As the hell freezes over...

I owe many thanks to a lot of English musicians who have given us a number of timeless melodies. Though the progressions in the songs, the chords used, are considered standard and monotonous by our classical music experts, there is always a very different and beautiful sense of emotion in each of them. The tactful use of harmonies, the movements from minors to majors to combine a variety of emotions etc. really open ones mind to the beauty of their music.

My earliest memories of enjoying English songs goes just 12 years back when the FM era was in full swing. I had a habit of recording songs from the radio, on old cassettes which were in plentiful at my place. I also happened to find a nice old cassette, recorded by my uncle, which contained a number of beautiful melodies by artistes like Linda Ronstadt, The Jackson 5, The Carpenters, The Eagles etc. The cassette was my treasure, but sadly it deteriorated in no time.

My engineering days offered me my second chance - facilitated by my brand new PC (Intel Pentium 4, Win XP, 80Gig HD, 256MB RAM - a very obsolete configuration for today's generation), I was now able to collect a lot of songs from my friends who were more than happy to share them with me. This is when i discovered my love for the music by the band - The Eagles.

Hotel California - every newbie to English music will swear by this one. And i was just awed to listen to the guitar solo this song starts with. And there were other amazing songs as part of one collection i had just received. The sound of the clean guitar leads and strums, the violin ensembles, the soulful bass and the vocals, the electronic sounds so distinctive of the early 90s - these were the elements which gave me the kicks. I soon realised that these were not the original songs, but the ones the Eagles had performed for their 1994 tour titled  Hell Freezes Over.

"For the record, we never broke up, we just took a 14 year old vacation", Glenn Frey says before starting with the lovely "Tequila Sunrise". This song, along with Hotel California, Desperado are well known - they identify the band to the World. (Tequila Sunrise was sung by one of my best friends in her school time, and I had sung Desperado in my college days).

All the three mentioned above are timeless classics and perfect examples of the lovely fare this band was famous for. However, the one that i am sharing from the tour is the one which i have really come to love.

Most of the songs you love are the ones which address the exact situation you are in. Many of the songs grow on you. But only a few hit you hard for their music and orchestration first, and for the lyrics later when life brings you to a situation perfectly described by them. There is only one number that fits this description for me - I Cant Tell you Why, performed by Timothy Schmidt (the bass player).

The bliss of this song, I cannot put it in words. The violin chorus, the well timed vocal chorus, the nice feminine voice of the singer, the synth effects. And God, i love the guitar leads in the end, played in this version, by Don Felder. If you happen to see the video for the song, you will be more amazed by his expressions while he is playing the guitar. Shows his love for music, which makes the leads sound so good.

The Eagles - I Can't Tell You Why (Hell... by olatoniggg

Look at us baby, up all night 

Tearing our love apart 

Aren't we the same two people who lived

through years in the dark? 

Ahh... 

Every time I try to walk away 

Something makes me turn around and stay 

And I can't tell you why 

When we get crazy, 

it just ain't to right, 

(try to keep you head, little girl) 

Girl, I get lonely, too 

You don't have to worry 

Just hold on tight 

(don't get caught in your little world) 

'Cause I love you 

Nothing's wrong as far as I can see 

We make it harder than it has to be 

and I can't tell you why 

no, baby, I can't tell you why 

I can't tell you why 

No, no, baby, I can't tell you why 

I can't tell you why 

I can't tell you why

There is a beautiful imagination that the song and its music paints in my minds eye....

A blue cool night. The beautiful melody playing in the background. A heart warm with love but paining with a little ache. And a hint of hope deep within. Two lovers are having a rough time, but know how deep their love is for each other.

Tonight is gonna be a restless one. 

We both know how foolish we can be at times, and feel that its over, but we know it isn't. 

I am happy we are still here, but sad that we are sitting so away. 

Why don't you understand, o silly one. 

And i cant tell you why i still feel the same for you, o my sweet child....

A number close to my heart...

Whenever i love a song, i have a habit to try and see if someone out there has tried to put his admiration for the song, in words. Its a great pleasure to read blog posts describing the depth of melodies and lyrics, and some extremely commendable work has already been done by a lot of folks. Sincere thanks from the bottom of my heart to all those kind souls, for their efforts have given comfort to this heart.

The unavailability of posts on a number of songs prompted me to start expressing my own views and share the songs i love, so that folks out there may be able to enjoy the songs better, facilitated by my insights.

Music has been my lifeblood from the moment i was born. Having gifted singers in both of your parents, and being brought up in a family where singing is a part of everyday life, one definitely has an intuitive grasp of musical concepts.

I have been fortunate to listen to many a kind of music, and I consider each of the composers to be my teachers. My exposure to Chinese, Japanese, various forms of Western music, Indian classical, folk music etc, have helped me nurture a very beautiful, gifted voice. Hence its very natural for me to feel about music in a very deep way.

I am happy today that i finally found a song i was looking for from a very long time. And its really apt that i have inaugurated this blog today and will share that very song with all of you.

Way back in 1997, a television channel - Home TV was broadcasted in India. A number of dubbed Chinese Martial Arts serials were being telecasted. We kids not only enjoyed the marvellous fight sequences, but also the amazing melodies of the opening, ending songs and the background tracks.

Since this channel went off air, i had thought it to be an impossible dream to once again be able to listen to the tracks. And roughly 7 years back when i started using the internet, i was on the search for these songs.

Google search was a hard affair way back in 2006 than it is today. My evenings after engineering classes were spent in honing my google search tricks, and though i was after Japanese anime songs in those days, my search for the Chinese songs was soon to follow and I met with great success. (I will be sharing my most favorite Japanese songs in the near future...:))

Now to discuss in brief about the song for today, it is from a wuxia (martial art series) from TVB, named Brothers Under the Skin. Originally telecated in 1986, it is a brilliant series full of funny, romantic, action packed scenes. All the characters are brilliant, and i particularly loved Ling Choi-Yue played by Sheren Tang. The main character Chang Kwon Ling, played by Felix Wong was really cute and adorable.

Towards the mid of the series, Kwong Ling has an amazing transformation from a way ward youth to a kung fu master. The humour is legendary and the romance moves from one with childish adoration, to the one full of mature understanding.

Here is the main actress, the beautiful Sheren Tang

And the adorable Felix Wong

A few more pics from the series

The two lovers are fated not to meet, even after having a marriage. A number of factors have been woven in the screenplay which makes their union look impossible. Finally towards the end of the series, they are united in death. The series ends showing two kids playing in a garden, and the viewer is full of mixed feelings - happy at seeing the lovers finally together and sad at the way the story had to turn.

I had seen the series atleast 3 times and was always filled with a lot of sadness after the last episode. I had a fantasy back then - to try and see if i could lay my eyes on the main actress, hoping to find her in some chinese beauty parlours in Mumbai. This obviously when the bus was passing through the streets, and I was too young to have the audacity to go to these places and have a look. Obviously i knew how foolish the thought was, but it is the beauty of childhood to have such secret wishes...:)

The song is a lovely number from this series. It plays whenever an episode ends on a poignant note, and most notably when the series ends. The two kids playing in the garden, the two lovers united in death - a very sentimental way to end the show. And the tune is haunting and gives a beautiful feeling to the scene....