This is a fabulous recording. Lovely songs by an older generation of Cuban singers. They come from varied backgrounds, and have wonderful stories to tell. I first got the Audio CD from the Public Library, and then ended up purchasing the DVD. The DVD is a simple documentary that has interviews with the singers, interspersed with shots of Cuba, and with recordings of their performance in studio and concert settings.
Thank you, Ry Cooder, for bringing to light this great music.
November 11, 2003
October 09, 2003
Magnatune
Magnatune is a very intriguing experiment. A combination of the Creative Commons License, some good music, and a simple online distribution scheme that minimizes marginal costs might actually make this idea viable.
The music from Magnatune that I have listened to so far seems wonderful. Indian Classical Sitar, and Bach Violin Sonatas.
May be John Buckman will turn out to be the Linus Torvalds for music. Wait and watch!
October 05, 2003
Remember Shakti: Live in Chicago
I made a quick, one-evening trip to Chicago for the Remember Shakti concert at the Chicago Theater. John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Selva Ganesh and U. Srinivas are touring the US.
Their previous albums include "Saturday night in Bombay" and "The Believer".
It was a more typically Indian concert than I thought it would be. The string players U. Srinivas (mandolin) and John McLaughlin (guitar) were in the middle of the stage with the percussionists , Zakir Hussain (Tabla, Drums) and Selva Ganesh (Kanjira, Mridangam, Ghatam) sitting across from each other on the side. They played some tunes from the 2 albums for the first hour or so. New compositions and some "jugalbandi" playing was the remaining hour.
Nice concert.
Their previous albums include "Saturday night in Bombay" and "The Believer".
It was a more typically Indian concert than I thought it would be. The string players U. Srinivas (mandolin) and John McLaughlin (guitar) were in the middle of the stage with the percussionists , Zakir Hussain (Tabla, Drums) and Selva Ganesh (Kanjira, Mridangam, Ghatam) sitting across from each other on the side. They played some tunes from the 2 albums for the first hour or so. New compositions and some "jugalbandi" playing was the remaining hour.
Nice concert.
Taxi Driver and Raging Bull
A few days back, screenwriter-director Paul Schrader visited Ann Arbor. The film and video department at the University of Michigan had arranged for guest lectures, and a special screening of 3 of his films - Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Affliction at the historic Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor.
I managed to go for the Taxi Driver and Raging Bull screenings. Both films are considered classics, defining films in the 1970s. I had them in my wishlist for a long time!
Robert De Niro plays the title role in both films. Fantastic performances - now I understand why De Niro is considered an actor of actors! His facial expressions, voice, body movements, and everything else he does on screen make you see him as the character he's playing - the lonely taxi driver, or the proud champion boxer.
Taxi Driver captures New York in all its moods. Through the lens of Travis Bickle, the Taxi Driver, Scorsese shows the audience New York as it is - raw and beautiful in its urban, ragged form. Night time New York, in the rain, with the lights reflecting off glass panels of stores, the taxi windshield and mirrors, is by itself worth a watch.
This capped a great two weeks of movie watching - I had seen Orson Welles' classic "Citizen Kane" just the week before.
I managed to go for the Taxi Driver and Raging Bull screenings. Both films are considered classics, defining films in the 1970s. I had them in my wishlist for a long time!
Robert De Niro plays the title role in both films. Fantastic performances - now I understand why De Niro is considered an actor of actors! His facial expressions, voice, body movements, and everything else he does on screen make you see him as the character he's playing - the lonely taxi driver, or the proud champion boxer.
Taxi Driver captures New York in all its moods. Through the lens of Travis Bickle, the Taxi Driver, Scorsese shows the audience New York as it is - raw and beautiful in its urban, ragged form. Night time New York, in the rain, with the lights reflecting off glass panels of stores, the taxi windshield and mirrors, is by itself worth a watch.
This capped a great two weeks of movie watching - I had seen Orson Welles' classic "Citizen Kane" just the week before.
September 12, 2003
Some photos taken over the summer
I bought a new camera phone a couple months back.
I went for a nice long walk in Nichol's Arboretum. Some photos taken at the Arboretum.
I went for a nice long walk in Nichol's Arboretum. Some photos taken at the Arboretum.
August 22, 2003
Journey Planner for Mumbai
Wonderful tool for getting to know your way around Mumbai. It would be nice to have a map though.
