Katie Melua and appreciation of music
I first came across her songs on TV. It was in a Nobel Peace Prize concert or something. She sang two songs of which one was 'I cried for you'. I can't remember the other. I didn't get her surname, so I searched in google and got it. I did not know how to listen to songs online; I think it was in 2004 when I was in final year MBBS. So, I started searching for her cassettes/CDs in the music stores in Imphal. I also searched in Kohima and Delhi, but to my surprise, I have never seen any of her cassette/CD yet. No friend that I asked had heard of her.
On day while playing in my friend Samuel's computer, to my horor, he has the the album 'piece by piece' in his music file. "Hey, you know Katie Melua? how did you find her songs? I have been searching in the music stores for years!" He was also shocked. To him, I was the only friend who knows Katie Melua. He said he got the songs in his hostel in IIT Delhi.
Katie Melua was born in Georgia in the former USSR, now settled in England. Unlike the other popular music stars, she looks decent and grounded. People say she has eyes that can kill, but that doesn't seem to divert her from making serious music. Her spell binding voice, easy flowing lyric and superb piece of musical craftsmanship allow one to enjoy listening at a deep level.
Some of my favourites are 'Nine million Bicycles', 'If you were a sailboat', 'Spider's web', 'piece by piece', 'blame it on the moon', 'I cried for you', 'Shy boy', 'The closest thing to crazy'.
However, it is a sad fact that now, with youtube, playlist, SonyBMG music box, etc and easy copy and paste availability of thousands of songs, our valuation and appreciation of music have been much reduced. I remember how I'd memorise each and every line of entire music albums. It was a joy to read the cassette and CD covers- the names of musicians, lyricists, producers, the thank you notes, and the inspiration behind the songs.
Indra Vihar, 2008
On day while playing in my friend Samuel's computer, to my horor, he has the the album 'piece by piece' in his music file. "Hey, you know Katie Melua? how did you find her songs? I have been searching in the music stores for years!" He was also shocked. To him, I was the only friend who knows Katie Melua. He said he got the songs in his hostel in IIT Delhi.
Katie Melua was born in Georgia in the former USSR, now settled in England. Unlike the other popular music stars, she looks decent and grounded. People say she has eyes that can kill, but that doesn't seem to divert her from making serious music. Her spell binding voice, easy flowing lyric and superb piece of musical craftsmanship allow one to enjoy listening at a deep level.
Some of my favourites are 'Nine million Bicycles', 'If you were a sailboat', 'Spider's web', 'piece by piece', 'blame it on the moon', 'I cried for you', 'Shy boy', 'The closest thing to crazy'.
However, it is a sad fact that now, with youtube, playlist, SonyBMG music box, etc and easy copy and paste availability of thousands of songs, our valuation and appreciation of music have been much reduced. I remember how I'd memorise each and every line of entire music albums. It was a joy to read the cassette and CD covers- the names of musicians, lyricists, producers, the thank you notes, and the inspiration behind the songs.
Indra Vihar, 2008
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