Namaste all,

As you can probably imagine, seeing my gravitation towards Hinduism, I happen to have an appreciation for Indian culture, but one area in particular that I find myself appreciating more recently is India's music, particularly Carnatic music and dance. However, as for that area of Indian culture, there was one modern influence that helped me appreciate this area even more - the music of the modern rock band called Tool.

You're probably wondering what a modern rock band with a name like Tool has to do with Carnatic music and one's appreciation for it. To keep this as short and simple as possible, I will link to a couple of their songs, so you can listen and hopefully grasp what I'm talking about:

"Disposition" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lozl...e_gdata_player

"10,000 Days" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-0r...e_gdata_player

In both of those songs, if you listen closely, you can find hints of Indian instrumentation, more specifically that of tabla.

Now I'm not saying that the music of Tool necessarily has any resemblance to that of Carnatic music, nor am I saying that I got into Carnatic music as a direct result of Tool. What I am saying is that Tool's music made me appreciate Carnatic music more fully, as I grasp now how relevant the Carnatic music tradition is to the modern world.

I'd like to know what you all think of this observation. Just remember that I'm not trying to paint a modern rock band as "mystical" - rather, I'm pointing this out to say that Indian music has made some positive impressions in the West beyond that of commercialization. At least in my opinion.

Sincerely,

Webimpulse