Music Transports Me

Apologies in advance.

Music shows and music shows. Everywhere the same songs. Summer of '69. Hotel California. Pehla nasha. Jaan-e-jaan. Don't people get tired of singing the same songs over and over again. I sure get tired of listening to them. Heck! There's no dearth of good but rarely heard songs. Go dig them up. Surprise us!

I am listening to the second stanza of dum-maro-dum and I am transported i.e distracted. I wonder if some amount of Nasha or some 'dum' would make listening to this song for the N! th time more interesting. Then I think of what songs I would like to sing or atleast hear in a cultural gathering. I think of the Tam melody ' Raja Raja Cholan naan - na aalum kaadal bhoomi nee-tdhaan' (Raja Raja Chola is me only! And the loved-and-loving land I rule is you only!) but perhaps this song is cliche in Tam circles - I don't know. Then I think of the Guru Dutt-Mala Sinha conversational duet - 'Hum Aap ki aankhon mein is dil ko basa len to?' or of 'Gun guna rahen hain bhanvare..."

But then a friend explains that some songs are easier to play than others. And I guess it is important that you play a song well. And perhaps, if everyone in a six-member band has to be comfortable with a song, I guess it narrows down the choice quite a bit. But frankly, I don't care if a song is not well played as long as it is well-picked.

I think it an unpardonable offence to keep singing Papa Kehte Hain every time you are asked to sing (and only delicacy prevents me from insisting that people who play Hotel California be hung). First, there is a good chance your audience has heard you several times before :-( And second, come man, experiment. Why do you want to stop with just a few songs.

Sorry for being so critical but I think it's for everybody's good.