Rewind: Girl Power!

Good day everyone, and welcome to yet again another edition of Rewind, where we talk about music and everything related to it!

As you may have noticed, I love OPM so much. Most of my musical influences comes from OPM. And just a few days ago, I came up with a hypothetical album and today, we make another one. Last time we dealt with numbers in song titles, this time, we go with the sweet sweet voice of our lovely OPM ladies.

Don't get the wrong idea though, these ladies can rock some serious tunes! So just like before, let's set some ground rules:

1.) There should only be a minimum of eight (8) songs and a maximum of 16 songs in this album.
2.) To have a diverse album, each artist can only have a maximum of three (3) songs in this album.
3.) Only one version of each song could be included in the album.
4.) The lead singer should be a female. If she has a male co-lead singer, or the song featured a male artist, that is fine.

So now that we have got that out of the way, let's start the fun!

As usual, it all begins after the jump.

Rewind: The Numbers Game

Bakit numbers?

I was browsing our OPM CD collections and I saw a couple of compilation albums and I thought to myself, "What could be a unique idea for a themed OPM compilation album?" And then it hit me:

Numbers.

That's right, let's make a hypothetical compilation album comprised of songs with numbers in their title. But before we get going, let's set some ground rules in selecting the songs first.

1.) The official title should have a numeral in it (e.g. 1,2,3) and not words (e.g. one, two, three)
2.) Only one version of the song could be included in the list (e.g. We have Bakit Pt.2, Bakit Pt.2 (acoustic), and Bakit Pt. 2 (2014). Only one of those three could be included.)
3.) Songs that have alternate versions whose title has a number on it is included (e.g. Mata and Mata 2) but not if the number added is a year (e.g. Jopay and Jopay (2014))

So, let's begin! The fun starts after the jump!

Rewind: An 8-Track Beauty

Good day everyone and welcome to another edition of Rewind! In this edition of Rewind, we will look at the most recent album of one of my favorite OPM bands, Silent Sanctuary. That's right, ladies and folks, we will be doing an album review of Silent Sanctuary's Monodramatic!

The Album:

Artist: Silent Sanctuary
Year Released: 2013
Track List:

1. Bumalik Ka Na Sa’kin  
2. Meron Nang Iba 
3. Abot Langit 
4. Sama-Sama 
5. Masanay Ka Muna 
6. Sa’yo 
7. Sa’yo (Orchestral Version) *Bonus Track 
8. Meron Nang Iba *Bonus Track

Monodramatic is the latest Silent Sanctuary album, being the fourth studio album that the band released. It includes songs that experienced commercial success in Bumalik Ka Na Sa'kin and Sayo, among others. This is the third album that the band released under their current line-up, following the release of Mistaken for Granted in 2009, finally ending a four year wait for the fans of the band, and of OPM in general.


The Eargasms (a.k.a. The Good Stuff)

All songs in the album are quality songs. True to vintage Silent Sanctuary fashion, most of the songs talk about hearth aches and other matters of the heart, both in upbeat songs and in slow dramatic songs. I also liked that somehow, it felt like the album has one central theme, that being relationships and distances.

Now let's talk about the individual songs, well, at least some of them. Let's start with arguably the most recognizable song in the album, Bumalik Ka Na Sa'kin.

Let me start this off with how the song started, those drum beats. I absolutely love that part. And that part alone already made me like this song. An upbeat song about two lovers who seemingly had a disagreement, and now the man is wooing her back. Who hasn't been in such a similar situation?

Next on, Sa'yo.

Contrary to Bumalik Ka Na Sa'kin, Sa'yo is a much much MUCH more mellow song, in both versions if I may add, chronicling the unclear status between two people. Again, who have not been or at least seen such a situation? Silent Sanctuary at their best, ladies and gentlemen.