July 26, 2003
Penguin Books India
Excellent listing of Indian, and India-themed books published by Penguin. I have used this site often to find books that are hard to find in bookstores in the US. These can be bought online at the few sites that are mentioned under the "how to buy" section. I especially like the India Book Club site modeled after Amazon. The only issue: Book prices here are quite high.
July 17, 2003
Kishore Kumar
I just read the definitive biography of Kishore Kumar, written by Kishore Valicha, and published by Penguin India. Very analytical (given that the author has a PhD in Film Studies, that was to be expected), but contains a good number of anecdotes about Kishore-da. It also contains excellent background information on the Hindi film industry. The emergence of the stars in the 1950s (Raj Kapoor - Dilip Kumar - Dev Anand) and the differing themes and subjects of films are explored.
In the context of Kishore Kumar as a comic actor, Valecha argues that prior to Raj Kapoor's integration of the comic with the main ccharacter, "comedy" was not seen as mainstream Hindi cinema. He also goes on to describe Kishore Kumar's unique comic talents, and spontaneous energy.
In the most significant part of the book, Valecha traces Kishore Kumar as a singer through the 1950s to the 1980s. In the process, he presents nice analysis of the evolution of Hindi film music, from its classical/ folk Indian roots, to the influence of western music and orchestration. He also describes in detail the musical styles and inspirations of various music directors through those decades. Kishore Kumar's unique, untrained voice, and ability to express emotion through his voice, and improvisational skills are also mentioned in great detail, with several examples of his best songs.
Valecha also describes Kishore Kumar's personality and its various contrasting traits. The child in him that possesses boundless energy, the loneliness, the longing for the simple life of Khandwa and other uniquely Kishore facts creates a nice portait.
On the whole, it is an excellent book. I found it to be a bit too analytical for my taste.
In the context of Kishore Kumar as a comic actor, Valecha argues that prior to Raj Kapoor's integration of the comic with the main ccharacter, "comedy" was not seen as mainstream Hindi cinema. He also goes on to describe Kishore Kumar's unique comic talents, and spontaneous energy.
In the most significant part of the book, Valecha traces Kishore Kumar as a singer through the 1950s to the 1980s. In the process, he presents nice analysis of the evolution of Hindi film music, from its classical/ folk Indian roots, to the influence of western music and orchestration. He also describes in detail the musical styles and inspirations of various music directors through those decades. Kishore Kumar's unique, untrained voice, and ability to express emotion through his voice, and improvisational skills are also mentioned in great detail, with several examples of his best songs.
Valecha also describes Kishore Kumar's personality and its various contrasting traits. The child in him that possesses boundless energy, the loneliness, the longing for the simple life of Khandwa and other uniquely Kishore facts creates a nice portait.
On the whole, it is an excellent book. I found it to be a bit too analytical for my taste.
June 24, 2003
Reputations Research in the News!
Today, the New York Times featured the research project that I worked on while at the University of Michigan. And carried a nice picture of my advisor, Prof. Paul Resnick. It's great to see the research featured in NYTimes, even though the only quote from Paul was "The data are a researcher's playground"!
Online markets are certainly growing in size, and also maturing as they grow. Economic studies of these markets are certainly vital to the field. Do check out the website: Reputations Research Network.
There are several excellent research papers listed at the site. For a gentle introduction, read the Reputation Systems article.
Online markets are certainly growing in size, and also maturing as they grow. Economic studies of these markets are certainly vital to the field. Do check out the website: Reputations Research Network.
There are several excellent research papers listed at the site. For a gentle introduction, read the Reputation Systems article.
June 16, 2003
Laughable Loves
Milan Kundera is a very strange writer. I don't really know what to make of his stories. I like the stories, the characters and the narration. There is a lot of subtle humor. However, I can't really say I enjoyed the book. Its strangely paradoxical just like most of the stories in "Laughable Loves".
This book is truly a collection of short stories. The stories are all built around the same theme, and are in some way connected with each other. The first few stories build up the intensity, while the later seem to focus more deeply on what Kundera wants to convey. They are delightful and at the same time, quite sad. To some extent, the plot seems to be extraneous to the story.
Read it, and you'll probably know!
This book is truly a collection of short stories. The stories are all built around the same theme, and are in some way connected with each other. The first few stories build up the intensity, while the later seem to focus more deeply on what Kundera wants to convey. They are delightful and at the same time, quite sad. To some extent, the plot seems to be extraneous to the story.
Read it, and you'll probably know!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
