Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz

Kangna - Fareed Ayaz and Abu Mohammad

"सुर के लिए साँस की जरूरत होती है।"

Marigold - Mother Falcon

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Big band rock. Superb.


More here: http://motherfalconmusic.com

Bury all the marigold
Underneath the bedroom
As you stole two kisses from her lips
Tears were shed
And morals bled
And petals were plucked
Something in the heart beat like a drum

Is this love?
I don't know but tonight I'm gonna find out
Is this love?
I don't know but tonight I'm gonna find out

We kissed without hesitation
No reservations
We dangle our feet from the highest places
In the crowd of the sad
In the crowd of the mad
We are the only smiling faces

Every day and all night
Even when you're alright
I don't want to see you go
And every day and all night
'Til the morning's always bright
I don't want to let you go

The morning light was blocked by dusty, dirty blinds
And I could hear your vodka kisses shouting
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Is this love?
I don't know but tonight I'm gonna find out
Is this love?
I don't know but tonight I'm gonna find out

Norwegian Wood - The Beatles

Norwegian wood is a fancy name for cheap pine wood. George Harrison plays the sitar.

I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me... 

She showed me her room, isn't it good, norwegian wood? 

She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere, 

So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair. 

I sat on a rug, biding my time, drinking her wine 

We talked until two and then she said, "It's time for bed" 

She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh. 

I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath 

And when I awoke, I was alone, this bird had flown 

So I lit a fire, isn't it good, norwegian wood.

I Don't Believe A Word You say, Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite

Harmonica, a Weissenborn lap-slide guitar and a disbelief in all that you say.

I see your mouth moving
But there's a circus coming out
Always busy proving
What the world is all about
It's no use looking you in the eye
I don't believe a word you say 

Blame it on hard living
Blame it on the times
Blame it on the victims
All stumbling behind
I don't even need to look you in the eye
I don't believe a word you say 

Don't know what to do without you
Don't know what to do with you
Used to look at you with wonder
Now I look at you and wonder
I can't even look you in the eye
I don't believe a word you say

I Can't Dance, Genesis

Too funny. Jeans adverts and then MJ looking for his keys and discovering his fly is open.

Do the I Can't Dance walk.

I can't dance, I can't talk.
Only thing about me is the way I walk.

Big Gun, AC/DC

Where you find out that Aussies can rock. And Arnie tries to.

Mercy, Dave Matthews Band

I'd give it 5 stars just for the horns. But with the music and lyrics, it busts through the ratings.

Don’t give up, I know you can see

All the world and the mess that we’re making

Can’t give up and hope God will intercede

Come on back, imagine that we could get it together

Stand up for where we need to be

‘Cause crime won’t save or feed a hungry child

Can’t lay down and wait for a miracle to change things

So lift up your eyes, lift up your heart

Singing, mercy will we overcome this

Oh, one by one, could we turn it around

Maybe carry on just a little bit longer

And I’ll try to give you what you need

Me and you, and you, and you just wanna be free

But you see, all the world is just as we’ve made it

And until we got a new world I’ve got to say

That love is not a whisper or a weakness

No, love is strong, so we got to get together

Yeah, gotta get, gotta get, gotta get

‘Til there is no reason to fight

Mercy, will we overcome this

Yeah, one by one, could we turn it around

Maybe carry on just a little bit longer

And I’ll try to give you what you need

Mercy, will we overcome this

Have we come too far to turn it around

Is it ask too much to be a little bit stronger

But I wanna give you what you need

Mercy, what will become of us

Oh, one by one, could we turn it around

Maybe carry on just a little bit longer

And I’ll try to give you what you need.

Why I Am, Dave Matthews Band

Starts with a tribute to band member and sax player LeRoi Moore. From the album Big Whiskey and the GrooGruxKing.

From Relix:

Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King pays overt homage to Moore in its title, since “Grux” is an old, nonsensical nickname some of the band members used to call each other that finally stuck to the sax player. It also plays covert tribute by being largely steeped in an awareness of mortal fragility—although you could say that just about every other collection of lyrics in the Dave Matthews oeuvre, too. (If the Old Testament writers hadn’t gotten around to coining the phrase eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die, Matthews surely would have.) The record is steeped not just in feelings about a band member’s death but also the lingering depression afflicting post-Katrina New Orleans, where the final recording sessions took place in the first quarter of this year.

