In this age of social media explosion, I am simply amazed by the
amount of content being created and made available through music and
video discovery tools.
Today's find: Tiffany Alvord, great voice... and she does look a little like Emma Watson - no? :)
Watching Season 2 of Downton Abbey. Such an exceptional show with strong characters, a beautifully woven storyline, great acting and this amazing theme
music.
Yesterday I watched the movie Music of the Heart. This falls in the categories music and inspiration. The movie is a sure #win for several reasons - the main ones being Meryl Streep, the music, the true storyline. Meryl Streep is a versatile actress. Be it her role in Devil wears Prada, Julie and Julia or this one, so very different - yet so well adapted.
The movie is about Roberta Guaspari. When her husband leaves her, Roberta's mom and friend push her into pursuing her passion - teaching music. Roberta teaches in a school at Harlem and life is a struggle. When the music program at school is cut due to budget constraints she fights back and wins. Roberta later went on to found Opus 118 - Harlem centre for Strings.
At the very end of the movie, a charity show to be hosted by Roberta is almost scrapped due to non-availability of venue. That is when her friend arranges for musical greats like Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern help conduct the concert at Carnegie Hall. The finale gave me goosebumps when these musicians along with the children play Bach's double concerto. Such beautiful music.
Accidentally landed on the official website of Agnee, while searching for Agni (an older Indian band that a friend had mentioned about) Each song is a world apart in theme, tune and the final presentation. It's been long since I heard so many good songs from a single band (may be I'm not listening to the right kind of music?). Anyway, felt the need, so jotting down what I feel about the songs currently playing in a loop.
Sadho Re: The initial strumming of the guitar is interesting, but the vocals make all the difference. The video may be disturbing to some, but the theme of the song isn't a very pleasant one either. Overall, very powerful music.
Splitsvilla theme: "Edgiest TV show in India"? or so the website calls it. Forget the show, focus on the music. Simple guitar strumming in the background and some humming in the foreground, throw in a few violins and the result is a brilliant melody which leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling. Definitely deserves an #ilike tag
Shaam Tanha: At first, the starting of the song seemed a bit artificial. Don't ask me how music can seem artificial, it just does, at times. But listening to it completely, a couple of times made me change my mind. This is a very light, simple song. Perfect for an evening (or does the name already suggest that).
Raanjhan Yaar Di / Keh Lene Do: The guitar, the voice, the tune - oh what a combination Plus point for RYD: The chords Plus point for KLD: The voice modulation
Karvan: The minor chords/notes that the tune touches from time to time, give it it's intensity
Today's theme is music. Well, the day began with music (that's a whole different story and it's best to not talk about it). Anyway, watched the trailer of Black Swan. Seems to be an intense movie, but the music is equally compelling. Then went on to listen to a whole lot of good music from Vitaliy Zavadskyy's MySpace page.
This is not your usual Linkin Park album. The band seems to have gone on a tangent here. A whole new sound and a world of meaning in the lyrics. Most of the songs talk about the past and learning thereof. The album's also got some voice tracks that are readings from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Will get to that later, let the music begin!
Day 1 : Favorite tracks (so far) Waiting for the end Burning in the Skies Robot Boy Iridescent
I remember the first time that I watched the video of Remember The Time and I was completely zapped. I fell in love with MJ - no... not his music, not his songs, not his dance but him. Thereafter, every time they played that song on TV, which ever part of the house I was in, I'd instantly appear next to the TV screen. I'd watched that video so many times, even my mom knew the story in the video and which scene came after what. How he transformed from the gold dust, the way he patted the dust off his shoulders at the begining of the song, the dance moves in that video... I remember most of that to date. It started with that song, but that was just the begining.
