Amitabh Bachchan in an interview said how one of his friends in Pakistan had told him that they have everything in Pakistan that India had except for two things, 1. The Taj Mahal and 2. Lata Mangeshkar.
Though I rate S Janaki as one of India’s finest female playback singers I would always give the crown to Lata. If someone actually told me that the Kishore Kumar’s version of “Rim Jim Gire Saawan” from the Amitabh-Moushmi film “Manzil” was better than Lata’s version I would simply dismiss that person as someone who either didn’t know Lata or even didn’t know music. Such is the beauty of her singing. Every rainy season I listen and watch to this incredible video and I cannot tell you what incredible moods (including depression) it leads me to. Watching it or any of her incredible songs now is really sad.
I can actually never put a finger on a best song of Lata Mangeshkar as there are scores of them. I am sure all Lata Mangeshkar fans feel that way. Though I didn’t like her songs towards the end of her career it was only testimony of her singing prowess that the public just couldn’t let go of her.
She still lives among us in the thousands of her beautiful songs. May her soul rest in peace.
Not a missing clip or deleted scene but an unforgettable live performance of “Mehbooba Mehbooba” being performed by the great R. D. Burman and his orchestra. There are some sweet surprises in the video which I just watched a couple of days ago on YouTube, that I’ll let you discover for yourselves. Made in 1976 just after the release of “Sholay” the audio is too good for a recording from those times from a live concert in India. Also seen in the clip are the late Nargis and Sunil Dutt(?), Rakhee and Manoj Kumar. Watch it before the video is gone.
There is also another video from the same concert but this one I have watched before. R. D. Burman and his orchestra play the famous title theme from “Sholay” in this one. Both videos are in Black and White. The orchestra plays after a minute and a half into the video.
There are some other videos too from the same concert which are very memorable too.
Been planning for a while, but what better timing than today, when Coldplay is giving their first concert in Mumbai, India.
Being on the Spirituality path (to a decent extent), I am reminded of Krishna’s advice in the Bhagavad Gita “not to be affected by likes and dislikes” but when there is a band which has actually given me a “pain in my ear” ( I SERIOUSLY MEAN IT!) in all my music listening life, I have to certainly write about them, particularly when there is undue attention being lavished on them here in India. The band’s name is now written in Hindi across the bass drum, amplifiers et all. Music videos have been made in India, one even featuring Indian movie star, Sonam and someone even writes, he/she would sell a kidney to go and meet the band in person?
So why am I penning this diatribe?
Answer (and particularly for those of you, who don’t know) – COLDPLAY IS A U2 CLONE, in every sense of the word. The worst part, lead singer of the band, Chris Martin, trying every bit to sound like singer Bono of U2. I’ll come to the other parts later but let me tell you my experience with this U2 clone and how it all began.
It is 2006, while working for a MNC in India my friend from the U.K gives me a copy of Coldplay’s X & Y album. In fact he could have actually fooled me saying it was U2’s next offering. The album was so very “U2”, the sounds, the voice, the lyrics, almost everything. Wikipedia hadn’t updated the article on Coldplay then as it reads now but here is a detailed song by song review I wrote about the album on Amazon. By the way, I also read on Wikipedia, that Kraftwerk responded with a single worded reply, “Yes” when the band wanted permission to use Kraftwerk’s tunes and beats on this album. While writing the review on Amazon I wasn’t aware of that.
Going back to the imitation, Chris even tries to copy Bono’s sighs, moans, groans, whatever he can imitate of the singer. Wikipedia even reports that Chris even calls himself “Crono” after Bono. As it is, Chris is nasal in his voice and with the imitation you can imagine how painful the singing can become. Whether it is “…I feel my heart beating..” from “Adventure of a Lifetime” or “Sky full of stars..” from the song of the same name, it is only an imitation of Bono I hear. And when I hear songs like “Trouble” I just want to tell Chris to stop singing if he finds it really so painful to sing.
Next, the music. Lead guitarist Jonny Buckland imitates U2’s The Edge. It is official and it is a fact. Even Wikipedia confirms this. We all know U2’s signature sound is purely Bono and the The Edge. Worst part, Coldplay takes to the stage playing a U2 song in the background. How’s that for originality!
The equation now reads – Chris Martin = Bono , Jonny Bukckland = The Edge, Therefore Coldplay = U2.
Just not music and voice but lyrics and music compositions also seem imitated. I have explained these in detail in my review of the X & Y album.
Every time someone tells me there’s a good offering from them, I do give a listen without any prejudice but within minutes Chris Martin’s extreme copying of Bono’s voice starts crawling under my skin and I turn the song off.
On September 15’th, bookings were open and tickets could be purchased for the concert and after the initial reports that sent Twitter ablaze with trolls it has now been confirmed that the first batch of tickets are going for Rs.5000. The Rs.25,000 tickets are to be sold too. How accurate the prices of the tickets are is not the concern but why this adulation for a band that has literally been riding on the wings of another.
Want to listen to something original? Check out these kids, “The Arctic Monkeys” or more recently “21 Pilots”. I cannot stop listening to 21 Pilots. In years I haven’t such a fan dedication as these guys have been getting. Like I titled my review of The Arctic Monkeys album on Amazon, I have only one thing to say,
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