A Short Treatise on French Electronic

Playlist time!  A colleague at work asked for recommendations on French electronic, a genre I was quite into in the early 2000s.  So here are my top pics and recommendations if you want to get into the French electronic scene :)
YouTube

1. Air's seminal 1998 album "Moon Safari" is a classic.  The whole album is a great example of the downtempo and lounge genres.  The rest of their discography is pretty great too.
"La Femme d'Argent" from "Moon Safari"
"Sexy Boy" from "Moon Safari"

2. You, of course, know Daft Punk, but DP's manager Busy P is an electronic legend.
"Genie" a 2017 single
"Rainbow Man" from the 2014 album "Reworking is Not a Crime"

3. Justice, takes DP's "Aerodynamic" style and mixes it with rock, Kraftpop, and French house.  Also managed by Busy P.  Their 2007 debut album "Cross" was a revelation.
"Genesis" - from "Cross"

4. Étienne de Crécy has been a longtime electronic producer, and "Super Discount" was fantastic for 1998; I mean Daft Punk's "Homework" and Air's "Moon Safari" had just released!
"Super Disco" from "Super Discount"

5. M83 I'm sure you've heard of or heard somewhere.  "Midnight City" was a staple for while on ads and such.  Their 2011 album "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming" and the follow-up 2016 album "Junk" were pretty solid.
"Midnight City" from "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming"
"Reunion" from "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming"

6. I will admit I haven't heard a lot of Kavinsky, but loved "Nightcall" after watching the film "Drive".  "Nightcall" also features vocals from Lovefoxxx of the Brazlian band CSS (check out their song "Alala" for a taste)
"Nightcall" from the 2013 album "Outrun"

7. Finally, Danger.  Not exactly my scene, but curious to hear what others think; it's a little too dubstep-y for me.  He's very weird, his songs are titled with the time he finished recording them.
Playlist for his 2017 album "Taiko" (he does use taiko drums)

On a different vein, but if you like Sigur Ros, Ulan Bator is a solid listen in the French post-rock scene.
"Let Go Ego" from the 2003 album "Ok: Ko"
"Hemisphere" from the 2000 album "Ego: Echo"

"Hopelandic" or How I Spent More Money on Music than Groceries in 2017

The 2016-17 season has been a great year for music for me personally, so I thought I should recap some of the highlights and finds. Incidentally, I calculated that I've spent more money on concert and music since I graduated Fletcher last year than on groceries.

Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto
St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Yuri Temirkanov, and accompanied by an impressive soloist pianist, Nikolai Lugansky.

Chopin 1st Piano Concerto
Philadelphia Orchestra
Dynamic music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin returns with the orchestra and celebrated pianist Louis Lortie

Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto
Alice Sara Ott with the NSO

Beethoven's 9th Symphony
NSO

Mahler's 5th Symphony
Royal Dutch Orchestra

Quilt
Sinclair, Boston

Dvorak
Hillary Hahn with the NSO

Zakir Hussain and Rahul Sharma
with the NSO
Kennedy Center, DC

Stonefield
9.30 Club, DC

Sigur Ros
Boston Calling and NYC

Tool
Boston Calling

Mitski
Boston Calling

Kevin Morby
Boston Calling

Cage the Elephant
Boston Calling

Run the Jewels
Boston Calling

The XX
Boston Calling

Wolf Parade
Boston Calling

My Boston Calling public playlist on Spotify also includes Weezer, Frightened Rabit, Mondo Cozmo, Tegan and Sara, Moses Sumney, mac DeMarco, Xylouris White, and Car Seat Headrest.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
9.30 Club, DC

Slowdive
9.30 Club, DC

Japanese Breakfast
9.30 Club, DC

Rodrigo y Gabriela
9.30 Club, DC

Blondie + Garbage
The Wolftrap, Virginia

Depeche Mode
Verizon Center, DC

Giorgio Moroder

9.30 Club, DC

Adventures in Rock: Part 1

Part 1: Opening Doors in High School

"There are things known, and things unknown, and in between are the doors" 

~ Ray Manzarek [1] 

Writing about something as subjective as music is a curious and precarious task.  So instead of attempting to create an objective list, let me talk about my personal journey and experiences in discovering rock, naive and sparse, and at times embarrassing, it may be.

Govinda is awesome and I will not apologize for it.

Born in a musically devoid home and educated in a missionary elementary school, by the time I went to high school, my knowledge, exposure, and understanding of music was accidental at best, and abysmally tasteless at worst.  My early years at Doon reverberates with the memory of the common room stereo blaring a combination of David Dhawan's Govinda "Number 1" soundtracks, some version of Now That's What I Call Music, and techno - which is what all the cool kids were listening. At one point, I could sing most of the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears discography.  Rarely did I hear anything else, particularly since we had no access to the internet or international radio stations in 1998.  MTV and Channel V, though available, had limited diversity and we did not get a TV in the dormitory till 2001, and probably only tuned in to MTV "Most Wanted" for Shenaz Treasurywala.

One of reasons 90s MTV was fun

All that changed in tenth grade.  My friends and I sneaked into the Oberoi House dormitory common room to play table tennis at 7 in the morning on a Sunday morning only to find a senior, Abhishek Singhania, listening to music at a near muted volume.  We spent the morning in quiet harmony, Singhania listening to Simon and Garfunkel and Metallica (an odd pair) and me playing table tennis.  What stayed with me from that morning was a realization of how little I knew about the world of music.

