 |
| "The Mandala of Opposites" by A Painting by Kelly Palaganas-Ramos |
Thoughts And Notions: Music review
“Toot-too-too-root-too-too
There have been some pretty great Jesus songs throughout the ages. Especially notable are the Moody Blues song with its simple lyrics and a catchy tune, and Woodie Guthrie’s “Jesus” which tells the Jesus story with the interesting premise about what would happen if He had lived during the times when Guthrie was making his songs (we would still have had him crucified, once he started telling the rich to give to the poor). Add to that list the 2006 Thoughts And Notions song “Savior.” It goes “I am shaken, broken, failing in life’s uncertain ending…Lord Jesus my savior. You came and became my redeemer…I was lost but you saved me…I will live my life for you…forever.” Yes it is an outright worship song, and I am not so actively religious, but it has been my very own Last Song Syndrome (LSS) for about a month now, on and off. I am unabashedly enjoying this song. And yeah, I agree with the Moodys, Jesus is just alright with me.
This and other songs in the Thoughts And Notions debut album is sung by the angelic voice of Cathrina Tan Dimaano and backed up by Wilbert Tan on guitars, bass, drum, and keyboards. Jasper Lloyd Tan serves as lyricist and band manager for this local Cagayan de Oro Christian pop band. The 10 track debut album, entitled In Awe Of His Amazing Love, is amazingly full of original songs about God’s love. The other songs in this album are the singles My Love Song, Earthbound Angel, Brand New Day, and others. The band is strong on lyrics, simply because they have a message to tell. They are not so bad on the music side as well. The tunes are catchy and contemporary, the musical skill of each band member is quite impressive, the sound mixing of the album does not drown out one element of the music in favor of another, and this band seems to have its act together.
So, what’s in a name? It is quite an interesting story to tell. Coincidentally, the original members of this very promising band all had the same surname. They then decided to call their band Thoughts And Notions, which has an acronym that spells it out: T-A-N. For their second album, they were joined by Adonis Berongoy on drums, Doris Bangot on bass, and Erickson Gloria on guitars. The second album was finished in mid 2009. Simply self titled, it is conceptual in its packaging approach. The music is still good, not losing any of the qualities that were present in the first album. Three years after producing that first album, the band was able to come up with 10 new original tracks. The unifying theme is their journey in living out the faith. Runaway Angel is their carrier single, and the other songs are titled Arise, When, Like A Child, The Promise, and others. Cloudy Day is a good one. Some of the songs here can be interpreted as love songs, although all of them are said to share the message of faith in our daily lives. Interesting too are the two bonus tracks. It gives a rare look at the possibilities of this band. The two tracks are the Filipino song Pagsapit Ng Panahon, and the Visayan Kevin Sardines Theme. Pagsapit is actually becoming another favorite of mine. It was said to be an entry in a songwriting contest sponsored by the environmental group Haribon. This song was a sure winner, but the contest did not push through. The Kevin Theme is an advertising jingle for a company that band manager and lyricist Jasper Lloyd Tan’s family owns. The piece, however, deserves its place as a legitimate song. Its quality is too good to be consigned as mere jingle.
The novel idea which was conceptualized for producing and packaging this second album was in keeping with one of the band’s advocacies of keeping the local art scene active. This was done through cross-media collaborations with three local artists who were tapped to come up with three separate designs. All three designs were then used. How? The cd comes in a little brown envelope, not a conventional cd case. Inside the envelope are the means for making your own album cover. It has a sticker, a printed artwork, an alternative cover art, a lyric sheet, and the envelope itself features the hip album design of Jeniffer Aranaydo, otherwise known as Jenipur. The two other visual artists who were asked for designs are Alvin Carreon and me, Kelly Palaganas-Ramos. Yes, it has been my great pleasure to collaborate with this talented up-and-coming pop rock Christian band.
Thoughts And Notions will be having an album launching this coming July 15, 2009 7:30pm At Daru Bar, Aluba, Macasandig Cagayan de Oro City. Food and beverages will be served. Present your Thoughts And Notions album as your entrance fee. The album can still be purchased at musicvision and Coffeeworks! See you there!