“Spare a couple of tunes, lyrically, it’s a pretty dark album,” grants the band leader, “but I don’t think that’s unusual for me. But there’s also a real joy in the performance of it. There’s no real point in mourning all the sadness and suffering in the world. Whereas if you acknowledge all the things that are happening in the world and you fight them as if it’s your first priority, then you still are allowed to laugh maniacally at it all and dance like a madman. And so this is my therapy, to sing about the end of the world and dance. We don’t find solutions in despair, we’ll find solutions in the defiance of it. All we have to do is turn the TV on or open the newspaper to see how much disaster and horror there is. Everybody needs a little horn section.”

Did he just use world suffering, theodicy and the problems of evil and pain as justification for sticking a big ole brass section on the new album?

Come Together, Aerosmith

Yes, it's a Beatles song. But no one does ripped vocals better than Steve Tyler. For once, the cover is better than the original. Every time the radio plays the opening guitar and drums riff, I have to turn the volume up.

Jesus he Knows Me, Genesis

I heard this on the radio and was wondering how a religious song became a pop hit. Till I heard the song carefully. The video is a riot with Phil Collins as an '80s evangelist asking people for $18 million.

Won't find me practicing what I'm preaching
Won't find me making no sacrifice
But I can get you a pocketful of miracles
If you promise to be good, try to be nice
God will take good care of you
But just do as I say, don't do as I do

Yeh Na Thi Humari Kismat, Habib Wali Muhammad

This ghazal was written by Mirza Ghalib and this version was sung by Habib Wali Muhammad. This earthy, classical style of singing ghazals is so much better than the far more popular modern syrupy Bollywood-style ghazals.

I've tried to translate the ghazal and been caught between transliteration and interpretation. The verses are pure gold.

ये न थी हमारी किस्मत

Mirza Ghalib

ये न थी हमारी क़िस्मत के विसाल-ए-यार होता
अगर और जीते रहते यही इन्तेज़ार होता

विसाल: Meeting or union

It was not my destiny to be with my beloved; death is not unwelcome because had I lived on, I would still be waiting and suffering.

कोई मेरे दिल से पूछे तेरे तीर-ए-नीमकश को
ये ख़लिश कहाँ से होती जो जिगर के पार होता

तीर-ए-नीमकश: Arrow shot half-drawn; नीम: half

ख़लिश: Pain

जिगर: Liver

Ask my heart about the arrow you shot while the bow was half-drawn.

Had it been shot with the bow fully-drawn, it would have gone through my liver. The pain would have been less as the arrow would not be left to rankle.

कहूँ किससे मैं के क्या है, शब-ए-ग़म बुरी बला है
मुझे क्या बुरा था मरना ? अगर एक बार होता

शब-ए-ग़म: Night of sadness

Whom do I tell how terrible it is to be without you. I would have gladly died were it to happen just once. 

Each night spent without you is like death. And I am subjected to this pain over and over again.

हुए मर के हम जो रुस्वा, हुए क्यों न ग़र्क़-ए-दरिया
न कभी जनाज़ा उठता, न कहीं मज़ार होता

रुस्वा: Humiliated

ग़र्क़-ए-दरिया: Drown

जनाज़ा: Funeral

मज़ार: Tomb/grave

This humiliation is ongoing because of there was a public spectacle and there remains a reminder of this humiliation.

Literal translation: I've lost dignity/been humiliated in my death/dying. O why did I not drown. That way there would have been no funeral and no grave.

ये मसाइल-ए-तसव्वुफ़, ये तेरा बयाँ “ग़ालिब” !
तुझे हम वली समझते, जो न बादा-ख़्वार होता

मसाइल-ए-तसव्वुफ़: conversations/discussions on mysticism/philosophy

बयाँ: speech

वली: friend

बादा-ख़्वार: alcoholic

What words and philosophy you have Ghalib? Were you not an alcoholic we would have counted you as a friend/wise-man/saint.