"Like a Bridge Over Troubled Waters" ~ S&G

That summer I picked up a G3: Live in Concert audio cassette from the local Archies store in Dehra Dun on a whim.  I quite enjoyed listening to the distorted guitar sounds of John Petrucci (I didn't know Dream Theater then), Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani.  Admittedly, part of the appeal was hipster-ish.  Yes, I also see the irony.  Stemming from G3, I dabbled in picking up some random "rock" albums - Now That's What I Call Progressive, which had no Genesis, King Crimson, Rush, or Yes; Best of Alternative - which introduced me to Puddle of Mudd, Five For Fighting, and POD, Linkin Park, and Limp Bizkit - dark days...

Not pictured: Steve Morse (Deep Purple), John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Yngwie Malmsteen,
Robert Fripp (King Crimson)...

My eleventh grade exchange program to Wanganui Collegiate School in New Zealand was the first time I found a music mentor.  Harvey, who was the house captain of my dorm aptly also named Harvey, was one of the most charismatic people I have met, and quite the ladies man (as much as a high school senior can be).  Harvey literally opened the doors to his music (he had a nice CD cabinet) and for the first time I was introduced to The Doors (again, I had not seen the Oliver Stone film at this point).  Surrounding The Doors were assorted windows to newer scenes like Incubus, Weezer, Pennywise, and the Dave Matthews Band.  But "The Doors"... man.  The extended jam  on "Light My Fire", "Soul Kitchen", "Peace Frog", and of course, "Roadhouse Blues"... I did not smoke weed but Morrison et al made me feel like I understood what it must be like.  Their 1967 eponymous debut album The Doors would be a good gateway drug.

"People are strange when you're a stranger."

Somewhere in between, my English teacher Salim Yusufji brought out Prince and the Revolution.  I was thirteen, in an all boys boarding school.  I would not be caught dead listening to a short effeminate man in frills.  My naive prejudice meant it would be several years before I would re-discover the prodigy of The Artist Formerly Known As Prince - but more on that later.

A seminal experience for me upon my return from New Zealand was getting a copy of Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.  By the time I reached "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)", the last song on the album, I felt I was living on the wrong side of 1968.  This moment sparked my exploration of the 60s - 70s rock scene, what we colloquially call "classic rock" - the subject of Part 2 in this series.

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky."

Quick Fact [2]

"Rock n Roll: The Alan Freed Story": "Rock and Roll" was coined by DJ Alan Freed sometime in the late 60s.  While most people in the music industry in the US would like to forget him after the outbreak of the Payola scandal, Freed's influence and audacity brought R&B to the mainstream at a time when it was considered "black music" and shunned by the bourgeoisie, remains pivotal in the development of modern rock music.

The Father of Rock and Roll

Notes:
[1] This quote is often attributed to Jim Morrison, but was actually first used by The Doors co-founder Ray Manzarek.  It is likely that the quote is influenced by a line in William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: "If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite", or Aldous Huxley's "The Doors of Perception".

[2] I will include one quick fact at the end of each part.

Is “Classical” Music Irrelevant?

In 1977, when NASA was pondering what music to include on the “golden record” aboard the Voyager spacecrafts intended for intelligent extraterrestrial life who may find them, astronomer Carl Sagan quipped, “I would vote for Bach, but that would just be showing off…” 

Bach’s music has endured 300 years and two world wars, yet, pop culture critics believe the music of Bach and other great composers of the past is now dead. They cite declining sales and the recent bankruptcy of The New York City Opera as markers of the irrelevance of “classical” music today. 

Perhaps classical music is taking a beating in the United States. Cuts in arts funding, absence of musical education in schools, reduced attention span of listeners, proliferation of competition for the entertainment dollar, and the treatment of “classical” music as elitist, conformist, and boring in the media, are contributing to the waning popularity of classical music. However, with the internet, music that was once limited to a select society is now available to an unimaginably large audience all over the world. 

In terms of numbers, classical music is enjoying an unprecedented period of popularity. In fact, there has never been a better time to get into classical music. The 2014 BBC Proms Classical Concerts saw record attendance, 375 tickets sold every minute of the first hour of sales! Furthermore, the growing classical community in developing countries, particularly in Asia, and its application in development are creating a new generation of classical aficionados outside the Western realm.

Until the late twentieth century, classical music was composed, played, and listened to primarily by an elite slice of society in Western countries — and the perception that classical music is inherently elitist exists even today. “The idea that classical music is the province of some white-wigged old farts shows a failure of imagination and rank snobbery!” British actor Stephen Fry argued at a Cambridge Union debate in 2011. Unfortunately, classical music comes across as "posh" because people automatically associate the formality and etiquette traditionally surrounding it as esoteric and pretentious. Popular Hollywood films such as School of Rock and Rock and Roll demonize classical music as conforming to an archaic and boring norm. Classical music is unpopular in the West today, not because Beethoven cannot pull in crowds like Lady Gaga, but because people associate the music with the elite and refuse to interact with it.

