What is OPM / Original Pinoy Music? – A Taste of Pinoy Rock Music


When in Manila, and unfamiliar with the local rock music scene, here are some songs to start you off. Notice that most songs in the local industry are of love and heartache or heartbreak or that of unspoken love, the music quite raw during the early 90’s and some still are in the current era, but nonetheless, the musicality is really great and they are songs worth looking into and relating to. 


1. Eraserheads- Huling El Bimbo


There was a time when radio was the only medium that had most influence on the people of Manila, during that time, the Eraserheads’ career was at its peak and this was the song most people memorized and sang along to. 

2. Rivermaya- 214


 Who could forget  the time when Rivermaya’s legends Bamboo Manalac and Rico Blanco were still together? And that killer piano intro to the song 214, then you sing along… “Am I real? Do the words I speak before you make me clear…” Even when you’re not able to relate to the lyrics, the music will be sure to move you.

3. Parokya ni Edgar – Harana


“Harana” or serenade, something that rarely happens nowadays. The way this song was written was sincere and honest, and I guess that’s the reason a lot of ladies still would appreciate it if a guy sings this to them. Parokya ni Edgar, its band members who were friends first before coming up with the band, is more than a decade now, in the Filipino music industry, and still creates songs that almost every Pinoy can relate to.  

4. Hungry Young Poets – Torpe

 Led by the soothing voice of Barbie Almabis, this song speaks of the frustration of girls when the guy they like don’t make the first move. It’s not always true to the current time anymore, but the song will make you tap your feet. They had another song “Firewoman” and from there, Barbie formed the group Barbie’s Cradle.

5. Moonstar88 – Torete

AlbumArt (Popcorn)

One of the favorite KTV hits of pinoys, Torete, sang by the then vocalist of Moonstar88, Acel Bisa, is a song of letting go, yet not regretting the things that have happened between lovers.

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