30-Day Song Challenge: Day 11 – A Song From Your Preteen Years

Posted on April 13, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

The music during the turn of the millenia was amazing from the get-go!

The 30-Day Song Challenge. I’ve been seeing it on a lot of my friends’ Instagram Stories, and at first I just ignored it because everyone was doing it and I got spammed with people’s stories left and right about it, but now since most people already finished this, I won’t be as influenced of my choices when I see their answers.

And it’s time to do Day 11.

Day 11: A Song From Your Preteen Years: Linkin Park – Papercut

It was 1999, back when most of us preteens, most of the time didn’t have much musical tastes because we are still kids but this is around the time when you start knowing what life is about and it kicks you in the face and you want to get mad. Get angry at everyone, and this song pops in and you’re HOOKED.

Linkin Park is one the GOATS in general in terms of going hard af on their music OUT THE GATE of the millenia. So many angst preteens were born that day when Papercut and In The End went to radio and music video. It’s been a wild ride for everyone discovering what rock was and in this case, what Nu Metal was about.

When I discovered this, I couldn’t believe that screaming and rap can be put in the same song and I think it’s one of the first songs I memorized the lyrics and when I hear the song, the lyrics are locked on the very good parts of my brain lol. Automatic just retains the information immediately.

From that point on, I dove into more Nu Metal because I like the combination of rock and rap and I think that started my musical taste path to those, and went into different stuff like punk, pop-punk, etc.

Let’s see the Youtube comments too:

“best opening song to one of the most influential albums of the 21st century. I wasn’t old enough to listen to music when this came out but I can imagine what it was like hearing this for the first time back then.”

“One man can save millions, but millions can’t save one man.

We miss you Chester. RIP brother.”

This goes out to you Chester. You and Linkin Park were the voice of entire generations. We collectively apologize for not seeing things sooner. Rest in Peace, you absolute legend.

30-Day Song Challenge: Day 10 – A Song That Makes You Sad

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

In this terrifying world all we have are the connections that we make, and this song represents that.

And it’s time to do Day 10.

Day 9 – A Song That Makes You Sad: Catherine Feeny – Mr. Blue

I first discovered this song while watching Bojack Horseman, and what is Bojack Horseman you ask? The greatest series of all time. One that I want to watch again but it won’t feel the same.

The synopsis of Bojack Horseman is, “A humanoid horse, BoJack Horseman — lost in a sea of self-loathing and booze — decides it’s time for a comeback. Once the star of a ’90s sitcom, in which he was the adoptive father of three orphaned kids (two girls and a boy). The show was the hottest thing around, then suddenly, was canceled. Now 18 years later, BoJack wants to regain his dignity. With the aid of a human sidekick and a feline ex-girlfriend who is his agent, he sets out to make it happen. But Hollywood is vastly different from those days, and getting used to stuff like Twitter may take some time. This first animated series from Netflix — with plenty of references to sex, drugs and alcohol — is not for the little ones.”

I think this article is just me pushing you to watch the show. Don’t worry if Season 1 doesn’t feel like a watchable show but good things come to those who wait.

People on the internet can say the same too:

“I don’t know if it was intentional, but the ending of this show gives off the same feeling as when you lose a friend. It’s so beautifully written.”

“Bojack isn’t sad, bojack is just real… And that is the most horrifying part”

“I can’t believe the most human show I ever watched was played by horses and cats.
BEST SERIES EVER!”

“Only one thing to do now. Start again at S01E01.”

And probably you should start as well. No regrets. This song is amazing, this series is amazing. I’m about to cry just remembering my journey in watching this. I’m looking forward to see what you think of it.

Don’t @ Me: My Top Three Wrestlemania Live Band Entrances!

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

Wrestlemania XL just finished this weekend, and just like the roman-numeral number, the entire event is XL!

Did you enjoy Wrestlemania? Let me know. I didn’t see the entirety of the show but I do watch the live band entrances that WWE makes during their biggest show, and it got me thinking, what are my top three Wrestlemania live band entrances of all time? I’m sure you have your own list so do let me know and let’s get into things!

3. Rhea Ripley in Wrestlemania XL (Song: Motionless in White – Demon In Your Dreams)

When I saw this entrance, this solidified Rhea as THE top woman in the WWE right now. Even long after she loses her title (eventually). Rhea has been on that steady climb on the storyline, and it all started when she joined Judgement Day and WWE took her character to heights never seen before. There were other women in this podium of the greats like Sasha Banks, Bailey, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, but this is Rhea’s time now, and strike while the kettle is hot is what WWE did. This should be the way until if and when Jade Cargill takes her spot. But not now, this is Mami’s world, and we’re just living on it.