The 1988 film Running on Empty has a great scene where a music teacher plays a Madonna number and a Beethoven piece and asks the class, “What’s the difference?” A young River Phoenix responds, “Ya can’t dance to Beethoven.” Large portions of modern music today are dance tunes — music that is portable — for running, to liven up a Saturday night party, or even as background for writing an op-ed piece. Classical music, even the modern material, does not lend itself to that world. It requires the listener to sit and actively engage and allow the music to take you on a journey — not exactly "fun" in the modern internet age. 

There is a conscious attempt by the classical music community to alter this perception. To pull in crowds, symphony houses are giving free or heavily discounted tickets to students, and orchestras are opening their doors to pianists like James Rhodes who plays in sneakers and jeans and looks more like a Deadhead. Programmers are trying to make classical music approachable and fun by injecting humor and eschewing the formality out of performances.

However, there is a more transcendental aspect to classical music than just fun. In the Second World War, the British took the opening bars of Beethoven’s monumental Fifth Symphony: “daa, daa, daa, daa”, the Morse code for “V for Victory” and made it into a war cry on the wireless. In doing so, they took something quintessentially German, Beethoven, and appropriated him for larger purpose: a symbol of the resistance and a united voice against the Nazis. 

“[Classical] music has to be recognized as an agent of social development, in the highest sense because it transmits the highest values – solidarity, harmony, and mutual compassion. And it has the ability to unite an entire community, and express sublime feelings,” says Jose Abreu, the founder of El Sistema in Venezuela. El Sistema provides free classical music education to over 250,000 young musicians, mostly orphans, across Venezuela. Its most famous achievement was the formation of the renowned Simon Bolivar Orchestra. For many of the children in the program, being a part of the orchestra goes beyond music. Here, they find a new home. The Applied Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies found that participation in El Sistema “…promotes human opportunity and development for impoverished children improving concentration, attendance, and behavior in schools.”

Copycat schemes in India, China, Portugal, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have seen similar success. The In Harmony scheme in the United Kingdom, in particular, has managed to introduce classical music to a new audience: the British youth. The growing popularity of the radio channel, Classic.FM, is testament of the success of the program. The informal approach of the channel has done much to allay the stigma of elitism associated with classical music. 

The growth in classical musical education in developing countries, especially in Asia, ensures that while classical music might be culturally losing ground in the much of the West, it will be around for the time being, albeit elsewhere. Probably today, some teenager in the Indian subcontinent is discovering the wonders of Bach for the first time…

Music Roundup...

First, new discovery for me... San Cisco.

Fresh, happy, indie Aussie band with a crisp sound and a rare woman drummer.

Great sound... playing live the KEXP.

Second, staying with the theme of fresh, happy, indie and women drummers, here is Chaos-Chaos, formerly known as Smoosh.  The sisters started playing and touring since they were ten and eight... now their sound has matured and they're collaborating with a lot of great indie groups like, Head Like A Kite.  Have a listen, here they are live at the KEXP and as Daydream Vacation.

Second, our very own Ms. Aline Jorand, KIS Spanish teacher, translator and singer extraordinaire.  Brilliant cover of Psy's Gangnam Style at the Staff Concert.  Line to her music.

Happy listening folks.

Shout Out to DJ Panda

Hardcore House

"Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est." [1]

I haven't written about my journey into the foray of "classical" music for some time now, so here goes...  You can read the previous installment here.

This time I am going to concentrate on familiar pieces, familiar names, and familiar faces, and we begin at the beginning, with Beethoven.

1. Ludwig V. Beethoven - The 9th Symphony, Opus 

What can I say about this piece that has not already been said?  I'm reaching for the dictionary of superlatives.  Sure, it's long and there are times when I've dozed off all through the 2nd and 3rd movements... (like I said it's freaking long), but if you think about it as the summation of man's life, his work and his genius, it is truly deserving of the title magnum opus.  We use it as a benchmark for personal achievement.  Don't just listen to the Schezero Choral from the 4th Movement.  That's the crescendo, the previous three movements set up the scene, the themes, and motives and it all culminates to "Ode to Joy".  See also, the 3rd, 5th, and 7th Symphonies.

2. J.S. Bach - Cello Suites (Six Suites for the Unaccompanied Cello)

When Voyager 10 was being sent beyond the Kuiper Belt, a "Golden Disk of Music" was included among other things for aliens to learn about us (Remember Star Trek: The Motion Picture?).  Anyway, Carl Sagan was deciding what music to put on the disk and someone suggested Bach, to which Sagan quipped, "Now that would just be showing off."  I think the Prelude to the First Suite is evidence of that.

3. Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

One of the most difficult pieces of music to play, and Rachmaninoff had some excellent renditions and then Horowitz perfected it.  Seemingly cacophonous in nature, it ties together quite beautifully.

[1] - "Applaud my friends, for the comedy is over" ~ Beethoven on this deathbed.

Some Get Away...

There are some stalwarts that get away with plagiarism.  Bollywood is a classic example.  But the one that always gets on my nerves for some reason is that brilliant fraud Anu Malik.  There are many others like Kumar Sanu et al, but Anuji, as he is reverently called, is in a class of his own.

The Three Wise Friends

My friends came visiting.  Three wise ones followed the Ghat to my humble little abode.  They brought in some welcome laughs and reminiscent winds, but most importantly they brought gifts!