The Nails-on-the-Chalkboard (a.k.a. The Not-So-Good Stuff)

I've said this before, and I've said it a lot, but really, just eight tracks? I mean, I love Silent Sanctuary, but a full track album with just eight tracks, with two of them being 'bonus' tracks as they are alternate versions of songs already in the same album. I had EPs before that were 5-6 songs longs, and now we get an eight-song-album (but I still bought the original copy of the album, so I guess it ain't that much of a factor).

Then again, if you are just going to have 6/8 songs in your album, better make sure that all of them are quality songs. And in my opinion, Silent Sanctuary did just that.


Coda (a.k.a. Conclusion)

Eight tracks or not, Silent Sanctuary has yet again churned another solid, if not better than solid, album in Monodramatic. While the second album (Fushiang Pag-ibig) still remains as my favorite Silent Sanctuary album, Monodramatic is slowly going up my all-time favorite chart. Heck, I think it's such a strong album that all of the songs in it are good songs, i.e. walang patapon. It would be an album that you could just play while on a drive and not worry about skipping any tracks. All in all, in my own unprofessional verdict, I give it four out of five cassette tapes!

Guys, let's keep supporting OPM!

Rewind: Top Beats for 2014

   I’m back! One year and 25 days later (or 3 posts later, really, just 3 posts? Damn Kelvz! Write more!) I’m back with the 2014 edition of the Top Beats! 

    Now just like last year, the following are my top 20 most played songs for 2014. Remember that it is not a "best songs of 2014" list. So I grabbed my phone and looked at the top played tracks. To not make this list a long one, I would just link you to a YouTube video of the entries for songs 20 to 11, but for entries 10 to 1, I'd post the video directly here. Last year the list was dominated by OPM songs, as 14 of the 20 entries were from local artists. Will we see yet another OPM domination? Let's begin!

20.) Happy

Let’s start this on a happy note! Happy by Pharrell Williams makes it to the list as our number 20 song. Thanks to the Minions and Despicable Me 2 for introducing me to this song. And doesn’t it really make you the bit more happy by just listening to it?

LSS Line: “Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth”

19.) Shake It Off

Taylor Swift! Two for two so far for foreign artists. While Shake It Off is not the usual Taylor Swift song (i.e. songs that are full of “hugot”), I like Shake It Off because it is an upbeat song. I suspect that the reason that it is here is because we used Shake It Off as one of the songs in our team’s performance during last year’s company year-end party.

LSS Line: “That's what people say mmm, that's what people say mmm..”

18.)Takipsilim

Most of your probably are not familiar with this song, but our first OPM song is brought to you by the band Paramita. Kung ang Shake It Off ay walang hugot, ang Takipsilim ay puro hugot! This most likely is the least known of all the songs in this list, so I advise you to check it out.

LSS Line: “Aaminin ko na ang buhay ko, ay walang kulay kung 'di dahil sa 'yo”

17.) Prom

OPM makes it two in a row with a Sugarfree song! It’s been years since Sugarfree disbanded, and while Ebe is still active in the industry (and isn’t shying away from performing Sugarfree songs), but their songs still feel like they were just released yesterday. Prom is their de-facto concert opener. Most probably would also be their opening song in a reunion concert in the future.

LSS Line: “Parang atin ang gabi, para bang wala tayong katabi..”

16.) Tabi

Tabi as performed by Paraluman with Kean of Callalily is one of those songs that manage to always enter whatever playlist I create. It’s a simple yet beautiful song. How I wish one day I could sing this song with someone who is by my side. (Yiii!)

LSS Line: “Naranasan mo na bang madapa at masugatan?”

Entries 15th onwards after the jump!

Rewind: Top Beats for 2013

"Why do you listen to that crap?"

Thankfully, no one has ever asked me that. I listen to a lot and various music, so who's to say that I won't be on the receiving end of that question? Anyway, this post is not exactly about that. But it is about music.

2013 has just ended and we are now on the 2nd day of 2014. Then I wondered, what did I listen to the most the past year? So I grabbed my phone and looked at the top played tracks. It actually works very nicely because I just got my phone early 2013, so all of the play count accumulated is from 2013 only.

