Album analysis

I would like to have a small discussion on the two, much anticipated bangla rock album by Cactus and Fossils. Read somewhere that it is not correct to compare bands. I have to disagree. I feel to rank is natural, it helps us decide better. Heard both the albums and I have this to say - both have pushed the boundaries of rock music being done in Kolkata. Both the albums are miles and miles ahead and superior to the first set of bangla rock albums that the city had heard in the early 90's. These new albums can be sold in any international market to an international audience. But that's about where all similarities end. Fossils's 4th album is a class act but it fails to live up to the expectations set by F2 ( I don't think F3 was anything to write home about). A theme album hardly wins any brownie points in my book. The issue with fossils, I feel is that it has become a reflection of Rupam's counter views of life. In a way it's not a celebration but a sad commentary on negativity. It's loud and almost raw in energy. True that's what a rock album at the end of the day should be but it has become predictable, we know what to expect from Rupam, we don't have any expectation from Fossils as a band. Rupam has become larger than the band and it is now showing on the bands overall output. The first Fossils album and also the 2nd album, were in my opinion path breaking albums. Cannot say the same about the 3rd and the 4th album. It's going down hill.
On the other hand Blah Blah Blah brings in a whiff of fresh air with its tight arrangement, new sounds, easy listening lyrics and packs a solid rock punch. One also needs to remember that some of the songs had to be re-recorded as Pota left and Dibyendu had to replace him. What works in Cactus' favour is the fact that we do not know what to expect and hence are always taken by surprise. Lot of people are too busy writing off this veteran band but each time they manage to pull off a classic (much like U2). The new guitar sound which reminds us of Tom Morello and exquisite bass work is an added bonus for listeners. The album is certainly not without flaws and I would dare say that Dibyendu's voice is not exactly that of a rock front man. Neither was Pota's but he was unique.
So my vote is with Cactus in this round. The bangla rock scene has surely come alive with the rivalry that is quite evident and in a way good, as it pushes each band to give its best... The winner is always the listeners and fans!

To when we were happy...

Do you remember him introducing us to one Jay Stevens

over red meat, music and some intoxicants -

alcohol, spoken words, camaraderie,

a dimly lit room overflowing with a lifetime of experience collected and

neatly arranged on that shelf against that wall?

The misfits juggled with six strings and stretched vocal chords.

Jim, Dylan, Ginsberg, Kerouac was thrown around with gay abandon,

while the night - that dark whore, the night tangoed with the pacing legs of time outside.

More meat, more music, more intoxicants…

Cannot remember however us leaving or leaving at all.

Perhaps we never left, perhaps the misfits

still sit around juggling those six strings and stretching those vocal chords in

that dimly lit room overflowing with a lifetime of experience collected and

neatly arranged on that shelf against that wall.

To the one who wouldn't write

Have you died of shame lately ?
Felt helpless, betrayed and raped lately ?
Have you taken a local bus with your loved one , or perhaps
Strayed into an abandoned mill lately ?
No?
But have you read the papers recently?
Or
managed to catch that breaking news while having lunch in the cafeteria lately?
Or
Perhaps catch the alert on that recently downloaded app
on your over smart over sized over priced over hyped phone ?
No?
Have you been violent lately?
Do you think you were right?... or left?
Have you watched porn and gambled with your sperm recently?
Have you counted cards and periods recently?
No?
Have you been social on the book of faces lately ?
tagged your friends on that picture of you on Maslow's hierarchy lately?
No?
Good!
But have you been impacted by the falling rupee, rising inflation, falling sensex,rising onion prices, falling necklines, rising hemlines lately?
Have you seen your reflection on an ATM screen recently?
Have you written anything lately?

A less than silent Prayer

Faith I bring on rent,
for I have none.
Hyacinth, Hibiscus,Lotus, Orchids,
Frankincense and Vermillion I offer
for the Shaman said so.
Ancient Mandala I sketch and
Mantra I whisper for 40 days and 41 nights
to Pagan Gods.
21 grams of soul I pawn
against 30 pieces of silver
for Iscariot.

 Then cross legged I sit on a carpet, Persian,
 in the oldest Synagogue in this decadent city
and my sins I confess in Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin, Sanskrit and Arabic.
 Just so the gods may know that I am but flesh,
but blood I will draw
should any less than fortune befall
my expression - Lyric or
my beloved wild flower - Mahua.

Tuccho Ami ( the insignificant one) I first heard of Cactus from a senior of mine who was studying comparative literature at Jadavpur University way back in the mid 90's. He mentioned Cactus to prove that bangla rock bands from Kolkata were as good as the ones in Bangladesh. My first reaction was one of amazement, bangla rock band from Kolkata and named Cactus? Then I heard Holud Pakhi which a friend of mine sang at the college canteen... I was bowled over. My first live Cactus show was at the Presidency College ground and my love for Cactus grew, though at that time they were more of a cover band.... Then during post graduation I remember Holud Pakhi and Sei Tumi by LRB were like our anthem. By that time I had learned a few guitar chords and sang HP night and day and at every gathering. I remember a particular show I had been to where Anjan Dutta collaborated with Cactus and that's a show I will never forget... Cactus is 3 albums old now. I dare say that the album Tuccho Ami is a classic progressive rock album. I have introduced Cactus to quite a few non Bengali friends of mine who today swear by the seer energy, experimentation and the non conformity of the album. Cactus has turned 21 and over the last few days I have been reading comments about how Cactus cannot survive without Pota. My take on the whole issue is as follows. Pota no doubt brings a different dimension to Cactus with his uncanny unique voice and singing style, but a band is much bigger than any individual, no matter how talented he is. Cactus has survived 21 yrs and I have no doubt that they will rock many more years. Why sympathise with an individual who does not think about the band? Did he not know that there is a new album which is scheduled to be launched? did he not know that the 21st year was round the corner? I mean what sort of a rock musician will put aside music to participate in a purely commercial, made for the masses, regional adaptation of Big Boss? And why? For 15 days of spotlight? Some money? Wasn't rock music supposed to stand up against such trappings? Personally I have no sympathy for Pota. My money is on Sidhu and Baji and the rest of Cactus. They might have a new line-up but there is little doubt that the soul of Cactus is the same... If anything it has matured over the last 21 yrs. Just ask yourselves where is Poroshpathor, Abhilaasha and countless others who had come to the party in the late 90s? A Cactus survives against all odds, so will the band. Long live Cactus and bangla rock!

A critical self analysis through the eyes of Lyric

Baba,
You come home late and switch on the TV,
You need to unwind maybe,
Then why do you fiddle with your phone
Even when you are with me.

I know you love me,
I feel it when you hold me, caress and kiss me,
But do you miss me ?
You are busy and lost
with work, guitar, thoughts
At the cost
Of helping me grow and show
That i can be
As good a person as you wish me to be.

Baba,
I love you so, but its sad to see
At times you come home drunk
Why do u forget
that you are a father now not a punk.
Shower me with kisses everyday when you say goodbye
For office
Sing me a lullaby ....

I know you love me,
I feel it when you hold me, caress and kiss me,
But do you miss me ?
You are busy and lost
with work, guitar, thoughts
But at what cost?

Phosphate

They operate, regulate,
Claim to educate,
Sealed the fate
Of innocence, that ate
23 dreams laced with phosphate.

Where is the crown prince and the nationalist?
Busy i guess with their own feast
Coz they don't have to speculate
If their midday meal is laced with traces of phosphate

Therefore I donate
My hate
To you comrade
Who stood silent and watched
23 innocent that ate
Death wrapped in phosphate!