A Spirited Podcast



Christmas and New Year’s Eve have just gone by and a rather tumultuous year is over. This is the time of the year many of us badly need some uplifting music. I do, for sure. In the old days that used to mean making your own mix-tape, raiding your own larder of music to do a compilation of what you’d think would go down well with a tumbler or two of eggnog on a nice cold evening.

Norwegian singer Ida Maria...

Norwegian singer Ida Maria...

It could be a tedious affair, working with analog tape machines and LPs or even after compact discs made their way to our music collection. I was fortunate enough to have some certified music fiends as friends who every so often showered their generosity on me in the form of mix-tapes that they’d culled from their vast and, sometimes, eclectic collections. All of that is history now. The Internet and mp3 players make it all so easy.

As long as you’ve digitised much of your music collection (which music nut hasn’t?) you can make your own playlists with mere clicks of the mouse. Or you can do much better: tap into some great podcaster who does it for you.

So, during the past two weeks when Tim Young’s Contrast Podcast released two of its three-instalment annual Festive Fifty, I couldn’t wait to download them. Young, a British musician, runs a blog and a podcast. The blog is essentially a back-story for the podcast, which is weekly (every Tuesday) and is compiled using contributions and user participation.

Festive Fifty’s first installment had 17 songs, each introduced by a contributor’s remark, often witty, sometimes insightful. The bands were from across genres yet each of their songs turned out to be a gem. It began with Young’s own contribution, Spiderman on Hollywood by The Wedding Present, an indie band from Leeds, UK that was born in 1985. The Wedding Present counts among its biggest influences, the music of Gang of Four, a short-lived (1977-1983) yet hugely influential post-punk band, also from Leeds. Then there was Beck’s Gamma Ray, Elvis Costello’s Stella Hurt, Sigur Ros’s Gobbledigook and many others.

Watch Vampire Weekends Oxford Comma.

Watch Vampire Weekend's 'Oxford Comma'.

I found a bunch of them to be outstanding. While Iceland’s Sigur Ros I’ve heard a lot of in the recent past and I’d wholeheartedly recommend (post-rock, minimalist, melodious), there were many others worth trying. Like British Sea Power; Brighton-based purveyors of wholesome rock. I’ve got a couple of British Sea Power albums and I’ve never found the eight-year-old band disappointing.

And, not to forget veteran rocker Elvis Costello whose track on the podcast was from his last release, Momofuku, named after the Japanese inventor of instant ramen noodles. I’ve made a mental note of checking out that album. Besides the songs, it’s the Festive Fifty’s commentators that make the podcast a must-download every Tuesday (that’s when Young uploads it).

I’m particularly fond of a guy called JC mainly because of his pronounced Scottish accent and a penchant for pulling out bands from Scotland. JC runs an excellent mp3 blog (where each post comes with songs that you can download) called The Vinyl Villain that showcases some awesome music. Anyway, his contribution to the Festive Fifty was Glasgow-based Frightened Rabbit’s Keep Yourself Warm.

If you haven’t tried ‘Frightened Rabbit’, I’d recommend you do so immediately, especially their album, ‘The Midnight Organ Fight To buy it’, head over to http://www.emusic.com for a digital copy. Taste-making music website Pitchfork rates that album by the often bass-less trio (don’t worry; muscular drumming makes up whenever the thick strings are absent) 8.1. I’d say it’s a perfect 10.

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  • Anonymous

    THEY FALL FOR ME AND MY BULLSHITISM BY MIA UL FUQ
    I am from shitlet , born to a low caste hindu peasant family , driven out of the fold by the samajpati of our society. I should have been in BANGLADESH , now that we managed to drive out all the hindus from there , but then how can you stay in that place , they cant even make aspirin there. As for having four wives , I CAN HAVE THAT IN INDIA also I CAN PRACTICE THE MOST MISOGYNIST AND BARBARIC FORM OF ISLAM ONLY IN INDIA. Thus my family moved to assam , I became a KUTTAR, MUTTANDAR AND A THORIUGHBRED BANDAR

    The above can be read as YOU WILL GET AS GOOD YOU GIVE

    [Reply]

    engrich Reply:

    ISLAM ONLY IN INDIA.

    in what way.in yr bengal children are surviving by drinking dogs milk.go yahoo today.