The following are my top 20 most played songs for 2013. Remember that it is not a "best songs of 2013" list. To not make this list a long one, I would just link you to a YouTube video of the entries for songs 20 to 11, but for entries 10 to 1, I'd post the video directly here. Let's begin!


20.) I Won't Give Up

Jason Mraz' I Won't Give Up sneaks in at number 20. I say sneak in because I could still clearly remember I just started listening to this song around October, effectively giving most of the other songs at least a half year head start. Then again, I probably shouldn't be surprised, as I Won't Give Up is definitely one of my favorite songs right now. It just seems to...fit. :)

19.) Crazy For You

As performed by New Found Glory, not by Spongecola, let's just get that out of the way to begin with. Not that I have anything against Spongecola mind you. This is a song that I can say I am actually surprised to be here. I don't really remember listening to this song that much at all, but eh, stranger things have happened.

18.) Makapiling Ka

Told you I have nothing against Spongecola. I do wonder if this is the only song by Spongecola that made the list. That being said, "Pagmulat, ikaw pa rin ang hinahanap sa umaga." I must say, this is one of the best Spongecola songs from their later albums.

17.) After All This Time

If there is one song that I would bet would reach the top 10 of this list, it would be After All This Time by the Itchyworms. I just absolutely love this song since the first time I heard them play it live when they launched the song during the Roots-UP Fair 2013. Lovely melody, marvelous lyrics (though I do not relate to it, if you're wondering about that). Seriously, give it a try. You'd love it. Plus, the music video is also great, to say the least.

16.) Wag Ka Nang Umiyak

Another one of those "I could have sworn this would be a top 10 song" songs, Wag Ka Nang Umiyak by Sugarfree is just one very beautiful and heartfelt song. Now this is a song that I would sing. While it may not have made my top 10 songs for 2013, I'm betting that this is a song that would constantly be among my most played songs for the foreseeable future. That's how much I love this song. And is it just me or do all great songs just have equally great music videos?


Entries 15th onwards after the jump!

Rewind: Squeeze Every Last Track.

Why do you press next?

It doesn't matter if you love music or not, you probably like at least one song. If you are a music lover though, you probably like more than just a few particular songs. You probably even have a large roster of artists and bands that you listen to. And being a music lover, I'd bet you could even identify which songs belong to which albums.

Still, even some of the most avid music lovers would say that not all the songs in a artists or bands album are worth listening to. There would at least be a track or two that just feels out of place. The black sheep among all the other tracks. Those songs that you wouldn't think twice of skipping.

Personally, being a big fan of OPM bands, I can attest to this. I'd buy an album of a band, put it in the player, and listen to it. First time through the album, i'll listen to each track. It is after all the first time i'm going to listen to some, if not most, of these songs. But after some time, I grow to like some tracks better, and just get to skip the rest of the songs. It just becomes a rule of some sort, you like some, you dislike some.

But there are instances where some albums prove to be the exception to the rule. This is what I, and my brother, refer to as albums na "walang patapon". An album where each and every track just proves to be a joy to listen to, where it feels like I'm doing a disservice if I skip even just one song in that album. Or simply, we could say that this albums are just better than most.

In this entry, i'll be listing albums of OPM bands that I personally consider as "walang patapon" albums. They're not listed in any particular order though. I'm just going to list them, and not rank them as to which is better than the others. I most likely would also miss albums that some of you might think should also be included. But then again, this is a personal list, so it greatly takes into consideration my preferences. Though I would gladly love to hear from you, dear reader, what albums you also consider a "walang patapon".

The list starts after the jump!

Rewind: A Hidden Sugarfree Gem

So a few weeks back, I was playing the Sugarfree Live! album on loop, and this certain song caught my attention. I was quickly hooked to the song, mainly due to Sir Jal's backup vocals at the near end of the song. Anyway, I looked for the lyrics of the song and it became an instant favorite.

