Memories

It’s a bit of an addiction of mine to attempt the Wordle first thing in the morning. Follow that up by checking the news. Today the news contained this- Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath singer and godfather of heavy metal, dead at 76.

Now I’m not a metalhead by any stretch of the imagination. Got into listening to this genre courtesy people I met in my life. And honestly while some of my favorite songs do fall into this category, it doesn’t set my world on fire. But what this headline did do was invoke a piece of nostalgia from a very significant time in my life.

I studied in Bangalore back when it really was THE place to be. The Main Street where us college kids hung out, had a place many of us thronged to- Music World. Now Music World was special because for the first time in India, we had listening posts. They let us sample different genres of music for free. It was a good way to pass the time while you waited for your friends or just because.

A good friend of mine introduced me to the music of Ozzy Osbourne. Till then I had heard of Black Sabbath but in a very offhand way. The new online music channels usually played more mainstream music like pop and Indipop. Rock and metal were restricted to different times. These genres had a smaller and more niche viewership.

My friend was eagerly waiting for the album The Ozzman Cometh to drop. In the meantime, he made it his personal mission to make sure I was prepared to welcome the music. He felt it deserved the due respect. And from there it began. We listened to CD after CD of Black Sabbath. We hogged the listening posts and got glares from others waiting their turn.

Music and the people who create it, end up playing a larger role in our lives than we realize. A lot of my most precious memories have songs, melodies linked to them.

Over time, one of Ozzy’s songs have become a staple in my playlist..have a listen and appreciate the magic he used to wield.