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A Note to OPM Music ... Your opinions?

• A Note to OPM Music ... Your opinions? Hi guys! I'm a Filipino-American, and there's something I've been wanting to express for so long. I didn't know where to post this first, so I decided to start here. Lately, I've been trying my best to attach myself to OPM music. I try really hard to like it, but I find it really difficult. I've been searching Myx Top 20 charts, OPM forums and looking up Youtube music videos. When I listen to it, all these bands sound like 80's grunge rock bands that play at 5 a.m. in a club when everyone is left and wants to go home to take a sleep. Nothing I listen to is fun or uplifting. The thing I don't think OPM production studios realize is ... outside of the Philippines, nobody listens to bands anymore. The whole raspy lead vocal backed by screaming guitar, heavy drums and bass is truly a thing of the past. It's hardly appealing. Nowadays the trend is to listen to vocal/dance groups like 2PM/Lady Gaga/SS501/Arashi/Justin Timberlake/Epik High/DBSK/SNSD. They all have a techno edge which gets people hooked. There still are some "traditional" bands, but they also seem to add some really cool elements to modern pop/rock music like the electric violin which oddly seems to fit in. I feel like OPM hasn't changed for the past 20 years. I'm really open to all kind of music, so I don't think my difficulty to find a good catchy song is because of my music preference. I pretty much like everything except for country. I really like R&B/hip-hop (especially when there's instrumental, not straight rapping), pop, rock and love ballads. I go to the Korean/Japanese/Taiwanese top music charts, and they have all of these fun pop bands that play. They rally up all of their fans and listeners. Everyone loves these bands and they go tour all around Asia. I want to have that same feeling my Korean/Japanese/Taiwanese-American friends have. I want to be able to show off OPM like everyone else. Are there any fun pop bands out there? I really want to see OPM prosper like the music of its neighbors. OPM music hardly tours outside of its own country, and it always seemed to baffle me. My guess is, since the Philippines is in the Asian market of music, it needs to sell and produce a similar style of music. From what I can tell, a lot of Filipinos are really are beginning to like K-Pop and J-Pop and even C-Pop and of course American Pop. The other thing is, I hope Filipino bands can also sing in Tagalog more. A lot of them do, so I credit them that. But, it makes Filipino music seem more genuine, and it will also prevent the Philippines from competing with American music. If Filipinos continue to sing in English, I feel as if they are putting themselves in competition with the UK and USA. The production studios here are almost impossible to compete with. People from all over the world listen to U.S. music. However, if OPM starts discovering dancing/vocal talent, I think it would be possible to see pure Filipino bands tour in Asia more - afterall, the Philippines is in Asia. (Pure Filipino music vs. American sounding music) Asia is a really modern continent - I know this because I've toured it, and I have a lot of Asian friends. It's also really open to the music coming from all of its nations - regardless of the language barrier. When it comes to music, Asians aren't prejudiced. Thai people like to listen to Japanese Music, Japanese people like to listen to Korean music ... etc. I know this cause I hang around them, and I read a lot of their pop culture literature. However, I do know that a majority of them don't like to get bogged down with depressing 80's rock bands. They like progressive, modern music. For the most part, they're happy people, and they like to see the others around them happy as well. I get depressed when I see popular Asian bands bypass the Philippines in their Asian tours thinking they don't like their music. When SNSD went to deliver a concert in Thailand, I felt kind of sad that they passed the Philippines. There's even a huge Korean community in the Philippines that they need to entertain. I hope the Philippines can produce something that can rival these bands someday and prove them wrong. Fun music will inspire Filipinos with confidence and love for their country. Music has a unique quality of affecting our spirit and emotion. Also, Filipino culture can even travel through other countries quicker since media is so easily accessible throughout the globe. Good music travels quickly through Itunes and Youtube faster than I can even imagine. It's purely how amazing culture can spread so quickly. I have a lot of hope - I bet any Filipino can dance and sing better than any Korean, Japanese or Chinese. So why not market it? I mean hey, we even developed Karaoke before we sold the idea to Japan for marketing. I play the piano/keyboards. Maybe when I'm finished with my education I can do something with it there. I want to see OPM fluorish everywhere outside of Pinas. What

• Answer:

  Jeez!!! I totally agree with you!! I thought that I'm the only one thinking of that. Well, I live th Philippines and from what I observe, OPM is so more into rock bands. I mean they are like everywhere. Everybody wants to be like Eraserheads. Are you saying that you also want to have girl groups or boy bands in the Philippines like 2NE1 or Super JUniors? I also think that Filipinos can do that. If you watch ASAP you can see them dong stuffs like that. I can remember last week when Anne Curtis, Bea Alonzo, and I forgot the others but they call themselves It Grrls perform the song Nobody by Wonder Girls in English and they are so good!!! I also notice that OPM is still more into singing high-pitched songs. I wish that they could also do something like RNB like Jojo. Jeez!! I can't construct my sentences well because I got lots to say. I also want OPM to be famous to some other countries. I am sure it can help not only our usic industry but also our tourism and our image to our nearby countries so they won't just liook at us as the land of Domestic Helpers. Watch this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQZwQOx_tb4