tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53200445206597408452023-11-15T09:38:28.084-08:00Musica - IndicaMusings on music from the perspective of a global indian.sophoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04205269880443520138noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5320044520659740845.post-14114922020303306722007-05-23T16:45:00.000-07:002007-05-23T17:33:00.118-07:00MithoonIs <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Mithoon</span> the next <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Himesh</span>? <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Mithoon</span> is one of the current <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Bollywood</span> directors who is shooting up in ratings like crazy. And rightly so...His latest, 'The Train' is so much better than the very average/below average music that has been dished out of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Bollywood</span> in the last few months.<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Jhoom</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Barabar</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Jhoom</span> for example from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Shankar</span>-Loy is very average at best.<br /><br />I first heard about this boy wonder in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D-t-fbba2g"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Tere</span> bin</a>, sung by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Atif</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Aslam</span>, who is fantastic talent in himself. I love the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">sufi</span> sound the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">paki</span> singer brings to the song. I did not give much thought to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Mithoon</span> at that time, but he again delivered with another great song in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Anwar</span> called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtuWbw-nXZ4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Maula</span></a> This song was playing on my car in a loop for a long time when it got released. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Roop</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Kumar</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Rathod</span> has done an excellent song singing it. And my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">fav</span> part is the last "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Dil</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">yahi</span> bola <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">mera</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Dil</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">yahi</span> bola <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">yara</span>" piece. This is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">definitely</span> one of the best songs i have heard in a while.<br /><br />Another great song from the same movie is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijc4zsPGGXc"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Tose</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Naina</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Laage</span></a>. Sorry about the video, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">couldn't</span> find anything better in You tube. Listen to the song with the window minimized to get the full effect. Never heard of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Shilpa</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Rao</span> or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Kshitij</span> then, they can be heard all over in Train.<br /><br />And the guy is only 21!!! Yes just 21 years old.<br /><br />He has come out with a new movie called The train, where he was replaced for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Himesh</span>. Thank god for that.<br /><br />It has 4 great songs and of course n. number of remixes for each song, which seems to be the norm these days. European mix, groovy mix, Club mix etc etc. I am not against remixes or anything, but i like the originals so much better in the case of Train.<br /><br />If the links below <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">don't</span> work in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">FireFox</span> you may not have the real-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">plugin</span> so try IE.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/972mqnefgt.As1NMvHdW/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Beete</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Lamhein</span></a> - Kay Kay<br /><br /><a href="http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/9C2mvGRbgd.As1NMvHdW/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Mausam</span></a> - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">Kshitij</span> - I am becoming a big <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">Kshitij</span> fan a very subdued performance to keep with the sadness of the song. BTW what kind of name is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">Kshitij</span>!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/oC2mNF9lmS.As1NMvHdW/">Teri <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">Tamanna</span></a> - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">Zubeen</span> of the Ya Ali fame has done a great job.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/9y2m0ardg9.As1NMvHdW/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">Woh</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">Ajnabee</span></a> - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">Shilpa</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">Rao</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">Sunidhi</span> watch out. Only downside is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">Mithoon</span> has tried to sing too, it is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">ok</span>, but <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">KK</span> would have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">defly</span> done a better job. I hope <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">doesn't</span> gets into the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">Himesh</span> mode and starts singing all his songs and self destruct.sophoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04205269880443520138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5320044520659740845.post-56625909978072396392007-05-21T16:05:00.000-07:002007-05-21T22:34:10.404-07:00ShanmugapriyaI was watching a friends classical dance show a few weeks back. It had some excellent music which they had recorded in a studio in India specially for the show. When I came across <a href="http://us.f13.yahoofs.com/bc/444c71e5_1551f/bc/Blog/Dance-show%282%29.mp3?BCwUoUGBBU02O6ab">this piece</a>, (which i recorded on my treo)<br /><br />1. I really liked it, instantly.<br />2. It sounded very similar to something i had heard...<br /><br />My friend pointed out to me it was nothing but the awesome shanmugapriya ragam which was the answer to both my questions.<br /><br />Of course the songs came tumbling down in my mind...first one was <a href="http://play.rhapsody.com/maharajapuramsanthanam/bhoshambomaharajapuramsanthanam/vilayadaidhuneramaragashanmugapriyatalaadi?didAutoplayBounce=true">Vilayada idhu nerama </a>which i had heard growing up, by M. Santhanam. Even though i wasn't a big carnatic music fan, i always had a special attachment to this song, at that time i did not know it was shanmugapriya.<br /><br />The second song that came to mind was the classic from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wSgu5DFN6Q">Thillana Mohanambal</a><br /><br />You can see that the similarity is so much, that you can just sing the songs interspersed like this...Vilayada Idhu Nerama, Malai azhaga indha silai azhaga endru...<br /><br />So i started walking around with recording on my treo and showing it to people, a couple immediately thought of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGSEr0MO-vc">Salangai oli</a><br /><br />Others pointed other beauties like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUoKrgUnPSg">Kannukkul nooru nilavu</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRuSz-_K4hs">Gopika Vasantham</a> both have a classical tilt to them and are such great songs, or surprising ones like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UzcmeSUQdU">Tham thana thamthana</a> or <a href="http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/pJ2g2q3yz9.As1NMvHdW/">Ooru vittu</a> which hadn't crossed my mind at all.