Article of the Day.

Like many others, I am now beyond depressed at the state of affairs in the country, and am resorting to watching [gah!] bad Bollywood movies [trust me, I was watching Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum last night], watching PTV [I kid you not, it does wonders for one's daily dose of self affirmation that everything is A-okay] and reading every paper’s Culture section online. Which is where I found this somewhat amusing article, so behold:

The Times: The Queen’s iPod: now that’s what one calls music
The Obamas gave the Queen an iPod as a gift but all it contains are show tunes and footage of royal visits. HRH might prefer to request this playlist from the Royal Downloader

You Can’t Touch This
by MC Hammer

Michelle Obama might have been granted permission to get up close and personal, but one doesn’t want all the commoners getting similar ideas.

Zadok the Priest
by Handel

It is, after all, a long time since 1952, so Her Maj might want to remind herself of the stonking Baroque tune that has been played at every coronation since 1727.

You Say It Best When You Say Nothing at All
by Ronan Keating

Invaluable advice for a foot-in-mouth consort.

Anything
by David Hasselhoff

Because, of course, the Germans love him.

What Do You Do?
by the Proclaimers

Although the song’s subsequent socialist direction might jar somewhat.

Royal Hunt and Storm
by Berlioz, from Les Troyens

Good for getting in the mood on one of those grey days in Balmoral when the only thing scheduled for entertainment is the casual evisceration of a stag.

A Day at the Races
by Queen

In the absence of anything on corgis, here’s a nod to the Queen’s second favourite animal from that most regal of bands.

God Save the Queen

We suggest the rendition with which Freddie Mercury and Co used to finish their concerts, as opposed to the marginally less respectful Sex Pistols version.

And a few that might not make the cut…

Elizabeth My Dear
by the Stone Roses

Don’t be fooled by the title; Ian Brown and band wear their republican hearts on their sleeves with the couplet: “Tear me apart and boil my bones/I’ll not rest till she’s lost her throne.”

D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
by Dolly Parton

A reminder of her romantically feckless offspring.

Post-Oscars Musings.

It may have been predicted, the odds may have heavily been in their favor, but seeing Slumdog Millionaire’s crew picking up a slew of golden statuettes at the Oscars was worth staying up all night for. The show too, was one of the best ones I’ve seen so far. A. R. Rahman, especially, deserves the recognition he’s received so far, although I do feel he’s made better music for previous films in India.

Punjab da puttar makes a very valid observation about whether Slumdog is an Indian film, or a film about India, which you can read in full here, I’m just going to post up my favorite excerpt:

Instead of claiming something not quite ours, it’s high time we look at ourselves in the mirror and within ourselves. We should question ourselves that why is it that the ‘Largest Institute of the Imaginary’ in the world or the largest active film industry today has had just three films making it to the final Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Film – Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay (1988) and Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) in its long history of filmmaking. What is it about our films that they fail to break barriers at the International level? And coming back to the Oscars, we have to remember our previous Oscar winners were either for projects that were predominantly British (Bhanu Athaiya for Gandhi (1982)) or a lifetime achievement given by the West (Satyajit Ray).

Maybe Indian cinema needs an eleventh commandment – Thou shall make better films and not covet another country’s film.

Random thoughts on Oscars: I abhor Sarah Jessica Parker, and her irritating smile made me want to throw rocks at my TV. Where was the color on the red carpet? WHERE!? And +10 to Sean Penn for his Oscar acceptance speech.

Song of the Week

Sadr-e-Pakistan
Performed by: Unknown lawyer at lawyers’ rally in Islamabad on 6th March 2008.

Hum Dekheinge.

Hum dekhen gey
Laazim hai ke hum bhi dekhen gey
Hum dekhen gey

We shall see, It is necessary that we shall also see

Woh din ke jiska waada hai
Hum dekhen gey

That day which has been promised

jo loh-e-azal main likha hai
Hum dekhen gey

Which is written with God’s ink

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-garaan

When the mountains of cruelty and torture

Rooyee ki terha urr jayen gey

Will fly like pieces of cotton

Hum mehkoomon ke paaoon taley

Under the feet of the governed

Yeh dharti dhar dhar dharkey gi

This earth will quake

Aur ahl-e-hakam ke sir ooper

And over the head of the ruler

Jab bijli kar kar karkey gi

When lightening will thunder

Hum dekhen gey

We shall see

YAY

Stereophonics – Pull The Pin

So excited, so excited – new Stereophonics album preview. Must go do my victory dance now.

Death is the road to awe.

Really, it is.

Or at least, that’s what one feels when hearing the track with that title. Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet are geniuses, they’re the people behind the soundtrack of Requiem of a Dream [everyone recognizes the track Summer Overture, especially after Geo decided to use it for its Zara Sochiye campaign], and The Fountain soundtrack is nothing less than mind blowing, evoking so many different emotions at one time that its bewildering, to put it madly.

And if anyone finds [or owns!] the master version of The Fountain’s DVD in Karachi, please let me know ASAP, I have driven the people at Laraib and Shalimar mad with my incessant queries only to hear their reply ‘jee camera print aya hai abhi tau’. God, will I ever be able to watch decent international flicks at local cinemas, instead of bloody Tomb Raider that actually put my father to sleep in cinema despite Angelina Jolie in skintight clothing?

I ask God all the wrong questions.