The Contemporary Geniuses

Music is too vast to ever have a conclusive answer but the debate is worth each argumentative thought that comes to your mind .

I am strictly going to talk about musicians that have moved me in the last ten years or so . I know it is a limited time-frame but its one that has kept me going.

1) Let me begin with a band that has captured my imagination . When I first heard 'Karma Police', I was gripped by the song. I could not get enough . I heard it over and over again and the one thing that stood out was the voice . It was special , strange , soulful.

The RADIOHEAD sound is unique , unmatchable but THOM YORKE makes them click.

Thom Yorke is numero uno for me . What a man . He practically eats , sleeps ,walks,talks,shits,scrathes , bathes music . Yes, He looks bizarre , Yes , He is hostile towards certain fellow musicians , Yes, He's controversy's bitch , He's uneasy, rude , impolite but he is a genuis . Period. His lyrics are introspective , surreal , enthralling and at times , alienating. But they are so true to any an adolescent time when you are constantly looking for an answer in something,anything.

If you still do not agree that THOM YORKE is a genius , you Must youtube ''thom yorke plays 'the clock' and judge for yourself!

2) Chris Martin - Everyone has heard of him , Everyone revers him. How can you not ? The man is humble , can sing ( pun intended) , can play an instrument or two (guitar, piano , mandolin, clarinet, harmonica, bass, organ, glockenspiel) , writes breathtakingly brilliant lyrics , lyrics that range from being sad to being euphoric and videos that 'put a smile on your face ' . There is a subtle undertone to every video that is connected to the lyrics which is rare considering bands like they're videos to be labelled 'absurd, ambiguous' and when he is bored , he's singing to Gwyneth Paltrow( which I personally envy) . But Chris is quite blunt with what he is trying to portray with every song and the end of the song you can hear yourself saying 'What a song! '

Brit-rock is the future of alternative-music and COLDPLAY have just begun . Chris' song-writing is motivational , cheerful and realistic . Chris sounds equally good when he is live which is admirable. Chris is a huge RADIOHEAD fan which helps but their music's world apart . COLDPLAY's music is dominated by the piano whereas Radiohead's is dominated by Yorke's crooning!

Chris Martin does not intoxicate himself with the booze or the nicotine and hence the question, Where does he get his 'Spark' ?

The answer is fairly simple because he is the shit.

3) Norah Jones - Norah Jones is a breath of fresh air to music . She has the voice of an angel . Her music is relaxing , soothing , calming . Leaving the innumerable Grammy's aside , all the fame , adulation , hype is indisputable. Music is in her genes. She sings blues, jazz , folk and country effortlessly. Her voice encapsulates her music . Norah Jones is this decade's answer to Joan Baez.

Norah has , arguably, the greatest female voice in music .

Keep singing Norah , You are gifted and a blessing in disguise.

4) Jack Johnson - What would you call someone who surfs , is a famous musician , helps the environment and is a devout family-man .

The Answer - Jack Johnson.

Johnson has single-handedly revolutionised the soft-rock genre . His acoustic sound is so simple yet exceptional . Jack Johnson songs are pleasant melodies . They are poems . His music reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel for a strange reason. Maybe, it is because of the constant love themes , the strong political messages .

Jack Johnson loves his family and has always maintained that he would put them before work , fame and fortune . Who said Musicians do not make good role-models ?

5) Eminem - You would be lying to me if you said you loved music and never wanted to rap like eminem. His music exudes power. He wears his heart on his sleeve . His lyrics are morose, spiteful ,morbid , titillating and blunt yet honest.

He's a dedicated , respected rapper on both the coasts. His lyrics get under your skin and hit you hard . 'The Eminem Show ' has to be one of the greatest albums of all time !

Eminem still got it 11 years on . Eminem is an addict of sorts .

Personally , judge the man for his music and not his habits.

6) Eddie Vedder - The most recognizable voice in the industry . You cannot not ( use of double-negation, Aren't I cool? ) Love that voice .

