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