Small window of opportunity!

101 Albums You Need To Hear Before I Die (2023)
Author: Martin Vengadesan


There used to be a time, back in the 90s, when I used to wait eagerly for the weekly entertainment pullout from a mainstream newspaper. Martin Vengadesan’s fortnightly article on rock and roll music and juicy titbits behind the people and bands that hit the charts and excited music enthusiasts are a sure pull factor. Infused in the writings was his apparent political leanings towards the left.

It must have had quite a following as the column went on for quite a while. Then, out of sight and out of mind. I went on to do other things in life and just remembered all about the articles when I met the author a few years ago in a reading group.

Who better person to narrate the juicy little backstories behind the singers and bands of generations that passed? This must be the quintessential go-to book to remind us and travel us back to the era when music was religion, politics, freedom, empowerment and expression. Now, it is consumerism, exhibitionism and short-lived.

Going through the various doyens over the years in the book, from the blues singers of Neesie Smith and BB King to the 60s heartthrobs of Bob Dylan, Beatles and Doors to heavy metal heavyweights of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Led Zeppelin, one thing seems to be a recurrent theme.

With the author

Flashes of brilliance only manifest occasionally. Good times do not last forever. Happy hours come with a closing time. In the correct ambience, with the right company of similar-minded lunatics, magic can materialise. The radiance has a window period. Within that short chance of opportunity, one has to churn out materials that would define his legacy.

With success, attention and the intoxicating lure of being in the limelight, the drive to stay on top of the game intensifies. In trickles in intoxicants and stimulants to numb the pain and stir creativity, respectively. The result is always the same: the higher the rise, the harder the fall.

On a personal note, I would vouch for a similar experience. At that time, of course, with the raging endorphins and stupor of self-satisfaction, I thought good times would never end. It is funny how man never learns from history. In hindsight, everybody is Ramanujam, and the hindsight vision is 20/20. We had a good thing going. We scaled hills, scurried through foreign country sides and were the envy of many. We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun. Who would have thought a minuscule of a wrong step would have brought the whole house of cards crumbling down? We were all too blind to see.

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Elvis has left the building!

Elvis (Disney +; 2022)
Director: Baz Luhrmann

Elvis experts generally agree Baz Luhrmann's depiction is sprinkled generously with artistic licence and liberal truth-bending. It can be said that the movie was made to appease the woke generation and to rebrand Elvis to the newer generation who had not heard of the King of Rock and Roll. The message behind the movie was that Elvis Presley appropriated black music and the real heroes of rock and roll were the numerous black legends who never had their moments under the spotlight because of the bigoted attitude of the people then.

In reality, Elvis did sound like a black singer. Growing up in the deep south, he drew inspiration from the black gospel church and helped popularise rock and roll music.

The narration of the whole story is from the point of view of Elvis' notorious long-time manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Colonel Parker is a shady character who had allegedly illegally immigrated from Netherland and was not a colonel. He, however, had a short stint in the US Army. Apparently, one of the reasons he opposed Elvis' international tours was that Parker did not have or could not get a passport. He later went on to be convicted of defrauding the Presley estates.

Austin Butler plays the King.

The film went on to take artistic liberty to paint a rather cosy relationship between Elvis and some of the black singers of his time. In particular, it implies that BB King and the King (of Rock and Roll) had a first name kind of a relationship. In modern times, it would be akin to having him on his speed dial. Purists insist that the closest they came together was probably being caught in a photograph together.

The film tries to paint the idea that the public perception of black culture was that of decadence. That a white boy singing in the tune of a black voice was akin to promoting the black style of living amongst the whites. In reality, however, just 30 years previously, the nation was hailing the Harlem Renaissance. This New York City neighbourhood went on to become a Black Cultural mecca to showcase the golden age in African American culture, manifesting in music, stage performance and art.

Tom Hanks as Col. Tom Parker

Elvis' trademark of gyration of hips was viewed as a big crime and kicked a lot of dirt in his days. It was discussed extensively in the dailies. Somewhat erroneously, the movie seems to imply that Elvis volunteered to be enlisted in the US Army as pro quid quo against incarceration for lewd acts in public. It seems that Elvis was drafted, and Parker encouraged this to paint the image of Elvis as an all-American regular guy.

Life is never easy, even for the King of Rock and Roll. Coming from n underprivileged background, the stigma refuses to go away. His brand of music was referred to hillbilly music by a newspaper. Elvis' father, a truck driver with whom Elvis was not really close, had a criminal record and was perhaps easily manipulated by the Colonel for self-interest. Elvis' mother, with whom Elvis had a strong bond, died relatively early in his career. His stint in the Army, it seems, gravely depressed her. She feared losing him, just like how she had lost Elvis' twin at birth.

The stress of being in showbiz obviously had its toll on Elvis. The razzmatazz of fame added strain to his marriage. His philandering ways broke down his marriage. He had to resort to a cocktail of prescription drugs to keep up with the gruelling challenges. This combination of polypharmacy gave him bad constipation, and he succumbed to a myocardial infarct during straining at the toilet.

The Colonel was only interested in making money, it seems. Elvis rebelled by cutting deals with other new agents with new ideas and political statements, but the Colonel was having none of those. He had a stronghold on Elvis' affairs. His later stints at Vegas were apparently to offset Parker's gambling debts. Elvis' last years saw him a lonely man, barely alive, working hard to satiate the appetite of loyal fans.

The higher they rise, the harder they fall.