As a teenager seeking love ,acceptance in this bad,bad world you tend to get attached to the 'grunge' scene . Kurt started it , Vedder gave it new meaning . Pearl Jam lyrics were rebellious , hateful , painful and Eddie sang them like he felt them within himself.

The Video for 'World-wide suicide' killed it .

Further proof of his genius is his solo career . 'Into the wild' album is plain orgasm and highlights the fact that he is at the peak of his powers . The future's just going to get 'Vedder' !

7) John Mayer - I was completely blown away when I first heard 'Your body is a wonderland' , the acoustic sound coupled with that Dave Matthews-like voice , Perfection. Ever since , I have closely followed John Mayer's rise to fame . What makes John Mayer special is that fact he is an awesome guitarist, too . 'Room for Squares' was his stepping-stone and since , he has been bigger,better whilst constantly battling personal anxiety issues . The reason I respect John Mayer and hold him in such high regard is for he has not fallen apart , deteriorated but excelled unlike a few other musicians whose personal demons have overwhelmed their career.

To sum it up , Mayer has nailed 'Free falling' , one of the greatest songs ever written and composed by Tom petty .

8) DJ Tiesto - This article would have been incomplete if I did not mention Tiesto. Tiesto is absolutely everywhere . Trance , house , call it what you like is slowly taking over the music scene . Its almost becoming the 'psychedelic' scene of the 21st century with Tiesto at the heart of it . Tiesto's music get you jumping , dancing , screaming at the same time. The effect is sensational , exhilarating.

Dj Tiesto is literally worshipped back in the netherlands .

Trance is here to stay , Tiesto is here to rule and we'd still be 'in search of sunrise '.

I would also like to mention a few others like Dave Matthews , Beth Gibbons , Iron and Wine , Skye Edwards , all brilliant but the above eclectic mix stands out .

Let the music play.

The Curse of the 27

There is a single statistic that connects the lives of Janis Joplin, Jimmi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Brian Jones . Apart from the fact that they were brilliant musicians in their own individual way , they all died aged 27 .

Each death was curious , surprising and shocking.

Brian Jones - To begin with , Brian jones could play the Guitar, harmonica, keyboard, mellotron, sitar ,tambura, saxophone ,slide guitar, marimba , banjo , oboe and a few other instruments . Jones' was 'instrumental' when it came to 'The Rolling Stones' unique sound (pun intended) . His multi-talents and signature sound defined many stones' numbers. But Brain Jones always felt alienated from the band . With the arrival of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger who slowly but steadily grabbed all the spotlight , jones grew estranged . This led to his departure from the band . He performed with high-profile artists such Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Jimmi Hendrix. Jones' music heavily influenced Jim Morrison who later wrote 'tightrope ride ' for him .

Jones was known for his flamboyance . Prior to his death , Jones' mental state was often questionable. On the 3rd of july 1969 , he was found at the bottom of his swimming pool,motionless. His death was labelled as 'death due to misadventure' and an autopsy showed an enlarged liver and heart due to excessive drug and alcohol use . The actual cause of his death is still uncertain. He died aged 27.

Janis Joplin - Janis Lyn Joplin was an american singer-songwriter . Personally, she is one of the greatest singers I've ever heard . Throughout her career, Jopilin performed with three bands , 'The Big Brother and The Holding Company , 'Kozmic Blues Band' and 'Full-tilt boogie Band' . Joplin let the drugs and the booze over-power her supreme talent . Her favourite was the 'Southern Comfort' (trust me , its smooth) . Janis Joplin was an awesome performer who often connected with her audience intensely.

However, her Heroin use grew. On the 4th Of October 1970, she was found dead in her apartment . She died of drug-overdose . She died aged 27.

Various songs have been dedicated to the largely engimatic Joplin and her life . Don Mclean , most notably, pays tribute to her in his famous song 'American Pie ' . Even today , I'm touched by the depth and quality of her voice as I listen to 'piece of my heart' .

