[Holiday Listening] MUSIC on RAIOT

2016 unfortunately felled a lot of greats, so our Music Section became a bit heavy on Music Obits, but we assure you that the odes and laments were all ours (no consultants were used) and when words failed we simply let the music speak for itself.

Friday, April 22 – There has never been anyone like him (by K Mark Swer)

Friday, April 22 – Remembering Darling Prince and his revolutionary song “Darling Nikki”(by Raiot Collective)

Tuesday, January 12 – Aur David Bowie Kaal Mein Mar Gaya / And David Bowie Died Yesterday (by Daniel Langthasa)

Dylan -his mythology, his genius and his Nobel – took up quite a bit of space but here again the provenance of the pieces were new (Maya Palit), varied (over 10 Dylan pieces) and at the least authoritative (Mike Marqusee). In the end, Dylan’s cat and mouse game with the Swedish Academy was more entertaining than his acceptance speech but we published it anyway. We were kind of hoping, though, for something like the (in) famous E.C.L.U Bill of Rights dinner speech held in 1963.

We managed a translation of an old document that threw some much needed light on Shillong’s pre rock and roll period and thereby remembered again the names that have been unfairly forgotten – The Jaiaw Orchestra, Bah Ramsong, Kelly Diengdoh, The Tham Sisters etc. This document also gave us an intriguing insight into the complex interplay of the army and the church on Shillong’s popular music and we hope to connect the dots further in 2017.

Hopefully we can continue with Raiot Jukebox – our repository of old, new and always interesting music (at least, we think so). So suggestions and ideas are always welcome.

Sunday, November 27 – RAIOT JUKEBOX – Angel Olsen (by Raiot Collective)

Also, we believe that every issue deserves a playlist, so we complied some.

The Hip Hop scene buzzed with excitement after 101 India’s web series but we might gently point out here that most of the same crews had already been featured and profiled on Raiot because local hip hop/punk/rock/metal/dance/sumo music will always find a home here, this year and always.

Wednesday, February 10 – Metal Mayhem – A documentary from Shillong (by Raiot Collective)

We tried our hand at some good ol’ reportage but given our structural limitations, it cannot as yet be a regular affair. So concert goers, please contribute.

Friday, October 28 – NH7 at Bhoirymbong – fest review and a few suggestions (by Asheen Chowdhury)

But lack of boots on the ground doesn’t mean lack of engagement and as always there was some fine music writing, analysis and commentary with shout outs especially to the following pieces:

And where would Raiot be without the brilliant musical commentary of Mr. India / Daniel Langthasa. Everyone and everything from ISIS to Chetan Bhagat was fodder for his parodies and usually the more odious the subject matter became, the funnier his protestations got.

Tuesday, January 26 – ‪#‎HappyRepublicDaySong (by Daniel Langthasa)

Saturday, February 6 – #MyLastProtestSong (by Daniel Langthasa)

Monday, April 4 – DON’T THINK, ELECTION IS COMING! (by Daniel Langthasa)

Thursday, April 7 – #BlameIsis #BlameDhoni Song (by Daniel Langthasa)

Friday, April 22 – “Mr. Chetan Bhagat, you are a war monger! You should hang yourself until you fucking die!” (by Daniel Langthasa)

Monday, May 9 – #ChinkySong (by Daniel Langthasa)

We apologise for any unsolicited advice but please feel free to offer some of your own.