2. The Undertaker (Badass Gimmick) at Wrestlemania XIX (Song: Limp Bizkit – Rollin)

WHO DOESN’T LOVE THE UNDERTAKER? WHO DOESN’T LOVE NU METAL’S OWN LIMP BIZKIT!? This combination was just.. *CHEF KISS!*

It was a 200 MEGA GIGA IQ BIG BRAIN move by WWE in line with The Undertaker’s change of gimmick, to give him one of the most popular Nu Metal tracks of all time in Rollin by Limp Bizkit. If I remember correctly, this was when The Undertaker had to defend his Wrestlemania win streak by taking on both The Big Show, and A-Train in a 2v1 handicap match. Of course ‘Taker won but hey, The Undertaker’s entrance was just as early 2000’s as you can get.

1. Triple H in Wrestlemania X-Seven (Song: Motörhead – The Game)

I mean this is the man who broke wrestling by having an actual band, and not WWE’s in-house band to make a great entrance for one of the GOATs in Pro Wrestling overall, Triple mother-loving H. I mean, everyone at school was just spitting up water on the wazoo, getting that perfect mist as the spotlight shines on you. Kids did it in the shower too, racking up the water bills on most houses lmao.

But I’m not saying any more words to this. Badass wrestler gets badass theme gets badass Wrestlemania entrance. Period.

30-Day Song Challenge: Day 9 – A Song That Makes You Happy

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

This song never fails to make me so happy. Kudos! Yea!

And it’s time to do Day 9.

Day 9 – A Song That Makes You Happy: Sheppard – I’m Coming Home.

Discovering Sheppard was a blessing in disguise because I discovered the band during the height of the pandemic. The time when the honeymoon of staying at home started to fade out and was replaced by social anxiety of not being able to hang out with people physically. I was drawn heavily to video games, Discord, and music. One of them is this band.

I’ve known about Geronimo for some time but I never really dove deep on the band. Song was meh for me at the time I listened for the first time but that was it, and years passed, pandemic started and after listening again to Geronimo, I decided to give this band another try and I love the band ever since!

In my opinion, Sheppard’s a singles band. Their albums are okay, but the singles hit different! Unless you can prove me wrong, please do that. I’m happy to admit if I’m wrong or anything like that. So back when I dove deep into the band, I was just listening on Spotify’s “This is Sheppard” playlist where it has all their famous singles and it’s been amazing. I’m sure you’re going to be on LSS (last song syndrome for the uninitiated), once you listen to this playlist.

Looking at the Youtube comments, few stood out:

“This band’s music is so good and uplifting. They never fail to make me dance alone in my living room and smile when I need it the most. ♡”

“YES I AM LIVING FOR THIS VIDEO!! I am so proud of you guys and the progress you have made! I love the style and colors of the music video! It’s like nothing I have ever seen!”

So when it comes to making me happy, music is key. Especially when bands like Sheppard just overtake people’s hearts and minds because of the incredible music they’re making!

30-Day Song Challenge: Day 8 – A Song You Like With Food On The Title

Posted on April 6, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

This song is a perfect work of art. The harmonies, the lyrics and the arrangements are perfect. 2024 and still a bop!

And it’s time to do Day 8.

Day 8 – A Song You Like With Food On The Title: Justin Timberlake – Strawberry Bubblegum

Even though this is only one song, you have to listen to this as an album. Justin Timberlake has had decent albums throughout his career, and when it was announced that GOAT Producer of all time, Timberland, is going to produce Justin’s 2013 album, “The 20-20 Experience”, I was looking forward to it because “Sexy Back”’s a great song, and once the album was released..

It became one of the few albums I didn’t skip at all. I think it’s the first one since the first Gorillaz record.

The 20-20 Experience was eye-opening, no pun intended. It was a stark difference in soundstage because Justin was making conventional pop music and this album shifted his music in a way that makes his career more unique than others. There’s been a norm way back then that people from boybands/girl groups who did solo albums never really popped off and one outlier was the man from Tennessee himself, and after the 20-20 Experience album came out to critical fame, this made Justin more outlier than he ever was before. Kudos to Justin for this. Notable ones for me are: Pusher Love Girl, Tunnel Vision, Mirrors, and the song I chose for Day 8.

Let’s head over to the Youtube comments again, people loved it. I know you did too!

“This song goes directly into your soul and makes you feel all the feelings you never know you could feel”

“The harmonies and beat at the end is just so good props to timbaland”

“Timbaland and Timberlake never ever fail. Fucking masterpiece. I met my now husband when this album came out. It always takes me back to the beginning of our relationship. Thank you Justin and Timbaland and all involved for such art.”