Jim Morrison - Jim Morrison was a singer, song-writer , flimmaker and a poet. To me , He was a self-destructive genius. In my opinion, Jim's voice is the greatest ever. Jim Morrison personified the term 'rockstar' . He was stlyish, candid, a showman, scandalous, charismatic , outspoken, a drug-addict and often at conflict with himself . Besides this , He wrote abstarct lyrics and he was at times, single-handedly 'The Doors' . Jim was a womaniser and led an eccentric life-style.

Jim Morrison was found dead in his apartment in is bathtub on the 3rd of July 1971 . No autopsy was performed . The cause of his death is widely believed to be a Heart-attack. He died aged 27.

Morrison will always be considered one of the most popular/influential singer/songwriters in rock history.

Jimmi Hendrix - Jimmi Hendrix was an american guitarist, singer and songwriter . Hendrix is widely reguarded as the Greatest Guitarists of all time. There is absoluetly nothing he could not do with his guitar (including play with his teeth) . He made famous the 'Fender Stratocaster' .

Jimmi Hendrix grew up through poverty and hardships which was the result of his shy, sensitive nature . Hendrix performed with Buddy Miles, The Isley brothers and most notably, Little Richard who was a steady influence throughtout his growing career. Jimmi Hendrix used LSD frequently but claimed not to have used cannabis until he met a certain artist later on in his life.

Jimmi Hendrix was an influential figure in the 60's Psychedelic Rock scene .

He was found dead in his apartment on the 18th september 1970. He asphyxiated from consuming large amount of sleeping pills . He died aged 27 . The alleagtions of murder by his manager have been floating around since his death . Jimmi Hnedrix's posthumous fame continues to grow because of his on-stage performances and incredible guitar sounds.

Kurt Cobain - Kurt Cobain was an american singer-songwriter of the famous band 'Nirvana' .

Kurt had an exceptional voice that perfectly suited the growing 'grunge' scene in the early 90's .

Kurt Cobain believed that ''Music comes first, lyrics comes second'' . Kurt wrote most of his lyrics based on personal experiences , relationships and his thoughts and beliefs. His band 'NIRVANA' were deeply influential in bringing forward the 'grunge' scene.

Melancholy is aften associated with Kurt Cobain and his music . He lead an often depressing life which began from the time his parents divorced when he was 8 . Throughout his short-lived career he battled with illness, depression , fame , public image and his musician wife, Courtney Love.

On the 5th of April 1994 , Cobain was found dead in his Lake Washington apartment by an electrician . He had commited suicide . Traces of cocaine and valium were found in his blood along a shotgun and a suicide note . Cobain did not love himself at all , He felt everything he did was insufficient which led to his death. The expectations he had for himself were insurmountable.He died aged 27.

Kurt Cobain's loss is still felt in the music world . Along with being a great singer , He was also one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

So, if you are a musician and you're partying on the eve of ure 27th Birthday , think carefully before you inject , snort , drink or inhale anything illegal.

Harry Chapin - Cat's in the Cradle

This song holds great significance in my life. It has an amusing story attached to it. While at my flight school , shooting an instrument approach at Oceanside, which was by no means ''easy'' , 'cats in the cradle' was a song that I always sung. Since the time 'cats in the cradle' was added to my checklist , I always nailed the approach . Strange ? Unbelievable ? Its not like the song has a super-natural power , its just 'felt right' to sing it and it had an overall positive effect !

