For those who are new to this site, you'd obviously find a music opinions center wherein we rate our favorite (and least favorite) artists/albums and give clear and concise explanations as to why they were rated so.

a little history
For those who have already been to Coolay and has seen past versions of this site, we're sorry because the webmistress is really so fickle! Coolay started out in 1999 as a collective of all her personal sites, but as it turns out, most of these sites have spun off into separate domains (see Sisters), except for my 1997 SailorUranus site.

The latter versions of Coolay, however, served as a freebies e-zine, while we scrapped Purple Rhythm (the original music site) and the literature side of Coolay. Now, since freebie companies don't seem to be lasting long anyhow, we decided that maybe it's time to revive Purple Rhythm and make that the Coolay as you see it now.

reviews
By the way, contributors need not use musical terms here. Just tell us what you know and how you feel. That would be enough. There are many music reviewers who aren't even musicians, but at least they know how to write good music opinions without misusing technical terms.

We don't demand technically adept writers. Even the authors of Coolay have our own shortcomings since we tend to concentrate in specific genres. We just want to provide a venue where people can share their musical thoughts without having to pretend that they're something they're not. Writing opinions about music should not have to be techy or unbiased. We don't profess to be experts here. Be what you are, your kind of music will define who you are anyway.

places
Since we promote musical awareness and appreciation for the artist—not just for their works, but also for their individuality—we're taking you to a few good places for other opinions.

• where to go --> soundtrackcentral.com, pulpmagazine.com.ph, ex.org, otakufridge.com. All these sites offer honest-to-goodness facts and well-written opinions! Some of them even interject amusing sarcasm in their opinions. They really know what they are talking about—artist and production history of their albums and other eye-opening details you might not have known about your favorite musicians. They stay away from techy terms (save perhaps, for some of their contributors who are really music gurus) even though they obviously know their stuff. In short, they make effective use of laymen's terms in their reviews. Highly credible sites!

about the authors
Skysenshi grew up in an environment of musicians, with parents who are both adept at keyboards (organ and piano alike) and guitars (bass, acoustic, and lead), a sister who plays all sorts of violin-related string instruments, and a brother who plays the drums. Her favorite past-time is singing. At 7 until her early teens, she sang in church choir (she was a Catholic school girl then), and was a member of several chorale groups in high school. She also joined and won her share in singing contests (duet and chorale categories) then. In college, she actively participated in class musical plays and was always given the role of women who harbored unrequited love for extremely dense males (like Eponine in Les Misérables -_-). She was supposed sing with the prestigious University of the Philippines Manila Chorale, but after passing the auditions, she realized that her hectic schedule (juggling both academics and extra-curricular organizational activities) would not permit late night rehearsals—so now the group is touring all over Europe and Asia while Ruk is stuck here doing this web site (;_;). She also used to play instruments like the piano, organ, guitar, and the drums. She unfortunately lost the beat, especially with the drums, because of extreme lack of patience in practicing ^_^;;; Skysenshi likes different kinds of music ranging from classical to pop to heavy metal. She currently is the female vocalist for a recently formed band that we fondly call Turtle and Pweh. Professes that she's kinda proud of this group because we formed it on Otakuboard, that anime community that she herself built about a year ago.

Co-webmaster Ichi describes music in one word: priceless. At an early age, he got himself enrolled in organ and piano lessons, and spent three years hammering (quite well, y'know!) on the keyboard. Recitals were quite normal for him. Around 16, he was the drummer of a heavy metal band that only lasted 3 years, due to time constraints when it came to practices and gigs. Eversince leaving the band, listening to rap artists has been his daily routine. Lately, he also found that he appreciates R&B, with a little dose of pop music now and then. From waking up in the morning to calling it a night, he never lets a day pass without listening to an entire CD. Ichi's love for percussions have been revived when the Otakuboard formed the Turtle and Pweh band.