EVOLUTION OF ROCK

The following is supposed to be my take on how Rock and Roll has progressed over the years. (With a little help from Wikipedia :p :p) Let’s hope it is as successful as some of Darwin’s theories about evolution 

PART 1

A lot of people wonder why a lot of other people love music which a lot of firang people have composed over the past 4o years. It’s no surprise that at a first listen most people cannot comprehend the lyrics of a rock song; let alone comprehend what it stands for. That is at the stage when you think that its just noise, with a bunch of long-haired maniacs trying to get themselves a neck brace. They had a famous saying in the 70’s, that Rock n Roll isn’t just music; it’s a way of life. And how true they were, that now, even 40 years later, every teenager is affected by it – in his/her own manner.

The roots of rock can be recognized in one word: Rebellion. It was never made to be pleasing to the ear, like techno, never made to make girls swoon, like pop and never made to earn a whole lotta moolah like hip-hop; it was made to be identified with, to make a connection with the uncivilized part of each man and woman. It spoke of breaking the rules, not just to be cool, as many people think; but to recognize the fact that no one can govern a person’s life, he can do whatever he wants. It asked a simple question, why so many rules and restrictions? Why the need for society to impose its thoughts on people who wanted to be free? Darn right, it was as anti-social as one could get, but contrary to what a lot of people think now, it did and still does make perfect sense. The first rockers were caged souls, literally. They were black slaves who started playing such songs as a form of rebellion against the white man. The expression “Rock and Roll” has its origins here. The term “rocking” was used by black gospel singers to indicate spiritual rapture, while “roll” – literally meant “sex”. The earliest form of “rock and roll” was inspired from pre-existent genres like jazz, rhythm and blues and beat music. It emphasized more on the backbeat of the song, with a quicker guitar riff and wailing vocals. A highly sonorous piano was also used here. Little Richard was one of the first artists to combine these elements in his mid-fifties works.



This innovation of this new sound cascaded into the late 50’s and culminated to the rise to the most popular rocker the world has ever known, Elvis Presely. Such was his voice, style and charisma; he alone propelled rock n roll into the limelight. John Lennon once said,” If there wasn’t an Elvis, there’d never be The Beatles”. Till Elvis, rock and roll was more of an anonymous movement; it never really captured the attention of the masses, kinda like what today’s underground movements are like. But with hits such as “Jailhouse Rock”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Hound Dog” and many more, the public was captivated. His live performances were known to be legendary, for his amazing stage presence, charming good looks and of course, his infamous body gyrations. Elvis had a huge cultural impact. Of course, he did have some detractors as well, with some of his peers such as Frank Sinatra proclaiming that he had mainly recycled the black man’s music; but all it did was enhance Presley’s persona and gave him even more mainstream attention. And even today, we can comfortably say that “Elvis hasn’t left the building”, as he inspires generation after generation.


Elvis did inspire The Beatles, but theirs is a more traditional rise. In the late 50’s, the rock and roll movement was strong in Britain, with a lot of upcoming bands. The Quarrymen, as they were initially known, played in clubs in Hamburg for a few years, until the popularity of the hit single “Love Me Do”. They bagged a record deal and became The Beatles, creating some of the most impactful and historically significant albums ever; such as Please Please Me (1963), With the Beatles (1963) and A Hard Day’s Night (1964). In 1963, they crossed over into the American market and created what is known in popular culture as “Beatlemania”. Just like Elvis, the unexpected popularity and wealth didn’t suit the Beatles, and thus their forays into frequent drug usage, and alcoholic revelry. This was very much evident in their music, which evolved into psychedelic rock. Here, instrumentals were common, while songs with lyrics were sometimes conceptual, abstract, or based in fantasy and science fiction. Their studio mates, Pink Floyd were, at the same time creating The Piper At the Gates of Dawn (1967) – a psychedelic masterpiece. This album was the vision of Syd Barrett, unfortunately known more for his personal demons rather than his ground-breaking music. This however, was just the beginning of Pink Floyd, as they pushed the boundaries of psychedelic music, venturing into progressive rock and occasionally dabbing in other genres for weird and different sounds. Some of these examples are evident in “Echoes” – a 17 minute epic. A few years earlier, The Beatles had just released Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) – their most recognizable and influential album ever. Due to internal struggles soon, and the departure of John Lennon, The Beatles soon broke-up. Pink Floyd, however, had better luck. The release of The Dark Side of The Moon (1973) catapulted them to international stardom and their legacy in rock and roll history was assured. With albums like Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979), they achieved cult status.


