Catch The EightyEast Infection Tonight At Opera in NYC

I must admit that I was shamed into doing this courtesy of the post by the fine folks at CurryBear. But yeah, Eighty East live in concert tonight at Opera in NYC, get excited folks. In the interest of full disclosure, it must be noted that I once sat next to Eighty East keyboardist extraodinaire and psychedelic homo universalis Yousuf Arain on an airplane trip to Mind Blownesia. I learned many new things, but forgot more. The point is, in terms of celebrity hanger-on status, I guess you could say I'm in with the band.

You can get details for the event here. I shall be the guy in the corner, sobbing gently and whispering "They Should Have Sent a Poet" to myself. Hope to see you there.

Desi Artist Spotlight: Indian Ocean

Of the many new weekly features we are planning, the one that we are most excited about is the Desi Artist Spotlight. Partly because it allows us to use our snazzy new IMEEM widget, but mostly because good music has a way of leading to street cred. Oh sweet, beautiful, nectarous street cred, how we long for you. Anyway, the first spotlight comes to us from our intern-even-though-he-prefers-to-be-called-contributor-because-he-has-a-job-and-is-doing-us-a favor, Akash Shah. We gave Akash the opportunity to write about any desi artist, expecting full well that he would do us right by going Paki-pop like Junoon or Atif Aslam or Hassan Jhangir, but being the patriot that he is, he decided to go with contemporary indo-rock fusion band Indian Ocean. Without further ado, we turn it over to Akash, do check out the tunes to your left....

As their motto says, "Expressing the very soul of their milieu, urban and rural. Aware of its history and alive to its future. Passionate, honest, unapologetic, untainted by the exotic. At home in the world."

Formed in 1990, the present line-up includes Sushmit Sen on acoustic guitars, Rahul Ram on bass and vocals, Asheem Chakravarty on tabla, percussions and vocals, and Amit Kilam on drums and flute. An impeccable and mature band that has been around for over 15 years with five albums under their belt and many more unreleased songs. What is unique is how the music stems from a rich cultural Indian background combining elements of classical Bharatiya sangeet, jazz improv, rock-laden rhythmic patterns, Sufism and a melodic soul that's immediately recognizable.

All the band members are self-taught and the music was born through the chemistry that they share when playing with one another. Asheem Chakravarty is the "man with the golden voice" and brings a rare talent of combining vocals while playing the tabla. Sushmit Sen forms the basis of the band's sound with his unique and distinctive acoustic style. Cornell PhD Rahul Ram is in the forefront with his bass and the group's other vocalist. Amit Kilam is the youngest member of the band. Surprisingly as the drummer, he is the quietest person on stage and beats the drums at unconventional measures.

The first three albums remained low key but the band made its presence on the independent music scene and gaining accolades at international festivals in the early 2000s. Their first album Desert Rain was released in 1997. The great thing about this album is that it's recorded live and that to by accident. Nonetheless the results were amazing, with lots of on stage improv and passion. The next album was Kandisa, recorded in a proper studio and with a producer. The 2000 release quickly gained popularity as a cult album and properly established the band. The album also introduced lyrics by some well known Indian poets and also was more commercially-oriented, a pop-ish and accessible sound. In 2003 the band released Jhini. Named after a poem written by 15th century Hindu poet Kabir, it went on to win an AVMax award for best produced album and featured English lyrics for the first time.

However, it was not until 2004 that the band was brought into limelight with their first bollywood composition, Black Friday. Their music stood out even as the film was laced with controversy. Bandeh is the song that made them famous overnight and Indian Ocean was finally "mainstream". The other great thing about this was that they broke away from their traditional style introduced in their previous 3 albums and introduced a variety of sounds by throwing in new instruments such as the sarangi and the saxaphone. Another film soundtrack, Shoonya, has been recorded but the film and music are both delayed for unknown reasons.

Despite the social meaning behind each of their songs, Indian Ocean refuses to be a political band. They hate to attach brands or genres to their distinctive sound. Certainly the sound that they create is a result of their daily living in an urban setting, and a tribute to modernity. Their music is a genuine reflection of their personalities as individuals and as a band as a whole. As their motto goes, "Expressing the very soul of their milieu, urban and rural. Aware of its history and alive to its future. Passionate, honest, unapologetic, untainted by the exotic. At home in the world."

By Akash Shah

Bihari Shabab Programming Note: While The Fahad's Away...

Nobody Beats Me, Because I'm the Wiz! I'm the Wiz!