This song came from Sugarfree's third album, Tala-Arawan. Me and my bro owns an original CD of said album since the year it came out, but it is only a few weeks back when I discovered this song. It is a very Sugarfree song, which for me is that "it has that "kurot sa puso" feel. It won't necessarily bring you to tears, but their is the feeling that somehow, the song speaks to you, and that it is exactly applicable to a moment in your life."

So without further ado, I present to you, Ikaw Pala.

Rewind: Shooting in Diliman

I'm pretty sure that we all have at one point in our lives experienced seeing in TV a place that we are familiar to. It may be our hometown, or a place that we always go to, be it your school, work place, or just a place where you often times hang out. I, for one, gets all giddy whenever I see my school, UP Diliman, on TV, be it the news, or a commercial, or as the setting for a movie or a teleserye (ehem Ina Anak Kapatid, anyone?)

Hello UP!

For this entry, I decided to compile music videos by OPM artists that were shot in the campus. So without further ado, let's start this one after the jump!

Rewind: After all this time, The Itchyworms are still really good.

We first heard it during this year's UP Fair. Itchyworms performed this song live before it was even released in the market. And in that instant, we became big fans of the song, and we're just again amazed at the amazing song writing talent and performance by the band.

It wasn't the usual Itchyworms though, not the light hearted kind of song like Akin Ka Na Lang, or the "pang-inuman" song like Beer. It was more mellow, but that is totally fine with me. Change is sometimes good, and in this instance, excellent.

It also helps that it is one heck of a music video. Don't tell me that that song, together with the video, didn't even pull a bit of your heart strings. Just a perfectly suited MTV for the song.

This really is a perfect example on why I love OPM. I think it is no coincidence that after this fair, me and my brother seemed to have regained our interest in our OPM collection. See, we (well, mostly him) buy original CDs of OPM artists, as we are really big fans of OPM and we believe that that is the least that we could do to help the industry. Plus, for a collection, a library of OPM albums ain't half bad, right?

So there you go, after all this time, Itchyworms definitely still has it. Have been a fan since their Antipara days, and looks like it is going to stay like that for a long long time.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

As a new part of every post in here, I'll be sharing what is playing in the background while writing my entries, coupled with a line or two from the song/s. It is very rare that I write anything while not listening to music. Obviously for this entry, I was listening to the aforementioned Itchyworms' song, After All This Time. So let me leave you with a line from the song. 'Till next time, thanks for reading The Bakit List!

" 'Cause whatever I do, it's no good without you."

Rewind - Heads!

The Eraserheads are going to have a North-American Reunion Tour. Below is the poster for the said concert tour. Obviously, there are a lot of 'Heads songs symbolized in the poster. So why don't you go give a try and guess the songs represented below?

I've got my guesses after the jump. :)

Rewind: Isang Huling Taon

(1)

Isang araw na naman ang lumipas

Kay bilis na nagdaan walang iniwan na bakas

Palagi sinasamahan ka at hinahatid pag gabi na

Saya sa bawat pagkikita huwag ng mawala sana

(Refrain)

Lagpas limampung linggo para makasama ka

Kada araw na bago hinahanap-hanap ka

(Chorus)

Idinaraan na lang sa pahatid hatid

Dala mong saya ay walang patid

Susulitin ang bawat pagkakataon

Sa nalalabing...isang huling taon

(2)

Umibig ng di sadya at napamahal ng tunay

Oras sana'y madaya, makasama ka buong buhay

[Refrain]

[Chorus]

Tinamaan sayo, Tinangay ng todo

Tindi ng nadarama, Tinatangi ka..

[Chorus]

Rewind - An Ode to You

Bakit mo ito ginawa?

'Cause I was inspired! Really, I'm no songwriter, nor am I a singer. But that shouldn't disallow me from writing a song right? If this is a song, that is.

Oh yeah, no title yet. Hey I just wrote this, and this is crazy, I've still got no title, so help me maybe?