------This is just PART 1……please stay tuned for PART 2….it’ll be uploaded the moment I finish writing it :p :p

Thumbs Up to PROMETRIC

Before you read the title and conclude that just because my CAT went glitch free, I'm pro-Prometric. That's not the case. My PC malfunctioned in the middle of my exam. But, why am I still complementing these buffoons called Prometric? Read on.

Computer Based Tests or CBT's are the future. If banks use online systems instead of logs, if the share market uses a centrally connected server for all transactions, and if we use iPOD's and mp3 players instead of gramophones, then why not CBT's? All the proceses in the world are going tech, so why should exams be left behind? The CAT is probably the most competitive test in the world, in terms of statistics - 2.4 lakh appeared this year and only around 1800 will finally get into the IIM's. The conversion ratio is higher even for top-notch B-schools like Harvard and Wharton. Thus it is imperative that it be technology-based, as this saves a huge number of resources such as paper and manual labour. CBT's are highly streamlined and they are ideally computer-adaptive, such as the GRE or GMAT. From experience, i can tell you that the GRE will give you an accurate analysis of your abilities. However, this year's CAT paper was not adaptive, thus the varying levels of difficulty in 20 papers over 10 days.

The hooplah over awarding the contract for CAT to Prometric has been massive only now, once technical glitches were noticed. Prometric has a great track record with the GRE, TOEFL, UBS, American Medical License exam etc., so no one complained when they were given the contract in the first place. But, conducting a Computer-Based exam in India is highly difficult - with the technology issues and high number of students appearing. I believe that Prometric has done a great job, with a highly simple and user-friendly interface, which allows the non-English speakers to understand the process with ease. The technical support staff at most centres have been very helpful, and tried their best to eliminate glitches. (to verify this, please check www.pagalguy.com, extensive analysis is done) The re-scheduling process has also been smooth for most people (the media only focuses on the few bad cases), and even the security checks have been very well-conducted at most places.

My personal testing experience was awesome. I entered the test centre hassle-free, with no long lines as has been predicted. The security was strict, but not to the point of frustrating the test-takers. The co-ordinators were helpful, organized and definitely knew what they were doing. The biometrics were much quicker as compared to the GRE, and the PC's were in good condition and functioning well. My only complaint lies with the IIM's, not Prometric. This is because the IIM's decide the format, difficulty level and overall percentile scoring bases for the paper. The IIM's chose to go with such easy papers, the IIM's chose to not take a test run before the actual CAT (btw Prometric does test runs everywhere), the IIM's decided not to disclose the scoring pattern, and the IIM's decided to keep only a short 10-day window. Thus most of the blame lies on their shoulders. But the actual testing experience was really commendable and well-planed for a massive number such as 2.4 lakh over 10 days.

The chief trouble-maker in the whole process is the media, with its exaggerations and extreme statistics. India TV, Aaj Tak, Star News, even NDTV were turning the CAT process into a massive sob-story. This is the root of most problems with Indian media today. Almost all of them mis-inform the viewer for that extra high TRP rating, thus turning news too into an extension of the sappy, emotional dramas that are the staple diet of most Indian audiences today (yes, even men watch these serials with an intense regularity :o ). Infact, even today's youngsters watch such stuff more frequently than they will want to admit. Its a pity that Indian Tv hasn't evolved over the years from serials and reality contests.

Coming back to the CAT debate, I sincerely believe that Prometric was the right choice to conduct the IIM CAT 09 and i hope that once the initial-teething in problems are settled this year, next year's CAT will be a breeze for all parties involved....though I do hope, I dont have to give it, cause my CAT this year was awesome :) :) (I guess im just being optimistic here :p )