Macapagal 45 It’s a match, all right. But it’s also a very forgiving portrayal. For most listeners, the depoliticized image of Imelda produced by this album will likely last beyond four minutes. The combination of disco and opera presents Imelda’s story as some kind of hedonistic (disco) tragedy (opera). If viewed as a product of fantasy-fetishism, the function of disco in this album is not just to create a sympathetic image of Imelda. The function of disco is to celebrate Imelda’s biography; the function of opera is to stage the celebration. Feminized Dreams: Singing About, Singing For To the extent that disco highlights the effects of music rather than it’s cognitive function, as Adorno would put it, the “counterpart” (Adorno, 46) of the fetish character of disco is “regressive listening” (Ibid). But “Here Lies Love,” with its political subject-matter, does not automatically lead to this disengaged kind of listening. On the contrary, it invites us to listen more carefully, to consider not just the musical arrangement of the songs but also the words that comprise the narrative. There are signal phrases in the lyrics of the songs that allude to actual quotes from Imelda. The first song, for instance, “Every drop of rain,” refers to Imelda’s description of life in poverty: “When you’re poor— it’s like you’re naked/And every drop of rain you feel.” Throughout the album, there are references to Imelda’s beauty and learned grace—“The Rose of Tacloban,” “Pretty Face,” “Walk Like a Woman.” There is one song sung by Remedios, Imelda’s mother, titled “You’ll Be Taken Care Of ” which functions to tell listeners that Imelda’s thirst for power may partly be blamed on her upbringing: “You’ll be taken care of—on that you can be sure/If there’s any justice in this world you’ll never want for more.” Also included in the narrative is a duet between Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda on their whirlwind romance, (“Eleven Days”) as well as a duet between Imelda and Ninoy Aquino, rumored to be Imelda’s first love (“Seven Days”). The songs sung by Imelda create a sympathetic image of the Steel Butterfly, particularly those under Act II. “Dancing Together” rationalizes her intoxication with newfound power, as she prefers to share the dance floor with foreign celebrities rather than her constituents: “Charles Jourdan, Oleg Cassini/There was Andy Warhol and Hanae Mori/Beautiful products all over the table/Fills my heart up with thoughts of my people.” This is followed up with “Men Will Do Anything,” which imagines how Imelda felt about her husband’s rumored infidelity: “What’s the matter with me baby?/Am I not good enough for you?” Meanwhile, “The Whole Man”