SREYOSHI GUHA THAKURTA
MUSIC AS A
Social Expression
Musicians in the Indian Music Industry can be seen as
carriers of influence. It is a well established fact that
auditory and visual aids impact human brains the most.
Sometimes it’s just a catchphrase from a song people
are familiar with, and sometimes it goes to the extent of
changing elements prevalent in the society such as fashion,
language and individual identity. So we can say that
“influence” is a rather risky term to use synonymous to
something being popular and well accepted.
The popular choices of music today reflects the culture
and in a way we can trace its influence by following the
dynamics in our society. We witness the fingerprints of
the present youth in the lyrics and music of almost all
the “Bollywood party songs”. These songs mainly focus
on, partying relentlessly, objectifying women, selfies,
promoting drinking and smoking, drug addiction- like they
are an integral part of the youth culture in India.
In this current age, society is evolving far more chronically
than ever before, thus reflecting various styles of music
that are embryonic. The outrageous rap artist Honey Singh
mainly sings along these lines and as a result, we see two
kinds of audience reacting to it- one section liking what he
produces and the other vehemently opposing it. Therefore
it is safe to conclude that music brings out the power of
rationality in society.
Music too keeps a tab on choices all around society. There
was a time the Indian band Kailasa and Indian Ocean were
famous for their off-beat music and their experimental
24
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
genre. It has now been replaced by Coke Studio. We
generally see Coke Studio producing music that is folk
based and their lyrics give us an insight on the folk culture
they belong to. This conveys how society worked way back
in that time and with the fusion of fresh music from the
modern era, the final music gets a whole new content to
itself with respect to society.
If we go back in the 90s we see how Bollywood songs
created a ripple throughout the youth culture. One such
film was Kuch Kuch Hota Hain and its songs which made
the youth society back then identify Sharukh Khan and
Kajol as style statements. Even today music plays an
important role in shaping the choices of the people in a
particular society.
It is not absolutely uncommon for us to see music that
fuses with active politics of a country and hence weaving
out a completely new genre of music. They started out
as mere political ballads and now they have turned into
songs that inspire millions to stand up against injustice.
Mehengai Daayen Hai was a hit from the movie Peepli Live
that put across us through music and words, the plight of
the farmers and the increasing number of suicides among
them. Even today it is an issue that needs to be dealt with.
The musical figures that influence society till date also
conversely influence other musicians thus giving birth
to new kind of music and musical genres. Furthermore,
society does not only listen to music, but it makes it.