Indian Pop Music Stars: Still to find their Groove

Popular music or “pop” music by definition is that kind of music that has mass appeal. It is the music that caters to a large number of people and contrary to what we understand it to be, it is not a genre. According to Wikipedia, Pop music is music charted by the number or sales, plays, etc., that the work receives.

So what’s the deal with this pop culture and why are so many artists drawn towards it? Pop music gives one an opportunity to be individualistic. Since it is not any particular style of music, an artist gets an opportunity to experiment with a wide range of instruments as well as vocals. Pop music traces its root back to WorldWar2 when sound recordings were made accessible to the masses for the first time.

Looking more closely at Western pop, one can easily appreciate the global appeal it has created. From Madonna to Cher, ABBA to Robbie Williams, western pop has produced some of the best and highest paid artists. Western pop music encompasses in it music from various regions such as Latin America, African American, etc. Pop music in America has become one of the most profitable industries since the 19th century.

India, on the other hand, best known for its classical music also has its fair share of pop stars. With pop music being predominantly clustered around Hindi movies, the pop culture movement is far more restricted here than in the west. While the western pop culture has various sub genres such as baroque pop, dance pop, space age pop, etc, the Indian pop music is yet to evolve.

What is common in the two regions, is the audience that is drawn towards it. While we may not have Kylie Minogue or Britney Spears, we have a nation of over a million music lovers who sway to the music of Sonu Nigam and Himesh Reshamiya.

Without doubt, western pop artists have more global appeal than our Indian pop stars. While one can easily recognise Madonna, Kenny Loggins, Mariah Carey, ABBA , the Indian counterparts are yet to leave a mark on the word map.

However, with Indian artists experimenting, and often learning some styles from their western peers, the Indian pop artists have come a long way. A significant shift has been observed, for instance, in some of the Hindi music videos. While the earlier pop videos were unstructured, often boring and low budgeted; several new artists have begun experimenting with new and innovative ways of capturing the audience. However, one has to admit - the Indian pop artist still have a long way to go in terms of style, lyrics and instruments

How youth use music

On average, a youth listens to music and watch music videos four to five hours a day, which is more time than they spend with their friends outside of school or watching television. "Music matters to adolescents, and they cannot be understood without a serious consideration of how it fits into their lives," the study says.
Music alters and intensifies their moods, furnishes much of their slang, dominates their conversations and provides the ambiance at their social gatherings. Music styles define the crowds and cliques they run in. Music personalities provide models for how they act and dress.
Music also appears to alter study habits and damage eardrums.
Such consequences may not spring as quickly to mind as sex and violence, but they may ultimately play just as crucial a role in adolescent development.
Many scholars have viewed television as the central media influence on adolescents, but adolescents devote more time and intensity to music.
They use music most to control mood and enhance emotional states. Music can make a good mood better and allow us to escape or 'work through' a bad one.. But it can also be used to enhance bad moods, which has led some to believe music lyrics about suicide and violence against women have occasionally led troubled youth to commit suicide or violent crimes.
In one study, a heavy metal devotee reported that he loved the music because it put him in a 'good mood,' by which he meant a mood conducive to smashing mailboxes with bricks while another was quoted to have said hardcore metal put him in the mood to 'go beat the crap out of someone.'
Movies and news reports tend to over-emphasize such extreme examples, but the evidence suggests that music is more likely to energize listeners than to de-energize or mellow them out.
Adolescents also use music to gain information about the adult world, to withdraw from social contact (such as using a Walkman as a barrier, not unlike an adult hiding behind a newspaper at the breakfast table), to facilitate friendships and social settings, or to help them create a personal identity.

Under the Influence of…Music?

What’s on your iPod?










