8/20    psb, do you listen to Indian music? In an attempt to fit into my
        work place better I've been listening to a few, and all I could
        really appreciate is that all the female singer have this really
        whiny, annoying high-pitched voice. What do you like about that?
        \- no i listen to north american music. are you talking about the
           whiny, annoying high-pitched pitched woman or her whiny, annoying
           high-pitched sister?
        \_ Sounds like you listen to Hindustani music. It is terrible,
           lots of boring high-pitched female vocalists who sound like
           they are moaning. Carnatic music (the true classical music
           of India) is far better. The music is pleasant and melodious
           and most of the female vocalists have soothing voices.
           \-well as they say, if you want to get a response on the
             internet, say soomething wrong and wait for the "corrections".
             "indian music' is no more a category than "indian food" or
             "american music". major categories of india music include:
             north indian classical [ravi shankar], carnatic [both with
             some sanskrit basis],  islamic stuff [qwaali, ghazals], hindi
             film music [although the "old classics" are pretty different
             in flavor from the current stuff], folk music from different
             parts, kirtans and other hiddu religious music from different
             parts, kirtans and other hindu religious music from different
             parts. in bengal there is classical, rabindrasangeet, baul[folk],
             adhunik [modern, but that means like 1950-70s say], more recent
             "bands" etc. the high pitched moaning is probably *not*
             hindustan [north indian] classical. --psb
                \_ Most hindustani female vocalists I've heard in
                   concert have really high pitched voices and many
                   of the songs they sing are raga exposition which
                   can sound (to the untrained) like high pitched
                   moaning. To me the biggest problem w/ hindustani
                       \- three words: Der Holle Rache --psb
                   music is not the way it sounds but mostly the lack
                   of content. In a concert most of the songs are
                   designed to highlight the vocal range of the
                   artist. While this maybe considered by some to
                   be beautiful, I find Carnatic music far more
                   engaging since its form allows artists to display
                   their vocal talents within songs of great poetic
                   and religious content. To listen to MLV sing a
                   great Thyagaraja kriti is an experience that
                   cannot be matched by in hindustani music.
                   cannot be matched in hindustani music.
           \_ Not to interrupt the South Indian chest pounding, but
              there's a lot of great North Indian classical music too, but
              i'd agree that Bollywood-style pop songs are crap. To the op,
              here are a couple of recommendations to get your started:
              L. Subramanium, Bimsen Joshi (i do realize I've been trolled)
        \_ holy cow, I can't believe that reading motd can actually be a
           culturally enlighting experience. We need more of this and less
           of the usual political hate-shout exchanges.
           \_ Why do you hate India?
           \_ India: interesting food+music. Ass Art. China: interesting
              art and food, ass music.
                \_ Indian sculpture, mostly in the form of religious
                   deities, lacks nothing in form, composition and
                   creativity when compared to classical greek or
                   even renaissance works. It is cloaked w/in a
                   religious veil that most westerners can never
                   penetrate though.
                   \_  I wouldn't mind penetrating through some of those
                       hindu godesses depicted in their sculptures.
                   \_ I don't really agree. What I've seen can certainly
                      compare with certain western periods but not, at least
                      in sheer form and sophistication, with the height of
                      greek and renaissance. But hey show me some pics.