Music, A Case of Perception??

It is a no brainer that music is an integral part of our life. To me, a day without listening music is nearly impossible; even having a slightest thought of spending a day without music gets to my brains. Music is the soother that keeps me fresh, energized, and motivated. Quite frankly to me, it is not just an integral part of my life, but rather it is my life itself!

I have been listening to songs and music of various genres all my life. I think the first sorts of music that I was exposed to must be the lullabies that my parents used to sing to me, to soothe me, to get me to sleep, and probably to make me smile but I do not think that I know much deal about it. Next, probably the religious songs, or bhajans. The indulgence into songs about deep faith of some supreme power surely energized the whole body and mind; but somehow I (and am sure most of us) cannot listen to these songs and music quite as often as the commercial songs. The first songs that I loved must be from Nepathya, a very popular Nepali folk rock band. The tunes, music and lyrics of the songs such as Jhomsomai Bajarma, Chekyo Chekyo were the ones that mesmerized me. I still remember my elders persuading me to sing Chekyo Chekyo every now and then. Another memorable song from my childhood must be Jaba Sandhya Hunchha by Yogeshwor Amatya. My exposure to these types of songs were from the Image Channel transmission on Nepal Television, which was only in the morning (6 am to 9 am only).

As time passed, more media exposure through various radio stations (most prominently Kantipur FM, Image FM, and Hits FM) meant listening to more and more songs from the emerging pop culture. With talented artists like Sugam Pokhrel, Anil Singh and co. on the horizon, Nepali music industry was surely going to shore up and as was my music exposure. A new wave of music I thought was coming in Nepali music industry, with all the use of instruments and technologies to make songs and music better and better. More artists would come to the scene, some of them to continue forever; while most just disappeared after one or two albums. Why? Probably because the music industry did not pay much. The artists releasing albums was mostly due to their passion in music. Nevertheless, these artists created a new era in Nepali music industry and were able to gather large fan base. I am pretty much sure the current generation of Nepali music industry has been influenced to a large extend by this wave of music.

While at school, songs were a matter of coolness and pride. Those singing good western music were considered to be cool. During Antakshari (singing competitions), the classroom would resonate with these songs. While Bollywood movie songs were also highly popular, I did not quite frankly, listened to them that much. Nepali songs was what I craved for. Anyway, what I would like to emphasize on is the correlation between songs listened and the so called coolness. A new wave was also coming to me and friends, a wave of songs and music of western artists; a whole new experience.

 The first western artists that I listened to were Michael Jackson, and Elton John. My uncle had some records and I listened and found them particularly interesting, mainly because of the lyrics (as they were written in English, and the lyrics depicted different kind of lifestyle). First song from a western artist was Elton John's The Fox. Next I listened to some of Michael Jackson songs, and Black and White was my favorite, particularly the video was really amazing. I had more exposure when my brother brought records of Bryan Adams (Best Hits) and Enrique Iglesias (7). I became fan of Enrique Iglesias, in fact I could sing almost all songs of album 7, with Roamer and Addicted my favorites. I still remember singing Everything I do by Bryan Adams, in front of assembly at my school. Nevertheless the main talking point is how students were being inclined toward more and more western songs. There were records available at market and we would buy one and remember all songs of that album and boast about it at the class. As I craved for more and more music, I started listening to these songs on Kantipur FM and Hits FM (predominantly Kantipur FM).

To that point I thought I could be listening to pop music all my life. Their music and mostly lyrics awed me. However, I inclined toward rock music sometime later. My love toward rock music was mainly created after watching WWE programs. The titantron of the performers there showed me how awesome rock music was. The best song The Game (titantron of Triple H) by Motorhead, and the titantron of Kane. As I watched WWE more and more I liked one song very much in particular This fire Burns (CM punk titantron) by Killswitch Engage. In parallel to this, I was starting to listen to rock music (metal in particular) from FM shows The Extreme Show (Kantipur FM) and The Sound of Destruction (Times FM).  I was listening to songs from bands like Iron Maiden, Cradle of Filth, and Cannibal Corpse and such. These programs also highlighted the metal scenario in Nepal with bands like Antim Grahan, 72 hours, Gothika and such on the scene. At classes few of us were listening to these sorts of music and used to discuss topics related to these types of music. While these music were interesting and energizing, we could not really discuss them openly especially with parents because they were considered evil and there was a popular notion that these music were listened by only drug addicts and such. Anyway, I used to listen to these songs on radio stations using headphones (which was a great deal back then). Also I used to check lyrics of these songs online (Cybercafés were the only means). I still remember the first lyrics that I checked which was I stand Alone by Godsmack. As I started searching for lyrics of metal songs I found that they represent different sort of emotions that cannot be delivered via regular songs, a deep dark side of human life that is always concealed by the humans themselves or hidden by the rules and virtues of the society. The lyrics about demons, death, and other brutal aspects of life were what enticed me. I was deeply into metal music, and lyrics in particular. I wrote some lyrics (or so called lyrics) myself, and hid them as they were not on the topics to be discussed. I found this a way to express my anger or let’s say control my anger, and hate issues. Still today a piece of good metal music helps me control my anger. It helps me divert all my negative feelings towards something more harmless.

 The starting of this wave in myself led me searching more and more music, which at times was quite unhealthy as I listened to every song that I found whether it was good or not. I just listened to it just to boast in front of friends that I knew more songs than they knew. A good deal of time and money was wasted. Although I would not really call it a waste because I knew something about some other genres or emotions but whether I listened to those songs really would not have mattered anyway; that was just brought out of some sense of competition. I think this is the most brutal aspect of music industry, where the type and quantity of music you listen to correlates with your identity among friends.

Still today, I crave for more and more music, but it is not for some sense of competition or such. Rather it is for finding new type of music that can really drive my body and my mind. The lyrics that can remind me of my memories, music that can make me imagine stuffs, and songs that can really get me going. I find myself listening to Slipknot more often nowadays. Their songs, lyrics are really good, at least for me. I can correlate them with myself. Their music gets me going and render all my negative feelings harmless. Their stage performance is what intrigues me. Slipknot's stage performance gives me energy, seeing all those acts on the stage, all those percussion instruments. The unique combination of guitar, drums, samples and turn tabling is what I crave for nowadays. Some see Slipknot and their music as waste, but I see a unique blend there, a perfect blend of energy and technicality. Apart from Slipknot and their heavy metal feel, I also listen to post-rock music (mostly by God is An Astronaut) which are quite contrast to the music of Slipknot. While Slipknot music is heavy, post-rock offers light but heart touching music. Sometimes I find myself listening to sound of river flowing and trees hustling, and that music soothes me. Now I have realized that songs and music is not what just what is commercially available but it is those sounds that make me feel mesmerized, that gives me energy to jump, or at other times just relax on the couch. Music should never be correlated with coolness and show-off but correlated with emotions and feelings that they bring. Metal music, in particular, should not be viewed as a taboo but rather expression of deep dark emotions of human life. It should not be linked to some crimes but should rather be used to divert oneself from it. Thanks to all the awesome individuals and groups that have helped make my life wonderful. Music is what you want to listen, not what other want you to listen to.