Monday, October 15, 2007
The Classic Rock Blinkers
This post is a mea culpa. For most of my life in India, I, like most of my friends, listened to nothing but classic rock. That would be defined as music largely created before the time I was born. Typical of this category would be Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles etc etc. Now, these bands are truly non-pareil in the annals of music and I still get an amazing rush from listening to Led Zep II for instance. However, the trouble with the classic rock business in India was/is that in the fervour of the classicism of rock bordering on puritanism, I missed out on a whole load of fantastic music. I, like everyone else I knew, also used to be extremely sarcastic towards anyone who stepped out of line with what was considered to be "good" music. I guess a good indication of this bias towards a certain kind of music could be seen at quiz contests where the audio round would consist of nothing but arcane facts about Floyd or the Stones or some such.
Now, what did I miss in the meanwhile? Well, top of the list would be Radiohead. I was literally bludgeoned by my buddy, Jaideep, to listen to Radiohead and when I did, I was almost instantly a convert. I also missed out on the most creative (IMHO) phase that U2 went through, post-Achtung Baby, because I thought they were veering from the true path. Of course, I missed the entire electronica scene in the 90's, so that would include everything from Aphex Twin to Orbital to Thunderball to Fatboy Slim. I have spent the last 8-9 years repenting and catching up on all the music I missed out in the late 80's and 90's.
So, why am I writing this? Well, I was reminded of everything I've said above when I first listened to the lush minimalism of the new Radiohead album, a sound that I would never even have heard if I had kept my classic rock blinkers on. Secondly, I suppose this post is aimed at ZS readers in India who continue to wear these blinkers (you just need to go to Pecos on any night to understand). The whole classic rock puritanism works the way any other kind of narrow mindedness does, which basically denies you the joy of discovering something amazing and new. So, if you're still hooked on classic rock, I'd say stop listening to "Roadhouse Blues" for the millionth time and try Kid A, or O.K.Computer or anything by Aphex Twin, or Zooropa or anything by the Flaming Lips or Vegas or Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi or anything by Kruder and Dorfmeister. You could also listen to sounds from the Asian Underground, like Saad Chisty (check out Manzoor in particular) and by now, everyone has at least heard of Karsh Kale, Midival Punditz, Jalebee Cartel etc. I am not saying you will like any/all of this, but at least give it a shot.
Now, what did I miss in the meanwhile? Well, top of the list would be Radiohead. I was literally bludgeoned by my buddy, Jaideep, to listen to Radiohead and when I did, I was almost instantly a convert. I also missed out on the most creative (IMHO) phase that U2 went through, post-Achtung Baby, because I thought they were veering from the true path. Of course, I missed the entire electronica scene in the 90's, so that would include everything from Aphex Twin to Orbital to Thunderball to Fatboy Slim. I have spent the last 8-9 years repenting and catching up on all the music I missed out in the late 80's and 90's.
So, why am I writing this? Well, I was reminded of everything I've said above when I first listened to the lush minimalism of the new Radiohead album, a sound that I would never even have heard if I had kept my classic rock blinkers on. Secondly, I suppose this post is aimed at ZS readers in India who continue to wear these blinkers (you just need to go to Pecos on any night to understand). The whole classic rock puritanism works the way any other kind of narrow mindedness does, which basically denies you the joy of discovering something amazing and new. So, if you're still hooked on classic rock, I'd say stop listening to "Roadhouse Blues" for the millionth time and try Kid A, or O.K.Computer or anything by Aphex Twin, or Zooropa or anything by the Flaming Lips or Vegas or Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi or anything by Kruder and Dorfmeister. You could also listen to sounds from the Asian Underground, like Saad Chisty (check out Manzoor in particular) and by now, everyone has at least heard of Karsh Kale, Midival Punditz, Jalebee Cartel etc. I am not saying you will like any/all of this, but at least give it a shot.
