By Keith Pereña
From an early age, I took comfort in both the discordant, wailing sounds of an electric guitar and the sound of an acoustic, akin to the sounds of angels. Even now, whenever an iconic riff comes up on my music player — say, AC/DC’s Back in Black — I imitate Angus Young as he held his Gibson SG and played the introduction to the song. This interest in ‘air guitaring’ culminated in one video gaming fad during the early 2000’s: Guitar Hero.
By Keith Pereña
Here’s a ‘tall’ claim: the Filipinos have their own version of the Beatles. Continue reading Eraserheads: The band that rules the Filipino psyche
By Keith Pereña
Let me begin by using a cliché most travel writers use — a journey without a smartphone. While I was in the Philippines recently on vacation, I had to, by default, do without my phone. In the excitement of going home for my brother Charles’s graduation, and seeing everyone I love, I forgot to back up my phone. Charles had to hand his phone down to me. So while I did technically have a new phone, it was without apps, and most importantly — without my music.
Continue reading Songs of grandpa’s vintage are great. But new numbers…
By Allan Jacob
Mama Mia, there she goes again. My daughter’s swaying to Abba, singing along. She’s also humming Money, Money, Money, another memorable number by the group. On my way to work my iPod comes up with I Have a Dream, a favourite of my mom’s. The sitar interludes make it unique, and I wonder why I never caught it in all my years of listening to the group.
Continue reading Welcome back, Abba, and thank you for the memories
By Deepa Narwani
The year was 2009 and Coldplay was in Abu Dhabi for their first concert in the UAE. I was singing along to the hit track Violet Hill when the arena’s lights went out. Coldplay was marking Earth Hour. They had requested the organisers to switch off the lights for five minutes. Phone screens lit up the venue. Continue reading What Coldplay taught me about Earth Hour
By Sushmita Bose
If music be the food of love, play on. Twelfth Night, Act I, Scene I. Nothing (perhaps) sums up music and lyrics better. So, with Valentine’s Day looming up like a dragnet and one having to pull out all kinds of rabbits from hats in order to reinforce ‘Love is eternal’ and ‘Love is all around,’ I find myself going through the downloads on my phone — because that’s where my coterie of chosen music resides. Continue reading So, which are the songs that never go out of your head?
By Purva Grover
I’ve never considered myself a fan of a celebrity, which means I have not plastered walls of my room with posters, written fan mails or cried buckets at the failure of a film, match or concert. I enjoy a good show — cinema, theatre, music or a game. But, I’ve always wondered what is fandom, what does fandom look like? Continue reading A Rahman concert showed me what it means to be a fan
