“Its Progressive Trance music Mom,” yells my son over the din and cacophony of electronic clanging or whatever it might be at a decibel that would surely have me go deaf. “Yes, I know... I am quite aware of this,” I retort back. He guffaws while I try to run out of the car even though the music has dulled my senses and I seem to be in a hypnotic state. “Why can’t you listen to good ol’ Pink Floyd... Queen... Dire Straits... That’s called music!” But my mumbling is lost in Tiesto’s latest remix.
Don’t get me wrong... It is not that I detest Trance music. I enjoy it when the ambience is right...like say while I am soaking in the sun and sand in Goa for example, sipping Margaritas and swaying into a lessened consciousness! But definitely not during a city drive weaving in and out through maddening traffic snarls. This conversation has become a regular feature whenever my son and I head out together. The prickly issues thus being: I don’t get to drive... I don’t get to play my choice of music and I also end up sitting on the edge of my seat during the whole trip!
I’ve grown up between the rock, disco and pop music stages so obviously my taste in music is more sophisticated and definitely on a much higher level if I may add! I know music transcends all emotion and every generation comes with its own genre of music that needs to be appreciated and I do. I am a music buff but it is just that I am partial to music that my generation basks in.
The tussle of music takes me back to my childhood and the long drives we did every time my Dad was posted out and during vacations. We always drove, i.e. the 5 of us - Mom, Dad, my sister et ‘Moi’ and last but not the least, the most important member...the family dog! There was a rule back then that we would all get turns to play our choice of cassettes on the car stereo and that helped pass time, along with the numerous car games. Dad usually played Gazals by Begum Akhtar, Anup Jalota or Jagjeet and Chitra Singh including songs from really old movies that would have my sister and me rolling our eyes. I don’t think it is a figment of my imagination but I often saw our Cocker-Spaniel doing the same! Mum being a pianist would put on her cassettes of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Chopin. When it all got too much for us, we would start playing imaginary pianos in the rear seat accompanied by head movements and this helped speed up to our turn.
Bliss was when... ‘Top of the Pops’ was played full blast or as loud as Dad would allow the volume level to go up. Cyndi Lauper, Mj, Madonna, Duran Duran... The list is endless of course and belting out these chart-busters had its own thrill. Remember Kajagoogoo... The Cars... Men at Work... Modern talking!! My all-time favourite those days being Joan Jett and I was more partial to her than the others as our hair-styles matched!! Even though we moved from one era of music to another, good old Rock was what we remained faithful to and still are to this day.
I cringe when remixes are played and I flinch when Bieber whines. But I am not: ‘Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young To Die’ but maybe just ‘Born To Be Wild’ and sane enough to also appreciate the mark Indus Creed has made in their contribution to Rock in this country.
Music was...is...and always will be the voice of the soul!