Like many of us, bands like The Beatles and Eraserheads played a huge role in Atom Araullo’s life.

The award-winning journalist just shared some of the songs that shaped his life in an episode of the “Playlist ng Buhay Ko” podcast.

Before setting out to the world to give us hard-hitting documentaries, Atom grew up in a middle class family with an engineer dad and a student activist mom who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.

Each of his folks had a very distinct taste in music, so Atom’s childhood was a broad mix of different genres, from The Platters, to Simon and Garfunkel, to The Rolling Stones and, of course, The Beatles.

He also learned how to play the flute, played a couple of records, and even listened to a lot of classical music.

“Ever since I was a kid, I remember listening to a lot of music kasi my parents were very into mostly classical music and or days were filled with music, so nagkaroon ako ng I would say, very broad—maybe even eclectic—taste for music.”

In high school, Atom got to explore different genres and “enjoyed most of them” but he was particularly hooked on the legendary Beatles song “Strawberry Fields Forever,” which was written by John Lennon.

Apart from its sound quality and melancholic power, Atom liked it so much that he researched the meaning behind the lyrics of a song for the first time.

“Parang dreamlike,” he described it.

“Nagustuhan ko ’yung ganong quality, na parang ’yung ’pag pinakinggan ko, this is unlike any other rock song I’ve ever heard. Para akong nata-transport into another dimension.”

Atom also talked about “Pare Ko” by Eraserheads. “Ang initial impression ko doon, parang music became about everyday life,” he said.

“’Yung mga bagay na nao-observe natin sa paligid natin … parang, bakit nga ba hindi natin pwedeng pag-usapan ’to? Bakit nga ba? Why is this such a big deal?” he said.

“Here are these politicians in their suits, trying to control what I want to listen to, trying to tell me what is right and wrong. Heto ’yung banda na parang, kakampi ko ’yung mga ’to, because they get me.”

You can listen to Atom’s full “Playlist ng Buhay Ko” podcast here. – RC, GMA News



Atom Araullo shares the artists and songs that inspired him to ask questions
Source: Balitanghali