Rocking in the Free World» Peter Pan in Real Life

Rock Street Journal – My Column (April 2009)

Hari — Sun, 03 May 2009 10:26:41 +0000

I don’t know how many of you’ve noticed, but the pop music of the yesteryears is the muzak of today. It is quite surprising, but the gym I used to pretend to work out at had on its playlist so many pop songs I used to listen to when I was a kid, including that of boy bands, mentioning whose names within the pages of Rock Street Journal would be tantamount to blasphemy.

The same was the case in a few shopping centers and affordable (cheap) restaurants which aren’t up-market per se, but would like to try and get an ersatz air of pretentiousness about them, which they feel might attract a few more clients.

It was at one such place that I caught myself singing word-to-word a song that was massively popular in the mid 90s. And no, I’ll not quit playing games, and I intend to keep you in the dark regarding what song that was.

But listening to that music brought back a flood of memories that got me thinking about how we tend to evolve as the years go by, and how drastically our musical tastes are altered and shaped by our exposure to new genres, our environment and life in general.

I had a strong pop music phase when I was in school, and had tapes such as Now That’s What I Call Music (Volumes 1, 2 and 3) and Channel [V] Ultimate Dance Collection and such. Those tapes are now as good as useless, and when I tried playing them a few days ago in some tape recorder, which I was able to locate with much difficulty, the songs were running at about 80% their speed and were quite funny to listen to, until I got bored and gave up.

If you’ve not had a phase where you’ve listened to Pop music, at least to start off with, you have issues. You’re probably languishing in jail and your name is Charles Manson.

Contemporary pop slowly paved the way for more music, and as the parents found out that their son’s interests lay beyond his text books and his other reading material, they indulgently gave me access to their music collection, which comprised of a few rare tapes of Santana, the Ventures, The Beatles and a few other oldies which I now know are timeless, and would be worth introducing at the right time to my own children in the future.

In the mid-teens and later, as the rat race became more and more pronounced, and the need to do well in the 10th and 12th boards to secure a good education became strongly evident, the angst and the pressure built up led to a slow but sure shift from the optimistic and uncomplicated hues of pop towards music that was slightly more aggressive and complicated in nature.

Classic rock and metal was the way to go, as bands like The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd soon became staple music, and a false air of superiority was then acquired, and it was at this time that the whole black t-shirt phase made its presence felt.

The parents were, quite understandably a little worried about the sudden increase in length of hair, the constant singing of the ‘teenage wasteland’ bit from The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’ and a slight hint of negativity that crept in as a result of exposure to this music.

Simultaneously, satellite TV played a crucial role in providing me exposure to contemporary artists, and I discovered the alternative genre, which forms a huge part of my play list till date. I must count my blessings for having had a chance to expand my musical sensibilities during a time when Channel [V] and MTV weren’t showing the nonsense they’re currently dishing out. Incidentally, do you have any clue as to who got eliminated this week on Roadies?

Yes, I did have a Kurt Cobain phase as well, where I hated myself and I wanted to die. It involved a case of a premature heart break and a feeling of being hopelessly lost in space and time, and Nirvana’s songs seemed to give some meaning to life back then, although when I listen to the band now, I can’t understand half of the lyrics. I think it is an age window during which time you need to appreciate bands like Nirvana and then grow up.

Metal made its presence felt in my life with my first ever listen of Iron Maiden’s ‘Live After Death’, and I was hooked thereafter. The standard issue metal bands then became a regular part of my musical diet, and my parents were left wondering when their son’s head would snap and roll off after extensive head-banging sessions. Thankfully, no such thing has happened till date. The type of music being listened to became heavier and heavier, and it hasn’t lost steam even now.

An increase in exposure to the different types of music has led to broadening of my musical horizons and sensibilities, and off-late, I’ve discovered new and interesting genres and sub-genres such as post-rock, piano-rock, alt-pop, emo-rock, folk-rock and also faced a revival of pop music appreciation, thanks largely due to how hot Nicole Scherzinger and the other Pussy Cat Dolls are in their videos. I still can’t name more than two songs of theirs, but hey, I’m a big fan nonetheless.

