Lucky Ali can be credited for indie-pop music, but he cannot be blamed for Anuv Jain

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Let’s talk about the kind of music that is being produced and distributed by independent artists of today. Why does every song sound the same, and why have we abandoned musical elements such as the bridge? Look at any of Anuv Jain’s songs. When ‘Baarishein’ came out, it was a refreshing new sound, but then he reiterated the same sound till it lost all its novelty. From there, he moved on to a career which is made up of the same song all over again, and he is not the only one doing this. I love Ed Sheeran, but did I really deserve to wait this long for an album we had already heard before? All of the songs, except some parts of the singles, are songs which he has made multiple times during his career.

Ali made a name for himself when he had to rely on his CDs and cassettes to sell in stores. So people had to get out of their homes, travel to the music store, and actually buy a piece of music. Which is a lot harder than staying in your bed and clicking a button and having the option of paying absolutely nothing if you can listen to ads. Also, all this music keeps making the rounds of Instagram 1500 times in a day; 50 reels and 25 collaborations are the standard; hence, all of this music is reaching millions of people in a second. Ali didn’t have that luxury; he had to rely on the music stores to keep his music on the window display or on top of the shelf of new music. Even though there was so much effort and labour involved with the music after it was released, he still put in incredible amounts of work on the music itself, and it shows.

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There are still people who are pushing the bar with their music, like Sarthak Kalyani, Bombay Bandook, The Yellow Diary, and the Anirudh Verma Collective. But are others taking the easy way out because they know that their music will find an audience no matter what? Or is it our fault as the audience? Are we celebrating and rewarding mediocrity more often than it should be? Celebrated bassist Sting once talked about how modern music has changed with YouTuber Rick Beato. He talked about the absence of the bridge and how the structure of the music being made today is too simple and easy. When Sting says something, we should all listen (he is still making Diddy pay to this day for not listening closely enough).

There is also an argument to be made about the kind of passion Ali’s craft inspires. Look at any of the videos on the internet where Ali has shown up at a random cafe and performed for the people there. A man so clearly detached from his own success; a musician so careless about his own fame. He shows up, blesses your day and then leaves, without any expectation of applause.

This isn’t a piece that wants Anuv to hang up his guitar. This listener wants him to take advantage of the tools he has been given and take inspiration from Ali and his brand of music. There is a reason why our parents can’t have a conversation about music without Ali’s name coming up. He changed the game and paved the way for so many artists that came after him. So much of it can be tracked back to him, and he needs to be applauded for it. This listener apologises for putting this man right in the spotlight when all he wanted was to play his guitar, sing his song, and go home while humming tunes from 1968.