<br /><br />I can list a lot more songs here but will stop, as a simple Google search will yield them for you.<br /><br />This is the 56th melakartha ragam and was sung in the devotion of lord Shanmuga. In English scale starting in C, the notes go like this C D Eb F# G Ab Bb<br /><br />I will discuss in another post about Melakartha ragams and carnatic music. But for now, just bask in the beauty of Shanmugapriya and next time you listen to something, take a step back and think why do you like it so much? There may be a link after all...<br /><br />I also wonder if i can write a program to generate songs in Shanmugapriya automatically for me! And if i do, will i like all of them? Something to ponder on...sophoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04205269880443520138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5320044520659740845.post-49154628023954223772007-05-18T14:41:00.000-07:002007-05-20T23:10:09.328-07:00The FratellisThe <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Fratellis</span> make awesome music - period. One of those bands that i <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">instantly</span> liked when i heard em.<br /><br />I first read about them in BRIT Awards nomination. I have to say i have a proclivity for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">british</span> bands, i <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">don't</span> know why. Is that a general <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Indian</span> thing? I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">don't</span> know.<br /><br />I then heard them in the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBo5Pzjknfg"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ipod</span> ad</a>, You have to admire Apple, they are always a step ahead in their products as well as their ads. It was such a catchy tune, so i went looking for their album<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">costello</span> music and it did not disappoint me...<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Immediately</span> liked <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5fpsln6cUg">Whistle for the choir</a>, with lines like "Can never be too pretty, tell me your name" and "Oh me Oh my, You talk - I die, You laugh - I cry". Fantastic, pretty girl - loser boy song. Love the whistling in the song too. I like songs which i can understand, and i have to confess there are many songs which <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">don't</span> make sense to me at all. For example for the longest time i thought <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7vs21ZKrKM">Losing my religion</a> was something about faith, until i heard in an interview Michael stripe saying that he wanted to write a love song to top Stings "Every breath you take"!!!! It is still one of my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">favs</span>, which reinforces my belief, you <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">don't</span> have to understand meaning to really like a song.<br /><br />Of course there is the most famous of the album <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ht6CLv-sVc">Flathead</a> which everyone in the US now seems to know thanks to Apple. I am such a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">sucka</span> for things like "Para pa pa pa para para" in a song.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clhOnZRrmXc">Chelsea Dagger</a> seems to be the most popular in the UK, with soccer fans adopting it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_dagger">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_dagger</a><br /><br />Another <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">fav</span> is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq-qasYIhWE">For the girl</a> for its racy guitars, i again am partial to guitars more than anything.<br /><br />Overall a very catchy album, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">defly</span> check it out. Looks like these guys are here to stay, they know how to make songs that grabs you and keeps you hooked.<br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSTNZXoT5gQ"><br /></a>sophoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04205269880443520138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5320044520659740845.post-90317505882297522312007-05-17T18:14:00.000-07:002007-05-18T01:35:12.539-07:00Why this blog?Well, like many people i listen to music everyday and muse about it. Coincidentally the word music is derived from the word muse. Muses in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Greek</span> mythology were goddesses of art, from which music is derived - I wonder why they were goddesses and not gods & goddesses! But this blog is not about, etymology or history - wonder why it is his-story and not her-story! (Sorry about that, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">couldn't</span> resist it) . It is mainly, notes on the music i hear every day and other random <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">thoughts</span> associated with it.<br /><br />I listen to something new all the time. I listen to stuff ranging from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">latesht</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">indian</span> music to the current indie music. In other words from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Pritam</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Wilco</span>, from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Illayaraja</span> to The Shins, from ARR to Killers, from...you get the drift.<br /><br />As i listen to these stuff, i wonder aloud in my head, why do i like the songs i like, why do i just play a song again and again while i <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">don't</span> even give a second thought to others, i mull on why the lyrics are so crappy (esp. in some latest <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">tamil</span> songs), I wonder what makes profanity tick (in hip hop), i ponder how my dad (a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">carnatic</span> enthusiast) will react to a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnwLf88t_Wc&mode=related&search=">Killers song</a> - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">btw</span> i know the answer to that one, - hideous nonsense, i think about how my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">american</span> friends will react to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lynq4hhDEAQ"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Andhi</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">mazhai</span></a> (not favorably <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">btw</span>) or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUTqK9KEQXQ">Its the time to disco</a> (much more favorably).<br /><br />Also, whenever i hear something interesting i send it out to my friends for their reaction and comments. So i thought, why not just capture all this in a medium where it can be preserved through time with easy access! I would love to come back a year from now and find a great song i listened to and posted about. This blog is mainly for myself and maybe some friends and not a statement to the world. If others with similar musical tastes find some things they like in the blog then, well; You are welcome!<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Btw</span> has it ever happened to you that your <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">ipod</span> picks that random gem from your shuffled <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">playlist</span> that you <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">haven't</span> heard in years? If it has, you know the feeling...<br /><br />Has it ever happened to you that you are thinking about some song and it comes up on the radio coincidentally (or is it really coincidence?) Well, muse about it ...sophoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04205269880443520138noreply@blogger.com0