MUSIC AND MOVIES - BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

There are STARS and there are ARTISTS. Stars bring an aura and charisma to their work whereas artists bring poise and grace, moreover a sense of aesthetics along with their work.
Their greatness lies in portraying simplicity and humane emotions to perfection. A strength of any true artist.

I am talking about two such ARTISTS.
The evergreen Clint Eastwood & beautiful Meryl Streep.

The Bridges of Madison County is a 1995 romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller.
Let me tell you about movies based on novels. Its been an consistent observation that they are always a treat to watch as bestsellers usually have a perfectly ready story to be told. So half the work is already done. All you need to do is take care of the recipe , material is ready with you in perfect condition.

The four days Francesca (Meryl Streep), spends together with a photographer (Clint Eastwood) who has come to Madison County , are a turning point in her life and she writes of her experience in a diary which is discovered by her children after her death.

Both the actors are really made for roles of Francesca & Robert. So subtle & natural are their reactions & body language. ( especially scenes of Meryl Streep on the bridge Wow !! )You can't imagine anyone else portray that individual. Another trademark of a great artist. They live the character forever in your subconscious.
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Why Special to Me ?
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Love & the whole feeling is an emotion which can engulf you in it's arms so quickly you can't even realise. Its not only about being with the one person you love for entire life but enjoying those moments you are privileged enough to be bestowed.
Live it to the fullest.
For Francesca 4 days with Robert changed her life.
Hats off to these artists.

Directed by Clint Eastwood
Written by Robert James Waller
Starring Clint Eastwood , Meryl Streep

MUSIC AND MOVIES - BROKEN WINGS

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HAUNTING AND SPELLBOUNDING
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There are few songs by not so known bands which speelbound you for the first time you listen to them in a bus , on a friend's I-Pod ( & he has no clue where it came from ) or at umpteen bizarre locations.
They keep you Haunting after you are done listening to it again & again , its not only the tone but the lyrics which casts its spell on you.

" & TAKE THESE BROKEN WINGS AND LEARN TO FLY AGAIN LEARN TO LIVE FREE "

There is a special think about the music in here , a distinct guitar sound in this track thanks to Steve Farris' innovation of the electric guitar, managing to extract a delay effect at an odd timing to create a contrast to the steadiness of the bass and beat.
A hissing introduction which would captivate your psyche for a while till it fades away.

The song was inspired by the book "Broken Wings" by the great Lebanese American poet / writer Khalil Gibran.

For the band Mr Mister this song will be the closest they came to world fame & pop charts across teh globe. (Number #1 on US charts / Number #4 on UK charts in quick sucession ).
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Why Special to me
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One of those songs you listen and fall in love with.
You keep on longing for it but you don't know where it came from , you again find it and guess what ??
"You Fall in love once again "

Watch out for the cool B&W video in Thunderbird Convertible driven by Richard Page.

Song : Broken Wings
Album : Welcome to the Real World
Artist : Mr Mister
Lyricist - John Lang
Year - 1985

MUSIC AND MOVIES - DUMB

There are few individuals who are now a part of our subconscious or they symbolise genre for us.
Lady Diana for beauty n Grace.
Che Guevara for rebellion & independence.
Gandhi for peace.
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AND the Enigmatic Seattle genius KURT COBAIN for his destructive & crazy streaks.
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Cobain has been remembered as one of the most iconic rock musicians in the history of alternative music. He was the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Nirvana.

Cobain groundbreaking influence endures to this day. Out of the great hits of Nirvana I would like to talk about the song DUMB.

I'll let the lyrics talk.
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I'm not like them
But I can pretend
The sun is gone,
But I have a light
The day is done,
I'm having fun
I think I'm dumb
Or maybe just happy

Think I'm just happy (x3)
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It tells the despair of an individual who's a misfit amidst the crowd & herd, but he starts to think he's Dumb trying to pretend .. But maybe tht's the way it should be so he is just confused & in a state of dilemma.
( Intoxicated Dilemma : PS - A homage to Cobain's heroine addiction ).
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Why So Special ?
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Nirvana was considered the "flagship band" of "Generation X", and Cobain, as its frontman, found himself anointed by the media as the generation's "spokesman". I think this song is one of the brilliant compostions of Cobain.

