Paes The Lord

Here is a real unsung hero in the land of Sania worshippers. I don't watch tennis very regularly these days but i managed to catch parts of Paes/Martin Damm's U.S Open victory. To watch vintage Paes is to watch India's Davis Cup ties. The opponent maybe an obscure but tenacious Shuzuo Matsuoka from Japan or whoever, and it would just be a qualifying playoff but what mattered was Paes being in the court. Hmmmm adhellam oru kaalam :(

P.S: I still miss his old serve action - the pronounced 'leaning back' and 'falling forward'

Ranking Menace

Humankind is plagued by many deadly menaces. I was just wondering if there could be any ranking amongst them. Irrespective of any ranking we might give, there is very little to chose between them. A list, not in any particular order

• Western Imperialism
• Terrorism
• Global Warming
• Politicians/Pimps
• AIDS
• Indian Cops
  
• HR Executives

Classical Crossover

Still staying with music, check out this TFM Page Article

...The polyphonic nature of western classical music, with many instruments playing, does not require the use of a rhythm instrument to maintain time. It is only in popular music, that a rhythm instrument is used. So a ‘classical crossover’ is predominantly western classical music, accompanied by rhythm instruments

...Though many of these songs were composed for movies in which a western classical approach was consciously adopted (Guru-Malayalam, dEsiya geetham) many were done for regular movies in which other songs followed a more standard approach. It is not very clear whether the audience appreciated these unique songs or these songs did not get enough exposure because the movies themselves failed. It is also possible the Indian ear used to listening to melodies, where the next note or slide is what surprises and fascinates the mind, is not appreciative of a western classical approach, where many instruments are playing musical notes in parallel. Maybe some of these songs had a strong melody and the orchestration was complex in the interludes alone (eg. sundari from thalapathy), where the melody guaranteed the success of the song. It probably required a TIS with classic poetry, extreme emotion drenched devotion and full-fledged orchestration to capture the mind of the Indian audience. Will a western classical orchestrated album on a secular subject, with contemporary lyrics be successful with the Indian audience?

From America To Ambaasamudram

VV has smashed all BO records to smithereens in Thamizh film history, as far as opening is concerned. If (a big if) it sustains the momentum for some more time, its sure to be a superhit