My Musical Journey

[uptowndragon]

My Musical Journey - The Road To A Melodic Nirvana
Story: Dragon


Photo Source: Wikepedia

Our first family radio looked something like this but my 76 year old dad doesn't remember the make.
Could have been a Toshiba.


Chapter 1 - The Opening Note

I have been meaning to continue this series on my musical journey, which I first started in Jacsville (Malaysian Idol Jaclyn Victor's 1st Fan Club) forum, for a long long time. Unfortunately the original text has been lost due to some unfortunate acts by certain juvenile parties who prefer to see things destroyed than sustained, because of their own ambitions. A rather painful experience especially since the amount of effort involved in documenting it was volumous, so much so it put me off from starting on it again.

Well, rather than harping about it, I decided perhaps it needed a rewrite, especially a more detailed one at that, which I will present here in a multi part series, over a period of time. Perhaps the article may never end until the end of me, or until I loose complete interest in music (which will happen when the fake Milli Vanilli actually start singing).

This series will share with our fellow viewers my entire musical journey, from the first moments I got hooked to music, and will include a historical accounting of music during the period of my journey. "This is a journey into sound...", I want to quote a song, which I can't remember at this time, but, wait it will come to me. The melody is running in my head. We will get there soon enough.

But what inspired me to get going again? "iPod, Therefore I Am" did. If you wondering what's that, its a book by Dylan Jones, the editor of UK's most successful gents magazine GQ, which chronicles his personal journey through music. The amazing thing is the book was published in 2005, about the same time I started my original text at Jacsville's forum. Shere coincidence. The more I read his book, the more I had to do my series again. I hope my articles will be as engaging as his book, which I picked up at the clearance book bin at Carrefour Ampang, for only - RM 5.00 - yup, this UK Pound Sterling 7.99 paperback was going for a pittance. How could I refuse, especially since an image of the original iconic iPod was emblazoned on its red cover. The funny thing is I don't even own an iPod, or even an MP3 player currently (I did have a China made Nano clone, but it died the week after its warranty expired). The even funnier thing, especially since I am such a music fanatic, is I don't really enjoy listening to music piped directly into my ears. You can hardly catch me anywhere on the go with wires or tubing in my ear. Somehow I prefer the sound of the city buzzing instead of private music blasting into my head directly. I rather share my music over an open space, then to have a "me only" affair. I simply like people to hear what I am enjoying and hope they will too. The only time I will be caught listening to music or any sounds for that matter over headsets will be late at night when the wifey is sleeping, and it will certainly not be one of those little buggers you jab into your inner ear or fiddly ones you coil around your lobes. I like those muffler types that cover your ears completely and at the moment I am using just a basic pair from Sonic Gear which cost only RM 25.00 (and sound pretty decent), although I wouldn't mind a hi fidelity one from Philips or Seinheiser. Anyway. it seems I am digressing. I guess I can write about iPods, mp3 players & headsets, in another episode. The bottom line is Dylan Jones has suddenly inspired me to give myself a kick in my shiny black bottoms, and to get on with it. Thanks a bunch Dylan. On with mine.

My story will probably start when I was three or so, when my parents moved us here to KL from Penang, and only because my memory takes me back only that far, although I still have glimpses of memory when I was still 2, but that had nothing to do with music at all.

So stay tuned, and wait for it. I will try and do it as often as I can, and I hope it will be an interesting read for all music lovers and history buffs. I hope my memory will not desert me, but we still have Wikipedia just in case I need to cross reference my facts. Who knows, once the series concludes, I may just compile it into a book, and do a Dylan Jones too. Ha! Ha! That would be so cool.


Photo Source: Dragon

It's an outstanding read for music buffs. Check out www.orionbooks.co.uk for availability.



Okay, okay, enough rambling, catch you in the next episode.

[uptowndragon]

My Musical Journey - The Road To A Melodic Nirvana
Story: Dragon


Chapter 2.1 - Radio Ga Ga





I'd sit alone and watch your light
My only friend through teenage nights
And everything I had to know
I heard it on my radio
Radio

You gave them all those old time stars
Through wars of worlds -- invaded by Mars
You made 'em laugh -- you made 'em cry
You made us feel like we could fly

So don't become some background noise
A backdrop for the girls and boys
Who just don't know or just don't care
And just complain when you're not there
You had your time, you had the power
You've yet to have your finest hour
Radio

All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio goo goo
Radio ga ga
All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio blah blah
Radio what's new?
Radio, someone still loves you!

We watch the shows -- we watch the stars
On videos for hours and hours
We hardly need to use our ears
How music changes through the years

Let's hope you never leave old friend
Like all good things on you we depend
So stick around cos we might miss you
When we grow tired of all this visual
You had your time, you had the power
You've yet to have your finest hour
Radio -- Radio

All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio goo goo
Radio ga ga
All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio goo goo
Radio ga ga
All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio blah blah
Radio what's new?
Radio, someone still loves you!

