I Know Kung Fu!

[While I collect the mp3s for the Punk Rock History post, here's are some oddities.]



Let's talk Shitdisco!

No, I'm not insulting Disco, or Salil's music taste. I'm talking about a band. They are part of what NME called the New Rave Scene. My dislike for Rave parties goes back to the Wency/Tommy con-job of 2002 that forced me to go for one. But this music is NOT trance. I'm not sure these 2 songs are for everyone, but I know I'd love to hear them at a party. Preferably after a few beers.


Shitdisco - I Know Kung Fu [mp3]
Shitdisco - Disco Blood [mp3]



Speaking of New Rave, check out this Simian Mobile Disco video. It's pretty hot.




Hmmm. What else? I haven't posted anything by Girls Aloud! They were such a pleasant surprise for me. A manufactured pop group that gives us what it promises: fun, silly, catchy songs (and reasonably hot women singing them, if you must). Listen without prejudice:


Girls Aloud! - Biology - [mp3]
Girls Aloud! - Love Machine - [mp3]

You think I could muster up a little soft, shoop devil sway

Man, can't wait for the 500 Kbps plan to kick in. This one is ultra-slow.

Nothing much to write about, from the next post onwards (which will be here faster than you think) I am going to start posting on bands instead of this damn assorted list I put up everyrtime. Maybe I should have started this time with the Scissor sisters, but have already started uploading the songs, so its too late.

A week after Yohan posted Funky Town, we had a new disco number one in the UK after twenty years, and here it is. I Don't Feel like Dancing has most poeple jumping up and down and feeling all sexy in tight rexin clothes from the moment it is played. All we need are women with strange hair and some funky lights. The glory days are back again. Their new album is as brilliant as their eponymous debut (I love that phrase). I think eponymous debut is a great name for a band.

"My heart could take a chance But my two feet can’t find a way,
You think that I could muster up a little soft, shoop devil sway
But I don’t feel like dancin’
No sir, no dancin’ today. "

Then there is ol' Allison Goldfrapp again, posted for both Navin and Yohan, this isn't as rocking as Ride a White horse but is trippier, if I may say so.

The last one is a great song I got from Dhruv. Son's gonna rise has a sound I have never heard before. One thing that interests me greatly is what the future of music will be like. After some years there is definitely going to be a fading away of some styles and the rise of some others. When I hear Jay-Z or Outkast I think that is certainly one way of taking music forward. The amalgamation of rap/ hip-hop with rock riffs and a bit of isoteric instrumentals thrown in. What I like about this song is how tight and crisp it is. Also about how the simple lyrics convey hope and a strong determination. When I see all the shit that goes on when a bunch of high flying artists collaborate to make a song for some global cause (AIDS is a hot favourite), I feel that songs like this one may mean a lot more to people. Plus the fact that most of these damn songs for a cause are all renditions of Stevie Wonder on meths.

Peace brothers.

I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters [mp3]

Goldfrapp - Fly Me Away [mp3]

Citizen Cope - Son's Gonna Rise [mp3]

The Good Old Days

[Tired of waiting for Salil to post, so here goes.]



No, this is not the post about the glorious 60s and 70s. Nor is it the one about the era into which I made my arrival - the 80s. Those will come later.

This is about now. (Or at least, 2004-ish.)





This is about the Libertines.

The Libertines played no small part in the evolution of the modern rock scene in Britain. They were critical to the reestablishment of Cool Brittania. They were young and hedonistic and genuinely exciting. They rocked.

The story of Pete and Carl is fairly well-known in England, but, unfortunately, outside British Isles the name Pete Doherty is more associated with cocaine and Kate Moss than with angular, upbeat guitar rock. The Libertines' tale has all the makings of rock legend. The drugs, the supermodel(s?), and most importantly, the brilliant songwriting.

They made one cracker of an album, then Pete lost control, even breaking into Carl's house to steal a guitar to sell for cocaine. They managed to make a second album, which vaguely chronicled the band's hopes, and how they were destroyed.

And that was it. A handfull of recorded material and some unflattering tabloid photographs. But they managed to inspire a new generation of rockers, like the Kaiser Chiefs and Arctic Monkeys. Franz Ferdinand too, maybe. Hats off to them for that. Pete and Carl formed separate bands. They're not too bad, but the spark is missing. History repeats itself.