Whenever I hear the words "I am not like them , But I can pretend !! " .
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I just smile :)
Maybe I am Happy or just another Dumb
But for sure I am not like them !!
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Thanks Mr Cobain for the song & words.

Song : Dumb
Artist : Nirvana
Album - In Utero

MUSIC AND MOVIES - MUNICH

Every civilisation finds it necessary to negotiate and compromises with its own values.
--- Golda Meir ( Former President of Israel )

26 Nov 2008 , Mumbai
The nation was in a state of shock on the terrorist attacks on Mumbai & the catastrophic consequences which it brought with its culmination.

I saw Munich just couple of days after this incident. The day I heard this I took a long walk , I had no closed ones as a casualty in that carnage. But still I had mixed feelings, it was not a state of sorrow but a state of anguish & despair.
Something must be done to stop these maniacs.

The movie MUNICH answered few of my questions !!
It depicts Israeli government's secret retaliation attacks after the massacre of Israeli athletes by Black September militant group during the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Well this is a Stephen Spielberg movie , maybe I should leave it just saying that its a Spielberg movie. The guy who gave us Jurassic Park , Schindler's List , ET etc considered one of the greatest director's of our times.
The movie's strength is the power packed , hard hitting & razor sharp screenplay of Tony Kushner & Eric Roth.

The scene where Eric Bana and his team decides to go to Beirut & slay the guys responsible for the Munich massacre on their own turf. They land via ship ,fix their disguise & pack their arms , kill the responsible & then just slip out of the place as they were never there. It makes us believe that culprits wherever they are hidden can be identified , located & hunted down if you have the political will & courage to do it.Whether it's a Dawood or Osama everyone can be traced. No one is invincible.

The movie not only depicts the Operation Black September & its aftermath but also raised serious moral dilemmas and question on the killings & fight for peace.

Spielberg ( himself a Jew ) has not been biased but even brought out the plight of the Palestinians in the scene where Ali asks Hafner the question that "How does it feel when you take away HOME from a person ? Where would he go & what would he do ? "
Though provoking yet compelling.

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Why So Special
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Sheer audacity of Golda Meir & Israelis to combat terrorism. Maybe its not the best way but they tried with sheer courage , honesty & conviction.
Maybe "An eye for an eye blinds the whole world !! " but for a second this seems to be the best we have.
MUNICH is a masterpiece from the house of Spielberg which brings out these emotions & moral dilemmas in a very beautiful manner.

Watch it out for the haunting music / OST of John Williams.

Munich
Director - Steven Spielberg
Screenplay - Tony Kushner & Eric Roth
Cast - Eric Bana , Daniel Craig , Geoffrey Rush
Music - John Williams

MUSIC AND MOVIES - A TRIBUTE TO PAKISTANI POP

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THIS IS THE FIRST OF "THE TRIBUTE" ARTICLES I PLAN TO WRITE , SOME GENRE OF MUSIC ARE SO DIFFICULT TO SUM UP WITH MENTION OF A SONG OR A BAND THAT WE WON'T BE DOING JUSTICE TO THEM.SO I'LL TRY TO DISCUSS HE GENRE AND OFFER MY TOP 10 . ENJOY "
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I was introduced to Pakistani Pop music during my school days when I first time heard "Chand Sa Mukhda" by Ali Haider and was bowled over it. The same feeling I got when I was heard Rehman with his Roja OST. "MESMERISING".

Pakistan in spite of its political and economic turmoil has given us some great pop bands. Its music is rich in lyrics , a classical touch with strong melody and a sufiyana side ; evident in most of the songs.

