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I love
listening to music. I can’t stand 80’s foreign ballad and new wave but I can be
flexible with regards to other genres.
I love
listening to OPM the most though.
My
addiction to Original Pilipino Music
started with the Apo Hiking Society, VST
& Company, and Gary Valenciano. As I kid, I had a Yoyoy Villame Greatest Hits tape that I listen in my tape recorder
every time there is brownout (during Cory
Aquino’s administration). And then in the 90’s, I started listening to
bands. The Eraserheads, Rivermaya, The
Dawn, The Youth, Introvoys, Alamid, Yano, After Image, Color It Red, and
all those others made me realize that listening to boy bands is not doing shit
for my existence.
And
then just when I thought the Pinoy alternative scene masked my essence, I
suddenly tuned in to ABC 5’s Music
Bureau, IBC-13’s Club Dredd Sessions, Channel
V, and MTV Asia and I get to see
Wolfgang, Razorback, and all those
other indie bands that rarely get any spotlight.
90’S OPM BANDS = AWESOME
The
1990’s is perhaps the music generation I loved the most. I was still checking
out all sorts of music but this is the music I love the most. The OPM Band
scene didn’t have any partition then. When you a have vocalist, a guitarist,
and a drummer – whether you’re a rocker, a showband, or a pogi rocker – you’re
automatically a band.
CRITERIA:
It’s
important to have a gauge on who’s in and who’s not on the list. Aside from the
fact that I have evidence to shield myself from stupid and baseless queries, it
can make my article extremely credible!
YEAR: This part is very important.
Very, very important! The particular band in the list must have released an
album from 1990 to 1999. I don’t
care if this was their debut or their swan song. I don’t care if this is an EP,
a full-pledged album, or a live album (although I will give a shit on
compilations and collaborations). While I could care on whether or not they
released this particular album for a major label, it is important that they at
least became recording artists during this span!
MAINSTREAM: When you say their names and
the person you’re talking to would say “Who
are they” or “I almost forgot about
them” then chances are, they won’t make the list. Bands need to sell themselves.
I don’t believe in the whole “I am an
artist and I won’t stoop to mainstream” act because if they were the ones
that succeeded, they wouldn’t think like this. If the band can ride a jeepney
without attracting any buzz, this means they have yet to be enjoyed or they are
nobodies.
MAN AND CHICK FRIENDLY: Men would definitely pick on
the bands who love to growl. Women won’t. Chicks would pick on the sappy
seducers. Men won’t. If there is a way
that man and chick could like the same kind of music, chances are they’ll rank
up top.
INFLUENCE: Are they relevant? Did they do
something awesome in OPMlandia? Kulay
brought funky, hiphop stuffs on their gigs while Put3ska brought ska. Tropical
Depression brought reggae while Francis
Magalona introduced rap-rock. Because of the Eraserheads, the tunog lata movement exploded but they have to
thank acts like Juan dela Cruz and The Jerks for opening the rock world
for their generation.
GETTING SYDRIFIED: Of course, my inputs matter.
Sure I had help from a lot of internet researches, interviews conducted in
Facebook, MP3 download sites where I would listen to a particular band’s song.
Fact is, I am a huge fan of the alternative rock genre. I wasn’t really a fan
of the underground stuff then and although I am a fan now, I still find some
acts amateurish.
I
hate:
Shouting expletives for the
sake of being cool.
Stupid lyrics.
Emo.
Songs with zero harmony.
Annoying vocalists.
Repetitive melodies inside one
album.
With
that said...
This
is my list.
If you
want to do yours, then do so.
That’s
my disclaimer.
RESERVE
LIST
Just
in case my picks have grounds for disqualification, here are my sidebars.
It’s
hard to enumerate though. In terms of showbands, left out were Passage, Mulatto,
and First Circle. The all-chick band Prettier than Pink also was left out as is
the Brownbeat All-Stars. The rockers got the most hits with Tungaw, Tribal
Fish, Philippine Violators, Ang Grupong Pendong, The Breed, Balahibum Pooza,
Deadnails, Death by Stereo, Leowai, Edge of Illusion, Annointed Cherubs, The
Aga Muhlach Experience, Bag’iw, Drone...
And of
course, the list can only accommodate one jolog band and Father and Son,
Bodjie’s Law of Gravity, The Boss Band, Rockstar 2, and the April Boys failed
to make the list.
IF ONLY I HAD A 51... IAXE
YEARS ACTIVE: 1994 – PRESENT
90’S GROUP ROSTER (KNOWN
MEMBERS): JEK MANUEL
90’S HITS: AKO’Y SAYO IKA’Y
AKIN LAMANG
There
were times when you’re in romantic hell and their song pops up unrequested...
and then you listen to Mellow Touch
and you find this on their playlist. They scored an extremely popular song that
unfortunately never had a decent follow up. That disrupted the band’s momentum
to move on to greater heights. Ako’y
Sayo I must admit was a good pogi rock song. I can’t really say anything
else because the only thing I remember about this band is this song. At least Orient Pearl had that 80’s rockstar
look. Hopefully in their second wind they’ll remember the importance of their
imaging. I almost rubbed them out of the list in favor of Passage but IAxe’s song bit more (even if it’s a one-hit
wonder).
45 to 50
50 SKYCHURCH
YEARS ACTIVE: I DON’T KNOW
GROUP ROSTER (KNOWN MEMBERS):
RUSSELL DELA CRUZ, JOEY DIZON
90’S HITS: BANE, DELUBYO
Little
is written about the band in the internet. All I know is that during the influx
of OPM Bandemonium, they were staples in the heavy metal / underground side of
things. Their passionate gusto to go insane with their instruments creates loud
and often, wonderful noise. While they dropped the electric word in their name,
they just linked it on their performances. According to an online account, Russell dela Cruz and Joey Dizon are now part of a band
called Intolerant.