I'm told their lyrics are good, mixing Dickensian imagery with street poetry. I couldn't really make out much - the Beatles/Berry guitars mixed with punk chaos keep me happy. But one song really stood out, because it had a lesson for me and for anyone who believes in the myth that The Good Old Days actually existed.


If you've lost your faith in love and music
Oh the end won't be long
Because if it's gone for you then I too may lose it
And that would be wrong

I've tried so hard to keep myself from falling
Back into my bad old ways
And it chars my heart to always hear you calling
Calling for the good old days
Because there were no good old days
These are the good old days.


I don't talk much about the Libertines. But they are way up there in my pantheon (the one I never finished in my room in Muk West)! I think Pete and Carl belong to the select group of people who understood the "roll" in "rock n roll". These include Chuck Berry, John Lennon, David Gilmour, and Noel Gallagher (there are more, of course).


First up is I get along. The quintessential anarchic-yet-melodic Libertines song. Then comes Don't look back into the sun, which is one of my all-time faves. Then there's What Katy Did. Lastly, there's Can't stand me now and What became of the likely lads? - the songs about breaking up, forgiveness, and the dreams they had. Beautiful stuff.


The Libertines - I get along [mp3]

The Libertines - Don't look back into the sun [wma]

The Libertines - What Katy Did [mp3]

The Libertines - Can't stand me now [mp3]

The Libertines - What became of the likely lads? [mp3]

After Me Comes The Flood

[In case no one noticed, the titles of my posts are from lyrics to songs uploaded here.]


First up, Regina Spektor. A Russian Jew who moved to America in the 80's. She used to listen to the Beatles in Russia, and not understand a word. She said that Rubber Soul changed her life. (I may well be in love with this woman).
I think Regina captures the eclectic yet childlike spirit of the Beatles, without sounding much like them at all. She gets compared to Tori Amos and Fiona Apple, but I think she is far, far more loony. For proof listen to Apres Moi, in which she sings "Apres moi le deluge, after me comes the flood", and even belts out some Russian poetry by Boris Pasternak. If Apres Moi is too out-there, there's Better - which is as 'normal' as she can get, but it's a beautiful song too. I highly recommend her new album, which could possibly be on my top 20 by now. I think my top 20 has more than 20 albums...

Regina Spektor - Apres Moi - [mp3]
Regina Spektor - Better - [mp3]



Next up is The Rapture, a New York band very much in the business of making rock kids dance - a difficult trick to pull off. One of my favourite lines is from the end of Woo! Alright Yeah ... Uh-huh. It goes "People don’t dance no more/ They just stand there like this/ They cross their arms and stare you down and drink and moan and piss." Wait for it! The other song I've posted is Get Myself Into It, which has quickly moved onto my list of party-perfect numbers (which includes LCD Soundsystem's Daft Punk is Playing at My House, and Goldfrapp's Ride a White Horse - Thanks to Salil for that last one].

The Rapture - Woo! Alright Yeah ... Uh-huh - [mp3]
The Rapture - Get Myself into It - [mp3]



Last and probably least, is Muse - an atrocious band that I just happen to love. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because they are overblown, geeky, theatrical, and sci-fi-metallic. Perhaps because the lead singer sounds like Thom Yorke on speed. The video for their track Knights of Cydonia on their latest album, is a space cowboy kung fu mishmash. Check it out on youtube. I'm posting a different song, with less Ennio Moriccone...

Muse - Starlight [mp3]

When I look into your eyes

Conjucntivitis.

When you can finally wear fancy shades no matter how much they clash with your personality.

So I was forced to not go to office (I go even on Sundays, for no reason at all). And thus I can post.

Nine Inch Nails. The ones they nailed Jesus up with. You can't help but shudder at the thought. But once you look past this morbidity, there is some intricate, solid music to be found. I once listened to a BBC 6 music show where Trent Reznor was airing his favourite music and the man has taste. It shows clearly in this song, everything is so tight, its alt rock perfection. I first heard this song with Rahul Joseph, Roopa's brother, the day I was leaving Delhi after Stephens. When I reached the station, the keyboard chords were stuck in my head. As I stood on the platform, sweaty and light-headed, in my head I could feel everyone around me moving with the music. What a scene.

