WHILE western songs can give us eargasm over Spotify, there are days when you really feel like drowning into a pit of VisPop music.
We can't deny it, there are some "feels" that we can only feel when we listen to songs written in our mother tongue. Or as we say it in vernacular, "di ba mas dulot sa kasingkasing paminawon ang mga kanta nga gikan sa atong kaugalingon nga pinulongan?"
And because we're feeling generous right now, we're sharing some of our favorite tracks that are currently on repeat in our Bisrock playlist:
"Inday" by Missing Filemon
I think I first heard this when my cousins had an ice breaker in one of our family reunions every Christmas. They were a group of teenage boys with a few girls but they were all singing it with glee as if mocking their guitarist, who was brokenhearted at that time. We were enjoying the live band so much that we had Last Song Syndrome (LSS).
It's a song about a lover who's in despair over his girl's (Inday) fading love for him. He sings, "Inday, please don't say to me goodbye / Unless you want to see me cry a river / Tanan nga gusto mo inday ihatag ko /
Maputos man ko sa utang, okay lang".
The song is beautiful and sad. Who wouldn't frown over a a relationship you've always dreamed of but woke up one day, realizing that the glue that keeps you two together is no longer sticking.
r"My Morena Girl" by Hey Joe Show
My friend Nico shared this piece with me (more like, he insisted to have it on because it was my time to play my music). But it turned out pretty well. The upbeat song masks its true intention. It's a story of longing for a local girl who wouldn't notice a young foreigner who's slowly falling for her.
Hey Joe Show shoot to fame a few years back through breaking the internet. They are a group of Bisaya-speaking Americans who took to Youtube their adventures in the Philippines, particularly in Bohol and Cebu where they spent two years of humanitarian mission.
r "Kawanangan" by Missing Filemon
I recently had an addiction with Bisaya songs and this track lit that firestorm. It's from a recommended film released on October 16 last year, Patay na si Hesus. This movie which had the cast speak Cebuano language used this song as a promotional tool in Facebook which was really good. I like it when the cast extends their acting to another platform, it's like seeing more of their characters outside the movie plot. The video started with Jude (Chai Fonacier's character), who was sulking over her recent break-up and panned over towards two former lovers who met at a street diner.
Kawanangan begins with "Di na, di na ko muhilak pa, kapoy na ning mga mata, wala nakoy ikabuga". Haven't we all been in this phase? Hahaha. The words in this song hits it all right through our wounds, right? Yeah, you should be listening to this right now. And, also you might want to follow their vocalist, Insoy Niñal on Twitter if you want to crack on Bisaya jokes, really useful life advices, and hugots too!
"Labyu Langga" by Jerika Teodorico
This cutie-cutie song resembles that of Moira's Titibo-tibo; only, it's another song of longing, a music hopeful to grab the attention of the persona's special someone.
It goes with, "Di ko mapul-an og paminaw / Sa imong tingog nga bugnaw bisan hilig kang magyawyaw / Ing-ana ko og mahigugma".
rBy the way, all these are available on Spotify and Youtube so if you're feeling the blues, they are all just a click away. Enjoy!