Harshi's stream of consciousness - Harshi's Blog

Unforgettable & Heavenly - My moments with Asha Bhosle

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:54:31 -0800

I once heard someone say that Newton forgot to except one person from the application of his law of gravity, "What goes up, must come down". Asha Bhosle came into this world and said "DEFY YOU!" and thus spilled the truth. Indeed, the law "what goes up, must come down" JUST CAN NOT be applied to Asha Bhosle since everything in her case is just rise and rise more and yet rise again. Indeed one of the people who walk on earth just once and can never ever be imitated. Asha ji once said Music is like my breathing. The day it stops, my breath will stop too. There is so much to do and I'm afraid there is very little time left. I hope I can continue singing in my next birth."

The very first live concert I attended in a span of 23 years was the "Asha Bhosle Live at Flint Center" which is located at De Anza College, Cuper tino California. Without a second thought, I bought a VIP ticket and these were the best $150 I ever spent in my life. I sat just few feet away from Asha ji and lost myself in time. She stood before me, wearing an enchanting and scintillating black saaree studded with rare diamonds and carried an ageless face with the most subtle composure and sang before me, in that God-like voice, the songs of my soul. An experience, rather; an experience full of transcendence which transported me to the era I never lived through, but experienced through the soulful, love nurtured and passionately composed music. Yes, the music of R D Burman. Asha ji's soul mate and the indefatigable man behind the most exuberant, exclusive, versatile and immortal melodies. He pushed the limits of her singing capabilities and proved to be the the sculptor thereby creating from her voice, various forms of songs. Ghazals, cabaret songs, pop music, raagas; what is it that this duo did not create? The inimitable Asha Bhosle and R D Burman. Asha ji dedicated the concert to the music of R D Burman and sang some of the most soul enchanting songs which were a fruit of the collaboration of this unbeatable duo.

The energy with which she danced, performed, sang, narrated anecdotes would put any other 76 year old to shame. "Age" can never be applied to this super human lady.

I had been collecting rare vinyl records ever since I was a teen-ager and this was my chance to get some of those rarities autographed by her. Too bad that the ruthless organizers did not let me meet her. Nevertheless, I was extremely determined to meet her. I reached the hotel where she stayed and waited all day long for her to return from her San Francisco trip. The wait proved fruitful; there she was, standing before me. The feeling I have while typing this article is inexplicable since this happened merely 90 minutes ago. We spoke a bit and shared few moments together. I narrated to her in Marathi, the deepest love I had for her and her music and she gladly signed my records with my name on them in Marathi. Her simplicity, easy going nature and humble nature left me spellbound. A celebrity with celestial number of achievements and success being so humble is more than rare. I can never run out of words for this Goddess of music.

These 2 days of Asha Bhosle in my life can never ever be forgotten by me.

=)

Biddu - Diamond Sutra (2004)

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:02:36 -0800

The Eastern Star on The Western Sky, meet Biddu. When the Beatles were heading East, this man headed West in the 1960s to create history. With music in the head and soul and a deep passion to create melodies, he embarked on a journey to amalgamate the sounds of the east with the sounds of the west. He is the man behind Carol Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting" and Tina Charles's "I Love to Love". After producing the immortal hit "Aap Jaisa Koi" in the 1980 movie Qurbani, he proceeded to become the Godfather of Indi-PoP a genre less known in those days. Coming out with an exceptionally good "Made In India" album with Alisa Chinoy in 1994, he kept steady on his journey of jump-starting the musical careers of various artists today.

Here is his fresh-est creation. A magnum opus, a great effort to bring the new generation towards spiritualism through music. One does not meditate to this music as the music meditates YOU. As Biddu calls this "A spine chilling vibe" Sit back and take a listen to, The Biddu Experience.

*Link in comments*

Cerrone IX - Your Love Survived (1982)

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:07:08 -0800

Here is a record from the hair-dresser turned drummer, French record producer Jean-Marc Cerrone. Now this guy has his own story. It was the year 1975 (France) when Cerrone finally quit his day-job of a hairdresser to do something he had a strong passion for - Music. He was earlier associated with a band called Kongas which was a pretty impressive lot. Try getting your hands on Kongas - Anikana-O album which is magnificent. After meeting Alec R. Costandinos, the Costandinos-Cerrone due produced their very first album Love In C-Minor which was an immediate hit in the New York City clubs and Paris. Costandinos was furious when Cerrone did not credit him for any work on the album and they departed for good.
The early albums by Cerrone have massively orchestrated Disco music with mind blowing violin ensemble and great basslines. Courtesy of Alec Costandinos.
With his album Supernature that came out in 1977 and proved to be his most successful opus, Cerrone went totally electronic. We can hear a bunch of synths and other electronica playing. Courtesy of Alan Hawkshaw and Don Ray. We move to 1980s when Cerrone came out with "Cerrone IX : Your Love Survived" which featured a couple of great grooves. The rest was the cliche 1980s style stuff. Take a listen !
I specially like "Look for Love" and "Give Me Love". The track "Back To Champs Elysées" has some more of the 1980s essence to it.
Here's a decent vinyl rip. :)

