Ozzy, Soungarden, Maiden, Slayer nominated for Grammys

Nominees for Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance in the 53rd annual Grammy awards have been announced.

Best Hard Rock Performance

Alice in Chains: A Looking In View

Ozzy Osbourne: Let Me Hear You Scream

Soundgarden: Black Rain

Stone Temple Pilots: Between the Lines

Them Crooked Vultures: New Fang

Best Metal Performance

Iron Maiden: El Dorado

Korn: Let the Guilt Go

Lamb of God: In Your Words

Megadeth: Sudden Death

Slayer: World Painted Blood

It’s the second nomination in a row for Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Megadeth and Slayer. Maiden have been nominated twice before but never won. Ozzy has won Best Metal performance twice. Soundgarden won both awards in 1995. Slayer and Korn have two awards each and Stone Temple Pilots have one.

The award ceremony takes place on February 13 in Los Angeles, with the rock and metal awards traditionally held in a lower-key venue than the main televised event.

Last year’s Best Hard Rock Grammy went to AC/DC for War Machine, which won over Alice in Chains’ Check My Brain, Linkin Park’s What I’ve Done, Metallica’s Unforgiven III and Nickelback’s Burn it to the Ground. The Best Metal Performance was won by Judas Priest for Dissident Aggressor, which was up against Lamb of God’s Set to Fail, Megadeth’s Headcrusher, Ministry’s Senor Peligro and Slayer’s Hate Worldwide.

Other rock-related nominations for 2010

Best Rock Album

Emotion & Commotion: Jeff Beck

The Resistance: Muse

Backspacer: Pearl Jam

Mojo: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Le Noise: Neil Young

Best Rock Song

Angry World: Neil Young Little

Lion Man: Mumford & Sons

Radioactive: Kings Of Leon

Resistance: Muse

Tighten Up: The Black Keys

Best Rock Instrumental Performance

Hammerhead: Jeff Beck

Black Mud: The Black Keys

Do The Murray: Los Lobos

Kundalini Bonfire: Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds

The Deathless Horsie: Dweezil Zappa

Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals Ready To Start:

Arcade Fire I Put A Spell On You: Jeff Beck & Joss Stone

Tighten Up: The Black Keys

Radioactive: Kings Of Leon

Resistance: Muse

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance

Run Back To Your Side: Eric Clapton

Crossroads: John Mayer

Helter Skelter: Paul McCartney

Silver Rider: Robert Plant

Angry World: Neil Young

10 COOL GUITAR INTROS

Whether it’s a solo, a riff, or a single chord that hangs suspended in the air like a pregnant pause, a great guitar intro can set the tone for an entire song. Rock history is loaded with terrific examples, but below are 10 that set a particularly high standard.

• OZZY OSBOURNE – CRAZY TRAIN
• LED ZEPPELIN – STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
• JIMI HENDRIX – VOODOO CHILD
• METALLICA – ONE
• LED ZEPPELIN – WHOLE LOTTA LOVE
• EAGLES – HOTEL CALIFORNIA
• DEEP PURPLE – SMOKE ON THE WATER
• MICHAEL JACKSON – BEAT IT
• GUNS ‘N’ ROSES – SWEET CHILD ‘O’ MINE
• METALLICA – NOTHING ELSE MATTERS

Best of KoЯn

I’m back with the best of KoЯn now..

After 17 years, KoЯn is  still one of the coolest bands ever…

Here are the top songs of KoЯn

• COMING UNDONE
• TWISTED TRANSISTOR
• BLIND
• FALLING AWAY FROM ME
• EVOLUTION
• A.D.I.D.A.S
• GOT THE LIFE
• HERE TO STAY
• CREEP
• FREAK ON A LEASH
• DID MY TIME
• ALONE I BREAK
• NO WAY
• MY GIFT TO YOU
• TRASH

Jhootha Hi Sahi Music Review – A R Rahman

CALL ME DIL – RASHID ALI

Awesome composition by Rahman.Perfectly Rahman’ish….

Call me dil‘s dulcet notes get accentuated because of Rashid Ali’s vocals as Rahman gets his balladish orchestration pitch-perfect here!

