Music That Shaped Me- Part II

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Continuing with my last post, I am writing about other artists/ bands that have had tremendous influence on me growing up. While my dad introduced me to old school Abba, MJ, Lionel Ritchie and the likes, my big brother brought me into the world of Ricky Martin, BSB (Always better than N'Sync), J Lo and all the legends of the 2000s. I would come back from school to "Genie in a Bottle" or "That's the way it is" (by Celine Dion) blasted on our Aiwa music player. Good times! :) I have also explored some music myself (obviously). So, here I go with the list again.

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NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN

My dad has been a fan of Qawwali and Ghazal music. So naturally, we listened to Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan a lot back in the 90s. I have to admit, I didn't immediately understand the beauty of the legend, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan what with having consumed a lot faster Bollywood music with a tad too extravagant use of all kinds of music instruments (I am not saying it was bad,  it was just different). Then "Afreen Afreen" changed it all for me. Mind you, I listened to the more pop version of the song during the Channel V's BPL Oye era but it did catch my attention. Then there was no looking back! With easy access to dad's cassette tapes, I binged on Ishq ka Rutba (my favorite of his), Piya Re, Tere Bin Nai Lagda Dil Mera, Sanu Ik Pal Chain Na Aawe, Yeh Jo Halka Halka, Mera Piya Ghar et al.

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Then there were soundtracks of these random movies, Kartoos, Kacche Dhage, Aur Pyar Ho Gaya which had some songs by this legend. I still remember the video of Teri Yaad from Kartoos with Sanjay Dutt's furious and weird dance moves and crazy graphics that gave me the creeps. Unfortunately, imho, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's voice was wasted on this debacle!

(Image credit: https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2017/may/7/5661)

His music, no matter how remixed, is timeless just like CBK's closet for me.

MADONNA

I have written about this diva before. Her music evolved and stayed relevant to each decade till the 2000s. In the 80s, Madonna set herself to stardom with Material Girl, Open Your Heart, Like a Virgin, Like a Prayer, Papa Don't Preach, Express Yourself (hey, Lady Gaga totally ripped this one off for her Born This Way and Madge had every right to be pissed off!), Cherish (my personal favorite forever), Holiday and La Isla Bonita (still delightful after all these years). These songs continued being highly popular in the 90s, I loved them all!

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In the 90s, I enjoyed listening to Vogue, Human Nature, Don't Cry For Me Argentina (from the iconic Evita), etc. An album I most cherish from Madonna is Ray of Light. It was a far cry from her usual music. Frozen, Ray of Light, The Power of Goodbye and down to Candy Perfume Girl, this album is a genius. I later read that her practicing of Kabbalah had an influence on this one.

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Madge's arrival into the 2000s was really something! The album, Music was a true witness to the fact that she adapted well to the changing times. This is my most favorite Madonna album ever! "Don't Tell Me", "Music", "American Pie" (I know it was critically panned as a bad version of Don McLean's original. But I had never heard of him so this was my introduction to the song and I really enjoyed it) and "What it Feels Like for a Girl", in my opinion, introduced everyone to what music in the 2000s should sound like and what the videos should look like.

(Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Tell_Me_(Madonna_song))

I have to admit "Hung Up" from her epic Confessions on a Dance Floor (another career defining album) is so amazing in every sense of the word. With Abba's immediately recognizable tune from their smash, "Gimme Gimme Gimme" setting a tone to this song, it just makes you get up and dance. And have you watched the video? Madonna's cool just rips right through the screen on this one.

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I cannot end talking about Madonna without mentioning Hard Candy. With this album, not only did she end the decade with chart toppers like 4 Minutes, Give it to Me, Candy Shop, etc, she also established a new way of touring. I remember reading about the Sticky & Sweet Tour a lot in 2008.

Unfortunately, I haven't enjoyed anything from Madonna this decade. She did try with "Give Me All Your Lovin" (ft Nicki Minaj and MIA) but besides this, I cannot point my finger at anything else worth listening to (with sadness)! It seems like her era has come to an end but "bitch, she's Madonna" and ruled the roost for 30 long years, which is a huge achievement already.

What more, throughout her career, Madonna has been her own unapologetic self. She has taken several risks that have paid off. Not many artists can take controversies on their stride like she did (Correction: Madge did not invite controversies, she created them!)

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GEORGE MICHAEL

I must have declared my love for George Michael everywhere! It's not an exaggeration if I said his songs bring light to my days :) . My ring tone, for a long time, was that unmissable saxophone intro to Wham's Careless Whisper. 

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While Wake me up before you Go Go and the likes from Wham are definitely classics, I devoured George's independent music career more. Faith is still my comfort music album  to this day. Like everyone else, I love Faith, Father Figure and Kissing a Fool (You can never forget George's angel-like face in this video *insert crying emoji*).

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You cannot talk about George without talking about Freedom! '90. You could not have escaped the 90s without watching this extravaganza featuring the beautiful Linda Evangelista and the other supermodels of the time. The music and the pretty girls are forever etched in our collective minds I am sure as perennially cool.

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Older is my most favorite George Michael album. Jesus to a Child is a song that really touched my soul and it further deepened my connection with it once I heard of the context to this song (It was written about his then partner, Anselmo Feleppa. You can read more here). Then there is Fast Love, You Have Been Loved, etc on this collection too that are great.

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I remember watching Outside video and thinking, that's how you make a bad situation work for you. It was good to see him making fun of his situation at the time and being all sassy about it. (For context, read this). That rebellious side of him had always been there- he did not appear in a bunch of his own videos because at the time, he was battling it out with his music company. It made me think of why a huge star would not want to feature in his own videos that would have led to more publicity for himself (and of course, more money!). But then these artists demonstrate to you that it's not all always about fame, it's also about standing up for yourself, it's about your own beliefs and it's about individual identity. Basically, there are more important things in life than the ones that the world keeps telling us we should chase.

We lost George too soon. He had so much more of his healing music to give to this world. I am sad to this day about this passing away.

Ok, I think I am going to write one more part to this post. There is so much music that it's not a good call to fit everything into just 2 parts! Annnndd meanwhile, like I always say, I have written more on other topics, you could simply scroll around this blog and see if you like anything else! :)