narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Film review/ Midas Man Director : Joe Stephenson   Cast ; Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Jonah Lees, Blake Richardson, Darci Shaw, Emily Watson  Rating : *** The recent Red Lorry Film Festival organised by BookMyShow at the PVR Maison and Inox in Bandra Kurla Complex had two films of interest to Beatles fans. I missed One To One : John   & Yoko , which I hope to catch when it's out in theatres in April. There was little hype about the other film Midas Man . The movie aroused my interest only after a casual glance of the synopses of films slotted, while I was deciding which ones to watch. It only mentioned this film was about Brian Epstein, without getting into detail. Epstein was a legend in his own right, having managed the Beatles from 1961 till his premature death from an overdose on August 27 1967. In fact, he was the man behind the great band's mop-tops look, their first record deals, their introduction to George Martin of their label Parlophone and t...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR BombayMami/ Fire In Delhi Label: MNRK UK Rating: *** 1/2 After making waves with her track 'DhinDhinDha' last year, Indo-Swiss singer BombayMami comes out with 'Fire In Delhi'. Though the formula is pretty much the same, blending western and Indian elements with a catchy dance sound, this one has the hookline and the singalong factor. Equally impressive is Nayan Sharma's video, where BombayMami is wearing a lehenga while doing an Indian dance and traversing Swiss locales in Indian jewellery. A Kathak dancer (Tulani Kayani) adds her touch. The vocals mix BombayMami's English lines and rap part with Metula Raja's Indian classical vocals, as sitar, sarod and tabla add the desi instrumental flavour. The hook goes, "Take what's mine, do what's right, aay haay". Aay haay, indeed. Aadya Jaswal/ To Try (from the album Sanctuary) Label: Self-released  Rating: **** Gurugram-based singer-songwriter Aadya Jaswal has come out with her...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Pankaj Udhas/ Baithi Ho Kyon Gumsum Label: T-Series  Rating: *** 1/2 The song 'Baithi Ho Kyon Gumsum' was released on February 26 to mark a year since ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas left us. Here, Ananda Shankar's original composition was recreated by Deepak Pandit and Udhas, but the song wasn't released earlier. The lyrics have also been written by Udhas, who sings, "Baithi ho kyon gumsum, itna bolo na; oh soch rahi ho kya, itna bolo na, tum itna bolo na". The flute by ID Rao and sitar passage by Sunil Das perk up the orchestration, with Pratibha Singh Baghel on a brief backing vocal part. Arif Khan's video, featuring Ritwik Bhowmick and Tanya, is about a man offering solace to a friend who's lost her husband. It's a simple storyline filled with emotion. Divya Nigam Dayal/ Yeh Kaisi Hai Zindagi Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 Singer-musicologist Divya Nigam Dayal recently released her ghazal book Sawaalon Ke Parey : Kuchh Au...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Jethro Tull/ Curious Ruminant  Genre : Rock Label : InsideOut Music  Rating : *** 1/2 The last two Jethro Tull albums had specific recurring themes, with The Zealot Gene inspired by Biblical verses and RokFlote drawing from Norse paganism. Now, on the new release Curious Ruminant , frontman and composer Ian Anderson doesn't stick to anything in particular, as he moves from puppet tales and Macbeth-ian references to reflective songs and a lengthy suite inspired by Indian music. While that may seem like a bundle of confusion, the heartening thing is that in terms of composition and arrangement, the songs are rich, adding many mandolin and accordion parts to Anderson's gorgeously trademark flute. The arrival of new guitarist Jack Clark adds a twist, as his sĥort solos pepper some of the tracks. John O'Hara has a prominent role on piano, keyboard and accordion. One could club the nine songs under two broad categories - the first seven representing vintage...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Green Day/ Live At Lollapalooza India 2025 Genre : Rock Details : Mahalaxmi Race Course grounds, March 9 Rating : **** Wearing a Green Day tee was a trendy thing to do on Sunday, March 9. Even more fashionable was to wear a black formal shirt with a loose red or white necktie. The hardcore fans did exactly the latter, in keeping with the style created by Billie Joe Armstrong, the band's frontman. A massive crowd gathered in front of the Corona Sunsets stage at the Mahalaxmi Race Course grounds for the finale of Lollapalooza 2025, presented and promoted by BookMyShow Live. It didn't matter whether they followed the fashion diktat or not. It didn't matter if they were born years after Green Day released its debut album in 1990. The truth was that many of them knew the lyrics of most songs. They sang along, jumped along and chanted 'Aye Oh' whenever Armstrong asked them to, looking at close-ups of his dreamy, chameleon-like eyes on the giant screen. ...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Salman Elahi/ Elahi (album) Label: Self-released  Rating: ***** Hailing from Kaimganj in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai-settled singer-songwriter Salman Elahi first hit the headlines with his song 'Pahadon Mein' five years ago. He's now out with his album Elahi , and what strikes you again is the simplicity of the songs and the honesty of the writing. Here's a set that grows with each listen, making it one of the best releases of the past few months. The single 'Mukhatib', released with its video in September, sets the tone with lines like, "Dekho yeh duniya kitni haseen, aur tum toh kuchh kam nahin" and "Hai waqt abhi bhi, khud se ek baar mil, umeed ke bageeche mein banke tu phool khil". The song has a wonderful acoustic version, with Subhashree Purkayastha joining on vocals. The songs are mostly motivational, talking of the ups and downs of life, and dealing with situations. 'Raza', accompanied by a beautiful...