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Music of Today - Filipino version written by: Patricia Isabel D. Cayabyab

Music is an example of art that reflects our society and culture as a nation. Songs written in a particular period of time somehow states the situation of that era. Music serves as an outlet of our emotions through its lyrics and tunes. Composed songs are hidden clues of what the writer is feeling, whether he or she is in struggle or in pain. It can also serve as sharing our opinions in particular aspects of life such as in politics or feminism. Listeners of music can feel sad or happy depending on the mood of the music played. Our favorite song or music genre are mere reflections of our personalities as well. Music helps to improve the mood of its listeners by reducing their stress and make them become more productive and creative. Hearing music can bring back events from the past. People with Alzheimer’s use music in order to recall their memories. Music has a powerful effect on its listeners and indeed releases bad toxins in our brain in exchange of dopamine which is a naturally rewarding chemical that we experience when eating food or engaging to drugs, sex, and the likes.

The Philippines, just like other countries around the globe, are rich in music as well. Instruments like gong and kutyapi are known to be sound-producing instruments which are originally made in the country. Filipinos are undeniable fond of karaoke or sing-alongs. We often see that in special occassions, Filipinos are engaging into this kind of activity to celebrate and commemorate important events. Also, there are various Filipino singers who are known globally like Lea Salonga and Jessica Sanchez of American idol.

Some say that OPM is dead, this is because people prefer to prioritize the music of western influencers. Some people tend to appreciate international music like k-pop more than the music in their native land. They think that listening to OPM is jejemon, viewing it to be weird and disgusting. OPM bands of today helped in bringing back the disco to our own nation’s music. Some of these bands are Ben&Ben, IV of Spades, Autotelic, and many more that are worth listening to.

Ben&Ben is a band formed by twins named, Paulo and Miguel Guico. Their music career started by joining and winning PhilPop 2016, a song writing competition in the Philippines. They started as a duo and later on, became a band last year, 2017. According to the band, their music makes them different because they consider their individual music preferences and are influence by Philippine folk songs. They do gigs in different places in order for their music to be heard all over the country, reaching more people and influencing them in listening to OPM.

IV of Spades is also one of the hit OPM bands in today’s generation. You wouldn’t want to miss their oddities from their looks down to their music which makes them unique. They are indeed reviving the old and making it new for todays era. The band is composed of the boys wearing ’70’s outfits namely, Zild Benites, Blaster Silonga, Badjao De Castro and their former member, Unique Salonga who left the band last May 2018 due to personal reasons. People from the older generation surely appreciates the music this band makes. Due to its unique approach in their style, even the younger generation are fond of listening and dancing to their music. Some of their hit songs are Ilaw sa Daan, Mundo, Where Have You Been My Disco?, and Hey Barbara.

Social media has been a prevalent tool of sharing information in today’s generation. Autotelic, which is another OPM band, made use of social media wisely by spreading their music and letting them be discovered by their listeners. The use internet has been one of the most effective platforms they used in showcasing their talents in the field of music. Some of their most requested songs are Laro and Gising.

OPM is never dead and was never dead. These bands are the hope of encouraging the rise of more OPM listeners. Our local music here in the Philippines is something that we should be proud of since it is said to be the reflection of our own society. Appreciating our own music is not something that we should be ashamed about. Instead, we should support it wholeheartedly and claim that it is our own. Sources: What Can Songs Tell Us About People and Society? (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2018, from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/songs/question5.html Cooper, B. B. (2016, August 27). 8 Amazing, Little-Known Ways Music Affects the Brain. Retrieved June 28, 2018, from https://blog.bufferapp.com/music-and-the-brain Alban, D. (2018, June 14). How Music Affects the Brain. Retrieved June 28, 2018, from https://bebrainfit.com/music-brain/ Robert J. Zatorre and Valorie N. Salimpoor. (2013, June 07). Opinion | Why Music Makes Our Brain Sing. Retrieved June 28, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/why-music-makes-our-brain-sing.html Ben&Ben Makes Music Matters: A Step For The OPM Indie Scene. (2017, September 07). Retrieved June 28, 2018, from http://thebeapp.com/mnl/opm-benben/ Here's why IV OF SPADES is about to become your new favorite band. (2018, May 29). Retrieved June 28, 2018, from http://www.scoutmag.ph/music/iv-of-spades-denise-20171201 Filipino indie bands whove made it through social media and the internet. (2017, November 13). Retrieved June 28, 2018, from http://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2119303/why-social-media-and-internet-are-vital-filipino-indie-bands

#music #article #opm #ivofspades #zild benitez #blaster silonga #badjao de castro #autotelic #ben&ben #mundo #ilaw sa daan #hey barbara #laro #gising

So long, Unique; and the ways we unlock the mystery behind the IV of Spades’ lead vocalist’s departure

Update: Last August 9, Unique and Kean guested on Tonight with Boy Abunda on ABSCBN. Unique was still mum about the reason why he really left the band. However, he said that he got musical freedom upon going solo. Disclaimer: this blog is a mix of info from official socmed accounts of the persons involved and unadulterated opinion of the writer. You'll know which is which. It was a rather gloomy Saturday. I woke up at around 10am, checked my phone to listen to my favourite binaural beats that I would need for my meditation. I was ready to click on my music player when I noticed my sister's avatar and a sad emoticon on my notifications list. I was redirected to a retweet of IV of Spades' announcement.

It had been almost a month, if I'm not mistaken, that IV of Spades' versatile vocalist Unique took a leave of absence from the band. The info I read was that he suddenly fainted on the way to their gig in DLSU Lipa. He was rushed to the hospital and was discharged, given that he should take a rest.

Come 17th of April and this was posted on their socmed accounts:

To be honest, despite the fact that I don't know anything, I wasn't surprised that he left the band, based on the IV of Spades' post above. If you read between the lines, you'll know something was off. Me and some friends had several assumptions in my mind. Here are some assumptions:

While me and my friends had those assumptions, we saw twitter posts referring to him going solo, which I first thought was ridiculous, but after checking out his mom, LLewelyn Torralba's public facebook posts, I was taken aback. Unique did a solo meet and greet. His mom also shared his very own Facebook page, Unique . So much for fans prying in his personal life. So much for all our lunatic assumptions.

There have also been controversies about Unique's relations with the band and management that were initially brought up, but were quickly taken off of Twitter, regarding the posts of this mystery twitter account, @bloodytru which as fans say, belongs to one of the people in Unique's side. Let's just make them keep the issues to themselves.

As Unique had said in his surprising letter, we know what we are thinking. We gotta just read through the lines. His letter was rather a revelation despite its idiosyncrasies. No matter how crazy our assumptions may be, I guess, we are entitled to them. Thank you for the freedom of thought. So long, Mr. Salonga. 'Til we hear your voice on your new musical endeavor. Don't forget to leave a comment. :D