Finally my new LP player and LPs are here.  Old friends like New Order, Depeche Mode, and the Psychedelic Furs... truly, my bosom for a pillow is on the 45.  If you didn't get that pop culture reference, then too bad.

Photo courtesy: Dilanie Devadoss.  Thanks.

Also in the delivery was a super cool green laser.  The geek liveth again.

Thanks SS, Megha, and Amit!  You'll are the best.  

Honorable mention to Maggie C!  Your thanks is DM concert tour this fall.

What I Was Reading... and Watching... and Listening

I had some interesting reading and watches this week... well actually over the last few weeks but I'm only getting to writing this now.

Salman Khan (no not our beloved drunk driver), but the founder of Khan Academy gave a fantastic commencement speech at his alma mater, MIT in 2012.

Next, "the worm", returns to the world of Chaos - Dennis Rodman on his visit to DPRK.  Rodman, who was once the member of perhaps the greatest Basketball team of all time (and less famously the husband of the "Baywatch thespian" Carmen Electra), spoke to George Stephanoppolous about his recent tete-a-tete with Kim Jong Un on The Week.

A fantastic read on the processed food industry and the science behind junk food addiction in the New York Times.  A must read.

This afternoon I had two conversations, where as per standard rules, I ended up doing most of the talking.  The conversations reminded me of a bunch of "things" that I had stored in the back of my attic brain which I divulge to you now.  
The first was regarding the conspiracy theory behind the Moon landing.  Somehow the conversation drifted from Physics HL to astronomy, dark matter, telescopes and finally... the "fake" Moon landing.  It reminded me of a brilliant sketch by the genius British comedy duo David Mitchell and Robert Webb from their sketch show The Mitchell and Webb Look.  Have a gander.
The second conversation, started with a girl with a guitar, meandered around mandolins, ukuleles, banjos, and The Infamous Stringdusters and The Goat Rodeo Sessions (The collaborative album by Chris Thile (mandolin), Yo-Yo Ma (that's right!), Edgar Myers (double bass), ans Stuart Duncan (violin)). While I was talking, two distinct images entered either side of my head: Eddie Izzard talking about Tigers and Banjos, and The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain covering "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".  Have a hark.

I also recently had a conversation with a few people about Formula 1 racing as the season started last Sunday.  We got around to the topic of drift racing, and someone mentioned The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.  I was reminded of Keiichi Tsuchiya - the original "Drift King" who made the sport popular.  But who I want to write about today is the master of the Gymkhana - Ken Block!  Kudos to BBC Top Gear for another brilliant set.  Enjoy!

Till more, excelsior! 

Dry Land and Other Stories

The work week was hard, so of course, distractions were necessary.  Here's what's distracting me now.

King Henry is back at The Emirates.  Unfortunately, Sir Robert will not be joining him - but he might come to India!  Whoa.  Move over India vs. Bayern Munich and testimonial matches.  What a great night though at the JN Stadium.  Poor Baichung, not the best farewell match to have.  Final score 4-0...

Granted Bjork has done some decent music, but most of the time I can't tell the difference between Bjork, Yoko Ono, and a seal whose flipper has been smashed into a car door.  Still, even without Bjork and the economic crisis music from Iceland survives.  They gave us Sigur Ros - check out their fantastic documentary "Heima" - here's a taste of their music.  There was also Ryoksopp in between.  Then they gave us Bloodgroup.  Their first album "Sticky Situation" was tonally harsher with a lot of heavy synth sounds (well they are an electro pop group so I should have expected that), but their second album "Dry Land" is a bloody revelation.  Beautifully arranged with lounging Enyaesque vocals.  Great stuff, definitely warrants a listen.  Here's a couple of my picks from the album:

"This Heart" and "Wars"... don't want to give the rest away.  And if you think these guys hide behind distortion have a listen to this version of "This Heart" at the GogoYoko Studio.

Shravan introduced me to the wonderfully quirky and funny world of David Sedaris - a comic writer - yet insight-fully cynical and sarcastic.  Presently reading "Me Talk Pretty One Day".

Maggie brought Neon's "Skydiver" as my staple office work listen.  You won't be able to get your hands on this easily since Neon only released this as a 12" LP vinyl single.  Trippy seven minutes.  Reminds me of Japanese DJ Quadra's "Get it by Your Hands".

Of course, what's been making the rounds even faster than "Kolaveri Di" is Walk of the Earth's cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" - over 11 million views in a week!  What a fantastic video - do have a listen.

Ok, everyone says this is one of the most overplayed songs of 2011, but I only discovered it recently.  Yes, it is Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks".  While the original might be over-played, I discovered two amazing covers.  The first a bluesy take by internet sensation Karmin, and the second by a one-man-band internet sensation Basement Alchemy.  Have a listen!

That's all folks!

What Am I Tripping On Now?

