Solely music-related post.
One, I can’t thank Javabeans enough for this post on Yi Sung Yol, its like a gift for us information-starved fans. http://www.dramabeans.com/2008/06/profilegiveaway-2-yi-sung-yol/
It has so much information on his music, his background with UMe&Blue, his personal journey and insight into his own music, and is just a fantastic read. Best of all, she translated 20 versus 30, one of my favorite songs. How amazing is that. I was so thrilled I think I shouted involuntarily (only a few artists can bring out the fan girl in me). And to top things off, I was a winner of the giveaway! Woooohhoooo! That means I get the first CD 
Thanks so much Javabeans! Please check out this article if you’d come here looking for information on him, I’m sure you’ll appreciate it as much as I have.
Also, Mary R commented on one of my YSY posts (thanks!) and gave me some more news: http://www.kome-world.com/uk/article.php?id=142 He was awarded the Musician of the Year Award for In Exchange and also the Best Modern Rock Single at the Korean Music Awards. Yes! It pleases me that he’s getting these awards and recognition: couldn’t go to a better, more-deserving artist. His music just blows our minds away!
Two, I have yet to describe my trip to California, in which I had gallons of fun and was quite the traveler and adventurer. One of the best bits was our last-moment trip to Oakland to catch Summer Beats 2008, the amazing concert with Atif Aslam, Kailash Kher, Richa Sharma and Amanat Ali (who, I’m sorry to say, should have spent more time backstage observing his sunbaes than on stage). How do I begin? Amanat Ali wasted too much time. But then Richa Sharma struck just the right tone with Saawariya as she gracefully came on stage. Her Dama Dum Mast Kalandar was a bit too much the fourth time around (there really was no need, especially since it wasn’t her song anyway), but she did a medley of some of her best intros (Jag Soona, etc). I wish they’d have cut her by just 2-3 minutes. Next tiny Kailash Kher with his big beautiful voice walks on. He was so short, I was totally not expecting that! But he makes up for what he lacks in height with his powerful voice. He picked great songs, starting with Sajna Tere Bina, going on to Chak De from Khosla ka Ghosla, and singing his two beautiful hits, Teri Deewani and Saiyyan (I’m so crazy with this song right now). The dancers were just amazing too, they did a beautiful, fitting sequence in Teri Deewani, making the whole song amazing. He got the audience involved, introduced his band Kailasa, and was so genial and funny that it was definitely worth it. He was probably the best performer of the night.
Kailasa-Saiyyan (Jhoomo Re)
And then, onto the main event (atleast for me), but thanks to the stupid MC and Amanat, the rockstar of the night Atif Aslam only got like 25 minutes (and he was not happy about that). After commenting on the time he got right into it though, and kept it high energy the entire 25 minutes, ending rather abruptly. Atif is truly a rockstar, and he showed his colors. It was amazing. I always think that a concert is worth your money if you see something you’d never get on a good pair of speakers, and clearly Atif thinks the same (see, we’re made for each other), because he did his most famous songs with variations, did guitar solos, threw in some crazy rockstar moves. Of course, to see him live and realize that the man actually is that damn good looking has its advantages to it too. And yes, when he lets go of his cool dudeness and smiles, it is so, so, worth it. (Hold on a minute while I reminisce…)
The big drawback: the sound quality was bad in the theatre. Atif sings really close to the mike (just like John Mayer and YSY: I see a pattern here!), and the sound system wasn’t set up for that. As a result his words weren’t clear, and sometimes there was feedback (not fun). When we did hear the words, it was interesting to note how different his enunciation is. He pronounces a lot of words with a strange accent, and a different emphasis, and really mouths them out. He’s born and raised and educated in Pakistan, so I’m pretty sure that just comes from his singing style, he just likes to really throw his words out there, and enunciate each one. Its hard to explain, you just have to hear him/see him in concert, but its unexpected. Ofcourse, I’m totally biased so I take the positive spin on that . He sang his most popular songs, but left out Woh Lamhe and Doorie, but I think that was on purpose because he was a little miffed at the time he was left (I can totally understand that too: wth was it with the extra time given to others??). Pehli Nazar Mein: when he began, I think my heart skipped a beat. He started from the first stanza and the audience went crazy. He did variations of Aadat, and sang Tere Bin, which was a huge hit too.
