my feelings on music: let me show you them

What is it about Bob Dylan? 

I read a homage to Bob on Rookie mag recently (yes, I’m outside the teenage demographic for Rookie mag but, by golly, it’s a fab site with lots of insightful articles and cool fashion) which reminded of Andy Kershaw’s passionate outpourings of love for Bob which began as a teenager. 

I have evidently missed out on a teenage rite of passage which makes me feel kinda sad.  Bob Dylan seems to be the kind of artist that speaks to everyone and spans generations – no matter what decade you live in or age you are - his songs resonate on a personal level.  I guess I just missed the memo on Bob but music has certainly played a part in my life and it’s got me reminiscing on my own love affair with music.

As a muslim, my relationship with music has been… complicated.  It’s a contentious issue within Islam and I’m not going to rehash all the arguments because 1. Its tedious 2. You can find more informed writing elsewhere via Google.

If I could reduce all the differing points into one sentence each they would be:

1. WRONG WRONG WRONG.
2. A voice and drumbeat is only acceptable.
3. It’s okay as long as the lyrics are not filthy or blasphemous. 

I hope this gives a little bit of context. 

My childhood was pure pop.  Sitting in front of the TV watching Top of the Pops every week seeing the Pet Shop Boys, Kylie and Jason, Erasure, Yazz, NKOTB being piped into the living room.  I bought Smash Hits with its printed lyrics and quirky interviews which were conducted by picking questions out of a biscuit tin.  I only gave up on TOTP in 1991.  I was increasingly fed up of the dance music that was turning up.  There was no spectacle or personality to latch onto.  Just a repetitive beat and soulful voice layered on top.  I’m proud to discover that 1991 has been spoken of by music critics as a fallow period for music.  This confirms what I’ve known all along.  I wasn’t just a person who loved music, I had taste!

Actually perhaps that’s not quite true.  There’s no Bob Dylan for me to look back on with nostalgic eyes.  My first CD was Love & Kisses by Dannii Minogue which hasn’t exactly aged well (although the lady herself is an evergreen beauty).

As a 90s teenager, I lived through the golden age of Cool Britannia and Britpop.  The complicated part kicked in as my love for Britpop turned me into a rebellious teen.  Listening to music in my bedroom was okay.  Active participation was not. I learnt that the hard way when my mum cried when I said I wanted to go to my first gig.  It was the first and last concert I went to. 

As Britpop tailed off at the end of the decade, so did my interest.  I was a snooty indie kid – I had no time for Steps, Britney, Billie Piper or Five.  But the music I was into was leaving me cold.  It didn’t reflect me or my circumstances.  I was a British-Bengali girl living in the Midlands.  What did Oasis or Blur have to say about that? 

The next chapter of my life would not involve music.  Britpop was dead and buried.  I went through what I call my ‘Yusuf Islam’ phase of not listening to any music whatsoever.  If I needed to hear something I would open the window and listen to the birds chirping and the wind blowing through the trees.  The sounds of nature were my replacement.  Did I enjoy it?  Kind of.  I began to dislike music but I realised how difficult it is to be away from it.  I couldn’t cut music out of my life.  It was the soundtrack to adverts and programmes on TV, it blared from clothes shops as I walked around town.  Music had an insidious way of creeping back into my life. 

And I craved it.  

My resolve was broken. 

Screw the birds chirping, I wanted to hear Coldplay’s latest. 

And I knew then I couldn’t give up music entirely.  That teenage passion for music hasn’t left me.  There’s still that part of me that wants to say ‘Hey, have you listened to this?’  I recognise that passion when others write about how they feel about Bob Dylan.    

The majority of my IRL friends are muslim and they don’t listen to music.  They prefer nasheeds (religious music) so music is a solitary affair.  I love listening to 6 music and discovering new tunes or songs from the past.  I have my youtube playlist which I update regularly.  I enjoy nattering away on twitter about the latest tunes I've heard (and you're welcome to join!).  It isn’t the be-all and end-all to my life but it’s there.  A voice, a beat, a melody. 

Bob, I’ll be coming for you soon.