*Link in comments*

Vurhavur/Na..na..naa - Baris Manckow, Kalyanji-Anandji (circa 1980)

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:05:48 -0800

Kalyanji-Anandji were better known as the Funk brothers of India. Having a completely different approach in music direction, they composed some of the best Spy music/Funk scores during the 1970s and 1980s for Hindi Cinema. They were heavily influenced by Lalo Schifrin. Here's an example of Sleaze Funk from the movie Bombay 405 Miles. The single was published on a rare 45 with Side-B containing a really funky groove or I must say Turkish Funk groove from around 1979-80 by an artist called Baris Manckow. Never heard of that guy before. However, the track seems to be really rare since I did not find much information on Google. Also, the artist seems to be gone from people's minds too. No info on him either. Here we are, with my very first vinyl rip.
Currently I am using Audacity and Sony Sound Forge to rip and edit the records. If you have any suggestions regarding the quality of the sound or anything related, please let me know. I am still learning. Thanks!

*Link in comments*

Vinyl Record Passion

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:43:03 -0800

Even before I could understand what music is, I was already listening to it. I am talking about the time around the end of 1980s when vinyl was dying and making way for audio cassettes and compact discs to come in. People started trashing their old turntables and records, some went on the walls as souvenirs some to the child to play some for the dog to chew and the rest, to the trash can. However, there were people who cherished their collections and have held on to it till date. I'm glad my Dad did not trash his treasure. Somehow, I had this keen inclination toward listening to music on the turntable. Of course, analog quality is un-beatable. :)

It was my teen-age when I started paying serious attention to the old vinyl treasure lying in my own room and that gave birth to a passion which was never to be defied. Fifteen years after record production stopped in India, I hit the stores that once sold records in city. I started calling the stores asking them for "records" (if any). The kind of responses I got were indeed interesting. Like, "Hi, Kohinoor Stores, do you still have any records left in the store?" The response would not be a Yes or No but would be something like "Huh ! May I know with whom I am speaking??" I also once over-heard a faint voice in the background saying "Some wacko wants records. Is he new to the town or something? What do you want me to tell him?" Well, anyway, they did have some stock left. All I did was, "weigh" the records and bought the entire stock by weight. Paid Rs 2000 for like 1500 records (Over 50 kilograms). I did that with 4 other stores and soon had a room full of records. Due to the random stock buying adventure, I also ended up having over 10 copies of the same record. I ended up keeping them.

The picture changed when I left home to study in California, USA and the story remained back there. The passion never died and so I started collecting all over again right here. Sometimes spending half of my pay checks on rare records and sometimes just grabbing some great ones at local record stores at Haight-Ashbury and Berkeley areas, there was just no stopping.

I discovered some people ripping their old vinyls and putting them to blogs. What specially took my attention was a blog called "The Third Floor Music" blog by a person from Norway who collects, rips and posts records in a language totally unknown to him. Just for the sake of good music! Now that was impressive. Gaining inspiration, I decided to do the same thing to my blog. So here I am with my very first attempt at digitalizing my old vinyl records - EPs, 78s and LPs. Have fun listening to them. :)

Strength Of A Woman....

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:01:47 -0800

The stronger side of "mankind" is not a MAN. It is indeed a woman. Believe it ! Here is a scientific and mathematical proof which I received in email from a friend. Have fun !

Super Smash Bros. - Brawl !

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:53:35 -0800

I have been into playing video games ever since I was seven. It is absolutely the greatest thing to do. Nothing like getting addicted to a game. Man! That super craving for reaching the boss of the last level and mastering the 2 player modes to kick some ass, out of this world ! It began with classics like Super Mario Bros, Tetris, Sonic - The Hedgehog, Pac Man, Fatal Fury and Mortal Kombat. All time greatest classics ! Those were the early Nintendo and SEGA days.

