Ever since I started listening to music, with my 90s Bollywood cassette collection consisting of hits like Baazigar, Dil Se and some more SRK man-love related stuff, I've always known that if I'm feeling good about myself, my taste in music elevates, or at least in my eyes, it does. Moving on over the years, it is these good phases that has helped me get where I am today musically. This correlation is one that works both ways. I am feeling good, therefore I listen to more challenging music, therefore I am feeling good.
There was this one phase in my first year at college, when I was just experimenting with some music of the Rasmus, some good alternative rock in the form of Creed and Breaking Benjamin, and trying to understand much of Maiden, Metallica and Megadeth. Well, most of those bands lived on in my playlists over the years and although don't form part of my staple diet of music, do bring back good memories. This was a time when I was feeling good in college, working as the class representative for my class ( and actually being appreciated for it. ;) ) and let us say, attracting the attention of a good number of attractive women. This was a phase of opportunities for effecting change and for some closure, and it felt good.
The phase that followed was quite horrible. Having a tough time in my second year in college, I sunk back into a little bit of a shell. And my comforts included a collection of Bollywood music, with cringy lyrics mind, and some very mainstream pop. This was probably the worst phase of my life musically, because that is how I felt everyday. Not wanting to get to class much, not wanting to work much and wanting to devote myself to the ever-so-engaging DOTA chestnut.
Floyd, Zeppelin and Indie rock bands followed soon after, with my life seemingly elated. Being part of NITK Racing and Secretary in college, made me feel brilliant about life, and the phase that followed led me to experiment even more. The discovery of Mazzy Star, Joanne Jett, Deep Purple, Dave Mathews, William Fitzsimmons, John Mayer and many more occurred during this golden age for me and my music. Meeting someone special always helps as well, and I've carried on feeling better and better ever since. Honestly speaking, I've never been happier in my whole life than from that time. However, this phase stopped me from going beyond my comfort zone of harmony based music. I would love music that followed a metronomic beat, and a harmony or a tune. I blame this on a severe dearth of time to take time off for my music. Listening itself was a restricted activity accounting mainly for the walks to the Dean's office.
A few months ago, as I stayed in my own home in Pune, introspection and curiosity, along with an abundance of time on my hands, struck, and I was very hazy about what I wanted to listen to. A couple of months of Grooveshark had not piqued my curiosity, and I needed some structure to my musical me. I was feeling a little lost with where I was amongst new people that I did not really get or understand, and probably still don't. Along came John Covach's course on the History of Rock and my music transformed over night.
Along came a phase of exploring an artist for days, sometimes months on end, listening to all of their albums in chronological order, separating the psychedelic from the A-A-B-A, and the Syd Barret era from the Dave Gilmour era. It also made me appreciate the chaos of non-harmonious music. Sometimes, a metronome is just not enough. Sometimes, you need sitars and horns, and virtuoso guitar solos, and destruction, and masks and androgeny. Sometimes, ordinary is just not good enough. I write this as I listen to Sgt Peppers, an iconic album, that I never would have appreciated if not for Covach, if not for time, if not for being alone and if not for introspection. And now, I have lined up ahead of me 10 great years of Allman Brothers, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, David Bowie and many many more. I'm feeling great musically, and boy, that just about hits the spot.
There was this one phase in my first year at college, when I was just experimenting with some music of the Rasmus, some good alternative rock in the form of Creed and Breaking Benjamin, and trying to understand much of Maiden, Metallica and Megadeth. Well, most of those bands lived on in my playlists over the years and although don't form part of my staple diet of music, do bring back good memories. This was a time when I was feeling good in college, working as the class representative for my class ( and actually being appreciated for it. ;) ) and let us say, attracting the attention of a good number of attractive women. This was a phase of opportunities for effecting change and for some closure, and it felt good.
The phase that followed was quite horrible. Having a tough time in my second year in college, I sunk back into a little bit of a shell. And my comforts included a collection of Bollywood music, with cringy lyrics mind, and some very mainstream pop. This was probably the worst phase of my life musically, because that is how I felt everyday. Not wanting to get to class much, not wanting to work much and wanting to devote myself to the ever-so-engaging DOTA chestnut.
Floyd, Zeppelin and Indie rock bands followed soon after, with my life seemingly elated. Being part of NITK Racing and Secretary in college, made me feel brilliant about life, and the phase that followed led me to experiment even more. The discovery of Mazzy Star, Joanne Jett, Deep Purple, Dave Mathews, William Fitzsimmons, John Mayer and many more occurred during this golden age for me and my music. Meeting someone special always helps as well, and I've carried on feeling better and better ever since. Honestly speaking, I've never been happier in my whole life than from that time. However, this phase stopped me from going beyond my comfort zone of harmony based music. I would love music that followed a metronomic beat, and a harmony or a tune. I blame this on a severe dearth of time to take time off for my music. Listening itself was a restricted activity accounting mainly for the walks to the Dean's office.
A few months ago, as I stayed in my own home in Pune, introspection and curiosity, along with an abundance of time on my hands, struck, and I was very hazy about what I wanted to listen to. A couple of months of Grooveshark had not piqued my curiosity, and I needed some structure to my musical me. I was feeling a little lost with where I was amongst new people that I did not really get or understand, and probably still don't. Along came John Covach's course on the History of Rock and my music transformed over night.
Along came a phase of exploring an artist for days, sometimes months on end, listening to all of their albums in chronological order, separating the psychedelic from the A-A-B-A, and the Syd Barret era from the Dave Gilmour era. It also made me appreciate the chaos of non-harmonious music. Sometimes, a metronome is just not enough. Sometimes, you need sitars and horns, and virtuoso guitar solos, and destruction, and masks and androgeny. Sometimes, ordinary is just not good enough. I write this as I listen to Sgt Peppers, an iconic album, that I never would have appreciated if not for Covach, if not for time, if not for being alone and if not for introspection. And now, I have lined up ahead of me 10 great years of Allman Brothers, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, David Bowie and many many more. I'm feeling great musically, and boy, that just about hits the spot.