---------

Some more couplets from the same ghazal not sung by Habib Wali Muhammed:

तेरे वादे पर जिये हम तो ये जान झूट जाना

के खु़शी से मर न जाते अगर ’ऐतबार होता

I lived on your promises I knew they were false

Wouldn't I have died of of happiness had I believed they were true?

ये कहाँ कि दोस्ती है के बने हैं दोस्त नासेह

कोई चारसाज़ होता, कोई ग़मगुसार होता

What kind of friends are these that offer me advice.

I wish someone would heal me, someone would sympathise.

Pour Some Sugar On Me, Def Leppard

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

I used to love this one as a teenager; and I still like it even though for the most part I have put away childish things.

Now I like it not just for its rockness but also for what it represents: grit, determination, perseverance.

Before this album - Hysteria - was made, the drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car accident. he came back determined to carry on drumming and with the help of some engineering and technology continued to be the band's drummer.

The album was a huge success with seven hits coming off it: Women, Animal, Hysteria, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Love Bites, Armageddon It and Rocket. Woo! Each of those is fantastic but today I'm listening to the big one:

Canon for 3 Trumpets and Strings, Wynton Marsalis

The original by John Pachelbel was written for violins. This interpretation by Marsalis is played on trumpets and I am partial to this variation. Listen to the bit about 3 minutes. This is a very nice piece as an introduction to classical music - simple and catchy.

The Fear, Ben Howard

Ben Howard has the perfect voice for the emotion-drenched songs he sings. The Fear is from his debut album Every Kingdom. The album was released with a limited edition cassette - 200 copies -  in 2011!

I been worryin', I been worryin', I will become what I deserve

I been worryin' that my time is a little unclear

I been worryin' that I'm losing the one's I hold dear

I been worryin' that we all live our lives in the confines of fear

Bunnayn(za), Bumbu Sauce

Punjabi punk rock based on a funny punjabi poem by Anwar Masoon. It's the sales pitch of a vest seller sitting on the sidewalk calling out to people.

The band has added a twist to the original by adding (za) to it so it sounds like they are singing about a famous vest brand in the region.


Lyrics with a poor translation (mine; improvements appreciated):

Bunyan len jande ho - you go to buy a vest
Bunyan le ke aande ho - you buy a vest
Paande ho toh pendi nahi - you wear it but it you can't get it on you
Pey jaye te lendi nahi - if you do get it on, it doesn't come off
Le jaye te dooji vari paan jogi rehndi nahi - if it comes off, you can't wear it a second time
Bunyan mein diyanga! - I'll give you a vest
Pao gaye te peh jaye - try to wear it and it can
Lao ge te leh jaye -  Take it off and it comes off
Le jaye te dooji vari paan jogi reh jaye - Comes off and can be worn a second time
Banyan meri vadiya - My vest is very good
Bunyan meri taap di! -  My vest of the top
Vadeyaan nu pori ave niikyaan de naap di - Fits adults and children
Cheez hove asli te muhon pai boldi - The real thing; you can tell by looking at it.
Dhup nal gori lage, rassi ute doldi - Looks good when drying in the sun on a rope
Jine vare chaho tusi ais nu handa lao - Wear it as many time as you want
Pher bhavein bachcheyaan da jangia bana lao - And after that if you like, make it your kid's underwear.

Here's the original poem by the poet

Hunter, Gangs of Wasseypur ST

Reggae*, rustic and  risqué. Wink, wink, nudge nudge.


*It's not really Reggae but a cousin called Chutney. With a diverse immigrant population, the Caribbean developed of a range of over-lapping music genres including Chutney which had strains of Indian music.

Mojambo, Bumbu Sauce

Bambu Sauce is a very cool and funny Pakistani band playing americanised Punjabi punk-rock music. The band members are Master Jee Bumbu, Jeevay Lal Bumbu, Colonel Bumbu and Zakoota Bumbu.


