Identity
Hum: Kya Hai Ki
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So, what makes a brown man dig classic rock?
We all I guess grapple with this question.
Classic rock of course is predominantly anglosaxon. And that means British. Sure we've had the Grateful Dead, JJ Cale, The Doors, Dylan et al, but mostly its Brit.
So, where do we stand? Well, on the plus side, sure we admire James Watt and Isaac Newton and all that - but, for the half a millenium of oppression we've gone through, the preponderant tendency on our part should be rejection of the Brit ethos.
So, in balance, what do they have that we should value, culturally speaking?
Well, the answer is - classic rock.
Can't shake it off, all things considered.
Dunno why.
And this "dunno why" is why I guess our band is a blues band.
This is a thread we should keep posting to, my friends. Need to figure out why we're into this game at all.
So, what makes a brown man dig classic rock?
We all I guess grapple with this question.
Classic rock of course is predominantly anglosaxon. And that means British. Sure we've had the Grateful Dead, JJ Cale, The Doors, Dylan et al, but mostly its Brit.
So, where do we stand? Well, on the plus side, sure we admire James Watt and Isaac Newton and all that - but, for the half a millenium of oppression we've gone through, the preponderant tendency on our part should be rejection of the Brit ethos.
So, in balance, what do they have that we should value, culturally speaking?
Well, the answer is - classic rock.
Can't shake it off, all things considered.
Dunno why.
And this "dunno why" is why I guess our band is a blues band.
This is a thread we should keep posting to, my friends. Need to figure out why we're into this game at all.
posted by Som | 5:17 PM
3 Comments:
Note: Comment from Ganesh (via email): I'm posting it here on his behalf while he gets on the blog for the next one.
***
Som wants to begin with why we are here in it at all, in the first place. IF we are talking about classic rock, is it British and later American, I guess our affinity, of the ones who lived in the Indian subcontinent including Marredpally, Gunrock, Nallakunta, Malakpet and elsewhere was that it became an expression of feelings in the English language. (This is not to say anything against Indian languages, culture or music). From popular songs in the Indian languages, including Hindi, we moved on. We were not satisfied with what they were talking about. (The love songs, I mean just that). We slowly drifted towards pop (ular) English songs, maybe the Yuva Vani etc. Then to Abba, Boney M, etc. We were not satisfied with that too. Then came CSN, Cream, and perhaps more. Floyd, Led Zep, The Who, Yes, etc. It was the feeling of intensity of expression in the music, in the lead, in the rhythm, in the bass in the putting together of the whole of it, like the pieces in a Beethoven symphony that come together. And of course, the lyrics. It is in that we found some sort of identifcation, reflection of what one is going thru, the reflections inside of the sham, artificiality, duplicity, and social masks that we saw around including in oneself. Since most of these were expressed in the musical forms and lyrics of classical rock, we tended to identify with them. That's is at least one way of looking at it.
Mate, in the words of RK Laxman, you said it.
There once was a note, pure and easy, and that's all that you need.
Music is a Blessing.
It need not be classical or standard in any sense. Strange means of reaching us it has.
I remember being stranded for three or four hours in Honolulu for a connecting flight, early hours in December, 3:00 AM onwards.
The PA system was belting out holiday songs rendered in a Polynesian way.
You know, "walkin' in a winter wonderland" and all that, in Polynesian.
That incessant repeat of those songs for 4 hours while I was like a newborn soul chatting with the Honolulu night life, it has imprinted itself in me like some kind of a chant. Been three years or so now, and yes, it is slowly fading. But oftentimes, I get the rush of those chants in my head.
Yes, music is universal, and powerful. We are but media.
There is only one response to the Hyderabadi phrase "Kya Hai Ki" -
Another Hyderabadi phrase - "Kya To Bhi Hai"!
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