I’m not sure since when but I guess 8-9th would be a good guess. Yup. That has to be time when I started getting addicted to music. I remember my first Sony MP3 player and how I would plug myself in and jump around the house like a drunk monkey to mom’s fury and to everyone else s general disgust. My fascination began with Punjabi R&B and Linkin Park. So you could see me crooning this or head banging to this at just about the same time. I had this weird habit(and still do) to ask people for their music and then sorta compare notes. At that point, any new music was treasured.
Like most teenage guys, I was drawn towards rock/metal initially. LP was an obvious influence but I soon got to know about Creed, Nickelback and Metallica. Names like Iron Maiden ,Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd remained domains I wasn’t bothered to touch. Also, it was at this time that I developed my everlasting respect for Eminem. I know people love to diss rap as not being music and I have no intention whatsoever to take part in that discussion. He just makes sense to me and that should be enough.
Boy bands were the thing as well and I won’t lie about never stepping enjoying their tracks. Blue are still a personal favorite. Try this.
But I guess it is in Class 12 that my tastes finally evolved and a more mature sense appeared. I have always been an advocate of how important lyrics are. The tune might be great but if the words don’t match,then the song’s ruined. Till now I would listen to recommended music or stuff from my sisters collection. But now i decided to go on a music hunt. Discover stuff of my own and build my own collection. And even though that quest continues, I find it relieving to have finally unearthed stuff that had been sitting in front of me all along.
It started with Dave Mathews Band. Satellite had been a personal favorite long ago but I soon discovered how soulful the rest of their stuff was as well. Another personal favorite here . Then my favorite band, Poets of the Fall. Everyone had heard Carnival of Rust but stuff like Sleep went unnoticed. Plus, their Twilight Theater is the greatest album I’ve ever heard purely on basis of the perfect sync between the music and the lyrics. The Script and Coldplay are bands I love and respect as well. Iron Maiden’s Final Frontier was also great btw. Opera is something I never touched on before and things haven’t changed much. Over the course of the year, I developed a new found love for both the piano and the violin.
Like most things in my life,I picked up a lot of stuff from Chubba. Like Aerosmith , Billy Joel , Celine Dion , Michael Jackson and tons of others whom I frankly can’t think of now. She played a major role as well in diversifying my playlist.
So do I ignore Bollywood altogether? Nope. Though I would say it does get a bit too mushy for me sometimes.
So now I’m like a wayward soul drifting around looking for new stuff. The iTunes store has been helpful too,though cut a hole in wallet.
A few favorites then?
Free Bird (Amazing guitar solo)
Johnny Cash- There Aint No Grave (Check out Hurt as well)
Plus a weird Chem Lab video 
Nice journey altogether man.. And I was so happy to see that you mentioned Free Bird!
.. Ever heard a band called ‘Rush’ ?
No man. Suggest!
Try watching “YYZ” by Rush LIVE.
Somehow I don’t see amrit being much of a rush fan.
Though, music can be beautiful even without lyrics – check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edqH0ofRQrM&feature=related
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpxOM5-ISmM
And why the fuck don’t you touch Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd?
Dunno. A few songs by both of them I guess.
If you’re obsessed with movie soundtracks (like me
), go check out Hans Zimmer’s works. Specially his themes for The Da Vinci Code (‘Chevaliers De Sangreal’ and ‘Kyrie For The Magdalene’ being noteworthy) and Angels and Demons (’503′, ‘Election By Adoration’). Alright, A and D hasn’t much of anything totally fresh, but Joshua Bell’s violin solos make even this ‘recycled’ stuff well worth a listen. Also go for his more popular works – Inception (‘Time’, ‘We Built Our Own World’), The Dark Knight (‘Harvey Two-Face’, ‘A Dark Knight’), Pirates of the Caribbean (‘He’s A Pirate, ‘The Black Pearl’), The Ring (‘The Well’, ‘Burning Tree’), Kung Fu Panda (‘Hero’, ‘Oogway Ascends’) and Gladiator (‘Now We’re Free’).
Then there’s Howard Shore and Danny Elfman.
And the more obvious music anyone would recommend – Lady Antebellum, John Mayer, Keane (a bit Coldplay-ish), Moby (electronic), OneRepublic, R.E.M., Band of Horses (alright, not so obvious, but worth listening).
Have fun