There are certain channels on television, like MTV and Channel V, which are supposed to be music channels, but you can spend half the day watching these without hearing a single song. Reality Television shows, spoofs, style checks – you name it, they’ve got it, unless that ‘it’ is music – in that case you’ll have to go look somewhere else. As far as television is concerned, real music freaks don’t have many options left these days. And when these channels are not busy showing girl fights, or teen divas, the quality of the music that we do get to hear is well below par.
God protect us from those sappy boy bands, in which the members are more concerned with behaving like models, rather than singing their songs. I mean, if you are not a thirteen year old girl, you’ll find these hard to like. Then there are the female pop stars, dancing half naked to the songs someone else wrote for them. I, like thousands of others, have no problem with the ‘dancing half naked’ part, but there is very little that is genuine about their whole act. The songs that they sing did not emanate from the depths of their souls, but were synthesised by others to fit the demands of a pre-programmed audience.
You don’t hear many Rock songs on MTV. Maybe because these are honest - which doesn’t fit too well with their agenda. Rock music is about originality of thought and the freedom to express oneself. If young people develop these qualities, they wouldn’t be too interested in watching programs about grown up twins trying to show everybody how alike they are (I always thought it should be the other way round). I am sorry, Raghu and Rajiv, I am sure you looked extremely cute when your mother made you wear matching outfits as kids, but when you do so as grown men, it’s quite pathetic. Rock music is an acquired taste, but once you are hooked, it can open doors you never knew existed. You just have to sit back and let that guitar solo carry you to a place where you have never been before. A place where you are special in your own uniqueness – where you don’t have to try and be like someone else to feel cool or hip. Listening to The Beatles, CCR, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple actually makes you a better person. It’s almost like a crash course in manhood.
Rock can even be a stepping stone to understanding classical music. I never really got Indian classical music, until I became a fan of rock. In those long jamming sessions, in which the musician elevates himself to a higher level of consciousness and takes you along with him, does it really matter whether it is a sitar or a guitar that he is playing?
Sufi music is one of the most honest and heartfelt forms of music. While half the Hindi music directors are busy plagiarising, Kailasa comes and rescues the day for Indian music.
One of the much misunderstood forms of music is heavy metal. If you think that it is nothing but mere noise, you obviously haven’t heard the right bands. If you listen to Zakk Wylde play one of his blistering solos while he is performing live with Ozzy, you will get a rush that you have never experienced before. In the end, it really doesn’t matter what kind of music you like, as long as it originates from genuine emotions. Whether it is rock, classical, Hindi film music, heavy metal, disco, pop, R&B, or hip hop, great musicians are found in all genres. Unless it is Trance – I can understand why people have to get high to enjoy that kind of music.
God protect us from those sappy boy bands, in which the members are more concerned with behaving like models, rather than singing their songs. I mean, if you are not a thirteen year old girl, you’ll find these hard to like. Then there are the female pop stars, dancing half naked to the songs someone else wrote for them. I, like thousands of others, have no problem with the ‘dancing half naked’ part, but there is very little that is genuine about their whole act. The songs that they sing did not emanate from the depths of their souls, but were synthesised by others to fit the demands of a pre-programmed audience.
You don’t hear many Rock songs on MTV. Maybe because these are honest - which doesn’t fit too well with their agenda. Rock music is about originality of thought and the freedom to express oneself. If young people develop these qualities, they wouldn’t be too interested in watching programs about grown up twins trying to show everybody how alike they are (I always thought it should be the other way round). I am sorry, Raghu and Rajiv, I am sure you looked extremely cute when your mother made you wear matching outfits as kids, but when you do so as grown men, it’s quite pathetic. Rock music is an acquired taste, but once you are hooked, it can open doors you never knew existed. You just have to sit back and let that guitar solo carry you to a place where you have never been before. A place where you are special in your own uniqueness – where you don’t have to try and be like someone else to feel cool or hip. Listening to The Beatles, CCR, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple actually makes you a better person. It’s almost like a crash course in manhood.
Rock can even be a stepping stone to understanding classical music. I never really got Indian classical music, until I became a fan of rock. In those long jamming sessions, in which the musician elevates himself to a higher level of consciousness and takes you along with him, does it really matter whether it is a sitar or a guitar that he is playing?
Sufi music is one of the most honest and heartfelt forms of music. While half the Hindi music directors are busy plagiarising, Kailasa comes and rescues the day for Indian music.
One of the much misunderstood forms of music is heavy metal. If you think that it is nothing but mere noise, you obviously haven’t heard the right bands. If you listen to Zakk Wylde play one of his blistering solos while he is performing live with Ozzy, you will get a rush that you have never experienced before. In the end, it really doesn’t matter what kind of music you like, as long as it originates from genuine emotions. Whether it is rock, classical, Hindi film music, heavy metal, disco, pop, R&B, or hip hop, great musicians are found in all genres. Unless it is Trance – I can understand why people have to get high to enjoy that kind of music.
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