In Mumbai, like any other metropolis, travelling to and fro on a daily basis is a way of life. Like a typical Mumbaikar, I too have travelled a lot by the local trains so much so that over the weekends, if you have any, one misses them. Nope, this isn’t a write up on Mumbai locals.
To use the time fruitfully, commuters resort in different activities – the intellectuals and the aged mostly prefer to read, village folks form a group and engage in bhajan/kirtans (common scene on Virar bound trains and beyond), few try to strike a conversation with the fellow passengers and a handful are lost looking outside the window (can be dubbed as new additions to the travelling community).
If you ask me, the charismatic category of travellers have been left out. Speaking of this category, have you ever seen a teenager travelling without a headset? This young generation has a flair for music and fall in the category of A-listeners. Some are addicted (Enrique patent, probably one of his best) to Indian masalas and a chunk mostly to the western beats.
This world of music embeds icons from places across the globe – be Natalie from the Australian continent or the MJs, Elevis Presleys of the North America. The otherwise calm nation has a strong presence here – U2 and Westlife, the greatest musical bands of all times (my say) are a native of Ireland. Their most hummed tunes are indeed mood swingers -to name a few – U2’s “Where the streets have no name”, “With or without you” and “Vertigo”. This band is a popular hit and the albums sell like hot cakes. It’s music is mostly either guitar pop or soft rock played on either the electric or double necked guitars. Their tunes are catchy and the lyrics portray a world of emotions and sometime anecdotes.
MJ needs no intro., have you heard the music of Linking Park? It is high on metal and is a feast for the ears! Songs of Rihanna are balanced between the pitch, music and the lyrics….voice probably the best. “Unfaithful” (a song from her album) is ultimate. She reminds of an umbrella even on a sunny day.
Another shot is Shakira, this Columbian is a legendry star at a very young age. To say that her albums are worth listening is an understatement. Voice is both engaging and absorbing, so is the tune which stays in the mind for a long time. Elvis Presley, known for his unique apparel, has to his credit many hits most of them pop or the softer side of the rock. This list of magical singers is endless.
Music has variants, Hard Rock, Soul, Heavy Metal, Jazz, Soft Rock, Country, Classic Rock, Latin. Alternative, the Folk, Hip Hop, Big Band, Rap, Polka, the list goes on and on.
Jazz is a style of music that is indigenous to America. The music has strong flexible rhythms.
In English language Jazz means to excite someone or make things more interesting.
Rock is centered around the electric or bass guitar, usually with drums. Rock is song-based music with beats utilizing a verse-chorus form.
Pop is generally a softer side of rock. Bob Dylan, the Beatles and few others have used pop in their music.
Heavy metal is hard rock music, usually electric guitar-based and always loud. It involves thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified sound. Mostly used for guitar solo preformances.
Hip hop, this music comes from different nationalities and races, especially from black people.
Hip-hop music is made up from other forms of music like funk, soul, rhythm & blues, jazz, rock heavy metal, salsa, calypso, techno, pop, disco, african, Arabic etc.
Salsa is a form of Latin-American dance music and has a strong presence of Afro-Caribbean rhythms,
Cuban melodies, and a touch of jazz and rock.
A decade ago, for buying music one had to visit the music planets and shell out heavily for the international bands. With the mushrooming of e-com portals and few phony sites, the latest as well as the golden oldies are available at a reasonable price. With the dawn of the smart phones, music is almost available for free. Commonly used android apps for music are Savn - mostly for hindi, Desi music – offers more than thirty radio stations, Jazz Radio – covers almost all the Jazz variants, Pandora, MPR & Local concerts – popular in the west for Indian/local music but not sure about the coverage in India.
Being able to play a musical instrument adds somewhere to our personality. But it purely depends on the interests of the reader.
Any new entrant in music can contact me for song recommendations. My email id is mentioned below.
Kishore Bolisetty,
E-mail: kishore.bolisetty8080 @ gmail.com
Source: Based on own experience
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