I’m not a musician so this is the only playing of music in public that I can do. And I rather enjoy it. Last night saw yet another session of my cueing a curated vinyl selection at an event organised by India Record Co. which was a sort of tastemaker for the Bandland music festival coming up mid-December ’23. Unlike the last time I did this which was open to my caprices, this one was constrained to rock music, preferably classic rock. That’s what I was told. I was not overly enthused initially just because I don’t like being bound but then I figured it’s a perfect setup for me to indulge in my usual messing around. Finding balance between what is required by the organiser, what might work with the audience (that’s a punt one has to take), and what moves you from being dead meat at the turntable is the fun part of these things. Being on pain medication on the day that sent my brain wandering more than usual helped I suppose.

Although the venue, Indiranagar Social, is a very close to our home, I’d never before been there. And as expected, I was the only ‘classic rock’ among the people that turned up for the session. Very too old to rock ‘n roll in that crowd of folk young enough to be my non-existent children’s age (grandchildren too?). I was quite happy with how it all turned out. People listened even with all the par-for-the-course chatter and they seemed to like it. They were around till it ended and that’s always a good sign. It was very gratifying to have many come over, say that they had enjoyed it, and to talk at length with some of them. That was nice. A very interesting quiz followed and then an absolutely mad vinyl set by Arun who runs the brilliant Subcontinental Records!

That my set turned out to be of 13 songs was something I realised only when I packed the vinyls to lug to the venue and so it was entirely by accident. Or was it?

The Yardbirds – Shapes Of Things: With that young audience I felt rather professorial (yeah, avuncular too). Geometry seemed like a good lesson to start with. What can you say about a band that counts Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page among its alumni? They took the blues, messed around with it, and created a groundbreaking sound. The imprint of each musician is clear in the band’s repertoire of songs. “Shapes Of Things” has Jeff Beck’s. If you’re interested, do check out Rush’s version on their lovely 30th anniversary celebration with a tribute to their musical heroes.

Dick Dale & His Del-Tones – Misirlou: The world of electric guitaring owes a lot to the pioneering Dick Dale in general as do countless musicians who’ve used samples/variants/riffs of this song. Although it was originally released to popular acclaim in 1962, it became a huge hit in 1994 when it was featured in the movie ‘Pulp Fiction’.

Jethro Tull – The Whistler: Were I prescient about my audience, I would have opened with “Too Old To Rock ‘n Roll” 😀 Since I didn’t, I did consider kicking off with the lyric “Let me bring you songs from the wood” from the title song but instead settled for “The Whistler” from ‘Songs From The Wood’. It’s a great example Tull’s amalgam of folk music with progressive rock which made for such a compelling and distinct sound.

The Rolling Stones – Can’t You Hear Me Knocking: If I were the listing kind, this song would be in my Top 10 greatest rock songs. I think it’s the best song that the Stones wrote and in ‘Sticky Fingers’, their best album. Oh! That gorgeous jam which starts at 2:42 into the song!

The Clash – Know Your Rights: The Clash made the most intelligent, creative, and diverse music among the punk bands. It wasn’t often typical punk rock that they made. They were punk in attitude – iconoclastic, no fucks given, disregard for rules. ‘Combat Rock’ was the album where the end of the band was palpable from the clash of egos within the band. Inconsistent music but it still had some great songs including this opener.

Bitch Magnet – Mesentry: A short-lived band that reached cult status (meaning, didn’t sell much, was barely known, but had a dedicated following; way cooler 😏) for its incisive, intelligent, blazing noise/post-hardcore music, Bitch Magnet wouldn’t probably have survived today; would’ve been cancelled for their name. I was very glad when Temporary Residence Records re-issued their catalog on vinyl. I didn’t need an invitation to promptly get me a copy.

Soundgarden – Hunted Down: Before ‘Badmotorfinger’, before ‘Superunknown’, before Nirvana, before the grunge lunge, Soundgarden released a couple of EPs in the late ’80s – ‘Screaming Life’ and ‘Fopp’ on Sub Pop Records. The band was among the first to be signed up to this then nascent, later legendary label. “Hunted Down” is the first song on ‘Screaming Life’. Never mind the rawness of the sound for you can already hear the tightness that Cornell and Thayil were binding their songs in and that metal edge which made their alt rock so sharp.

Five The Hierophant – Fire From Frozen Cloud: After decades of listening – and listening a LOT – you could excuse me for being jaded but I continue to find freshness and excitement in new music and artists. I saw and heard Five The Hierophant at the ArcTanGent festival in August this year and I was very impressed. A saxophone lead over dark heavy rock/doom metal music; what’s not to like? Not classic rock but classy definitely.

Nine Inch Nails – Head Like A Hole: NIN’s music is such an outpouring of depression and misery and yet it holds you. Almost 35 years after its release NIN’s ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ still sounds fresh. Doesn’t that define classic; timelessness?

1000 Homo DJs – Supernaut: (More cancel perhaps?) 1994’s Black Sabbath tribute compilation ‘Nativity In Black’ had some truly fantastic covers that didn’t slavishly stick to the original. Type O Negative’s scarier rendition of the already spooky “Black Sabbath” is my favourite among those but this cover of “Supernaut” comes close too. It’s not my favourite Sabbath song but this version is so joyously wild!

Massive Attack – Angel: Rock ‘n roll is sex; that’s what the term means. This song epitomises that aspect of it even if it’s not of the musical genre; sensual, sinuous, sexy.

Avial – Nada Nada: My interest in Indian independent artists and music was rekindled when I heard Avial’s eponymous album many years back. Here was an Indian rock band that didn’t sing in English or in Hindi but in a regional language, Malayalam. They blended the folk and traditional music of their land with alt rock, throwing in a smidgen of jazz, and creating a mix all their own. Pity they couldn’t sustain that quality subsequently. I had wanted to play the complex slow burn “Karukara” which is my favourite from the band but then decided to go with the rock-out of “Nada Nada” on the spur of the moment.

The Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again: A great song that tragically remains relevant. Every election reminds me of this music and so it goes ad infinitum. Daltrey’s primal scream towards the end of the song as the synthesiser part reaches a crescendo encapsulates all the anger, all the frustration at our ‘leaders’.

If you’re interested, you can listen to this playlist on Tidal/Apple Music/Spotify via the links below. As always, I find this part hilariously ironic in the context of vinyls 😂

Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/a3fd3224-efcc-4678-8baa-162d401eab99

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/in/playlist/rolling-a-stone-socially/pl.u-oZylDgWuReZYEW

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/16h5Rg5gA8P8qfGjBC9d6W?si=3d20087dc7e349de