And for your reading pleasure, the lyrics:


Mojambo
What is the TAM
Hun budday ho gay BULLAY LUTT
Come on and Bumbu Jam
Mojambooooo
What is the scene

Mojambo
How are you
Bachee teree nuss gaee
O war gaee tathay khoo
Mojambooooo
What is the scene

Mojambo
What is in your DABBA
Saree ratee khajjal hoya
Fir vee kuj nahin labba
Mojamboooo
What is the scene

Mojambo
Sprite Miranda Teem
Shauki billa Kithay oye
You are so Azeem

Mojambo
What the HUCK
Uttay kee wekhda renhna ain
THALLAY vee tay tak

Mojamboooo
What is the scene
WHAT IS THE SCENE

Love the Way You Lie (I & II), Eminem & Rihanna

I don't listen to enough rap and hip-hop* but I should. Am glad I caught this set of songs. It's a fantastic piece of art talking about abusive relationships. Part I is from the point of view of the guy and Part II has Rihanna singing the woman's side of the story. The music is intense and dark.

Here's Part I. Megan Fox may distract you from fully appreciating the music, best listen with eyes closed. Incidentally she donated her fee form this video to a battered women's shelter.

Rihanna wasn't keen on Part II. She didn't think Part II could live up to Part I's success. Skylar Grey, who co-wrote the song, did a piano-only demo and that convinced Rihanna to do the song. This is Grey's demo without either of the big stars:

And now Part II with Rihanna and Eminem from SoundCloud; the YouTube video was pretty bad:

Part II lyrics:

Rihanna: "On the first page of our story
The future seemed so bright
Then this thing turned out so evil
I don't know why I'm still surprised
Even angels have their wicked schemes
And you take that to new extremes
But you'll always be my hero
Even though you've lost your mind"

Rihanna: "So maybe I'm a masochist
I try to run but I don't wanna ever leave
Til the walls are goin' up
In smoke with all our memories"

Eminem: "It's morning, you wake, a sunray hits your face
Smeared makeup as we lay in the wake of destruction
Hush baby, speak softly, tell me you're awfully sorry 
That you pushed me into the coffee table last night
So I can push you off me
Try and touch me so I can scream at you not to touch me
Run out the room and I'll follow you like a lost puppy
Baby, without you, I'm nothing, I'm so lost, hug me
Then tell me how ugly I am, but that you'll always love me
Then after that, shove me, in the aftermath of the
Destructive path that we're on, two psychopaths but we
Know that no matter how many knives we put in each other's backs
That we'll have each other's backs, 'cause we're that lucky
Together, we move mountains, let's not make mountains out of molehills, 
You hit me twice, yeah, but who's countin'?
I may have hit you three times, I'm startin' to lose count
But together, we'll live forever, we found the youth fountain
Our love is crazy, we're nuts, but I refused counsellin'
This house is too huge, if you move out I'll burn all two thousand
Square feet of it to the ground, ain't shit you can do about it
With you I'm in my fuckin' mind, without you, I'm out it"


* For those ignorant of the difference between hip hop and rap: hip hop is a culture including music (rap, beat mixing, scratching etc), dance (breaking) and art (graffiti). Rap is the music bit of hip hop but the terms are sometime used interchangeably. So now you know.

Oats in the Water, Ben Howard

I want to avoid posting songs that aren't a few years old. Most new music that sounds great now doesn't hold up well to multiple playings over the years.

This song is an exception to this "old song rule" - it was released in November 2012 - and I hope I won't be doing this too often. In fact, I want to promise myself that in a year or two, if this song doesn't still sound great, I'll delete this post.

It's a great song for a melancholy, rainy evening. The music and lyrics build up into an emotional intensity that you can bite into. I've looked around for a commentary to the poetry but haven't found any. Please do point me in the right direction if you find some. It seems to talk of loss and separation:

"Go your way,
I'll take the long way 'round,
I'll find my own way down,
As I should."

I'm hoping there is meaning there and not just a bunch of words that sound good because the music is nice.

"And hold your gaze
There's coke in the Midas touch
A joke in the way that we rust,
And breathe again."

