M. S. Subbalakshmi

M. S. Subbalaskhmi is arguably the best singer ever. She was music personified. Of late I’ve developed this habit of listening to the Vishnu Sahasranama while travelling in the bus every morning. It leaves me mentally refreshed and charged up for the day.

If you’ve heard it by M. S. Subbalakshmi (if not, you can listern to it here ) you’ll realise that there is no other instrument being played other than the tambura (the shruthi) But it still sounds so rich. It sounds like a hundred other instruments are being played with her voice. Her voice was probably the most cultured and firm. I don’t think any Lata Mangeshkar can match up to M.S. Though Lata was good in her own way, M.S was outstanding, nobody in any generation can ever reach up to her level I suppose.

What also made M.S’ voice so distinct was the amount of Bhakti she sang with, she genuinely meant every word she sang and that came across in her songs. She brought depth and meaning to the songs she sang.

Though this amazing lady is no more Her voice is immortal, with generations to come.

The “magik” of Rock on.

And the best movie of the year is here (since TZP)… *drumroll*

Rock on is DEFENITELY not a sequel of Dil Chahta Hai and neither is it “inspired!” Watching a movie first day, first show is in itself a truly amazing experience. I’d really high expectations from this movie and trust me it lived up to every bit of it.

A movie about the “Youth.” About how life takes its own path without you expecting it, Rock On is a fast paced and light movie. Crisp story, neat screenplay and superb direction by Abhishek Kapoor. Timely dialogues by Farhan Akhtar.

 The best part about it is the music. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy-Farhan (I think you know why I’ve included the 4^th name!) have done a superb job! It’s not just about the music alone you know, it’s about how well it’s placed in the movie, there is music in the soul of the movie. But every song is amazing… They’ve churned out a chart-busting album. They’ve used Farhan’s voice for 6 out of 8 songs. It’s got a certain rawness about it. That is so charming…

Coming to the performances. As I said Abhishek Kapoor has directed all the actors to bring out the best in them. Farhan Akhtar is amazingly talented. The country’s best director (at least I think so) is also an amazing actor, dialogue writer and singer. And he looks really cute in the movie! Surely got truckloads of talent. Arjun Rampal with his Greek god looks has done a good job of his role, so have Luke Kenny, Prachi Desai and Koel Puri… And Purab Kohli is one guy with superb comic timing, great dialogue delivery and I think his character is the best sketched out one in the movie.

You’ve gotta watch this one. It’s truly ROCKING!

Rating: **** 1/2
Grade: O

Legend:
* awful! Who even thought of making the movie!
** All right. Watchable but you can still do better by staying at home.
*** Decent. Watch it for pure entertainment.
**** Good. Worth the 150 bucks.
***** We have a winner here. absolute must watch

O- Outstanding
V- Very Good
E-Exceeds Expectations
A- Average
B-Bad
T-Troll!

Boney-M, Live in Concert

Boney-M played at Palace grounds in Bangalore, this Saturday and since I’d got free passes, I ended up with family and friends.
It started off with a band named Aurko performing, they played a few cover-versions of some R. D. Burman songs, and some of their own compositions, very promising I must say. Then they had a small talk to spread awareness about Global Warming. This worked as an appetizer for what was coming up next.
Marcia Bennett the lead singer then took stage. They performed a few of their chart busters, namely- Rivers of Babylon, Rasputin, Daddy cool, Ma Baker and Sunny. Marcia, though rather old still has the same zing in her voice, it was superb! The music, the crowd and the amazing display of fireworks.
* Marcia I read has fought cancer, not once or twice, but FOUR times, she overcame it each time and made her grand comeback in 2005. She and her husband Marcus James have written and composed more than 500 songs!

But the problem was the concert was too short, Boney-M played only for an hour and a half, and that’s it, they wrapped it.
It left the audience asking for more, and when they didn’t get it, most people were disappointed.
It was organised by the students of IIPM and they weren’t entirely professional, the crowd management and parking etc was mismanaged, overall the audience didn’t really get what they expected and Boney-M didn’t live up to the expectations.

*I’d written this blog before I figured this piece of information, so it was a great deal that she was even able to come this far and perform thnis much, hats off to Marcia Bennett!

A.R.RAHMAN-the man,the music,the legend

This man has carved the niche as the biggest music legend in the country.(if you disagree you are commiting blasphemy!).well his is a typical rags to riches story. and if you are a fan of his i am very sure you will know much more than me.Well i am dedicating this blog entirely to giving you my perspective to this man(this is all about perceptions remember).
Rahman is a typical capricorn(AHEM!),extremely hardworking(as is evident in his work).cool,composed and highly focussed and determined.And despite all the fame and achievement he has credited is the most humble human being.
This man knows,understands,loves and most importantly creates music like none other.every piece of music ever made by him is not only unique but nothing short of PERFECT.He works tremendously on each piece of music and has enough power to transcend anyone into a state of immense bliss.Well that is precisely what has made him the undying legend that he is.
What else can i say about this great man.All the positive adjectives in my vocabulary will be too less to describe him…
He is the most spectacular,magnificent,sensational musician to touch the face of the earth.I am sure you more than agree with me on this.Now dont you?!
(P.S:I am not Rahman’s P.R agent…i am just an staunch admirer. and the title is inspired by a T-shirt i own!)