Indiecision: Music Blog: Independent Music in India and Elsewhere

DEF LEPPARD CANCEL INDIA GIGS, ENDING THE SAGA

The Def Leppard India tour saga has come full circle. Def Leppard confirmed yesterday that they have cancelled the two gigs they were scheduled to play in Mumbai and Bangalore this year. According to a  statement on the band’s website

We are sorry to report that due to unforeseen circumstances, the two shows in India (scheduled to take place on October 17 and 19 in Bangalore and Mumbai, resp.) have been cancelled. We apologize to our Indian fans and we hope to be able to make up for it in the future.

These unforeseen circumstances are explained in a story in today’s DNA. The paper reports that E18 (the show’s promoters) have cited the recent terrorist blasts in various cities and the “church burning fiasco” as reasons for the cancellation. The paper quotes Farhad Wadia, CEO of E18 and organiser of I-Rock

It is the most responsible thing to do considering what has been happening in various cities.

As a concert promoter, we have a duty to the public. I don’t want to jeopardize public safety. Through organizing a concert, I don’t want the loss of an animal, forget human being. I also don’t want a law and order situation on my hands. The show will be rescheduled for early 2009.

Um, yeah. Wait, what?!

Something’s not right. Earlier this year the promoters were having trouble finding sponsorship for the gigs, trying to solicit the same via emailers. It is likely that a lack of corporate backing, coupled with high entertainment taxes, has forced the cancellation.

Even the police don’t buy Wadia’s story. The Karnataka Director General and Inspector General of Police was quoted saying

If the Australian team that was so skeptical about security here can come and play, then that itself is the answer to the sort of tight security that we can provide. The Ramzan and the Daserra has been so peaceful too. There must be some other reason why the group has cancelled their India schedule.

Whatever the reason, India has been denied the hysteria of sugar pouring in 2008 (what? a Def Leppard piece without a pun? hah!).

Indiecision chronicles the Def Leppard India tour saga.

First, the May 16, 18 gigs get cancelled.
Then, the May gigs get pushed to October.
And, the October gigs look for money.
But, the October gigs look iffy.

And finally, this.

ROCK ON!! AND THE INDIAN ROCK SCENE

The release of the film Rock On!! was bound to create a stir in the Indian rock scene. With all its double exclamation mark nomenclature and no-bassist-but-what’s-that-low-note-I-hear goofs, the film affected enough sensibilities that when Rolling Stone magazine made it their cover story, Facebook picture threads were moderated and/or closed.

Debates continue to rage on various issues regarding the film, a few fueled by careless statements made by people associated with the film in the press. And whether you agree with the points made or not, the fact is that the film is a success.

Does that mean a whoring of the yet-to-be-clearly-defined Indian rock scene? Or is it another Bollywood formula efficiently at work? We’ve not really got any answers, but a few points you may consider.

Rock On!! And Why We Need It argues that the problem may have more to do with the definition of the genre, while Pop On (guest written by the Groovebox) makes the case for the stereotype and Bollywood. Check them out and if you would like to contribute your own opinion, shout.

Rock On!! And Why We Need It

Pop On

POP ON

The Groovebox guests his impression of the Rock On!! dilemma.

According to the Sunday Times of India, Rock On!! is being “touted as the first authentic Hindi film on the Indian rock scene”. They don’t specify who is doing the touting but I suspect he or she categorises their Britney Spears albums as rock in their iTunes.

To anyone who has the seen the promos, leave alone the film, it is glaringly obvious that Rock On!! doesn’t make any great claims to be about the life and times of an actual Indian rock band. It’s just another example of Bollywood’s canny co-option of an urban musical trend. Disco Dancer anyone? What about Shammi Kapoor as Rocky the rock n’ roll star in Teesri Manzil? Rock On!!, the film’s director Abhishek Kapoor has said, “is a film about people. Rock is just the backdrop.”

Continue reading after the jump.

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ROCK ON!! AND WHY WE NEED IT

A few days ago, acclaimed popular Hindi music lyricist Javed Akhtar made a pretty controversial statement about Indian rock. The statement appeared as a press release on a few news websites and newspapers. Akhtar was quoted saying, “In India, rock music is a very shallow and superficial genre. They dress and style themselves like American rockers but the words and lyrics are archaic and obsolete.”

Now for someone to make such a strong proclamation, one would assume there to be a significant basis for complaint and an understanding of the subject. But Akhtar went on to state, “When they came to me to write lyrics for my son Farhan in ‘Rock On’, I wasn’t really sure I could pull it off. I had never done a rock album before and I’m not familiar with the genre.”

The news went away without a whimper. No one in the Indian rock community (save a couple of websites) took any notice of it and not a single protest was launched for a particularly malicious judgment. Sure ‘hardcore’ scenesters lambasted the film for, among other things, the lack of a bassist, the commercialization and the distance from the real scene. But at the end of the day Joe Indian came out of the theatre thinking he’d watched a movie about rock music.

Continue reading after the break.

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