Please listen to this track, and listen to the whole album. You’re welcome!! 😀

30-Day Song Challenge: Day 7 – A Song To Drive To

Posted on April 5, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

I’ll have you know that this song is more than just a meme you saw on IG Reels, and Tiktok. 😤

And it’s time to do Day 7.

Day 7 – A Song To Drive To: Bobby Caldwell – What You Won’t Do for Love.

This song is perfect when you’re driving on the highway on the way up the mountain for a ski or for a great camp out east, and the reason why it feels so smooth when you listen to this track, is because of what genre we named it: Smooth Jazz.

To give some background on this, according to Wikipedia,

“Smooth jazz is a term used to describe commercially oriented jazz music. It became the successor to easy listening music on radio station programming in the mid-1970s to the early 1990s.”

It’s the music you listen to while you see miles and miles of road, in whatever time of the day you’re driving. Not too distracting and not too boring that you might fall asleep.

Fun fact: It’s been an ongoing meme that some people are just discovering that Bobby Caldwell is not black. He’s white, and from a genuine discovery just turns into the funny when I take a look in Youtube comments:

“I am a 600 year old oak tree in Central Park, New York City and I have been loving this song since the 1970’s.”

“Played this song and now my square table is round, so smooth”

“January 19, 2018 and people are still finding out that Mr. Bobby Caldwell is not black, but he’s most definitely invited to the cookout”

“I am a 672 year old turquoise man, and I can confirm this is a good song”

As a 1000-year old hermit living in Vancouver, I know how that feels. This song has been in so many reels and tiktoks that they also serve as people discovering songs that way, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I think it’s a great thing. In any way you can discover new music, I am down, and I am thankful for it. Enjoy. 🙂

30-Day Song Challenge: Day 6 – A Song That Makes You Want To Dance

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

2010-2015 EDM is goated! 🔥 Don’t @ me. 😤

And it’s time to do Day 6.

Day 6: A Song That Makes You Want To Dance, and that for me is Zedd – Clarity (feat. Foxes), and listening to this song made sure to remind you that 2010-2015 EDM is goated! 🔥

I know it, you know it, everybody knows it.

I can’t believe this song’s been out for 11 years, back when the world wasn’t that bad. I mean it was getting there, but it was way better than we have now. Back when non-copyright EDM songs were bursting on Youtube. People like Avicii, Zedd, Galantis, Martin Garrix and all the rest were just starting their ropes in EDM and it immediately clicked. Back then, people would rip all these tracks straight onto our mp3 players, phones, etc. oh man those were some throwbacks! Do you remember where you last put your iPod nano?

Remember these gold Youtube channels of the past? NCS? Paragon!? Oh man. I couldn’t go to much parties because of my strict parents before but I know you know the feeling of just partying all by yourself in your room. Creaks of you jumping up and down were banging with the bass drops of these incredible songs! These songs were a great time capsule for anyone growing up in the 2010’s.

Looking up Youtube comments, and these ones just struck me on how this song is one of the greats in EDM!

“The dumbest wish as a child was to be a grown up.”

“We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun. – Winnie The Pooh”

Those struck to me as a 30+ year old man, enjoying the life of doing university again, with all the things that happened to me, all the regrets, all the happy times, all the success, all the things I had to go through to be who I am today, and this song is one of those songs that gives me a three minute flashback to those times. I don’t regret any of them, I’m willing to go through them again to be in the moment in time.

30-Day Song Challenge: Day 5 – A Song That Needs To Be Played Out Loud

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

You will straight up do a stank face once you listen to this song.

And it’s time to do Day 5.

Took me a while to write this article as I was just hyping the freak out. 30-Day Song Challenge: Day 5 – A Song That Needs To Be Played Out Loud – Yuki Chiba – Team Tomodachi.

From what I can gather online, Yuki Chiba is more known for his stage name, KOHH. According to Wikipedia, “KOHH grew up around violence and drugs along with his crew of local friends who share the same experience. His tough environment along with his desire to become a rapper gave him a head start in the Japanese hip-hop scene.”

I’m trying to remember how I discovered this song again – oh I know. It was on Youtube shorts where I was happily scrolling through, not thinking about my tasks for that day – basically I was procrastinating. You know how that feels right? Lol

After listening to this song, I immediately went to reaction channels for it and I love how everyone got hyped and stuff, it’s insane. I mean, just look at them!! It’s a sight to behold that you’re not the only one who’s hyping right now.

I had to do some research on Yuki Chiba for a bit and according to Electric Boom Magazine, “Dropped on February 13th, Koshy, renowned for his work with Tokushima rapper Watson, handled the beat production for ‘Team Tomodachi’. The track had already captured the attention of Japan’s rap community after being performed at live events and by DJs prior to its official release.”

