It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Man…I had so many plans at the beginning of this year, but as usual, life has a way of realigning things for you without asking for permission.
Anyway, quick story time.
Tara’s Three Things, Vol. 1
Love Songs: Waiting in the Wings
I love love songs. I mean, I love songs in general, but I’m a sucker for passionate well-written love songs, and I believe we have plenty of that in OPM (Original Pilipino Music). Including some of my favorites in Waiting in the Wings was such a fun thing to do, but also a little daunting, only because I couldn’t really quote the lyrics in the book. Often, I wondered if describing the songs was enough to get their messages across, and when I felt that wasn’t enough, I put together a Waiting in the Wings Spotify playlist.
Today, I’m sharing the lyrics to the four OPM songs mentioned in the book, together with English translations so that international readers may also understand what they mean. Please bear in mind though that I’m not a translation expert, but I tried my best to capture the feeling of the songs. Take a look/listen:
#RomanceClass ❤ OPM | Sa Wakas
As August AKA Buwan ng Mga Akdang Pinoy comes to a close, I put together a third and final installment of the #RomanceClass x OPM playlist. Thank you so much to everyone who recommended and submitted songs for this project, and if you missed the first two playlists, don’t fret! Simply click on the links below to get to them.
Playlist #1 | Playlist #2
Click on the Read More button for Playlist #3 and notes about the books they’re “linked” to. For more information on the featured books, simply click on the titles! Hope you find a good read for the coming weekend! <3
#RomanceClass ❤ OPM | Muli’t Muli
It’s Linggo ng Musikang Pilipino this week (July 25-31), and just the perfect time to share the second OPM playlist inspired by #romanceclass books. If you’re not sure what this project is about, here’s a brief background as well as the first playlist for you to enjoy.
Click on the Read More button for the playlist and notes from this month’s contributors. If you haven’t yet read the featured books, don’t worry–links to purchase them will be included in the post. Feel free to check them out!
#RomanceClass ❤ OPM | Buena Mano
Hello and welcome to the first installment of this mini blog project I’m doing–this is #RomanceClass ❤ OPM, where I ask Filipino authors and readers to send in songs they find relevant to the books they wrote or read and I curate them into playlists. The only rule: ALL the songs should be OPM.
Brief background for those of you who just stumbled upon this post:
What is #romanceclass?
#RomanceClass is a thriving community of Filipino authors who write romance in English and publish them (traditionally and independently). It began in 2013, when author Mina V. Esguerra facilitated a writing class wherein the objective was to complete a romance novel in a span of three months. Fast forward to 2016, the community and its body of work has grown immensely, exploring new avenues in order to weave new stories and market them. We have participated in bookish events, had writing workshops, talked about how to write more and market our work better, sold books, held live readings, and recently organized our very first standalone event in April. Just recently, a new batch of authors have typed “The End” to new #romanceclass books which may (hopefully!) come out before the end of the year.
What is OPM?
OPM stands for Original Pilipino Music or Original Philippine Music. It was originally used to only refer to pop songs, but has since included all genres like rock, jazz, hip-hop, and so on. OPM is usually written in Filipino/Tagalog or English, but may, in some cases, also have touches of other foreign languages or local dialects.
Click on the Read More button to get to the first playlist I curated for this project, along with some notes from the authors and readers of the featured books. Links to read more about the featured books as well as buy them are included in the post. Have fun!
Mini Blog Project: #RomanceClass ❤ OPM
I love listening to music. It doesn’t even matter which language it comes in. While I grew up listening to OPM classics, much of my teenage years were full of Western music, and I turned to K-Pop in my mid-20s. Still, my love affair with Original Pilipino Music is alive and kickin’, and I would like to believe yours is, too.
Or maybe I can help start it.
From June to August, I’m doing this mini project called #RomanceClass ❤ OPM. With your help, I’m hoping to be able to curate Original Pilipino Music playlists inspired by #romanceclass books you authored or read. Sound interesting? See links below for sign-ups!
For #romanceclass authors
If you wrote a #romanceclass book/s, let me know what OPM song you would relate to your story, your characters, or even a scene in your book.
For #romanceclass readers
If you’re a fan of #romanceclass books, tell me what OPM song you hear in your head when you read your favorite titles. It could be a song suited for a character, a scene, or the overall story.
Some rules:
- Strictly OPM songs only. This does not include covers of non-OPM songs by OPM artists. There are plenty of songs out there, I’m sure you’ll be able to find one. Promise.
- Filipino and English songs are allowed.
- You may submit as many songs as you like, but limit one song per #romanceclass title. As this project also aims to help promote as many #romanceclass books as possible, I’d like to see a nice mix of books and songs. You’d have to agree that would make for an interesting playlist, right?
And that’s it! Hopefully, I’d be able to churn out one playlist a month… I mean, we almost have a hundred titles in the #romanceclass catalogue. That’s a lot of material to work on!
Looking forward to your contributions! <3
Ebe Dancel | Hanggang Wala Nang Bukas
Praying with all my might that Heneral Luna will still be in theaters later this afternoon because I’m finally on leave and can watch it in all its majestic glory. Ebe Dancel, you slay me. Always.
The Company | Tanging Pag-Asa Ko
Tanging Pag-Asa Ko is one of the entries to this year’s PhilPop competition culminating on Saturday, July 25. I have yet to listen to all the finalists, but I’m posting this because 1) my friend OJ is singing awesomely in it (Happy birthday, by the way!), and; 2) I feel like it’s something I’d listen to while struggling over something, how ever small compared to someone else’s circumstances.
Let’s go give the other song entries a listen! Click here.