49 SHAMPOO NI LOLA
YEARS ACTIVE: 1993 – 1997; 2005
– PRESENT
90’S GROUP ROSTER: JHUN MORA,
WOWIE MENDOZA, JEFF SANTOS, GILBERT ROBISO, ANDY INTALAN, ALEX RAMIREZ
90’S HITS: SARANGGOLA NI PEPE,
CUTE, ASAL HUDAS, PRANING NA SI ROGER, TABLADO KA
Just
like any other rock band, Shampoo ni
Lola was formed at a random garage in 1993. Their usual gigs are done with
SNL cloning pop songs and revving it up with a vocal growls and loud
instruments. While their sound might sound a bit amateurish (latang-lata talaga
yung drums nila especially with Tablado
Ka), and sometimes they just shout and just bang and strum their
instruments loud and hard, they found fame with their live gigs. Praning na si Roger is a cool tune.
48 ELEKTRIKOOLAID
YEARS ACTIVE: THEIR DEBUT ALBUM
WAS RELEASED IN 1996 – BEFORE 2000
GROUP ROSTER (KNOWN MEMBERS):
ANABEL BOSCH, KRISHNA RAMOS, DIEGO GARRIDO
90’S HITS: BAHALA KA SA BUHAY
MO, RATDOG FISH, LIHIM NG GABI
Probably
this band was the predecessor of chick-led bands (that have some sort of niche)
like Up Dharma Down, Pinikpikan, and
Paramita. Elektrikoolaid has
funk, rock, and acid jazz in their arsenal. Looking at it, they were a
refreshing change from OPM’s Tunog Lata period but in some ways, they existed
when the clamor for bandmania was waning down. If they existed in the 2000’s,
their music could have gotten huge mainstream following. Anabel Bosch is now rocking in heaven after getting stricken by
brain aneurysm in 2009.
47 AEGIS
YEARS ACTIVE: 1995 – PRESENT
GROUP ROSTER: JULIET SUNOT,
MERCY SUNOT, STELLA GALINDO, REY ABENOJA, ROWENA PINPIN, VILMA GOLOVIOGO
90’S HITS: HALIK, LUHA,
BASANG-BASA SA ULAN
Aegis
is the 90’s version of Sampaguita,
Coritha, and Lokal Brown. Unfortunately, they are packaged for the
“jologs”. While we applaud showbands in concerts, we kind of diss the Aegis because
their songs are played in beer gardens, low-budgeted videoke bars, and
beerhouses and for a college student, going to their concerts is a big no-no.
However, this didn’t stop them from succeeding. Aside from a captive audience,
they make Pinoys happy with their all-out performances around the globe. Look,
hate this pick all you want but ask the videoke bars on what songs are usually
sang and you’ll probably see their songs up top. HOW CAN YOU HATE “SPLIT” MUSIC!?!
Ang halik mo... (BLAG! SPLIT!)
nami-miss ko... (SABAY TINGIN SAYO NG MALUPET HABANG UMIINOM KA NG ISANG
MALAMEG NA GOLD EAGLE BEER!)
46 CHEESE / QUESO
YEARS ACTIVE: 1994 – 2010
90’S GROUP ROSTER: IAN TAYAO,
PAOLO “8” TOLERAN, ENZO RUIDERA, POW ROSAL, TUTS CALINAWAN, CJ OLAGUERA, RT DE
ANO
90’S HITS: FINE, 10XKARMA, THE
WAY
Just
like any other rock band, the group started as dreamers with the same interests
and dedication to using. Then known as Cheese,
they were ready to take the next step after winning battle of the bands
competitions after battle of the bands competitions. Their demo was picked up
by NU107 and garnered massive
airplay. Their first full album gained a lot of acclaim and they even represent
the country in some rock event in Korea.
Remember that this was before they changed their names and made their
career-defining Pilipinas album.
45 WEEDD
YEARS ACTIVE:
GROUP ROSTER: JUNJI LERMS,
PHILIPPE ARRIOLA
90’S HITS: LONG HAIR, BOBO JOE,
AURATUS, ISTORYANG WALANG ENDING
Long Hair was such an iconic tune. It
signified every boy’s angst whenever a teacher or guidance counsellor wields
his/her scissor to damage their perfectly good locks. They were not just
singing it – they were also living it since they are just high school students
from Claret. That wasn’t their only
song though. While it was their most known piece, they had two albums before
they disbanded. The minute they graduated from high school, some of them
studied music and eventually making a profession out of this craft.
NOTES:
I
think I need to put Skychurch. On Shampoo ni Lola – I wanted them there. That’s
also the case with Elektrikoolaid. Back
in the 90’s, Queso was just starting
which is why they are ranked so lowly. I would have ranked Aegis higher but there are a lot of bands in the list with better
performance and mileage. Weedd is
here because you can’t have the 90’s without Long Hair.
Part 2 will be uploaded sooner than
you think.
By the
way, I’m going to thank my friends Jorge
Cosgayon, Moj Reynes, and Chrisangelo Jacinto. Without you guys, I wouldn’t
have forgotten Joey Ayala at Ang Bagong
Lumad, Half-Life Half-Death, and The
Jerks.
For
comments and suggestions (before I finish this list), contact me now!
Game
over.
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