We’re not even done yet. Yuki Chiba decided to release a remix with Young Coco, & Jin Dogg, and it became a better mix actually. It’s insane in the membrane! (get it? – I know you did)

Yuki Chiba just unlocked the gates for EVERYONE to watch out for Japanese Hip Hop. It’s a force to be reckoned with. I’m not kidding. This is the beginning of something great, and you should be thankful that you’re witnessing it.

30-Day Song Challenge: Day 4 – A Song That Reminds You of Someone

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

This song will get stuck in your head. Trust me bro. You’ve been warned.

And it’s time to do Day 4.

Day 4: A Song That Reminds You of Someone and that song is Galantis, David Guetta, & 5 Seconds of Summer – Lighter and that someone is my partner.

When I first listened to this song, heard the lyrics and the drop, I felt like I was at a festival with my partner just enjoying the music, dancing all night long, and just enjoying some quality time.

This makes a great, catchy song obviously from the greats, Galantis and David Guetta, and then adding 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) in the mix, and it’s bound to be a great way to get to summer. I love that it’s not too much EDM but just right as it builds up to that fantastic chorus, backed by this catchy string section too. It just infects your head.

Of course I looked on the Youtube comments section for these and found some gold ones:

“Harmony Symphony Orchestra + Electronic Dance Music = PERFECT BLEND COMBINATION 🤔💭 🔊👂👍👌💯” – I mean what can I say!? I agree to agree.

Even Galantis was on the comments action, asking:

“Was so great working on this amazing song with 5SOS and David Guetta 💥🥳 Hope you enjoy the video and a glimpse of how the song came together 🙏🏻 What’s your favourite part???”

All the parts, Galantis. All the parts. Especially the one from 00:00 to 2:49. That part was amazing!

According to Redbrick, “The track opens with a swift violin melody as synths emerge in the background. 5SOS’ Luke Hemmings’ vocals are low and steady throughout the first verse, growing in vivacity as the song progresses. The track begins to swell as we enter the pre-chorus, the strings carrying the song forwards. The lyrics are on the simpler side, something which is unusual from 5SOS’ recent music but works with this genre. The message is clear; the song details the comfort in which time spent with a lover can bring and thus feeling ‘lighter’. Whilst a surprising collaboration, the trio have produced an undeniably catchy song with it’s big melodies and relentless choruses and will undoubtedly hit the charts.”

So welcome to the LSS squad, you goons,

The Three Playlists On Rotation (Maybe Too Much)

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Gibbs Dela Cruz

Sometimes, you just want the world to shut up so you can focus on doing what you need to do. I shut up the world by listening to music on the loudest volume I can, and these three playlists are my top rotation to get work done.

Korean Cafe Instrumental

Back in the Philippines, I would always hang out in coffee shops to do some work, not because I’m bougie and can afford it, but it’s one of the only places where there’s air-conditioning, great ambience for work, and most of them are open for 24 hours, 7 days a week. We don’t have quality libraries or even homes to accomodate the perfect setup for work, and why that is, is a story for another time.

Anywho, with my love for cafe music and my growing love for Korean Dramas (KDramas), KDrama instrumental OSTs are just fire cafe music, and it tunes me out of the surroundings, and there’s something about Korean cafe instrumental music that’s just eargasm, but not enough to distract me. It’s enough to just tune out but not enough that it’ll make me sleepy. It’s a great middle line for both scenarios that I’m sure you’re into.

Deep House chill remixes everyone knows 🍹

I never thought house music would make me work more than twerk lol. If you want to see me twerk, there’s my OnlyFans account for that but we’re getting off-topic here. This ain’t like EDM where the moment I listen to the first note, my body starts hyping, jumping all over the place, so EDM is a no-go to get work done, unless you’re into it then be my guest. You do you, baby boo. Maybe because it’s Deep House, that’s why? Let’s see what Google says:

According to Wikipedia, “Deep house is known for tempos typically from 110 to 125 bpm, muted basslines, spacious use of percussion elements (typically using a Roland TR-909 drum machine), soft keyboard sounds (pads), use of advanced chord structures, ambient mixes, and soulful vocals.” – Okay, no wonder why it’s a workable playlist for me. DOH!

Jazz Hip Hop

This playlist will make you feel like a thug while writing. In every playlist I’m writing about, I’m listening to it as I write and my feet are just doing it’s best crip-walk (west coast! Lol) – enough about my feet, ya pervs. Although I’m dancing for a bit, jazz hip hop is mellow enough for me to concentrate and write. When I listen to this while writing, it feels like I’m writing my own jazz hip hop song, gang-gang lmao.

Evolution 107.9

Altering Radio

Author Archives: Gibbs Dela Cruz