Divine .....is thy music ...

Some recent words from A R Rahman

"Music is my means of connecting with the divine. What cannot be put into words, can be expressed through music. When one listens to music, one closes one's eyes because music is an expression and celebration of the divine

There are countless names of God, which we cannot utter simultaneously, but through a soulful composition, we can experience the whole power of God's presence amidst us "

Only an absolute gem of a person can have such thoughts ...
and thats what A R Rahman is ...a gem, a divine being himself ....

And your music is what helps a lesser mortal like me connect to the divine ....
I thank u ....

p.s. - the complete article can be found here
Link to TOI Article

x-mas weekend ...

23rd Dec
4:00 a.m.
start on a looooooooong drive .....
Rahman all the way ...it is .....
2:00 p.m.
Arrive at san diego (10 hrs later) ...check-in to the hotel room ......sleep ....
6:30 p.m.
Search for a starbucks ...have coffee ....
search for a hang-out place ....lots of places to do that ...pick one .....get drunk ....
dinner ...desi ....coool place ....
float around in downtown ....

24th Dec
9:00 a.m.
breakfast@starbucks
10:30 a.m.
seaworld ....for the next 5 hrs
5:00 p.m.
san diego beaches .....wowwwwww
7:30 p.m.
hangout@TGIF + meet up pals
12:00
zzzzzzzzzzzz

25th Dec
Merry Christmas
9:00 a.m.
forced to wakeup
packing .........
11:00 a.m.
Checkout ...followed by dinner
12:30 p.m
beach@lajolla - wowwwwww
1:30 p.m
the journey back ....
again ...Rahman all the way ...

hmmmm ......wish I never had to return bac .....

-A

Cheers to A R Rahman ...

Now heres a a double bill ....
Rahman won awards for both the Best music as well as the Best background music for his score in Rang De Basanti ...at the GIFA Awards couple of days back.

And as if its the icing on the cake, 3 of his compostions(see below) have also found their way into the 56 songs short-listed for an Oscar in the original song category.

“Chan Chan” from “Water”
“Khalbali” from “Rang de Basanti”
“Luka Chuppi” from “Rang de Basanti”

Though the actual 5 or 6 nominations won't be announced until Jan 23 and not sure whether Rahman's songs will find their way into that too, can't help but feel thrilled about this ....

read more abt this at...
http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2006/06.12.08.html

-A

Can't think of a Title ......

Sometimes I wonder, whether or not Rahman's music has created a protective blanket for my ears or set standards so high, that any other music just sounds so bland, so unimportant and so repulsive at times. I used to consider myself a good music critic - now though when everything starts and ends with Rahman, I guess am no longer one. Obviously, I am not sad about that :-) for what he has created in the past 14 years - each and every bit, each and every song, each and every tune - is enough to make me happy for a lifetime.

I remember a episode from the monthly news diary - Newstrack (probably 12-13 years back) where some music directors had called Rahman a 1-film wonder, a speck so immaterial who would disappear into the darkness in no time. Boy !!!! I knew at that time that they were wrong and how. So so wrong were they .....

Salaam-e-Ishq
Heard ...Salaam-e-Ishq today- the latest offering from Shankar EL. Know what !!! in a world without Rahman's music - this album would have been fine, just fine. But not in a world where just about 2 weeks back 'Guru' had been released, not in a world where me and my girl were playing just Rahman all through the morning and not in a world where my car just plays Rahman (through my ipod).

Shankar EL are getting too repetitive. They are a good group - better than the Himesh's and the Pritam's of the world. In fact, they would rank behind ARR and Vishaal Bharadwaj in my list.
But this album just about sounds where they left off in KANK or any of their previous albums.

My recco - not worth a buy but ok for a ' hear'.

Oldboy
Saw this great South Korean movie ....Oldboy. Not for the weak-hearted and definitely a tough story to digest (note that this movie was copied in bollywood too as 'Zinda' which was ok but the story was attuned to suit the Indian conservation indian audience).

The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Reading this book - a Pulitzer prize winning attempt, I think. Its a really gud read about two boys (cousins to each other) who want to make it big in this world and are inspired by Houdini and comic strips. A full review once I finish reading it.

-A

Weekend

Two days, saw Casino Royale (the new bond is pretty decent), drove around, hogged like anything, slept like a log, surfed the net, watched some tennis, forgot everything about the place called gym.. didn't go for jogging, didn't play anything ....i look bac and this is what i see :-( ..aaaaaaarghhhh !!!!!

the one gud thing that i did though, heard guru over and over and over .....all the while
the verdict is clear ...rahman rocks ...yet again :-)

-A

Guru ...

The promos were great, the song bits were great and now the album, its as good as it can get.

Just 4 hrs since I laid my hands on this album and I guess I have been hearing it in a loop ever since ....

'Tere Bina' takes you to a world where you have rarely been - specially Rahman's voice ....and the vocal interludes and the lyrics. The orchestration so simple and yet so wonderful - each instrument has its own stellar role to play. Just reinforces my belief, that I am blessed to born in the age of probably the greatest ever musician.

'Aye Hairathe' - Its a long time since I heard Hariharan's voice blending so much into a song and making it heavenly. Yet again, just simple orchestration but the rythm, lyrics and again the genious of Rahman sparkles in this song.

'Barso Re' - Probably the fastest number in the album and its a joy. Rahman brings back the flute in this album - and there cudn't be a happier person to hear it than me :-). A typical Rahmanic fast peppy number this with great rythm beats - yet again the vocal interludes are amazing.

