The Concert which was mind blowing - Part 1

I heard some band is coming to Bangalore! I was excited about it, not because I knew the band but it was rock band and I have another chance to explore. This got me going again, I started listening to their music and also studying (means reading wiki most of time) about them. I was happy because they really put up a show wherever they go and all my friends were talking about it, which made me really excited. I heard a number of songs and there were these 3 songs I really loved

1. Number of the beast



2. Fear of the dark



3. Dance of death



Fact-O-File: These guys are a heavy metal band from Leyton in East London formed in 1975. In 2010, the band turned 35 years. Now can you beat that?
The band was formed by their bassist and songwriter Steve Harris ( I know you might have guessed right which band I am talking about, yes you are right! IRON MAIDEN \m/) Nicko McBrian on drums, Bruce Dickinson on vocals, Dave Murray on guitars, Adrian Smith on guitars and Janick Gers on guitars as well. Interestingly right three guitarists! Iron Maiden were ranked #24 in VH1 "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and MTV ranked them #4 "Top 10 Greatest Heavy Metal Bands of All Time".

These guys have a masscot and its name is Eddie

Eddie


Now I knew these guys are coming to Bangalore, most of time I spent learning about the bands so that I can get into the grove when it starts going. But then something struck me very hard! (What is it that struck me, that's what you might be thinking?)

I didn't have the tickets!! and the show was just three days away. Yes, I had the same thing in my mind what the hell to do. Then began a rampant search. I was searching for it all possible places. And at last, a friend of mine who worked in an ad agency came to my rescue. She had a ticket and wasn’t going for the concert. ‘Lucky me’, I said to myself.

With tickets in my hand, and two days left for the concert, I didn’t have any company from either college or office, I was shocked! I was thinking "I have to go all alone for the concert", but the next thought was "so what? I will go alone, what's the big deal".

To be continued... Next part is the most exciting one and you can say I was lucky again! So don't forget to read the next part!

Rock Forever \m/

My First Band - The Journey Begins!

My very first band, the band I related to, the band I followed and the band I loved is still what I relate to, follow and love. Times have changed, I have changed, but not what I think about them.

I heard a couple of songs of theirs; I sang along with it too, and never gave much thought of exploring what else they had. I didn’t even make an effort to know if they had introduced new albums. Which was this band, I am talking to you about, if that’s what you are thinking. Here’s a little tit-bit about them, that should help you guess it right.

These guys are into hard rock metal, they play mind blowing music, and the lyrics are a class apart. Millions of copies have been sold world-wide, be it their first or the last. They have been loved, respected, and they inspired many. Their songs make you think whatever they sing is just so right.

They have

Bass Guitar: Dave Mustyaine he was fired from the band in 1983, presently the Bass Guitarist is Robert Turjillo.

Lead Guitar: Kirk Hammett

Drums: Lars Ulrich

Lead singer & Rhythm guitar: James Hetfield

Now, if you are a rock lover, you sure would have guessed it right when I named the bass guitarist. Well, for those of you who still didn’t guess, it’s Metallica. Well that was just the beginning of following a religion called ‘Metal Rock’. I decided to plunge deeper and discover more songs, not because I was bored but because I wanted more.



I kept on discovering and there are two songs that are really close to my heart. Can you guess the next one?

The second one is called ONE



The two songs made me hungrier than ever. And even before I knew I had made a decision. A decision to listen to all sort of songs. I have loved many, disliked a few, but to describe in a word about Metallica. “Amazing”!

Long live Metallica,long live ROCK

Rock Forever \m/

The Legendary

And here I was listening to modern rock.I never bothered to know the singer, the background details of the band or anything of that sort. Frankly, I did not care. If you ask “Why?” I thought ‘Who is going to bother about such stuff anyway, If you know the song, there’s nothing like it.That perception lingered with me for a very long time, until one day during a conversation with my friend. He asked me, “Who is the vocalist for Led Zeppelin?” and I casually said “I don’t know”. That was it, and my friends laughed at me, they said “What kind of fan are you?”, and even asked “Do you know what it means to be a fan?” And that day, I had learnt my lesson. I understood how important it is to keep rooted in the basics. Then on, I learnt everything about a band – The Past to the Present. I made it a point to keep myself updated. The more bands I discovered the more I learnt.

