I am absolutely flummoxed by the ways of non-rockers. What do they mean when they say of themselves ‘I rock’ when they can neither play an instrument nor hum to a single song that isn’t lady Gaga’s poker face? And when they say rock is evil, do they mean it’s inspired by the devil? Or does it inspire evil doing? This got me thinking, what can I do to make people understand that it isn’t music that’s evil; rather, people are?
Without thinking too hard, I feel that many musicians sing about my life as it was, and as it will be. Their lyrics give me delusions of grandeur. “I just found out there’s no such thing as real world,” he sings to me, convincing me that someday, I’ll fly, someday I’ll soar, because I’m bigger than my body gives me credit for.
John Mayer sang these words and about vultures hiding right outside his door while simultaneously, playing completely discordant chords on his fender. Before he knew it, he was free falling because gravity was working against him. He was talking about paparazzi going to whatever lengths to get his pictures, the more compromising the better. He sang about his half smile and zero shame; a reflection with a different name. Now if that’s a bad thing then I guess we all belong in a schizo-clinic; and he’d be all our boss because his eye-hand-mouth co-ordination is unparalleled.
Macy Gray tried to say goodbye and choked, tried to walk away and stumbled, when she tried to hide it, it was clear that there was nothing evil in her words.
In 1997, Pink was Steve Tyler’s new obsession because back then it was the color of passion and just went with the fashion. Now while his words might have raised questions about his sexual orientation, the song was and still is a hit because of his use of wordplay.
Incidentally, at around the same time, a young Jason Mraz was composing Remedy and You and I both in which he heard two men talking on the radio in a crossfire kind of new reality show, the bright lights turned to night and after being all around the world mixing and mingling found another way to live a life of leisure; he wrote, recorded and performed his hit single Wordplay. Over ten years later, before the cool ran out, he gave it his ‘bestest’ and urged people to see that it was their God intended right to be loved, loved, loved. I listened to these songs and decided that I too was a curbside prophet, waiting for my rocket to come.
Even in 1975, when rock n’ roll was at its peak, Freddie Mercury, who would later die of AIDS cried to his mother, in Bohemian Rhapsody. “Life had just begun,” he says, “and now I’ve gone and thrown it all away.”He not only shows remorse for whatever wrong he’s supposed to have done but also urges us to carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters if he has not returned this time tomorrow.
Now, If you’re still wondering what ‘who did you think I was’ is about and if you have no idea what I’ve been saying, and if you still think rock n’ roll is evil, and if you’re sitting there with a confused look on your face thinking, ‘this girl is insane’ then, you most definitely DO NOT ‘rock’.
I know, it’s only rock n’ roll but I like it – yes I do.
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