A Qawali for You

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!

More Folk Songs -- Kiran Ahluwalia

Photo: Lindsay Lozon
http://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.

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!

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.

Questions

1. Did Cat Stevens really never pick up a guitar again or sing a song until he publicly re-accepted music in recent years?
2. 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?
3. 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?
4. 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.
   
5. 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.

Mass Ensemble - Earth Harp

This weekend, I was tuned into Mass Ensemble by a friend. Intrigued by their concepts and their music, I'm sharing a piece with you. You can also find more information at www.massensemble.com.

Lullaby - So Gaya Ye Jahan

Because after not sleeping for a week, I finally caught some zzz's last night and only forced myself to get out of bed 12 hours later because... um... i guess so i could post this. where's my bed? i'm off to catch up on more sleep.

This is an all-time favorite. Something to do about road-trips... about being up at night when the world sleeps (well, not in *this* town... it never sleeps, but certainly in the little place I called home when I first heard this song). Also, always struck me as a great campfire song for our yearly autumn weekend in the woods.

Alex Wilson Band - True American Heartthrob

And you're gonna want to check out http://www.alexwilsonband.com/ and the photos... especially the one of Alex on the traintracks!

Because I'm Thinking of Redheads

After an extended phone/sms conversation with my dad about the wonders of this city's musical offerings and his unfortunate social calendar conflict which prevented him from popping in to see Reba McIntire last Friday, and another conversation with a friend about his constant love affair with red-headed singers --- I had redheads on my mind.

Let's get this started -- Chalte Chalte

It's only fitting that I should start off a musical blog with my first love and, for a long time, the only music I'd admit to loving.

This is from the Hindi film Pakeezah. I would like to share something with you about the songs I choose, but something like Pakeezah and this song... well, frankly, I could write a book and still not tell you enough about this movie's story, this song's importance, and all the ways it interacted with my life. For now, let's just say this song has been a constant in the Soundtrack.

Oh, and I should point out that while I am posting a video of the song, my love of this piece came out of a cassette and it was not until later that I saw the video.

Welcome

Welcome to the Soundtrack To My Life. This space was created to share with you the music to which my heart is beating. Along the way, I might share some stories, or I might not. This remains to be seen.

This blog is to share with my friends. If you stumble across it and do not know me, then Welcome, sit, have a cup of tea and enjoy! However, if you do know me, I prefer to stay anonymous. Don't use my name or any identifying descriptions.