*WEH

Anyway, here it goes. :)

(1) 

Tinangay ako ng iyong ngiti

Sa aki'y isang magandang pagbati

Ang iyong pagtawa ay musika

Sa tuwina'y hinahanap hanap ka

(2)

Di namamalaya'y nahulog sa'yo

Hinihiling na magkasama tayo

Sa mga nalalabing pagkakataon

Sulitin ang isang huling taon

(Refrain)

Ngayong matatapos na ang lahat

Ang kaunting panahaon ba ay sapat?

Upang sabihin sa'yo ng buong tapat 

Ikaw ay aking minamahal at...

(Chorus)

Ikaw ay ang aking pangarap

Ang siyang aking hinihintay

Dumating ng di ko inaasahan

Ako'y maging sayo panghabangbuhay

(3)

Pag gising ika'y nasaking isipan

Naaalala ating mga usapan

Kung panaginip lang ang lahat ng ito

Wag ng matapos mahimbing na tulog ko

(4)

Lubos ang pasasalamat sa taas

Nawa'y hindi pa ito ang wakas

Tinatangi ang bawat segundo

Ika'y aking buong buhay at mundo

(Refrain)

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

Tinamaan sayo, tila ako'y napana

Buong pusong sasabihin sayo na...

(Chorus)

Rewind - Drums and Bass

Bakit mo pakikingan at panonoorin ang video na nasa ibaba?

Because..well, just watch it.

That is Buddy Zabala (of The Dawn) in bass and Raimund Marasigan (of Sandwich) in drums, both, needless to say, are members of the best OPM band in history, The Eraserheads. In the video above, they are playing some Eraserheads songs. I tried to listen closely and identify which songs they played in the medley, then added in my unsolicited comments.

0:00 - Alapaap. Only fitting that they kick off with Alapaap, it is after all, the song they used to open up concerts.

1:10 - Sembreak. "Naalala kita pag umuulan. Naalala kita pag giniginaw. Naalala kita pag kakain na."

2:28 - Minsan. One of the more underrated, yet popular songs of the Heads. At least for me. :D "Minsan, sa may Kalayaan."

3:40 - Alkohol. Since this is a song where Raimund really sings, he actually sings in the video!

4:36 - Kailan.

5:28 - I had a hard time identifying what song this is, though the intro is very familiar. I'm guessing it is Fruitcake?

 6:40 - Back2Me. From Cutterpillow. "..Let's give love another chance.."

7:35 - Kaliwete. One of the my first favorite Eheads songs.

8:59 - Torpedo. "Di ko kayang sabihin ang aking, nadarama.."

10:32 - Magasin. Really, who can not recognize that opening part?

12:17 -  Ang Huling el Bimbo. Though for the first few seconds, I thought it was Huwag Mo Nang Itanong.

So there you have it. Did I got it all correct? It is kinda cool to see them play some Heads tunes. How about you guys? What is your favorite Eraserheads song?

Rewind - At the Other Side of the Eraser

Bakit nga ba?

There was a time when a certain Ely Buendia was known as Jesus "Dizzy" Ventura, in a band known as The Mongols. Pero syempre, alam naman ng lahat na si Ely yun. And the band's name obviously made for some interesting talk as one can connect the name, The Mongols, to the name of Buendia's previous band, The Eraserheads (and I won't bother explaining that, that should be obvious.) Heck, you can even stretch it to include Ely's current band, Pupil.

It was no surprise when Ely denied any connections between the names, and yeah, whatever reason he gave most likely is legit. But I doubt that it never occurred to him that there are connections, and I think he knows them, and went with it despite those. Whether it is for some kind of tribute or a back handed compliment is anyone's guess.

Moving on, may ilan ding magagandang kanta ang The Mongols. Compared to songs by Pupil, The Mongols sounded more like the EHeads. One of those songs is Bakit Nga Ba (video embeded below).

Really, bakit nga ba? Bakit nga ba may bakit nga ba? I wish sometimes I can just stop thinking "bakit nga ba?". Think less, act more, just like one of Barney's many advice to Ted.

Anyway, that's that. I'll just leave you with the video, and this one line that I particularly like.

Bakit ba tumatalon sa tuwa, kapag ikaw ay nandiyan na?