Fear not oh loyal Bihari Shabab readers, for the scent that you are faintly picking up that smells like it is equal parts ass and Stetson aftershave, is not a dirty bomb. Rather it is a warning sign of the self-reverential lovefest that is about to get underway up in this bitch. As you know, we recently added the counter to track the number of hits we are getting here. And to be quiet honest, we were pleasantly surprised by just how many people do come here as we have not done much in the way of marketing. Now there are two ways one can take this. 1) Be humble and thank the readership or 2) Get a big head and openly solicit the female readership for Rishtas. I think you know which way we're going to go with this. I look forward to openly antagonizing the men and hitting on the women. Hello non-mehram ladies! Tis a pleasure to have your company...raise the gaze in summer of 08...

Anyway, as you know by now, young Fahad is on his way to the homeland. What does this mean to your BihariShabab experience aside from the fact that we now come to you with 100% less rap? It means that you can look forward to more posts but less original content. We will hopefully have daily Khabarnma links along with a number of weekly features, that will satiate your appetite for desiality(TM). Look for youtube clips, music reviews and other empty calorie content fillers.

Also, with today marking 100 days before the election, you can also look forward to more political coverage which really means shameless pro-Obama propaganda, because you're really not getting enough of it as it is.

The internship program is underway as well, with the first post coming up later today from the Indian Leon Phelps, Akash Shah. His first post works hand in hand with the IMEEM application you see to your left. As part of our weekly spotlight on desi artists, we will have a playlist for you for the week so you can sample some of their work and not just go by what we have to say. We think it's a terrific idea, but your comfort is paramount here, so your feedback would be much valued in determining whether we stick with the widget.

In all seriousness, we really do appreciate your patronage. If only some of you knew how to work the goddamn comment section, I think it could enhance the overall experience. I know giving out your real name may feel like a breach of your personal space. But fear not Priyanka Chopra from Mumbai or whoever you are, you can now comment anonymously, so get on it.

We look forward to hanging with you this summer.

Thanks.

Peace Out Holmes

Me at the airport (dramatization)

I need you all to be strong right now. You knew this day would come. I have to go and you can't convince me not to. I'm leaving today to the motherland to spread the BihariShabab movement. You mustn't worry, we have a stellar group of interns donating pieces of theirs to this fine site....what's that? there are no interns? Well we got that new hit counter and I enjoy visiting the site to see the counter keep going up so you guys could come to the site for that...Oh and Raheel's still writing if you care (I know you don't but don't tell him, it'll hurt his feelings). Well I guess I should wrap this up, I'm going back after nearly a decade and I'm all excited and stuff. Expect some memoir/travelogue type posts once I return and in return I will expect no comments because you are the most apathetic readers on the internet, but I still love you. I'm pretty bad at goodbyes so I'm just gonna go the only way I know how. Through the magic of song.

Television Review: Generation Kill

In an (obviously futile) attempt to get companies to send us promotional material at some point in the future, we at BihariShabab have decided to start reviewing...uh...things. You know, music, movies, technology, food, TV shows, sadly, even women (but in a totally respectful way. You know women are the future or something like that). Have anything you want us to review? Email us at BihariShabab@gmail.com. We know how much you value our opinions.

I love TV. It used to be easier for me to watch but between being the writer/editor of a prestigious blog and romancing super models all over the world (why else do you think I'm going to the motherland) I don't have much time for television. So I've begun paying more attention to a show's cast and producers to more easily zero in on a television show I would enjoy. David Simon was the executive producer of "The Wire" AKA the greatest television show in the history of television history. Therefore, I've decided to watch Generation Kill, a David Simon mini-series currently airing on HBO about a squad of marines at the beginning of the Iraq war. Simon's productions are more realistic than anything on TV. I wasn't raised in the hood or anything but I have black friends so I know that urban environments are really like what The Wire portrayed. I've never been to war but I am a young man and I know how young men communicate with each other and Simon captures the relationships in the unit as truly as anyone can. Of course this may be because the series is based on a true story. In 2003 Rolling Stones Magazine reporter Evan Wright was embedded with the 1st Marines Battalion in Iraq and his subsequent reports won awards and stuff so he did a great job. But who reads anymore? So we have this TV show which is as close to reading a novel that you can get without opening a book. The script is brilliant and it highlights the beurocracy that plagues the American system, it's hilarious and it does what "Jarhead" (hated the movie) could never do, which is be exciting and still be introspective and show the boredom that Marines have to deal with. Simon and his crew do a fantastic job with this. If you don't have HBO don't worry, it's a mini-series so you can wait to rent it when it comes out on DVD. If you do have HBO, Generation Kill airs Sunday nights at 9:00. It's must see TV.

Final Verdict: 5 SRK eviscerated pillows out of 5

Language NSFW but if you watch it later at home with headphones on you shouldn't have any problems except a guilty conscience for listening to such filth....Enjoy.