You had your time, you had the power
You've yet to have your finest hour
Radio

All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio goo goo
Radio ga ga
All we hear is Radio ga ga
Radio blah blah
Radio what's new?
Radio, someone still loves you!
Loves you


It's probably one of the most poignant songs ever written by rock group Queen's drummer Brian May, originally intended for his own solo album, but eventually became a Queen hit after being reconstructed by his fellow band members. It was released in 1984, exactly 20 years after I was born, and is considered by many as being one of the coolest songs ever written about the subject matter - a commentary on television's rising popularity over radio. It would have made #1 in the UK charts if weren't for Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax". Sadly, it had to settle for the second spot.

Although we are hooked on MTV, and the numerous other music video channel contenders, these days, most of us grew up initially on music fed through the radio. It was certainly no different for me, although my earliest recollections indicate that only Tamil music permeated my household in those early days, streamed continuously out one of those classic wood & chromed cast iron, vacuum tube radios with wickerwork speaker covers. Tamil film songs flowed out vigorously everyday, from sunrise (my mum was a teacher, so she got up pretty early), to sunset, thanks to scheduled broadcasts from our state owned Radio Malaya (as I believe it was known at that time). Of course, when you are just three years old, you really had no control on what was being indoctrinated into your head, musically. Amazingly, none of it has ever stuck, as I have never had any fascination for Tamil music, even till today. In fact, I have always shied away from it (except for the odd one or two numbers), all my life. I guess I was already born with a strong filtering system even at that early stage, and knew exactly what I liked and would accept. I was a little more forgiving with the Hindi numbers, and would occasionally allow myself to enjoy some popular numbers. One song, particularly comes to mind - "Haathi Mere Saathi" from the blockbuster Hindi movie of the same name, which was released in 1971. I don't know whether it was really the song or the lead characters who happened to be four lovable elephants in the movie, that piqued my interest. I suppose it was a fun song, and when you are just six, it was quite the ride, but hey, I can still appreciate and hum the tune today. The wonderful thing about the movie and that particular song was that many non Indians also enjoyed it, and could even sing it. I still remember talking about it with Frankie Pek, one of our regular news contributors, only a few months back, who could still recall & hum the tune.

My 76 year old dad has already forgotten the make of that very first radio we owned, but I believe it may have been a Toshiba or a National (the forerunner to today's Panasonic). I still remember, that old radio occasionally going on the brink, and the repairman coming over to replace the burnt out vacuum tubes within. When it was working, we could see the golden glow of the tubes through the drilled ventilation holes in the back. To receive any station we had to turn the rotary dial very gingerly until all the squeals, whistles & crackles eventually turned into listenable music, presented in all its monaural glory. Most of the time, that radio will be on, only during the Tamil broadcast periods, which normally was early in the day and in the late afternoon. I was too young to remember how many channels there were in those early days, but I am guessing it was just two - a Malay channel & one shared by the English, Mandarin & Tamil broadcasts. Today, we have 61 stations.

When you are just three or four, what plays on the radio hardly matters, as you are the one who ends up making more sounds than it does. I wasn't really a noisy kid (being the only child) compared to the other kids in my neighborhood, so I could not mask the Mollywood flava with my vocal layering, It was obvious I did NOT share the same enthusiasm with my parents (especially my mum), for what was being aired into our living room, but unfortunately I had to endure it without much fuss. Occasionally, my liberal dad will be adventurous enough to veto my conservative mum, and tune into the English broadcast, much to my delight. During the late sixties, the radio was a precious and luxurious item, especially to a lower middle class family like mine, so its usage was strictly moderated by mummy dearest. After all, replacing burnt out vacuum tubes was an expensive affair, so preservation was the rule of law at home, as mum was the controller of the purse strings. I guess my dad made a lot of musical sacrifices too (at least, until we moved on to the transistor era), but I did get to listen to the occasional Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Beatles, Johnny Mathis etc., when dad decided to flex his muscles. Of course, at that time I had no idea who these artistes were, or was particularly interested in them, but it was a welcome departure from what my mum preferred to hear.

Many may not know that Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" was originally titled "Radio Ca Ca", but the Ca Ca was changed to Ga Ga because it was easier to say, plus Ca Ca unflatteringly meant shit in Portuguese. Strangely enough it also means the same in Tamil. Ha! Ha! I guess in the early days of my radio exposure and my personal dislike for Tamil music, Radio "Ca Ca", said it all. The late sixties was certainly not a defining moment in my musical journey, but it did expose me to my very first musical gateway and had also prepared me to what was about to come along. And it wasn't too long away - the seventies was just around the corner, and that old vacuum vanguard was about to make way for a brand new transistor radio from Sanyo, and a new musical escapade for me. Hurrah!!!

Radio Ga Ga. Someone, still loves you!!!