When I went to Delhi this time, I went to Blues in the evening. And boy it rocked. In college we always went there for an afternoon beer, succumbing to lure of happy hours. Few tables would be occupied, we would always be the largest group, the waiters were relaxed.

But this time I was there at 9 pm. There were people dancing all over the place, the waiters were scampering around, a European couple were killing the dance floor with one of those straight backed ballroom dance thingies, it was joy. I wished they played the Sounds there, but all we got was Superstar.

I have started falling in love with a band called the Magic Numbers. Yohan doesn't like them. They are fat siblings who are what you would call crooners. But I like them. The music is plain and honest, the sort of thing I would listen to on an aimless winter afternoon. They are very mellow and just the right temperature.

There is much to do and celebrate.

Nine Inch Nails - The Hand that Feeds [mp3]

The Sounds - Dance With Me [mp3]

The Magic Numbers - Love's a game [mp3]

What has it got in its pocketses?

I wanted to call this post What have I been listening to?, but this line suddenly popped into my head.

I need to keep this thing bubbling along...so here's a selection of what I've been hearing over the past week:


Lipps Inc - Funky Town [mp3]
So funky it hurts. I hear this song was the last Disco #1. Anyone rememeber Towelie from South Park?

Interpol - NYC [mp3]
A very passionate song about a city that takes a lot of crap, and is expected to be "hard".

Jewel - You were meant for me (live) [mp3]
She's lovely, isn't she?

Presidents of the USA - Lump [mp3]
Lumpiest song ever.

Elbow - Mexican Standoff (Spanish Version) [mp3]
Crisp and classy.

"It's in my blood."

I went for the Strokes concert on Tuesday.

Smoldering. They were perfect. What more needs to be said? The guitars buzzed, hummed and crackled, keeping time with the insistent bass and drum combo. Julian Casablancas's lazy passion floated in and out of the garage din effortlessly. They rocked the Bank of America Pavilion for well over an hour without a break. And ended with a spot-on cover of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side".

Hats off.

Plus there was beer at the venue, which kicks ass.

Here you go:

The Modern Age [mp3]

Heart in a Cage [mp3]

Between Love and Hate [mp3]


[I will probably go for Regina Spektor...at 20 dollars, how could I not?]

All you need is freedom

Allright, the one week lull is over. There is much to do and celebrate.

I have absolutely embraced electronic music. To quote a rather excessively thoughtful AR, there is so much to hear.

AR, a few years ago, composed music for a song for a movie called Sapnay. It was a remake of a tamil film, naturally, and here is an extremely accurate translation of a song from the film.

"Strawberry eyes, what are you thinking about,
Girl, you have been brought up in palaces,
You are the ice-cream in the fridge,
Whatever you said, has always been obeyed,
You got everything you wanted, even a Mercedes"

God Bless AR, good old chap.

I got my first ever business card today. It has my name on it and all. We were asked to write two lines to describe ourselves the best we can.

I wrote "Freedom is something that dies unless it is used" - Hunter S. Thompson.

After much war, the lines have been printed on my card. To celebrate, I have had two chicken rolls, two packets of Top Ramen Smoodles, a Mangola and three pieces of choclate cake.

I am at peace with the environment, the US government, smelly people and the pope.

Those lines mean so much to me. Good old Hunter. Most people think of him as a crazy drug addict with a flair for prose. Fear and Loathing is just some "crazy shit dude!". I am at peace with them.

To be a truly free spirit is a truly memorable experience, where you absolutely refuse to be tied down by anything or anyone. Where what you do matters more than what people think. Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high. You saw the right dream for your country Mr. Tagore, the right dream. Where the mind is led forward into ever widening thought and action, Into that heaven of freedom my father, let my country awake.

But Tagore was a good man. he never did "crazy shit". So he's a hero.

What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach.

God Bless Axl Rose, the dirty tramp.

What I have posted here is just some of the really brilliant stuff I have been listening to. The first song is called Collarbone, performed by some really unknown guys. There is a Danish designer working at our firm now and he got it from one of his teachers, so its very new and very good.

I have Karl to thank for the next song too, before everyone else with the funky band names and the funkier haircuts, there were the Stone Roses. And then God said let there be independent rock. So many soldiers is by Ian Brown, the lead singer of the Stone Roses.

Finally, taking heed of Mangalat's request, there is Goldfrapp riding a white horse, brilliance pure brilliance.

