Hand-Picked 2016 (The 9 Best Albums and EPs of 2016)

03/01/2017 12:32:10 AM

I know. It's barely 60 days into 2017 already. Maybe it's been way too late to make a posting about whatever shenanigans that took place in 2016. Well, I could pass out the list of the gigs I made since I had not made it to the big ones during that year, as well as not making the list of awesome matches in professional wrestling and the highlight reel of current events (by which deaths and politics had been taking the spot light to the extent that I cannot be able to digest either one of them).

But certainly, even if two months have already passed by, I don't think I could be able to prolong the wait for this – the list of the best albums for the year 2016. After all, this was the time I managed to get some of the best ones while I heard the others via Spotify.

Initially I want to do a list of 16 for this supposedly-yearender list. However, I trimmed it down to nearly a half. So that being said, here are my 9 hand-picked albums that rocked the past year.

Getting Back on Philippine Wresting Fandom

02/26/2017 11:55:49 AM

Before I put on my short take on PWR Bagong Yugto for The SlickMaster's Files, let me give you a brief look back on getting back to the local wrestling scene.

It was barely seventeen months ago (or rather eighteen, since it's already late February when I wrote this shit) since the last time I have seen a Manila-based wrestling show. It took place at Makati Cinema Square where around 400 people spent an evening witnessing the matches of the first PWR Wrevolution X, with Jake De Leon and Bombay Suarez slugging it out for the inaugural PWR Championship match. 

The senyorito had won it, but one of their former wrestlers wrecked the party and become the champion; and a quite unfortunate path for then-backstage developments that screwed the promotion for some time during the following year.

The Scene Around: Tagaytay Art Beat 2

02/25/2017 08:08:50 AM

After seventeen months, the biggest arts and music festival of Southern Luzon was back and it just got bigger as Museo Orlina and Docdef Productions staged the second Tagaytay Art Beat last Saturday, 4 February 2017 at Museo Orlina in Hollywood Subdivision, Tagaytay City. 

Upcoming: Luna's Para Sa'Yo

02/23/2017 08:11:16 PM

Are you stressed? Feeling down or broken? Or just fed up with anything in life right now? Hey, don't fret kiddos, as MamaMo Productions will kick off 2017 with an album launch that might sound a remedy for all your post-day shenanigans. 

PlayBack: Apartel – Inner Play (LP)

02/19/2017 05:54:24 PM

Apartel may appear to be just another THE Ely Buendia-starred project since his post-Eraserheads era wherein names like The Mongols, Pupil, and The Oktaves had been ringing bells for already one-and-a-half decade and spawned multiple hits with only one resonating sound as similar to the famed 90s band – that is alternative rock.

However, this is not just another case of his experiment as the six-piece band (formerly eight) isn't just your ordinary soul music-makers. They are a super band already by numbers and prowess; and their debut album will prove you that.

Valentine's Day Na! E Ano Ngayon? (v. 2017)

02/13/2017 09:36:02 PM

Sa wakas! Ito na naman ang pinakahihintay ninyong ng mga tao (tao rin ako pero huwag niyo nga 'kong idamay please!); mula sa mga taong tuwid ang landas (at mga atat nang tumuwad) hanggang sa mga taong lumiko na (at sa mga biglang liliko pa lang). Single ka man, taken o it's complicated pa. Sa mga forever in a relationship with food at sa mga happily taken for granted at ganun na rin sa mga taong feeling heartbroken kasi nagloloko ang internet connection. 

Ang valentine's day, bow. 

Upcoming: TheSunManager "Worth" Album Launch

02/07/2017 08:55:25 PM

After three years, the solo project paid off big-time as April Hernandez, also known as TheSunManager, will be releasing her album titled “Worth” later this week.

Upcoming: A Gig Has No Name

01/24/2017 09:28:01 PM

There are so many interesting events about to happen this first two months of the year. We have seen Racc/oon Productions slate their trilogy of first anniversary, as well as Indie Manila hitting their first bang of Elusive Silence. There's also a second coming of Carnival by near-Valentines Day. WANDERLAND is about to unfold by March, and one of the biggest and buzz-iest local music festival Tagaytay Art Beat will be back by early February.

Newsletter: Once Upon A Mattress

01/19/2017 08:31:22 PM

Author's note: Aside from much-hyped Sa Wakas, the start of 2017 will be bombarded by a lot of theater productions – both originals and revivals. That being said, here's one production that will be restaging this weekend at the Emilio Aguinaldo College – the musical that was primarily meant to be a spoof spin-off to one of the greatest works of Hans Christian Andersen. 

Steven Conde, the director behind some of the critically-acclaimed plays, will be directing this upcoming production and singer-actress Carla Guevarra-Laforteza will be one of the headliners. 

All that and more in this post.

PlayBack: Gabby Alipe - Visions

01/10/2017 06:34:08 AM

Whenever we hear the name Gabby Alipe, it means another name: Urbandub; right? He's a wordsmith and a bonafide rockstar, no matter how many times he claimed to be an accidental singer. No question about it.

But from so many years of spending his time as a band member, he started doing his solo act in 2016 – just in time after missing the brief times of being a music-maker. Apart from being a parent to his son and to his management firm Nemesis Music Group, Alipe released a six-track EP titled  A New Strain. And this music video right here is the carrier single.

The Scene Around: Raccoon Turns 1: Part 1

01/12/2017 09:40:21 PM

Racc/oon productions kicked off their anniversary with the first stop of their month-long celebration, and it is for a good cause and fun.

No Quality Kuno?!

01/11/2017 03:06:59 PM

Photo credits: CinemaBravo.com via Facebook

Hindi ko alam kung bakit ba naman bagong taon na bagong taon ay umiinit pa rin ang ulo ko. Hindi naman dilawan vs. DDS ang unang pumutok ngayong 2017.

Ah, ito kasi eh. Ang isyu pa rin sa pagbabago ng Metro Manila Film Festival. Diyos ko naman, 2017 na, dapat nga naka-move on na tayo eh. Alam naman natin na hindi sila gaano pumatok sa takilya, pero umangat naman ang kalidad. Marami pa ring mga manunood na naging masaya sa nangyaro sa katatapos lang na Metro Manila Film Festival. 

Pero maliban kasi sa isang nakakaalarmang isyu ng eksena na sangkot ang aso, may isa na tila asungot ang hindi makamove on. 

The Scene Around: All I Want For Christmas is RYU

01/08/2017 09:13:20 PM

Seems two years were quite long enough for Japo Anareta and his production outfit to make a comeback. And true enough, his Red Rocket Productions managed to get back even for a while only as they set a yearend gig like it's literally your typical clan/barkada reunion.

Flick Review: Oro

01/07/2017 05:33:50 PM

Photo credits: My Movie World

It was gritty as it gets. Alvin Yapan's ORO was just one of the eight entries for the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival. And apart from bagging some of the awards, the film was that gritty it also met controversy.

PlayBack: Autotelic – Laro

01/07/2017 12:52:01 PM

Perhaps if you are a fan of the current wave of OPM bands, you already have noticed this six-piece crew here named Autotelic. Apart from being the darlings of the indie scene, this band evolved from just a simple electromagnetic pop (with resemblances of dance, alternative and J-rock) into sorts of sounds with a much edgier lyricism.