Teenagers listen to an average of nearly 2.5 hours of music per day. Guess what they’re hearing about?
One in three popular songs contains explicit references to drug or alcohol use, according to a new reports. That means kids are receiving about 35 references to substance abuse for every hour of music they listen to, the authors determined.
While songs about drugs and excess are nothing new, the issue is getting more attention because so many children now have regular access to music out of the earshot of parents. Nearly 9 out of 10 adolescents and teens have an MP3 player or a compact disc player in their bedrooms.
Studies have long shown that media messages have a pronounced impact on childhood risk behaviors. Exposure to images of smoking in movies influences a child’s risk for picking up the habit. Alcohol use in movies and promotions is also linked to actual alcohol use.
Researchers have studied the 279 most popular songs from 2005, to gauge whether a song contained a reference to drugs or alcohol varied by genre. Only 9 percent of pop songs had lyrics relating to drugs or alcohol. The number jumped to 14 percent for rock songs, 20 percent for R&B and hip-hop songs, 36 percent for country songs and 77 percent for rap songs where as a mere 4 percent of the songs contained “anti” drug and alcohol messages.
The study he showed light upon the fact that music represents a pervasive source of exposure to positive images of substance use. The average adolescent is exposed to approximately 84 references to explicit substance use per day. The average adolescent listening only to pop would be exposed to 5 references per day, whereas the average adolescent who listens just to rap would be exposed to 251 references per day.
Whether any of this matters remains an open question. While the impact of exposure to images of smoking and alcohol in film has been well documented, less is known about the effect of music on childhood risk behaviors.
Although music lacks the visual element of film, adolescent exposure to music is much more frequent. But frequency of exposure is not the only factor. Unlike visual media, music is a powerful social force that also taps into an individual’s personal identity, memories and mood.
“Music is well-known to connect deeply with adolescents and to influence identity development, perhaps more than any other entertainment medium,” said researcher.

Adam Lambert Tried to Defy 'Cliché And Safe' Gay-Male Stereotype With AMA Performance

American Idol' star also admits on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' that he was nervous before performance.





During his appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Tuesday, Adam Lambert admitted that even on the night of the American Music Awards, when he took the stage and delivered a controversial, performance that dominated headlines for much of last week, he was a bit nervous.
"I get nervous a lot — I just learned how to hide it," he told DeGeneres. "Yeah, here and there. I was nervous the other night ... just a little bit nervous!"
Lambert went on to say that he might have taken things a bit too far with the performance. "I think in hindsight, I look back on it and I go, 'OK, maybe that wasn't the best first impression to make again — the first second impression,' " he said. "I mean, I had fun up there, I had a good time, my dancers had fun and the band had fun."
But he also said that he doesn't feel the need to apologize for the performance, even though his dad said he should. He said he felt that the media coverage was blown out of proportion due to the fact that he's a gay man.
"I think people aren't used to seeing gay man portrayed that way on TV," he said. "The gay-male image in the media tends to be very cliché and safe. ... I think I got up there and put more energy — a little more than I was attempting to — [in interpreting] the lyrics of the song, quite simply," he said.
"I was putting on a character, putting on a persona, being this kind of rock star, kind of dangerous kind of guy," he continued. "After seeing one of my favorites, Lady Gaga, tear it apart onstage — she was incredible. I don't know, something came over me and got caught up in the moment and maybe went a little too far."
Lambert capped off his appearance on the show with a performance of "Whataya Want From Me," from his debut album, For Your Entertainment.

The SUCCESS of coke studio

The music prospect in Pakistan is getting more demanding every day. With music being a global platform, we need something edgy and versatile in order to stand out. An ambitious music project like Coke Studio does just that. After its unprecedented success last year it is back this year, bigger and better with its second season. This show is an awe inspiring collaborative venture of different artists with different genres of music coming together from all over Pakistan and making musical history by creating magic. Hence, Coke studio is not just a regular show; it is an experience that will last a lifetime.

The first episode was aired on the 14th of June with the theme of “Individuality”. The much awaited show surpassed the audience’s expectations and left them craving for more. It included performances by Zeb and Haniya, Noorie, Atif Aslam, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Jawad Bashir and the iconic Sufi maestro Saieen Zahoor.