Hmm, not much electronic music posted, but we'll get there. And when do I post jazz, bloddy hell, there is so much so near.

Fujiya & Miyagi - Collarbone [mp3]

Ian Brown - So many soldiers [mp3]

Goldfrapp - Ride a white horse [mp3]

Okay...

I am now seated at the computer in my office, free to blog away. I don't have any mp3s on this comp yet, so what I'm going to do is post a video by a new band called OK Go. I don't want to say anything about the video. Just watch it.



I'll be posting on All What Jazz soon. The entry will feature...

...Jazz.

Who'd've thunk it?

Morning saga

You just know when you have to put up a new post. The comments start drying up, the last comment you wrote may have pissed people off, and above all there is that inconvinient itch under your ear. King Arthur being the only movie worth watching on tv may be another reason.

When everything starts to go smoothly in one's life, you pause and take a deep breath. You spin around, check for trouble, find none, and are left feeling slightly empty. And slightly stupid.

I wake up in the morning, can't wait to get to office, have a wonderful day, come back via the scenic route and go to bed. Its all very nice and happy. But you know what I want to do? I want to wake up in the morning and say to the world: I need a saga, what's the saga?

That's what we need. A saga.

Even when all is fine with your world you need some convective currents of inner turbulence, a bloody saga.

Well, so that's what the Queens of the Stone Age song is all about.

Then there is a song called The Journey to Funkeshwar, and damn, you like the song already. Khadi Junction Blues, showcasing their sucky female vocals exceptionally well. But the funky riff is worth a listen man. Go Khadki go!




And then I don't know what song I should upload. I decide to let the 'Oh Lord thou art in heaven, let Yohan like jazz' movement continue in my next post.

So then I decided to post Jack Johnson.

He is a guy I would instantly dislike. He's clean, has no passion about anything, looks like an idiot and is American. But then I heard 'Gone Going' done by him and the Black Eyed Peas (who are simply superb), which wasn't bad at all. Then I heard Sitting, Waiting, Wishing which wasn't bad either...

Balls, he doesn't fit my saga.

Ah. The Scissor sisters. The world is now divided into people who like this song, and those who hate it. That's a saga.

I love this version of Comfortably Numb and who cares? who cares?


Queens of the Stone Age - You think I ain't worth a dollar but I feel like a millionaire [mp3]

Khadki Junction Blues - The Journey to Funkeshwar [mp3]

Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb [mp3]

PS: Um, if someone is actually downloading these files, please ignore the College girls looking for romance on the download page. Yohan refuses to use rapidshare. He prefers lewd Americans to ze Germans.

There and back again

Complete disgust, self-doubt and low self-esteem are just some of the many emotions I encountered during my sporadic trysts with blogging.

Now at last, I have something I think I going to truly enjoy. Yohan and I mostly like similar music, but he's partial to women who can sing.

This really is a nice blog, its just right. In all my earlier attempts there was always this "tone" I had to set to whatever my blog was supposed to say. But here its just nice and free. Noel Gallagher's contemptuous remark about Jack White says it all.

Even though the White Stripes make way better music, cheek is cheek.

I don't really have something specific to write about. Hmmm.

Here goes:

First up is Mirwais with disco science, straight from the Snatch OST.

I never much liked this sort fo music, but it was 1 in the morning and in the midst of my sleepiness, the thump through my headphones had me in some sort of weird trance. I listen to this track at least once a day, it keeps me sane.

The next one is by a Pune band called Khadki Junction Blues. The first sort of local band that I think I am going to become a real fan of. The female lead vocals are terrible, though they are slightly better on this song compared to the rest of the album. The rest of their eponymous debut (I always write that somewhere) has more louder, funkier tracks, with also some fusion thrown in for the Indian Ocean crowd.

Expect a lot more of this band on this blog, no matter what you think of them. How can I not upload songs with names like Journey to Funkeshwar and Khadki Strikes Back?

Finally, Take 5 is my effort at making Yohan listen to some Jazz, this is the track that converted me. There is such a wonderful world out there, will post some excellent Brazillian jazz soon, Portugese/Spanish just SOUNDS so good.

Mirwais - Disco Science [mp3]

Khadki Junction Blues - Put down your gun [mp3]

Take 5 - Dave Brubeck [mp3]

London Calling

I'm going to London! For 5 days, but if I get into UCL's Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit (what a mouthful), I might end up being there for a while.