'Jaage Hain' - Want some inspration - want a song to lift ur spirits when you are down ? Want some wonderful orchestration ? Want a great song ? This is the one for u .....Rahman's voice yet again ...breaks into the song at around 3:00 mins into the song ....(before which is just music)

'Mayya' - An arabi or a turkish mix song ....this song is currently rising up by charts (will update this space later). Its a wonderful number nevertheless.

'Ek Lo Ek Muft' - Bappi Lahiri has sung this situational song pretty well. Rahman's music is experimental but is awesome. The instruments used in this song again puzzle me. I am hearing sounds which I can't even associate to any instrument I have heard before.

'Jaage Hain' - This song also is in the process of rising up on my charts (will update this space later).

Somehow I feel that the previous associations of Rahman and Mani Ratnam have been probably in a different league (better ?), but its still early days to comment (hardly 4 hrs since I laid my hands on this album). And I may very well eat my words soon. Its growing like the beanstalk in Mr. jack's story , the music ...the thrill ...

Rahman ...yet another album ...yet another winner ....and at the end of the day, the winner is yet again Music and music crazy fans like me.

The wait now for the movie ....

-A

Baba O'Riley

Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only teenage wasteland ......

and thats couple of lines from the song Baba O'Riley .....one of the songs that contributed to the growth of my musical appetite and ultimately turning me into an absolute rock fannnnnn.

The band - "The Who" and I saw them live this past Wednesday. The Who rocked the HP Pavillion at San Jose. Die hard rock folks won't need an introduction to this band who has been to an extent responsible for shaping the face of a genre of music. The list of their hits is just innumerable and they played just about all of their key hits at the concert.

i thank my luck that I was able to witness this event .......unfortunately though, no pics from the event since cameras and recorders were not allowed.

-A

A genre called 'Rahmanic'

Theres Classic, theres Psychedelic, theres Alternative, theres Carnatic, theres Hindustani and countless more .....

And then theres Rahmanic ....I guess its more than fair enough to say that its a Genre in itself ...how many times have you ended up saying that this sounds like Rahman or that its that Rahman flavor .....countless number of time I guess ....

So heres to 'Rahmanic' ...definitely a Genre now and definitely the best sound for my ears.
I write this on the day I feel that I now am in the possesion of almost each and every track that the man has ever composed (thanks to a friend, who himself is a great A R Rahman fan)

-A

A flying India visit, music and more ...

Yet again, its been more than a month since my last post .....
A Chicago visit, an India visit and now back to SFO - thats what happened in the past one month.

The India visit was a really ...really.... short one - 15 days of which more than 2 days were spent flying to n fro from India. As for the days in India itself, the split goes like this
Bangalore - 4 days,
Delhi - 2 days,
Kerala - 1 day
Chennai - the remainder of my days with my folks

So I was flying and going around in taxis even in my flying visit to India - whew !!!! Now I need a vacation after a vacation ..I feel ...

I certainly need to write a lot about India which I will for sure in the coming days. The so called economic growth and industrialization and all that crap ....but not in this post. (having read the last line, u must surely know what the tone of my writing would be ...)

Music
The Music scene has been really dull recently. Blame it partly on Rahman who has so few releases and blame it partly on the other music artistes who are as bland as ever.

While in India, I did manage to hear some new classical stuff which I did end up buying. Nothing great but music for the music starved ears. Picked up a couple of Malayalam and Hindi stuff too - again nothing great to write about at length here .... (except the old Hindi movie album 'Dhoop' - which probably has some of the best Ghazals and compositions I hv ever heard)

Movies
Got the DVD of RDB (Rang De Basanti) for dirt cheap ...there was a special offer while I was in India .....really a steal at Rs. 199.
Got the DVD of Alaipayuthe too - thats for my gal - its her favorite movie ....

Saw two new Hindi movies which deserve a mention here ...

Khosla ka Ghosla
An amazing movie with no real stars except Boman Irani and Anupam Kher - have to rate this as one of the best comic movies I have seen in the recent past. A must see.

Dor
A poignant and touching tale of 2 women (its inspired from a Mallu movie - which I heard was inspired by a book - Inspirations galore ....) . The star of the movie was undoubtedly Iqbal a.k.a Shreyas Talpade - boy !!!!! this guy is a startling revelation - an amazing mimic and an original actor nevertheless (which the movie 'Iqbal' brought out brilliantly).

Day to Day Life
gas prices are back to normal, SFO weather has been amazing this week, its Diwali today/tomorrow, its Friday today, got my car washed yesterday, reading a Jefferey Archer after a loooooong time (cat o nine tales) , listenin to music all the time, watching Chunking Express and working .....

-A

Its really been a while ...

Since my last post, it exactly been a month now. Lying low is me but life goes on ....Memphis ..Chicago..and now back to SFO, thats what I have been doing the past month ...

And as for the world ....People figthing each other, blasts here and there, hatred, traffic ....the same old stories ..nothing in this world ever changes ....

I seem to have the lost the knack of writing .....for words are failing me right now ....want to write about a lot of stuff but nuthing ...blank ..absolutely blank am I !!!!!

So back to Music and Books ...music first ...

