Music for the Masses

Moonlight Sonata. Photo, aegils.deviantart.com Some of the best music most people can relate to is during the Elvis and Beatles era. Most people will say that that was when modern music was invented. I wasn't around then. But I definitely won't doubt it. I, for one, am also a fan of true masterpieces. But then again, can anyone really resist Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik? Many a people would probably only listen to this kind of stuff when they are in the washrooms or toilets of some posh hotels or in some elevators. Maybe restaurants even while they are having some scrumptious dinners. My personal favourite is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. I first heard it when I was in primary school. I found it very sad, emotional, touching actually. It's very true when it's said that you can feel the feelings of the composers as they write the music. I heard it again, believe it or not, when Depeche Mode played it in their single Little 15. Alan Wilder made full justice of the original version. It's since been played all over. On TV shows like CSI etc. You can even hear it on Resident Evil if you are a fan of the movie. This brings me back to the fact that for me I have had the blessings of being around when some other great music was written. Yes I am very retro. And I love it. Some of the best music I know was written in the 80's. Allow me to go through them. Depeche Mode. Depeche Mode is a class of it's own, so I needn't delve further on them. As is Nine Inch Nails. So that leaves me with the rest. And the rest are just as great! Tears For Fears. Duran Duran's latest Red Carpet Massacre. Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, The Pet Shop Boys just to begin with. Erasure, with the original Depeche Mode founder Vince Clark. He also founded Yazoo. Then we have Aha, OMD, New Order, Thompson Twins and U2. All influential in my love for music as I know it. Howard Jones. Let's not forget Howard Jones and one of my favourite songs by him What Is Love. Nik Kershaw and his hit, The Riddle. Does anyone remember the original boy band The Bros? I never liked them initially, but when I realised that they can actually play their instruments and not just sing in studios only, I really started to appreciate them. Dire Straits and their Money for Nothing song was another hit too. And who can forget Camouflage and that anthem of a song The Great Commandment. I remember playing that again and again on the cassette player when I was at The Big Splash with my classmates in primary 5. Camouflage. Then there were the alternative bands like The Sisters of Mercy, Blur, Jesus Jones, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, and even Nirvana fronted by the late great Kurt Cobain. The Charlatans, The Farm, The Stone Roses. Wow this list is never going to end is it?! But this are the things I miss in life. When everything was as near to perfect as it could be. When the music and the lyrics was written by the singers themselves. Nothing like what we have today. Songs sang by so called artist who are so young , that it's obvious even they don't know what they are singing about. You can tell that they didn't write it. They sing about having their heart broken so badly, when we know that they have hardly reached puberty. When they start growing hair in the right places, they'll know better. I hope. Still for me, I can and always will cherish the great music that I got to grow up with. Even as I write this, I'm listening to Depeche Mode's Never Let Me Down Again. In fact I just tuned into a heavy rock cover version of Depeche Mode's World in My Eyes by a band called Sonata Arctica. It will bring you into a whole new world. My World. Go on, click below and listen to it. Listen how two worlds collide gracefully. I know you want to. Moonlight Sonata anyone? How fitting.