So naturally, the Clash's London Calling album has been on my mind for a while. A classic, if ever there was one. Nominally, the Clash is a punk band, but if this is what punks do, then I want to be a punk. It's pure happy rock n' roll is what I'm saying. I can't believe I hadn't heard these songs before. There's are touches of brass band, some reggae, and perfect demonstations of guitar pop.

Enjoy. I definitely do.

Jimmy Jazz [mp3]

London Calling [mp3]

Rudie Can't Fail [mp3]

Every time you close your eyes

A week ago I would have said I didn't much care for the Arcade Fire, a bunch of weirdos from Canada (the cool country North of Mordor). Things can really change in a week. I can't get enough of them now. Today. I've been playing two of their songs over and over again. They're passionate and uplifting, despite a tragic core to their lyrics. Their album is rather aptly named Funeral.

~

My grandfather's funeral was today. He passed away yesterday. He was almost 90. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army. His only wartime injuries came from a car accident nowhere near the front, during the Chinese Aggresion. A major came to the church and gave him a smart salute, I'm told. I couldn't attend - exams. Funny, my dad called up a week ago saying that my grandad (his father) had managed to drive the car , much to the consternation of my grandmother. He lead a good long life, and was a good man. I liked him. I'll miss him. Especially the next time I go to Trivandrum.

~

I've been sleeping excessively. Then I heard Rebellion (Lies), which has the mysterious lines:

Sleeping is giving in,
no matter what the time is.
Sleeping is giving in,
so lift those heavy eyelids.
...
Every time you close your eyes
Lies, lies!



So I must be wakeful.

Do check out the rest of the lyrics to this song: [ lyrics]

Note: There is no connection - lyrical or musical - between these songs and my grandfather.

The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) [mp3]

The Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies) [mp3]

I Hate Myself for Hating Them

I've fallen in love with the Strokes' music. It was a slow process, but it happened. I read a fan somewhere saying that she could listen to these guys sing the phone book. I've very nearly at that stage. This band cuts right throught me right now, with Julian Casablancas' voice speaking to the grittiest corners of my soul. The guitars swirl and collide like a psychedelic traffic jam. The words ooze out like molasses, and I am engulfed. And surprisingly, I get the lyrics.

Here's a sample:

from Ask Me Anything

I've got nothing to say
I've got nothing to say
I've got nothing to say
I've got nothing to say
I've got nothing to give
Got no reason to live
But I will fight to survive
I've got nothing to hide
Wish I wasn't so shy

I'd like to watch
I'd like to read
I'd like a part
I'd like the lead

But
I've got nothing to say
I've got nothing to say
I've got nothing to say
I've got nothing to say
I've got nothing to give
Got no reason to live
But I'll kill to survive
I've got nothing to hide
Wish I wasn't so shy

from On The Other Side

I'm tired of everyone I know
Of everyone I see
On the street
And on TV, yeah

On the other side
On the other side
Nobody's waiting for me
On the other side

I hate them all, I hate them all
I hate myself
For hating them
So drink some more
I'll love them all
I'll drink even more
I'll hate them even more than I did before

Don't ask me why I relate to these lyrics. I just do.

Cheers!

The Strokes - Ask Me Anything [mp3]

The Strokes - On The Other Side [mp3]

The Strokes - Fear of Sleep [mp3]

Poprocks #1

Hubris! To mislead people into thinking that I am a hardcore Rocker. A Serious Music Listener. A Purist. An Aficionado of the High Culture. All hubris.

I'm a pop person. Poppity pop pop pop. With the hummable tunes and the toe-tap taalam.

It's just that pop has been pretty bad for the past decade or so. But in the 60's 70's and 80's, it was rather nice, wasn't it? The songs you hear on the radio, on a mixtape, at a school dance. They give you that warm fuzzy embarrassed-yet-pleased feeling.

Therefore, for the edification of family, friends and sundry, I shall do a regular series of posts on the bubblegummy sidewalk of Popular Culture. I have quite a collection of songs from artists I "ought not to like", one-hit-wonders and so on. These I shall proceed to share.

[For the anti-MTV and classics-only types: fear not. I shall continue to intersperse these posts with selections from my ever-expading Rock Pantheon.]

