OPM

OPM, Original Pilipino Music, is the umbrella term for popular music written and performed by Filipinos, coined in the 1970s when the Manila Sound generation answered imported pop with songs in Tagalog and Taglish. It is a national category rather than a single sound, spanning Pinoy rock from *Juan de la Cruz Band*, the folk protest of *Asin* and *Freddie Aguilar*, kundiman-descended balladry, and the alternative band boom led by *Eraserheads* and *Rivermaya* in the 1990s. What unifies the field is language, place and industry: OPM is the music the Philippines makes about itself, for itself.