          It's 2008 and boom! We have the brand new Nintendo Wii. So popular, the market cannot cater to the massive demands of the people. I somehow managed to grab mine one lucky early Sunday morning at the local FRYs store. Got some brand new games to kick in. The always amazing Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros - Brawl. Mind blowing!

         The idea is pretty simple, get inside a scenario and brawl ! Kick, punch, dodge, jump and scram the enemy out of the screen. Blast them all ! Also, the single player "Subspace Emissary" mode is truly a complete entertainment package. The old Mario quest went like, fight the eight levels and get the princess. Here, we are looking at an entire army of Nintendo, Sega etc. characters who fight their way into the Subspace to defeat the mighty Tabuu. Play to know more!

       Here are some links leading to some awesome walkthroughs, hints, tutorials etc. Good luck and keep brawl-ing !
* Super Smash Bros. Brawl Guide
* Cool Nintendo T-shirts

A Super Long Hiatus !

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:47:43 -0800

I know, my readers must be definitely wondering where I disappeared. YES! It has indeed been a super long hiatus! Some of them must have stopped reading the blog since there have been no updates ever since "The Soul of Bobby" article. Hmmmm.......so what exactly have I been doing since the past half-year?? Woah! Indeed, 6 months !

Lets see.......created some YouTube montages to share rare unheard music, gained expertise at playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl, blistered my fingers playing Rockband on the Wii, a 3 week holiday in India, tons of old records bought, re-mastered et cetera......and the list goes on!
Pretty interesting, huh ! Maybe or may be not, but hey, there is plenty of stuff to put up here. Yes! Back to writing all the way ahead....
I know this blog is full of randomness because I do not really follow any protocol.

People write purely about music or philosophy or just about some specific topic. Here, I do not ! Whatever stuff I feel should be shared with the crowds, goes on Bhangad.com . Now Bhangad is a Marathi word that means mischief or a milder meaning of hanky panky.
So in short, I AM BACK ! ( Yeah, thanks for the warning ! )

I would keep posting articles on music, movies, records, pranks, games and whatever.......ugh ! So do your thing! Keep checking for some interesting as well as useful stuff.

Goodbye !

The Soul of Bobby

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:31:13 -0800

"The Soul of Bobby" is an extremely rare vinyl record of the year 1973. The movie "BOBBY" was released under the banner of R.K. Films and the movie was a grand success at the box office that took the nation by storm. One of a kind, teenage love story with the audience-shocking skimpy outfits of Dimple Kapadia and a boyish faced Rishi Kapoor. An absolute unique presentation from the house of Raj Kapoor. His passion for his films, his film's music and everything related can be minutely seen in this movie.
The music composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal did a wonderful job by fusing world music into the Indianized genre. The proof is the movie soundtrack.
The most interesting part; the movie's background score. The music composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal did an exceptionally wonderful job on the movie's background score. Raj Kapoor was such a great connoisseur of music that he decided to release a whole separate record that carried only the background score. This idea was materialized into "THE SOUL OF BOBBY".

Only limited copies of this record were pressed making it a real rare find. The ones who spent those extra few bucks buying it are truly delirious today. I was lucky enough to find a copy for myself which I ripped, re-mastered and cleaned sonically for the listening pleasure of everybody. I also made a little YouTube montage just to give a little glimpse of the beauty of this music which you can find posted below. Indeed a great piece of art ! Try to get your hands on this one, you will never part with it. Enjoy some great music from the house of Raj Kapoor.

VIVIDHBHARATI Indian Radio Station Online

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:28:51 -0800

Every person who grew up in INDIA definitely knows what Vividhbharati is and also has some nostalgic connections of some sort with those songs which he/she listened to as a child and even as an adult. Those melodies of childhood have a deep impact over our mind forever and listening to them completely freshens the mind. A new zeal indeed arises inside the mind. Of course, it has something to do with the sub-conscious too. Today when millions of Indians are out in various parts of the world right from United States to Australia, they do want to have that scent of the homeland as close to them as possible. Eating food of the native land gives immense pleasure and so does listening to songs from home. To cater to the love of all the millions of Indians around the globe and away from home, I have this simple homely dish. It can be relished anywhere and anytime just as soon as the heart wishes.
Our very own Vividhbharati is now online. Since past month I have been constantly striving hard to create this wonderful tool which can be reached by everyone and wonderful melodies as well as nostalgia remain just a click away.
A wonderful collection of diligently hand picked and painstakingly re-mastered Indian melodies along with some rarities like old LP record rip offs as well as movie themes has been created at Vividhbharati Online .

Just click and enjoy...........

http://anywhere.fm/vividhbharati