Ok, ever since CJ introduced me to Project Free TV, I've been tripping on NCIS - yes, the TV show.  I was curious.  Why is a crime procedural drama, the most popular prime time TV show in the US.  We have shows that deal with the military (JAG, Combat Hospital), we have shows that deal with forensics (CSI and it's million avatars), we have quirky crime solving team shows (The Mentalist, Castle, Bones), so why is NCIS drawing the crowds?  I've watched six and a half seasons now, and I still can't answer that question.  I just keep watching, though I'm not sure why.  Sure, the plots are relatively mysterious, the forensics are quite hocus-pocus, the characters are endearing and well drawn out, but it's no The Wire, or Battlestar Gallactica, nor is it M*A*S*H.  Yet, I keep watching.  A mystery...

I have, however, discovered an Israeli hip-hop, funk band through NCIS called Hadag Nahash (roughly translates to either The Fish Snake, or A New Direction).  They've been accused of left-leaning politics in their songs (which is true), but they shit out some catchy stuff - much like our "Kolaveri Di" craze.

Check out some of their stuff:

"Shirat Hastikar (The Sticker Song)" - This was written by famed Israeli novelist David Grossman.

"Bella Bellissima" - based on a true story.

And, of course, "Kolaveri Di" - which drove a nation crazy for one fall and produced a dozen offsprings.

I've also been tripping on the writings of A.J. Jacobs - the editor-at-large for Esquire magazine.  I first heard about this fellow when I caught him on a TED talk about the year he spent following every tenant in the Bible.  Since then I've read most of his stuff.  I really identify with his childlike experimental mentality and sense of adventure in writing.  The tendency we have of doing things so that we can write/tell other people about it.  Check out some of his "stunt journalism".  http://www.esquire.com/search/?q=A.J.+Jacobs


New trip: An article by mathematician and teacher Paul Lockhart - "A Mathematician's Lament".  A cry of despair about the way mathematics is taught, and has been taught for the better part of the century - curbing creative instincts and replacing them with rigorous techniques or procedures.  He claims math should be taught as an art, not as a tool for engineers.  While I don't agree with everything he says, I do feel that school curriculum ignores "historical context" and appreciation of mathematics, something, both I, and the author feel very passionate about.  It's a great read:
http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf

"Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands, and all you can do is scratch it!"

~ English conductor Sir Thomas Beecham commenting on a cello player's talent.

Although this is an arbitrary post to pick up after being AWOL for so long, but I really don't want to talk about life, universe, or anything else along those lines.

I have been listening to some western classical music since December last year. No apparent reason, just happened to stumble across it as I was aimlessly trying to find something interesting to distract me while waiting for a job... which, by the way, I still haven't found, so I would appreciate any help anyone could give me.

Anyway, on to the subject at hand. This is not meant to be pretentious. I am musically talentless, tone-deaf, if you will. Nor am I educated in the jargon. I don't claim to be a connoisseur, these are just some of the pieces I have truly enjoyed listening to, some over and over again in our media library selection... a top 10 pick. I have provided a few links to some of the pieces on youtube, but most are of poor quality not to mention in incomplete parts, but will give you a sense of the piece.

1. Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto#2, Op. 18
Compared to the chaps we are familiar with, Rachmaninoff is fairly contemporary (d. 1943). He wrote this piece recovering from severe depression and a particularly dirty break-up with his wife. Although not as famous as his Piano Concerto#3, this is a powerful piece and the first movement is absolutely spellbinding. A virtuoso himself he often played this as a part of his repertoire. There are lots of renditions... Arcadi Volodos, Sergei Vassiljevitsj, Evgeny Kissin, but my favorite has to be Alexis Weisenberg with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by the late (Nazi!) Herbert von Karajan. The clip is a little messed up in the beginning but it's Karajan and Weisenberg.

2. Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto#3, Op. 30
His most famous composition, and reputedly extremely hard to play well. Although, I personally prefer #2, #3 requires more deftness and technical fingering, or so I am told by resident piano experts at Hamilton. I have only heard two renditions, but 69 year old Vladimir Horowitz playing under the baton of Zubin Mehta in 1978 was absolutely spectacular. Clip of the first part of the first movement.

3. Camille Saint-Saens' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28
Although considered repetitive or even boring, along with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto #1, Op. 35, this is my favorite piece for the violin. Again there are many renditions, Itzhak Perlman, Jascha Heifetz, etc. The one that really captured me was 14-year old Viviane Hagner performing with the Israeli and Berlin Philharmonic in Tel Aviv in 1990 under Zubin Mehta. There was something about that performance that was just right...see for yourself.

4. Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto#1, Op. 35
When this composition premiered it was major failure and most violinists of the time refused to play it, but today it is concerned as one of the best pieces for the violin and virtuosos covet to play the solo. I have mixed feelings about this. At times, it is sublime, at times it sounds discordant and scratchy, more of an experiment with the instrument than the results of success. Nevertheless, 18 year Akiko Suwanai, prize winner at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow has played a beautiful rendition. Jascha Heifetz's is the most famous, but I still prefer Suwanai. First part of the first movement.

5. Maurice Ravel's Miroirs 4: "Alborada del Gracioso"
French. In my opinion the pop star of the modern Romantic period. Ravel is the turn of the century ABBA. Upbeat, catchy, and you can tap your feet to it and you don't need to close your eyes to enjoy the music. I personally like the piano solo version, but the arrangement for the orchestra is quite good too but feels a little somber and not, well "happy enough". There's a strange piece with Bram van Sambeek doing a bassoon solo! As for versions, there's Richter (a bit too fast, I felt), Karstein Djupdal (the other version our library had) is quite good. I'm sure there are some better ones out there, let me know if you find a good piece. It's a horrible version but the best I could find on youtube.

