Week 28, 2009

The Band that I discovered this week is Fat Freddys Drop. A Reggae/Dub group from New Zealand. Can't stop singing their song ROADY.

1) The Camel - Fat Freddys Drop featuring Alice Russell

2) ROADY - Fat Freddys Drop

3) Shakara - Feti Kuti The one and only Feti Kuti. Garth Trinidad played a 15 min version on Friday night. And its been playing in loop since then.

4) Battle Flag - Lo Fidelity Allstars

5) ) Perhaps? - Benji Boko

6) The Beckoning Bell - Little Death Orchestra Love this video. This and the Camel video have really inspired me.

Week 27, 2009

This week I discovered this new band THE DEAD WEATHER. The vocalist is the super hot Alisson Mosshart of The Kills & Jack White is on the Drums. Its more like a side project for 4 talented & successful musicians. I doubt this will last.

1) Hang You From The Heavens - The Dead Weather

2) Tape Song - The Kills

3) Riminini - Diskokaine I love the name Diskokaine.

4) Spanish Death Song - The Builders & The Butchers This Portland Band was my other discovery this week. So instead of a link to this song I have linked their myspace page where they have quite a few songs. all very good.

5) In Between Days - Mystery Jets & Esser(The Cure cover)

6) Ich Fumbus Grossen- The Chicago Afro Beat Project. Couldn't find this song on Youtube.

Fleas Not Bed Bugs

Last one week was hell. Almost 11 days back I woke up with lot of scratching my legs & arms. For few days I thought it was a allergic reaction. After Benedryl didn't cure it away I suddenly figured its some kind of bug infestation. Since it always happened when i was in bed I assumed it was bed bugs. And then the nightmare began. I spoke to people who have dealt with bed bugs & heard their horror stories. I called our Slumlord Rick Chua to get it fixed. The Asshole refused. I filed an online complaint with Health Dept. But i started thinking maybe its not bed bugs. It could be something else. Like Fleas. They are always fucking with Pizza. So I trapped one of the tiny motherfuckers in a box & showed it to Jenna who had just had her house cleared of fleas 2 weeks back. She confirmed that it really was fleas. What a relief.
Got Flea Bombs from Home Depot & Bombed on Sunday. Then I mixed Baking Soda with Iodized salt & sprayed in all over my floor. Its Tuesday morning & I am still working on putting back the house in order. I have already washed the clothes 3 times in last one week. Last night was the 1st time I slept more than 4 hrs in 10 days.

Week 26, 2009

1) She Spoke to Me - PRINCE

2) Awesome - The Bloody Beetroots feat. Cool Kids This is the second song featuring Cool Kids.

3) NYC Crack - Wu-Tang Clan (Feat. RZA) This is from the new Wu Tang Clan album. Awesome song.

4) Everybody in the Club Gettin' Tipsy - Chingy

5) All the Way Down - Slow & Local Album 10" Jazid Collective

July 4 Weekend

Had a fantastic Week. Oregon is really beautiful.
Spent the July 4 Weekend @ Black Butte Ranch. It has supposedly one of the best Golf Courses in the West Coast. I practiced in the driving Range on Saturday & finally played Golf for the first time in my life with my In-laws. I have to say Golf is exactly what i always thought it would be like- Boring. In a way I'm relieved. I was worried that I might just love Golf & what a waste of many long hours it would be. Also I played very well for a first timer.
I was on a bicycle(Bike in US) after 15 years & absolutely loved it. Need to get one asap.
Here are some pictures from the weekend

Week 24, 2009 MJ

Its been 3 weeks since i last posted my weekly 5 songs. Its been quite an exciting 3 weeks. For 2 weeks I was glued to what was happening in Iran. There was hardly any time for music. Looks like Ahmedinejad will rule for another 4 years. But it will not be easy for him. The people of Iran have made a serious dent on the Islamic Republic Regime & the "Holiness" of their Supreme Leader. Iran had still not died and Michael Jackson died leaving his traumatic last 10 years on earth. So I would post 5 songs of MJ that moved me & blew my mind away.

1) Smooth Criminal - My favorite MJ video.

2) Bad

3) Beat It

4) Billie Jean Perhaps his most popular song.

5) Black or White This might not be his best song, but this was released when MTV came to India. We watched this day & night.

6) The Way You Make Me Feel

7) Liberian Girl

The list is endless. So I'm gonna stop. Most of my fav songs are from his BAD album. Mainly because my friend had a copy of that album & I made a copy of it. I wasnt even aware of MJ's existence when Thriller came out.

RIP Michael. We will miss you. You will live forever.

RIP Michael Jackson

The biggest Popstar, the King of Pop died at 50. I'm happy for him. His life had become a living hell. Most people felt sorry for him. I hope he finds peace in the next world. He gave us so much great music. His music is the most universal in its appeal. From Tokyo to Lagos to Bombay to London to Brazil to LA. There will never be a star more universally loved & admired than him.
When I was growing in Amdavad in India, Indian economy had not opened yet. there was no Cable, no MTV yet. My friend Asheet's father was living in Zambia. So Asheet would go to Africa every summer & bring back lots of VHS tapes of music videos. There was one tape he made specifically of all MJ videos. We watched it over & over again. The video of Smooth Criminal is the one that blew us away. So thank you Michael for giving us so much joy & happines in our lives. And making people from every corner of this world dance to your tune. The magic of your music knew no boundaries.



RIP

Iran on Fire

Authors & their work to read

I just found a paper while clearing out junk from my workspace. Its almost an year old. I had made a list of books to read while at work. Before I lose it again, I decided to put it online so that i can come to it anytime anywhere.

1) Richard Price - Freedomland, Clockers, Ladies Man
2) Reynolds Price - Kate Vaiden
3) Philip Roth - Portnoy's Comlaint, The Counterlife, Everyman
4) Elmore Leonard - Glitz, LaBrava, Hombre, Get Shorty
5) Hanif Kureishi - The Black Album, Love in a Blue Time, Intimacy
6) Erica Jong - Fear of Flying
7) John Irving - Water, Method Man
8) Harunki Murakami - A Wild Sheep's Chase
9) Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose
10) David Grossman(Israel) - The Yelow Wind, The Book of Intimate Grammer
11) Guenter Grass(Germany) - Tin Drum, Cat & Mouse, Dog Years
Naquib Mahfouz(Egypt) - Palace Walk

Week 21, 2009

A historic speech by Obama to Muslim world is what this week will be remembered for. Mystery behind the disappearance of the French plane from Brazil.

1) Heroes - TV On The RADIO . A great cover of David Bowie song.

2) We Run LA - Ya Boy ft. Dr Hollywood

3) Wolf Like Me - TV On The Radio

4) Dolly Dagger - Jimi Hendrix

5) Cajun Moon - Herbie Mann. Could not find the original. Youtube is filled with the JJ Cale song by the same name.