morsel of the Comfy world, one that appears to be changing a bit as the group goes through some line-up changes (drummer Zeno Pittarelli is exiting the group this summer).

You can now pre-order the record over at Miscreant’s bandcamp page for the very fair price of $5. In the mean time, listen to “Poetic” below.

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“Color Spectrum,” the band’s first single off of its upcoming release, Welcome Home, begins with a piercing guitar line that quickly fades into a lo-fi, grisly fuzz that recalls Ty Segall or early Cloud Nothings.

Expect Welcome Home to drop on June 2nd, and in the mean time, listen to “Color Spectrum” below.

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No release date or title yet for the third album from the Perth, Australia export or a Buffalo tour stop, but after two excellent albums and this appetizer, we’ll keep you posted.

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It’s been a while since we’ve heard Steven’s folksier side, and this first single returns to those roots, paralleling the romantic aspirations of his earlier material, namely Seven Swans. The angelic harmonies and delicately cascading acoustic melodies lay a nice foundation that contrasts the darker subject matter this time around.

Have a listen below; Carrie & Lowell drops 3/31 on Asthmatic Kitty.

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A discordant guitar plays over what sounds like repetitious chanting as the track begins, immediately creating an intense hellish atmosphere reminiscent of the production of Kanye’s recent Yeezus album, all before dropping a beat that wouldn’t be out of place on an old Wu-Tang record. Then Kendrick’s voice arrives, full of righteous anger and vitriol.

Over the course of three verses Kendrick takes up the role of a young black man who has watched violence rip apart his culture, violence that ceaselessly plagues the black and poor community, violence birthed out of systemic racism. Kendrick’s verses are reactionary, responding out of hurt and fury to the world he sees around him with lyrics like “You hate me don’t you/ You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture/ You’re fucking evil I want you to recognize that I’m a proud monkey.” Kendrick’s narrator, verse after verse, owns racist stereotypes out of spite, knowing how he’s perceived by those acting out of hatred against his community.

And yet every verse begins with the same line, “I’m the biggest hypocrite of 2015/ Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I mean,” leading listeners to wonder what Kendrick means. And then in just two bars, he shifts the song’s entire subject, “So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street?/ When gangbanging made me kill a nigga blacker than me?/ Hypocrite.”

And thus, Lamar holds the mirror back, and the topic of self-hatred and hypocracy enter the discussion. Some of the same voices that speak out in anger over a culture of racism and police brutality that leads to the loss of black lives seem to ignore or even glamorize a gang culture that leads to the loss of black lives. Yet Kendrick doesn’t seek to lecture the black community or even argue hypocrisy isn’t justified. It’s clear the anger his narrator feels for the violent racism that’s filled recent headlines isn’t far removed from his own feelings. Rather, he seeks to craft something much bigger than just a response to current events. By playing with the duality of racism and self-hatred, Kendrick creates a nuanced portrait of how hatred and violence can only breed an endless culture of violence and hatred.

Kendrick Lamar’s “The Blacker The Berry” is nothing short of a masterpiece. Not just an early contender for Song of the Year, but perhaps one of the most powerful hip-hop songs I’ve ever heard.

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