Tuesday, December 25th, 2007
“Music is a discipline, and a mistress of order and good manners, she makes the people milder and gentler, more moral and more reasonable”- Martin Luther (1483 - 1546)
When a human being born, the first thing he or she experiences is the surrounding sound. From then to the end of life we live in a world which is full of sound. But there is a basic difference between hearing and listening. What we here is not exactly what we listen. While hearing can be called as a process of entertaining different source of sound, the listening is none other than an art. It’s an art of acquiring happiness through different sounds. It needs lots of attention, a beautiful mind to see the beauty of sound through ones mind, a great adoptability to feel and understand that beauty.
Music is a mental food. It caters our taste bud of our mind. If delicious food is to tongue then good music is to our beautiful mind. To get the joy of eating someone needs to have a tasty approach for tasty food. Likewise to be a good listener one needs to develop a very sensitive penchant for music. Since listening is always different from hearing, someone must be able to hone own self to be a good listener. Since to acquire and adopt a sensibility for any kind of art we need to train and learn, we must develop and give a shape to our mind so much so that we can appreciate and capture the mood of music. To go deep in to the mood and essence of music one must open up their mind to the aesthetics of music and then devote the whole mind set and psychology to it. Music is a very exquisite form of performing art. So to be a part of it, the listeners also must be very sensitive. To grow that sensitivity, to understand the philosophy of music and to enjoy the beauty of music, at the out set one must go through the conditioning of inner feelings towards it. One must be literate enough to be a good listener. It is the literacy of adopting and acquiring pulse and sense for good music. Music itself has its own grading and class. So it’s another angle, what kind of music would we prefer to make our mind delighted.
There are different genres of music. And every genre has its own characteristics. Genre to genre different music has different tastes. So it is equally important which class is to attend. Listening Beethoven or Mozart’s symphony can not be compared to listening Rock music or Blues. Listening Jazz is different from listening any folk music. Indian classical music is different from western music. So it’s all about a listener’s choice and his passion which way to turn around and become sensible for the art of listening music. Whatever it might be, the focal point of adopting and mastering the art of listening music is to develop and create a highly sensitive mind. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body”. So to feel every freshness in mind one needs to bath a fresh for the art of listening music, what is sometime referred to as the elixir of human life.
Tags: Art, Beethoven, Blues, Folk, Happiness, Jazz, Listening, Martin Luther, Mind, Mozart, Music, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Rock, Sound
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Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
“How can you consider flower power outdated? The essence of my lyrics is the desire for peace and harmony. That’s all anyone has ever wanted. How could it become outdated?”- Robert Plant, lead singer, Led Zeppelin
On 10th of December legendary rock band Led Zeppelin performed their old magic in O2 Arena in London. Like a vintage wine they enthralled and mesmerized 20 thousand people with same vigor they had some 20 years ago when they had their last stage show in 1980.Led Zeppelin is one of that rare kind of rock band who still reckon with their incomparable voice and music. Defying age and time they decided to come back where they were belong to, the stage where under the illusion of light they made every rock & roll mad twist and twirl with the amazing voice of Robert Plant and eternal guitar riffs of Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. With almost, the same power and energetic tempos of all the old songs, Led Zeppelin made another history which they have been a part of itself. The legacy of the golden age of rock & roll still goes on and gracing the whole rock & roll aficionado all over the world. They performed Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Since I’ve been Loving You, Kashmir, Good Times Bad Times, Misty Mountain Hop and many more from their legendary bouquet of songs with their iconic thunderous energy and urge to set fire on the stage and the fans.
Like Led Zeppelin, across the globe those old veteran rock & roll legends and bands that started translating their musical passion into musical phenomenon still gigging defying old age, odd and bad times. One of the legendary rock band of all time Scorpions now out for a world tour with their Humanity Hour began their journey long way back to 1965 when the then teenage German boy Rudolf Schenker tried to catch his dreams of playing guitar and singing. It became Scorpions 1969 when his younger brother Michael Schenker and a singer who later became a legendary vocalist of all time by the name Klaus Meine. From their first album Lonesome Crow in 1972 to their latest Humanity Hour I, it’s really a long journey but for the decades they have been making their fans spellbound with their music. During their album Animal Magnetism Klaus Meine suffered a throat problem and he had to undergo surgery in his voice box. There was doubt whether Meine would able to sing again. But with all effort and god’s grace Meine recovered and bounded back to the stage not only for the moment but till today he is crooning the whole rock & roll fan hood with his phenomenal voice. Despite many ins and outs of members Scorpions is still regarded as one of the finest rock band the world ever have. Though at present they are on world tour with comparatively two new members bassist Pawel Macioda and drummer James Kottak the old trio of Rudolf, Meine and Matthias Jabs have become legends of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Outside America and Britain one who became history with all their prodigious talent is the Irish band U2.Formed in 1976 in Dublin this band over the years has established themselves as one of the most loved and successful band of all time. From their first studio album Boy in 1980 to the last How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in 2004 U2’s journey is one to be remembered with love. With 22 Grammy Awards they have surpassed any other bands in the history of rock & roll. Apart from their musical superlative they have become famous and earned much accolades for their concern over the eradication of poverty, disease and social injustice.
Another rock band which made us mad by their amazing stuff is none other than the Eagles, the American band who started their journey on the long road out of Eden in 1971! On 1 st of April Linda Ronstadt recruited Glen Frey, Don Hanley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner for her touring band and they toured with Linda for two months. Later encouraged by Linda they decided to start their own and signed with Asylum Records, a new label started by a person who himself later became part of rock & roll history as David Geffen. Their first single Take It Easy reached 12 th position in the US billboard followed by Witchy Woman at 9th. With so many famous songs like legendary Hotel California, Life in the Fast Lane, Tequila Sunrise,I Can’t Tell You Why, James Dean, Heartache Tonight, Best of my Life, One of these Night, New Kid in Town the Eagles became one of the most outstanding rock band of all time. Like other famous bands Eagles also could not escape breaking of band. In 1980 all they had were over. One of the founders Glenn Frey later wrote to Don Henley that he started the band, he got tired of that and he decided to quit. But music did not let them to go into oblivion. After almost a decade they reunited again in 1994 and performed live at Warner Burbank Studio. They presented their fans one more fabulous album titled The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over. And in 1998 this legendary band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.They still did not stop and this year they have released their first studio album since 1979 titled Long Road Out of Eden. Its title song How Long has already reached top one position in U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
Apart from these bands those who graced the history of rock & roll with their charismatic talent and mastery some of the individuals also still gigging in the scenario of world of music. Eric Clapton, Elton John, Carlos Santana, Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, former Pink Floydian Roger Water and David Gilmour to name a few. In the words of Scorpions they are still rocking like a hurricane. Still we take the stairway to heaven and get the solace with these legends’ amazing music and their eternal musical demeanor. Like the old wine with time they become more and more tastier and pleasant ever before.
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Tags: Clapton, David Gilmour, Eagles, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Rock & Roll, Roger Water, Santana Phil Collins, Scorpions, U2
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