If even the longest of journeys begin with a single step and even the most amazing of discoveries happen per chance, then it would be safe to assume that a journey of discovering something as limitless and profound as music is bound to be besot with errors.
Nevertheless that first step is necessary, despite all our natural propensity to love bad music first. Well, not bad music, really. Forgettable music. However, that phase is a necessary one. Loving Popular music (pop), getting tired of it, and eventually forgetting all about it, is like a coming of age ritual every music enthusiast must go through. It sets the parameters of evaluation right. A dedicated listener is bound to travel beyond that eventually.
And one day, discover the sort of music that makes him high.
For me the first faulty foray into music was a mixed cassette (Sponsored by Bacardi Rum, for whatever reasons) seated on the "Newly out" section at a Stationary Store back home.Extremely tacky.
But it was an essential step. One that lead to other equally tacky choices of music - ranging from Aqua to Vengaboys, Britney Spears to Ricky Martin, all the essential trash one must have listened to in order to appreciate finer genres of music.
I grew up on a diet of Hindi music. The voices of Rafi and Lata played on the radio by doting parents. As I grew and graduated to school, the family evolved to hear current trends of music. Like say, Anu Malik? While I did revel under the tunes of Jatin Lalit and Anu Malik, I realized eventually that the tunes were forgettable, and the lyrics merely existing. I was coming of age, and realized I would have to explore more.
It took me twenty three years and a per chance hearing of the track, "Coming back to life" to discover Pink Floyd.
Perhaps I envisioned a great disparity between what I was and what I could become. Or perhaps, I was plain lucky to discover the kind of music that will save my soul.
Or perhaps, it was just an attempt to ape the west.
Whatever the reasons, the entry into secondary school, and its subsequents years of wannabeness, made me go through the usual boy and girl bands. Backstreet boys, West Life and all the usual crap.
And along came Eminem.
Blatant hate, explicit lyrics. This is who I am and fuck you if you don't understand me. The kind of stuff that every teenager would love, and I had found my first god.
Eminem was the crudest version of what rock n roll stood for. Yes yes, I know he is a rap artist and all that. But some of his lyrics had a rawness that other rappers failed to bring out. I have always considered hip hop artists to be a bunch of mumbling idiots, calling women bitches, and each other derogatory words. Eminem, instead, gave a hint about what music could be about.
But he got repetitive. He never went beyond the little spurge of brilliance that he initially showed. And the music wasn't great. Which is when I made my first foray into rock music.
It began with Bryan Adams. For a kid in his first year of college, it held a universe of possibility. It was a first glimpse of what music could mean. A new perspective.
Perhaps I envisioned a great disparity between what I was and what I could become. Or perhaps, I was plain lucky to discover the kind of music that will save my soul.
Or perhaps, it was just an attempt to ape the west.
Whatever the reasons, the entry into secondary school, and its subsequents years of wannabeness, made me go through the usual boy and girl bands. Backstreet boys, West Life and all the usual crap.
And along came Eminem.
Blatant hate, explicit lyrics. This is who I am and fuck you if you don't understand me. The kind of stuff that every teenager would love, and I had found my first god.
Eminem was the crudest version of what rock n roll stood for. Yes yes, I know he is a rap artist and all that. But some of his lyrics had a rawness that other rappers failed to bring out. I have always considered hip hop artists to be a bunch of mumbling idiots, calling women bitches, and each other derogatory words. Eminem, instead, gave a hint about what music could be about.
But he got repetitive. He never went beyond the little spurge of brilliance that he initially showed. And the music wasn't great. Which is when I made my first foray into rock music.
It began with Bryan Adams. For a kid in his first year of college, it held a universe of possibility. It was a first glimpse of what music could mean. A new perspective.
Over the years, I have gone through phases when I have found him to be cheesy. Come on, what proud heterosexual would sing "Let's make a night to remember"? You could be using it as your make out song with a girl friend, but it would still be gay. But before I write him off completely, lemme concede that there are days, when I find myself returning to Bryan Adams. Some of his songs are catchy. "Run to You" is my favorite Bryan Adam track. It has the sort of riff that makes me give up whatever I am doing and croon with him midway...
I got my mind made up,
I need to feel your touch,
I'm gonna run to you!
Works every time.
