by Bijesh Krishnadas
[box]From Chitrahaar and Rangoli to Backstreet Boys and Boyzone to Led Zeppelin and Metallica, Bijesh Krishnadas traces the journey of his music tastes over the years.[/box]My earliest memory of music is that of film music on Doordarshan. That’s something many of us look back nostalagically at – Chitrahaar, Rangoli and the regional programmes. As a kid, I used to await these weekly miracles. There were no VJs to take the attention away from the music and not many precious minutes were lost out to Coca Cola and Pepsi. There was no MTV or Channel V. So it was always Doordarshan and later it’s hipper cousin – DD Metro. Then one fine day – in the late eighties I think, my eclectic, world-travelled uncle introduced me to tapes of ABBA, Bee Gees and Boney M. He gave me taped audio recordings of Top of the Pops (TOTP) – the British charts show. The music was so very different – although a lot of Indian film music carried their essence thanks to the likes of Bappi Lahiri. The tracks were hummable though I must admit I didn’t quite get most of the words.
From then on, this uncle became my source of music and his tastes decided the genres I got to listen to – usually pop and disco. My first exposure to rock and metal was around my sixth grade. A friend’s brother was an incurable headbanger and one day my friend and I decided to play his revered Guns & Roses tape. To our ears, it sounded nothing more than cacophony and I continued to enjoy pop music for a long time to come. In the early 90s, MJ was the staple diet of the school culturals which would feature atleast one dance to MJ’s tunes. His Thriller made a mighty comeback and Dangerous ruled the roost amongst the dancers at school. I would hate to admit it now but Backstreet Boys were on my listening list for a long time around then. During the mid-90s pop music began to be infused with so many other influences. As every season came and went, pop music branched into more and more tracks. New artists and new sounds made explosive debuts and many of them withered away quite soon. It was during this time that I got my first CD player too but then CDs were much too expensive so it was mostly cassette tapes that lined my shelves. Ricky Martin, MJ, Backstreet Boys and Madonna paraded up and down my stack. It was at the beginning of my collegiate education that I was reintroduced to rock music. A friend lent me his complete collection of Metallica albums. I was skeptical at first but after a week of looping the tracks over and over, I became a fan. I realized that metal and rock were not cacophony but amazing amalgamations of very complex sounds.
After that there was no turning back. We looked down upon the boy bands and they were banished from the playlists. Backstreet Boys became taboo and Boyzone were for kids. The next few years were spent getting to know the classic bands in the rock realm – Led Zeppelin’s psychedelic rock, Pink Floyd’s what-do-you-call-it sound tracks, Metallica’s headbangers and Nirvana for their angst. The heavier metal bands were only for the occasional frustration reduction – Iron Maiden, AC/DC and the likes. It was during this period that rock music started to evolve. Bands began to experiment with their sounds. Metallica performed alongside the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for the ‘S&M’ concert. Not all fans accepted the experiments but it was one of the best things to happen to rock.
During the early 2000s, a number of young bands broke out and they were very open to experimenting with their music. They did not stick to one style and shifted between various sub genres. The most popular development in the rock scene was what was called the ‘post punk revival’. More and more of the new bands took their inspiration from the 70s post punk era. This period made rock music more accessible to the public. The tracks ranged from the subdued to the out-and-out heavy versions of rock music. Bands like The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and Maroon 5 took the world by storm. It was during this time that I began to notice the hip hop genre. I had already been introduced a little to old school hip hop and there were hip hop influences in some rock bands already – Red Hot Chili Peppers are a prime example. This genre was characterised by feet tapping music and loud thumping bass. You couldn’t but help break into dance or as in my case, shuffling to the beat. There were the established names – Jay Z, Snoop Dogg and the rest. On the sidelines, newer groups like Black Eyed Peas, with their dance-oriented style, began to garner more and more attention.
Today my playlists are a mix of everything – Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Jay Z, BEP, G Unit, Chamillionaire, etc. I even listen to a bit of Jazz now and then. The new favourite, however, is the pop rock act James Blunt with his gravelly vocals and brilliant yet subtle music. Boy bands are still a strict no-no and film music makes me tear my hair or whatever is left of it out. And to think it all started with Doordarshan’s Chitrahaar and a Top of the Pops tape!
Pic : lighthack – http://www.flickr.com/photos/lighthack/
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