For my birthday that year, my dad took me to Archies gallery and got me two life-size posters. What more could I ask for! That's what I woke up to every single day... First thing in the morning, it was his face that I saw. When getting ready for school, it was his songs that I listened to. Yes I was crazy. I watched all his tour/concerts that they played on TV. When fans mobbed to get a glimpse of him, screamed, cried and fainted at the sight of him... no one at home understood those feelings and passed silly comments... I just nodded and secretly wiped away my own tears.
I bought lyrics books and memorized the words of all my favourite songs from his albums. On the school bus, his songs/videos were the hot topics of discussion. I even won tickets to watch his short movie Ghosts.Thrilled ~ is not sufficient a word that describes what I felt then. I own every one of his albums. I even bought Invincible, though I was past the 'fan' stage. I liked his music, though I completely disliked him now.
All said and done, he was a legend. Crazy, troubled, insane but great. He will be missed.
"Bring umbrellas, raincoats, picnic rugs etc." True to those words, these were essential at last night's concert.
The Event:Guitar Gurus - An all night performance by five of India's finest guitarists. An hour performance by each artist and then time for them all to jam.
The Venue: Fireflies Ashram (Don't ask me why Ashram, that's just the venue) The amphitheatre set around a huge Banyan tree. Finding the place was a big adventure, but one we saw the setting, the effect, the acoustics, we knew we were in for a treat :) Though it rained continuously through the night, we huddled under umbrellas and enjoyed the warmth of the music.
The music was a blend of classical (Carnatic & Hidustani) and western. The band played one of my favourite songs of Saint Tyagaraja - "Entharo Mahanubhavulu", Pancharatna Kritis (Five gems of Carnatic music). Click herefor the video of this song from an earlier concert. You should also check out a better audio of this song on theKarnatriix website.
Second Act:Amit Heri and Sanjay Divecha This act had no percussion, no other accompaniments ~ just plain guitars. Amit and Sanjay performed a couple of their own compositions - Peace song & Africa. After which they played some Jazz as well.
Amit Heri
Sanjay Divecha
Earlier in the blog I had made a mention of Charminar, this can be found on Amit Heri'ssite under Music and album -Morning Raga. Such a short piece, but such strong emotions.
Third Act: Derek Julien and his band
This band started playing at 1AM and they pumped up the volume and the rhythm and had everyone swaying to their music.For a sample of what they played last night click here.
The event had such variety, with each group showing off their own unique style. It was a perfect blend of talent and melody. Definitely a musical night to remember. And yes, I'm picking up the albums of these guys. :)
though the event was great, there are two things that I was disappointed with: 1) Timing - The show started more than an hour late, we therefore could not watch stay till the end. 2) A group in the audience (obviously high on something) who created a lot of disturbance and did not let others enjoy the music. People are free to do as they please, as long as they don't bother others.
Update after 4 days: I've already had enough of this album. Cannot listen to it any more. I have checked and confirmed with reliable sources that I am not the only one who feels this way...
Upto now, I've only heard the cello being played as a part of an orchestra or a cellist playing a deep melody. Apocalyptica, a quartet from Helsinki gives cello music a whole new dimension and their music is damn addictive.
Listening to It Never Entered My mind by Miles Davis.
I'm not that much into jazz (yet). The reason for that being, melody in this genre not being very structured (or so I think). Maybe I just have to listen to more of Jazz to appreciate it better. Its the piano notes in the begining that made me listen to this song. After I heard it once, I started playing it in a loop and now I really like the flow of the sax too. A silent, dark room - perfect setting to listen to this song.
Its been a crazy period. Hoping that the coming week is just slightly better. One thing to rejoice about for sure... Tuesday is a holiday. Yippeee! Will be content with that for now. :D
I'm still checking out the other videos on youtube. The music is so beautifully composed and performed. I really liked Asian Dream Song, View of Silence and Oriental Wind.
Spirited away: Starts off in a slow, peaceful tone. A few highs with related lows. But when At 02:19 the beats blend in, the tune takes a beautiful new turn. Very soothing in its entirety.
