J.Wings: The Admin's Corner

Region:

USA - West

My Favorite Genres (choose all that apply)

Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, Acoustic, House, Electronic, Pilipino, American, European

My Favorite Music (details if you want):

tbd.

I see myself as a (choose all that apply):

Artist, Promoter, Fan, Researcher, Friend

About Me:

I'm the admin here, mabuhay! First, let me apologize for my lack of tagalog knowledge. I only know simple phrases. If you send me some email or comment, there's a good chance one of my filipino friends will have to translate some of the words for me, so don't put all of your secrets. lol.

On every continent, in every walk of life, Filipinos are an international people. Many who were born in the abroad have this problem of not knowing enough Tagalog, but really wanting to be able to learn about the rich music that has developed since their family left. Music is one way to motivate people to reconnect culturally. In the context of the bilingual music scene as it exists in the PI, Taglish songs provide a great opportunity to explore poetry, pop culture and societal norms. Music videos also convey the heart of the culture through visual documentation of the everyday life, aspirational contexts, artistic styles and trends and also the highly creative art of the music video directors.

And once you start your cultural exploration, you realize there is a lot of pop, rock, alternative and hip-hop coming out of the PI. And beyond that, much of it is good enough to be taken seriously in an international context.

I hope it's not just a one way street. Filipinos on the Islands may also draw some inspiration from Filipino-Americans (Canadians, Europeans, etc) who have developed their own distinct sub-culture within the American experience. They sometimes seem to have excelled in different directions than their PI born counterparts, and in styles that haven't been fully absorbed or gained a wide audience on the Islands – especially in electronic music. In the areas of Hip-Hop and R&B, Fil-Ams have created an underground scene that isn't well known in Asia, despite the mainstream popularity of those genres.

There are also those people from around the world who know that good art has no boundaries. Maybe they have Filipinos friends or family members, or maybe not. Somehow they stumbled in here, and I think they will probably be the most surprised at what they find.

To all of you, whichever group you fit in, I hope you find something here that inspires you. That's what music is supposed to do.