Over time, I have seen people who seem to think they know a lot about music ridiculing those that they think don’t have corresponding tastes and sensibilities, ‘poseur’, I believe is the word they use for such people, who pretend to like some forms of music just because it is cool to do so.

I have been guilty of being prejudiced myself on previous occasions, but as time has gone by, I’ve come to realize that I am better off doing my own thing and being at peace with myself musically, rather than evaluate someone else’s musical tastes and being judgmental about it. If people are indeed ‘poseurs’, then they’re not worth the time and the effort to ridicule and they’re better off left to their own devices.

Having said that, I’d like you to please excuse me, as I go ahead and complete listening to the (relatively) new ‘Take That’ album. Cheers!

Rock Street Journal – My Column (January 2009)

Hari — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:33:26 +0000

This is the second piece I wrote for my column on Rock Street Journal. I’ve been told that the content of my column is owned by me, and will not be included under the RSJ copyright.

Hence, I have a chance to unleash it on my website as well. Check it out under the fold.

So you are part of a band. You guys know you are the next best thing since bread came sliced, you’ve got it all, you’ve got it right. But the avenues for you to succeed are few and far between, and the road is long and winding, the lights are blinding and you don’t know when you will get there, if at all you will.

You’d want to quit your studies and your job, throw caution to the wind, and embrace the life of a rockstar being courted by record labels, the media, artist managers and most importantly, the fans. These castles in the air also need to have a concrete foundation to begin with.

As a new band, you need to create waves and be in the limelight for all the right reasons. Your music should do all the talking, rather than your possible involvement with substances or your outrageous attire or your fake accents while on stage. Of course, showmanship is an important part of being recognized for a distinctive style, but without good music and without believing in yourself, you’re as good as the next garage band which will split when members either get married / relocate or move out for higher studies without even having been a storm in a teacup.

There are many eventualities that you can’t deal with, and so this column will not focus on trying to show you the doomsday scenarios that your band might encounter. What I instead intend to propose is a novel way of trying to get your band seen and heard by a lot of people, without you having to invest too much into making it happen. Sure, you could perform at pubs, and in festivals and at the odd live gig and so on, but what I am about to suggest might hasten the process and help you get there faster.

This venture is one that a few bands might have already implemented inadvertently, without being aware of it. What I am about to tell you would just formalize this process and give it concrete shape.

Consider your jam room. It is the place you chill out, the place where you sit and write songs, where you experiment and try out new riffs, where you fight amongst your band members and eventually develop the camaraderie and friendship that will last you for a long time to come.

This is the place where you are in your element, and are uninhibited by constraints of time, and can play whatever you want for as long as you want. You can set the sound levels to your liking and not complain about a shitty sound guy wrecking it all for you. You remain in your comfort zone, and in your jam room, you are King (or Queen or whatever).

How about if you converted your jam room into a venue for having a show? Sounds daunting, innit? Yeah, it does at the outset. But think about this. What if you were to allow people limited entry into your performance area and play out a show for them?

Your room might not accommodate more than ten to fifteen people at a time. They’d have to stand cramped or squat next to a bass amp, or God forbid, sit right in front of the bass drum and then turn permanently deaf. However, if you end up getting a small group of people for your audience, and they promise to behave themselves and not mosh (and cause destruction) you’d have a show on your hands.

The parents, neighbours and other people in the vicinity who might complain would already be used to your incessant practising, and as a result, if you were to just get in a few people and jam like you always do, you might find a few fans in the audience.

Do this once or twice a week, and rotate the crowd in your jam room, and a steady buzz would be created about you guys, if you are really good. As the word spreads, and more and more people listen to you, utilize the power of social media such as orkut, youtube, our RSJ forums and create communities, upload your videos / audios and generate a vibe that would suggest that if fifteen people at a time can be provided a fabulous experience by your band, imagine how hundreds of people would react to it simultaneously.