This collection is from a folder on my hard disk I've named The Ash Mix. My cousin Asher has the best collection of 80's and 90's (and 00's) pop I have ever seen, and I wrote a CD chocfull of tunes from said treasurechest.

White Town - Your Woman [mp3]

Deep Blue Something - Breakfast at Tiffany's [mp3]

Men at Work - Down Under [mp3]

Presidents of the USA - Lump [mp3]

En Vogue - Free Your Mind [mp3]

Jewel - Who Will Save Your Soul? [mp3]

Sneaker Pimps - Six Underground [mp3]

Too Old to Rock and Roll

Not me. Ian Anderson. Don't get me wrong. I am one of those sorts who actually likes Jethro Tull - all the fruity folksiness, the flutes, the flitteriness, and the fine, inspired music.

We in India may be a part of a booming economy, and our wish of being mentioned in the same breath as China (rather that Pakistan), appears to be coming true. But one thing that hasn't been Bangalored is rock and roll. Live acts from Westernesse.

Live acts under half a century old, that is.

So I went for the Tull show.

A word of advice for my anglophone compatriots: I suggest you stick to Slayer T-shirted Iron Maiden-loving Madras-ites. At least they have verve. Avoid moldy old hippies attempting to prance around.

Mr Anderson (no Matrix jokes please, I've just eaten) did that raised-leg-Krishna-playing-the-flute routine. Several times. I was expecting him to. But what I was not expecting was an out-of-breath flautist gasping out his beautiful lyrics. (And the prancing, did I mention the prancing...)



To be fair to memory and history, I'm posting a few Tull tracks, to remind everyone that this was a unique phenomenon in popular music, in almost every way possible - the dense lyrics, the horses hags and hobgoblins - you know. They also recorded one of my all-time favourite songs: Skating Away (On The Thin Ice of a New Day). Jethro Tull is one of a select group of bands that I took a while to get into, even though everyone else picked them up quite quickly. This list features Radiohead, Dave Matthews Band, Grateful Dead - all acquired tastes. And somehow, they are among my most cherished acquisitions, from the days before playlists.

Well, do you ever get the feeling that the story’s
Too damn real and in the present tense?
Or that everybody’s on the stage, and it seems like
You’re the only person sitting in the audience?

Skating away on the thin ice of the new day.

Some picks from the Minstrel's finest:

Skating Away (On The Thin Ice of a New Day) [mp3]

Locomotive Breath [mp3]

Thick as a Brick (Edit #1) [mp3]

They Suck Young Blood

The Arctic Monkeys now have the fastest selling debut album in the UK. They sold over 360,000 copies in a week, leaving behind the reality TV-fabricated boyband Hear'Say by 60,000. Oasis had the record before them, with some 250,000. The record industry has not seen a phenomenon like this since...

...the Beatles.

So it's not surprising that the journo's are wetting their pants. And, inevitably, the sourpusses are taking potshots at them, saying they've lifted this from here and that from there. Or, in some extreme cases, that they suck. Bless them, confused souls.

There's a song on the album that most reviewers either ignore, or declare as "weak". Here are the lyrics to Alex Turner's pre-emptive strike. It's a song about hype, overenthusiastic praise, and fickle press-men.

Perhaps Vampire is a bit strong but..

Well I've seen your eyes as they fix on me
What is he doing? What on earth's the plan? Has he got one?
You'd better give me some pointers
Since you are the big rocket launcher and I'm just the shotgun

Well I ain't got no dollar signs in my eyes
That might be a surprise but it's true
That I'm not like you and I don't want your advice
Or your praise or to move in the ways you do
And I never will

Cause all you people are vampires
And all your stories are stale
And though you pretend to you'll stand by us
I know you're certain we'll fail

Well I've seen your eyes as they flicked on me
Full of confusion
Your snarl is just so condescending
Try to explain that we're onto a win
If the fee we get in
Near recoups what we're spending

He says, I can't believe that you drove all that way
Well how much did they pay ya? How much did they pay ya?
You'd've been better to stay round our way
Thinking 'bout things but not actually doing a thing

Cause all you people are vampires!


Any surprises that the rock critics didn't go for this ?

Listen to this wonderful rock and roll middle finger:

Perhaps Vampire is a bit strong but... [mp3]

You Sexy Little Swine

Arctic Monkeys.

Arctic Monkeys?

Arctic Monkeys!

However you say it, it's a silly band name.

