Pop Pop
Ran into Imee Marcos. You can’t not talk to her, she is too interesting and funny. In any case I have stopped forming conclusions about people based on their political affiliations or those of their gene pools. Otherwise I would be severely limiting my conversational options and depriving myself of material.
So I no longer lump people into Elves and Orcs, Empire and Rebellion, Fremen and Harkonnen. I simply classify them into Boring (B) and Not Boring (N.B.). Within each category there are sub-classes; for B there’s Mildly Anaesthetic, Comatose, Flee With All Possible Haste, and Kill Yourself Now. Granted, some people who should be in the B group sometimes land in N.B. due to stunning good looks or an excellent cook, but life is not suddenly going to be fair just because you changed the categories.
Back to my story. Imee Marcos asked me whether I thought reviving the Metro Pop competition was a good idea. If you were not yet an embryo in the mid to late 70s, the Metro Pop was an annual songwriting contest. In the televised grand finals, the songs were interpreted by well-known professional singers. The winner of the very first Metropop was Ryan Cayabyab for “Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika”. The competition produced songs now recognized as Pinoy pop classics. True, those were very different times: radio stations played mostly foreign artists, people bought music on vinyl, and the idea of downloading music from a worldwide network was science-fiction.
I said I thought bringing back Metropop was a good idea, but I would ask around. Now I’m asking you. Do you think the Metropop would be beneficial to the Filipino music and entertainment industry? Do we need it?
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
April 23rd, 2009 at 00:13
I think it’s always a good idea to encourage the arts… so, yes.
April 23rd, 2009 at 01:34
I think it’s a good idea. It made Nanette Inventor famous, didn’t it? Pre- Doña Buding?
April 23rd, 2009 at 09:05
Yes, Imee Marcos should revive the Metropop; not the latter editions and their forgettable winners, but the earlier Metropop that launched “Kay Ganda…” “Sino Ang Baliw,” “Umagang Kayganda,” “Till I Met You,” etc. I don’t know what the formula was back then but it worked.
While she’s at it, Imee to should also revive the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:42
Absolutely! It would encourage budding songwriters and would provide Filipino singers new materials to sing. Most of OPM classics are Metropop entries. We definitely need it even if times have changed.
I wonder what distinct sound can we expect though?
While we are at that, I want ECP also to be revived.
April 23rd, 2009 at 13:16
Absolutely. I am tired of hearing remakes. >_<
April 23rd, 2009 at 15:01
I’m all for it, but it depends on the judges and screening committee they’ll have. I hope they’ll be open to new, distinct things, and at the same time have this credibility to pick at least One Good Song.
And I don’t want the thing to be related to any network/TV stations either, like the Pacquiao match and those talent/reality shows.
Yeah, why not the ECP? We need it!
April 23rd, 2009 at 15:07
* ech, erratum on my post. It’s “station.”
April 23rd, 2009 at 15:13
Yes, I think it’d be interesting to bring it back. The first Metropops gave us great songs like “Anak”, Bong Gabriel’s “Aking Awitin”, Jacqui Magno’s “Laging Buhay ang Buhay”, Heber’s “Tayo’y Mga Pinoy” and Jennifer Ramos’ “Away from You”, all non-winners. In the latter years, it became formulaic — message songs, dapat may meaning at advocacy ang lyrics. Then the phrase “Metropop ending” came to be. Laging may big ending.
But at that time, OPM was still in its infancy. There were only a few bands that were creating good, original music. The audience didn’t care much for OPM and would rather tune in to Casey Kasem. I’m sure we’d be treated to more variety this time. We have more Ryan Cayabyabs, Butch Monserrats, Heber Bartolomes and Freddie Aguilars now. And the organizers would have to strike out the corny, pa-deep songs in the eliminations. At dapat walang “theme” ang competition.
April 23rd, 2009 at 16:33
Oh boy do we. The best indication that we need a resurgence in new Pinoy music is when contemporary “artists’/singers/wannabes are rehashing songs from the first three metropops and the 80’s. I was really wondering what happened to metropop. We need it. i say axe the Metro Manila Film Festival and bring back the metropop instead.
We all know we cant preserve Mr.C’ s brain in a jar so we need a new breed of composers and lyricists. Just listen to Cueshe! Ay ay were crumbling!