The possibilities are mind-boggling, eh? I know. There are many pitfalls to this method as well, but with a little diplomacy, a little politeness and perhaps a little ingenuity and most of all, with pragmatic rather than an obstinate form of will-power, your band might just have a good platform to end up going places.

If you are a music lover, rather than a band member, and if ten bands that you know of follow this system of regulated live performances in their jam rooms for limited audiences, you could as well end up attending ten live shows in three months, for free! Now, if this isn’t a win-win situation, I don’t know what is. If you do make it big thanks to these suggestions, do send me your autographed album so I can add it to my growing collection. Good luck!

Rock You Like a HariCane – the first RSJ column post

Hari — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:52:57 +0000

I’ve been quite preoccupied recently with some work for Rock Street Journal, and an additional thing that I’ve had to put in, apart from churning out my usual set of articles is the column that I’m required to write for the magazine.

Yes, I’ve been given a full page dedicated to myself and whatever I want to write on the magazine, and I plan to unleash propaganda and spread arbitness in the best and most effective manner possible.

The title of the column is the same as the title of the website, and the title of this post. Under the fold, you will see the contents of my first ever column piece that was published in the October 2008 issue of the magazine.

It only promises to get more and more inane after this.

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Topic: “Hai World”

I can has……my own column????

When Reuben informed me that I was to have my own column in the hallowed pages of RSJ, I was beside myself with joy. Not literally of course, because despite it being a monumental occasion, I wasn’t really too keen on the whole out-of-body experience thing. Nevertheless, it seemed like quite a thrill to be able to have my own space in a magazine that I’ve contributed articles to in the past eighteen months.

While it seems like a really cool thing to be call oneself a ‘syndicated columnist’, realization suddenly struck me that I’d have to churn out content on a monthly basis to go into the magazine. Despite the wide berth given so far as what content goes into this page is concerned, I’d still have to ensure that what went in wasn’t so tangential, irrelevant and consequently irreverent that you’d send me hate mail in disgust.

For the record, I’ve not received any hate mail yet, only spam on my RSJ mail ID, so feel free to unleash the vitriol if you feel it worth your while. I however, would like to state that I can respond in kind in my column (ha! MY column, I really could get used to the sound of that!) and rip you to shreds if you’re ranting out of context.

Having to confine myself to non-arbitrary subjects has promptly ruled out any attempts of mine to write about the traffic situation in Bangalore, the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, why you should use wordpress instead of any other blogging platform provided or about the pros of using dental floss.

The first thing that I had to think of, even before I launched into filling up the content in my column was to come up with a snappy name. “What’s in a name?” you ask, evidently having involuntarily OD-ed on Shakespeare a few years ago as part of something you read in school. The first pre-requisite to having an awesome column is to have an awesome name.

It doesn’t matter if I write absolute garbage in it thereafter, what will stick around in the vast recesses of your memory is the cool name I thought of, or so I’d like to think. Names like ‘More than words’ and ‘endless rain into a paper cup’ did briefly cross my mind, for their simultaneously musical and literal connotations, but they were discarded in favour of, what I feel, is the best name I could come up with for this column at short notice.

The next important thing that one needs is a good picture to go with the column. (For picture being referred to, check out the flickr link for the same) A cartoon would’ve sufficed, and after looking at what I supplied, I’m sure that the good folk in New Delhi would’ve thought twice about putting it up, thinking instead that a cartoon was, in effect, a better idea.

Nevertheless, one shouldn’t underestimate the importance of a good picture to go with the column. It should convey authority, dignity, a possible sense of nobility and a hint of professionalism to go with one’s writing and hence the Viking helmet that I’d purchased from some roadside vendor in the streets of Bergen in Norway, combined with my favourite shirt and tie seemed like the best way to convey those qualities, although nobody I know seemed to agree, probably because they weren’t in their right minds when I asked them, having been bedazzled by that legendary picture.

The first ever column that a person is writing should come across like the pilot episode of an ongoing serial, to give the readers a fair idea about what to expect in the next few columns to come. I have, so far, been unable to do so due to my preliminary ramblings having taken up so much space already.

