Something inside must have gone kaput or else why am I listening to Bhula Do by Raeth !! :)
Well some or probably most of you would be thinking its the lyrics. I would say I was just checking how much they sucked. Compared to Junoon by Abhijit Sawant, that song with a big time piece over their head surely has gone past its prime .. The bass drum from the electronic drum piece of this amazing song from Sawant's post Indian Idol ( read whatever I sing the public will gobble ) craze actually has pretty unrelated lyrics. But the atmospheric feel with a very rich and powerful use of beats to fill the void leaves the emptiness of the song unnoticed. Coupled with that is an attempt to introduce a rock guitar lick which succeeds to capture the imagination of the listener of being alone on stage, in life, in travel (as the video suggest) and a continous bass guitar reef that holds the song together, and overall the song is good. Probably one of the better ones belted out by the present sissy bunch of poopstars our country's television media is producing in the name of reality television and music entertainment.
A long time ago I had a discussion/debate with one of my old friends about how these reality time shows about bringing a singer upto the limelight is not that great an idea. What I really meant was the idea that the evaluation of their ability was possible by the entire nation needless to say that, that only meant only the tv viewing - cellphone carrying population, did not make much sense. Yes. It was a good idea to get anyone who thought he could sing to come in front of judges and try it out. But it does not seem that great an idea when it is easy to simply amass a crowd following based just on regionality who then send their votes to only fuel their pent up anger or frustration as a community and which has nothing to do really with how good someone sang. Not to mention the real good judges would a lot of times be undermined and would not really care and leave the show because they are really too big for such frivolity. In the end what do we have a set of 5 singers who are equally good and yet their music is evaluated by a group of people who donot really care about the voice as much as they do about how po(e)ppie he is..
I wish they only had the voice with them and not their face or any idea where he/she comes from or what he/she does. That ways not only would gender race region or anything but music would have no effect but we would probably realise that we can actually make a decision based on good vocal quality and not subsidiary qualities.
Anyways. I started this post because I realised it might be a touch unfair to compare these two very different and distinct kinds of music. It is better to simply talk about all my subcontinental preferences first and then talk about others. Because that ways I dont have to face the tough task of comparing individual artist. I would obviously say how much each of them would mean to me but come on Iron Maiden cannot be really judged on the same standards as Fossils, however hard Rupam tries to be Dickinson.
What are my favorite bands who perform in Hindi ?
Since there are so few (that was sarcastic) and since they are so different from each other (that is true) I think an actual distinction is really possible. And in that case my favorite band to perform in Hindi would be Junoon. If there is any other band that gives it any competition it would be Strings but then Strings have a tone or musical style that is more like the U2. While Junoon is like the 1960s classic rock type. It really does not matter that they are both from Pakistan because its been a while I have not considered the origin of music in order to like it.
JUNOON (Obsession) - for me really started somewhere around 1998 about 8 years after it was really started. May it be because of their music not reaching India then or whatever the reason maybe the first album that I heard like most of you was Azadi. And I really believe it was probably one of the best subcontinental rock albums I have ever heard. I agree I havent heard a lot but I am always open to new music . So just in case you think there are albums and artists whom you really like and I have not mentioned them , probably because I dont like them but mostly because I have not heard them, then please please please let me know. I would really not want to be left out of a good piece of music that is available and someone is ready to give an opinion about them :)
Anyways.. I did manage to hear Junoon live. Well it was not so much of Junoon with basically only Salman Ahmed of the main line up performing but I liked it. They were definitely not as good as their recorded version.. a definite consequence of Azmat not being there any more, but they were very and mind you very experimental. A triumph for a band that has been that long. And trust me they do write good music and lyrics, Sufi or No Sufi.
Favorite Songs :
Meri Awaaz Suno (Hear my voice) - An amazing song. Brilliant guitars and really good lyrics. Interpretations are always subject to the individual but I would probably think it can be inferred on so many different levels. Definitely on a political level but more so on a personal level when you think you are always unheard
Khudi (Self) - Starting of with the words of the great poet Muhammad Iqbal, this song has definitely reached a cult level in both Pakistan and India. For those who forget Iqbal was also the same person who wrote Saarein Jahan se Achha. When Salman Ahmed explained the lyrics of the song when he visited Cornell I re-realised what it really meant and how brilliantly inspring a song it was..
Saaein (Lord)- NO. This is not a misspelt Sayonee. Hear this. Better still hear the music video where Junoon performs this song live on youtube and you would know what the power of sufi music is. The song is originally from their album Kashmakash. All these earlier songs actually came to more popularity after the release of Azadi and Parvaaz.. the two most talked about albums.
Now you might be wondering why Dosti, Sayyoonee, or Sajna does not feature in this lost. I have heard these and they are definitely good songs. But I like the top three more.
STRINGS - started of as a college band, this two-member band has produced some really peppy hits. I dont like all of their songs but I like their music. They have copied a few tunes here and there which has in a way put them a little down on my eyes but then they are ultimately the artists who made the one song I consider one of the best rock songs in hindi..
Albums : Frankly I have heard only two albums of Strings. Duur and Dhaani. While Duur was really the comeback album for them and thus was energetic and lively Dhaani was more matured. I love individual track from both of them.
My favorite songs :
Khidki (Window) - The song plays on my earphones right now as I write about it. This is the song that I was talking about earlier. If you search youtube you would find it. Trust me. Give it a shot and please do come back if you hate it.
Jaane Do (Let it go) - THIS IS NOT ROCK. But its slow soothing sound takes you to different place.
Najaney Kyon (Dont know why) - Featured both in the soundtrack of the hindi version of spiderman and also Dhaani, this song is good because of its very dark yet optimistic tune. I have seen the video, but listen to the lyrics and you would know why I love them so much as a band.
Zinda (Alive) - I actually like the remixed version more. The lyrics are amazing.
Beirut - Search Youtube. You will find it. and when you do listen to it please come back and tell me how you liked it.
Mera Bichhra Yaar (The Friend I had Lost) - Well the thing with Strings is that they dont conform to what most other subcontinental bands consider the norm, which is forcefully trying to merge Shastriya Sangeet with Western patterns. They are equally comfortable in making a song like this one and one like Bolo Bolo from the same album. They have found their sound and I hope they keep it.
Im still in the process of liking their latest album. I must say I didnt like all the songs right on the first go but I think I might .... maybe in a different mood. But do check out Hum Hee Hum and the title track. Koi Aane Waala Hain does remind me of Najaney Kyun. Another good song is Jago.
Anyways thats the first part of Subcontinental Music. Please tell me if you would want these entries to change in format, maybe be shorter or more descriptive. Please also tell me what kind of music you are listening to.
Thanks for reading once again.
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