Then again, who wants to be a misspelled insect?









ARCTIC MONKEYS KICK ASS!!!

I wanted to slowly work my way to the noughties, weaving through everything I like -from Chuck Berry to Radiohead - but I'm just too excited about this band. I have allowed myself to be caught up in a wave of hype that has nothing to do with my geographical location.

The internet can do that. Next thing you know there'll be slick Delhi-ites hip to the Moscow jive.

Or - like - whatever.

So as I was saying...I'm really following this band, downloading everything I can get my hands on (which is a lot). They have the guitar hooks, the playful dancy drums, and most importantly, the lyrics. The critics think it's all about Sheffield and whatnot, but I could pretty much access most of the songs. I'm not surprised at all that these guys are set to snatch from Oasis the record for fastest selling debut rock album in the UK. It's a perfect album, as this guy said. (I love reading reviews of music I already like!)

I hesitated for a bit before gushing about these kiddos (three 19-year-olds and a 20 year old). Many of my music-listening friends sit still, just about tapping their feet or nodding their heads to the beat. Madhu does the occassional Ravey Ravey move. But only at raves. And no, headbanging and drunken swaying do not count. They never did.

[Thoma falls under a different category, which is beyond the scope of our discussion. He rocked the scenario.]

I'm not going to put pictures up. I'm merely going to direct you people to a source of mp3s and a source of videos.




Arctic Army has loads of mp3s.

I recommend Dancing Shoes, Fake Tales of San Francisco, From the Ritz to the Rubble....actually, just try out all the demos.

Mardy Bum has a great stock of videos. The files are nice and small, yet the quality is pretty damn good. I suggest the MTV Gonzo on Tour videos.




Listen. Learn. And Enjoy. You may even "look good on the dancefloor, dancing to electro pop like a robot from 1984".

In the days of my youth I was told what it means to be a man

Happened in first year, first term. I will always associate Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead with three people from Muk West: RR, RP, and DM. They were seniors and they were unspeakably cool in the eys of a futcha. Unspeakably. [Philip I got to know later. On second thought maybe he wasn't that cool. But he was mean to Madhu in humourous and creative ways. So that compensates.]

RR and RP were the quintessential rock n roll stoners. The first time I saw weed ["Drugs!" I gasped. They laughed. How was I to know?] was in Philip's room, on my very first day of college. I impressed them by naming more than half the Rock Gods on the wall - Dylan, the Beatles, Marley, Ozzie Osbourne, Jerry Garcia - the usual suspects. [The truth was I had just seen the entire BBC series Dancing in the Streets - a history of Popular Music - over the course of the past year.]

Not that I had heard most of them properly. All angle, even at the beginning.

RR had a very cool walk. He used to wake up every morning to the same song - Communication Breakdown - on full blast, so that he could here it all the way in the loo. So it got into my head.

Smouldering.

DM gave me Led Zeppelin I and III on one cassette, and II and IV on the other. I didn't hear anything else for days. Weeks. By the end of it I thought he had recorded them thats way intentionally. [Later I found out that it was a fluke.] I and III are dark, brooding: all brown and yellows - shadows and low flames. I and IV have that magic, that bounce: watery blue and night black, with tinges of earthy green. Tolkien.

So I liked them, yeah?

One of the first few times I got drunk, I was recorded grooving to Whole Lotta Love on top of my bed, with Ragu in the foreground attempting to match my moves.

Someone has that footage...



I heard the Grateful Dead in RP's room. he was with RR, who was pointing out some finer point in the music playing in the background. Perhaps I was being sent off to buy booze, I can't remember. He said "Now now check this out:", so I strained my ear. A cymbal played...and then it stopped. I felt rather thick. I didn't get it. Luckily Philip didn't either. Apparently the drummer hadto hold the cymbal to silence it that way. Uh. Okay.

RR told me that American Beauty was the most accessible album. How right he was! I was planning on proving him wrong, but this was the perfect step after CSNY. There's no denying that lazy morning music. The perfect entry into their acid hillbilly fantasy.

These guys were part of the wider Soundcheck gang. Soundcheck 42 was a great college band. While future engineers across India headbanged to that ridiculous Iron Maiden, Soundcheck 42 gave us healthy doses of Rolling Stones, CCR, Dylan - the occasional Beatles song. They even did a Strokes cover way back when. During the exams all of them would study till midnight, then gather in RR's room for a jam session. They would sing the occassional Dead song. They either passed out or passed (almost all of them, at any rate!), and their music passed to us, through osmosis. And the rest, as they say, is Philosophy [in second year].


