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: 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: 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!