I have been an ardent follower of paskistani music right from the days of Vital Signs , Strings , Junoon to present day collaboration of Coke Studio sessions.

I'll like to discuss couple of things here about Pakistani Music.

Firstly ---
COKE STUDIO - It's an initiative by Rohil Hyatt ( one of the founder of Vital Signs & a icon in Pak music scene ). He brings together versatile artists along with pop , rock , sufi , folk who jam together to initiate a music collaboration, in the present day pakistan amidst violent turmoils and unstable political -economic scenario.
A brilliant initiative.
www.cokestudio.com.pk
Check out for some brilliant groundbreaking music collaborations.

Secondly ---
An observation , seldom do we have recording available to public listening of upcoming "UNDERGROUND BANDS" but guess what we have it here. Thanks to APNIISP.COM we have offerings from Pak Underground Bands .You'll surprised by the kind of talent these guys have, Check it out.
http://www.apniisp.com/songs/pakistani-underground/5/1.html
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Why Special To Me
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The compositions just take me to another level , whether its haunting 'Dair Ho Gayi' by Vital Signs , brilliant Aaankhon Ke Sagaar / Neend Na Aaye by Fuzon or the populist Woh Lamhe by JAL.

My Ten picks ( Not in any order )

1) Ajnabi / Dair ho Gayi - Vital Signs
2) Neend Aati Nahin - Junoon
3) Sar Kiya Ye Pahar - Strings
4) Aap Ki Yaad / Aansoo - Ahmed Jahanzeb
5) Woh Lamhein / Aadat - JAL
6) Anakhon ke Sagaar / Neend Na Aaaye - Fuzon
7) Chand Sa Mukhda - Ali Haider
8) Dil ki Lagi - Nazia Hasan / Zoheb Hasan
9) Roya Re - Shiraz Uppal
10)Kamod - Ahmed Jahanzeb


" The artists their ; maybe still sing with HONESTY & from their HEARTS & SOUL "

MUSIC AND MOVIES - LOCK,STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - One of the Best Wittiest Comedy you would ever see. A treat of humour , wit , sarcasm and a special tinge of British Humour from genius of Guy Ritchie.

Some very memorable dialogues :
"A minute ago this was the safest job in the world. Now it's turning into a bad day in Bosnia."

"Hatchet" Harry: You must be Eddie, J.D.'s son.
Eddie: Yeah. You must be Harry. Sorry, didn't know your father.
"Hatchet" Harry: Never mind son, you just might meet him if you carry on like that.

"If the milk turns out to be sour, I ain't the kinda pussy to drink it."

& many more...


The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag. In order to pay off his debts, he and his friends decide to rob a small-time gang who happen to be operating out of the flat next door.

You would stop counting how many times you jumped out of your couch just in sheer delight and ecstasy of humorous moments this movie offers.
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Who So Special ?
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Its a treat to watch multiple interwoven stories told with such humour & wit, at same time retaining the strength of the story. Holding it tight & gripping.
Reflects the true genius of the Director/ Writer Guy Ritchie

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Dir : Guy Ritchie
Screenplay - Guy Ritchie
Starring - Jason Flemyng ,Dexter Fletcher,Nick Moran ,Jason Statham ,Vinnie Jones

MUSIC AND MOVIES - NO ORDINARY LOVE

NO ORDINARY LOVE is perhaps one of the greatest love ballads ever written & sung.
It's a lead single from Brit / Nigerian enigmatic singer Sade from her album Love Deluxe.
Many don't know but Sade is most successful solo female artist in British history.