Music:
a) Stellar Road - Heard this rock band at the Navy Pier at Chiacgo. No new band has ever managed to impress me this much the first time I hear them. A rock solid 2 hour hearing is what I gave them and was floored for sure ...they put up such an awesome show of guitaring and vocals that we stood there stunned. Got a CD of theirs ('Better than Yesterday') - great buy it..plays in my car day and night (and Rahman of course :-))

b) Bob Dylan (Modern Times) - The lyrics are gud ..the music is really gud ...Bob Dylan is great but dude ....I can't seem to understand what u r saying ....might be my judgement ....but neverthless, the vocals are not clear .....

c) Audioslave (Revelations) - Definitely a gud buy ....considering that their last album was a dud and was definitely worth nuthin at all .....

d) Don (Hindi) - Simply ignore maadi ....except for one song (Aaj ki Raat ...by Alisha Chinoy)

Its amazing how even though there are a gazillion musicians across the world and a zillion styles and form of music of which I might probably be hearing around a billion different ones (probably boasting about my music mania) but finally what soothes me and what makes me happy about discovering the joy of music is Rahman ....A R Rahman ....there was, there is and there never will be anyone like him ....this as I wait for the music of 'Provoked' and 'Guru' - the next Rahman albums looming large on 'my musical horizon')

Books:
a) Glass Palace - by Amitav Ghosh - a good fictional fast paced novel set in the pre-independence era about an indian boy in burma and his subsequent travails and his life and lives of people connected to him in some way or the other ...

b) Two Lives - by Vikram Seth- good one...a biographical account of his Uncle and Aunt.

c) Tipping Point - by Malcolm Gladwell - an ok book about social epidemics and behavior

Over and Out ...

-A

New York Nagram ...and SOK

How many times can you hear a song over and over again till you are not tired if it ?
5 times, 10 times, 20 times, 30 times, never ....

The song 'New York Nagram' from the album Sillunu Oru Kaadhal probably for me falls into the last category. Everything about the song ....its music, its lyrics, the vocals by Rahman is absolutely perfect. The humming at the start, the strumming of the guitar, the beats and then the vocals, Rahmans voice breaks through and the magic starts .....I probably have no words to describe this song ..hear it to experience it .....blessed am I ....really really blessed am I :-)


The album itself ....is an awesome one :
1) Title track - Jillunu Oru Kaadhal by Tanvi - with its amazing Jazz and Blues feel is one of the best I have ever heard.

2) Kummi Adi - An amazing dance number with beats the probably will force u to get up an dance. Again, the choice of vocals in this song are amazing - how does Rahman know who will sound good for a song ...how does the man know when to stop a particular singer and get the next one started ....a perfect demonstration of playing with voices, in this song ...this one was the one which initially got me hooked onto this album ...

3) Munbae Vaa - What can you say about a romantic song, that has Shreya Ghosal and Naresh Iyer in them and music by Rahman ....it has to be fabulous and sure it is .....again ....beautiful interludes with vocalists doing the 'Rangoli Bit' ....stunning ..piece .....

The remaining songs ...they are situational ones, wonderful orchestrations in each of them ..

The wait now for the movie .....

Today - 15th August is India's independence day .....wishes to everyone

-A

Lows, Highs and another Memphis Trip

Some lows, some highs and a Memphis trip .....that sums up my time over the past few days ...

Lows being some lapses in plans laid out for this month ....some more months of pain to endure now thanks to some great people.

The High being the "over with the waiting period" for the release of a Rahman album ...yes JOK or SOK as now its called (Sillunu Oru Kaadhal)

Memphis yet again
Am in Memphis as I write this post ....a official trip ....its scorching hot here as is the rest of the country ....

Went to Beale street this time ....they say its the street which breathes Jazz n Blues and it sure did ... Heard the Memhis Jazz Orchestra for an hour or so ....awesome experience ..I must say ....
There were so many artistes playing out on that street on that Sunday evening that, for a person like me and my colleague, both of us so much into music, it was more than we could handle. There was this little boy (probably 12-13 years old) who was playing the trumpet on the street ..and probably he was the biggest crowd-puller. Such an amazing control he had on the instrument that none of us could stop raving about it ...even my colleague who himself is a part-time professional Trombone player ....
Guess we will head out to beale street again on Thursday night ...

The trip ends on Friday .....

SOK or JOK by AR Rahman
or shall I say ...food for the music starved ...
7 songs ....3 of them which have already captivated me downright....the rest of them still making their way up my musical veins :-)

I won't comment like some others on the net saying that this is going to be a hit or not. Though what I say is that some will like it and some won't. Though, for any die-hard rahmaniac like me, this is yet another awesome album ....

As for Rahman the singer, I should say, that with each passing song he croons, he surpasses himself all over again ....

today is a day to drown ....drown in a Rahman magic called 'Jillunu Oru Kaadhal'.
today might also be a day to drown in a pool (the temp. here is a scorching 105).
today is also a day of sadness as have been the past few days...

life goes on ....

more on JOK/SOK later ...

-A

I need a happy book .....

Maybe I am really bad at picking books or maybe I am bad at taking recommendations on what to read or maybe I just like reading sad books - the 3 books I have read in the past couple of months have all been so depressing -

A House for Mr. Biswas,
Fine Balance,
Anil's Ghost.

Depressed people, war, people who are victims of bad circumstances or corruption - thats all there was ...the harsh truth of life and as we all know - Truth Hurts.

Add to that the war in the middle-east ( and the stunning coverage by CNN particularly Anderson Cooper) and the other calamities (natural - tsunami or man made -war, iraq ..and violence) and you have a really depressed person i.e. me

I need a happy book now ....
Whats a Happy book though ? According to me - a happy book is something that will make me happy by way of humour or by way of telling a plain simple story which is relaxed and casual.
And so I hunt for a happy book :-) . Lets see what I find ...

MUSICALLY ....
I am pretty much still bored ...though I heard two albums which I had been trying to get my hands on (or ears on??) for a long time now -

Dire Straits - Live at the BBC and
Metallica Gold - acoustic

Both get a thumbs up from me :-)

Rahman and his music(new music) have completely dissappeared from the surface of this earth, it seems and so the wait continues.

