1997, Music

When I Was Born for the 7th Time (1997) by Cornershop

I really appreciate the genre-bending of this record. Even though mixing Indian music with western popular music was a thing a full thirty years before this record came out, it feels like that part of psychedelia was the least popular (or accessible) to all the bands that were influenced by the genre. For the most part, western and Indian fusion has been rather scarce since then, at least within western popular music. So I really do appreciate these guys, who dive right in, with a new mixture of sounds, and relying on Indian popular music instead of classical. I have never heard their earlier albums so I don’t know if this was always their shtick. But, again, I appreciate it.

But I don’t really like any of the genres they are fusing together. So I find myself more appreciating this intellectually rather than enjoying it.

And that’s the musical part. I can’t say I love the lyrics much. Like so much music like this, I feel like the lyrics are often an after thought, more often than not. Many lines are repeated and I can’t ever foresee myself listening to this record and thinking about how good a particular line is.

So you should really check this out if you’re into hip hop-influenced alternative/indie pop rock, or if you’re into Indian music and wish more popular music took inspiration from it. But it’s not quite my thing.

All tracks written by Tjinder Singh unless otherwise noted.

  1. “Sleep on the Left Side” 4:06
  2. “Brimful of Asha” 5:17
  3. “Butter the Soul” 3:19
  4. “Chocolat” 1:24
  5. “We’re in Yr Corner” 5:47
  6. “Funky Days Are Back Again” 3:41
  7. “What Is Happening?” Tjinder Singh, Ben Ayres 2:15
  8. “When the Light Appears Boy” (featuring Allen Ginsberg) Allen Ginsberg, Tjinder Singh 2:41
  9. “Coming Up” 1:03
  10. “Good Shit” 4:40
  11. “Good to Be on the Road Back Home” (with Paula Frazer) 5:45
  12. “It’s Indian Tobacco My Friend” 4:51
  13. “Candyman” (with Justin Warfield) Larry Coryell, Tjinder Singh 3:49
  14. “State Troopers” 3:07
  15. “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” John Lennon, Paul McCartney 2:27
  • Tjinder Singh – vocals, guitar, scratching, dholki
  • Ben Ayres – tamboura, guitar, keyboards
  • Anthony Saffery – sitar, harmonium, keyboards
  • Nick Simms – drums
  • Peter Bengry – percussion

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