Life on fast lane

My Generation (Documentary; 2017)


This documentary is mainly about the rise and demise of the British Invasion generation. It was the time after World War 2. Euphoria was everywhere. Clement Attlee and his Labour Party gave a shot in the arm for the working class people. NHS made medical services accessible to the average Joe. Education became free. The divide between the aristocrat and the common man soon became blurred. The class demarcation became a thing of the past. Everyone has the opportunity to prosper. Clothing became democratised. The normal sombre tone of the garments became strikingly loud and short. Dressing-up was no longer to cover the bare essentials and to keep warm but became a statement of anti-establishment.

As it became to generations to come, the generation before thought that the society was heading to a path of decadence and Armageddon was nay.

Music became an annoyance to the elders. Rock and roll music could not be contained by the powers that be. The youngsters, creative as they were, even got around the legal wrangle by transmitting them from a boat as Radio Caroline.

The popular music and their new-age gurus dictated what fashion is and what is haute couture. The introduction of contraceptive pills to the general public further empowered the younger generation and especially the girls, to come out of the cocoon of being treated as second-class citizens. The young ones dictated what they wanted and were not going to take the orders of the oldies lying down.

With music appreciation also came recreational drugs. This, in essence, can be said to be the cause of the downfall of the 60s generation. Addiction, overdose and death brought this flamboyant age to its self-destruction.

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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Bohemian Rhapsody | Official Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX

Aummm…Shri…Sound…Music!

21.5.2010

Aum…Shri…Sound…Music!

In most cultures, music is synonymous with joy, celebration, victory and worship. In Indian folklore, I have heard of divine music healing the moribund and maybe raising the dead. Probably, only in the Indian (particularly South) subcontinent do you have songs sung to denote melancholy, tragedy and helplessness!

No wedding, birthday celebration, church service, temple prayers, funfair, circus, street celebration or even sports event is complete without music accompaniment. Hence, one can say that the story of music is the story of the evolution of mankind itself. Now, have you heard of the Dark Forces using their subtle ways to pull us over to the Dark Side?

From the turn of the 20th century, people have associated certain music with Satan's dark forces. Islamic fundamentalists like the Taliban also link music to evil, as it is addictive and hinders mankind from fulfilling their obligations to God. Hence, radio transmissions in Taliban Afghanistan can only comprise Quranic recitals. When 'Rock and Roll' started rolling into our radio transmissions, purists started preaching on moral decadents, Armageddon, and so forth. Elvis Presley (The Pelvis) was condemned for his socially unacceptable gyrating pelvic movements. Publications of negative news on singers' behaviour further flared up the hell-like flame of despair, e.g. with the spread of tabloid information like Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his 13-year-old first cousin and John Lennon announcing, in 1966, that at the time, the Beatles was more famous than Jesus Christ!

"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock and roll or Christianity." - said John Lennon in a 1966 interview.

In that era, the news was rife with certain Beatles songs (if played backwards) that would glorify drugs and the devil. Their association with the mystical cultures of the East gave the Believers a field day at their assault. (e.g. Lucy in the Sky of Diamond and LSD, Let it Be refer to the carefree attitude after indulging in drugs –Mother Mary denoting a colloquial term for heroin etc.) Soon after the flower power days and its sexual liberation came the lack of inhibition days of punk rock and the decadent behaviour of the heavy metal bands.

The phenomenal successes of certain songs were attributed to the fact that their performers have sold their souls (pun not intended) to the devil! In this category are songs like Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin), Heaven is a Place on Earth (Belinda Carlyle) and The Ballad of Yoko (Beatles)- where the lyrics mention 'They are going to crucify me'.

In 1978, a country-rock band named 'Eagle' led by Don Henley, came up with a massive hit song called Hotel California. This song has stood the test of time and has remained evergreen and a classic to date. Its melodious catchy song and equally skilful guitar work make it one of the most popular songs of the 20th century. Well, and okay. Do not ask the naysayers…. They will have a different story to tell you!
Here is the story now…

Apparently, the whole song and album cover are about Satan worship! The band members are allegedly members of the Church of Satan, situated in the Navajo desert in California, commonly referred to as Hotel California by its members. The album cover supposedly depicted a picture of a hotel lobby with the image of the founder of the Church of Satan (Anton LaVey). In the song, they sing of decadent lifestyles, drugs and human sacrifice (? cannibalism). Let us peruse the piece…

"Hotel California"

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy, and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven, or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle, and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

It is alleged that they are talking about a confluence of its congregation at their church in the Navajo desert, coming from all over the country.

Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here
Her mind is Tiffany twisted; she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

Is this about cross-gender dressing, decadent lifestyles and drug addiction?

So I called up the Captain,
'Please bring me my wine'
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969'
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Wine refers to the Holy Spirit. 1969 is the year of the establishment of the church of Satan. The voices refer to sacrificial souls?

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis

Alibis – new intakes?

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said, 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device.'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Are they talking about drugs, amphetamines? Killing the body, not the soul, the Holy Spirit?

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'Relax,' said the night man,
'We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave!'

The Eagles have categorically denied all of the above. It is supposed to be telling about the changing materialistic American lifestyle. To quote…
Members of the Eagles have described the album as a metaphor for the perceived decline of America into materialism and decadence. In an interview shortly before the album's release, Don Henley said:

This is a concept album, there's no way to hide it, but it's not set in the old West, the cowboy thing, you know. It's more urban this time (. . . ) It's our bicentennial year, you know, the country is 200 years old, so we figured since we are the Eagles and the Eagle is our national symbol, that we were obliged to make some kind of a little bicentennial statement using California as a microcosm of the whole United States, or the entire world if you will, and to try to wake people up and say 'We've been okay so far, for 200 years, but we're gonna have to change if we're gonna continue to be around.'

In the meantime, let the conspiracy theories come and go while we sit down and enjoy the music without a care in the world while the world outside cracks its head about nothing. Let there be eternal peace …Aum……………. Om, Shanti, Shanthi, Shanthihi….