What are you dancing for?

Lately I have noticed one thing in the clubbings out here is that its so much a prelude to being laid...the atmosphere...the people..the grooves and the moves....the low lights and the free flow of alcohol...all in heavy smoke...are always a bit in one direction...I don't fit into that always...I don't have the mood to think in those lines all the time...I so fondly remember the college fest days back in Delhi..when we used to swing in the tunes of music...with mates...just for the sake of having fun...and laughing at our wacky dance moves....and keep on swinging....it was plain, clean and simple...things get too raunchy in clubs out here...I mean if you want to get something..you might get something...but I don't always get the kind of fun I sometimes seek...music I have grown up with....music I have moved with...and music I have laughed with....old habits die hard...I want to keep that habit alive forever I guess...

Uncertain winds

Apne marzi se...kaha guzarte hum hein...rukh hawao ka...jidhar ke hein..udhar ke hum hein...I don't know why but the tunes of Jagjit Singh always hover in my mind...as if we have already entered the sandwich generation...where we have to take care of our elders..and our youngers...the more we want to have control of things..the more we are controlled by things...and we move on...pondering...

James takes Bangla Rock to Bollywood

Bangladeshi rockstar James goes to sing in the Bollywood film 'Gangster'..i didnt know that...just came across this...'Bheegi Bheegi...' was inspired by Gautam Chatterjee's Bengali song, 'Prithivi...' The producers bought the rights from Asha Music and then started looking around for a raw, grainy voice, who sounded like a folk singer of Bengal. James fitted the bill perfectly. There were visa and passport problems but Mahesh Bhatt spoke to the embassy and James was cleared....James does not understand a word of Hindi and English. The lyricist had to write the song in Bangla for him. On the day of the recording, he really had the jitters and therefore the producers got him drunk! At 2 a.m., they were able to get him in front of the mike....check out the link to music video as well...I really liked the composition of the song..its very uncommon...and James have no doubt sung in his own style...but the fact that he sang it in almost perfect Hindi was really remarkable....excellent song. I had always wanted to see Bangla music scene cross the borders...as the traditional heritage of Bangla music might have its roots in West Bengal but as far as Bangla rock is concerned, its on the Bangladesh side where the revolution took place way back in the 70s, thanks to bands like Miles, Souls, LRB and gurus like Azam Khan, Ferdous Wahid etc. The following decades saw a mushroom like growth of Bangla bands...and when it seemed that the stage is set for expansion and international recognition...the guys at the helm got too busy with internal politics...thanks to the united opposition of Indian Bengali broadcasters...Bangladeshi band music was not even sold/aired in West Bengali satellite television channels...even till late 90s....whereas Bangladeshi youth had continued to sway with the tunes of Nachiketa, Anjan Dutt and Suman...not to mention how popular Hindi movie songs had always been....keeping all this mind...I think its better late than never....thanks to Mahesh Bhatt...who is remotely linked to the Bangla Rock scene...to have given James an international platform. http://www3.youtube.com/watch?v=DsCP7mqyMZs&search=james%20bangla