Notes

Audience requests are something I love to abide by, only because I know that at least one person will be reading and hopefully enjoying. I don’t know how many people really care about my taste in music, but I’m going to tell you about it anyway.

Usually, whenever anyone asked me, “So, what kind of music do you like?” I'd respond, “Oh anything and everything. I just love music of all types.” But recently I’ve realised the term music is used way too vaguely. Nowadays, noise constitutes music. A line repeated over and over again constitutes a song. A word repeated in varying speeds constitutes a song! All this just proving the fact that the world is indeed going insane.

I was made to learn music from almost the age of 3. I’m not saying that that makes me any better than anyone else. In fact, I still won’t be able to tell what Raaga a song is being sung in. But I will be able to tell if something is being sung in tune or not. For this, I am completely grateful to my parents, specially my mom who made me join these numerous classes – music, dance, art, organ etc. (No, mommy does not read this blog!) Today I realise the importance of it all. But let me not digress. (Can’t believe that I of all people am saying that, eh? But I told you so, mommy really is not reading this stuff.)

I hate the way the word ‘music’ is being blatantly abused today, and the people whom we idolize as great ‘musicians’. “Something which is music to one’s ears may not be music to another’s” – is a statement I will never make. Because I believe music is universal. If it sounds good, it sounds good. Period. Whether you are white or black, whether you are 10 or 70, whether you are male or female, whether you are sane or insane, music is what sounds good to everybody.

Before I go on, let me take a moment to say that I am so grateful for the family I have been born into. This way I get to appreciate Hindi, Tamil and English music. I also don’t fall asleep during Classical, Carnatic or Hindustani performances. In fact, I love music in any language. Spanish music is quite famous because of Latino music and Ricky Martin who always had a Spanish version for every English song, which you inadvertantly ended up hearing when you played his CD. But there are some Italian and French numbers that I listen to and love! I have no clue what the songs are about but that’s irrelevant. I also enjoy music in all Indian languages.

With regards to English music, there are just way too many genres, that it has become utterly confusing to classify a single song under just one genre. Rock, techno, disco, death metal, alternative, jazz, R&B, pop, blues etc. I don’t really have a preference for any of these genres. As long as the stuff sounds pleasant, it’s good music. I’m not saying that I must like everything I hear, but if something is in tune, then it is music. Good music obviously is what I like hearing. But I do want to discuss one genre, popularly known as metal – death, heavy or otherwise. Metal is NOT MUSIC. And I don’t care what anybody else has to say about this. In fact, I’ve said this many times and I’ll say it again. If someone were to enter a kitchen, drop all their stainless steel vessels down at the same time and then scream in the midst of it all, that’s metal. In fact, I do metal all the time. Never been a day when I have entered the kitchen and not dropped something down or burnt something or cut myself. And my screams are way more bloodcurdling. I believe metal is for people who are just highly frustrated and they find a way to vent that frustration by listening to people who are also highly frustrated and are venting it out. Just that the latter gets paid for it and the former pays for it. Because, seriously, if metal is music, then I wonder what noise is. Today I’m open to all kinds of music, but when I was younger, I had my favourites and Bryan Adams was my music idol. My favourite band was MLTR. I also loved Enigma. My love for all 3 of them has not decreased in any way, but I can’t say they’re my favourites because then I’d be stereotyped as someone who likes to listen to slow romantic music when I equally enjoy loud, crazy numbers.

With regards to Hindi and Tamil music, A.R. Rehman is GOD. I’m sure there are other music directors who come out with good pieces of music once in a while too, but every key Rehman hits on his keyboard sounds like heaven. My Hindi song tastes go as far back as Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi and Manna Dey. I love the simplicity in the music of those days. Today’s songs are more intense but that’s because today’s youth is more intense. And apparently more stupid, because there are music illiterate fools who go around calling Anu Malik a great music director. I don’t even want to get started here because I will only lose my cool and he’s not really worth my time or energy. And it’s sad that when you mention that Anu Malik does nothing but copy other people’s music, all that his fans have to say in his defense is that Rehman or Lalit or Shravan or Reshamiya have also copied tunes from somewhere or the other. You’ll never hear them say, “No he does not copy.” But what they fail to understand is that it’s okay to pick a tune or two from here and there, but to copy entire songs and take credit for it is not only pathetic but outright disgusting. All those who listen to Hindi music would have definitely heard of this song that took the nation by storm – “Bheegey hont tere” from the movie ‘Murder’. I myself love that song to no end. But when I found out that Anu Malik was the music director, I knew it couldn’t be an original because it was way too beautiful a piece. It’s impossible that overnight he was gifted with the talent of music-making. So after immense Googling, I found what I was looking for. The song is an original by a Pakistani music director ‘Najam Sheraz’ in the year 2000 and the Hindi song has not been ‘inspired’ but copied note for note. That is the height of shamelessness. And this is the case for even “Kaho na kaho” and a few other songs in the same movie, in fact, almost all Anu Malik songs. It just makes me so mad that someone gets credit for not even trying to make music. Speaking of Pakistani musicians, Adnan Sami is someone I admire, more for his piano playing skills than his music. Although “Tera Chehra” makes me go all mushy inside. Another thing that bothers me a little are all these stupid actors and actresses who have now started singing a song or two just to add that to their list of ‘things I have accomplished in my life’. (I will use my bias here to say that I still adore Aamir Khan and consider him the best actor today without a doubt.) Coming to Tamil music, I have only heard Tamil songs from around the year I was born. I enjoy today’s songs more because I can understand them better. Half the lyrics are in English and the other half are in screwed up Tamil, which is how I speak. So I feel right at home. SPB and Hariharan are my favourites. Their voices… sigh! It’s nice though nowadays to hear Bollywood and Tollywood (?) singers sing songs in either language. Thanks to Rehman for the most of it, I guess.

I cannot talk about music without talking about the greatest kind of musicians - the instrument players. They’re the musicians who relay music merely by virtue of its melody, and not through lyrics or other accompaniments. Pandit Ravi Shankar, Kenny G, Zakir Hussain, Yanni – no words can express what I think about these great musicians. All I can say is that the day I’m able to pick up an instrument and mesmerize at least one person, I will consider myself blessed.

Two of the best moments in my life have been attending Bryan Adams concert (at the time when my love for him was at its peak) and attending an Adnan Sami-Asha Bhonsle-Vinod Rathode concert (just after “Tera Chehra” had been released). Great memories!!! I also want to take this oppurtunity to say that “Asha Bhonsle will always be the better singer of the two sisters. Always!”

And there is possibly nothing else I can say about music. I have exhausted myself of every possible opinion about music. I could list down all the songs I like in ascending order. But maybe I should save that for another day. They say too much of a good thing is bad. On that note (get it?)…

“I’ll be back, back again.
I’ll be back, tell a friend.”