-A

The Way I see It...Starbucks

"The way I see it" series on the Starbucks coffee cups is good- ...for instance this one ...

"Change the world, but be careful how you change with it"

I like Starbucks and what they have done to the coffeee industry and drinkers (addicts???). Oh yes, their drinks are priced pretty high ...and yes there is criticism all around for them ....but still ..I like them.

One of the reasons probably why I like them - is that they promote Music - music of all kinds and forms not just by famous folks and labels but even small timers and kutti labels ...


-A (a self proclaimed sbux addict)

Bad day for mumbai ....and music

The date 11th July - 6 or 7 blasts in mumbai... more than 100 dead...

Just fail to understand this - just a day or so after I wrote that I believe in the existence of a power called God - I am forced to ask myself whether I was and I am right. I don't know...really don't know...

Death and such dastardly acts are becoming so common-place now ...over the past 2 days ... airplane crashes in siberia and pakistan, bombings in iraq and now mumbai ...

Music

A sad day for music too ...Syd Barrett of Floydd died today (aged 60). He died a natural death though (diabetes being the cause). Though I think Syd hadn't recorded with Floydd beyond the early 70's, he was one of the founding members and a lead vocalist and guitarist for the band at one time. Didn't know this but the wonder number 'Shine on you crazy diamond' is supposed to be a tribute to Barrett. Anyway, a diamond he was and will be a legend in his own right ...forever














-A

Family & friends

Suddenly ...dunno why I feel like thanking my parents, my sister, my friends, my gal and God (yes ..I do believe in the existence of this power) - for everything and for being there for me.

Don't know how many of us who have a family and who have friends realise their importance and their role in making you, who you are and for bringing smiles to your face when you are sad and unhappy or just like that.

Aaaaah ..finally a post with no mention of music .....he he :-) I did mention when I started this blog that this will have something to do with my family ...he he ..finally I have one post :-).

Jokes apart ......Some people might argue for the sake of arguing against this post...but nevertheless ....I feel I needed to thank them.....so there it is ..

-A

Summer Time ....

Summer is here ...
The sun is out more often ...
I can see the Bay Bridge from my window daily :-)

My first summer in California, this - and I just pray and pray that the sun shines for a long long time, this summer. Not that seattle summers were any bad - for the past 3 years, I guess we had the summer season extending almost till Oct.

MuSiQq
Carnatic overdose
Was and being treated to an overdose of Carnatic and Carnatic fusion since the past few days. The long weekend was spent with some relatives on the east coast who really gave me and my gal some real 'shots' of Carnatic music. Time well spent and the ears well fed with that music.
Since I have been back, though, I have got my hands at some carnatic fusion stuff including Kadri Gopalnath and other artrists.
Goooool .......(Good + Cool)

Keane - Under the Iron Sea
They sound like Travis...
Wait.... they sound at times like Coldplay....
But wait again ....they sound like Starsailor too ....
Well, what the heck - all Brit groups sound like each other ..thats the conclusion I have finally arrived at....

This album is good though ...a nice one if you liked Keane's first album and if u like soft Brit Rock(or will they call it Pop ???)

Omkara - hindi OST by Vishaal
Omkara's music works ....
It works due to multiple reasons
a) The movie has a nice theme - Othello ..I guess and so the songs have to fit the mood
b) The movie is by Vishal himself and he normally gives good music for his movies
c) Vishal is a good music director
d) I just suffered a big dissapointment which goes by the name of KANK (refer to my earlier post)
e) Rahman still hasn't had a new release :-)

The last two reasons are personal ones and have nuthing absolutely to do with 'Omkara' itself :-)

Rahman - Signature tune for Worldspace
A 1 minute brilliance. Sheer magic. Hear it urself at the Worldspace India site to believe it ....
Rahman rocks ..yet again .....

-A

Fluid and Infiniti

Two great albums from the Indian sub-continent, one from Rahman's flautist, Naveen and the other by Salman Ahmad - lead guitarist of Junoon

Fluid (Naveen)
A must hear for any Rahman fan - no offence meant but every piece in this album has a distinct rahmantic feel - well of course, he has spent nearly 10-12 years in Rahman's company. But at the same time, Naveen the brilliant flautist is remarkable in each track on this album.

1) Fluid - the track is a fast one, an apt start for this album with Naveen's flute fitting perfectly between the other orchestration. Drums and bongos make part of the orchestration on this track.

2) Bombay Theme - Well, we all know this one ...we have heard this and so has every one else in the world, I guess. But what we didn't hear is the version in this album. Naveen gives a rousing start to this song - in fact for the first 2:25 minutes of the track, you wonder, why its called Bombay Theme - not that you don't enjoy the music but then wheres what you are waiting for ?
2:26 and the ever familiar music starts ..Amazing is the word - the remaining part is also modified with vocals and other instruments and it all fits perfectly. Well, we all know this song ...I end how I started

3) Mohana - Excellent orchestration again - folks this album is not just about the Flute, believe me, its the orchestration too. Since I just have the mp3 right now (will get the CD tomorrow), I don't know who the arranger is. Diverted from the point - This track is a beautiful classical composition with the mridangam, veena and guitar all in perfect ensemble - did I forget something, oh yes - the Flute. Divine and Sublime. Probably my pick from this album.

4) Chennai Rain - Celebrating rain in Chennai ? Maybe - I don't know the context p but all i know is that this track is a nice rythmic one with fast and perfect dance beats.