    [Reply]

    engrich Reply:

    to drive out all the hindus from

    there are 15%hindus.nobody drive them out ,they came because of better prospects in india.like u have gone to london.

    [Reply]

  • Anonymous

    Zia Haq is perfect example of a muslim who is well educated but is as Jahil as muslim maulvi when it comes to Islam.

    No amount of education can reform muslims.

    [Reply]

    engrich Reply:

    21 century mein lnd kee puja karte ho aur behudagee ki baat karte ho.things are way around.

    [Reply]

  • Anonymous

    These are Zia’s lines”HOWEVER REGRESSIVE ISLAM MAY BE MUSLIMS HAVE A RIGHT NOT TO BE OFFENDED
    Now these are headlines fronm DAILY MAIL UK
    ‘Strict Muslim’ raped four women at knifepoint to ‘punish them for being on the streets at night’

    Sunny Islam, 23, kidnapped and raped girl, 15
    Subjected victims to his ‘trademark double rape’
    Attacks took place over 2 months in east London
    Jailed indefinitely due to danger he poses to women

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2091669/Sunny-Islam-Strict-Muslim-raped-4-women-knifepoint-punish-them.html#ixzz1ksfWTxXS

    Also can I politely ask Zia WHY DOESN’T HE EMIGRATE TO SAUDI TO PRACTICE HALAL ISLAM, ALSO WHY DOES HE USE ANTIBIOTICS AND VIAGRA , BOTH A SINGULAR BYPRODUCT OF 10000% FREE SPEECH
    Also he WICKEDLY mashes up absolutism in the context of free speech with absolutism as a word used all and sundry.
    There are occasions and context where ONLY ABSOLUTISM is the rational or obvious deduction , LIKE LAWS IN SCIENCE , MATHEMATICAL LAWS , these are absolute . to certain extent unless somebody supplants it something different which then REPLACES the previous absolute truth.
    THIS IS A FAR CRY FROM THE MUMBO JUMBO OF QUORAN ,WHICH IS ITSELF FULL OF CONTRADICTION , MISOGYNY AND DOWNRIGHT ANTISCIENCE ****
    LIKE EARTH IS FLAT , CONCEPTION TAKES PLACE FROM MENSTRUALBLOOD ETC

    [Reply]

    engrich Reply:

    ‘Strict Muslim’ raped four women at knifepoint to ‘punish them for being on the streets at night’

    maniac like these are found everywhere according to islamic laws he should been executed by now.delhi has become rape capital of world.shan what u are talking is absolute non sense.first correct your family who still worship pns as god.

    TAKES PLACE FROM MENSTRUALBLOOD ETC

    TAKES PLACE FROM MENSTRUALBLOOD ETC

    this is good for hindus who show their penis and pussies in their places of worship.

    many muslim countries are far ahead of in field of science of technology whose scientists are busy looting india without any notable achievement.

    [Reply]

    Anonymous Reply:

    @Engrich this is the MUMBO JUMBO of quoran
    Sura 23:13-14 repeats this idea by saying God “placed him as (a drop of) sperm (nutfah) in a place of rest, firmly fixed; then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood (alaqa); then out of that clot We made a (foetus) lump (mudghah), then We made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature.” 75:38 also says man becomes an alaqa and 96:2 says we came from alaq.

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    Anonymous Reply:

    @Engrich This is your hadith by Salih BUKHARI
    It is related that ‘A’isha said, “When one of us was menstruating and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wanted to fondle her, he would tell her to put on a waist-wrapper when she started her menstrual period and he would fondle her.” She said, “Who among you would be able to control his desires as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, controlled his?

    [Reply]

    engrich Reply:

    is it neccessary to write how ur mother was fked.he normal man,

    engrich Reply:

    USE ANTIBIOTICS AND VIAGRA , BOTH A SINGULAR BYPRODUCT OF 10000% FREE SPEECH
    there is no free speech in west.u hindus have no contribution in development of these items or even science.even iran is much ahead of india in field science and techology.
    u people are far more mentally backward than muslims.

