Day: September 16, 2007

Ipod Shuffle & Me

- Roshan

I was gifted a 1GB Ipod shuffle from my cousin Raakhee. She lives in the US & sent it to me via her mother (my mom’s sister) who was visiting her on the birth of her (Raakhee’s) second child. Her mom came back to India a couple of days ago and landed in Trivandrum, where my mom and another sister were there waiting to pick her up. My mom came back home today and a few minutes back sprung this surprise on me. She gave the box to me and when I stated that Raakhee shouldn’t have bough it for me, my mom said “it’s an ipod; it’s for listening to music, isn’t it?”

I don’t know what was more of a shock to me; the fact that I am gifted an ipod or the fact that my mom knows what an ipod is for!! On further though, it’s the second one.

It’s not surprising at all that my cousin Raakhee gave it to me; she is always bring gifts when she comes back to visit. She is close to me and ofcourse she knows that I love music and cannot live without it. She in fact share some similar tastes in music – well that was a while ago. I am not sure what she listens to these days.

Thank you Raakhee! It was not at all necessary for you to get me anything and I wish you hadn’t. I mean, I love music and I love having my music around me when I am traveling or at the office. But this really isn’t something that you should have done. But thank you! Thank you a whole lot! :)

Hey, now with my 1 GB music in my phone, I will now have 2 GB of music with me at all times. So if you see me walking on the side of the road, playing air guitar or moshing my head to the heavy metal or mouthing the lyrics of an emotional song……look the other way! :P

Call Off The Search – Katie Melua

- Roshan

Ketevan ‘Katie’ Melua is a jazz / blues singer currently based in London. She was born in Georgia and lived in the city of Tbilisi till she was 9 years old. Then it was move to Belfast, Northern Ireland & then Surrey, England. Her debut album is Call Off The Search, which has sold over $3 million world wide. While she sings the songs on these songs, you can catch a different accent that was hard for me to place. Only today did I find out that she was Georgian, although she is a British citizen now. And ok, I have to admit it, she is kinda gorgeous & sweet to look at. I first thought she was Indian or had Indian blood (not from this album cover); her brown eyes, soft brown skin & black hair misleading me. Well, now I need to check out more Georgian women!

The album starts with Call Off The Search, written by her producer Mike Batt. I wouldn’t recommend starting an album with a slow ballad. But for Jazz singer, I guess it’s ok. The song is about finding true love. John Mayall’s Crawling Up A Hill, may be written by a guy, but Katie makes it so about a young girl trying to find her way in the world, bored by her life. I just love the trumpet work in this song. Batt wrote the next song and first single The Closest Thing To Crazy, another Batt composition, is the best song on the track, with Katie alternates her seduction voice with whispers at points “This is the closest thing to crazy I have ever been, feeling 22 acting 17“.

My Aphrodisiac Is You starts with a bluesy piano riff and then Ms.Melua seduces the listener and makes you wish you were the one she was singing about. Things mellow down with Learning The Blues & Blame It On The Moon. Then we come to Belfast a tribute to the years she spent growing up in the Norther Ireland city. She next takes on Randy Newman’s I Think It’s Going To Rain & that jazz colossal Mockingbird Song, done in a slightly rock n’roll style. How can you resist her voice in this track?

Tiger in the Night, Faraway Voice & Lilac Wine are the last three songs on this excellent album, with the middle song being the only other song that Katie has composed. Overall it is a great debut album, especially when she was just 19 at the time of release in 2003. I look forward to seeing more of Ms. Melua.

Indian Autorickshaw Challenge

- Roshan

Alright, now I have heard about it all! I can go to my bed and die in my sleep and I wouldn’t care!

About the weirdest Rally’s that you can ever hope to see is the Indian Autorickshaw Challener, in which the contestants travel from Chennai to Mumbai in that bastion of public transport, the Autorickshaw! Unfortunately most of the contestants are not Indian, but hey who cares! You get teams like Pink Panic, Team Kannada (a Canadian mom of 72 & her two sons who adopted a small Kannada medium school in Karnataka), Tamil Devils (none of them Tamilians), Team Tuk Tuk Tuxedo & Team Voodoo Cadillac.

Arsenal 3 Spurs 1

- Roshan

Two goals from Emmanuel Adebayor & a stunning goal from Cesc Fabregas earned Arsenal a 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane and made Martin Jol’s job at total risk. Spurs had been ahead in the 15th minute through Gareth Bale’s free-kick and had chances to add to their lead before Adebayor levelled. With 10 minutes remaining Fabregas put the Gunners ahead, receiving a pass from Tomas Rosicky before taking aim from 30 yards and bending the ball into the top corner with the outside of his boot. Adebayor scored his second of the game, finding the top corner in stoppage time, leaving Spurs with still only one Premier League victory this season.

Arsenal go top of the Premier League, with Liverpool second after drawing 0-0 against Portsmouth & Manchester United beating Everton 1-0. Chelsea, who drew 0-0 with Blackburn Rovers are 4th, while West Ham United are in 5th place after beating Middlesborough 3-0.