5) Jiya Jale - A rendition of the classic 'Jiya Jale' song from Dil Se. Nice guitar strumming in the background. Good one.

6) First Light - A soft number - kind of has a Jazz flavour to it with a nice rythm overall.

7) Symphony - Again a soft number - by this time, you start wondering whether this guy has anything left to achieve in the art of playing the flute. I guess, not.

8) You and I - And you thought that the best of the album was done ? Wait till you hear this one. Brilliant guitaring, vocals, flute and then the lyrics, the main song itself sung by kids I guess - 2:46 when the kids start singing in their cute little voices :-). And at 3:43, the song breaks free into another zone - Amazing one this ....

9) Essence - A fitting end to the album, a soft one again with great orchestration consisiting of the tabla, sarod, mridangam and a lot of other instruments. A trifle long though.

You rock Naveen and so does your album ...

Infinite (Salman Ahmad)
Not writing a detailed review of this one since this is an old one (nearly a year now) . Salman Ahmad for those who are not aware is the lead guitarist and I guess the founder of 'Junoon', one of the most well known bands from Pakistan.

Great guitaring, great percussion and some great vocals in this one.

My picks
Natchoon Gi, Ghoom Tana (original and remix), Do Dil, Al-vida, Tu Lung Ja

Winner
Who wins out of the two albums mentioned above ?????
The winner at the end of the day is music - and all music fans like me - across the globe

-A

"World Music" Day

June 21st(yesterday) happened to be "World Music" day as I discovered today ....

"World Music" is just another one of the classifications that have found their way into Music dictionaries of the world.

Wikipedia says - "world music" refers to any form of music that is not part of modern mainstream Western commercial popular music or classical music traditions, and which typically originates from outside the cultural sphere of Western Europe and the English-speaking nations.

Anyway, belated happy 'World Music' day .......please note ..its not "World Music Day" :-)

-A

About Kite Runner and more

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
A review in one word for this book would be - Fantastic

Rarely has a book caught my full attention and interest the way, this book did. 310 pages or so and all it took was around 4 hours of which the last 200 were dealt with in 2 hours - in a flight from SFO to Seattle.
Since this review is not intended to be a spoiler, all I will write is this ...

The book is set in Afghanistan during its earlier hey days and then its rough ride thanks to the Russians/Americans. Its about two little boys who are great pals, their lives as they grow up and the events that interwine their lives. - Amir and Hassan. A simple one, this book, but one that manages to keep you interested with its pace and simplicity.

A highly recommended read ...

Music

Nuthing great that I have heard this week, got hold of a Bob Dylan-Unplugged album, pretty decent one, though obviously, I already had hear their album versions earlier.

Heard some new Hindi stuff too - the only one worth mentioning though is Strings-Bound by Faith by Zubeen Garg. Its worth a try if you want something different.

I still maintain that KANK (refer last post) is just an Ok album contrary to the great reviews and coverage its getting. Its hyped ..and surely in a big way ...thanks to the cast and the director .... Sorry... but thats my take and it will stay that way.

-A

The wait ...

The wait for a Rahman album when you know one is round the corner somehere - is just unbearable...as I discover here - waiting for JoK (Jillunu Oru Kaadhal) to release.....

And so while I waited I heard KANK(Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna)

KANK is by SEL(Shankar Ehsaan Loy) . Quite an anti-climax considering that this was one of the most anticipated ost of the year (since its a KJ - Karan Johar movie). Not that I had high hopes (specifically because it was a Johar movie ..he he ). The songs are quite bland and sound somewhat like Karan Johar's earlier movie songs.
I feel that the SEL trio have not composed what their usual fun stuff is but rather have been bound by KJ. SEL are good ..an intelligent lot but they need to be given their space as is the case with Rahman.

My recommendation - hear it once or twice - some songs might grow on you but on the whole expect nothing extraordinary.

-A

Memphis...Graceland and Work

In Memphis this week, on work. Though I had today to msyelf .

And so went to Graceland (Elvis Presley's home) - one of the shrines for people into Rock n Roll. Though not the biggest fan of the man widely regarded as the King of Rock n Roll, I wouldn't have missed this oppurtunity in a lifetime. The mansion is pretty big and pretty well maintained and is owned by his daughter(Lisa) as the audio tour guide tells me. Elvis bought it in 1958 for around USD 100,000 or so. The tour itself is pretty well done, with the guide (audio) detailing out his life and times and people pretty well.

My knowledge of Elvis was limited to his music and movies only but today was introduced to his philanthropic side and boy !!! - did that surprise me..... He has in his lifetime given so much to organisations and people in Memphis that its amazing how even after being who he was, he was so deeply attached to common people and their troubles. Rockers aren't really known for this :-). Anyway, this really did tons for my respect for Elvis. Truly a King ...

Theres a Car musuem too which houses the Cars and Bikes he owned. Apparently he had a real love for machines and that shows....

Also, did you know Elvis was a Black belt in Karate (in two different levels that too).....

Fun day or rather a fun 3-4 hours ....

More later ...as I brace myself up for tomorrow and work ..... :-(

-A

Of Reservations, Music and Life ...

Reservation
India and Reservation go a long way back - 1991 I thought was Phase 1 but today I learnt that some states have practised it for years .

Phase 2 is now - for the past 2 months, the country has been embroiled in a deep muddle about the increase in reservations for backward classes - another example of the pure crappy vote-bank politics in the ever corrupt Indian politics. Sitting here and writing about it - what do I acheive and what do I do - nothing - but then, felt I should at least write something about it ......while students all over India participate in protests and strikes (hunger strikes too) over this. Will anything happen out of these protests ...no - the reservation bill has been passed and the courts have ordered the striking medicos and engineering students to stop the strikes and forget this ....

