Headbangers stand redeemed, and their moshpits are now at par with the heavens above, right where the Gods of Rock rule. And like flies are to wanton boys, the world and its book of man-made rules is to these Gods. They walk all over them for their soul satisfaction. That’s the way rock is, solid to the core. And so, it comes as no surprise when this genre survives the whiplashes of time, the ignorance of age and the cold shoulder of norms. What started out as a rebellion and was put on mute for being the ‘devil’s’ music’, today enjoys an envious godly status. Look around - from rock websites, rocking accessories, rocking attitudes to rock on films, clubs that rock and bands that jam, it’s the music that’s ‘rocked’ the world, and it’s here to stay and play.
“For me, it’s the true voice of the youth. It’s making a statement without giving a damn,” rocker and music director Vishal Dadlani calls it the language of the youth. “It’s linking the mind with words, songs and music,” he connects as we push the rewind button and stop on two words: Jim Morrison. It was the ‘60s and post-jazz era that The Doors opened and the world got the baap of rock, Jim Morrison who jammed on stage with no strict melody, no right note. But surprisingly, everybody loved it. “Rock developed as a stage, live form of music, and in the ‘60s, it was all about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll,” says hard-core rock fan and city-based guitarist Sherry Sekhon. It was never about the words as much as it was about how it was being played. “Janice Joplin, Joe Crocker, Queen, Led Zepplin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix...for rock stars, it were the drums and guitar, it was more about music than singing, and hence the instrumentation,” she adds. Song programming came with Deep Purple, Pink Floyd in the ‘70s, time of classic rock. With ‘80s and ‘90s rolled in Bon Jovi, Kiss, Aerosmith with attitude, pumping up the volume with their dirty hard rock while Nirvana, Greenday gave us the punk grunge rock. Cut to present day, and it’s all about alternative rock, creating music that’s innovative in melody - Cold Play, Dave Matthew, Radio head, Train, Black Eyed Peas...
Excellent marketing, websites devoted to downloads, videos and music exchange, soon the rock base grew. We now have platforms like Irock, Launchpad, The Great Indian Rock, East Wind Fest, Campus Rock Idols et al. And a film too! What began as director Abhishek Kapoor’s attempt to make a boy-bonding, coming-of-age film turned into a full-fledged movie on rock music. “I was listening to rock on my iPod and thought why not make a film on an Indian music band,” says Kapoor, who recalls friends in college who used to jam but left it all to pursue careers. “It has always been my fantasy to be a rock star. It was a surreal experience getting to play the part on screen. What helped was the fact that I have been a fan of rock music for 12 years,” chips in Farhan Akhtar, whose favourite band is the Beatles.
For Luke Kenny, whose formed the Jim Morrison Tribute band, the sustainability comes from the non-conformism, no to consumerism and the amazing energy it has. Agreeing with energy and attitude, Nirdosh and Jaspal Singh Saib of De Innovatives call it a cult. “Some time back, being cool was in, today, the world rocks. Also, it’s grown because of the exposure, experimentation and acceptance.” Jaspal adds that because rock gives a raw kind of feel, it attracts the animal instinct in man. “It thrives on this.” But not everything is rocking. “It’s more of a fashion statement, shoshabaazi than serious rock music. Most of the bands break up, hardly rehearse and carry half-baked knowledge,” Dr Rupak Das feels that everybody wants to be a rock star, no one wants to be a musician. “Noise is what they are making.” And noise is the new music. As we root for rock, crowd surf, stage dive and mosh, we can only say; Jai Mata Di, let’s rock!