Satinder Sartaaj recently performed in Delhi and the show was a big hit. It was also advertised on Facebook and Insta like crazy, so anyone having anything to do with music, even remotely, knew about it.

Folks in my wifey’s office were talking about the concert and they asked her if we went to see it. She said no, and then added that this guy was a little too self-obsessed and it’s gotten kinda annoying lately. They were surprised to hear that. What was she even saying? How could we miss that concert…that “legend of a thing”?

Well, when it comes to music, there are different types of listeners. One category is just the casual type who can listen to anything that feels good. They aren’t bothered much about all the details. Today they like one, tomorrow someone else becomes popular and they will start listening to him or her. Among them, there can be a few who go crazy about someone—like people are about Sartaaj these days. I don’t want to sound like an egoistic idiot, but sometimes they don’t understand much; it is just the “vibe” thing. Fair deal in today’s times. It is what it is.

Then come the die-hard fan types. They are “better” than the casual listeners I mentioned as they do listen to the music an artist produces on a regular basis. They follow the artist’s journey too. But they can’t hear a thing against their favorite artist. They can’t see their limitations, so to speak. All they know is that their guy is the best.

The last type is the somewhat serious listener. They follow an artist and his/her journey, but they don’t mind pointing it out if the artist produces crappy music or if other parts of his life seem to be making more headlines than needed.

Coming back to Sartaaj, when he arrived on the music scene, I had high hopes for him. I thought, “Finally, someone who will create sensible music.” While exploring his work, I spotted some issues which I wrote about in this old post on my blog. Despite all of this, I made a fair amount of effort to listen to him, but eventually, it didn’t work for me. As his fame grew, he naturally became a much bigger and more established artist. So, the traits I disliked became more visible.

I know it may be an unpopular opinion, but in the last 5 years or so, he has got really annoying in his interviews and live performances. He sounds like the really self-obsessed type. He keeps talking about himself all the time. In his interviews, he keeps quoting poetry here, there, and everywhere—unneeded and unnecessary. Then there are those weird English sentences and claims like, “I haven’t read a book in years,” as if to show off his natural genius. I mean, come on - you are a well-read guy. Why the need for all this show ? You have a great career, so focus on doing good work. The rest will fall into place automatically.

Of course, he is successful and his shows sell like hotcakes. There are celebrities attending his shows. He writes decent lyrics, but all these personality quirks prevent me from enjoying his music. To each his own, probably!