6. W. A. Mozart's "Requiem" K626
Foggy, gloomy, surreal. Mozart's famous unfinished work. Although there is debate on how much of it was actually written by the maestro himself, it is still a hauntingly beautiful piece. The violins and the chorals... it's pretty scary. Haven't found a favorite version yet. First part of 6.

7. Camille Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre"
Another hauntingly surreal piece. I first heard an excerpt of this as the opening theme to the British drama "Jonathan Creek" starring Alan Davies. For this composition too there are arrangements for violin and piano, but I like the orchestral version the most. There is something about the thundering sound of violin crescendos and timpani. Complete clip, good quality, Philadelphia Philharmonic.

8. Igor Stravinsky's "Petrushka" (ballet)
I wasn't sure if I wanted to add this, so I am playing it right now and I think I should add it. Petrushka is a ballet, and although it has it's moments of genius, if simply heard, rather than seen, it can feel a bit, well, "rough". Russian to the core, it's very hard with heavy, banging fortissimos. The piano arrangement that he later did for Russian pianist Rubenstein is actually quite good. I'm trying to see if I can get hold of a video, I've asked the library to order a copy, let's see. Youtube has a very dirty copy if you're interested. Piano rendition of "Russian Dance" from the first act.

9. Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "Festival Overture: The Year 1812", op. 49
To quote Calvin, "The fire cannons in a crowded theater... and then they say classical music is boring!" No seriously, this is as Russian as it gets, war drums, cannon fire... gotta love that. Quite different from the Violin Concerto I listed above, but equally good. And if you're Russian, patriotic to beat. If you're French, well that just sucks now doesn't it? Versions, hmm... well we have the Moscow Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic versions conducted by Ozawa. Both are good, but use synthesized sounds. I want a taste of the real thing!

10. Johannes Brahms' Symphony#1, Op. 68
I was torn between Handel's "Messiah" and this but I think the fact that Brahms took almost 20 years to write the damn thing, gives him a little more weight. We'll cover Handel next time around. The opening is powerful. It isn't overtly long like Mahler and Beethoven (Brahms was supposed to carry on Big B's legacy...) for that matter and he manages to keep it tight. He put the 20 years to good use. Right till the finale there is a sense of tension. However, even a novice like myself can hear the similarities between this piece and a mix of Big B's 5th, 7th, and 9th symphonies. No favorite version yet. I don't know how good the clip is, I haven't heard it... it's the first decent on I found on youtube.

Well that covers that for now, next time, let's see, Beethoven, Liszt and his unplayable "Transcendental Etudes", Strauss, Debussy, Haydn, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Bruckner and whatever I find interesting in the interim. Maybe Paganini. I'm sure many of you have recommendations, so fire away...

Fairies, Claymores and Bagpipes

[I wrote this for Zorro on Doughnuts]...

First post after being a member for...I don't even remember. It was going to be on Japanese pop/rock, but Yohan's post on The Arctic Monkey's and my recent hike around Scotland and RockNess 2007 made me change my mind.

I haven't been able to find copies of all these songs because many of them I just heard live or in pubs and buses across Scotland, but you can find most of them on www.radioblogclub.com, a rather remarkable site.

Unlike their Irish neighbours, Scottish musicians have never really made a big impact in the rock and roll world. Perhaps the best known names would be Franz Ferdinand and now, KT Tunstall (who actually went to college with Snow Patrol and our good friend, Duncan)... and if you really push it, the Young brothers from AC/DC who were half Scottish. It so turns out that the tiny nation of Scotland has churned out some pretty popular music, many of which sounds too American or British to make us think that they'd be of Scottish pedigree. After all, what would we expect Scottish music to sound like? Screaming cats and bagpipes? Well, here's a small sampling, make up your own mind...

First we have Snow Patrol, a band formed in University of Dundee where Duncan went to college. These guys are pretty much like any other american alternative band, but it's worth a listen to some of their stuff; "Run", "Chasing Cars", "Signal Fire", "You're All I Have" and "Spitting Games". You might have heard the first three songs in the disastrous Spiderman 3 movie.

Paolo Nutini is another up and coming musician with some smooth beats, semi-gruff voice, and catchy lyrics. Here are a few recommendations: "New Shoes", "Jenny Don't Be Hasty", and "Last Request".

I don't know if you remember an old jeans ad with the song "pressure, pressure, pressure", but that was The Zutons. They've done some great work with "Pressure Point", "Valerie", and "Oh Stacey". Although they supposedly formed in Liverpool, Duncan claims that they were initially led by 2 Glaswegians and a prat from Edinburgh.

Before our trip to Scotland, Pragyan and I were discussing what heavy rock bagpipes would sound like and the answer to our queries were the Peatbog Faeries - another group from Skye. I don't have any particular song to recommend but you can try, "Welcome to Dun Vegas", "Wacko King Hako", and "Scots on the Rocks".

If you want to know about the McGreggor massacre or some good old Scottish folk music, The Corries would be an appropriate choice. They do a lot of great traditional songs seeped in history and lore like "Portkey Kid", "Bonnie Prince Charlie" and other patriotic songs like "Flower of Scotland".

