Ogie Alcasid, Noel Cabangon assert: OPM is not baduy!

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Is OPM baduy? And what can local artists do to dissuade the audience from this perception?

These are some of the questions asked by one of the young singer-songwriters at the 5th Elements National Singing Songwriting Camp held in Dumaguete City. The music camp began last Sunday and will end on Thursday.

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“We have a lot of things to do to correct that from the perspective of the Filipino public,” veteran singer-songwriter Noel Cabangon on Tuesday. “I think OPM should be diversified. There should be different types of genre na ginagamit natin. And we have to raise the standard.”

He adds songwriters themselves should not think that OPM is automatically “pang-masa” if they want local music to raise its aesthetic standards.

“Even ang masa puwede mong turuan na makinig ng jazz, puwede mo turuan makinig ng blues na OPM,” Cabangon explained. “There has to be diversification if we want to remove that perception.”

Taste is subjective, Ogie Alcasid said, so anyone has the right to call OPM “baduy,” but artists shouldn't let the opinion of a few dictate the state of the country's music.

“A beautiful thing can never be ignored,” he added.

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Jim Paredes said the audience's negative perception of OPM is part of the baggage Filipinos have “as colonials.”

“Tayo, lahat ng knowledge natin dumaan sa interface ng English kaya we think it's so superior. But our instincts are Filipino. Sampalin ka, sasabihin mo ba, ouch? Hindi, aray! Our language, it's a get-real thing, straight from what is real to you,” he said.

“Our English is good. Our Filipino is good. But we cannot completely tap our Filipino side because our English is overdeveloped. What we need to do is develop our Filipino side so we can be an intellectual bilingual person so we can appreciate Filipino music and English music,” he added.

Noting that other countries are interested in Filipino music—from those who have heard OPM through choirs to those who are familiar with Pinoy songs through imported local soap operas—Ogie adds, “OPM is not baduy.”

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This is just one of the topics tackled during the five-day music camp headed by Ryan Cayabyab that aims to teach young songwriters with the tools they will need to become part of the music industry. 

Noel, the president of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, reiterated earlier reports that he is further pushing for the proclamation order that will create a Linggo ng Musikang Pilipino.

The idea, he said, is to create a tradition of playing all-OPM songs in establishments, TV networks, and radio stations in vein of the Metro Manila Film Festival and the Linggo ng Wika celebration.

The Elements music camp ends tomorrow, Thursday.