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Hints, allegations and things left unsaid
Hints, allegations and things left unsaid, is not a title that I had to invent, it’s a title that simply "came" to me from somewhere on the fringes of my subconscious memory when I was looking for one for my blog and it was there for good reasons.

Some ten years ago, when cable television was still seeking roots in most big cities in India, MTV resorted to rather interesting means of gaining a foothold into the Indian market. They tied up with our national broadcaster – Doordarshan (DD), and purchased two hour slots on DD Metro from (if I remember correctly) Monday to Friday. The telecast was from 5-7 PM or thereabouts. Hardly primetime, and still just right for their audience. After all, I remember waking up from my afternoon siesta and tuning into it. Back then, I was in high-school. Even if I were in college, this time would have been perfect. A quick, unobtrusive two hour jukebox session before you resume your mundane chores.

I don’t remember how long this experiment lasted but there are other things that I do.

DD’s telecast standards, except on few rare instances, have been far far below international norms. Being the sole broadcaster, they had a frightening monopoly and could get away by airing programs with shoddiest of production values (the monopoly now is questionable but I am told that production values have continued to plummet over the years). MTV back then, had felt like a draught of fresh air (a compliment they are unlikely to hear from me ever again). The slick music videos were unlike anything we had seen! Suddenly this world of colorful, dreamlike moving images was ours to behold and inhabit (if only for two hours). Each video left its indelible impression. The seduction of impressionable minds was total.

Amidst the crowd of music videos, the one that stands out in my memory even today, is that by alternative rock group Collective Soul for their number Shine. The video was shot in black and white and depicted the group’s members singing in woods on a sunny wintry afternoon. The warm “feel” of this video suited the accompanying music well; unmatched by other music videos of that time in sobriety and unpretentiousness.

Shine was from Collective Soul’s debut album ‘Hints allegations and things left unsaid’.
posted: 24.5.05

4 Comments

curious .. ever studied at bishops? your name sounds familar.

By Blogger The Tobacconist, at 24.5.05  



Interesting - one of my favourite Collective Soul songs is "The World I Know" with the video of a man who almost commits suicide. I remember being a suicidal mood myself when I first caught that song, and it actually managed to get me out of my mood!

By Blogger phucker, at 25.5.05  



Nope Sanket...

Well TTG and Rajesh its interesting to know that we've all had our 'Collective Soul' moments :-)

By Blogger Deepak, at 26.5.05  



Aha, finally the secret is revealed!

By Blogger Ashwin, at 3.6.05  


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