    [Reply]

  • engrich

    bullshit.and pure bullshit.
    30%of humanity cnsider prophet mohammed(pbuh)as his father.if they will insult their father they will cut their head.u are fool.india has many other problems.more important than rushdie.

    [Reply]

  • Ejaz Rahman

    An excellent piece on the fallacy that is names Rushdie and how it was blown out of proportion. Now Sanjay Roy is saying that even the Police said that they were ok with the video link to continue and had provided security. That they had planned to keep Rushdie visit quiet just as they had done in 2007, but he had wanted it advertised explicitly. All in all, the lies are all coming out.

    There was no violent threat to Rushdie or the video link. Rushdie himself wanted to advertise that he is coming to India. And that even demanding an apology is considered intolerance, talk about the height of being intolerant!

    [Reply]

    RajX Reply:

    Sure. The Iranian mullahs didn’t even put a death fatwa on rushdies head. Rushdie that be up. The unbeleivable idiocy and cultish effect of Islam is mind boggling. Do you sleep well with all that idiocy in your head?

    [Reply]

  • Anonymous

    @EjazRahman , Will be extreemely grateful if you kindly post the offending lines from the book The Satanic Verses. Other than calling the persian companions of prophet (who were thieves to start with) SCUM AND BUM , and the line “then the prostitutes started claiming him as their husband. ” .There is no line prior to this line or following this line that the prophet (mahound) had any weakness towards them .
    The problem is ISLAM IS ON SUCH A SHAKY GROUND THAT ITS MULLAHS WANTS TO SMOTHER ANY DISCUSSION ON ISLAM LEST THE BAG OF WORMS COME OUT

    [Reply]

    Anonymous Reply:

    With today’s increasingly Knowledge based societies, it is last days of ideas which have been nurtured with Hatred,Ignorance and Fear.I give maximum 100 years for survival of Islam. Either it will Morph into something more benign or people will totally desert it.

    One of the first country to overthrough Islam would be Iran. This comes from my personal experience while traveling extensively in Iran.

    [Reply]

  • Kumars1

    Barkha ‘Tarka’ Dutt has been given full Islamic ‘tarka’ by her current Muslim spouse and her previous Muslim spouse. Why are you fuming against her.? Poor woman must be crestfallen that you are annoyed with her. Have pity, for Allah’s sake!

    [Reply]

  • engrich

    ravi bhai ,shenoyv and aaloke,

    The Durban dip can cleanse a billion sins

    ChandraBhan Prasad

    The Ganges is a monumental aqua-guard which has been cleansing Varna souls ever since the advent of their civilisation. A few Varna apologists describe the senseless Ganga dip as an act of “self-criticism”, where devotees officially confirm they have committed a sin. Those who do not participate in this bizarre event each year, compensate for it by joining the Maha Kumbh madness. In that sense, every Varna individual is a communist, known for his ritual practice of “self-criticism”.

    Questions have often been asked of us. For instance: “Tell me Mr Prasad, how do you propose to eradicate caste divisions?” Upon saying, “Read Ambedkar,” they insist, “No, please don’t be evasive. Tell me now.” Then we say, “Gandhiji had a historic opportunity. Had he spoken in the voice Dr Ambedkar used, half of India’s problem would have been solved in his lifetime itself, and the rest by now. Or if EMS Namboodripad had decided to declare Charu Majumdar as being India’s Mao and worked under his leadership, India would have been a different story today.

    Or, if Vajpayeeiji spoke the way Kanshi Ram does or Soniaji spoke Mayawatiji’s mind, half of India’s social tension would have withered away by now. Or, if the Indian Parliament were to raid the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) Secretariat at Bharani Complex, Secundarabad, confiscate the documents there, own up to them and proceed to Durban telling the world that: “Yes, race and caste are not the same but the implications are similar. In fact, caste-based discriminations are more vicious than those which are race-based. And that India as a nation has decided to eradicate all caste-based discrimination and that we need cooperation and support from the rest of the world.” India would then indeed be marching towards a new direction, one which the Dalits have aspired to for ages. But is India prepared to listen to what Dalit heroes have been arguing for? Is Indian society prepared to listen to Dalit icons like Matin Macwan or Paul Divakar?