Another version - The Name of Life: Nice happy tone keeps you swaying to the rhythm.
Was watching the show Visionaries on BBC World. This is a 7 part series comparing, debating about and voting for the greatest classical music composers.
~ Bach vs. Handel ~ Beethoven vs. Mozart ~ Chopin vs. Verdi ~ Shostakovich vs. Takemitsu ~ Glassvs. Boulez Unfortunately I caught only the last show and that too the last part where Glass won over Boulez. More details about the show are available on the blogs on the website.
This is Metamorphosis by Glass. I love the way the tune changes at 2:21.
Credit Suisse is the sponsor of this show. I've never seen any of the ads for CS before, so was very impressed with their "Thinking new perspectives" tag line.
Some think competition. We think partnership.
Some think two generations. We think succession planning.
Some think bank with tradition. We think more than 150 years of innovation.
"My Mother's Laptop" to be precise, believe it or not is the name of a Malayalam movie. Over the weekend, I happened to listen/watch one of the songs from the movie. May Maasame been sung so beautifully. Though I understand just about 3 words in the entire song, the tune is so soothingly addictive.
The director of the Salzburg festival says that they have to plan 2, 3 sometimes 4 years in advance, so that they can have all the artists perform at the festival. With such a perfect location and the best artists in the world... the festival must be an 'out of this world' experience!
Just went to Yanni's official page and was shocked beyond belief at his new look. For a moment, I had to stare hard at the photo to confirm it actually was him. "The human voice is the most expressive instrument known to man... it can evoke an enormous amount of emotion"
Quote displayed on my blog the other day read "Music is what feelings sound like". Its so true, how we can relate to an album/a song depending on our mood.
The album that comes to my mind is "How to Name It" by Illayaraja. Arun had sent me a couple of songs long time back and R had given me the album. The way the first song begins... made me a fan of the maestro (until then, to me - Rahman was the only Indian composer). To compose music like this way back in the 80s, is something!
Mad Mod Mood Fugue, the second song in the album is my song. The way the tune beautifully weaves ups, downs, pain, excitement and many more moods is what I can totally relate to.
Was cleaning the room yesterday when I found this CD. Played this song and could easily identify which part of the tune depicted my current state of mind :) So, which is the song that you can relate to right now?
Now for something totally unrelated. I usually don't believe in emotional blackmail. If anyone tries that with me, I ask them to take a hike. Don't know what came over me... but I used one line a couple of days back. It was just a single line... didn't mean to hurt anyone, just wanted to make a point and make the point - I definitely did. The outcome is much more than expected... now I think its time for me to again say 'Take a hike' :D Some things never change!
"Blame not laziness for the lack of (blog) updates, blame instead time - or rather the lack of it" Who ever said this, must be really wise :) The last few weeks have been like a marathon race. Day after day, with no count of hours - not too sure where it is all heading. 'It' in this case, being life. So here's 'what was' and 'what is'... from the last few weeks:
Kenny G concert: Two musicians whom I consider Gods of music - Yanni and Kenny G. I would do (almost) anything see them perform live. When I heard that Kenny G was performing in Bangalore, my first reaction was woo-hoo! Only then did I see that the tickets were priced at 2K and 3K. It was really hard to convince any my friends to join me, considering the ticket price and also that the concert was on a Monday evening. After not too much thinking, I decided that I was going no matter what, just had to find some company. As a last resort I had to force my brother to come along... I even had to buy him a ticket :) Venue - UB City: For those of you who are not too familiar with the Bangalore skyline (If I can call it that) UB city is an office/shopping space which has one of its buildings shaped like the Empire State building. Google should be able to provide some images. Sponsor - Blackdog - I didn't know until recently that this was a brand of whiskey. Everyone at the concert was offered complimentary drinks. Whiskey with Mango juice/Apple juice were weird combos I thought. But when its free, it just doesn't matter... now does it? The music - The concert started with Kenny playing while he walked amongst the crowds. In Mumbai, I heard he walked right from the last row up to the stage, but the Bangalore venue was not equipped for this sort of free movement. The play list for the evening included many of the popular songs Havana, This moment, Songbird to name a few. He also played a few pieces from his new album Rhythm & Romance, an album with a Latino flavor, he said Kenny also gave a demo on how he plays really long notes. The technique he explained was to inhale and exhale simultaneously. That of course would take a lot of practice. He demonstarted this by placing the mike near his nose, where we could hear him take in short breaths while he continuously blew into his sax. Its was a lovely evening, enchanting music, amazing lighting and acoustic effects... totally worth it!
