HERE come the cranky old men, sourgraping about how the under-appreciated geniuses of our time aren’t paid any attention.

You know what I’m talking about—people who blog about how blablabla should’ve won and how blearghiebleargh got the nom simply because they ladidad. But let’s face it—awards based on numbers aren’t exactly the most reliable ones; and I know for a fact that 90 percent of text votes for a certain band in this year’s Rock Awards came from only two cell phone numbers.

It just so happened that during one party Erwin Romulo, Luis Katigbak and I were sitting around and pointing out people who were really talented yet never seemed to get any loving from the RA. In other words, we were old man sourgraping. We decided to do something about it, and agreed to collectively write small tributes to our favorites this year.

Hence, the QLE Awards.

Before I begin, I’d just like to clarify that I love the NU Rock Awards. I’ve even written two and directed one. But controversy is always great, so why not use that to highlight and point towards some of the artists who have truly touched us this year?

Best new artist

[Erwin] Intolerant AND Loss Of Control
Just because they’re metal and they don’t give a f**k.

[Luis] Ang Bandang Shirley

They’re not rock gods or avant-garde experimentalists—they’re the people that you meet, when you’re walking down the street, each day. Except that they have an enormous talent for impeccable pop tunes and quirky-heartfelt lyrics. And enormous appetites as well.

[Quark] Taken by Cars

A lot of people accuse Taken by Cars of ripping Bloc Party off. I say they’re better than Bloc Party. “Endings of A New Kind” is the kind of debut that feels like it was made after years of meshing and collaborating as artists, and individually the instrumentalists have that perfect balance of standing out yet sounding completely organic.

Album of the year

[Erwin] Ciudad - Bring Your Friends

This is the Wonder Years soundtrack of our generation. Overlooked and under-appreciated, it nonetheless confirms that eerie phenomenon that befalls all great artists. Remember during the Summer of Love even Engelbert Humperdink beat them at the charts. But nonetheless, Ciudad will never need any more affirmation from me or any pundit. Listen to this album. Music like this will never grow old.

[Luis] Drip - Identity Theft

You will never feel cooler than when you’re listening to Drip. I don’t mean that smug kind of poser-cool that comes with patronizing the band of the moment—I’m talking about that glorious experience when their music creates a world between your ears, dark and dramatic, a nocturnal urban narrative with you as the central character beset by sudden dangers and unexpected pleasures. With scratches and samples, keyboards and beats, and that relentless, yearning, sensual voice, Identity Theft delivers seeming contradictions—fierce vulnerability, emotional electronica—and changes your life for the better.

[Quark] Taken by Cars - Endings of a New Kind

From the opening salvo “Uh-oh” to the solemn “Shapeshifter,” Endings of a New Kind could end up being a classic among the younger set. Credit must also be given where credit is due: producer Mong Alcaraz really pushed the band to the limits in this record, and when compared to the band’s earlier demos this sounds like it was made by a completely different artist. Taken by Cars has never sounded so good, even compared to their live performances today.

Song of the Year

[Erwin] Ciudad - My Emptiness

This is one of the most emotionally affecting ones I’ve ever heard this year. It deals in melancholy (and a genuine one at that—none of this “Take Me To The Other Side” crap) but is never despairing. It’s evidence of a settling maturity in the band’s music and lyrics, but also proves they haven’t lost their sense of humor. It’s got a disco beat but isn’t dance punk: rather, like The Itchyworms’ Love Team, belongs to the canon of possibly perfect pop songs made in this century.

[Luis] Up Dharma Down - Unspoken Definites

It’s almost impossible to choose a favorite song off Bipolar—they are nearly all utterly excellent—but still, “Unspoken Definites” stands out, in its almost-painful honesty, in the openness of its music, in the way it takes its influences and shapes them into something new.

