Friday, April 4, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Rang Barse!
Rang Barse Chunarvali, Rang Barse....
That song has been playing in my head for days. Which is no surprise, considering it's Holi today. Please go check out this link to watch/hear it for yourself. And while this is definitely Bollywood, the essential Holi-related traditions of drinking milk spiked with bhang (aka cannabis), wearing white, and playing with colors to welcome in spring are all there.
The Bollywood Holi clip needs some additional description. It comes from a movie called Silsila from the early eighties and stars all the heartthrobs and beauties of that decade. The scene opens on Amitabh, next you see Rekha (with the long braid). The next full person you see is Jaya (with the long open hair, wearing a saree). Finally, there is a screen shot of a man on the drums. Silsila was THE scandalous movie of the time and I remember being told to go to bed (and get myself far far away from the VCR player and TV) on the night my parents watched this movie. It dealt with extramarital affairs.
In this scene, Amitabh drinks the *special* milk, gets high, and pursues his friend's wife, Rekha (who was his lover before they each married different people). Amitabh's wife, Jaya, and Rekha's husband, Drummer Man, at first laugh it off, but as the playing around gets more intense, Jaya and Drummer Man don't look so happy!
That song has been playing in my head for days. Which is no surprise, considering it's Holi today. Please go check out this link to watch/hear it for yourself. And while this is definitely Bollywood, the essential Holi-related traditions of drinking milk spiked with bhang (aka cannabis), wearing white, and playing with colors to welcome in spring are all there.
The Bollywood Holi clip needs some additional description. It comes from a movie called Silsila from the early eighties and stars all the heartthrobs and beauties of that decade. The scene opens on Amitabh, next you see Rekha (with the long braid). The next full person you see is Jaya (with the long open hair, wearing a saree). Finally, there is a screen shot of a man on the drums. Silsila was THE scandalous movie of the time and I remember being told to go to bed (and get myself far far away from the VCR player and TV) on the night my parents watched this movie. It dealt with extramarital affairs.
In this scene, Amitabh drinks the *special* milk, gets high, and pursues his friend's wife, Rekha (who was his lover before they each married different people). Amitabh's wife, Jaya, and Rekha's husband, Drummer Man, at first laugh it off, but as the playing around gets more intense, Jaya and Drummer Man don't look so happy!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
More Folk Songs -- Kiran Ahluwalia
Photo: Lindsay Lozonhttp://www.kiranmusic.com/Gallery.htm
Photo: Marek Wlazlo
http://www.kiranmusic.com/Gallery.htm
Well, here's another Toronto Treat -- Kiran Ahluwalia. A good friend's parents turned me on to her during a lovely family dinner.
I loved Toronto on my first two visits, but really, now I must return to seek out more music. Oh, I know, it can all be sought out online. But what an adventure to do it in person! Anyone care to join me on this quest?
Go check out Kiran.
Friday, February 29, 2008
and the mystery continues
Did I say I mysteriously lost a week? Well now I've lost two. But luckily, my favorite Big Mac buddy linked me into this fun piece and brought some music back into my realm. Enjoy!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Oh Week, whither have thy gone?
I somehow managed to *lose* a week. Not quite sure how that happened, but sure enough it is Saturday now and the last time I posted was Monday and I didn't go to *any* music gigs all week!!! Despair. How did this happen? And if I consider my upcoming schedule, there's a good chance I won't make it to another music gig for over a month!!
Well, at least I can take youtube with me everywhere, and with the help of my friendly commenter's candy name drops I have plenty to searching for on youtube.
But first, a bit of what I *have* been listening to during this mysteriously disappeared week --- Josh (that "o" is pronounced like the one in "stove", and the name roughly means excitement or heat of the moment. You can check them out at www.planetjosh.com. They're two cool cats from Canada...
Here is my favorite. It's a cover they are doing of an old classic. But I can't find the original version. Anyone know who sings the original? The term "mausam" is just too common in Hindi/Urdu songs for me to pull up the original that way. And I didn't spot on Planet Josh any history on the song.
Well, at least I can take youtube with me everywhere, and with the help of my friendly commenter's candy name drops I have plenty to searching for on youtube.
But first, a bit of what I *have* been listening to during this mysteriously disappeared week --- Josh (that "o" is pronounced like the one in "stove", and the name roughly means excitement or heat of the moment. You can check them out at www.planetjosh.com. They're two cool cats from Canada...
Here is my favorite. It's a cover they are doing of an old classic. But I can't find the original version. Anyone know who sings the original? The term "mausam" is just too common in Hindi/Urdu songs for me to pull up the original that way. And I didn't spot on Planet Josh any history on the song.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Questions
- Did Cat Stevens really never pick up a guitar again or sing a song until he publicly re-accepted music in recent years?
- Some of Cat's early 70's music is weird. i Mean, i like folk, but i hear his stuff and i'm trying to grasp that folky feel that i love, but i'm not getting it. Which is okay. I don't have to get it. But was he really famous and his music loved that much in the 70's?
- Have you seen recent videos of music from his Another Cup of Tea album? Such a visual disconnect between the idea of music and guitarist and the vision of Cat with the guitar and microphone... anyone else get that feeling?
- considering Amy Winehouse's jazz and Cat's folk and the other Brit's producing American music... why is it that these forms of music are finding their voice in the UK? more so than the USA? Have these musical forms died out in the USA? I'm not saying they have... just would like to learn more about this.
- Has a more recent artist redone "Wild World"? I know this song well, i suspect from the radio in my car... but I don't remember the name Cat Steven's associated with it... either because it was redone or because I wasn't paying attention.
Amy Winehouse - Rehab
A new regular hangout of mine - a 24hour French cafe full of lovely wood interiors - regularly runs concert dvds on it's flat screen hung on the wall. One such concert is Amy Winehouse in concert in NYC. That got me to googling and youtubing and here is a treat for you.
youtubing embedding for this song is disabled, so follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD5sahXoj0U
And, guess what! She won a Grammy for that song. (youtube clip below). She accepts from her satellite attendance since she was unable to obtain a USA visa to be at the Grammy's in person. And if you watch this clip, you get to hear her non-singing voice... and wonder how it can be so different...
And here's the video to Amy's performance at the Grammy's (via satellite). She appears shockingly sober! In the clips I've seen of her at the French Cafe, she appears perpetually smashed.
youtubing embedding for this song is disabled, so follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD5sahXoj0U
And, guess what! She won a Grammy for that song. (youtube clip below). She accepts from her satellite attendance since she was unable to obtain a USA visa to be at the Grammy's in person. And if you watch this clip, you get to hear her non-singing voice... and wonder how it can be so different...
And here's the video to Amy's performance at the Grammy's (via satellite). She appears shockingly sober! In the clips I've seen of her at the French Cafe, she appears perpetually smashed.
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