"Story time for children" was the project that I signed up for as a part of community work this year. Me being me, love any activity that involves children. Only after initial visit to the trust, did we realize that the 'children' here were between age groups 4 and 19. We broke up the children into 4 groups based on their age and planned out age-specific activities. Another group had already organised fun and cultural activities for these kids, so we thought we'd make it a day of learning. The topics ranged from stories/songs, environmental awareness, greatness of India... to resume writing/career counseling for the elder kids.
One of the charts that I prepared
I have interacted with children from various other trusts, but these children were a just a class apart. They were outgoing, not shy, good in English and their confidence factor was the highlight. The Ashwini Charitable Trust takes care of not only the monetary requirements of the kids but also provides the guidance required for the overall development of the kids until they get employed. The kids at the trust are first generation literates, with mothers work as house maids and their fathers are unskilled laborers. There were two or three girls who were doing their B.Com from St Joseph's College. The way the children are molded by the trust, they do not find it very difficult to mingle with other children and the best part is that one of these girls has consistently topped her class in college :)
Collage on pollution
Drawing competition
It was a great learning experience, spending the day with the children. Once a year doesn't make too much sense. Already on my life's to-do list... let's see what more can be done.
Surprise visitor: Stranger from a distant planet, Mars - so it may seem No time to meet during the day, T'was not a part of the scheme Zoom over for coffee, vrooom and call it a walk Glad, we got a chance to meet, Though not enough time to talk :)
The evening weather: The weather in the evenings has been fantastic over the last couple of days. After the scorching heat during the day, the evening showers considerably bring down the temperature. Considering the fact that one is locked up indoors the entire day, going out and enjoying the lovely evening breeze by way of a short walk (or a longer one, if time permits) or just some time spent on the terrace listening to music - I understand, can do wonders :)
On the work front: No comments except for @$%#&
Let me use a quote that I read recently and liked a lot, to end this post.
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go"
so... time to start thinking and deciding now. Happy Weekend!
For my birthday that year, my dad took me to Archies gallery and got me two life-size posters. What more could I ask for! That's what I woke up to every single day...
Guitar - John Anthony
Percussions - "Darbuka' Siva
Sarangi & Vocals - Faiyaz Khan
East meets West
This act had no percussion, no other accompaniments ~ just plain guitars.
Amit Heri
Sanjay Divecha
This band started playing at 1AM and they pumped up the volume and the rhythm and had everyone swaying to their music.For a sample of what they played last night click here.
As it was already 2AM, we didn't stay to watch this act.
Some think competition. We think partnership.
Some think two generations. We think succession planning.
Some think bank with tradition. We think more than 150 years of innovation.
"The human voice is the most expressive instrument known to man... it can evoke an enormous amount of emotion"
Venue - UB City: For those of you who are not too familiar with the Bangalore skyline (If I can call it that) UB city is an office/shopping space which has one of its buildings shaped like the Empire State building. Google should be able to provide some images.
Sponsor - Blackdog - I didn't know until recently that this was a brand of whiskey. Everyone at the concert was offered complimentary drinks. Whiskey with Mango juice/Apple juice were weird combos I thought. But when its free, it just doesn't matter... now does it?
One of the charts that I prepared
Collage on pollution
Drawing competition
