I have posted 1 show in more than 3 months !!!

I have just changed jobs and the new job is keeping me very very busy. I just dont have enough time to research and post shows nowadays. And I dont expect the situation to change in the next few months either.

This cant go on like this. I NEED HELP !!! (No, not help from a medical professional, silly. Help in posting the podcasts) I will continue to have enough space and bandwidth. We could try out some collaboration. Got any ideas ?

Please send in your ideas.

Thanks Amit

Here they are - the first installment of the top 30 songs of 2005. Thanks to Raghav, Guri, Kartikey, Prerna and Aniruddh for your nominations. My top 10 list would be similar in parts to all of you, but for now lets look at the 30-21 :

30. Aashiq Banaya Apne (I know ! Somehow this song just doesnt do it for me)

29. Jiya Dhadak Dhadak Jaye (Kalyug)

28. Kitni Narmi Se (Dil Jo Bhi Kahey)

27. Falak Dekhoon (Garam Masala)

26. Qatra Qatra (Family)

25. Deedar De (Dus)

24. Sun Zara (Lucky - No Time for Love)

23. Akhiyan Na Maar (Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena)

22. Happy Diwali (Home Delivery)

and at

21. Dus Bahane (Dus)

Lets hear what you have to say !!

to get automatic updates

I have been watching recordings of Sony Television's hit Reality Singing Talent show Fame Gurukul this last one week. I would watch the clips on their website (http://famegurukul.sify.com) last year, but this is the first time I watched the complete shows. And it is one hell of an addictive show.

Is kahani main Suspense hai, Romance hai, Tragedy hai, Drama hai, Comedy hai aur Action bhi hai (in the form of tiffs between Javed Akhtar and anyone else who dares to cross his path !). And on top of that some great singing. The things that irritate are the numerous breaks (quite common for Indian TV viewing I guess) and the overly dramatic and stretched out suspense moments when they announce results.

I have been thoroughly impressed by the contestants' talent. Till very recently I thought being able to sing in tune was the most important (or maybe even the "only") thing required for playback singing. This was perpetuated by the fact that I have extensive Classical Music vocal training and I confidently thought I could sing all songs very well. Not so. Though I can sing most songs in tune, what separates the good from the great are the other ingredients - voice projection (or modulation as maybe some people call it) feeling the song (or singing with the feeling) and the versatility.

Now to the podcast. As you know, this year I want to focus on talking to and showcasing as much new talent as possible. Wouldn't it be great to interview the participants of FG ? I'll try to contact these people on my own, but if any of you know any of these really talented individuals, drop me a line.

And yes the next podcast show is in the can. I'll be posting it soon. Thanks for your patience.

Ciao.

Its been a very long gap in "programming". My sincerest apologies to my listeners for whom I couldnt post anything the last 6 weeks.

Had been working on quite a few things that took up most of my time. And then laziness set in. But now I have woken up and dusted the cobwebs off and am ready to start discussing music with all of you again.

I plan to change direction slightly this year and focus more on upcoming bands and artists. But to wrap up the wonderful 2005, I'll start off by posting the Top Songs of 2005. Look out for stuff over the weekend.

Cheers

What were the top 10 songs of the year 2005 ? Email your top choices to me or just post them in the comments below and lets see how that compares to mine, when I post the show.

For some time I had been trying to create a survey form but it was a little hard to list all the more than 50 good songs on one page.

So send in your choices and lets have some fun !

The MTV Immies were given away on Dec 9th. the Immies recognize talent in the Indian Music Industry. God ! I would have loved to cover the event... Maybe when (and if) I am in Mumbai in the future, I'll be able to.

Check out some photos from rediff here : http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2005/dec/12sld1.htm

Was just thinking about the name - The Immies (Indian Music ies). Maybe any contest I have in the future, I should call them the Impies or Pimmies. Probably not the Pimmies - dont know why but it reminds me of Lillette Dubey in Monsoon Wedding. I think Impies it will be. :)

Was a great experience being on BBC Radio and talking about the podcast. You can listen to it here (my part comes 40 minutes into the segment)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/fivelive_aod.shtml?fivelive/pods_blogs

First of all the winners of the H1Bees contest - Siva and Rishabh, Congratulations !! You'll soon be getting your CDs in the mail (that is of course after I get your mailing addresses :) )

Loved putting this show together. All this time I used to just talk about the similarities between songs, but today I actually tried to demonstrate the likeness. The songs in question were Maar Sutiya from Deewane Hue Paagal (and its striking resemblance to Dil Mera - One Night from Kyaa Kool Hai Hum) both by Anu Malik (you're probably smiling on this one) and the other was "Teri Yaad Yaad" from "Vaah ! Life Ho to Aisi" (and its similarity to Teri Kurti Sexy from Vaada) both by Himesh Reshammiya.

And one more exciting development. BBC (BBC Five Live) is featuring our podcast on their show "Up All Night" on Monday Dec 05, 2005, at 9:45PM EST. I would be appearing live for an interview in the show at that time. Isnt it exciting ? I certainly am thrilled. Here's the link if you want to hear it from their website (it'll also be archived for 7 days). I'll try to host the clip on this website too after that.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/podsandblogs

Ciao !

to get automatic updates

Returned from an extended weekend - it was a holiday here in the US - and saw that both contests still were open. The next respondents for both contests get the autographed H1Bees CD. So hurry up... We're waiting to hear from you.

See you soon with the top songs from October and November 2005.

And here's the second one. More songs from the H1Bees album. And the second chance to get your autographed H1Bees CD. Dont let the opportunity slip.

Srikanth and Shankar told us about the artists that contributed to this album. Srikanth sure has an ear for talent. If you have some musical talent you would like to put to good use, go to Srikanth's website http://www.srikanthd.com and contact him. Who knows you might be performing for his next album !!

to get automatic updates