However, I do have some agenda, a sort of game plan to remedy this ostensible lack of relevant information, by writing about music in general, some bookish knowledge as well as a dash of appropriate current affairs and the usual dose of nonsense that seems to be so characteristic of what I churn out whenever I put pen on paper (or finger on keyboard, if you must).

Being a huge fan of Seinfeld, I have invariably mastered the fine art of churning out nothing, and make it look like something in turn, something I’ve done with consummate ease all through school, college and my workplace so far and by extension, with a little bit of practice, I am sure the same can be done for this column as well.

As the word limit for this piece approaches, I would request you to keep a watch for what shall come up next. Its going to be, as Barney Stintson says, legendary! Or in the very least, it will keep you occupied with this magazine for a few extra minutes while you’re doing whatever else you’re up to, I’d rather not know.

Thanks to Amit and the rest of the good folk at the RSJ office, I’ll be back in a month! Until then, do check out my website and lastly, Hasta luego!

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Cubbon Park BandStand Article

Hari — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:59:49 +0000

My piece for Citizen Matters on the revival of the Cubbon Park Bandstand is up and posted under the Heritage and CBD section of the journal.

I for the life of me haven’t been able to figure out what CBD means, but I am sure I’ll kick myself for a simple explanation that it will eventually provide.

My Citizen Matters user page is here.

The ‘Rock On’ Review for Citizen Matters

Hari — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:55:31 +0000

Following this post on the Rock On roast, I had a chance to put up a similar review, albeit toned down and significantly more formal for Citizen Matters.

However, nothing beats Greatbong’s Review for the same, at least so far as entertainment value is concerned.

External Links

Hari — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:48:13 +0000

The posts tagged under the links category will place the links for all the posts of mine written for other websites here, for quick and easy access.

I intend to do some mash up work using yahoo pipes or a wordpress plugin, but until such time, please check out the links in the posts below that are under the relevant online publication.

Citizen Matters

Hari — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:10:33 +0000

Citizen Matters Author Page

The list below is not exhaustive, and will be updated as and when more stuff is published.

Article on Sunday Jams in Bangalore – Music lovers of Bangalore may miss their monthly dose of original music in earnest, unless the Sunday Jammers get back their ‘Music Strip’ in Cubbon park and are allowed to tune in again, uninterrupted..

Article on Dogmatone Records – DogmaTone Records, a Bangalore-based record label which released its first album in 2007, aims to nurture niche musicians who have smaller audiences..

Skimpy’s Bangalore Photowalk – A young Bangalorean finds a novel way of indulging his passion for walking, photography, sightseeing and meeting new people all in one activity. Introducing, the Bangalore PhotoWalk. .

Rock Ethos promotional piece – On 10 February, Rock Ethos, a free-entry rock music festival and Bangalore’s answer to the Great Indian Rock festival (New Delhi) and Independence Rock (Mumbai) will be held at the Palace Grounds starting from about 12 noon.

Musicians Sans Frontiers – Hari Shenoy writes about a New Year-eve performance on the outskirts of Bangalore where David Moszkowicz from France and K Raja from our very own Bull Temple Road came together. .

Churumuri

Hari — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:00:56 +0000

Churumuri started off as a Mysore centric blog around the time Dr.Raj breathed his last, and has been a strongly popular blog managed by former editor of Outlook and Vijay Times, Mr.Krishna Prasad. I had written three pieces for this site, after which I’ve not had a chance to contribute to this venture.

However, what KP said once fine evening when I had met up with him still resonates in my head – ‘when you don’t do it for the money, you tend to do your best job’, and this is probably why I consider this site as my labour of love.

Churumuri article on the excessive media hype surrounding the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Churumuri article on how India should follow Israel’s footsteps in its steps to counter terrorism.

Churumuri article on the 2006 FIFA world cup, when I was north of where all the action took place circa July 2006.

(As a disclaimer, the post titles are given by KP, while I supplied the content which he has, in some cases edited to make it better.)