CRY CRY – RASHID ALI,SHREYA GHOSHAL

Rashid’s other track, Cry cry, is the mellow, pondering equivalent of Aditi; similar in its free-flowing format and conversational lyrics, particularly when Shreya Ghoshal joins, this one is vintage Rahman-style slow poison!

HELLO HELLO – KARTHIK

Hello hello is where Rahman plays his genre-bending card…rather well. With a faint echo of Middle-eastern, but treading pleasant experimentations, this track by Karthik is interesting precisely because of its unconventional sound!

MAYYA YASHODA – CHINMAYEE,JAVED ALI

Chinmayi sounds different yet again and is in brilliant form, as she joins Javed Ali in Mayya Yashoda…a spritely, mildly spoofy traditional tune that gets hyper-enthusiastic towards the end!

DO NISHAANIYAN – SONU NIGAM

Sonu goes all moony in Do nishaaniyan, but it sounds at best like a Yuvvraaj leftover, except for Abbas’s fascinating lyrics!

PAM PA RA – SHREYA GHOSHAL

Pam pa ra, beyond that simplistic facade, holds a lovely mix of genres, much like Hello hello – a stagey, but charming mix!

I’LL BE WAITING – VIJAY YESUDAS

I’ll be waiting is the soundtrack’s stunning highlight – Vijay Yesudas in a dreamy, beautifully orchestrated, jazzy package that touches on  lovely Hindi lyrics too!

There are two remixes – Do Nishaaniyan ( Reprise ) and Mayya Yashoda ( Thames Mix ) in the album…

As if making up for Endhiran’s bombastic outburst, Rahman delivers and succeeds with a gorgeous experiment, quite confidently!

ROCK-A-HOLICS RATING : 4.25/5

Best Of 3 Doors Down

• Let me go
• The real life
• Its not me
• Better life
• Here without you
• Running out of days
• Behind those eyes
• Kryptonite
• Train
• Citizen/Soldier
• Its not my time
• Let me be myself
• When its over
• Your arms feel like home
• The road I’m on

Best of Coldplay

Came back after a long time with my pick of songs from the songs of Coldplay now…..

Coldplay is one of my favorite bands and their songs always make me feel pleasant ….So here are my top picks from their songs…

• For you (Shiver single Version)
• Amsterdam
• Talk
• The scientist
• Clocks
• See you soon
• Shiver
• One I love
• Warning signs
• White shadows

Too hard to pick the best from coldplay guys…..

Post your top picks in the comments….

ANJAANA ANJAANI MUSIC REVIEW

ANJAANA ANJAANI KI KAHAANI – Nikhil D’ Souza,Monali Thakur

The Pancham touch is smart and subtle in the title song‘s background; the enthusiasm quotient, in large part by Nikhil D’Souza and Monali Thakur’s vocals, is obvious and addictive. But don’t know why all title tracks given by Vishal n Shekar sounds same…

ANJAANA ANJAANI -Vishal Dadlani,Shilpa rao

The second title song, featuring Vishal and Shilpa Rao is completely different and fuses Vishal Shekhar’ish rock with the Indian music impressively!

HAIRAT – Lucky Ali

Lucky Ali completely rocks Hairat; familiar Vishal-Shekhar territory, no doubt, but they innovate even within that and produce lovely results. Completely rocking song. My favorite from the album.

AAS PAAS KHUDA – Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s Aas paas khuda, despite the captivating arrangements, is tepid, tune-wise. As usual Rahat Fateh Ali Khan ji gave soul to the song.

TUMSE HI TUMSE – Carlisa Montiero,Shekar Ravjiani

With its strong Salaam Namaste hangover, if Tumse hi tumse still works, it is solely because of Shekhar and Caralisa’s spirited vocals. Definitely a cool song but not different.

TUJHE BHULA DIYA – Mohit Chauhan,Shruti Pathak,Shekar Ravjiani

The soundtrack truly takes off with Tujhe bhula diya and I feel good; the former is a lyrically-staid judai track, incredibly jump-started by Shruti Pathak, Mohit Chauhan and Shekhar’s fabulous vocals and sparkling mod-qawali phrases, while the latter is absolutely breezy with a punchy hook!