Also, despite being one of the more popular songs, and despite my aversian for really popular pop songs, Summer of '69 is indeed a work of genius. A riff that will stick with you for a lifetime, specially in the accoustic version, and lyrics that reminisce about a past and sing to a lost lady love who,
Standin on your mama's porch,You told me that you'd wait forever,Oh and when you held my hand,I knew that it was now or never,Those were the best days of my life.
Must Hear: Heaven, Cuts like a knife, Hidin' from Love, Win some Lose some, 18 till I die.
Around the same time as Bryan Adams, I also happened to hear Bon Jovi. Now, here was an artist, that went beyond the sloppy display of love. Bon Jovi, thus became my first legitimate hard rock band. Everybody is familiar with the all so popular "It's my life". But my favorite song by this artist happened to be "Livin' on a prayer", a song about sadness and giving it a shot for love even as,
Gina dreams of running awayWhen she cries in the nightTommy whispers baby its okay,Someday.
Other Tracks: "You Give Love a Bad name", "Blaze of Glory" and my personal favorite, "Someday I'll be Saturday night"
The first two years of college were the years I discovered many bands like Police, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Meatloaf. It is not possible to describe my journey with each of these bands without making this post extremely long. Suffice to say, that I came across some really good songs. Message in a Bottle by The Police is one such song, in which Sting sings very soulfully,
I should have known this right from the start,Only hope can keep me togetherLove can mend your life butLove can break your heart.
However, during those years in college there was one band which I found amazing.
My first palaver with Guns N' Roses happened when I ended up watching this video of Paradise City. They manage to exude so much coolness and style, that I found myself entranced with a lifestyle which I could not yet name. I was still freshly introduced to the nuances of this genre of music, to realize that Guns N' Roses was one of the last straws - The final bands of Classic Rock. I went to the local music store and bought their Best Of GNR cassete. I fell in love with their tracks. Slash was coolness personified, and Axle was a master performed (I hadn't heard of Freddy Mercury yet). Guns 'n Roses, along with Slash and Axle Rose became my new gods
Must Hear: Estranged, November Rain, Don't Cry, Civil War, Patience, Used to Love her, Sweet Child of Mine,
It was also the time that I flitted across Megadeth, Iron Maiden and Metallica. There were some offhanded good songs, but I found myself struggling with the music, trying to grasp it. Ages later, I am able to appreciate the sheer energy of Hallowed be Thy Name by Maiden or A tout le monde by Megadeth. But apart from their "Best of" CDs, it is still music I find difficult to comprehend. Heavy metal is not my cup of tea.
What I seemed to be waiting for was the kind of music that would change my life. As I soon found out, my kind of music happened to be classic rock.
But this revelation would come to me after two great discoveries. One, a tribute band called Led Zeppelica. And another, a movie called The Doors, by Oliver Stone.
Led Zeppelica, a Led Zeppelin tribute band played at IIT saarang Chennai. We had smoked up before the concert, and their music changed my perspective of music was all about. Back home, I downloaded all of Zeppelins music. Saw all their videos. It began with "Stairway to heaven", like it usually does, but the fixation stayed while I discovered the high pitched stanza 2:15 minutes into "Going to California", when Robert Plant croons,
Seems that the wrath of the gods,Got a punch on the noseAnd it started to flow;I think I might be sinking.
The fixation stays even today, as I head to BB Kings at Times Square, New York, every time a Zeppelin tribute band plays.
There is something about Led Zeppelin, that makes their music so indelible. The folksy haunting guitar work and the screeching voice of Robert Plant forms a combination that along with the stoner trip lyrics make it an out of world experience to listen to their stuff. What other band could have written a line that says,
Been dazed and confused for so long its not true,Wanted a woman, never bargained for you.Lots of people talk and few of them know,Soul of a woman was created below.
Must Hear: No Quarter, All of My Love, When the Levee breaks, Rock 'n Roll, The Battle of Evermore, Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Ramble On, Good Times Bad Times, Fool in the Rain, Dyer Maker.
The second milestone event was discovering The Doors. It introduced me to the baritone voice of Jim Morrison and the often cynical, often simple words that made his songs fabulous.
It was a time of realization that some of the best music came from the 60s and 70s. The retrospective era. The era of The Doors.
The second milestone event was discovering The Doors. It introduced me to the baritone voice of Jim Morrison and the often cynical, often simple words that made his songs fabulous.
It was a time of realization that some of the best music came from the 60s and 70s. The retrospective era. The era of The Doors.
