Musical musings

Music has become an integral part of my life, definitely more so in the last few years. The more I traveled , the more I was exposed to the different forms of music and this has definitely expanded my horizons beyond the realm of Carnatic and Indian film music that I was very familiar with during my youth.

Though the blunt truth is that I still know only a little bit of a few things in music, I have come a long way from my parochial teenage days in understanding and appreciating various realms of world music such as Western Classical, Ghazals, Qawwalis and the Indian classical & film music scene.

Over the years, I have also been learning music ( quite irregularly due to my travel related to work) to enable me to appreciate both the aesthetics and intelligence behind the compositions.

For someone who listens to a lot of music, I hardly blog about it. I intend to change that in the next few weeks and this post can be a treated as a "disclaimer
" for that. I am still an amateur but hopefully my posts would kindle some fire amongst other amateurs and like-minded people.

Rainbow Quiz - Identify the personality - Week 49

Here is the next weekly "Rainbow" quiz , where I would be giving 7 clues (Hence the name Rainbow) about a personality. Try to discover the person in the least number of clues . You can either leave the answer as a comment / email me . Feedback/ suggestions welcome. Googling is not preferred but then its just for fun and so go ahead if you need to.

One of the most interesting places that I have visited is the EMP ( Experience Music Project) - an exhibition dedicated to music in Seattle, US.A large portion of the memorabilia in this museum is dedicated to "X" - Arguably the greatest guitarist of all time.

clue # 1 : "X" was born in Seattle, USA. He did not graduate from high school and was expelled for getting poor grades.

clue # 2 : "X" took an interest in music, drawing influence from virtually every major artist at the time. Entirely self-taught, "X"'s inability to read music made him concentrate even harder on the music he heard.

clue # 3 : The first band that he formed was the "King Kasuals".For the next three years, he struggled to make a name and performed mostly in low-key circuits in the South (US).

clue # 4 : However, he was brought by Chandler (Bassist at 'The Animals' , who later became his manager) to London who then helped him form a new band - The "X" experience. He found immediate fame in Europe.

clue # 5 : "X"'s popularity eventually saw him headline the Woodstock music festival held in the US in 1969. Although a number of the world's most talented and popular musicians were invited to the festival, including The Who, Santana, the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, "X" was considered to be the festival's main attraction and received the top billing.

clue # 6 : At the young age of 27, he was found dead in the basement flat of the Samarkand Hotel in London. He died amid circumstances which have never been fully explained.The popular theory is that he simply misjudged the potency of the sleeping pills, and asphyxiated in his sleep.

clue # 7 : He has been voted by Rolling Stone, Guitar World, and a number of other magazines and polls as the best electric guitarist of all time."X" was ranked number 3 on VH1's list of 100 Best Pop Artists of all time, behind the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

Who is X?

Rainbow Quiz - Identify the personality - Week 26

Here is the next weekly "Rainbow" quiz , where I would be giving 7 clues (Hence the name Rainbow) about a personality. Try to discover the person in the least number of clues . You can either leave the answer as a comment / email me . Feedback/ suggestions welcome. Googling is not preferred but then its just for fun and so go ahead if you need to.

I distinctly remember the incident.I was travelling from Mumbai to Pune in my Manager's car with him (I used to work in Bombay then) , when he played this CD. It was a live recording of X's concert at London. I had heard only his short albums till then, but listening to this full fledged concert opened the floodgates. What a mesmerizing voice, depth and range ! I was hypnotized and his music still continues to inspire me.

clue # 1 : "X" was born in Pakistan just after the Independence.His father was a distinguished musicologist, vocalist and instrumentalist.Initially, his father did not want "X" to follow him into the music business. He had his heart set on "X" choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor.

clue # 2 : However, "X" showed such an aptitude for, and interest in music that his father finally relented and started to train him within the classical framework of Khayal. His first public performance was at his father's funeral ceremony.

clue # 3 : "X"'s incredible voice and his complete mastery of the genre made him a superstar in the Islamic world, especially in Pakistan and India. He sang in Urdu and his native Punjabi, as well as Persian.

clue # 4 : "X" also reached out to the Western audiences with a couple of fusion records produced by Canadian guitarist Michael Brook.

clue # 5 : Shortly before his death, "X" also composed music for a Bollywood movie in which he also appeared.

clue # 6 : According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "X" holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist—a total of 125 albums.

clue # 7: "X" died of a sudden cardiac arrest at a relatively young age of 48 leaving his fans shocked worldwide.

Who is X?