There are also 3 remixes in the album of Anjaana Anjaani,Aas Paas Khuda n Tujhe Bhula Diya

It is usually expected that Vishal Shekhar get their sound very right; here they do – no surprises. The tunes do start to sound similar to their earlier soundtracks, but then they have this knack of getting perfect hooks that works big time. Anjaana Anjaani’s music is no exception!

ROCK-A-HOLICS RATING : 2.75 / 5

We Are Family Music Review – Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Rahem O Karam – Vishal Dadlani , Shankar Mahadevan

There is an overriding soul-style sound in this soundtrack that seems very appealing. But I felt SEL  adopted the style of Amit Triwedi in the intro.It’s more pronounced in the piano-laden Reham O Karam, that starts blissfully serene before escalating its notes,

Sun le dua – Shreya Ghoshal

Sun le dua, an all-out mellow tune that rides entirely on Shreya’s scintillating vocals. Awesome keyboard and flute work in the song which makes us involve in the song..

Ankhon Mein Neendein – Rahat Fateh Ali Khan,Shreya Ghoshal,Shankar Mahadeven

The song starts with sweet Shreya Ghoshal voice followed by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.Rahat-led Aankhon mein is predictably sweet and that is saying a lot. A pleasent song…

Hamesha & Forever – Sonu Nigam,Shreya Ghoshal

Sonu-Shreya duet Hamesha & Forever has at least a captivating chorus going for it. A typical kind of song which all Karan Johar movies will have,

Dil Khol Ke – Anushka Manchandani,Suraj Jaggan

Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock’s desi twist, Dil khol ke, seems like sacrilege, but works eventually due to Anushka…and Suraj Jagan’s vocals!

We Are Family (Theme) – Dominique Cerejo,Clinton Cerejo,Neuman Pinto

A good instrumental and addictive too…..A peaceful theme with SEL standards

Karan Johar’ish predictability, with a new-found maturity.

ROCK-A-HOLICS RATING : 3/5

ENTHIRAN/ENDHIRAN Music Review – A R RAHMAN

1. Puthiya Manidha – Sung by SPB and accompanied by Khadeeja Rahman( ARR’s daughter) and ARR himself

Something unexpected from AR Rahman (of course, in a good way) for a movie which have Rajni Kanth and Shankar.  Nice rendition by both SPB and Khadeeja. i loved the chorus part (puthiya manidhan part) most  90’s ARR is back I am addicted to this song now …dont miss this song! i think this is an experimental track… so not sure how massive it’ll become

2. Kadhal Anukkal – sung by Vijay Prakash and Shreay Ghosal

My third favorite..nice rendition by Vijay parakash..Vijay is too good in this song o Second interlude is my favorite.. Shreya sounds usual..nothing special..

3. Irumbile Oru Hridhayam – sung by AR Rahman – Rap by Kash n Krissy

Its a kind of song which AR rahman never tried before especially by singing.. o Starting slightly remind me ‘Fanaa’ track from Yuva..but ‘Irumbhil’ is more fun song than ‘Fanaa’ (but ‘fanaa’ is far better than this track’)…. At some points it remind me ‘The Black Eyed Peas’ especially the interlude rap part!

4. Chitti Dance Showcase – sung by pradeep vijay,praveen mani and yogi B….

Another ‘Liquid Dance’ type song… ARR done better instrumental than this..

5. Arima Arima – sung by Hariharan and sadhana sargam

Everything in this song is just amazing, be it hariharan or sadhana or powerful chorus and background music… Again 90’s ARR for you o My second favorite…starting trumpets sound is just amazing

6. Kilimanjaro – sung by Chinmayi and Javed Ali

This was the track which leaked in YouTube some months back. Shot in Peru.. o Again 90’s ARR touch… be it rahmanisq beats, or the weird sound and vocal… o Loved the arrangements and vocal especially chinamyee’s funny rendition .. o and dont miss the old arr style interludes ..especially second interlude…..Lengthier….It may be sound better if its just 3 min..