A sad story this ....want to write more and vent out my frustrations at whats happening but this blog might not be enough to write about the things that are wrong about this matter and other such matters in India(and the world).

Music
Since there still is no news from the Rahman camp - I continue to explore as always ....
Have heard some pretty interesting stuff over the past few days:

African Groove and Women of Africa -
Two albums which I didn't have the slightest of inkling as to how good they would be - easy listening one of them and other music to groove. Even if u don't understand a thing of what they say, its interested and quite good to hear :-)

Toto - Falling in Between
A really good album again. This group has always written songs with a social cause mainly for Africa. The pick of the album is - 'Bottom of Your soul'

Def Leppard - Yeah
A tribute album to what the group liked in their early years. So its all covers of old songs ...
So So ...

Jal
A Pakistani group, I guess - heard some songs from one of their albums. Quite impressive I must say but I must admit that many of the Pakistani groups sound the same. I read that certain Indian music directors have ripped off music from this groups songs.

Fire - A.R. Rahman
Ya Ya ..its an old one and I have heard this long time back - though got hold of a copy only some days back and so hearing it again.

Life
Its so unpredicatable - as over 5000 people and their relatives in the city of Java,Indonesia found out.
this unpredicatability(is that a word??) - it will catch up with everyone someday ...

-A

IpodVideo60gigBlack

A shining new black 60 GB Ipod Video was handed over to me as a gift by my gal.
thank u lady ......

Rahman and Rock on iPod now .....

(shud have written this 2 weeks back but better late then never)

-A

Musically Bored ........

Feel bored today. Suddenly even music is boring.....

- Heard the new album by Goo-Goo dolls-Let Love in
gud one but am bored of that

- Heard the new self-titled album by Pearl-Jam
ok one ...but am bored of that too..

- Heard a new Mallu movie OST-Rasathantram - Illayaraja
ok one ....but am bored of that too

- Fanaa and Krishh
mentioning them since I heard them this week
as expected - both of them are boring too ....

- Heard Uyir by Joshua Sridhar-couple of songs are ok ...
but am beginning to get bored of that too

- Little bored of Rahman too :-(

So as you can see ....am really bored right now .....
and now u must be bored of this blog too ...

Pray to god that when I get up tomorrow morning ....
a new Rahman album is out for me to hear and be 'Unbored':-)

time though to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............now

-A

The magic of Alaipayuthe

One might wonder, where or what is the limit of Rahman's creativity .....the answer to that probably doesn't exist .....

Hear Alaipayuthe and you will understand why .....its a journey - a magical journey each song weaving its own world of magic. When I first heard this album probably in my grad. days (guess 98 or 99), I was just stunned at what this man had created and whether it would be paralleled someday (almost at the same time though I was proved wrong - another magic was woven equally brilliant and stunning - Kandukondein Kandukondein it was - though I ain't writing about it now - another time probably :-) )

When I bought this album, it didn't have the Bike song - Endrundrum Punnagai but did I need it then ...to be awe struck by this album - no - because the album started with....

'Kaadhal Sadagudu' - which I am hearing right now - I must say, this still remains one of the best guitar based song I have heard ...both bass and the strings ....as my gal tells me (she understands the lyrics), it has amazing lyrics too.

The bike song as I refer to it and which I mentioned earlier - Endrundrum Punnagai - perfect ....everything about it ....absolutely everything is perfect :-)

'Snehidane' ...well this song has such beautiful vocal interludes ....a rahman speciality...besides the song itself that they take the song onto another dimension :-) it seems like a song within a song ....sadhna sargam ...a hindi singer in Tamil ...yes yes ..I know lot of people hate that ...but folks ....hear ths song once again ..do u think it really matters ......the music ...the melody ...I can't stop raving about it man !!!!!

'Yaro Yaarodi' .....a lovely marraige song with amazing drums beats and vocals ...a really fast number that maintains the melody and a playful youthfull atmosphere all at the same time ....hear it to believe it ....

Last but not least - 'Pachai Nirame', the song the describes love through colors ....the music and the format of the song are different ....very different from anything that I had heard ever ....the picturisation itself was amazing too ...the screen filling with the color being described and in slow motion .....O man ....and as I write this, the song is playing here ....

'Mangalyam' again - a song that was not there when I first bought this album but I certainly do have it now with me ....I wonder what was going in the mind of the man when he created such a wonderful number as this one .....a shloka to start with ...and then the main song breaking out ....a class apart ....

Two other songs in this album ....which though are not my favorites but still are a lot better than music by any other md ... :-) ...Am I biased towards Rahman ...oh yeah ..I am :-)

not a review in any sense ..but just wanted to write about this album .....and so thats it ....

-A

A Long Drive...

And if you are hearing Rahman booming on your car speakers all the way, there is nothing like it - right ?

A trip to San Luis Obispo - around 250 miles south of here - thats where we went this weekend , caught up wth some friends(some more rahmaniacs) - Life couldn't have been better :-)

The Pacific coast, the vineyards, wine tasting, driving on the country side - the music of Rahman on my gal's ipod, routed to the car-fm using a igriffin roadtrip (now thats a pretty neat gadget though sometimes tuning it can be a pain) - that was this weekend.

But then, am I here to write about just the trip - hmmm, well not everyone would be interested to read that in case they accidently visit this blog ....

