Things of Which I May Not Speak » Music

We’re Seeing Other People

Devanshu — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:37:23 +0000

On a whim, I listened to the all of the current top 25 songs on lala.com. And I didn’t like a single one. I think the last time my taste overlapped with a list like that was 1998. After that, the world and I, we went our own separate ways.

It Might Get Loud

Devanshu — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:19:37 +0000

Imagine you were in a large open-air stadium with ten thousand people. There’s a cold wind blowing and it’s silent. And suddenly one of these three openings start playing:

One, two or three.

Would you get goosebumps? If so, you really need to watch the Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) documentary, It Might Get Loud. He uses a meeting of the three great guitarists, Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White as an homage to the guitar. The movie is like comfort food for music fans. [trailer]

SerendipiTV

Devanshu — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 05:25:15 +0000

There are two feelings that deserve words in the dictionary to describe them:

The feeling when you are randomly flipping channels and accidentally discover that one of your favorite movies is playing on a channel you never watch.

The feeling when you discover that an artist you love has put out work (e.g. music) that you didn’t know existed.

I came up with a word for the first one: Serendipiteevee. It’s what I felt when I just discovered A Hard Day’s Night was playing on a channel called Palladia. That such a channel exists is proof of a benevolent God; because how else could a channel no one has heard of even survive?

I don’t have a word for the second feeling—discovering new music by a favorite artist. But that just happened when I found that Beirut put out a delightful song called Mimizan for the charity compilation album Dark Was the Night. Watch it below (or here); how can you not smile while listening to this [video]:

Music Monday: Very

Devanshu — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:34:33 +0000

The audio cassette that got most play in my room between 1994 and 1995 was The Pet Shop Boys’ album Very. Every single song is a gem. I just descended in to some serious emotional nostalgia, listening to the whole album again after a long time.

Here is Can You Forgive Her:

And, for the Pet Shop Boys fans, this interview Andrew Sullivan did with them is what reminded me of how much I really loved their music 15 years ago.

The World’s Most Important 6-Second Drum Loop

Devanshu — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:59:30 +0000

I first saw this video four years ago, and it is the single biggest inspiration behind my own series of videos. Behold, the amen break: [Video]

Bollywood Roots 3: The Beatles go to Bollywood

Devanshu — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:09:24 +0000

So, finally, episode 3 of my video series is ready. This time on The Beatles and India—how India influenced The Beatles and The Beatles influenced Indian music. Our story begins in April of 1965, with The Beatles filming Help in an Indian restaurant (Video).

It’s been a couple of months since the last episode. This one took a lot more research, a lot more video clips, and a lot more writing. But I think I am more satisfied with it as a short documentary than I was with the previous two.

[You can find more from this series in the Bollywood Roots section. Also, you can subscribe to my channel on YouTube.]

Music Monday: I Google You

Devanshu — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:13:25 +0000

Fantasy fiction superstar Neil Gaiman and Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer got engaged a few months ago. It’s the geek version of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

But a few years before Neil popped the question (right here in Boston, no less), he wrote these words:

I Google you
late at night when I don’t know what to do
I find photos
you’ve forgotten
you were in
put up by your friends
I Google you
when the day is done and everything is through
I read your journal
that you kept
that month in France
I’ve watched you dance
And I’m pleased your name is practically unique
it’s only you and
a would-be PhD in Chesapeake
who writes papers on
the structure of the sun
I’ve read each one

—read the rest of the lyrics here

Amanda Palmer set it to song. It is the song for our times. Here are the two of them, with Palmer singing:

Munturiganji Kunjikyo

Devanshu — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:42:19 +0000

So, sticking with my thread of unearthing things that I wrote before I was of legal age to drink, vote or get married, here is the transliteration of the Malayalam portion of Jeeya Jale from Dil Se. Needless to say, I do not know any Malayalam. This is what it sounded like to me back then, as I faithfully recorded in my crazy notebook:

Monturiganji Kunjikyo, Undurimuttore chindikyo
Vanjarivannam Chudari vaave
Taanginnakka Takadhiniyaru Tanganivaave Hoi!
Tanga fur salle, kuru Pooivalle
Maaran Mai Ralle Hai!
—-

Kuruvaadikiye Kuruvaadikiye
Ukkur gud gud Bhoovik Kurvi
Koonnadipakke Rooyiadi Kuddavaakine
Maarannine Koohikuvooki Kuttadikineye

∞

This is not meant as disrespect to Malayalam. It is what I heard and faithfully recorded. I invite you to do the same with Gujarati (my mother tongue) garbas. It might be fun. Or funny.

Here is what the actual transliteration (and translation) is. I was close in parts, but in others, I wasn’t even in the ballpark. We weren’t even playing the same game:

Punchiri thanu konchiko
Give me a smile and lisp

Munthiri mutham chinthiko
Think of kisses as sweet as grapes

Manchani varna sundari vave
Oh sweet and beautiful girl

Thankinaka
(no translation,it is a rythm)

Thakadhimi aadum thankanilave oye
Dance in the golden light.