It’s a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken,
Perhaps they’re better left unsung.
I don’t know, don’t really care
Let there be songs to fill the air.

- Ripple, The Grateful Dead


Cast of Characters

Led Zeppelin - Communication Breakdown [mp3]

The Grateful Dead - Ripple[mp3]

No One I Think Is In My Tree

I love the Beatles so much it hurts. Yellow Submarine is like a nursery rhyme to me. My sister and I know every single dialogue from the movies A Hard Day's Night and Help! by heart. John, Paul, George and Ringo aren't musicians or pop stars. They're members of my family.

To say they are the greatest is to do them the disservice of comparison. Besides, I can't be objective. Who can?

It's not the psychedelia, or the lyrics, or the vocals - you can't break it down to its basic elements. And I hate it when people tell me "Yeah I like their later stuff...not that Love Me Do business." It's probably their early songs that are dearest to me. I'll pick a couple that I like for no particular reason.

I'll Cry Instead - it lasts for less than two minutes but what a wonderful ride it is. My video cassette of A Hard Day's Night opens with this song, and a collage of stills from the movie. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. [mp3]

I often find myself singing I'll Be Back. Not sure why. Nothing to get hung about, surely? Buried deep in my subconscious I guess. [mp3]

Let's start from the very beginning...

A very good place to start. I've been bouncing around the mp3 blogs for a few months now, and thanks to the esteemed bloggers listed on the sidebar, I have discovered Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, and loads of other good stuff. Sadly, with none of my close friends around the place, I cannot indulge in the urge to be a music missionary.

Peoples, please to be enjoying and commenting and whatnot. You know who you are. And so do I.

Music started out as singing. I can't even remember when I started. Everyone in my family sings. My dad sings Hindi songs from the Golden Era, doing more than justice to the memories of Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar. My mum sings those wonderful folksy songs found in your typical chord-and-lyric books from the 70's, strumming her guitar. My sister can sing all sorts of things. She sang O Holy Night on a few occassions, for carol services. No easy string of notes to hit. She sang Zombie at some coffee pub - live band and all. (There was an annoying period when she used to belt out R&B numbers, overdoing the caterwauling Whitney-Mariah nonsense. Thankfully, all things must pass.)

Me? I sang in choirs as a li'l kid. Then my voice cracked, and silence descended on me for several years. Until my third year of college, when I was asked to sing Maxwell's Silver Hammer for a wonderfully kooky play. The response was quite unexpected, so now I think I might sing in public again someday. If someone askes me to of course! Nothing like singing with intruments to back you up, and help you find your way.

The Ancient and Mystic Art of Singing lies at the very root of my musical appreciation; for all my forays into hard rock, prog-rock, instrumentals, psychedelia, funk, punk and sundry, I still look for The Sing-a-long Song. The catchy tune. There's a lilt in certain voices (the Sound of Sincerity, my dad might day) that tugs the heartstrings, inviting me to try and keep up. I think this is the common thread that links me to John Lennon, David Gilmour, Thom Yorke and Freddie Mercury - to name a paltry few.

Hence the Sound of Music reference in the title.

I want to quickly get to the new stuff I'm listening to, but I think I should warm up first, leafing through my dusty musical photo-album, searching for origins.

These are the roots of rhythm and the roots of rhythm remain.
- Under African Skies - Paul Simon

So in the next few posts I shall work my way up to this nameless decade. A lot of the bands are the standard Greatest Bands in the History of the Universe, so I can't say anything 'original' about them. What I am going to do can basically be summed up as follows:

A History of Rock 'n' Roll 'n' Me
(Being a meandering discourse on my subjective experience of listening to music)

Why "Zorro on Doughnuts", you might ask...

Noel Gallagher described Jack White as "Zorro on Doughnuts".


Read all about it.

He also lambasted the mustachio'd songsmith for doing a song for a Coca-Cola ad, despite the fact that he and his brother are endorsing some Toshiba mobile phone.

This little tidbit contains three elements integral to my existence: Oasis, The White Stripes, and... Coca-Cola.



This shall be a music blog. Any questions?