Down The Waterline

Dire straits will always be Mark Knopfler. From the beginning Mark Knopfler’s strong guitar sound and his slightly held back vocals has defined the music of Straits. From the gigs in pubs in London to the high profile tours around the world India>, it has been really great going. Few bands have done music like Straits – right from the heart. They had none of the on stage antics nor did they go for off stage gimmicks. They jus played... on and on.

Dire Straits always had a clear idea on what their path was. Their songs had a meaning for the listeners, kind of a search for the meaning along with the band. It is a wonderful experience!

Songs always takes the prime place for Dire Straits, so it is also not proper for me to write about them. I am therefore sticking to their songs.

Some songs of Straits are my personal favorites – Brothers in Arms, Telegraph Road, Tunnel of Love, Sultans of swing and Romeo & Juliet.

‘Brothers in Arms’ was written at the time when Mark’s brother, David, quit the band following personal differences. The song has that feeling of time, kind of a reaching out. This song however cannot be heard in repetition at same time.

Telegraph road’s lyrics are really good. It gives the feel of 18^th century America, in all its goodness and splendor; it evokes the image of the ‘Pioneers’ who set out to the new world, impervious to the perils ahead. I heard this one in repetition.

To me love songs always hold a special place. Not the cheese and cake ones but the real ones, Romeo and Juliet and Tunnel of love fall in this category. While R&J takes a cynical take on the eternal love story, Tunnel of love makes us fall in love with the first girl you meet after hearing it! For me, it always will be the same girl! I see her each time I hear it.

Lots of their other songs have been on my mind when I’m writing this. I’ll leave it for some other time or perhaps someone else to write.

Comfortably Numb

My favorite band! It all started when my brother bought ‘Delicate sound of thunder’ to my house. That was when I was in fifth or sixth grade! I heard it umpteen times. At that time, I didn’t know that much about lyrics. Never really cared, but then later on the lyrics caught up with me. Now I had to hear it more, to get the feel of music with the lyric. I’ve not heard any other band’s songs like this. Pink Floyd actually made me realize the lyrical value. I guess if it were not for Pink Floyd, I wouldn’t have heard Simon and Garfunkel.

Some time back, I read a book called ‘five point someone’. A good read but nothing new. It was what we were doing in college. In it, there is a reference of Pink Floyd as a company to vodka. I never needed vodka, though!!

My favorite member of Pink Floyd is Syd Barret, always will be. I was shocked to hear news of his demise. It took some time to sink in. Each of his stories made him a larger than life person to me. One especially struck me his genius. Syd came with a new song he wrote and started teaching the rest the chords, but they couldn’t ’cos he was changing the chords each time they learnt it. And when they came to realize, there was a grin on his face!

Syd ain’t Pink Floyd though. It’s the five of them that makes it complete. Even though Dave Gilmour came later, it seems like he have been in it from start. Wright, Waters and Mason all together make the band they are. Some of the music by them represents a whole era in the music. They seemed to be a side of a polygon which stands apart from other parts, but without them the polygon would just be incomplete. Dave’s influence on the band made the band change more into progressive rock from its psychedelic start. Though the imagery was still there, the music had changed after Syd left. The friction between Waters and rest of the band is still a sorry happening.

I am speculating this but I have to say, I think the rest of the band let Syd go on deeper into LSD so that he would be more creative. They never knew where the red line was. If they had checked on it, I wonder if the music would have been the same. Not just the PF, but the whole world. The enigma that was Syd still grips the mind so forcefully that not just the band but everyone still finds themselves groping in the dark.

Dave Gilmour once remarked that their audiences nowadays don’t listen to music as in their beginnings. Well, some still hear the way music has to be heard, I can assure you that, Dave!

So for me Pink Floyd will always be vodka not companion to vodka!

John Mayer... No other title will do!

John Mayer!!

Considering all the bands I love, sometimes I wonder what does John Mayer has to make me love him! One thing is that I never knew anything about him, and still don’t know anything other than what’s given in wikipedia, except his music!

I loved his music from the beginning. Each of his songs is done with heavy lyrics and smooth guitar. I can’t express the feeling I got when I saw the video for ‘Waiting for the world to change’ {Funny that I’m hearing ‘Music must change’, Right now}. The video really felt like a part of the song. Loved it to the core!!!

Music wired and shorted!

Music for me isn’t represented by a single genre or band or song. So it is obvious that I can write a lot about music, provided I CAN write!! So far, I am writing in my blog which no one can stop!

As everyone, I love certain bands but for me I’ve lots more than others. To me they are ultimate grass, I’m on high each time I hear them. Depending on my mood, I hear Hindustani or Rock or Grunge or whatever.

So for my bands, I toast to you!!

Music ’n me!!

I’ve been interested in music for long… There had been a time when I used to run to my room when TV was switched on. The same I, now sits glued to the TV or so it seem to those who see me. For I never view it, I hear it. Whatever I see gets registered in RGB while I hear everything to the last note, amplified to perfection in my mind.

I see music!!