[Quark] Taken by Cars - Weeknight Memoir In High Definition
It starts in an ambient, quiet hum that suddenly erupts in Sarah Marco demanding at the top of her voice—“HEART STOPPING-LIAR, ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT JOKE?” Umm, ok, not that great in the lyrics department. However, for me, “Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition)” is anthemic—the kind of song that makes you scream at the top of your lungs in the midst of traffic or start jumping up and down alone in your room.

Video of the year

[Erwin] Pedicab - Ang Pusa Mo

What else encapsulates best the weirdness and exhilaration of this year’s music but a video wherein members of this band get tortured and beaten by a myriad of femme fatales?

[Luis] Up Dharma Down - We Give In Sometimes

It’s hard to match the trippy visuals your mind makes up when you listen to this intricate, dreamlike track, but this video does a great job.

[Quark] Pedicab - Ang Pusa Mo

16 words : Shawn Yao, Tricia Gosingtian, Kim Marvilla, Alodia Gosengfiao, Ashley Gosengfiao, Roni Callanta, Kat Velayo, Dylan, sadomasochism.

Live act of the year

[Erwin] Itchyworms

Excellent musicianship, wicked sense of humor and just brilliant songs. I’m pretty sure that this band’s performances and music kept from any suicide attempts this year.

[Luis] Yosha

When a band gets me on my feet, screaming like a cheerleader, for a type of music I don’t even usually like, then I know they’ve got something special going on. Drawing from soul and jazz, Yosha brings the groove, the virtuosity, and the sheer joy of music-making, straight to their lucky, lucky audiences.

[Quark] Sandwich

Though their latest album isn’t their best, Sandwich still gives their proverbial 110 percent every time they perform. Also, as of late they’ve toned down the improvising and have instead focused on delivering solid performances, occasionally revisiting old favorites such as “Freestyle Analog” and “Cheese Factor Set to 9.” It’s ironic how the Eraserheads Reunion seemed to remind Raimund Marasigan how much he loves this band, because his recent performances have a fire and vigor in them that seemed to be absent for a while.

Comeback of the year

[Erwin] Markus Highway

Whoever would’ve thought that Marcus Adoro had it in him to make such inventive, winsome pop music? The sojourn from the music scene has certainly made his songwriting talents come to fruition. The first bona fide Pinoy surf album.

Album covers

[Erwin] Up Dharma Down - Bipolar
Not as genuinely complex and dazzling as the band’s music contained within, but it sure does a neat job of inviting us into it.

[Luis] Ang Bandang Shirley - Themesongs
C’mon. That Pepper Roxas cover is all sorts of adorable.

[Quark] Up Dharma Down - Bipolar

Artist of the year

[Erwin and Luis] Up Dharma Down

Surely if any artists this year dominated it would be none other than the Eraserheads. But apart from them, it would surely be Up Dharma Down, that has just released their newest album Bipolar. Just for the fact that they seemed to be the only artist not to be swallowed up by the Eheads reunion and make an impact. Also, for the fact that the band is still constantly pursuing myriad ways of conveying and expressing the conflicting forces of human desire, but without resort to cliche is admirable. Impressive.

[Quark] Ciudad

It seems that Ciudad has always had an identity crisis of sorts. Their first album, “Hello! How Are You, Mico The Happy Bear,” had that major-label-trying-to-turn-a-unique-artist-into-pop-fodder feel to it. The second, “ ‘Is That Ciudad?’, ‘Yes, son, it’s me.’” saw the band exploring new musical directions and maturing as artists. The third release, “It’s Like A Magic,” can’t really be considered an album because it was mostly a hodgepodge of updated outtakes and old songs throughout their then-11 year history. This new fourth album, “Bring Your Friends” is Ciudad coming full circle, with the band finally accepting that they can never be pop sensations and unknowingly fulfilling their destiny as one of the most brilliant and unique bands in the country.

P.S. It should also be noted that some of our choices, including Ang Bandang Shirley and Up Dharma Down, were not eligible for the Rock Awards this year.