Indie,Folk,Rock and Alternative: Light It Up

Its that time of the year again, when we are bombarded from all fronts, be it newspapers, t.v.,or the internet, with wishes for a Happy Diwali. Its nothing more than two pathetic days of holidays, when multinational companies sort of force you to be happy and buy your way into debt. The festival lost its charm a long time ago.

Anyway the good thing is that all the movie channels bring out their best collection around this time, so don't miss World Movies' and Lumière's Diwali special programming.

Since we get plenty of those "Assorted" sweets and dry fruits as gifts, here is something similar from your's truly.

I have been lost in Indie and Folk for quiet sometime now, so I decided to mix it up a bit. I dont think that a lot of people might have heard of the Rev Theory , its not that famous, although they started in 2002, but they have some impressive Alternative Metal and Hard Rock music. One of my favorites is Light It Up. Now, different people have different interpretations of what they are about to light up, but, going with the spirit of the season, i would like to presume that its a fire cracker, and not Marry Jane, although that would be way cooler!


These guys are capable of something more that just Thrashing their guitars, listen to this, Broken Bones


Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Goth Metal........do these make you cringe?
Well, There are bands that belong to this genre of music, and their musical talent remains severely understated. You will get what I mean to say hear, once you have listened to this song by the Eternal Tears Of Sorrow 
Here is the Melodic Metal version


and this is the Acoustic Reprise


 I think it really shows the versatility and deep understanding of music these bands have.
A fan posted this on Youtube
"It's like love spoken in words beyond comprehension to anything alive on this planet. Listening to this song i died and came back to life... thank u ETOS , forever gratefull..."

Ever wondered how often people use the word Rock these days, its like even the lamest thing either "ROKS" or "RAWKS", I mean misusing the word is one thing,but do they have to desecrate it by spelling it RAWK ?
It makes me mad, that people who think that Emraan Hashmi or Lady Gaga RAWK , don't even know what Rock is. (As you might have already guessed, that word is quiet sacred to me!)
Just to clear up what comprises rock, I present here, the ultimate Rock anthem, For Those About To Rock, by ACDC


I SALUTE the guy who wrote this comment :
"Lady Gaga is the worst excuse for music I've ever heard... AC/DC owns. He (she) should get a life"

Another ACDC song that gets me going is Back In Black


And whenever your on the highway

Nothing beats this one, as you head towards the promised land!

One of my favourite bands of all time has to be Poets Of the Fall, their music really is POETRY.
Their song "Carnival of Rust" helped me free a lot of people from the shackles of mass produced crap that they call Pop Music.

One of the best music videos of all time!!!
If your wondering, the accent is Finnish.

How I first discovered POTF is quiet interesting, I was playing this game Max Payne in early 2000s and in this one sequence, Max enters this room and a guy is playing "Late Goodbye" on the piano, I actually waited till he finished the song before shooting him. In the end they finally played the song with the credit roll. I played the last stage over and over again just so that i could listen to that song!


They are a pretty versatile band, one of their more Hard Rock songs is Lift, one of their earliest hits.


I heard this around 23 times in a row, or maybe more, it made me fly!

I remember where i was and what I was doing when I heard any of the POTF's songs, they were the first band that made me feel like an addict, you really cant get enough of their music!!!!



I think the following comments under this video I found on Youtube, sum up what I want to say.
"Poets Of The Fall:
Definition: An amazingly inspirational band that, even though unknown by most, has a great effect on anyone who listens to their music in a positive manner. People need to start listening to true music, music from a band like this. They will definitely become well known one day and very popular among the world.
Let us remember this band as one of the greatest, and hope they continue to make great music like this.
(I'd say pray but I'm an atheist :P)"

and the other person replied:

"Then I'll say it for you, fellow POTF fan. : D Music knows no boundaries, religious or otherwise.
I hope and pray they continue to make music like this. : D
POTF, forever."

  

Indie,Folk,Rock and Alternative: Bob Dylan

The first time I heard a Bob Dylan song , I remember thinking to myself, "Man! thats a horrible voice to sing in!" , but just then the lyrics began to sink in and I realised that I had stumbled upon the beautiful world of Folk and Indie Music.

"How many roads must a man walk down,

before you call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove fly,

before she sleeps in the sand?

And how many times must a cannon ball fly,

before they're forever banned?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,

the answer is blowing in the wind".

You have to be a complete numbskull-mass-produced-pop-worshiping-ass-hole if you have never heard "Blowing in the Wind", please don't mind my saying that, cause I used to be one, that is, until I heard Bob.

Another Bob Dylan classic has to be "Mr. Tambourine Man" , many in India might remember it from the Hutch advertisement from the early days. 

The jingling-jangling guitar, that mystical voice, coupled with that fantastic imagery immediately transports one to his world. Many regard it as the beginning of the Folk-Rock genre!

Now, Bob Dylan is regarded as the most prolific and brilliant songwriters of his time, a fact proved by the numerousness covers of his songs performed by artists ranging from The Byrds' cover of Mr. Tambourine Man

to Jimi Hendrix's cover of All Along The Watchtower (My personal favourite, I hate the rest of the covers)

These covers, at the time, were actually able to rank higher than Dylan's original!!!

They actually topped the Billboard rankings!

Even My Chemical Romance covered Desolation Row !!!

His influence doesn't end here, not by a long shot!!!

Like A Rolling Stone, is the song that killed many of Dylan's original fans (of the Folk genre) and won him new ones when he went electric at the New Port Folk Festival.

The song is like a story told through the words of a poet, you have to listen to the lyrics really carefully to fully appreciate it.

Once upon a time you dressed so fine

You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?

People’d call, say, “Beware doll, you’re bound to fall”

You thought they were all kiddin’ you

You used to laugh about

Everybody that was hangin’ out

Now you don’t talk so loud

Now you don’t seem so proud

About having to be scrounging for your next meal

How does it feel

How does it feel

To be without a home

Like a complete unknown

Like a rolling stone?

You’ve gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely

But you know you only used to get juiced in it

And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street

And now you find out you’re gonna have to get used to it

You said you’d never compromise

With the mystery tramp, but now you realize

He’s not selling any alibis

As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes

And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel

How does it feel

To be on your own

With no direction home

Like a complete unknown

Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns

When they all come down and did tricks for you

You never understood that it ain’t no good

You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you

You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat

Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat

Ain’t it hard when you discover that

He really wasn’t where it’s at

After he took from you everything he could steal

How does it feel

How does it feel

To be on your own

With no direction home

Like a complete unknown

Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people

They’re drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made

Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things

But you’d better lift your diamond ring, you’d better pawn it babe

You used to be so amused

At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used

Go to him now, he calls you, you can’t refuse

When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose

You’re invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal

How does it feel

How does it feel

To be on your own

With no direction home

Like a complete unknown

Like a rolling stone?

And yes, the Rolling Stones did cover it, and no, they did not take their name from this song but from Rollin Stone by Muddy Waters.

Almost every Bob Dylan song has a story, and I could go on forever. So if I have been able to interest you even slightly in this great legend please do check out the Wikipedia page.

You might also want to check out.

and

Perhaps the best songs that present the heights to which Dylan reached.