Hey, Mr DJ

Hey, Mr DJ

In this age of enhanced communication, music is probably the one force that has the potential to unite an entire generation, regardless of nationality, belief, race or sex. This fact is especially evident on any college campus, with countless afficionados tuned in to their walkmans, enjoying their music in whatever form it may have taken.

The music of choice for most dedicated music fans is largely Rock. “It’s always been the music of the youth”, says a St Xavier’s student, “right from the 50’s when Bill Haley, Elvis and those guys came on the scene. Rock ’n Roll has always been about rebellion.”

Victor, a hostelite at Wilson College is a big fan of Classic Rock, which covers everything before the 80’s. “I love all those bands... The Beatles, The Doors, Led Zeppelin”, he says, “There aren’t any bands like that anymore. They really rocked.” Merrill Sequeira from Xavier’s agrees, “That was the time when Rock was at it’s highest, man. Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, Eric Clapton... I mean, these guys were good!”

Vitek Goel from HR College has a slightly different outlook, “Sure, the ’60s and ’70s were cool, but there are great Rock musicians even today. You just have to look for them... with all the boy-bands and everything, they just aren’t as popular here as they are abroad. Musicians like Kid Rock and Papa Roach, for example. John Lennon’s still my fave, though.”

Heavy Metal is also very popular, as may be evidenced from the myriad T-Shirts with names of classic bands like Black Sabbath, as well as contemporary ones like Sepultura. Ankur Dutta from Xavier’s, however, prefers more mellow stuff. “I do listen to a lot of metal, but my favourite band of all-time is U2,” he says, “I think Paul Simon is really cool too. I can’t stand all that boy-band garbage, though.”

Almost all dedicated music fans seem to hate the whole boy-band/girl-band scene. “I mean, they’re just a group of people put together by music companies, who get other people to write songs for them and who don’t do anything much but dance. You call that a band?” says Ronojoy Bhuyan from Wilson, “I hate them for what they’ve done to the music scene. Their music doesn’t really say anything... nothing at all!” This was followed by a string of expletives describing what he’d do if he ever met a boy-band. “I think it’s all fake,” says Aneesha from Jai Hind College, “People listen to that J Lo. stuff because all their friends do, until they finally start to like it. Give me Eminem anyday!” Karna from HR College, however, says that he and his friends “listen to boy/girl bands because they have nice, catchy beats, and are playing everywhere, anyway.” Shiraz Engineer, also from HR, says he loves to watch boyband videos because of the way they dance. Either way, boy-bands still continue to be very popular with a largemajority of the college crowd.

A number of students, albeit small, is also deeply into Indian Classical music. The Indian Music Group at St Xavier’s College organises a musical festival every year in January, which is always greatly attended. “I don’t really understand Indian Music,” says Anjali from Xavier’s, “but I go anyway because I like listening to it and it’s fun to go with your friends.”

And where does Indipop figure in all this? Not very high, apparently. It’s not very widely listened to, unless it’s of exceptional quality. “Most of the stuff put out is, you know... give me a break!” says Niyati from Sophia College, eloquently.

Older music is another story altogether. There is a large legion of fans, especially for artists like Kishore Kumar. Sachit from Xavier’s says, “Kishore Kumar was one of the greatest artists we’ve had. He’s not even fully appreciated... people remember his antics and everything, which is okay, that was also a part of what he was. But he was much more. He was a great singer and composer. He’s my all-time favourite”. Singers like Mohammed Rafi also seem to be greatly appreciated by college students.

And then there’s Western Classical. Yes, college students who trip on the Beatles also trip on Beethoven. More and more college students are discovering the intricacies of Mozart and Wagner, among other composers. “Beethoven is my favourite”, says Devopriyo Das, “I’ve been listening to him since school. I can listen to some of his pieces over and over again... the Eroica, for one.” Ranjit Chawla from Thadomal Shahani Engineering College feels the same way. “My favourite classical piece is the Fur Elise, he says.

So there you have it. Something for everyone. Kind of reminds you of those lines by Don McLean:

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died
With any luck, it never will. And now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to listen to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor.