Dekhiye paate hain usshaq buton se kya faiz,
Ek brahman ne kaha hai keh yeh saal accha hai.

Hum ko maaloom hai jannat ki haqeeqat laikin,
Dil kay khush rakhnay ko Ghalib yeh khayal accha hai.

And here’s the wonderful Jagjit Singh version from the Mirza Ghalib soundtrack. His voice is superlative: mellifluous like no other and with an emotional depth that draws the listener in. Absolutely delightful.

The second misra is confusing to me; the literal translation is ‘what benefit is to be gained from gazing upon a loved one’, but there’s an undertone there that I don’t understand, since ‘buton’ (statues) suggests coldness or aloofness. Or maybe Ghalib is just pointing to the impotence of the situation, since that’s the general direction of the third misra too.

It’s interesting that each shair stands very well on its own, almost inviting other interpretations.

I LOVE THIS SONG.

It sucks that she hasn’t released any albums since 2002, and the fact that her website hasn’t been updated since the beginning of 2006 can’t be good. Wikipedia suggests that she’s prepping another album, so that’s hopeful. Interestingly, she’s doing supporting vocals for Gnarls Barkley right now :)

This is a must-see for Karate Kid fans. I know Johnny was an idiot, but you had to feel for him in the end, when he said, “You’re all right LaRusso” (and then got his ass kicked by the sensei).

Another question: is this the first Jack Black/Tenacious D derivative band we’ve seen? You knew this was going to happen — I’m just not sure many people have the panache to do what Black does with any success.

I haven’t listened to Joss Stone for a couple of years, but this is sort of what I was expecting when she first came out and was heralded as unbelievably precocious. There’s no denying Stone has a voice, but her lyrics seemed childish (not surprising, given she was something like 17 when her first album came out) and not particularly fresh: there was some teenage angst, some teenage rebellion, some screw-you-I-don’t-need-you type stuff and yawn, who cares? Winehouse, on the other hand, is a little more poised and seems a little more real (she’s a bit of a mess in her personal life, apparently, and I guess that helps). Her voice has more of an edge (which I LOVE — if you haven’t listened to Res, make some time) and her music’s bustling and unpredictable.

Yay, new music!

I’m like the author: I pick out the rhythm and the beat, and if I like it, I tend to ‘like’ the song. Other people I know (SAA, you’re one of them) are much more aware of the lyrics. I think this explains why my music collection spans just about all genres (standard rock and pop, bubblegum pop, classic rock, Pakistani classic, qawwali, funk, rap, techno, alternative, country (!), smooth/vocal/blues jazz, soul/R&B), and generally only includes a few songs by each artist. Unlike the author of the article, I don’t think the problem is purely a lack of familiarity with the language (I consider both Urdu and English first-languages), but rather sing-ability and bop-ability. People who sing a lot tend to focus on how singable a song is, which necessarily demands an examination of the lyrics (and also the quality of the music). People like me, on the other hand, look primarily at a song’s bopability.

A few points that I should clarify:

• Bopability doesn’t imply songs have to have a fast beat: Jagjit’s rendition of Ghalib’s ghazals are an example of songs with wonderful, wonderful rhythm, which translates directly to bopability.
• I think this might be one of the reasons I can’t stand Leonard Cohen.
• I’ve started actively avoiding lyrics since they can be such a disappointment, ruining the song for me. Paula Cole’s “I don’t want to wait” (yes, from the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack — like I said, bubblegum pop’s fine with me) showcases the absolute nadir:

  So open up your morning light
  And say a little prayer for I

  Here’s a closer examination of how appalling these lyrics are. (Don’t be misled by the notion that the lyrics have been misheard. I’ve spent entirely too much time confirming that they haven’t.)

I haven’t managed to listen to that song once without wincing since I noticed.

Of course, the point of the article, that interest in jazz is dwindling in America, is interesting in itself. Chicago is, in many ways, the spiritual home of jazz, but even there, the scene is fairly small and underground. In fact, I’m constantly amazed at how much more jazz I encounter here in London, whether on the posters organisers plaster everywhere, or in street markets, where jazz and reggae seem to reign supreme at music stalls. Fascinating.

So, which camp wins your (primary) allegiance?