Money For Nothing

Awareness of self separates humans from animals: I think therefore I am. This song twists that idea into delicious satire. It's the monkey watching the man watching the monkey at the zoo. This is art imitating life.

Mark Knopfler wrote this one from the perspective of a blue-collar worker:
"...that ain't workin' that's the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV"
"Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb"

The lyrics were (1985 song) called out as being racist, sexist and homophobic. That falsetto "I want my MTV" is Sting. Superb guitar and drums by the Sultans of Swing.

Money for Nothing, Dire Straits:

Pay Me My Money Down

This song and the others in this album - The Seeger Sessions - are an an unusual example of Bruce Springsteen playing someone else's material.

This one is a foot-tapping, sing-along, folksy, fun song with recordings dating as far back as the 1950s. But I guess the reference to 'Mr Gates' and 'haul money in crates' is the Boss' variation. There are a few of nice stretches of solo instruments: violins, a trumpet (very short) and an accordion (nice long one).

Enjoy, the Boss:

Hat tip: Bonny Mukerjea

Stayin' Alive

This is the definitive disco song: Barry Gibb's falsetto and John Travolta's white suit. The song was written for the movie Saturday Night Live.

The song doesn't have a drummer; they used two bars from Night Fever in a loop. And because of that steady beat (104 a minute), it's been used to train people in performing CPR. Really Stayin' Alive!!

And if you didn't believe me about that CPR bit:

Faridkot

I'm a huge fan of Faridkot. They represent the coming of age of Hindi rock.

Inderpreet Singh's vocals show Indian classical influences and the drums and guitars are superb. The poetry and the music is original.

From their solo (so far) album Ek , Laila gets the most playtime, but I'm partial to Haal-e-dil and Madho. I can't recommend the entire album highly enough:

Medley by Fiddler's Green

It starts with the mandolin and the drums come in marching-band-style. The medley blends six songs in four (?) languages superbly.

Start's with Oh Susana and ends with the Hindi cousin of McFerrin's Don't Worry Be Happy: Sar Jo Tera Chakraye.

Arko Mukherjee is very charming singing डs instead of रs.



They had fun making the video:

Hat tip: Venkat

We Will Rock You

The only way to hear this one is very loudly. It begins a capella - just the beat and the clapping. And then Brian May (who also wrote the song) sneaks in the electric guitar. Can you catch it before it really kicks in? With this one you just have to get your air guitar out.

Bad teeth and red noses not withstanding, this one leaves me feeling like Oliver Twist.

Husna

Listen to Husna for great poetry, fantastic voice and a touch of rock.

Piyush Mishra sings with beautiful Hindi diction; makes my Hindi seems anglicised. And the pathos in his voice reminds me of Ahmed Faraz writing of the lazzat-e-giriya (the pleasure of crying) in his ghazal Ranjish Hi Sahi.

This is from Coke Studio @ MTV, Season 2, Episode 2:

Polk Salad Annie

Nikhil Mawkin introduced me to this one. It's got a rural southern flavour and energy.

The original one by Tony Joe White is nice but for pure entertainment value, you can't beat the King. I like the faster tempo of the Elvis version. Seems so did Tony.

Polk Salad Annie, Tony Joe White:

Polk Salad Annie, Elvis Presley:

And then Conan O'Brien did one 'up-north' version. Super:

Do You Remember

I love the contrasts in this one. It starts with big, deep drums and then the high note singing is such fantastic contrast.




You'll need to wait for 28 seconds for the music to start. The first 28 seconds are the silent bits from the video. I find the visuals distracting from the music. But if you prefer the video:

And if you like it, listen to the acoustic version accompanied by just one string of the guitar as she originally wrote it. Gives you a sense of the development of the song. Very cool stuff. I also like the rawness of this session - the one false note towards the beginning.

And this is the polished acoustic version:

Flight of the Bumblebee

I first heard the jazz version of the Flight of the Bumblebee by Wynton Marsalis. It looks much harder to play on the piano.

Yuja Wang, Flight of the Bumblebee, piano:

Wynton Marsalis, Flight of the Bumblebee: