Sticker Happy

The band previously released their Christmas-themed fourth studio album Fruitcake in December 1996 to mixed reviews.{{cite web |title=Fruit(cake) of the Loop (The Manila Times, December 15, 1996) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/music-review_Fruitcake_1996-12-15_ManilaTimes.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=12 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519135037/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/music-review_Fruitcake_1996-12-15_ManilaTimes.jpg |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=No Pinoy tunes in E-Heads' Yule LP (Malaya, December 22, 1996) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/music-review_Fruitcake_1996-12-22_Malaya.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=12 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519140726/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/music-review_Fruitcake_1996-12-22_Malaya.jpg |url-status=live }} They started touring outside the Philippines the following year, first performing at BMG Records' Sentosa Pop Festival in Singapore on March.{{cite web |last1=Lo |first1=Ricky |title=Eraserheads a hit at the Sentosa fest (March 21, 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/press_1997-3-21_RickyLo.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=12 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519140755/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/press_1997-3-21_RickyLo.jpg |url-status=live }} They made their American debut in May, playing several venues in California.{{cite web |title=Fil-Ams get wild over Eraserheads (The Manila Bulletin, May 8-14, 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/live-review_1997-5-8_ManilaBulletinUSA.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=12 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519212032/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/live-review_1997-5-8_ManilaBulletinUSA.jpg |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=The Eraserheads Wow Fans in First Los Angeles Concert Try (Los Angeles Asian Journal, May 10, 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/live-review_1997-5-10_LA-AsianJournal.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=12 August 2024 |archive-date=May 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520021234/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/live-review_1997-5-10_LA-AsianJournal.jpg |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Eraserheads make waves in Bay Area |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/live-review_1997-5-22_ManilaBulletinUSA.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=12 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519201341/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/live-review_1997-5-22_ManilaBulletinUSA.jpg |url-status=live }}

In September, they received MTV Asia's Viewer's Choice Award for their music video for "Ang Huling El Bimbo" at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City, making them the first Philippine artist to receive such a distinction.{{cite web |title=Eraserheads: First Pinoy act to win MTV award (September 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/press_MTVAwards_1997-9.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=11 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519195501/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/press_MTVAwards_1997-9.jpg |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Gatdula |first1=Leah Salterio |title=Eraserheads stargaze at Radio City Music Hall (Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 11, 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/press_MTVAwards_1997-9-11_PhilDailyInquirer.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=11 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519135101/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/press_MTVAwards_1997-9-11_PhilDailyInquirer.jpg |url-status=live }}

The band returned to the studio in January 1997 to record songs for Sticker Happy, recording as many as 20 tracks. Some of them, such as “Harana”, were released on the promotional EP Bananatype in June. The band also mixed the songs “Milk and Money”, “Hard to Believe” and “Andalusian Dog” at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City, subsequently releasing the mixes as a promotional single.{{cite web |last1=Bautista |first1=Mary Ann A. |title=Eraserheads give us something sticky (Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 11, 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/live-review_1997-10-11_PhilDailyInquirer.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=13 August 2024}}{{cite web |title=Eraserheads (Promotional CD Single, 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/promo-single_eraserheads.html |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=13 August 2024 |archive-date=July 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707010715/http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/promo-single_eraserheads.html |url-status=live }}

The band used a lot of musical gear for Sticker Happy, including synthesizers, samplers, and drum machines. Buendia called it their most personal to date: “Most of our songs speak about our own experiences…Nag-iba ang takbo ng utak namin because of all the traveling (Traveling [overseas] opened up our minds).”

Some of the tracks in Sticker Happy, including “Balikbayan Box” and “Downtown”, were inspired by the band’s recent US tour in which the former were based on Buendia and guitarist Marcus Adoro's psychedelic experience in San Francisco. Written and performed by drummer Raimund Marasigan, “Downtown” and “Everything They Say” have techno elements.{{cite web |title=Sticker Happy review (September 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/music-review_StickerHappy_1997-9_b_inc.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=14 August 2024}} Another Marasigan composition, “Maalalahanin”, was inspired by trip hop and drum and bass, particularly David Bowie’s album Earthling which was released earlier that year.{{cite web |title=Soft of Hearing: The Sticker Happy Forum (Pillbox Vol. 3, page 8, 1998) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/images/stickerhappy/pillbox3_p8.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=14 August 2024 |archive-date=August 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814043409/http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/images/stickerhappy/pillbox3_p8.jpg |url-status=live }}

“Milk and Money” was rerecorded from the Pop-U! demo tape which had a reggae version.{{cite web |title=Soft of Hearing: The Sticker Happy Forum (Pillbox Vol. 3, page 7, 1998) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/images/stickerhappy/pillbox3_p7.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=14 August 2024 |archive-date=August 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814043412/http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/images/stickerhappy/pillbox3_p7.jpg |url-status=live }} Described as a “violent little ditty”, “Andalusian Dog” was also an early composition from the band and named after the 1929 silent short film by Luis Buñuel.{{cite web |last1=Gatela |first1=Mark Constantine C. |title=Sticker Happy review (The I-Site, September 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/music-review_StickerHappy_1997_I-Site.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=14 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519085728/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/music-review_StickerHappy_1997_I-Site.jpg |url-status=live }} Buendia wrote the lead single "Kaliwete" ("left-handed") as well as "Kananete" ("right-handed") and "Ambi Dextrose" (a pun on "ambidextrous") as a challenge to himself after drunkenly telling his friends at a party. “Bogchi Hokbu” was inspired by Santana and features irreverent wordplay spoken by guitarist Marcus Adoro.

“Spoliarium” features a mix of live drums and drum loops. With its cryptic lyrics describing a drunken night out, it became the subject of an urban legend referencing Pepsi Paloma’s rape case in 1982 until Buendia disproved the theory in a podcast interview in 2021.{{cite web |last1=Arias |first1=Jacqueline |title=Ely Buendia dispels urban myth about Eraserheads song ‘Spoliarium’: “The actual meaning is really mundane” |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/ely-buendia-dispels-urban-myth-about-eraserheads-song-spoliarium-the-actual-meaning-is-really-mundane-2898082 |website=NME |access-date=14 August 2024}} The piano ballad “Para sa Masa” was said to be influenced by the Beatles. Buendia later revealed in a Manila Bulletin interview in 2018 that it was his least favorite song that he wrote: “I’m embarrassed of that song. It’s pretentious. It’s like me telling the masses, ‘I am your savior, but you don’t want to be saved.'”{{cite web |last1=Torregoza |first1=Hannah L. |title=The haunting |url=https://mb.com.ph/2018/10/08/the-haunting/ |website=Manila Bulletin |access-date=14 August 2024 |archive-date=August 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814043408/https://mb.com.ph/2018/10/08/the-haunting/ |url-status=live }}

The band composed the cartoon-themed filler tracks “Prologue” and “Tapsilogue” after they had finished the album.{{cite web |title=Soft of Hearing: The Sticker Happy Forum (Pillbox Vol. 3, page 6, 1998) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/images/stickerhappy/pillbox3_p6.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=14 August 2024 |archive-date=August 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814043412/http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/images/stickerhappy/pillbox3_p6.jpg |url-status=live }} They also added soundbites and inside jokes throughout the record.{{cite web |title=Soft of Hearing: The Sticker Happy Forum (Pillbox Vol. 3, page 13, 1998) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/images/stickerhappy/pillbox3_p13.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=14 August 2024 |archive-date=August 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814043411/http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/works/images/stickerhappy/pillbox3_p13.jpg |url-status=live }}

In an interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer, Buendia revealed that the original title was Trigger Happy but that the band wanted it to be less violent. "We all have this hobby of collecting stickers so we called it Sticker Happy," he said.

The cover art of Sticker Happy features Filipino-Iranian TV personality Joey Mead King posing nude in front of Buendia's piano full of stickers and holding a red balloon on an open grass field.{{cite web |last1=Sarne |first1=Vernon B. |title=Happiness is a warm Eraserheads album (Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 25, 1997) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/music-review_StickerHappy_1997-10-25_PhilDailyInquirer_inc.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=13 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519195620/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/music-review_StickerHappy_1997-10-25_PhilDailyInquirer_inc.jpg |url-status=live }} Buendia later set fire to the piano at the end of the band's second reunion concert in 2009.{{cite web |last1=Godinez |first1=Bong |title=Eraserheads The Final Set makes local concert history |url=https://www.pep.ph/news/local/21074/eraserheads-the-final-set-makes-local-concert-history?s=qv7tqlsqcv97ngg6aho2l3ojl7 |website=PEP.ph |access-date=15 August 2024 |archive-date=August 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815042639/https://www.pep.ph/news/local/21074/eraserheads-the-final-set-makes-local-concert-history?s=qv7tqlsqcv97ngg6aho2l3ojl7 |url-status=live }}

Sticker Happy became commercially successful in the Philippines, where it has sold 120,000 copies as of 1998.{{cite web |last1=Valle |first1=Jocelyn |title=Is there really a sophomore jinx? (Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 9, 1998) |url=http://www.schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/press_1998-5-9_PhilDailyInquirer.jpg |website=Schizo Archives |access-date=15 August 2024 |archive-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519201334/http://schizo-archives.com/eraserheads/press/press_1998-5-9_PhilDailyInquirer.jpg |url-status=live }}

