I love 19602s Bollywood cinema and its many great soundtracks. I also begrudgingly enjoy finding out about new songs via TV commercials. So, understandably, I was giddy when Heineken mined Bollywood psychedelia to soundtrack it's latest commercial " The Date ". The ad-execs responsible for this sure picked a damn good song with "Jaan Pehechan Ho" sung by Mohammed Rafi. The California surf-guitar meets big band swing meets Bollywood exotica is a vibe for the ages. The song is originally from the 1965 Indian film Gumnaam , but was also featured as the lead in for the immensely enjoyable [...]
( email | facebook | twitter ) It's "Jaan Pehechaan Ho," from the Gumnaam soundtrack (1965). The track was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. The lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi, and the song was performed by Mohammed Rafi. Heineken calls this one "The Date," and - while their product still tastes like ferret musk - we can't get enough of the clip. This edit keeps all of the color and leaves little of the blank canvas. For a clip of the original edit in its natural [...]

Lately, I've been going back to some of my old staples. Life's been a little tumultuous and when that happens, I find that listening to favorites from my youth is kind of a soothing thing. Also, I had lunch at an Indian restaurant in midtown with my mom today. Music from my teenage years and Indian food with my mom are the true definition of comfort to me. This all brings me to this song. When I was a kid, my favorite songwriter was Aimee Mann , and, though I sometimes find [...]

Meri Haton Mein Nau Naw from Chandni (1989) Tomorrow is the first night for Thums Up , a Bollywood DJ night at the recently expanded Casa del Popolo. Since the demise of the Garam!Garam! monthly, which also focused on sounds of the subcontinent (with DJ Valeo (formerly Khiasma , of the Masala blog), I've had the opportunity to DJ some of my Bollywood favourites along with Rishi of phenomenal psych-pop outfit Elephant Stone . Having enjoyed it [...]
Some Sunday links of the "world music" variety (the most useless of all categories, but apt if you're spending your cash on a ton of Putumayo collections). 01. Paris Combo - Je Rêve Encore [from "Paris Combo" ] 02. Idan Raichel Project - Bo'i [from "The Idan Raichel Project," where Amazon spells it "Boee" and I have no idea which is right.] 03. Bopol Mansiamina - Samba Samba [from "Putumayo Presents African Party" ] 04. Mi [...]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =KoqWOOtlIbM Indeed. As is any compilation that features the song from the clip above, which you may remember from the opening credits of the very excellent Ghost World. Thanks to crate-digger and ex-Stylus alum Todd Hutlock , I've been listening non-stop to Doob Doob O' Rama Filmsongs of Bollywood for the past 24 hours. Recorded in the 60s and 70s most of the tracks bear a psychedelic bent that meshes nicely with the traditional Indian instrumentation. It's great stuff. Highly recc'd for fans of George Harrison, Lamb Korma, Bobby [...]

This post originally began as a collection of cheesy theme songs, but eventually grew into a mass of songs from the soundtracks of movies I love and adore. A good majority of them are 80s classics since I was born in '81, but there are some newer and older gems mixed in too. I had a lot of fun gathering them, since just hearing them brings back tons of good movie viewing memories (read as: makeouts). It also reminded me of how much I've always wanted the opportunity to compile a soundtrack for a movie. I have no idea how [...]
"Jaan Pehechaan Ho" Ever since seeing the film Ghost World I've loved this song by Mohammed Rafi. The film opens with the main character dancing to "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" while we see the scene featuring this song from the 1965 Bollywood film Gumnaam , a film billed as 'India's first suspense thriller'. According to wikipedia the song's title, "Jaan Pehechaan Ho", is Hindi for 'we should get to know each other' . mohammed rafi jaan [...]
The other day I was at a club where they played Mohammed Rafi's "Jan Pehechaan Ho." I went to ask the DJ the name of the song, but neither he, nor I, could find it on the LP. So I went into work today depressed at being unable to remember ...

So I've been invaded with some sort of Middle Eastern bug... I just can't seem to get enough of those beautiful Turkish/Arabic/overall Middle-Easter tunes. It all began thanks to my dear friend Funda from the beautiful city of Ankara, Turkey... gee thanks Funda... now I can't stop listening to the CD you sent! Well, now that Squashed has refused to provide me with the brand new musical obsession he promised me oh so long ago, I had to go along by my little self and find some new material to obsess over. [...]
If you've seen Ghost World you'll remember this song, it opens the film. An old film clip of Mohammed Rafi singing the song is shown while the star of the film dances like Annette Funicello at a beach party. The song is amazing (to me at least, at first it made me laugh, but then it grew on me), sixties American beach pop as interpreted by East Indian musicians - from it's jungle drums to the