Norah Jones plays a synthesizer draped in fancy fabric like a harmonium in this video for ‘What Am I to You,’ a country-infused love song aching with the anomie of individualism:
What am I to you Tell me darling true To me you are the sea Vast as you can be And deep the shade of […]
As a techie, in some things I’m reflexively modernist and philistine. Films from ten years ago look dated to me. I’ve never been a big fan of old-skool films with their melodrama, static acting and lack of visual stim. Actors would stand rooted in one spot and deliver long, weepy soliloquies. Low frame rates made […]
Folk rocker Devendra Banhart and his actress-girlfriend Natalie Portman put together a desi-inspired vid for his song ‘Carmensita’ (Little Carmen). It starts off with the highly underused Indian censor certificate and references Sita in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata serial’s crappy special effects, Shiva myths, Kali and Bollywood dance:
I like the concept, especially the dual languages. […]
Pakistani rocker Zeb Alam’s ‘Pehla Pyar’ (First Love) pairs a mild, pop-friendly voice with the bass crunch and solo wail of early U2. It’s undeniably catchy, but milquetoast rock is annoying:
Desh music tends to be much softer-edged than American, but this track stills feels inauthentic, an elevator lite version of real rock. It reminds me […]
If these faces belong to singer Todd Michaelsen — the chakra and crescent are an effective disguise — he must’ve endured hours of face painting for the video for ‘Pagan Blues.’ His wife Reena Shah (Sita Sings the Blues) dances during My Pet Dragon’s live gigs — Brooklyn, Burning Man, L.A. Love the chakra […]
Norah Jones sang about the sexual dysfunction of the letter ‘Y’ on Sesame Street (shouldn’t it have been the letter ‘X’?) Somehow it seems lip-synced, I don’t know why I didn’t know:
Rapper and part-time pornographer Snoop Dogg contributed vocals to RDB’s title track for the upcoming Bollyflick Singh Is King. Listen:
What me zoom by, make me boom byWhat up to all the ladies hangin’ out in MumbaiCheese make dollas, east-west masalaSingh is the king so you all have to follow…
Aruna Irani’s ‘Chadti Jawani’ dance from Caravan (1971) was quite the Mowgliesque item number. The actress wore a short, brightly-colored skirt with leaf-like fringes, a garish circus version of tribal dress.
It’s hard to gauge how well (the) Glastonbury (Festival) is known outside the UK, as…well, because I’m in the UK. You should know it, because it is the largest music and performing arts festival in the world [source]. Aside from this one line, it’s pretty hard to describe as it tends to be different for […]
There are certain friends-with-benefits to playing the celebrity author game. Salman Rushdie cashed in with a cameo in a video for Scarlett Johansson’s vanity album. The track is ‘Falling Down,’ a Tom Waits cover. It’s probably safe to call it a step up from playing Helen Hunt’s ob/gyn. He shows up at 3:05:
Tunisian-German rapper Bushido raps over a Hindi melody in this low-rent video for ‘Bei Nacht (At Night) — Bollywood Remix.’ Here’s a machine translation of the lyrics (thanks, Shireen):
Bushido was born to a Tunisian father, whom he first came to know at the age of 26, and a German mother, with whom he grew up […]
When will Bollywood realize that Zabeena the puppet (lipsyncing here to ‘Jawaani Jaaneman’) is a better actor than Emran Hashmi?
Last year a California high school choir sang ‘Flower Duet,’ a song from the Orientalist, India-themed opera Lakmé later used as the British flag carrier’s theme. I wonder if the desi girl in the choir knows it’s the femme version of the Kohinoor diamond. Mr. Everything Comes From India strikes again:
Lakmé is an opera in […]
Last night’s Daily Show poked fun at this over-the-top campaign ad for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), co-chair of the Senate India Caucus and a man famous for being cussed out by John McCain:
Aside from the hilarity of the ad itself, the soundtrack sounds very A.R. Rahman — small bell, tabla-like drum, violin track which leans […]