Live, Eat, Breathe Bollywood: Obsession with all things Oriental shared with the World..
Whatever the mood there's a tune out there to match it!
Relax, listen, recharge, energise and if necessary..LET THE RAM LOOSE ON MY BEACH!
Time is ticking... ..it's been almost 5 yrs now since the birth of Agent B.. it has happened one summer late night/early morning at a beachclub in a land far far away - location of the fruitful event pictured below..
I was just bored bored BORED of the same ole same ole and thus my romance with Bollywood and World Music began: the AfroCelts with the beautiful vocals of the lovely Sevara Nazarkhan from Uzbekistan (pictured below), Bombay Dreams & Apache Indian, Bluffmaster, a few friendly underground London bands, Fatboy Slim bhangroidal remix, Sertab Erdener and Enigma, some Oriental House, Sean Paul and yet more Bolly (Kisna and Bride & Prejudice) - this collection has started me off on the Agent B. journey..and I never looked back since.
The moody mix on offer today is my first attempt at mixing different genres of music and also my very first attempt at mixing at all...might be a bit ropey. The year is 2004.. The Very First Atmospheric Chill & Kick Mix -listen here.
A Gastarbeiter handed me a CD, listen to this, he says.
Okay, I say.
And off I go on a mad musical trip around the New Europe diaspora & beyond - Michael Palin eat your heart out! The track list somehow traces the immigrant's travels za chlebem (Fürs Brot), hunting for a job out in the wide World to secure their existence without leaving their own culture behind and forgetting their roots . A hint of nostalgia...
The CD is old, all scratched up and am not sure if I can save anything to remaster - it is definitely worth the effort though.
I hear Bollywood & Brazilian reggaeton, Balkan turbo-folk on speed with electric guitars, Celtic violins, a bit of R&B (which I promptly skip), Turkish belly moans; all in da mix with some deep throaty man-groans (not Shaggy though methinks, only if Shaggy can do it in Turkish too..??) and a touch of "taramasalata", I swear it's not all Greek though..
Still recovering from the time bandits' theft of a full hour off the last weekend (how dare they!?), this "mongrelled" collection of songs happens to provide a very unexpected way to make me want to do anything at all on a grey day like this.. I want to share - I have salvaged the tunes and am posting this New Europe Mishmash Murders Batty Batty Mega Mix herefor your pleasure. It is quite raw.
Okay! You know it - the house is still in a right mess. Ha ha ha ha! No problem. Yeah.. Let's get the "housewives moving"! Mission: Sparkling floors, dinner etc You have 40 mins 20 secs.. Although by the time you get to "Ek Look Ek Look", the AlooChaat is already bubbling merrily in your tummy and we are no longer talking housework (wink wink). Presenting The Hoovering Motivator Part Deux, a marvellous new Agent B Mix... The Benny Lava Riot with a hip and a hop - lookie here!
I was searching Youtube for the newly released video of Pussycat Dolls' Jai Ho cover - no luck. Youtube has decided to block access to all the vids posted. How annoying! Reckon the days of youtube are numbered - is there any point in visiting a site that doesn't let you use it? Instead I have found this one below which shows the girls performing the song and dance routine live:
Only today (15.03.09) you may also watch the official video for the PD's Jai Ho on aol. The verdict is: Fantastic!
Wrong! This is clearly Zohan trying to sell riffles to Hindustan (the pretty singing dancing Lalita). I like. Dinga dinga dee. I know it's wrong. Dinga dinga dinga dinga dinga dinga dinga dee!
There's passion in this. I am quite upset it has received so much petty criticism.. Was Mossad involved in the creative process? Ah dinga dinga dinga dinga dinga dinga dinga dee!
Have you heard yet? Arnie is terminating taking some time off from his busy schedule as the Governor of California to star in a forthcoming tongue-in-cheek Holly-Bolly flick, Incredible Love - Kambakkht Ishq (2009) along with his pal, Sylvester Stallone. The story line goes something like this: A Desi stuntman who makes it big in Hollywood struggles in the dating department - a romcom. Seems like everybody must get a piece of Bolly action these days. Could it be all these Slumdog Millionaire Oscars? My my! Kylie in Blue, Snoop Dogg in Singh is Kinng with Akshay Kumar and now this! Will they be paid in rupees? Don't think so.. More later..
There are no subtitles here for those of you not yet fluent in Hindi alas the story line is self explanatory: "desi girl" is under threat of extinction in preference of sons rather than daughters in some rural areas of India. It has to be seen.
Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama.
Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by e-mail. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana.
Set to the 1920’s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as..
The first one (below) was posted to me as a video response to Mukkala Muqabla on the Agent B youtube channel.
I like it a lot, I love it! (Big thanks to Rohit Kumar )
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...Prabhu Deva, aka Benny Lava, the "Indian Michael Jackson" in Gentleman (1993), his first hit as a star in Kollywood (the Tamil film industry). Check the way this guy moves!
I have also found this delicious salsa-ish track, Kattana Ponnu...mmmmm I feel a new Benny Lava Fit mix coming up..
Arrgh! All this prancing around - my feet are on fire! Taxi!
Taxi Taxi, Sakkarakatti (2008)
Now this one is truly all over the place. Wow! Do I hear the words, dinner wid da ladee in di wet red sari ? A. R. Rahman's usual multilingual acrobatics, Kolly in English and French are beautifully complemented by a sprinkling of Baleh Baleh Shava!, there's reggaeton, reggae influence and even a little Gorillaz flavour, right up my street. This is just a little taste of things to come - little birdie tells me..
Okay. Yes, I admit - it's an obsession: No problem, Love Birds (1996) with Apache Indian..
And finally, you do know this one, don't you? Mukkala Muqabla, Kadhalan (1994) Lyrics here.
If you are a religious Jew, today is the day to get drunk so much, you don't know right from wrong.. Let the World know it's time to celebrate - ringtone - click here. Happy Purim!
Paint yourself with..lurve! Pour that waterfall of lurve on you... Have you noticed what have I just done here? Yesss! Lurve & Bollywood at one fell swoop! Not sure if that's gonna do anything for your butt though..
*says a woman to me after an hour of slaving in Legs, Bums & Abs class.. I say, sit down, honey and have another laddoo..
Kylie in a "wet sari"? The days of "spinning around" in gold hotpants are all over for our well loved Aussie disco diva, it's all about bangles and bindis these days. "I’ve heard Kylie moves as sweet as she sings, so it’s back to the rehearsal room for me.", says Akshay Kumar (pardon his "Hindi" charm :), a Bollywood action hero to perform opposite the Australian pop princess, Kylie Minogue in a forthcoming mega expensive (28 million dollars) underwater Bolly flick, blue"Blue" to be shot in Bangkok, Phuket & Bahamas. Following the massive success of the Slumdog Millionaire, the entertainment business has gone all Bolly-crazy. What's with the Pussycat Dolls recording the "Jai Ho" cover - not bad at all actually. Listen out...you might hear it here. Could you imagine Kylie would be left behind? She will be performing a steamy "wet sari" dance routine, which will obviously have absolutely nothing to do with the plot, and singing a duet with Sonu Nigam as well as a solo number, a promo for the film, both written by A. R. Rahman, the celebrated Indian composer (Slumdog Millionaire, Delhi 6 etc).
Well then, can't get you out of my head la la la la la la la la baleh baleh harripa stylee! Can't wait! Will the new Mumbai item girl, Kylie, scantily clad in dazzling sprinkles of sequins (perhaps), singing-dancing under water bring in the Bolly-lolly? Definitely. Alas if we are to give up Kylie to Bollywood then we demand more Shilpa here. Are you listening, Mr Ritchie? I say, Miss Shetty to glam up the "RocknRolla"!
Kylie is no stranger to East-West Fusions. Below, a clip from Minogue's 2005 Showgirl Tour, "Confide in Me", a Bollywood sequence, choreographed by Akram Khan.
Talking of other interesting Anglo-Indian music collaborations, if you happened to buy a Sony Ericsson walkman phone in India 2 years ago, lucky you, you'd have a supercool world exclusive ringtone - Robbie Williams' "Rock DJ" remix featuring Asha Bhosle. I'm still waiting to hear this one. Anyone?
I was just bored bored BORED of the same ole same ole and thus my romance with Bollywood and World Music began: the AfroCelts with the beautiful vocals of the lovely Sevara Nazarkhan from Uzbekistan (pictured below), Bombay Dreams & Apache Indian, Bluffmaster, a few friendly underground London bands, Fatboy Slim bhangroidal remix, Sertab Erdener and Enigma, some Oriental House, Sean Paul and yet more Bolly (Kisna and Bride & Prejudice) - this collection has started me off on the Agent B. journey..and I never looked back since.
The moody mix on offer today is my first attempt at mixing different genres of music and also my very first attempt at mixing at all...might be a bit ropey. The year is 2004..
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