The man sure keeps his energy up, and he has some freaking amazing guitar skills. The whole band does, and I kind of wish he had introduced the rest, atleast given them names, because he had some great talent in that group. He did one or two slow songs too, which included the pretty Kuch is Tarah, but not enough. I’m such a big fan of his deep, strong voice that I would have really liked to relish that for atleast a couple more songs, rather than the heavy rock star music and guitaring. I mean, I definitely loved the musical extras he gave the audience, but I longed for a little bit more of his voice. When I got back home, though, I realized his new album Meri Kahani was out. So apart from planning our wedding, I spent some time checking that out. Its recieved more criticisms than his last album (Doorie), because he’s totally changed his style. I didn’t like Doorie as much (except the title track), so I barely paid attention to those criticisms, and yes, I was right, his new explorations do more for me. Atif has ventured out of his usual, comfort zone, of which many were getting tired, and tried something new and different for him and his voice.
You may not be able to tell with this title song, but perhaps this next song, my favorite one (a duet with a Pakistani female singer, SKJ), will throw more light.
Atif Aslam-Kaun Tha (Meri Kahani)
This album has quite a few slow songs (yes!), leaning towards acoustic, giving his voice and the lyrics more space than his previous songs tended to. Also, more emphasis is given to a subdued, understated quality of his voice than to the power alone. As in, while his previous hits have relied on his high notes, the throwing out of his voice, Meri Kahani doesn’t do that as much, but tries to bring out the softness, huskiness and emotion in his voice. I’ve always felt Atif has a ‘tragic’ voice, which I find hard to explain, but its like that very first time you hear Aadat, or you hear Tere Bin, and you’re immediately drawn because he plays directly on the listener’s emotions. You feel his voice more, and the lyrics mean less. I’m not being fan-girly, because even when I don’t like his songs, I can appreciate the depth of his voice. So Meri Kahani tries to prove that his voice has more than the deep, tragic, low facet…he has more talent than just stretching the note.
On the negative side, this means some of his songs are not as clear, he seems to mumble or they are just too soft to win over the guitar. Also, the strange accent troubles me a bit in this album, especially when he pronounces Tha (the word for was) as Ta. That just sounds wrong, especially with the female singer doing it the right way. I’m not sure why he does that, if its just a by product of enunciation or what. There are also some rock tunes, mainly the too-heavy-metal for me tune, Hungami Halaat, and Chor Gaye leans towards the usual rock and guitar numbers. I completely disagree with critics who claim the album is lacklustre or sounds similar throughout: I’m not sure which album they’ve been listening to. I think thats just backlash from disappointment, because most fans enjoy hearing the kind of music they love rather than watch their artist foray into different fields. The album has plenty of flaws, and some songs deserve to be reworked (like Humrahi, which goes along just beautifully until it suddenly changes its mind and decides not to be acoustic, and the whole tune gets changed, leaving the listener in a “whaaa” stance). But overall, being as objective as I can, I think Atif has taken some huge steps to explore his musical skills with this attempt as singer and songwriter and composer. The album is personal, a narrative that is more honest, open, and bolder than his previous work has been. His songs are varied, and cover a broad range, ranging from memories and childhood, to love, longing, loss to even a dialogue on man and society with Rabba Sacheya, an adaptation of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s Punjabi poem about man’s expectations from God and the problems with society (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meri_Kahani). That isn’t a weak effort or experiment, but an impressive attempt by a singer who, to be honest, doesn’t need to work so hard to sell (his voice is enough to sell like hotcakes. Infact, every album he has sung a track for in recent times has been a hit in the Bollywood music industry alone). He may be indulging his personal tastes and his desires to expand his portfolio, and he makes some mistakes, but Atif Aslam has a very, very forgiving listener base, and with his truly impressive talent, he should be lauded for taking chances and forging into new territory.
And now I’m done reviewing music for the day. I have yet to go into Rehman’s Ada, and rave some more about Atif Aslam. I’m considering posting some of my video from the concert, but between planning a wedding and planning my impending move to a new country, I unfortunately have less time for good ol’ fan girlness. Pity.
[PS: I just heard from my chingu that other places weren't as lucky to have a good Summer Beats concert, and got some ol' fashioned swindling instead, with Raghav (Raghav????!) being pushed down throats. And the later concerts got cancelled because of Atif’s visa problems (yes. Racial profiling at its best). I feel pretty darn lucky to have had a fairly decent concert, and a great time, albeit the beginning. If this happened to you, please don’t let it put you off from attending future Atif Aslam or Kailash Kher concerts (when they are allowed into the country, and when the producers are able to get their act together). From my own experience I can say, they put on a damn good show, and its enjoyable and worth the money (a reasonable sum of money that a student may afford), and you take home more than just what you would have heard on your speakers. So atleast give ‘em one more shot. ‘Course, this comes from a completely biased source. )
