Mavrix

Category: Pop culture

  • People – Please Get Off A.R. Rahman’s Back

    For some reason, a Facebook status update from me about 127 Hours elicited some negative comments against A.R. Rahman. This is not the first time I have heard such comments. I am intrigued by generalizations that A.R. Rahman is overrated. Why would people say something like that despite the brilliant work he has produced over…

  • Bollywood Melodies – Book Review

    Passion and enthusiasm are uplifting and contagious traits. And it is the warmth of these qualities that you bask in as you read Bollywood Melodies by Ganesh Anantharaman. In the introduction to the book, the author confesses that he set out to write a book about the Bollywood music he truly loved – the music…

  • Rare Songs Should Remain Rare?!

    Of late, I have been following a Google group called rec.music.indian.misc (popularly referred to as RMIM). Although the platform is dated, it is a very good forum for Indian (specially Hindi film) music lovers. I think it should move to Facebook, but that’s not the reason I write this post. The reason for this post…

  • The Making Of A Fan

    We like a song because of the feelings it creates in us. But does one song alone endear us to the artist? It may, but in rare cases. What if the artist creates many amazing songs over a few years – would we become fans? Possible, but not necessarily. After analyzing my own “fanhood”, I…

  • Coke Studio In India?! Fingers Crossed

    Anyone who has seen the delectable live show program from across the border will understand why I am so excited about the news that Coke Studio may come to India! Like most Indians, I have many misgivings about Pakistan and it’s attitude towards India but I can’t help admiring, even envying, their music scene. What…

  • Auto-tune For The Common Man

    It all started with Cher’s hit song, Believe. Actually, it started before, but the producers of Believe overdid it (deliberately) and made people sit up and go “What the heck was that?”. I am talking about auto-tune, of course. The instrument that magically polishes off vocal blemishes and even adds embellishments that are not humanly…

  • Does Book Publishing Have A Better Future Than Music?

    Paul Carr of TechCrunch thinks book publishing has a better future than music because there is no assumption amongst buyers that digital books will be free. He also implies that people don’t associate any value with music. He is wrong and his argument is ridiculous: People expect to pay for e-books – It is only…

  • Official Song of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 – Another Bust

    The official song of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (SEL), was released on Dec 31, 2010. In my opinion, it’s another miss, close on the heels of A.R. Rahman’s official song for the Commonwealth Games. It’s easy to explain why you love a song or why you hate one, but really hard…

  • Quentin Tarantino songs

    I watched Inglourious Basterds last night and, as with other Tarantino movies I have seen, loved the songs as much as the movie itself. There is a certain quality to Tarantino songs – off-beat, melodic, dark, retro – that sounds amazing in the movies but also make for great listening by themselves. My original plan…

  • India’s First Backward Narrative Song?

    There are many reasons to watch “Manmadhan Ambu”, Kamal Hasan’s movie released yesterday. For me, just one was enough – the backward narrative song “Neela Vaanam”. There is something weirdly compelling about watching a story unfold backwards. It’s jaw dropping how everything in the song moves backwards, except Kamal’s lips which sync perfectly with the…