What does Music really mean to you ??
Yeah, I've heard a lot of 'Its an indispensable part of my life ' and ' I can't live without it ' and also, funnily , 'music + oxygen = life . Somehow , this does not justify the true meaning and essence of music .
And I can prove this because , 1) Music is not an indispensable part of one's life, Water is and 2 ) deaf people live their lives just fine .
Since , this is My blog , to ME, personally , Music is an extension of my personality.
Its an extension that I do not expect the outside world to understand completely.
I realised that I was intensely drawn to the power of music from very early on.
As an ignorant 10 year old listening to KISHORE KUMAR , I had absolutely no clue as to what he was trying to portray through his music but I knew that It felt right just listening to it. Although , I always complained to myself about the one-speakered tape-recorder that used to play his music but it put me to sleep well enough. Now that I had found my perfect can of worms I knew could catch good fish which led me to explore more music. The whole Bollywood scene was absolutely crass and down-market but I was not let down by the pop scene with SILK ROUTE, SUNITA RAO, SHUBHA MUDGAL and Luckily, LUCKY ALI( NO pun intended) was not partying too hard at zenzi and actually making good music, ' O SANAM, KITNE HASEEN ZINDAGI'(MALAIKA ARORA) , 'DEKHA HAI AISE BHI' . My foolish attarction towards 'backstreet Boys' was short-lived as I realised they're just a bunch of men trying to sell themselves to young,vulnerable girls and that their music is pretty meaningless. But CELINE DION was more than making up for the pop-rubbish with her brand of soulful music along the effervescent RICKY MARTIN doling out his dance-pop tunes. This led to my mirror having expansive laughs at my expenses because I tried various times to move like him in 'Maria' . This had an overall positive effect on the way life and times were shaping up for me then .
And then Rock happened which changed my perspective . I did not want to be a rockstar , I just naturally thought like one.
PINK FLOYD is musical orgasm , QUEEN is Freedom , SIMON AND GARFUNKEL is poetry , LED ZEPPELIN is a great landing , THE BEATLES is a like nice bite of a wholesome double-double , JACK JOHNSON is like doing the perfect DME arc , NORAH JONES is just NORAH JONES , THOM YORKE is dope , BILLY JOEL is instantaneous joy , COLDPLAY is hot-shit and BOB DYLAN saved me. The Music I listen to is eclectic but the above listed is the most prominent that I listen to a regular basis to 'feel good' . Music transcends to me a level of indescribable comfort . It soothes emotions . It gives relief . It helps me to think ahead. It bails me out.
These are a list of songs that naturally change mood :- 'LIKE A ROLLING STONE' , 'I WANT TO BREAK FREE' 'MAMMIA MIA' , 'HIGHWAY TO HELL' , 'DOWN IN A HOLE ' , YELLOW SUBMARINE', 'HEY JUDE' , 'PIANO MAN' , 'WE DIDNT START THE FIRE' , 'NO RAIN' , ' ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER, ' THE HURRICANE' , 'BUFFALO SOLDIER' , ' CLOCKS, 'WALK OF LIFE' to name a selected few.
While on a plane to texas, caught amongst romantic quandary and anxiety of a new life, I remember vividly listening to 'LEARNING TO FLY ' and then 'TIME' and with the completion of both these songs I was overwhelmed with viguor . Following a chain of unfortunate events , I found my myself in a Grey-hound , headed to a new state, probably the lowest ebb of my life so far but as Brain Johnson was vociferously singing 'HIGHWAY TO HELL' , I realised that we are all more or less on the same path so why not enjoy the journey till inevitability . There are many more instances of musical inspirations but I would not want to elaborate for the sole reason that my literary skills are quite dull and boring as you can see!
Music has emphatically formed a major part of my philosophy in life . I can imagine myself listening to 'I WANT TO BREAK FREE'(my favourite song of all time) at 75 and still relating to the song and wanting to break free from the shackles of something.
Music will always be my aeroplane, my escape from materialism . Even when I am pensive , there is a tune ringing in my head . This feeling is interminable . Each song gives me a visual of what I desire to do. I hope I have echoed atleast a few common sentiments here.
Music makes a direct relation of every emotion I experience , most powerful of them being love.
So, Even today, as I ponder what love has in store for me , I just sing the two most crucial lines from 'CHASING CARS' and I believe.
Love will keep us alive
Peace V