When the song starts you just get fixated to the music with its intoxicating beats that starts and steadily takes you deep down. It talks about "Love" and its an outcry of a lover saying that Its No Ordinary Love.
Love & the whole feeling & the baggage which follows is not just a cliche & just an emotion to fill the void, rather than its about GIVING.
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I gave you all the love I got
I gave you more than I could give
I gave you love
I gave you all that I have inside
And you took my love
You took my love
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Its such a beautiful feeling that makes you :
1) keep trying for someone else to be
2)keep crying for someone else in their trials n tribulations.
3)keep flying high for someone else when they shine bright.
Very apt in a self centered world which we have been getting comfortably used to.
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WHY SO SPECIAL?
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IT EPITOMISES FOR A SECOND THAT LOVE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FEELING WHICH IS NOT ORDINARY AND EACH ONE OF YOU OUT THERE IN LOVE IS EXPERIENCING SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL AND GOTTA HOLD ONTO IT.
KEEP ON FLYING , TRYING & CRYING FOR SOMEONE ELSE.
THAT MAKES IT SPECIAL
CHAO..

No ordinary Love
Artist : Sade
Album : Love Deluxe
Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I85wXmSIbrk

MUSIC AND MOVIES - SHAWSHANK REDEMTION

If I have to just choose one movie of the whole lot ( It will Kill me !! ) , but If I do have to it will be "SHAWSHANK REDEMTION". It brought me down to tears out of pleasure for the few times , after I saw it for the first time.

"Hope is a good thing , Maybe the best of things & a good thing never dies "
- Andrew "Andy" Dufresne
Shawshank Redemtion is based on Stephen King novella " Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption". The best part about movies based on literary works is that the screenplay is rock solid and ready for improvisation by the actors.

That's why they always are a treat to watch.

This movie is considered to be the All Time Best even toppling the likes of GodFather.
The film portrays Andy ( Tim Robbins ) spending nearly two decades in Shawshank State Prison and escaping when the day he hears the full story of his Wife's murder. He feels free from guilt and wants to break free which he does with panache.
It also potrays his frienship with fellow inmate Red ( Morgan Freeman in yet another brilliant role ).

Movie is about many flavors of life :
"Survival"
"Aceeptance"
"Friendship"
"Perseverance"
& most importantly "Hope".

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Why Special to Me ?
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Hope is a quality I always try to embibe in my way of life.
This movie just strengthed the argument.
Also ,
a very subtle observation is of Friendship - Its a very subtle but maybe strongest bond around.
A guy on brink of taking his life stopped & went all the way to spend time with his friend on the sea shore towards a new sunny bright pristine LIFE.

!! Absolutely Brillant !!

Director - Frank Darabont
Actors - Tim Robbins , Morgan Freeman
Distributed - Columbia Pictures
On Novel of - Stephen King

MUSIC AND MOVIES - DEPARTED

Well
The movie starts with Jack Nicholsan describing and justifying why he is the man people call "Frank Costello" and leave aside the shrouds of ethics and morality for a second and you'll be convinced by his reasoning as he says " You can be a Cop or a Criminal but , When you are faced with a loaded gun..What difference does it make ? "

Departed is a beautiful gem from the genious of Martin Scorsese. It's an struggle between the demons of right & wrong , loyality & betrayal , honesty and corruption ,doomed & ill fated , rise & fall , misfortunates & oppurtunists.

The shades are brilliantly potrayed by De Caprio & Damon.
Jack Nicholsan epitomises the evil yet does with a panache you'll love him for that.

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WHY SPECIAL TO ME ? =
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I have learnt many things from the movie. The foremost being ----- "We all do what we got to do in this world." Yeah we can go ahead and judge people and circumstances according to our convenience but then we won't be doing justice to either of them.

We are who we are and we are what we do.
WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET WHO WE ARE.
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Directed by Martin Scorsese
Written by William Monahan
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon , Jack Nicholson ,Mark Wahlberg , Martin Sheen , Vera Farmiga , Ray Winstone ,Alec Baldwin



Cheers
A.B.

MUSIC AND MOVIES - FATHER'S WAY

Well
Poems & Ballads have been written on MOTHER & her love which she bestows on her family. The sheer compassion which she exudes is an innate characteristic.