“Toot-too-too-root-too-too
There have been some pretty great Jesus songs throughout the ages. Especially notable are the Moody Blues song with its simple lyrics and a catchy tune, and Woodie Guthrie’s “Jesus” which tells the Jesus story with the interesting premise about what would happen if He had lived during the times when Guthrie was making his songs (we would still have had him crucified, once he started telling the rich to give to the poor). Add to that list the 2006 Thoughts And Notions song “Savior.” It goes “I am shaken, broken, failing in life’s uncertain ending…Lord Jesus my savior. You came and became my redeemer…I was lost but you saved me…I will live my life for you…forever.” Yes it is an outright worship song, and I am not so actively religious, but it has been my very own Last Song Syndrome (LSS) for about a month now, on and off. I am unabashedly enjoying this song. And yeah, I agree with the Moodys, Jesus is just alright with me.
This and other songs in the Thoughts And Notions debut album is sung by the angelic voice of Cathrina Tan Dimaano and backed up by Wilbert Tan on guitars, bass, drum, and keyboards. Jasper Lloyd Tan serves as lyricist and band manager for this local Cagayan de Oro Christian pop band. The 10 track debut album, entitled In Awe Of His Amazing Love, is amazingly full of original songs about God’s love. The other songs in this album are the singles My Love Song, Earthbound Angel, Brand New Day, and others. The band is strong on lyrics, simply because they have a message to tell. They are not so bad on the music side as well. The tunes are catchy and contemporary, the musical skill of each band member is quite impressive, the sound mixing of the album does not drown out one element of the music in favor of another, and this band seems to have its act together.
So, what’s in a name? It is quite an interesting story to tell. Coincidentally, the original members of this very promising band all had the same surname. They then decided to call their band Thoughts And Notions, which has an acronym that spells it out: T-A-N. For their second album, they were joined by Adonis Berongoy on drums, Doris Bangot on bass, and Erickson Gloria on guitars. The second album was finished in mid 2009. Simply self titled, it is conceptual in its packaging approach. The music is still good, not losing any of the qualities that were present in the first album. Three years after producing that first album, the band was able to come up with 10 new original tracks. The unifying theme is their journey in living out the faith. Runaway Angel is their carrier single, and the other songs are titled Arise, When, Like A Child, The Promise, and others. Cloudy Day is a good one. Some of the songs here can be interpreted as love songs, although all of them are said to share the message of faith in our daily lives. Interesting too are the two bonus tracks. It gives a rare look at the possibilities of this band. The two tracks are the Filipino song Pagsapit Ng Panahon, and the Visayan Kevin Sardines Theme. Pagsapit is actually becoming another favorite of mine. It was said to be an entry in a songwriting contest sponsored by the environmental group Haribon. This song was a sure winner, but the contest did not push through. The Kevin Theme is an advertising jingle for a company that band manager and lyricist Jasper Lloyd Tan’s family owns. The piece, however, deserves its place as a legitimate song. Its quality is too good to be consigned as mere jingle.
The novel idea which was conceptualized for producing and packaging this second album was in keeping with one of the band’s advocacies of keeping the local art scene active. This was done through cross-media collaborations with three local artists who were tapped to come up with three separate designs. All three designs were then used. How? The cd comes in a little brown envelope, not a conventional cd case. Inside the envelope are the means for making your own album cover. It has a sticker, a printed artwork, an alternative cover art, a lyric sheet, and the envelope itself features the hip album design of Jeniffer Aranaydo, otherwise known as Jenipur. The two other visual artists who were asked for designs are Alvin Carreon and me, Kelly Palaganas-Ramos. Yes, it has been my great pleasure to collaborate with this talented up-and-coming pop rock Christian band.
Thoughts And Notions will be having an album launching this coming July 15, 2009 7:30pm At Daru Bar, Aluba, Macasandig Cagayan de Oro City. Food and beverages will be served. Present your Thoughts And Notions album as your entrance fee. The album can still be purchased at musicvision and Coffeeworks! See you there!
For questions, comments, and suggestions please email artnanay@yahoo.com
:)
ReplyDelete