Wotta Piece!

And no, I don’t say that about every song, much less a song that has not been set to music by AR Rahman. But I have been just blown to bits by one such piece, and no, Rahman is not the composer. It’s a composer by the name of Amit Trivedi, who is much lesser known at the international level than Rahman. He has already won the National Award for Best Music Director, thanks to his score in Dev.D, and given the manner in which he is going on, the day is not far when he’s gonna make it as big, if not bigger than Rahman!

I was Twitter a couple of days ago, and saw MTV India tweet about the song Dilli from No One Killed Jessica. I didn’t have the time then, but tonight, I went to the link they had provided, and I am listening to the song again and again on Youtube. And the part I like the best is the sort-of guitar solo towards the end of the song while the singers or the chorus keep singing Kaat Kaleja Dilli and all. Just the guitar, and it still managed to blow me away!

The song itself has other qualities too, though. It seamlessly melds portions of hardcore Indian classical elements into what is essentially a hard rock song. Even Rahman has rarely done this! Trivedi’s talent is that instead of losing its identity in the tug-of-war between the two styles, the song assumes a new identity of its own!

As for the guitar solo, I think I can equate it, in some respects, to the piece played by Slash on guitar towards the end of November Rain. I find the two similar because they each evoke very vivid emotions in me, and I am somehow able to find the exact words to describe exactly how I feel!

For November Rain, every time slash picks at one of the chords with his plectrum, I feel as if some part of the musical instrument, and by extension the musician and me, is trying to cry out in despair, helpless at the immensity of the sadness heaped upon us! That piece makes me want to look towards the skies, ball my hands into fists, look up and shout at the Almighty for all the atrocities he is allowing to be committed on earth.

It’s as if I want my vocal chords to strain so much that I can feel no other sensation, and therefore, no other pain! It’s as if that piece is a huge outlet of angst for me. It’s like the wail of despair that I am emitting, but it goes ignored and unheard just because I have a smile pasted on my face!

Trivedi’s music, or rather, the piece of music I have already mentioned, has a similar quality: it evokes strong emotions. However, the emotions here are diametrically opposite to what the November Rain piece evokes!

Every picking of the strings in this guitar piece seems to have an inherent quantum of energy in it. As a whole, the piece feels like a storm I am struggling against. The kind of storm Sabrina Lal might have had to weather. However, the small bits of energy that I earlier mentioned somehow make me feel that I can weather this storm. And that quality is special in any song or piece! If it can evoke an emotion, a song has done it’s task!

Oh, and Mr Trivedi, if, by any remote chance, you happen to be reading this, please don’t be angry because I compared you with AR Rahman. Thing is, to be the best, you must at first be compared to the best! And the day someone compares a noob (newbie) to your talent, know that YOU are the best! Wish you luck!