Vacation Music

We'll pick up on our Billy Joel meta-biography soon, for now I want to post an mp3.

NOTE: I have limited INTERNET space so everytime I post something new old stuff must come down. Since you are all my friends please feel free to e-mail me, come by my DORM ROOM, use TRADITIONAL MAIL aka SNAIL MAIL or stop me on the street to get an mp3 that you wished you had D/L'd. I also have a phone and access to a FAX MACHINE. ALSO, my favorite restaurant is Taco Bell at 125th and Broadway. I'm there at least once every two weeks so....

THIS IS THE MP3, IT'S A BIG ONE:

Bunty aur Babli - Kajra Re

This was my favorite AUGUST 2005 INDIA RADIO HIT SONG. You ever go on vacation and you keep hearing some song on the radio? Once I heard a story about a girl who went to the Dominican Republic and heard so much BACHATA on the radio that she STOPPED LIKING BACHATA.

One cool thing about India is that their own FILM and MUSIC industries are DOMINANT and SUPREME. That is to say that unlike visiting Europe or Japan or Australia (aka the 1st World, I'm not saying there is a connection, maybe there is? we'll talk about it later) where the song you hear the MOST on the radio could POSSIBLY be "BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS" by Green Day, in India (and I imagine many other parts of the world) you will experience almost total MEDIA IMMERSION (could result in "culture shock").

For example, MTV INDIA plays almost NOTHING but Bollywood videos. MTV Japan probably has a 60/40 split between homegrown and imported music (EDITOR'S NOTE: I JUST MADE UP THAT STATISTIC. COULD BE WILDLY INACCURATE. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF YOU KNOW BETTER). MTV Europe is probably going to be 70-80% the same as MTV America. MTV IDAHO is going to be 100% the same as MTV NEW JERSEY.



See where I'm going with this? This summer I had some convo's with people from Connecticut and Georgia. We came to realize that the Classic Rock radio stations we had grown up listening to had VERY DIFFERENT PLAYLISTS.
On New York's Classic Q 104.3, we would hear a lot of BILLY JOEL. He is a HOMETOWN HERO. Not only were the BJ MEGA-HITS woven into the FABRIC OF MY LIFE, but also the FAN FAVORITES like "The Entertainer" and "Captain Jack".




Meanwhile, people growing up in Georgia would hear a lot more SOUTHERN ROCK. Now, we certainly had some Skynyrd on the Classic Q, but I am VERY UNFAMILIAR with the catalogues of ZZ Top, .38 Special, Charlie Daniels, etc.

MTV, the RADIO of OUR GENERATION, shows NO INTRA-USA REGIONAL VARIATION. PLUS, radio itself is being HOMOGENIZED by CLEAR CHANNEL, but you already knew that...

OK, back to the MP3. It's from a tape so the quality is NOT GREAT. Tapes are still pretty big in India and a brand-new, shrink-wrapped tape is going to run you about US $1. It comes from a film called "Bunty Aur Babli". The song title "Kajra Re" means "Your Charcoal'd Eyes". Indian Women use a type of Charcoal called KAJOL around their eyes to make them look DARK and SEXY.



I really love the descending melody in the chorus. It first comes around 1:40. This song is 8 minutes long, but you barely notice it. That's how it goes in Bollywood.; long movies, long songs.
I also like the song's percussion. Those fast tabla fills GLADDEN MY HEART. Even the cheeziest, wussiest 80's Bollywood song is still going to have some deep, hardcore tabla-playing. RHYTHM REIGNS SUPREME.

I have not seen "Bunty aur Babli" but I definitely want to. It stars Amitabh Bachan, Bollywood's #1 ACTOR.

THIS DUDE IS ALL OVER THE PLACE IN INDIA. In addition, to churning out 4-5 films a year, he endorses EVERYTHING. You could easily watch 3 of his commercials in a row, ALL FOR DIFFERENT PRODUCTS.



PLUS, Amitabh hosts the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" called "Kaun Banega Crorepati?". Guess what the top prize is?

2,000,000 Rupees or about $450,000. If we adjust for PURCHASING POWER PARITY, an Indian winning on "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" might be getting a sweeter deal than an American winning on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" I DON'T KNOW...

When Amitabh is locking in someone's answer he says "Computer-ji, lock in the answer!"



CONCLUSIONS:
-Bachata is one of the most popular musics in NYC. Amitabh Bachan is one of the most popular actors in the world. LET US CELEBRATE IT/HIM!

-I'd be interested to know how you like the song.