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir



Then came a moment, when I got to know of this legendary band called ‘Pink Floyd’. Now this band had an amazing catch in each and every song of theirs. If you ask “How?”, the answer is simple,their guitaring was so soothing that they earned themselves a recognition of belonging to ‘Psychedelic Rock’. You can listen to their songs any time of the day and I bet that. Here I present a small list of their many songs: Another Brick in the wall~~Sorrow~~Echoes~~ Hey You~~Comfortably Numb~~.

Pink Floyd - Comfortably

Fact-O-File: It was amazing to know that this is a band which was born in the late 1960's and evolved in the 1970's for their progressive rock. They had 2 lead singer's till 1985 it was Roger Waters and after that it has been David Gilmour. It a long story, to make it simple, Roger Waters left the band and the band is lead by Gilmour.

One of the best songs from Roger Waters - Amused to Death (live)




We have been lucky to witness and hear such wonderful music, and lets keep rocking and give our coming generation some legendary songs & music!

Rock Forever \m/

I Pop-ed to Rock

I am sitting with my customary cup of coffee, and as usual channel surfing and I hear 'I want it that way' playing on one of the music channels
The moment I hear that number from Back Street Boys, I am reminded of my introduction to the world of music, and that was when I was in 10th Grade. Yeah, among my obsession with music during that time, Boyzone, MLTR, BSB, were my frequent picks. But gradually, with time, these pop numbers didn’t give me the ‘kick’ which I used to get initially and that was when ‘Rock’ ( My heart beats louder even when I type the word Rock) started dominating my passion for music. So, I completely stopped listening to pop music, though this didn't mean that I stopped listening to desipop songs.( I did listen to the Hindi pop, but very selective ;) )

Call it obsession… Call it passion… call it whatever you want. But for me, music meant the world. And all I wanted was – to know more about this world, and thus began my study on Rock Music. I started discovering many bands and their music. So I started listening to the famous songs, but there was one band that instantly striked a chord with me. (PS: Any guesses? Try guessing before your eye balls move to the next paragraph)
I knew you wouldn’t take the mental effort of guessing, so wait for it at the answer.

So there was one band that I stuck on to. I discovered a lot of their songs, which were not the popular ones; I even tried my luck in getting the video of each and every song. But in those days, that was real tough. But I swear, once music gets into your veins, the passion doesn’t die, no matter what. So I still put in a lot of effort, discovered a lot of songs, got inspired by them, got to know them better, and had an undying, unforgiving passion. Now finally coming to that legendary band, that is still a milestone in a journey called music ‘ meTaLLiCa’ \m/. If you still haven’t heard this legendary Rock Band, you are ‘unforgiven’.

This is Unforgiven for you.

Metallica - Unforgiven II

Continuing with my journey into the world of Rock Music, the more I discovered, the more I felt, I knew a little less. And I got introduced to many Rock bands that are still inexistent for a few, for whom music is nothing but music. Among many such introductions, there’s one band that again is ‘special’ at least for me. I cannot explain you, why it is so special, well after all words fall short times, and this is one such moment for me, all I can say is that they are different. The very first Track I heard from Godsmack, I knew all that I wanted was to hear more of them. An unsatisfying thirst, yet felt quenched.

PS: ‘I stand alone’, is an amazing number from the band.
Fact-o-file: It was a OST from the movie Scorpion King and thus this band came into light. They have some more OST's but this Stand Alone OST was considered as one of the best there is!

Godsmack - I Stand Alone! Rock it ;)

Rock Forever \m/

It all started with THIS one

People remember their first love, their first fling and I am no different. I was in 10th grade then, and that was when I fell in love for the very first time. I felt a rush, when I heard. My heart was in sync with the beat. Yeah, I tasted what it was to fall in love; when I fell in love with Music.

Well, it is not that love that adolescent kids feel. But Love, all together at a different level.

I heard a song, fell in love, but didn’t decipher what the song was about and that made me search. I wanted to find out more about the song. A friend of mine happened to own the cassette of this song; I was euphoric, because the cassette also had a paper strip of lyrics of the songs. And I started singing ‘Summer of 69’, and loved each and every song in that album. And at that point of time, I thought this was the epitome of good music. And all the numbers by Bryan Adams, I was there listening to it with a fervor that people would when they think about their first love.