    August 3, 2001, will be thought of as a landmark. The Mumbai-based Sabrang had organised a seminar to solicit public opinion in favour of the Durban conference.

    The organisation is headed by Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, the only couple I have ever met who are great secularists and yet pro-Dalit. The second such combination I can remember comes in the form of Delhi’s Nivedita Menon and Aditya Nigam.

    This particular seminar had a galaxy of participants: Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Sitaram Yechuri, Rajdeep Sardesai, Prafulla Bidwai, Rahul Deo, Swami Agnivesh, Martin Macwan, Ramalakshmi, Aditya Nigam, Amit Sengupta, Fr Henry D’Souza, PL Mimroth, Fali S Nariman and others. Although most of them had assembled for secular considerations – to bash the BJP, as if Deve Gowda or Gujral-led third front governments would have supported NCDHR’s move – CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechuri stunned Dalit participants. He first entertained the audience by telling them about the one similarity between himself and Bangaru Laxman: both had betrayed their communities. The audience, however, was unable to figure out how Yechuriji had betrayed the Brahmins as he has never held them responsible for creating the Chaturvarna order and has lost nothing in life. What better stature in life had he thought of than what he enjoys today? On the other hand, in what way did Bangaru betray his community? He was born Dalit and stayed one even after entering the Dwijas’ BJP. He became its president, ultimately falling victim to the Varna media. Had he joined the CPI(M), he would have, like most CPI(M) Dalit MPs, remained faceless all his life!

    But the mood changed when Yechuri informed the gathering that the CPI(M) had decided to endorse the NCDHR’s Durban move. Every right-thinking Dalit must be grateful to the CPI(M) as, barring the BSP, it is the second national party which has taken a favourable stand.

    The CPM’s stand is important for other reasons as well. In Delhi’s cultural/intellectual circles, which includes a few Dalits, word has got around that a Church-based conspiracy is out to malign India, that foreign money was flowing about like the Orissa cyclone.

    We all know that science, technology, democracy and modern systems of governance have come from the Christian world of Europe and America. Then, why this Christian bashing? India, right from Nehru’s days, has been holding out its begging bowl to foreign countries. But the money brought into the country in the name of development, never reaches the Dalits. Thus, if any money is coming in from abroad to help the Dalit cause, it must be welcomed. Will TATA or Reliance ever give up even one paisa to fight the Varna/Caste order? Then, how will Dalits travel abroad to expose India’s Varna order? Is Indian capital benevolent towards the Dalits? By one single act, the CPI(M) has cleansed itself of many sins. Are other Varna parties, too, prepared to take a dip in Durban?

    [Reply]

  • RajX

    “Muslims have a right not to be offended”

    Hahaha..seriously, Zia, are you sane or did “regressive” Islam turn you insane?

    [Reply]

  • RajX

    “For instance, how many Indian journalists have, exercising their free speech, asked Rahul Gandhi — who could be prime minister — to clear the air on his socio-economic predilections? Is he a socialist or an advocate of free-market policies? It took a British newspaper – The Economist — to ask that question.”

    Very true. But is Zia not a Indian journalist? He has made it clear that he is a “muslim journalist”. But does that exclude him from being a indian journalist? Or he just a blogger? Is anyone keeping him from asking Rahul Gandhi tough questions? Or maybe Rahul Gandhi has not agreed to speak to him. My unsolicited advise to Zia to to approach Rahul through types like Bukhari or deoband. Rahul will not only agree to talk to him but he will also fall on Zia’s feet.

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  • Prem kumar

    They call you Muslims because you are indeed a hardcore Muslim. Going through your every blog I find you take the side of Muslims, whether it is quota issue or Rushdie controversy. You expect every non Muslim not to be offensive about Islam. For Muslims like you blasphemy is a heinous crime, but can you deny that blasphemy and offence against other religion has been main tool of Islamic propaganda to expand its presence from centuries, even Muslims today make fun of Hindu, because they worship cow and believe in statue worship. So offending the believes of non-Muslim is not a blasphemous act, but offending believes of Muslim is a criminal offence.

    [Reply]