In 2008, BMG reissued Eraserheads's back catalogue, including Sticker Happy.{{cite web |title=Eraserheads - Sticker Happy (CD, 2009) |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2994898-Eraserheads-Sticker-Happy |website=Discogs.com |access-date=18 August 2024 |archive-date=August 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240818162711/https://www.discogs.com/release/2994898-Eraserheads-Sticker-Happy |url-status=live }} After the band's reunion concert in 2022, it was re-released on streaming services to include 360-degree spatial sound.{{cite web |last1=Basbas |first1=Franchesca Judine |title=5 Eraserheads albums to be re-released to include 360-degree spatial sound |url=https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/5-eraserheads-album-to-be-re-released-to-include-360-degree-spatial-sound-sb19-nobita-december-2022 |website=Bandwagon Asia |access-date=11 August 2024 |archive-date=August 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811195331/https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/5-eraserheads-album-to-be-re-released-to-include-360-degree-spatial-sound-sb19-nobita-december-2022 |url-status=live }}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = Allmusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|3|5}} [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r588692|pure_url=yes}} link] |}}

In a retrospective review, David Gonzales of AllMusic gave Sticker Happy three out of five stars. He wrote: "While the album is not as enjoyable nor the melodies as uniformly strong as on Cutterpillow, which remains the band's best album, Sticker Happy has its fine moments."{{Cite news|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sticker-happy-mw0000982653|title=The Eraserheads - Sticker Happy|last=Gonzales|first=David|date=April 7, 2017|work=AllMusic|access-date=June 20, 2018|language=en}}

{{Track listing

| title1 = Prologue

| length1 = 0:27

| writer1 = {{hlist|Ely Buendia|Raimund Marasigan|Buddy Zabala|Robin Rivera}}

| title2 = Futuristic

| length2 = 2:51

| writer2 = Buendia

| title3 = Kaliwete

| length3 = 3:07

| writer3 = Buendia

| title4 = Milk and Money

| length4 = 4:41

| writer4 = Buendia

| title5 = Bogchi Hokbu

| length5 = 4:18

| writer5 = {{hlist|Buendia|Marcus Adoro|Romel "Sancho" Sanchez}}

| title6 = Maalalahanin

| length6 = 3:13

| writer6 = Marasigan

| title7 = Balikbayan Box

| length7 = 5:13

| writer7 = Buendia

| title8 = Andalusian Dog

| length8 = 5:01

| writer8 = Buendia

| title9 = Ha Ha Ha

| length9 = 4:42

| writer9 = Buendia

| title10 = Downtown

| length10 = 4:31

| writer10 = Marasigan

| title11 = Kananete

| length11 = 3:17

| writer11 = Buendia

| title12 = Hard to Believe

| length12 = 3:31

| writer12 = Buendia

| title13 = Everything They Say

| length13 = 3:54

| writer13 = Marasigan

| title14 = Spoliarium

| length14 = 5:26

| writer14 = Buendia

| title15 = Ambi Dextrose

| length15 = 4:56

| writer15 = Buendia

| title16 = Para sa Masa

| length16 = 4:57

| writer16 = Buendia

| title17 = Sticker Happy

| length17 = 2:29

| writer17 = Marasigan

| title18 = Tapsilogue

| length18 = 0:39

| writer18 = {{hlist|Buendia|Marasigan|Zabala|Rivera}}

| total_length = 67:13

}}

Adapted from the liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|title=Sticker Happy|others=Eraserheads|year=1997|type=album liner notes|publisher=BMG}}

{{col-start}}

{{col-2}}

Eraserheads

• Ely Buendia - vocals {{small|(tracks 1–5, 7–9, 11–12, 14–16)}}, rhythm guitar, bass guitar {{small|(track 7, 8, 12)}}, acoustic guitar, piano {{small|(track 16)}}, lead guitar {{small|(track 7)}}, samples, EBow {{small|(tracks 13, 14)}}, percussion
• Buddy Zabala - bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals {{small|(track 1)}}, drums {{small|(track 12)}}, spoken word outro {{small|(track 18)}}, keyboards, keyboard percussion {{small|(track 7)}}, rhythm guitar {{small|(track 14)}}, samples
• Marcus Adoro - lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals {{small|(track 1)}}, acoustic guitar {{small|(track 16)}}, bass guitar {{small|(track 7)}}, synth {{small|(track 13)}}, samples
• Raimund Marasigan - drums, drum machine, lead vocals {{small|(tracks 1, 6, 10, 13, 17)}}, percussion, backing vocals, electric guitar {{small|(tracks 6, 15)}}, bass guitar {{small|(track 7)}}, keyboards, melodica {{small|(track 9)}}, vocoder {{small|(tracks 10, 13)}}, samples

{{col-2}}

Additional personnel

• Robin Rivera - spoken word {{small|(tracks 1, 18)}}, percussion, electronic drums {{small|(track 6)}}
• Noel Garcia - keyboards, percussion {{small|(track 5)}}
• unknown - flute {{small|(track 5)}}
• Mark Villena - spoken word {{small|(track 6)}}

Production

• Robin Rivera – producer
• Angee Rozul – mixing, recording
• Eric Lava – mixing, recording, mastering
• Dindo Aldecoa – recording

Design

• Dino Ignacio – layout, design (Binary Soup)
• Francis Reyes – art direction
• John Tronco – photography (Ogrudek)
• Joey Mead King – cover model

{{col-end}}

{{Eraserheads}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1997 albums

Category:Eraserheads albums