Bryan Adams - Summer of '69



But with time, your first love doesn’t just stay, sometimes you have reasons and sometimes you just don’t. And you look out for a change. So was I. And at a point of time, I wanted something, though unsure, down there, I knew I was searching. And that’s when a friend of my mine introduced me to a God like figure. The God of a different world – Metallica.

‘Nothing else matters’, when I heard that song from Metallica, true –Nothing else mattered. Eternally, I was in love again. Even today, I feel the very same intensity what I felt when I heard the first time. Anytime, Anywhere, Nothing else matters. ;). How true!

With time, I find new bands, yet still in sync with the old ones.
Fact-o-file: Nothing Else matters was written by their singer James Hetfield (rhythm Guitarist) and he wrote this song while on the phone with his girlfriend. The lyrics were dedicated to his girlfriend as well. So the line goes "so close, no matter how far" describing their bond! Intially, the song wasn't meant to be added in the album as Hetfield had written it for himself and not thinking about the whether it will go into the album, but only after drummer Lars Ulrich heard it and did considered for the record.

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters



Rock Forever \m/

Music my life!!

“Yeah, whatever! I have heard many people saying this and you are no different. There’s nothing new to what you got to say.” Probably this would have been your reaction after reading my previous blog most. True, there’s nothing new, but surely there is more

I have a few questions to ask you. And I know your answers, no matter who you are.

Have you ever missed a song? Missed a beat? Got Goosebumps all over after hearing a song? Without a doubt, without a second thought, your answer would be Yes (In bold). And moving further, if I ask “How many times have you felt so?” Your answer again would be “Many times”. Right? (I know it is) The point I am trying to say is that you might be craving to listen to song, but not me. I don’t because; music is in me rather music is me. It’s like my heart beat. I am so full of music all the time. Take for instance, my office is just a couple of steps away, a 5-minute distance from my home, and yet I manage to listen to couple of songs enroute office-home every single day.

I just cannot live without music. Call it, passion, motivation, happiness, sorrow, use any other adjectives, use any other synonyms, it’s just short of everything, because Music is every damn thing in My Life

Here is, how it all began

Since childhood I had this thing for music, I had this sense of understanding for the beat, and used to tap my feet to the music and also try imitating the singer. I knew what was the best song at that time.

It all started with Superuna in late 80's when my dad use to hear them and I used sing and dance along with it. As I grew, preferences were no longer the same, when I was in the 7th grade I heard this band called "Backstreet Boys" and instantly grew a linking for the kind of instruments and the music that they played. By the time, I was in 9th grade I was into ROCK music. I started with Bryan Adams and today the list is never ending!

Lucky enough, I know a lot of bands like Disturbed, Metallica, Pink Floyd, Megadeth, Guns N Roses, Iron Maiden, etc etc etc. and I think I need much more space to list down the bands I love, I live with. Anyways, you will discover them yourself, if you keep yourself updated with my posts. Fact-o-file: Jimi Hendrix is the best guitarist ever because he was influential musician of the era! Hendrix has won the most prestigious award for Rock music in his lifetime and also many more, including being inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

Rock Forever \m/

My World

A five letter word – that is one of the most important part of my life. I shudder to even think what life would be without it. It’s like a basic need, not just an extension of the basic need but one of the basic needs itself. It’s like a daily dose of medicine which makes life a little less harder. If not less harder, probably a little more complete. The five letter word – Music. It can mean different things to different people and at different times.

So what is music to me? A motivator, an emotion seeker, a stress reliever, an inspiration, and I can go on writing. Music is as natural as the ocean waves, as the clouds in the blue sky; probably something that helps to experience ‘Heaven’ while staying grounded on earth. Music is a bond that is as natural as that between a mother and a child.

Well, I can go on endlessly writing about Music & Me. Anyways before I sign off, just a small trivia about myself. My taste for music is kinda different – listen to anything that sounds good though Rock sure dominates my life. And I would like to say just one more thing, "ROCK is forever" and it's gonna keep the world rocking!