The answer is NO

So why am I here ? well obviously, since all my posts have something or the other to do with Rahman :-)

Oasis - a small Mediterranean and Moroccon cuisine restaurant on Higera street - thats where we were one evening for our dinner - there were some dances being performed and boom - its the magic of the man - mediterranean dance on 'Chale Chalo' from Lagaan - and we were shocked - As much as it angered us that they were passing off Rahman's music as something else, seeing people enjoy the music and clapping along - made us kinda happy and proud.

Thats what Rahman wants too right ... make people happy and try to eradicate all hatred in this world. Well that evening, he certainly did make them and us - extremely happy.
I salute you, yet again Rahman and I yet again believe that I am blessed to be around at the same time as you and that in this life, I have been able to meet you too.

The place San luis obispo itself is a nice little place - California folks should try and go down there some time - quite expensive a place in comparsion to many places I have visited around but worth it nevertheless.

-A

Inside Man....

'Chaiyya Chaiyya' - we know that this song rocks, we know that it haunted us for a long-long time when it was released and we know that it still haunts us...like most of Rahman's works.

This part of the world though is slowly but surely discovering more and more about Rahman. Bombay dreams, some remixes of his songs in Brit club mixes, Bombay Thems, Lord of the Rings and now another biggie ....A Rahman song opening the title credits for a mainstream Amru movie. A Rahman song rocking an american movie hall playing a mainstream commercial movie.

As it turns ot, the whole song played even at the end of the movie ...while the credits were being displayed ...

I culdn't but help smile and feel proud about this yesterday night ......when I was watching the movie ...

Rahman rocks ...he rocks like no one else and some people just got a taste of it.

As for the movie itself, cool one, worth every penny ....

-A

Back to you ...

Heard a lot from my collection of rock over the past few days, a lot of Jazz and tried a bit of Blues too. Liked it, luved some of them, but in the end, felt that they missed something ...

The completeness, the magic, the melody ...the Soul .....

Am back to you Rahman ......
The way you weave your magic, I don't think anybody else can. The pure depth in your music cannot be compared to and cannot be matched ....

Have been Hearing Dil Se (the title song) in a loop .....and each time I hear something new in it ...last I heard it it was a strange tune ..that I even though plays on and on during the course of the whole song, is prominent only at the fag end of the song when the rest of music has almost ceased. I think that Rahman now is at that level where he plays with music and musical instruments and just thinks, what next should I create magic with :-).
Good for people like me though ......I live and I breathe his music ....


Saw some people posting requests to rate songs of Rahman and make it number 1 etc. A humble request to such folks - please do not diminsh the greatness of this man by such talk. His music, his magic and his greatness are best represented by his humility, his silence with words and letting his music do the talking ....Do we really need to vote and rank and try to elevate him by such petty things ...feel these are just mere writings and mere rubbush ...

I know that you folks really adore Rahman's music but I fell that if u really respect and adore this Rahman and his music - just hear his music, yes write appreciative posts and discuss that ...that ought to be it ....

Rahman is much above all this ...he is at a place where other music directors, I feel can only dream of ...IMHO, there is no comparison ...and IMHO, rankings, ratings if such a thing exists all begin at no. 2 ...at least for me ...they will always be like that ....

This is from my Dil Se ..... :-)


-A

You are beautiful ...

Back to Bedlam - James Blunt

and what is this doing on my blog ...well for starters, I liked it ....and where does the Rahman connection come in ??? well ...this is something that Rahman liked too (read that somewhere) n is hearin these days :-).

So I heard the whole album and I must say, I am hooked on ...hooked on to the extent that I now own both the acoustic Live version as well as the normal album version of this album ...
Brit Rock I feel, has always been in between Rock and Pop and this one is no different. Coldplayish in style, this guy sometimes sounds a wee bit like David Gray too .....but then its different. Good use of the guitar and the piano but the voice modulation is the one that does the most to pull you into each song ....

Easily, 'You are Beautiful' and 'Wiseman' win the battle amongst the 10 songs on the CD (12 on the acoustic version which also includes a cover of the Pixies - Wheres my Mind).

Its been some time since I have heard one whole album by one artist (of course I am not including Rahman into the list:-))

Go get it ...

Dave Gilmour is out with a new one too ...I started my journey in rock thru Floydd and so nething from them is a must-hear if not a must buy for me .. - Its called 'On an Island' - not bad though not great too ...

-A

Birthday cake...

a wonderful cake baked by my girl ....for my bday .....Good job ..lady ....
Not the best of birthday's healthwise though ...was in bed for the entire day with a high fever ...so the only drinks allowed were 'hot water' and 'hot rasam' ....

I completed yet another year on this planet couple of days back.....and now have been listening to Rahman for 14 years :-)

Know what - sometimes I feel that I have made so many people listen to Rahman ..rather forced them into it ...that I feel funny about it. Well ....to think of it ....I did them good though ...or else their lives would have been empty ..he he

And I quote Richard Corliss on rahman ...so true this is ..

"Rahman doesn’t even write what’s thought of as world music. He writes a world of music — so broad and deep, so instantly likable and lastingly satisfying, it is the whole world. I hope that, sometime soon, our part of the world catches up with Rahman. Until we do, an important part of our internal juke box will be bereft. "

in what he refers to as "our part of the world" - he means the US ..I guesss

Hadn't written in a while ...still in bed ..not fully the normal me. But felt like writing about the cake and ofcourse Rahman :-)

-A

A Book Review and Music talk ...
Finished reading the 'Namesake' some days back - its by Jhumpa Lahiri.
When I had read her first book - The Intrepretor of the Maladies', I thought, it was just a 'beginners luck' or a 'one book wonder' but boy ....was I wrong ...terribly wrong.....
Oh Yeah !!!!


