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Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Norah Jones or Marilyn Manson?


There's something very fishy going on inside my head....that is if you believe one of my roommates.What actually happened was that he came to the room one evening to find me in bliss before his computer,the divine voice of Norah Jones flowing softly across the room(my eyes were actually closed in rapture).At this point of time I should mention a couple of points for the benefit of the reader-
1.My roommate is a lifelong metal maniac-He has Iron Maiden for breakfast,Marilyn Manson for lunch,and Black Sabbath for dinner. Pegged on by his sheer enthusiasm,I had actually began to enjoy these hitherto uncharted waters(for me).Only I hadn't counted on the fact that my roommate saw me as a fresh recruit in the metal brotherhood.
2. He thinks soul,gospel,country, jazz,fusion or heaven forbid,soft rock is meant for girls and sissies(Rap and Hip-Hop are the only honourable alternative to metal).And to play any one of the aforementioned genres of music on his computer deserves nothing short of capital punishment.
Anyway,after I received the inevitable verbal lashing,and the sanctity of his machine was restored("Hallowed Be Thy Name" an old Maiden song blaring at full volume,for the benefit of the entire wing),I set about thinking,are music genres really so closely related to personality traits?This was also because not more than a couple of days ago,after a friend asked me to listen to a song she really liked,I commented that it wasn't quite the stuff I expected her to listen.My friend said the same thing which I later told my roommate-we are not what we listen,and it is quite impossible to guess what someone listens to,if you don't actually know it for a fact.
Moreover,there is no conflict between genres,as my roommate would have me believe.I have always had a very heterogeneous and eclectic taste in music.Depending on my mood,I listen to anything from Pink Floyd,Rolling Stones,The Beatles,The Doors,Jimi Hendrix,Bob Dylan,Elvis,Michael Jackson to more recent acts like U2,Coldplay,Norah Jones,Joss Stone,James Blunt,Keane,Bryan Adams,Green day,Linkin Park,Yanni,Enigma and God knows how many,many more...........Also,a six-year association with Indian classical music has ensured that I have a soft spot for classical instrumental music.
And what true movie buff is not a fan of the golden oldies Kishore,Asha,Rafi and all the rest? A.R.Rahman,recreating that same magic today,is also an all-time favourite of mine.
So what does that make me? Am I an angelic,smiling Rafi-like figure, a booze-guzzling,cocaine snifffing Ozzy Osbourne? Do I think I am the Antichrist(like Marilyn Manson did) or do I donate millions of dollars for Africa's poor(like Bono of U2 did)?The answers are never simple.......all I can say is
Let the music play!

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