Ryan Cayabyab defines ‘baduy’ music
Ryan Cayabyab has comforting words for those being criticized as “baduy” in their choice of music.
“Some people say, 'Ang baduy ng kanta!' Hindi baduy ang kanta. Basta 'yung kantang 'yun nakaa-apekto ng mas maraming tao, walang baduy. Ibag sabihin nun naka-connect 'yung tao,” he told Yahoo! Philippines OMG! at the recent launch of SMART Music Portal.
If that’s not reassuring enough, Mr. C added that the real “baduys” are those who didn’t get why a certain song gets huge following.
“Kami 'yung baduy na hindi maka-connect. Kami 'yung mga nagyayabang na inteligencia o marunong kami gumawa ng ganito. Pero hindi kami makagawa ng hit na mako-connect sa tao.”
For someone who’s considered a music maestro, you’ll be surprised to hear that Mr. C wouldn’t preach what’s good and bad when it comes to music.
“We're all free to choose what to listen to. Pili ka kung anong gusto mo. And if you're happy with that nobody should judge you and say na, 'Ang pangit ng pinili mo’ or ‘Ang ganda ng pinili mo.’ Kasi ikaw lang ang makaka-decide no'n. We're now living in a very individualized world.
Debunking taste in good music
As for enhancing one’s musical influences, the 59-year-old musician said “it takes a whole village” to create a person’s taste in good music.
“The taste of the person is affected by his family, kung saan siya nakatira, his education. It's wrong to say na dahil poor siya, dahil walang proper education hindi siya makaka-aspire. Lahat pwedeng mag-aspire!”
He added, "Hindi lang music ang gagawa niyan e. 'Yung entire surrounding ang magmo-molde ng kanyang choice.”
Is there a particular kind of music that could elevate people’s tastes?
“There's no particular one,” Mr. C reiterated. “You will only reach that as you mature and as you are accorded the chance to listen to all kinds. Tapos dun ka makakapili.”
Meanwhile, the Philpop MusicFest Foundation executive director raised one concern that hinders people’s growth in music.
“Ang problema kasi e when you're bombarded only of a certain type of music. Walang choice e. 'Yun lang ang naririnig sa radyo. 'Yun lang ang gusto ng nanay mo o ng kapatid mo.”
At the end of the day, every individual holds the key to appreciating music.
“Bukas na lahat ng portals. You can listen to music from other countries, from the rurual areas, from the tribe. You can even create your own music. It's up to you. But you will only know that if mabuksan ang isip mo. It all boils down to the individual person.”
Challenges of digitizing music
Mr. C and Yahoo! Philippines OMG! were there when the telco giant unveiled its online music store that applies its tested mobile business model: ‘tingi-tingi.’
The portal is home to 3 million songs available to more than 70 million SMART subscribers. Each music download costs P15 per track, with new releases selling for P20 each—cheaper than iTunes with no credit card needed.
The music maestro thinks the ‘tingi’ mentality—though criticized by some for promoting the piece by piece or small-scale purchase—may work well for Filipinos.
“Ito kasi siguro ang pananaw na maaabot ng mas nakararaming tao. Kasi hindi lahat ng tao siguro mabibili ng ganito kamahal [ang music]. Para itong tingi tingi, isa-isa. So this is democratizing it. This is what is probably the positive effect of having this new technology.”
But if you’re to ask Mr. C, nothing beats music played outside your iPod.
“I came from the old school. We like live performance. Kaya ako, if you ask me, 'Nagko-collect ba ko?' Dati siguro nagko-collect ako ng mga vinyl. CD...konti lang ang CD collection ko. Pero hindi talaga ako masyado nakikinig ng music. Ang gusto ko, nanood ng live performance kasi mas magical 'yun.”
Still, the recorded music is not bad at all.
“May recording kasi hindi lahat ng live sa buong mundo na gusto mong panoorin, hindi mo mapapanood kasi maiksi lang ang buhay natin.”