The Namesake is a great book capturing the life of an American born Indian Bengali boy whose parents moved to the US in the 60's. The life in which he fails to connect to his strange name, a life where he fails to connect to the Indian traditions and a life where he fails to connect to his parents. Though, this book could have been yet another boring account of Indians in the US (and probably some might still say that its boring and slow), what sets the author apart is how she has not stuck to any period or any particular incident for more than the required time - in short, I found the Namesake a real pacy one ....

Not intending this to be a spoiler and hence I stop here. Read it....I would say....

Music Talk
Hmm ...Rahman ...and more Rahman and even more Rahman. I could go on and on and on ....but I guess I will discuss something else today .....
though a 'Godfather' review from me is still pending...probably, will get that done this weekend.

'Good Will Hunting' ....first saw the movie over the weekend ..immensely liked it and noticed that the soundtrack was good ....n so got it and heard it ....
Alternative in flavor.....mostly by Elliot Smith ...who as I just Googled and found out is no more. Sad, that ....
Also hooked onto some timeless ones by Led Zep and Alan Parsons ....
woiiiiiiii .....I am glad there is so much music all around and I hv an ear for it :-)

-A

Blessed .....continued


Oh yes ..I have been too lazy and a trifle busy too to post the pics but as they say - better late than never (though its not applicable here :-) ). Just posting the best of the lot ....web-space conservation :-) (rather my inability to place the pics properly on this page)






Just one funny incident from that day or rather an incident which kinda shows what happened to me when I met the 'god of music'. When I handed over my sheet of paper to Rahman, he asked me what to write - I froze and stood there stupified for around 15 seconds - regained my senses and blurted - please write anything that you wish to - got his autograph that way :-)


Godfather

Heard the songs from this one. Saw some posts saying 'Rahman is Back' - Well where did he go ...folks ....???? he was always there ...right at the top - the only problem is that he is so high that you sometimes don't see him :-).

The song sung by Rahman himself in this is album is something that I want to write about but right now, my words are failing ......and the remaining album too, is brilliant ...

more on this album later - for right now, I have just absorbing each bit of each song .....

-A

Blessed !!!

Attended the 'Tribute to Rahman' at Stanford yesterday. the hall was packed with no space even on the steps leading to the stage ....packed to the core ...jam packed ...

Sat beside him for a while, shook hands with the man, got his autograph and clicked dunno how many snaps of him - mesmerized is the word.
As humble as he is known to be, As cool as he is known to be and As great he is known to be ...witnessed it all ...first hand ...

A dream come true it was....hv grown up listening to rahman ....and now that I hv met him and seen him ....I can say ...I am blessed :-)

Wud be posting pics from the show sometime today or tomorrow ...

-A

Shalimar the Clown


Morning today ..the 8:15 shuttle to SFO - the last few pages of Rushdie's -'Shalimar the clown' and finally page 398.

Great book this - beautifully gelling a revenge story and the lives of people and history and the present state of Kashmir. Unlike certain other books that take sides...this book beautifully captures it - from the point of view of mere humans - humans beyond caste, beyond religion and beyond the riches n the poor. People have suffered. People have been tortured. People have been killed and people are killing.

We, the human race, are a sad lot. A beautiful land which so very easily could have been amongst the best places to be in the world, is today - nothing but a wasteland. Today, I guess half of them or probably even more do not even know what they are fighting for.
When will this bloodshed end. When will people learnt to respect the value of 'life'.

A work of fiction - this was - but it did its trick. It told what it was actually supposed to tell.

-a

India
I miss India ..I miss the people ...the hustle on the roads ...the greenery in kerala ...miss my folks ....miss playing in the fields ....
life was so much more fun as a kid running around, playing ...no worries ...

hmm...I guess I miss much more than just india :-)

the pic btw is my ancestoral home in a small village in kerala - that will remain forever in my memories as a place I used to visit during my summer vacations and where I hv had the time of my life ....


God
(and I mean god of music)
Rahman - it seems he is in Stanford,CA next week. Its not too far for me ...dunno if I will go ...hope I get some company for it ...

am immersed in music ...

life goes on ....

-a

When is the last time a music was discussed for over 5 days ...each song ...each guitar streak ..beats and what could have been done better and what not.
RDB (Rang De Basanti) is forcing people to do that ....and its Rahman ....the magician at it again
Busy week for me ....the music of RDB is growing on me even more ...God ..how does this man do this ...
Some Kitaro and some Alan Parsons find their way into my ears too but am back again n again to the magician ...

Life is strange ....not sure sometimes what to do about it ... People are strange too ....

Read some bad things about India ....or rather about bad things happening in India .....the corruption ...the politics ....frustrates me ....but then it always does ....
What do I do about it ....NOTHING :-

Work to do ..so much of it ...almost time for my daily mocha break too .....

Feb 2nd ......06

-A

What do I write ...where Do I start ....So much to do ...so much that I think ...
Yet ...I don't know where to begin ....

One Musician
All I know is that Music means life to me and one musician more than anyone or anything in this world has influenced me ....and millions of others.
This blog will from now on have in some form or the other have a reference to him.You would find a millions blogs on this guy and his biography with both his critics and his followers writing a lot about him. I do not know what I am going to write about him but sure, i intend to be different.
his name is A R Rahman

The Color Black
The Color Black - that interests me too. They say its Dull. I do not think so though. So, my blog would have a black background .... :-)


I begin today. The date - January 31st 2006