Zeb and Haniya, popular for their folk inspired music performed a different, much faster version of “Paimona” with Saddiq Sameer on the rubab. I like the slower version better but this one had a radiance of Pushto heritage piercing through, which made it unique and mesmerizing.

Shafqat Amanat Ali performed a slow and beautiful version of the ever so popular “Khamaj”. It was soothing, holding the power to heal anything in this world.

This season also included the youth icon, Atif Aslam known for “Aadat”. His vocals seemed very polished and mature on Coke Studio as he performed “Jal pari” with an essence of “Mere Haniya” by the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. According to me it was the most innovative performance of the night.

Meekal Hasan band’s Jawad Bashir paid tribute to the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with “Aj Latha Naeeo”. This classical singer was flawless to the extent of perfection. Although he’s not the legend himself but he definitely did justice to his own version of the song.

The last performance was a beautiful rendition of the evergreen Sufi kalaam “Aik Alif” by Noorie and Saieen Zahoor. All I can say is that it was a classic master piece playing beautifully with the fusion of two genres.

To sum it all up, all these individual artists portrayed their individuality to the fullest. They made it a night to be remembered. This show is certainly a breath of fresh air, pulling us out of the regularities of life and creating wonders for all of us to enjoy.

Why OLD is GOLD !?

Have you ever realized that why the term old is gold has been made? The simple answer is that it is made because old really is gold. The songs of past have something about them that the songs of present age no matter how good can compete. You take out and listen to any old track of 60's, 70 or even 80's you will find it really good. One of the reasons that I think have made old songs stand out more is because of their lyrics. In that time song writers really put a lot of effort on the lyrics and it showed in their songs.

My best singer of OLD times is none other than Kishore Kumar and I have selected five of my best songs from the OLD times and I guarantee you that if you would listen to it once you too will realize that old is really gold.

1. Yeh Ratain yeh Mausam (1958)



2. Hum Bewafa herges nay thay (1980)



3. Aik haseena na thy (1986)

Importance of Music in Bollywood Movies

Movies without music mean "food without water". Therefore, it is said that music plays a great role in Bollywood to make a movie success. The role of music in every Bollywood movie is of utmost importance. You won’t find any Bollywood movie without even a single song in it. It is the songs that differentiate Hollywood movies when compared with Bollywood movies.

All Bollywood movies strive hard to have wonderful music as it plays a very important role in generating good revenue. Music of Bollywood communicates a complete blend of emotions, actions, rhythm and music. Anand Bakshi, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Javed Akhtar, Gulshan Bawra, Gulzaar, Dev Kohli, and Nidi Fazli are some of the noted song writers of Bollywood. These recognized writers have penned down a wide range of remarkable and heart touching Bollywood songs that are the lifeline of the industry.

It is always a well-known fact that Bollywood is a place that produces maximum number of movies in comparison to any other film industry in the world. It makes the Bollywood the most sought after place where cinema breathes like anything. If it has termed that Bollywood creates Movies, music and magic, it should not take as a hyperbolic statement. If we describe Bollywood in bit detail, what we find is an excellent blend of talent, technology and testimony that defines the music at this place.

Since a long time, Bollywood is complementing the arena with its breathtaking contributions in world music industry. In every segment of the music whether Hindustani music, western, classical, pop or rap, Indian music has established the milestones. The sweetness and tender essence that it offers to the listeners is simply incredible. Nowadays, the music of Bollywood goes global with its online presence and with huge song collection across the web.
There are a number of Hindi songs in movies that have left an incredible mark in the hearts of the Bollywood music lovers. Movies such as dilli ka thug, dil waley dulhaneya lejaegey, pardes, dil to pagal hai. In recent times, movies like love ajj kal, Om shanti om and others with good music in it.