7. Boom Boom Robot Da sung by Yogi B, kirthi,swetha,tanvi

Average song..mmm .. Yogi B is just wasted… i dont know why he sound soft…i always loved his louder rendition..thats what made him popular..that Yogi B is missing in this song. o contains samples from ‘thigu thigu’ from ‘Aah Aah’, but original is far better

THIS ALBUM MAY TAKE SOME TIME TO GET IN TO THE PEOPLE AS RAHMAN TRIED SOMETHING DIFFERENT MUSIC IN ELECTRONIC GENRE WHICH WE DON’T FIND IN NORMAL INDIAN MOVIES

ROCK-A-HOLICS RATING : 3.5/5

Aashayein Music Review – Salim Sulaiman & Pritam

Salim – Sulaiman’s Aashayein was such a long pending album…It is the album with 13 tracks in which 5 are remixes….

The album starts with a Pritam song, Mera Jeena hai kya, sung by Neeraj Shridhar. Awesome  mix of  keyboard and flute in the intro of song make us that it is definitely not composed by Pritam but later I have concluded that its definitely a Pritam kinda song…It is a good melody but make me felt that I have listened it some where before.. KK would have done better job than Neeraj Shridhar..

Then the next, Dilkash Dildaar duniya comes which is again a Pritam composition and sung by Shaan and Tulsi Kumar. A beat-based song with a nostalgic feel. Shaan is fine but I’m not coming to terms with Tulsi very well. Okay song.

The third song, Rabba comes from Shiraz Uppal.Its already released song in Shiraz Uppal’s ANKAHI album..It is a good song but remained unrealized…The lines RABBA YE KYA HUA..RABBA YE DIL GAYA reminds me a Devisri Prasad tune in some telugu movie…Hope this album gives him a break..

Then comes the already heard Zubeen sung ‘Ab mujhko Jeena.’ The song starts somewhat like Summer of 69 but then it moves to a fast, inspiring type song. Can’t say much about the song as I’ve heard it way too much already. It’s even been my ringtone for a long time. So all I can say is the song is definitely good.

Next song of the album, Shukriya Zindagi, that starts on a lovely note and as Shafqat starts singing ‘chhan ke aayi to kya chandni to mili’ in an easy mood, you know you’re going to get an inspirational treat from Salim-Sulaiman and Shafqat. Beautiful lyrics by Mir Ali Husain in continuously second song.

As Shreya Ghoshal starts rendering Pal mein Mila Jahan, in her soft voice, with almost nothing playing in the background, you think it’s a sad version of some song, but then the song proceeds, and after a tough job done by Shreya, instruments appear in the background. A really good song and some superb singing by Shreya but I don’t know how many will have patience to listen to this song. Try to listen to the song anyway.

Finally, Chala Aaya Pyaar brings in Mohit Chauhan. A quite slow, deep song with some romantic lyrics. Somehow after ‘Pal mein’ the song sounds a bit sad as it seems to mix with its predecessor, but as Mohit comes towards the higher notes in the song, you start liking it. Good use of percussion, loved the tabla in the song. Go for it, but it may need some patience before you fall for the song.

Shankar Mahadevan is a choice of many composers when it comes to deep songs, and even more when there are less instruments in the background, as Shankar has got some awesome power in his voice. Therefore, after Raajneeti’s Dhan dhan dharti re, he gets to sing another earthy song with less instruments and more singing. And the song is none other than Shreya sung Pal mein mila Jahan’s male version, but Shankar gives the song much more power than Shreya did. I guess people would like this one more, if they have enough patience to decide.

After this, the album has five remixes but I wouldn’t even hear them as of now, after listening to seven songs already. Oh, btw, there is one sad version of Shukriya Zindagi which is again a wonderful listen for those who appreciate one minute long instrumentless pieces. Cuz I was a fan of Aashayein slow version and always played the song after the slow version.

Overall, the album is good and worth listening . Mohit Chauhan and Shiraz Uppal are a bit below their own set standards. The biggest problem is that few songs in the album catch you instantly, though I hope many of the songs will sound just perfect in the movie as background.

ROCK-A-HOLICS RATING : 3.5/5