Former Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia lamented on Twitter the negative comments he received from the group’s fans after he shared another hard truth about one of their hit songs.
In a March 7 episode of Wake up with Jim and Saab podcast, Ely revealed that one of the group’s hit songs “Minsan,” which also became a Karaoke staple among Filipinos, makes him cringe. He cited that “the whole sentimentality of it” does not refer to the band members themselves.
He then bared that contrary to the views of their fans, the band members were not close in the first place.
“When the E-heads broke up, I was kinda sick of fans saying: ‘You’re friends, you shouldn’t have broke up. We feel bad about it You made us feel bad.’ And I was sick of that and I think everything points to that song (“Minsan”). That’s what they were always reference about,” Ely said in the podcast episode titled “The True Meaning Behind Eraserheads’ Songs: An Eraserheads Deep Dive with Ely Buendia.”
“But what fans did not know is that, what the public did not know is…I don’t wanna break hearts again but we were never close. We were never friends. As in tight friends. That’s why we broke up,”
“We weren’t Itchyworms. We weren’t Parokya ni Edgar. But you know, it was good while it lasted. We had a very, very good working relationship. It’s just that I don’t like it when people say that it was a long way to go in terms of the dynamic within the band,” he added.
During the podcast guesting, Ely also said they never went out for casual drinking as friends.
Ely clarified that “Minsan” was about his “actual friends” when he was still a student at the University of the Philippines.
“That song is actually about my actual friends. The friends that were with me during my stay at Kalayaan,” he said.
Despite not meaning to, Ely did break many hearts and even angered some after that podcast was picked up by some local media outlets.
The reactions were revived after Ely retweeted an article about it on Wednesday.
Following a slew of disappointed reactions, in a tweet on Thursday, May 27, Ely highlighted that the songs Eraserheads left to their fans should be the ones that matter.
“Big deal, still? Why hate on people who want to tell the truth? I didn’t ask to be interviewed, nanahimik na nga ko dito eh living a happy life kayo yung makulit about the Eraserheads,” he said.
“The music is all that matters, have you forgotten about that, and who wrote most of it? Just sayin,” he added.
Big deal, still? Why hate on people who want to tell the truth? I didn’t ask to be interviewed, nanahimik na nga ko dito eh living a happy life kayo yung makulit about the eheads. The music is all that matters, have you forgotten about that, and who wrote most of it?😎just sayin.
— Ely Buendia (@elybuendia9001) May 27, 2021
In another tweet, Ely quipped that it seemed he had more Eraserheads fans haters now.
“Lol it’s also weird that I have more Ehead fans who hate me than DDS. Priorities, I guess,” he said.
Lol it’s also weird that I have more Ehead fans who hate me than DDS. Priorities, I guess.
— Ely Buendia (@elybuendia9001) May 27, 2021
How Eraserheads fans reacted
In the comments section of reports about it on Facebook, Eraserheads fans expressed how it is difficult for them to accept that the band members were not friends.
“I don’t think it’s possible to be in a prominent group for how many years (before they disbanded) without being friends with your partners. Idol ko si sir Ely pero bat parang I feel bitterness from his statements,” one user said.
“I think they were but they just grew apart. It’s sad, but it’s normal,” another user wrote.
Some fans, meanwhile, were more supportive. They concurred with Ely that their music is the most important.
“I think it’s good to point out you don’t have to be close to people to work well with them. But it is strange not to make the effort to become close with people you are around so much. I think that suggests that they saw being in the band as work and not a deep commitment,” one user said.
“Your songs made more barkada so close during inuman jam and friendly karaoke…That matter most,” another user wrote.
Last March, Ely also disclosed that one of the group’s hit songs “Spolarium” which earned some controversy and spawned various theories in the past is only about getting drunk.
“I kinda like the myth. Because the actual meaning of the song is also again, just really mundane… So, we were drinking that (Goldschläger) and that gintong alak.. that’s what it meant. It’s all about getting pissed drunk,” he said.
Some Filipinos previously associated the lyrics of the song to the alleged rape of 80’s teenage actress Pepsi Paloma.