April 23rd, 2009 at 20:48
Definitely! It brings out the artist in the Filipino. We’re a very creative race and very, very talented at that. It would be nice to hear those original compositions again.
April 24th, 2009 at 00:10
Yes. That will encourage more musically talented people to come out. We need more original Pinoy music. Revival of the ECP is also a great idea. As with nos.3 and 4 comments, I read in an Imelda Marcos biography that the ECP was severely criticized back in the late 70’s to the early 80’s for occasionally screening porno movies, featuring what was then called “penetration” scenes. As some speculations went,this forced Imee’s mother to shut it down,because she was the patroness of all the great and beautiful Filipino Arts. I personally salute her for her dedication to the upliftment of the Filipino as an artist.
April 24th, 2009 at 00:12
yes please. hindi lang si ogie alcasid at si lito camo ang marunong mag-compose ng OPM. nakakakurta ng utak yung paulit-ulit na pag-remake or cover ng mga kanta,grrr!
there’s no other tagalog songs worth listening to these days, so i just put the eraserheads old tunes on auto-loop…sad!
April 24th, 2009 at 13:25
Definitely. We should remove OPM from its pitiful state and stop these damn remakes.
April 24th, 2009 at 16:54
the metropop was indeed instrumental as a vehicle to encourage opm and the program should be supported. this is probably also an opportunity for imee to use some of the riches her family plundered to at last help the pinoys.
peace
April 24th, 2009 at 22:30
I just have to agree that Imee is the funniest CW-politician-historical figure-etc. I have ever met in my lifetime.
She’s a smart parlorista under construction deep inside. I love her, despite all.
April 29th, 2009 at 06:02
Yes, I believe the MetroPop should be revived, and I agree that it shouldn’t be affiliated with a single broadcast network. The Screening Committee should come from the broadest spectrum possible but should not have a too self-absorbed quality — this is a popular music contest anyway. Final selection may have some tweaks — for instance, text votes may be one criterion – say, 30%.
The top entries (say, 16 to 24 songs to begin with) can get some rotation on radio and TV during the run-up for the awards ceremony and songs may be dropped so that we don’t have too many entries come awards night (8 to 10 would be probably just right). The awards ceremony show can then not only feature the entires but also focus the spotlight on our musical history (like performances of past Metropop selections), give some lifetime achievement awards, etc.
Text entries ensure the event makes money and keeps the advertisers happy; otherwise, who would put up the money for this? The run-up to the awards show creates buzz for the entries and for the show itself, and whatever the result, the runners-up would have some guaranteed airplay. Everybody wins.
An interesting side event would be a music video competition for the finalists, with slots opened to aspiring directors.
And yes, I actually used up grey matter to leave this comment. Damn, I have too much free time on my hands.
Ditto for the ECP – but skip the porn, we have enough of that elsewhere, unless it’s erotica of the highest quality like “The Lover” or “Damage.”
April 29th, 2009 at 13:10
Definitely, Metro Pop Song festival should be revived.
I remember the times I had a glimpse of thison TV, on GMA 7.
This is the time that we should make good old musica nd not revivals from other foreign artist.
This will give oppurtunity not only to aspiring song writers but also to allthose aspiring singers.
April 30th, 2009 at 17:31
Please do. But remember that it was revived in the 90s but nothing really came of it because ultimately the songs were either forgettable or the type that wanted to solve the problems of the world (environment, corruption, etc.). We need sturdy songs like those which won in the 70s and 80s, pero relevant sa panahon natin. Put pop geeks in the jury at hindi lang somebody from NCCA or whatever government agency, who’ll probably just look for “message” songs na forgettable naman ang melody or walang staying power sa memory. I’m not sure if text voting is a good idea, kasi baka madaan lang ang mga tao sa mga vocal calisthenics ng kung sinong diva. The focus should be on the songs–memorable ba, hindi ba kahiya-hiya ang lyrics, will it mean a lot sa mga makikinig. If the answers are no no and no, then reject.
May 3rd, 2009 at 02:25
It is time to raise Metropop from the dead! I am tired of listening to good pinoy singers singing old foreign songs. Haven’t you noticed? Singers record albums of revivals which are not even good? Recorded with the singer’s voice floating over the music? You can even hear every breath in the songs.