But seldom we find a piece on FATHER. I have been very close to my father even than my mother. He has in subtle ways influenced my thinking & affected my judgement. It won't be an exaggeration if I may say that my whole thought process owes him a great deal.

FATHER'S WAY is a song sung by Seal ( An English R&B / Soul singer ) for the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness". Its a beautiful movie which displays the relationship between a father & a son amidst the struggles of life. & the song brings this feeling in a very aesthetic manner.
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The lyrics goes like this :

"I build a fence around you in a father’s way
I try to feel what it is your going through
Co’s I’ve played many ways
When you grow, how much will it take to slow you down…
Half the way? "

Will Smith as a father tries to protect , provide , teach & loves his kid ; amidst his struggles in his life.
Maybe he paves way for his son a "FATHER'S WAY" which he may go on to follow in his future.

Seal has sung it beautifully with his mellifulous voice.

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Why Special to Me ?
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Its subtle but there's a way I could see in my life which my father had unknowingly made for me. It was paved with values & ethics. It was lighted with honesty & perseverance. It culminated with a sense of satisfaction with a forevision of another goal & path to embark upon.
This song conveys this to me.

MY FATHER'S WAY

OST - The Pursuit of Happyness
Singer - Seal



Cheers
A.B.

MUSIC AND MOVIES - INTO THE WILD

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Just read the plot : -
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A student-athlete at Emory University rejects the materialist, conventional life, and of his parents , destroys all of his credit cards and identification documents, donates $24,000 (nearly his entire savings) to Oxfam, and sets out on a cross-country drive in his well-used but reliable Datsun car toward his ultimate goal: Alaska and, alone, to test himself and experience the WILDS OF NATURE

Welcome back folks. The movie is called "INTO THE WILD"
The kinda adventure we all think but few of us have the courage to set foot on what we believe & really like to embark upon.
Into the Wild is pure exotic adventure from the brilliant Actor / Director - Sean Penn.

Emily Hirsch as the protagonist starts off from his home & end up eventually dead in Alaska. But between these is a series of adventure and lessons of learning , love , relationships / bonds and maybe search for a meaning to life through your very own eyes.Not accepting what is being offered blindfolded but tryst to find it on your own in the wild.
Socrates must be proud of this one.

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Why Special to Me
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Its the simple message of discovering the world through your very own eyes & leading the way you like.
It may upset people you love & long , who care for you but maybe for a while priorities change and the sole purpose of discovery becomes the essence of life.

Watch out Emily Hirsch for a brilliant portrayal of the protagonist Christopher Mccandless.

Directed / Produced - Sean Penn
Written - Sean Penn / Jon Krakauer (novel)
Starring - Emile Hirsch , Marcia Gay Harden , William Hurt ,Jena Malone
Catherine Keener

MUSIC AND MOVIES - THEE THEE ( TAMIL )

If I have to choose a single song for its sheer versatility of its rhythm , beats and its mellifluous ebbs / tides it would be THEE THEE - from the movie Thiruda Thiruda.

Well let me introduce you the maverick Mozart of Chennai - A. R. REHMAN & Brilliance of Mani Ratnam.

I am a Hindi speaking lad , in spite of my ignorance to Tamil , its always sheer pleasure whenever I listen to the song.

Listen to this song & you'll realise why A R Rehman is best thing to happen to Indian Music Industry since Lata Mangeshkar.

The video featuring this song is the most aesthetically exotic songs ever shot ( of all songs I have seen & I've seen plenty ). Magic of P.C Sriram ( Cinematography ) & genius of Director - Mani Ratnam.

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Why So Special?

For its sheer versatility. You can pen this song virtually on a Sinusoidal Wave, such diverse and delightful are its musical highs & lows.
A true Gem.
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Thee Thee
Music - A.R Rehman
Movie - OST from Thiruda Thiruda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2VjGMXlKso