Not Another Manileño-Kids-Trooping-to-a-Party Video

Styling note: put everyone in a blazer and they’ll look instantly cool and slick. Charot.

Turn It Well
Artist: Up Dharma Down
Director: Caloy Soliongco
Cast: Paul Diaz, Dee Jae Paeste, Gino Jose, Martin Antunez, Haizel Fernando
2012

I love Up Dharma Down. I love their music, and in their latest video, “Turn It Well,” I love Armi Millare’s mannish get-up and cropped hair paired with pokpok-red lipstick and nails. Don’t you hesitate. See us, be it, and turn it well. Ganda.

What I don’t love, however, is the video. I mean, it’s not horrible, but it’s so unsurprising and uninspired and, I hate to use the term, hipster. Up Dharma Down’s great music certainly deserves better videos. But then again, it’s just a music video, no use getting an aneurysm over it.

The video, to be blunt, is really just young and privileged Manila screaming, Fuck you, world, we’re not just poverty and hungry kids and mass murders and kidnappings. We’re also street art beer pong parties electronica Macbooks android phones bikes Bodoni type Puma sneaks asymmetrical haircuts and all those other cool things you find in bourgeois-boheme enclaves throughout the world (that are waiting to be gentrified).

The video’s opening shot: an overview/introduction of “Manila.”

Guy in yellow: “Yesss!!! I’m in an Up Dharma Down video!”

And what’s with that dude on the bridge screaming “yes” over and over again hanggang inumaga na siya? Ganun sya kabagal maglakad? And this other dude na mega-dutdot sa cellphone habang nagdadrive–c’mon, let’s not make smoking and texting while driving look cool. People die of it, y’know.

Yun. Great song though. Better luck on the next video, I hope. #

All roads lead to…. the club. “Heeeey, parteeeey!” It’s more fun in the Philippines!

Vocalist Armi Millare is a stunner in red lips a la Faye Wong.