Another band with dubious origins, Alabama 3 was formed in Brixton, England, but again Duncan claims they're actually Scots, but as long as they make good music, it doesn't matter right? They're perhaps most famous for "Woke Up This Morning" which was used for the opening sequence for "The Sopranos". I'd also recommend, "Hello... I'm Johnny Cash", and "Peace in the Valley".

Box o' Bananas performed live at the King Haakon Pub in Kyle, Isle of Skye in Northern Scotland while we were there... it's hard to imagine this tiny island in the middle of nowhere have produced some of the biggest names in Scottish modern music and also hosts the annual Skye Music Festival. Coming back to the band, BoB combines a lot of traditional Scottish instruments [read: pipes] with high amp guitars and keyboards. They're great to listen to live, not to mention bloody funny. I couldn't find anything on www.radioblogclub.com, so good luck...

The first Aberfeldy song I heard was "Vegetarian Restaurant". To be honest I really haven't heard much from these guys, but I'm looking around for some more. Radioblogclub has a limited collection for these guys. Try "Tom Weir" and "Summer's Gone".

The Proclaimers are the quitessential Scottish band. The identical twins were voted "the most Scottish band" and are perhaps best known for their song "I'm Gonna Be [500 miles]"... you know, the one that goes, "and I will walk 500 miles, and I will walk 500 more..." These guys are from the little town of Fief just north of Edinburgh and people are suprised they haven't become British sellouts! You've probably already heard "Letter From America", "Sunshine on Leith" and "King of the Road".

Another Dundee Band, The View, has also produced some decent... although certain people seem to hate them. Also accused of being American sellouts, people have called them a cross between The Arctic Monkey's and The Proclaimers, and the worst new band! Make up your mind: "Wasted Little DJs", "Same Jeans", and "Face for the Radio".

Lastly I leave you with a surprise Isle of Skye master DJ: Mylo who along with KT Tunstall was probably the biggest hit of RockNess 2007. I'm sure there are many more great bands and musicians I've missed out, but these are all the guys I know about. Enjoy! Sorry I couldn't provide the songs, but they're all there on www.radioblogclub.com.

I'll write a normal post sometime soon. I wonder where everyone else has disappeared?

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want!” [1]

There is a lot to talk about for this bored meeting.

First on the agenda is the induction of one Allison “Chouball” Chou into this blog. A few more names and we will be like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let me tell you a bit about Chou. Never believe a word of what she says. Half the lies she says aren’t true. What else do you expect from a former employee of a sketchy New York tax firm? Her favoured drink is double vodka on the rocks with a dash of tangerine. She drives a space age Honda Civic and owns a DVD of “Miami Vice”. We look forward to hearing more of her apocryphal stories…

Jae, Amit, Shraddha, and Noah were visiting for the last couple of weeks. It was great fun. Noah and I went to watch Patrick Stewart as Prospero in a superb RSC production of “The Tempest”. All through the show, I was always expecting him to say, “Engage”, but it never came. Later Amit, Noah, and I went to watch Monty Python’s “Spamalot”. Although we had crappy seats, it was a very enjoyable show, but not in the same league as T. However, the best play I’ve seen in the West End is still “The Woman in Black”, which I went to watch twice, once with Kunj and once with Elena.

My Economics teacher is expecting a child in a couple of weeks. They’ve named her Helena, which brings me to the movie “DOA: Dead or Alive” – don’t watch it. We also got around to watching “300”. Quite an intense movie; lot’s of blood and gore but it’s not “Sin City”.

Jae and I went on a Beatles trip to Liverpool. It was an excellent trip, complete with singing along at a live performance (Paul Caspa) at the famous The Cavern Pub. Back in London we went down to Abbey Road and tried hard to duplicate the album cover, but we were too spazzed out to get it right!

St. Patrick’s Day was another experience. We went to watch the parade and the live performances at Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square and topped off the day with a couple of pints of Guinness at The Blue Posts pub. Which isn’t anything special since we got drunk ten nights in a row. We love our party hats.

Wimbledon was a very disappointing outing. Not only were we lost but it also started to rain and the construction kept us out of the grounds. The museum was cool with some stunning AV demos, but for six quid that’s the least you’d expect. All other pictures, at least the good ones are on Facebook.

My plans for Spain and Portugal went down the drain when I told the Finnish embassy to “F*ck off” and cancelled my visa. I can’t imagine why any one would want to go to Finland and on top of that they people at the embassy don’t want you to go either. Gets my vote for worst embassy in the world. I hate Finland. So I’m stuck here in London. Maybe I’ll still go to Morocco and Scotland, but as of now, I’m too pissed off to think straight.

To top things off we have the sad demise of the Indian Cricket Team. 'Tis a sad day when Ireland makes it past the league stage and India doesn't. I will not sulk, not even when Arsenal is beaten by Everton.

[1]: The Rolling Stones. Seems to capture our thoughts.