Be it the cheerful melody of "Love me two times" and "Love her madly", or the more aesthetic "The End", it was the kind of music that would make one fall in love with it.My personal favorite - "L.A. Woman".
With the joy of discovery came the urge to discover more. And along the way, I discovered Pink Floyd.
Need I say more?
One of the reason Pink Floyd entrances me so much is the sheer charisma of each of its band members. It was one of those bands that was overflowing with genius, making an eventual break up inevitable. From the Syd Barette era, where we witnessed songs like Lucifer Sam or Arnold Lane and saw two Psychedelic Rock genres of albums (Piper at the Gate of Dawn and Saucerful of Secrets), to the Roger Waters led era, with amazing Concept albums like Animals, The Final Cut and The Wall.
With the joy of discovery came the urge to discover more. And along the way, I discovered Pink Floyd.
Pink Floyd stays the numero uno band in my list.The soul quenching music, their progressive tunes, the philosophical lyrics of Roger Waters, the experimental overtures of David Gilmore's guitar, the occasional meandering into the absurd chimes and bells, psychedelic lights and sound effects in their concerts, Rick Wright's extended guitar and keyboard solos...
Need I say more?
Sometimes, genius becomes too carried away with itself, which is what happened in Roger Waters' case, leading to a fall out between the band members. What eventually followed, was a David Gilmour era and one of Floyd's top selling albums, Division Bell. Pink Floyd was a band that performed on many many levels and delighted fans on many many more. My personal favorite favorite songs, well everything actually, but to mention just two, "Shine on you crazy diamond" and "Wish you were here".
Consecutively, I began to listen to The Beatles.
The sing song nursery rhyme like lyrics of John Lennon's songs usually had a wit and humor that made this one of the most inspiring bands to listen to. My favorite Beatles songs range from the tripped out "A day in the life", the high spirited "I've got a feeling" to the seductive crooning of "I want you (she's so heavy)".
(Cont'd)
Consecutively, I began to listen to The Beatles.
The sing song nursery rhyme like lyrics of John Lennon's songs usually had a wit and humor that made this one of the most inspiring bands to listen to. My favorite Beatles songs range from the tripped out "A day in the life", the high spirited "I've got a feeling" to the seductive crooning of "I want you (she's so heavy)".
(Cont'd)
4 comments:
A connoisseur of music would exactly know what you are talking of! I m saying this because you havent mentioned gothic metal or any that kind of brash music which is sheerly of abrasive quality.You've traced a fine evolution of music tastes, where with time one appreciates the nuances of music which was merely 'back ground' and lyrics merely rhymes..but now, they probably are the quintessential pieces of music.
There are few more worthy artistes who sadly did not make it to "Bhai's billboard ratings" :P
Better luck next time U2, Robbie williams, Eric clapton and all ya female singers(Ella Fitzgerald, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston):D
Bhai, i noticed a spoon of sarcasm as you mentioned that your parents had "moved-on" to Anu Malik. I cant help but point out that of all the music that you have listed -none of them are post 2000 AD save a few bands that you have swept under the carpet with a naked sentence i.e., oasis, rhcp.
So here's some dope for the Floyd lover in you. Try some Flaming Lips, Caribou, Dandy Warhols, Radiohead, Butthole Surfers (old), 13th Floor elevators (old but must not miss category if you like Floyd) and another thousand bands that may not really walk you straight but its just a wholesome part of evolution you talk about. So you...plenty of work to do!
-R1
Helping evolution since..today :)
p.s: I used to like bsb and britney when i was a stupid kid too. Actually, if you liked Pink Floyd and stoner rock over pop/breakbeat when you are 14 - then somethings gotten ripe too early!
Hey ravi,
The sarcasm was meant to be a honest acceptance that I didn't know shite about music. At the same time, it was a clever indication of the fact that my inability to change into a music genius can be traced back to my humble beginnings. But I am discovering what I missed...And rejoicing in it! Its that journey that I attempted to chronicle here..
About bands like rhcp and Oasis, I did consider writing more about them, especially Oasis, considering that its music I have come to love...Guess I just got caught up with the need to talk about bands that I enjoyed much much more!
I intend to venture into post 2000 AD music, when I feel I have explored and experimented enough with the 60s, 70s and all the other decades I missed :)After all, you cant evolve, unless you know where you stand.
Appreciate the music u have suggested and will definitely look it all up. Thanks.
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