Thanka kolusale
Like golden anklets

Koorkum kuyilalae
Like the cooing cuckoo

aadana mayilalae
Like the dancing peacock.

—-

Hey,kuruvanikiliye
Oh kuruvani bird

Kukuru kurukuru kooki kuruki,kunnimarathil uyal adi
Making noise(kukuru kurukuru),Swinging on the kunni tree

Kodum orike kootu vilikunne
Is calling you after making the nest

Maran nine kooki kuruki kkotu vilikunne
Your lover is calling you again and again

∞

My bad.

Music Pick: Mad Tom of Bedlam

Devanshu — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:13:05 +0000

This is a seriously catchy song. I heard it once on the radio (thanks again, WERS!) and had to know what it was. As I described last week, the discovery loop is shortened immensely—you can go from hearing a snippet somewhere to finding out the name to listening on YouTube to downloading it within minutes.

So- the song is called Mad Tom of Bedlam, and it’s based on a 17th century song. The lyrics are pretty much unchanged, but the tune is something Billie Holiday would have knocked out of the park 70 years ago. It’s by Jolie Holland.

Mad Tom Of Bedlam – Jolie Holl…

These words have been spinning in my head for weeks now:

It’s well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money

Seven Best AR Rahman Songs You’ve Never Heard

Devanshu — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 03:52:40 +0000

I am an AR Rahman collector. I have close to everything he’s done in Hindi, and a lot of the other stuff too. Yes, even Love Birds. And Lakeer- Forbidden Lines. And yes, even the Hindi dubbed version of Duet, known as Tu Hi Mera Dil. Such a thing exists.

But there are a lot of AR Rahman songs that even his (northern) fans have not heard. Some movies did not get released, some were never heard north of the Deccan plateau. So—here are my favorite 7 AR Rahman songs that many people (even among his fans) have not heard, or are unfairly ignored:

“Dola Dola” from Dil Hi Dil Mein: (video)

Singers: Srinivas & Swarnalata
A very ‘old style’ song. If you heard the song on its own, without context, you might think it was an old ‘50s song. Another song from this movie was the classic “saagar ke liye hai fishing net, pyaar ke liye hai internet”. (translated: for the ocean there is a fishing net, for love there is the Internet)

“Yaar Teri Bewafai” from Love You Hamesha: (audio)

Yaar Teri Bewafai – Hema Sarde…

Singer: Mahalaxmi Iyer

I believe this movie (starring Sonali Bendre and Akshay Khanna) never actually got a formal release, but thankfully the music was released. Yaar Teri Bewafai is one of my favorite Rahman songs, and probably the one with the best lyrics. It is a sung by a woman who is telling her former lover that it’s great that we broke up, we shouldn’t have been together anyways.

” Humne Bhi Tod Di Kasmon Ko, Vaadon Ko
Bhool Gaye Hum Bhi Teri Sab Yaadon Ko
Tune Yeh Dil Aise Tod Diya
Lekin Humne Bhi Haath Tera Chhod Diya
Tu Hai Udaas, Pareshaan Hum Nahin
Tere Jaise Anjaan Nadaan Hum Nahin
Yaar Teri Bewafaai Ka Humko Zara Sa Gham Nahin
Yahan Tere Se Haseen, Tere Se Jawaan Kam Nahin
Tu Nahin Mila, Koi Aur Mil Gaya
Dil Nahin Khila, Par Dard Khil Gaya
Pyaar Sholaa Hi Hai, Shabnam Nahin”

“Anjali” from Duet (tamil) (video)

This is a great solo saxophone followed by SP Balasubramanian singing the same tune to words.

“Mustafa Mustafa” from Duniya Dilwalon ki (Kadhal Desam in tamil) (video)

This is probably well known, but I feel it doesn’t get the respect it deserves. I love it and it’s one of the best songs to sing out loud. Especially when it gets to the chorus.

“Smiyai” from Kandukondain Kandukondain (tamil) (video)

Singers: Clinton (not Bill), Devan (not me)
This one was a big hit in south India, but not so much north of Chennai. A very classy, modern, fast paced beat including a capella style vocal beats. In fact, for the adventurous, almost every song from Kandukondain Kandukondain is great.

“Hai Dard” from Ada (video)

Singer: Udit Narayan

This is the most recent one (2008) on the list. This is another one where I don’t think the movie ever got released. But thankfully, the music did. Only one other song from this album was any good—“Ishq Ada Hai”.

“Noor un ala Noor” from Meenaxi (video)

Noor-un-ala-noor 2 FR Meenaxi

This is one of the great qawwali’s of all time. Extraordinary stuff.

So that’s all I have for now—enjoy!