If At First You Fail, Destroy All Evidence You Tried

Friday. Diwali was successful. People enjoyed the skit. People enjoyed the dance performances. In general people had fun. I had fun too. I deserved it... the rest of the week had been super stressful. As Christina said, my procrastination curve had peaked on Friday and exploded later that evening - with a plastic katana et al.
Priya said that it was a proven fact that hangovers enhance sporting performances. She was wrong. The next morning on Saturday, I lost both my matches to mediocre players at an inter-college table-tennis tournament.
The rest of Saturday, however, progressed rather well. After a long time James and I spent some time cleaning the brain and playing chess, lazing in his suite listening to Talking Heads and Tom Waits and later admiring natural fractals on our monumental expedition to the observatory.
Feeling rather energetic, I borrowed James' iPod and went for a long walk with 'Light My Fire', 'Heard it Through the Grapevine' and 'Crosseyed and Painless' on repeat. Dropped into a random freshman's room and 'borrowed' a can of beef ravioli and chilli noodles. I decided to stop by Pragyan's room and pick up my chocolate brownie fudge ice-cream which had been lying in his fridge for days now... Unfortunately someone had neglected to turn the fridge on, so I found my beloved iced with a crust of fungi.
Dejected, I decided to eat at the diner... the rest of the evening is slightly hazy, except that the three above mentioned songs had been looping in my ears and head for the past few hours. We played hangman in the diner for an uncomfortable length of time. I was pissed I couldn't guess Judge Dredd.
Fearing that the stale warm convection currents of the radiators were messing with my head, I convinced a motley crew of friends and acquaintences to join me for a walk to the dark netherlands of Rogers' Estate, entertaining them with horror stories of naked, psycotic serial killers.
I discovered I'm not the only insane movie buff and that there are people who've probably seen many more movies than me (read: Aglae and Elena), but it's always nice to discuss obscure Chinese and Korean movies with people.
Tired from the day's hurricane, I declined to participate in any further activity and retire. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. At some inhuman hour an irritating buzz fills my head. It was my phone, not Alex. Don't know which is the lesser evil. Amit says that they (rest of the motley crew) had managed to lock their keys inside the car. If it was a 1985 Maruti Suzuki 800, I would understand how that could happen. But armed with an state of the art automatic, I imagine it would take some skill to find yourself in that situation. Unable to process their request to give them a five minute crash course on how to pick car locks over the telephone, I fell back asleep and had a lovely dream where the Maity name was no longer associated with delinquency. At four thirty in the morning the buzz returned. This time I hoped it was Alex passing gas in his machine gun manner, but it was the phone again.
A very incoherent voice was saying that they had been kidnapped by the Slovakian mafia and were being carted off to Sylvan Beach to be sold as pets to rich Arabian sheiks. My first thought was that the Slovakian mafia was very inefficient. How can you kidnap someone and not pat them down and take their cell phones away... albeit T-Mobile never works anywhere, but someone could have had a Verizon...
Shraddha was freaking out on the phone. I kept mumbling non-commital responses. The phone makes its round around the motley crew. I hear crackling background laughter and a few what the fucks. I almost fall back asleep before someone talks to me again. I think it was either Pragyan or Amit, perhaps it was both, or maybe they are the same person, or perhaps I imagined it all, I am not sure, but someone spoke to me and said that they were fine and that they were driving back to college and started laughing with a hic. I assumed that the coversation was over and fell back asleep. The next morning my neck was sore as I had slept on the phone.
I need a holiday.

"Help! I'm A Rock!"

More music angle...

This week, I returned to the roots of rock and roll with "Mr. Rock and Roll: The Alan Freed Story" with a surpisingly brilliant Judd Nelson as Alan Freed (way better than the crappy jobs he's done before!) and the documentary "Rock and Roll" along with the 1971 Frank Zappa movie "200 Motels".

I first heard about Frank Zappa when Griffin Dune starred in the movie "Parental Advisory" as Zappa. The ending credits of the movie claimed that none of Zappa's albums ever received the "Parental Advisory" label, however, Zappa's "Jazz From Hell", which is an instrumental album, did receive such a label! Anyway, at that time there wasn't any Zappa readily available and School wasn't much of a help... it was ATB and trance all the way there. And so my interest in Zappa slowly faded away.

It was only after I watched a recording of a 1978 Zappa concert at California State University in college that I was interested in Zappa again. Fortunately, James, like most other stoners is a big Zappa fan and leant me most of his collection. With more than 60 albums to his name, there's a lot to go through!

Zappa may not suit everyone's tastes, specially those who prefer coherent, romantic and mushy lyrics of say Backstreet Boys (I was going to put Bryan Adams here but decided against it). Most of my favourite Zappa songs, including the title of this post, have strange undecipherable chants and blabber that remind you of Candarian demonic worship but are undeniably catchy.

Speaking of catchy and undecipherable, nothing beats Tom Waits' "Telephone Call From Istanbul".

Black humor and social satire is another intricate aspect of Zappa's music as is evident from "Why Does it Hurt When I Pee", "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama", "Take Your Clothes of When You Dance", "Help I'm A Rock" and "Uncle Remus" (to name a few).

One of Zappa's songs "Watermelon In Easter Hay" was used for the brilliant 2001 Mexican movie "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (which stars Gael Garcia Bernal of "The Motorcycle Diaries", another good movie), although Zappa had requested that three of his songs, including the one in question, be never used in any other media except in an album. However, his widow (Zappa died in 1993) allowed this exception because she was so moved by the film.